Ash heard the approaching helicopter, but used to the sound of both the medevac services and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's survey helicopters, he didn't take particular notice of it until he saw Nika suddenly turn white and smelled the sharp scent of her fear.

"It's my family! They're coming for us!" she said urgently, clutching her phone. "I just got a text from my brother."

Ash ran for the shotgun, which he had set down on the mudroom bench the night before, next to his bunkers.

"Nika, get my phone!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Call Mom, Dane, and Sheriff Jacobsen—they're all in my contacts."

She didn't hesitate, scrambling off the stool and making a beeline for the end of the long island countertop, where his phone was plugged into a custom charging station.

Up until now, Ash hadn't quite believed that the Medveds would actually dare to invade another clan's territory. Bear shifters weren't like sabertooth shifters, after all. It had been at least a century since the last bear shifter interclan war had taken place.

No one is taking Nika from me, Ash thought grimly as he began to load the gun.

He was a good shot and an experienced hunter, but he'd never shot a person before. Now, he was determined to do whatever it took to protect his mate from her crazy family.

He heard Nika leave voicemail for first his brother, then his mother, then reach Sheriff Jacobsen.

As she breathlessly explained their situation, ending with "…please hurry!" he felt his bear rise inside him.

Ash's heart raced with excitement. He had always sensed his bear's presence deep inside him, but until recently it had always seemed far away, sleeping and unreachable no matter how often he tried to wake it.

And he had tried—a lot—as he’d finished off his teenage years and moved out of the normal timeframe of a first shift.

But ever since he had met Nika last summer, he had felt his bear's presence grow slowly stronger inside him. It felt closer now…and awake at last.

Maybe this is it! Maybe this is when I make my first shift!

It makes sense, since I now have a pregnant mate to protect.

The helicopter's roar outside became deafening.

"Nika, go hide," Ash ordered. "The basement door is right over—"

He heard a sound that made his blood run cold, and he whirled around.

Nika stood in his kitchen, a big, razor-sharp chef's knife in her hand. Her face was colorless with fear, and he could hear her heart pounding even from this distance.

"No," she said quietly. She sounded oddly calm despite the scent of terror emanating from her. "If they get past you, it won't do me any good to hide. Whoever they've sent for me is going to be a shifter. They'll be able to track me wherever I run to." Ash saw her swallow hard. "This is it. I want to stay with you and fight at your side."

She ran to him and went up on her tiptoes to give him a brief but passionate kiss. "I promised I would stay."

Ash wanted to protest. As a male bear shifter, it was his duty to protect his mate and their baby. But he felt in awe of Nika's courage. Like him, she was trapped in her human form right now.

His bear rose inside him. Ash could feel his skin prickling. A sharp ache stabbed through his joints. It's now or never, he thought.

He thrust the shotgun at Nika. "Do you know how to shoot one of these?"

She took it gingerly and shook her head. "I've never even touched a gun before."

Ash paused, already halfway through stripping off his shirt. "Shit."

"Yeah," Nika nodded.

There was a long moment of silence between them. The sound of the approaching helicopter grew steadily louder.

Then she added, her voice shaky. "But how hard could it be? Just point it and pull the trigger, right?"

Her voice caught on the last word, and Ash guessed that she was wondering whether she could actually shoot a member of her own family, no matter how estranged she was from them.

"Firing a warning shot will usually make someone take you seriously," he said, and saw the relief in her eyes.

"O-okay," she said, and he saw her fingers go white where they gripped the wooden stock and the barrel. "Uh, Ash, why are you stripping?"

He paused with his hands on his belt buckle. "I think I'm finally ready to shift."

Nika's eyes widened.

Ash skimmed out of his jeans and the rest of his clothes as quickly as he could.

Acutely aware that he was standing nude in the middle of his mudroom, he closed his eyes and willed the change to begin.

Okay, bear. I'm ready for you. Do your thing.

Nothing happened.

Ash could feel his bear pressing against the inside of his skin, making it burn and sending pins and needles shooting down his arms and legs as sharp pain stabbed his joints. But that was as far as it got.

NO! he shouted silently. Keep going! We have to protect our mate!

But it didn't do any good.

Push, you fucking coward! Help me!

And then his bear was suddenly gone, dwindling down like a heat mirage on the highway to Las Vegas, as if the effort of rising this far had exhausted it.

Ash cursed and hurried to dress himself again.

He avoided Nika's gaze, not wanting to see her disappointment.

"I'll protect you," he muttered, shame burning through him. "Give me the gun."

Without a word, she handed it over. And then he felt her hand on his arm, warm and reassuring. A knot formed in his chest. She believed in him.

Even after what had just happened, she still believed in him.

He'd justify her faith in him…or die trying.

The helicopter was close enough now to rattle all the windows of Ash's house.

Ash took a firm grip on his shotgun and opened his front door.

He stepped out onto his porch just in time to see a man emerge from the helicopter that had just landed in the pasture next to Ash's house.

The newcomer was the biggest shifter that Ash had ever met. He looked like the Terminator.

Nika's father—because the Terminator couldn't possibly be anyone else—was clean-shaven and wearing an Italian designer business suit. His wavy black hair was brushed with silver at the temples and trimmed in an expensive cut.

"Mikael Medved, stop right there!" Ash commanded, raising his shotgun and bracing it against his shoulder.

Medved ignored him. His gaze went straight past Ash to focus on Nika, who was standing at Ash's shoulder.

"Nika," Medved said in a deep, rumbling, Russian-accented voice. "Your mother orders you to return home with me."

Ash felt Nika's hand grip him, her fingers digging into the muscle of his shoulder. He smelled her fear and wanted to take her hand, but he didn't dare lower the gun.

"Papa, I am home. Ash is my mate, and I will stay here with him."

