To Trust A Bear

by Hartley, Emilia

  She held out her hand and he slapped the note into it. If she saw it, then maybe she would listen. He knew it was too much to ask. Callie passed the note to Aimee with a thrust of her arm. The news spread quietly, from one person to the next, to end in a soul-shattering wail.

  Before anyone could stop her, Aimee rushed the door. Morgan darted after the slippery shifter. He managed to catch her in his arms and lift her feet off the ground before she could disappear.

  “Put me down right this instant!” She wailed and screamed, kicking at him.

  Callie had to grab her friend’s feet to calm her down. They’d all seen the bond coming but forgotten about Aimee’s headstrong streak. The shifter had done something wildly dangerous to help Callie. What would she do for the man who might be her mate?

  “We need to be smart about this,” Callie growled at Aimee, at them all. “Quit being a bunch of idiots. Take me to my father so we can get Dom back.”

  Her words ripped his soul from his body. Aimee slid free of his grasp. Callie let go of the woman’s feet before she hit the ground, but held her mate’s gaze. He felt adrift. Nothing he said or did would convince her not to sacrifice herself for his family. While he wanted to cherish the gesture, he couldn’t let her do it.

  He refused to lose her when he’d only just gotten her back.

  He licked his lips and tried to come up with a plan. She would hate him for years to come if he tricked her. He could let her follow them and then send her in the wrong direction. He could lock her in the cabin, in a room that didn’t have a hole in the wall, so she couldn’t follow.

  He doubted anything he did would stop her.

  “This is the best option we have, and you know it.”

  Aimee sucked in a breath, like she might argue. Morgan waited for her to fight. Instead, Aimee said nothing. Her silence was approval enough. While Aimee wouldn’t say it, she agreed with Callie.

  Morgan’s world whirled around him. He couldn’t find anything to grasp. All he could do was hold Callie’s gaze and wait for her to change her mind. She wouldn’t. No matter what he said.

  It was Orion who made sense. “Let’s start with that, but keep in mind we aren’t going to leave you there. We need to come up with an escape plan for you. One that isn’t quite as rowdy as the last one.”

  Everyone exhaled at once. Morgan wanted to thank his friend. He might have been their loose cannon, but he was still the smartest among them. Orion’s cleverness would save them, save Callie.

  Aimee agreed, even though they could all tell she was restless. She paced the floor, often stopping to look out the window as if she could see where Richard was holding Dom. They all knew Dom would be in no shape to fight for himself. Richard had a small army of bear shifters. No one blamed Dom for losing that fight.

  Callie pushed her hair back, closing her fists and tugging it tight. She stood on the other side of the rescue this time. At first, she’d thought her sacrifice would save them, but now she had hope that this could still end with her beside Morgan.

  If not, she knew what she had to do.

  ***

  Morgan could see no one.

  The work-site looked empty, nature’s graveyard. The stumps hadn’t been touched since Richard arrived. Their contractor would call them soon and ask why the job wasn’t done. A week ago, it seemed like they were ahead of schedule. Now, their lives had come to a shuddering halt.

  Morgan reached across the space between them and took Callie’s hand in his. Over and over, he told himself she wouldn’t stay. He wasn’t going to lose her. It wasn’t an option. Not even if she thought it was. Callie was willing to sacrifice herself, but they’d laid out a plan. If they stuck to it, everyone would sleep in their own bed that night.

  The men knew the work-site better than Richard and his troop. Their feet had stomped over every inch of the hillside for weeks. It gave them an advantage.

  Richard grinned when they parked and slid out of the truck. Morgan caught the flash of green that passed over Callie’s face. Her father had quickly spiraled away from hero and into villain. This wasn’t the man she thought she loved, yet it was the truth.

  Behind him, the group of nameless shifters stood over a figure hunched on the ground. Dom offered a gargled greeting. Morgan’s stomach flipped. What were they doing to him if he was still in that much pain? Dom should have healed from whatever they’d done to grapple him, yet it seemed like they were determined to keep him weak.

