by Anna Lowe
“We’ll kill that bastard, too,” Mett howled.
“No!” Gretchen shouted, and all the men took a step back.
Summer gaped. Crap, she’d underestimated Gretchen. Gretchen was the one at the root of it all. She’d probably been the one feeding Victor and Emmett Whyte their sick ideas.
“Damn it, she could ruin everything I’ve been working for,” Gretchen screeched.
Summer stared. I? Not we? Then she saw the pride, the cockiness in Gretchen’s eyes.
It was Gretchen. It had been Gretchen all along.
“We need to set the bear up first,” the older woman said. “Make it look like he killed Summer out of jealousy when he found out this bitch chose Mett over him.”
“Never,” Summer sputtered. She wouldn’t choose Mett for her life.
The men started rumbling about the details, which shifted their focus from her.
Now! her wolf barked. This is our chance. Run!
She spun and pushed between two men, making a break for it.
“Hey!” one shouted.
The other grabbed for her, but she darted forward just in time.
“Get her! Run!”
Oh, she’d run, all right. Summer ran like she’d never run before, pumping her arms, denying herself a glance back.
Gravel scraped as the men took up the chase. Her mind spun. How far was it back to the settlement? Could she possibly outrun these men?
Let me out, her wolf cried. We’re faster on four feet.
True, but shifting would slow her down for a split second. Did she have enough of a lead?
The air whooshed behind her as the nearest man grabbed for her shirt. He was close. Too close to escape for long.
Then fight. Fight for your life. If they use dirty tactics, we can too, her wolf barked.
She ran up the first part of the slope then whipped around and kicked as hard as she could, sending the nearest man tumbling against the others.
Now, run. Run!
She ran, and when the slope grew steeper, she clawed at the scree with her hands and feet. She crested the ridge ahead of the men, raced around a corner—
—and smashed right into a wall of rock.
Whoa. She blinked as two arms steadied her. Make that a wall of muscle, not rock.
“Summer,” the wall murmured, setting her back on her feet.
Drew. It was Drew. She would have thrown herself into a hug if it weren’t for the footsteps rushing up from behind.
“Summer,” he said again, but this time, it was a rumble of warning.
She stared, because she’d never seen Drew red with anger. She’d never seen his eyes flash with such hate. This was a different Drew — and yet the same, because the side of him that brushed her body was gentle and warm. Protective.
He pushed her behind the shelter of his body as Gretchen’s gang stopped short in front of them.
“You,” Mett hissed in a voice full of poison.
Drew didn’t say anything. He only growled. So low and deep, it could have been thunder from over the hills.
Everyone froze, but the air crackled with energy. The air around Drew shimmered the way heat shimmered over a highway, signaling a shift. His growl dropped an octave. His shirt split down his back as he tipped forward onto all fours. One second, he was human, and the next, a giant black bear stood at her side.
A massive bear whose coat shook with fury as he reared up on his hind legs, looming over her.
Make that protecting her. The looming effect was intended for the others. And damn, it seemed to work, because Mett and his cousins stood perfectly still, teetering on the razor’s edge between panic and testosterone-fueled instinct to fight.
Drew bared huge teeth, spread paws as big as baseball mitts, each flashing with six-inch claws, and roared.
Try me, that roar said. Try me.
Chapter Ten
Drew sucked in a deep breath as the wolves before him shifted and growled.
Fight with your head, not with your heart. That’s what his father had always said. And he’d always listened.
But now… His whole body shook with rage, and power flowed through him the way it flowed through mighty rivers or in explosive bursts of wind. The way thunderclouds flowed over mountain ridges and swept over a valley, drowning it.
He flexed one paw then the other. This was a fight like no other, and hell yeah, he was going to fight with his heart. How could he not? This was for Summer.
Summer, who was all heart and soul.
“Drew,” she said, putting a hand on the coarse fur of his back. And hell, if that didn’t prove how gutsy she was, what did? She’d never seen him in bear form before, and even his own kind backed away when he stepped into battle mode.
