Page 12

SUDDENLY, THE FOREST grew quiet around Ezra. He felt the hairs on his nape stand on end. Turning off the burner on his cookstove, he did his best to keep his heartrate from spiking. Whatever was coming, Ezra knew he needed to keep his wits about him.

Or maybe Link’s problems from work are making me jump at shadows.

The snap of a branch drew Ezra’s attention. He peered to the left as he continued to kneel beside his heated split pea soup. Stirring it slowly, Ezra watched a man come from between the trees.

Okay, probably not a human, considering he’s nude.

Yeah, never would that thought have popped into my head even a week ago.

“Who are you?”

Ezra asked, raising his voice a little so it would carry. He knew Link wasn’t far, and he needed to draw his attention...just in case.

“Name’s Shawn,”

the dark-haired man replied, his tone decidedly cocky even as he stared at Ezra with a narrow-eyed, chilly expression. “Surely Link told you about me.”

The man, Shawn, smirked as he stalked toward him, waving toward his naked body as he did so. “You don’t seem surprised or concerned, after all, so you know about us.”

Ezra didn’t take the bait and admit to knowing about shifters. “Well, he certainly didn’t tell me you liked to streak in the mountains,”

he muttered, rising to his feet. Taking in the way Shawn’s lip curled in disgust at his quip, Ezra really wished he was holding a knife instead of a spoon.

Not that I’d have a chance against a shifter’s strength, but it’d make me feel better.

Ezra had seen Link’s strength on more than one occasion during the last week. The way his lover could carry him around as if he weighed nothing still blew his mind. It also made his dick hard.

Banishing that thought, Ezra focused on the trouble in front of him. “I’m not alone out here, Shawn.”

He hoped to give the man pause. “Link is just through those trees.”

Ezra indicated the trees that Link had slipped between.

Shawn’s sinister smile did nothing to reassure Ezra. “Oh, don’t worry.”

He continued to prowl closer. “Your lover boy is being...delayed.”

Before Ezra could ask what Shawn meant, a loud roar echoed between the trees. That was followed by a bellow Ezra recognized as Link’s musk ox. A second later, Ezra heard a loud crashing noise even as the ground beneath him shook.

Ezra would have taken advantage of the way Shawn was staggering, trying to remain on his feet, except, whatever caused that force knocked Ezra on his ass. He sprawled a couple of feet from his bedroll, losing his grip on his spoon.

“What the hell was that?”

The words were out of Ezra’s mouth before he could censor himself.

Shawn laughed, obviously finding Ezra’s outburst funny. “That, my simple human, is my lover. She’s delaying Link while I take care of you.”

His fingers began to change, drawing Ezra’s attention. A spike of fear surged through him when he saw the long, lethal-looking claws. “The moron should’ve known to stay out of my business.”

His tone turned cruel. “Of course, Link should also have known better than to leave his mate all alone.”

Ezra scrambled to his feet, grabbing his pot of hot soup as he moved. At that point, in his mind, anything was better than nothing.

“But he’s not alone.”

Snapping his attention to the right, Ezra gaped as he watched a naked woman stride through the trees. The fact that she was nude wasn’t what shocked him. Instead, it was the three huge musk oxen that accompanied her.

God, I’ve seen more naked people in the last few days than I have in years. I must be getting desensitized to them.

None of them held a candle to Link, though.

Another ground tremor shook the area. One of the oxen glanced at the others before galloping amidst the trees.

“No!”

Shawn roared...and it was turning into a roar. As he continued to yell, his body morphed into that of a very...large...grizzly bear.

“Oh, fuck,”

Ezra whispered, backing away swiftly as he peered up at the massive animal.

The grizzly lunged at Ezra, swiping out one long forearm.

Pain erupted through Ezra’s left upper arm even as he dove to the right. At the same time, he swung the hot pot of food. The split pea soup soared from the container, splashing all over the bear’s face.

