Firefighter Bear (Silvertip Shifters Book 6)

by J. K Harper

  When Quentin smiled now, it wasn't pleasant. “I speak not only for my clan, the Silvertips, but every resident of Deep Hollow and every good shifter community everywhere when I say that we will be seeing true justice served today. You are all immediately being escorted to the nearest shifter prison. And before you think you'll get away with anything because you've bribed the wardens and guards there, we've already contacted the nationwide governing bodies of all different shifter types who were involved in any such bribery, informing them of what happened. Trust me when I say that when you get to the prison later today," and Quentin's smile was now positively lethal, matched by all of his brothers, "you won't be greeted by the same ones you bribed for so long. They've been all thrown into prison cells by now. No, you'll be greeted by shifters who have actual morals. Unlike any of you."

  Quentin suddenly turned away in absolute disgust. He clapped Slade on the back and went to Abby, shaking his head as if to clear it from the ugliness of the Tarben clan. "Back to you, brother."

  Everly puffed up again with pride as her incredible mate looked upward, waving at Pix, who lazily circled overhead in the sky in her gigantic, beautiful dragon form. Beside him, Beckett gave the thumbs up to his huge mate, his grin filled with a pride that matched Everly's.

  No one had thought to look skyward. Especially not the Tarbens.

  Pix screamed above them all, the terrifying bellow probably heard by shifters in at least three adjacent counties. Good thing humans couldn't hear dragons, Everly thought as she briefly squinched down her ears. Dang, Pix was loud.

  Everly looked over at the Tarbens. Every single one of them stared up at the enormous dragon as she slowly circled closer to earth now. Pure terror was clear in each of their faces.

  "You can't just kill us," the male leader shouted, panic clear in his voice. "There are laws—”

  "That you broke time and again, without caring about the consequences for anyone else but your selfish selves?" Slade's voice dripped contempt and rage. But it was controlled at the same time. Everly felt even prouder of him.

  "She's not going to kill any of you, asshole.” Slade pinned each one of them with a glare. “You don't get off that easy. We meant it when we said you're rotting in shifter prison for the rest of your pathetic lives." Slade smiled now, the coldness of it matching Quentin's. "And we all know what long lives shifters have."

  Pix's wings beat a downdraft that sent everyone moving backward, away from the little huddle of the grizzly bigots and lawbreakers, who once again looked skyward in horror. Slowly, carefully, but inexorably, Pix expertly maneuvered her giant wings to come closer to the ground, her absolutely gigantic claws extended forward, open and reaching for the fucking fuckfaces.

  Even though Everly knew Pix to be funny, kind, and genuinely nice, she couldn't help the little flip of nerves that raced through her as she watched the giant dragon reach for the cluster of jerks and gather them all inside her huge claws.

  Then she had to stifle a giggle. A couple of the Tarbens were so scared they peed themselves, the liquid dripping down their bare legs as Pix lifted them off the ground and flapped away, heading toward the shifter prison.

  Ha. That was what they got for being cold, heartless lowlifes. Shrugging dismissively, she turned away. She was done with them, and she’d never again think about them.

  Shifting back into human, she pressed close into Slade's side. He looked down at her, pulling her tightly against him. "You're the bravest, most incredible fox shifter I've ever met," he said, his dark eyes bright with pride. “Fuck, Ev. The way you stood up to them. Epic!”

  "What you did wasn't too shabby, either," she returned, hugging him close. “Good job, big bear.”

  His face crinkled into the huge grin she loved so much. “You ready for me to go now?”

  “So ready,” she said, her heart starting to race with excitement. “In a good way.”

  “I know, babe. I'm bringing him home to you and your family.” Slade lifted Everly's hand to his lips, brushing it with a kiss, then turned and jogged to his truck parked on the far side of the meadow.

  Her mate was heading out to get Jacob back and bring him home. Home, where he and Everly and their whole fox shifter family belonged.

  16

  Slade downshifted his new truck, slowing as they headed down Main Street toward The Tank. Glancing over at the passenger seat, he couldn't help the damned cheesy grin that came onto his face for at least the twenty-seventh time that day. "You really look great. I can hardly believe this is real."

