The Panther's Rival

by Emilia Hartley

  Nick nodded. “You got me there.”

  “So he stays,” Jo confirmed, breathing a sigh of relief. “We’ll just have to be careful.”

  “Seems so,” Tom said. “And you?”

  It was Jo’s turn to shrug. She hadn’t really thought about what she would do after quitting her job. As she spent more time back in Rawlins, she was made all but certain that the rest of her days would be spent with Nick.

  “Can you liaise from here?” Nick asked, mistaking the reason for her silence.

  Jo shook her head. “No, no, I quit Liberty Art, so that’s not—”

  “Really?” Nick asked, eyebrows rose in wonder. “You didn’t tell me.”

  “There’s been a lot going on,” she retired with a smirk.

  “Well, how’d it happen? What changed your mind?” Nick asked excitedly.

  Jo averted her gaze a bit, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I thought of you.” She smiled warmly at him as he sat back in stunned silence.

  “I see,” he muttered to himself. She watched as he worked over some things in his head before steeling his resolve. “So, since you’re finally free… how would you feel about maybe living here?”

  Jo’s smile grew. “With you?”

  He grinned in return. “Of course with me!”

  “Mostly because we’re out of beds at the shop with, tall, large, and broken taking up my old pad,” Tom quipped.

  Nick shot him a look. “Or maybe because I love my mate?”

  Tom shrugged with a smile of his own. “Maybe that, too.”

  “I’d love to,” Jo finally answered, surprised when tears sprang to her eyes.

  Nick leaned in and laid a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m glad to hear it.”

  “Hey,” Tom perked. “Actually, if you’re hurting for a job now, we’ve been talking about getting someone to organize our mess for eons, it feels like. Haven’t we Nick?”

  Jo’s nose scrunched up. “You mean like a maid?”

  Nick chuckled. “No, he means like a secretary. Not really something currently on your resume, but I’m sure you could handle it.”

  Jo grinned. “I’ll take it,” she agreed, voice tinged with relief. She liked the thought of having pocket change and a bit of independence in her life, despite loving her newfound mated life.

  “You sure?” Nick asked, eyes looking down with love, hope, and happiness.

  She turned that grin up to him, full-force, and loved how sparkles danced in his eyes. “I’ve never been surer about anything than I am about my new life here with you right now.”

  Ignoring Tom’s groan, she pulled Nick down into a long, loving kiss, happier than she’d ever been before.

  Saved by the Alpha Bear

  Alpha Bears Book 2

  Emilia Hartley

  Prologue

  A fierce roar and rusting forestry signaled the return of the fearsome pack leader. There was pain and agony evident in the call; the challenge had not gone the way he’d planned.

  The leader and his minions thundered out of the tree line to where bears sat waiting for their return. There were many; newcomers left behind because they were thought to be a detriment, a burden. But with a leader as terrifying and ruthless as Lucas, most were just happy he hardly saw them at all.

  They stood and watched Lucas arrive. As he slowed to a halt, heads lowered, not daring to look their angry leader in the eye. Whispers of “What happened?” and “Status report!” filled the air in grunts and growls before Lucas promptly silenced them.

  “Bested by trash!” he snarled.

  When he didn’t continue, the bear named Flood reluctantly said, “The human girl was with them.” His eyes swept over the pack, meeting the eyes of every bear present. “She killed Dan.”

  Shocked noises and roars filled the night sky as the news set in. Dan, the second in command, killed by a human? How?

  “We wanted the alphas for our pack! But after this… not anymore,” Lucas sneered. “Change! We have much to plan for.”

  The snaps of bone and grunts of pain began almost immediately as the Northern Wind pack morphed to human almost in unison. Many couldn’t remember when they were last in human form; the sting of the cold biting against their skin as they became re-accustomed to the sensations of being human once more. They shivered unendingly in the breeze, passing out blankets as they waited warily for the next order.

  The leader didn’t seem fazed. He paced angrily within the field, impatient and bothered. He was thinking, his eyes washing a glare colder than the night winds over his pack as idea after idea was visibly discarded. Suddenly he halted in his path, a frigid glare flashing in the moonlight as it froze one scared bear in place.

