They ended the meeting then, their minds on what Oliver had seen and on what the coming months would entail. While she wanted to ask her brother exactly what he had seen, she knew he’d said exactly what he’d meant to. If he’d wanted to elaborate on the vague statements of blood and death, he would have.
Instead, she walked silently beside him on the way to pick up her boys before they headed home. The others had their own plans for the evening, but she wanted to let her bear out to play with her sons, then make dinner and pretend, if only for the night, that everything was okay. She’d ignore the metal at her neck and the ink on her arm—there was nothing more she could do.
“Would you like to go for a run?” she asked, her voice devoid of emotion. She didn’t know what Oliver needed, and frankly, her head hurt from dealing—or rather, not dealing—with Cole during the meeting.
Oliver shook his head. “Maybe not a run, I don’t have that kind of energy today. But maybe we can shift with the boys and roll around. I know they already shifted today, but they are probably anxious and could use another shift to get out all that excess energy.”
Anya smiled softly. “I think they could use another shift, as well. This time when I’m actually there and they aren’t trying to sneak out of the house.”
Oliver wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she sank into her brother’s side. “You’re a good mom, Anya. Never forget that. Okay?”
She nodded, though something inside her told her that this wasn’t just her brother speaking, but the Foreseer, as well. What that meant, she didn’t know, but she’d hug her sons as soon as she could just in case.
Lucas and Owen bounced toward her, full of sugar and smiles as they left the maternals. Anya thanked the bears who’d watched her cubs and promised she’d help them soon. She had a shift with them later that week, but sometimes on her days off, she enjoyed watching the babies with the others. As a dominant, she’d gone on patrols in the old compound, and now she would here, as well. Plus, she did different shifts with each of the submissives, maternals, and other lower ranking sections of the Pack. Since they were not allowed to leave the den, they had to make do with what they were given by the humans. Each faction was critical to the Pack’s survival as a whole and functioned on a level that ensured their survival.
Her boys ran around her legs as they made their way home, laughing and asking questions about where she and Oliver had been. They lived right on the edge of the cat’s territory, hence why her boys saw so much of Cole. She figured that soon, once again, the lines of who lived where would blur. There just wasn’t enough room to be picky.
“Your uncle Oliver and I want to shift and play. How does that sound?”
Lucas jumped up and down, waving his fists in the air before stripping off his clothes. Well, at least he’d bothered to do that first, instead of trying to shift before disrobing.
Owen smiled at her, so sweet and adorable. “We can shift, too?”
She ran her hand through his hair. “Of course, baby. Let’s play.”
Owen bounced on his feet and quickly joined his brother in bear form. Oliver rolled his shoulders and shifted as well, letting the boys jump on his back as soon as he was done. Anya rolled her eyes as Lucas tried to jump on top of Oliver’s back. Since her boys knew not to use their claws while playing, the twins weren’t succeeding at their goal to take Oliver down.
She quickly took off her clothes and shifted, the sharp burn and ache that came with each shift washing over her. It wasn’t a burst of sparkles to shift, but it also wasn’t the grotesque imagery that old movies made it out to be.
As soon as she was in her grizzly form, Owen bounded toward her, his little paws batting at her side. She yawned, pretending she didn’t see him. Lucas, tired of Uncle Oliver not leaning down so he could crawl all over him, rolled toward Anya, a little bear grin on his face.
Seriously, her bear cubs were the cutest things ever.
She went down to her belly, knowing the boys would get frustrated soon if she didn’t play along. They weren’t hunters yet. One day soon they’d learn exactly what they’d need to get their prey, but for now, it was all about play.
Owen and Lucas crawled on top of her, their little padded paws digging into her fur. They didn’t use claws, but she knew they wanted to. Little nicks and scrapes wouldn’t necessarily hurt, but they needed to learn safety so they didn’t hurt other little cubs when they weren’t paying attention.
She let them play a bit longer then froze as a spicy scent hit her nose. The boys scrambled off of her, and she turned, seeing Cole in his jaguar form standing on his side of the territory by his tree. The boys bounced toward him, letting out little bear growls. Since Cole wasn’t in the tree this time, they couldn’t play with his tail, so they nudged into his side. He met Anya’s gaze for a moment as if asking permission. She gave a nod, though it was awkward in bear form. Saying no would only hurt the fragile relationships her boys held within their new den. If she pushed them away, they might fight harder to play with the cat. While they weren’t allowed to sneak out of the house to play, she was right there, and the boys were still under her direct supervision. It may have grated on her that Cole was there and had interrupted a family moment, but honestly, there wasn’t enough space in the den to be as frustrated as she was. Cole was in his territory. It wasn’t his fault that her babies wanted to play with him. Though she’d find a way to blame him if she could since he bothered her so much. And that bothered her more.
Owen ran toward her, nudged her side, and played a bit more before going back to Cole, who had rolled on his back to let the boys nuzzle into his stomach. It would have looked weird to the human population to see a jaguar playing with two bear cubs, but for shifters, this was how it had been all those years ago. It may have been done as punishment, but in reality, putting the three shifter groups together might one day lead to something significant…something great.
