"Baby, you need to let him go. He needs to face justice for what he did."
Oh, he was going to face justice, all right. Shifter justice.
George shuddered when hands slid through his fur, petting, calming the rage burning through him. He'd happily stay that way for the rest of his life if he could.
Except he couldn't.
"George, I know you're angry at what Raymond did, but killing him is not the answer."
That was debatable.
"Detective Watt is never going to believe his chief suspect got mauled by a bear."
George grunted. He'd believe it after George got done with Raymond.
"I know, I know, but you still have to let him go." Leon's voice grew softer. "Please, baby, for me?"
George chuffed before slowly releasing the hold he had on Raymond. He still thought the man needed to die, but he couldn't ignore a request from his mate.
Raymond scrambled out from underneath George and crab-walked backward until he was far enough away to stand. He held his hand to his bloody throat as he glared at George. "Attacking the son of the alpha is a crime punishable by death. Once my father finds out what you did, your days are numbered."
George knew he spoke the truth. He'd grown up in a clan, and the rules were pretty much the same for all of them. That didn't mean he was going to calmly walk to his execution. He wasn't the bad guy in this scenario.
He shifted until he once again stood there naked as the day he was born. The glare he sent Raymond had the ability to scorch the earth around him. Too bad Raymond was immune to hate.
"Once your father finds out you're trying to steal all my money so you can take over his clan, he might think differently."
Raymond's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before narrowing to tiny slits. "I don't know what you're talking about. You heard my conversation with my father. My friends and I simply came out here for a run. We weren't doing anything wrong. You attacked us."
"You're lying!"
"Maybe, but who do you think he'll believe? Me, his only son, or you, a man he wouldn't allow into his clan because he was too afraid you'd try to challenge him and take his clan away from him?"
George growled and took a threatening step forward.
Raymond jumped back, paling. A snarl curled up his upper lip. "I'll see you dead if it's the last thing I do." Raymond's grin made the hairs on the back of George's neck stand on end. "Maybe I'll keep your mate as my little toy for all my pain and suffering. I'll bet he looks real nice all bent over with a dick up his ass."
The image that instantly formed in George's mind of Raymond forcing himself on Leon snapped what control he had left. George didn't even bother shifting. He just jumped Raymond and started pummeling the man with his fists.
He heard yelling, but it was muted, as if coming from far away. When he was grabbed and pulled away from Raymond, he snarled his outrage until he realized he was being held by Sheriff Garret, who was also Alpha Barker's beta.
A quick scan of the clearing told George he might be in bigger trouble than he had thought. Ford and Leon were being held by more guards, and Alpha Barker stood in front of him, the man's arms crossed and a clear show of anger on his face.
George gulped. "Sir, I can explain."
