Chapter 2

I don't let myself think.

Instead, I trust my instincts, using my shadow powers to ghost to the other side of the room. His snarls fill the room, and I fight against the instinct to cover my ears as I turn to face the bear. He's looking around, searching for me, his nose raised in the air. Turning, he growls again as he spots me, and I notice any signs of the human part of him have completely disappeared.

"Hey, big guy, I need to speak to Max right now. You're safe, you both are, I'm not here to hurt you." Despite my thumping heart, I keep my words calm, trying to reach out to the man within. I'm dealing with the animal right now, but I need to speak to Max, to lure him to the surface so I can get him to shift back into his human form. My attempts at drawing Max out fails as the bear rears back, roars, and charges once again. Well, the calm and steady plan obviously failed. He doesn't want to give up control. I guess I'll just have to convince him then.

Using the speed gifted to me from my shifter genes, I dart to the side, trying not to rely on my shadow powers—they still aren't reliable and have been unpredictable. A massive paw comes swiping towards me, and I only narrowly avoid it by ducking quickly .

"Max, snap out of it!" I shout. There's no time to be nice, not when I have an eight-foot bear trying to kill me. "How's Garett going to take it if you kill me? Do you really want that, to put him through this too?" The bear pauses, and I have a moment of reprieve to back away, putting some space between us. Circling each other, I eye him for any signs of his human side surfacing.

"I'm sorry about Tori." My voice cracks on her name, and the bear snarls at me, flinching as if I struck him. "But I lost her too, and I'm not moping in my animal form. I'm trying to do something about it." There's a spark of awareness in his gaze a second before the bear roars, and I know I've pissed them both off. Fine, if I need to get him angry, then that's what I'll do. Shifting on my feet, I get ready for the attack I'm sure is imminent.

"I held her in my arms, but she was already dead. The bullet went straight through her head, and she didn't even see it coming." I spit the words out, my own anger growing inside me, wrapping itself around my heart. A single tear rolls down my face as the images of that night flash through my head. Something wraps around my arms and when I look down, I see I'm wrapped in shadows, embraced by them. At first, I think that I've turned into my shadow form, but I see the shadowy tendrils are actually manifesting around my body, flickering in and out of existence, pulsing with my anger.

Taking advantage of my distraction, the bear roars, a sound full of pain and rage. I snap my gaze up, watching as he charges towards me, but I don't move a muscle, meeting his furious gaze with one of my own. The impact knocks my breath from me, but it doesn't actually hurt much. Now standing over me, the bear presses his face close to mine as he growls, sniffing me. My scent must trigger something in him as I see a flash of recognition in his eyes.

"I'm going to get the bastards that did this, with or without your help. And when I find them, I'm going to tear them to shreds." I can feel my shadowy cloak pulse around me with my anger, and I'm pretty sure my eyes are glowing with the strength of my wolf. She's with me, prowling under the surface of my skin in case I need her. We're fully in agreement right now. Someone needs to pay.

My stomach drops when I see anger twist the bear's face as he stands up on his back legs, his claws outstretched and ready to make a killing blow. I failed to reach him. I know I could turn into shadow, but something inside me is telling me to stay where I am. I close my eyes, listening to my instincts once again.

"I'm sorry. I loved her, and I know you would've too." The anger drains from me, my words soft.

I flinch as something heavy lands against me, but I'm not filled with pain like I had expected. Opening my eyes, I see Max's anguished gaze, so much like his brother's, that for a moment, I think Garett's jumped in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I realise that's not the case, his scent is different than Garett's, and looking closer, I see the differences I missed before.

"Max." As soon as his name leaves my lips, his face twists, and a tear drips onto my cheek.

"I nearly killed you." His voice is hoarse from lack of use. His eyes run over my face, like he's trying to be sure what he's seeing is real. After being stuck in his bear form for the better part of a week, I'm not surprised. The muscles in his arms bunch like he's trying to hold himself back, his jaw clenching as he fights for control.

"But you didn't." The simple words seem to register something in him as he relaxes slightly, his eyes closing as if he's in pain. I'm acutely aware that I'm lying underneath a very naked man who is almost pressed up against me, and I can feel frustration emanating down the bond from Killian.

"It hurts." The pain in his voice brings tears to my eyes. I nod, not looking away from the rawness in his gaze, even though I want to.

"I know," I whisper, "but we'll find the people that did this and make them pay. I don't know if ASP is connected to the disappearing shifters as well, but we'll figure it out. I need your help, and you need to stay strong for your brothers. Can you do that?" My voice gains more conviction as I speak, trying to give him a purpose, a reason to fight. When he narrows his eyes on me, I know I have his full attention, his gaze glowing black for a moment as his bear fights to take control once more.

"What do you mean? What's wrong with my brothers?" When he speaks like this, I can see why he's pack gamma. His authority rolls over me. I take a deep breath, feeling suffocated by the waves of his power as my wolf tries to show her dominance. Pushing her back down, I make sure to keep eye contact with him.

"They also lost their mate," I say gently, "so they're struggling too. They need you, they need their older brother, their gamma, to help them through this." He needs this motivation. The desire bears have to protect their own is a powerful thing, and I don't feel bad for using that to my advantage. Besides, I'm being truthful, the twins are struggling. He'll see for himself when he's fully in control. "Will you help me?"

