Hunter: A Werebear + BBW Paranormal Romance (Beast Warriors Book 2)

by Devlin, Bliss

  Nothing she could do about that. These guys were mostly old shifters, Scandinavian like the bear shifters. It was hard to teach an old wolf new tricks, and the wolf shifters had grown up using swords, spears, and battle-axes.

  They had only reluctantly adopted firearms while working for WSS, and from their muttered comments, they had tried to use them as seldom as possible on their missions.

  To her relief, neither Leif nor Svein ever showed up to her training sessions.

  Over dinner at the ranch house, Rafe told her it was because they were banned from setting foot on the Grizzly Peak Ranch property.

  "And I'll make them sorry if they try to trespass," Brett had commented, his mouth twisting in a snarl.

  Catrina had felt an odd thrill at his display of protectiveness. She didn't need a protector. But it still felt really nice to have someone on her side.

  When the wolf shifters weren't around, Catrina found herself enjoying her new role as a teacher.

  The bear shifters sent to her for training, teen-aged boys and girls who were of mixed human and shifter blood, proved to be much better pupils than the old wolf shifters.

  For one thing, they were all younger than she was, which gave her instant authority. And most of them were in awe of her status as a former Beast Warrior.

  While most were proficient with rifles and shotguns, since they had grown up using those weapons for hunting, pistols were another matter. And so were hand-to-hand combat techniques—like many shifters, her students were accustomed to relying on their brute strength and speed.

  Which was more than enough for dealing with ordinary humans, but if WSS ever sent its trained Beast Warriors to invade Elysia, as Hal feared, then the young bear shifters would be outclassed despite their great strength and ferocity.

  But the best day so far came a few days later, when she officially joined the Elysia Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter and paramedic.

  "The basic requirements for this job are a pulse, availability during the day, and a drivers' license," Brett informed her when she expressed some hesitation over her lack of real qualifications. "And we can work around the driver's license issue until Hal can get your new identity documents made up. And with your combat medic training, you're already ahead of the game."

  "Okay," she said, still feeling doubtful. She wanted very badly to do a good job. And that was going to be hard without training.

  "And I think you'll be great at this," he replied, his smile deepening to one that made fresh heat rush through her stomach—and parts further south. "We need all the help we can get, especially when summer rolls around and tourists do dumb things. Plus, it's a good way to make friends and win respect in Elysia."

  Catrina nodded. She wanted to fit in here. She wanted a place to belong that didn't expect her to assassinate or abduct people for money.

  "C'mon," Brett continued. "I'll show you around and get you set up."

  Funny how that smile still made something funny happen in the pit of her belly, even after spending several nights in his bed. Though they still hadn't had full-on sex…yet…they'd done nearly everything else.

  But trying to restrain herself around him was driving her jaguar into a frenzy of impatience and frustrated desire.

  It didn't matter how many times he made her come with his hands and mouth, the jaguar wanted Catrina to tear off Brett's clothes and rub herself all over him, covering every inch of him in her scent, before claiming him fully as her mate.

  Truth be told, Catrina was warming more and more to the idea every day.

  Each time she spent time with him, she was struck anew about how she liked everything about him—his sense of humor, his looks, his scent, and his taste. And the way he kissed and touched her when they were alone…

  Now, Catrina was sitting in the Fire Department's large truck bay, trying on boots while Brett rooted around in the large metal lockers built against the walls, looking for a helmet and pair of fire pants, which he referred to as "bunkers," that might fit her.

  From the amount of muttered cursing that escaped the confines of the locker, she could tell it he wasn't having much luck, since all of the fifteen current firefighters were men, and mostly of the tall Viking kind, either bear shifters or wolf shifters.

  She was tall for a woman and definitely could not be described as "skinny," but she looked puny next to the other firefighters.

  "…Fire Fighting 1 Academy begins in January at North Idaho College, and Hal says he wants you to enroll," Brett was saying when he finally emerged from the depths of a locker, clutching a heavy roll of fabric and a helmet decorated with reflective tape. "Here, try these on, I think they might fit you."

