Page 107 of Bear Facts

The mercenary woman came next, Althea’s cool gaze as assessing as the dark-haired man’s. Neal, Sword of the Guardian in hand, brought up the rear.

“About time you guys showed up,” Shane said. He unfolded to his feet and pulled Freya to hers. “I had to do all this myself.” He gestured to the many fallen Shifters, some of them groaning, some lying motionless. “Well, with a little help from my mate.”

Matt yipped in delight, scrambled down from Shane’s shoulder, and started running circles around the newcomers.

There was a burst of air, and Reid materialized in the middle of the small group of Shifters who’d come to Shane’s aid. They boiled away from him in shock.

Reid looked around, taking in the Shifters, fallen or standing, Matt howling, Shane grinning, and Freya leaning against him, basking in his strength.

“Huh,” Reid said. “What’d I miss?”

Chapter Thirty-One

Shane was happy to let Dylan do the cleanup on this one.

He and Freya were taken aside in Marlo’s plane during the flight home for what Althea called debriefing and Shane called interrogation. Dylan had them tell him exactly what had happened from the time they were separated from Xav and Reid until Tiger had torn open the door of the bunker.

Dylan also quizzed Shane about the rooms he’d seen in the compound, their setup, the equipment, the surveillance cameras, and the cages for the Shifters. Althea sat in on all this questioning, taking no notes but listening intently.

Shane suspected Dylan was going to turn this into an opportunity for his Shifter defense plans, or whatever the hell he was up to. He’d probably take over the bunker itself. Althea was going to work with him, apparently.

They’d found Mitchell Heaney drugged to the gills in the compound’s basement. More of his soldiers, plus his second-in-command and personal bodyguard, were in rooms down there as well.

Diego was all for handing Heaney and his men over to the cops, to be charged for kidnapping and abusing Shifters, but Dylan forestalled him. Law enforcement would want the Shifters Heaney had taken handed over to Shifter Bureau, where they might be punished for Heaney’s doings.

Dylan had decided to take Heaney and company, as well as the feral Shifters, into his own custody. Althea and her team, with Tiger, was helping him with that. No one was going to escape Tiger.

Apparently, the Shifters would be quietly sent back home as soon as they recovered, or welcome to stay with Dylan and work for him. Some who’d turned coat to help Shane had already pledged themselves to Dylan.

The mystery of where Xav and Reid had disappeared to was revealed when Reid made his own report to Dylan. Xav had picked up traces of some of the feral Shifters in the woods. He’d followed them, but they’d doubled back somehow and attacked. Xav and Reid had fought, managing to tranq most of them before Reid had teleported Xav away. They’d returned to where they’d left Shane but been unable to track them.

Dylan sent Shifters to retrieve those ferals as well.

Rolf was on the plane with them, heavily tranqued and sleeping hard. Neal, sword restored to its sheath, watched over him.

Shane was confident Rolf could be cured, as Keira had been, though whether by Zander or Matt, Kyle, and Freya, he wasn’t certain. What Rolf would do after that, was another uncertainty.

Then there was the whole part where Freya and Rolf had turned into big, savage wolves surrounded by a bluish light, but Shane didn’t want to get into that right now.

Shane cut off Dylan’s questions. “My mate’s exhausted,” he announced, lifting the drooping Freya up with him. “We’ll let you finish after we rest. Or better still, we’ll tell Eric all about it, and then you and he can confab.”

Dylan’s eyes widened slightly at his insubordination, but he didn’t try to stop Shane as he led Freya down the plane to two empty seats behind the pilot’s chair.

Freya was back in her own clothes, having worn the coverall out of the bunker and to the plane, which had landed on a flat plateau beyond the mountain range. She’d changed as soon as she was able, saying the coveralls smelled too much of human and feral Shifter.

Shane had assured her she’d looked hot in them. Freya had rolled her eyes, and Shane had laughed.

Everything about his mate made him smile.

He held Freya close as they sat behind Marlo, the sky dark outside the front window. Clustered lights of towns glittered like jewels on a black velvet background.

“This is why I fly,” Marlo said, gesturing at the view. “Nothing like this.”

Shane had to agree.

Matt had curled up on a blanket on the floor of the plane and was now fast asleep. Must be nice to relax so easily.

Shane kissed Freya’s hair. He’d thought her asleep, but she stirred and looked drowsily up at him.

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