Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
“Fuck,” Elias exclaimed. “Shift!” he shouted right before he also shifted.
Leah shifted. So did Suzette and Jezebel. They stood next to each other in the doorway, mesmerized as two more bears leaped into the clearing, and then two more.
A fight began. The first two bears were taken down by the other four, but they kept fighting back, growling loud enough to shake the foundation of the house. Elias was howling so loud that Leah wished she could cover her ears. Felix and Gavin joined.
The bears were huge, and they fought for blood. They cried out when they got clawed, and their cries of pain were palpable.
One of them broke free and came galloping toward the house. Felix and Gavin attacked, scaring Leah to death. The wolves were not nearly big enough to battle the bears, but Felix and Gavin held their own.
When Elias leaped off the porch to join the fray, Leah howled. Before he even reached the others she felt a sharp pain in her chest. If anything happened to him, she would never recover. It physically hurt to watch him pounce on one of the bears with the others.
One of the other bears noticed and turned to help the wolves. It was difficult to tell which ones were the bad guys and which were the good guys. Everything was a blur of black fur. All six bears were enormous, and every time they tumbled around in a battle for superiority, Leah lost track of which one was on which side.
Suddenly, a dozen wolves burst into the clearing at full speed. They spun around in circles, seemingly trying to make sense of the fight. Felix, Gavin, and Elias must have communicated with them with a look or predetermined sign because everyone quickly knew who to attack, which left the rogue bears outnumbered.
Leah couldn’t breathe as she watched this scene unfold as if in slow motion. It looked like Felix was injured. He’d howled when one of the bears had swatted at him with claws extended. His right flank was bleeding.
Now that the rogue bears were outnumbered, they joined each other in the center of the clearing and spun around in circles as the other four bears and all the wolves surrounded them.
The two bears looked at each other for a moment and then took off running, knocking the wolves out of the way as they barreled into the tree line and disappeared.
Three of the other bears galloped after them. One stayed behind.
Time stood still while the bear made eye contact with Olivia. Seconds past. Long interminable seconds while no one dared move. It was clear Olivia was in communication with the bear, and finally she nodded.
The bear took off after the others and disappeared.
The wolves moved to the edge of the clearing, ears tall, watching and waiting.
Leah kept her gaze on her mate, hoping he hadn’t been injured. Uncertain. It was hard to tell. All of them were bloody, but whose blood was it?
Finally, one by one, the wolves shifted and walked toward the porch. Damon beelined for Olivia and dropped down on his knees on the step in front of her. He grabbed her furry head and held it. “Look at me, Baby girl.”
She didn’t move.
Elias stepped around Damon and came to Leah. She whimpered, afraid. She backed up into the living room. Please don’t let that blood be his.
He squatted in front of her. “I’m fine, Little one. Not a scratch on me. Shift for me, Baby girl.”
She whimpered again, shaking. It was hard to concentrate and force her shift, but she finally managed to do so and fell on her bottom, disoriented.
Daddy scooped her up and cradled her in his arms. He kissed all over her face. “It’s over.”
Over? It didn’t seem over. It seemed like they were only on a short break.
“Olivia…”
Leah turned in her Daddy’s arms to find that everyone had shifted except Olivia. She stood in the same spot, ears high, body rigid, nose to the air.
“Shift for me, Little one,” Damon encouraged again.
Until she shifted no one would know what had happened. She was the only one of them who knew.
Finally, she lowered her head, softened her stance, and shifted. Less than a second later, Damon had her in his arms, hugging her against his chest, rocking her back and forth. “Such a brave Little girl. I’m so proud of you.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Elias ushered everyone inside. There were a lot of people, though, and it was very crowded. It was also eerily silent except for the sniffles coming mostly from Suzette and Leah. It broke Elias’s heart that his mate had gone through such a fright one week into their union.
Olivia cleared her throat. “I could sense them from over a mile away. It took a while for them to arrive. When they grew close, I finally scented the other four. I knew two of them were Surge and Thorn. I knew they were hunting their rogue brothers and would not let them harm us.”