Taylor and Jay growled loudly from the line of wolves, their teeth glistening in the dusk light.
“Who the hell told you we’d found our mate?”
The man’s eyebrows rose high. “She’s the mate to your whole pack… well isn’t that interesting.”
The way he said that sounded nasty and I didn’t like the way his eyes shone with malice.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“No. And I won’t. Your pack should be extinct in a few more years and that’s what Fate has decided. You cannot bring humans in for breeding. That is not our way.”
“Our way?” I repeated. “We are nothing like you.”
“You’re more like us than you know, wolf.”
The man shifted and the wolves of my pack crouched down, ready to fight again if necessary.
But the bears turned and left, moving like big, wounded elephants, through the woods and beyond.
My pack began to shift back and we rushed inside to check on Claire.
Sue was with her in Jay’s room, her arms around Claire’s shaking form.
“Oh, sweetheart…” My heart broke to see her so scared.
“Dexter!” She leapt up and ran at me, throwing her arms around my neck, holding me like she’d never let me go. “Were they real bears? Or were they shifters too?”
“You didn’t see the Alpha shift?” I drew her into the lounge and pulled her into my lap.
“No. I was with Sue.”
Sue walked over to the door and my mother joined her, tugging her clothes back on.
“Dex, we’re going to speak to the elders. Someone has to do something about this. It was a completely unprovoked attack.”
I nodded and was glad when the women left.
“Do you know what they wanted, Dex?” Claire asked me, and I couldn’t lie.
“They said they wanted you.”
She stopped shivering and stood up and stared down at me. “But why?”
Taylor and Jay came in through the back door, dressed again and threw me my jeans.
I stood up and pulled them on.
“They didn’t say why, exactly, just something about our pack being extinct in a few decades and that we’re not meant to have mates, especially not human mates.”
“You need to tell the elders,” Taylor said, already heading towards the front door.
“I need to get back to my apartment. Now. It isn’t safe here.” Claire was saying.
My poor love.
“Claire you’re okay. You’re safe here, I promise.”
She looked at me with hurt in her eyes. “How can you say that, after what just happened? They want me. What if they come back when you’re not here?”