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

  “I came to see you about the hunters,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know why I keep seeing them. They have no bearing on my panthers, and everything to do with the Morgan clan.”

  “You need to leave my bears out of your business,” she warned as she took a seat in her chair. She pointed toward the couch and waited for him to take a seat. “They are their own people, and they are ruled differently than the other shifters.”

  “Why is that?” Garrett inquired, shaking his head when she glared at him. “I’m sorry. I’m just curious.”

  “That’s not for us to know,” she replied. Honestly, she had no idea why the grizzlies didn’t need a leader. There had been speculations over the years, but even she wasn’t privy to all of their secrets. “I wasn’t sent here by the gods like you were. I’m here on private business.”

  “Are you ever going to tell me why?” he urged.

  “Nope,” she replied with a smirk. The sheriff didn’t look like he was happy with her short reply. “So, what brings you by?”

  “The hunters,” he sighed. “There are more of them, and I’ve found information on the dark web concerning some hackers. They’ve identified the clans throughout the world, and from my research, it looks like they’ve killed an entire clan in Alaska.”

  “What!” she barked as she came to her feet. The news was a shock. “How did they find out about them?”

  “I really don’t know,” he replied with a shake of his head. Gaia began to pace, and the male stood to console her, but she waved him off. “Gaia, it’s more than a simple hate group in the local area. They’re ganging up and making plans to go after the clans in a mass murder plot of them across the world.”

  “When?” she demanded, feeling the earth rumble beneath her feet. She knew her eyes were swirling, and it wasn’t until Garrett grasped her by the shoulders that she realized there was an earthquake building under her feet.

  “Stop,” he begged, giving her a little shake. “Gaia, you can’t destroy the earth. You’re shaking.”

  “Damn it,” she growled, closing her eyes. She slumped into the sheriff’s arms as the weight of the news fell upon her. “I can’t let them be hurt. I made a promise.”

  “You made a promise? To whom?” he questioned, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

  “That’s none of your business,” she barked as she pushed away from the male. The absence of his touch didn’t go unnoticed. They both stared at the space between them, and Gaia felt an emptiness she’d never felt before.

  “It should be my business, because I keep having visions of your bears,” he growled. The sound was so much like the bears, she came up short for a moment. He cleared his throat and backed away. “We have to work together to protect those near and dear to us, Gaia.”

  “Let me handle the bears,” she replied.

  “Get them the information, and tell them to stay low,” he warned. “Call me if you need me for anything, and I mean it, Gaia.”

  She nodded and watched as the male headed toward the door. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the absence. The male glanced over his shoulder like he was unsure if he wanted to leave but thought better of it and reached for the handle, leaving her with one more order. “Keep yourself safe.”

  And just like that, the sheriff left her alone in her home, wondering what the hell had just transpired between them.

  Anna Claire walked as close as possible to Gunnar as they made their way up the small road the Morgans had cut through their land to the few cabins on their property. The landscape had changed so much since she’d arrived. What was a forest area before, now housed part of her family and old clan. Seeing them every day brought joy to her heart. Having her cousins there helped, but as much support as they’d given her, Gunnar had stood beside her through it all.

  “Thank you,” she blurted as they rounded the barn that housed their farming equipment. The spring day was a little chilly, and she pulled her jacket tighter around her body.

  “For what?” the male asked as the wind blew his long, brown hair around his face. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and that was perfectly fine by Anna Claire. She really wished she could run her fingers across his cheek just to feel the roughness.

  “Being patient with me,” she replied, looking up into his eyes. He was so tall, but she didn’t care. Gunnar was built like a male grizzly should be; tall, thick muscles, and long, flowing hair. She felt an ache between her legs every time he would release his mating scent, too.

  “You don’t have to thank me,” he grumbled, but lifted his nose to the sky. “Your mating scent is strong.”

  “It’s because I want to mate,” she said, knowing she shouldn’t be so forward, but she was. It was well past time for them to mate. With mating season starting, she was feeling the need to find her mate and make him hers. “Mating season is upon us, Gunnar.”

  “I know,” he replied and looked ahead. “And we will discuss that when we get home.”

  They were coming up on her cousins’ cabin. Ransom and Luca exited as soon as Anna Claire and Gunnar were within hearing distance. They still had a little way to walk before they greeted the males, and she wasn’t surprised to see them side by side. Those brothers never went anywhere without each other, and she was glad they were so close. She always wondered how they would be once they were older and found their mates. Would they live together like Gunnar and his brothers? Or would they live apart? Seeing as they were now living in a more welcoming environment, she was sure they’d keep their living arrangements the same once they found their females.

  Anna Claire didn’t speak about their mating after Gunnar shut her down. They both knew it was going to happen, so why wait? It was driving her crazy. She just knew the male was holding back his true nature when he was around her.

  She remembered the day she had arrived and how bad his temper got out of control whenever she was mentioned or seen. It wasn’t until she’d properly healed that he’d calmed down. It hadn’t been that she saw him often. No, Gunnar Morgan had always been out in the woods, running in his bear form or working in the fields. He’d come in only to cook a meal and eat that first day. After that, he had to start interacting with her because he’d offered her his bed.

