How many nights had Colt spent down in the cage? How many meals had he eaten here? How many minutes had he spent lying on this bench, staring at the cement ceiling, wondering if this was his destiny, to repeat this pattern for the rest of his existence?

The only difference this time? Officer Markle had put him and Trigger in the same cage. Oh, he called it a jail cell, but it was down in the basement, below the normal cells, below the drunk tank that Wade probably spent in every other Friday for public intoxication.

Down here, beneath the Darby precinct, was reserved for the shifters. The big ones. The floor, like the ceiling, was made of cement, but no doubt reinforced by steel rebar that matched the steel bars of the surrounding cell. It was one of those 360-degree numbers where the officers could walk all the way around and taunt them whenever they got the hankering. Which they had fairly often over the last four days. There were two cages, both set up across the spacious room from each other. They might as well have put him and Trigger’s name plates above the door of each. They’d spent a lot of time down here over the years.

The cops in this town were cougar sympathizers, and the last Alpha of the Darby Clan, Chase, had been friends with the sheriff. He’d been very good at getting Trigger and Colt busted on every little thing.

Officer Markle jogged down the stairs, his keys jangling from his belt loop. His lips were thinned into a somber line. Colt reached over and slapped Trig on the side of the leg.

Trig pulled his hat off of his eyes and cleared his throat, leaned forward, and glared at the police officer. “We didn’t attack ourselves,” Trig said. There was zero remorse in his voice.

“Why can’t you just exist quietly?” Markle barked out. “Do you know how much shit I’ve covered for you over the years?”

“None of it,” Colt guessed sarcastically. “You arrest us all the fuckin’ time. You’re pretty good at covering up the cougars’ mess, though.” He smiled. “Or you did. Not many of them left to protect anymore.”

Markle shrugged and gripped his hips. “What the fuck am I supposed to do with this? There were two dozen bodies on your property, and your whole fuckin’ crew was covered in blood while you were making the statements. And none of you are sorry for it!”

Colt frowned. “What do you mean, none of us. The girls didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Colt! Killing en masse is wrong!”

“Markle!” he blasted, standing up. “Trespassing with intent to kill our mates is wrong! Amos tried to Turn Ava against her will, and the cats tried to kill Karis. What did you want us to do? Stand by and let it happen? I’ll carry that blood on my hands and not lose an ounce of sleep at night. I’ll go to Hell for that. If a Clan came after your wife and your kid in the night, what would you do, Markle? Would you exist quietly? Would you stand by and watch it happen?” He gripped the bars. “Ask us if we’d do it again.”

“Colt—”

“Ask!”

Markle huffed out a pissed-off sigh. “You have the right to remain silent, you know.”

“We would do it again,” Trig said in a monotone, emotionless voice. “We would take out the entire town to protect the girls. We didn’t start this one. My mate has a polar bear in her now. Her life is fucked because someone wanted to end us. Colt’s mate will be scarred because she defended Ava. It was self-defense. You know it was, and trying to keep us locked up is a waste of time and resources. What are you gonna do, Markle? Take us to trial? Remember last time you tried that? The world will whisper. They’ll get curious and dig into our lives. Into the lives of this town. How many humans live in Darby? Ten? Fifteen, maybe? This is shifter business, and you picked this job to protect the world from our secrets. Right? You took this precinct on so you could be heroic. You’re a good man, Markle. I mean you pick the wrong damn side all the time, and back the cougars when they don’t deserve it, but I can see you trying. Only problem is, we don’t live by human laws. Shifters live by fists and teeth. And when you cross the wrong Clan, there are severe consequences. Amos was wrong to try and Turn Ava against her will. He was wrong to drag my mate from our home and bleed her.” Trig’s eyes flashed brighter and his voice went gritty. “They started the fight and we finished it. We want to be quiet, like you said. Can’t you see that’s what we’re trying to do? We’re starting a business. I dissolved the MC. I avoid town. I just want to protect my people and save my ranch, but you have to deal with us, Markle. We ain’t goin’ anywhere.”

“Don’t I know it,” Markle ground out. His face was red with anger. “One of Karis’s brothers gave us a call.” He grimaced and looked away before he continued. “You’re free to go.”

As he pulled his keys to the cage door, Colt shook his head in confusion and asked, “What’s happening?”

“Apparently, Karis has a lawyer in the family. He’s threatening to expose the entire shifter race. Every animal. And from dealing with Karis, I get the feeling the polar bears don’t bluff. That, and he said if we didn’t let you out, he and all seven of his brothers, their mates, and all their cubs would move to Darby and we would get to deal with the biggest concentration of bear shifters in the known world. I have my hands full with the Two Claws Clan.”

Colt chuckled and ran his hands over his hair. He couldn’t believe it. Not only had Karis changed the path of Ava’s dark destiny at the expense of her safety, she was getting him and Trig off the hook.

“Fuckin’ lucky,” Markle muttered as Colt passed through the open door.

“It’s good to bang a bear,” he agreed. “There’s a lot of perks.”

“Your Clan makes my job miserable,” Markle grumbled.

