Series: Lee Savino
Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
My bear is so excited, I had to let him out and do laps around the mountain to use up some of the excess energy. I ended up chopping enough wood to fire my wood stove for the next three winters. I hauled some to Ma’s, too. My bear wanted me to drop off a cord at Daisy’s house, but I knew that would lead to him snooping in Maisy’s window. She’s never seen my bear yet, and I don’t want to scare her.
Instead, I settle into my cabin for a rare night off. After a dinner of braised short ribs, mashed cauliflower, and about a pound of sauteed kale, I pour myself a cup of dandelion tea. I’m about to relax into my favorite armchair by the roaring fire when there’s a hard knock on the door. Before I can shout “Go away,” my brothers burst into my space.
Not just Teddy but Darius, too. And Axel. At least they didn’t bring Everest and the triplets. There’s not enough room for all of us in here, especially since Everest insists on remaining in bear form.
A blast of cold wind follows my brothers in.
“Shut the door,” I bark. Axel slams it behind him.
“Now leave and then shut it,” I mutter, but I don’t use alpha command to make it an order.
Darius holds up a bottle of whiskey.
“Fine.” I wave them in. Axel sits in front of the hearth. Teddy and Darius sit on my couch, which creaks under their muscled bulk.
“Don’t break my couch.” I point at them. They have a habit of fighting each other whenever they get within arm's distance, and the couch is barely big enough to hold both of them.
“No fighting,” they say in unison, holding their hands up in an identical movement. They’re even dressed similarly, Teddy in a blue plaid shirt with a little brown bear embroidered on the pocket and Darius in a matching green one. Both of them are wearing jeans–and the same brown boots.
“Did you guys dress to match on purpose?” I ask. “Or are your mates conspiring to make you look like twinsies?”
Teddy and Darius glance at each other and then do a double take. Their faces take on identical outraged expressions. Axel laughs.
I take a sip of tea to hide my smirk.
“My mate can dress me any day of the week,” Darius announces.
“Mine too. Lana has excellent taste,” Teddy says quickly.
“So does Paloma,” Darius boasts. “And she’s a billionaire, so price isn’t an issue.”
“Lana’s a billionaire too. And an internationally recognized fashionista.” Teddy glares at Darius, who glares right back.
Fates, now they’re using their mates to one-up each other.
“Both of your mates are amazing,” I say. “And neither of you deserve them. Now, why are you here?”
“What, we can’t come hang with our big brother?” Axel lounges back beside the fire.
“No.” I narrow my eyes at him. I haven’t forgotten how close he is with Maisy. I need to figure out a way to get him to back off without outright staking my claim. “What’s going on?”
“Two things. One, I caught some strange scents on the mountain,” Darius says. “Smelled it when I was on a walk with Paloma. Two males, smokers. One has a greasy, bitter scent.”
“This was up on Lilac Lane,” Darius says. “Near Old Man Luther’s place. And Daisy’s.”
My bear gets agitated at the mention of Daisy. Maisy lives with her grandmother. Neither my bear nor I like the idea of a stranger hanging around their house.
For some reason, I think of all those missed calls on Maisy’s phone. She said it was her father, asking for money. Did he drive up here to pester her?
“Could be some workmen,” Teddy says. “But Old Man Luther says he’s seen a car hanging around with Nevada plates. They might be a visitors, but he wants to put together a neighborhood watch.”
“You have your own security, right?” I ask. Lana and Paloma have both been targeted before, and we bears don’t mess around when it comes to protecting what’s ours.
“Black Wolf is monitoring our property,” Teddy says.
“Mine and Paloma’s too,” Darius says.
I nod slowly. Black Wolf, the private security firm Teddy pilots helicopters for, is a shifter-owned operation located out of Taos, New Mexico. All the operatives, like Teddy, are shifters and former special ops military. In addition to their shifter strength and regenerative powers, they have the highest level of training, discipline, and the best equipment in the world. They are the best.
“But they keep their surveillance to our property,” Darius adds. “House and land, of course, but it’s not the whole mountain. We can get them to do a one-time sweep of all of Bad Bear. But we want to respect our neighbors’ privacy. Unless it’s an active threat.”
“I’ll check it out,” I say. My bear wanted to sniff around Maisy’s home, anyway. Maybe I should’ve gone with the instinct.