Buck walked away from Maria's cave, growling at himself and unable to believe that he was leaving her again. He’d brought her supplies from the camping store, but he knew she was in bad shape. She looked thin and pale. There were dark circles under her eyes, and he could tell she hadn't had a proper bath in weeks.

Not being able to help her was killing him and his bear was losing patience. The inner grizzly grumbled that they should just carry her back to Timber Bear Ranch. Everything would be settled later. If her lion got out of control, he’d just put her in a cage in a horse stall until she settled down.

Buck growled at himself for having such thoughts and admonished his inner grizzly for thinking them. He made it back to the truck and growled, gripping the wheel of his vehicle. His knuckles turned white.

He'd been neglecting his work and his promises to help Jessie with his house. Leland had been planning the spring calf branding for some time. He had a shipment of timber to one of his buyers and the deadline was quickly approaching. The obligations were weighing down on Buck's shoulders.

Despite all his crushing responsibilities, the thing that mattered most was Maria. He would find a way to help her that did not require him to force her off the mountain.

He would do everything in his power to bring her down of her own free will. That's the only way this could work, and they both knew it. No matter how frustrated he was with Maria and her insistence that she be left alone, he knew there was a wisdom to it.

Her animal was out of control. Having her around him like that could cause permanent damage to the relationship between their grizzly and lioness, let alone the relationship between man and woman. Shifters tended to have stable, happy marriages, but not every single one worked out that way. There were always exceptions to the rule.

Buck was not going to let his happily ever after slip between his fingers because he wanted to push Maria into doing something she wasn't ready to do.

Buck was beginning to get a picture of exactly how rough Maria's life had been until now. If he understood correctly, she'd been orphaned as a young girl, was left to be raised by her older sister in the inner city in Los Angeles. That alone would have been difficult enough, but then the poor girl was kidnapped and was narrowly rescued by the Bear Patrol.

Somehow, she'd been bitten by Alex Terry and somehow she thought it was her fault. She thought everything was her fault. He couldn't imagine how it must be to be for her, inside her mind, if she truly believed that such horrible things were her responsibility.

How could she possibly be responsible for a crazed shifter biting her against her will, or an evil band of villains kidnapping her and trying to sell her into slavery? The girl was confused.

The only thing that would help her was loving kindness and patience. He had to stay strong. He knew this was a test sent by fate. If he wanted the innocent girl in the pretty white dress to come back to him, he would have to prove to her feral beast that he wouldn't be yet another person in her life to damage her innocence.

He drove past Timber Bear Ranch and made his way into town. He parked in front of the Fate Mountain Police Department, slammed the door of his truck, and walked straight into the building.

“Is Commander Morris here?” Buck asked the police officer at the front desk.

He and Rollo had been friends since Rollo first moved to Fate Mountain and took over the Bear Patrol after the war. If anyone could help him get to the bottom of what had happened between Maria and Alex Terry, it was Rollo.

“Do you have an appointment to see him?”

“What is it with everyone and appointments?” Buck growled. “My name is Buck Kincaid. Rollo and I are friends. Just tell him I'm here about Maria Reyes.”

The officer did as he asked and Rollo came out from the back offices. A few moments later.

“Come on, Buck,” Rollo said. “I've been expecting you.”

Buck's inner grizzly growled as his patience grew thinner. He followed Rollo through the police station into his office and Rollo closed the door behind them. They sat across from each other with Rollo’s desk between them. Buck gritted his teeth, trying to force himself to stay calm and to speak with his friend, the chief of police, with the respect he deserved.

“I've come here about Maria Reyes and the situation at the Bright Institute,” Buck said.

“Right. I was informed of the situation by Corey. My understanding is that there are several search parties out looking for the girl.”

“What about the guy who bit her? Alex Terry. He has to be put down.”

“We have a warrant out for his arrest. But that’s about all we can do.”

“We shifters have to police ourselves,” Buck growled.

“The Bear Patrol operates under human law. There are no provisions for shifter offenses,” Rollo explained.

Buck was ready to bring Alex Terry some good old-fashioned shifter justice.

