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Olivia nodded. “I guess you couldn’t hear me, though. I tried to communicate with you while we were both shifted, but you didn’t hear me, did you?”

Molly shook her head before considering Olivia couldn’t see her. “No. I only heard the bears. Surely I wasn’t in their heads.” That seemed so farfetched.

“Nothing would surprise any of us anymore, Molly,” Damon said.

Khloe took a deep breath. “I guess we’ll find out when they get here.”

“What were they saying?” Gavin asked.

Molly shuddered as she recalled their discussion.

“They were talking about two other bears named Drow and Firat. They were mad that those two keep snooping on us, and they’re worried they won’t always realize it, and we might get hurt.

They want to go to their council and ask for someone to take action or at least let them keep closer tabs on the two rogue bears. ”

“That’s incredible,” Arion said, making Molly aware that everyone else had also gathered outside around them.

Felix sighed. “I still think we should keep Molly’s abilities a secret from the bears for now. Even though Surge and Thorn have proven to have our best interests at heart time and again, it might not hurt to have Molly’s ability in our back pocket in case we need her one day.”

Gavin pulled her closer. “I agree. Besides the fact that she can spy on them and warn us when something is going down, I wouldn’t want her ability to get back to Drow or Firat.

They already see us as the enemy. There’s no telling what they might do if they found out Molly can hear them plotting.

” He tensed at her back, and Molly followed suit.

Her Daddy was right. She didn’t want to live in fear of rogue bear shifters.

The two voices suddenly filtered into her consciousness again, and she held up a hand to keep anyone from speaking, grateful when everyone hushed.

Molly patted her Daddy’s arm before wiggling free of him and stepping away from the others to shift. She could hear fine in her human form, but her wolf could block the rest of the noises far better than her human and filter out the precise communication she was interested in.

A few seconds later, she was in her wolf body, ears perked, head tipped.

Khloe spoke. “They’re almost here. Two minutes.”

Molly nodded, grateful for the information.

It really helped her understand distances.

That wasn’t something she had mastered yet.

She would need to practice. It would be easy.

Daddy could arrange a time when everyone had conversations in their homes so Molly could begin to memorize at what distance she was hearing each of them. Easy enough.

Khloe and Olivia shifted next to Molly while she focused on the approaching bears.

“I don’t think they’re going to be too pleased to see us.”

“I doubt it. Wasn’t Gavin’s mating ceremony a few weeks ago? It seems like every time a new female joins the Alphas there’s a new round of unrest that stirs up Drow and Firat. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“I agree.”

Molly looked toward Olivia who was watching her, head tipped to one side. It didn’t seem that Olivia was able to hear the bears yet. How close did they have to be for her to communicate with them?

A more pressing question was whether or not Molly would be able to speak telepathically with the bears. The idea freaked her out, but it was also kind of cool.

Khloe suddenly shifted to human form, followed by Olivia.

Molly wasn’t sure why, but she felt like it would be better if she remained in her wolf skin.

Arion, Brock, and Elias were in wolf form, and the three of them took up a protective stance flanking the group.

The moment two large bears loped into the clearing, Molly gasped. It didn’t matter that she’d been expecting them. They were bears. And they were huge. No wonder everyone considered the rogue pair a threat. If they were this big, they could take out six wolves at once.

The bears shifted into human form as soon as they were close enough. They smiled warmly at the group and nodded around, greeting everyone by name. Finally, one of them looked directly at Molly. “You must be Gavin’s new mate. I’m Surge, and this is Thorn.”

Gavin stepped closer to Molly and set a hand on her flank.

She leaned into him, though she did give the bears a polite nod.

Gavin spoke. “Molly is rather introverted. She’s not used to so much attention. It makes her uncomfortable,” he said, making excuses for her.

She was grateful, but she also didn’t get the feeling anyone expected or wanted her to shift. She was perfectly fine remaining in her fur, observing. The last thing she wanted to do was answer any questions that might cause her to give away her abilities.

Surge faced Olivia as if she was his liaison, which was interesting since she couldn’t even see him. He switched his attention to Khloe next. He was well aware that the two women had powers. When he moved his gaze to Molly, she tried not to tremble. Don’t let him see your fear .

There was a lengthy pause before Surge spoke again, slowly turning his attention from Molly to Felix. She’d bet her next meal he was dying to ask about her possible abilities, but he was too polite. The less he knew, the better.

“We came to tell you that Drow and Firat are up to something again. They were apparently spying on you. That’s how we knew you were all together here today.”

At least that matched with what Molly had heard, which would go a long way toward trusting these two. What unnerved Molly was that she’d missed the two rogue bears who had apparently been stalking them earlier.

Granted, it was possible she had been blocking the sounds coming from outside so well that she’d been unable to hear them. After all, she wouldn’t have known to run outside and listen in on Surge and Thorn if Khloe hadn’t fainted.

Another possibility was that Drow and Firat hadn’t spoken a single word to each other while they’d been snooping. Molly wasn’t psychic. She wouldn’t know if bears were nearby unless they spoke.

Thorn spoke next, addressing Khloe. “I assume you knew we were coming or you wouldn’t have been out here waiting for us.”

“Yes.”

He glanced at Molly. He wasn’t as diplomatic as his friend. “Does Molly see the future or talk to bears?”

“Not that we’re aware of,” Felix responded. “Perhaps you wouldn’t mind shifting and trying to talk to her? Then we’ll know.”

Molly flinched, but she supposed this plan was a good one. Plus, she was as curious as everyone else. She had no idea if she could talk to bears telepathically.

Surge and Thorn nodded and then shifted, the same sort of shimmer she witnessed with wolves, mesmerizing Molly.

As soon as they once again stood in their unbelievably enormous bodies, they looked at one another. “Nice to meet you, Molly. I’m Surge.”

“And I’m Thorn.”

She stared at them blankly and took a risk. “I’m Molly.”

Neither of them flinched. They couldn’t hear her. Fascinating.

“I guess she doesn’t have Olivia’s special talent,” Thorn communicated to his friend.

“Apparently not.”

The two shifted back, and Molly leaned heavily into her Daddy’s side. She would be glad when these bears were gone.

“Well, that’s all we came to say,” Surge said.

“We’re truly sorry for those among us who refuse to live in harmony.

I know your pack is a peaceful group. The other wolf packs in the area are equally friendly and peaceful toward us.

We hope we’re able to put a stop to this madness.

I promise we’re working toward a peaceful coexistence. ”

“Thank you,” Damon said. “We appreciate you giving us a head’s up when there is possible unrest.”

Surge smiled at Khloe. “I guess you’ll let everyone know the next time we come visiting. Hopefully it won’t always be to bring bad news.”

“Thank you.”

The bears waved before turning and bounding into the forest.

The moment they were gone, Molly shifted back, grateful when her Daddy picked her up. “I want to go home, Daddy.” She’d never been more exhausted in her life.

“Of course, Little one. I guess you could hear the bears but they couldn’t hear you.”

“Yeah. That was weird. Plus, they’re so big.” She set her head on her Daddy’s shoulder.

Gavin turned to the group. “We’ll pass on lunch. Thank you for having us. We’ll talk again soon. I suspect Molly has about a dozen ideas, but she needs a nap.” He rubbed her back.

She barely had the energy to wave at everyone before shifting and trotting alongside her Daddy. All she could focus on was getting to her quiet room and falling asleep, probably for an entire day.