Mating Fever (Morgan Clan Bears, Book 3)

by Theresa Hissong

  Anna Claire’s kind didn’t need an alpha, but other species did. Hearing there were rogue alphas out there sent a chill of fear up her spine. She wasn’t worried about herself…she was worried for them.

  “I wish there was something we could do,” she replied, sadness coating her words.

  “We have it covered, but there is a war out there that we must fight to keep the humans and our pride safe. These rogues are turning females to fight against our Guardians. The alphas know we won’t harm a female of any species, and it’s taken a toll on our males.”

  “I’ve heard your pride allows females to protect you,” Anna Claire blurted. It was the perfect time to ask him about the rumors. “Is that true?”

  “Yes,” he nodded, but the smile he gave her was one full of pride. “They have trained with the Guardians, and we have three females who are on rotation to help round up the rogue females. They have done well in finding them, too.”

  “That’s just one more thing we need to worry about,” Gunnar mumbled from his post beside her. He’d been mostly quiet, but the news of danger close to home had him sitting forward and, from the mating scent coming from his skin, she knew he was thinking about her safety.

  “One more thing?” Harold questioned.

  Gunnar quieted, and she could tell he was weighing his words, unsure if he should tell the healer what was going on with their clan.

  “We’ve had problems of our own,” Gunnar finally replied.

  He launched into the information they had with the human hunters, promising it was only the bear shifters they were after. He’d mentioned the sheriff’s vision. Harold’s eyes sparkled with the amber flecks of his beast as her mate gave him the information.

  “I know we are at war, and I understand your clan’s secrecy, but you know we will help you with anything regarding a threat.” Harold shook his head in disgust and drained the rest of his coffee. When he stood, Gunnar followed and accepted the handshake the male offered. “Please call us if you need anything, Gunnar.”

  “We appreciate your offer,” he replied, but didn’t give Harold a definite answer.

  Anna Claire smiled warmly at the healer and promised to come by for her ultrasound in a month. She was happy he’d stayed and given them a moment to talk. Gunnar was a little more at ease with the male even though he had brought some disturbing news.

  Maybe she could help bridge the gap in friendship between her clan and the healer’s pride. It was important now more than ever that they stick together. Their species was being attacked, and they needed to work as allies and finally, after all this time, make a pact to become friends.

  Chapter 11

  Harvey smirked as the offers for help arrived in his email. Three more hunters were on their way to help with the efforts to eradicate the clan of bear shifters. They had two days until the first, and it was time to sneak out to their lands to count heads, so to speak.

  “When the others get here, we will head out,” he announced to the two males who’d taken up residence in his home over the past week. “I have enough supplies for everyone to cover their scent, too.”

  Harvey held up a few bottles of spray and placed them on the table along with several camouflaged hats, jackets, and pants.

  “Deer spray?” Don frowned as he picked up the bottles and read the labels. “You sure this will work?”

  “It covers your scent,” Harvey scoffed. “Of course, it’ll work.”

  “But the message boards said they have some super sensitive noses,” he responded, picking up a cloth mask before tossing it back on the table. He reached for the beanie hat and tucked it in his pocket.

  “So do deer,” Harvey said with a nod. That damn kid had questioned a lot of things since his arrival, and Harvey wished his father would take that boy in hand.

  Skipper found a camo jacket in the pile and tried it on for fit. Once he was satisfied, he walked over to the couch and took a seat. “The scent spray isn’t guaranteed, but wouldn’t you want to have it just in case it does work?”

  “True,” Don nodded.

  A car pulled into his driveway, and Harvey left the father and son to greet the three males who’d come from Arkansas. They were already decked out in their fatigues as they exited the vehicle.

  “Larry, Bruce, Elvin,” Harvey greeted. The males were all in their mid to late forties and wore scruffy beards. “Come on inside and meet the others.”

  Once everyone finished mingling and making introductions, Harvey checked the clock. “We need to leave.”

  He’d already sent the new arrivals the aerial map of the clan’s land. They’d come in from the southeast and make their way through the land, coming up behind the three cabins in the woods. The main house would have to be scoped out with binoculars from a spot away from the trails the bears had made through the wooded lot. The only trail leading to the main home went directly past the cabins. If they attempted to go through the denser part of the woods, they were sure to make too much noise.

  Anna Claire watched as the sun set on another perfect day. Unfortunately, she couldn’t sit on the front porch to do so. The couch in the main living room faced the window to the west, and she’d cracked the blinds just enough to soak in the last rays of the day.

  Occasionally, a car would pass on the road, but other than that, everything was quiet. She’d always wondered what her life would have been like if she’d been human. They were weird creatures, and from what she’d seen online, they were nothing like the bears. The news reports showed so much violence between them. Not that the shifters weren’t violent, but at least when her kind were violent, there was a reason. Humans were greedy.

  “You okay out here?” Ada asked as she joined her on the couch. Her cub, Thane, slept peacefully in her arms.

  “Yeah,” Anna Claire nodded. “Just daydreaming.”

  “About?”

