Page 62 of Shifter Situations

“Go. We’ve got this.”

As Briggs and Palmer disappeared around the side of the house, the rest of us split up.

The only thing we could do was jump into the action.

Vaughn placed his hand on York’s shoulder, misting them into the middle of the circling animals. The intrusion divided their attention, pulling all but the bears away from Cooper.

Stone and Novak prowled behind, helping to pick off the distracted few, while I went straight for the grizzlies.

One of them stayed closer to me than the other two, so I assumed that was Cooper. I reached out mentally, skimming their minds, but the static was too thick to hear through.

“Cooper?”

My eyes darted to the bear that I thought was who I should be protecting. His heavy head nodded the slightest bit before he roared.

And one of the other bears barreled into me, knocking me flat on my back. With a large paw in the center of my chest, he flexed his claws. They dug through skin and muscle to scrape against bone.

Vaughn was there in seconds, giving me no time to react. He was on the bear’s back, his face splattered with blood as he shouted, “This isn’t Cooper, right?”

He slammed an icicle into the bear’s throat before it had fully formed in his hand. The ice was still attached to his palm, and he continued to form the magic until the stake popped out the other side of the bear’s neck.

I lifted his paw, sliding from underneath him before he tumbled to the ground. And then I pouted. I tried not to, but I knew I was failing when my fae held his hand out for me with a barely concealed smirk.

“Did I steal your kill?”

“Yes.”

“On a scale of cut off to group sex, how mad are you?” Vaughn inquired.

His icy eyes danced with amusement, just like they had when he’d stopped me at the club so long ago. Well, a few weeks ago, but it felt like months had passed us by.

I pursed my lips. “Missionary. But after some tequila, I’m sure you could talk me into just about anything.”

“Noted,” he drawled, biting his lip as he grinned at me. “I’ll tell them to postpone our plans then.”

“What plans?”

“Nothing.” He landed a chaste peck on my cheek and spun me around, murmuring in my ear, “Don’t worry about it right now, Princess. We’ll sort it out later. We have things to take care of here.”

I groaned, throwing my head back to hit his chest. “Could you pour a bigger bucket of ice water on my libido? First, the dark prince rescues his princess, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. And then he says ‘nah, maybe later.’”

He shook his head, chuckling as we made our way to Briggs and Cooper.

“Listen. I understand that you’re scared. We took your mate and cubs to the Supreme Alpha. They’re safe,” my wolf was explaining.

“Who are you people?” Cooper snarled, rolling his head as he fought to calm his bear.

“They’re my mates, Cooper,” I quietly replied, laying my hand on his arm. “Please try to settle down. Darcy called Dad, and we came over right away.”

His eyes bounced from the minimal contact to my face before he really focused on me. “Sloane? Where are my mate and my cubs?”

“Yes, sir. All grown up and in the flesh.” I smiled reassuringly. “They’re safe. That’s what Briggs was trying to tell you. We’re going to stop all the abductions, but I need something from you first.”

He took a deep breath, nodding at me. “If Darcy and the boys are safe, then I’ll help you any way I can. What do you need?”

“It’s very simple, and then we’ll take you to Dad. I just need you to show me where they were trying to take you, Cooper.”

“It’s in the industrial park. I can take you there.”