Cyrus awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. He lifted the phone from the receiver and held it to his ear.

“Hello?” he said groggily.

“This is Commander Rollo Morris. We were able to apprehend several of the men on your property. Two of them were wounded and still unconscious.”

Daisy sat up in bed beside him and Fifi started to roll around in the blankets.

“What to do you want us to do?” Cyrus asked.

“We need you to come down to the station and identify the suspects.”

“We’ll be down there as soon as possible,” Cyrus said.

Cyrus hung up the phone and looked at Daisy who was still in her bathrobe. He had carried her to the bed night before and placed under the covers. It had been so sweet to see her sleeping on his lap. It reminded him that he had slept on her lap just the night before when she had heroically removed the bullets from his chest.

“Did they find my stepdad?” she asked.

“They found two men who had been wounded and were unconscious. They want us to identify the suspects.”

“I’ll get ready to go.”

Daisy went to the bathroom to retrieve the clothes she’d borrowed from Sylvia. Cyrus was lacing up his shoes when she came back out. She slipped into the shoes that Sylvia had lent her and bit her bottom lip.

“Don’t worry, my love,” he said. “I’ll be beside you the whole time.”

“I just don’t want my stepfather to see me.”

“I won’t let him hurt you again,” Cyrus vowed.

She nodded and he gathered her in his arms, kissing the top of her head.

“Everything will be all right, baby. Jessie is going to be here in a few minutes. We’ll meet him downstairs.”

She let out a long sigh and then nodded her head against his chest. Daisy made sure Fifi had everything she needed while they were gone. They left the suite and went downstairs to meet Jessie in the lobby.

“Cyrus,” Jessie said, standing from the sitting area. He grabbed his older brother in a rough embrace. “Looking good, man. And this is your mate? Cyrus, you old dog. I can’t believe you got such a cute little mate for your own.”

“This is my brother Jessie,” Cyrus said, almost embarrassed.

Daisy reached out to shake Jessie’s hand and gave him a cute smile in appreciation for the somewhat embarrassing comment.

“I’m lucky to have him,” she said.

“He’s lucky to have you from what I understand,” Jessie said. “You saved his life on the mountain. Good on you, sister.”

“Thank you,” Daisy said with a laugh. “It was nothing.”

“So, you two need a ride into town?” Jessie asked.

“We’re stopping at the police station. And then we’re going shopping.”

“You can take the truck if you want and drop me off in town. I can take my bike back to the ranch.”

“Sounds good,” Cyrus said. “Let’s go.”

They dropped Jessie off in the parking lot of the grocery store and continued on to the police station. Cyrus held Daisy’s hand outside the front door of the station. He kissed her knuckles and looked deeply into her eyes, making sure that she was ready for this.

“I’m fine. Let’s do this,” she assured him, and they went inside.

“We are here to see Commander Morris,” Cyrus told the officer at the front of the station.

“Take a seat. The commander will see you in a moment.”

Cyrus and Daisy found a place to sit. A few moments later, Rollo emerged from the back offices and waved for them to follow him. They walked through the cubicles in the Fate Mountain Police Department and Rollo opened the door of his office. Daisy and Cyrus walked inside and took chairs on the opposite side of Rollo’s desk. Rollo sat down and folded his hands on his desk.

“Did you find my stepfather?” Daisy asked. “He was tied to a tree with strips of his suit.”

“We did find a man matching that description.”

“Good,” Daisy said, looking down at her lap.

“You want us to identify them?” Cyrus said.

“Yes,” Rollo said, lifting up a computer tablet. He flicked across the screen and then turned it to Daisy and Cyrus. “Do you recognize these men?”

The tablet showed a split screen of two men with their hands cuffed to a table and two separate holding cells.

“That’s my stepfather,” Daisy said.

“But I don’t know who the other man is. Is that Pierce Evert?” Daisy asked.

“No. You must not have got him.”

“The other man must be one of my stepdad’s henchmen. In fact, wait, I do recognize him. He’s worked for my stepfather for about a year.”

“And these are the men who attacked you on the mountain?”

“They are,” Cyrus said.

“They’ll be charged and sent to the county jail to wait for sentencing.”

“Is there going to be a trial?” Daisy asked.

“Most likely. Trespassing, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon. These are serious charges. This case may bring up more than you bargained for with your stepdad’s criminal endeavors.”

“I hope it does. He betrayed me and he hurt my mother. I think she died of a broken heart. They said it was a heart attack, but I know better.”

“Are we free to go now?” Cyrus asked.

“You are.”

Daisy and Cyrus left the police station hand-in-hand. His mind was racing a million miles a minute as he thought of Pierce still being out there. Right now though, Daisy needed some decent clothing to wear. Bringing her stepfather to justice would be hard on her. But this had to come to a conclusion. The man had to be punished for what he had done, not only to Daisy, but to the people of this community. Dealing in crystal with the hyenas only proved what a bad person he was, in Cyrus’s opinion.

They made it into town and went into the local clothing store. There were dresses and shoes and bags and clothing for men as well. Daisy trotted into the women’s section with a squeal, deliriously happy to find something to wear. He loved the sight of her shopping. How she went from rack to rack, feeling the fabric and holding the dresses up in front of her. She shook the hangers to watch the fabric move. He delighted in the twinkle in her eye and the smile on her lips. He didn’t think he had ever seen anything so beautiful.

She picked multiple outfits and shoes, handbag and hair accessories. Cyrus had done his own shopping and the salesgirl rang them up. When they got outside, Daisy suggested they go buy makeup at the drugstore. Cyrus thought that was a great idea. Watching her face light up at the clothing had been fun, now he would get to see her enjoy herself even more.

It was hard to believe that a set in his ways grumpy old mountain grizzly would enjoy watching a young girl shop for clothes and makeup as much as he did, but it warmed his heart to see her happy. He would take her muddy and naked with her hair in tangles, barefoot on the mountain, any day. But the sight of her prettied up in the way she enjoyed was a sight to behold, and he wanted to give her everything her heart desired.

They went to the drugstore and she filled up a basket with makeup and nail polish and squealed at the colors and choices she found. He loved how enthusiastic and happy she was at such simple things. When they’d first met, he never would have imagined that he would get her like he did now. But even the act of shopping for makeup and the strange concoction of their personalities together gave him a new appreciation for fate and how it worked on people. When they were done with their shopping, Cyrus drove them back to the lodge and they went back to their rooms. Daisy unpacked her haul and began to happily go through her new things, talking to Fifi in the bedroom, while Cyrus ordered them a late lunch.

The phone rang and Cyrus answered it.

“This is Commander Morris. I wanted to let you know that the suspects are being transported to the county jail to await trial. The other individuals you reported involved in the assault have not been apprehended, but we have reports that they have been spotted in the area. I thought you should be aware of that. The Bear Patrol is on the outlook for the suspects and will arrest them on sight.”

Cyrus let out a nervous sigh between clenched teeth. Pierce Evert was still out there and so were several of the hyena shifters involved in the attack. They had to be brought down. Pierce had threatened Daisy. Cyrus would no longer try to escape the truth of human and shifter nature. He would stand up and fight for what he believed in. Now that he fully understood what it meant to love someone.

It was Daisy he was meant to defend and protect. Not some idea of nature or honor or anything else, but the promise of the love he saw glowing in her eyes. The power that their primal bond gave them both. The love that they shared that could create worlds and cubs, and a future brighter than anyone had ever imagined. They could have it all, together.