Page 97 of Bear Facts

The Feline sneered. “What, you’ve got Guardians coming out your ass?”

“Shifters going feral and killing humans grabbed our attention.” Shane stopped himself appending asshole to the statement. “You’ve heard of Zander Moncrieff? He’s mated to a Guardian. They’re going to the South China Sea to take care of the Shifters.”

The Lupine lowered his rifle a tad. “You mean Rae Lyall? From Montana?”

“Yep.”

“She shouldn’t go,” the Lupine said in alarm. “Too dangerous.”

“That’s why Zander’s with her. You think anyone’s going to mess with an insane polar bear?”

The Lupine looked only slightly reassured.

Shane filed away the information that this Lupine knew Rae or of her but didn’t press it. He flicked his attention back to the Feline. He was the leader of this little group, the one Shane would have to take out before the others would listen.

“What happened to Heaney?” Shane asked. “You have him in a cage or something?”

“You think you know a lot,” the Feline stated. “Tell you what, I’ll show you what’s up. Then you can decide whether we really want to be rescued.” He smirked. “Spoiler alert—we don’t.”

How the hell did this dickhead get to lead a patrol? Shane wondered. Answer, he was more dominant than others, and there hadn’t been much choice.

“All right, show me,” Shane said.

At the same time, a shrill whistle cut the air. The Shifters came alert, and the Feline aimed the rifle directly at Shane.

“Looks like you didn’t come alone,” the Feline snarled. “Get inside. If you try anything, you’ll have five darts in you. Even a grizzly will have trouble surviving that.”

Shane’s heart thumped. The signal and the Feline’s words meant they’d found Freya or Matt. Probably both.

Shane moved slowly, ready for an opening to grab a rifle or shock stick from a belt and drop at least one Shifter. The Shifters fell into close formation but stayed out of his reach, taking away his chance as they herded him to the stone structure.

In a deep niche in the rock wall was a narrow metal door that appeared to be very solid. One of the Shifters punched in a code to open it, blocking Shane’s view of the keypad with his body.

Two of the Shifters went in ahead, keeping Shane covered while he stepped across the threshold. The Feline and the other two came behind him.

The inside of the building resembled a large bunker. A long corridor, made of concrete blocks, bisected it, with rooms opening on either side of the hallway. Shane glimpsed bunks in some of the cubicles as he went by and computers and electronic equipment in others. One room was a mess hall, empty now.

In the very center of the bunker was what Shane took to be the command center. Monitors had been hung up on the walls, with a few workstations beneath them so whoever did surveillance could review whatever information they received.

Two of the monitors showed the perimeter of the building, and two more broadcast views of the woods. Probably how the Shifters knew they were coming.

Shane was made to stand in the middle of this room, far from the computers.

A couple of the guards in here were human. Both men’s eyes flickered when the grizzly-beast entered, but they kept still.

Probably how they’d survived the takeover, Shane surmised. They’d learned to control their panic around Shifters.

Another Lupine entered. He didn’t have a rifle or other weapon, but his unfeigned confidence told Shane he was the leader of this motley bunch. He wore a sweatshirt over torn, stained jeans and motorcycle boots, but somehow this ensemble didn’t make him look scruffy.

The Lupine had dark hair touched with silver, and Freya’s eyes.

Freya, still in wolf form, entered directly behind him, covered by more guards. On Freya’s back was the small form of Matt.

Shane growled, a low rumble that shook the room. The golden-eyed Lupine stopped at the noise, but he showed no fear.

“You must be Shane,” he said. “I’m Rolf McHugh. Freya’s brother.”

“What the fuck?” Shane demanded. “Freya, you okay?”

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