~

 

“Back the hell off,” Jena warned Bowie as she fisted the extendable baton in her hand and planted her feet, ready for the big mother of a shifter to attack.

Jena wasn’t stupid, she knew the odds of tangling with a shifter were all on his side, but she wasn’t going to go down without a fight either. She’d get at least one good swing in, and she’d aim it at the man’s thick head.

“Bowie!” Rayner’s hard growl distracted Jena, hell, she hadn’t known that her friend was a shifter, but she kept her eyes locked firmly on the big man, just in case.

“She got too close to Joshua,” Bowie bit out, desperately trying to get his bear to stand down, and more than aware of the way that Rayner was positioning herself between him and the female.

“She’s not going to hurt Joshua…” Rayner started to try to talk the shifter down, but Colt ran right on by her and launched himself at Bowie.

“What the…?” Jena bit out.

“Jena, back off,” Rayner said, as she rushed over to Joshua’s crib and snatched up the infant to get him out of harm’s way.

Two crazy-ass bear shifters going at it was more than unpredictable – it was downright deadly if they lost control of their beasts and shifted.

“You don’t gotta tell me twice,” Jena snorted, and she was already backing away from the fight.

Colt and Bowie were knocking ten tonnes of crap out of each other as Rayner cradled the infant, and then the door of Rayner’s cabin was tossed open, and her mate came out zipping up his jeans. She guessed his morning coffee had kicked in.

Dane took in the sight, groaned, and headed right for the two culprits that had disturbed him.

“Jena, meet Dane, he’s all mine,” Rayner chuckled at the sight of her mate looking mean, moody, and like he wanted to tear off a couple of heads and hand them back to a couple of idiots.

“Hi,” Dane nodded in Jena’s direction as he stalked across the way.

“Hey,” Jena said, and she was more than aware of the surreal moment even if her friend seemed to be acting as if it was normal. Maybe it was – for her.

Dane didn’t pause for the greeting. He was right in the thick of the fight a heartbeat later, with his big fists swinging, and uncaring which man he hit next.

“He’s the alpha,” Rayner informed Jena, as she tipped her chin up in the air with a look of pride.

“Nice — moves,” Jena offered back on a small grimace as the alpha landed a solid uppercut on Bowie’s chin and the huge shifter stumbled backwards.

“Enough!” Dane roared, and both men were left bloodied and breathing hard, as they eyed each other with dark glares.

“Colt, you’re only here at the clan’s good graces — you were warned,” Dane growled. “And Bowie — you got a cub to think about now.”

“It wasn’t Colt’s fault,” Bowie admitted, and it was hard for him to do, especially with the look of disappointment on his brother’s face, but it had to be done.

“Bowie overreacted,” Rayner informed her mate.

“I got too close to his baby,” Jena admitted, holding up her hand in front of her and taking a portion of the blame. “I guess daddy bear is a little overprotective. My bad.”

“And Colt?” Dane growled.

“He was protecting Jena,” Rayner said and watched as her mate rolled his eyes, chewed on his thoughts, and then rolled his shoulders in annoyance. She knew that he was trying to calm the bear within him down.

“I still got to work on that,” Bowie said, shifting his gaze down to the ground, and clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides.

“Yeah — yeah, you do,” Dane growled.

“My bad,” Bowie grumbled, and he shot a look at Jena from under his drawn down eyebrows. “Sorry.”

“Well, they say you should do one thing every day that makes your heart go boom — it did,” she chuckled.

“You want me to hit him again?” Dane asked.

He liked the woman already — she wasn’t screaming, or crying, or running. That made life a whole hell of a lot easier.

“No, but you can punch that one again,” Jena pointed an accusing finger at Colt, and a growl rumbled in his broad chest.

“I apologised for that three times already,” he grumbled. But the growl that still rumbled within him wasn’t for her, but his bear warning him to man-up.

Colt was paying the beast no mind. Rayner had hit the damn nail right on the head when she’d said that Jena was out of his league – she was, and there wasn’t a damn thing that he could do to change that.

Mine…

A woman like her didn’t need to be saddled to a damn bear shifter. Not one like him.

Mine…

He might have inadvertently sniffed the damn air when he and Bowie were going at it, and that wasn’t his fault, but it didn’t mean he needed to act on it.

Mine…

Bear or no damn bear – she was too damn good for the likes of him.

“You look a little sour-faced and pained there furry balls,” Jena teased him, and he liked the light of amusement in her eyes.

“Furry balls,” Bowie chuckled.

“You got a damn problem, Bowie?” Colt growled, flexing his muscles and ready to go another round with the crazy bear.

“I do if two start that shit again,” Dane warned them.

“Seen as your heart went boom, you want a beer?” Rayner asked.

“It’s not even lunch … ah, what the hell, who am I kidding? I’d love a damn beer,” Jena shrugged.

Mine…

Colt’s bear was more than happy that the female was staying around a while longer. The beast wanted its mate, and it wanted Colt to take that first step in staking a claim on her, but it was more than willing to push the point home if he didn’t.

Colt cursed under his breath. He was trying his damnedest to hold on to the hope that she was leaving soon, and now she wasn’t.

Mine…

If he didn’t get rid of her soon, then he might not be able to hold his beast at bay.

“I thought you were leaving,” he growled, and Jena cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Something I said?” she grinned. “Furry balls.”

Mine…

“Not so I noticed,” Colt growled back, and he changed his stance once more. He itched inside, and it was hard to stand still.

“Hey, if you need to go and do what a bear does in the woods, go right ahead, don’t let me stop you,” she offered him a wicked grin.

“I was damn trying,” Dane grumbled.

“I’m good, but thanks,” Colt growled as the others chuckled.

Mine…

“Well, okay then” Jena shrugged.

She didn’t know what was wrong with the guy, but he was looking decidedly agitated, and maybe a little constipated. It was amusing.

“Bowie, take Joshua,” Rayner said, snatching Bowie’s attention back for a brief minute as the big man stood there and studied Colt.

“Oh, man,” Bowie chuckled and pointed at Colt.

“What the hell is your problem now?” Colt growled back.

“Say it,” Bowie urged him.

“What?”

Mine…

“Say it, go on,” Bowie chuckled.

“You’re a damn crazy…” Colt dismissed him.

“Tell her … I dare you,” Bowie growled.

Colt bit down on that rush to answer the man’s challenge that raised its ugly head within him.

“Oh…” Rayner groaned, catching onto what was going on between them. That wasn’t going to end well, or maybe it was?

“Bowie…” Colt growled, but the smirk on Bowie’s face was growing.

“Too scared?” Bowie added salt to Colt’s wounds.

“Damn, crazy ass bear,” Colt growled.

“Chicken…” Bowie chuckled, and Colt rushed to anger.

Then Colt bit out a line of dark curses as he stalked towards Jena, and she may have scowled, fisted the baton in her hand a little tighter, but she held her ground as the big shifter came toe to toe with her.

“Mine…” Colt growled.