My grizzly bear growls as I charge at Bledsoe. He’s fighting to get out, snarling and furious that I’m keeping him caged in.

Sorry, Grizz. This fucker is all mine.

I’ve been waiting so long for this moment. The anger and hate and fury of six years is boiling over into a violent rage that I’m going to unleash on my former number two.

I throw a vicious right hook as I arrive, aiming right for Bledsoe’s jaw. He ducks out of the way, but I quickly pivot and launch a flying knee that hits him square in the face.

“Oomf,” he grunts as he grabs my body and tackles me down.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lachlan collide into Colton, bringing him down. Rigs jumps on Lachlan’s back and that’s all I see before Bledsoe lands one of his own hard punches onto my face. My eyes squeeze shut as pain shoots through my brain like lightning.

We’re both fighting all out, kicking and punching, wrestling and trying to out-maneuver each other. We were always a close match, and I always the upper hand, but only slightly.

That was six years ago, and now as he throws me down, I can tell that I’ve gotten a little soft. The safe cushy town and weekly hot dog dinners haven’t done much for my killer’s edge. Bledsoe on the other hand has gotten faster, stronger. He’s still been living the rough outlaw lifestyle. His moves are fast, his instincts sharp.

But where I’m lacking in physicality, I more than make up in heart. I’m fighting for my mate and that makes all the difference.

I failed to protect Kennedy once, and that’s not going to happen again.

Bledsoe lands a swift kick in my stomach, but I catch his foot and twist his leg until he falls to the ground. I leap on top of him, landing three quick punches before he covers up.

Lachlan has his hands full with Rigs and Colton. Whenever he has one of them on the ropes, the other jumps on his back, taking away his upper hand.

I steal a quick look at the boys in between punches and see Ronin flying through the air. He lands on Caleb’s cabin and disappears as he crashes through the roof, leaving a huge hole behind him.

The boys would be burnt toast if it weren’t for Kneecap who’s still holding the enormous dragon’s mouth shut as he pummels him over and over again with his meaty fist and hard elbow. His burned skin is starting to heal, but there are still huge patches hanging off him. I can see his red muscle fibers on his left arm. They move and tighten as he holds onto Vesuvius.

“I don’t know why you’re so pissed,” Bledsoe hisses as he grabs my arm and pivots away from me. We’re wrestling on the ground, both fighting to gain a better position. “Your girl looks better with the scars. They’re hiding her ugly ass face.”

A surge of adrenaline rips through me and I lunge onto him, taking him down. I straddle his chest and posture up as my bear rages inside, begging me for a turn.

Bledsoe grunts and grimaces, trying to move, but I hold him in place. “That’s my mate you’re talking about.”

He opens his mouth to make a comment so I slam my fist into his face. Over and over again.

“Max,” Lachlan grunts as Bledsoe finally goes limp.

I whip my head up just in time to see Rigs and Colton taking him down. He’s outmatched now, and he needs my help.

I slam my fist into Bledsoe’s face one more time before leaping off him and tackling Colton off my friend. He fights back, but I’m way stronger. He’s a piece of cake after just fighting Bledsoe.

I grab him around the neck and then—

Blackness.

The strength just empties out of my legs and I drop to the ground with my head pounding and white spots dancing in front of my eyes. I try to catch myself as I fall, but my arms aren’t listening to my brain and I collapse onto the ground. My momentum rolls me over and I look up through my daze and see Bledsoe standing over me. He’s holding a huge rock with my blood splattered on it.

“Night, night,” he says with a grin as he lifts the rock over his head, ready to hit me with a fatal blow. “And don’t worry. I’ll take good care of your girl.”

I try to move, but I can’t. He really cracked me good and my body seems to have temporarily shut down.

Bledsoe’s face tightens as he’s about to slam the huge rock down onto my head, but someone tackles him just in time. The rock falls harmlessly to the ground as the two bodies fly backward.

I manage to push up to an elbow and am shocked to see Rigs on the ground, fighting with his alpha. Colton pushes Lachlan to the side and rushes over, joining in.

I’m not sure if he knocked a few screws loose in my brain but it looks like Rigs and Colton managed to pin Bledsoe down.

Strong arms wrap around me and lift me to my wobbly feet. It’s Lachlan.

“Is it true, Maximus?” Rigs asks. He’s breathing heavy with a fierce look in his eye. “Is he selling out shifters into slavery?”

Colton shakes his head as he holds his alpha’s arm. “I won’t be a part of that.”

