Page 26 of Guard Bear (Return To Fate Mountain #5)

Chapter

Twenty-Four

"Movement on the southeast approach," Heath's voice crackled through the radio. "Thermal imaging shows at least six figures using the tree line near Joy's property."

Joy's blood turned to ice. The attackers were trying to flank them, using Joy's familiar terrain as cover to get behind their defenses.

"Andre," Heath said. "Need you to reposition to the tiny house area. Block that flanking route before they can use it to hit us from behind."

"Copy that." Andre's voice came through the comm.

Joy keyed her radio, anger making her voice tight. "They're using my property to attack my family. Moving into position."

"Joy, stay back. I'll handle the perimeter," Andre said.

"Like hell I will. This is my land."

A growl rumbled through Andre's transmission, but he didn't waste time arguing. "Then let's make sure they regret it."

They converged at the edge of Joy's property, both breathing hard from the sprint. The wreckage of her bee yard stretched before her. "I'm shifting," Joy said, already pulling off her radio headset.

Andre nodded, taking her radio. "I'll hold the high ground. You circle wide if they come through."

Joy shifted into her mountain lion form, the transformation flowing through her like liquid fire.

Dead bees crushed beneath her paws as she moved into the shadows, every muscle coiled for violence.

The scent of destruction hit her with each breath, and her mountain lion's rage burned cold and focused.

Andre positioned himself behind the granite outcropping. Minutes later, movement flickered at the forest edge. Two mercenaries emerged from the forest, advancing toward Andre's position. They hadn't seen Joy in the shadows. Hadn't realized death prowled twenty feet away.

The crack of Andre's rifle echoed across the yard. One mercenary ducked, gesturing to his partner. Their attention was fixed on the granite boulders where her mate held the line. Perfect.

Joy circled wide, paws finding silent purchase on the familiar ground. This was her territory. The men moved like soldiers. Professional. Trained.

But they'd never been hunted by an angry cougar defending her legacy.

She gathered her haunches beneath her, muscles bunching with explosive power. The nearest mercenary paused to reload, his attention momentarily divided.

Joy launched.

One hundred and twenty pounds of fury slammed into his back.

Her claws punched through his tactical vest like paper, finding flesh beneath.

His scream cut off as they hit the ground, her jaws finding his throat.

His partner spun, his weapon rising. Time slowed as Joy saw the muzzle swing toward her, the black eye of death seeking her heart.

Andre's shot cracked across the yard. The mercenary jerked, his weapon spinning from nerveless fingers as he crumpled.

Joy released her prey, leaving him groaning and bleeding.

Her tongue tasted copper. Her lion wanted more.

Wanted to tear apart everyone who'd destroyed her girls, who'd burned her dreams.

A shout echoed from the main fight. More mercenaries, drawn by their fallen comrade's scream. Three of them, moving in formation toward her position. Joy melted back into the shadows. Let them come. This was her garden of ashes, and she knew every inch.

There was movement to her left. Another mountain lion, tawny and scarred. Her mother. Maria had flanked wide, coming from the workshop side. To her right, a massive grizzly emerged from the tree line. Buck, eight hundred pounds of paternal fury.

The mercenaries slowed, weapons tracking between threats. Their formation tightened, backs together, trying to cover all angles. One spoke into his radio, voice high with stress.

"Need backup at the apiary. We've got multiple shifters. Repeat, multiple?—"

Joy struck from behind while he transmitted.

Her claws raked down his back, tactical webbing parting like tissue.

He screamed, dropping the radio to clutch at wounds he couldn't reach.

Maria hit the second man low, powerful jaws clamping on his thigh.

His shot went wild as he toppled. Buck's massive paw swept the third mercenary's legs, sending him sprawling.

The yard erupted in chaos. More mercenaries rushed to help their comrades. Joy danced between them, using speed and agility against their firepower. Strike and fade. Slash and retreat. Never staying still long enough for them to target.

Andre's rifle cracked steadily from the rocks. Each shot dropped a threat, covering her movements with mechanical precision. But she could hear the tension in the rhythm. Too many enemies converging on his position.

Three fresh mercenaries rushed the boulders from the north.

Andre swung to engage, but two more came from the east. He couldn't cover all angles.

Couldn't hold them alone. The gunfire from Andre's position stopped.

For one heartbeat, Joy's world froze. Then the roar that erupted shook dust from the ground.

The mercenaries charging the rocks stumbled to a halt as eight hundred pounds of grizzly rage erupted from behind the boulders. Andre's bear form moved with shocking speed for something so massive. His paw caught the nearest attacker, sending the man flying fifteen feet to crash into a burned hive.

Joy's lion sang with savage satisfaction.

She drove a fleeing mercenary straight into Andre's path. The man saw the bear, tried to change direction, but momentum carried him forward. Andre's massive form slammed him to the ground.

They moved together now, two predators in perfect synchronization. Joy's speed created chaos. Andre's power broke their cohesion. Maria and Buck sealed escape routes, turning the yard into a trap.

