“I’ll be there in a flash,” he promised.“Where are they?”
“Drake, Gunnar, and Ransom went out tosearch the land after dinner. They’d only been gone maybe thirtyminutes before the gunshots started. Please, sheriff…hurry!”
“Get to your safe rooms and don’t come outuntil you hear from me or your mates,” he ordered. “Do youunderstand? Anna Claire?”
“Yes, yes! We are already inside,” shepromised. “Hurry.”
The line disconnected and she sat heavily onthe bed, wiping tears away from her eyes so she could see to dialone of the other mates. As she covered her unborn cub with herhand, she called Tessa to make sure she was okay. “Three-way callAda.”
Thankfully, the females had shown her how todo it on the cell phone Gunnar had given her. She wished they hadsome way of seeing what the hell was going on outside on thelands.
“Ada? Are you okay?” she asked into thephone the moment the female answered. Anna Claire could hear hercub crying, and she knew Ada needed to calm down for her young.“Breathe. We are safe right now, and I called the sheriff. He’s onthe way.”
“Thank the gods,” Ada gasped. “Why did thosehunters come so early?”
“I don’t know,” Anna Claire replied.
“They were probably checking out our pathsand figuring a way into the compound,” Tessa growled. “I told Drakewe needed to get cameras!”
“It’s too late now to get angry about whatwe should’ve done,” Ada reminded them. “We thought we were safefrom the humans hunting us, but now we know that they are smarterthan we gave them credit for.”
“We need to find the hacker and put a stopto this,” Anna Claire said through gritted teeth. “He’s the one whostarted this mess, and when he is located, I want to know how hefound out about us.”
“Let me grab the burner phone,” Tessaoffered. “I can do some snooping.”
“Hurry,” Ada said in a rush.
“Everyone come to my quarters,” Anna Clairesuggested.
Her next call was to the elders. They wereholed up in their new basements. They assured her everything wasfine and they had enough supplies. She reminded them to stay lockedin and someone would come get them when it was all over.
She prayed everyone was going to be okay,but she had a bad feeling something was going to happen to changetheir very existence.
Chapter 13
“Son of a bitch!” Sheriff Lynch barked ashis eyes turned bright white. His arm shot out and reached forGaia, pushing her behind his back for protection. “It’s alreadystarted.”
“What’s started?” she asked, pulling on hisarm. “The mass killing?”
He gave her the rundown of what Anna Clairehad rambled into the phone when he’d finally answered. Gaia’s eyesstarted to swirl, but Garrett didn’t have time to calm her down.“Stay here and don’t you dare leave. Do you understand me?”
“I’m coming with you,” she demanded, andheld out her hands, producing glowing orbs of flames. “Don’t tryand stop me either, sheriff.”
They’d been talking more about the dark web,and she’d asked him to stay for dinner. Garrett knew he should’veleft before then, but he just didn’t care to leave. He didn’t wantto leave the female for fear of someone coming to her home. Littledid he know, it was the hunters who would jump the gun and head forthe clan.
“You can’t follow me,” he retorted, knowingshe couldn’t teleport like him. “It’s not safe. I have to go.”
And just like that, he focused on theMorgans’ land and let his magic take him to the woods behind thebear’s home. He heard them running through the woods, not caringthey were making noise. He closed his eyes and reformed deeper intothe clan’s land, holding up his hands when two bears skidded to ahalt in front of him.
“What’s going on?” Garrett barked. Hecouldn’t communicate with them or even tell them apart, but whenone of them shimmered and formed into the youngest Morgan brother,he knew something was terribly wrong.
“Two males escaped,” Gunnar panted. “Theyhave guns, and Ransom was shot. We left him in the woods to goafter the humans, but he needs medical assistance. He’s beenstruck, and it looks like it could be fatal if someone doesn’t goin there and take that fucking bullet out.”
“Do you want me to call the healer?” Garrettconfirmed.
“Yes!” Gunnar yelled, his face beginning toshift again. His nose elongated, and his canines grew thick in hismouth as fur began to form on his human skin. “Get Ransom to thepride, because it’s too dangerous here.”
Gunnar shifted again, and he ran in thedirection his brother had passed only a moment before. Garrettclosed his eyes and listened for Ransom, praying to the gods togive him the answers he needed.
A growl interrupted his prayer, and helooked up to see Luca and Rex barreling toward him. He quickly toldthem what Gunnar had said before he felt a shiver roll over hisskin. The gods were angry.
“Where’s Ransom?” Luca begged. “Where’s mybrother?”
“He’s somewhere around here,” Garrett said.“He’s been shot, and I need to get him to the healer.”
“Fuck,” Rex barked as he spun around in acircle, lifting his partially shifted nose to the sky.
“If we can find him, I can transport him tothe pride,” Garrett promised, taking his phone from his pocket toplace the call to Harold.
“Sheriff?” Harold answered. “What can I dofor you?”
“Bears,” Garrett panted as he ran. “Can youoperate on them?”
“What’s going on?” Harold asked, his voicechanging to that of his calling. “Where are they?”
“Human hunters came early, and Ransom hasbeen shot. He’s somewhere in the woods behind their home. I’msearching for him now, and once I find him, I will zap him over toyou.”
“I’ll be ready,” Harold promised.
Luca called out for his brother, but therewas no answer. Rex shifted to his bear form to use his heightenedsense of smell. When the bear locked onto the scent, he turned tothe south and ran down a pathway already cut into the woodedlot.
Luca’s shout indicated they’d found themale, and when Garrett arrived, he found Ransom in his human form,naked and covered in his own blood. Beside him were the bodies offour males, all different ages.
“Leave the bodies,” Garrett ordered. “I’llget him help and come back to take care