  Jacob Vos flashed back a grin that was just as big, and also approximately his twenty-seventh of the day. Maybe fifty-seventh, but who was counting. "Pretty amazing what sheer belief and dedication will do when you're locked up in a shithole like that place. I always knew I wouldn't be there forever. That's what kept me going, kept me treating myself well enough so I wouldn't come out of there looking like some half-broken ghost like a few shifters I've seen." He shuddered faintly, his upbeat mood diminishing.

  There was a brief, uncomfortable silence between them as Slade drove down the fairly quiet streets of his town. It was nine in the morning, so town was not totally bustling just yet.

  Jacob stared out the window, a smile suddenly coming back onto his face. "Aw, hey, there's Whatchu Want! I've missed that place. I gotta eat there soon.” Slade grunted in reply. Whatchu Want was one of his favorite restaurants in town too.

  Jacob eagerly kept looking out the window as they slowly cruised along Main. He pointed to another storefront down a side street, its sign visible from where they were, and practically moaned. “The Silvertip Chocolate Company! I can't even tell you how many times I dreamed about their chocolates.” His face plastered up against the window.

  “Don't drool in my new truck, man,” Slade said.

  “The Draft 'N Brew!” Jacob practically shouted. Shit, the man was for sure about to drool. They'd stopped for plenty of terrible but delicious fast food on the way back to Deep Hollow from the shifter prison, but there was nothing like the places at home. “Oh, hell yeah, The Mountain Muffin. I'd almost ask you to stop so I can go in and grab a cinnamon roll.”

  Well, shit, now Slade was about to drool too. The Mountain Muffin's cinnamon rolls were legendary.

  “Hey, are those new shops?” Jacob frowned as he looked at the other side of the street. “What the hell. Leave for a few years, come back to all sorts of new shit. No respect.” Jacob tsked, though his face gave away his joking.

  Despite shaking his head, Slade's grin had found its way back too. "Right? Couple of the crappy old places went out of business and bam, some entrepreneurs slid right in to start up something new. But hey." Here his voice turned serious. "Deep Hollow is the same place it was before, Jacob. It's your home.” He slapped the wheel for emphasis. “This is your home, and always will be. We are never going to let the sort of shit that happened to you ever happen to anyone else from our town again."

  Jacob looked back over at Slade. He, Everly and Tobias looked so similar that Slade's heart felt a brief pang. They'd all been pals in high school, and now that he and Everly had finally acknowledged their mate status, Jacob was actual family. Yeah, Slade had meant what he said. In fact, family or not, he planned to watch over every damn shifter and human in this town from now on, and keep all bullying shit far away. He meant it.

  It was Jacob's turn to shake his head at Slade's expression. "You need to stop blaming yourself. I may have been wrongly serving time for someone else's misdeeds, but it was my mistake for doing some sort of shady stuff myself while trying to take down those fucking fuckfaces”—Slade snorted. He'd told Jacob the entire story on the long drive back, which had taken them all night—“so I'm not a hundred percent clean, either. But let me tell you, from now on, I'm ship-shape all the way. All the way. Oh,” he said, his voice changing so sharply as he stared out the window that Slade jerked his head around, afraid he was about run someone over.

  He relaxed. They were almost to The Ta
nk. Standing just outside were four people that Slade could see even from here were clutching one another so hard they were probably leaving bruises on each other's arms. Everly's eyes were huge as she tracked the approach of Slade's new truck.

  "You're home, Jacob. You're home, and your family's waiting for you."

  He'd barely even coasted up to the curb before Jacob yanked open the door and practically fell out, his feet stumbling over the curb as he threw himself toward the fox family standing in front of their business. Slade cut the engine and got out of the truck, closing his door and walking around to close the passenger side door, his ears happily assaulted by joyful cries and tears as they welcomed back their missing son and brother.

  Hell, he had a tear in his eye himself. Damn good thing he was wearing sunglasses. No way should a big bear shifter like himself be caught crying in the middle of Main Street in broad daylight. Damn, if his hotshot crew found out, they'd never let him live it down.

