by Kim Fox
He took deep breaths to calm the butterflies in his stomach as he surveyed the property. There was a little farmhouse that the guys must have been renting. Their green Jeep was parked on the muddy driveway but there weren’t any lights on in the house. It was cloaked in darkness.
Ashton turned his attention to the old barn on the property that seemed like it hadn’t been used in decades. The thick wooden planks were rotting and broken, one of the tall double doors was crooked; the top hinge long rusted away. But there was light sneaking out of the cracks.
“In there,” he said, pointing to it.
Why did he feel so nervous? He had fought in battlefields across the planet, rushing into the most dangerous situations without a care in the world. Ashton had stepped into the boxing ring countless times against shifters who were double his size, and three scrawny humans with no fight training were making his stomach flutter and his muscles twitch?
But it wasn’t just his well-being in jeopardy this time. He was worried for his mate. He was worried for Lauren.
“What do you want me to do?” Cole asked, shifting in his seat. “I can sneak around back in my bear form or we can just charge the front door, taking them by surprise.”
Ashton squeezed the steering wheel as he thought about it. The barn had a high ceiling which meant that one of them was probably up in the hayloft waiting with some kind of weapon pointing down. If that was the case, their human forms would probably work better. They could climb up to get him a whole lot easier.
“Let’s stay with skins this time,” Ashton said, taking a deep breath.
Cole nodded. “We’ll sneak up to the barn? Charge in through the front door and take them out quickly?”
Ashton rubbed his chin as he thought about it. It was risky but any option they had would have some sort of risk to it.
The two grizzly bear shifters were able to move incredibly fast and as long as one of the guys didn’t have a gun to Lauren’s head, they could get in there and neutralize each one of them pretty quickly.
“Sounds good,” Ashton said, turning to his best friend. “Thanks for coming with me, Cole. I saw some boxes of heavy ammo in their Jeep yesterday. They might have some serious firepower in there. We might take a few shots.”
“I figured,” Cole said, shaking his head. “It’s been way too long since I’ve been shot.”
“Me too,” Ashton said, cringing as he remembered how it felt to have a bullet tear through his flesh. They had all experienced that way too many times when they were in the military together. “I thought Jennifer would have shot you by now.”
“She tried,” Cole answered, laughing. “She’s a lousy shot.”
Ashton smiled at his friend. “Let’s go,” he said, turning to the door that was getting pelted with rain. Every second that he sat in the truck joking around with his friend, was an extra second that Lauren was trapped in that barn, scared, helpless, alone.
The two bear shifters jumped out of the pickup truck into the stinging rain and hurried down the muddy street towards the barn, keeping as low and quiet as they could.
Cole crouched down behind a bush, lifting up a fist. They were back to using their wartime signals. Luckily, Ashton still remembered what they were.
He stopped and hid behind a nearby tree, keeping his eyes on Cole.
Cole raised one finger and then pointed to the roof of the barn. Ashton followed his pointing finger and squinted as he surveyed the barn through the rain.
There he is.
It was the taller brother. Matt, was it?
He was sitting in the hayloft looking out the open window with the long barrel of his assault rifle slowly moving from side to side as he surveyed the property through the sights of his gun. Ashton could spot several cameras set up on the barn; hanging from the roof, duct taped to the front door and resting on the windowsills.
“Hey,” Cole whispered from across the street. He began moving his hands like he was throwing up gang signs or failing really badly at charades.
“What?” Ashton whispered, furrowing his brow. “What the hell does that mean?”
Cole made a circle with his thumb and index finger and then shoved the index finger of his other hand through the hole.
“You want to have sex with him?” Ashton whispered. “Go ahead.”
“No,” Cole whispered back, shaking his head in frustration. “Get over here!”
Ashton waited until Matt was looking the other way and then he hurried across the muddy road, crouching down beside Cole as the rain covered them both. “What the hell are you trying to say?”
