“We’ve got everyone on the lookout, including the friendly police. We’ll find him and Justin.”
Justin was a local from a strong shifter family. He’d gone missing late this afternoon. “God, I hate spring,” Carl muttered. No matter what they did to make it easier, a bear’s first shift was an incredibly dangerous time. The kids had no control as their bears ran amok and people tended to shoot wild grizzlies.
“You need to marry Tonya,” Alan said in all seriousness. “It’ll quiet the grumbling in the clan and you’ll get laid every spring.”
And right there was the opening he’d been waiting for. And yet, now that it came to it, Carl hated every word he had to say. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.” It was, after all, why he’d summoned Alan in the first place.
“Time for wedding announcements?” his brother said with a grin.
“I’m making her my beta.”
Alan didn’t respond at first beyond a quick snap of his chin. He was completely human, but he’d learned some grizzly habits, including the angry jut of his jaw and the tensing in his shoulders. And that submissive tilt to his head was completely gone.
Even that small act of defiance had Carl’s grizzly in an uproar. Carl had to grip the sides of his chair to keep himself from responding to the visual challenge. Alan was a good fighter for a human, but he’d be mincemeat against Carl’s bear. And, anyway, all the man needed was time to process the statement. To realize that it was the best solution all around.
He didn’t.
“I have served well as your beta,” he said, his voice tight and hard. “You handle the bear part, I’ve got the paperwork. It’s not glorious, but it’s damned necessary, and you know it.”
“I do.” Alan was a lawyer, and a damned fine one. He also had an organized mind and had kept the clan running when no one else could.
“But you think Tonya can do better.” It wasn’t a question.
Carl snorted. “Not a chance.” He leaned forward, straining to keep the gesture nonthreatening. His grizzly did not like anyone questioning something he’d already decided. But the man knew he had to be diplomatic. “The beta position is about appearing powerful?—”
“And I don’t shift, so I’m out of the clan?”
“Like hell!” he snapped. It was all he could do to keep it from a roar. As it was, he jerked out of his chair. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Becca twitch in fear, but that was more reaction than he got from Alan. The man hadn’t even flinched. Fortunately, that meant he kept his neck exposed in a submissive gesture. “You are a Gladwin, and I’ll kill anyone who says anything different.”
Carl let the statement hang in the air. The man in him was terrified at that statement, but the grizzly wouldn’t let him take it back. He would indeed kill anyone who dared suggest his brother wasn’t a Gladwin, and Alan’s expression softened when he realized that truth. But he wasn’t completely mollified as he knotted his hands into fists.
“Tonya won’t do the work of keeping the clan assets together. She’s got a job, and even if she didn’t, that isn’t in her wheelhouse.”
“Which is why I’d like to offer you a job. You’d be a well-paid employee of the Gladwins.”
“You’re a shifter clan, not a corporation.”
“We’re a shifter clan,” he emphasized. “And your first task will be to create a legal entity for us. It’s long past time for that to happen.” He pushed a piece of paper into Alan’s hand. It was the job offer, complete with a generous salary.
Alan didn’t even look at it. Instead, his gaze went out the window in the direction of Chicago. Carl knew he had opportunities there, ones that had nothing to do with shifters or clan politics. Once, his brother had wanted to practice law in the big city, handling clients worth millions of dollars. But he’d turned those offers down to stay in Gladwin and help Carl as Max. Now would be the time for Alan to spread his wings and explore what he could do in the human world. But Carl didn’t want to lose his brother. And the grizzly in him would not release an asset as valuable as the only trustworthy lawyer for miles.
“Don’t leave. Not yet.” The man in him wanted to soften the statement. He didn’t want to order his brother to accept the job, but his grizzly issued commands and would not politely ask clan members to stay loyal. But Alan deserved all the respect he could give, which is why he forced himself to add one more sentence through clenched teeth. “Think about it.”
Alan didn’t answer. His golden brown eyes churned with emotions he wouldn’t express, and Carl’s grizzly wouldn’t let him reach out in any way that would make him less dominant. Which left the brothers exactly nowhere. So it was just as well that Alan dipped his chin in a nod before backing out of the doorway.
One problem down, Carl thought as his bedroom door slid shut. Next? His gaze went back to Becca and the thick layer of guilt suffocating him since he’d knocked her out. He hated fighting women in general, but taking down Becca had been extra disastrous.
She was everything he valued in a woman. It wasn’t just her body, which was lush enough to make his mouth water. No, it was the way she protected Theo. He’d been watching her since the first day she’d brought Theo to camp after her sister died. She’d been matter-of-fact as she settled him in the dorm. And once she’d gotten him squared away, she’d handed him a big box of homemade cookies to share and had kissed him good-bye. No muss, no fuss. Almost brusque. But he’d seen the way she’d teared up at her car. He’d noticed that she sent a letter daily and new baked goods often enough to make Theo the most popular kid at camp. And best of all, she’d overnighted him sweatpants when the weather had turned unexpectedly cold.
In short, she thought about the kid without smothering him. A nurturing woman who fought harder than most animals when threatened. Both bear and man in him had wanted to bend her over the minute he’d seen her in her kitchen surrounded by Cinderella castles. And none of that assuaged his guilt at knocking her out and carrying her to his bed in full view of everyone. Damn it, this was not how to ease a woman into the shifter community.
And while he tortured himself with guilt and lust, she slitted open her pale blue eyes, probably trying to sneak a peek. He’d been waiting, and so their gazes locked immediately.
“Take it slowly,” he told her, his voice as soothing as he could make it. “That tranquilizer dart was meant for someone twice your size, but it was all I had on hand.”
Her eyes widened at that and the fear scent spiked, but she kept her voice calm. Pretty damn impressive. “Where am I?” she asked.
“My bedroom.” She abruptly paled, and he rushed to explain. “It’s spring, so the whole community comes together to watch for the new shifters. That means we’re packed to the gills and there isn’t an extra bedroom. I’m planning to sleep in the cabin with the kids, so you’ll have privacy, but I didn’t want you to wake up alone.”