The grizzly roared again, rising to his back legs. He shook his head, obviously trying to shake it off. The two musk oxen surged past Ezra and slammed their massive horned heads into the distracted bear. The grizzly tumbled ass-over-teakettle.

“Come on, Ezra.”

The woman was at his side, gripping his upper arm and opposite shoulder. “Can you stand? Let’s get you out of the way.”

“I-I think so,”

Ezra replied, rolling to his knees. When he tried to get to his feet, he registered the pain in his arm, and his head swam. “Shit.”

“Okay, Ez. I gotcha,”

she assured, sliding her arm around his waist. “Come on.”

If the nudity hadn’t given it away, the woman’s strength as she practically lifted him off the ground would have. This woman was definitely a shifter.

Ezra did his best to ignore the pair of musk oxen facing off with Shawn’s grizzly. Instead, he focused on banishing his pain while putting one foot in front of the other. His burning arm nearly had him forgetting about Link facing off against Shawn’s girlfriend—nearly.

“What about Link?”

Ezra asked, concerned by the memory of his bellow and the shuddering of the ground. “He needs help.”

“Don’t you worry about Link,”

the woman told him. “He probably could have taken that bear hussy alone, but Bruin will back him up.”

She waved a hand in the direction that the other musk ox had run. “Link’ll be fine.”

Frowning at Ezra’s arm, she muttered, “You, on the other hand, need some first aid. Do you have supplies in your backpack?”

Ezra nodded. “Yeah.”

After a quick glance at his arm again, he grimaced and turned his gaze away. Blood streamed down his bicep and forearm, and he wasn’t so good with blood that was his own. “Shit.”

Then the name that the woman dropped registered. “Bruin. Link’s brother.”

Ezra focused on the woman and asked, “You a sister or somethin’?”

“Yep. I’m Naomi,”

she replied with a quick smile before refocusing on digging out his first aid kit. “The ones taking out Shawn are Warren and Luke. Warren’s the bigger one.”

Then Naomi began offering platitudes and encouragement as she began cleaning his wound. After a moment, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Luke should really be the one doing this,”

she muttered, sounding cross. “He’s the nurse, after all. But noooo, I’m a girl. I can’t possibly fight.”

Naomi’s tone turned derogatory as she deepened her voice mockingly. “Can’t possibly let my sister fight a grizzly. She might get hurt. Then Mom and Dad will be mad.”

Listening to Naomi caused a soft bark of laughter to escape Ezra. She was definitely great at distracting him. In just a few minutes, she’d managed to clean and wrap his arm in a roll of bandages.

“Thanks, Naomi,”

Ezra murmured, taking the single-serve package of pain meds from her. “I appreciate it.”

“Course, new little bro.”

Naomi smiled at him. “Wish we’d met under better circumstances, but we’re family.”

She held out his canteen and helped him take a drink. “We’re pretty tightknit, and we watch each other’s backs.”

With a gentle squeeze to his shoulder, Naomi stated, “You’ll learn that soon enough.”

Ezra nodded. “Okay.”

While he and Edward chatted fairly regularly, he wouldn’t call them close. To have a group at his back was a novel idea to him. He’d been a loner for so long that he wondered if he would end up bothered by people being in his business.

For Link, it’ll be worth it.

When the musk oxen that had taken on Shawn moved toward him and Naomi, Ezra looked past them. He spotted the fallen grizzly behind them. The bear was being picked up by what appeared to be a pair of giant lizards. It took Ezra a moment to recognize them as Komodo dragons. He assumed they were shifters as they dragged Shawn’s bear away amidst the trees.

Huh.

A moment later, two naked men knelt before Ezra. He made a point of focusing on their faces.

“Hi, Ezra,”

the more serious-looking, dark-haired man greeted. “How are you doing?”

Smirking, Ezra quipped, “I’d be better if I wasn’t meeting my boyfriend’s family while they’re naked.”

The man with lighter brown hair and twinkling hazel-brown eyes barked a laugh. “I bet,”

he responded with a grin. “Sorry.”

