Page 24 of Bear Facts

Chapter Eight

Shane’s hands jerked on the wheel, and the truck spun on an oil patch before he righted it.

Freya had transformed from strong young woman who’d nearly kicked his ass to a frightened ball of anguish. She pulled her feet to the seat again, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her face in her knees.

What in the hell had McNeil done to her? Shane’s protective rage mounted, his distrust of Graham and his Lupines stirring from where he’d tried, not very successfully, to suppress it.

Shane glanced into the rearview mirror at Althea and her bullyboys and found them still hanging on. They’d spaced the SUVs strategically so that two flanked Shane’s pickup from behind, while one smoothly glided past to be somewhere in front of him.

“He’s never mentioned you,” Shane stated. Never since he’d known Graham and all his Lupines had he heard of a stray one called Freya.

“No?” she sounded surprised.

“No. But like I said, we have no choice.” Shane spoke in the no-argument tone he’d perfected as a tracker. “First, we get free of this lady and her trigger-happy guards, then we worry about Graham. Which you don’t need to do.”

Freya’s head popped up. “What are you talking about? He’s my pack leader. I ran away from him. He’ll sequester me and punish me, and there’s not a thing you can do about it. His Shiftertown is the worst place you can take me.”

The defeat and fear in her voice ramped up Shane’s protective instincts still more. While Shane didn’t really think Graham would be brutal to Freya, what did he know? Graham could be pretty ruthless with his Lupines, but he’d had to be, to keep his nearly wild Shifters together and safe.

Shane wanted to reach for Freya, pull her into his arms, and comfort her. Impossible dodging through heavy traffic at forty-five miles per hour.

“Things have changed, sweetheart.” Shane hoped he sounded reassuring. “If I tell Graham to keep away from you, and Eric backs me up, Graham can’t do shit to you.”

Shane mentally crossed his fingers as he spoke. Eric might not take Shane’s side. He might explain, in his laid-back way, that Graham had a legal right to deal with his own pack problems, without interference.

On the other hand, if Eric saw how afraid Freya was of Graham, he’d be less likely to back Graham, no matter how much the Lupine leader blustered.

Then there was Misty, Graham’s sweet-as-honey mate. She’d never let Graham come down on Freya for running away all those years ago, would she?

“When did you leave his pack?” Shane asked Freya as he continued to head inexorably toward Shiftertown’s gates. “Before the Collars, I’m assuming. You never wore one.”

“Graham tried to protect me from those—he did for others too, who were barely past being cubs when Shifter Bureau came for us.” Freya’s fingers went to her bare throat. “They hadn’t gotten around to Collaring us all yet. Other packs were moved in, and there were a lot of them, which slowed down the process. A Shiftertown was being put together near Elko for all the packs, with Graham in charge. Everything started to go wrong for me then. In the confusion, I took the opportunity to run.”

“Can you be more specific?” Shane demanded. “Everything started to go wrong for me is kind of vague. I need to know what I’m heading into.”

“No.” Freya hunkered down. “Not because I want to hamper you, but because I really don’t want to talk about it. Not now. Just let me out of the truck. Please.”

She stayed in a tight ball and didn’t move. At least she wasn’t stupid enough to open the door and roll into traffic while he was moving at a good clip. But he’d keep an eye on her.

Shane swung onto the back road leading to Shiftertown’s gates. The SUV that had been ahead of them missed that he’d turned and braked abruptly, but the two behind them closed in without a problem.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Shane said. “I’m driving straight home and telling my family what you just told me. You’ll be under our protection, and trust me, Graham doesn’t want to mess with us.”

Freya lifted her head. Shane didn’t like the despair in her eyes, wanted to jam his fist into Graham’s face for putting it there. He decided right then that he’d erase her worries forever. It would take some doing, but it would happen.

“Please, Shane.”

The tremor in her voice broke his heart. Shane slowed as he approached the open gates in the chain-link fence, all three SUVs now on his tail.

Shane sent Freya a big bear smile. “Trust me, sweetheart. I’ve got this.”

She stared at him with fear, dismay, and old anger warring in her gray-gold eyes. Shane held her gaze, his truck steadily heading for the gates as though it knew where to go.

“Seriously,” he said softly. “I promise.”

A swallow moved Freya’s throat. She very quickly nodded her head, but she really had no option now.

Shane’s truck slid between the gates, the three SUVs barreling toward Shiftertown after him.

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