When I was close enough to smell Kylie, I stopped, taking several steps back so she wouldn’t pick up my scent. She wasn’t expecting me to be out there of course, but my scent was so familiar to her, that it wouldn’t take much for her to notice it.

From a distance, I inspected the cabin, recognizing the scents of Gabby and a few other women, along with the unmistakably horrid human scent I’d picked up on twice before. As I watched the man walk outside, I wished I’d been able to find him earlier—and with a stench like that, how hadn’t I? Maybe I would have prevented Gabby from being abducted.

The man headed back inside. Either I run in there and drag him out by my teeth or he comes out again and I tackle him. Running in there would certainly catch him off guard. No one would expect a bear to come dashing into a cabin. But I couldn’t tell exactly where the women were located inside and I didn’t want to trample anyone. I thought I could smell at least three alive, including Gabby. I could find a good window and go in that way.

I was pondering the best ways to get this guy when he came back out. Okay then, he made the decision for me. Then I saw he had a gun and was heading for Kylie. He must have heard her little growl earlier, too. If he was going to go after Kylie, there was no further choice to be made. She was my priority above all others, at all times.

I waited for him to gain a bit of distance from the cabin, then I charged. I ran full force at his back and pounced on him.

We both hit the ground with a hard thud. The air was pushed from his lungs with a grunt as my heavy feet pressed him down. He tried to move and lift his face from the dirt, but I wouldn’t let him.

I continued to press my weight on him, heavy enough to pin him. The man had lost his gun in the tumble, but apparently, he had a knife in his belt. He pulled it out and I felt a little prick where he stabbed my arm.

I roared at him and slashed across the side of his neck, hitting his carotid artery. It was the fastest way. I wanted to cause him pain for all the things I imagined he’d probably done to those women, but I didn’t have the time to shred him to ribbons, so a simple slice of the claws would have to do.

I almost got off him and walked away. No one should have survived an attack like that. But he had.

The man still moved, flailing and fighting back, and Kylie bounded toward us. She must’ve watched the whole thing from her safe place. She ran up to the man and pulled on his sleeve with her teeth. He still held the knife, but she had him at an angle where the weapon was useless to him.

With her holding him in place, I was able to slash him again. He finally went still.

Kylie and I exchanged looks. Neither of us had said anything. The rest of the clan had been there in the background of my mind, chatting once in a while, but they didn’t know what we were doing unless it had been leaked through our thoughts. It probably had, but they’d stayed quiet, probably observing, possibly moving in closer.

We’ve found Gabby and the other women and got the perpetrator, I told them. He came after Kylie, too.

Is Kylie okay? Becca asked.

He didn’t get to her. I was here, I answered.

Carson responded first. I’m on my way.

Hey! Max interjected. So am I!

We’re on our way, Carson corrected. Good work, you two.

Where is Cooper? I haven’t been able to reach him, Kylie said.

Not sure, Max answered.

No Alexis, either? I asked.

Haven’t seen or heard from either of them today, Carson said.

We’re heading in the cabin to get the captives out, I said. Any back up would be a great help. And if someone can notify the station—

On it, Carson said.

We’re shifting back now, I said.

We couldn’t go in there in animal form unless we intended to act like animals and stay in bear form. Obviously, it would be quite difficult to free anyone with paws instead of hands. And we couldn’t be in animal form when back up came; at least a few Rangers who weren’t shifters would surely respond to the call.

Kylie shifted back, too, and looked awkward about being naked in front of me. “We have to hurry!”

“I am.” I tore open my pack and threw a tshirt and boxer shorts at her.

“What’s this?”

“I didn’t see you with a pack, and you can’t exactly go in there naked, no matter how hot you are.”

She narrowed her eyes at me slightly. It wasn’t the time to flirt, and I hadn’t meant to. Not really. I pulled on a shirt and shorts and we were ready.

“We have to be smart about this,” I said. “We have no idea what we’ll find in there.”

She glared at me. “Oh really? Gee, thanks for the instruction. Gosh, it’s so hard being a newbie and not knowing what I’m doing.” The sarcasm was almost as sharp as the nasty look she gave me.

“Can we please not do this right now? There are lives on the line.”

“Agreed. Let’s move; my best friend is in there.”

“I’ve circled around, and I think the best place to enter from—”

I stopped when she dashed away from me. I didn’t want to shout to her for fear of being heard, but she was out of my talking range.

“Is the back,” I finished lamely.

I ran after her as her feet hit the porch. We were out of protocol in so many ways. We should have been waiting for back up. We should have been calling to the hostages from outside, making them come out. In any protocol or scenario we’d ever practiced or trained for, the last thing anyone should ever do is run right into a building without knowing what’s inside. And of course, that’s what we were about to do.

I cursed under my breath as Kylie pushed the door open, hard enough to make it slam against the exterior wall. I caught it and hurried in behind her.

Nothing could have prepared me for what was inside that cabin—and I’d seen some pretty crazy stuff in my days as a Search and Rescue Ranger.