Page 7 of Fennick’s Fortune (Sentinels of Apollo #2)

It took considerable strength not only to hold Akiva in my arms and not allow myself to kiss her, but also not to do so much more.

I couldn’t let Ripper come out and claim her.

But the most considerable restraint was needed when I heard what Apollo said to Hadar.

His words about her rebuffing the guy and not wanting to have sex with Hadar or be his mate caused me to almost lose control of Ripper when he heard the word mate.

“She’s ours!” Ripper roared inside me at that moment. I agreed with him, so it was damn near impossible not to shout it myself or to let Ripper out to maul and then kill the one competing for our mate.

We’re like bears in the wild. We will become ferocious in defending and protecting a female we want as our mate.

If another male tries to take the woman we want as our other half, we will challenge him and fight to be the one she chooses, just like normal bears do.

Those fights can cause severe wounds when our bear form wrestles, pushes, slashes, and bites the competition.

That can result in death for one of the competitors.

Unlike regular bears, who try to mate with as many females as possible to pass their genes on, shifters are monogamous. We only want one woman. And unlike wild bears, we help raise our young.

It’s possible for our human side, for lack of a better word, to desire a woman for sex without our animal side caring.

When this occurs, the couple may engage in simple sex and one-nighters or even short-term relationships, but they won’t end in a mating.

However, when a woman ensnares both sides, whether a shifter or human, we can choose her as a mate.

I’d heard of some who didn’t mate with the human that both of their sides wanted because of their desire for children.

They remained alone and unhappy or might eventually find another shifter and settle down to have offspring, but remain unhappy if they merely mated to reproduce.

The ultimate dream was to find someone both sides desired and make them your other half, therefore having a lifelong partner and children.

Those events happened less and less due to the scarcity of shifters.

Both Ripper and I were attracted to Akiva and her female bear.

Ripper wanted to know her bear’s name. He was eager for us to claim them so that no one else would.

While I was thrilled to have met what appeared to be an unmated female, there was no guarantee she would agree.

Or that she was truly unmated. While Ripper insisted I take her and persuade her, I refused to do that.

I wouldn’t do that. As an animal, Ripper responded as nature intended, but I had a rational brain and needed to use it.

As much as I wanted her—and it was more than the fact that she was a bear and attractive—I had to court her and make her want the same if she was unmated.

The vibes she gave off told me she would be resistant.

I needed to pursue her without coming on too strong and making her run.

Something told me she was with this group for different reasons than the others.

This thought made me realize that she had never told us where she came from or why she was traveling with this group.

After hugging her due to a shiver, I let her go when she pushed my arms. I hoped to reassure her that everything would turn out okay.

She would be safe, no matter what I had to do to make it happen.

And if I were to die, my friends would look out for her.

It was the same way we protected Cerys. All I had to do was let them know she was mine.

“She is to be protected at all costs. I hope to claim her, if she’ll have me. But it’ll take work and time,” I broadcast along our psychic link.

“Of course.” Brax was short and to the point.

“We’ve got your back,” Gunnar said.

The others chimed in one by one, agreeing until it left only Nico to respond. I waited for his answer.

“You’ll have to work to win this one. We’ll help you no matter what.

I’m rooting for you and happy that you have found her.

Maybe this means the rest of us will find ours.

You and Brax are encouraging.” While I heard his happiness for Brax and me, Nico was disappointed that he hadn’t found his mate.

“Thank you. Let’s get this group situated so I can begin to work on convincing her.”

Akiva was standing a few feet away. It was too far, in my opinion, but I left it alone for now.

“You know the danger you face and that you weren’t given all the information you should’ve.

I won’t lie. Changes are coming to the Council of Oracles.

Not all will be replaced, but that was Apollo’s decision, not ours.

He isn’t happy they knew of the Precious Ones, Pytho, and his Knights for a long time and never told anyone, not even the Sentinels.

