Page 92 of Cowboy Bear's Hope

His arrogance didn’t mask his fear. Not from me. It smelled worse than bull shit.

“Back off!” Max roared, his voice splitting the air like a whip.

Power pulsed around us, the weight of it crackling like static electricity. But even a Jersey Devil’s strength had its limits.

One Devil, no matter how powerful, was no match for the fury of four fully grown Grizzly Bear Shifters.

Before Max could shout another warning, the two Bears behind Reginald charged.

I didn’t think.

I acted.

My Grizzly tore through me, ripping free in an explosion of muscle, fur, and raw power.

My clothes shredded to tatters as the transformation consumed me, my human skin replaced with the bulk and fury of my beast.

The earth shook beneath us as I met the two charging Bears head-on, our collision reverberating through the ground like a small earthquake.

Reginald was next to swap skin for fur, his hulking form bursting forth, but I barely registered him.

My focus was locked on the two in front of me, their teeth bared and claws slicing through the air as they attacked.

I blocked their strikes with my own, swiping and slamming into them with the force of a battering ram. Three against one wasn’t a fair fight, but I didn’t care.

My Grizzly didn’t care.

This wasn’t about fairness. This was about survival.

About protecting my family.

Max’s Devil dove in then, a fiery blur of black and crimson as he tackled the third Grizzly. Reginald, that prick.

His snarl echoed through the air, and I roared my approval, my beast recognizing the ally in the chaos.

Max’s magic surged, wrapping around Reginald like invisible chains. The Enforcer’s furious growls turned to human shouts as Max compelled him to shift back, his power too strong to resist.

“You will not interfere again,” Max snarled, his voice laced with raw fury as he twisted his hands in a gesture that lifted Reginald clean off the ground.

I didn’t have time to revel in the sight, my focus locked on my attackers. One Bear lunged for me, his claws aiming for my flank, but I was faster.

I twisted, kicking out with my back legs. My claws connected with his snout, the impact sending him stumbling back with a pained roar.

The other came at me from the side, but I met him head-on, my powerful jaws closing around his snout. I bit down hard, ignoring his whines and cries as the coppery tang of blood filled my mouth.

He struggled, thrashing against me, but I refused to let go. Pain flared in my hindquarters as the first Bear clawed at me, his strikes slicing through my fur and skin, but I didn’t care.

My Grizzly roared in defiance, unyielding in the face of their combined assault.

“You’re going to fail, Traitor,” one of the Bears snarled out at me in a terrible voice that was too animal to be human.

Fury and desperation laced his words and his scent, and I snarled back, unwilling to make a mockery of myself by speaking in my Bear form as he had.

“The bitch and cub will be ours and I will breed her myself?—”

I roared at that, cutting him off with my own unimaginable anger. The sound of my ire shook the ground, and I allowed it to grow. I wanted rage to consume me.

Zeke paced just outside the enclosure, his Dragon form held in check for now, waiting until it was absolutely necessary to intervene.

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