“Let’s charge the door,” he said, making the same gestures with his fingers. “This is the door,” he said, holding up the circle made by his thumb and index finger, “and this is us.”
“That’s not what that means,” Ashton said, rolling his eyes. But it wasn’t the time to argue about it. “Okay,” he said, staring at the long barrel of the assault rifle with a cold chill. “Let’s sneak up as close as we can. You take him out and I’ll burst through the front door and deal with the other two. Hopefully, we can take them all out before they can react.”
“Hopefully,” Cole repeated in a whisper. “I wouldn’t mind not getting shot tonight. This is my favorite shirt.”
“Then let’s do it properly,” Ashton said, holding out his fist.
Cole grinned as he gave him a fist bump. “The Wilde Crew style.”
“No,” Ashton said, shaking his head. “I said properly. Let’s try to get one right for a change.”
They kept low to the ground as they hurried up to the barn, keeping a close eye on Matt in the hayloft.
Ashton’s senses were heightened to the max as he got closer. He could hear the creaking of the floor boards inside and the murmur of voices. He could see every rusted nail on the rotting wood of the front door and the individual beads of sweat on Matt’s forehead as they approached the barn.
“Alright,” Cole mouthed beside him. With a quick nod, he darted off, sprinting to the wall and trying to climb up before Matt could register the movement.
He got close but not close enough.
Ashton was halfway to the door when the assault rifle went off, deafening him with a barrage of cracks and whines as the bullets ripped out of the barrel towards his friend.
Matt’s twisted face was lit up with an orange glow as he fired at Cole without mercy.
“Shit,” Ashton cursed as he saw Cole’s huge body fly backward as the bullets hit. Matt was still firing as Cole tried to get away but there was nowhere to go. He managed to get to his wobbly feet but then fell back down as a bullet tore through his right thigh.
Ashton was sprinting towards the door, ready to crash through it when he saw a baseball-sized rock lodged in the mud up ahead. He snatched it out of the ground mid-stride and launched it at Matt as hard as he could.
It flew out of his hand like a bullet and landed with a crack on the side of Matt’s head. The gunfire stopped immediately as Matt slumped forward on his gun with blood pouring from his temple, running down his cheek.
Ashton glanced back one last time at Cole who was cursing as he climbed up to his hands and knees. Blood was leaking down his arm, pooling with the rain by his hand.
Cole was staring up at Matt with murder in his eyes. He pushed himself up to his feet just as Ashton reached the door.
He lowered his shoulder and plowed through the old wooden door, ripping it off the hinges with a crack. It flew to the ground, shattering into pieces as it kicked up a cloud of dust inside the barn.
“Lauren,” he whispered, looking around quickly to survey the scene. James caught his eye first. He was standing behind a table full of avocados, staring at him in shock. He had no weapons on him that Ashton could see. Only a ripe avocado in each hand. No threat there.
Paul, on the other hand, was rushing towards his mate. The sight of Lauren tied up to the chair had Ashton’s grizzly furiously charging forward, demanding to be released so that he could rip up the threa
t to his mate.
Easy boy. It’s gonna go better if I handle this.
“Stay right there,” Paul said, raising the gun to Lauren’s head.
“Don’t,” Ashton growled. “This is not going to go well for you either way but it’s going to go really bad if you point that thing at her.”
Paul swallowed hard, raising the gun to the level of her head but not pointing it directly at her. His fingers were fidgeting on the gun as he blinked rapidly.
Ashton’s stomached hardened as he watched. Paul was scared, which made him unpredictable. I have to end this fast.
He slowly raised his hands in the air. “What do you want?” he asked softly, trying to calm Paul’s nerves. He was way too flighty to be around Lauren with a gun in his hands. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt her.”
Paul cleared his throat, eying the cameras that were set up around the barn. “I want my TV show!” he said, his words rushing out of him. He began pacing around, making short, jerky movements.
