Page 41 of Mated to the Mountain Bear (Bear Protector #1)

ZARA

T he radio crackles in my hand. Through the static comes muffled snarling, bodies colliding and no response from Maddox.

A grunt of effort, then something heavy hits the ground. Ben’s roar cuts through, but it sounds wrong. Pained. I know it’s him. I just know.

The snarling intensifies, punctuated by laughter. More growls echo through the speaker, followed by splintering wood. A yelp that makes my stomach drop.

Then nothing but static.

“Maddox? Ben?”

Dead air.

I stare at the radio, then at the truck keys on the kitchen counter.

Get inside and lock the door. Those were Maddox’s orders.

Another branch breaks outside. Too heavy for the wind to be responsible. Through the window, I catch movement in the trees.

Ben’s out there, fighting a whole pack.

I picture him surrounded, blood matting his fur. He’s doing this for me because I’m his mate, but what am I doing for him?

The wolf thinks I’m his too, which means he shouldn’t want to hurt me. His pack shouldn’t want to kill me.

I grab the keys.

The gun is steady in my grip as I unlock the door. Security lights illuminate an empty yard. I sprint to the truck, and the engine starts on the first try. I slam it into reverse, spin around, gravel spraying, and floor it back toward Ben’s cabin.

The drive blurs past. Trees press close on either side. I take the turns too fast, tires protesting. Hold on. Please. Just hold on.

I burst into the clearing, headlights sweeping across the fight.

Blood covers the ground where two massive bears hold the clearing against a tide of wolves.

Ben tears through another wave of attackers, every swipe of his massive paws sending bodies flying.

He’s bloodied but still fighting hard, still on his feet.

Maddox works beside him, the brothers coordinating their attacks.

But more wolves keep coming, circling, looking for openings.

At least eight or nine still standing, with more shapes moving in the trees beyond.

A wolf breaks from the pack. Larger than the others, grey-black fur bristling. The alpha. He stalks toward the truck, lips pulled back from his teeth.

His yellowed eyes lock on mine.

No. Hell no.

I slide out of the passenger seat, and the smell hits immediately—blood and wet fur.

My hands stay steady as I raise the gun and fire into the sky.

The crack splits the night, and every wolf flinches. Even the alpha freezes, mid-stride, those yellowed eyes now fixed on the gun barrel pointed at his head, and the wolves circling Ben and Maddox pause.

“Nobody dies tonight.” My voice carries across the clearing. “Not for me. Not because of me.”

The gun doesn’t waver. I position myself between the truck and the fight where everyone can see me. The headlights throw my shadow long across the ground.

“Everyone shift back to human form. Now.” I adjust my aim slightly, keeping it trained on the alpha while addressing the pack. “Don’t test me. I brought silver bullets for the occasion.”

Several wolves look to their alpha, uncertain. Their ears flatten. One wolf takes a step toward me, then stops, whining. Another shifts his weight, caught between pack loyalty, the knowledge that their leader says I’m his mate, and the suspicion that something is off here.

One by one, the transformation begins. Naked men appear where beasts stood moments before, hands raised in surrender, while they bare their teeth at Ben and Maddox. Some clutch wounds that look worse on human flesh.

Maddox shifts beside Ben, immediately pressing a hand to his bleeding side. “Zara, what the hell are you doing here?”

I don’t answer. Don’t take my eyes off the alpha. “You, too. Shift. Now.”

The alpha’s form ripples and distorts. Fur recedes, then grows back in patches, and his bones crack and reform at wrong angles. He collapses, panting, before slowly pushing through to complete the change.

“Poor bastard,” Maddox mutters. When Ben growls, he shrugs. “Look at him.”

Ben forces the shift. I hear bones crack, see him sway slightly as he returns to human form. Blood runs from the wounds across his chest and arms, but he stands tall. Powerful. He moves to my side immediately, arm wrapping around my waist.

“That’s close enough,” he says to the alpha.

The moment Ben touches me, the alpha goes rigid. Every muscle tenses. A snarl builds in his throat as he climbs to his feet.

“She’s mine ,” Ben states clearly. His hand splays possessively across my stomach. “My mate. Not yours. She’s accepted me.”

