Mating Fever (Morgan Clan Bears, Book 3)

by Theresa Hissong

  The sheriff had a patrol car come by once or twice every hour to check on her home. The persons responsible for shooting up her diner hadn’t been found, and that worried her. If they knew she was involved with the bears, would she be able to stay?

  As much as she wanted to protect them, protecting herself from a human death was at the top of her priority list. If she died, all of them would follow. She was the air they breathed and the soil in which they grew their food. Gaia provided them with the water they needed to keep their bodies alive, too.

  There was so much she was involved in to keep the human population alive, but without her, they would have nothing. She’d never wanted for herself, knowing she was the one responsible to keep the circle of life going.

  In her millions of years, she’d seen what the gods had done. It was Gaia who’d caused the floods and droughts over the course of time. The Ice Age was a disaster, and the gods had angered her when they had made the dinosaurs. She originally let them do their thing, but after a while, the path of the dinosaurs came to a point where those animals had to go. They were nothing but a design flaw, and to be honest, they were too damn destructive. She’d brought forth the volcanic eruptions after a few asteroids hit the earth, and in a matter of time, they were all gone.

  The beginning of modern times came with it the need to live off the land. Once humans were put on earth, things changed for the better. She was able to give them the tools to live, and in the beginning, they thrived, growing to massive numbers.

  The shifters were made by the gods, and while she didn’t disagree with their creation, she did hate that they were placed here amongst the humans who lived in fear of anything that could kill them.

  Now, they were known, and with that information, some of the humans had come out as mercenaries, vowing to kill off the shifter population. And that population included her bears. If she could just find the male responsible for starting it, she would gladly put an end to his plans.

  Grabbing her computer, she did something she said she’d never do. Accessing the dark web was tricky, but at that point, she didn’t care. The males had told her what they had found, but she wanted to see it for herself.

  A few clicks and a general search for shifters later, she found what she was looking for, only to be scared out of her mind when someone knocked on the front door.

  She jumped from her seat and ran toward the door where Drake had left one of his extra shotguns. His father had taught her long ago how to handle the weapon regardless of her own abilities. She may not have been the cleanest shot, but she knew how to aim for the center of a human and make them regret it. With the gun in her hand, she peeked through the hole in the door, deflating when she saw it was the sheriff.

  “What are you doing here?” Her voice was a little angrier than he’d probably ever heard from her, and that was evident when he took a half-step back.

  “Checking on you.” He frowned and adjusted his bulletproof vest behind his uniform shirt. She wanted to chuckle because she doubted the male could be killed with human weapons. He was already dead, wasn’t he? “What’s going on, Gaia?”

  “Nothing,” she blurted as she remembered having the dark web still pulled up on her computer. The last thing she needed was Garrett seeing her snooping.

  “It doesn’t seem like nothing,” Garrett pressed. The male was a cop in his human life. She should know better than to lie to him, but she didn’t want to be caught. “Can I come in? We can talk about what’s bothering you.”

  “I’m fine, really, Garrett,” she said, relaxing her shoulders. “You really did scare me.”

  “Everyone is on edge,” he replied and looked over his shoulder. He narrowed his gaze and tucked his chin, saying her name like a curse.

  “Garrett, wait!” she begged, but it was no use. The male pushed past her and walked over toward her small desk where the computer was sitting. She cursed under her breath and followed him inside after closing and locking the door. “I can explain.”

  “You better start explaining then,” he warned. “I have too many people accessing this website in my town, and if it keeps going, the feds will be here. As you know, I don’t have time for any of that to come my way.”

  “I need to know what is going on,” she sighed. The expulsion of breath was one of frustration. “Explain all of this to me.”

  Gaia pointed to the screen where a new post had been made. The person writing it had a fake name that simply marked him as “Hacker01”.

  We are a day away from D-Day. We want to find them in their animal form, and when you make sure they aren’t breathing anymore, post pictures of their bodies.