“Whatever, we were actually well-behaved and innocent in this one.”

“There were mountain lion bodies all over your barn.”

Colt shrugged. “Shouldn’t have come in our barn. And if you hate your job so much, I hear there are a whole lot of positions open at the GutShot now.”

“It’s probably too soon to make those jokes,” Trigger said low, but there was a smile in his voice.

Colt followed Trig up the stairs and aimed for the exit, but Markle stopped them. “There were two crows in the wreckage.” His blue eyes looked troubled, and he fidgeted with his keys. “Was Red Dead Mayhem involved in the attack on your mates?”

Colt allowed a feral smile and shrugged. “We don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t remember any crows there.” He turned to Trig. “Do you?”

Trigger shook his head slowly, eyes locked on Markle’s. “Don’t recall any crows there.”

Markle narrowed his eyes. “Just tell me you aren’t planning on retaliation against Red Dead Mayhem.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Colt said cheerfully, tipping his hat before he smiled at the officer and made his way through the exit behind his Alpha.

And just before the door swung closed behind him, Markle muttered something under his breath, and Colt could’ve sworn it sounded suspiciously like, “Fuckin’ Warmaker,” but maybe he was wrong. It happened from time to time.

He didn’t really like eating crow, but someday, someway, he was going to shred the MC that backed the cougars in that attack. He’d watched those birds diving at his mate as she laid under a pile of mountain lions, protecting his sister’s body. Their days were numbered. He was calm with the knowledge that the crows had chosen the wrong side, and even if it took years, Colton was a patient hunter and would have his moment to exact that revenge. They’d cursed him with the vision of his mate being mauled.

Sometimes he fought to be the Peacemaker again, but things were different now. He was letting that part of himself go. It was time to own the nickname he’d been given. Warmaker. He had Karis to protect. And his sister would struggle with a bear born in violence, just like he did. And he would bet his favorite Stetson that Trig was plotting revenge already, too.

Red Dead Mayhem’s time would come, but for now, all Colt wanted to do was hold Karis and remind himself again that she was still breathing, still warm, still alive, still his.

Because the night of the attack had scared him to his core. He had realized in the instant that Trina had told him Amos’s plan that he couldn’t live without her. The race back to the ranch was the worst of his life, wondering how he could go on if something happened to Karis.

She was ingrained in his heart, his soul, his life. She was everything, and now he had so much to lose. And he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.

Colton looked up from the icy asphalt of the parking lot, and was stunned into stillness. There she was—his Karis. She was sitting on the back of Trigger’s tailgate beside Ava, all bundled up in a black jacket and a pink beanie and mittens that he would bet his bones Ava had bought her to match her own.

The otherwise empty parking lot was lit by a single streetlight, but Karis’s greeting smile lit up the night. God, what she did to his heartrate. It pounded against his chest. The day she’d come off the plane, he’d been so surprised. She’d said in messages she was plain, but she’d blown him away. And after he’d seen her fight for his sister, fight for their Clan, his perception of her had changed. She wasn’t just stunning to look at anymore. She was warrior and it made her even sexier. Big, beautiful, badass polar bear…silver-eyed, white as snow, and striped with the red of battle. She’d been fearless, his mate. His. How the hell had a man like him gotten so lucky? He knew he didn’t deserve her, but he was going to spend the rest of his life making her happy. Making her feel safe. Making sure she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she belonged.

Four days without her had caused a constant ache in his chest that eased as he walked toward her. Four days of worrying if she was healing okay. Four days of obsessing over the last time he’d seen her outside the cop car as he and Trigger sat in handcuffs in the back. Karis had been hugging Ava to her side and murmuring something soothing to her, while Ava had tears streaming from her silver eyes.

They both looked different now. Oh, Ava’s eyes were still silver. That would be out of her control for a while yet. But his sister was smiling at Trigger, reaching for him as he jogged to her. She looked okay. There was relief in that. Karis had done good helping her adjust since the attack. He was so damn proud of both of them.

Karis had a little bundle in her arms as he approached. “Hey,” he murmured, locking his arms against the tailgate on either side of her hips. He leaned in and kissed her, and his whole body relaxed the second he tasted her.

“Look,” she murmured as she eased back. Karis pulled a corner of the plaid, fleece blanket back to expose Genie lying on her back like a swaddled baby.

“Is she okay?” he asked, running his fingertip along her tiny ear.

“Oh yeah, she’s faking it. She just likes me carrying her around like a baby and hand-feeding her.”

Colt snorted, and then laughed, because Karis had tamed the beast squirrel. Of course she had. His mate was a fixer.

“Hey fartface, don’t look at Genie the Meanie like she’s rehabbed,” Ava muttered from where she was hugging Trig. “She bit me twice on the way over here and crapped in the hood of my jacket.”

Colt laughed louder. That was awesome. “Good girl,” he whispered to his little wishing squirrel.

“Hey!” Ava said, whacking Colt on the arm.

Karis’s giggle was the best. So cute. It was high pitched like a bell when she was really happy. He kissed her lips again just to taste her laughter.

