Mating Fever (Morgan Clan Bears, Book 3) Read online

  She’d never had a male care for her. Her own father had forced her to do her own cooking, cleaning, and learning on her own since her mother had passed away. She clamped down on the need to cry for her mother. It’d come to her attention, after she’d been saved by Gunnar and his brothers, that her father had actually killed her mother. She wished she’d been the one to put a bullet between the male’s eyes.

  It didn’t matter. She was safe now, and she had a new family. Her cousins were there, and she would forever be grateful for that. Ransom and Luca had been treated harshly by their uncle, and she hated how they had been threatened with their lives whenever they came back from searching for Ada with no news. They’d been throwing Robert off her trail, giving Ada the chance to escape Anna Claire’s father, who’d sold her to a werebear in Montana.

  “Can I get you anything else?” Gunnar asked, breaking Anna Claire from her thoughts. When she glanced at Gunnar, she saw worry and a bit of anger in his eyes. She wanted to console him and let him know not to worry about her. She had to get over the past on her own.

  “Can I have more chicken?” she asked, resorting back to her old habits of flinching when she asked for anything. “Sorry.”

  “Anna Claire,” Gunnar sighed, sinking down into his seat. “Look at me, honey.”

  He’d called her “honey” ever since the day she’d asked for it to dip her meat into. A soft blush painted her cheeks at the memory. “I’m really sorry, Gunnar. Old habits are hard to break.”

  “I don’t ever want you to ask me for anything,” he stated. “You have your own free will, and if you are hungry, I will provide food for you until you are no longer starved.”

  He didn’t wait on a reply, taking her plate to the kitchenette and plating another piece of chicken. The male scooped up the jar of honey on his way, placing it next to her bowl on the table.

  “Thank you,” she replied and resumed eating.

  After they were done, Gunnar wanted to step outside to check their immediate land. The Morgans lived on about a hundred acres, and they owned three thousand more for their crops. They’d bought the neighboring property last summer when the elders and O’Kellys joined the clan. That gave them enough room to roam in their shifted forms.

  “I’ll go with you if you’ll give me a moment to put on my shoes.”

  “Go on,” he said. “I’ll clean up our dishes while you’re getting ready.”

  The idea of going outside excited her. It’d been a long winter of sleep. She hadn’t left the quarters but one time since mid-December, and that was only to see Ada and her new cub, Thane.

  She met Gunnar at the front door of the main house as he removed the bar that barricaded them inside. It was a safety measure, and she was glad it was there. It kept curious humans from trying to enter the home because it looked abandoned during the winter months.

  “It’s warm,” she announced as he pulled the door open wide. Off in the distance, Anna Claire saw the darkening sky. “Storms are coming, too.”

  “We won’t be out here long,” Gunnar promised. “I just want to check the equipment and our vehicles.”

  She followed him off the porch and tried not to step on any muddy areas in the yard. It must’ve rained already that morning, because there was standing water making puddles scattered across the front part of the Morgans’ land. Well, she guessed it was her land now, too.

  As they rounded the house, Gunnar glanced back at her as she hopped over a puddle. “You need some rubber boots.”

  “I do,” she replied.

  They checked the locks on the barn, and Anna Claire leaned against the side of the building while Gunnar went over a few of their plows. She didn’t know much about the equipment other than what she’d overheard them talking about at the end of the season last fall.

  “Let’s check the cabins while we are out.” Gunnar paused when the thunder rumbled louder. That storm was coming, and it was coming quick. “Come on. We need to hurry or we will get caught in the rain.”

  They hurried to the road leading to the new cabins. There wasn’t a sound coming from any of them, and they figured the elders and O’Kelly brothers were still in their hibernation. “We can check on them next…”

  A loud boom sounded, cutting off what Gunnar was going to say. He grabbed his leg and bent over at the waist. She was about to ask him what was wrong when she looked down and saw blood staining his denim jeans.

  “Run, Anna Claire! Get to the house, now!” he snarled, his eyes changing over to the golden hue of his beast.

