Hope gasped when she realized the grizzly bear who’d tried to rescue her and Willow was the man who now stood over the remains of Josiah’s body.How could he have survived Josiah’s bullets?Now, though, he needed her. Keeping all her movements slow, Hope rose and walked over to him, hesitating a moment before gently rubbing her hand along his arm. She waited until the man’s fists finally relaxed before saying, “Easy…it’s okay…he’s dead and won’t be able to hurt anyone again.”
Smokey’s eyes shifted from the gruesome scene before him to the small, motherly-looking woman beside him. Her touch was exactly what he needed—and what his bear needed—to quiet the rage inside both of them. Finally calming down, his eyes met Hope’s. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Shaking her head, Hope murmured, “No…not at all. How did you find me?”
“Willow.”
“Willow? She’s alive?” asked Hope, disbelief in her voice.
“She is and sent me after you. She wanted to come, but I asked her to go get Jackson, instead. I expect him to be here shortly.”
“I don’t understand…Josiah shot Willow…”
Hearing the distress in Hope’s voice, Smokey put an arm around her, giving her a gentle squeeze. “I was able to help her…she’s fine now…I swear it.”
Brushing a lone tear away, Hope looked up at the man. “Thank you very much…she’s my best friend.”
“Her son is my best friend.”
Hope stared up at him, the pieces finally falling into place. “You’re Smokey, aren’t you? Willow has told me so much about you and Ghost.”
“Yes ma’am. Willow is like a mother to both of us. When I heard her scream, I knew she was in trouble.”
“She never told me you were here.”
“I don’t think she knew…I brought my friend’s parents to the Blackwood Pack and that’s when I found my mates. I’ve been a little busy since then,” Smokey said, sheepishly. Then glancing at what was left of Josiah, he wasn’t sure what to do about the mess. When he was with the agency, they always had a cleanup team, but that benefit lapsed when he left. Maybe Ghost could help him, but that could wait until he got Hope home. He looked at Hope with admiration as he thought of all the pain she’d endured since the massacre. Smiling at her, he asked, “Ready to go see your family?”
“Yes,” she said, simply. “That would be nice.”
Chapter 20
The quiet of the forest was broken by an explosion of roars from a bear, bringing Jackson and his group to a standstill. He figured it had to be Smokey but was unsure if it was a roar of pain—which meant Smokey had been shot again, or...
“That’s the sound a grizzly bear makes after winning a battle,” Reeve said, stepping up next to Jackson.
Jackson quickly glanced at Reeve before turning his attention back to the forest. “You think Smokey killed Josiah?”
“Yeah, I do. Sonofabitch!”
“You have a problem with that?” asked Jackson. “As far as I can see, Smokey had every right to whack the fucker, considering Josiah shot him.”
“Shot him three times according to Willow Thatcher,” Reeve replied. “Which begs the question how can Smokey walk, much less fight an Alpha Wolf, who has a gun!”
Shrugging, Jackson murmured, “Willow said he was fine when he left to go after Josiah.” Then, turning to Reeve, he frowned. “I deem it was a legal kill on my land and I willnotbe filing any complaint with the High Council.”
“That’s your right,” Reeve said, “but I’ll still conduct an investigation into the matter, especially given the bad blood between the Blackwood Pack and Josiah.”
“That’syourright,” Jackson replied, repeating Reeve’s words back to him, “but you still need my permission to speak with any of my pack members.”
“I don’t see any problem with that, especially since I’ll be focusing mainly on Smokey…for the time being. And since he’s not a member of your…”
Holding up his hand, Jackson growled, “Stop right there. Smokeyisa member of my pack.”
“Since when?”
“Since he claimed two of my members as fated mates,” Jackson replied. “And that now makes him a member of the Blackwood Pack. So again, you need my permission.”
“You haven’t registered the mating with the High Council yet,” Reeve said.