She let the boys play a bit longer, aware that Oliver had shifted back to human form and gone inside. From the smell of cooking meat and spices, he’d started making tacos for dinner. Her stomach growled loudly, and if she’d been in human form, she knew she’d have blushed. Thankfully, her fur hid that display of embarrassment. Cole looked as if he’d have raised a cat brow at the sound if he could have. Yes, she was a bear. A big bear. She ate a lot. Sue her.
Cole stood up and shook his body, then nudged her sons toward her. She let out a rumble of thanks and led her sons back into the house, doing her best not to look behind her at the cat that bothered her in more ways than one. She didn’t know what it was about that man, but he always set her nerves on end.
By the time she shifted back, her boys were in their clothes and bouncing around Oliver as he finished cooking dinner. Anya rolled her eyes and helped them set the table. She and Oliver took turns cooking since neither of them particularly liked it. She’d be forever grateful that he’d given up so much to help her raise her boys. She could have relied on the Pack for help, and she had, but it wasn’t the same as having someone move in and help change diapers and deal with midnight feedings. Others had mates and lovers to help. She’d had no one. She’d dealt with the stigma of falling for a human—an SAU led human at that—and had learned that not everyone would forgive her for having feelings for the wrong man. But none of those people judged her sons for the blood that ran in their veins. And for that, she would forever turn the other way as others judged her. They loved her sons, and that was all that mattered.
After dinner, she forced the boys to take a bath and then stuffed them in their pajamas. Three stories later, they were conked out in their aging bunk beds. Oliver had said he’d build better ones for her, but with the lack of materials, she knew they’d have to make do for a while. Oliver slept in the main bedroom, and she had the smaller office-turned-bedroom. He’d argued with her for a while over it, but since he was forced to live with two growing cubs, he was allowed to have the bigger space.
She fell asleep quic
kly after a long day of worrying and shifting, though that damn cat was never far from her mind. He invaded her dreams; that spicy scent overwhelming her until she woke up early the next morning, her body slick with sweat and her thighs coated with her orgasm.
Holy hell.
The damn cat had given her an actual wet dream.
She needed to go on a run for real this time. Or maybe find a willing bear, who didn’t mind that she was tainted goods. On that depressing thought, she quickly got ready for the morning, showering and brushing her teeth even though her body wanted to go back to sleep and have another dream.
As she was walking out to the kitchen for coffee, she inhaled, wanting the sense of family to wash over her senses and push out the weird dreams. Only, when she took a deep breath, the scent of her boys wasn’t as strong as it should have been. In fact, she could only scent the fact that they lived in the house, not that they were actually in the house.
Though she started to panic, she tamped down her bear and ran into the boys’ room, only to find two rumpled beds and an open window.
No. No no no no. They hadn’t been kidnapped or taken from her home. They could have opened the window for air and went into Oliver’s room. Only that didn’t account for the lack of scent.
Maybe they’d snuck out again and went to that damn cat.
Her hackles rose.
That fucking cat.
She pounded on her brother’s door. “Oliver! Wake up. I can’t find the boys. I’m going to Cole’s to see if they went there.”
Oliver opened the door as soon as she turned down the hall and grunted. “Shit. Okay, I’m right behind you.”
She didn’t bother to look at him, her mind on the horrors of what could happen if she were wrong about where they were. But she couldn’t be wrong. Her little boys were just on their way to Cole’s. That had to be the answer because she couldn’t deal with the alternative.
She stomped toward his tree, following the faded scent of her little boys. Damn it. They’d gone after the cat. The fucking cat. Only when she got to the tree, she didn’t see Cole or his cat self.
She huffed out a breath. With all the scents of the other shifters in the area, and the fact that they’d all been out here the previous night, she couldn’t tell if her boys had been there that morning or not. She’d have a better sense of smell in her bear form, but Cole, as a Tracker, would have the best sense.
Knowing she was getting desperate, she ran to Cole’s home, pounded on the door, and yelled his name.
He opened it, his hair disheveled, and a pair of jeans riding low on his hips. He hadn’t bothered to button them, and she could see the trail of hair from his belly to the dark patch that should have been hidden behind his jeans. It looked as if he’d pulled the pants on in a hurry, but she couldn’t care about that right then.
“Are Owen and Lucas here?” she asked, knowing she sounded frantic.
His eyes widened a fraction, and she wanted to scream. “No. I was sleeping. I don’t know where they are.”
“They have to be here, Cole. They aren’t at home. They aren’t at the tree. They have to be here.” Her heart raced, and she knew she was screaming and probably waking up the entire den, but she didn’t care.
Worry entered his gaze, and she almost broke. This wasn’t the lazy cat; no, this was a man far from lazy. And that scared her more than anything.
“Where are my babies, Cole?”
He let out a breath and pushed past her, grabbing her hand along the way. “I don’t know, Anya, but we’re going to find them. Got me? We’re going to find them.”
She held on to his hand like a lifeline, her bear roaring inside. If she let the bear out, she’d rampage and not be able to think. But the fact that Cole had said they’d find them made her want to calm slightly, as well. She shouldn’t rely on him and she knew it, but if she didn’t, she’d miss something—miss finding her children.
