Page 47 of Crew

It was almost too calm and too perfect, and that made Crew wary in some weird way.

It was strange that he couldn’t just be content anymore, but maybe that was the price of being alpha and being mated.

“You okay?” Grey asked.

“I want to say yes, but honestly, I’m a little weirded out.”

“About what?”

“I’m not sure. Something feels off.”

“What, because we had a good night last night at the cookout and nothing happened overnight? Are you sure you’re not just expecting something to be wrong?”

Crew shook his head. “Maybe. I was wondering if I’m just feeling the pressure of being alpha and having Zara in my life. Everything seems more significant now, you know? Like I worry ten times more about our herd being safe because of her.”

Avi dropped the empty spray paint can in the wheelbarrow filled with tools. “I’m sure Dexter felt the same when he mated Nancy, as Khyle did with Tris. When the rest of us find our soulmates, I’m certain we’ll all be more concerned about safety too, like we’ll all be a little extra nuts about protecting everything and everyone important to us.”

“I agree,” Ford said. “You’re more keenly aware of the herd’s safety because you love Zara and she’s important to you. That would make the safety of the herd exponentially more necessary to you, not only as alpha but as a mated male.”

He was about to answer that what they were saying made sense, when something inside him went very still, his stallion letting out a concerned whinny.

And then Zara shouted, “Fire!”

* * *

Zara wiggled between two rows of tomatoes, pulling the ripened fruit from the plants and setting them in the bucket. She’d already filled one bucket, spending nearly an hour preparing them on big racks placed on the picnic tables to dry in the sun.

“I can’t believe I’m excited about tomatoes,” she said to herself with a chuckle.

She smiled at the sweet smell of the tomatoes mixed with the dense earthy scent of the dirt in the garden, but then something acrid and sharp hit her senses—smoke.

Her heart leaped into her throat as she bolted to her feet and looked wildly around.

Thick smoke billowed around the livestock barn.

“Fire!” she screamed, running down the rows of tomatoes toward the barn. The livestock were near the barn that was on fire, and she could hear the lowing of the cows over the roar of the flames.

She heard pounding footsteps and the guys raced to her, Crew shouting instructions to get the hoses and buckets.

“I’ll move the cattle,” Zara said.

“Be careful!” Crew yelled over the roar of the fire.

“You too!”

She ducked between the slats of the fence and waved her arms wildly, shouting at the cattle to move, giving the nearest one a smack on her rump to drive them to the back of the pasture, away from the barn. Daisy hopped behind her as the cows moved away from the burning building.

By the time the animals were safely at the far side of the pasture, the smoke was thick and she could barely see the barn, let alone the guys, who looked like dark shadows moving around.

She moved to go help when a flicker of movement in her peripheral stopped her in her tracks.

Coming toward her with malicious intent: Colton and his herd.

They were clearly taking advantage of the chaos of the fire, and she realized in that moment they’d planned it that way—for the herd to be distracted by something so big it needed all of their attention. They were too busy fighting the fire to watch for other dangers.

Like the predators moving toward her.

Before she could shout for help, Colton and Silas were on her, the others heading toward the barn to engage with her herd.

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