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Authors: Kathy Lyons
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without appearing to break a sweat. His bear was so pleased, he puffed up as large as he could and silently proclaimed ownership of the woman. Shifters weren’t psychic, so it was all in body language. The way he stood beside her and met every man’s gaze. And he held that position until they all deferred to him by a subtle sideways tilt of the head or downcast gaze.
Very Neanderthal of him, but some things couldn’t be stopped. It was all about allowing his grizzly latitude without letting it take control. And right now, his grizzly had decided on owning Becca, so Carl allowed it the belief while his mind went about trying to not think about her. After all, he had a shifter clan to run.
So he pushed Becca toward Marty and the kitchen, then went for some food. He never made it. Instead, what felt like every man, woman, and child came to talk to him. He listened to their concerns, and did his best to not be aware of Becca. He laughed as people reminisced about other springs, he diminished Nick Merkel’s poison by calling it the ranting of an old man, and he pretended not to notice when three different men in the food line flirted with Becca. And if he was excruciatingly aware of every person’s reaction to her—mostly good, thank God—it was merely because his grizzly was uncomfortably obsessed with the woman.
And so it went for two long hours. The whole thing irritated his grizzly to no end. It was a creature of simple action, but his mind knew that sometimes delaying tactics were the only way to go. So he’d destroyed Nick’s field rather than challenge—and kill—a man nearly twice his age. He’d made Tonya his beta and hoped another more palatable Maxima would appear. Then he’d shoved Becca—the only woman to attract his brain and his bear—into a room full of shifters rather than tell her news that would likely sour her on his kind forever. He wanted her to feel accepted in a new possible home here for her and Theo. The last thing he wanted to reveal was that the shifter community was a delicate balance of constantly shifting loyalties between extremely dangerous people. His closest friend today could be the man he had to kill tomorrow.
And speaking of best friends who might have gone bad, Carl finally snagged a bowl of stew while he scanned the crowd for Mark. The guy might be slowly going feral, but no way would he miss a spring hunt for the new shifters. First off, he excelled at smelling out the young. Second, he was obsessively protective of all kids. Probably had to do with growing up knowing he wouldn’t live to see his thirtieth birthday. Mark had known since one fateful night when he was sixteen that he had too much shifter DNA. That meant he was slowly going feral. Eventually the grizzly would take over and make the man dangerously crazy. Given how much Carl struggled to control his own grizzly, he couldn’t even fathom how Mark fought day after day to stay sane. But Carl was working night and day to solve that problem, too. So when he didn’t see his best friend, Carl caught Alan’s eye and gestured him over.
“You seen Mark?” he asked when Alan joined him on the bench.
“He went in search as soon as we heard.” His brother’s voice was respectful, but his body language was tight and angry. Not surprising since he was probably still stinging from losing his position as beta, but Carl couldn’t let hurt feelings get in the way of business.
“That was hours ago,” Carl said, his grizzly making his voice snap. Alan deserved some time to nurse his wounds, but the alpha in Carl would not let even subliminal dissent pass. “He shouldn’t be alone. It’ll encourage him to the grizzly too much.”
Alan’s eyes narrowed at Carl’s tone. “Sometimes people just need space.”
“Mark isn’t just some person,” he retorted. The longer Mark wandered around using his bear senses, the more likely the beast would take over and he’d go feral. And once that happened, there was no
Very Neanderthal of him, but some things couldn’t be stopped. It was all about allowing his grizzly latitude without letting it take control. And right now, his grizzly had decided on owning Becca, so Carl allowed it the belief while his mind went about trying to not think about her. After all, he had a shifter clan to run.
So he pushed Becca toward Marty and the kitchen, then went for some food. He never made it. Instead, what felt like every man, woman, and child came to talk to him. He listened to their concerns, and did his best to not be aware of Becca. He laughed as people reminisced about other springs, he diminished Nick Merkel’s poison by calling it the ranting of an old man, and he pretended not to notice when three different men in the food line flirted with Becca. And if he was excruciatingly aware of every person’s reaction to her—mostly good, thank God—it was merely because his grizzly was uncomfortably obsessed with the woman.
And so it went for two long hours. The whole thing irritated his grizzly to no end. It was a creature of simple action, but his mind knew that sometimes delaying tactics were the only way to go. So he’d destroyed Nick’s field rather than challenge—and kill—a man nearly twice his age. He’d made Tonya his beta and hoped another more palatable Maxima would appear. Then he’d shoved Becca—the only woman to attract his brain and his bear—into a room full of shifters rather than tell her news that would likely sour her on his kind forever. He wanted her to feel accepted in a new possible home here for her and Theo. The last thing he wanted to reveal was that the shifter community was a delicate balance of constantly shifting loyalties between extremely dangerous people. His closest friend today could be the man he had to kill tomorrow.
And speaking of best friends who might have gone bad, Carl finally snagged a bowl of stew while he scanned the crowd for Mark. The guy might be slowly going feral, but no way would he miss a spring hunt for the new shifters. First off, he excelled at smelling out the young. Second, he was obsessively protective of all kids. Probably had to do with growing up knowing he wouldn’t live to see his thirtieth birthday. Mark had known since one fateful night when he was sixteen that he had too much shifter DNA. That meant he was slowly going feral. Eventually the grizzly would take over and make the man dangerously crazy. Given how much Carl struggled to control his own grizzly, he couldn’t even fathom how Mark fought day after day to stay sane. But Carl was working night and day to solve that problem, too. So when he didn’t see his best friend, Carl caught Alan’s eye and gestured him over.
“You seen Mark?” he asked when Alan joined him on the bench.
“He went in search as soon as we heard.” His brother’s voice was respectful, but his body language was tight and angry. Not surprising since he was probably still stinging from losing his position as beta, but Carl couldn’t let hurt feelings get in the way of business.
“That was hours ago,” Carl said, his grizzly making his voice snap. Alan deserved some time to nurse his wounds, but the alpha in Carl would not let even subliminal dissent pass. “He shouldn’t be alone. It’ll encourage him to the grizzly too much.”
Alan’s eyes narrowed at Carl’s tone. “Sometimes people just need space.”
“Mark isn’t just some person,” he retorted. The longer Mark wandered around using his bear senses, the more likely the beast would take over and he’d go feral. And once that happened, there was no
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