The lazy cat wasn’t so lazy anymore, and now she needed him more than she thought possible.
Her babies were gone.
And now this momma bear needed to find them, and that meant death for any in her way. Anyone.
Chapter 4
Cole’s cat scraped at his chest, but he ignored it, knowing he needed to stay calm for Anya. He’d seen the panic in her gaze, and he did not want to be on the receiving end of her snap if she went bear on him. He hadn’t been involved in whatever the hell was going on, but he was the easiest target.
The cat wanted to hunt down anyone who dared hurt those cubs. It was such an intense reaction that he was slightly startled. He’d have fought for any of the shifters’ young, but this felt different. He didn’t want to think about why it was different, so he shoved those thoughts aside and looked down at his hand clutching Anya’s.
Mistake.
Big fucking mistake.
Her eyes widened, and he had to swallow hard. He shouldn’t have grabbed her hand, shouldn’t have touched her. Not when she was about ready to blow, and frankly, not ever. She hated him. Or perhaps hated everything he represented when it came to the changes in her life. Again, he pushed those thoughts from his mind, knowing he needed to focus. He was the Tracker for his Pack, and though she wasn’t truly Pack being Ursine and not Feline, she was still in his den. There was no way he’d let his duties fall by the wayside because he didn’t know how to take whatever feelings were going on in his mind right then.
“Let’s go to where they should have been first. Then I’ll shift if I have to. I have better senses in my cat form.”
She nodded, her jaw setting. “I know. That’s another reason I’m here. I can’t make out their scents with all the new ones. I should be able to find my babies easily since they are mine, but with the overwhelming scents of so many other shifters we haven’t been near before, my bear can’t do it.”
That must have killed her to admit. No shifter wanted to show weakness—especially a female with regard to her cubs. He also didn’t blame her bear for the inability to sift through so many different scents. As it was, Cole was afraid he’d have to shift to his cat pretty soon to discern the boys’ specific scents among so many others. It didn’t help that the boys had played near his tree so often that their scent had practically embedded itself in his territory.
The fact that his cat actually liked that was something he’d have to explore later.
“I get it,” he finally said as he led her back to her place. “We’ll all get the hang of this. Of course, when we do, the humans will probably change something else.” He was trying to keep her mind off the terror of what could be wrong, but he could tell it wasn’t working. Her eyes were wide, but she was trying to track the boys, as well.
As far as he could tell, however, the kids hadn’t been this way early that morning. He could be wrong though since they may have come another way to sneak out of the house. Only he didn’t think the boys were that undisciplined to break the rules so soon after getting into trouble in the first place. That was what worried him. They might be little and want to explore, but they wouldn’t risk the wrath of their mother the day after getting reprimanded.
The scent of an adult bear filtered through the air, and Cole looked over at Anya’s brother. The man wore an old pair of sweats and a shirt he’d put on inside out, probably changing in a hurry to begin the hunt. It was early enough in the morning that most everyone would be asleep. Cole would wake them up in a heartbeat though if he needed the den on full alert.
“You find them?” Oliver asked, his brows drawn.
Cole shook his head. “I’m going to try and see if I can pick up any new scents around the house. We’ll find them.”
“There isn’t another option,” Anya said softly.
Oliver glanced between them, his gaze falling to Cole and Anya’s clasped hands. Anya let go as if she’d been burned, and Cole tried not to take offense. There were more important things to think about.
Cole left the two siblings to search on their own as he lowered
his head and made his way around to the back of the building. If he remembered correctly, the bedrooms were on this side, and that’s where he needed to start. As soon as he found the open window, he frowned.
Something was off about it, but he wasn’t sure what. He inhaled deeply, letting each and every scent around him coat his senses. He closed his eyes, trying to unweave and disregard the scents that wouldn’t help him on his hunt. Not all shifters could do this so precisely, but that was why he was the Tracker. There was something…off about one of the scents. It smelled like a shifter, but he couldn’t quite place it. He opened his eyes as he scented the boys. It was strong here, meaning the boys had been outside this morning and had used this window to get out. Only their scents weren’t on the window itself.
Owen and Lucas hadn’t opened the window on their own.
Fuck.
He lowered his head, inhaled around the wooden panes surrounding the glass and cursed.
“What is it?” Anya asked.
He’d noticed that she’d come around to the back end of the house, but he’d been focused on his scenting instead of acknowledging her.
“Someone opened this window from the outside and carried the boys out of it.” He turned to her, his cat raging at him, wanting a fight. “Whoever it was carried each boy, one at a time, then put them in a bag or something because their scent isn’t directly on the ground beneath the window.”
Anya growled, low, deadly. “A bag? Someone kidnapped my cubs and put them in a bag?”
He held up his hands, praying she wouldn’t swipe at him. She curled her hands at her sides, and he knew she was struggling to control her bear. The bear wanted to shift and rip anyone in her way to shreds, and he didn’t blame her, but that wouldn’t help anyone right then.