Alpha's Rescue (Shifter Ops 5)

Lana goes quiet. “Do you think your friends will be able to stop Bentley?”

I stop the ATV, turn and cup her face. I kiss her like I want to mark her mouth. “They won’t rest until they do. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise you. I’m going to protect you from him, from everyone. You're not alone.”

Lana

I’m two seconds away from losing my nerve and asking Teddy to take me back, make love to me until we forget about the town, his brother and mine. But that’s not fair. Teddy’s helped me so much. It’s my turn to help him.

“Thank you.” I steady myself. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Teddy’s about to put the ATV in gear when to our right, in the trees, someone whoops and hollers. I cringe against Teddy, but it’s only the triplets. They come bursting out of the forest and run past us, slapping the golf cart.

“Dumbasses,” Teddy mutters, but there's a smile on his voice.

“I think they’re sweet.”

Teddy grunts and swivels his head. “Get off, Canyon!” he shouts.

The shirtless teen is gripping the back of the ATV. He cackles and swings from the roll bar and then scampers off. The sun is setting, and in the low light, two kilted forms and one in full black sprint and weave across the road in front of us all the way into the town of Bad Bear.

Against the backdrop of the setting sun, the little town is cuter than its postcard. There’s a single main road running through the center, lined by sidewalks and old-timey buildings that haven’t been updated since the 1800s. No stop lights, but the black top is nice and new. Probably paid for by the bond.

We pass a saloon-style bar with a big wooden sign proclaiming the name: “The Leaky Bucket”. It looks like it could be the backdrop for a Western shoot-out scene. There’s even a dusty watering trough by the long iron railing that’s the perfect place to hitch up some horses.

Across the street is “The Trading Post”, a general store fronted by a covered porch filled with rocking chairs. Like the Leaky Bucket, the Trading Post’s sign looks vintage.

“This is adorable. Why don't you tell me the town was like this? It’s so picturesque. No wonder my mom loved it here.”

Teddy shrugs. “The Trading Post was a stop on the Pony Express. Still run by a descendent of the original family. Not much has changed around here.”

“Seriously.” The whole town has modern touches, but otherwise, it’s like time stopped. It would make a pretty good movie set. And that gives me an idea…

Next we roll past a few wide open fields that lead up to a hill with a large stone ledge protruding from the side, like a stage.

“What’s that?” I point to the stage.

“Daisy wanted that built. Some sort of outdoor Shakespeare-in-the-park idea she had. We built it out, and then the night the play was supposed to be performed, we had a freak thunderstorm, and we had to relocate inside. And that was that.”

“Hmmm.” The stage isn’t huge, but there’s plenty of space in the fields around it. I talked to the triplets about some ways to fundraise money and write for grants, but now I’m getting even more ideas. I know I’m healing because my brain is moving fast again.

The town meeting is in an old adobe building that Teddy tells me used to be a school before it was converted to a recreation center. There’s a long hall filled with seats, facing a stage. Under the scent of cleaning fluid, the building smells old.

Teddy guides me inside with a hand on my back, nodding to the townspeople we pass. Everyone recognizes him, and they look at me curiously. I want to wave and greet them, but I’ve got the hoodie pulled over my hair and half my face. I’m supposed to be in disguise, so I let Teddy hustle me to the front.

The Bad Bear brothers have taken over the first row. Everest is at the end, overflowing from his seat, which creaks under his massive bulk. Even Matthias and the gangly teens look like they’ve been seated at the kiddie table. I’ve been around werebears so long, human-sized things look tiny.

Teddy lowers himself carefully into his seat and stretches his arm around me. Across the way, to the far right in front of the stage, stands Darius in a suit. He gives Teddy a nod and me a wink.

Teddy's chest rumbles with a growl. I lean in, and I put a hand on his knee to distract him. “Thank you for letting me come.”

He covers my hand with his, but none of the tension seeps out of his shoulders.

Canyon is sitting on my left. “There’s the mayor.” He points to the white-haired lady slowly ascending the stage.