Page 36 of Hunny and the Bear (Bearly Yours #1)

Thirty Six

A few minutes earlier …

S tanding on his hind legs, Tank swatted at the massive wolf that lunged at him, hitting it on the side of the neck. Claws sliced through fur and flesh, the scent of blood permeating the air. The wolf yelped, flying to the right before it hit the ground, paws scrambling for purchase.

As the wolf pushed slowly to its feet, another five crept out of the woods, their heavy breathing alerting him to their presence instantly. Nine wolves and a traitor surrounded him. Fuck! This wasn’t good. Not good at all. Several howls rent the air mockingly. They had him dead to rights, and they knew it.

Tank cast a furious look around, eyes snapping onto the newly injured wolf. The strike he’d made, although painful, wouldn’t put a shifted wolf down for long. He’d need to rip out its throat, at the bare minimum, to kill it. With the other wolves closing in on him, and Dante standing too close for comfort, Tank didn’t have the luxury of completing the kill.

Time was of the essence. Hunny, their kits, and Murphy’s mate were relying on him for protection, and he was failing them. Anxiety and fear tore through him, the force of it so severe, so powerful, it was almost impossible to beat back. But he had to focus.

Murphy and the others were on their way. He knew that. He had to buy time. But Tank already felt doomed to fail. He wasn’t sure if he could take on so many adversaries alone and survive. But he had to try.

For Hunny, he would. He’d do anything.

Jason walked casually up the stairs to the porch, reaching for the front door. Fury overrode everything else, and Tank unleashed a primal roar, warning him away. Warning Hunny of the danger. Although, where could she go? How could she defend herself against an onslaught like this with only a human at her side?

Ignoring him, Jason turned the knob, shoving the door open. The wolf looked toward the kitchen and smiled. “Ah, my darling mate.”

Jason stepped into the house, closing the door behind him.

Whatever tether of control Tank had been clinging to snapped. Dropping onto all fours, he rushed the wolves blocking him from Hunny, slamming into one with a roar so loud it made his throat burn. He ignored the pain, relishing in the wolf’s yelp of surprise as he trampled it.

A wolf sprang at him, launching onto his back. It bit down, catching mostly fur in its hasty attack. The wolf slid off, landing on the ground as another one jumped in, replacing the first. This time, its fangs sank into the fat on Tank’s back as the wolf mounted him, another quickly joining in. Fire blazed through him as his skin split, warm blood drenching his thick fur.

Tank didn’t acknowledge the pain, instead lunging at another adversary that had come too close. Maw opened wide, he bit into a front leg, yanking his head back and forth until he heard a pop. The wolf yelped in pain, struggling frantically to break free. Tank didn’t let it go, instead swiping at the underside of its neck with his claw. He hit at it repeatedly until his claws tore through muscle, severing the wolf’s spine. The creature went limp, and he dropped the dead shifter to the ground.

Another sharp bite pierced his back and he grunted. Shaking himself, he attempted to dislodge the two wolves tearing into him. It wasn’t enough, though.

More wolves attacked Tank in unison, claws and fangs ripping into him. He roared in pain, completely overwhelmed. Desperate to escape the onslaught, he bit one wolf, blood filling his mouth. He yanked his head to the side, flinging the fucker off him. Another one replaced it instantly, and resignation filled him.

He couldn’t fight them all off. Not alone.

He could only pray that he killed enough before he was taken out. That he could make it easier for Murphy and the others to kill Jason and save Hunny. His family would look out for her after his death. Would keep her and their children safe and help her raise all three of them.

God- fucking -dammit. That should have been Tank’s job. His honor and his privilege to watch their kits grow, to become the family Hunny had always deserved. That he’d always wanted. But now, he was going to die because of some delusional fucknut.

Tank’s throat thickened with emotion as he struggled to swallow down his anguish. Hunny would survive his death. She was strong and resilient. They’d only been mated for a short while; if anyone could survive the mating bond snapping, it was her. But the pain … The loss …

Fuck. He wished he’d had more time with her. More time to love her in all the ways she deserved. He’d give anything for another day. Another hour. Another second.

The ground rumbled as Dante entered the fray, charging right at Tank. He didn’t have time to react, instead bracing himself for the inevitable assault, for his untimely end. Dante swiped at Tank with a mighty paw.

But the blow never struck him.

