~

“Ah crap! Now what?” Dane growled at the sight of the truck parked alongside Bowie’s and Roland, where he usually placed his.

He knew that truck, he’d seen it before, and as he unfolded his large frame from inside the vehicle, and listened hard in the direction of the cabins, sure enough, trouble had come calling.

How much trouble was going to depend entirely on Bowie and his overreaction to … everything.

Sure enough, the loud roar that could only have come from Bowie echoed through the trees that lined the way to the cabin and greeted the alpha’s ears as it grated on his nerves.

Dane wasn’t alone in setting off on fast feet, Rayner was beside him, and Colt held back just a little so that Jena could keep up.

“Is that the crazy bear guy again?” Jena asked.

She’d tangled with him once already, and she couldn’t say that she’d enjoyed it. It sounded to her as if it was someone else’s turn, and she pitied the poor guy that had crossed his path.

“Bowie’s a little high strung, but you’ll get used to him,” Rayner tossed back over her shoulder.

“That would imply I’m staying around long enough to get used to him,” Jena bit out, and she heard the rumble of a growl that came from Colt. “Don’t growl at me in that tone of voice,” she berated him.

“How would you like me to growl at you when I growl at you?” Colt said. Rather than annoy him, her words had amused him.

“I don’t see why you have to growl all the time anyway,” Jena tossed back.

Truth be told, the growling was different, but it wasn’t all bad different in her book.

Colt never got a chance to reply as Bowie’s antics stepped up a notch. As they reached the expense of the cabins, there was Bowie, facing off against the equally impressive frame of Tank.

“God damn it, Tank,” Dane growled.

“You know that guy?” Jena asked.

“Yeah, he’s kind of family,” Rayner offered back, and that caused Tank to flick a quick look back at her over his shoulder.

His brow was down over his eyes in a deep scowl, his hands were fisted at his sides, and the man looked fit to try to rip Bowie’s head off.

“I trusted you, Rayner,” Tank growled.

“And I delivered what you asked for. Mitzi and Joshua are safe…”

“With this crazy-ass bear acting as nursemaid to my nephew…” Tank growled.

“Watch your mouth,” Bowie growled in annoyance.

“You mean the man that is taking care of his cub? Your new brother in law…” Rayner shot back. She never got to finish.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Tank growled.

“Wait, I don’t have my damn pad and pencil to draw you a picture — think about it,” Rayner growled back.

Tank did think on it. It didn’t take long for the realisation of what she was telling him to click in his brain. Rayner watched as Tank’s muscles slowly relaxed, not by much, but it was a start.

“There you go, and I’m sure only a couple of brain cells imploded,” Rayner chuckled.

“That’s Mitzi’s mate?” Tank growled at the thought.

“He’s a better catch than some I could mention,” Rayner growled back.

“You’re right,” Bowie growled and drew everyone’s attention toward him, but there was only one person that he was speaking to, and that was Tank. “I wouldn’t be my first choice for Mitzi either……

“Bowie…” Rayner started, but the big man cut her off.

“No, Rayner, we all know it’s right. But she is my mate, and I’ll defend her and Joshua with my life.”

Bowie had said his piece — whether Tank liked it or not, it was how things were and how they would always be.

“I know,” Tank grumbled another growl. “But I don’t like it.”

“You people are — strange,” Jena said with a small shake of her head in disbelief. Shifters sure did take some getting used to.

“Who’s that?” Tank grumbled on another dark scowl.

“Mine,” Colt growled.

“Fair enough, saves me having to breathe through my damn mouth.” Tank shrugged his shoulders.

“Say what?” Jena turned her nose up at the behemoth.

Tank lifted his hand and motioned towards the outdoor crib. “Can I hold my nephew?” he growled at Bowie.

“You’re his damn kin, ain’t you?” Bowie tossed back.

“Last time I looked, unless that changed too while I was away.”

“Well, go ahead,” Bowie tossed up a hand and motioned for him to walk toward the sleeping cub. “Do you need an invitation?”

“I don’t know — do I?” Tank growled back.

“Yep, damn strange,” Jena said.

 

~

~

 

“Why am I here?” Jena asked as she looked around the building site of a cabin that Colt was hard at work on.

The outside looked rundown, but on the inside, it was more littered with tools and wood than in dire need of repair. The smell of freshly cut wood hung in the air and she couldn’t say that smell was distasteful.

Colt had said they needed to talk, and she’d reluctantly agreed. Rayner had told her some – a lot — but, she guessed that there was still more that she didn’t know.

It wasn’t like she wasn’t curious — about mates, about Colt, about crazy ass shifters in general. She could tell herself that it was research for her work, should she come up against a shifter again, but in truth — it wasn’t.

She’d been somewhat impressed by Colt when they’d gone after Donnelly. It wasn’t that she couldn’t take care of herself — she’d been doing that since she was sixteen — it was the fact that he’d rushed to protect her in the way that he had.

She wasn’t a Princess that needed protecting by her knight in shining armour, anything but. It had just struck a little something deep within her that somebody had bothered to care enough to do it.

That wasn’t to say that she was happy about it — in truth, she didn’t know how she felt. Maybe her pride had taken a small dent, and yet, there was a part of her that had more than liked it.

“This is all I have to offer you right now…” Colt Started. He felt a sense of shame in him that he couldn’t give his mate more.

It was a borrowed, run-down cabin on someone else’s land, and she should have more. But he was fixing it up, and he’d make things right in the future. He’d work his damn backside off to give her what she needed.

“Okay, hold it right there, sparky,” Jena said, holding her hand up and stopping him in his tracks. “Somebody is getting ahead of themselves, and that someone isn’t me.”

“I just wanted…” Colt shifted on his feet and tried to explain, but she cut him off again.

“Oh, I know what you wanted,” Jena said as she folded her arms and offered him a dark scowl.

“It’s not like that…”

“Sounds like that to me,” Jena tossed back.

“Well, you’re wrong.” Colt felt the hot flash of annoyance go through him. She was his mate — how could she think that he’d ever treat her that way?