  Then his phone buzzed with an incoming text message. A moment later, so did Catrina's new smartphone.

  Brett had added her to the Grizzly Peak Ranch's phone and data plan, waving off her protests.

  "Just part of being your sponsor," he had said. "I need to be able to get in touch with you when you're working."

  "It's Hal," reported Drake, just as Catrina opened her messaging app. "He's called for all the shifters to assemble for an emergency meeting at City Hall in an hour."

  "Did something happen?" she asked, frowning down at the uninformative lines of text.

  "Must have," answered Drake. "The last time we had an emergency meeting was after Erik Redclaw surrendered—"

  "He didn't surrender; he negotiated a truce with Hal," interrupted one of the other firefighters in accented English as he entered the truck bay.

  It was Ebbe Freyrsson, one of the three wolf-shifter firefighters. He was tall and muscular, like all of the Beast Warriors in Elysia, with light brown hair, green eyes, and an easygoing smile under a thick mustache.

  He had been one of the few wolf shifters to attend Catrina's firearms training, and he seemed to be well-liked by everyone, bear shifters and wolf shifters alike. But he was frowning now.

  Brett raised a conciliatory hand. "No, you're right. I misspoke." He turned to Catrina. "Erik and Hal negotiated a truce between the bear shifters and wolf shifters when Erik's men tried to abduct Shannon."

  Ebbe shrugged and gave Catrina an apologetic glance. "I was just following orders. You know how it is."

  "I do," she agreed. "You salute and say, yes sir."

  Ebbe's smile returned. "Exactly."

  Apparently mollified, he turned his attention to Brett. "You want me to fetch the others? Dave is acting as dispatcher today, and Drake just came in with pizzas for lunch."

  Brett looked at his watch. "We should have time to eat before the meeting starts. City Hall is only four blocks away—we'll walk over," he said to Catrina. "In the meantime, join us for lunch. Drake always orders more pizzas than even he and Ebbe can eat."

  Ebbe grinned at this. "We always try to make sure we can offer hospitality to unexpected guests. Be welcome under our roof and at our table, Catrina Hunter."

  "Thank you," she said, gratefully, and decided that she was going to enjoy working for the Elysia Fire Department.

  * * *

  When it was time for the meeting, their small group exited through the huge truck bay doors.

  As they walked past six vehicles of varying sizes parked in the wide bay, Brett pointed out two pumpers, two tankers, a van used for medical emergencies, and a big fire truck with four-wheel drive used for off-road emergencies.

  Catrina did her best to memorize them. She'd need to know the difference if she was going to do a good job.

  Elysia's City Hall, located on Main Street four blocks from the fire department, was a beautiful Art Deco building made from local sandstone.

  Catrina and the other firefighters followed a stream of men and women through the heavy bronze-and-glass doors and into the city council chamber.

  This was a high-ceilinged room fitted with rows of cushioned oak benches in an amphitheater-style "U" shape around the walls. The mayor's podium and a long conference table with leather chairs for the council members stood in th
e center of the room.

  Hal Sigurdsson was already standing at the podium when Catrina and the others entered the chambers. He looked grim, and Erik Redclaw was standing beside him, wearing a curiously jubilant expression.

  Wolf Team's captain spotted her as she found a seat on one of the benches next to Drake. He looked straight at her, one pale red brow raised in inquiry, and her blood ran cold.

  "Why is he looking at you?" Brett asked, leaning over to murmur in her ear. His breath stirred her hair and brushed seductively against her skin.

  She swallowed hard at the spark of hot desire Brett had kindled, and shrugged.

  "No idea." How she managed to sound calm and perfectly normal, she didn't know.

  "So, do you know why Hal called the meeting?" she asked. "Is it, uh—" The words seem to stick in her throat for a moment. She forced them out. "—because something's happened with WSS?"

  And was immediately aware that everyone around them had stopped to listen to his answer.

  Brett looked grim. "I hope not."

  Catrina felt cold apprehension seep through her. Why else would Hal summon all the shifters to a meeting in the middle of the day and on such short notice?

