by Kim Fox
He pulled into the camp and skidded to a stop. He ripped the keys out of the ignition and tossed them to Ellis.
“You’re not even going to park the car?”
Keene ignored him and ran across the camp. It was empty. Where is she?
A movement caught his eye in the distance and his heart skipped a beat. Chloe was walking out of the forest. She was holding a butcher’s knife by her side. Her face was serious, her expression hard to read. Something was wrong.
Keene sprinted over, butterflies filling his stomach as he got closer. “What is it?” he asked.
Her face was white. She looked like she saw a ghost. “He was here.”
“Who?”
“He was here,” she repeated. “The man that killed my father.”
“What?” he asked, baffled.
“Someone went through my cabin,” Ellis yelled. “It’s flipped upside down.” He was standing in his doorway looking at Chloe.
The other two pickup trucks pulled up and the Crew spilled out of the doors. Ellis ran over and spoke to Beckett.
Keene turned back to her. He took the knife from her hand. “What happened?”
“He came here. With a girl.” She looked horrified. Keene wanted to hold her but he had to get the story out of her before Beckett came over. He wouldn’t be as gentle.
“They went through the cabins,” she continued. “He took my stuff. He found the video camera with you phasing on it.”
“Who is he?”
“Logan,” she said. “His name was Logan.”
Keene felt lightheaded. “Oh no.”
He took in deep breaths as Beckett and Ellis ran up to meet them. “What’s going on?” Beckett asked.
“He was here,” Chloe said, still in shock. “He killed my father.”
“Logan was here,” Keene said.
Beckett’s head dropped back and he looked up at the sky. “Fuck!” he cursed, jutting his hands on his hips. “Well there were no pictures of you phasing. It will be okay.” He took in a deep breath and nodded. “We’ll just explain to him about the Smokejumping story. It will be okay.” He was shaking his head. “I knew I should have asked permission first.”
Keene couldn’t breathe. “There’s something I didn’t tell you,” he said. Beckett froze. “She had me phasing on video.” He gulped. “And Logan found it.”
Beckett covered his face with his hands.
“Keene!” Ellis yelled. “You’re going to get us all executed.”
Keene shook his head. “No. I’ll take the fall. I’ll explain to him that it was me. You guys will be okay.” He couldn’t let his brothers pay for his stupidity.
A black car drove up the road like a funeral procession. Keene froze and stared at the car as it crawled up the path into the camp. It stopped with a squeal and went silent when the engine was cut off. Everybody was holding their breath as they watched.
The driver’s door opened and Logan stepped out.
He was a large werebear. He came up to Keene’s chin but he was still bigger than everybody else. And intimidating.
The hair on the back of Keene’s neck stuck straight up. Logan was a vicious werebear who believed in the superiority of shifters. If he had his way he would be marching the humans into concentration camps. He was the head of the SEA for the district but he still answered to some higher ups.
Logan spotted Beckett beside Keene and walked over.
“I’ll turn myself in,” Keene said. “I’m sorry I let you down boss.”
Beckett shushed him. “Just let me do the talking.” Beckett stuck his hand out and greeted him with a big smile. “Nice to see you Logan.”
Logan ignored his outstretched hand and looked around with his hands on his hips. He pointed to Chloe. “That’s the reporter?”
Chloe was glaring at him. She was squeezing her hands into fists by her side.
He began to walk around the group. “The higher ups don’t want any blood shed for this,” he said. Keene sighed in relief. Maybe they would just get a warning.
“They are pleased with your Crew so far. Hiding in the woods, not making many waves.” He sniffed the air and looked back at Amanda standing by the pickup trucks with Finch. “Even though I wouldn’t be as lenient. Living with a human should be a punishable offense in my opinion.”
He spat on the ground as he walked past Beckett. A large vein in Beckett’s neck popped out as his body tensed up. He didn’t like anyone speaking bad about his mate.
“They are willing to let you off with a warning,” he said, “which is less than I recommended.”
He was circling close to Chloe. Keene didn’t want him anywhere near her but he kept himself in check. It looked like the SEA was going to let them off. He couldn’t provoke them now.
Chloe never took her eyes off him. She gritted her teeth and glared.
He spat again and then pointed right at her. “But she has to die.”
Keene took a step forward. Beckett placed his palm on Keene’s chest. “Let me handle this,” he whispered.
“That doesn’t seem necessary,” Beckett said to Logan. “She is like family now. She has agreed to remain silent. Isn’t that right?”
Beckett turned to Chloe. She was taking in quick, violent breaths and staring at Logan with pure hatred oozing out of her.
“Chloe?” Beckett asked.
She looked like she wasn’t hearing any of his words. She was probably replaying the scene of Logan killing her Dad in front of her.
