Page 54 of Bear Facts

Reid, with his long legs, dashed ahead of the bears. He sometimes ran marathons, usually coming in first, and Shane saw why today. The dokk alfar could move.

Dougal halted so abruptly that Shane almost ran into him. He stopped himself in time, Brody growling softly as he did the same. Reid became motionless between one heartbeat and the next and unsheathed the Glock.

“Kaghthak,” Reid said softly.

Shane had no idea what that meant—a dokk alfar swear word, he guessed. He slowly rose on his hind legs to see what Reid and Dougal were staring at.

It was Leo, or what was left of him. He’d shifted into his half-wolf, half-man form, the strongest of the shapes a Shifter could assume. His clothes hung in shreds, as did the fur on his body, long strips of it exposing bloody flesh.

One of his ears had nearly been torn off and lay beside his head, attached by a single thread of skin. Leo’s eyes were half open, though his face was a caved-in mess.

Neal reached them, his startled exclamation changing to a whispered prayer to the Goddess.

Shane moved past Dougal and Reid, trying not to breathe through his nose. The feral smell was strongest here, along with the bodily fluids Leo had ejected as he fought his losing battle.

To Shane’s amazement, he saw Leo’s chest rise and fall.

He’s still alive, his stunned mind told him, and he raced forward to aid his enemy.

Chapter Sixteen

Freya did not like the empty feeling that weighed on her after Shane sped away in Cormac’s pickup. He’d sent her a cheery wave, but a tight ball formed in her stomach, one that had nothing to do with all the food she’d consumed the day before.

It was logical that she remain behind with Nell, but the wolf in her wanted to tear off after the truck, like a dog chasing a car down the road.

She paced restlessly behind the house, wondering what she’d do with herself until Shane returned.

Freya’s edginess went well beyond feeling cooped up in a Shiftertown. That was part of it, but a sharp need had risen in her, one that wanted to find Shane, put herself between him and his enemies, and beat off anyone who tried to hurt him.

“Want to talk about it?” A soft voice stopped Freya mid-pace. Misty, Graham’s improbable mate, watched Freya from a few yards away.

Misty was a small-statured woman but curvy and unashamedly plump. Her dark brown hair had been twisted into a knot that managed to appear styled if simple, and she wore a sweatshirt with a screen print of a howling wolf on it. She’d pushed up her sleeves, revealing a delicate tattoo of a blooming rose on the inside of her right arm.

“Nothing to talk about.” Freya knew she was being curt, but her nerves were frayed. “Shane’s doing his job. I’m not a tracker. No reason for me to follow him.”

“Sure.” The corners of Misty’s warm brown eyes crinkled with her smile. “Keep telling yourself that. I know how it is, believe me. Being leader’s mate is no picnic, especially when Graham’s drawn into bad stuff. And at times things have been truly bad.”

“Have they?” Freya surveyed the houses around them, whose overall atmosphere was calm and serene. Cubs played in yards, watched over by any Shifter who happened to be outside. “I thought everyone was safe and happy in Shiftertown.”

Misty acknowledged Freya’s bite of sarcasm. “I didn’t understand either, before I came here. I pictured everyone locked down at night or brainwashed to believe they were content. My first sight of Shiftertown was Iona and Eric’s mating ceremony—a true eye opener.”

Freya had witnessed a few mating ceremonies growing up, though she’d been a cub and hadn’t understood the ritual fully. “Pretty raucous, was it?”

“Shifters dancing around like crazy, many of them naked?” Again, the eye crinkling. “Raucous is a good word for it. I remember Graham watching the others, seeming lost. He didn’t belong here, and he knew it.”

“Graham? Lost?” Freya couldn’t imagine Graham being anything other than his overbearing self. “He looks fine now. As confident as ever.”

“Yes, but that took time. He was so worried about his wolves, especially the cubs, who had to fit into an already full Shiftertown. Plus, he had to figure out how to deal with Eric, who was going through mating frenzy for Iona. Then Graham and I started going out, and that was really confusing for him.”

“I’ll bet.” Freya hadn’t yet recovered from the shock of Graham’s choice of mates. “He never had anything good to say about humans.”

“I never knew Shifters could be so compassionate, or so intense.” Misty’s eyes filled with open love for Graham. “He’s been through hell, and he’s taught me so much.” She paused. “He told me about you.”

“Did he?”

Graham seemed to have kept Freya’s existence hidden from everyone else, though of course his own pack knew about her and her disappearance. That they’d all stayed loyal to Graham and said nothing about Freya both surprised and warmed her.

“He said mates should keep no secrets from each other. Graham has told me a lot.” From her expression Freya guessed he’d revealed some things she’d rather not have known. “But don’t worry. I never told a soul. Mates do keep secrets—for each other.”

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