  He very surreptitiously wiped away a tear as the Vos family reunited, smiling so much he practically hurt his face.

  Everly had managed to hug Jacob first, clinging to him so hard he eventually started laughing, crying out, "Uncle, uncle! You're squeezing the life out of me, sis!"

  She finally let go, letting Tobias and their parents step up to fling their arms around Jacob, everyone outright bawling by now. Everly's smile was so enormous Slade thought it might literally touch each of her ears. She turned her head toward him, her smile and her thrilled eyes making his own eyes well up again even more. Ever came to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, nestling her head against his chest. Slade held his mate close as she happily sobbed into his shirt, choking out, "Thank you for bringing him home, big bear.”

  Eventually, her sobs lessened to sniffles. She looked up at him, caught her breath, and reached her hand up to his cheek, where she traced the wetness he could feel trickling down. She whispered so only he could hear, "Are your eyes leaking, big bear?"

  Slade rolled his eyes behind the sunglasses but nodded, kissing her forehead. "Yeah," he whispered back. "Don't tell anyone. It would ruin my rep on the fight circuit."

  She snorted out a laugh, then another one, until suddenly the two of them were both laughing uproariously, reminding him of the night they first had sex. Oh shit, he couldn't think about that when her parents suddenly turned and looked at them. But thinking about it just made him laugh even more.

  The Vos clan looked confused at first, then slowly they started laughing too. Everly dragged Slade over to them, sniffling and laughing and crying and everything all mixed up. They all crushed together into a big, goofy group hug in the middle of Main Street, not giving a crap about anyone who stared.

  Slade felt his own grin bust out wide on his face, probably reaching from ear to ear just like Everly's.

  Ah, hell. Her family was his family, same as his was hers, laughter, tears, and everything else.

  They were all safely home, right where everyone belonged.

  17

  Everly leaned back into Slade's arms, possessed by a fit of laughter as she watched Riley's cubs mock wrestling with their friends in the meadow. All she could see were furry little bear rumps charging and leaping all around, with one or the other of them occasionally being bowled right over. Jessie and Shane's son Grant, who was possibly the cutest baby bear shifter she'd seen in her whole life, was fiercely charging into the fray as well, emitting tiny growls and grunts that were so stinking cute, she couldn't stop laughing.

  Jessie, watching her son with an indulgence Everly knew came from her being turned into a bear shifter herself not all that long ago, laughed too. “They are ridiculously fun to watch, aren't they all?”

  Riley and Marisa, who were curled up together in much the same way Slade and Everly were, both snorted at that. “Our Paws Have Claws And Can Swipe,” Riley said in a deadpan voice. Marisa snorted again, this time sounding suspiciously like she was choking back laughter.

  “Huh?” Haley asked. She was sitting on Cortez's lap, curled against his chest with a book open in front of her.

  Marisa answered. “The twins have decided that's their new motto in life, so they practice it every day.” Her voice was so earnest as she answered that for a minute everyone stared at her, clearly wondering if she was serious.

  Then she giggle-snorted, which turned into a laugh. Her mate laughed too, a sound that made Everly smile. She remembered too well when everyone thought Riley might never smile again. Marisa had been so good for him.

  Almost as good as Slade was for her, Everly thought, curling her hand into Slade's and squeezing. He squeezed back, his other hand holding her close against his chest. “Protecting you from the terrible chill of the early evening, ya little weather wimp,” he'd whispered into her ear earlier, making her reach back to tickle him.

  She'd totally forgotten that Slade was enormously ticklish. He'd howled in panic, struggling to get away from her as she gleefully descended upon him with all the tickling skills she possessed. That had turned into an epic tickle battle, with the girls figuring out which of the guys were ticklish.

  As it turned out, all the Silvertip boys were seriously ticklish.

  Everly had decided then and there she was having one of the best days of her life. Of course, she now thought that every single day. Her life was pretty danged amazing.

