Anna Claire heard someone coming toward the door. She breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it was Gunnar arriving to tell her it was all over. The massive storm raging outside could still be heard in their underground quarters. Even though the room was underground, the hallways were not.
A thump against the door was odd, but she walked over anyway, waiting for the knock she’d been desperately awaiting. When the noise stopped, she shifted her ears and heard panicked breathing on the other side.
Lifting the bar off the door, she touched the deadbolt, but didn’t throw the lock. Something wasn’t right. If Gunnar had been outside, he would’ve called out to her already. Wouldn’t he?
A roar sounded, then the explosion of a gun followed right behind it. She heard a body hit the floor, and her bear roared in her head to open the door. She didn’t want to accept what she’d heard, but the animal inside her pushed at her human skin again.
Despite her better judgement, she opened the door, and she screamed when she saw her mate on the ground with a gunshot wound to his chest.
In a fraction of a second, her animal ripped from her skin, zoning in on the human male who stood over her mate’s body. Anna Claire’s human side cried out in horror again as Gunnar reached for her but he was too weak. The bear launched herself at the human, latching on to his throat and ripping it from his body.
The moment the human’s body fell to the ground, she shifted and reached for her male. “Gunnar! Gunnar!”
He was still breathing, but it was labored. “Get…help. Call…Garrett.”
She ran back into their room and grabbed the phone, throwing on some clothes as she waited for the male to answer. When it went to voicemail, she called the only other person she knew who could help.
“Anna Claire,” the pride’s healer asked the moment he picked up the phone. “Is everything okay over there?”
“No, Gunnar’s been shot in his chest,” she cried. “Please help us!”
“Where is everyone else?” he asked, but Anna Claire could hear him shuffling around in the background.
“I don’t know,” she cried, taking her old torn clothes and pressing them to the wound on her mate’s chest.
“I’m coming,” he replied, reminding her to keep him awake.
She dropped the phone and prayed someone would come help her. The last thing she wanted to do was call for the other females, because it was obvious one of the humans had gotten into their home.
“Gunnar, please stay awake,” she begged as she pressed her lips to his own.
“Get inside,” he ordered, but his deep voice was weak. “Lock…door.”
“No, I’m not leaving you until someone comes,” she growled. “I need you to shift. You have to shift, Gunnar.”
“Trying…” he said before closing his eyes.
Anna Claire’s face was wet with tears, but she was determined to do as the healer said. Shaking his arm didn’t work. So, she pinched him as hard as she could. When his eyes popped open, they were the golden hue of his beast. She needed to get him to shift.
“Damn, Gunnar!” she roared. “Don’t you leave me. Don’t you leave us! We need you.” She kept talking to him until she saw his canines thicken in his mouth. His bear was wanting out, but it was just too weak to force the shift.
“Do it, Gunnar!” she pressed. “Let your beast take over.”
She shook him again, rousing him from his sleep. The blood still oozed from the wound as she lifted the cloth to take a look. Her hands were covered in his blood, and she prayed it would be enough.
“Don’t leave me like Ransom, please…please,” she cried and shook him again, causing him to open his eyes. “Shift, Gunnar.”
The pain of loss was still fresh in her mind, and if she lost the love of her life, she wouldn’t be able to go on. “I love you, Gunnar. Please don’t leave me.”
His head rolled to the side at her words, and a soft smile pulled at the corner of his lips. His face was slowly reforming, and she leaned over when he whispered something. “I…love…with…everything…I…am.”
She jerked back when his body shimmered, hugging the wall to give the thousand-pound grizzly enough room. Anna Claire breathed a sigh of relief when the bear rested his head in her lap.
The human male’s body wasn’t far away, but she noticed the gun beside his body. Scrambling as gently as possible, she reached for the gun and returned to her original position. Gunnar’s bear closed its eyes as though it was satisfied she was protected so he could begin the healing process.
Anna Claire rested her back against the doorframe and waited for someone to arrive. She held the gun at the ready in case another hunter came looking for his friend. She wasn’t afraid of them, but she was scared she was about to lose the mate of her life.
As she stroked the grizzly’s head, Anna Claire prayed for a miracle. It was only a second later that the tornado sirens blared and all hell broke loose.
Chapter 19
Luca heard the gunshot, and only seconds later, the sound of Anna Claire’s beast sent him running for the house. He would know her roar over anyone else’s. They’d been through so much together, and he was tuned into her every move.
The wind, rain, and hail from Gaia’s weather storm pelted his body as tornado sirens went off in the distance. The fighting in the front yard was still going on. The panthers and Morgan brothers were taking out the humans one by one, and a few of them were on the run.
As he entered the back door, he turned for their hallway and stopped in his tracks the moment he saw the bloodbath by their bedroom door. He held up his hands as he approached, because Anna Claire was pointing a pistol at his chest.
“Anna Claire, put down the gun,” he ordered, glancing down at her mate who was in his animal form. There was blood everywhere; the floor, the walls, the door. A few feet away was the corpse of a human male with his throat ripped out. “Let me help Gunnar.”
