“I can’t hear what she’s thinking now,” Heck said.
Frank pushed aside the instant betrayal. Heck had always been able to tap into Carla’s thoughts? And he hadn’t told them? He shook off the infuriating need to give him a whaling. “Can you tell me what she’s thinking now b
ecause I haven’t a clue?”
Heck narrowed his gaze. He stared into her eyes and shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Carla?”
Her face tightened. Her cheeks flexed. Outwardly, she looked like she was trying with all her might. Her breathing became ragged. She staggered to the left and then grabbed her head as if she were in terrible pain. “I…I can’t.”
Jock rushed to her side. He looped his arm around her waist. “Try, Carla. Keep trying!”
Her breaths became short, hollow. “I…wait.” She swallowed again and again. Wiping her forehead with her fingers, she looked at Frank straight on and said, “Donella isn’t the one I can hear.”
“Then who?”
Her gaze hopped between her mates. “It’s one of the bears.”
“That’s impossible!” Frank said.
“The werebears are bounty hunters, just like Grant said. When they’re together, they’re able to mentally block the rest of us from communicating.” She shook her head a few times. Then, she stared only at Frank. “I’m in the Alpha’s head. They’re evaluating the danger here. He knows someone can hear his thoughts. He views that as a threat. He’s trying to block me.” She winced. “Frank, is there any way he could understand what I’m thinking?”
Frank slowly shook his head, but he wasn’t entirely certain. If Carla could understand another species of shifters, what would prevent that same species from breaching their thoughts as well?
“If one of them knows she is able to hear what they’re thinking, she’ll be in danger.”
“Well no shit, Heck.” Frank grabbed hold of her hand and rushed the ladder. Throwing a blanket over her back, he kept his voice low, “Stay close, honey. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
The kid followed them out of the barn. “They’re on the ridge, Frank. Donella says they’re sloth.”
Frank stopped. “Sloth?”
“It means they’re lazy.”
“No, son. It means the bears are traveling as a group.” He peered over Carla’s head and nodded to Jock and then Heck. “Best of luck, friends.”
Before Carla could turn around, Jock and Heck phased and bolted through the barn. “Frank, no! You have to stop them!”
“They had to go, Carla.” He pulled her alongside him. “Now, let’s go. We need our guns.” Aware of the youngster at his side, he turned and added, “Hang back. Tell us if you see anything at all.”
“Yes, sir. If I see or hear anything at all, I’ll be sure to tell you and point to where you can find them. We’ll make it. Won’t we, Frank?”
“Yes, son. We’ll make it, but I need you to be very quiet until we’re locked behind the cabin doors.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be as quiet as a field mouse and make sure we make it to the cabin without nary a bit of trouble. I’m a good lookout and I can—”
“Kid, quiet,” Carla snapped, pressing her head against Frank’s chest. “They’re coming off the ridge, Frank.”
“Just another few steps,” he said, keeping her head covered.
The battle began on the ridge and the howling superseded anything he’d ever heard before. The yowling and barking in high pitches could’ve been heard to the north or south of them. The adjoined packs were fighting for the territory they’d claimed for their own and going to war against some of the strongest beasts they’d ever imagined, let alone encountered.
* * * *
If Heck left this battle with his life, he’d never complain about the constant yapping in his head. The quiet now was unnerving. He’d often wondered what it might be like to hear nothing at all, to enjoy the serenity of the sprawling open country without dozens of voices in his head.
Now he knew and he didn’t like it a damned bit.