Emily was another point of distance between our families. She used to follow Austin around. I don’t know if he led her on, or if she knew about fated mates and risked it anyway, butthe relationship ended badly when Austin took off for the rodeo after finishing school.
My eyes narrowed on an old cabin that stood not far inside the property line. The Millers hadn’t used it regularly in years, and it would make a good hiding place for someone wanting to cause trouble on our ranch. I slid off Thunder’s back and approached on foot. Just as I cleared the hill, I saw an ATV outside the cabin.
I ducked down, growling as I fought to hold my bear back. He wanted to charge in and rescue Chloe. But I didn’t even know if she was in there.
I edged closer, keeping low. When I made it to the ATV, I caught Chloe’s scent.
I raised my radio to my mouth. “Found them. At the old cabin on the Miller’s ranch.”
“We’re on our way. Wait for us.” Mason’s response was immediate, but I’d already put the radio down and was halfway to the cabin. With my back against the wall, I slid over to the window.
My shifter hearing picked up two voices, arguing about how to handle the woman. Chloe. A pit opened up in my stomach, and my muscles tensed as I listened to them.
“We should just leave her here. We can be gone before anyone finds her.”
“She’s seen too much.” The second man’s voice was hard and gravelly. “What we did. Our faces. We need to take care of her. For good.”
I swallowed my bear’s roar, but his rage had my shift tearing through me. Bones and muscles twisted and lengthened, fur sprouting from my skin. I was a tall man, but my bear stood even taller and was close to one thousand pounds. And he was beyond angry. These men dared to threaten our mate.
“Did you hear something?” Footsteps came closer to the door.
“I’ll check on the woman,” the second man said as a door inside creaked open. “She’s gone—where’d she go? Go outside and find her. Now.”
The door burst open, and a tall, thin man came out holding a rifle. His eyes widened when he saw me, but he recovered quickly and pointed the gun at me. It took me only seconds to cover the distance between us, and his shaking arm caused the shot to go wide. I knocked him to the ground and closed my jaws around his forearm, squeezing until he dropped the gun, his screams filling my ears.
I spun around and barreled through the door to the cabin, looking for the second man, but he wasn’t there. The sound of a scuffle drew me back outside, and I followed the sound of the low, gravelly voice of the man who wanted Chloe dead. “You’ve caused me enough trouble. Time to shut you up.”
My bear tore around the corner of the cabin to find a short, stocky man pointing a handgun at Chloe, who was on the ground, scrambling backward. The man’s head jerked toward me, and I could see the indecision on his face. He switched his aim back and forth between Chloe and me. My bear wanted to charge, but until the man settled on me, I wouldn’t make a move. As long as Chloe was a target, I couldn’t take the risk.
When he squeezed the trigger while aiming at me, I rushed forward. The disadvantage of my size was difficulty dodging. He shot twice before I reached him, but only one landed, hitting me on the front of my shoulder. It wasn’t enough to slow me down as adrenaline coursed through my body.
I threw all my weight on the man, pinning him to the ground. My bear roared, lowering his head and preparing to finish his enemy off. Then I heard Chloe calling to me.
“I’ve got the other gun, Declan.” The sweet sound of her voice had my bear wavering in his action. He wanted blood for the threat to his mate, but he also wanted to see her and know she was safe. She moved closer, pointing the rifle at the man beneath me. “Don’t move.”
Chloe picked up the second gun and moved back, keeping her aim on the stocky man lying on the ground. “I suggest you stay where you are. My mate is likely to kill you if you move. Especially since you were the one arguing that I needed to be eliminated.”
My bear huffed, shaking his head and eyeing the man. The sound of an ATV firing up distracted us, and I rushed back to the front of the cabin in time to see the taller man driving away. Instinct told me to chase him, but I knew my top speed wasn’t fast enough to catch an ATV of that size, especially with a wounded shoulder.
I cursed as I forced myself to shift back to human form and strode over to grab the man on the ground by his collar, hauling him to his feet. Ignoring the pain that shot through my shoulder. “You’re going to tell me about your friend who just left you here.”
The man smirked. “I’m not telling you nothing.”
I pulled back a fist and let it fly. The man groaned at the impact.
“That was a light hit compared to what I can do. You better talk.”
Chloe put her hand on my arm. “It’s okay, Declan.”
“It’s not okay.” Anger burned through me. “He was going to kill you.”
“He was going to try. I got out through the bedroom window while they were arguing. And you arrived just in time.”
I tightened my grip on his collar and tilted my head to see Chloe where she stood behind me. She still held the handgun but had leaned the rifle against the outside wall. She was sweaty,with scrapes on her forearms, and was swaying on her feet. I dragged the man into the cabin and threw open the bedroom door. The window was high on the wall, and tiny. A dresser was below it, all of its drawers stacked on the opposite side of the room.
I shook my head. My mate amazed me.
“They did a number on my camera.” She huffed out a breath. “And my cell phone.”
