Two weeks later
Glacier landed, quickly freeing Mandy from the harness. Her feet hit the ground and she shot off to the right fast, dodging trees. He followed closely on her heels.
They were near the border of Velder’s land, and he inhaled, picking up the scent of blood. The noise that had alerted them something was wrong still sounded. A bear roared and a faint scream-like cry followed.
Mandy found the animals first. A baby black bear had slid down into a narrow ravine, one of its front legs trapped under a rock that had come down with it. She froze at the top. Glacier stopped next to her. The unhappy mama bear roared at them from twenty feet across the gap in the earth. It looked as if she were trying to find a way down to her baby, but sheer rocks on that side covered any ground she might have used to lower herself.
“What do we do?” His mate peered up at him with a frown. “That poor baby is crying. Or screaming. It kind of sounds like that, doesn’t it?”
“I’ll distract the mama. You jump down to free her cub. Be careful. It might be young, but they bite and have deadly claws. Ready?”
She nodded. “You be careful, too. Mama looks pissed.”
Glacier took flight, making a lot of noise. The enraged mother bear snapped her head up, nearly panicking at the sight of him. He flew to the other side and landed on a boulder, high enough to stay out of swiping range.
Mandy leapt down into the ravine, using a few large rocks to land on before she reached bottom. She crept toward the animal. He was worried, but Mandy had Vampire speed on her side. He expected her to lunge forward, free the cub’s leg, and run like hell. They’d practiced him swooping down and grabbing hold of her wrists to get her into the air and swiftly away from danger.
His mate had other plans.
“You poor thing…”
“What the fuck?” He watched her creep forward, hands outstretched toward the cub.
Mandy walked right up to it, her eyes glowing bright. The cub stared at her, holding very still. Its cries ceased. Her voice carried to him, along with the soothing tone she used. “Easy, little guy. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“What are you doing?”
“I can hypnotize some animals.”
“You tell me this now?”
“This is my first bear, and I wasn’t sure it would work. It seems to. Dogs love me. So do cats. I lived in a city. We don’t get creatures like these in New York.”
He snorted.
She bent in front of the cub, moving the chest-size rock off its trapped front paw. Glacier grit his teeth as she used her fangs to slice open her hand, rubbing her blood over the bleeding leg of the cub.
“What are you doing now?”
“It will heal him. The leg doesn’t look broken.”
“That’s safe?”
“Exposing him to my blood externally should heal the wound. Having him drink my blood, well, who knows? He’ll be vulnerable to attack if he’s limping from these nasty gashes.”
Glacier crossed his arms, grinning. “I can’t believe you were an assassin. You’re too softhearted.”
His mate straightened, petted the cub’s head, and raised her other hand. She flipped him off. “I’m a total badass. I just use my powers for good.” She looked up at him with a grin. “How are we going to get him out of his ravine? He’s going to have trouble climbing out. Do you think you could lift him and fly him up there?”
He gaped at her.
“Can you?”
“Only if I want him to flip out and tear his claws into me.”
“I’ll have him sleep for a few minutes. Can you do it?”
“Maybe. I’ve never tried. I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”
“What else do you have to do? We’ve patrolled the area almost every day but never find much except animals in trouble. Well, hello. Here he is. Adorable baby bear. We’re helping him.”
“The shit I do for you.” He jumped, using his wings to slow his fall, and landed near her.
“I love you too.”
“I’m so blaming you if he rips me up.”
“You’re a GarLycan. Shell your body a little. He’s just a baby.”
“A sixty-pound baby.”
She chuckled and stared into the cub’s eyes, talking softly to it. The cub didn’t fall asleep but it seemed to calm even more. Glacier approached, fully expecting shit to go sideways. He lifted the cub, hardening his skin to battle mode. The cub didn’t protest but did keep staring at Mandy.
“Hurry up. Fly him up to his mama. She’s really pissed.”
He glanced up, seeing the female black bear glaring at him from over the edge of the ravine. Another roar tore from her. He decided speed was best. He backed away from Mandy with the cub and flew up.
The cub freaked, just like he expected, but he managed to keep hold of the wiggling, bucking furball long enough to gently drop it to the ground thirty feet from the adult bear, now barreling full speed at him in a protective rage. He took flight and circled around, landing back near Mandy.
“My hero.” She threw herself into his arms.
“I try.”
“You love me.”
“I do. You should feed. You just donated blood.” He took her hand, noticing that she’d already healed.
“I’m good. I’m only biting you when we’re naked.”
He glanced at his watch. “Two more hours on duty to go.”
She released him, turned around, and backed up. “Clip me on. Let’s go. We have the south sector to fly over still.”
He bent slightly, clipping her harness to his matching chest piece. “Great. Maybe you can talk me into rescuing a big-ass elk next.”
“They aren’t as cute as baby bears.”
“No shit.” He hugged her waist as he straightened, lifting her off her feet since he was taller. “Ready?”
“Always.”
He took flight. Mandy opened her arms, pretending to fly as they soared over the treetops. He grinned. She amused the hell out of him.
“You like to fly.”
“Love it. You’re the best mate ever!”
“So are you.” He lowered his face, putting his mouth next to her ear. “Are you happy here with me?”
She turned her head and smiled. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be…and I love you with everything I am.”
He completely agreed. “I’m glad I found you again.”
“You should have listened to me back in nineteen eighty-nine. Don’t you know? Women are always right.”
He laughed. “I’ll remember that.”
His cell buzzed and he withdrew it from his back pocket. He read the text on his screen. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Mandy twisted her head to peer at him. “Watch where you’re flying. I don’t want to hit a tree.”
He put the phone away, turning in the wind to fly them home. “Olivia just contacted us. It seems the council is sending a team to track down a Vampire who fathered one of the first VampLycans. That’s all she knows so far.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“Velder will want to know about this. The clans actively hunt the Vamps who attacked their mothers. Olivia will send more information when she has it.”
“Why would the council send an assassin team after this guy? It happened a couple hundred years ago.”
“Olivia will help us figure it out. She’s our eyes and ears now with the council. I’ll call everyone to let them know what’s up.” He wrapped his arms around his mate, landing in front of their cabin.
She smiled at him as he unclipped her from the harness, easing her onto her feet.
“Why do you look so happy? We just got potentially bad news.”
“I’m with you. That’s reason enough.”
He chuckled. “Very true. Not to mention, this is one mission we don’t have to go on. Whatever happens next, it’s someone else’s turn to deal with it. I only have to make a few phone calls…and then I get to make love to my mate.”
“That sounds like a perfect plan.”
He scooped her up into his arms, walking up the porch. Life was pretty damn great.