  She gasped and started to reach for him when another boom sounded. The roar from Gunnar was enough to drown out her scream as a pain unlike anything else she’d ever experienced bloomed in her shoulder.

  Gunnar’s beast ripped from his human skin, shredding his clothes in the process. The huge beast stood over her tiny form as she fell to the ground. The bear didn’t touch her, but he did use his body as a shield. Voices sounded from the cabins as another gunshot woke her cousins from their winter sleep.

  “Anna Claire!” Ransom yelled as he ran toward them with super speed.

  “Someone is shooting at us,” she screamed, hoping they’d take cover.

  Luca and Ransom ducked low as the next shot sounded, missing all of them. Another round hit Gunnar’s bear, but the beast just roared and jerked from the impact.

  “Move, Gunnar!” Luca shouted, getting the bear’s attention.

  When it turned around, Anna Claire cried out from the amount of blood coating the animal’s left back leg and side. Luca scooped her up and made a run for the backdoor of the main house just as Rex and Drake’s bears leapt from the back porch. They gave him cover to get her inside.

  The moment they were safely tucked away, she tried to get out of his hold to look for Gunnar and the others, but she was pulled back by her cousin. “You can’t go out there. Let them find whoever is shooting at the house.”

  “What is going on?” Ada asked as she entered the living room from her quarters. She gasped when she saw the blood coming from Anna Claire’s shoulder. “Oh, my gods, you’ve been shot.”

  “I’m fine,” she promised and took the rag Luca handed her. “It went through. I can shift and repair it, but the males are outside hunting the people who did this. Gunnar’s been shot, but I think he’s okay.”

  Gods, please let him be okay.

  “He was still standing when we got you out of there,” Luca reminded her. “Ransom is helping them look. I’m staying here with you until we get an all clear.”

  He hurried to the front door, barring it again and closing the blinds. They didn’t want anyone to be able to see inside the house. “Now, let me look at that shoulder.”

  “It’s fine, really,” she promised, pushing the rag harder against the bleeding wound. Luca came over and inspected the area, sucking air through his teeth when he got a look at the exit wound.

  “You need to shift,” he reminded her.

  “We should go to our quarters,” Ada suggested. “I’ll tell Tessa to lock herself and Aria inside until they return. Anna Claire, you really should shift and heal that wound.”

  Ada was right. She needed to shift, and Gunnar’s quarters were large enough she wouldn’t break anything as she shifted back and forth a few times to mend the wound.

  “Luca, come with me to Gunnar’s quarters, please?” she pressed as another shot was heard. She bit her lip to keep from screaming out in fear at the possibility the males had been fatality wounded. Gunnar had already taken two healable wounds, but what about the others? Would they be okay?

  “You go on down and I’ll stay up here,” he replied, pushing her toward the corridor leading to Gunnar’s room. “Everything is going to be okay, Anna Claire. I promise.”

  She nodded and ran toward her room, closing and locking the door as soon as she was safely inside. All she could do was pray to their gods to keep the males safe while they searched for the people responsible.

  She didn’t hear the roar
of the bears as they fell to their knees from the bullets pelting their bodies.

  Chapter 2

  Gunnar’s beast took another hit, but it wasn’t going to stop him from killing the human males who’d been shooting at them from the wooded area across the road. Drake and Rex, despite their injuries, had taken off to loop around the wooded area of their land, coming out on the road just over a small hill. They’d sneak up behind the shooters and take them out if Gunnar and Ransom couldn’t get to them by using the trees in the front yard for cover.

  His beast wanted to run at them, but Gunnar calmed him, telling the animal to be patient for the kill. It would happen, and his brothers would make sure Gunnar was the one to take their lives for harming his female.

  Anna Claire was too perfect to be harmed, and those assholes had put a bullet in her arm. He shook the image of pain that bloomed on her face the moment she’d been hit. Blood splattered from her shoulder, landing on her thin face. The blood stained her pouty lips, and he wanted revenge for that alone.