  “Good to see your true side, Dick. I’m glad you get to stretch and relax when you’re away from home.” Morgan’s voice couldn’t hide the bitterness inside him.

  “We both know this isn’t what I want to be doing. This is what you made me do.”

  The words were oil slick, leaving a grimy feeling in Morgan’s ears. He knew Richard was used to bending the will of those around him, turning thoughts against the thinker until they thought it was their own idea. It was how he’d managed to quietly run the Den for as long as he had.

  Morgan should have worried that they were sending Richard right back to the Den, but his first concern was Callie, then Dom. They were Morgan’s pack, his family. Just like Orion. Just like Reid and Addison, who should be waiting on the other side of the work-site.

  Struggling for the right words to play Richard’s game, Morgan hesitated. It was Callie who stepped in. She had played this game for a long time. His mate knew the game now, was aware of her father’s tactics. He hoped she could turn them to their advantage. At the very least, she would distract him until Reid and Addison could grab Dom.

  “We didn’t drive a truck through anyone’s house. We also didn’t kidnap an innocent man. You have all these claims, that the things you do are for the better of everyone, but we know that’s a lie when you have a man on his knees.” Callie stood tall. Her hair drifted in the wind.

  In Morgan’s eyes, she looked like an Amazon warrior of ancient Greek tales. She was coming home with him. All they had to do was follow the plan. Step by step until they were all back home again.

  Morgan shifted his gaze to Richard. The man would never leave them alone so long as he saw the family as a failure. Richard would stop at nothing to erase them from his past. Morgan knew that Richard Stone had to die.

  He just didn’t know if it was his job to kill him.

  The death would linger between him and his mate, a stain on the future they could build together. Despite everything Richard put Callie through, he was still her father. Taking the man’s life would mark Morgan as the monster.

  It pained him, but Richard wouldn’t die that day. He wished it wasn’t so, that Richard wouldn’t be able to keep attacking them, but Morgan refused to risk his relationship like that. He wished some almighty power would draw back the skies and strike Richard down. It would save them a lot of strife.

  When he looked across the site to Dom and saw the bonfire that burned in his friend’s eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder if the smite would come from his hands. Would it be an act of God then? Or a turn of events born by Richard’s selfish ways?

  Dom’s eyes flicked to Callie, a warning. Morgan turned to find Richard reaching out to his daughter. He held his hands in the air as though he might cup Callie’s face. For a moment, Morgan feared she would fall for it. His stomach clenched, and his legs tensed, ready to pounce.

  Callie staggered back, lips twisted into a scowl. “Don’t touch me.”

  Her growl was heard through the work-site. It echoed off the yellow machinery and was swallowed by the ground beneath them. Morgan was proud but didn’t have the time to savor it. He caught a flash of movement behind Richard. A shifter raised a rifle.

  Morgan swerved, ready to throw himself in the way. Instead, Dom launched himself from the ground. Blood arched in the air, flying from Dom’s open wounds. His body slammed into the gunman’s back. They hit the ground together, spurring the others into action.

  This wasn’t what they’d planned. Dom’s intervention might have stopped a dart, but it i
ncited chaos. Richard’s shifters grappled Dom and dragged him back into a kneeling position. Dom put up a fight, swinging his arms in every direction. He was hurt, bleeding, but it didn’t stop him. He fought like a beast possessed.

  A small, brown shape darted out from beneath the harvester. One of Richard’s shifters cried out when sharp teeth sank into his ankle. Morgan cursed. Aimee hadn’t listened to the plan. She did as she wanted.

  Morgan did the only thing he could think of. He spun on his heel, ducked his shoulder, and ran for his mate. He lifted her from the ground and ran. His feet flew over the hazard-filled ground. Callie cried out and beat her fists against his back, but he knew they couldn’t stay.

  “We can still do this,” Callie growled.

  She beat her fist on his spine. The impact sent a ripple through his body. She wasn’t holding back. Her anger filled her. He didn’t have the breath to tell her they couldn’t win. The plan was beyond their reach, and even if she didn’t see that, he was going to do whatever he could to protect her.