“You’ll get your TV show,” Ashton said, keeping his voice nice and calm. “You’ll be rich and famous. What can I do to help?”
“You can turn into your bear on camera,” James said, still holding the avocados. “That would help.”
Ashton nodded, turning from James back to the man with the gun. “What do you think, Paul? I could do that.”
“Okay,” Paul said, lowering his gun an inch as he watched him with bulging eyes. He stepped over to the nearest camera to double check that it was rolling.
Ashton shot Lauren a comforting look. She looked so nervous all tied up like that. It infuriated him and he wanted to rip these guys to pieces for doing it but he had to remain calm if he wanted Lauren to get through this unharmed.
“Alright,” Paul said, walking back behind Lauren. “Let’s see your bear.”
“Then you’ll let her go?” Ashton said as he pulled off his shirt.
“We didn’t say that,” James said.
Paul shot him a fierce warning look. “Shut up,” he whispered to him. “Yes,” he said, turning back to Ashton. “We’ll let both of you go.”
Ashton slowly unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down his legs, staring at Lauren as he stepped out of them.
He glanced at the rolling cameras and sighed as he let his raging bear come forward. He had seen the effect that his angry bear had on people and he was betting on the same reaction from Paul.
Paul’s eyes widened as Ashton’s jaw slammed shut, gritting against the pain of the phase. He held his breath as his muscles burned, tearing apart as his flesh swelled up to double then triple its normal size.
His fingertips seared as long black claws ripped out of them, his jaw aching as it stretched and pulled.
I hope this works.
His grizzly answered with a low growl. His bear was about to protect his mate. He was doing what he was born to do.
With one final rip, a furious bear exploded out of him.
And Lauren’s life was in the paws of a very pissed off grizzly.
twelve
Lauren gulped as Ashton disappeared and a roaring grizzly bear took his place.
“Whoa,” Paul gasped, stepping back as the grizzly bear glared at him with violence in his eyes.
Even Lauren was nervous and she knew that he would never harm her.
Ashton’s bear raised his enormous head and opened his jaws, letting a roar rip out that had Lauren’s heart pounding as his hot raging breath washed over her.
Paul was shaking beside her, completely speechless as he stumbled backward with his bulging eyes locked on the bear’s deadly teeth. His body was so tense, standing in a rigid posture as the terror took over. He bumped into the table that James was hiding under, sending avocados rolling onto the ground with little thumps.
Seeing Paul terrified like that gave Lauren a burst of energy and she began furiously clawing at the ropes around her wrists, trying to get free.
Ashton’s grizzly stepped forward on thunderous paws, his black lip curled up over his fangs as he growled at Paul.
“Come on,” Lauren muttered as she finally got the rope around her wrist to loosen. Yes! She pulled out her right hand and quickly untied her left.
She glanced at Ashton’s bear as he stalked Paul, leading him away from her. The brown fur on his back was standing straight up over his taut muscles.
James was hiding under the table with his eyes shut and his hands over his ears.
Lauren began to quickly untie her feet as the bear closed the gap.
“No,” she gasped when Paul seemed to finally remember that he had an assault rifle in his hands. He raised it with his shaking hands but Ashton’s grizzly pounced just in time, chomping his powerful jaw down onto Paul’s forearm.
He let out a blood-curdling scream as the gun fell to the ground, his eyes wide with shock and terror.
The bear shook his head from side to side, ripping Paul off of his feet. With a savage growl, the grizzly released him, sending him flying across the room. He landed with a crash against the wall, cracking the old wooden boards before falling to the ground in a broken heap.
Lauren finished untying her last ankle as the bear exploded across the barn, charging into Paul with his huge head.
“Ashton!” she screamed when she saw what James was up to. He was out from under the table with Paul’s assault rifle in his hands.
The raging bear was too focused on Paul to hear her and James was getting closer, raising the gun to the back of Ashton’s head.
Lauren grabbed the only weapon she could, a bright green avocado off of the table, and sprinted over.