  Gunnar’s beast snarled at the possible pain she was in, but they both knew her wound wasn’t fatal. Hopefully, Ada and Tessa were watching her as she shifted to heal. He already knew Luca, her cousin, was there to assist.

  The bullets were coming faster, and the beast was losing blood with each hit. There was no way the shooting was coming from game hunters. There were too many shots being fired toward their land for it to be random.

  Keeping his head low, Gunnar’s bear found shelter behind a stack of firewood where it’d been left between two large oak trees. His gaze landed on Ransom. The young bear had shifted, forcing his healing to begin as he used another tree in the yard for cover. In his human form, he could hide easier.

  Loud screams sounded as his brothers attacked the humans, giving Gunnar and Ransom a chance to charge across the street. Ransom shifted and ran with him despite his injuries.

  Cool pavement met his bear’s paws, but the beast didn’t falter as he jumped across the ditch and low fence toward the neighbor’s land. They knew the old man who owned the land. It’d been in his family for fifty years, and he didn’t want anyone past his fence for any reason. Old man Miles didn’t like anyone.

  Gunnar’s beast lifted his nose when the scent of weapons and blood filled the air. Beyond the small meadow, his brothers’ bears were standing over their kills. Three human males lay on the ground with blood oozing from what was left of their throats.

  Gunnar’s beast huffed at the loss of the kill, but he roared with the victory anyway. Anna Claire had been shot, and he was worried for her. But the need to kill the threat outweighed everything.

  “Get the ATV,” Drake ordered as he shifted. “Grab a set of clothes from my mate and tell her the threat is gone.”

  Rex’s bear dropped its head and meandered off toward the house. He kept to the tree line and out of sight of the road until he was clear to pass.

  “Gunnar, go check on Anna Claire,” Drake continued, jerking his chin in the direction of the house. “We will take care of things here.”

  Taking care of things meant they’d bring the bodies back to the house to dispose of them the old way…with fire. They had ways to keep the scent of burning flesh down so the humans wouldn’t be snooping around their lands.

  He followed his brother’s path and came upon the house as Rex was walking out with a stack of folded clothes and the key to the barn hanging from his finger. “She’s okay, but she’s asking for you.”

  Gunnar pushed at his bear, demanding he allow the shift. The beast was exhausted, but knew they needed to shift to heal. He had lost count on how many times he’d been hit before Drake and Rex were able to stop the humans from killing them.

  He accepted a pair of shorts Rex removed from the top of the stack and pulled them on as he limped into the house. Shifting was needed, but he wanted to see Anna Claire first.

  “Gunnar!” she gasped as he entered the house. Gunnar steadied himself for the impact of her running toward him, but it never came. “Oh, my gods!”

  “Shh,” he cooed, thankful she held off on the contact. Touching her was a dream, but that moment wasn’t the right time. Honestly, he didn’t know when a good time would be, either. They hadn’t discussed it in months. “I’m fine. Just need to shift.”

  “You’re still bleeding,” she observed as she swiped at her beautiful brown eyes. He wanted to reach out and steady her hands, but he leaned over just a little to catch her eye.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, ignoring her worry to focus on her. She appeared to have shifted already. He motioned toward her shoulder and waited for her to pull the sleeve up so he could see her wound. A deadly growl bubbled up from his chest when he noticed she hadn’t healed enough. “Come, shift with me. You need to heal more.”

  His order was a little harsh, and it made her flinch, but she nodded and followed him out to the back deck. The beast rumbled inside his head as it prepared for release. The shift was quick, and he turned toward the beautiful female grizzly sitting to his left.

  The bear sniffed the air, looking for any threats. Anna Claire’s scent was stronger with mating season upon them, and it overpowered the oncoming rainstorm. Thunder rumbled off in the distance, but with each flash of lightning, he knew it was getting closer.

  Gunnar fought against his animal’s desire to claim her. He knew it was his natural need to find his mate during mating season. A rumble bubbled out of the bear’s chest as a sign he wasn’t happy at being told to stand down. The human side won out, and the bear rested on his belly while the animal and superhuman abilities worked their magic on healing the gunshot wounds to his body.