  He stalked slowly forward, like a predator that’d locked onto his prey. He closed the distance by snaking his hand out, snagging the blanket wrapped tightly around the transformed bear’s shivering body. “You,” he hissed. “What’s your name?”

  “S-Savannah…” the bear whispered, almost too quiet to hear. Lucas tugged hungrily on the blanket, but despite her fear, she wouldn’t let it budge.

  He gave it one last hard tug, and when she held fast to the fabric, he grinned. “You’ll do nicely.” She didn’t dare speak, eyes averted as she waited patiently for Lucas to finish his thought.

  He dropped his hand, turning away. “You’ll go there.”

  “Go… there?” Savannah dared to repeat.

  “To the alpha territory, you imbecile!” Lucas snapped. “You’ll go there, make friends, and be unassuming. Do whatever you can to make them accept you as their own.” His lips curled into a sickening grin. “And when they least expect it… we’ll be there.”

  Savannah shivered, but not from the cold.

  Lucas speared her with a glare. “Don’t tell me this is something you’re incapable of doing?”

  She was already shaking her head. “No, no, of course I’ll do it!” she assured franticly.

  “Good,” he growled, as he reached down behind a fallen tree and pulled out a long chain. Something on the end glinted silver in the moonlight, a key. He walked back to her, slowly and deliberately.

  As he slipped the cold chain over her head, his hand trailed down her cheek and across her collarbone in a sickening caress. “If you fail me…” he whispered, breath hot on her cheek as he leaned even closer to her ear. “I’ll deal with you personally.”

  Chapter One

  Tom walked into the office to a nervous Jo and a rather amused looking Nick. He knew that he and Jo hadn’t exactly gotten off on the best foot, and that was kinda his fault, but he was working to mend those bridges, and it seemed to be going well… until now at least. He could hear Jo’s heart hammering in her chest and her breath coming quickly as she focused not to avert her gaze. It wasn’t quite fear, but she was definitely nervous.

  “Hey guys,” he greeted with a bit of confusion. “What’s up?”

  Nick grinned down at Jo. “It’s going to be fine,” he murmured, laying a light kiss on her temple. He looked up at Tom. “She has something she wants to tell you.”

  “Yeah, I kinda figured that. Jo?” Tom prompted, giving her an inquisitive leer, which only seemed to make her fret more.

  “Oh, she replied glancing desperately up at Nick. “It’s just about the cabin.”

  Tom frowned. “Okay? What about it?”

  Jo lifted her hands in defense. “I might have moved some things in.”

  Tom looked from Jo to Nick, his confusion only growing. “O… okay? Is that it?” He could see Nick holding back a bark of laughter. “What, did you think I’d been mad or something?” She averted her gaze even more, remaining quiet. “Oh come on, Jo. I thought we’d moved passed this. You both agreed you’d be moving into the cabin weeks ago.”

  “She was just worried that saying it and actually doing it would be totally different for you,” Nick replied, pulling an embarrassed Jo to him. “I told her you were cool with it then, and you’re cool with it now, but—”


  “I just don’t want you to feel… bothered by me anymore,” Jo interrupted, finally finding the courage to speak for herself. “I don’t want you to think I’m… I don’t know, taking your brother away from you or something. I know you two have had only each other for a long time.”

  Tom thought about it. Did he feel like Nick finding his mate and moving on without him was a bad thing? Not really. He’d learned from a very young age how important finding one’s mate was, and though he was initially apprehensive about the two of them being together, he saw how happy Nick was with Jo by his side. That’s all that mattered.

  “Go right ahead Jo. We might be brothers but it’s a bear’s purpose in life to find a mate to make life worth living, you know? It’s not my place to impose on that.” He shrugged. “I still have the live-in here at the shop. And hey, if I ever get bored, there’s always Dan to talk to in the back.”

  “How is he, by the way,” Nick asked, mildly concerned.