“Do you know where he is? Have you even been looking?”

“We've investigated the situation and we know that the man in question has connections to the Updike hyena pack. But we haven't been able to locate him on Fate Mountain.”

“Just storm the Updike’s mansion,” Buck growled.

“That won’t be possible. You have to understand, hyenas are everywhere, taking over positions of power in the human world. We can’t stop them. We certainly can’t storm a private residence without legal cause.”

“Then I’ll have to take care of it on my own,” Buck said.

“What do you mean, Buck?” Rollo asked, leaning forward.

“It means that if the law can't take care of Maria’s attacker, I will. Maria Reyes is my mate, and I will protect her.”

“Buck, you and I have been friends a long time, but I can't permit you to enact some shifter vigilante justice. Even when it comes your mate.”

As he stood, Buck’s next words came out much darker than he had intended. “Just try to stop me, Rollo.”

Buck had all the information he needed and was done with the conversation. Alex Terry was connected to the Updikes. The Updikes had been a thorn in the side of the Kincaids for years. Buck could feel in his gut that they were sheltering the sicko mountain lion that had attacked his mate.

“You better not get caught,” Rollo said. “That's all I've got to say about it.”

“Noted,” Buck said, storming out of Rollo's office and closing his door too hard behind him.

It slammed, making Buck wince. He had to get his anger under control or things were going to get bad for everyone. He hurried out of the police station, knowing that Rollo would forgive him eventually.

Buck got back in his car, gripping the wheel and grinding his teeth together. His inner grizzly wanted to burst out from inside him. But he couldn't give in to the rage and frustration. He had to hold it together, for Maria. She was out of control, and that meant he needed more control than ever to take care of her.

He let out a long, shuddering breath and turned the key in the ignition. His old truck rumbled to life and he pulled out of the parking lot, turning onto the highway toward the Updike mansion.

He knew that rolling up to the Updikes by himself was a bad idea. There was no going back now. As he turned off the road onto the driveway, he sent Jessie a text message, telling him here where he was. Jessie shot a text back a moment later asking him if he needed back up. He told Jessie to come if he didn't contact him within the hour.

Buck drove up to the disheveled mansion. At least fifteen cars were parked out front. The Updikes had been taking in more and more hyenas, infesting Fate Mountain with their kind. They were taking over businesses, schools, and positions of power. If men like Buck let it go too far, it would ruin everything about his home. Buck wasn't about to let that happen. These hyenas had messed with the wrong bear one too many times.

He grabbed his shotgun from the rack in his truck and made his way up the steps of the mansion to knock on the front door. A tiny female fox shifter in a French maid uniform opened the front door of the mansion, looking scared and despondent. Buck wanted to grab the girl and take her away, but she wasn't the female shifter he was here to save. Not today.

“Buck Kincaid,” one of the Updike brother said. Walking into the room in his cheesy sweat suit. A gaudy gold chain hung around his neck and he was wearing a gold grill across the top teeth in his mouth. Buck had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the guy, but instead he narrowed them and growled.

“Where is Alex Terry?” Buck said.

“Who’s that?” the Updike brother said, but his tone made it obvious he that he knew full well.

The first Updike brother was joined by his other brother who wore a similarly ridiculous outfit. They looked like a comic hip hop group that performed at children's parties.

“You know who Alex Terry is. He's the psychopathic lion shifter who bit Maria Reyes.”

“Who is Maria Reyes?”

“Is she hot?” the other one laughed, like it was an inside joke.

“None of your business,” Buck growled, letting his grizzly shine through his eyes. “I know that guy is here, and I'm going to find him. I won't rest until he's brought to justice. Believe me, the Kincaids have eyes all over this town. He can't hide from us long. You Updikes have been messing with our family for far too long. It ends now. I promise you.”

Buck loaded a shell in the chamber of his shotgun and both Updikes flinched.

“Get the hell off our property, Buck Kincaid, and don't come back here.”

“Yeah.”

Buck backed out of the doorway and down the stairs, more determined than ever to find Alex Terry.