As Bryson slammed two gray wolves into the ground, he looked up and saw that Philip and Gregg had backed Lisa into a corner.
Lisa was alone and outnumbered, but her eyes shone with anger and grim resolve as she stared at the two huge wolves in front of her.
She wasn’t afraid even though she knew that Philip and Gregg wanted her dead.
The two large wolves lunged forward and Gregg’s savage teeth closed around Lisa’s leg. Philip bit into Lisa’s shoulder and she twisted round painfully to try and bite him back.
Blood stained Lisa’s soft gray fur, and Bryson roared in rage. His mate was hurt! He had to get to her!
The Arrow wolves did everything they could to stop Bryson from going to Lisa’s aid. They snapped at his legs and jumped onto his back, their sharp claws and teeth sinking into his flesh.
Bryson didn’t feel any pain at all even as the wolves bit into his neck and sides. His wrath gave him a surge of strength and speed, and he managed to fling the wolves away from him.
Bryson bellowed a warning when he saw Philip lurch towards Lisa with his deadly jaws yawning wide. The vicious old wolf was aiming for Lisa’s throat.
In a blur, Bryson hurtled towards Philip and smashed into his side. Philip skidded and crashed into a tree but managed to get back quickly on his feet.
Snarling, Bryson stood in front of Lisa and faced Philip and Gregg.
It was time to finish this.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Bryson saw Philip and Gregg move apart silently and swiftly. They were trying to go around him to reach Lisa.
The Arrow pack had come all the way to Shadow Point to get Lisa. If they could not get her to return to the pack, they would make sure that she was silenced forever. That was the only way they could retain control of the narrative and prevent the truth from coming to light.
The leaders of the Arrow pack were never going to own up to their actions. For years they had escaped the clutches of the law, and they were determined to continue with their criminal activities with impunity.
Philip bared his dripping fangs, and chuffed an order to Gregg.
With an angry growl, Philip leaped at Bryson. At the same time, Gregg moved swiftly out of Bryson’s line of sight.
As Bryson wrestled Philip to the ground, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Gregg running at Lisa from the side.
But Lisa was ready for him. She met Gregg head on, and fought him with all she had.
Lisa was fast and determined, and she turned the tables on Gregg quickly. She bit into Gregg’s side and drew blood. Clawing into his wound, Lisa managed to tear out a chunk of flesh before Gregg staggered away.
With her fangs and claws dripping with fresh blood, Lisa looked fearsome and formidable. Lisa flicked her eyes to Bryson and held his gaze for an instant. Don’t worry about me. I won’t lose this fight.
We won’t lose this fight, Bryson growled.
Lisa nodded and turned back to fight Gregg with a vengeance.
At the same moment, Philip lunged forward and his lethal teeth tore into Bryson’s leg.
Bryson raked across Philip’s face with his claws.
Philip howled and feinted to the side but Bryson blocked him effectively. He knew what Philip was trying to do. The cunning wolf was trying to get past him. Lisa was the target.
Philip wanted Lisa dead so that he could pin everything on her. The dead told no tales, and Philip planned to spin a wild story that made Lisa the villain of the whole sorry, sordid tale.
Bryson snarled in fury and revulsion. Philip was a piece of shit. He had trained his son to be as dishonest and unscrupulous as him. Their corrupt values had tainted the whole Arrow pack, and the only one who refused to participate in the abusive culture of smearing and scapegoating a weaker member of the pack was singled out to be slowly and insidiously destroyed.
When Bryson heard Lisa’s cry of pain, he took his eyes off Philip and whirled round.
Seeing an opening, Philip immediately tried to run behind Bryson to get to Lisa. He managed to dodge Bryson’s blow and took a running leap towards Lisa.
Lisa had Gregg pinned to the ground, and she looked up in shock as Philip flew towards her. There was a look of profound pain in her eyes when she saw that her own father was bent on destroying her.
She had accepted the truth that Philip and Gregg were never on her side, but staring the horrible, excruciating truth in the face tore her heart to shreds.
The stark anguish in his mate’s eyes sent a jolt of pure wrath through Bryson. These people had abused and hurt his mate for years. They had bullied her and betrayed her. They had used her sweet, compassionate nature against her. They had mistaken her kindness for weakness, and scapegoated her in the most unconscionable, vile manner.
They thought that they would be able to get away with their dishonest and deplorable conduct.
But Bryson was going to make them pay.
With a mighty roar, Bryson reared up and raised his deadly claws.
He slashed at Philip as the old wolf flew towards Lisa and brought him down.
Charging forward, he grabbed Philip’s head in his massive paws and twisted hard, snapping the wolf’s neck cleanly.
Bryson dropped Philip’s lifeless body onto the ground and whirled round to see Lisa ripping out Gregg’s throat.
