Page 16 of The Alpha Grizzly's Mate

I didn’t think twice. Maybe didn’t think at all. Instead, I brought his face toward mine, cupping the back of his head. Our lips met, and my world came undone. Zips of heat flooded my veins and carried to every part of my body as we explored each other’s mouths with a fury unmatched by any bear or wolf. Colson let out a noise as I moved my attentions to his neck. The sound was something between a wolf howl and a human groan. It fueled me on. Flipping over, I positioned my body so that I half covered his. He whimpered at the loss of my mouth on his body.

He would really whimper when I filled him up in other ways.

“You want this, Colson? Because if you’re not ready, you’d better tell me now. Once I have you, even a little bit, I won’t be able to stop until I have all of you—not until you’re marked and mated so thoroughly that you forget what year it is.”

“Stop talking, alpha, and fuck me. Knot me. Mark me. Just do something before I burst.”

“We can’t have that, can we?” I pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the floor while he fumbled with my buttons.

Chapter Ten

Colson

For a moment there, I was in heaven. Everything was perfect. My mate’s scent wrapped around me, hugging me tightly as the heat of his body warmed my own. And the way he touched me both tenderly and with such raw need…it was everything I never knew I needed and more.

For that tiny smidgeon of time, it was just my mate and I—our senses alive, both of us feeling, touching, tasting each other for the first time. And then, as quickly as it started, there was a bang on the door and someone shouting through it.

“Your uncle’s gone!”

Immediately, we both froze. His first assumption was that his uncle had left and they had to go find him. Mine? Coming from the wonderful, well-rounded family that I did—was to assume someone shot him and he was no longer alive.

It was safe to say my mate had a much healthier outlook on situations like these.

But, in either case, it meant that our pocket of alone time was gone, and it was back to reality, the place I was more than ready to escape.

Five minutes later, we were being briefed. Apparently, he had escaped. No bullets or bad guys suspected. That didn’t mean he wasn’t in danger. On the contrary, if my father found him, he’d be six feet under in no time. He would 100 percent be blamed for the omegas and children being gone and, unlike with me, my father wouldn’t even pretend to listen to him. And besides, it was his fault. If he hadn’t been there, the team wouldn’t have either. I still didn’t know his entire story, but he was family now, and that had me wanting him safe. Not near me but safe.

He got away because they trusted him too much. He hadn’t been a prisoner, not in the truest sense, but maybe he should have been. Because with him out, that left a loose end we didn’t want. Those pups deserved protection, not someone putting them at risk and him being out there, doing who knew what, was doing just that.

If he’d been on my father’s radar enough to have him at that location, then he was after him enough to be looking for him once he learned he was out there and alone. And it wasn’t my father killing him that had me so worked up. Sure, I hated the taking of life, but my fear ran more toward what would happen once he was caught. From everything I could understand about him, he would sell us out in a heartbeat to save his life. I wanted to be wrong about that, but so far, nothing I learned about him had me even second-guessing my assessment.

And it wasn’t just the den who was involved in this or the place where my mate’s uncle had been. There was other property that sheltered omegas and children. So many lives were at risk all because of one selfish asshat.

I still didn’t understand all of the dynamics of my new family, including their extended family, which was what they all were. On the outside, these people looked to be no different than mine. They broke some laws—possibly a lot of them. They were deadly and ruthless. And they protected their own.

But scratch that surface, and they were the kindest people I’d ever met. They would do anything to protect the innocent, something my family didn’t give a single shit about. My father saw everything as a potential way to make money or gain power. Not once had anyone here even hinted at either.

“We need to find my uncle.” My mate pounded the table, standing. I’d never seen him this mad, not that I’d known him for very long, but based on the way the others at the table reacted, this was not his norm. “It’s the only way to keep thesecubs safe. The only way to keep the omegas safe. The only way to keep my mate safe.” His voice softened as he mentioned me.

“I agree. I’ll go with you.” I stood to be by his side, and he gave me the death glare. “What?”

“Do you think that I’m going to allow you to be in harm’s way?”

I wanted to argue that I was a grown-ass man, that I came from the cruelest family, and that I could handle myself. All of it was true. But when I gazed into his eyes, I didn’t see anger or a power-hungry bear; I saw abject terror. He wanted me here because he was scared of something happening to me.

Could I have pushed more? Absolutely, and he’d probably have caved, but to what end? If I did go with him, he’d be so worried about me that he wouldn’t be able to keep himself safe. No. Me staying here was for the better.

“I have a better idea.”

Not one person said a word, all of them watching Levi, waiting for his reaction.

“I will stay with the cubs, keep them entertained, show them that fun exists even in the world they had torn apart right before their eyes.”

There was a solid fifteen-second pause before he looked at me and nodded.

They didn’t waste time getting ready and heading out, which was good. Had he stayed longer, he might’ve seen how scared I was, too. My father and his people were not to be messed with. They had no conscience. None. To them, ending a life in human form was the same as pouncing on wild prey. They were the predator and to them, the prey itself was insignificant. It was what they got from the kill that mattered and, as vile as it was, sometimes they killed just so people knew they would.

“Come home to me.” I hugged Levi close. “I just found you.”

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