“It doesn’t matter,” Logan said, waving him off. “She knows too much. She’s just a human anyways.”
He stepped towards her and Keene exploded into his polar bear and roared. Logan sprang back and phased in midair. He was an SEA agent and was always ready to phase at the slightest sign of danger.
He was a grizzly bear and a big one. But Keene was bigger. There was a lot of yelling and panic but Keene couldn’t really hear it over the roaring of his bear. He attacked Logan, going straight for his neck. Logan wanted to harm his mate and that put his bear in kill mode.
The bears crashed into each other and Keene quickly overpowered him. He snapped and sank his teeth into the grizzly bear’s shoulder. Logan’s bear howled and kicked him away with his hind legs. The taste of iron filled Keene’s mouth. He wanted more. He wasn’t going to stop until the threat to his mate was dead.
Keene rose on his hind legs and roared. The grizzly backed away with his head low, his eyes full of anger.
Keene wasn’t finished with him. He wasn’t getting off that easy. He stomped his front paws onto the ground and was about to charge him when Beckett jumped in front of Logan.
“That’s enough Keene,” Beckett said, raising his hand up.
Keene roared in frustration.
Beckett stared him down. “That’s enough!” Keene jerked his head from side to side growling and pacing. His bear couldn’t deny a direct order from his alpha no matter how blood thirsty he was.
Keene watched through his bear’s eyes as Logan phased back into his human form. He snatched his clothes off the ground, his shoulder bleeding, and pointed at Beckett. “Your Crew attacked an SEA agent,” he hissed.
Beckett stood between them. “You threatened his mate.”
“This is not over,” he said, through a clenched jaw. He ran to his car and sped out of the camp.
Keene tried to calm his bear down but it wasn’t happening. He pulled him back in and phased into his human form.
The rest of the Hudson Crew came over. Keene was sitting in the dirt with his head down. He just gave everybody a death sentence. But what choice did he have?
He finally looked up and they were all looking at him, nobody saying anything.
Tears came to his eyes. He let them all down. His brothers…
“We’re in this together,” Beckett said. Ellis nodded. “We’re a Crew. We’re brothers in life and in death.”
Keene dropped his head, unable to meet their eyes. He didn’t deserve them.
<
br /> A hand rested on his shoulder. Then another one. And another one. Keene raised his head. His brothers were on their knees, every one of them with their hands on him.
“We’ll get through this,” Quint said.
“You did the right thing,” Finch added.
“It will be okay,” Sander said.
Ellis patted his shoulder. “You’re an idiot. But you’re our idiot.”
Beckett turned to Chloe. “Well get down here,” he said. “You’re a part of our Crew now too.”
She hugged Keene’s head and kissed it. He felt lucky to be surrounded by so much love.
“We have some hard times ahead,” Beckett said. “They’re going to be back. SEA agents never give up.”
Keene knew that he was right. Logan was ruthless. He would be back with the whole agency and he would be out for blood.
Beckett exhaled. “They won’t stop. Until we’re dead.”
To be Continued…
epilogue
Quint squished the bucketful of grapes into a mush with his fist. They popped and exploded under his purple knuckles. He was making a new batch of wine after he finished his stash last night. He had a thumping headache. It took a lot of wine to give a werebear a hangover but Quint usually managed to get there.
It had been a tense and stressful day yesterday after what Keene had put them through. Beckett had decided that the Crew was going to go speak with the heads of the SEA today and try to plead their case. He was hopeful that they could end this peacefully. Quint wasn’t so sure.
Two earwigs ran from the sludge and unsuccessfully tried to climb up the smooth bucket. They fell back down. Quint squished them in with the grapes. He left bugs in his wine, and even added some. That was one of the reasons why his wine was so delicious and why everybody loved it.
He picked up the bucket and poured the liquid through a strainer into a large pot. Keene caught his eye. He was sitting with Chloe by a tree talking. He was rubbing her arm, saying soft words to her.
Quint didn’t blame Keene for the trouble he caused. He was protecting his mate. It was what all werebears did. And Keene was like a brother to Quint. He would stand by his side until the end.
And Chloe was worth protecting as well. If not for her strong personality, but for the way that she made Keene smile. Quint could tell that he was in love.
I wonder if I’ll ever bond to anyone.
Quint had his doubts. He was thirty two and had never been in love. He put down the bucket and stirred the grape juice in the pot. His bear seemed to have bonded to wine.
He lifted up a ladle full of juice and took a sip. You’ll always be my first love.
Beckett burst out of his cabin. “Agents!” he screamed. Amanda flew out behind him and sprinted to the hangar.
Quint dropped the ladle on the ground, spilling the juice on his pants. This wasn’t good.
“Everybody to the plane!” Beckett ordered.
