“You sound like a corny commercial. Besides, I’m too wild for those kinds of things. I don’t like dressing up and the most I’d do is scare women.”

“Hey,” Tyson argued, “I’ve seen you clean up. You put your hair in a ponytail and trim some of that beard off so we can see your face and women will go nuts.”

He shrugged. “I’m good.”

“Will you at least come help me guard the event? I swear craziness is going to happen and I’m not sure my men are ready to handle it alone.”

Savage gave him a look. “You’d rather a Savage bear come and take over? And scare them straight?”

Tyson showed even more teeth when he smiled wider. “Yeah. At least that’d be entertaining as hell.”

“I’ll think about it. You know, you’re lucky you’re a wolf,” Savage told him. “Or I’d throw Greer your way.”

Tyson blanched. “Hell no. I don’t need her bitchy ass in my life. Besides, she’s very vocal about only wanting the biggest, baddest bear. And that, my friend, is you. I have no room in my life for needy women.”

“All right, get out of here. I’ll come.”

“Great. I have to go. There’s a missing human reported in town. People think she might have left her man because he was abusive, but I’ve spoken to him and that’s not what I got from him.”

Savage ran a hand through his hair. “So where could she be?”

“He thinks it’s foul play. She’d never leave without her dog. It’s not like her. Now I have guys searching the bordering towns and investigating.”

He nodded. “Let me know if you need any of my people on that.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll see ya,” Tyson said and turned away.

Savage went into his cabin and showered. After that, he looked in his fridge, his stomach growling. Fuck. He had to get some meat in that place. The sound of a knock at the door made him turn.

“Uncle Sav!” His niece, Cara, ran into the kitchen and flung herself in his arms.

He hugged her tightly and smiled at her big brown eyes. “Hey, sweetie pie. What are you doing here?”

“Mama said we had to bring you food or you’d starve,” she grinned, showing two holes were her front teeth should be.

His sister, Poppy, walked in a moment later, carrying a pile of covered plastic ware. “You know, you were supposed to tell Uncle Sav to come help me, Cara.”

“Sorry, Mama. I forgot,” Cara giggled as Savage tickled her.

Poppy put the tray of Tupperware on the kitchen island. “You’ve had nothing to eat, right?”

He frowned. “I was about to cook.”

She raised her brows, marched to the fridge and opened it, not an ounce of surprise showing on her face that it was almost empty. “You need to have actual groceries to be able to cook, Sav. How many times do I have to tell you this?”

He grinned and kissed Cara on the forehead before putting her down. She ran out of the kitchen toward the game room in the basement. “You keep saying it, but I have a lot of stuff going on.”

Poppy rolled her eyes. “I heard. Greer’s telling the world you’re mating her tonight.”

He opened one of the plastic containers and pulled out a chicken drumstick. “She can wish.”

“When are you going to find a good woman and let her feed you?” She sighed. “You need somebody who can make chicken, Sav. Seriously.”

He choked on a piece of meat as he laughed at his sister’s serious face. “So that’s what I need to be looking for, someone who can cook chicken?”

She nodded. “Yes. Exactly. At least you won’t starve all the way up here. You can’t live on sex alone, Sav. No matter how good she is.”

He kissed her on the cheek and picked up another drumstick, no longer feeling murderous now that his family had come to visit and brought food.

“Ew, Sav! You’re all greasy,” she complained, wiping her face with a paper towel. “Sit down and let me serve you. At least eat on a plate. You’re not a total savage.”

He raised his brows. “I’m not?”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “No, you’re not. Even though Dad named you after one.”

He sat, watching Poppy move around his kitchen better than him. “Well, if it would have been Mom to name me, she’d have given me some weird flower name, like Magnolio or Cinnamon.”

Poppy gasped. “She would not have!” Then she bit her lip and grinned. “Okay, maybe she would’ve. But Cinnamon is a good name for a bear.”

“Sure, that will be my stripper name. Sound good?”

“You’re a dick.” She threw a roll and hit him in the chest. He picked it up and took a bite.

“I’m going to the gathering tonight,” he said.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “You? You’ve never been. You say that’s for suckers.”

He grinned. “I’m not actually there to find someone. I’m going to help Tyson oversee the place.”

“Oh. And what will you do if you find a woman that calls to your inner bear?”

He blinked. “I’ll pick her up and bring her home. No questions asked. But seeing as that’s not going to happen, I’ll stick to guarding the event.”

Her shoulders dropped. “You’re such a party pooper. It would serve you right to find your mate and she make your life a living hell.”

“Nah. It’s not gonna happen.”

“Jerk.”