Drake engaged one of them, taking him to theground. Rex did the same to the other, but Gunnar had the cocky sonof a bitch who’d tried to break away from the crowd.
The male darted behind a tree, bringing hisgun up and firing off a shot at him.
He missed, and didn’t that just piss off thebeast inside him even more?
Gunnar roared as he approached the tree atinhuman speed. His canines were thick in his mouth as he grabbedthe male, spinning him around. He was fully prepared to rip themale’s throat out when he saw something move on the porch.
“Noooo!” he yelled as a human male enteredtheir home. With a twist of his hands, he snapped the male’s neckand dropped him to the ground.
Gunnar ran, using his second natureabilities to get him to the house. Fear pushed him harder. Hefocused on the house, not caring for the sounds around him. Hedidn’t care if there was one or a hundred humans in his yard. Thefact that one had gotten past them to enter sent him into a feralrage.
“Where is he?” Gunnar snarled through hispartially shifted face. His ears ached with the pressure of thestorm brewing outside. His clothes were soaking wet, but he didn’tcare. Killing that male for coming so close to the mates and cubswas at the forefront of his mind.
As the front door closed silently behindhim, Gunnar heard the wind howling out on the lawn. He knew Gaiawas somewhere hiding out so she could control the elements andscare away the humans. Maybe they’d consider it witchcraft and runaway with their tails tucked between their legs.
The human made a noise in the kitchen, andhis breathing became rapid. Gunnar moved quietly across the livingroom, coming to the threshold of the kitchen. The male slipped downthe hallway toward Anna Claire, and Gunnar felt his heart drop.
Gunnar charged the human, running at fullspeed. The male turned, his eyes widening at the sight, but it onlytook half a second for the man to draw a pistol from his side andfire, hitting Gunnar in the middle of his chest.
A mighty roar tore from his throat as hisbear tried to explode from his body, but the injury was just toomuch. The pain bloomed and blood splattered on the hallway walls ashe slumped to the floor. The last thing he heard was the humanscream and the sound of a grizzly’s roar.
Anna Claire heard someone coming toward thedoor. She breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it was Gunnar arrivingto tell her it was all over. The massive storm raging outside couldstill be heard in their underground quarters. Even though the roomwas underground, the hallways were not.
A thump against the door was odd, but shewalked over anyway, waiting for the knock she’d been desperatelyawaiting. When the noise stopped, she shifted her ears and heardpanicked breathing on the other side.
Lifting the bar off the door, she touchedthe deadbolt, but didn’t throw the lock. Something wasn’t right. IfGunnar had been outside, he would’ve called out to her already.Wouldn’t he?
A roar sounded, then the explosion of a gunfollowed right behind it. She heard a body hit the floor, and herbear roared in her head to open the door. She didn’t want to acceptwhat she’d heard, but the animal inside her pushed at her humanskin again.
Despite her better judgement, she opened thedoor, and she screamed when she saw her mate on the ground with agunshot wound to his chest.
In a fraction of a second, her animal rippedfrom her skin, zoning in on the human male who stood over hermate’s body. Anna Claire’s human side cried out in horror again asGunnar reached for her but he was too weak. The bear launchedherself at the human, latching on to his throat and ripping it fromhis body.
The moment the human’s body fell to theground, she shifted and reached for her male. “Gunnar! Gunnar!”
He was still breathing, but it was labored.“Get…help. Call…Garrett.”
She ran back into their room and grabbed thephone, throwing on some clothes as she waited for the male toanswer. When it went to voicemail, she called the only other personshe knew who could help.
“Anna Claire,” the pride’s healer asked themoment he picked up the phone. “Is everything okay over there?”
“No, Gunnar’s been shot in his chest,” shecried. “Please help us!”
“Where is everyone else?” he asked, but AnnaClaire could hear him shuffling around in the background.
“I don’t know,” she cried, taking her oldtorn clothes and pressing them to the wound on her mate’schest.
“I’m coming,” he replied, reminding her tokeep him awake.
She dropped the phone and prayed someonewould come help her. The last thing she wanted to do was call forthe other females, because it was obvious one of the humans hadgotten into their home.
“Gunnar, please stay awake,” she begged asshe pressed her lips to his own.
“Get inside,” he ordered, but his deep voicewas weak. “Lock…door.”
“No, I’m not leaving you until someonecomes,” she growled. “I need you to shift. You have to shift,Gunnar.”
“Trying…” he said before closing hiseyes.
Anna Claire’s face was wet with tears, butshe was determined to do as the healer said. Shaking his arm didn’twork. So, she pinched him as hard as she could. When his eyespopped open, they were the golden hue of his beast. She needed toget him to shift.
“Damn, Gunnar!” she roared. “Don’t you leaveme. Don’t you leave us! We need you.” She kept talking tohim until she saw his canines thicken in his mouth. His bear waswanting out, but it was just too weak to force the shift.
“Do it, Gunnar!” she pressed. “Let yourbeast take over.”
She shook him again, rousing him from hissleep. The blood still oozed from the wound as she lifted the clothto take a look. Her hands were covered in his blood, and she prayedit would be enough.
“Don’t leave me like Ransom, please…please,”she cried and shook him again, causing him to open his eyes.“Shift,
