Bearing Up In Wolf Rock (A BBW Bear Shifter Romance) (Wolf Rock Shifters) (13 page)

Each sniffed the air.

Kyla let him go, reluctant to do so, infuriated
at the disruption.

She smelled
a human.

Their nudity afforded Kyla and Maddox a certain ease now as they changed into their animal forms. Kyla the wolf found herself quietly staring into Maddox the grizzly’s eyes. Without speaking, each knew what must be done.

Kyla circled around to the right, pawing silently through the dense woods, while Maddox t
ook the left. They would trap the hunter in the space between them and, if all went well, stop him before he fired a shot.

His
intrusive scent filled the air; perspiration, which betrayed his nervousness. No doubt he knew that he was now seeking three shifters rather than just one, and he probably also knew that they would smell him long before he’d be aware of them.

Kyla followed the scent, frustrated at the slowness of her pace but aware that rushing might mean slipping up. She was worried about Maddox, who would have the added strain of protecting his brother from further harm.

The light-coloured wolf slid her elegant body between pine branches and over fallen trees, ever coming closer to her prey. It wasn’t long before her bright eyes caught sight of movement.

As she’d suspected, the man
was heading straight for their small cave, and he was about to step out into the clearing in front of it. She knew she’d have to make her move soon in order to bring him down before he made a run for the entrance.

But Maddox moved sooner.

“Oh, shit,” Kyla thought as she watched him storm across the clearing in plain view of her, and, more importantly, the man with the gun. The grizzly was being impulsive in his attempt to protect his brother, and it could get him killed.

Kyla charged then, coming at the man from behind as he pulled his gun up to fire.

She slammed into his back just as the shot rang out and the she-wolf let out a brief howl of fear and agony as she twisted through the air. Had Maddox been hit? He was such an enormous target that it would be hard to imagine missing.

The
wolf turned to ensure that the hunter was down, and as she did so she saw him rising from the ground, aiming once again at the bear, who was still rampaging. Kyla leapt at him again, sinking her teeth into his right shoulder as the man let out a cry of pain. He dropped to his knees then, the gun rattling to the ground.

Maddox shifted and stood facing them.

“That’s my girl,” he said. Kyla panted, breathless, exhausted, relieved. The man knelt on the ground between them, blood staining his khaki jacket.

“I’m not hit. I’m okay,
” added Maddox. He seemed to sense the wolf’s fear.

“So, I hear you people have b
een out to kill shifters,” he said, turning to the man, his hulking form looming naked over his prey. He leaned down and extracted a wallet from the inside pocket of the man’s jacket, inspecting the driver’s license.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m hunting a bear,” the man said, his acting chops unconvincing at best.

“Right, Mr…Hicks, is it? So you’re telling me that you wouldn’t shoot me now if you had the chance?”

The man looked up at him now, his head crooked from the pain in his neck and shoulder, and narrowed his eyes.

“I’d kill you twice before you hit the ground,” he grumbled.

“Good. Well, now that we’ve got that straight
…” Maddox interrupted himself.

The man looked around, as if trying to spot someone or something in the thick underbrush. Maddox looked at Kyla, raising an eyebrow. Someone else
might be near, and if they brought this man to the cabin they'd be leading the other person right to the pack.

“If anyone is out there,” shouted Maddox
to the woods, “Just know that we will not hesitate to rip your friend’s head off if you try anything. In case that wasn’t clear: if you so much as come near us we
will
kill him. And then we’ll kill you. So you’d best get home to your wife and kids, and leave the negotiating to the big boys.”

He had no idea if his words had
been necessary or had worked, but silently Maddox formulated a plan. It would mean diverging somewhat from the route to the cabin but might ultimately be the best for Corgan.

“You okay?” he asked Kyla, whose wolf form was still holding onto Hicks, with no intention of freeing him anytime soon. She let out a low growl which told the grizzly man that she was fine.

Maddox entered the cave and found his brother awake, wondering what the commotion had been about.

“It’s all good,” said Maddox. “Under control.”

“If you say so.”

The sun was
rising into the sky over the mountains by now, and Kyla knew that the only thing to do was to somehow bring the man to the pack, to meet with Tristan and to figure out how to proceed. They could get Corgan tended to properly that way, and maybe prevent further attacks on both sides.

“Kyla, was there any rope in that pack of yours?” Maddox asked
, poking his head out from the cave’s entrance. Kyla nodded, the usual frustration at not being able to speak setting in.

A moment later, the bear shifter came out
with a length of thin, strong rope. He tied it securely around the man’s wrists and bound him temporarily to a tree while the wolf watched over him, her mouth displaying its impressive set of canines in case he was considering trying to escape.

“Hicks,” said Maddox, crouching in front of the man, “How many more of you are there?”

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No, you never do, do you? Listen, I know a hungry wolf who might jog your memory when she takes a bite out of your gonads.”

Hicks recoiled in fear.

“Good. So again I ask you: how many?”

“Fine,” the man grumbled. “There was that Peterson and Kruger—he’s the one who got attacked the other night. He’s run off home. Aside from me, there’s one other guy.”

“And his name is…?”

“I don’t know. He used a web name, like a pseudonym. They call him the Ferret.”

Kyla snickered internally. What a ridiculous nickname.

“Where is this ferret? Were you looking for him? Was he in the woods with you?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t come together. I just know he was planning on staking out Wolf Rock.
I’ve been trying to get to you first. That’s all I know.”