  “Why would they want to do that?” she cried, feeling tears prick at her emerald eyes.

  “They want fame,” Garrett answered with a soft voice. He placed his hand on her shoulder, and the comfort was welcomed. “We’ve found several tabloids who are willing to pay millions for images of deceased shifters.”

  “Millions?” she gasped as she spun around to face him. The angel grasped her shoulders to steady her when she swayed. “We can’t let this happen, Garrett. We just can’t let them hurt the bears.”

  “We have been keeping an eye on their lands,” he promised, releasing his hold. She wanted to reach out for him, but instead, she dropped to the office chair behind her. “Drake and the others are prepared.”

  “What can I do?” she begged, needing to do something. She’d promised to protect them at all costs, but this was something she was unable to stop.

  “You need to keep yourself safe,” he ordered, kneeling before her. When he took her chin with his crooked finger, she stared into his eyes…his real ones. They were completely white. The angel was having a hard time with the news, as well. “They already know about you, too. My assumption is they think you are a shifter.”

  “I need to know when exactly they will strike,” she said through gritted teeth. There was a storm brewing inside her, and she wanted to use that to wipe out those hunters.

  “What are you planning?” he asked, narrowing his eyes as he searched her face for any information.

  “Nothing that will harm the town,” she vowed.

  Gunnar’s beast was on edge, scenting every inch of the forest behind his home. His brother, Drake, and Ransom O’Kelly were doing the same several yards away. They’d checked the denser part of the woods leading to the back of their property line to find nothing of interest just as the sun was setting two days before the sheriff’s vision was to come for them.

  Gunnar turned to the west, planning on checking the trails, when he heard a branch snap in the direction he was heading. The others were behind him, and he knew no one would be as stupid as to be snooping around their property shortly after nightfall.

  His beast quieted, hoping the other bears had heard the noise as well. He scented the air and waited for the wind to change, blowing the scent of humans in his face.

  There were six male scents, but they were a little…off. There was some chemical on their clothes, and it only took him a second to realize they’d sprayed themselves with the chemical hunters used when tracking deer during their hunting season.

  Gods, he wanted to roll his eyes so bad. Those idiots were going to get themselves killed.

  Ransom and Drake were quiet as they approached. As large as they were, they’d learned to keep their sounds to a minimum when hunting for their food. This time, they weren’t looking for food, they were going to find and eliminate the threat to the clan.

  Gunnar wanted to shift, but he couldn’t risk being seen or heard when he told the other males his plan. They’d have to go off on their own since they couldn’t communicate between themselves other than a few head jerks and huffs to voice their displeasure.

  They froze at the sound of the humans speaking. Gunnar calmed his breathing as he listened.

  “Stay to the trails,” an older male said. “They’re not even going to know we are here.”

  “You better hope this de
er spray works,” a younger male sneered.

  Gunnar wanted to laugh and shift anyway just to tell them that it did not work, but he kept his animal form and took a step.

  Off in the distance, he saw movement, and from the soft growl coming from his brother, Gunnar knew he’d seen them, too. Six human males carried shotguns and were dressed head to toe in camo. They didn’t do much to cover their faces, so their skin stuck out like a sore thumb.

  He knew he couldn’t call for backup, but from the looks of it, they weren’t going to need it. Those hunters were not as skilled as they’d all believed. It would be better to just capture them and hand them over to Garrett instead of killing them.

  “Look for their bitches,” another one whispered. “We can save them before these bastards knock ‘em up with their spawn.”

  Okay, Gunnar had decided to kill them.

  Once they spoke of the mates, he knew they would need to be put down like a feral shifter. The guns they carried gave them a little advantage, but that was it.

  “Harvey?” another one whispered. “What do they look like in their human form?”

  “Does it matter?” Harvey replied. That was the male the sheriff had been looking for from the chat rooms. He was the one responsible for shooting at Gunnar’s mate. “We are on their land, and if they are out in these woods, or come outside of those homes, we kill them.”

