Page 17 of Grumpy Special Ops Bear: Ep. 3
We walked toward Fergus’s scent in silence, but my mind raced with fear. Sometimes I felt like I was on a one-way track to going feral. The entire bear clan knew I struggled with my temper and with the idea of trying to find another mate. Unless the right shifter came along, I would continue to grow worse each day. Eventually, I could turn wild, like so many other shifters who had become so heartbroken they couldn’t keep their sanity.
When we cleared the tree line, we both stared at Fergus and Trinity in his secret spot. She was sitting on his lap with her legs straddling his waist, but they were arguing quietly. About what, I wasn’t sure, but I had a feeling it was just getting interesting. I could smell the rise of annoyance coming from Trinity.
“Are we interrupting?” Cutter asked loudly.
Startled, Trinity scrambled off Fergus’s lap and stood straight up. Cutter hopped onto the boulder, snuggling against Fergus’s other side.
The alpha growled and nudged him off while I stood before them.
Cutter jumped up, muttering, “Fine. I see how it is. I’ll just go stand over here and freeze my ass off.”
“It’ll be good for you,” Fergus growled.
Trinity laughed, while shoving her hands into her coat pockets.
“Did you pick up anything?” Fergus asked.
“Price is a few miles out.” I checked my sidearm and then my two knives. “We’ll be fine through the night, but I suggest we don’t stay at the camp too long.”
Fergus nodded. “We’ll move in the morning, and hopefully by then we’ll have a plan.”
Trinity glared at Fergus. “We have a plan. I’m the bait. I’ll draw them out, and then you’ll kill them. End of story. I’ll be saved, a war won’t happen, and we can all go home happy. Right?”
Cutter and I glanced at Fergus and saw the frown on his face.
Whatever Trinity thought the plan was, she apparently didn’t realize the full situation. Fergus hadn’t said a damn thing about her being his fated mate. Cutter and I knew it was going to be a hell of a lot harder to persuade him to let Trinity be the bait.
I sighed, reading the look on Fergus’s face. He wanted to say no, but unless we came up with another way to draw Price out into the open, Trinity would have to be the lure.
If Fergus lost her, though, I knew it would end him.
Chapter 11
Fergus
Back at the campsite,I listened to the three of them go back and forth, and it felt like a bad dream. I wanted to interrupt, but I had to be careful how I showed my authority. Trinity still didn’t know I was the alpha, and it was getting extremely difficult not to stand up and growl at them. Especially when each plan came back to the same issue—drawing Price out into the open. Each time, all they could come up with was using Trinity as bait.
“I don’t know why we’re still discussing this,” she muttered, rubbing her forehead as if a headache were blooming. “Just let me do it. Grant will be within feet of me, so if anything happens, he can grab me and get me out of there.”
“That’s not the problem,” I said darkly.
She jumped to her feet and jammed her hands onto her hips. “Then what the hell is it?”
I racked my brain, trying to think of an obvious answer. “You’re human and can be killed easily. I can’t have you out there running around, risking your life, and probably getting in the way.” My words were harsh, but I hoped they worked.
She needed to understand this was dangerous. She might not make it out alive.
My jaw tightened. I could see from her expression that she was spitting mad.
“Trinity, please.”
“Please what?” she snapped. “I survived with these bastards for days. And as you keep reminding me, I’m a Protector or whatever, so this is what I’m supposed to do. It’s in my blood to take these fuckers out!”
“Yes, but you haven’t had enough training.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, I see. You’re just worried I’ll distract everyone, that you’ll be so focused on my safety you’ll let your guard down.”
Shit. Yes, that’s exactly it.I shook my head. “No, that’s not it. You’re fragile.”
