Stacia grimaced at the pain. The burning sensation tore through her abdomen from the bullet. After a night of burning passion with Izek, she would have never expected to awaken to the sounds of a small war in the front yard.

She had thrown the first thing she could grab on and ran to the front door, finding it wide open. Finding Izek’s bear fighting off men, men fighting men, left her confused on why the humans were fighting each other, unless it meant the Blackfeet had kept their promise in providing protection.

She called out Izek’s name as a man threw himself at him with a raised knife. In doing this, she brought attention to herself.

“Damn shifters. You won’t make it out of here alive,” a familiar voice shouted before a single shot rang out.

A burning sensation seared her skin. She gasped and instantly grabbed her stomach. When she looked down, her hands came away wet and sticky. She took a step back, but her feet refused to work with her, and she took a spill down the stairs.

“Stacia!” Izek’s voice broke through her pain-filled cloud. She felt gentle hands grab her shoulders to turn her over.

“Izek?” she whispered, the pain spreading throughout her entire abdomen. Intense sharp stabbing pains caused her to gasp so she held in her breath, trying to wait for the pain to dissipate.

“Breathe, baby,” he instructed, gathering her into his arms. She squeezed her eyes shut as the pain increased from being moved. She didn’t dare let on to Izek that he was causing her more pain.

The noise surrounding them was lowering as the sounds of sirens filled the air.

“It’s over,” he murmured into her hair. “Chief Wapti’s men are here, and everything is under control.”

“The man who shot me?” she asked.

“Dead,” Izek growled as his hands tightened their hold on her. This time, she couldn’t hold in the pain-filled gasp. “Shit, baby, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she murmured. “It’s not your fault.”

“It is,” he replied. “I should have protected you better.”

“Let’s agree to disagree right now,” she said dryly with a pained chuckle, knowing she wouldn’t win this argument.

“You’re going to need to shift,” Izek said. She knew that he was right, but right now, just the thought of moving was out of the question.

Stern voices filled the air as more people arrived. She opened her eyes and found GFPD plastered on the front shirts of a few muscular guys striding towards them.

“Looks like your men are here.”

“It’s about time,” he remarked as another big, burly man made his way to them. He looked familiar to Stacia. She knew that he was a bear shifter, but couldn’t think of his name at the moment. “Lou, Stacia’s been shot. We need a first aid kit, now. Javri, get this shit under control.”

She closed her eyes again as he barked commands to his men.

“Baby, come on. We have to get you up so you can shift,” Izek said, rubbing his fingers through her hair.

“It hurts.” She grimaced, hating how weak she sounded. She was a bear shifter, the sister to their clan’s alpha. She should be stronger than this.

“Here’s the kit,” Lou said, settling on the ground on the other side of her. “We need to slow her bleeding down. Don’t let her move.”

“Here, let me settle her back on the ground.” Izek gently placed her back down. “Hold my hand, baby.”

“What the hell did they shoot her with? This is one nasty wound,” Lou murmured, assessing her stomach.

“I have no idea,” Izek answered.

She gripped his hand tight, unsure of what the bear named Lou was about to do.

“Stacia, I’m going to put a gelatin sponge onto your wound. It will seal it and decrease your bleeding. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“Will it hurt?” He opened her robe slightly to expose her abdomen.

“It may burn slightly,” he admitted, pausing to look at her. She quickly nodded her head and gripped Izek’s hand tighter.

“Do it,” she said, as another wave of pain surged through her.

He nodded before probing her wound. She let loose a deep moan as the pain seared through her. She held her breath as he worked.

“Breathe, Stacia,” Izek murmured, as tears seeped out of her eyes. She felt his gentle fingers brush them away.

“Done,” Lou announced, as she blew out a deep breath.

She opened her eyes and looked to her mate. Concern radiated from his eyes as he brought her hand to his mouth and placed a small kiss on her knuckles. Her bear began to pace, waiting to come forth to help her heal.

“You did good,” he said. “Now let’s get you up to shift.”

She nodded, unable to speak from the emotions clogging her throat. Izek stood and lifted her up into his arms, giving her an opportunity to take in the bodies lying strewn across the land. Law enforcement and the local Native American enforcers were gathering up the thugs who had come for her.

Her eyes met Izek’s as he took steps towards the woods, away from the congestion. Her bear pulsated beneath the surface, ready to come to the forefront.

“I’m ready.” Her bear pushed a healing energy forward, helping her. Izek slowly lowered her until her feet touched the ground. She took a step away and gave herself over to her bear.