“That’s my mate!” she screamed as she smashed the hard avocado across the back of James’ head with a crack. The little man fell to the ground, dropping the gun from his limp fingers.
Lauren stood over him with her chest heaving up and down, the avocado still in her hand. “If you try to mess with him, you’ll have to go through me first!”
Cole burst through the front door, clutching his ribs with one hand and dragging an unconscious Matt with the other. His face was twisted in pain and his clothes were drenched with a mix of rain and blood. He looked like shit.
“Jesus,” Lauren gasped, staring at Cole as Ashton’s bear stepped back from Paul.
All three of the men were unarmed and unconscious. The threat was over.
Lauren rushed over to check on Cole as Ashton phased back into his human form.
“You’ve been shot!” she said, gasping as she saw a bullet wound in his muscular arm.
“Cole,” a familiar voice said from behind her. Lauren turned, her heart swelling up as she saw her man back in the room. He had saved her life. “Are you okay, bro?”
“No,” Cole said, throwing Matt’s foot onto the ground with a pissed off look on his face. “I got shot. Eight fucking times!”
“We should get him to a hospital,” Lauren said, swallowing hard as she saw his blood leaking onto the floor.
Ashton looked empathetic to his friend but he didn’t look as concerned as Lauren felt. “Do you need a hospital?” he asked.
“No,” Cole grunted, grimacing in pain as he clutched his ribs. “I need a fucking drink.” He turned with a huff, kicking Matt’s foot as he left. “I’m going to go wait in the truck.”
Lauren watched him leave, wanting to alleviate his pain somehow. She felt horrible that he was going through all of that suffering because of her.
“It’s okay,” Ashton said, moving by her side. He wrapped his protective arms around her and pulled her in close. “He’ll be healed by the time we get home. He’s really tough even if he does complain like a little pussy.”
Lauren wasn’t so sure. But she trusted her man.
“I love you,” he said, kissing the top of her head as he held her close. “I was so worried about you.”
Lauren squeezed her eyes shut, letting the weighted feeling on her shoulders melt away. She felt emotionally drained after what happened an
d it felt so nice to be held by her mate.
“What are we going to do about these guys?” she asked, looking around at the three unconscious men who were responsible for what just happened.
Ashton released her and walked over to where his jeans were lying on the ground. A disappointed groan left her lips as he put them on.
“I’ll call Rhett,” he said, pulling out his cell phone. “He can take them to the police station and charge them.”
Lauren shivered as she looked at the camera lens pointing directly at her. It felt like someone was watching her.
“And those?” she asked, pointing up at the cameras after Ashton hung up with Rhett.
“Those,” he said with a grin on his lips, “are getting smashed.”
He walked over to the wall and reached up, ripping off the camera that was duct taped to the wall. “Sorry, boys,” he said to Matt, Paul, and James who were still off in La La Land. “No television show for you!”
Lauren smiled as he smashed the camera on the floor.
thirteen
“Are you mad at us?” Pam asked, clutching her stomach nervously.
“It’s fine,” Lauren answered with a sigh. She was still upset that her friends had told Matt, Paul, and James about Ashton being a shifter but they looked like they felt terrible about it so she was trying to let them off the hook.
“We’re really sorry,” Brenna said, still not meeting her eyes. “We didn’t think that it would be that serious.”
Lauren almost laughed at that one. It had been that serious. Cole had the bullet wounds to prove it.
Summer was staring at Lauren’s wrists that were all cut up and bruised from where the tight ropes had been digging into her skin. Summer’s chin began trembling as her eyes watered.
“It’s okay,” Lauren said, pulling her in for a hug.
Lauren could tell that they felt legitimately bad and she was never one to hold a grudge. They were just trying to impress the guys and weren’t thinking straight.
“I’ll forgive you,” she said as Summer wiped her wet eyes on Lauren’s shirt, “if you promise not to tell anyone about this. Ever.”
