Between a Bear and a Hard Place (Alpha Werebear Romance) by Lynn Red Page B

“King!”
    The last man standing, the one Rogue was relatively certain to be the first one he’d heard speak intoned another series of odd numbers, and then fired one single shot before the golden bear and the black one barreled into him. One hit high, one hit low, and the black-clad trooper hit the ground in a pile.
    “I... I got to her in time,” the half-shifted alpha was rasping. “I’m hurt but... I’ll heal. She wouldn’t have.”
    When next Rogue saw King, blood matted the decreasing hair on his rear shoulder. There was a terrible wound, but Rogue could tell with a glance that it wasn’t silver – it’d heal quickly. But still, with a fairly long journey ahead of them, it wasn’t the best idea to have one of the bears bleeding all over the place, growing weaker and weaker.
    “Is that all of them?” It was an unfamiliar voice that struck Rogue’s ears. And it, too, was ragged with pain. “Where did they come from?”
    The other stranger shook his head as he rushed to King’s side, bear-form shrinking away. “From the ground,” he said, but distractedly as he took the girl from the ground near where King knelt. “Claire?” he whispered, before kissing her gently and cradling her in his arms. “Claire? Answer me. Please!”
    “I think... the noise, or the gunfire... something terrified her.” King was holding his shoulder as Rogue prepared a bandage of shredded cloth from one of the strange things lying on the ground. “She’s unharmed, but...”
    “What did you do to her?” The newcomer snarled, backing away. “Who are you, anyway? Are you with them?”
    “Did you see any of those turn into bears, by chance?” Rogue shot back. When he finished dressing the gaping hole in King’s shoulder, he turned his attention back to the new bears. “We were looking for you, which probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise.”
    “You,” the charred-gray fur receded completely as the heretofore silent bear approached. “You’re... not like them.”
    Rogue scoffed. “For one thing, I don’t bleed motor oil, or whatever is in my mouth. For a second, I’ve got a question. Does the name Draven ring any bells?”
    An immediate look of either awe, or indigestion, came over both of the men. Both of them were also completely naked, which would give away that something wasn’t quite right, even if somehow, nothing else did.
    “No,” the grim-faced bear holding the woman said. “Means nothing.” He shot a warning glare at the other, who was obviously looser with his tongue, as he’d already started to say yes. “We know nothing.”
    Rogue rolled his eyes. “Looks like you’ve just met your spiritual ancestor, King,” Rogue said with one of his semi-obnoxious smirks.
    For a long moment, the four bears regarded one another. The two new ones were clearly younger than Rogue and King, but from the looks on their faces, not by very much. At the least, their experiences had aged them; these were not men who had lived easy lives.
    “Taken?” King said simply. “Hm, come closer.”
    As though the two knew what they’d encountered, the man holding the limp woman – Claire – took a step forward. “Let me see your eyes.”
    At first, the younger man narrowed his eyes, but then when King didn’t break the gaze, he relented. Something obviously crossed King’s mind, though he stayed silent. Rogue would know the look on his face anywhere. He’d noticed something. And if it had to do with the eyes...
    Thinking quickly, and wanting to avoid any further trouble until they’d had a chance to get everyone patched up, Rogue threw a bundle to each of the new men, who caught them. “What’s this?” the slighter of the two asked. “Sleeping bag?”
    Claire stirred in the man’s arms, blinking furiously and then wiping at her eyes. She looked from King to Rogue and then back to the man holding her, who gave her a surprisingly gentle look.
    “Clothes. You’re going to need them unless you want people