“Uh... Constable Takoda?”
Dammit. Someone had heard me. One of the Outsider Red Twins had wandered into the station—this time in human form.
“SergeantTakoda,” I corrected. The only good thing that had come out of Björn’s appointment to my detachment was the rise in title.
Straightening up, I forced myself into the rigid posture I always maintained on duty, folding my hands behind my back to project as much authority as I could muster—despite wearing jeans and a button-up thermal I’d snagged from my quarters instead of my usual Red Serge uniform.
And being on the wrong side of these bars.
Frigging Hawk...
“What are you doing in there?” The Red Twin scrunched his forehead, stopping a few feet outside the holding cell.
“What areyoudoing in my station?” I countered, my tone sharp. “Come to follow up on this morning’s conversation about last night’s bar fight?”
“That must’ve been my brother,” he said, taking a cautious step forward. “I’m on duty at the bar tonight, but I wanted to check in with you about something that happened an hour ago. I was at the Barrington Super Center, picking up groceries, when two Iron Claws came right up to me. One of them shoved my shoulder and said we needed to talk.”
My jaw tightened. Iron Claw sightings at Barrington’s weren’t uncommon—their clubhouse sat just a few miles away, strategically positioned at the base of the mountain in the abandoned mining works. Usually, though, they left my people alone. It was an unspoken rule—especially during hibernation season. The few of us who stayed awake didn’t bother them, and they didn’t bother us while the rest of the town’s bears were at their most vulnerable.
“What did he say?”
The Other Red Twin winced. “He said he wanted me to giveHorsea message. That’s you, right?”
The nickname made my bear growl low inside me. I’d worried there might be fallout after killing one of theirs, and now it seemed my suspicions were right.
“Spit it out,” I snapped.
“They said, ‘Tell Horse he doesn’t own the mountain—we do.’” The Other Red Twin’s eyes flared as he relayed the message. “Then he made a sign like this.…”
He held up one hand, palm forward, spreading his fingers wide.
Dammit.
It had been a while since any of the Iron Claw had put a red handprint on a Bear Mountain home—basically, marking whoever was inside for deletion. Still, recognized the message for what it was: a direct threat. A promise of violence.
They needed to be dealt with before someone got hurt. Specifically, Holly.Holly.
But my bear reared at just the thought of her name, letting me know there would be no traveling to the bottom of the mountain. Much less doing anything that would delay us going to the bear he’d bonded behind my back.
“Get into the station computer,” I ordered the Other Red Twin. “You need to get me out of here.”
The grizzly hesitated, his brow furrowing. “Uh, I’m not exactly trained on?—”
“Now,” I snapped, glaring at him with my one good eye.
That command got him moving. He scurried over to the desk, and I gritted my teeth as I walked him through accessing the cell’s keypad log.
A few excruciating minutes later, the lock clicked open, and my bear tore out of the cage the second the cell door swung wide. Without so much as a thank you, I charged through the station, past the confused red grizzly, and into the freezing night.
Holly was out there, and nothing—not even the Iron Claws—could keep my bear from her.
No, the beast inside me wasn’t going to let me do anything useful until this estrus business with Holly was done.
I set my jaw.Alright, new plan.…
First order of business: take charge of the chaos this unsanctioned maul had undoubtedly descended into without me at the helm.
Second order of business: handle Holly’s estrus per protocol—ensure no one loses control again while we each take efficient, orderly turns with her until her cycle concludes.
