Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“You think he won’t know. He has his ear to the ground.”
Hunter signals to turn into the clan compound. “Let’s see what he says.”
We park in the shade of a majestic tree, and I throw open the car door, desperate to feel the cool wind against my skin. My muscles ache from sitting too long, and my bear is desperate to be free.
Connor emerges from a small building that borders the parking lot, flanked by Howden and a big, bearded dude with a missing eye and slash across his cheek who earned the nickname, Grizzly. Bear shifters are not that inventive when it comes to nicknames. Connor’s hair is longer than I’ve ever seen it, touching his collar. He’s bigger, too, with broader shoulders and sturdier thighs. He’s come into his alpha status.
“Hunter. Evan.” When he’s close enough, he holds out his hand, shaking Hunter’s first, then mine, with a grip firm enough to break normal human bones.
“Connor.” Hunter nods and takes a step back, broadening his stance and glancing around. “The place is looking good.”
“We have room for you if you ever change your mind.”
“We won’t but thank you.”
I defer to my older brother, keeping quiet even though I have questions burning the back of my tongue.
“Let’s sit.” Connor sweeps his arm to indicate a seating area in front of the house. The chairs and tables are wooden and stained with an unnatural orange shade.
When we’ve settled in—Connor with Grizzly and Howden on his side, and Hunter with me on his—Hunter leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “We’ve been having trouble with wolves.”
Connor nods and touches his chin, rubbing his dark beard. “I heard there was a death.”
“Yes.” Hunter doesn’t flinch at the mention of the battle to retrieve Goldie, but I know he’ll be turning over Connor’s knowledge in his mind.
“Your mate is with you?” Connor cocks his head to the side, studying both of us.
“She’s with Robert at home.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“So, you’re worried about the wolves.”
The word worried feels deliberately placed to undermine Hunter as the alpha of a smaller clan. If something happened to Connor, Hunter would be entitled to battle for position in the wider clan, even though we’re outsiders now.
“The wolves are an annoyance. We want to focus on growing our family.”
“Yes.” Connor rasps his beard again, nodding.
“So, have you heard anything? We’re not detecting their presence. If they’ve left, we want to know. We can scale back our observations.”
Connor looks to Howden, then Grizzly. He knows more than he’s letting on, but he’s not being open. At least, not yet. I don’t like how much consideration he’s giving before sharing. We’re not rivals. We exist side by side. We help each other out when needed. If there was a serious threat to Connor’s clan, we’d assist without thought and expect him to return the favor. We’re bears, and that connection should trump anything else.
“They were relocated,” Connor says at last.
“Relocated?” The word bursts from my mouth before I have a chance to swallow it. Hunter doesn’t flinch, but there’s an established protocol, and I’ve stepped outside it.
“You have new neighbors.”
“Who?”
“They’ve bought the lumberyard to the west of Braysville.”
I grit my teeth at the proximity of our new enemy.
“Why haven’t we scented them?” Hunter asks.
“From what I have been able to discern, they’re not like their predecessors. They’re businessmen.” There’s a sneer to Connor’s voice that Howden and Grizzly laugh at. The idea of wolves being diligent in commerce seems foreign, but only because our nearest neighbors have always been on the wrong side of the law.
Hunter turns to me as though he wants to convey something, and I understand immediately. If we were mated, we’d be able to communicate telepathically in our human state as well as our bear form. Hunter wants Connor to believe it’s the case or we look weak in front of the clan.
“Yes.” Hunter nods at nothing. Maybe my expression confirmed my understanding of that point, and he’s letting me know I’m right.
“The war has raged too long and claimed too many.”
“Less on our side,” Connor says proudly.
Hunter focuses on Grizzly’s face, then tips his head to the side. “All casualties are regrettable.”
Grizzly flinches, the implied reference to the wolf injury he carries on his face like a stab in the gut. Connor is cavalier about it, Hunter less so.
“Battle scars are something to be proud of. It shows bravery.”
Hunter won’t disagree. “We want to simplify our lives, and if there is an opportunity to make peace with a new pack, we want to take it.”
“You are alpha,” Connor says smoothly, with an almost imperceptible shrug. “What you do is the business of your clan alone.”
“We are all bears,” Hunter reminds him. “Bears first, rank second.”
“I have no issue with you attempting to make peace but remember that an olive branch can be perceived as weakness, and your olive branch is yours alone.”