Bear Necessities (26 page)

She
blinked. “That’s it? Alex is our only reinforcement?”

Julian
smiled, one of those enigmatic expressions she was beginning to realize meant
he knew more than he was willing to share. “Everyone else will come when
needed. I know that much.”

“Okay.”
She wasn’t certain a few well-placed phone calls wouldn’t be better, but she
had to trust that Julian knew what he was doing.

“Ryan,
we gotta go.”

“No.”
Ryan’s eyes hadn’t left Glory once. They’d remained a deep chocolate brown the
entire time. “You go. I need to stay and protect my mate.”

“I
don’t need protection!” Glory gritted through clenched teeth.

Bunny
agreed. “She’s right. Julian had a vision. He and Tabby are headed into the
woods, and I think they’re going after Gary. They need us. Glory doesn’t.”

Glory’s
eyes narrowed. “And you are
not
leaving me behind while my friend is in
danger.”

“You
want to come?”

She
opened her mouth to answer and saw the smirk on Ryan’s face. “I want to
go
with you. Asshole.”

He
threw his head back and laughed. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

“Says
who?”

“Says
me. Gary might have more friends we don’t know about. I’m not leaving you
unprotected.”

Glory’s
pixie face turned grim. “Your cousin’s mate is in danger. You could solve your
problem by putting me on the back of your bike and taking me with you, thus
protecting
both
of us. You’ll know where I am even while you fight.” She
suddenly glared up at him. “And if you think you can keep me locked up in here
while Tabby’s in trouble, you’re sorely mistaken. I
will
figure out a
way out of here and when I do I will make your life a living hell.” She reached
up and yanked on his shirt, bringing the much larger man down to her. Bunny
knew Ryan allowed it, if he’d wanted she’d have a better chance of lifting
herself off the floor that way than dragging him down. “Do we understand one
another?”

Ryan
pretended to think about it. “Define living hell.”

She
snarled at him. “Have you ever had Icy Hot smeared inside your jock strap?”

His
expression blanked. “Um. Yes. That would be a version of hell.”

They
didn’t have time for this. “We have to go now, people.”

Ryan
sighed. “You stay where I put you, Glory.” When she went to argue, he covered
her mouth with his hand, a hand that took up almost half her face. “I mean it.
You aren’t in any way ready to get into a shifter battle. I can’t fight and
protect you at the same time. Got it?”

She
nodded.

“Get
the keys to the shop and start locking up.”

She
ran into the back room.

“You
always meant to take her.” Bunny was sure of it. His stubborn cousin had given
in way too easily.

Ryan
shrugged. “I need her to start trusting me. If giving her this helps, then
fine. But understand, she’s my first priority. Any sign she’s in trouble or
distress and I’m done.”

Bunny
nodded. He understood. He felt the same way about Tabby.

“Let’s
go.” Glory somehow managed to both stomp and drift out of the room. It was
amazing. Bunny figured it had something to do with the wispy, gypsy-like
clothes she favored.

“You
heard the woman. Let’s go.” Ryan followed Glory out the door, Bunny leading the
way.

He
hoped the Pumas understood how badly he wanted to end this thing with Gary. If
the Wolf laid one paw on Tabby, he was going to wind up a rug.

Tabby
got out of the Jeep and began undressing. You couldn’t change in clothes; you’d
get tangled up in them. Rumor had it that Emma’s first change had happened that
way, although the details were sketchy and she tended to yowl whenever her mate
brought it up. She folded her clothes neatly and laid them on the passenger
seat.

“Here.”

She
turned to take Julian’s clothing and faced him naked for the first time.

Dayum.
The boy was
fine
. She
eyed him up and down, wolf-whistling at him. Smooth skin glided over defined
muscle. Well-defined pecs without a trace of hair drifted down to a washboard
stomach and a cock that, even with her limited experience (and his limited
interest), still managed to look impressive. His legs were long and lean. Hell,
even the man’s feet were sexy. Julian had the build of a runner, strong and
sleek. Alex was built more like a body builder or wrestler. She could very
easily see Cyn totally losing it when she finally got Julian naked.

He
waggled his eyebrows, a cheeky grin crossing his face. “You’re not bad
yourself.”

She
eyed him appreciatively. “Cyn is in a hell of a lot of trouble.”

Some
of the amusement left his face. “Yeah. If I get out of this.”

She
could sense his nerves and his determination. Whatever was going to go down was
inevitable now. She would do everything she could to see that Julian came out
of this alive. “Let’s change.”

He
nodded, and began to shift.

Watching
another person shift shape was incredible. There was no blinding flash of light
and bam, you had a bear. Nor was there the sound of crunching, grinding bones
and sizzling agony seen in horror films. It was more like watching water flow
through the person, moving them, bending them, blending them with their animal
in a liquid haze of a dream until the man was gone and only Bear remained. She
knew if she’d touched him during his shift all she would have felt was warmth,
the comforting presence of man and beast flowing through her fingers. Anyone
looking on from the outside would assume the feeling would be wet or slimy, but
it wasn’t. It was airy and tingled in her palms. It was sensual and innocent in
a way a non-shifter could never understand.

When
Julian was done shifting, she got her first good look at a Kermode Bear. He was
almost pure white, with a smattering of light gold fur at his shoulders and
along his back. He had a thick, stubby tail and a long snout with a black nose.
He had the general shape of a black bear with his rounded ears and sleek body,
unlike Alex’s more blunted face, heavy ruff and humped, muscled back. He was
easily a few feet shorter than Alex’s Bear. Make his fur black instead of white
and he’d look right at home in these woods.