The river of power pulsed harder, and he unleashed another roar.
You will not hurt my woman. You will die.
He hadn’t done a lot of killing in his life, and he had certainly never relished it. But he’d never been so provoked, either, so blind with rage.
Summer. They wanted to kill Summer.
He roared again, and two of the wolves tucked their tails between their legs, ready to flee.
“Hold your ground, idiots.” If the woman who came up behind them had been holding a whip, he’d bet anything she’d have cracked it at them. “Get him.”
The wolves snarled and spread out, trying to outflank him. And shit, there was nothing to back up against to keep Summer out of harm’s way. No rocky outcrop, no tree. No buildings. Just gently sloping hills that didn’t help one bit.
He sidestepped one way then the other, trying to keep them all in sight. A dozen wolves against one bear. If only he had some backup — but he’d left the meeting without a word, hoping to catch up with Summer and celebrate. But, crap. There wasn’t much to celebrate — other than the fact that he’d sensed her cry for help and arrived before they killed her.
“You have backup, all right,” Summer said, reading his mind. She sounded fiercer than ever. She looked it, too — even more fierce and determined than when she’d spoken up in the meeting.
Run, Summer. Run. He insisted. Get someplace safe.
She shook her head in a vehement no. I’m not leaving you. I’ll never leave you.
Her deep brown eyes locked on his, and the wave of power inside him surged.
I love you, she said.
It should have been an occasion for him to dance and sing. Instead, he whispered, I love you, then whipped his head around and roared.
A wolf leaped at him, setting off the fight, and everything was a blur from there. Growls exploded, filling the gully, and the rushing sound of scattering gravel came from all sides.
He battered an oncoming wolf with one outstretched paw and dashed it to the ground. Then he turned and shouldered two more aside.
Drew! Watch out! A deeper version of Summer’s voice filled his mind. She’d shifted too and stood her ground at his side.
Another wolf barreled out of nowhere, jaws spread wide, aiming for his neck. Drew backed up quickly and swatted it aside. But that left Summer exposed, and two wolves leaped at her.
“Get her! Get her!” that witch, Gretchen, cried.
His vision went red as he hurried forward to help, and a moment later, two wolves were flying through the air. One landed against a rock and went limp, while the other rolled to its feet and scurried out of range. Summer snarled and snapped at yet another wolf who’d been sneaking up on Drew from behind.
Blood pounded in his ears as the rest of the wolves surged forward, attacking from every direction at the same time. He clawed the two in front of him, but another two landed on his back and made him stumble. Their teeth sank into his flesh, making him roar in fury.
Drew!
He couldn’t tell whether Summer was shouting for help or in alarm. He swiped at his own back then rolled, crushing his attackers and following up with his fangs. Bone snapped, blood flowed, and the wolves yelped in pain.
Serves you right,
he wanted to shout as he lumbered back to his feet. He raked his claws against the nearest wolf, leaving a wound not even a shifter could recover from.
Drew!
Another wolf darted forward, nipping at Drew’s haunches as he looked for Summer. She was on her hind legs, clawing wildly at a wolf who attacked from the front. Her side was stained red, and her lips pulled back as she snarled and snapped. Another wolf closed in on her from behind.
No way. Not on his watch.
Drew had never moved so fast nor felt such fury. With one vicious swipe, he sent one wolf tumbling. Thank goodness Summer scrambled out of the way, because momentum carried Drew right over the second wolf, nearly crushing Summer.
A gunshot split the air, and everyone jolted. Including him. And Summer. And whoa — even the wolves.
For a split second, the fight paused.
“Keep him right there,” Gretchen sneered, feeding a bullet into the chamber of an old-fashioned six-shooter.
The sun glinted off silver, and Drew’s blood ran cold. Gretchen was loading silver bullets. Gretchen wanted to kill his mate.
Summer’s snarl turned to a yelp of alarm. The wolves backed off, forming a barrier between him and Gretchen to buy their leader time. Every snarl, every bark said, Now what, bear? Now what are you going to do?
