Alpha's Rescue (Shifter Ops 5)

“Fates, no. Have you heard about her new idea to promote tourism?”

I groan. “Not bear rides.”

“No, that was nonsense. She was never serious about that or the man-versus-bear hot dog eating contest. This is a new scheme.”

I rub both hands over my face. “I don’t want to know.”

“She doesn't think up these things as a way of annoying you. She’s trying to save the mountain. Speaking of which, I heard from Darius. He wants to–”

I know what he's going to say. “No.”

“You don't even know what he requested.” Matthias straightens his glasses, and I clench my fist to keep from smacking them off his face.

“I know I don't want to hear it.”

Matthias says nothing, but I know he disapproves.

“Look.” I wave a hand at my cabin. “Don’t I have enough on my plate?”

“Fine. I’ll stall him. See to your patient. When she wakes up, if her head hurts, you can give her something. A mild painkiller, not aspirin.” He pulls out a packet of Tylenol from his doctor's bag and hands it to me. “It'll help to put something cold against the injury. A bag of frozen peas will work.”

“What about frozen blueberries?”

He nods solemnly as if I didn’t say something stupid. “Blueberries are fine.”

“I’ll monitor her,” I promise. “Thanks for coming.”

“I’ll be back after my appointments.” He half turns to leave.

“Another thing,” I catch his arm. “Don't tell anyone she's here.”

“I won’t, but you know that won’t stop your visitors from finding out.” Matthias nods to the beehives. “This time of year, Everest likes to check the bees.”

I stifle a groan. Everest is my most enigmatic brother. “I don't know why he put the hives over here. He's got his own place.”

“It's Everest. We don't know if he has his own place. He might just have a cave in the woods. I’m pretty sure he spends most of his time as a bear. Also, the Terrible Threes are looking for you.”

My groan comes out a half growl, and Matthias can’t stop his smile. “For fuck’s sake, what do they want?”

“You'll have to ask them.”

“No,” I say. “Tell them I'm on a mission or something.”

“They know where you live.”

Shit. He’s right. My house is Grand Central Station when my brothers want something. “Maybe I can move her…”

“Don't move her.”

I go cold. “Did I do the wrong thing moving her before?” I wanted to get the lovely human to safety, but if I harmed her, I won’t be able to forgive myself. “Do you think I made it worse?”

Matthias stares at me, unblinking. There’s no hiding the concern in my voice, and now he knows more about my feelings for my unwanted guest than I do. I stiffen my back, so I don’t twitch under his incisive gaze. “She'll be fine. The healing serum is fixing the serious injuries.”

“But she’s still sleeping–”

“Sleep is good. She won’t heal as fast as we do, but the serum is helping. The more rest and relaxation, the better. When she wakes up, tell her to take a little vacation. Maybe she can rent your cabin.” He’s teasing me.

I scowl. “That’s all I need. A paying tourist.”

“Daisy will be pleased.”

“Great. I live to please Daisy.”

“One more thing, brother.” Matthias tilts his head as if he just had a thought. His smile is gone, but I can hear it in his voice. “I don’t know if you’ve realized, but the human…”

I brace myself for the parting shot. “What?”

“She's just your type.” Before I can growl at him to get gone, Matthias ducks his head under a pine bough and strides away through the trees.

Lana

Light touches my face like a warm hand, and I wince. My head throbs. I move my face a little to the right and blink until the wall and window in front of me come into focus. The window is framed by the cutest curtains I’ve ever seen. The fabric is dark green with a parade of little brown bears trotting across them in even rows.

I blink and start to sit up, but the searing pain in my head keeps me from moving far. I'm in a soft bed with worn plaid sheets and a forest green comforter. The walls are built of honey-brown Lincoln logs. The room is small, dominated by the four poster bed and a pine wardrobe in the corner to my left. To my right is a bedside table, also made of pine. On the tiny table is a lamp. Its shade is made of the same fabric as the curtains–green with marching brown bears.

Where am I? What happened? I reach for my memories, and there's a blank space and more head pain, so I give up trying to remember. I don't know how I got into this cabin, but someone who picks out cute curtains and a matching lampshade can't be a serial killer. Right?