Page 29 of Grizzly's Bear

“And he loves you,” Rissa added.

Ariel nodded. “He does. Just as Slade does you.”

Rissa sighed. “I’m not sure anyone can be as arrogant as a Holloway male.”

“Ha! Just ask any of the mated women here, and they’ll tell you differently. Maybe, it’s a shifter thing.”

Rissa thought about that then shook her head. “No, Holt is human, and he’s as possessive of Jaeda as any of the Holloways are of their mates.”

“Well, Holt was part of the pride before he joined the Holloway den. Maybe, being around all these shifters wore off on him,” Ariel suggested.

“Lucky for Jaeda,” Rissa quipped, and they both grinned at each other. Shifters might be arrogant and possessive, but they were also amazing lovers if Slade was anything to go by. The man was insatiable when it came to her.

“Do you remember everything now? Or is it still coming back in bits and pieces?” Ariel asked.

“It’s there, but not fully intact if that makes sense. I can remember some things so clearly and others… some are more sensory. Like the way something smelled or how the air felt on my skin. Things like that. The memories are there, but incomplete,” Rissa offered. Jensen had warned her again not to force things when he’d driven her and Slade over for breakfast. He’d also warned her the rest of her memories might never fully return. She was still working on making her peace with that.

“I wish there was something I could do to help.” Ariel gave Rissa’s hand a squeeze.

“If it wasn’t for you, I might not have any memories, yet. It was your words that brought them back. Seeing you. Being around you.” Rissa paused, turning to hug Ariel close. “I’m so glad I met you.”

“Besties for life,” Ariel agreed.

“Just a bear and a tiger,” Rissa deadpanned.

“An unlikely pair, I’m sure. I can’t wait until we can shed skin and go for a run together. But with the attacks happening lately, everyone’s even more cautious. Daniel and I have a house in town, but we’ve pretty much moved here temporarily to help.”

“Did they start right after Talbot was brought here?”

Ariel nodded. “Tony flew in Quinn then ended up in Wyoming, carrying Talbot back here. Probably a week later, the first group tried to get in. They headed for the medical center. They don’t know where Talbot’s being kept, but I guess that seems like a logical choice. Even after we dispatched the first ones, more keep coming. Tah’s got the coyote shifters helping guard the boundaries of the ranch, and Jess and her mates are sending help until they can get here.”

“I’m sure Laramie will send more bears, if needed,” Rissa said, feeling in her gut that it was true. She couldn’t imagine him and Em not wanting to help.

“Tah discussed it with Gabriel and Daniel,” Ariel admitted. “But you already have some of your den up in Washington state, and how many pregnant mates are there right now?”

“Three.” Em and the twins, Sidia and Jaeda.

“We have three here, right now, also. And from what I understand, bear shifter’s gestation is longer than most of ours. You guys are more along the lines of a human, correct?”

Rissa nodded. “Around thirty-two weeks on average.”

“Ours is half the time. Quinn is due in the next five to six weeks. Laura should be due around the same time, but Kenzie still has about ten weeks.”

“So I need to get pregnant at least four to five months before you if we want our kids to grow up close in age. How soon are you and Daniel planning?”

Ariel laughed. “Whenever it happens. You and Slade?”

“Same.” Hell, it wasn’t as if there was birth control for shifters. No pills or shots or foreign objects placed in the body for a shifter female. And condoms? Definitely not made to fit a male shifter who, according to Rissa’s cousin, had more girth and length than their human counterparts.

Rissa had just opened her mouth to add another quip when an alarm pierced the air. Ariel reacted immediately, grabbing Rissa’s arm and whipping her gaze all around them. Two coyotes ran toward them and hustled them toward the gate.

“Shit! Someone’s breached the perimeter,” one of the men said. “Stick close. We’ll be sitting ducks on the road to the main house. It’s too open. We’re going to follow the fence line to one of the back paths and take that to the house. Once we get there, you two need to get inside quickly and head to the basement with Abby and Professor Mueller.”

“Where’s Daniel, Adrian?” Ariel asked, and Rissa had a name to put with one of the two coyotes, leading them at a steady jog.

“Adrian, look! Someone’s down.” The other coyote took off at a lope, a low mournful sound spilling from his lips.

Rissa couldn’t help but wonder how the hell Ariel and her pride had been living like this? And an attack in the middle of the day? That made no sense. Why would someone be that desperate to get their hands on Talbot? Didn’t hunters prefer lone shifters?

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