The mercenaries' professional composure cracked. One threw down his weapon, hands rising. "I surrender! I'm done!"

Another followed. Then three more. The virus of defeat spread through their ranks as they realized the truth. They weren't soldiers anymore. They were prey and the predators had them surrounded.

"Stand fast!" The voice boomed across the yard. Webb stood by the vehicles, trying to rally his broken force. "You're professional soldiers! Act like it!"

No one listened. Men who'd faced combat zones fled from shifters defending their home. Some ran blindly into the forest. Others dropped to their knees; hands laced behind their heads.

Webb raised his rifle, aiming at Joy who was focused on corralling surrendering mercenaries. Andre’s charge shook the earth. Andre accelerated to terrifying speed. Webb's shot went wide as primal terror seized him. His rifle fell.

Andre’s paw swept Webb's legs. He crashed down, all military bearing forgotten as he scrambled backward on his ass. "Please! I surrender! Don't kill me!"

Andre loomed over him, jaws parted to show teeth capable of crushing a skull like an egg. But he didn't strike. Just stood there, massive and implacable, until Webb curled into a ball and sobbed.

An engine roared to life.

Joy's head snapped toward the sound. The command SUV, forgotten in the chaos, sprayed gravel as it peeled out. Through the rear window, she glimpsed a pale face twisted with rage. Prescott.

Buck shifted back to human form, grabbing the radio from where it had fallen. "Heath, this is Buck. Multiple suspects down at Joy's property. We need cleanup crews."

"Copy that," Heath's voice crackled back. "Officers Blackthorn and Stone are two minutes out."

"Go!" Buck growled. Blood ran down his arm, but his eyes were fierce. "We've got this. Get that bastard!"

The vehicle hit the old logging road at dangerous speed, taillights disappearing into the forest. Joy's roar of fury echoed off the mountains. He was escaping. The man who'd orchestrated everything, who'd burned her hives and tried to steal their land, was running.

Joy needed no further urging. She burst into motion, muscles stretching into a full sprint. Andre crashed through the underbrush beside her, his longer stride matching her speed.

The SUV's taillights flickered through the trees ahead, following the winding logging road. Her muscles burned as she pushed harder. Andre's breathing came in great bellows beside her, but he didn't slow. They ran as they'd fought. Together. United in purpose.

Joy's muscles burned with each stride, her powerful haunches launching her over fallen logs and around granite boulders. Pine needles whispered beneath her paws, the soft forest floor absorbing the sound of her pursuit. To her left, Andre crashed through the undergrowth.

The SUV's taillights flashed between the trees like fleeing prey. The vehicle's engine whined as Prescott pushed hard on the rough road. Gravel sprayed from spinning tires as he took another turn. The SUV fishtailed, brake lights flaring as he fought for control.

Her sides heaved with each breath, but she pushed harder. The memory of dead bees carpeting the ground drove her forward. Twenty-four thousand tiny lives sacrificed to one man's greed. A new sound cut through the forest. The rhythmic chop of helicopter rotors.

Rage surged through Joy's body. He'd planned this escape.

Every detail orchestrated, including the retreat.

The burn in her legs transformed into liquid fire, but she embraced it.

Let it fuel her. Andre roared beside her, the sound echoing off the mountain walls.

His fury matched hers, their hunt perfectly synchronized even in rage.

The road began to level out. They were close. The trees thinned ahead, artificial light glowing beyond the forest edge. The SUV pulled away slightly on the straightaway, but it didn't matter now. She could see the tree line ending. See the cleared plateau beyond.

Joy cut the final corner, leaving the road for a direct line through the last stand of pines. Branches whipped past her face. A fallen log required a leap that sent pain shooting through her already screaming muscles. But nothing mattered except catching him.

She burst from the forest onto the airstrip.

The helicopter sat in the center of the cleared area, rotors spinning. Grass flattened in perfect circles from the wash. The pilot gestured urgently from the open door.

Prescott himself stumbled from the SUV, a laptop bag clutched against his chest. His designer shoes slipped on the grass, arms windmilling for balance. Twenty yards to the helicopter. Fifteen. Ten.

Andre's charge shook the earth.

The ground trembled beneath his massive paws.

Each stride covered impossible distance.

Prescott heard him coming and turned, eyes going wide with primal fear.

His scream tore from his throat, lost in the rotor noise.

He swung the laptop bag up like a shield, as if leather and electronics could stop the force of nature bearing down on him.

Joy added her roar to Andre's, the sound of two predators closing on their prey. The pilot's face went white. His hands moved frantically over the controls, trying to lift off. But Prescott was still too far away. Still stumbling across the grass in his expensive shoes while death closed in.

Five yards. Three. Two.

Andre's massive form gathered and launched through the air. All that weight and power focused into a leap that defied physics. Prescott's face contorted in a final moment of horror, mouth open in a scream.

The helicopter was so close. Freedom just steps away. Everything Prescott had worked for, schemed for, killed for, measured in the distance between his reaching hand and the open door.