Julian
grumbled at her. He wanted her to call her Wolf. With a smile, she allowed the
change, pulling her Wolf to the front, more than ready to run on four paws. She
lifted her nose to the breeze, catching the faint scent of rabbit, mouse, and
the occasional deer.

No
sign of Gary or his friends. Not yet, anyway.

The
big white Bear sat back and began rolling on the ground, a strange sound coming
from him. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he was laughing at her. She
yipped at him, dancing around him, eager to get him moving.

Julian
got up and shook his head, swiping his tongue along her ear. He made that
strange sound one more time before settling his weight on all fours, waiting
for her to lead the way.

With a
flick of her muzzle she pointed toward the north. Julian nodded his great white
head and followed her. She kept the pace easy for him, unsure how much energy
he would need in the coming battle.

And, from
the prickling of her ears, the battle was almost upon them, with or without
Gary’s scent.

He saw
her Jeep, but not her. Damn it. She should have waited for him before heading
off on her own. God knew what kind of trouble she’d get into before he found
her. Fuck the fact that Julian was with her,
he
needed to be the one
protecting her.

Bunny
tried his best to still his growing anxiety. He didn’t know if she’d run into
Gary yet or not, but from here on out they were moving silently, leaving the
bikes behind. The sound of their Harleys would alert Gary to their presence,
and they definitely didn’t want to do that. If they were lucky, they’d catch up
to Gary before he did any damage. If they could get him to the Alpha and prove
he’d disobeyed a direct command from the local authorities, he’d be banished
from Halle, possibly even disciplined by his own Pack Alpha. Bunny could only
hope so.

He
parked the bike next to Tabby’s SUV and stopped the engine. “Ready?”

Ryan
pulled off his helmet and dismounted. “Just a minute.” He held out his hand for
Glory’s helmet. Her pale blue hair tumbled down to her waist. From the dazed
expression on her face he’d say she’d never ridden a motorcycle before. Either
that or she’d always remained on tarmac. The drive through the woods had been
rough. “You okay?”

“I
think my tailbone is broken.” She got off with a wince, shaking out her filmy
skirts. “Well, damn. You broke my ass.”

Ryan
stopped her. “You stay where I put you, right?”

She
glared at Ryan and slammed the helmet into his stomach. He coughed out a
surprised breath. “Let’s go, Teddy.”

Before
they could start off, another motorcycle pulled up next to them. Bunny grinned.
He recognized the bike. “Hey, Dad.”

Ryan
waved. “Hey, Uncle Will.”

“Boys.”
His father got off the bike, his hazel eyes somber, his dark hair ruffled by
the breeze. “I understand you might need some…help?” He frowned at Glory for a
moment before a big grin crossed his face. Bunny bet it was the powder blue
curls.

“Julian
called you?”

William
shrugged, his attention diverted from Ryan’s mate. “Not sure you could call it
that, exactly. Let’s just say I was sleeping and I had a dream that I should
head over this way. So here I am.”

“Bear
is looking out for us,” Ryan said solemnly. Bunny nodded, agreeing. Only Bear
himself could have sent his father that vision.

“Anyone
want to fill me in?”

“Gary
is somewhere in these woods. So are Tabby and Julian.”

William
growled, the sound low and fierce. “He’s going after my daughter-in-law?”

“They’re
not married.”

All
three Bears turned and stared at Glory.

She
crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. “They’re not.”

“She’s
right. We’re mated. That’s much more permanent than marriage.” Though, if Tabby
wanted to go through a ceremony, he’d be proud to stand up in church and recite
his vows. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he considered
insisting on it. It would be one more way to make it known she belonged to him.

Ryan
rolled his eyes. “C’mon, Glory. Let’s go.” He took hold of her arm, ignoring
her attempt to pull away from him. Bunny was pretty sure the attempt was
automatic at this point. “They went that way.”

“Mm-hmm.”
He looked into the Jeep and saw two piles of clothes. “And they shifted.” His
eyes darkened. He did
not
like the thought of his Tabby seeing any male
but him naked. He didn’t care that in the Packs and Prides nudity meant nothing
during a shift. It meant something to
him
, dammit. His father never
allowed his mother to run around naked, that was for sure.

Of
course, she laughed at his growls and did what she damn well pleased, but his
father didn’t exactly
allow
it.

“Follow
me.” Ryan led the way, Glory stomping in her delicate looking boots right by
his side.

Bunny
hid a smile. Something told him she’d give his cousin hell, but in the end
she’d be just what he needed.

Tabby
growled. The son of a bitch had stayed downwind. He was still in human form,
but he was naked and ready to shift at any moment.

“Wow,
what a coincidence. Here I am, out for a leisurely run, and who do I run into
but the fucking Outcast and her baby polar Bear.”

Tabby
rolled her eyes. Julian was going to kick his ass just for the polar Bear
comment.

She
couldn’t attack, not yet. Not until he made a threatening move. She wouldn’t do
anything to jeopardize her new place in the Pride, and kicking Gary’s ass
without cause would definitely make problems for her.

The
two idiots Gary took everywhere laughed. Hell, after six months in Halle, she
still
didn’t know their names. They’d moved to flank Gary, protecting their precious
wannabe Alpha. Tabby snorted.
Right. He’s an Alpha. And I’m a Teletubby.

Gary
looked over her shoulder at Julian. “I have no quarrel with you, Bear. Back
away and you won’t get hurt.”

Julian’s
answer was the deep, throbbing roar of a black bear, echoing through the woods
to be heard miles away.

Gary
smiled. “So be it. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to fight a Bear.”

Gary
and his buddies began to shift.

Bunny’s
head lifted at the sound of the other Bear’s roar. “They’re farther than I
thought.”