Page 3 of Fennick’s Fortune (Sentinels of Apollo #2)

I got a grumble in reply. I went back to my audience.

“That may well be, but if you didn’t intend to camp out here, which is prohibited, you should be heading back.

The desert gets cold and dangerous at night.

We’ll gladly escort you back, and then we’d like to sit down and discuss something with you,” I remarked, ignoring the younger man’s rudeness.

“We don’t want trouble. We’re merely passing through,” Asa said.

“And I’m not looking to bring you any, sir. In fact, we want to help you avoid it,” I assure him.

I couldn’t distinguish Asa’s and the other man’s scents from this distance. I took them to be related, since the younger man looked a lot like Asa. When the man on the other side of him stirred, I amended that. The three of them were related. Sons?

“Dad, ignore them. They can’t tell us what to do. I don’t care if he’s a ranger. We’re not doing anything wrong,” the original younger man said, scowling at me.

“Hush, Hadar, before you cause us to be in a fight. That’s the last thing we need or want. Keep your mouth shut,” Asa hissed.

Even though they kept their voices at a whisper, we clearly heard them with our enhanced hearing. Hadar’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t mouth off to his dad or say anything more to us. This action told me they were unlikely to have telepathy among themselves.

The other man broke the tension. “We don’t want any trouble. We just want to get to our destination and don’t want to attract unwanted attention. You’re shifters, so you know how it is,” he explained.

“We do know, but contrary to what your brother said, I have authority here. Where are you headed? Maybe we can help you get there faster and without much notice,” I asked the second young guy.

“You’ll have to forgive my youngest son, Fennick. He sometimes speaks before he thinks. His name is Hadar. This is my oldest, Adir. If you’ll excuse us a moment, I need to confer with my people,” Asa said.

After I gave him my nod of assent, Asa was crowded by the others who came closer and began to whisper urgently. Their voices jumbled together, making it harder to understand what they said. While we waited, I spoke telepathically to my friends.

“It seems they’re touchy like we thought. We’ll have to watch ourselves and probably take it slow,” I told them.

“And watch that hothead, Hadar,” Nico muttered.

“Definitely watch Hadar, although he might not be the only one. Until we speak and get close enough, it’s hard to know who is the most dangerous. Just because Hadar popped off doesn’t make him the badass,” Royal warned us.

“Don’t worry. I’ll watch Hadar. The rest of you pick out your targets. If this goes badly, we’ll have to take them out, though I detest doing it in front of their women and those kids,” Brax growled.

It sounded cold, but Brax was right. We each pointed out our man, so the others would know not to target them.

I studied the others with Asa and his sons.

The women were bunched together with the two kids in the middle of them.

I was scanning their faces to determine if they were dangerous when my eyes were drawn to the woman in the back of the cluster of ladies.

Unlike the other women, who cast us frightened looks and kept their eyes down, she boldly stared back. She didn’t cast her gaze down when she noticed me staring at her, which stirred my interest. Then, her appearance registered, and I had to admire her.

I couldn’t see her lower half, only what parts of her stuck out between the other bodies.

Her height was average or a smidgen taller.

Her face was striking. Long raven hair hung in a ponytail.

I couldn’t see how long it was. At this distance, it was impossible to determine the color of her eyes.

Her skin was a shade between ivory and light beige.

I had no clue what color that was. High cheekbones, a straight, elegant nose, and edible pink lips added to her beauty.

Of her body that I could see, she was well-endowed and shapely on her upper half.

I wanted to see the rest of her because if it was as good or better, I might have to see if she planned to hang around for a while.

I wouldn’t mind at all getting to know her.

My mind refused to let me wonder what kind of shifter she was.

I knew my luck. There was no way she was a bear, and I was determined to only settle for someone who could have children with me.

The huddle breaking up tore me from those inappropriate thoughts. The men were facing us again. I had to fight to listen to what Asa had to say because Ripper was fully awake and agitated. He wasn’t saying anything, but I could feel him figuratively pacing.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him, but he didn’t respond.

“You can join us, but we have to ensure you’re not armed,” Asa stated.

“And you and yours will have to disarm yourselves and permit us to verify the same. I’m not looking to get myself or my friends killed,” I informed him matter-of-factly.

“Agreed,” Asa immediately answered.

They hurriedly stowed away their guns. The slowest to do so was Hadar.

No surprise there. Once that was done, we finished our approach.

When we got to them, Brax stepped forward.

He’d do the patting down. He did it professionally.

I thought Hadar would be the one to insist on doing this for their side, but it was another man.

It was done thoroughly yet rapidly. From how he did it, I thought the man from their side had experience. Some tension eased when he and Brax indicated they were done, and everyone was clean.

“Come, have a seat. We don’t have much, but can we offer you something to drink?” Asa asked.

We sat on one side of a circle while they gathered on the other side. No one was secure enough to mix with us. I didn’t let it bother me.

“No, thank you, Asa. I’d like to introduce you to my friends. This is Brax, Keir, Nico, Banner, Royal, and Gunnar.” I stated their names as I pointed to each of them.

When I finished, Asa returned the courtesy.

“You’ve met my sons. This is Leah, Adir’s mate, and their children, Simon and Shiloh.

This is Trevor and Thea. They’re brother and sister.

Next to them are Isaac and Mia. They’re mates.

Orion, Camila, and Juliette are cousins.

This gentleman who patted you down is Bruce. Lastly, we have Akiva.”

I’d cataloged the separate scents and who they belonged to, now that we were near them, as the introductions were made—the way my friends were undoubtedly doing.

Asa and his family were coyotes. The siblings were raptors.

The other mated pair was panthers. The three cousins were wolves.

I saw the look Orion and his female cousins gave Brax.

The women’s gazes held interest, Orion’s suspiciousness.

The ladies would be disappointed to find out Brax was one hundred percent taken.

Bruce was the vampire who tried to mask himself.

But it was the last one, the stunner, who’d caught my interest before, who was the unexpected and most exciting one of all.

By some miracle, Akiva was a bear! What were the odds of that?

Plus, since she was without a mate as far as I could tell, it meant she was an unmated female bear.

I couldn’t recall the last time I’d encountered one.

My silence wasn’t noticed, as my friends carried on, saying hello to everyone. They were no doubt covering for me.

“What are the odds of that? A female bear. She seems unmated,” Gunnar said, with enthusiasm directed at me. He gave me a wink.

“I know she’s a bear, but maybe she may have a mate who is out scouting or something,” I said.

I refused to get more excited than I was. However, it seemed that Ripper had no such reserve. He was practically clawing his way out of me. I had to fight not to shift. The moment he detected her scent, Ripper went crazy.

“She’s ours. Hurry before another takes her. Get her to safety. Kill them if they try to keep her from us,” Ripper snarled.

“Calm the fuck down! We’re not killing anyone. What if her mate is elsewhere? Or she doesn’t want us?”

“Kill him. He’s not her true mate. We are. He stole her from us. She will come to be ours. We can change her mind,” Ripper assured me confidently.

“You don’t know that he stole her,” I reasoned.

“Yes, I do. She’s ours. Made for us and no one else,” my bear argued.

I had to stop arguing with him and focus on the reason we were there. Regardless of what desires she stirred within me or how she riled my bear, we had Sentinel work to do. My love life would have to wait.