Page 17 of Chomp's Challenge

Until then, I’ll just stalk, err, keep an eye on my mate.

“What’s she saying now?” I ask, bugging Kodiak again. Why can’t he just say shit aloud without me asking?

“Dammit, Chomp. You’re hissing in my ear!”

I chuckle as my gator threatens to bite down on his ear if he isn’t forthcoming soon.

We can give him a nice piercing. His mate will like it, my gator says, chortling.

“She finished the list. Michelle is talking to her about the room she’s gonna rent out.”

I scowl with the reminder. My mate should be sleeping here, in my cabin, not with a stranger.

“She’s missing her mother,” he confides. “She died and everything that means something to Ariel is in her ex’s house.”

Sorrow consumes me for a few seconds. My sweet mate has lost so much. She’s been wronged, abused, and lost her parents. My heart clenches as I think of how much she’s suffering. I have to make this right for her.

“We’re going to that house, Kodiak. Right fucking now.”

He smirks at me. “Should I get the address or just let your gator scent the trail?”

I could do it, my gator insists.

I flip Kodiak off. “Get the address.” My gator chumpfs.

The big bear laughs as he communicates with his mate. “Callie is going to take a screenshot of the list Ariel made and the address. As soon as we have it, we can go.”

Spike walks back inside, licking the ash from his fingers like it’s candy. He even makes some kind of happy noise in his throat before he places the empty plate in my sink. “Where are we going?” he asks, coming in at the end of Kodiak’s statement.

“To get my mate’s things,” I answer with a grunt. I understand missing things that remind you of something special. When I left my congregation, I didn’t really have much except a few pictures of my mother and my siblings, and they’re one of my most valued treasures. They’re from a happier time when I was young and felt loved. I push those somber thoughts away, knowing that I can’t afford to go down that road right now when Ariel needs me.

“How far?” Spike questions, staring at me with a smirk on his face.

“Doesn’t matter.”

Spike puffs smoke from his nostrils and turns to Kodiak. “Where?” he demands.

Kodiak’s gaze bounces between us. “On the outskirts of Mercy Falls. I recognize the neighborhood. It’s old, and some of the houses aren’t in the best condition.” He glances at me. “I’m sure that’s not where your mate lived.”

I’m not so sure about that. Everything I’m learning about Ariel’s past indicates she’s been living in the worst conditions. “What neighborhood?”

Kodiak rattles off the address and I shoot to my feet, feeling my gator pushing for release. He knows that neighborhood. We both do. The street Ariel lived on borders a fucking swamp.

I’ve hunted in those waters. Scales ripple across my arms as I struggle to keep my gator in check. He’s pissed. It’s not safe there. We both feel danger creeping in on our mate and I can’t wait another second.

“Go,” Spike hollers as I rush out the door.

My spine erupts in pain, and I can feel my skin morphing into the tough layer of scales and bony deposits that provide protection but are also smooth and incredibly durable. I’ve been shifting since I was a boy, so the pain is manageable and nowhere near as brutal as my childhood. When it’s over, I’m sliding into the lake, vaguely aware of Kodiak’s bear rumbling through the bushes and keeping pace with me as I glide along the surface. While I might give him hell most of the time, I’m grateful that he’s with me right now to keep me in check. Because while I know those two fuckers are dead, their malodorous scent will be everywhere, which will throw him into another rage.

It doesn’t take long to reach the swamp or the street where Ariel used to live. I try to console my gator that she’s no longer there, but her scent still clings to the air as we pop to the glassy surface, water rippling around us as my gaze searches the area. When I don’t detect any threats, I slowly rise up the bank and move toward the trees, staying hidden.

I can smell Ariel. Her sweet scent is muted, but it’s here. It tickles my nose and my gator hisses, smelling the odors of the males trying to oppress her. I can’t stay in this form. The gator will kill anyone who threatens his mate, and I can’t have more blood on my hands without cause.

I shift back and move from the trees as Kodiak joins me. “Her scent is close.”

He nods. “I know. The males too.” His lip lifts in a snarl. “It’s nauseating.”

“Where’s Spike?”

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