Page 41 of Bear Haven
Michael glared with wide eyes. “What do you call this place? Didn’t Gus just say we can’t let this little valley be found out? Sounds like a pretty protected fucking bubble to me.”
“Jesus… Will you two get a room already?”
All the attention was suddenly focused on Gus, who was calmly popping bite sized donuts into his mouth like it was his last meal. “Now,” he said after swallowing. “If the two of you are finished bickering like kids… Yes, Deal’s Gap and all its residents need to be kept a secret. The Mayor is on the run and that needs to be monitored. But… And don’t shoot the messenger here, but Luke’s part in this is over.”
“Fuck that.”
“No, Gus is right,” Bex added. “We have to go and we have to part ways with you and your pack.”
“We had a goddamn deal,” Luke hissed.
“And my family will honor that when this is over. You’re welcome on our land and in the surrounding territories. We will keep you and your pack safe should you visit.”
“You’ll be welcome with us as well,” Blake offered. “We all know what’s at stake with the shifters and the trouble with continually breeding with only pure bloods. Overall, mating with humans will strengthen us and our immunity and aid in our power. But you can’t deny that we’ve all been compromised by what’s happened.”
Luke sighed. “I hear you. I don’t like it, but I hear you.”
“I don’t want to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. Maybe if we get the hell out of here we can get to work on fixing it. No one here or along the Dragon deserves to be picked off one by one.”
“Their loyalties are split now.”
“Especially since the Mayor killed one of them.”
“Why do you think he did it?”
“You heard him. They put Beck in danger. Could’ve killed him when they set the fire.”
“I wasn’t sure he’d have cared, to be honest.”
“Whatever the Mayor said or did, whomever he wanted to harm, Beck was never his target.”
“That’s true. Beck was never supposed to be in harm’s way.”
“Twisted logic, man.”
“Not if you really think about it. Humans will hurt anyone who threatens that which they hold most dear, even to their own detriment. Most won’t leave the wounded behind. It was always about the one who hurt Beck. I’m the result of that. Him wanting to hurt me? I get it. He’d do anything to protect his son.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“To lay low. To spread out and go back where we came from. Well, not Bex. She goes with me.”
“You don’t think it would make us easier targets?”
“No. If we spread out, then they have to do the same.”
“You hope. The Mayor did say there were other poachers with the same goals, that there was a whole wide network.”
“Yeah. But we have numbers, too, all across the country. Not that we want to bring anyone else into this fight if we can contain it.”
“All right.” Michael stood, chugged the last of his coffee, and gathered his and Maxine’s trash. “I guess it’s time then to get this show on the road.”
“I’ll be right back.” Bex stood as well. “I’m going to get another box of donuts.”
“There’s a panther. Name’s Roan.”
Gus dragged his gaze from the sway of Bex’s hips and back to Luke. “There’s a what?”
“A panther.”