  When he turned to look at his brother’s beast, it lowered its head to the ground for a second to acknowledge Gunnar’s right to end his life. Shifter law had been around since the beginning, and every male knew to let the rightful mate take the life of a threat.

  The males waited for the humans to come near. Their footsteps sounded as they reached the main trail. At that point, the bears could see them as they approached. There had never been this easy of a kill.

  Thunder rumbled off in the distance a few seconds after a flash of lighting lit up the sky. Fortunately, the hunters didn’t see the bears waiting patiently beside the trail. They’d all turned to look behind them at the flash. Gunnar was sure Gaia had something to do with that.

  They were about fifty yards away and coming closer at a snail’s pace. Gunnar’s bear wanted to rush them, but he held back. With the guns, he had to proceed with caution.

  He glanced at Drake’s bear. It was rocking forward and back as if Drake was holding back his beast, too. Ransom was as still as the night, but that didn’t mean the male was unprepared.

  A branch cracked as the youngest male came up beside a male who looked like his father. The kid searched through the darkness, only relying on his human vision…which wasn’t anything extraordinary.

  “Their cabins are not far,” Harvey whispered to the others.

  Another louder boom of thunder rumbled the area as the males came to a halt only feet from the bears. They still hadn’t been seen, but that was quickly going to change. Gunnar had it out for the leader of the group, and he was poised to take him down.

  Drake broke the silence as one of them raised their gun to look through a scope. The gasp from the middle-aged male sent them into action. There was no time to call out a warning before Drake stood on his hind legs and swiped the shotgun from the male’s grasp.

  A shot rang out, but Gunnar heard the bullet thud into a tree somewhere to his right. His bear rushed the male who’d shot his mate, taking him to the ground.

  “No, please!” Harvey begged for his life, but there would be no mercy here. They’d tried to kill them, and when his mate was shot, shifter law had been activated.

  The sheriff wasn’t there to stop him as his beast pressed the male into the ground with his large paw, raking his abdomen with his sharp claws.

  This is for my mate, you son of a bitch!

  Harvey’s life spilled out onto the ground as his brother and Ransom were going after the others. Another shot went off, and Anna Claire’s cousin roared at the impact. He was hit right behind his left shoulder. The wound could be fatal, but there was no time to get the male to shift.

  Gunnar launched himself at the middle-aged man, taking him to the ground as well. Drake howled as a bullet hit him from the younger human, but it didn’t stop him. Two more human males took off at a dead run toward the back of their property. Gunnar’s bear insisted he follow, but he had to take care of the one underneath him. With swift movements, he bit into the male’s throat and ended his miserable life.

  He had to leave Ransom in the woods while Drake took care of the other two humans. There were six in all, and that should’ve been an easy takedown, but with the guns involved, the odds were in the humans’ favor. He needed to find the other two who had gotten away, but he also needed to get Ransom medical help.

  Anna Claire jumped from her seat as she heard the sound of gunshots off in the distance. Ada and Tessa were already scooping up their cubs as Rex burst through the doors.

  “Everyone in their quarters, now!” Luca ordered as Rex grabbed for weapons. Their eyes shifted to account for the now darkened sky. It was only after eight, and she wondered why the hunters were so careless as to be on their land so early.

  “Rex!” Ada cried out as she bundled Thane against her chest.

  “Ada, go now! I mean it!” he ordered, throwing the blinds and bar across the front door.

  Anna Claire hurried to her room and barred the door, reaching for her cell phone. Her first call was to the sheriff, and she cursed when he didn’t answer right away. One more attempt to call and he answered right away.

  “Sheriff Lynch,” he bellowed into the phone.

  “Garrett, it’s Anna Claire,” she cried. “Someone is on our land, and I hear gunshots. Send help, please!”

