Page 98 of Baseball and Shifters

Lucas, my white wolf isn’t far behind, and just as I take a step away from the safety of the tree, my tiger bursts through the bushes and surpasses my wolf twins.

“Rachel!” Demi’s voice joins the calls.

Bas skids to a stop inches away from me before softly tackling me to the ground and nuzzling into my neck.

The bond flares bright, finally shining through the effects of the drugs.

They came for me.

They found me.

I am not alone.

Liam

My paws tear through the underbrush, every heartbeat a countdown. The trees blur past, the scent of moss and forest air thick in my nose. But there, just underneath, is her. I let out a low whine, pushing harder, faster. Her scent is faint, a wisp of hope leading me deeper into the thickening underbrush.

Lucas catches up to me and flanks me as we tear through the forest. The bond grows stronger, and so does her scent. She’s close. We’re almost there. I can feel it.

We’re coming for you, Shadow Girl.

There!

A fox peeks its head around a tree trunk.

We found her!

Bas shoots ahead of me, turning up his tiger speed to beat me to our mate. Rachel steps away from the tree on unsteady feet. My heart sinks and my anger rises. Twigs stick out from her tails, and there’s a smear of something dark, mud, maybe blood, alongher flank. She looks like she’s been dragged through half the forest. She stumbles to a stop just before Bas knocks her on her side, somehow managing to hold back his strength so he doesn’t hurt her. He nuzzles our mate’s scruff as I shift and drop to my knees beside them.

“Rachel,” I breathe. Her gorgeous fox eyes find mine and she whines. I pull her small body away from Bas and cradle her battered form in my arms.

We found her. She’s safe.

Bas and Lucas shift back to human, sitting on either side of me, both with a hand on our mate’s furry back. Derrick, drops to his knees across from me, instantly reaching for her and petting her head.

The pack bond flares bright and for a moment, I swear I can feel my brothers. Then Rachel shifts back, her powers no longer able to hold on to her fox form.

D’s dad stops behind us, close enough to show his support yet far enough to give us this time with our mate, standing sentry, on guard for an oncoming attack. The joy of finding Rachel takes a back seat when a loud crash draws our attention away from her. Trent and Ranger explode from the rundown shack across the clearing.

The bond flares with Rachel’s fear and I twist, pulling her tight against my body, an attempt at shielding her from the chaos unfolding in front of us. Trent comes flying out first, blood on his face, a raspy, hollow growl tearing from his throat. Ranger’s right behind him, eyes blazing, suit jacket hanging from him by a thread, shirt torn exposing a bleeding gash across his chest.

Trent tackles him back into a half-broken tree, the whole thing shudders under their weight. Ranger slumps back head lolling to one side.

With the threat of Ranger’s attack neutralized, Trent turns, eyes locked on where Rachel shivers in my arms. She shrinks further into me and I growl a warning.

Bas’ growl joins mine, the sound ripping from his chest like thunder. He launches forward without hesitation, crossing the clearing in a blur of orange fur and fangs.

Trent realizes his mistake too late, turning toward Bas at the last moment, eyes comically wide.

Bas slams Trent to the ground with a guttural roar, straddling his chest, teeth snapping millimeters from his face.

“You’ll pay for this,” Trent screeches from under Bas, fighting to scoot free he begins to sit up. “You’ll all pay for…”

Demi doesn’t let him finish. I’m not sure when he crossed the clearing but he steps up next to Bas and delivers one clean blow to Trents head, effectively knocking him out. Bas rumbles a dissatisfied growl at Demi.

“Sorry, son. Couldn’t let you kill him,” Demi chuckles, scratching behind Bas’s ear like he’s a domesticated house pet. “That’s more paperwork than I’m interested in doing.”

For a moment, it’s still.

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