Medved shook his head. "You should know that it is impossible, radost' moya. Now be sensible and come with me." His tone sounded strangely gentle.

"No," Nika said firmly. "I'm sorry, Papa."

Medved took another step forward.

"Stop right there, Mr. Medved." Ash sighted down the gun barrel at the other shifter's knees. He couldn't bring himself to kill his mate's father in front of her eyes. The other shifter would suffer horrific injuries to his legs, but he would survive and heal…eventually. "Nika isn't going anywhere."

"I disagree," Medved said, calmly and with complete disregard for the gun pointed at him.

He met Ash's gaze at last, and Ash saw where Nika's striking gray eyes had come from. On Mikael Medved, they looked like shards of winter ice embedded in a pale, strong-featured face.

Deliberately, Medved advanced another step, snow crunching under his soles.

Okay, time for a warning shot. Ash aimed for a spot about a foot in front of those expensive Italian shoes, and his finger tightened on the trigger.

Nika's gasp was his only warning as he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. An instant later, something huge and brown barreled into Ash's side. The shotgun discharged into the air, and Ash went down under the weight of a snarling, roaring grizzly.

He heard Nika shriek with rage and fear.

Ash futilely tried to heave the bear off him and go to her aid.

A huge paw tipped with long, curving black claws swung at him with blinding speed, and that was the last thing Ash remembered before darkness claimed him.

* * *

Too late, Nika remembered that it was just like Papa to offer himself as a distraction while laying an ambush.

"Dimitri, NO!" she screamed as he lunged for Ash with lightning speed.

One enormous furred shoulder struck her a glancing blow as Ash went down.

Nika went down hard, all the wind knocked out of her. Precious seconds ticked by as she sprawled on the cold concrete, gasping and wheezing and trying to breathe. She clutched at her belly as twinges of pain shot through her hips and lower back.

Please, God, let the baby be okay!

Then she saw Dimitri raise one paw and swipe down viciously at Ash, who lay trapped beneath the bear's huge body.

Nika screamed hoarsely with rage and fear. She rolled to her feet and propelled herself towards her brother, the chef's knife still clutched in her hand.

At the same moment, Thunder's black-and-white body leaped through the open front door. The dog landed squarely on Dimitri's brown-furred back. Growling, his teeth bared like a wolf's, Thunder snapped and snarled at the back of Dimitri's neck.

But a grizzly's fur was thick—thicker and denser than a dog's jaws could penetrate. Dimitri gave an irritated shrug of his ursine shoulders and easily dislodged the enraged dog. He swatted Thunder away with a casual swipe of his paw, sending the dog crashing against the side of the house.

The smell of Ash's blood filled the wintry air. Something snapped inside Nika, and her bear roared to life inside her. Blinded by rage and the need to protect her mate, Nika lost all inhibitions about attacking her younger brother.

Ash. Ash and the baby were the only things that mattered to her now. She couldn't hear her mate's heartbeat over the roar of the helicopter's engines. What if he's dead?

She lifted her arm and brought the shining blade down, intending to bury it in Dimitri's side as deeply as she could.

But before she could complete her swing, Papa was suddenly there. His grip closed around her wrist like a medieval iron manacle, forcing her to drop the knife.

Then he swung her around to face him. Momentum sent her stumbling forward, and she blundered straight into his chest. His free arm instantly closed around her with unyielding strength.

"My foolish little cub," he murmured and began to pull her away from Ash and Dimitri.

"No! Let me go!" Nika tried to pull out of his hold and couldn't.

"Shh, little Nika," Papa said, as he continued to force her to the edge of the porch.

Nika twisted and writhed in his hold. She tried to bite him, but Papa was too experienced to give her the chance. Trying to knee him in the groin didn't work, either. Kicking him in the shins as hard as she could only made him pause momentarily.

Behind him, the helicopter's blades spun up again.

Nika fought her father's hold all the way to the helicopter. But it was no use. She couldn't break his grip on her, and he seemed impervious to all her attempts to bite, kick, and elbow him.

His voice remained gentle as he pleaded with her, "Now, just calm down, Nika. You can't get away, so you might as well accept it and calm yourself."

But all she could see was the motionless body of her mate with Dimitri's bear snarling down at him, and all she could smell was Ash's blood.

When they reached the helicopter, Papa heaved her inside the cabin. Other hands immediately grabbed her and bound her with zip-ties, then dragged her into one of the seats and belted her in.

"You killed him! How could you do that, Papa?" she sobbed, pulling at the zip-ties.

She was a bear shifter, with a bear shifter's strength. Mere nylon restraints could only hold her for a minute or two.

In reply, one of the other men in the helicopter held a cloth to her face. It stank of inhalant anesthetic. She instantly held her breath and concentrated on pulling at the restraints. 

Papa was framed in the helicopter's doorway.

Over the roar of the helicopter's engines, she heard him shouting at Dimitri.

"Don't forget to burn the house after you finish the defective, Mitya! That's how we treat those who try to subvert our clan!"

The bear on the porch looked around wildly. Even at this distance Nika could read her brother's thoughts. But how do I get away before the others come? The whole family lives on this ranch!

She saw Papa shake his head, a grim smile curving his lips.

"Consider it a test of your ingenuity," he called, "since you think you're so smart, Mitya. If you make it back to New York alive, I'll know that you're worthy to be my heir."

The bear froze. And so did Nika, her lungs burning now with the effort not to breathe.

Papa knows everything, and he's punishing Dimitri for helping me escape Seattle.

Black spots danced in front of her eyes as the moist cloth pressed relentlessly against her mouth and nose.

Then she heard the helicopter's engines accelerate and felt it rise.

A sob broke free of her throat. The fumes of the drug rushed down her oxygen-starved lungs as she took an involuntary breath, and the world faded away.