Panting, Lisa stepped away from the pool of blood spreading out around Gregg’s and Philip’s carcasses.
She shifted back to human form and took a long, shuddering breath.
“It’s over,” she whispered.
Bryson shifted and caught her in his arms as she collapsed.
EPILOGUE
Lisa opened her eyes and jerked upright. She let out a hoarse cry and her fists flew out instinctively.
“Lisa...” Bryson’s arms were immediately around her. He hugged her and whispered soothingly to her. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now. Everything is all right. I’m here with you. You’re perfectly safe...”
Lisa blinked and realized that her eyes were wet. She wiped her eyes and looked into Bryson’s handsome face. There were bruises and cuts all over his face and arms.
Taking his hands, she asked anxiously, “Where’s Gramma and Ne-ma? Are they all right? What about Rocco, Axel and Tyrell? Is everyone okay? What…?”
Bryson pressed a finger gently to her lips and smiled. “Why don’t I call them in now? They’re all downstairs. Rocco’s mate, Emma and their son, Caden, are here too.”
Bryson kissed her tenderly and went to the door. He stepped out of the bedroom and a moment later, the door opened again.
“How are you feeling, Lisa?” Gramma and Ne-ma cried as they hurried into the room.
Behind them, Rocco and his family crowded in, followed by Axel and Tyrell.
Bryson introduced Rocco’s mate and son to Lisa. “This is Emma and Caden,” Bryson said, smiling warmly at his friends.
Emma stepped forward with a blond boy who looked to be around six or seven years old. The boy grinned at Lisa and said, “You’re a wolf shifter, right? I’m a lion, you know.”
Rocco put his arm around his mate’s waist and ruffled his son’s hair affectionately. “Yup. He’s a fierce little lion.”
Lisa looked up at the circle of kind, smiling faces and said sincerely, “Thank you so much for your help. You put yourselves in danger because of me. You fought those Arrow wolves...”
Tyrell and Axel smirked. “Those wolves were no match for us,” the brothers declared. “Many of them turned tail and beat a hasty retreat.”
“We chased the Arrow pack out of Shadow Point. What’s left of the Arrow pack anyway,” Rocco said smugly. “And we’ll make sure they don’t come back!”
“Actually, they chased themselves out of town,” Ne-ma interjected with a chuckle. “The dogs chased the rabbits, and the wolves chased the dogs. All hell broke loose!”
Gramma hooted with laughter. “It was pretty funny, watching them scamper madly around. It was Neveah’s idea to turn them into
dogs and rabbits.” She thumped Ne-ma on the back. “That was a good prank, Neveah!”
Ne-ma beamed and turned to Lisa. “We were never in danger, Lisa. Glynda and I can take care of ourselves. And these brave, heroic hunks got our backs.” She batted her eyes flirtatiously at Axel and Tyrell.
The two young bachelors grinned and winked at Gramma and Ne-ma.
Bryson came to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. She leaned her head on her mate’s strong shoulders and sighed softly.
“Thank you all,” Lisa repeated. “I wouldn’t have been able to take on the Arrow pack on my own.”
“You’re not on your own,” Gramma said at once.
Ne-ma nodded. “You have us.”
Lisa swallowed hard. “I...I’ve never felt like I belonged anywhere. I was never truly a part of the Arrow pack.”
She had been born into the Arrow pack and many of those wolves had known her since she was a baby. Yet...they had no qualms about destroying her.
Her own father and brother had tried to set her up. They wanted to frame her for their crimes, and kill her to silence her.
It was gut-wrenching to realize that the people she had known her whole life weren’t who they pretended to be. They pretended to be her pack, her family, when they were really her enemies.
“I never had real friends and family. Until now,” she finished. Her eyes shone as she stared at the people crowded around her bed.
These people had unhesitatingly put their lives on the line for her. She had been in Shadow Point for only a short while, yet her new neighbors and townsfolk had so fearlessly stepped up to protect her. They showed true courage and loyalty.
“Thank you,” she whispered again and again.
Emma, Caden, Gramma and Ne-ma leaned in to give her a big hug. Axel clapped Bryson on the shoulder and said jokingly, “We bears love our beauty sleep. Those wolves should have known better.”
“Yeah. Never charge into a street full of sleeping bears,” his brother agreed.
“Or a town with witches,” Ne-ma added, jerking her thumb at Gramma and herself.
Lisa turned to the two grandmothers who were giving each other low fives and asked curiously, “What were you doing with bags of groceries in the middle of the night, Gramma and Ne-ma? I saw you carrying two huge bags...”
