“Okay, then. See you at the house. But if you’re not back in five minutes, I’m coming back here.” Settling his hat farther onto his head, he spurred his horse into a gallop and rode off.
She wanted to do more for the cow and her calf, but what? Knowing that the ranchers, and most anyone else, might think her crazy, she stood over first one then the other animal and said a small prayer.
The ride back to the house lasted longer than she’d thought it would. It was as though the horror had seeped into her body and taken away all her incentive to hurry.
* * * *
Gunner wasn’t like a lot of werebears who didn’t like werewolves. He figured they were like anyone else. There were good ones and there were bad ones. Jacob Carr was one of the good werewolves from the nearby town of Forever. Still, it wasn’t a welcomed sight to see Jacob standing in front of their house talking with an already irritated Rick.
They were deep in conversation by the time he’d looped his horse’s reins around the hitching bar next to Rick’s horse. They’d take care of their mounts, brushing them down and giving them feed after Jacob left.
“We’re doing all we can. You know that, Rick.”
“Then you’re not doing enough.”
Jacob was a reasonable man, but Gunner had to admit that Rick could get under even the most level-headed man’s skin when he was in a mood. And he was definitely in a mood.
“And what are you bears doing about it?”
“It’s a damn werewolf that’s doing the killing. That makes him your problem, not ours.”
Rick took a step forward, his gaze locked with Jacob’s. For both werewolves and werebears, it was a confrontational gesture. Gunner got between then, then shot his brother a warning look.
“We’re going out every night. Hell, we haven’t had two hours a night to rest or to spend with our new mate. And it’s getting harder to keep things from her.”
“Then why didn’t you tell her?” Jacob’s intense look said it all. “If she’s really your intended mate.”
“Mallory’s the one, all right, and we should’ve told her before now. But I wanted to have enough time to explain it to her, time enough to stay by her side while she tried to accept it. No way would I leave then even if the damn wolf came onto our land again. I wanted to break it to her without all this other shit getting in the way.” Rick growled. “Fuck, I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this.”
“I did tell her, but she didn’t believe me.” Gunner’s own bear twisted his gut, warning him that it was about to break free. “Rick’s right. When I told her she didn’t believe me. It’s going to take time to prove it to her and more time to get her to accept it.”
“It’s none of your damn business anyway how we handle her.” Rick’s inner beast was at the surface. His eyes blazed amber and his growl was filled more with the sound of a beast than with a man’s groan. “Just know this, Jacob. Once we catch up to that fucking werewolf bastard, we’re going to get payback for our losses. After that, you werewolves can have him.”
“Rick”—Jacob’s face hardened—“you know that’ll cause problems. If you get to him first, you hand him over, unhurt. Do you get my meaning?”
Shit. If he didn’t diffuse the situation soon, there’d be hell to pay. It had taken a while, but the werewolf pack of Forever and the werebear clan of Shatland had forged a tenuous truce, hoping to live in peace. The vampires, who for some unknown reason tended to favor the werewolves, had helped in the process. He didn’t want to see a war break out now.
“Jacob, we’re in this together.” He pushed back a snarling Rick. “We’re doing whatever we can to help out, but this is a rogue werewolf.”
It was almost funny to see a werewolf look sheepish. No shifter wanted to see one of their kind go bad. “Yeah, he is. We still don’t have any idea who he is. Or if he’s working with others. I can promise you, though, that he’s not from Forever.”
Rick snorted, a derisive sound that had Jacob pulling back his lips in a snarl. “Like we can trust a werewolf’s word.”
“Damn it, Rick, knock it off. Jacob’s one of the good ones. He keeps his pack in line.”
Rick met his gaze, then backed off. “He got two more of ours.”
Jacob groaned, but at least the sound held more groan than growl. “The town had a meeting about the problem. We’re going to do our best to compensate any werebear who lost stock.”
That was more than he’d expected. He had to give Jacob and his brothers, Jayden and Jackson, respect for that. Being the unofficial leaders of the werewolves in Forever, they’d no doubt had a large part in coming to that decision.