He shouldn’t be this happy. Everything had gone to shit. The Darby police department would be watching them even closer now, waiting for them to make a move on the crows. Kurt was gone along with his boy, Gunner. That one was rough, but he’d left a note explaining he’d been tipped off that Amos was coming for him. Sure, he was trying to protect their Clan, but he’d just gone without so much as a goodbye. That one would sting for a while. They were down a bull and half the herd and didn’t have money to rebuild the front half of the barn, and they had two days to prepare for their first trail ride. Karis was scarred. He didn’t have to see her body to know it, and she would have to accept her reflection in the mirror now, like Colt had done. And Ava had a long road ahead of her to get control of her bear. Even now he could hear the growl behind her smile, as if she couldn’t help the anger, even when she was happy.

“I have something for you,” Karis murmured.

“Is it in that thermos? And is it whiskey?” Colt asked.

Karis laughed and explained that it was hot chocolate. “Ava and I drank it while we were waiting for them to release the two of you.”

“Damn. Been livin’ on bread and water for days and can’t even save me a sip of hot chocolate.”

Karis rolled her eyes. “Officer Markle told us it was Salisbury Steak day, and you each got seconds.”

Busted. “Well, what is it?”

Karis pulled a stapled stack of papers from behind her and handed it over. Colt squinted in the dim light as he read the top line. Mated Pair Contract.

Colt frowned and then ripped the papers in half. “I ain’t signin’ this.”

The look on Karis’s face gutted him. “No, no, no, don’t get me wrong. I want you…but if we sign some contract, this will come up again down the road. If there is a risk of you wondering later if I’m with you because we’re breeders, I’m not doin’ it.”

“Oh,” she said softly, troubled eyes on the shredded contract. “Okay.”

Aw, man, he was messing this up. Colt set the contract in her lap and strode over to the side of the bed where Trig kept his tool box. He pulled a knife and a bag of zip-ties from it, removed one, and made his way back in front of Karis.

“What are you doing?” she asked, straightening her spine as he knelt down on the ice in front of her.

“Look, you deserve better than me. Than this. Than the life I can give you, but I tell you what I can offer. I’ll always be there. You never have to worry about me quitting on you. I’ll keep you safe no matter what, and someday when you do me the honor of having my cub, I’ll keep our baby safe, too. I’ll love you, and remind you of it every chance I get because you deserve to know how important you are to me. I’ll be a better man. For you. Karis Dunway, you ain’t plain, girl. You knocked me dead the second I saw you, and I can’t even remember my life before you came into it.” Colt jerked his chin at Genie, munching languidly on a nut. “Plus, you don’t hate my squirrel, and that’s how I know you love me back. Karis Dunway…fuck contracts, woman. There’s no breeders here. Just a boy on his knee asking the girl he loves to stick with him for life. You wanna marry me?”

“Not if you’re proposing with a zip-tie!” Ava said.

“Shhh,” Colt shushed her.

Trigger wasn’t covering his laugh very well, and Karis was grinning so big but crying at the same time, and this was all so confusing.

His mate took her pink mitten off and put out her left hand, fingers spread. “I hope you had it sized,” she said cheekily.

“Are you serious?” Colt said. “Your answer is yes?”

Two tears dripped from her jaw as she nodded. “I want it all,” she said thickly. “I came here just wanting cubs, but then you changed me and made me feel again, and you helped me to trust again, and look what you’ve already given me?”

Colt looked around, confused. “An asshole Alpha, my obnoxious sister, an ancient truck, tiny cabin, a half-rabid squirrel that thinks she’s a human baby, and a zip-tie?”

Karis laughed, and another tear rained down. “No, silly. You gave me an amazing Alpha, a friend, a pet, a home, a Clan, and a shot at a family. But most importantly…above everything else…you gave me you. So, yes, my answer is yes. I want to keep it all.”

His heart was pounding and his hands shook as he tightened the zip tie on her ring finger. He cut off the excess with the pocket knife. It wasn’t much, but she was wearing his ring—a token that said she was really his. That she was really in this. That she was staying, no matter what trouble came their way.

And now his eyes were burning too, as he lifted her off the tailgate and hugged her up tight. She was cryin’ against his shoulder, arms slung around his neck, and he was struck again with how special she was. Tender-hearted human side with the power to control a beast of a bear.

Karis was okay. Or she would be—he would make sure of it. Ava, too. And Genie was good, too.

He looked over at Trigger, and his best friend was all teared up. He didn’t say anything as he stood hugging Ava to his side. He only nodded once in approval, which meant the world.

They were all going to be okay.

He’d come to learn that it was the people that made a home. That made a life worth living, a life worth fighting for. Sure, the troubles were piling up, but the important things were right here, standing out in a cold parking lot, in the back of an old rusted truck, looking at him like they were proud.

He had his best friend and his sister back, his wishing squirrel, and finally, finally, he’d found his other half in Karis. He found a girl who didn’t even see his scars. Who had told him his damage was beautiful. The grit of a life didn’t matter when moments like these existed. Even if they lost the ranch…even if they just couldn’t save it…well…the Clan had each other.

And that was more than enough.