We don’t want them abolished. We only want a Council whose primary goal is to help us protect you.

And our way of protecting you in times like this is to provide you with all the necessary information and relocate you to a safe location, where you can band together with others like us to form larger groups and help protect one another.

Apollo was right. You’ll have to be able to fight.

Sentinels are few compared to all of you. We can’t do it all,” I explained.

As I paused, Royal picked up. “What Fennick says is correct. So, do you have a location in mind? Are you planning to meet up and live close to another group of shifters? We’ll help you get there if that’s your plan. If not, we have a suggestion.”

“We do not have a specific place in mind. We heard others were moving toward Arkansas or Tennessee. Apparently, others are congregating there to stay safe until the situation blows over. We didn’t know if it was true, but things were getting very tense in California, so we decided to find out,” Asa told them.

“Why are you traveling on foot, rather than by car or plane?” Banner asked.

“We were afraid that we’d attract more attention that way.

The letter we got cautioned us to be on the watch for Sentinels who might want to detain us.

Using public highways, buses, or airports seemed too exposed, so we decided to travel on foot.

At night, we can cover a lot of distance if needed in our other forms, which means only certain ones are large enough to carry our amount of belongings.

We know walking as humans is slow, but we blend better,” Isaac answered.

“There’s no sanctuary or whatever you’re seeking in the Midwest or even the South that we know of. Having everyone running to a rumored haven isn’t the answer,” Keir stated.

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Bruce asked.

Before any of us could answer, Hadar opened his mouth. He’d been standing there next to Brax in handcuffs. How I wish my friend had gagged him.

“Take these damn cuffs off me. You can’t arrest me, no matter what you say. I didn’t harm her. Showing a woman you’re interested in her isn’t against the law,” he snapped.

“Showing interest is one thing. It’s when she tells you to stop, and then you go so far as to try to detain her, that it becomes actionable physically. Akiva, has he done this other times? Prevented you from leaving, manhandling you? Has he done more?” Brax asked.

My whole body tensed. What if Hadar had done more? A low growl came from me. Ripper was still watching and wasn’t happy, resulting in a growl from both of us. Akiva’s gaze shifted to me, and her eyes widened. She quickly shook her head.

“No, he hasn’t assaulted me or detained me. This is the first time he has done that. It’s been talk only, and he ignored what I said about my wishes.”

“How could you embarrass me and your family like this? You refuse to listen and believe the Sentinels. Then, when Apollo, an actual god, appears and tells you the truth, you still have to be reprimanded by him. Now, I find out that you’ve been pestering poor Akiva.

It’s a wonder she didn’t leave,” his dad hissed.

I saw the way Akiva’s body tensed. That told me she had intended to leave. There was no way I could permit that to happen.

“We live a few hours away in Needles. There are others like us there. If you want to have the comfort of more shifters around you and have the ability to band together for protection, you could come with us. It’s a small town, but I’m sure we can find you places to live and work in the nearby California, Nevada, or Arizona areas if you can’t find employment within Needles.

We’re right where all three states meet,” I explain.

This information caused a murmur to run through them.

I figured it was time to let them talk among themselves, and then we’d answer any questions or, if necessary, tell them more to persuade them.

In all honesty, while I wanted the others safe, it was Akiva I had to convince.

I figured if Asa’s group wanted to do it, she might risk it if she could get rid of Hadar’s unwanted attention.

“Release him and see how he acts. If he acts stupid, we can always cuff him again,” I told Brax.

“If he doesn’t behave, I’m teaching him a lesson. We don’t have the same rules as Sentinels with our kind versus what I have when dealing with humans,” he reminded me with grim satisfaction.

“Well, I don’t know if you’ll get to rough him up if Fen gets his way,” Nico teased.

“You’re damn right,” I replied.

“We’ll take a walk and give you time to talk. When we return, we’ll answer any questions you have. You behave. Don’t make me regret this,” Brax growled at Hadar before he removed his handcuffs.