Page 52 of Stolen Mate

“I didn’t think we were that close to Wolf Run,” said Tess.

Derek stopped, trying to pierce the darkness so he could see. “We aren’t.”

The sequence sounded again.

“That’s Asher Wells,” said Derek. “That’s a warning. We need to get back to the compound.”

As he reached for her, they both spotted the red dot of a sniper’s sight dead center in the middle of Tess’s chest.

“Down,” Derek growled as he shoved her down and away, shifting simultaneously from man to bear.

The cacophony of noise that followed was one that would haunt Tess for the remainder of her life. The sound of the rifle firing the bullet meant for her; the roar of pain as the bullet found its mark in Derek; the sound of another shot from a different gun, and then a body cascading down the granite cliffs that formed the border of their coastline.

“Derek,” Tess called as she scrambled back to him. “Derek. No.”

The gravely wounded polar bear who was her fated mate raised his head painfully and nuzzled her hand.

“No. You do not get to die on me. Do you hear me? That’s not happening.”

She spun towards the cliff where she’d heard the body fall. Something was crashing through the brush and sawgrass as it scrabbled over the rocky terrain. Not knowing who or what was coming, Tess called forth her she-bear and made ready to stand her ground to protect her mate. From the direction of the compound, she could hear the sound of several ATVs headed their way, but with no way of knowing how long it would take help to arrive, she had no choice but to confront this threat on her own.

The vortex whirled from the ground and moved upwards, encompassing her body in a swirling mist charged with lightning, thunder, color, and, Tess thought, a little bit of magic. She paced back and forth between her mate and the intruder, hoping someone from the compound would have heard the shots and be on their way.

Tess pinned her ears as she bluff-charged in the direction of whatever it was that was running toward her. Just as whatever it was came into the clearing, Tess stood up on her hind legs, growling and batting her paws with their lethal claws to let whoever it was know she meant to fight. A gorgeous black wolf sprang into the clearing, stopping short before it, too, was encompassed by a swirling mist that left a man where a wolf had once been.

“Tess, it’s me, Asher. There was a sniper…”

She banished her bear to the recesses of her brain and became human once more. “Ash, I didn’t know it was you. It was you who howled the warning.”

“Yes. I couldn’t get a clear shot until after he fired, but I hit him, and he went over the cliff. I double checked for other snipers. It appears the threat has been neutralized. I can see you’re all right, but how badly is Derek hurt?”

“Get away from her,” growled Wyatt as several enormous flashlights lit up the area.

“Wyatt, it’s Asher,” said Tess. “Derek is hurt. Asher’s the one who warned us and took out the assassin.”

“I need a litter, and I need it now,” ordered Wyatt, before turning to Tess. In a much gentler tone, he said. “If he’s conscious, see if you can get him to shift back. He’ll be easier to transport as a human.”

Tess turned to Derek, who seemed to be losing too much blood to recover. “Don’t you dare die on me. You owe me a bonding ceremony, and I intend to collect. Wyatt’s here, and so is Ash. Can you shift back for me, sweetheart?”

With a groan, Derek shifted back from bear to man.

“I’ve already called Autumn,” said Ash. “She’s calling Doc Hadley, and they’ll meet us at the compound. They don’t want him moved any more than possible. But we’re out in the open. If the League…”

“The League?” said Tess and Wyatt simultaneously.

“Most likely. We should be able to recover the body come sunup, but that would be my working theory.”

“Why were you up there?” asked Tess suspiciously.

“I’d heard rumor of a park ranger being spotted in the area. I knew for a fact none of my rangers were up here which led me to believe someone wanted to pin something on either my rangers in general or me in particular. So I came looking for him. That little stunt you and Colby pulled with the Council left them reeling. They were looking for an excuse to set the Shadow League on us and failed.”

“But why an assassin?” asked Tess. “And why disguise him as a park ranger?”

“I think to make it look like the attack came from Wolf Run. My father hasn’t been quiet about his feelings of having a clan of polar bears on his doorstep, especially when he’s always coveted this land.”

“You’re going to have to deal with him sometime,” Wyatt said pointedly to Asher.

Asher took a deep breath and sighed. “I know.”

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