Keene hoisted Chloe over his shoulder and ran to the hangar. Finch and Jessica followed him.
There was an emergency stash of wine in his cabin. Quint had to bring it.
He sprinted to his cabin.
“Quint,” Beckett called out. “My Mom said there’s an SEA swat team on the way with orders to execute us. Let’s move.”
Ellis was carrying Alexi to the hangar. The plane rolled out onto the grass. The engines were roaring and Amanda was waving them over.
“I just have to-”
The same black car from yesterday flew into camp, swerving and skidding on the dirt road. Logan was driving with a pissed off look on his face. Quint turned to run when he caught sight of the passenger in the car.
His body shut down as her fiery orange eyes grabbed him at his core and wouldn’t let go. The trucks racing in behind her, with bears and wolves piled in the back, faded out of his vision. Only she remained.
Black and beautiful.
She was staring at him with her mouth wide open. Whatever pull he was feeling; she was feeling the same thing.
A hand grabbed his arm and yanked him. He barely felt it through his numb, muted body.
And just like that he snapped back to reality. But everything had changed. He had bonded to that woman in the car. He couldn’t leave now.
“Lets go!” Beckett screamed at him. Everybody was in the airplane except them.
“You go,” Quint said. “I’ll distract them so you can get away.”
“What?” Beckett gasped, looking at him funny. He glanced from him to the woman stepping out of the car who was looking at Quint as if he was a God.
“Not another one,” Beckett muttered. “We have to go.”
Quint planted his feet. He wasn’t going anywhere.
Beckett wrapped his arms around Quint’s waist and tried to hoist him in the air. “Don’t make me carry you.”
Quint wrestled him off, breaking his alpha’s grip. Beckett lunged to try again and Quint ran away.
Beckett grunted in frustration and sprinted towards the plane leaving Quint alone to face an army of SEA agents.
Quint pulled his bear to the surface and phased. He was a black bear, nothing too scary or powerful, but he would put up enough of a fight that his Crew could get away.
The airplane buzzed behind him as it barreled down the runway.
Six large werewolves circled him, snarling and snapping at the air. An enormous Kodiak bear waltzed up the middle.
He looked past them to his new mate. She was staring at him, her eyes shining brighter than before.
Logan ran around the car and up to her. He pointed to the plane that was rising in the air. “Go burn it down,” he yelled in her ear.
She wasn’t moving. She was as mesmerized as Quint.
Logan pushed her from behind. “They’re getting away.” The plane was getting quieter as it climbed. “Incinerate it. Now!”
Logan stepped in front of her and slapped her across the face.
Quint saw red. He roared as his bear lunged at the agent.
He never made it.
The wolves got to him first. They swarmed him like an angry mob of bees, sinking their teeth into every part of his body.
He jerked his head around snapping his jaws, but only biting into air. They pinned him down as the Kodiak bear pounced on him.
Quint took one last look at those orange eyes as bright as fire. The Kodiak bear crashed into him and his vision faded to black.
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Don’t miss the start of my new series Bearly Breathing featuring the cousin of Beckett and Ellis: Connor Jacoby.
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Standalone Paranormal Romance book (HFN. No cliffhanger)
BBW, Rebecca Sanderson, has dragged her two friends on a weekend kayaking excursion through the New Hampshire mountains to help her get over her ex-fiancée. But the three girls will find more than just kayaking when they meet their three
sexy, werebear guides.
Werebear, Connor Jacoby, is trying really hard to make his new kayaking business succeed. But it's hard when one of your employees phases into a bear in front of your customers and the other charges for autographs because he thinks he's famous since he once played two games in the NFL before getting kicked out.
Connor already has his hands full and it's about to get worse when his two incompetent employees bond to the two hot girls they are paired with. But there's nothing he can say because his bear bonds with the beautiful Rebecca.
The three 'couples' get separated in a freak flash flood and they must survive the wilderness, but harder than that, they must survive each other for the night.
Adult only BBW bear shifter romance. 18+
And don’t miss the first installments:
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Rich BBW, Alexi, has run away from her abusive fiancée the day before her wedding. She ends up miserable, living in the Flathead National Forest in the middle of Montana working in a roadside diner and living in a rundown garage. But when she meets the local fireman, a group of big, sexy, muscular, witty, dirty talking, smokejumpers, she may just find the paradise she is searching for.
Ellis is a hot, adventurous, risk taking, smoke-jumping bear shifter. His inner bear has been desperate to find a mate and its tearing him apart. When he starts losing control of his animal, his big brother, and alpha, is ready to kick him out of the crew. Until he meets the new waitress at the diner who changes everything.
Passion heats up between them, but when Alexi's violent past catches up with her, she may put the whole clan of bear shifters in danger, and the two lovers may be torn apart forever.