Don’t you dare growl at me, you overgrown furball. I’m your Second, so I’m staying. Now, tell me yourplan.
He blinked atme.
What’s your plan? Besides biting my head off for trying to help you?When he still hadn’t said anything, I added,You do have a plan, don’tyou?
He looked at me, then at the bear, then back at me.My plan was not involvingyou.
Then you need a newplan.
He blew out a long, annoyed breath that ruffled the fur atop my ears.Squirrel. . .
I smirked, even though the situation was far from funny. Zack’s test may not have been an impossible one, but it held its fair share ofrisk.
Liam’s eyes flashed with an idea.When the bear hits the ground, corral him,okay?
My brow felt as though it was puckering—maybe it was.Are you planning on gnawing on the trunk until it tips the bearout?
He smiled, and then his rubbery lips retracted and his teeth shortened and the fur on his body became finehair.
I yipped,Are you crazy?He wouldn’t understand me now that he was back in skin. I shoved my head into his shins to make him backup.
He was going to face off with a bear inskin?
I shouldered himagain.
Ness!Stop.
I froze, momentarily baffled by the fact that he could speak into my mind even though we were in different forms. Taking advantage of my bewilderment, he stalked around me toward the trunk under the watchful gaze of the River pack, which had retreated so far back all I could see were lambent eyes and moonlitforms.
The sound of bark scraping had me gaping back at the tree. Muscles twisted underneath Liam’s dirt-flecked thighs. He proved agile, and soon, he’d reached the first large branch. He balanced on it, then reached over and broke off a smaller one. The bearbarked.
Because he’d apparently not read the same nature guides I had, Liam decided it would be a good idea to poke the massive animal. The bear’s bark turned into a blood-curdling growl. Liam poked him again. This time the bear flipped around and caught the branch between his fangs before shaking his head until he’d ripped the stick from Liam’sgrasp.
Liam reached for another branch at the same time as the bear unhooked his paws from the trunk and launched himself on Liam, sharp teethbared.
Liam swung down to the ground just as the bear hit the branch. It broke free, and the bear fell, hitting the forest floor with a heavy thump. Instead of stunning him, the creature sprang up. Liam started to shift back into fur, but the bear charged. I blinked out of my daze and raced toward the bear before it could jump myAlpha.
Heart pinioned to my spine, I crouched and leaped, my claws finding purchase in the bear’s back. The animal growled and climbed onto its hind paws, swiping at me as though I was a pesky flea. I ducked my head and slid down the long expanse of black fur, gouging hisflesh.
He let out a feral bellow and landed on his front paws so hard it knocked my claws right out of his skin and sent me flailing to the ground. I blinked up at the sky that seemed brighter and whiter, as though the moon had bloated andspread.
The sound of battle had me blinkingagain.
Liam!
I rolled onto my stomach and jolted onto all fours, the world spinning and fragmenting. I shook my head to clear my vision. Two black shapes collided right in front of me. I backed up, and they crashed in a heap right at my paws. For a terrible moment, I thought the bear had Liam pinned underneath him, but then my eyesight finally cleared, and I saw the distinctive yellow eyes of my Alpha staring down at the bulkybeast.
Heaving with rushed breaths, Liam sank his fangs into the bear’s neck. A wet pop sounded, followed by the thump of the bear’s lifeless head banging against the rich soil. Muzzle dripping with blood, Liam picked his head up, leveled his victorious gaze on me, then jutted his neck heavenward and howled histriumph.
14
“Istill can’t believeyou poked a bear,” I told Liam after I’d wormed myself into myclothes.
Dried bear blood was smeared on one corner of his tipped mouth. The kill, or maybe the fight, had buoyed my Alpha. His neck was straighter, his shoulders broader, and his gaze brighter. He radiated adrenaline andpride.
It had been thrilling and terrifying. I was actually slightly terrified of how thrilling it had felt to bring down thebeast.
“Says the girl who threw herself on hisback.”
