Page 8 of Mitchell's Untamed Mate

She scowled at him when he stepped closer and untangled her.She swallowed the defensive retort on her lips, distracted by the silly thought that his eyes were the soft warm brown of her bear’s fur.

“Thank you.”

He gave her a curt nod before he turned away again.Her shoulders sagged and she shook her head, hurrying forward.She had to take three steps for every one of his.

“I'll give you some time to think about it," she called after him, "but I'm not leaving.I can protect you."

“Well, that would be a change.”

She growled with frustration."I know!Ok?I know.It's a big ask for you to trust me.I can wait until you're ready."

"You'llwait?"he complained."And, what?You'll be following me until I'm 'ready'?"

"Yes."

He laughed with exasperation."Then I guess we'll see how well a shifter can keep up."Grumbling under his breath, he added, "See if you've gotten soft since The Great War."

She sighed, but didn't reply.He continued walking.Tracy started after him again.They covered close to a mile before he slowed his pace and came to a stop.Tracy opened her mouth, but closed it when he lifted his hand in warning.

Do you smell anything?

She lifted her nose and sniffed the air.Her head turned slightly to the right.The very faint scent of smoke from a campfire.

Shifter?her bear mused.

No.Not this far in.

Mitchell pulled the knife at his hip and motioned for her to get down.She began to sink to her knees when a man with reddish-blond hair stepped out from behind a tree nearly fifty feet from them.Tracy straightened.There was no sense in her trying to hide when it was obvious the man had spotted her.He was dressed similarly to Mitchell in a woven shirt, leather pants and boots, and a loose-fitting leather jacket.

“Jace, what are you doing here?”

Mitchell’s voice held a note of caution and an underlying thread of anger as Jace came closer.There was a palpable tension between the two men.

“I see you caught another beast,” Jace responded.

Mitchell took a step back in her direction but didn’t take his eyes off the man.The hair on the back of Tracy’s neck was standing up.There was something off about this human.Her bear did not like him.

“You didn’t answer my question.What are you doing here?”Mitchell repeated.

The man named Jace shrugged.“We promised always to have each other’s back.Remember?”

There was a slight dig in the man’s voice.Tracy lifted her nose and sniffed.She couldn’t tell if the man was lying or not.It didn’t matter.She had been in enough dangerous places in the world to know when to trust her gut, and it was screaming bloody murder.

“You should be helping the others,” Mitchell replied.

“Connell and Thomas had it under control.It isn’t our first move.What are you going to do with it?”Jace asked, staring at her.

Tracy lifted her chin and folded her arms across her chest.She could handle a human wanting to play 'big man in the forest'.This wasn’t her first rodeo with arrogant, macho men.

“Itsname is Tracy Bearclaw.It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jace,” she responded in the same tone she used when her students got too big for their britches.

“Bearclaw?Any relation to Ella’s beast?”Jace asked.

“Ty is my twin brother.We prefer to be called shifters, or better yet, I prefer you call me Ms.Bearclaw.”

Jace’s lips curved into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.“I’d prefer to call you dinner.”

Tracy paled and warily stepped back.Uncertainty flashed through her.Had she missed something?Were humans cannibalistic?

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