Ne-ma laughed. “The Giant Grocer has a midnight sale every last Friday of the month. Glynda and I like going down to grab our groceries at a fraction of the price. But...some of the items have their prices marked down because of...quality issues.” She wrinkled her nose. “Their bread was advertised as harder than rocks, but we didn’t take the warning seriously. So we bought a couple of loaves...”
“...which came in real handy,” Gramma remarked happily. “We used them to knock those dumb wolves over the head.”
“We felled half a dozen wolves with those loaves of bread,” Ne-ma finished proudly.
Lisa laughed with them. Emma smiled and said, “Are you hungry, Lisa? There’s food in the kitchen. I brought a huge pot of stew over...”
“...and we brought a humongous tray of lasagna and some apple pie!” Gramma piped up.
“Gotta have food with so many hungry shifters around,” Ne-ma said. “We have bears and a lion cub who is growing up to be the biggest, strongest lion in Shadow Point!” Caden grinned and flexed his muscles for Ne-ma.
Bryson supported Lisa as they all trooped downstairs. Lisa walked into the kitchen and sure enough, there was an enormous pot of stew on the stove and trays of delicious, home-cooked food on the table.
“I’m hungry again,” Axel said, rubbing his belly.
Tyrell rolled his eyes. “You’re always hungry.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Bryson asked. “Let’s eat!”
As everyone helped themselves to the food, Lisa sat down beside her mate and listened to the laughter and cheerful conversation around the table.
When Bryson placed a plate of food in front of her, Lisa ate every mouthful with relish and profound gratitude.
This was indeed food for the tummy, and food for the heart. Her stomach felt so warm and full, but her heart was even fuller.
There was so much love, kindness and happiness in her little kitchen. She had her wonderful friends and neighbors around her, and she had her loving, supportive mate by her side.
Lisa honestly never thought that she would have a life like this, a life filled with true love, friendship and joy.
She had found her true home, her true family at last.
* * * * *
End
Also by Natalie Kristen:
BEAR RIDGE
Saved By The Alpha
BEAST BEARS
Billionaire Boss Bear
Billionaire Chef Bear
Billionaire Beast Bear
HEARTS ON FIRE
The Werewolf's Baby
The Dragon Tycoon's Bride
The Dragon’s Match
The Wolf’s Mate
STORM DRAGONS (Scifi Alien Weredragon Romance)
VORIK
WOLVES HOLLOW
Alpha Next Door (Book 1)
Beta's Baby (Book 2)
Savage Wolf (Book 3)
DRAGONS IN SHADOW POINT
Skyfire Dragon
Stormfire Dragon
Seafire Dragon
BRIDES fur BEARS
Bad Bear (Book 1)
Brave Bear (Book 2)
Brash Bear (Book 3)
Big Bear (Book 4)
Mail-Order Bear (Book 5)
Dating Agency Bear (Book 6)
Guardian Bear (Book 7)
GRAY BEARS series
Marrying The Bear (Book 1)
Loving The Bear (Book 2)
Mating The Bear(Book3)
Tempting The Bear (Book 4)
Taming The Lion (Book 5)
Embracing The Lion (Book 6)
GRIMM BEARS (Fairytale Shifters)
Red and the Bear (Book 1)
Snow and the Bear (Book 2)
Gretel and the Bear (Book 3)
BEAR HEAT series
Bear's Bride (Book 1)
Bear's Kiss (Book 2)
Bear's Claim (Book 3)
Bear's Baby (Book 4)
Bear's Heart (Book 5)
Bear's Match (Book 6)
DRAGON HEAT
Taken by the Billionaire Dragon (Book 1)
Desired by the Billionaire Dragon (Book 2)
BEAR BRIDES
A Bride For The Bear
A Date For The Bear
A Wife For The Bear
A Mate For The Bear
Billionaire Bear Shifters Romance
Taken By The Bear
Owned By The Bear
Saved By The Bear
MISTY VALLEY SHIFTERS
Growl For Me
Fight For Me
Purrfect For Me
MATE series
Alpha Mate
Bear Mate
Vampire Mate
Wolf Mate
Wild Mate
Dark Mate
Blood Mate
BEAR COVE (A Small Town Love Story)
Bear My Heart
NORTH WOLVES
To Kill A Wolf
About the Author
Natalie Kristen is a writer who enjoys mixing the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark, the possibilities with the unimaginable. She enjoys exploring paranormal and dystopian worlds, deep desires and inspiring romances. She is hopelessly addicted to coffee, chocolate, reading and writing. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her blog for the latest news and updates.
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/NatalieKristenBooks
Blog:
nataliekristen.blogspot.com
Twitter:
@NatKristenBooks
Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Natalie-Kristen/e/B00B9Q9OSI
Natalie Kristen, BEARly Bitten (Bear Bites Book 2)
BEARly Bitten (Bear Bites Book 2) Page 8