  Rafe, with Shannon in tow, arrived shortly thereafter. Shannon wasn't a shifter, but apparently Rafe had been sufficiently alarmed by the meeting summons that he wasn't about to leave his pregnant wife alone and unprotected.

  After exchanging greetings with all of the people seated in the vicinity, they settled themselves on the bench on Brett's other side.

  Then Hal turned on the microphone, and the city council chambers fell silent as everyone focused their attention on the huge man towering behind the mayor's podium.

  Hal looked slowly around at the gathered Beast Warriors and the scattering of spouses and descendants who had accompanied them.

  "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Erik and I didn't want to wait to inform you that two of his men left Elysia without permission last night. Their vehicle is missing, and they took a number of their personal possessions with them. At this point, we have no choice but to assume that they've returned to WSS headquarters."

  A babble of questions and worried comments rose from the audience.

  Catrina saw that Redclaw's expression was now grim.

  "Who's gone?" demanded Dave Thorvald.

  Redclaw stepped up to the podium. Though a big man, he looked short next to Hal.

  "Leif Einarsson and Svein Gothinsson," he said shortly.

  "Good riddance!" someone shouted, and there was scattered clapping and shouts of agreement. Apparently Leif and Svein had not been popular in Elysia.

  Erik's face flushed darkly as he glared out at the audience. "If you bears had been more welcoming—" he began angrily.

  "—those two would still be assholes!" Rafe said loudly.

  More whoops of agreement and applause from the meeting attendees.

  Hal reclaimed the microphone. "Enough," he said sternly, and everyone, even Rafe, fell silent. "Your feelings about Leif and Svein aside, we now have to assume that they will tell Colonel Perry everything they know about Elysia and our defenses here. We must prepare for invasion…or worse."

  Leif and Svein! After what had happened at the ranch on the night of her arrival, Catrina could guess that whatever they told Colonel Perry and Captain Marin about her would cast her in the worst possible light.

  Not that I give a fuck, not anymore, she told herself.

  She had made her decision. Elysia was her home now, and she would support the people here in whatever way she could.

  But she still felt a pang of regret when she contemplated how disappointed Captain Marin would be. She had fought so hard to gain his respect as one of his Jaguar Team Beast Warriors.

  And Colonel Perry…she didn't want to think about what his reaction to her desertion might be.

  Brett seemed to sense her internal turmoil. He put his arm around her shoulders, heavy and reassuring. "Whatever happens, I'll protect you."

  His words sent warm reassurance to battle the sick feeling of dread, but by now, she knew him well enough to sense that he was worried too.

  And now she had no choice but to tell him the truth about the mission that had sent her here…

  Catrina took a deep breath. "I'm not worried about myself," she said. "But what about Dr. Joyce? Remember how Leif and Svein were talking about the research he was doing at WSS? Well, Colonel Perry wants Dr. Joyce, dead or alive, and he won't stop until he's achieved his objective."

  Rafe leaned around Shannon to address Catrina.

  "After everything I've heard from Liam and Shannon, and everything that happened last summer, I figured as much," he said grimly.

  Catrina felt a huge surge of relief at his words. They already knew Liam and Shannon were WSS targets.

  Hal's words had sent a strong ripple of alarm through the gathered attendees. All around the city council chamber, Catrina saw the bear shifters glancing at their spouses, children, grandchildren, and other family members.

  "How can we protect our families?" It was Dave Thorvald. He rose to his feet. "We know WSS can deploy Beast Warrior teams against us, not to mention all of the military toys they have access to. What's your plan, Hal?"

  Hal shook his head. "I don't have enough information yet," he admitted.

  "I don't think Colonel Perry will send more than one Beast Warrior team." Catrina found herself on her feet, looking around the room as she spoke. "There's usually only one team in downtime rotation at headquarters. Perry won't pull any of the teams on active duty from the field—he'd lose too much money for breach of contract. And we all know how dragons feel about losing money."

  She paused as a wave of nervous chuckles moved through the crowd.

