Page 23 of Cowboy Bear’s Hope (Motley Crewd Shifters #3)

M y shoulders sagged as I watched my mate turn and walk away from me, our cub tucked safely in her arms.

I knew she had her. Knew she didn’t need anybody to help her with her precious cargo. But fuck, I needed her to look at me. To see me after everything that had happened today.

To know I was on her side. That I was sorry I’d kept my suspicions about Rosie from her.

Goddammit. I fucked up.

I should have told her before that I smelled fur on her baby’s skin. That I was sure Rosie had supernatural blood.

No, I hadn’t known she was a Bear exactly. After all, she wasn’t a Grizzly.

Yes, I had smelled the scent of other , but she could have just as easily had been a Wolf or some other large predator.

God, but she was a beautiful little Black Bear Shifter.

Rosie would be just fine now. The Motley Crewd Ranch was the perfect place to raise a cub and the rest of the guys, and their mates would look out for her, and help her learn to control her animal.

I only hoped Avery wouldn’t leave me for not telling her sooner. Fuck, if she sent me away, I didn’t think I would make it.

I needed her. Wanted her. Loved her with every inch of my soul.

Desperation scratched at me. Fear made me quake. And urgency had me almost tripping over my own feet, trying to stand to follow her.

“Not yet,” Max growled, using his Alpha voice to freeze me in my tracks.

“Avery,” I muttered, trying to fight against his control.

“Hold,” he grunted, and I gritted my teeth, trying to move.

Sweat poured down my body, trickling in rivulets along my skin as every muscle in me strained against the invisible bands of power holding me in place.

I grunted with the effort. My teeth were clenched so tightly I thought my jaw might crack. But it was no use.

No matter how hard I fought, Max’s command held firm.

When he shifted, the power of his Alpha status amplified, wrapping around me like steel chains I couldn’t break.

Pressure from his decree pressed down on me, forcing my Bear to submit, no matter how much we hated it.

I growled low in my throat, frustration clawing at me as the Bear roared against the confinement in the depths of my mind.

The Jersey Devil was a creature of legend, and for good reason. His power wasn’t just physical. It was inescapable, all-encompassing.

Any other time, I would have been in awe, ready and willing to obey my Alpha’s decree, no questions asked.

But this wasn’t any other time.

This was my family .

Please still be my family.

Fear that this was it. This was the one time I’d fucked up too much to be forgiven scratched at me.

It made me so fucking scared.

Even more terrified than I’d been when Avery had sent me that text and I hauled ass to school.

Pride filled me for an instant as I realized I was the one she called when she needed someone. My brave, beautiful mate had texted me.

No one else. Just me.

Cause she’s mine.

As she should because I would do anything for her. And until Avery told me differently, I would always keep coming when she or Rosie called.

Right now, my girls needed me, and I needed them.

The thought of Rosie and Avery, alone, vulnerable, and inside our house without me, ignited something primal inside my chest.

A powerful need to protect them, to hold them, to make sure they were safe.

Mine.

My Bear’s growl deepened, vibrating through every inch of me, a raw, guttural sound that mirrored my own anguish.

He paced restlessly inside my mind’s eye, throwing himself against the walls of Max’s command with unrelenting fury.

I couldn’t submit. Not now. Not when my mate and my cub were out there, and I was stuck here, helpless and bound by words.

The need to move, to fight, burned in my veins like wildfire, but Max’s power was absolute. My legs wouldn’t obey. My fists remained at my sides, trembling with suppressed rage.

“Let me go,” I snarled, my voice rough, desperate.

But the command held.

“I need you calm, Dante. They need you calm,” he said.

And fuck, I knew he was right.

All I could do was stand there, sweat dripping, muscles trembling, and heart breaking as I fought against the unyielding force that kept me from the only thing that mattered.

My girls.

“Give them a moment, Dante,” Kian murmured, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

For once, I didn’t feel the usual itch to punch the obnoxious bovine in his dumb mouth. His expression reeked of sympathy, and I actually appreciated it.

I nodded, letting out a long breath as I sank to my knees, the damp earth pressing against me. I hung my head, trying to shake off the whirlwind of emotions tearing through me.

Today had been a rollercoaster. A wild, brutal ride of feelings and revelations. Not all of them good.

Hell, most of them weren’t good.

“Here. Put these on, man,” Zeke said, tossing me a pair of sweatpants.

I caught them, barely, my reflexes sluggish. My hands shook as I struggled to pull them on, fumbling with the fabric like I didn’t even know how pants worked.

Finally, I managed to get them over my hips, but it wasn’t the cold slowing me down.

It was everything else.

My body felt drained, my energy completely zapped. Shifting always took a toll, but this wasn’t just about the physical.

It was the emotional dragging on me—the worry, the fear, the endless questions.

Proud as I was to run after my little cub through the woods, to see her so wild and free, I couldn’t shake the knot of anxiety twisting in my gut.

How was Avery holding up with all of this?

Penny and Jezebel were inside with her, and I knew they’d be taking care of her.

That was good. I wanted that for her.

Avery deserved friends she could lean on, women who understood her in ways I might not.

Despite their squabbling and the days they’d spent apart, I knew the bond between them ran deep. They’d be there for her when she needed them, no doubt about it.

I was glad for that.

But no matter how much I trusted them, I couldn’t stop wondering what Avery was thinking right now.

What she was feeling.

What she was going to say to me when we finally faced each other.

Would she be upset with me? Disappointed? Angry?

I knew through our bond that her emotions had been all over the place today. And I couldn’t blame her. How could I?

Her entire world had shifted. Literally and figuratively.

Even so, she’d handled it with a kind of strength that left me in awe.

My sweet mate.

So damn brave.

So damn strong.

I’d always thought of myself as the kind of man who respected women, who appreciated my mama and understood what it meant to care for the people you love.

But Avery? She redefined all of that for me.

My breath caught in my throat, my chest tightening as I thought about her.

She’d been thrust into this crazy, impossible situation, and instead of breaking, she’d faced it head-on. She was incredible in every way, and I couldn’t stop marveling at how lucky I was to call her mine.

Beautiful. Sexy. Soft. Strong woman.

Mine.

But the question still lingered, heavy and unrelenting.

What would she say to me now?

I didn’t know.

And the not knowing was killing me.