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Chapter Twenty-four
This wasn’t Ivo’s first run-in with the rams, and by now, he had a pretty good grip on their strengths and weaknesses in a fight. Just because they were grass-munching herbivores didn’t mean they weren’t capable of knocking a bear on his ass, and that was exactly what was happening all around him.
If Ivo hadn’t known any better, he could have just as easily been one of those cocky bears assuming it would be easy to take out a ram—but Ivo knew better. They were sturdy, large, and had thick, curling horns that could pack a serious punch.
Still. He would have thought all the capable fighters in his clan, even if there were fewer than the rams, might have been able to put these fucking sheep back in their place.
Apparently, he had been mistaken.
His muscles ached, and his breath grew ragged the longer the fight dragged on, but there was no way he was backing down. None of them were, from either side, no matter the number of injuries and unconscious shifters piling up around the clan’s sacred cave. This was their home. No one was going to take that from them, especially not a clan of arrogant curly-horned bastards who had hurt Alani.
Speaking of Alani. Ivo’s bear eyes darted around in a panic as he pinned a ram to the ground, narrowly avoiding the powerful kick of its back legs. The last time he had seen his fated mate, she was crawling right into the middle of the fight—the absolute last place he wanted her to be. He had been a little preoccupied at the time, namely with the current pinned ram squirming and bleating beneath him, to stop her.
Now he couldn’t see her anywhere. Nor could he call out to her. Fuck. Fuck. At least he could scent her. Even over all the shit hitting the fan around him, at least her scent remained strong.
Just as he was about to stand, ready to find her, a violent flash of purple light cracked across the cave like lightning. He staggered onto all fours, blinking hard to get the glow out of his eyes.
Only one person could have caused that—Ursalina, the clan’s sorceress shifter. Centuries old, steeped in mystic and ancient magic, she had sworn her life to protecting the Angel Fire bear shifters through the ages. Most of the time you could find her puttering around in the far reaches of the cave, but lately, she had been more absent from the sacred space than not.
Just as all the swirling lights in his eyes started to fade, Ivo lifted his head and found the sorceress standing at the mouth of the cave, though she was twice her regular size and brandishing a gem-encrusted staff Ivo had never seen before.
She pounded it against the mountainside three times, more sparks of color and light spouting from the end of it as all the shifters watched in amazement. It was always a strange thing, to see someone like Ursalina practice her craft. She had the appearance of a beautiful young woman, but in a way her face was ageless—and her powers infinite.
Suddenly the ram he had knocked to the ground shifted back to his human form—they all did. Ivo reared back on his hind legs, taking in the sight of over a dozen or so bighorn sheep changing from animal to man in a flash—thanks to Ursalina, no doubt.
“Shame,” the sorceress cried, her voice all but shaking the mountain. Ivo quickly scanned the cave in search of Alani and found her kneeling near the opening, a squirming bear cub in her arms. All around him, the rams seemed to be trying, and failing, to shift back; Ursalina had them in her clutches.
The war was not lost. She peered at each and every face present. When her eyes swept over him, Ivo felt her stare penetrate deep into his depths, bringing with it a shame that made him sit back with a huff.
“Shame that you fight one another,” she continued, her words amplified, “for something as petty as land. Shame that you bring this violence before cubs and the weak. Shame on each and every one of you, ram and bear alike.”
The rams exchanged looks with one another, while the bears holding the now human shifters to the ground eased off of them.
“Your true enemies are not each other,” Ursalina continued. Her hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, and Alani watched her with her jaw dropped in awe. “Your true enemies have made themselves known. The miners come, and they come for all. A disgrace, what I see before me, that you would not ally together to fight the true enemy rather than each other.”
She spat on the ground. The stones split where her saliva landed. Ivo had never seen her this angry before, and her wrath didn’t seem aimed at just the rams either.
“Be gone,” she ordered. “I have ensured all those with impure hearts will not be able to shift when you cross into bear territory. When you come to your senses and join us, as one, the curse will lift, and not a day sooner.”
Ivo tensed, waiting for the rams to attack as humans. After all, their hatred for the bears ran deep, as did their thirst to acquire the clan’s mountain. But they must have known that even with their enhanced shifter strength and speed, their human selves would be no match against bears.
And so, with much huffing and puffing, grumbling and groaning, the rams filed out of the cave under Ursalina’s watchful eye. As soon as the last were gone, cheers erupted from the back of the cave, where those who hadn’t fought crept up now that the danger had finally disappeared.
Joining in with the rest, Ivo shifted out of his bear form, knowing the ol’ boy would need a lot of TLC over the next few days after all the bullshit he’d endured recently, then tried to pick through the celebrating crowd to get to Alani.
Ursalina had shrunken down to her normal size by the time he reached the mouth of the cave and seemed to be lecturing Miguel further in his choice of violence over diplomacy. The Alpha looked like he was only half-listening, inching closer to Alani, who it was now clear was holding cub Lucas in her arms.
Before Ivo could reach her and drag his mate into his arms, he was shoved aside by a hobbling, unbalanced Clarissa.
“Oh my God!” she cried, taking Lucas from Alani’s arms and holding the cub to her. “Thank you. Thank you! I was so scared for him…”
“I’m a mother,” Alani said, sounding exhausted and strained, yet also relieved. Ivo noticed the way her body sagged once she wasn’t tasked with cradling Lucas anymore. “I’d never let harm come to a child, whether they are mine or not.”
Ivo smiled at the sight of a sobbing Clarissa dragging Alani into a hug. His mate hugged the woman back wearily, her ocean blues lifting slowly and widening when they landed on him. He smiled back at her, itching to have her all to himself, but was pushed aside once again by Miguel.
The Alpha had escaped Ursalina’s lecturing to thank Alani too before taking his mate and his cub into his arms. In the sunlight, he swore the Alpha’s eyes shimmered with tears—and for once, Ivo had no desire to make light of Miguel’s emotional display.
Because he understood. His own chest tightened when he finally dragged Alani to him, so grateful that she was unharmed and back beside him. He still kicked himself for not taking her back to Angel Fire, but if he had done that, he wouldn’t have been able to help his clan—and Alani might not have saved Lucas.
“Are you okay?” he whispered, his mouth buried in her hair, and when she nodded, her body started to tremble. Clearly not okay. Clearly overwhelmed and emotionally drained. Clearly, Ivo needed to get her out of there—stat.
So he hoisted her up, carrying her bridal-style, and took off into the woods away from the path the rams had taken.
“Ivo?” Her voice cracked. Arms wrapped around his neck, she pressed her face against his chest, and he could feel the wet tracks of tears dripping onto his skin. He held her tighter, never wanting to let go.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