The fogginess in my head clears and my legs find their strength again. I step in front of Bledsoe and he tries to kick me. Lachlan leaps down on him, holding his legs together.

Between Rigs and Colton each holding an arm and Lachlan holding his legs, Bledsoe can’t move.

“You have so much to answer for,” I say as I walk up to him.

“I don’t have to answer to you,” he hisses. “You’re not my alpha anymore. I’m the alpha of my own crew now.”

“Your crew has turned on you,” I say, glancing at Rigs who’s struggling to hold Bledsoe’s tattooed arm. “You have nothing.”

This guy has ruined enough of the earth’s oxygen with his polluted breath. As long as he’s alive, Kennedy is in danger, so it’s time to end him.

The boys hold on tight as I wrap my arm around his head.

Bledsoe sneers at me. “I hope you think of me every time you look at those scars. I hope you’ll see my face laughing at you.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m starting over after tonight. A beautiful future with me and my mate, and you’ll be rotting in the ground, never to be thought of again.”

“You won’t—”

I squeeze my arm around his neck and yank his head as hard as I can until it rips off his body.

“Oh, gross!” Colton shouts as blood splatters all over him. They drop the headless body onto the ground as I watch Bledsoe’s eyes go dull.

“That was for Skin and for hurting my girl,” I whisper under my breath.

I toss his head onto the ground and turn to the next fight. This time, Rigs and Colton are by our side as me and Lachlan run to join our crew.

Vesuvius sees four bear shifters running to join the fight and seems to think that this is a good time to call it a night.

He thrashes around wildly sending Tito, Ronin, and Caleb flying off his body. Only Kneecap remains, still holding his mouth shut as Vesuvius flings his head from side to side. This guy will always be this town’s toughest shifter. I don’t care what anyone says.

But even the toughest shifter can only do so much against a full grown dragon. Vesuvius raises his head and slams Kneecap into the ground hard. He does it again and again with a speed that has me gasping.

“No,” I whisper as I run as hard as I can. Kneecap’s grip is slipping and he’s barely holding on.

Vesuvius seems to sense it as well and he whips his head back, sending Kneecap sailing through the air behind him. He lands somewhere in the distance with a crash.

Caleb, Tito, and Ronin join our side and suddenly Vesuvius doesn’t look so confident as he faces seven grizzly bear shifters.

He lets out a chirping roar as he bucks up onto his hind legs and spreads out his huge orange wings, ready to take off.

I rush forward with the boys following me, but Vesuvius holds us back with a wall of flames. He spews the fire out of his mouth until we’re forced to back up and let him escape.

With a screeching chirp, he flaps his giant wings and pushes off the ground.

“Fuck,” I grumble in defeat as he starts to fly. He’s going to get away and there’s nothing we can do about it.

He flies as high as the trees when something jerks him back down. It’s then that I see Kneecap holding onto his tail. His enormous feet are getting dragged deep through the dirt as he holds on with both hands.

Vesuvius panics and starts to flap his wings even harder, but he still can’t move.

With a savage grunt, Kneecap twists his body and yanks the dragon down. Vesuvius slams into the ground so hard that I feel it shake under my feet.

We move immediately, swarming on the dragon shifter with all of the strength we have left. The twins and Caleb jump on the dragon’s mouth, holding it closed as Rigs and Colton each pin a wing to the ground. Kneecap holds his tail as Lachlan holds his back legs together.

I run to the pickup truck and grab a thick chain that’s in the back. I run back with it and wrap it around the dragon’s thick neck, tightening it like a noose.

His orange eyes widen as I grab it and give it a yank.

Suddenly, his body starts to shake and shrink. Everybody rushes forward as he turns back into his human form.

This time it’s easier to hold him down. There’s at least one bear shifter on each of his limbs and Kneecap is holding him in a headlock. He’s not going anywhere.

“Your days of tormenting the citizens of this town are over,” I say as I wrap the chain around his neck. “No shifter will be in slavery as long as I’m alive.”

“That’s what you think,” he says with a grin as he glares at me. “They’re coming with or without me. They’ll get all of you, and those whores of yours.”

As soon as I hear that word I start pulling. I pull and don’t stop until his skin turns blue and his eyes roll into the back of his head.

The boys only let go long after they’re sure he’s dead. His body drops to the ground and he doesn’t move.

We’re all breathing heavily as we finally manage to take a second of rest. Only Kneecap looks like he’s ready for more.

He pounds his huge fist into his meaty hand as he turns to Rigs and Colton.

“Now it’s time for dessert.”

Rigs and Colton gulp as he lunges at them.