Bear Territory (Bear Lodge Shifters Book 5) Read online

  “Combination, I think,” Darrin said as he sipped his coffee. “If he gets anything particularly valuable he said he'd text me so that no one would overhear him. Hoping that will be sooner rather than later, because there's some kind of ‘delivery’ showing up to them at the airport this evening, and I want to know what it is.”

  “Hopefully it's not a rocket launcher,” Carly said in a dry tone.

  “Well, at least if it is, we can give back as good as we get. And hopefully before we get.”

  Darrin's expression was hard. Jake eyed him. He had gotten a lot less easygoing since the mess in Colorado. Having a mate seemed to be helping... but it also maybe left him feeling that there was even more he had to protect. And now Helga was gone, and Darrin was forced to step up even more.

  Poor guy's even more into taking responsibility for everything than I am.

  “Well, look, guys. If you think about it, we're already getting more help and better luck than we thought we would. We have about twenty of your fellow Lodge members who are at least willing to defend the place if those guys come up here, and we have Malik doing his thing. We're far from helpless ourselves, and we already know way more about them than they know about us.” Anna swallowed and had to sip her water for a few moments. “Seriously, am I wrong?”

  “No, you're not wrong,” Darren replied, his expression softening a bit. Carly reached for his hand and he squeezed hers gently. “It's true, we are doing a hell of a lot better than we could be doing.”

  Jake rubbed Anna's back soothingly, the contact helping his own nerves.

  “No, it's a serious point if you think about it. These Hunters... there might be a lot of them, they might be fanatical and dangerous, but this time at least it's not just the handful of us against them.”

  Darrin rubbed the side of his face.

  “I have an arsenal assembled here already. After last time, I had my entire collection shipped over. We can all have a look at it if it comes to that. Otherwise, I'm thinking sniping and hunting rifles will be best. Lure them into the woods and pick them off.”

  “Well, pretty much everyone here knows how to use a rifle. It's a damn hunting lodge, after all. But that also means that there will be things to deal with after. Bodies, the noise attracting outsiders and maybe the forest rangers.”

  Jake spoke in a low tone, his voice a bit tense thanks to the subject.

  “Corpse disposal isn't likely to be a problem. This is the end of winter, and the mountains are full of starving coyotes and carrion animals, plus bears and other creatures coming out of hibernation. Wild animals will take care of them as long as we take care to leave them someplace inaccessible to humans.”

  Darrin set aside his menu.

  “Ugh, guys, come on, now,” Anna mumbled, squirming and looking a little green.

  “Sorry sweetie.”

  Jake kissed her temple, contrite.

  He was tired and it was making him tactless. “Anyway, we have options. There's no point in freaking out about all of this, if we can avoid it.” Jake tried to be the voice of reason. But he knew deep down that, really, he was just as freaked out as any of them. He was just trying to hide it a little better so it wouldn't touch off poor Anna. Who still looked kind of green. I can be an idiot sometimes, he admitted sadly to himself, and tried to figure out how to make it up to her. “So where are Gray and Julia today?”

  Darrin rubbed his face, drawing attention to the bags under his eyes.

  “If last night was any indication they're trying for a kid,” he rasped in a tired voice.

  Jake snorted; Carly smirked and Anna giggled a little nervously.

  “Yeah, he's pretty damn enthusiastic,” agreed Carly. “Not to mention loud.”

  “Well, technically he only hit puberty recently, and only discovered sex about a month ago.” Jake's lip twisted in dry amusement.

  “That'd do it,” Carly snarked, and Darrin chuckled.

  “Well, it was inspirational, for a while.” He drew Carly's hand to his lips. “But after a few hours I end up being 'Gray, man, really?’”

  Anna looked thoughtful.

  “Maybe it's his way of dealing with things. Helga's gone, after all, and he's been having to deal with that while we handle the whole Hunter situation.”

  “I fully support using sex as a way of coping with life's problems,” Jake quipped cheerily, and Anna broke into a torrent of real giggles this time.

