Isaiah shook his head. “No worries. You won’t need clothes. Just get us close. We’ll handle it.”
Both men turned around to face the darkness.
Melinda quickly divested herself of everything she wore, piled it on the front seat of the truck, and shifted faster than she’d ever done before.
When she padded up to Wyatt and Isaiah, she found neither man impressed. Instead they were both surveying the area.
“Ready?” Wyatt asked.
She cocked her head to one side and nodded. How the hell was she going to communicate with them? It wasn’t terribly unnerving that these two strangers knew about her kind. It happened sometimes. Maybe they had a relative mated to a shifter. Anything was possible.
What was making her nervous was the fact that she was certain there was more to it.
And holy mother of God…
She sat back on her haunches and drew in a deep breath when both men leaped into the air and transformed into something else in just seconds. If she had blinked, she would have missed it.
She held her breath for several seconds.
Bears. Grizzly bears, if she wasn’t mistaken.
Holy shit.
“Ready?” Wyatt repeated into her head. Hearing his voice made her almost shit herself.
She didn’t move a muscle. She couldn’t.
Bears? There are other shifters?
“Come on, wolf girl. Your tongue is hanging out. Tuck it back in and let’s go.” Isaiah nodded toward the trees and took off at a fast trot. Run? Gallop?
Jesus.
She finally found the ability to command her paws to move and followed Isaiah. Wyatt took up the rear.
“You guys… You…” She tried to communicate with them, but fell short, not sure what to say. The enormous brown bear in front of her kept moving. Wyatt wasn’t kidding; they were fast. She knew she could run faster than the average bear, but who knew about shifters? If they were anything like wolf shifters, they were stronger than their animal counterparts. Better diet. Longer lifespan. Access to medical care. All the things wild animals lacked.
They ran hard. Time was of the essence.
She gathered her thoughts and started firing questions. “Your clothes?”
“They shift with us,” Wyatt communicated. “It’s a bonus. When we arrive, we can shift back, handle things, and leave.”
“They shift with you? That’s incredible. How is that possible?”
Isaiah fielded that one. “We’ve been around longer. Evolved more. Adapted.”
“Longer than what? Wolves?”
“Yep.”
“My head is spinning. How did I not scent you?”
Wyatt communicated again. “We have existed centuries longer than your species. When I say we’re more evolved, I mean it. We have blocking capabilities you’ve only dreamed of. We can conceal our scent from anyone, including your species. We project ourselves as human even to your kind.”
“No one knows? I mean no wolves?”
He glanced at her. Was he laughing? “A few know. They’re sworn to secrecy.”
A few? Who? Her own people? She was about to ask when Isaiah interrupted her thinking.
He moved to one side to let her pass. “You take the lead. You truly do know this territory better than us. When we get close, let us know, and we’ll shift and hike into the group.”
“Okay.” She couldn’t see how they were going to explain themselves under any circumstances, but the choices were limited. All she could do was defer to them and hope for the best.
She could see the campfire before she got close enough to stop. Thank God the group was exactly where Melinda and Laurie had last seen them. When she skidded to a halt, the bears did too.
“Wait right here while we speak to them,” Wyatt commanded. He lifted onto his hind legs and jerked his entire body as though shaking the bear right off him. Seconds later, he stood in human form in the same clothes he’d had on when they left.
Amazing.
“I’m serious,” he said out loud now. “I do not want to face the wrath of your mates by returning to civilization without you.”
She nodded. “I’m not stupid.” Did he understand her communication even in human form? Insanity.
“Let’s go,” Isaiah said. “I’m betting these aren’t the only people we need to rescue tonight.” He led the way through the trees with Wyatt on his heels.
The second they were out of sight, Melinda blocked herself from all others except her mates and called out to them. “You will not believe this.”
“Thank fuck,” Trace responded. “Do you know how worried we are?”
“Where are you?” Keegan asked.
“Near the biologists. Wyatt and Isaiah went to speak to them.”