Page 7 of Grumpy Special Ops Bear: Ep. 2
They’d be able to smell me, but I wanted them to.
I wanted them to know they were being watched.
I wanted them to know they weren’t the only hunters out for their prey tonight.
I waited impatiently. I knew they would follow her scent; not that it was hard to find—at least not for me. Her scent had stuck in my nose since the day she’d set foot into my territory. My bear couldn’t stand being away from her, and I had to admit my human side was slowly admiring her for surviving. She hadn’t run or screamed in terror through the woods. She was being smart, using her wits. It was a quality few humans possessed.
A twig snapped somewhere in the absolute quiet of the snow falling around me. My claws dug into the snow and mud beneath me as I waited to see who would appear. At first, all I saw were eyes glowing in the darkness. One pair, then two, and three, but then no more. They’d split into groups. Typical wolves, they never hunted alone.
The cowards.
They sniffed the air, and one howled.
Even from where I was, I felt the woman’s icy fear.
I hoped she’d stay quiet. The last thing she needed to do was to make any sort of noise and draw them in closer. My scent filled the small clearing. I hoped it would be enough to scare them off.
Three wolves—one black, the second silver, and the third brown-and-black—edged in, yipping at one another, each trying to coax the other forward to investigate. The large black one finally growled at the other two and stepped around them. Its massive body was solid muscle, and even from my spot, I could see the long, jagged scar running along his face.
Boyle.
That was one wolf I knew well, mostly from reputation, but also because he’d gained that scar from one of my relatives. It was a story my aunt would still tell the cubs while around a fire at night.
Boyle had wandered into bear territory as a human and spotted an attractive woman walking through the woods. The woman was a bear-shifter, and Boyle had known it. He’d tried to flirt and coax her into kissing him, but she’d refused. He’d taken it as an insult and attacked her. Before she could shift, he’d knocked her unconscious, and he’d been about to drag her off our land when my uncle stepped in. He had beaten Boyle almost to death and then called his pack to come and get him before he was killed. Boyle’s alpha at the time had sworn Boyle would never set foot out of wolf territory again.
Clearly, Price had no issues with reversing that order the second he’d become alpha.
The bear- and wolf-shifters had a long history together. It still amazed me Price had become pack leader instead of Boyle. Price, I’d heard, had brains for business and money, and he’d made the pack very wealthy over the past few decades, but he wasn’t a trueborn leader. Boyle had alpha blood running through his veins. Yet he’d somehow become the subordinate, and Price had taken over. Either way, I hadn’t cared too much. I didn’t meddle in other packs’ affairs—at least not until I had to, like now.
I watched Boyle sniffing around the base of the cliff. I knew they’d brought the Hunt here for a different reason. Price wasn’t an idiot. If the police found bodies, it would have been because Price wanted them to be found.
So why bring the Hunt here?
And why did he choose this woman?
My claws dug deeper as I fought the urge to charge down there and take them on. I’d keep Boyle alive and beat the truth out of him, give him a matching scar on the other side of his face. It was tempting, so tempting. I could already feel my claws sinking through flesh like butter. Then I remembered the woman. She could get caught in the middle. If I went down there, I could risk her life, and my bear huffed in protest at seeing her hurt.
So I stayed put and waited.
Boyle crept closer to where the crevice rested, just feet above the wolf’s shaggy head. I made a deep-throated, pulsing sound low in my throat. Boyle raised his head, and then another wolf’s howl echoed from far off. With a snarl, Boyle turned away from the cliff and loped back into the trees with the other two wolves.
The woman would be safe for the night.
Chapter 7
Trinity
I awoke,confused and unsure why I was so cold or why my limbs were so cramped. I cried out when I stretched my arms and attempted to get feeling back into my legs. They’d fallen asleep when I’d curled up tightly trying to hide from the wolves and keep warm through the night. Once I disentangled myself from my ball, I scooted to the edge of the crevice and peered out.
The area seemed to be clear. I moved the brush out of the way, attempting to avoid the snow falling off it, and climbed down, but I slipped on some ice and plummeted a few feet with a muffled cry. Dazed from getting the wind knocked out of me, I stared up at the dark sky. It still looked as if it might storm.
“Great. Just what I need.”
I slowly got up from the deep snowdrift I’d landed in. At least it had cushioned my fall, but now I was cold. Maybe I should try starting a fire. No, it wouldn’t be safe. I needed to get moving.
I stumbled along, struggling to get some warmth back into my legs and arms.
Chapter 8