  The portions were appropriately huge for Bear shifters, and Jake plowed happily into his platter of steak and eggs as soon as it made an appearance. Beside him, Anna spread cream cheese on half a bagel, stacked some lox and cucumbers onto it, and bit down. She managed not to wince this time.

  They ate quietly for a while, Darrin poking at his pancakes, while Carly went even more unconventional with a bacon cheeseburger. For a while the four simply munched their food. It had been a long night and a longer morning, and the need to recharge showed on all of their faces.

  The steak hit the spot like few things did. Medium rare, juicy, and so much of it he felt stuffed before he was two-thirds of the way through. Jake sat back with a sigh.

  “Holy crap, I may not be able to finish this. I must be getting old.”

  Anna looked at the meat speculatively.

  “Cut me off a little?” she asked quietly.

  He looked at her in surprise, then smiled and did just that, laying it on her plate next to her half-eaten bagel. To his surprise she immediately sliced off a bite and started chewing enthusiastically.

  “This is good.” She swallowed, bracing herself visibly for nausea... and then looked surprised when nothing happened. “Hey, that's weird, the steak didn't get me.”

  “So what, everything but red meat makes you queasy right now?”

  Carly tilted her head curiously.

  “I guess so. I wish I had known this sooner.” She finished the strip of meat he had given her in a few bites, and he happily passed over another one. “Thanks, sweetie.”

  “I wonder if it's a pregnant-with-a-shifter thing,” Carly mused, watching her munch away. “How are you doing otherwise?”

  “Just lightheaded and sleepy. My last shift ended around three AM.”

  Jake looked at her and opened his mouth to suggest she maybe lay off the late evening watches, but she gave him a firm look. She seemed very proud of the fact that she could finally contribute directly by keeping on watch, even if they hadn't found anything yet. He shrugged and went back to nibbling on his eggs.

  They were just starting to relax when Darrin's phone beeped. He pulled it out.

  “Text from... not sure who this is. Might be Malik, let me check.” He read it, then texted back. “OK, he's got something for us, some things were mentioned at the end of the prayer meeting apparently.”

  He looked a bit embarrassed. Apparently they had taken their break at an inopportune moment after all.

  He looked at his phone... and then stared at it. His eyes widened slowly. Jake put down his fork; Anna went pale, and Carly's eyes narrowed.

  “It's... not good news,” he mumbled in shock. “The 'delivery' tonight is of a helicopter. They have their own pilot and a backup.”

  “Oh God,” Anna whispered. Jake wrapped a protective arm around her and felt her shiver. “They're coming here.”

  “Yeah. He doesn't know whether they'll show up tonight or tomorrow morning, but they're on their way, and our options for stopping them are very limited.” Darrin looked sick. “I have to warn the others. I'll call a meeting.”

  Chapter 8 -

  The Bear Lodge Irregulars

  “Please try not to panic,” Darrin said in a calm, even voice that carried over the nervous muttering going on up and down the long table. “We have a Jeep convoy which will be taking our human staff, any mates and any Bears who wish to go to safety at the ranger station near the highway. It won't be an easy ride, but the trail's back open for spring finally and we don't have many options. From there Julia can get some of her t
rainers to arrange transportation back to town to hide and ride this out, or to take off if you feel like using one of the vehicles we have stashed in Jackson. It's entirely up to you. But if you are staying, this is now a defense planning meeting.”

  He looked around the table as the muttering died.

  “Okay, good. Here's the deal. If you have your hunting rifles with you, and I presume the majority of you do, I have ammunition that should fit pretty much any type. If you do not have a weapon, I have several rifles and a few shotguns of my own. The basic idea is that we know the terrain around here, and the Hunters do not. I have a plan to force them down in the forest, with Malik's help. Once any survivors make their way toward us, we will pick them off from the cover of the trees, and then use our Bear forms to handle anything else.”

  “How are you planning to force them down?” Julia asked quietly from her seat across the table. She looked almost as pale as Anna, and Gray had an arm draped around her.

