“If stalking’s what it takes.” The Iron Claw’s tone held a calm pragmatism that didn’t match the coiled violence radiating off him. “Like Don Quixote said, ‘Love and war are exactly alike. It is lawful to use tricks and slights to obtain a desired end.’”
“Wait.” I held up a hand. “Are you seriously quoting somebody who was known for swinging on windmills at me?”
A loud roar rumbled through the station before he could answer—so deep it reverberated in my bones.
The sound snapped my head up, and the Iron Claw pushed off the wall, his smirk twisting into something sharper.
“Who the hell is that?” he asked, his fists clenching for a fight.
The growl came again, this time louder, right before the station door slammed open.
My eyes widened as the largest black bear I’d ever seen in a village full of them barreled into the station, dragging something limp behind it.
No, not something.
Someone. Another black bear, but much smaller. And wearing a pair of Hoka runners of all things.
The scent of the two of them hit me before my brain could process what I was seeing. Caramel encased in chocolate and toasted hazelnuts. Sweet, rich, and overwhelming.
I recognized the hazelnut scent as Takoda and the other as…
“Holly!” The Iron Claw’s gravelly voice cut through my confusion. “He turned our girl!”
No, wait, what? Takoda had bond bitten a human out of the blue? That didn’t sound like him.
But the faint rise and fall of the unconscious bear’s chest was exactly what the Bear Mountain manual from the nineties said would happen for what it called “Tourist Bites”—highly unethical cases of a bear resident turning the humans that came to visit Bear Mountain on holiday.
It looked like I was no longer the only constable around here in violation of the town’s law, which meant Takoda would have no choice but to let me off the hook.
However, my relief at that realization died when I saw the state of her back left leg, bent at an unnatural angle.
She’s hurt!
My bear reared up inside of me, and I grabbed the bars, a growl ripping out from my throat.
“What did you do?” I snarled at Takoda.
The large black bear didn’t answer. Just let go of Holly’s bear body and lumbered over to the station desk to reach one of its massive paws underneath it.
There must have been a button there I hadn’t seen before—or hadn’t been told about when I reported for duty back in November. The bars of the cell swung open with a groaning whine of metal.
I lunged forward to get to Holly, but the Iron Claw barred an arm across my chest.
“Wouldn’t if I was you. See that bite on her front leg?”
I froze, my gaze fixed on the crescent-shaped indentation on her foreleg. A bond bite.
Rage, sharp and unfamiliar, flared through me, and my bear surged toward the surface, clawing to break free for reasons that had nothing to do with healing my broken nose this time. “He hurt her—then he bond bit her, even though she’s mine!”
“Not just yours.” The Iron Claw’s voice was steady, but his amber gaze stayed locked on Holly. “And he might not be the one who broke her leg. Let’s see what he does next.”
“Next?”
The bear’s glowing red eyes lingered on Holly’s limp form, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest.
Then his gaze snapped to us—sharp, deliberate, and full of intent.
My heart seized. What was he going to d?—
