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Bu
Ten more steps would see him where he needed to be. Nine…eight…seven…
Tabby yelped, the sound full of anguish. And Bu
Julian was barely breathing, his fur matted with blood, the color a dark golden green to her Wolf’s eyes, almost blending with the soft gold of his shoulders. She could smell the coppery scent of his blood, her own and the Wolves around them.
At least they’d managed to get off a few shots of their own before going down.
She snapped at Gary, trying to get him off of her. She struggled, but couldn’t break free, not without snapping her leg. She gave up and let him drag her back, knowing what he would attempt to do next.
He would try to mount her. And when he did, she would try to kill him.
Bu
Tabby was under Gary, the would-be Alpha Wolf attempting to mount her. Her dark brown and tan fur was matted with blood and dirt, the small tuft of green at the very top barely visible. She whimpered in pain when she tried to put weight on her back paw. The leg gave way beneath her, the shock nearly giving Gary the chance to enter her. She snapped and snarled, trying to toss Gary off, but he had a hold of her neck now and was hunching his hips forward, trying to fuck the smaller Wolf.
Gary was trying to rape Tabby.
Bu
And it felt good.
Tabby started at the terrifying roar. She knew who that was and renewed her struggles.
Alex was here.
Her hind leg was killing her, her neck was sore, and she couldn’t get the son of a bitch off her to save her life. She looked up as far as she could with Gary’s teeth buried against her throat. There were two grizzlies. One went after the Wolves trying to finish off Julian. The other, larger one raced straight for Gary.
Gary let go of her and tried to back away, but he was too late. The grizzly swiped with his massive paw, sending the Wolf flying through the air. Tabby whimpered, her neck bleeding from where Gary had tried to embed his teeth.
Gary landed against a tree with a yelp of pain and a sickening thud, his sides heaving. Alex stood over her battered, bleeding body and growled. The expression in his eyes was full of pure rage. His muscles were tense with the need to kill, pure predator as he stared at his downed prey.
Sometimes it was easy to forget that Bears were omnivores. She didn’t think she’d ever forget that again.
She struggled to her feet, wincing, unable to put her full weight on her back paw.
It wasn’t broken, but it felt badly sprained. She nuzzled Alex’s leg as he settled back on all fours. He was massive, much larger than the other grizzly. She stretched up and licked the underside of his jaw, barely able to reach him with the tip of her tongue.
Alex’s eyes never left Gary, but the insane growls lessened with her display of affection. Now, pure rage was filtered by determination, turning what might have been a massacre into an execution. She had no doubts that Alex would win.
She did have to wonder how many pieces Gary would be in when Alex was done.
Bu
He started forward, snarling when he felt Tabby trying to keep pace. He needed her to stand back, let him deal with her attacker, but he couldn’t tell her that in this form. He didn’t dare take his eyes off the Wolf. Gary would take any advantage he gave him, and Bu
But Gary would bleed for him. Oh, would he bleed.
Gary rose to fight him, using those darting tactics Packs used to bring down large prey, but the shifter was off balance. Bu
Poor puppy. Bu
Tabby yipped. He darted a quick glance at her, startled when she limped her way toward Julian. The other Bear did not look good. He wasn’t healing as quickly as he should. Those legendary Spirit Bear powers seemed to have deserted him.
Shit. Whatever Julian had done to help Chloe must have weakened him more than Bu
Sharp, cold pain sliced across his side. He whirled back to face his opponent.
He’d taken his eyes off Gary for too long and the Wolf had gotten him for it. He roared and knocked the Wolf back, his claws raking along Gary’s side. The Wolf howled. Blood dripped from wounds inflicted by five-inch claws. As Wolf, he wouldn’t heal, not without help, or without shifting. And shifting right now would merely give Bu
He narrowed his eyes and gathered himself. It was time for the real battle to begin.
Sharp claws, flashing teeth, flying fur, and the smell of blood assaulted her senses. The battle was joined for real. Each shifter tried his best to savage the other, Gary fighting for his life, Alex fighting for his mate and the life of her friend.
The two Wolves who had come with Gary were down, defeated by Ryan in such a short amount of time that Tabby was surprised at how long it was taking Alex to finish the battle. The two Wolves who’d shadowed Gary’s every move had even changed, lying there naked and pathetic, covered in dirt and blood and tears.
They were babbling, begging the huge grizzly for mercy.
Ryan chuffed at them and turned his attention to Julian. She knew the healing powers of the Bears and hoped he’d be able to help him. Because she could hear Julian’s heartbeat, and it was slowing down.
Julian was dying.
Bu
Without the rest of his Pack, there was no way Gary could win, not against someone like Bu
Bu
Bu
Gary didn’t. Panting, the man changed, turning human. He clutched his hip, moaning in agony. If Bu
Bu
Tabby limped back to him, and the pain she felt sealed Gary’s fate.
Chapter Nine
Tabby tried to stop Alex from killing Gary. Too many questions would be asked if a man was found naked, mauled by a grizzly bear. But even limping as quickly as she could, she wasn’t fast enough. So she was surprised when a golden body separated Bu