by J. L. Wilder
Mace moved back, but knew it was only a matter of time before the bear was tearing into his flesh.
But right before the bear could close the distance, a roar burst through the alley. The bear stopped in his tracks and turned around, Mace looking over his shoulder.
Echo had shifted into her bear form. But there was something different about her animal self—her eyes were a deep yellow, and she moved with speed a beast her size shouldn't have been capable of.
Figure it out later, thought Mace. Right now, she's a distraction that I can use.
While the bear's attention was fixed on Echo, Mace moved it. He launched through the air and opened his jaws wide, sinking them into the soft, thick flesh of the bear's neck. The bear let out a roar, one cut short by Mace's teeth. Just like with the other shifter in human form, Mace bit and chewed until he cut through the bear's neck. Warm blood seeped through the fur, and slowly but surely the bear bled out.
Mace jumped off the bear as it fell onto the ground in a heap and shifted back to its human form before dying.
"Holy shit," said Echo, already shifted back. "Holy shit."
Mace watched the two downed shifters for a long moment, before changing back to his human form. Once he was shifted, he rushed over to Echo.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I...I think so," she said, clearly still panicked.
"We need to get out of here, now," said Mace. "Like, right fucking now."
Echo didn't say another word. Instead, she nodded and they took off down the alley, into the darkness of the hidden corners of the city.
CHAPTER 17
ECHO
Hand in hand, the two of them rushed down the city blocks, weaving in and out of the crowds of people and making their way back to the hotel.
"The motorcycle!" shouted Echo.
"Later!" shouted Mace right back. "Come on!"
Echo couldn't believe what had happened—at first. But the more she thought about it as she ran, the more she realized that what had happened made perfect sense. It was only a matter of time before the Hearteaters had found her.
And only through luck had Mace spotted and saved her before it was too late. If he'd been a few minutes behind, the men would've had her loaded into the back of some van on her way back to Stone and a fate that she could only imagine.
But for now, she realized, she was safe.
Before too long they arrived back at the hotel. As soon as they were in the room, the door shut and locked behind her, relief took hold of Echo.
She collapsed onto the floor, her eyes staring ahead at the city through the windows.
"Fucking hell!" shouted Mace, his voice filling the room and scaring Echo just a little. "That was...too fucking close!"
He made his way over to the minibar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey, ripping open the top and taking a long swig.
"Now," said Mace. "Are you hurt?"
"I...don't think so," she said, glancing down at her body. "They just grabbed me."
"Sit on the couch, not the floor," he said. "And tell me what happened."
Echo nodded and did as he asked, getting up off the floor and going to sit over on the couch. Once there, she started.
"I went to the bathroom, just like I told you I was going to. And when I did, I tried to get back to you through the crowd. Then out of nowhere, two hands grabbed onto me and pulled me away. I knew right away that they were Hearteaters."
"How did they track you down?" asked Mace, sitting down next to her on the couch. "How did they find you?"
"I don't know," said Echo. "I have no fucking idea."
"This could be bad," said Mace. "They might know that you're hiding out with us."
"Maybe not," said Echo. "I know that members of the clan come into Montreal pretty regularly. They come for supplies or info or just to have fun. And I've heard them mention this place before. It might just be a coincidence that they saw me."
"I don't believe in coincidences," said Mace. "It was a bad idea bringing you here, but it could've gone worse. A lot worse."
"But it didn't," said Echo. "Because of you."
The fear that had taken hold of her before was gone, replaced by a sense of total comfort and safety.
And it was because of Mace.
Being near him, his body close, made Echo feel as though she had nothing to worry about. And he'd proven that he was capable of doing whatever it took to keep her safe.
He slipped his arm around her body, the warmth of is touch and the solid strength of his muscles calming her even further.
"I did what needed to be done," he said. "We all agreed to look out for you, and that's what we're going to do. No questions asked."
"Thank you," said Echo.
The fear subsided, giving Echo the mental space to think about...other things. Her thoughts went right back to the dance floor, to what she and Mace had been getting up to before things got derailed.
She thought about their bodies pressed together on the dance floor, his hands all over her curves, and their kiss. His taste seemed to still linger on her mind, the firmness of his lips and the sensation of his cock through his jeans.
Sitting there with him, it was all she could think about. Echo looked up into Mace's piercing blue eyes, luminous and striking even in the low light of the hotel room. She licked her lips before biting down onto the lower one, her chest rising and falling.
Mace didn't need to be told what to do. He leaned in and kissed her.
Between the rush of the kiss and the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, Echo felt like she was having an out-of-body experience. Her hands clamped down onto Mace's shoulders, feeling the ropey muscles through his T-shirt.
"I need it," she said, taking her lips away from his for long enough to speak. "I need it now."
She couldn't believe what had gotten into her. Echo had already fallen hard for Jack, losing her virginity to him and being totally swept away. She knew it should've been a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but there it was, happening again.
"What do you need?" asked Mace. "I want to hear it."
Echo reached down and grabbed onto his solid prick through his jeans.
"I need this," she said. "This right here."