One wolf latching onto Tank whimpered in surprise, its heavy body disappearing off his back as it hit the ground with a hard thud. Dante struck again, and another wolf clinging to Tank’s back let go, leaping away from the bears and out of danger. The others followed suit, the lack of their oppressive weight pinning him down filling him with a bittersweet sense of hope.

Baffled, Tank looked at Dante in confusion. Why had that asshat helped him? Did he think this meant they were allies? It didn’t. He’d gut the male if given the chance. But if the traitor wanted to help him out of guilt, Tank wouldn’t turn him away.

Despite how much fury burned in his chest for this traitor, the male had saved his life. Regardless, Tank released a low growl, just to let the piece of shit know they weren’t on good terms. Once this was over, he planned on settling the score between them.

Dante huffed, turning toward a wolf separated slightly from the others. It was smaller than the rest, one of the few that hadn’t attacked yet. A cursory sniff in that direction told Tank it was Angela.

Dante growled in her direction. Stiffening, Angela whined once in protest, staring at the bear with a startling intensity. After a moment, she turned and fled, disappearing from sight. Before Tank could make any sense of it, Dante hurled himself at one of the injured wolves.

Bleeding profusely from several wounds, Tank turned back toward his cabin, coming face to face with an uninjured wolf. Ben’s scent filled Tank’s nostrils, and he growled deeply. More growls came from behind him, all familiar, and all as equally furious as Tank. He felt a jolt course through his veins.

Reinforcements had arrived. And not a moment too soon. Relief, so sweet it was nearly nauseating, filled him as he caught Murphy’s scent. And then Jasper’s. Marcus and Colter were there, too. He was sure there were more, but nothing else registered.

Gunshots echoed through the air, and Tank’s attention snapped to the cabin. Who brought a goddamn gun? Nessa?

As if he’d reached the same conclusion, Murphy charged past Tank, slamming into Ben. Head down, he got under the wolf before throwing his head and shoulders back, launching their enemy into the air. As Ben hit the ground, Jasper and Colter ripped into him, tearing him to shreds in a matter of seconds.

Good .

Tank raced after Murphy as the Alpha bulldozed his way onto the porch. He rammed into the front door, but the solid wood held, even against his impressive size. Jasper and Colter followed them, and the porch groaned underneath their combined weight.

This close, it was impossible to not smell blood coming from within the house.

Fresh human blood. Hunny screamed, her voice slightly muffled. “You want me, you piece of shit? Then come get me!”

Murphy and Tank roared in unison, launching their full weight at the door again. This time, it and a large portion of the wall exploded inward, debris flying in every direction.

The living room came into view.

Tank spotted Hunny across the room, eyes shining with angry tears, but unharmed. The fear, the panic that had held a death grip on his heart, his very soul—it all melted away. They were okay. They were going to make it out of this.

Maybe Tank’s first instinct should have been to look for the threat to his mate, but he didn’t. He thundered into the room instead, the tips of his claws sinking into the hardwood floor for purchase as he raced toward the only person who mattered in that moment.

He stopped right in front of Hunny, looking her over as he took a ragged breath; the first real one since the Moon Rose pack had attacked.

She’s really okay, he thought, ignoring the shudder that swept through him.

Murphy snarled, and Tank turned on a dime, placing himself protectively in front of his mate. Hunny gasped, but he didn’t look to see what had caused her reaction; his focus was entirely on his brother.

Murphy lumbered into the living room and crashed into the wolf—Jason—standing right over Nessa. She lay unconscious on the ground, blood covering her upper body. Rivulets of red dripped from her torso and onto the floor, her skin pale and damp with sweat.

Murphy dragged Jason away from the human, the wolf giving a hoarse, panicked yelp as he scrambled for purchase. The bear ended the Alpha wolf before he even had a chance to fight back.

One ferocious bite on the back of his neck, and Murphy’s teeth snapped clean through the bone. Jason went limp, but Murphy didn’t stop. He pinned Jason’s body to the ground beside Nessa and clawed through what remained of the wolf’s neck until the head separated from the body.

Tank felt a brief flare of anger that his brother was the one to kill that rat bastard. He’d wanted to do the honors, to wipe out the threat to Hunny. But it was done. The fucker was dead.

The last of the fighting in his front yard quieted down, and when he glanced outside, all he could see were bears, mostly shifted, standing tall in victory.