He watches me for a few moments, his face thoughtful, before nodding and sitting back onto his heels and pushing up to stand. Leaning down, he offers me a hand and pulls me to my feet. He runs his eyes over me, and if it was anyone else, I would've felt that he was checking me out, but I know he's just ensuring he didn't hurt me.

"Sorry," he apologises softly, giving me a small, gentle smile. He doesn't explain what his regret is for, and he doesn't need to, so I just offer him my own slight smile. I feel a kinship to him, a connection that is only formed by losing someone. But I'm learning that there's a strength in that, and we'll survive it.

I glance towards the locked door as a feeling of impatience and frustration reaches me through the bond.

"We better head out there before my mate rips that door from the wall," I joke, smirking, even though it's not far from the truth. Max's smile drops at the word ‘mate,' and I instantly feel bad. Good job, Ari. I open my mouth to say something, but he just shakes his head, the corner of his mouth turning up .

He walks past me towards the door, but pauses just before he reaches it, glancing at me over his shoulder.

"I won't forget what you've done for me or my family," he declares before knocking on the door.

I guess we just added a new member to our new little ragtag family. Last year, that thought would have terrified me, but now I feel a little part of me glowing.

Killian

I'm pacing in the alcove behind that blasted one-way mirror that's separating me from my mate. I can feel her anxiety down the bond, but mostly, I can feel her resolution. She needs to do this, which is why I didn't stop her earlier. I'm now regretting this decision, and my wolf is prowling within my mind, ready to spring into action if we need to protect her.

A pain in my hands has me glancing down. My palms are bleeding, my nails having punctured my skin. Watching Ari weaving around the room, trying to avoid a huge bear shifter, is almost enough to cause me to lose control.

Garett, Alpha Philips, and I now watch as Ari is pinned beneath the naked shifter.

"Her powers are growing." I don't turn from the window, keeping my eyes on my mate, but I nod in acknowledgment of Garett's words. He's right—she's getting stronger every day. It seems now that she's accepted her power, she isn't constantly fighting against what she is, who she is, and her abilities are coming to her more easily. She doesn't agree, she thinks she's still weak, that she can't control them well enough, but I think that's more out of fear of what she's becoming, or what she could become.

"I've never seen anything like it," Alpha Philips comments, and I have to agree .

I think back to the moment her shadow appeared in these training sessions, causing panic to rise within me, thinking she was being pulled back to the Shadow Realm. But I realized when she was taken from us before, I hadn't been able to see the shadows. This was something different. It had wrapped around her like a lover, caressing her skin.

When the bear charged to attack, I was ready to rip that damned door off its fucking hinges, but a feeling of calm and acceptance rolled down through our bond. Not her acceptance of imminent death, but trust in her powers to protect her.

My brave, foolhardy mate then faced off against the raging bear, looking like an avenging angel, her shadowy tendrils flaring out around her. She'd never been more beautiful to me than in that moment, darkness and all.

A deep breath beside me brings my attention back to the present, and I glance at my pack brother. I startle for a moment. When did I start thinking of Garett as pack? The old Killian would never have even considered being in a pack with a bear and certainly wouldn't share a mate with anyone else. I don't share well, I'm too selfish. But something about Ari has started to change that. I don't always like it, but Garett and the others offer me something I didn't think was possible after I lost Julie.

A family.

I place my hand on his shoulder, feeling some of the tension leave him as Ari and Max get to their feet. I know it's been difficult for him—keeping the news about Max from Ari. He's worried about his brothers, but he was trying to protect her.

"Your mate is incredible," Alpha Philips remarks as he turns towards us, shaking his head in amazement. I'm not sure if he's talking to Garett or me, but we both nod in agreement. Although, a part of me wants to turn on the alpha with my teeth bared and demand that he never speaks a word of what he's witnessed today, I push that instinct down. Ari likes this guy, and he has offered her sanctuary and help, so I don't want to jeopardise that. If Garett thinks he's a good guy, I'll have to trust that he's right.

The naked shifter is looking my mate up and down, and even though I know it's not in a sexual way, my wolf, along with jealousy, rises up. A quiet growl leaves my throat as I watch them.

"Can we please open the fucking door now?" I snarl, pacing the small space and turning my head side to side so I keep Ari within my sight.

"She's safe, my brother won't hurt her," Garett states with a slight smile, but he puts me out of my misery when he walks towards the keypad on the wall.

Apparently, this room is what they use when young bears change for the first time—their first shifts are renowned for being brutal. Bears are such strong animals that it can take a while to learn to control that spirit. But right now, I couldn't give a crap. I need to feel my mate in my arms.

A little burst of love reaches me through the bond, and I stop my pacing, a wry smile appearing on my face. This is Ari's way of telling me I'm being a territorial ‘alpha male baby,' as she loves to call me.

A knock on the door arrives just as Garett punches in the code, and the door swings open to reveal Max.

"Brother," Garett calls out as he embraces Max. I shuffle from foot to foot, my patience waning, before I can wait no longer. Pushing past the two of them, I ignore the snort of laughter from the alpha and the ‘asshole' comment Max throws my way as I stride over to Ari. My eyes roam over her body, looking for any damage, before meeting her gaze. With a small, tentative smile, she holds out her hand for me to take.

"Let's go home."