Page 17 of Grumpy Special Ops Bear: Ep. 1
I sighed heavily. I had a nuclear option for dealing with Josh and his pack before they hurt the human. I could call my contact Travis, the leader of the Protectors. Their organization was made up of hybrids born with a distinctive mark, shifter-like fighting, tracking, and hunting skills but with no ability to transform into shifters. After all, it was the Protectors’ job to protect humans from shifters.
But calling the Protectors could subject me to questions that I didn’t want to answer, like how I knew so much about Josh and his pack and the human. And I couldn’t let anyone outside my clan know we worked for the government or that Taggert had charged us with finding Price.
No. Price was our mission, and we’d never failed.
It was best to stay off the Protectors’ radar.
When we reached the end of the valley, I shifted back to my human form and crouched low in the brush, trying to find Price and the others. The herd of elk was moving through the open field. My bear growled loudly in my mind, but I silenced him. There wasn’t time to let my instincts take over—at least not yet.
I had to bring in Price—still breathing. Otherwise, I’d have a lot more explaining to do with General Taggert.
I whiffed the breeze again and bent my head to the west. As I watched, I saw glowing eyes appear at the edge of the trees. My fingers turned to claws as they dug into the bark of a nearby tree, my beast growing angry at the sight of intruders in my territory.
They were all wolves.But where is the woman?
I heard footsteps crunch behind me. Then a growl turned into a human groan as Cutter came up beside me.
“Do we move in yet?” he asked.
“No, we’ll watch them. I don’t want this to get messier than it has to be. This is our territory they’re in. I’m hoping they know better.”
“What about the woman?”
I wasn’t going to charge in prematurely and risk my team for some stupid human. “She’ll eventually find out who they are. Then maybe she’ll get away.”
“And if not?”
“We’ll wait,” I proclaimed, not bothering to answer the question directly.
What will I do if the woman doesn’t realize who she’s with? Will I step in and save her?
I’d caught her kissing Price, but that didn’t mean she knew what she’d become involved with.
From this distance, I couldn’t see much, but I knew she wasn’t with them in the trees. I peeked back to where their camp was, and my muscles clenched involuntarily. I had a sudden urge to run to her and protect her.
I don’t care about her. She’s only a human.
“Fergus?” Cutter’s voice pulled me out of my sudden daze.
I straightened. “Wait for my order to move in. Understand?”
Cutter nodded as I continued to watch the wolves at the edge of the trees, ready for them to make their move.
Chapter 15
Trinity
After my confrontation with Price,I went to my tent, intending to stay there for the rest of the day, but then he came by and asked, “Do you want dinner?”
Ignoring his question, I asked, “Did you figure out what happened to the gear?”
“You’re the guide. Are you sure you even packed it?” he retorted.
My mouth tightened. “Go shove your fucking dinner up your damn ass.”
When he walked away after trying to reason with me but failing, I lay back in my sleeping bag and gazed at the tent roof. I refused to speak with any of them until the next morning. When the sun came up, I’d be moving out—with or without them.
I had seen something in Josh’s eyes when I’d asked him about the radio for the first time. He’d lied to me. I wasn’t sure why, but I could sense it.