  “Nothing really,” she shrugged. “I’m worried about the hunters coming here.”

  “The males have a plan, and so do we,” Ada reassured her.

  The sheriff had been coming around a lot, and she’d noticed how Drake, Rex, and Gunnar were starting to trust him more. She wanted to snicker. The male wasn’t as conniving as the brothers thought. Somewhere, deep down behind his wall of protection for those panthers, the male was still an angel sent from the gods.

  He was tasked to help the cats, not the bears. But when he had visions, he was adamant about sharing the information. She wasn’t going to deny his suggestions about precautions, either.

  “We should listen to the sheriff more,” Anna Claire began. “I hate that the brothers are so reluctant to accept help or even become friends with him or the panthers.”

  “The Shaw pride has done nothing to harm the Morgan clan,” Ada agreed with a heavy sigh. “They’ve proved their friendship and loyalty many times over.”

  “They saved us,” Anna Claire reminded her friend. “We would’ve been in a really bad place if you hadn’t escaped and come here.”

  “I had no idea I was even on a grizzly’s land,” Ada reminded her. “I was cold and needed to bed down for the winter.”

  “Someone, somewhere, sent you here,” she replied.

  “Probably Gaia,” Ada chuckled.

  “Probably,” Anna Claire smirked before both of them started laughing.

  The two friends stopped for a moment as they calmed. Ada reached for Anna Claire’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. “How’s the cub?”

  “It’s perfectly fine and growing as expected,” Anna Claire beamed.

  “You look so happy,” Ada observed.

  “I am…I really am.” Anna Claire wasn’t lying. Gunnar had been everything she’d ever wanted in a mate. She loved him. Hell, she’d loved him from the time she’d been rescued, but it took almost a year’s worth of friendship and healing to complete them.

  “He’s good for you.”

  “I think so,” Anna Claire agreed.

  “How are you dealing with…” Ada gav
e her a serious look, and she knew exactly what her friend was asking.

  “They didn’t penetrate me.” She paused to swallow a lump in her throat. “They touched me inappropriately, though.” She shivered and tightened her fists that rested over her small baby bump.

  “How did Gunnar take the news?”

  “Not well at first,” Anna Claire replied. “He was angry, but he kept his temper in check around me. I saw his beast in his eyes, though.”

  “Are you having any reservations?” Ada had been her best friend and a confidant when they were living in the O’Kelly clan. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t say to the female. They’d both been through so much.

  “No, not at all.” Anna Claire sighed and shifted in her seat to turn toward her friend. “With Gunnar, all of that just went away after a while. He was my friend before he was my mate. It took me a long time to tell him what had happened, but when I did, it was like lifting a weight from my mind and body. Once we finally touched and mated, I just let it all go.”

  “He really is perfect for you,” Ada said, using her free arm to hug Anna Claire.

  “He is,” she replied with a wide smile.

  They quieted as they heard Gunnar’s truck arrive. He’d been working in the fields all day. The females were being watched over, but for the last hour, Luca had been working at the elder’s home finishing up the underground shelter below their cabins. The first of the month was only a day away, and they needed to get everything prepared.

  “I’ll head back to put him down so you can have a few moments with your mate,” Ada offered, nodding to Gunnar as he entered the living room.

  “Good evening,” Gunnar said as he leaned over to kiss his mate. The magic that connected them swirled around her body, and she felt a need deep in her core. “You smell amazing.”

  “So do you,” she teased as his mating scent reached her nose.

  “Come to our room,” he ordered. “I want to spend some time with you before I have to start dinner.”

  Anna Claire took his hand and let her mate take them back to their quarters where they got lost in each other for the next hour and a half.

  Dinner was going to be a little late that night.

  Gunnar kissed his mate for probably the hundredth time since he’d arrived home. He couldn’t get enough of her body or scent. It was almost seven before he finally broke away to head to the main house to make a quick meal. She promised to be there after she showered, and he had to force himself away from their room when she padded naked from the bed to the bathroom to start the water.

  Up in the main house, Drake and Rex were coming in from the fields. Everything was planted, but with the absence of rain over the last few days, they’d set up the watering system to care for the seeds as they began to sprout.

  “After dinner, I think it would be best if we check the property,” Drake announced as he took a seat at the head of the table.

  “That would be a good idea,” Gunnar replied as he stirred the pot of chili. “I’ll go with you.”

  “We need one more, because I have to work on some small engine equipment that I’ve been neglecting,” Rex said. “I’ll call Ransom to see if he’s free.”

  Rex walked out of the room to place the call. Gunnar looked up as his mate entered the kitchen with her small hand resting casually on her stomach. He still couldn’t believe he was going to be a father.

  When the time came, during the winter while they were in hibernation, he would take the reins and deliver his cub just as his brothers had done and his father before him. It was tradition and something all males taught their sons when they were old enough to find their own mates.

  “That looks amazing,” she hummed as he ladled a bowl for her, adding a pinch of shredded cheese to the top. “You remembered?”