  Marisa's brother, Derek, was rolled onto his back in his mountain lion form in the meadow, paws waving in the air. All three cubs had mock charged and attacked him while he put out despairing little mountain lion cries that sounded like he was dying. Nearby, a female bear who was almost as big as the Silvertip grizzlies lumbered over, dropped down, and similarly rolled onto her back, also waving her gigantic paws in the air and making pathetic little huffing noises. Everly chuckled. Casey, a Kodiak brown bear and also a server at Whatchu Want, was being a great sport about this. Grant instantly detached from Derek and went over to her, savaging her huge paws with his baby bear teeth.

  Riley squinted at all the children. "I really hope they don't actually hurt them."

  Marisa laughed. "You know they won't. This is so good for Derek. He said every time he plays with them, it centers him more and more. Casey's such a sweetheart for playing too."

  Riley murmured under his breath, pulling Marisa even closer to him. "I'd say your brother had no chance the second she clapped eyes on him and decided she liked him."

  Chest rumbling with laughter behind Everly's back where she leaned on him, Slade said, "That's for sure. It's like the mate danger zone around here. If anyone doesn't want to find a mate, they'd better vamoose quick." He kissed Everly's neck, which made her delightfully shiver. “Me, I love the mate danger zone. It's been really good to me.”

  Beckett loosed a deep chuckle from the far side of the circle. Everly smiled his way. He'd frankly always terrified her for years since he'd been such a snarly, grumpy shifter who hadn't been in very good control of his bear. But he'd never hurt her, nor any of the less strong shifters in town. Then of course he'd met Pix, which had mellowed him considerably.

  "Mate danger zone. Bear cubs with paws that swipe or whatever. Crazy place around here," Beckett said, shaking his head while still laughing as he watched Grant sink his small but sharp teeth into Casey's paw. Casey roared with real pain, sending both Jessie and Shane instantly flying over there, Shane calling out, "Grant! You cannot actually bite other shifters when you're playing."

  The bear cub sat up straight at the sound of his father's voice, his little ear tufts poking up as he looked toward his parents advancing on him with expressions that were probably stern. Instantly, he turned and rubbed his head against Casey's paw in a conciliatory way, making embarrassed little snuffling sounds everyone could hear. Casey leaned down to gently snuffle back on the top of his head, licking him several times in acceptance of his apology.

  Everly snuggled deeper into place against Slade's chest. "He's just so dang cute," she murmured for the thousandth time that day.
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  Slade murmured quietly enough for only her to hear, "Think you want one of those little things yourself someday?" His arms tightened around her as he gently kissed her earlobe.

  She nodded, shivering in pleasure at the kiss. "With you, big bear? Definitely."

  She let her gaze flit around the circle of family and friends, feeling so deeply content and relaxed, just so at home, she could hardly believe how amazingly good it felt. Tobias and Quentin had their heads together, looking down at something on Quentin's tablet. Abby, lying sprawled beside her mate on the grass, pointed out something on the tablet that made the others nod. Business, Everly knew. The lodge had always referred guests to The Tank as a nice place to stop by in town, but with her and Slade's new status, she'd felt emboldened enough one day to suggest to Tobias that he talk to Quentin about taking the relationship even deeper by offering to cater some events at the lodge. Tobias, Quentin, and Abby had been instantly smitten with the idea.

  Slade had been proud of Everly for suggesting it. “Nicely done, little fox," he had said to her. "You and your family are a part of the Walker clan now, for good."

  She’d nodded, quickly but gently responding, "I'm also a part of the Vos clan, now and forever. Just like you are now too, big bear," she’d said, poking his arm and smiling at him.

  His eyes had crinkled up as he bobbed his head in emphatic agreement. "Damn straight I am."

  Taking a deep inhale of the beautiful summer smells up here at the lodge, Everly instinctively looked around for Jacob, wanting to make sure as always that he was okay and still here. She paused when she saw what he was doing. Sitting next to a very pretty badger shifter, his body language as she leaned in toward him suggested he was having as much fun and interest in the conversation as she was. She thunked her elbow back against Slade's chest, making him grunt. "Look at that. Jacob. And Nita."

  Slade's head turned to look. After a moment, his laughter whispered past her ear. "Yep. This place is the danger zone."