  He watched over her as she shifted two more times to finally heal the bullet wound to her shoulder. When she returned to her human form, his female dressed and sat across from him as he worked through the changes to heal himself. For once since the first shot rang out, Gunnar was at peace knowing she was unharmed.

  Gunnar stood quickly from his seat as the sound of a car pulling into their driveway alerted them to a visitor. He held his hand out for the females to stay put as he checked the shotgun by the door. “It’s Gaia?”

  He didn’t sound upset about this Gaia female, but he did act confused. Anna Claire didn’t know who Gaia was, and she prayed the stranger was on their side. They didn’t need any more surprises.

  “I’ve been calling you for the past hour!” The woman stormed through the door as Gunnar held it open wide. She was older, maybe in her forties, with long, black hair. Anna Claire covered a gasp when she took a look at the female’s eyes. She wasn’t anything like them. No, she was different.

  “Yeah, well, we’ve been busy,” Gunnar snarled. “We were just hunted by three humans.”

  The female launched into a volley of curses and covered her face with her hands. “The sheriff had a vision about that happening. That’s why I’ve been calling you.”

  “The sheriff?” Drake rumbled as he stood from his seat at the head of the table. “He has no business in our affairs.”

  “Well, he said the visions are a gift from the gods.” She paused to roll her eyes. “He was sent here to watch over those panthers…not you. That’s my job.”

  “You’re an angel?” Anna Claire breathed as she stared wide-eyed at the female.

  “Ahh, you must be Anna Claire,” Gaia cheered, her anger fled and a smiled replaced it.

  “Yes, ma’am.” She was so confused. What the hell was going on here?

  “I am not an angel,” Gaia replied and came over to hold out her hand. The Morgan brothers stiffened as she approached. There was something about the female that put Anna Claire at ease, but she couldn’t place it.

  Scenting the air, she hummed at the smell of wildflowers and rain. The woman’s eyes calmed and turned a beautiful emerald green. The swirling was kind of weird.

  “Take my hand, child.” Gaia gave her hand a little shake in Anna Claire’s direction. She wasn’t sure if she should, but when the brothers r
elaxed, she went ahead and placed her fingers into Gaia’s. She started to stand, but a vision bloomed in her mind’s eye and she dropped back into her seat.

  “Oh,” she breathed.

  The sight before her was nothing like anything she’d ever seen. The earth in all its glory; beautiful fields of flowers, rain forests, and snow-topped mountains. “You’re Mother Nature…Mother Earth?”

  “Yes, my dear,” she smiled and squatted. “I have been a friend of the Morgans’ since their mother was a young cub. I made a promise to her that I would always watch over her cubs if something should ever happen to her, and I’ve kept that promise up until today.”

  “Don’t blame yourself,” Gunnar urged, coming to her side. He held his hand out for Gaia to stand, and she took it without question. Anna Claire frowned at the ease with which they made contact. She wished she could do that with Gunnar, but she wasn’t ready.

  “What happened?” Gaia asked as she looked around the room.

  Drake filled her in on what had transpired earlier, leaving nothing out. Hearing the story sent shivers down Anna Claire’s spine. The human males were armed to the teeth with ammunition.

  “The humans know you exist now,” Gaia informed them, quieting as the sounds of the beasts growled and roared into the air. Anna Claire felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck at the news.

  “Where are the humans now?” Gaia asked.

  “The bodies are being disposed of as we speak.” Drake’s eyes shot toward the back door, but returned to face the woman who protected them.

  “Let me handle that,” she offered, but held up her hand when the males made a noise of protest. Her eyes did that swirl thing again, and Anna Claire thought it reminded her of the satellite image of a hurricane. “I have my ways.”

  Anna Claire was sure she did. Holy hell! She still couldn’t believe her eyes. The vision she had projected was beautiful, and she hoped one day she could see all those things with her own eyes. Her beast sat up in her mind at the thought of running free in the mountains of Alaska.