  Darrin smiled tightly.

  “Esme and I were working on a plan for that, in case it came down to it. Let's just say that rifles aren't the only weapons I bought recently.”

  More muttering. Several of them nodded their heads. One man, an Inuit Bear named Charlie who became a big white monstrosity nearly as huge as Gray's shift form, lifted his chin.

  “So how do we play this then?”

  “Once we know the helicopter is approaching, I'll bring it down. Once we have the signal that it's hit the woods, we go out there in two groups, pin them down and take as many of them out long distance as we can. Now remember, even though the forced landing might take out some of them, we can't count on it. We have to be ready to move once we see it go down.”

  Anna started really shaking. This sounds like they're planning a war. But that was exactly what it was, in the end.

  The Hunters were making war on them, and Darrin was simply planning how they would fight back. She managed to keep quiet and fairly calm-looking as she waited for the meeting to finish. She had nothing to contribute. She was all right with a pistol, but right now, it was far more her mate and friends' show. They were all about to risk their lives to defend the home they loved. And there was nothing she could do about it but brace herself, and prepare to face the inevitable.

  She kept it together for the remainder of the meeting. Then when they finally adjourned, she touched Jake's arm, mumbled something she hoped was coherent about going to lie down, and then stumbled out, not waiting to see if anyone really noticed she was leaving.

  She made it back to their suite, trembling the whole time. Her hands shook so hard she could barely turn the key in the lock. At least that bit of red meat had settled her stomach— strange as that was. Maybe it was a pregnant-with-a-shifter thing. But that didn't help her wobbly knees, which barely held her long enough for her to make it to the bed.

  She flopped onto the bed, clumsily kicking off her shoes and then crawling under the comforter. They're coming. They're on their way. They're here to try and kill us all. Burn the Lodge. Destroy everything. And we'll have to act almost as monstrously just to defend ourselves.

  It's wrong. This is all wrong. I can't handle it. She let out an anguished sob and balled up tight, hiding her face under the comforter and both her crossed arms.

  There were times in her life when Anna genuinely wondered where God had gotten to.

  Where was her comfort, where was her strength? Where was something good and strong and true for her to hang onto while her mind threatened to go unhinged from fear? It had happened months ago, when Jake's father had thrown her into his human hunt to ‘save’ Jake from having a human mate. Back then, with the helicopter blades thrumming in her ears and a bag over her head, she had tried to keep it together for the sake of a sobbing fellow captive, and Mark had been there, and tried to shore her up.

  But now? Mark was at risk, Jake was at risk, she was at risk, everyone was. All she could do was cry into the comforter, her whole body cold, teeth chattering as she sobbed hard enough to wrack her whole body.

  “Anna?” Jake's voice as the door banged open, his tone strained with panic. “Anna, Baby, where are you?”

  She let out a tiny moan in response and the door slammed behind him as he ran for her. He yanked the comforter up and saw her lying there. She rolled an eye to stare up at him, unable to even speak. I think I'm having an anxiety attack she thought dully, but the words wouldn't reach her lips.

  “Oh God,” he muttered, and scooped her up, sitting down and bundling her onto his lap. “I'm so sorry, Baby. That meeting was too much for you after everything. I should have known. It'll be okay, Anna. It'll be okay. We're gonna survive this.”

  She sobbed and threw a limp arm around him, her other hand clutching his shirt as she buried her face in his chest. He was right. It was too much. It was all too much.

  Why, why is this happening? Why don't we ever get a real break? Just a month without something bad coming up?

  But she knew well enough that asking ‘why’ questions was a good way to panic and depress her further, for there were no answers to be given. Absolutely none. There was only the looming danger, and the strength of those around her to protect her and themselves. Yet somehow, she couldn't bring herself to trust that they would get through.

  “I'm sorry,” she sobbed finally. “I'm so sorry. I'm trying to have faith in you. In the others. But I'm so scared. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take any more of this.”

