Izek’s bear let loose a roar as he watched helplessly, as the black SUV drove off with Stacia Sagona, his sister’s best friend and the local alpha’s sister. Fuck! His bear tore at his chest, trying to burst free. Izek’s body slammed back against the brick building as he fought the change. A red haze clouded his vision as the rage from his bear tried to take over.

“Captain!” he heard his name through his struggle of power. Dark brown fur spurted out on his forearms, while his gums began to burn as his fangs descended. Curses filled the air as two solid arms held him against the building, and his weapon was snatched from his hand. He mentally fought his bear and finally, it began to recede. The battle of wills literally drained the energy from Izek. Now was not the time to go bear in front of all the media.

“Captain!” Javri’s voice broke through Izek’s haze. “Fight it, Captain. Fight the change.”

“You don’t want to do this in front of the humans,” Vernon said.

“I’m good,” Izek gasped, unable to catch his breath. He had never lost control of his bear before. In all of his thirty-five years of life, he had always been able to control it. His eyes searched down the street, but the dark SUV was nowhere in sight.

“You good?” Javri asked, tightening his grip.

Izek jerked his head in a quick nod before they let him go.

“Where’s the girl?” he asked. His bear whined, pawing at his chest.

“She’s gone. They took her,” Vernon informed, handing his weapon back to him.

Izek took off running towards the command vehicle, with Vernon and Javri on his heels.

“Ross!” he shouted. Jumping into the truck, he snatched his ski mask off. “Please tell me you got something.”

“We got the license plate. Running it now,” Ross said, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

“I need information on that truck yesterday!” he snapped, grabbing his phone from his cargo pants.

“Yes, sir,” Ross murmured.

“What the fuck happened out there?” Lou demanded as he and the other men stomped up to the truck. “How in the hell did they get away?”

“They took a hostage with them,” Javri snapped. “What would you have us do, risk her getting shot?”

Curses filled the air as the rest of the SWAT team stood outside the truck.

“Does anyone know who the woman was?” Lou asked, snatching his helmet off his head.

“Yes, I do,” Izek admitted, staring down at his phone, unsure of who to call first.

“Who?” voices echoed around him.

Izek hit a preprogrammed name into his phone before looking up at Lou. “It’s our alpha’s sister. They just kidnapped Stacia Sagona.”

“Did she appear injured?” Landon Sagona asked. His voice was low as his deep brown eyes locked on Izek. He stood before his alpha, unable to explain how the GFPDs finest let the local alpha bear’s sister get kidnapped.

Calling a family to deliver bad news was never easy, and this time, it was even harder. Stacia was not only his alpha’s sister, but his sister’s best friend. Callia was going to lose her fucking mind when she found out that Stacia had been taken.

As a bear shifter, Izek still had to report to his alpha. He may be a police officer for Great Falls, but he still had an obligation to his clan. His job of protecting both supernaturals and humans kept him plenty occupied, and left little time for clan business.

“No, sir,” he answered, meeting the alpha’s intense stare.

He closed his eyes briefly as the memory of her struggling came to mind. His bear shifted, not liking the memory of Stacia being kidnapped, either. His bear’s anger was festering deep down, and Izek had to continue to fight for control. It needed to be let loose. It wanted to break free and roam the woods to go hunting.

What do you need to search for? he asked his bear internally as he fought for control again.

Her.

His eyes snapped open at the answer. Could it be? For the past few weeks, he would shift and his bear would roam the forest, searching for something Izek didn’t understand.

Was his bear searching for his mate?

“Any idea who the men were that took my sister?” the alpha growled.

Izek glanced around the alpha’s office and knew that he had to be honest with him. Just because his unit had the best reputation in all of Montana, it didn’t mean he could be cocky. Shit, the feelings coursing through him right now left him confused more than ever.

“We don’t know yet, but my men are on it,” Izek answered truthfully. He had decided to come to his alpha alone, to deliver the news in person. “I am confident that we will find her.”

The alpha stood from his chair and slowly walked around the massive desk. He was a large and burly man, as was pretty much all bear shifters. But the alpha stood just over an inch taller than Izek.

Izek knew that his extreme size worked in his favor for his occupation. Not many criminals wanted to tussle with the likes of him. His massive hands alone could crush a human skull easily. But this was his alpha standing in front of him, not a criminal. Izek had enough respect to submit to his alpha.

“Izek, our families have history. Hell, your sister and mine go back to their pigtail days,” Landon said, gripping Izek’s shoulder.

Izek looked up at Landon and nodded in agreement. He could remember Callia and Stacia running around with their dolls in their yard, both in pigtails, while laughing and screaming as only little girls did. He was a teenager at the time, ten years older than Callia. Not once had he ever paid any attention to Stacia in that manner.

Seeing her snatched up by the kidnappers had awoken something in him. His bear had been on the hunt, and Izek was just too occupied with his career to fully understand what was going on.

“I’ll find her,” he said, his voice full of confidence.

“I have something that might help.” Walking back around his desk, Landon flopped down in his chair and tapped out a few commands on his computer. “I never told her about this because she would have bitched about it. Never thought that I would have to actually use it.”

“What is it?” Izek asked, moving around the desk so he could see the screen.

“I gave her a diamond pendant for her birthday this year, the crest of our clan. It has a tracking system built into it.”

“Wow.” Izek chuckled at the balls his alpha had. He liked the way Landon thought.

No way would Izek try or admit to Callia that he had put a tracker on her. She already thought that he went overboard with their chats when he offered his advice for when she would want to go out for a night on the town. No way in hell would he admit to tracking her. Not that he really needed to. Bears had keen noses, and he could follow her scent anywhere.

Right now, the alpha was a genius. It would be hard to track a scent when the person was thrown into the back of a truck and carted off to only God knows where. This will at least give them a ballpark figure of where to start their search.

“Well, at least you can say you had a good reason,” Izek muttered as he watched Landon navigate a website.

“Bingo,” Landon murmured, his fingers pausing on the keyboard.

Izek glanced at the screen and instantly recognized the area. The blinking pink dot was located about two hours north. They had taken her smack dab in the middle of Blackfeet Country.

The Native Americans and shifter society were allies, each having great respect for the other. It would be easy for Izek to get Stacia back.

“I’m leaving now.” Izek stood up straight, intent on leaving immediately to go after her.

“I’ll call Chief Wapti,” Landon said, picking up the phone. “Oh, and Izek?”

Izek paused midway to the door and turned to face Landon.

“I heard about you almost losing control of your animal when my sister was taken. I’d be honored to welcome you into the family. Now just bring her home safe.”