  The first night she’d tried to sleep in his quarters, she’d tossed and turned from his scent. It was in his sheets and mattress. The damn pillows were worse. It scented of him, and she knew right then and there, Gunnar was her mate. Her bear had claimed him before she ever really knew him.

  That was how matings worked in their world. The animal laid a claim, but the first touch was the deciding factor. Once they made skin-to-skin contact, both would know. The magic that made them who they were sealed the mating with an unexplainable connection.

  Ransom and Luca were doing okay, but they needed food. As they all walked together to check on the elders, Anna Claire stayed quiet during the males’ discussions. The sun was out even though the wind was chilly. She lifted her chin to the sky and absorbed the light. They’d stayed in darkness for almost three months, and she’d missed the warmth.

  “We are working out a plan to keep everyone safe,” Gunnar promised, shaking Anna Claire from her thoughts. “Drake and Rex are putting together a list of supplies for our home, and we need both of you to do the same. Two of us will go into town while the others stay behind.”

  “I’ll stay with the females,” Luca offered. Anna Claire smiled warmly at him. He’d always been protective of the women in the clan. She still hated that their father was so cruel to them and forced them to do his dirty work.

  “As will I,” Ransom offered.

  They checked on both elder couples and waited patiently while they wrote out their lists. Martha sat at her small kitchen table and used a pencil and a piece of paper to carefully construct her list of needs while her mate, Doug, stood behind her. The couple had been together since they were in their early twenties and seeing them at their age gave Anna
Claire hope she and Gunnar would find that happiness to last them for the rest of their lives.

  “Here you go, dear,” Martha said as she handed the list to Anna Claire. The female had been mated for a long time, and she knew better than to hand something off to one of the males.

  “We will get your supplies and be back before nightfall,” Gunnar promised and shook Doug’s hand.

  Luca and Ransom promised to be at the house after they helped Doug with loading up some firewood into their cabin. Martha kissed Anna Claire’s cheek on the way out. “He’s going to be a good male for you, sweetheart.”

  The whispered words were not missed by Gunnar. He tucked his chin and turned away, pretending not to hear the elderly woman’s words. Anna Claire wished she’d known his mother and father. She would’ve made sure to thank them for raising Gunnar to be respectful to the people who were most important in her life.

  They hurried over to the next cabin. Alfred and Peggy Martin were quick with their lists, and Alfred offered to come sit at the house with the females, but Gunnar assured him the O’Kelly brothers were already tasked with protection at the home.

  “Just stay inside until we know more,” Gunnar suggested. “We will return later with your groceries.”

  Thanks and handshakes were passed around, and Anna Claire received another kiss on the cheek from the second elder female. Thankfully, she didn’t whisper any words of encouragement where the males could hear, but she did give Anna Claire a little wink and finger wave when Gunnar had his back turned.

  “Let’s head back to the house,” Gunnar deadpanned as they exited the elders’ cabin. “I don’t like us being out in the open this long.”

  “It’s going to be okay, Gunnar,” she replied, but accepted the coverage he gave her when he moved to her right side, blocking any attacks from across the road. She didn’t know how far guns could shoot, or if the hunters were good enough to sight them in from across the way and down the gravel road leading to the cabins.

  “The closer we get to the house, the better chance they have at taking us out,” he replied. “I should’ve made you stay inside.”

  “But you didn’t,” she huffed.

  “No, I didn’t,” he confirmed with narrowed eyes. “I can’t deny you anything.”

  “Don’t look so upset about that,” she teased and kept pace with the male.

  “If you get hurt…” Gunnar let the statement hang. She wanted to console him again; take him into her tiny arms and push the hair away from his scruffy face.

  Anna Claire wanted to kiss him.

  “You’ll protect me,” she replied, and reached for a hair tie she had around her wrist. Quickly, she bundled her long, blonde hair up into a messy bun and followed him back to the house where Drake and Rex were waiting.

  “Rex is staying here,” Drake stated as soon as they arrived.

  “The brothers will be here shortly, as well,” Gunnar announced as he scooped up the list he’d made earlier in the day.

  Anna Claire felt a pain in her chest when she realized they were about to leave the land. Gunnar glanced at her and suddenly frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “Don’t go,” she breathed, feeling a panic attack brewing. “You shouldn’t leave. What if they’re out there waiting for you?”

  “They’re not,” Gunnar promised, coming as close as he could without touching her. “Breathe, honey. It’s going to be okay.”

  Ada and Tessa rushed over to comfort her. She accepted their hushed words, but it didn’t change the way she felt about the males leaving the lands. It was dangerous, and they had already had one run-in with the hunters. What happened if they were ambushed on the way to town?

  “We have to trust our mates,” Tessa whispered as she took Anna Claire over to the table. Ada fixed her a hot cup of coffee and set it in front of her before taking a seat on her other side. The three females held hands as the males made their plans.

