Ransom moaned as he was lifted. There was nofight left in the male as Garrett called upon his heavenly sensesand transported them to the front porch of the healer’s home.
“He’s not going to make it,” Garrett cursedas the panther’s healer jerked the door open wide. “Can you dosomething? Anything?”
“Take him in here,” Harold said as he headedtoward the back of his home. The small operating room was for hisshifters. They usually didn’t require much more than a fewstitches, but the room was there, sanitized for emergencies.
The panther’s healer had converted his oldhome into a medical facility many years before. He worked on thepanthers and assisted in the births of the cubs all in that littleroom, but he had every tool imaginable to do the necessarywork.
“If you’re going to stay here, then move outof my way,” Harold ordered.
“I have to help the Morgans find who didthis,” Garrett said, giving Harold a nod. “I’ll be back.”
“Be safe,” the healer said as Garrettdisappeared.
Once he arrived back at his first location,he stood over the bodies of the human males. The grizzlies hadn’tbeen easy on them, and they’d had every right to do what theyneeded to get them away from their homes and mates.
With his hand held out in front of him, heclosed his eyes and felt the power come through him. Heat developedin his hand much like Gaia did with her flames. Only his heat wasmore of a transfer of power from the gods. With a soft prayer, hewaved his hand in a circle and waited for the brightness to diedown. When he opened his eyes again, all the males and the evidenceof their deaths was erased from the ground.
He hurried out of the woods and came uponthe house where Gaia’s white car was pulling into the drive. Angerbuilt deep in his chest, and his eyes flashed white again. A waveof protectiveness came over the sheriff at seeing the female rightin the heart of a war.
She glared at him as she exited. “Where arethey?” Her voice wasn’t kind. The female was beyond angry. Well, sowas Garrett.
“I told you not to come here,” hebarked.
“I’ve never let a male tell me how to livemy life, and I sure as hell am not going to start now.”
“You are so damn stubborn!” he roared.
“Where is everyone?” Gaia ignored him andapproached, never casting her swirling eyes away from his whiteones. “We can do this the easy way or the hard one, Garrett.”
“The females are inside, and Drake andGunnar are on foot,” he informed her with a heavy sigh. “Ransom isat the pride’s healer having surgery to save his life.”
He raised a brow when she cursed.
“You’re in my way, sheriff,” she observed,her eyes swirling faster.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he repeated.
“It’s not your choice whether I come here ornot. You don’t have any rights to them!” she snarled, her handsglowing at her sides. The thunder rumbling around them becamelouder; lightning striking off in the distance. Rain rushed out ofthe clouds building above their heads, and he was powerless to stopher from causing so much destruction.
But he tried.
“Gaia, stop!” he yelled over the next clapof thunder. The two of them were almost nose to nose. Her eyes wereswirling, and he was certain anything he said to her was going tobe ignored. “You have to stop!”
“Get away from my bears!” she said as sheshoved her hands forward. The balls of fire she’d produced smackedhim in the chest, knocking the sheriff on his ass. He gasped forair to call out to her, but she stomped off toward the back of thehouse.
As he began to stand, a tingling ofawareness registered in the back of his mind. The world around himfaded as images rushed through his mind. The messages were like afilm tripled in speed. The bears…a death…females crying…andhumans parading the corpses of the grizzly shifters through thestreets.
Anna Claire watched Tessa scrolling throughthe chat rooms, looking for any information on the hacker. Shesteadily wiped the tears from her eyes, worrying over her cousin.It was too dangerous to leave the house and head to the panther’sland to be with Ransom. She had to trust in the healer’s abilitiesto keep him alive.
“He’s in great hands,” Ada promised as shewrapped her arm around Anna Claire’s shoulders. “All we can do nowis wait and help find this hacker.”
“I know,” Anna Claire sniffled. “He’s myblood. I can’t lose another person in my life…I just can’t.” Shethought of her mother and the tragic end to her life.
Anna Claire wanted to scream and throwthings, but she knew it wouldn’t help the fact that, yet again,someone had harmed a person she loved. Gunnar was out searching formore of the hunters, and fresh tears fell from her eyes when shethought of what could happen.
“Here, look!” Tessa set the phone down onthe small table and pointed to a link she’d found in the hacker’sprofile. Clicking on it, the page was redirected to a website for ablogger. The blog was nothing more than an overabundance ofconspiracy theories regarding the shifters, retail businesses, andone on a local government issue in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Tessa clicked it, and the hacker detailedseveral things only a person living there would know. The articlewas more a rant than anything, but at the end…they foundsomething.
“He refers to the mayor’s office as if heworks there,” Ada hummed.
“This guy works for the mayor, or isthe mayor,” Tessa corrected. “Holy shit.”
“Does the sheriff know any of this?” AnnaClaire asked, thankful they’d possibly found something.
“I don’t know,” Tessa shrugged. “I’m savingthis information to give to Garrett.”
A knock registered on the outer door and allthree of them froze. Tessa reached for the shotgun Gunnar had leftby their door and took a step back, pressing the stock of theweapon against her shoulder as if she’d done it a million timesbefore.
Ada held her finger up to her lips, and AnnaClaire prayed the cubs wouldn’t wake from their naps. If the personon the other side of the door was human, the noise from a cryingcub would alert them.
Anna Claire breathed slowly, coming to standat
