Page 71 of Bad Blood Bear

She thought back to everything she’d been told about shifter magic. Finally she said, “Alpha wolves can use their magic to help defend their territories against enemies, right?”

“I guess,” Flynn said. “But that takes the power of the pack bond. We don’t have a wolf pack. We don’t even have a real crew.”

Well, if that was all it took, this was a no-brainer. She’d do anything for Tank. Even bow down to an alpha.

“We can fix that,” Lissa said. She went over and stood in front of Flynn, feeling tiny in the face of his enormous presence. “I’ll be your crew. I’ll pledge to you. Just tell me what to do.”

“Now wait a minute,” Flynn said. “We can’t just—”

Damn the man. Didn’t he know how badly he needed this? How badly they all did?

Fury welled up inside her. “Flynn, so help me, if Tank dies because of your commitment issues, I’ll come back here and kill you myself. Now tell me what to do.”

Sloan walked up beside Lissa and touched her on the shoulder. He said in his quiet voice, “Like this.”

He dropped to his knees in front of Flynn and said, “I, Sloan McCall, willingly pledge to the Bad Blood Crew. I submit to you as my alpha.” He bowed his head and bared his neck to Flynn.

Flynn looked panicked. “Seriously?” he said. “You’re officially calling us the Bad Blood Crew?”

Deep inside, Lissa felt a seed of warmth spreading. A seed of hope.

“You had your chance to pick a better name,” she said to Flynn. “This is what happens when you don’t take charge.” She dropped to her knees next to Sloan. “I, Lissa Ramsey, willingly pledge to the Bad Blood Crew. I submit to you as my alpha.” She bared her neck to Flynn as Sloan had.

Blue fire flickered around Flynn’s hands. They all waited as the seconds ticked by. Lissa held her breath.

Then she felt Flynn’s hand settle on the top of her head. His other hand was on Sloan’s head. “I, Flynn, accept you into the Bad Blood Crew. As your alpha, I pledge my loyalty to you.”

The blue fire enveloped them. Lissa felt Flynn’s strong, wild, loyal presence, and warm, soothing energy spread through her. She felt connected to Flynn, connected to Sloan…

Suddenly, red fire burst from her shoulder, and she gasped in pain. She could feel Flynn fighting it, trying to break Brother Damien’s bond, but his power wasn’t strong enough.

Jasmin rose from her place on the couch and knelt in front of Flynn. “I, Jasmin Wildacre, willingly pledge to the Bad Blood Crew…”

As Flynn accepted her pledge, Lissa felt the magical connection expand to include the jaguar. The red fire receded, but it still burned, no matter how hard she tried to fight it.

Finally Xander said, “Fuck it.”

He strode over to Flynn and bowed his head, exposing his neck. “I’m not getting on my knees, motherfucker. But I willingly pledge, blah blah blah, and I submit to you as my alpha.”

Flynn smacked him lightly upside the head. “I accept you into the Bad Blood Crew, Panther. Don’t be an asshole.”

The blue light flared, and a surge of energy encircled them all. Lissa felt the connection—the loyalty and caring that hid beneath their rough exteriors. The red fire emanating from her was pushed back further, and further, until it receded into Lissa’s claiming mark. The pain faded, and she rubbed her shoulder.

“Did we annihilate it?” Xander asked. “’Cause that was actually kind of non-heinous.”

Lissa shook her head. “It’s still there,” she said. “But our bond is stronger than whatever Brother Damien did.”

She looked at Flynn, who was smiling slightly, looking down at his hands.

“I guess you have a crew,” she said.

“Yeah.” She’d felt his heart, strong and true, and she had felt the emotions that surged through him when they pledged. He’d be a good alpha.

Jasmin was watching him, a slight frown between her brows. “What’s wrong?” she asked Flynn.

He was opening and closing his hands experimentally, watching the remnants of the blue flames that still rippled up and down his fingers.

He shook his head, his gaze faraway. “I don’t know,” he said. “The magic feels stronger, but…something’s still missing.”

The all looked at each other.

“Tank,” Lissa said. “Tank’s missing. The crew isn’t complete without him.”

“Well then,” Xander said, looking around the room, “Let’s go get him.”