  She pleaded with her eyes as Gunnar stood across the room. Their eyes were locked even though he held a conversation with his brothers. Soon enough, the males were on their way out the door. She felt tears prick at her eyes, but she held strong. Even with the panic attack wanting to rear its ugly head, Anna Claire had to be strong.

  “I think I will retire to my quarters,” she whispered, knowing she was going to break down at any moment. The other females hugged her and let her leave just as her cousins were walking in the door. She didn’t even stick around to greet them.

  Chapter 5

  Gunnar sat in the passenger side of his brother’s truck as they drove toward town. Next to his leg, a shotgun sat loaded with ammo. They didn’t expect any trouble, but with the information they’d been given, the clan needed to be prepared for everything.

  “What I don’t understand is how they found out about us,” Drake grumbled. “We’ve been careful.”

  “I don’t know,” Gunnar sighed. “The sheriff assured us the video of me shifting in that hospital all those years ago was destroyed.”

  “I believe him,” Drake promised, looking both ways at the intersection before making a right on the two-lane highway leading into town. “I wonder if that lawman knows more.”

  “He could,” Gunnar assumed. The sheriff was cunning, and he always had the local panther pride’s best interest at heart. He was there to watch over them, and he had no connection to the bears except for the assistance he had given them to get Anna Claire and the others out of her clan. “I wonder if we should pay him a visit.”

  “If we can find him,” Drake answered. “He’s probably with those cats.”

  Drake was interrupted when his phone rang. Gunnar’s hearing was enhanced enough that he heard everything Gaia was telling him. His brother cursed as he reached the town limits, turning toward their old friend’s home.

  “She said the sheriff stopped by,” Drake rumbled.

  “Let’s find out what he had to say,” Gunnar replied, looking out the window. Knowing there was more information relieved him, but it also frightened him. Knowing Anna Claire was out of his grasp agitated his beast. The bear prowled around in his mind, demanding they return to their lands. Gunnar pushed at his bear’s mind, forcing it to recess.

  “Come in,” Gaia said the moment she pulled the door open. Gunnar hadn’t been to her secluded little home in a long time. It was during his childhood that his mother would bring him and his brothers to the female’s home so she could watch over them when they weren’t in school and their parents were working the crops.

  “What did Garrett say to you?” Drake asked as they all took a seat in her living room. Her house was small, and she lived in one of the oldest areas of town. Back in their youth, this was the place to be. The area was wooded, and the homes on the tiny roads were tucked away, barely able to be seen from a passing car. Gaia loved her little cottage, and she never expressed a desire to move away. Gunnar assumed since she was nestled amongst the trees with a lake behind her home, Mother Nature was content.

  “He came by earlier and told me he’d had another vision,” she sighed. “There are hunters all over the world, coming together on the dark web. There is a hacker who has given all of these…haters the locations of grizzly clans all over the world. Somehow, they found out about your kind.”

  “That’s impossible!” Drake exploded, his eyes glowing golden from the presence of his beast. Gunnar reached out and placed his hand on his brother’s arm to calm him. He felt the rippling of his beast just under his skin.

  “Now is not the time to shift, Drake,” Gunnar warned.

  “He said there may be more coming, but at this time, he hasn’t seen any visions of trouble coming for you until the first of June. There is time to make a solid plan,” she offered, calming Drake enough that he took a seat on the couch.

  Gunnar’s automatic reaction was to glance at all of the open windows in her home to check for anyone who might be watching them. Gaia had them wide open, letting the fresh spring air flow through the house.

>   “I don’t want him in our business unless it’s necessary,” Drake growled low in his throat.

  “Well, I don’t think you have an option now,” Gaia scolded. “He is the one seeing the visions, not me. You’re going to have to set aside your hatred of the sheriff and let him assist you on this, Drake.”

  “I don’t like any of this,” he replied.

  “We should call him and have him meet us at the house after we grab supplies,” Gunnar suggested. “I need to get back on our lands soon, Drake.”

  Drake knew what Gunnar was feeling. His big brother had felt the same way once he’d mated Tessa. It was the bear’s nature to shield and protect, feeling more at home in their territory than anywhere else.

  “Call him, Drake,” Gaia pleaded, taking his large hands into hers. “I want to protect you, but I don’t know how. Garrett’s assistance will help me keep the promise I made to your mother.” Gunnar’s heart tightened at the mention of his mother. Gaia’s eyes welled up with tears, but she quickly wiped it away when both males stood.

  “We are going to be safe, Gaia,” Gunnar promised. The woman had been their protector since their parents had been killed, and she’d always been there for them. “I know it’s hard for you to see anything happen to us, but our father taught us well about protecting our lands and mates.”

  “Speaking of mates,” she said past her tears. “How is Anna Claire?”

  Gunnar smiled at her because he saw the same twinkling in her eyes that she had when Tessa and Ada had come into their lives.

  “She’s amazing,” he blushed.

  “Have you made an honest woman out of her yet?” she pressed.

  “Ah, no,” he said shyly.

  “Well, you better hurry up,” she tsked, looking at her watch. “Spring isn’t going to be here for long.”

  “I know,” he chuckled. “Mating season just started. Give me a little time.”