  “Fine, I guess,” Tom replied with a wave of his hand. “Healing slower than we’d originally expected, but fine.”

  Jo squirmed, and Tom could smell her telltale guilt from the damage she’d caused. “Tell him I’m sorry.”

  “Eh, he doesn’t deserve an apology,” Tom muttered. “Besides, I think he’s just happy to be alive, you know?”

  “Still,” Jo asserted. “I’d like for him to know I didn’t mean for him to suffer. I was just protecting Nick.”

  “He knows that,” Tom said, rubbing the back of his neck. “He might not like it, but he understands why what happened, happened.” Jo opened her mouth to protest further, but Tom continued, “Fine, fine, if you really insist, I’ll apologize to him, but I’m telling you, he doesn’t really care either way. I think he just wants to hurry up and get out of here, if we’re being honest.”

  Nick nodded. “That makes sense. We did run him over with a car,” he quipped.

  “You mean I ran him over,” Jo corrected.

  “We’re a pack. What one of us does, we all take responsibility for, love.” They exchanged a look that Tom didn’t quite understand and it made him feel left out.

  “Alright so, it’s settled,” Tom spoke up. “You two are moving into the cabin, I’ll have this place to myself once the Northern Wind brute is out on his own, and then everything can return to some semblance of normalcy.”

  “Well…” Jo muttered.

  “Well?” Tom mimicked, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Well what?”

  “Well, there’s a bit more news," she said apologetically.

  Tom looked to Nick who shrugged his shoulders. “News to me too, apparently.”

  “Well, you know how you both agreed that I could work here as a secretary and maybe get the books in order?”

  “Yeah,” the brothers said in unison.

  “Well, that’s what I’ve been doing, and it turns out I may have bit off more than I can chew.” She grimaced. “The organization of the business seems easy enough, I can do that no problem, but I only know enough about numbers to know that we’ll more than likely need an accountant. It’s not really my thing.”

  Tom rolled his eyes with a groan. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah,” Jo sighed. “I know how you are about… outside people, so I’ve been a bit worried about bringing it up.” She steeled her gaze. “I would say anything else if I could, but I can’t. It has to be done. You’re due on your tax returns soon.”

  “Fine, fine,” Tom succumbed. “Part time, days only. And you have to put out the advert.”

  Jo smiled, and Tom could feel how relieved she was that he hadn’t put up much argument. Did she really think him that big a hassle? “Fine by me!”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m gonna go check on our patient before you find any more bad news to throw my way.” He paused at the door, turning back to Nick. “You think we should put out a message or something that Dan’s alive?”

  Nick frowned immediately. “I don’t. You saw how Lucas reacted when we told him Dan might survive.” Tom nodded, recalling how Lucas called Dan trash and how he has no use for him. “I don’t think throwing an injured bear back into that environment would be the smartest idea.”

  Tom shrugged. “Maybe, but he’s not one of ours. We shouldn’t make him our problem.”

  “What if he was?” Nick asked, feigning nonchalance. “What if we made him one of ours? One of us?”

  The implication hit Tom all at once. “You can’t be seriously considering what I think you’re considering, Nick,” he said, mouth agape.

  It was Nick’s turn to shrug. “I am.”

  “Wait… what am I missing?” Jo asked, confused.

  “Nick wants to recruit Dan. Ask him to join our pack,” Tom answered.

  Predictably, Jo’s eyes lit up. “Really?” she asked, looking up at Nick hopefully. “You think he’ll say yes?

  “Maybe?” he replied to his mate. “There’s a big chance he’ll say no, but what’s the harm in asking?” He looked to Tom, mild apprehension in his eyes. “Come on, you heard Lucas. He’s already denounced him, Tom. If we throw Dan out there, he’ll have nothing. No one. What’s the big deal in maybe offering him a home here with us?”

  “Oh, gee, I don’t know, his loyalty to an enemy pack, maybe?” Tom shot back, angrily. “This is nonsense, Nick! Dan’s not an idiot; you don’t think he’ll jump at the opportunity to get back in his pack leader’s good graces by offering him some hot intel on the alpha pack the moment we decide to lower our guard?”

