Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Khloe narrowed her eyes as if thinking. “They all have different intentions. They can’t agree.”
Isaac stood Amber in the clearing and squatted next to her. “Do you want to shift, Baby girl?”
She nodded and took a step forward, letting her wolf come to the surface. As she dropped down onto her paws, she glanced around.
Isaac noted several other Littles had also shifted. The Alphas were all standing protectively around their mates, and he wondered if they felt as impotent as he suddenly did.
For centuries, the Alpha Protectors had guarded the valley from the surrounding mountains. They had never encountered the threats they’d been faced with recently. Nor had any of their mates developed super-shifter abilities.
They were living in changing times, uncharted territory. All they could do was take things one day at a time. One thing was for sure, they could never leave their Little girls out of the plans, nor could they leave them at home while the males patrolled the area. They’d be missing out on opportunities.
The Alpha Protectors were undeniably stronger and bigger than not just their mates but all the other members of the shifter community in the valley. They would always be needed for their strength and agility. But ignoring the abilities of their mates was not an option.
He and the other men stood quietly, glancing at each other. There was a tension in the air. A sizzle. An energy he couldn’t quite put his finger on. This was no longer a simple situation where the women would shift back and tell the others what they saw, heard, or smelled. They might have vital information that affected decisions that needed to be made.
While Rylee, Molly, and Amber stood rooted to their spots, all three of them staring at the same illusive location in the distance, Khloe and Olivia shifted and began to pace closer to the edge of the clearing. Felix and Damon moved with them in human form. Leah, Suzette, and Jezebel remained human, their Daddies holding on to them.
Finally everyone shifted back. Several voices started speaking at once as the Little girls rejoined their Daddies and were lifted into protective arms.
Arion held up a hand. In a way, he was the most senior member of this group. Age wasn’t what put him in charge. It was simply unspoken since he’d been the first to bond with a mate in their generation.
Lately the elders had been turning over more and more responsibility to this younger group of Alphas. In the past few weeks, the elders had met with several of the recently mated and made it clear that they trusted the newly mated Alphas to take charge of this most unusual recent development. The younger generation would report in, but unless it seemed like a life-or-death situation, they could and would make decisions among themselves without consulting the men who in many cases were their own fathers.
Arion cleared his throat. “One at a time. He looked toward Molly first. What did you hear?”
“Like Khloe said, there are six bears arguing about what to do with Drow. He’s unhinged. They disagree about disposing of him, but they don’t have an alternative idea. I switched to listening in on Drow where he’s being held. He’s grumbling and talking nonsense about the future of the bear shifters depending on the elimination of the wolves.”
Isaac winced, though he wasn’t seriously concerned about one unhinged bear shifter’s thoughts. Unless the rogue bear escaped and came after all of them.
“Amber?” Arion asked, shifting attention to her.
Isaac’s chest tightened as his Little girl perked up. He was extremely impressed and proud of her. She’d only been up on the mountain a week. She was so new that she barely understood the dynamics. And yet she held her head high and assumed her rightful position among the pack. A position that came into existence about five seconds ago.
Amber cleared her throat. “I could see the six men. They’re older. I assume they’re the head council or group of elders or whatever governing body makes decisions among the bears. They’re pacing, pointing fingers in each other’s faces. It looked like they were split three and three. I also switched my attention to the cage. Drow is pacing much like the elders, but he’s salivating as if he hasn’t eaten in a while, or he’s out for blood. There are still four guards surrounding him. They’re in human form. They seem to be ignoring him.”
“Rylee?” Arion asked next. “Did you scent anything that could be important?”
Isaac glanced at Rylee. She was slightly pale. “I don’t know,” she murmured. “It’s so hard to pinpoint. I have trouble understanding when I scent emotions. I can scent anger and frustration from the six men, but that’s not a surprise. The only thing I think that might help is that I do not scent death like I did right before Drow killed Firat. Hopefully that means something.”