The elder males nodded and resumed drinkingtheir coffee as the females chatted in the front living room. Theclock on the wall moved slower than it should, and Gunnar wasfeeling the adrenaline start to pulse through his veins with eachpassing minute.
Once everyone was fed, he spent time puttingaway the food and washing the dishes. Anna Claire asked if heneeded help, but he sent her off to visit more with the females. Hecould see the fear in her eyes as she tried to put on a brave frontfor the females.
Drake, Rex, and Luca arrived a little later,shaking the elder males’ hands in greeting. As Gunnar looked aroundthe room, he realized just how much his new family had blended sowell. The elders had done as they said and helped out over the lastyear to make their clan even better. The crops they’d planted weregrowing, and in the fall, they’d harvest what would probably betheir best yield in years.
Their crops wouldn’t mean a thing if thehunters succeeded in killing them. Gunnar was making it hispersonal goal to ensure everyone in his clan was safe from thatmoment forth.
Gaia returned to the pride after going tosecure her home. The hunters were coming, and they hadn’t heardfrom the sheriff in hours. She’d hoped he was there by the time shearrived, but he wasn’t.
“Where are the panthers?” Gaia asked as sheentered through the back door. Gunnar had her park her car behindthe barn and Luca walked her toward the house in case any of themwere already in place.
“They’ll be here soon,” Drake grunted. “Weshould get in place.”
“I’m going with you,” she blurted, but frozewhen the males turned to glare at her. She called upon the elementsand a clap of thunder rumbled the windows. “I have to beoutside.”
“Absolutely not,” Drake snarled with a slashof his hand. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I’ve stopped ninety percent of the attacks,and this is the most important one,” she yelled. They knew how muchthey meant to her, and if she couldn’t control the weather, theymight perish. “You cannot stop me.”
“Damn it, Gaia,” Rex bellowed. “We can’tprotect you while we are stopping them.”
She dug deeper into her soul and thickenedthe clouds around the land. Lightning cracked close and everyonejerked where they stood. Her eyes swirled and clouded over as shepulled at the elements to get them ready for the moment the humansarrived.
“Gaia!” a voice blared next to her ear. Whenshe shook herself from the fog, Garrett was there holding onto thetops of her arms. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, why?”
“You almost collapsed,” he replied. “What’sgoing on with you?”
Once she got her bearings and glanced aroundthe room, she realized her body was at the wrong angle. The ceilingwas in front of her, and Garrett must’ve taken her to the couch inthe living room.
“What happened?” Confusion set in, and shetried to remember what her humanly body was doing while she was faraway, building a storm to protect the clan.
“That’s what I want to know,” Drakeinterrupted, kneeling in front of her.
When she sat up, a wave of nausea came overher. She pressed her hand to her stomach and took a few deepbreaths. “I was building a storm.”
Her words were understood, but the Morganbrothers tensed. Gunnar frowned at her and came to his brother’sside, but he didn’t kneel. “You’ve done too much over the pasttwelve hours.”
“I have to get into place,” she said,pushing the males away. “It’s almost time.”
“There is no way you are going to beoutside,” Garrett ordered.
“You don’t have the right to tell me what Ican or cannot do,” she reminded him.
“Wanna bet?” he pushed, reaching behind himto remove a set of handcuffs from his utility belt.
“You wouldn’t!” Gaia narrowed her eyes.
“If you don’t stay in the house with theother females, I will,” he replied, his eyes flashing white.
She felt that flutter in her heart, and shetook a step back, thankful she didn’t lose her balance. Ignoringhim, she walked around the males and made her way into the kitchenwhere their mates were waiting. The elders must’ve left when shewent into her trance.
A knock on the back door stopped her fromexplaining anything to the females. Drake marched over and pulledthe door open wide. A shirtless male stood there with three othersat his back.
“Booth,” Drake greeted.
“Are you ready to do this?” Booth asked,looking over his shoulder. “Looks like there’s a storm coming. It’sgoing to be a rough night.”
Anna Claire watched as the males took seatsaround the living room while Drake and Gunnar stood. They workedwith the sheriff, confident their plan on stopping the hunters wassolid.
While Garrett went over his vision, shenoticed how Gaia’s eyes tracked his every move. The female didn’tput off any type of mating scent, so Anna Claire wondered what wasgoing on.
“Are you going outside with them?” Tessaasked, interrupting Gaia’s staring.
“You better believe your ass I am,” shesnarled. “I have to control the weather to keep the hunters fromsucceeding.”
“I saw the destruction of the other huntersaround the world,” Anna Claire whispered. The other femalesgathered around her as she told them of what she’d read when shelooked on the message boards earlier in the morning.
“They’re running?” Gaia smirked.
“A lot of them thought it was odd, and asign to back away,” Anna Claire advised.
The look of pride crossed Mother Nature’sface as she folded her arms across her chest. She looked very proudof her work, but even Anna Claire wouldn’t show the males she wasright in her actions. If they knew the females were still checkingup on the hunters, it would cause too much of a headache when theyblew their lids, so to speak.
“Good,” Gaia smirked. “Now, if you’ll excuseme, I am going to slip out the back door while they’re occupied.”She tossed a wink over her shoulder as she left.
“We aren’t going to tell them?” Adafretted.
“Not at all,” Anna Claire replied. “Sheknows what she’s doing.”
“I hope so.” Ada sighed. “It’s almosttime.”
Gunnar entered the kitchen and came over totake Anna Claire by the hand. “It’s time to go to ourquarters.”
She stepped away to hug the other females.Rex and Drake took Ada