The attack was over.

“Y-Your back is really messed up, Henry,” Hunny whispered tearfully behind him, erasing every other thought from his head. He turned toward her, shifting as he did so until he was naked, healed, and standing in his human form in front of his beautiful mate.

With shaky hands, he pulled her into his arms, not even thinking about the blood and grime still covering his body as his fingers sifted through her hair, his arm banding around her waist. She was warm, her softness molding to his hard frame until he worried he’d smother her with how hard he held her against him. But he just couldn’t let go, and as she wrapped herself around him just as tightly, he knew she didn’t want him to.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice hoarse, his heart beating hard.

“Me? Look at you! You’re covered in blood!” she exclaimed with a soft whimper, burying her face against his chest. She inhaled roughly, dragging his scent into her lungs just as he did the same to her. And then she began crying. Heartbreaking, wrenching sobs that hurt him more than anything else had over the last several minutes. “I thought you were dead,” she bawled, clinging to him harder.

Tank squeezed his eyes shut, everything else melting away but her. “We’re alright, baby,” he uttered softly despite the fire burning in his throat. He lifted Hunny into his arms, anxious to hold her as close as possible. She wrapped her legs around his waist, arms circling his neck as she crushed herself to him.

Turning back to face the room, Tank saw Nessa stir. Her face twisting with pain, she opened her eyes slowly, staring blankly up at Murphy, who hovered over her, still in his bear form. She choked on a breath, the stench of her fear mixing with the powerful scent of her blood.

“It’s okay,” Tank murmured. Nessa didn’t hear him, her breaths coming in frantic puffs of air as she tried to move away, but she couldn’t. Her torso was too ravaged. He hadn’t inspected her injuries, but she was bleeding too much. She needed treatment immediately. “You need to shift, Murphy. We have to get her to the clinic.”

Mom’s already on her way, Murphy informed him , though his voice trembled with fear. She’ll stabilize Nessa here before we move her to the clinic for surgery .

Nessa’s eyes widened in horror as his brother heeded his advice and shifted. Only a second, maybe two, passed before Murphy stood over Nessa, completely naked, his face a mask of fear and concern as he examined her. He kneeled down, hands hovering over her shoulder and chest like he wanted to staunch the flow of blood but didn’t know where to start. “My mother is a physician. She’s on her way. She can help you. You’re going to be okay, Nessa.”

Murphy reached for her, but Nessa recoiled, only to cry out in pain.

“Get away from me,” she whispered frantically, her terror increasing as Murphy reached for her again.

“I know this is a lot, Nessa, but you need to calm down—”

“Get away! You’re a monster!” Nessa screamed in alarm. “You’re a monster. You’re a monster,” she repeated faintly, her voice breaking as tears began coursing down her face. Her breaths became labored and her pulse raced. “Someone help … me. Some … one …”

Jasper crowded into the room. “Back up. Give her space, Murph.”

“Don’t tell me how to handle my mate!” Murphy bellowed in distress. Running a hand through his hair, he looked back down at Nessa, his face tight with worry. “I won’t hurt you, Nessa. I would never hurt you. But you’re really hurt, and you have to let me help you.”

The human shuddered, looking away from him. Her eyes latched onto the blood leaking from her wounds, which stood out in stark clarity against her torn shirt. Nessa gasped, the sound full of hysteria, and then she passed out cold, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

Murphy bit out a sharp, panicked curse right as Tabitha’s car pulled into the driveway. They heard her slam on the brakes, not even bothering to turn her engine off before she was racing across the lawn, up the porch, and into the cabin. She dropped a large bag onto the ground beside Nessa, pulling out several medical items before she set to work stabilizing the human.

“Nessa’s going to be okay, right?” Hunny asked quietly, clinging to Tank just a little harder.

He didn’t answer. He couldn’t stand to voice his concerns and make things worse for his brother or his mate. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if Nessa would make it.

Sudden movement drew Tank’s attention back to the gaping hole in his wall as Marcus stepped inside.

“He left while we were distracted.” The tracker pushed into the thick of their group, his eyes red-rimmed and his body shaking with rage. He sent Murphy a hollow, dejected look. “I tried to track him, but his scent is missing. Dante’s gone.”

Tank and Murphy’s eyes met across the room.

Fuck.