  A small cry cut through the air. It was almost lost in the din of the chaos, but the silence that cleared the air after was unmistakable. Morgan slowed to a stop. Callie went still in his arms. He heard her suck in a sharp breath. He even heard her curt apology.

  About to ask what she was apologizing for, he felt her foot collide with his groin. Pain raced through his body. It launched from his toes to his throat, rising with a wave of nausea. Callie used the moment to slip free of his grasp. Her feet hit the ground.

  Morgan fought to push back the pain. He was a failure. He couldn’t keep his mate safe from even herself. But, when he turned and saw the small shape that was Aimee lying on the ground near the harvester, he knew how he’d failed.

  Running from the fight had never been an option. Morgan had let fear of loss corrupt his mind and in doing so, he’d left behind his friends.

  Chapter Twenty

  Callie didn’t hesitate. She ran full force for Aimee. A Den shifter stepped in her way, but she shoulder-checked him, not sparing him a second thought. Her tall stature offered her a small advantage. It allowed her to plow through the shifters, until someone was smart enough to swing around and grab her by her hair.

  Pain lanced through her scalp. Her whole body flung back until she hit the ground. Still, the shifter didn’t let go of her hair. Callie didn’t want to fight him. She wanted to get to Aimee. Swinging at his face, her arm sliced through empty air. She tried to sit up, to find Aimee, but the shifter holding her hair yanked her back down again.

  Callie screamed. She knew chunks of hair would be ripped out. This shifter was doing nothing to spare her. If she didn’t know what her father wanted already, this told her everything. He was done with Callie. He didn’t need a daughter who would always rebel.

  This was an extermination.

  The thought hit her stomach. Revulsion threatened to bring up her cereal from earlier. This wasn’t the world she knew. This wasn’t the life she’d lived. This was something else. It was nefarious. She wanted to claim her father was possessed. It was a reasonable excuse, to blame this kind of action on a demon or spirit.

  Instead, it was only a side of her father she’d never seen—the side that came out when things did not go as planned. As she lay on the ground, the shifter putting a boot on her chest, she wondered if the same kind of menace lived inside her. Was she capable of the things her father did?

  Just as she thought she felt the rise of darkness inside her, Morgan slammed into the man above her. They toppled together, ripping her hair from his grip. She hissed in pain. It was worth it, she told herself.

  Her beast shook, ready for the fight. That was what she’d felt. It wasn’t darkness, not the potential for evil. It was her beast. The creature looked around and saw its family being hurt. Aimee lay motionless. Dom howled while three shifters held him back. Morgan tumbled with the shifter that had held her down.

  They needed her.

  She wouldn’t let them down.

  Her beast rose with a fury. The shift ripped through her. Muscles burned like never before, the change between human and bear happening faster than she’d ever felt before. The shift settled over her and she let out a roar that shook the clearing.

  Her massive paws slid over the ground, uncaring of what lay beneath her feet. She didn’t have to worry about stumps or rocks. She was the earth beneath her feet, the power of it, and that power was going to shake the world.

  Stampeding toward the fight, she rammed herself into the shifter that’d held her hair. She found purchase with her teeth and strained the muscles in her neck. The shifter soared through the air and tumbled down the hill. She faintly heard the sound of bones cracking as they hit the hard tree stumps. Callie didn’t have time to worry about that.

  Morgan laid a hand on the scruff of her neck, a way of saying he was okay. She turned her attention to the three shifters holding down Dom. The man in their hands slumped forward, suspended from their grip.

  Callie’s beast had no time for guilt or shame. All it saw was Dom’s pain, the danger he was in. She rose to her feet and threw her head back. All three shifters paused to look up at her. Stunned, they didn’t hear the forms approaching from behind. Massive in their bear forms, Reid and Addison each tackled a shifter. It left one man standing.

  Morgan slid to catch Dom before he hit the ground and Callie took the opening to leap on the last man. She didn’t bother trying to wrestle him. Instead, she bucked her head. It crashed into his stomach, stealing the air from his lungs and sending him soaring. He, too, rolled down the hill.

