Page 52 of Big Lone Bear


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Chapter Thirty-One

The mountains of Angel Fire were alive—with bears. All that was left of Espie’s clan moved through the forest like shadows. For once, there was no fooling around in the shrubs. No pausing to scratch one’s back on a tree. No rolling down hills or flipping over rocks, curious to see what might lay in wait beneath. Today, the clan moved as a singular unit with a unified purpose: to run the cougars out of their territory.

The decision to attack had been unanimous. Ivo was dispatched ahead of time to call the ram shifters into battle—if they would come. So far, the bighorn sheep clan hadn’t been involved in any of the madness going on around their town, and Espie had serious doubts they’d want to get their dainty little hooves dirty now.

Still, given that there were less than thirty bears in total, it would help to have more numbers. Cougars on their own weren’t a problem, but a whole clan of them with their scents masked could prove more difficult to take down than anyone cared to admit.

Luther prowled behind Espie as they brought up the rear of the group. Miguel hadn’t asked, but with a single look, she had promised him that no one would be left behind. So, as the clan filed out of their sacred cave, stripping down and shifting on the spot in some cases, Espie had waited with Luther by her side. When she shifted, for once her grizzly felt strong—focused. She didn’t want to run or hide. She surged forth with the desire to protect her loved ones and obliterate any threats that were in the way.

As alpha, Miguel had the ability to communicate wordlessly with his clan, and Espie felt the alpha’s influence with every step she took. With only ten minutes left before they’d reach the cougar lair, everyone started to fan out, almost like they were Miguel’s fingers, and he was reaching out and spreading his hand to make sure nothing or no one got past him.

In the wrong hands, an alpha’s power could be dangerous. As Espie slowed her march, falling in line beside Luther, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if Ivo was still leading the clan. Would the communication still have been as clear? Would the bears have even listened to him? After all, her brother was the true alpha.

Standing about five feet apart, Luther and Espie stopped in tandem, as if commanded by Miguel, and waited for the battle cries. Ahead, bears charged up the hill, and moments later, cougar cries and bear roars filled the air. She yearned to run ahead and join the fray, to make sure Miguel and Copper and Taymond were okay, but it became clear she and Luther were responsible for catching any cats who decided to flee. Many of them did.

Rather than fight, a number of cougars tried to skirt down the hill or climb a tree, but she and Luther beat them back toward the lair. With paws and teeth and the sheer size of their bear bodies, they managed to round up the cowards and herd them back to the others.

Just as she’d expected, only a few cats were dead. Miguel had no intention of creating a blood bath; he just wanted them gone as far from Angel Fire as their paws could carry them.

When the last of the cougars was shoved into place, Espie shifted back into her human form. Many of the cats had done the same, blood running down their naked bodies. Except when Espie counted them, there were only twelve. Not even half the number that had occupied the cave before.

“This is wrong,” she commented to Luther. “What happened to all the others?”

While there were no other scents in the air, that didn’t discount the fact that several more cats might be nearby but masking themselves. Yet, as Espie turned and listened to the sounds of the forest she knew so well, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Maybe, if they were smart, most of the cougars had already fled Angel Fire after she and Luther discovered the location of their lair.

“I’m only going to say this once,” Miguel stated. Much to her surprise, he came to stand next to Espie in human form, and the cougars that hadn’t already shifted back did so. “Leave Angel Fire. We know you are working for Willard Vesper. We know that you are behind all the attacks on the residents of this town and the visiting miners. I’ll give you one chance to go, unharmed. Leave bear territory and Angel Fire forever, or there will be serious consequences.”

A few of her clansmen snarled, flashing teeth for effect. Espie merely stood beside her brother, cross-armed and stoic. One eyebrow flickered up when a cougar met her eye, but that was all she offered.

Although he hadn’t gone out of his way to change her, Luther had taught her a calmness; a sense of quiet and patience that she had been missing in her life. All she had needed to do was watch the way he interacted with the world.

While protective of his daughter and Espie, her mate navigated all else in a peaceful sort of way. Quiet. Firm. In control without running his mouth. They were all traits she could learn from him, going forward. It was only now, she realized, as she towered over the cowering cougars, that change didn’t mean losing herself.

She had never felt more powerful, more in control, and more loved than she did in that moment. Surrounded by her kin and clan, Espie was home.

“Go on,” Miguel ordered softly. Right on cue, Copper and Taymond broke the circle of bears, giving the cougars an easy out—easier than they deserved. “Get out.”

A few took off running before the last words even left Miguel’s mouth. Others scrambled, but their injuries slowed them. A handful, meanwhile, stood slowly and met Miguel’s eye: one final act of defiance. Espie squared her shoulders and Luther inched in closer, a low rumble coming from deep within his chest.

“You think you’ve won this?” the cougar growled, skin glistening with blood and sweat. His beady little eyes darted from bear to bear, lingering on Espie—and her chest—longer than either Luther or Miguel liked. Her mate tried to nudge in front of her, but she held him back. No way in hell was she hiding from this cat.

“Get out of Angel Fire before I lose my temper,” Miguel warned, his knuckles crackling as he curled one hand into a fist. The cougar laughed, though the sound lacked any real fire.

“You know this was a distraction, right?” The shifter smirked and nodded in the direction of town through the trees. “All our best fighters descended on your village a half an hour ago. Vesper is in control, and he will get what he wants.” The smirk turned malicious. “He has the hostages to prove it. I’m pretty sure you all know some of them.” His eyes darted back to Espie and Luther. “Wait. Don’t you have a cub?”

Espie’s fist collided with his jaw just as he started to snicker, and the impact shut him up immediately. The cougar shifter went down hard, unconscious, and Espie ignored the dull ache radiating across all her knuckles as she shook out her hand.

“Is this true?” Miguel demanded, his persona turning savage as he lunged for the lingering cougars. But the cats took off running, some daring to look back with their own chuckles, and before Miguel could stop them, a few bears chased after them, as if to literally run them out of Angel Fire bear territory.

“We have to go,” Espie insisted. Her victory over the cougar was short-lived, especially with a threat to Violet’s life now issued. Luther was already barreling down through the forested mountainside, and Espie gripped Miguel’s arm for a moment. “We need to get to town!”

She then shifted and hurried after her mate, fighting back the panic, knowing the threat could very well be empty.

Hoping—praying—that it was, and that Violet was safe and sound with Genica and Leah at Luther’s home. Yet in her gut and in her grizzly’s mind, Espie sensed something was afoot.

Something dark.

And dangerous.

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