Alpha's Rescue (Shifter Ops 5)

I step out and make one phone call and spend a good fifteen minutes pacing my perimeter, checking for weak spots and sniffing the wind. I still can’t believe I shifted right in front of her. Hiding the secret of our animals is the first thing we learn as shifters. Out of control shifting isn’t just a rookie move, it’s a deadly one. My younger brothers had some trouble with control when they were teens. Ma had to homeschool them until they could hide their animal properly. But at their worst, they wouldn’t make such a fatal mistake.

What were you thinking? I chastise my bear, but he doesn’t answer. I sense his satisfaction. He likes the little human, and now she’s right where he wants her.

In my bed.

Shit, what a mess.

My brother finds me pacing in front of my cabin. I whirl as soon as I sense his silent approach. “Matthias.”

My brother is dressed in his usual button down shirt and nice slacks. Unlike the rest of us, he actually holds a job around humans. I was lucky I caught him between appointments.

“Teddy.” Matthias greets me with a nod that makes his glasses glint. He doesn’t need glasses because he has perfect shifter vision, but he wears them anyway. “You okay?”

No, I stalked a female through the woods and rescued her from her murderous brother. Then I transformed right in front of her, like a fool. My bear might be completely out of control.

“Yep, just fine. Come in.” I hold the door for him. We both have to duck our heads to enter the cabin, and when Matthias stands up straight in my living room, his tight black curls brush the exposed pine beams. He has a slimmer build, but he’s a hair taller than me.

“Thanks for coming so fast,” I say. “Did you go to the summit?”

“I found this.” Matthias lifts the bright pink pack. “Along with broken pieces of pottery. But no knife.”

“Shit.” I scrub a hand over my face. I should’ve taken care of the knife right away, so her stepbrother couldn’t come back for it. The female has me making all sorts of mistakes. “Did you see anyone?”

“No. Caught the scent of a couple of humans. One of them was her. The other is male.”

“Her stepbrother. He tried to stab her, and when I surprised him, he ran.” I’m itching to go out and find him, but until I know the female will be all right, I’m tethered to her side.

Matthias gives a calm nod as if I described something normal. He’s used to me giving him the barest details of my missions. Nothing fazes him. Plus, he’s a doctor with human training, which made him the perfect brother to call to solve this dilemma. “Where’s the patient?”

“In there.” I point to my bedroom.

Matthias’ eyebrows bounce. My cabin is small and cozy, with a one room kitchen and living room in front of the fireplace, and a small bedroom barely big enough to fit one wardrobe and my bed. “I could’ve put her on the couch, but people with head injuries need quiet and privacy, right?”

“Sure,” Matthias says.

I don’t add that the couch is too exposed. Too near the door. I need to keep her safe. I especially don’t add the fact that the need to have her in my bed overrode all else.

I won’t examine that urge too closely.

I take the human’s pink bag, and Matthias unslings his black leather doctor’s bag from his shoulder.

“I’ll just go check on her now.” He ducks in the bedroom, and I fight the urge to growl and follow him. I don’t want anyone near the human female but me.

Mathias washes up in my bathroom before heading to the patient. When the bathroom door creaks, I can’t fight my instincts any longer. I give up and hover in the door to my bedroom, watching Matthias lean over the bed to examine the female. He wears gloves, and his hands are gentle, but her brow creases as he touches her head.

“That wound looks nasty, but it’s the least of our worries,” Matthias says. “She probably has a severe concussion.”

“Is that bad?” Human injuries make me nervous. Some of them die from bee stings or eating a peanut. How in the hell do I keep this one alive?

“Did you see how she hit her head?”

I lean against the doorframe, fighting the urge to rush past Matthias and gather the little human in my arms. “I was out for a run. She was hiking when her stepbrother tried to kill her. I stepped in, but in the commotion, she fell on some rocks.”

Matthias accepts this with a nod. He’s holding a small flashlight and shining the light into Lana’s eyes. “How long has she been out?”

As I explain the details of the rescue, I squeeze into my bedroom and hover over Matthias. The female’s scent fills the space, and my instincts are telling me to scoop up the little human and throw my brother out. Which is nuts. There’s no reason for me to be so possessive over a human I haven’t met.