At the mention of her mate’s name, she jerked out of the shock she was in and dropped the gun. Fresh tears escaped her eyes as she pleaded with him. “Help me, Luca. I can’t save him.”
Luca dropped to his knees and placed his hand on the bear’s fur. Gunnar was still breathing, but his bear was unconscious. He swallowed a lump in his throat at the resemblance between Gunnar and Ransom.
“Wake up!” he snarled at the bear, shaking him vigorously. When Gunnar’s bear started to move, Luca backed away. “Shift, Gunnar. You need to heal.”
The bear rumbled, opening his eyes. Anna Claire put her hands on either side of the bear’s snout and begged, “Please, Gunnar. Shift now.”
She let go when his body shimmered. Luca noted how it took longer for the male to regain his human form.
“The healer is on his way, but I don’t know if he will be able to get to the house,” Anna Claire said as she took Gunnar’s head into her lap. “Please, go find him.”
Luca climbed to his feet and hurried to the front of the house just as the rain and hail came to a screeching halt. Out on the one-acre lawn, bodies dotted the landscape. Rex and Drake were leaned over at the waist, panting heavily. The four panthers were pacing and snarling at the dead.
Sheriff Lynch stood protectively next to Gaia as they surveyed the damage. During the storm, not one branch fell from any tree…not one blade of grass was out of place. She’d controlled the storm, directing it at the humans. He didn’t know how she had done it, but he was glad she did.
Drake jerked his head around and called out for Gunnar as soon as he realized the male wasn’t in their presence.
“He’s been shot in the house!” Luca yelled. “The healer is on his way.”
A truck pulled in as they all took off toward the house. The panthers shifted and gathered their clothes, meeting their healer as he came to a stop. The older male hurried up the stairs to the porch and walked inside without saying a word. The look of worry on his face disappeared as soon as he crossed the threshold.
“I’ll clean this up,” Gar
rett advised. “You go in and check on Gunnar.”
Gaia touched his arm as he passed, giving him a little strength. It was odd to have the female touch him and it not make him want to shy away. She wasn’t like them, and he didn’t know if she could even take a mate. She was an earthly being, and not made by the gods. Hell, she was a goddess, wasn’t she?
Luca pulled his long, black hair back and used the tie on his wrist to keep it out of his face before walking inside to see if he was needed with Gunnar. If he wasn’t, he would go check on the elders and let them know if was safe to come outside. He didn’t need to worry about the mates anymore since the males were close.
It was just him, and going back to that lonely cabin made his heart ache.
Ransom, I fucking miss you.
Gunnar came awake with a jerk. His vision blurred as he tried to roll over to his side. The ground was a lot softer than it was the last time he was awake. Odd.
“Gunnar?” Anna Claire’s sweet voice reached his ears as he struggled to see. Blinking several times, he felt like a weight was on top of his chest, but it didn’t matter. He could scent his mate and cub, and that lulled him back into a deep sleep.
“Gunnar, please wake up,” her voice called out again.
This time when he blinked, he could make out the outline of her perfect face. The longer he stared, the clearer she became. “Don’t cry, honey.”
“He’s awake,” she called out over her shoulder, and he wondered why she was telling anyone that. Wasn’t he in his bed? “Gunnar, can you hear me?”
“Yes,” he replied, feeling his beast begin to stir. The overwhelming need to shift caused him to reach for his shirt, but he wasn’t wearing one. Anna Claire pulled his hand away from his chest, but not before feeling something like tape and gauze over his midsection.
“You were shot,” she sniffled. “The bullet was in there, and the pride’s healer had to go in and get it out.”
“Fuck,” he groaned. “My mate…are you…my cub…are you okay?”
“We are fine,” she replied and pulled his hand over to press to her stomach. She was just starting to show with their cub, and he wanted nothing more than to press his lips to her skin.
“Gunnar,” the healer said as he entered the room. By now, Gunnar’s eyes had cleared, and he was in one of the rooms at the pride. “It’s imperative you shift now that you’re awake. The healing needs to begin.”
“Yeah, okay,” he said in a gravelly voice. Clearing his throat, he rolled to his side, dropping his feet to the floor. The healer and his mate tried to help him up, but he waved off their help. “Can I borrow your yard?”
“Of course,” the healer said, smiling as he moved out of the way.
Anna Claire walked behind him as he shuffled through the door. Drake, Rex, and Luca stood from their posts outside the door. He waved them off as well and continued down the hallway leading to the back door of the healer’s home.
He glanced back at the living room and saw where the four panthers who’d helped them stood alongside his brothers. He’d secretly hoped they would come to an agreement to become allies, and by the relaxed state of his oldest brother, he was certain there’d been friendships and bonds made over that fight.
“If I fall, you won’t be able to catch me,” he grunted to his mate.
“Well, I will try,” she replied. Gunnar heard the little catch in her voice, and he stopped at the door to turn around so he could take her into his arms. “I love you, honey. Stay close while I shift. I need you there.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Gunnar,” she replied and kissed him with a feverish need.