  She put her back to the unconscious shifters on the hill and turned toward Aimee. Dom shoved Morgan back and was crawling over the ground to reach the otter. Callie let out a breath. Aimee hadn’t shifted back to her human form. She still had enough presence of mind to know that meant Aimee wasn’t dead.

  However they’d been hurt, they could heal.

  “Bravo,” her father cheered. “That was quite the display.”

  Her blood froze. The momentary feeling of victory was shattered when she saw her father’s hand on Orion’s neck. Claws pierced Orion’s skin. Her father pushed Orion forward, making him stumble and keeping him off balance.

  “It’s time to go home, Callisto. You’re not the daughter I hoped you would be, but it is clear that you’re still my daughter. Now, end this madness before you force me to do something I might regret.”

  Callie watched Orion’s eyes flash with defiance. The changed shifter would risk himself for them. She couldn’t let that happen. Callie knew she’d caused enough pain here. The beast in her wanted to fight. It would not lose sleep over the end of the man her father turned out to be, but Callie pulled it back. She forced her body to change when it didn’t want to. It left her exhausted and panting.

  Morgan stared at her, horrified. He knew what she was doing. Callie tried to pour a silent apology into the last look they shared, but there was too much she wanted to say, and she didn’t have time. This was how it had to end. She didn’t want anyone else getting hurt.

  Even if that meant handing herself over before Orion could riot. She had no doubt Orion wouldn’t hesitate to fight back, but she didn’t want him to injured. She was finished with everyone getting hurt. It was the last thing she wanted, but now everyone around her was hurting in one way or another.

  “Callie, don’t do this.” Morgan’s voice was strained.

  He reached for her, but she sidestepped him. It hurt, a knife in her heart. If he touched her, held her, she wouldn’t have the strength to do this. Callie turned her back to her mate once again. This time, the pain cut deeper. Morgan might never forgive her, and she wasn’t certain she deserved to be forgiven.

  Callie couldn’t stand to watch the pain and suffering any longer. It could be ended if she agreed to leave. Callie was the only one who could end it.

  Chapter Twenty

  He was frozen. His mate was giving herself up. They’d done everything they
could to prevent this from happening, but it seemed inevitable. Callie was a good soul. The pain and suffering around her had broken her resolve to fight. While the others would have kept pushing, Callie wanted to keep them safe.

  His heart clenched.

  Richard shoved Orion away. The shifter stumbled and caught himself, turning with a growl slipping between his teeth. Callie flashed him a glare, one that warned him against intervening. Orion’s growl died.

  Morgan was not deterred so easily. As he watched Richard fold his daughter into his arms, Morgan rose to his feet. He kept a wary eye on Richard. The ones Richard had brought with him were on the ground, unconscious or unwilling to stand. That didn’t meant Richard didn’t have fight left in him.

  Callie might have thought she’d won through sacrifice, but Morgan wasn’t ready to give her up. This wasn’t how the battle would end. Richard wouldn’t allow it. Morgan searched for signs of betrayal. For a moment, he wondered if Richard really would turn and take Callie back to the Den.

  A flicker of movement sent a wave of adrenaline through his body. The beast surged forward, unstoppable. Fur rippled over Morgan’s skin. Muscles bulked, and bones stretched. Richard raised a clenched fist, something sharp in it.

  Before Richard could bring it down, Morgan hit them. Richard’s weapon glided over Morgan’s dense fur, useless. Morgan brought his teeth down on Richard’s arm. With a jerk of his head, he wrenched Richard away from Callie and put his body between them. Richard fumbled back but found his footing before rolling his shoulders.

  When was the last time anyone had seen Richard’s bear form? Morgan worried that the beast would be larger than life, when another thought crept into his mind. Richard wouldn’t need the army, the weapons, if his beast was capable of fighting. The creature might be old and brittle. It could have been that Richard had lost his beast, forgotten how to let it out.