He couldn’t beat a silver bullet. No shifter could. But he wasn’t beaten yet.
Run, Summer! Get away! His mental shout wasn’t a request. It was an order. The only order he’d ever throw his mate’s way, because it meant her life. He launched himself at the wolves, determined to bust through. Even if Gretchen shot him, it would give Summer time to flee.
No, Drew. Please! Summer cried.
“Stop!” a voice boomed from the right. A human voice. Someone else was joining the fray. Thomas, maybe?
Drew didn’t stop to look, because Gretchen was raising the barrel and taking aim at Summer.
No! he roared, plunging forward toward the wolves. One scrambled backward and tumbled right into Gretchen, who went sprawling.
“You fool!”
Pfft! An arrow sliced through the air where Gretchen had just stood, but with its target gone, the arrow clattered off a rock.
Drew pushed forward, fighting the weight of three wolves who’d jumped on his back in a desperate assault. Gretchen reached for her fallen gun. Shit, he had to stop her. But his steps were too slow. Sharp wolf teeth sliced into his flesh, and he bellowed in frustration.
No. He could not fail. Not now.
He pushed forward, steamrolling over a wolf. His ear burned where one of the beasts practically hung from it, trying to pull him down.
“Gretchen, no!” Thomas boomed in a clear alpha order. “Stop!”
His stern voice was enough to make her followers hesitate, but not Gretchen. Her fingers closed around the gun.
“Stop me,” she sneered.
Drew! Summer cried from far too close.
He couldn’t turn to face her. All he could do was chuff, urging her to get away while he plowed on. More wolves piled on him in a coordinated tackle, making him feel mired in mud.
Pfft! Another arrow whizzed by, and a wolf screamed then fell.
The archer had to be Rae — a Twin Moon she-wolf. No other shifter carried a bow, let alone shot silver-tipped arrows. Which meant Thomas wasn’t the only one trying to stop the fight. If the Twin Moon wolves had arrived on the scene, too…
His hopes rose, then fell. It didn’t matter who had come to help. Gretchen had silver-tipped projectiles of her own, which meant she could take down the mightiest wolf and the fiercest warrior.
He shook himself free of the pileup and raced toward Gretchen, who was raising the barrel toward Thomas.
“You think you can just waltz into this pack and change everything?” she screamed. “You think our cause can be stamped out?”
Drew snorted. He was the one with a just cause, and Gretchen was only four steps away. But, shit, she’d spotted him and was whipping around.
Bang! She let off a wild shot that whistled past his ear.
Her eyes went wide, and Christ, he bet his did, too. But he sure as hell wasn’t stopping. Even if she pumped a bullet or two into him, he’d get her with his dying breath.
Must kill her. He burned the thought into every muscle, determined to see this through. He had to put an end to the Blue Blood madness once and for all. If Gretchen fell, her followers would be defeated. None of them were plotters or thinkers — not Mett, and definitely none of her sons. Without their leader, they’d be lost.
Growls sounded behind him, and he could sense the Twin Moon wolves barreling in. An arrow zipped through the air, taking out another of the rogues, and he realized he was blocking Rae’s shot at Gretchen. Well, fine. If he somehow failed, the Huntress could finish Gretchen off. That arrow, meanwhile, took out another wolf.
Fine with him — one less obstacle in his path.
Gretchen’s hands shook with rage as she cocked the gun and aimed.
He held his breath but forced his legs to carry on. Two more steps and he’d have Gretchen. It didn’t matter that he could see down the barrel of the gun. All that mattered was protecting Summer.
Summer. Oh, how he wished he could hold her one more time. He wished fate came with a pause button to give him the chance to say good-bye. To look in her eyes and get it all out at last.
Summer, I love you. I wanted to spend my life with you.
His bear mourned the thought of losing all that — all the things he never even knew he wanted until he’d met her — but he couldn’t stop now. He couldn’t fail.