Mace smirked through their kiss, and Echo knew she'd given him the right answer. Without saying another word, he lifted her from the couch and carrier Echo into the bedroom. With a toss, he heaved her slender body onto the bed, Echo's ponytail coming loose and surrounding her head with dark curls.
"Come on," she said, sticking her hands out for him. "I've been thinking about this all day."
"You have no idea," said Mace as he slipped off his shirt and stepped towards her.
Echo nearly gasped at the gorgeous body on display. Sure, she'd seen it before, but there was something different about the way he looked. She considered that maybe the stress of fighting off the two bears had made his muscles tense and budge like they hadn't before.
Either way, she didn't care. All she knew was that she wanted, needed that body on top of her.
Mace obliged her. Echo pulled off her tight T-shirt and slipped out of her jeans as Mace approached. He had a smirk on his face, cocky and knowing, and she couldn't get enough of it. Jack was bold and daring, but Mace was something else, more of a wild child.
Both men called out to her, but the one standing at the foot of the bed was the one she had her eyes on.
"Come over here," she said. "I'm tired of just looking."
Mace moved forward, climbing onto the bed and on top of Echo. Once he was positioned over the top of her, he leaned in and kissed her again, one hand moving down to her jeans and quickly undoing the button and zipper.
Echo did the same, and soon they were both in nothing but their underwear, Mace in a pair of tight, gray boxer-briefs and Echo in a matching, lacy white thong set she'd gotten in the last day. She was more than happy to look sexy for Mace and judging by the way he kissed her over and over, Echo knew she was having the desi
red effect.
"God, you look so fucking good," said Mace before leaning down and covering her bare, warm belly in kisses.
Echo said nothing, instead smiling as she ran her hands through Mace's blond hair.
When he reached her waist, Mace kissed along the top of her panties before pulling down slowly, exposing her neatly trimmed pubic hair. Moments later he had her panties off and tossed aside, her pussy bare before him. Echo felt exposed and aroused all at once, and ready for whatever he had in mind.
"What I want to know," said Mace. "Is if you taste as good as you look."
Echo smiled.
"One way to find out," she said.
"Gladly," said Mace with a grin.
With that, he went to it. Mace spread Echo's soaking wet lips open and began licking, his tongue moving slowly over her clit. He took his time at first, and Echo could sense that he was savoring her taste.
"How is it?" she asked through her moans.
"Like heaven," he said, not missing a beat.
He went back to it, slipping a pair of fingers inside of her and curling them to hit her G-spot as he continued to eat her. Echo bucked her hips and closed her eyes as Mace went down on her, his tongue and fingers pushing out more and more pleasure. As his speed increased, she knew it wouldn't take much longer before she came hard.
And she was right. An orgasm tore through her body, pushing scream after scream out of her lungs. She thrashed hard, and Mace was forced to place his hand on her belly to hold her in place as she came.
"More," she said once the orgasm faded. "I need more."
Mace crawled back up over top of her and Echo quickly undid the strap of her bra as he slipped out of his underwear, his thick, dripping cock springing out.
Echo took hold of it right away and wrapped her fingers around it. Just like Jack's, it was thick and warm and throbbing in her hands, almost as long as her forearm. She couldn't believe the size of it, but rather than just admire the thing she wanted it inside of her.
Mace, seeming to read her mind, pointed his prick down and drove it into her, burying his cock inch by inch. A low moan poured out of Echo's mouth, her hands running over her now-bare breasts, her nipples solid.
She wasn't in the mood for gentle lovemaking—Echo wanted it hard and deep. Her hands on his round, firm ass, Echo pressed down hard, guiding him into her again and again.
He filled her full, completely and totally. Echo squirmed underneath him, more pleasure building inside of her as he fucked. She moaned and screamed, the intensity so much that she couldn't hold a thought in her head.
"You gonna cum for me again?" he asked, his eyes locked onto hers.
"Yeah," she said. "But only if you make me."
That roguish smile flashed on his face again, and Echo knew he was ready to make it happen. He pumped her hard, her breasts shaking and her hair flailing around her.
And then, once again, she came. Echo let out a moan from the pit of her stomach as another orgasm burst through her. And Mace joined her, his face one of focus as his cock exploded, pumping deep into her willing pussy.
Then they faded, and Mace collapsed at her side.
The two of them caught their breath, trying to recover from what they'd just done.
"Hell of a vacation," Mace said finally.
Echo smiled.
"You're right about that."
CHAPTER 18
MACE
"You fucking what?"
Mace held up his hand towards Cutter.
"Easy, easy, big man," he said.
It was the next day, and Mace and Echo were back at the house. Of course, Cutter and Jack were there too, and neither one of them was taking the news of the trip to Montreal well at all.
"This girl has one of the most dangerous bear clans in the country looking for her, and you thought this would be the perfect time to go for a little day trip?"
Cutter paced back and forth amid the study, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Okay," said Mace. "In retrospect, it was a bad idea. But I had no idea the fucking Hearteaters were going to be at the same damn club."
"You should have prepared for something like that," said Cutter.
