Page 47 of Felix

Khloe braced herself, trying to think. She glanced at her Daddy and then in the direction of the approaching bears. She howled.

Felix shifted and landed next to her. She was grateful he was trusting her to make split-second decisions without insisting she shift back. It was easier for her to more specifically track the movement of the bears in her shifted form. Shifting back and forth would waste time.

She braced herself. The bears were coming fast.

Suddenly, she was aware of wolves coming from every direction, too. The home Khloe was closest to was Gavin’s, so he would be the first to arrive. Damon and Olivia were close also.

No one would arrive before the bears, though. Khloe and Felix were going to have to manage this faceoff on their own at first.

Seconds ticked by. The bears were moving fast. They didn’t creep up unannounced. They bounded into the clearing with loud growls of displeasure.

Khloe braced herself and leaped into the air to land closer to them, taking on a stance of dominance. She howled louder than ever, and dozens of other howls joined her from every direction in response.

The two bears bared their teeth, scowling. They were in a position of attack, but Khloe was, too. So was Felix. When the two bears stepped closer, Khloe howled again, louder, shaking the trees and sending all remaining wildlife scampering in every direction.

The bears backed down, whimpering as they eased back a few paces.

Khloe took a dominant step forward, not wanting to show any sign of weakness. She’d been right earlier. She could move fast. She wanted them to believe she could and would tear them to shreds if they gave her cause, and it was working. The two of them retreated farther.

Finally wolves began to arrive. They leaped into the clearing, taking up positions of attack on both sides of Khloe and Felix.

Khloe had never in her life felt this powerful. Two bears were backing down because of her. Yes, she was large, but they were larger. They had no idea she probably could not defend herself in an actual attack, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was she scared them. She leaped forward again, putting herself closer, howling again.

The two bears looked at her with wide eyes before glancing at each other. Suddenly they turned around and ran back the way they’d come.

Khloe watched as they retreated. She was panting and exhausted. She’d managed all of this strictly on adrenaline. No bear was going to threaten her family or her pack’s way of life. Not ever. She would make sure of it.

When they were far enough away, she turned her attention toward her home, trying to sense Drow and Firat. They were gone. Perhaps they had heard the howls in the forest and taken off. Perhaps they had been alerted of the standoff and decided not to confront Khloe today. Either way, everyone was retreating now.

Khloe shifted into human form as soon as she knew they were all safe. When she turned around, she found over a dozen members of her pack, all in human form, standing around her. They were smiling.

So was Daddy, and he pulled her into his arms and hugged her close. “I’m so proud of you, Baby girl.”

She let her body go limp against him. She had no idea how any of that had transpired. It had been instinctive. What she did know was that, in the near future, she wanted to hone her skills because there was no doubt Fate sent her here to be Felix’s mate for a reason, and she intended to serve her purpose for the good of the pack.

Chapter Twenty-One

“What did Damon say?” Khloe asked Felix two hours later as Felix ended his call.

He’d gotten his Little girl home, given her a bath, and fed her dinner. He’d made the necessary calls, and now he just wanted to hold his mate in his arms and relax.

She was in her playpen, but he knew she’d been doing nothing but watching him pace the room while he spoke on the phone.

Felix reached in and picked her up. “He spoke to Surge. Apparently Drow and Firat met with several other bears after they left us in a huff earlier today. They tried to stir up shit and challenged others to come see you for themselves.”

“How did they find me?”

“The bear shifters have more advanced abilities than we do, Little one.” He carried her to the couch and sat with her straddling him, keeping his hands on her back. The last thing he needed tonight would be for her to fall over backward and hit her head. “We don’t fully understand their capabilities, but I’m not surprised they can track us down.”

His precious mate sat taller, holding her head high. “Well, I can track them down, too, so they won’t be able to sneak up on us.”

He smiled. “Apparently not. Plus you scared the piss out of them. Those two were cocky. They didn’t realize you could sense them ahead of time. They thought they could mask themselves. They were wrong. I think it will be a while before more bears come out in search of you, but we won’t let our guard down.”

She shrugged. He’d never seen her this brave. She had changed even since this morning. In fact, she looked into his eyes now and said, “I do a better job of controlling my visions when I’m shifted.”

“I noticed that.”

“I don’t black out or faint or whatever. The vision is faster and sharper and easier to understand in wolf form.”