“Fine. Thanks for that. I guess you get to keep your
nads. For now.”

Maddox picked up the rifle and t
he man’s pack and placed them inside the cave entrance, before gathering his and Kyla’s clothing.

When he’d filled the pack and explained to
Corgan what had happened, he brought his brother outside.

“
Corgan,” he said, “do you still have Peterson’s cell phone?”

“
With my things, back at the place where I was sleeping.”

“Can you guide us there?”
 

“
Yeah. It's about an hour's hike.”

“
Good. Let's do it. I’ll carry you again. I just need you to direct me. We need some help and that phone is our best hope for now.”

“I’ll get you there.”

“Now listen: when I change, I want you to tie the rope around my leg,” instructed Maddox. “Understood?”

Corgan
nodded, a little groggy from the meds and his wounds.

Maddox u
ntied the rope from the tree then shifted. Corgan firmly knotted it around his brother’s furry right front leg before climbing onto the grizzly’s back.

The four proceeded on th
e hike. Corgan directed them, occasionally forcing Maddox to shift direction, all the while keeping an eye on the hunter Hicks, who didn’t say a word.

The hunter
struck Kyla differently from John Peterson; this one seemed more wily, somehow, more expert, despite his fear of castration. And yet they’d caught him and that was some relief. She wondered about this ferret character; if he was the man she’d seen in her sketchy visions.

With
Corgan's guidance the three dragged the hunter to the small shelter where the younger bear had made a temporary home. There they found clothes, a couple of packs and Peterson's affairs, including weapons and his cell phone.

The bear
and wolf shifted, Maddox keeping a firm hold on the rope while Kyla covered herself and handed him some clothing.

“
Kyla, could you try and call and have someone meet us on the road, preferably in a large vehicle?” asked Maddox.

“
Yeah, I'll have Dascha pick us up. I know just the location.”

Happy to discover a signal,
Kyla called and explained the situation, and she and the two men began to guide their prisoner towards the nearest road. There was an old abandoned ranch house at the intersection of two concessions not too far from their location, and Kyla had asked Dascha to meet them there.

They hiked for an
other hour before they came to the meeting place. When they arrived, the SUV was waiting.

Dascha
got out and Kyla saw that Tristan was with him. The large alpha emerged from the car, eyeing Maddox and Corgan with curiosity and, if Kyla's instinct was correct, a little animosity. But clearly he intended to deal with them later. His focus was on the man in the hunting gear.

“And who have we here?” he asked, looking finally at Kyla.

“Well, bleeding man number one is Corgan. He’s one of the bear shifters who’ve been causing a stir around here. Bleeding man number two is Hicks. He’s a hunter who’s not a very good shot and a worse liar, and apparently he’d be happy if all shifters were blown off the face of the earth. And the man who isn’t bleeding is Maddox, Corgan’s brother.”

Tristan sized Maddox up. Kyla wondered if he felt intim
idated by the man’s stature, though it wasn’t exactly easy to intimidate the alpha.

“Well, that’s all
quite interesting, isn’t it? Let’s begin with you, Mr. Hicks,” Tristan said, turning to the man, “You are to leave here and not to return. If you are seen again in my territory, I will rip you apart myself. Is this understood?”

“
How the fuck is this your territory?” 

Tristan grinned then, his
canines extending in such a way that he did the pack’s name proud. Hicks recoiled in a very human, very sensible fear.

“Do these answer your question?”
Tristan asked.

Hicks simply nodded silently. He turned and began to walk.

“Now,” said Tristan, turning to the others, his teeth retracting to human size, “to get the young bear tended. You'll need a doctor to look at your wounds. We'll bring you to the cabin and you can be treated there by Dr. Cooper, who’s our ally in the medical field. After that you can explain to me what you were doing attacking humans on our land.”

Corgan
opened his mouth to speak and then the boy in him came to the surface as he clammed up, sensing that here was a figure of authority, not to be challenged, much as he enjoyed being a rebellious youth.

Maddox ground his jaw, wanting to explain that his brother was protecting the pack from discovery
by threatening humans, but he stopped himself too; not so much out of a reverence for the alpha as a means of keeping the peace. The woman who had begun to stir up real feelings within him was a part of Tristan's pack, and for him to challenge Tristan would, by extension, mean challenging Kyla. 

Corgan
continued to remain stoic and silent throughout the ride, pain setting in that distracted him from any information or protestations that he would have liked to offer up.

When their car arrived at the cabin, the doctor was waiting to treat him.
Corgan was brought to the kitchen, where his wounds were cleaned and the doctor removed the shard of bullet from his leg and stitched him up.

Maddox stayed by his side, knowing that he was in for some fairly intense pain. His brother took it well though, only wincing as the tweezers extracted the metal from his flesh.

“I’m proud of you, brother,” said Maddox.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be.” Tristan was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed. He was a reasonable man, and a kind one. But it was time for answers
and he’d been patient long enough. These bears had caused enough problems.

“And why shouldn’t I be proud
?” growled Maddox.

Kyla sensed the
mounting tension in the room. It was like watching two bulls threaten one another before charging.

“Your brother has put all of us at risk with these attacks. N
ot only that, he’s portraying shifters in general to the world as more violent than we are. We’re meant to be protectors; at least that’s always been the mandate of the pack. We do not attack humans. Ever.”