Page 5 of Corbin (Wild Wolf Pack from the world of Gallize Shifters #2)

Judith lifted herself up and screamed. Corbin pulled her off his shoulder and down into his arms without looking at her. He slowed and turned. Walking backward, he kept the bear in view.

Six, maybe seven seconds, and it would all be over.

Pound, pound, pound of huge pads hitting the ground.

Hysterical now, Judith beat on his chest. “ Run, dammit! Run. Let me go .”

Corbin had her locked against his chest.

When he could hear the hot breath blowing out ahead of the bear’s next roar, Corbin froze in place. Judith sobbed and begged for help.

The crazed black bear locked mad eyes on Corbin, bearing down hard to smash him.

Waiting for the last second, Corbin twisted to the side.

Ares howled in fury.

A deadly claw the size of a frying pan ripped a new gash in Corbin’s arm, knocking him off his feet. He hit the ground, rolling to protect Judith.

Momentum carried the bear past him where he fell out of sight into the pit built as a trap that Ares had evaded earlier.

That bear sounded like a rock tower crashing to the ground. He screamed and thrashed, death throes continuing as it fought to survive. Impossible with thick, sharpened stakes jabbed into his body.

Corbin lay on the ground, not believing he and Judith were alive. She cried into his shoulder. “You, you ...” Hiccup. “Saved me, again.”

Ares said, Good move.

Corbin blinked. Hearing that two-word compliment from Ares was like his wolf yelling that Corbin was the greatest partner in the world and a brilliant warrior. Thank you.

Sounds of something new running his way reached Corbin. He couldn’t win a fight with anyone right now. That didn’t stop him from setting Judith aside and wobbling his way up to stand. “Stay there,” he told her.

She looked up at him as if she’d stand on her head and sing his favorite song if he asked her. He didn’t want to see hero worship in her eyes. A traumatized woman would be glad for anyone to save her from those monsters.

He was no hero.

“ Corbin! ”

Relief swept through Corbin at the sound of Adrian’s voice. Stepping around the hole, he yelled, “Watch out for the pit.”

“Roger that.” Adrian and Ladrón came running around the perimeter of the twenty-foot-square hole where the bear shifter made horrible sounds and gurgling noises.

Ladrón slowed to peek into the pit. “What have you done, amigo?”

“Survived a bear attack in human form.” Then Corbin addressed Adrian, who now walked up to him while also checking the pit. “My wolf and I found the shack. We thought there was only one bear shifter at first.”

I never said I thought that , Ares argued.

Corbin kept explaining. “When the bear shifter dragged the kidnapped woman out with a rope and tied her to a tree, he started shucking clothes to ... make her pay for her father not delivering the money.”

Ladrón cursed in Spanish.

“Exactly. I grabbed the tranq gun and shot him in the ass. I loaded the second dart and hit him in the neck. He tried to shift, then fell over unconscious. I had already shifted into my wolf once to find the shack faster.”

“Amigo, we followed your scent. How did you avoid this trap?”

I am the one who found the pit, Ares pointed out, wanting the kudos he was due.

Corbin added, “My wolf located this pit, or we wouldn’t have been so fortunate.

We didn’t find another booby trap in this direction.

When we got to the shack, I shifted to this body so I could extract the woman.

But when the second guy came out and shifted into a grizzly, I had to give my wolf the body again. ”

Adrian’s eyebrows lifted. “Your wolf handled a grizzly?”

Of course I did. Tell him , Ares prompted.

“Yes. It was no easy battle, and Ares got clawed up a bit, but he ripped the side of the bear’s throat and tore up his ankle.

That bear bled out. I had to change again to free the woman.

The minute I cut her loose, the first unconscious bear came back to life.

” He told Adrian, “By the way, that tranq only slowed the first bear for a short time even though I turned him into a pin cushion.”

“Are you serious?” Adrian shoved his hands on his hips. “My boss will have someone’s head for this. He pays for the best to keep us as safe as possible.”

Corbin scoffed, “I’m glad I didn’t have to find out if two shots would even slow down a grizzly.”

“Madre.” Ladrón rubbed his neatly trimmed black beard. “You and your wolf took on two bears. Are you saying the woman kept up?”

Corbin turned at the sound of her limping toward them.

That ankle must not be broken. Terror had a way of keeping a person’s mind off pain.

She wiped her face with her hands and sniffled.

“I couldn’t walk. He carried me or I’d have died.

” She turned to Corbin. “Thank you for saving my life. I don’t know how to repay you. ”

Oh no. There was that hero-worship look again.

Clearing his throat, Corbin said, “Judith, these are my two friends, Adrian and Ladrón.” No point in telling her she was with more shifters.

She made a mmm-hmm sound, taking her eyes off him long enough to glance at them and look at him again.

Corbin sent an imploring look to Adrian.

Giving a nod of understanding, Adrian said, “Judith, we need to get you out of here as quickly as possible. Your father is wrecked worrying about you.” He told Ladrón, “Call in Hawke.”

Ladrón pulled off his backpack and dug out a satellite phone, then stepped twenty feet away to make the call. Hawke was a bird shifter with Adrian’s people who evidently piloted pretty much anything that could be flown.

“While he does that, I’d like to ask you some questions, Judith.” Adrian finally drew her attention to him and guided her away from Corbin.

Corbin sighed with a heavy dose of relief. While Adrian found a place for her to sit on an old tree stump to speak with her, Corbin stepped over to join Ladrón, who was giving coordinates to Hawke. He asked Corbin, “Is there good place for helicopter to land?”

Pointing over his shoulder, Corbin said, “About thirty yards that way. Big open space, easy to find.”

Ladrón relayed the message and then ended the call. He put the phone down and crossed his arms. “I would like to see this wolf of yours sometime.”

Ah hell. “You will, but too many in the pack don’t have good control. I’d like to wait until others in the pack are in a better place.”

“I have control.”

He’d insulted Ladrón. “Wasn’t talking about you. Let’s say I’m not ready yet.”

“I hear you.” Angling his head, Ladrón looked over where Adrian questioned Judith. He teased, “Pretty woman. She has eyes for you, amigo.”

“I don’t want any woman who looks at me that way, Ladrón, especially one that young and human.”

The Spaniard frowned, creasing the spot between his eyebrows. “What do you mean the way she looks at you?”

“With forever eyes. I’m only interested in occasional bedroom eyes.” To be honest, Corbin hadn’t seen even that in years.

“Ha!” Ladrón grinned. “Every man says that until a special one comes along and ruins his bachelor plans.”

“Not me. Biggest mistake I ever made was falling for a woman with dishonest eyes.” He’d thought she was the one, his mate that would bear him pups with gorgeous eyes like hers. That was not a topic he wanted to discuss further. “What took you two so long to get here?”

Scowling, Ladrón spoke with his hands flying. “I am sorry we were late. I told Adrian to go without me, but he would not. Was a good thing. We freed the rope and rappelled fast. When we reached the base of mountain, two jackals attacked us.”

Shocked, Corbin asked, “Were they with the kidnapping group?”

“No. SCIS. Adrian was much angry. He warned them to get out of our way. They were aggressive fools who are now tied up. Adrian told me he could have solved the issue with a phone call, but we had no time. He left them for his people to pick up.”

Given the option, Corbin would not go near SCIS jackals.

Adrian had powerful connections, but by now the Romanians had probably cut a deal with SCIS to put a bounty on Corbin’s head. He doubted Adrian and his boss could save him from that murdering group.