  She wasn’t above begging, and the tears were coming faster as she fretted over the status of her mate. Was he shot? Did they catch the humans yet? Was everyone going to be safe, or were they sitting ducks in their underground bunkers?

  “I’ll be there in a flash,” he promised. “Where are they?”

  “Drake, Gunnar, and Ransom went out to search the land after dinner. They’d only been gone maybe thirty minutes before the gunshots started. Please, sheriff…hurry!”

  “Get to your safe rooms and don’t come out until you hear from me or your mates,” he ordered. “Do you understand? Anna Claire?”

  “Yes, yes! We are already inside,” she promised. “Hurry.”

  The line disconnected and she sat heavily on the bed, wiping tears away from her eyes so she could see to dial one of the other mates. As she covered her unborn cub with her hand, she called Tessa to make sure she was okay. “Three-way call Ada.”

  Thankfully, the females had shown her how to do it on the cell phone Gunnar had given her. She wished they had some way of seeing what the hell was going on outside on the lands.

  “Ada? Are you okay?” she asked into the phone the moment the female answered. Anna Claire could hear her cub crying, and she knew Ada needed to calm down for her young. “Breathe. We are safe right now, and I called the sheriff. He’s on the way.”

  “Thank the gods,” Ada gasped. “Why did those hunters come so early?”

  “I don’t know,” Anna Claire replied.

  “They were probably checking out our paths and figuring a way into the compound,” Tessa growled. “I told Drake we needed to get cameras!”

  “It’s too late now to get angry about what we should’ve done,” Ada reminded them. “We thought we were safe from the humans hunting us, but now we know that they are smarter than we gave them credit for.”

  “We need to find the hacker and put a stop to this,” Anna Claire said through gritted teeth. “He’s the one who started this mess, and when he is located, I want to know how he found out about us.”

  “Let me grab the burner phone,” Tessa offered. “I can do some snooping.”

  “Hurry,” Ada said in a rush.

  “Everyone come to my quarters,” Anna Claire suggested.

  Her next call was to the elders. They were holed up in their new base
ments. They assured her everything was fine and they had enough supplies. She reminded them to stay locked in and someone would come get them when it was all over.

  She prayed everyone was going to be okay, but she had a bad feeling something was going to happen to change their very existence.

  Chapter 13

  “Son of a bitch!” Sheriff Lynch barked as his eyes turned bright white. His arm shot out and reached for Gaia, pushing her behind his back for protection. “It’s already started.”

  “What’s started?” she asked, pulling on his arm. “The mass killing?”

  He gave her the rundown of what Anna Claire had rambled into the phone when he’d finally answered. Gaia’s eyes started to swirl, but Garrett didn’t have time to calm her down. “Stay here and don’t you dare leave. Do you understand me?”

  “I’m coming with you,” she demanded, and held out her hands, producing glowing orbs of flames. “Don’t try and stop me either, sheriff.”

  They’d been talking more about the dark web, and she’d asked him to stay for dinner. Garrett knew he should’ve left before then, but he just didn’t care to leave. He didn’t want to leave the female for fear of someone coming to her home. Little did he know, it was the hunters who would jump the gun and head for the clan.

  “You can’t follow me,” he retorted, knowing she couldn’t teleport like him. “It’s not safe. I have to go.”

  And just like that, he focused on the Morgans’ land and let his magic take him to the woods behind the bear’s home. He heard them running through the woods, not caring they were making noise. He closed his eyes and reformed deeper into the clan’s land, holding up his hands when two bears skidded to a halt in front of him.

  “What’s going on?” Garrett barked. He couldn’t communicate with them or even tell them apart, but when one of them shimmered and formed into the youngest Morgan brother, he knew something was terribly wrong.

  “Two males escaped,” Gunnar panted. “They have guns, and Ransom was shot. We left him in the woods to go after the humans, but he needs medical assistance. He’s been struck, and it looks like it could be fatal if someone doesn’t go in there and take that fucking bullet out.”