  She looked Hal straight in the eye. "What WSS wants—what Colonel Perry wants—is Dr. Joyce. If Leif and Svein have gone back to WSS HQ, and if they tell Perry what they know about Elysia, then he'll most likely send covert operatives to either abduct or assassinate Dr. Joyce. He won't risk a direct confrontation with a bunch of pissed-off bear shifters, because it's expensive to train and equip Beast Warriors. If his men get hurt or killed, Perry's going to make damned sure it's on a client's dime, where the contract specifies blood money for injuries or deaths."

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ebbe nodding in agreement.

  "And you know this…how?" Erik Redclaw asked coolly.

  "Because I used to work in WSS covert ops, just like you," she replied honestly. "And you know that's how Perry's running things these days. Maximize revenue, minimize loss."

  Hal's expression grew thoughtful. He stepped up to the microphone. "Catrina, do you know which team is currently on downtime rotation at WSS headquarters?"

  Her heart pounding, she said, "Jaguar Team."

  She sensed rather than saw Brett's reaction as he put the pieces together.

  Chapter 11 – Located

  The meeting ended with Hal assigning all able-bodied shifters to teams, with a patrol rotation around the town's perimeter in case Perry really did send Jaguar Team against Dr. Joyce.

  "I have to leave and do my afternoon chores at the ranch," Brett said to Catrina as everyone rose from their seats and began shuffling towards the city council chamber's exits. "But we need to talk."

  Catrina grabbed his hand to stop him when he turned and began to stride away from her. She knew exactly what he wanted to talk about and didn't intend to let the issue fester until tonight.

  "Brett, I may have left a few details out of my story, but I didn't lie to you," she said. "I'm done with WSS, and for the reasons I gave you. This is my home now…if you still want me to stay."

  Brett sighed and didn't immediately reply. But his fingers closed around Catrina's, giving her hope.

  "I want you to stay," he assured her at last. "I just need to know that you're with us."

  Fair enough.

  She nodded. "I'm with you, one hundred percent. And I'll do everyth
ing I can to help protect Shannon and Dr. Don—I mean Dr. Joyce."

  That got her a smile, at last. "Okay, then. Why don't you head back to the firehouse with Ebbe and Drake and make an inventory of the department's medical supplies and equipment? Draw up a list of anything that you think we'll need, and you can give it to Hal tonight. He'll be coming over to Rafe's place for dinner."

  "What kind of medical calls are typical around here?" Catrina asked. "That'll help me figure what else we need to have on hand."

  Drake, who was just ahead of them, turned around. "The usual—heart attacks, strokes…stupid accidents with chainsaws." The dark-haired bear shifter shot Brett a look that Catrina couldn't interpret.

  Brett flushed.

  "Fine, so you're volunteering to do all the brush cutting next season?" he asked sharply, and Drake grinned.

  Brett continued, "We get a fair number of calls for car accidents, especially now, when we start to see black ice on the roads overnight. In the summer, it's the lakes and the river—lots of boating and swimming accidents." His expression turned grim. "I hate those calls, because a lot of the time, the victims are kids."

  "That's going to be difficult to handle," Catrina agreed.

  "And that's where your SEAL training might come in handy," Brett suggested. "We don't have anyone else in the department right now who's certified for underwater search and rescue."

  "Whatever I can do to help," Catrina said, and meant it.

  * * *

  "Trying to send me away to Twin Falls, he is!" Shannon said indignantly a few hours later, when everyone was seated around the ranch house's big dining table. "As if I'd leave my husband, my home, and my clinic for a strange city where I don't know a soul!"

  "It's for your safety, woman!" Rafe shouted from the kitchen. "And you wouldn't be alone! Liam is going with you!"

  "Am I, now?" Dr. Joyce asked in mild surprise. "I don't recall hearing about—or agreeing to—any such plan."

  He didn't bother to raise his voice, knowing that Rafe's keen shifter hearing would catch every word.

  Catrina and Brett looked at each other. It appeared that tonight's dinner at the ranch house was going to be contentious.