  “I swear to God, if it takes giving my own life, I'll protect you-”

  “No!” she cried out, eyes spilling over with tears as she pounded weakly on his chest. “No, you can't die! You have to not even say that! You have to live! You can't leave me here alone! You can't leave us here alone! I don't care how responsible for this place you feel, you can't go down with it! Please, just tell me you're going to live and come back to me!”

  “Oh sweetheart.” He cupped her face and kissed her forehead, then tilted her face back and kissed the tears off her cheeks. “I'll survive this. I'll find a way, I promise. I won't let you suffer without me.”

  “You p-promise?”

  Her lips trembled. Deep down she knew that he couldn't promise. There was really no way for him to do that. Anything could happen. A thrown grenade. A stray bullet. And in some ways maybe he feared promising, because if he died and broke that promise... it would be worse.

  She knew it would.

  He nodded, and quieted her with another kiss, this one lingering and even more tender.

  “Baby... Malik sent another text. They're coming up tomorrow morning, since the winds are up tonight. It buys us time. It buys you and I... time.”

  Please don't let it be our last time together. It was as close to a prayer as she got these days. But instead of speaking it aloud, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him desperately.

  He let out a sound between a growl and a groan, and returned the kiss, his tenderness catching fire into passion. His hands started sliding over her, and then pulled up her turtleneck. He broke the kiss only long enough to peel it off of her.

  She understood his idea, and his need; it was shared. Her body felt cold, she was numb, her skin felt like it could never ever be stoked up toward pleasure again, but she refused to give up, refused to stop. It could be their last time together. She didn't want to think of that, wanted to think only of him, of the warm skin of his back exposed to her hands as he tore off his sweater. Of his lips on hers, and then trailing down her neck. Of the way he suckled almost painfully at her pulse, marking her as his again. Of his fingers slipping back to unhook her bra.

  They fought out of the rest of their clothes, standing briefly, jeans hitting the ground, underwear tossed away. Then they tangled up together, her nails digging into his hips as she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him toward her.

  He stopped her from roughly stuffing him into her, taking her hands and gently pinning them together above her head as he bent over her.

  “W
e have time,” he purred reassuringly, and then bent down to kiss and suckle at her breasts. “We have plenty of time.”

  His mouth teased her nipples into points, leaving her sweating and tingling under him. Then he kissed his way down her ribcage to the mound of her belly, lingering over it lovingly. His fingers brushed over that sign of new life in her, and he pressed another kiss against it before trailing lower.

  His hands parted her thighs, and he worked his way down between them, opening her sex with his fingers and kissing her there, long and deeply. He started licking her slowly, coaxing her past her chilly terror, coaxing her past her helplessness, waking her nerve endings slowly and insistently as his tongue lashed against her. The stiffness in her body slowly eased out; she shivered, but not from fear this time. His breath blew hot against her sensitive flesh as his tongue swirled against her, and he slid two fingers into her to caress her from within.

  Gradually, the onslaught of sensation did its work, and she started to whimper and pant. Her fingers flexed in his hair, roughly, then settled to his bare shoulders and gripped him hard. Her back arched slowly, hips rocking slightly against his face as he kissed her sex luxuriantly. Soon her breathing went strained, erratic; soon her voice started to rise in long whimpers as she struggled to keep her lips closed and muffle herself.

  She went taut; her climax hit hard, making her wail and thrash against the mattress. He kept going until the sensations died off, and slowed down, then gently let her go.

  She lay gasping for air for a few moments as he rose up and pulled her hips toward the edge of the bed.

  His manhood gleamed with hardness, like something polished; as he sank it into her his satiny girth stretched her a little, sending another wave of pleasure through her.

  He moved against her roughly, flesh slapping against flesh, low grunts escaping him as he thrust and thrust and thrust. His eyes stayed locked on hers, love and lust and pleasure mixing. She grabbed his bottom and pushed against him with what was left of her strength, loving the feel of being filled with him, and the light that rose in his eyes as she squirmed against him.