Page 30 of Grizzly's Bear

“Heads up,” Ariel whispered.

Rissa glanced ahead and saw the coyote down. There were several darts in his body, but the scent of blood finally registered and had her worried. The second coyote already knelt beside his friend when they reached him, angry growls spilling from his throat. The hunters had darted the downed coyote then slit his throat as they moved by, and from the tracks, they were looking at a group of about six. How had they managed to get close enough to take the coyote by surprise? “Oh, God. Adrian.” Ariel reached for the coyote she’d spoken to earlier, gripping his arm.

Rissa knew from earlier conversations that Adrian was the alpha of the coyote pack that lived near the pride’s land. He was also a close friend to Ariel’s mate Daniel and his brother Gabriel. He was like family to them.

“Adrian?” Rissa questioned. He didn’t move or respond in any way to Ariel. “We need to get to the main house.”

If Slade knew she wasn’t at the house where she’d been when he’d left, he’d go out of his mind. Who knew what he’d do? She and Ariel didn’t exactly have the best track record when it came to the two of them heading off to talk. She had to get to him.

“We’re behind them,” Adrian said with a snarl. “The safest thing to do is stay that way.”

The other coyote howled then shifted from skin to fur in seconds before tearing off into the woods.

“Shit!” Adrian growled then turned to them. “Stay behind us. If anything happens, get your asses to the house. I texted Tah. He and some of the others are on the way.” He looked torn. “I can’t lose another brother.” With that, he turned, shifted and was off.

“Oh, my god,” Rissa breathed, glancing down again. The fallen shifter was Adrian’s brother.

“Rissa! Focus. We need to go. Now. We need to shift, or we’ll never catch up. I can’t let anything happen to Adrian.”

“Let’s go,” Rissa agreed then offered with a forced smile. “Just a bear and a tiger.”

“Neither of us is getting taken this time.” Ariel’s voice was hard.

“No, we’re not,” Rissa agreed.

They stripped and shifted quickly with a quiet efficiency born of years of knowing who and what they were. Together, they trailed the path beaten into the scrub grass that had been stomped down by the passing of feet. Ariel stuck to one side while Rissa took the other. They were gaining ground when a roar of pure anger split the air, sending birds fleeing the tree branches as they took to the sky. Another roar followed closely on the heels of the first. No need to wonder who those belonged to. Daniel and Slade. She felt a touch of guilt for what they must be thinking. Knowing there were intruders, and she and Ariel were missing. It was too much like déjà vu for her. Probably for all of them.

“Load up,” someone called. “Shoot to kill. We’re not fucking around this time. Get the target and get out. You get taken, you’re on your own. Let’s go.”

All hell broke loose. There was gunfire and roars, and a blur of motion from all sides. Rissa stumbled on her feet when she saw a huge grizzly rounding the corner and charging the firing men with no show of self-preservation. Slade! The damn fool was going to get himself killed. She roared as she charged from the rear intent on getting to her mate, the Bengal tiger keeping pace as a lion’s roar echoed again. It was enough to have several of the gunmen turning toward them.

Ariel launched herself at a target, giving a snarl as she sunk her teeth and jerked. Rissa swiped at the fatigue-clad figure closest to her, knocking the gun free and eliciting a cry of pain before she turned to the next one. She’d just taken him to the ground when she heard the retort of a gun, and Slade went down. Her heart stopped in that moment, and everything went into slow motion. Slade tried to stand but went down again. Still, he tried to get to her. The man who’d shot him let out a chuckle as he aimed once more. Rissa wouldn’t reach him in time to save Slade. Instead, she was going to watch him die.

There was a blur of fur as a lion launched, landing solidly on the male and taking him to the ground. A quick jerk of the lion’s head, and the figure beneath him lay still and silent. Her first thought was Daniel, but she knew the truth when his massive head lifted. Tah. They closed ranks, surrounding the lone survivor, who watched warily. A coyote sprang into the circle with him and was on him before he could bring his gun around and fire. Screams filled the air for long moments until they were cut off with a gurgle.

Rissa watched it all even as she moved to Slade. She couldn’t lose him. She reached his side and shifted, falling to her knees beside him. There was blood on his fur. Too much blood. She couldn’t see where he was hit or how badly.

“Jensen!” she screamed for her brother-in-law even as she ran her hands over Slade. “Don’t you leave me! Don’t you dare leave me, Slade. I love you. I need you.”

“Move.” Jensen pushed her aside as he knelt beside her, and she moved so she could cradle Slade’s head. Jensen leaned close to Slade. “Shift. It’ll help push some of the bullets out. I need to see where you’re hit.”

Slade groaned, and watching him switch from bear to man was slow and painful. Seeing it let her know how badly he was hurt. Minor injuries barely slowed a shifter down, but major ones required a lot from the body. He was covered in sweat and blood when he was done.

“Don’t you leave me,” Rissa begged as she stroked her fingers through his hair, trying to stay close without getting in Jensen’s way.

“Over here.”

Rissa glanced up to see a man with long, dark hair on an ATV.

“Hurry,” he urged. “Diane’s prepping the O.R. for you.”

“Go with Gideon,” Tah urged Jensen as he moved closer to them.

Jensen stood, and Tah helped him lift Slade so they could carry him to the waiting all terrain. Rissa walked along with them, but she knew there’d be no room for her to ride with them. Tah held Slade while Jensen hopped on, then Tah handed her mate to his brother.

“Reno will meet you there to help get Slade inside,” Tah assured Jensen.

“Here put this on.” A shirt was shoved at Rissa by a tall blonde woman with short hair. “I’m Vic. We’ll follow my mate so you can be there.”

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