They’d killed a clan already and had plansfor a mass killing of any and all grizzly clans across the world inthe next few months. It was only the end of March, but June firstwas the date those vigilantes had marked as the “death day” for thegrizzlies.
He’d already warned his panthers, but fromthe information on the site, those hunters were only after thebears. Why? No one knew. From his training, he figured they werehoned in on only one species at a time. The fact that the grizzlieshad been unknown for all this time upped their chance of becomingfamous for bringing them to the media.
Fame and fortune. The greed of it wouldbring out the worst in humans.
“Turning south on Pleasant HillRoad,” a voice said over the mic.
The male was running south of town, and thatwas the last place he wanted Harvey Helms to go. Heading south oftown put him in bear and panther territory. While the panthers andbears weren’t exactly friends, they had an unspoken agreement tostay off each other’s land and out of each other’s business. Theystuck to that, mostly, unless something big went down and theyneeded their help.
“Block off Malone Road to the south and runhim back this way,” Garrett called over the radio.
“10-4,” his deputy responded.
It was imperative Garrett be the one toarrest the human. He didn’t know how he was going to hide this oneso the humans didn’t get wind of the bears. He had enough evidenceto hold him for shooting up the Morgans’ land, but if word got outabout them, the cool and calm the humans had shown during theoriginal outing of the panthers could blow up in his face.
The bears were deadly, and what made them sodeadly was how calm they were. In a split second, your life wouldbe over if you crossed a grizzly. Just like in the wild, theyreigned supreme.
“He’s bailing! He’s bailing!”Garrett’s curse echoed throughout the patrol car as he flipped onhis lights and rushed to the scene.
“Location?” he barked.
When the address was given, he gritted histeeth. He just prayed he could find ole Harvey before those Morganbrothers got ahold of him. Gaia had mentioned they’d shot one ofthe females, and if Garrett knew them to be like his panthers, thehuman male wouldn’t survive a night out in the woods alone.
In a matter of hours, Gunnar’s life hadchanged. He’d finally given up and touched Anna Claire when he’dcome home to her sweet scent. He and his bear had already knownwhat was going on the moment he’d crossed the threshold into hisquarters. Her scent had been sweeter…stronger than before.
They’d made a cub their first nighttogether, and he was beside himself with joy. With his nose buriedin her belly, his bear rumbled with happiness.
“I can’t believe we did it,” his matesniffled. Huge tears welled up in her eyes the moment she’d wokento realize they’d conceived the night before.
“My mate and my cub.” Gunnar grinned as hemoved from her belly to her lips. “My life is complete, AnnaClaire. I’ve waited for you every spring, and now you’re here. I’mgoing to spoil you both.”
“I like being spoiled,” she chuckled, butfrowned. “You’re not going to let me lift a finger, are you?”
“Probably not,” he mumbled, returning tonuzzle against her belly. Gods, the scent of her skin was tooaddicting. The moment he’d woken up at four in the morning, he hadknown exactly what he was scenting. His bear had rejoiced alongsidehim. They’d finally made a family.
“You better not restrict me, Gunnar Morgan,”she growled and tangled her fingers in his hair, giving a slighttug so he would look at her face.
“We will have the pride’s healer check youout in a few months,” he said, knowing damn well he was going tohave Harold come over before then to check on his cub. “If he saysyou and the cub are okay, then you can do whatever you want.”
“I feel fine right now,” she said withnarrowed eyes. “I have a garden to help plant with the females, andyou have crops to grow.”
“That we do,” he sobered, thinking aboutleaving the house with the hunters still around. “I don’t know howwe are going to work it out this year. The hunter is still missing,and with him on the loose, I don’t want to leave you, or the otherfemales, unprotected.”
“You have my cousins,” she reminded him.“They’re capable of working the crops.”
“That’s true,” he agreed with a nod,scenting her pregnancy again. He buried his nose against herstomach and inhaled. “Maybe they can take over for me for a fewweeks. I haven’t gotten enough of your scent yet.”
Well, who cared if he was as bad as a catwith a fresh pile of catnip? His new mate was making him a father,and he was going to wallow in the newness of the experience. Themales would understand. If they didn’t, Gunnar would remind them ofhow ridiculous they’d been when Tessa and Ada were with young.
“I’m hungry,” she chuckled when her stomachgrowled.
His worry for her surfaced, and his browspushed forward for a moment as he thought of all the recipes hecould make for her and his cub to keep them healthy. “You needprotein.”
“Mmm,” she hummed. “Meat soundsdelicious.”
“Stay here and rest,” he ordered as hereluctantly backed away from the bed. “I’ll make you something andbring it in here.”
Looking at the clock, he realized it wasalready ten in the morning. They’d refilled everyone’s supplies theday before, and he needed to make a large meal for everyone sincethey’d be at the main house once news of Anna Claire’s pregnancygot out.
“I’ll call the elders and your cousins,” heoffered. “We will have everyone over for dinner tonight tocelebrate.”
“That sounds wonderful,” she cheered. Thehappiness died on a yawn, and he leaned over to kiss her lips onelast time before he headed to the big kitchen in the main part oftheir home.
“Take a nap.”
“Yes, sir.” She rolled her eyes, sinkingdown into the covers. Once she closed her eyes, he clicked off thebedside lamp and made his way out.
As soon as he locked his mate in theirquarters, the sound of the