He shrugged good-naturedly. “Shifters. You’ll get used to it.”

“I’d offer you all some of Link’s clothes, but he didn’t bring enough for all of you,”

Ezra countered, still doing his best to focus on their faces. “And once the painkillers kick in, I hope I’ll be fine.”

Ezra glanced at his arm, then peered at Naomi. “You bandaged it. What do you think?”

Naomi shrugged. “Like I said, Luke’s the nurse in the family.”

She pointed at the friendlier brother. “You should have let me fight the bear so you could do the honors.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Not happening, sis. If—”

Naomi lifted her hands in surrender. “I know, I know.”

She heaved a put-upon sigh, then smiled. “Love you, too, bro.”

Then Naomi grew serious. “Actually, the scratches from Shawn weren’t all that deep. We should definitely keep an eye on it for infection, though.”

Nodding, Luke told him, “I’ll come back out with antibiotics for you, just in case.”

He patted Ezra’s shoulder, eyeing the bite scar there. “With you having bonded with Link, your healing will get a boost, but better be safe than sorry.”

“Thanks.”

Ezra glanced around. “Speaking of Link. Where—”

As if the mention of his name had conjured him, Link came rushing through the trees. “Ezra!”

he cried, skidding to a stop beside him and sinking to his knees. In the next instant, Ezra found himself pulled onto the lap of his naked lover and crushed to his chest. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, big guy. I’m okay,”

Ezra assured. Rubbing his palm over Link’s chest, he did his best to soothe his trembling lover. Seeing Link tease his forefingers along the bottom of the bandage on his arm, Ezra told him, “It’s just a couple of scratches. Your family stopped Shawn from doing any serious damage. I’m okay.”

Ezra cradled Link’s bearded jaw and urged the man to focus on his face and meet his gaze. “Really.”

Tipping his head, he pecked a kiss to the big man’s lips, hoping the contact would get through to him. “I’m okay.”

“Gods,”

Link whispered hoarsely. “I was so scared when I heard Shawn’s voice and got stopped by Taleen.”

He hid his face against the crook of Ezra’s neck as he blew out a shaky breath. “Scariest fucking moment of my life. I’m so sorry I let you down.”

“You didn’t let me down,”

Ezra insisted. He nuzzled his lips against the side of Link’s bald head. “Lay blame where it’s due, Link, okay? And that’s on Shawn.”

Not getting a response, Ezra pinched Link’s nipple lightly. “Hear me?”

Link’s head popped up, and he sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes began to dilate, and his expression grew hungry. His attention focused on Ezra’s lips.

“Yeah,”

Link rumbled huskily. “You’re right, of course.”

When Link dipped his head, obviously going in for a kiss, Warren shoved Link’s shoulder and growled, “Hey, none of that right now.”

Right. An audience.

Ezra couldn’t believe how being in Link’s arms made him forget everything around him.

Sure like it, though. This is how being in a relationship should be.

Grinning sheepishly, Link ducked his head a bit, maybe in an attempt to hide the blush creeping up his neck. “Sorry, Warren,”

he muttered with a shrug. “He’s my mate.”

“And he was just in danger.”

Warren offered a half smile. “I get it. Really.”

Link glanced around at everyone. “Uh, so I guess you’ve met all my siblings.”

“All but him.”

Ezra pointed at the man who’d joined them with Link.

“I’m Bruin,”

the man told him with a smile and nod.

“Well, uh, as odd as the moment is”—Ezra smirked gamely—“nice to meet you all, and thanks for the assist.”

Warren nodded. Luke snickered. Bruin smirked, and Naomi barked a laugh.

Cocking his head, Link asked, “So, uh, not that I’m not appreciative, but what are you all doing here?”

He focused on Warren, his eldest brother. “How’d you even know I could be in danger?”

Link had told Ezra that he was the only one in his family who worked for the council.

Scoffing, Luke answered, “I’ve been tracking your position from your nightly pins, remember?”

