Eli landed on his ass. He wasn’t hurt. Logan had taken most of the damage. Relief filled him. He and his babies were unharmed thanks to Logan.
“Eli, go somewhere safe,” Logan said through gritted teeth. “I have this.”
Steve launched himself at Logan again. Steve was already in between wolf and human form. Eli bolted past Steve. Steve tried to claw at him but Logan had shed his human skin. A giant grizzly bear replaced Logan.
Logan used his big paws to swat Steve backwards. Blood slicked the new wooden floors. Hearing another snarl, he risked a look over his shoulder. A second werewolf, a big black bastard with scars all over his muzzle, came at Logan from behind.
The image of Logan’s lifeless body rose in his head. Horror held him in a tight grip. He didn’t know what to say to Liam if Logan died on his account.
Eli halted. “Logan, watch out!
The black werewolf collided into Logan. That gave Steve the opportunity to slink away. His situation just took a turn for the worse. Eli ran faster, his pulse racing. He eyed the shotgun he left on a nearby table. Eli swiped the gun on his way out of the lodge.
His breaths came short. His legs burned. They threatened to give out but Eli couldn’t stop. Steve would be on him in seconds. Eli couldn’t shift, not without risking his babies. He was in the advanced stage of his pregnancy.
Eli still had the gun but he wasn’t sure he would be able to hit anything in his panicked state of mind. Steve’s muscled form collided with his back legs. Eli toppled over. The gun clattered from his fingers.
He curled into himself, rolling to protect his stomach as he hit the ground. A furious roar from the woods made a flock of nearby birds take flight.
He hear that sound before. His heart raced. Eli reached for his mating bond with Liam and felt his mate respond. Liam was coming. Steve was in for a world of hurt. Eli reached for the gun again.
He didn’t have time to take deep breaths and aim. Eli fumbled with the safety and fired. Steve drew back, hissing.
“This gun’s loaded with silver bullets,” Eli yelled.
He lied right through his teeth out of sheer desperation. Steve considered him for a few seconds but Eli could only buy himself so much time.
With his superior speed and strength, Steve could knock Eli’s gun away if he wanted. Steve must’ve come to the same conclusion because the bastard lunged at him again. Eli drew a shaky breath and waited for Steve to land his death blow.
14
Liam/ Eli
Liam
Spotting the two massive grizzlies circling Lucas triggered Liam’s rage. Lucas was too busy fighting the pair off to notice the third bear slowly coming at him from behind.
Although it was tempting to come to his brother’s defense right away, Liam didn’t wade into the fight yet. These weren’t wild animals. The normal grizzlies on their land wouldn’t attack a human unless provoked. These bastards were shifters.
He sniffed the air. These three bear shifters smelled wrong somehow. Sick. A closer look showed him their bloodshot eyes and scarred and matted fur. Rogues. The shifter Lucas hadn’t noticed leaped at Lucas’ exposed back.
Liam dived into the fight, intercepting the Rogue before it could reach his brother. He roared at the werebear’s face and swiped a claw at his face. The Rogue drew back only to come at him again, his claws and fangs unsheathed.
Liam and the Rogue tangle in the dirt. He grew pissed. The Rogue tried to swipe his claws at Liam’s eyes but he dodged at the last second. He closed his teeth on the enemy’s throat and refused to let go.
A pair of fangs punctured his left hind leg. One of the Rogues Lucas had been fighting had come for him, but Liam didn’t let go of his first prey.
His teeth pierced through fur, skin, then right through the Rogue’s pulse point. Blood gushed out in a torrent.From the corner of his eye, he noticed Lucas had finished off his opponent.
His brother came barrelling at them. Lucas violently tore the Rogue biting Liam’s leg away from him. Liam dropped his prey. The Rogue’s empty yellow eyes stared up at him.
He looked for Lucas but his brother didn’t need a hand. Lucas tore out the last Rogue’s throat and let out a triumphant roar.
Liam tried to piece together what happened. Lucas set out early only to find these Rogues. His brother couldn’t take all three shifters at once.
Knowing Lucas’ mind worked, Lucas probably tried to separate the Rogues and take them out one-by-one. Too bad Rogues were known to be unpredictable. These Rogues must’ve known each other in real life. That could explain why Liam found all three of them fighting Lucas. Lucas probably couldn’t isolate them.
Lucas would’ve been mincemeat if Liam hadn’t arrived. With the two of them fighting together side-by-side, they easily finished off their enemies.
There was no use trying to negotiate with Rogues. These shifters were no better than wild animals who were out to destroy and kill whoever got in their way.
Both he and his brother were bruised, bloody, torn-up but they were alive. That was all that mattered. They must look awful though. Eli was going to give him a scolding once he returned.
On the heels of that thought, Liam suddenly tasted something acrid. Fear and panic were suddenly thrust inside him, disabling his ability to think.
Overwhelmed, Liam forced himself to take deep breaths. A growl slipped his lips. It took him a second to realize these intense emotions came from the mate bond he shared with Eli.
Someone placed a hand on his bloodstained furry shoulder. He jerked, snarling into Lucas’s face. His brother had changed back to human form while he was lost in his thoughts. He relaxed a little.
“Trouble at the lodge?” Lucas asked.
Unable to speak in bear