After an hour of shifting, he was able to breathe easier. The wound had all but healed. A tiny, pink line was the only reminder of the hell they’d been through over the last few weeks. As he stood, Anna Claire was there with his clothes, and her arms wrapped around his body the moment he was covered.
He couldn’t ask for anything else. He’d been granted his mate, and she would give him a cub over the winter. As he took her chin with his thumb and forefinger, he closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of his pregnant mate. “Let’s go home.”
That night, Anna Claire prepared for the ancient ritual to send her cousin to the afterlife. It should’ve been done the night he passed, but the panther’s healer had kept his body preserved until the fight with the humans was over.
Luca and Anna Claire held each other tight before walking into the barn to prepare Ransom’s body for the funeral pyre. It was tradition that the family wrapped the male in the gauzy, white cloth.
The males had built the pyre earlier in the day. It should’ve been Anna Claire out there helping, but with her pregnancy, she agreed not to lift the heavy pieces of wood. Instead, with the help of the other females, they found enough wildflowers to decorate the wooden structure for her cousin.
“Are you going to be able to do this?” Luca asked as they stopped in front of Ransom’s body. He was laying there in such a peaceful state, she was afraid to speak. The healer had cleaned him up and someone had dressed him in his usual clothes. Other than the paleness to his features, you wouldn’t have known he’d died.
“It’s my honor as his cousin to see him into the next life,” she said, proud of herself for not breaking down. The tears pricked at her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall.
Luca picked up two rolls of gauze and handed her one. Together, they started at his face and began the ritual. Anna Claire leaned over and placed a kiss to his forehead and whispered, “I owe you my life more than I should.”
Luca rested his hand on one side of the male’s face and leaned down to whisper his final words to his blood brother. “Without you, I am nothing. You were my hero, and I hope I was yours.”
They were silent as they worked, and no one bothered them until they were done. It was the blood family’s right to prepare him, and even though Gunnar was her mate, he wasn’t allowed inside. She wished he’d been there, but the Morgans stuck to traditions, and she loved her new clan because of it.
The last time she’d done this was for her mother. A lone tear leaked out of her eye as she thought of Ransom reuniting with her. She prayed he passed on the message of her happiness when he got to the afterlife.
With Ransom’s body covered, Luca and Anna Claire bowed to the body and backed out of the barn. They would light the pyre at dusk and send Ransom home.
When the barn door opened, Gunnar was there to take her hand. When she touched him, the mating connection was strong enough to calm her shaking hands. He took her over to the wooden pile they’d built and waited for the sun to drop.
Anna Claire would not be a part of the death march to bring Ransom’s body to the pyre. The males would bring him and place him upon the structure that looked more like a very tall bed. Once in place, Luca would bring her to the pyre and they would both light the fuel-soaked logs at the base.
“Are you ready to do this?” Gunnar whispered to her as he held her tight. The sun was dropping below the horizon faster than she wanted it to.
“No, but it must be done,” she replied.
The males broke away. Tessa and Ada came to her side to place their hand on her forearms for strength. She didn’t speak to them as she watched the last rays of light disappear from the sky.
Tessa broke away to light the two torches beside the pyre. Anna Claire felt a heaviness in her chest as she heard the march of the males’ footsteps. The closer they got, the more she wanted to break down and cry. She wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all, but she wouldn’t make that scene. She would save her anger at her cousin’s death until she was alone with her mate.
Epilogue
Late January
Gunnar held his son in his arms for the longest time while Anna Claire slept. Ransom Chase Morgan, or RC as they’d begun to call him, was only a month old, but he’d already captured everyone’s heart. His mate had named her first cub after the cousin she’d loved so dearly.
In the past
two years, they’d been through so much, and bringing this new life into the world had made Gunnar feel complete. The birthing experience had been scary, as the males of the clan always delivered their own cubs. His father had taught them everything they needed to know as soon as they’d come of age to mate. The things he didn’t know or had questions about over the course of her labor, his brothers had given him guidance.
With the next several weeks of hibernation, he would take turns with their cub as his mate slept. As it was, he let her sleep as much as she needed because of the stress on her body from bringing him into the world.
RC was born on the human’s Christmas Day, and even though the shifters didn’t celebrate the holiday, Gunnar knew there was something special about his cub. He was bigger than expected, and even the healer had advised once, “Wow, your cub will be a fighter.”
Gunnar had felt pride that day. They’d gone ahead and found out the sex, because, to be honest, he couldn’t wait, and neither could his mate. Although they knew, Anna Claire was to pick out the cub’s name, and she did a fine job of giving their cub an honorable one.
“Your cousin would have approved of you,” Gunnar said as the cub began to fuss. “You need your mama. Let’s go wake her up.”
Anna Claire must’ve heard RC fussing. A female’s ability to know the sound of their cub was fascinating to him, and the care she took with him was naturally born into the shifters.
Family was everything to them, and over the summer and fall, they’d come to include the panthers in some of their gatherings. Although times were tough in the human world, and the panthers were working with the government now, a few of them would stop by occasionally to check on the lands while they were in hibernation.
Mating Fever (Morgan Clan Bears, Book 3) Page 15
