Page 28 of Cowboy Bear’s Hope (Motley Crewd Shifters #3)

S omething was wrong.

I could feel it hanging in the air like a bad smell, thick and unsettling. And no, it wasn’t the barn animal poop making me scrunch my nose.

This was something else. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

But it made my skin prickle and my stomach twist into tight, uneasy knots.

After Dante had come into the animal enclosure they’d set up inside the barn for Rosie’s party, leading her present, a beautiful brown pony named Trixie, with pink ribbons braided into her silky mane, he’d kissed me on the cheek and said he needed to check on something.

“I’ll be back before the party starts,” he promised, flashing me that reassuring smile of his.

That had been ten minutes ago.

Now, Rosie was busy fussing over Trixie, her little hands stroking the pony’s neck and adjusting the ribbons like she was preparing her for a beauty pageant.

Jed, bless his heart, was right there with her.

The older man had a way of making everything seem easy, like he was born to handle kids and animals alike.

He was a real Rosie whisperer. And he’d done an incredible job setting up the barn for the party, transforming the space into a petting zoo wonderland.

Portable fences divided the animal pens into neat sections, keeping the goats, chickens, ducks, and sheep in their own spaces so they wouldn’t crowd each other. Or, more importantly, so they wouldn’t make a mess before the kids arrived.

Rosie was happy, her laughter filling the barn as she talked to Trixie and Jed like they were her best friends. She was safe.

So why couldn’t I shake this feeling?

Dante’s absence gnawed at me, every second he was gone stretching out into an eternity. My mind raced with possibilities, each one worse than the last.

What is going on?

I tried to focus, to distract myself by helping set up for the party, but my nerves were making it impossible to stand still.

That’s when Penny arrived, and for a moment, the sight of her made me forget my unease.

She was wearing the most adorable pink swing dress I’d ever seen, the fabric fluttering around her as she walked.

It hugged her baby bump perfectly, paired with knee-high Frye boots that made her look like a picture-perfect cowgirl.

Well, a New Jersey cowgirl, at least. Don’t laugh—we exist.

“What’s up, Buttercup?” she asked, her eyebrows raised as she began arranging the dessert table with a practiced hand.

Her casual tone and the way she dove right into decorating should’ve calmed me, but the knot in my stomach only tightened.

I opened my mouth to respond, to brush it off, but the words wouldn’t come.

Instead, I just stood there, clutching a stack of party hats like it was some kind of lifeline.

My heart thudded inside my chest, and my stomach turned.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever it was had everything to do with Dante.

The heck with this.

“Penny, I need you to keep an eye on things for me,” I said, grabbing my coat from the rack that stood by the big barn door.

Penny froze mid-decoration, her hands hovering over a tray of cupcakes. “Why? Where are you going, Av? Av? ” she repeated, her tone shifting from casual curiosity to full-on concern.

“Avery, wait!” Kian’s voice rang out from behind me, sharp and commanding.

I turned, already shaking my head at both of them, my resolve hardening with every step I took toward the door.

“Something’s wrong,” I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me.

“I can feel it. And I need to find out what. You two need to stay here and hold down the fort. Promise me.”

Penny’s mouth opened, probably to argue, but then she saw the look on my face. She swallowed hard, her big brown eyes going impossibly wide as she instinctively rubbed her belly.

“Okay. I understand,” she said softly. “But please, be careful.”

“Shit, Av. Max and Dante are going to kill me,” Kian muttered, his hands raking through his blond hair as if he could pull the stress right out of his scalp.

“No, they won’t,” I said firmly, pulling my coat on and zipping it up in one swift motion.

“You stay here, watch over Rosie and Penny, and make sure everything runs smoothly. I’ll be right back.”

There was no room for argument in my voice, and I didn’t wait for one, turning toward the door with more grit and determination than I’d ever felt in my life.

But then I stopped.

“Wait, Kian?” I called over my shoulder.

“Yeah?” he replied, his tone wary, like he already knew what I was about to ask.

“Where is he? What do you know?”

Kian hesitated, his jaw tightening, as he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “I shouldn’t tell you,” he said, his voice low and uncertain.

I whirled around, planting my hands on my hips and glaring at him with every ounce of stubbornness I could muster. “You really gonna waste my time and make me wander around while something’s wrong? While Dante might need me?”

His shoulders sagged as he let out a string of curses under his breath. “Nah. Shit. Fine. A couple of Bears from his old Clan are here. They issued a challenge, Av.”

“Is that bad?”

“It’s not good. They’re in the empty bull pen. The one out by the far pasture.”

I nodded, already moving toward the side door where the 4-wheelers were parked.

“Take the back trail,” Kian added, following close behind and shoving a set of keys into my hand.

“It’ll get you there faster, and no one’ll see you from that path.”

“Got it,” I said, gripping the keys tightly.

I’d become pretty familiar with the ranch over the last few months, since Penny had moved in. With the way Rosie loved to explore, it was no wonder.

But I wasn’t going out for a pleasure walk. The winter wind whipped through me, but I hardly felt it.

Dante was in danger, and I had to help him.

“And Avery,” Kian growled, his voice suddenly serious, his blue eyes locking onto mine.

“What?”

“Don’t you dare get hurt. If you do, your mate really will kick my ass.”

I smirked despite the tension in my chest.

“Noted.”

I didn’t wait for another word, bolting for the 4-wheeler and starting it up with a determined twist of the key. The engine roared to life, and as I sped toward the back trail, my mind was already racing ahead, focused on one thing.

Dante.