I lean back into him, letting my body language speak in agreement.

The alpha’s face contorts.

“Mine...” But when he inhales, he looks less convinced.

“No.” Ben is not backing down.

“Yes, at the coffee shop... at the university...” His words slur together, half-growl, half-speech.

I stiffen. “I’ve never... wait. Near the university?”

Hope brightens his manic eyes. “Yes... we had a moment... but then I lost you in the crowd... It took me so long to track you down. I wandered the streets for weeks.”

My stomach drops, and I shake my head.

“That wasn’t me.” The gun trembles for the first time. “It had to have been my sister. She goes there all the time. I hate that place.”

The clearing goes silent except for his laboured breathing.

“But...” He squeezes his eyes shut, breathes deeply. “You smell like her... or, at least, you smelled like her... now you reek of bear. It’s… messing with your scent.”

Rage flashes across his features as he fights the truth.

“Maybe I did smell like her then. We lived together. Shared clothes, perfume.” I look to Ben to see if that’s possible. Tears track down my cheeks, feeling sorry for the broken man in front of me, but I blink them away, trying to keep my aim steady. He’s still dangerous. He’s proven that.

“Then where is she?” He hisses, his face pale and sweaty. “You live alone now.”

Ben’s hand tightens on my hip, but he nods. It’s better the alpha knows the truth.

“Amber’s been missing for three weeks. If you met someone at the university cafe months ago... that was her. Not me.”

The alpha’s malformed features twist with confusion and denial.

“No... I found her scent... outside the apartment.”

One of his pack members steps forward cautiously, hands still raised. Blood runs from claw marks across his chest.

“Alpha, months of searching... your wolf would have been desperate. If he found a slight trace, from her clothes… could he have latched onto it? They’re sisters, they would smell alike.”

The truth starts to dawn. An obsession built on fragments, an alpha’s frantic need to find her clouding his judgment.

“But that night, she was there, in the street.” The alpha insists, uncertainty creeping into his voice. He squeezes his eyes shut. “She was definitely at the accident…”

My breath catches, and I lower the gun slightly. “The night she went missing, someone heard a crash. She went out to help and never made it back to bed.”

Maddox and Ben exchange a look as the alpha’s face drains of color.

“She’s still missing,” Maddox says slowly. “Everyone thought this was connected.”

The alpha’s body shudders violently. “No. You’re just trying to confuse me.”

His pack exchanges uneasy glances.

“Moon madness,” Ben says quietly to me, “a fracturing of the wolf’s mind that happens when mates are kept apart, or one gets killed.”

Oh.

“We need to get him help,” his apparent second in command says quietly. “Before he’s completely lost. Please... let us take him back to the pack.”

They’re asking for mercy. For understanding.

I feel Ben tense beside me, but I have to ask. “What’s your name?”

“Rowan,” the other wolf speaks for him.

I nod, swallowing hard. “I hope he gets better. If he has any information, please let us know.”

Rowan isn’t listening anymore. His gaze locks on me, seeing someone who isn’t there.

“No,” he rasps. “I need her.”

“We’re looking for her.” My voice cracks. “Everyone’s looking for Amber. Terrorizing me won’t bring her back. If you saw anything that might help…”

The tragedy of it all settles over the clearing. A damaged wolf chasing the wrong sister. And somewhere out there, Amber is still missing.

Rowan’s form shudders again, muscles spasming. His pack moves closer, protective, even in their uncertainty.

Stepping forward, Ben shields me completely.

That’s when Rowan truly sees it, the way Ben holds me, the way I look at him. The possessive spread of his fingers across my stomach and how I fit against him.

His eyes clear for just a moment. Human intelligence breaks through. Then pure rage takes over.

“You took her from me. It’s your fault her scent has changed.” Muscles bunch despite his malformed state. Foam flecks his lips. His claws dig furrows in the dirt. “You’re keeping her away. She needs me, not you.”

Shit.

“That’s not what happened.” Ben growls back, shifting to put himself between us. “Listen to your pack. You’re sick. You need help.”

But madness doesn’t listen to reason. His lips pull back from teeth that are too long for his half-human face.

Every shifter in the clearing tenses because they know what’s coming.

Rowan lunges.