When Link nodded, he continued, “And I’ve been in contact with Theo. He told me what’s been going on.”

Warren crossed his arms over his chest. “When I heard about the trouble you were in, of course, we were going to come.”

Shaking his head, he glowered at Link. “I should have heard about it from you, not Luke.”

Grimacing, Link muttered, “It was Shifter Council shit, so I didn’t think to involve you.”

“You’re my fucking brother,”

Warren insisted with a growl.

Bruin rolled his eyes. “Dumbass.”

“Totally,”

Naomi agreed with an unladylike snort. “We met up with Luke, and he showed us where you were. We’ve been discreetly following you both for three days.”

Ezra thought of all they’d been getting up to in those three days, and embarrassment flooded him. His cheeks and neck heated, and he knew his face had to be beet red. He wasn’t the only one, either. Link’s face was flushed, too, probably due to him thinking about the same thing.

Luke tipped his head back and laughed.

Scoffing, Bruin told them, “Don’t worry, guys. We kept a discreet distance.”

He grinned, adding, “We know how newly mated shifters are.”

A small smile curved the corners of Warren’s face as he stated, “There are definitely some things a brother doesn’t need to see his bro doing.”

Link cleared his throat. “Good. Uh, good.”

He glanced around at everyone. “And thank you again.”

“You’re welcome, Link,”

Bruin assured. “Anytime and always.”

Naomi nodded. “We’re family.”

Glancing around, Link asked, “Uh, so what happened to Shawn? I saw enforcers Dakota and Germaine taking away Taleen before I rushed back here.”

With a worried frown, Link continued, “He didn’t get away, did he?”

“Nope. Warren and I totally kicked Shawn’s ass,”

Luke quipped, sporting a satisfied-looking grin. “The council wanted Shawn alive, so Delanrue and Dane took him away.”

With a feral-sounding snicker, Luke waggled his brows. “Delanrue is going to have some fun with him.”

Link winced.

“What’s that mean?”

Ezra asked, expressing his confusion. He glanced around the group, noticing their rather harsh-looking, satisfied smiles. “Torture or something?”

Shrugging, Link issued a half-nod. “Or something.”

After a moment of hesitation, he explained, “Delanrue is an interrogator, as well as an enforcer. He’ll be tasked with finding out who Shawn’s been in contact with, how, and how much information he’s sold or compromised.”

Ezra shivered even as he nodded. While he wasn’t totally sure how he felt about that news, he understood that he’d stepped into a whole new world. The secret of shifters and paranormals had to be kept above all else.

“We’ll get out of your hair now, guys,”

Warren told them, rising as he patted Link’s shoulder. “Congrats, bro. I’m happy for you.”

They received similar words from the others as they began moving away from them. They began to shift into their musk ox forms, obviously intending to travel that way. For the best, really, since a group of naked people would definitely draw attention.

Just before Luke began to shift, he told them, “And I’ll bring those antibiotics out tomorrow. Keep me pinned with your location.”

“Will do,”

Link replied.

A moment later, Ezra was alone with Link. “Wow,”

he whispered, staring around the trampled area. “That just happened.”

“Yes, it did,”

Link confirmed, rubbing Ezra’s back. His expression appearing concerned, he asked, “Are you okay with...well, everything?”

Am I?

Yeah.

Grinning at Link, Ezra nodded. “Yes, Link.”

He pecked his lover’s lips again, lingering as he tasted his man’s bearded mouth. “I’m definitely more than okay with everything that just happened. Do you wanna know why?”

Link licked his lips, eyeing Ezra’s mouth, obviously wanting more. “Why?”

Ezra relished his lover’s husky tone, the sound of it sending a tingling rush through his body. “Because it means I have you.”

“Yes,”

Link whispered. “I’m yours.”

“Show me,”

Ezra encouraged, surprised at how much he suddenly needed the man holding him. “Now.”

“Anything you want,”

Link agreed.

Picking Ezra up in his arms, Link carried him back to their sleeping bag and did exactly as Ezra asked.