Page 31 of Bearnapped at the Altar

Bellamy didn’t question me. He just put his foot on the gas. That was why he was my right-hand man.

Tegan clutched my arm. My bear considered her touch a reward for making the right decision. “Why didn’t you fight them? We could’ve settled this right here and now.”

“No, we couldn’t have.” I exhaled, letting the rush of adrenaline that had flooded my veins leave my body. I’d been so close to a shift, because for a moment, I’d thought the same exact thing. “We have no idea who those wolves were.”

“We have a lot of allies in Sawtooth Forest,” Bellamy added. “They could’ve been working to keep us safe.”

“Or they could’ve wanted us to shift, knowing it would slow us down,” I said. “Buy more time and figure out what they were working with.”

Tegan tensed beside me. “I got you into this mess.”

Make her feel safe, my bear insisted. She’s only scratched the surface of what shifter life is and she’s not prepared for what she’s about to see.

“No, Gideon likes to pick fights with packs and humans he thinks are smaller than his. He mistakes kindness and goodwill for weakness. We’re about to show him it’s a strength, and that none of us shine unless we all shine.” I leaned in and gave her a kiss. “That means you too. You’re a dangerous woman, Tegan Reynolds. Never apologize for that.”

In the darkness, I could barely see the corners of her lips curl into a smile. But I could feel her body relax. My bear approved.

“Never thought of myself as dangerous before, but I like it.”

“Are you kidding? You might be the woman who brings down Gideon Silverclaw. Do you know how long packs have been trying to ruin him for the shit he’s done? Too long. We haven’t been able to do it because we haven’t had the proof we needed. You do.”

She took a deep breath, and I waited for her to say something. Instead, she put her head on my shoulder. Bellamy caught my gaze in the rearview mirror. He agreed with me that she was dangerous, but I knew he thought she was more trouble than she was worth.

It would take him a minute to be bear enough to admit we needed her as much as she needed us. He’d been acting differently since he realized Tegan and I were together. The sting of his rejection had never gone away, even though it had been a few years. The woman who’d walked away from him had a family.

Bellamy needed a reason to move forward.

You never thought you’d find one, my bear said. Don’t be so hard on him.

Tegan’s head was still on my shoulder, her fingers interlaced in mine. A wave of guilt washed over me, like I shouldn’t be doing this, but at the same time, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to be getting ready to fight with her beside me. She was human, but that didn’t make her weak. She’d see things we wouldn’t. Sense things we didn’t.

Bellamy pulled off the main road, onto a dirt one. Tegan sat up, peering out the window.

“I never thought I’d be back here,” she said as she sucked in a breath.

A makeshift security checkpoint had been set up. Bellamy slowed.

“Fuck!” Tegan whispered. “They’re gonna know.”

“Trust me,” was all my partner said.

Tegan slid down, off the seat. My bear growled inside me, pissed that she was doing that, but I wasn’t sure of Bellamy’s plan either.

He rolled down the window and handed them something.

“Not your usual time,” the security guy said.

“Had to go out for a job. Checking into the office late,” Bellamy replied.

The guard considered the car and then looked into the backseat. “Why’s he back there, and not in the front seat with you?”

“He gets carsick.” Bellamy chuckled, then lowered his voice. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. He gets mad when we bring it up.”

The guard gave me another once-over, and then reluctantly waved Bellamy through.

“What the fuck did you show him?” My voice was a whisper, like the guard could still hear us.

“One of the local guys used to work here. He managed to keep his security badge. I might have borrowed it and printed a fake name and photo on it.”

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