“I want you to stay in our room until I, ormy brothers, come for you,” Gunnar began as they walked down thehallway to their quarters.
“Please, be careful,” she said as he closedthe door. Gunnar hummed and pulled her close. The mating touchsinged across her skin as he captured her lips.
“I will be back in your arms before theclock strikes midnight,” he vowed and deepened the kiss.
Anna Claire closed her eyes and absorbed histouch. She was falling in love with him more and more every day. Hewas a large, scary male, but to her, he was a gentle giant. In allof her daydreams, she never imagined her mate being more perfectfor her.
He pushed back and placed his large hand onher small baby bump. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayerbefore turning away and walking out the door.
Chapter 18
“Where’s Gaia?” Drake asked as soon as hereturned to the living room.
The males narrowed their eyes on the backdoor, but it was Garrett who cursed the loudest. “You get intoplace. Let me worry about finding Gaia.”
“She isn’t like us,” Gunnar reminded him.“If she takes a bullet, it could be the end of life foreveryone.”
“I know,” Garrett groaned as he left thehouse.
Gunnar trusted the male with Gaia, but heknew Garrett was up to his eyeballs with her. She’d been on her ownfor eons and stopping her from doing something to help was going tobe a fight.
The panthers shed their clothes, droppingthem into the bag Drake had brought from their homes. After theirshift, Rex, Drake, and Gunnar grabbed their weapons and headedtoward the front of the house. Out on the porch, they stood theirground. They’d never hidden from an enemy before, and they weren’tgoing to start now. Those hunters would have to go through them toget to the mates.
A bolt of lightning flashed across the skyas the last rays of light disappeared over the horizon. The scentof rain tickled Gunnar’s nose, but he ignored the storm to searchfor the humans. It was nearing the time Garrett said his visionspredicted. After that, they were on their own.
Drake’s deep throated growl alerted them tothe presence of humans. At the road, a group of men approachedtheir lands. They were on foot, and every one of them were carryingrifles. With his enhanced vision, Gunnar saw each and every one ofthem as they marched forward.
Black panthers slinked up from the woods oneach side of their home. The humans didn’t see them, and that wasthe plan. Those cats blended in well with the night. Rex shifted tohis right as he palmed his shotgun. Gunnar cracked his neck fromside to side, preparing for the fight.
“Get off our land,” Drake bellowed. They’dplanned everything down to the words they would say to the humans.“I won’t tell you again.”
“You are an abomination!” one yelled,raising his gun. He was ahead of the group by fifteen feet. Beforehe could fire off a shot, a panther pounced at the male’s gun,ripping it from his grasp. From the sound of the male’s screams,the cat must’ve taken a chunk out of his arm.
“We can do this all night,” Drake calledout.
As the first human dropped to his knees andcradled his mangled arm to his chest, another one came forward,raising his gun. Again, a panther swiped the weapon away as a gustof wind came from behind the house, blowing right into the humans’faces. Their steps faltered as leaves swirled around theirlegs.
“I would advise you to go back from whereyou came,” Drake continued. “Take a message back to the hacker thatwe are stronger and will fight back.”
As planned, Drake, Rex, and Gunnar descendedfrom the porch. Gunnar’s bear was sitting right below his skin,preparing for a fight to the death. They wanted those males’ blood.He knew the sheriff would intervene should the humans get the upperhand, but like in their ancient times, shifter law was inforce.
The humans brought the fight to their lands,but the shifters would win. When it came to the protection of theirmates and land, any species of shifter would kill to keep theirfamilies safe. Gunnar’s chest ached at the thought of someoneharming his mate and unborn cub.
“We aren’t going anywhere until we have yourpelts on our walls.” The oldest one of the group, probably in hismid-forties, reached at his side, abandoning his rifle to draw apistol from a holster at his hip, but…again, the panthers werethere to swipe the weapon away.
“Wrong answer,” Gunnar mumbled. He wasprimed and ready for a fight. He wasn’t going to shift. The planwas to keep themselves human unless it was necessary. The pantherswere backing them up, and the Morgan bears shouldn’t need theiranimals to win this fight.
Luca was out back, keeping an eye on theelders’ cabins. Although the sheriff hadn’t seen the humans comingfrom the woods, they wanted them protected. He didn’t know whereGarrett had run off to, but he sure hoped the angel was onalert.
“Turn around and leave,” Rex warned.
Another human male moved slightly frombehind the crowd. Gunnar didn’t miss his step, and he knew thedark-haired male was going to break away from the crowd to try andfire his weapon.
A flash of lightning bathed the area inenough light for the humans to see the four panthers at the males’sides. Two of the men took steps back, but the one who’d movedearlier advanced another step.
Gunnar’s eyes were on him. Drake jutted hischin out slightly, directing Gunnar in that direction. The windhowled as he stalked the male. The human tucked his chin andsmirked as Gunnar’s bear pushed at his human skin. The golden colorto his eyes proved the shift was close, but he held the bear back.He needed to end this in his human form.
“Last chance,” the human yelled. The malesaround him surged and began to walk toward the house. With eachstep, they moved faster, but they weren’t fast enough to catch anyof the shifters.
“Bring it,” Gunnar snarled and took off at adead run as
