Page 74 of Diners, Damsels & Wolves

Pouring his anger into his every muscle, he slammed into it. The pine collided with the forest floor, falling away from his pack. Pacing, he continued his litany of profanities.

Darel and Velma left the picnic early. They’d wanted to scope the place out before bringing their children. Being beaver shifters, they were helpless in a fight. After deciding the other shifters in attendance weren’t a threat to them, they’d driven out to collect their three kids and some cousins.

“Are you sure there were no survivors?” Sam asked.

“Positive,” Sara confirmed.

“The authorities?” Sam asked.

“Tori called in an anonymous tip; the firefighters arrived shortly before you,” Sara thought.

“Have you tracked the bears from the fire?” Tom asked.

Emmanuel shuffled his big gray feet. “I tried, boss. I smelled them all over the house, the yard, but it just … stopped.”

“Fan out, all of you circle the property and see what we can find,” Tom commanded. “We need anything we can get if we’re going to stop them.”

Ten minutes into their search, they hadn’t found anything new. The scent of four bears was thick on the property, but they couldn’t trace it. Tom was growing agitated when a howl pierced the air.

His heart stopped. It was the emergency signal, and it was coming from the direction of—

“Maria!” Sam ran like a bat out of hell, Tom quick on his heels.

He felt the others running behind them. He didn’t pause to turn around, refusing to slow down until they reached Maria and Sam’s driveway. The stench of a bear hit his nose out of nowhere. The pavement was stained with blood. A pile of shredded pink clothes laid abandoned. Tori had phased in a hurry.

Bounding up the front steps, Sam phased to human as he burst through the door.

“Maria!” he bellowed. Tom phased too, running in behind him.

Tori blocked the entryway. Her halo of black curls was disheveled, and she’d wrapped herself in Sam’s bathrobe.

“She’s fine.” Tori held up her hands. “Maria and the baby are okay, but I need you both to calm down. You cannot go in there while you’re agitated. Right now, we need to keep Maria and the baby calm; after what happened, if she gets too worked up, she could go into early labor.”

“What happened?” Tom growled.

“She got knocked to the ground,” Tori said. “She has a nasty cut and some bruises, but she is okay.”

“Get out of my way!” Sam tried to knock her over.

“I am the midwife!” Jutting her chin out, Tori pulled rank on them. “And I won’t let either of you pass until I can trust that you’ll be calm around her, understand?”

Sam exhaled sharply, then nodded.

“When you see her, keep your heads. Remember, she will be okay.” Tori led them to the pastel-yellow living room.

Maria lay on the sofa, a bloody towel draped over her face along with an ice pack. Two more ice packs were on her stomach, a fourth on her arm.

Sam ran over, falling to his knees in front of her. He took her hand, alternating between kissing her and tending to her cuts. Her ashen face lit up at his presence.

Tom stood behind the head of the sofa, taking in the damage. Her clothing was torn, a deep black bruise forming over her pregnant stomach, a large gash in her forearm and across her face.

He knew she would heal in less than three days, but it did nothing to stifle the fury burning in his chest, or to mask the horror of her injuries.

“What happened?” Tom barked at Tori.

“When we pulled in, the garage door opener wasn’t working,” Tori said. “I got out to open it manually, but the keypad was smashed. Maria got out of the car to see what was wrong and … The bear came out of nowhere. I didn’t even smell him when I got out of the car. He knocked her to the ground with his claws. I phased and ran after him.”

It was only then that Tom realized the bathrobe Tori was wearing was wet, the stone-gray fabric too dark around her neck and left shoulder.