  “I remember everything about you,” he replied before taking the bowl to the table. He remembered how she’d asked for cheese with her chili with fear in her eyes the first time he’d made it. He swore to himself that he would never let her go a day without for the rest of her life, and he’d hoped he’d kept that promise so far.

  After he was satisfied she was eating, he made himself a bowl and sat to her left. Drake and Tessa were quiet as they ate their meal while their cub ate some meat Gunnar had pulled out from the mass he’d cooked to add to his meal.

  “Do you think they’ve been back?” Anna Claire asked as her hand went suddenly still. The spoon was halfway to her mouth, and a bit of the liquid dripped back into her bowl. “I mean, shouldn’t you take more than just three of you to check?”

  “We know there is at least three of them,” Gunnar replied, taking her free hand with his own. She dropped the spoon in the bowl and pulled her hand free. He’d noticed how she did that whenever she was worried or about to panic.

  “What do you want us to do should they be out in the woods?” She was thinking hard about the hunters, and it killed Gunnar to know she was feeling anything other than peace and safety, but she was right…they had all their plans in place except one.

  “Call the sheriff,” Drake grunted as he took another bite of his meal. “As much as I don’t like having that angel here, he would be the best person to call. He could be here in a second with that disappearing act he does.”

  Gunnar caught a bright smile coming from his mate. She’d been placing little hints around about how much she liked the panther’s healer and the angel, and how she wished they would at least try to be friends with the other shifters in the area.

  Again, his mate was right.

  “It’s better to have the cats here if they are available,” Gunnar offered, looking dead into his brother’s eyes. He saw the resistance, but he also saw a glimmer of hope there, too. Grumpy ole Drake was coming around.

  “I’ll program the sheriff’s number into the mates’ phones,” Rex offered. “I will be close if anything happens on your run tonight, anyway. I doubt we will need anyone to come help us, but Drake is right. If you have your phones on you, please put them on the table.”

  Rex knew not to touch the females or take anything from their hands. Tessa, Ada, and Anna Claire pulled their phones from their pockets and slid them to the middle of the table. Rex took each one and programed in the numbers. His long hair fell forward as he worked, and Gunnar could see the tight set to his shoulders. The male was as concerned as everyone else.

  “If there is a problem, everyone goes to their quarters and locks the doors. Call the sheriff and wait,” Rex ordered, handing his mate’s phone over and setting the other two in the middle of the table where they had been placed before.

  Anna Claire took her phone and found the entry, nodding when she agreed to do as Gunnar’s brother had ordered. Tessa did the same and the house fell silent as they finished their meal. Once Rex and Drake cleaned everything up, Gunnar stood from his seat.

  “We won’t be gone long,” he promised and leaned over to kiss his mate. He inhaled her scent and took that with him as he and Drake stepped out onto the back porch to see Ransom arriving in his already shifted form.

  He glanced over his shoulder and saw his mate standing there, biting her bottom lip. It was another one of her nervous tics, and he made a motion to shoo her away from the door. She knew he wanted the blinds closed and did so with no hesitation.

  “Shift and let’s hunt,” Drake said, removing his shirt.

  Gunnar did the same and let his animal free. The change was over in a few seconds, and his beast stepped off the porch, ready to hunt for the humans and protect his clan.

  Rex exited the house and used his key to lock the deadbolt. He nodded toward the bears and took off on foot to the barn. Gunnar, Drake, and Ransom followed him to ensure his safe arrival. The bears nervously looked over their left shoulders at the road in front of their land, expecting to hear a shot ring out into the night, but it never came.

  As their animals relaxed, the human part of their mind was on alert. The bears were deadly, but they were also ruled by their
nature. Killing anything that moved was an easy task when you let the wild part of your animal loose. In the old days, they would let their beasts rule, but now, with the humans knowing about them, Gunnar had to keep his animal on a leash. They couldn’t dole out punishment like they’d done with the others. The sheriff would get involved if they came back.

  The beast growled low in his throat at the thought of not having an enemy’s blood on his tongue. Easy now.

  The animals knew the lands well. They’d even marked trees by scratching them with their claws during some of their runs. It was part of marking their territory, and it was a sign to other males in the area that there were mated females close. If they were smart, they’d turn around and leave immediately.

  The night was warmer than it’d been that spring. Gunnar’s bear scented the ground and was pleased to find only those of his clan had passed over the road leading to the new cabins. Drake’s beast wandered over to the elder’s homes, while Gunnar checked for foreign scents around Ransom and Luca’s place. He was sure they’d already done that, but he wanted to make sure.

  Once the homes were cleared, Drake’s bear huffed and tossed its head toward the woods and the opening of the trail they used to access the wooded area of their land. Gunnar followed beside his brother and let the bear have full rein for a while. It was time to hunt, and with one last push to his beast, Gunnar let the animal roam, hoping he didn’t find anything in his search.

  Chapter 12

  Gaia sat at her kitchen table, picking at the food she’d made with fresh ingredients from her little greenhouse in the backyard. Something wasn’t right, and she was worried for her bears. The last thing she’d heard from them was to lay low and let them find those hunters.