Drew! Summer yelped, and whoa. Why was she so close? He could sense her right over his shoulder. His job was to save her, not the other way around.
But with half a dozen grown wolves hanging from his coat, he had to admit he didn’t exactly have a foolproof plan.
Gretchen’s eyes narrowed as she clamped down on the trigger. His heart thumped harder, and then time stood still.
He saw the next minute play out in slow motion before it happened in real time, as if fate was giving him a preview of what was about to occur. Like an out-of-body experience before he was even dead.
The bullet would hit him right between the eyes, and he’d drop to the ground an inch short of reaching Gretchen. Summer would race in a moment later, and Gretchen would get another shot off. A wild shot that would strike Summer.
He wanted to scream and wipe the image away, but it hung in front of him, showing Summer’s eyes go wide in pain then regret as the life seeped out of her.
No. No. No! That couldn’t happen. He had to save her.
You can save her, a voice boomed in his head. A deep, earthy voice, like a spirit from times long past. But not with misplaced heroics. There is another way.
He’d have growled at whoever it was that dared doubt him, but shit — what if that was fate, speaking to him?
The bubble of time he was caught in stretched out for another heartbeat, close to bursting, and the voice in his head growled again.
Listen to me, bear. That evil woman has killed enough. There is another way.
What other way? What the hell could he do?
He replayed the scene in his mind, frantic for some clue, some idea. The wolf clinging to his left shoulder was Mett — he could tell from the tobacco-scented breath. But if he dropped his shoulder at exactly the right second…
His focus snapped back to Gretchen, and he saw the bullet shoot out of the barrel, coming straight for him. The silver tip spiraled in slow motion, but he had the feeling fate was about to hit the fast-forward switch.
Last chance, bear, the voice warned.
Every bone in his body rebelled at the idea of dodging that bullet. That was the coward’s way, and he was no coward.
Prove it, then, fate challenged him. Prove it to me.
He wanted to shake his head and insist that facing death was the hard part. That anything could go wrong if he flung himself out of the way.
The hard part is trusting, fate boomed.
Drew! Summer’s voice sounded faint, like she was a thousand miles away. Duck! Get out of the way!
Trust, fate murmured. Trust.
Drew! Summer’s voice echoed in his ears, and a thousand images flashed through his mind. Images of him and her, walking hand in hand in a sun-kissed valley overflowing with wild flowers. Of Summer looking at him and laughing, then turning to look back.
Come on, she smiled, patting her knees.
He looked back and froze at the image of an unsteady toddler, reaching for Summer’s hand.
Go to Daddy, Summer cheered the child along. You can do it.
He was seeing the future. Carefree, happy times.
Last chance, bear, fate whispered and slid away.
And just like that, he was in real time again, with a bullet speeding his way.
He flung himself to the right as an explosion deafened both ears. His shoulder hit the ground, and pain blinded him. But the death cry that split the air wasn’t his.
That was Mett, who grunted and fell.
Drew forced himself to roll, knocking out three wolves, and Gretchen’s startled eyes followed the motion.
“You!” she hissed, tracking him with the gun.
Shoot me, he roared. Shoot me now.
No, he didn’t have a death wish. He had a vision. If he could keep Gretchen distracted for a second longer…
A light-colored, agile wolf sprung through the air beside him. It was Summer, launching herself at Gretchen.
Trust, he reminded himself, gritting his teeth. He hated letting his mate jump into danger, but he had to do it. He had to trust fate.
Shoot me, he roared again, keeping the enemy’s focus on him.
A ferocious growl split the air, and Gretchen jerked around, too late. Summer knocked her over, and the gun went flying again. Both women rolled when they struck the ground, but Summer was faster to rise to her feet. She snarled at Gretchen, facing her down.
Then, Pfft! Another arrow sliced through the air, and Gretchen lurched forward in wide-eyed surprise.
Summer backed away, watching Gretchen die, and in the hush that fell over the gully, Drew dashed forward, protecting his mate. He whirled, panting wildly, looking around.