“I know we are at war, and I understand yourclan’s secrecy, but you know we will help you with anythingregarding a threat.” Harold shook his head in disgust and drainedthe rest of his coffee. When he stood, Gunnar followed and acceptedthe handshake the male offered. “Please call us if you needanything, Gunnar.”
“We appreciate your offer,” he replied, butdidn’t give Harold a definite answer.
Anna Claire smiled warmly at the healer andpromised to come by for her ultrasound in a month. She was happyhe’d stayed and given them a moment to talk. Gunnar was a littlemore at ease with the male even though he had brought somedisturbing news.
Maybe she could help bridge the gap infriendship between her clan and the healer’s pride. It wasimportant now more than ever that they stick together. Theirspecies was being attacked, and they needed to work as allies andfinally, after all this time, make a pact to become friends.
Chapter 11
Harvey smirked as the offers for helparrived in his email. Three more hunters were on their way to helpwith the efforts to eradicate the clan of bear shifters. They hadtwo days until the first, and it was time to sneak out to theirlands to count heads, so to speak.
“When the others get here, we will headout,” he announced to the two males who’d taken up residence in hishome over the past week. “I have enough supplies for everyone tocover their scent, too.”
Harvey held up a few bottles of spray andplaced them on the table along with several camouflaged hats,jackets, and pants.
“Deer spray?” Don frowned as he picked upthe bottles and read the labels. “You sure this will work?”
“It covers your scent,” Harvey scoffed. “Ofcourse, it’ll work.”
“But the message boards said they have somesuper sensitive noses,” he responded, picking up a cloth maskbefore tossing it back on the table. He reached for the beanie hatand tucked it in his pocket.
“So do deer,” Harvey said with a nod. Thatdamn kid had questioned a lot of things since his arrival, andHarvey wished his father would take that boy in hand.
Skipper found a camo jacket in the pile andtried it on for fit. Once he was satisfied, he walked over to thecouch and took a seat. “The scent spray isn’t guaranteed, butwouldn’t you want to have it just in case it does work?”
“True,” Don nodded.
A car pulled into his driveway, and Harveyleft the father and son to greet the three males who’d come fromArkansas. They were already decked out in their fatigues as theyexited the vehicle.
“Larry, Bruce, Elvin,” Harvey greeted. Themales were all in their mid to late forties and wore scruffybeards. “Come on inside and meet the others.”
Once everyone finished mingling and makingintroductions, Harvey checked the clock. “We need to leave.”
He’d already sent the new arrivals theaerial map of the clan’s land. They’d come in from the southeastand make their way through the land, coming up behind the threecabins in the woods. The main house would have to be scoped outwith binoculars from a spot away from the trails the bears had madethrough the wooded lot. The only trail leading to the main homewent directly past the cabins. If they attempted to go through thedenser part of the woods, they were sure to make too muchnoise.
Anna Claire watched as the sun set onanother perfect day. Unfortunately, she couldn’t sit on the frontporch to do so. The couch in the main living room faced the windowto the west, and she’d cracked the blinds just enough to soak inthe last rays of the day.
Occasionally, a car would pass on the road,but other than that, everything was quiet. She’d always wonderedwhat her life would have been like if she’d been human. They wereweird creatures, and from what she’d seen online, they were nothinglike the bears. The news reports showed so much violence betweenthem. Not that the shifters weren’t violent, but at least when herkind were violent, there was a reason. Humans were greedy.
“You okay out here?” Ada asked as she joinedher on the couch. Her cub, Thane, slept peacefully in her arms.
“Yeah,” Anna Claire nodded. “Justdaydreaming.”
“About?”
“Nothing really,” she shrugged. “I’m worriedabout the hunters coming here.”
“The males have a plan, and so do we,” Adareassured her.
The sheriff had been coming around a lot,and she’d noticed how Drake, Rex, and Gunnar were starting to trusthim more. She wanted to snicker. The male wasn’t as conniving asthe brothers thought. Somewhere, deep down behind his wall ofprotection for those panthers, the male was still an angel sentfrom the gods.
He was tasked to help the cats, not thebears. But when he had visions, he was adamant about sharing theinformation. She wasn’t going to deny his suggestions aboutprecautions, either.
“We should listen to the sheriff more,” AnnaClaire began. “I hate that the brothers are so reluctant to accepthelp or even become friends with him or the panthers.”
“The Shaw pride has done nothing to harm theMorgan clan,” Ada agreed with a heavy sigh. “They’ve proved theirfriendship and loyalty many times over.”
“They saved us,” Anna Claire reminded herfriend. “We would’ve been in a really bad place if you hadn’tescaped and come here.”
“I had no idea I was even on a grizzly’sland,” Ada reminded her. “I was cold and needed to bed down for thewinter.”
“Someone, somewhere, sent you here,” shereplied.
“Probably Gaia,” Ada chuckled.
“Probably,” Anna Claire smirked before bothof them started laughing.
The two friends stopped for a moment as theycalmed. Ada reached for Anna Claire’s hand and gave it a littlesqueeze. “How’s the cub?”
“It’s perfectly fine and growing asexpected,” Anna Claire beamed.
“You look so happy,” Ada observed.
“I am…I really am.” Anna Claire wasn’tlying. Gunnar had been everything she’d ever wanted in a mate. Sheloved him. Hell, she’d loved him from the time she’d been rescued,but it took almost a year’s worth of friendship and healing tocomplete them.
“He’s good for you.”
“I think so,” Anna
