Page 87 of The Grizzly Situation
“One chance. Let him go now, or I will kill you where you stand. Don’t think I won’t do it.”
I was dropped unceremoniously to the floor where I sat rubbing my face and throat.
Brent shoved his father away and knelt by my side, stroking his fingers over the skin I was certain was going to be a damned impressive bruise come morning. “Uly? You okay?”
I couldn’t speak, so I nodded. Brent got up, spun his father around, and smashed him into the same door he’d had me against.
“What are you doing here?”
“Louis called me,” he sniped. “He said the town was going to hell and it needed someone to step in and save it.”
I couldn’t remember who Louis was. I recalled Brent mentioning his name, but beyond that it escaped me.
“Then take Louis and get the fuck out of here. You are not welcome. In fact, I don’t think you were ever welcome. No one here, except maybe Louis, misses you.”
I reached out. “Brent, I?—”
“And then you put your hands on my mate? I should kill you for that alone.”
In his rage, I feared he would do something that couldn’t be taken back. I stood, my legs shaky, and moved to Brent’s side. Gavin’s gaze flicked toward me, his lip curled in a sneer.
“Mates don’t exist. You know that. And even if they did, it wouldn’t be a maleora human.”
“No, what I know is you were wrong then and even more so now. Chaim and Benjy are mates. Uly and I are mates.”
His eyes narrowed. “Who will you believe? I was Typhon here for decades. Don’t you think I’d know?”
His gaze went to me again.
“And if it was true, no way would you have a filthyhumanas a mate.”
Nope, that was not offensive at all.
“Get the fuck out of here, Dad. Don’t ever come back to town. You are officially banished.”
His eyes widened. “After everything I’ve done for you?”
Brent barked a laugh. “After everything you’ve done? Seriously? You were never a father. You were never a leader. You bullied and harassed the people, forcing them to be subservient to you. We work together now. Doing what we can for the good of the sleuth. I will never let one of my people fail if I can help it.”
“If they can’t keep up, they should be pushed to the side. Only the strong are meant to survive.”
“We’re not discussing this. You’re leaving or I’ll force you out.”
He gave a sickly smile. “Try it.”
The next thing I knew Gavin had morphed a single hand into a huge paw, lashing out to smash into Brent’s face, knocking him to the floor. Blood poured from gouges in his cheek. I stepped between them, hands held up in hopes of stopping them and keeping Brent from more harm. For my trouble I got smackedacross the room, crashing into the wrought iron screen and just missing the big blazing marble fireplace. I tried to get up, but a warm red haze flowed down my forehead and into my eyes. Brent stood, shifting to his bear form and ripping his clothes, which fell in tatters around him. His dad was big, but Brent was massive. He growled and stalked toward his father.
That was when everything went to shit.
Two small heads popped around the corner and saw me sprawled out, doing my best to regain my footing.
“Momma!” they screamed, then rushed for me. Their hands mapped out my injuries, and when they pulled away there was my blood on them. Brent must have seen it, because he stood on his hind legs and roared, shaking everything in the room. Then the boys turned, their faces contorted in anger, and shifted. Their tiny bodies were no match for the old man, but that didn’t stop them. They rushed forward and tried to tackle him. They didn’t move him an inch. My heart seized as he swatted at them, as if they were annoying insects, but thankfully he missed them.
“Get the fuck away from them,” came a voice from the door. “Amelia, thank you for the call.”
Great. Chaim was here too. I had hoped to negotiate a peaceful end, but now? This was going to suck. Gavin turned to him, his eyes widening, then hurtled toward him, snarling. I figured Chaim would shift, but instead he stood there, arms folded over his chest. What I hadn’t expected was Benjy slamming into Gavin from the side and driving him to the floor. Then he got between Chaim and Gavin, his maw open, showing his teeth as he roared, sending shivers up my spine.
This was the power of a seriously pissed off mate.
