Page 3 of Grumpy Special Ops Bear: Ep. 2
Or does this have to do with something else?
“I need you to stay on top of this. Let me know if they head north.”
“There’s something else, Fergus. The Shifter Council has called a meeting. They’ve requested all shifter alphas to be there.”
“Someone else might have to go in my place if we can’t wrap up this mission first. Price is my priority right now. Has Logan come back yet?”
“No, I haven’t seen him.”
“Shit.”Something is terribly wrong.“Okay. Report to me every two hours with news on what’s happening in our territory and with the wolves. Is that understood?”
“Yeah. What’s going on?”
“Nothing you need to be concerned about,” I countered. “Don’t forget to call me.”
I ended our call and hurried to catch up to Grant, who was already speaking quietly with Cutter. It sounded like they’d found something.
“What do you have?” I asked.
“You want the bad news or the terrible news first?” Cutter asked tightly.
I just stared at him before rumbling, “I don’t have time for this shit, Cutter.”
“Okay. Relax, bro,” he muttered. “They’re tracking the woman, but she has a good head start. Looks like they’re abiding by the age-old rules and are in human form right now. They won’t shift again until nightfall.”
“A minor advantage for her. What’s the other news?” I asked.
“A blizzard’s moving in. About twenty miles out. It’ll be here in a few hours.”
My gut clenched, and I immediately turned in her direction. She wouldn’t last through a blizzard, at least not without help. “You two keep tracking Price and his group. I’m going to monitor the woman.”
Cutter and Grant exchanged a glance, and Cutter nudged Grant a few times with his elbow.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Grant finally asked.
“We’ve already decided to use her as bait. I’m going to watch her closely and hope Price and the others close in.”
My blood boiled with anger at the thought of seeing the woman in Price’s grip and hearing her screams of fear again. Last night, when Price touched her, rubbed against her, it had taken everything in me not to go barreling through the campsite. Claws ready to slaughter them all without question.
My bear whined, and I snarled aloud, trying to keep it in check. I took a deep breath of air and cursed. I could smell her, even from this distance.
Why did it matter?
She was just a fragile human who’d gotten in the way. She wasn’t worth my time, and I certainly didn’t have feelings for her.
So why wouldn’t my bear give me a damn break and shut the hell up?
I needed to be alone to deal with my thoughts. “You and Grant head out. I’ll be in touch soon.”
They undressed and stashed their clothes. With the loud popping of bones, their bodies shifted into their massive bear forms before they moved off into the trees.
My booted feet stayed planted where they were as I tried to sort out my jumbled thoughts. I felt like a cub again, unsure of what steps to take next. I needed to get back to home base and deal with the wolf issue from there, but I couldn’t leave Price out here. General Taggert had sent us on a mission to capture Price and his pack.
I’d never failed a mission before, and I would not start now.
Besides, the bear growling inside me told me he wasn’t about to abandon the woman to her fate either. Plus, if I left her now, I’d never be able to deal with the guilt. She’d probably die in the most brutal fashion possible… the Hunt. Centuries ago, the Shifter Council had outlawed the Hunt. They punished any shifter caught taking part in such a barbaric act with death.
According to shifter elders, the Hunt started eons ago as a pack ritual for the right of becoming the second—the alpha was the first—strongest hunter-warrior in the pack. First, the alpha chose a human as prey for the Hunt. Second, the alpha presented the human prey to the pack. Third, the alpha released the human on the night of the full moon and ordered the pack to give chase—the Hunt. The alpha ran down the prey with his pack but gave the honor of killing the human to the pack. The member who killed the human got the privilege of eating their heart under the full moon. They recognized that shifter as the second-strongest hunter-warrior of the pack until the next Hunt.
