~

 

“I heard a little rumour that I found interesting.” Giles had appeared out of nowhere and caused Dane’s bear to flare up within him. The alpha grumbled a growl of annoyance as he reined in his beast.

It was lucky for the vampire that he hadn’t appeared a minute or two earlier when Dane had been closer to the mates, or he might just have lost out to his beast’s protective nature, and then the fur would have been flying in more ways than one.

“You know what, vampire, one of these days — me and you…”

“Yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah – got it, moving on,” Giles said with a dismissive wave of his hand like he was out of time and wanted to get things said.

“Fine, damn it, what have you been eavesdropping about now?” Dane growled back.

“I resent the implication that I eavesdrop.” Giles folded his arms across his chest and now looked as if he had all the time in the world.

“Resent away, precious,” Dane said.

“Is it true that the female bear is Bowie’s mate?” Giles asked, with an attitude that was just superior enough that it annoyed Dane.

“What’s it to you?” Dane growled back.

“Interesting,” Giles shrugged. “It also raises the possibility that a mate might calm that crazy bear down.”

“And?”

“That would make my life easier.” Giles looked at him as if he’d just grown another head.

“And I’m all about making your life easier,” Dane tossed back, the sarcasm dripped from his tone as he eyed the vampire with disdain for a long moment. He wasn’t about to engage with the damn vampire in polite conversation.

“It also means I’d be around clan land a lot less,” Giles said.

Dane made the effort to physically brighten at the thought of getting rid of the vampire. “Now you’re talking,” Dane grinned.

“That’s my point — I don’t like talking to you — I don’t like being sociable — I’d rather not be around shifters,” Giles grumbled.

“Life is tough — suck it up,” Dane offered back.

“If you people could police yourselves,” Giles shrugged and left it there.

“Trust me when I say, we don’t need you in our lives, feel free to take a long walk off a short cliff,” Dane tossed back.

“How quickly you forget what I did for you with Rayner,” Giles offered him a smug grin.

“That didn’t work…”

“Not my fault…”

“And, I won’t forget how many times you threatened my clan since then,” Dane growled.

“Yeah — that kind of goes with the territory of being a bear shifter, suck it up,” Giles tossed his words back at him.

“Is there something that you actually want it?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, is there somewhere you needed to be?” The vampire tossed back, matching Dane’s earlier sarcasm with his own.

“Anywhere but talking to you,” Dane growled.

“Be my guest — but remember, if things go wrong between the female shifter and crazy-bear…”

“Yada, yada, yada, blah, blah, blah – got it,” Dane growled back.

 

~

~

~

 

Bowie heard the sound of footfall over the ground. It was low, slow, and it was stealthy, but it was there.

He listened hard, his bear’s interest had been piqued at the sound, and he tracked it every step of the way. Bowie couldn’t pick up a scent on the air, which meant that whatever was coming his way was either lucky to be downwind, or didn’t want to be tracked.

He could feel the fur just beneath his skin as his bear rose up within him, the beast was eager to shift and go after that threat. Not that Bowie knew that it was a threat just yet, but why else would whatever was coming for him try to be stealthy?

Humans weren’t stealthy, and some of them even whistled when they walked, which annoyed his bear. Others were oblivious to everything around them as they wore those headphones, and he had to wonder why. No, that was no human.

Bowie’s first thought was the vampire. Giles had threatened to end him more than once, especially after what had happened with Rayner, and he wondered if the man was finally living up to the threat.

Maybe that was for the best. After all, Colt had taken off and who knew when they would see him again?

Perhaps picking a fight with the vampire would end his suffering sooner rather than later. But then again, he wouldn’t be around to protect Rayner from Colt.

That was a bitter pill to swallow in his book. He’d created Rayner’s beast by biting her, could he leave her to her own devices now?

He had a mate to protect, a cub, and protect them he would. Even if it was from himself.

Bowie lost the sound of the footsteps, either the man had stopped and was listening for him, or he’d hit the soft patch of ground just off to his right, and was now in striking distance. Bowie’s beast was ready to strike back if needed, and there felt like there might just be a need to do it.

He didn’t like the feel of this — something was off — Bowie got ready for an attack. If it didn’t come, wouldn’t he feel stupid? But then he felt that way most of the time anyway.

“Show yourself,” Bowie growled. There was a slight sound like the rush of the wind, and when Bowie turned; he came face to face with Colt.

Bowie couldn’t contain the growl that rumbled through his chest. He pulled his top lip back and sneered at the man before him. Colt’s top lip twitched with anger as they faced off against each other.

“Why the hell are you and your clan coming after me?” Colt demanded.

He’d recognised Bowie the moment that he’d taken off in his pickup truck and caught sight of him in his rearview mirror. It had been years since he’d seen Bowie, and the man had filled out with muscles, but he still believed he could take him in a fight.

“Money,” Bowie growled.

He had the urge to plant his fist in the shifter’s face, but the thought of Rayner going up against Colt held him back from starting something that he had no intention of finishing.

If he could kill two birds with one stone, get Rayner’s money, and then fight Colt’s beast — that would serve a greater purpose.

“I owe you nothing,” Colt growled.

“Not me — just collecting on a debt you owe a human,” Bowie informed him.

“Which human?”

“How many do you owe?” Bowie sneered back.

“That’s none of your damn business.”

“You’re right — I don’t give a damn,” Bowie growled. “Just about the money that you owe to Bute.”

“You work for humans?” Colt sneered, and curled his top lip in disgust at the thought.

“Something like that,” Bowie tossed back.

“You have no honour…”

“That coming from you?” Bowie snorted in contempt for the man and his words. Colt hadn’t exactly played fair the last time they’d met and he doubted he’d changed much now.

“It looks like you need another lesson in manners, messing in another man’s business,” Colt growled back.

Bowie’s beast clawed to be set free. Before Rayner had come along, Bowie knew that his bear would already have burst out from within him.

That monster would already have been attacking Colt — and right then, he didn’t see that as a bad thing.