  Nick’s brow furrowed. “That’s not really fair to him, Tom. He’s offered no form of resistance since waking up here weeks ago. We owe him at least a small benefit of the doubt.”

  Tom shook his head. “Becoming mated has warped your logic, Nick.” He shot a look at Jo, her expression hurt. “No offense. I just think if you really had your human mate’s safety in mind, you’d think twice before making such outlandish plans.”

  Nick squared his shoulders at the mention of his mate. “I stand by my decision, Tom. And so does my bear. Neither of us think having Dan around Jo is a bad decision.”

  “Then you’re both fools!” Tom shouted. “It’s bad that Lucas thinks we killed his second in command, but how do you think he’ll react when he finds out what actually happened?”

  “We can deal with the Northern Wind,” Nick replied. “We’ve proven that time and time again. Plus, without Dan, Lucas is down one of his strongest bears. He wouldn’t dare try anything rash right now.”

  “But he always comes back with more problems for us, Nick,” Tom retorted. “This will surely guarantee backlash of the highest degree. Am I the only one here who just wants to be left alone?”

  “You know as well as I do that Lucas won’t rest until we’re dead or he gets close enough to scare us away. It’s our job to make sure we remain strong enough so that neither of those things happens. Dan could help us with that!”

  “What makes you so sure he’ll even say yes?”

  “I’m not!” Nick barked, nostrils flaring. “There’s no guarantee that any of this will even happen, so there’s no point in arguing over it now.” Tom could see him visibly calming himself, probably for Jo’s sake. She hadn’t been around long enough to be accustomed to their bickering, and even Tom noticed the alarm on her face.

  He nodded. “You’re right. There is no point. For now I’m just going to work on getting his leg back in working order and getting him out of here. Whatever you decide to do after that is on you.” Without another word, Tom undid the locks on the door guarding Dan from the world and slipped inside.

  It was darker in the back room; thick curtains covered the small windows that looked out over the forest. “Afternoon, Sleeping Beauty,” Nick called, pulling back the drapery to let in a bit of natural sunlight. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

  He knew that Dan wasn’t asleep, he’d made him lunch only a short while ago. The food lay uneaten on the nearby table, as Dan sat on the couch with his eyes shielded from the brightness.
A low growl rattled the injured bear’s chest as he glared in Tom’s direction.

  Tom scoffed. “You know we’re trying to help you, right?” He walked to the cabinets where a container of large painkillers were locked inside. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, if I had it my way, you’d be gone, but the human pities you.” He held out the pills and a small cup of water to Dan. “So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the coddling. You can kill us after you’re better.”

  Dan took the cup of water and pills without a word, downing them both. Reluctant though Tom was to have an enemy in his home, he couldn’t help but see a bit of truth in Nick’s words as he watched over Dan. Before their last battle, Dan was Lucas’s second, a strong bear. Though not an alpha, he’d certainly be an asset if he agreed to join them here.

  But loyalties ran deep with packs, and Dan had been dealt a severe blow when Lucas left him to rot out in the forest. There was no doubt in his mind that Dan would do whatever it took to get back in with his pack, even if it meant throwing the people who’d nursed him back to health under the bus. With a human in their off-man pack, they were more vulnerable than ever. Tom couldn’t afford to be as blindingly trusting as his brother was.

  At least, that’s what he told himself as he held back a grin at the grimace that Dan bit back when the disgusting aftertaste of the painkillers hit his tongue. “Yeah, they’re pretty gross, which is why it’s recommended that you take them with food,” he said, nodding to the cooling lunch on the table.

  “I thought I’d do a bit of blue steak later,” Tom continued, casually. “As a fellow bear, I’m sure you’d love a bite or two, but I’m not going to cook a perfectly good ribeye just for you to waste. If you want one, you’re going to have to tell me.” He watched with slight amusement as Dan fought to keep his silence, the injured bear’s eyes flashing with anger. Tom knew Dan would probably want to settle this with a swipe of claws and a flash of fang, but he was still much too weak to change.