"It was fucking risky," said Jack. "Shit could've gone all kinds of sideways."
"Hell," said Cutter. "It did go all kinds of sideways. You killed two more of their men, which means we've got a body count of three to worry about. If we weren't already on their shitlist, we sure as hell are now."
"We're in this no matter what," said Mace, turning his attention to Jack. "The moment you twisted that sorry son-of-a-bitch's neck then brought that girl back here, we were as good as at war."
"You're blaming me for this shit, huh?" asked Jack. "Why don't you actually make the accusation instead of dancing around it?"
"I just did, bud," said Mace. "You started this, and now there's nothing to do but hope we don't end up killed.”
"I did the right thing," said Jack, his tone taking on a hard edge. "And you're not going to tell me otherwise."
"Alright, fucking cool it," said Cutter. "Arguing about who did what is about the most pointless fucking use of our time imaginable. What we need to do now is figure out what to do moving forward."
Mace nodded, realizing that Cutter was right.
"How'd things go with the Gray Winds?" Mace asked, trying to get the subject back to more productive topics.
Cutter nodded slowly.
"Not bad, considering we showed up on their doorstep and asked them to get into a war with the fucking Hearteaters."
"Does that mean they're going to fight with us?" asked Mace.
"They're...hesitant," said Jack, taking a seat across from Mace. "The Gray Winds are hardly the most powerful tribe in the area, and with them knowing that there's just three of us..."
"They want to know if we can bring anyone else into the fight," said Cutter.
"Well, there isn't a clan in the area that wouldn't want the Hearteaters taken out," said Mace. "Shouldn't be hard to get them all on the right side."
"You'd think so," said Cutter. "But they're all scared. They want the Hearteaters gone, but no one wants to make the first move."
Mace nodded.
"Fuck," he said. "I mean, on the one hand I can't blame them—the Hearteaters aren't exactly known for their leniency when it comes to shit like this. But on the other hand..."
"Someone's got to step up and do the work," said Jack. "Someone needs to make the first move."
"And it fucking figures the first shifters to do it, end up being the ones who aren't even a clan to begin with."
Silence hung over the study.
"Where's the girl now?" asked Jack.
"She's up in her room," said Mace. "And there's something else, too."
"What is it?" asked Cutter.
"When we got ambushed by the Hearteaters," he said. "Echo ended up shifting and trying to help. And when she shifted into her bear form there was...something weird about it."
"Weird how?" asked Cutter.
"'Weird' in the sense that there was this glow to her eyes, one that didn't look like any bear I'd ever seen. And the way she moved...it was like she had this speed to her, one that no bear should have. Looked more like a wolf."
"Hm," said Cutter, thinking it over. "Maybe the girl's got some secrets that we don't know about."
"She'll need to talk," said Jack. "If we're going to be fighting for her like this, then there can't be anything hidden between us."
"That right?" asked Mace. "Then does that mean we need to tell Echo about...her?"
The silence fell hard and fast.
Jack and Cutter regarded one another, neither of them apparently sure what to say next.
"I mean, we had a girl here," said Mace. "One like Echo. And...she's not around any longer. Might be something she'd want to know about."
"Not for now," Cutter said, his tone sharp. "We can tell her in time if it comes to that. But for now, we need to focus on getting this a
lliance with the other clans forged before the Hearteaters know what we're the ones holding their girl."
"Sounds like they've already got a pretty good idea," said Jack. "If they found you in Montreal."
"Doesn't mean that they know who we are or where we live," said Mace. "There's a good chance they just happened to spot her there. The Burn's a shifter club, after all."
"Which makes it even worse that you took her there," said Cutter, his eyes narrowed.
"I get it, I get it," said Mace. "But the girl needed to have some fun. She'd been stuck in this place for days while you guys were meeting with the Grey Winds."
"Well, I'm glad you both had a good fucking time," said Cutter.
"I'll be more careful," said Mace. "Just got...kind of carried away."
Jack shot him a curious look.
"Anyway," said Mace. "We need to focus on the next step."
"Yeah," said Jack. "And that's getting more of the clans on our side. And fast."
"Grey Winds are ready to fight as long as we can get some more people on our side," said Cutter.
"Why do I have a feeling that this is gonna be the case with every clan?" asked Mace. "We go meet with them, they tell us, sure, we'll fight with you—as long as you get more people."
Jack let out a bark of a laugh.
"It's like that thing where you need experience to get a job, but a job to get experience."
"No kidding," said Mace.
"What we need," said Jack. "Is a clan that's going to join up with us unquestioningly. One that won't require any special terms."
Cutter scoffed.
"Yeah," he said. "That'd be fucking nice. And it'd be even better if they were military-trained, maybe had a few tanks and fighter planes we could borrow."
A thought occurred to Mace.
"No," he said. "What we need is a clan that one of us is the alpha of. Then they'd have to follow us."
He turned his attention to Cutter, and Jack did the same.
"Yeah," said Jack. "Like the Saw Tooth clan."
Cutter winced at the mention of his old clan.
"No fucking way," he said. "Not a chance I'm going to go back with them."
