The Clawed Squad: Stetson (The Bear Shifters of Clawed Ranch Book 1) Page 2

  “Dude,” one of the kids behind him said nervously. “Give it back.”

  “Yeah, Todd,” the other kid said. He was backing away from his friend slowly. “My parents are going to kill me if they find out about this.”

  “They won’t find out,” Todd said, slowly pointing the gun at Kylee’s chest. “How can they find out if there are no witnesses?”

  The two boys behind him looked at each other and then took off running down the dark empty street leaving her all alone with the armed maniac. Kylee’s heartbeat was racing, on the verge of exploding as she stared down the barrel of her own gun. She was getting dizzy from holding her breath as she tried to stay as quiet as possible. It’s not like she could talk anyway. She was paralyzed with fear.

  “You fucking pigs think that you run this town,” Todd hissed with his nostrils flaring. His hands that were squeezing her government issued firearm were stained black from the spray paint that he used on her car.

  The thick vein on his neck was bulging as he clenched his teeth together. “I run this town. It’s time that I got the respect that I deserve.”

  “Nobody is disrespecting you,” Kylee said, managing to squeak out a sentence.

  Todd brushed his finger over the trigger and smiled. “Not after tonight they won’t.”

  His smile vanished, turning into a dark grin. Kylee closed her eyes tight and winced, waiting for the bullet to rip through her soft flesh.

  There was a crash but it wasn’t the sound of a gun firing. Kylee opened her eyes and gasped. The large man with the fierce green eyes, Stetson, had Todd pinned against the brick wall of the bar.

  “Let go!” Todd begged, grimacing in pain. Todd was a big teenager but he had nothing on Stetson. Stetson outweighed him by at least one hundred pounds of rock hard muscle. Add his incredible shifter strength to that and the boy didn’t have a chance.

  “Drop the gun,” Kylee yelled. The gun was still in Todd’s hand but it was safely pinned up against the wall.

  “Fuck you,” he grunted, clutching onto it.

  Stetson swung up his leg and kneed him in the stomach. “Oomph,” Todd grunted, bending over in half. The gun slipped from his loose fingers and fell with to the ground with a clatter. Kylee ran over and grabbed it.

  “Is that how you talk to a beautiful woman?” Stetson asked in a voice that sounded like a growl. He didn’t wait for Todd’s answer. He lifted him up over his head as easily as if he was made of straw and slammed him down onto the pavement.

  A whimper burst from Todd’s throat as he crashed into the ground with a crunch. He started weeping. “Please stop!” he begged. “Please! I’m sorry!”

  Stetson leaned down close to his ear. “You ever come back to this town again,” he said, his husky voice booming deep from within his massive chest, “and I won’t stop with a little spanking. You understand?”

  Todd covered his ears with his spray paint covered hands and let out a wail. “Yes! Just please leave me alone!”

  Kylee’s savior stood up and studied her with his dangerously green eyes shining brighter than ever. His chest was the size of a barn, expanding and contracting with slow, heavy breaths. All she could do was stare at him in awe. His arms were much too big to be chiseled and toned but they were.

  His body was a work of art but it was his face that had her truly breathless. Dark stubble shadowed his strong, masculine jaw making his parted lips seem that much more tempting. He had a prominent nose and messy brown hair, but it was his eyes. Those eyes were going to stalk her dreams. They were impossibly bright.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, stepping forward.

  All of Kylee’s nerves came rushing forward like an avalanche and she shut her eyes tight to try and keep back the embarrassing flood of tears that were threatening to burst out. “I’m fine,” she said, turning away from his powerful presence.

  She hurried over to Todd and knelt down, pulling out her handcuffs. He groaned as she cuffed each wrist and yanked him up. “I’m going to need you to come down to the office to get a statement,” she said to Stetson but when she looked up, he was gone.

  What the hell?

  The dark street was empty.

  She sighed as she tossed Todd into the back of the cruiser and slammed the door. She was safe but she couldn’t help but feel like she knew those green eyes from somewhere. They were eerily familiar.

  Kylee had a feeling that it wasn’t the last time she would see them.

  two

  Stetson growled as he lifted up the empty tray of bacon.

  “Uh oh,” Tyler said from the campfire behind him. “Did anyone leave the big guy some bacon?”

  “I was going to,” Karl said, licking his fingers. “But then I ate it instead.”

  Stetson tossed the tray back onto the counter with an angry grunt. He wasn’t exactly a morning person on the best day but today was even worse. His inner polar bear had kept him up all night, pacing and rumbling inside him like a caged animal on speed. He had barely gotten any sleep.

  “Thanks, Karl,” Slate said. “Now we have to deal with his moodiness all day.”

  “And that’s different than every other day, how?” Royal asked.

  Stetson just ignored them as he grabbed some toast and scooped the rest of the cold and runny scrambled eggs onto his plate. He poured hot sauce over the whole thing and filled up a mug with the cold coffee. It served him right for sleeping in with this squad of vultures hanging around.

  He headed for the forest without looking back at the boys. He was in no mood to socialize this morning. His bear had him in the foulest of moods ever since he left the Sheriff with that hooligan last night. His bear had snarled and growled all night, urging him to go back and find her. Even now he was pacing like mad, driving Stetson crazy.

  Will you stop already? Let me have a fucking cup of coffee and then I’ll let you out.

  His bear grumbled.

  What is it with that girl? Don’t tell me you’re in love with a cop?

  He would have laughed if it wasn’t so fucking unfunny. Stetson and the law didn’t exactly mesh too well.

  “Where are you going?” Tyler called out to him as he headed for the forest. “We have the lawyer coming for a meeting any minute.”

  “Not interested,” Stetson grunted, not looking back.

  “Stetson,” Thorn said, making the polar bear shifter stop. His alpha spoke low but his voice was powerful with a primal rawness that cut straight to Stetson’s core. “Please come join us.”

  It wasn’t an order but Stetson turned anyway. He loved his alpha Thorn, they all did, and when he asked something all of the Clawed Squad shifters obeyed.

  The boys were all sitting on Adirondack chairs lounging around the campfire that was located in the middle of the camp. The new log cabins that they had installed were lined up in the background, with Stetson’s on the end. It was a beautiful spot with the stunning snow-capped Absaroka mountains jutting into the clear morning sky in the distance. Their new ranch had acres of rolling plains that stretched out for miles, thick, dense forests filled with animals, old Redwood trees that were around when Stetson’s grandfather was born, and lakes and rivers that were jam-packed with fatty trout that kept him and his bear’s belly full.

  It was the perfect spot for a bear shifter. Way better than where Stetson and his Squad had spent the last six years of their lives: fighting in brutal war zones. It was perfect but this morning he didn’t want to be anywhere near here. The smiling faces of his friends were too much to handle with his inner bear behaving the way he was.

  Stetson plopped down into the empty Adirondack chair next to Royal and took a long sip of his cold coffee. For some reason, the Sheriff’s tiny nose popped into his mind and the corner of his lips curled up into the faintest of a smile. Her nose was so cute. Way too cute for such a gorgeous face.

  “Is that a smile?” Tyler asked. “I knew there was hope for him yet.”

  The smile vanished from Stetson’s lips as fast a
s it came. He narrowed his green eyes at the number two in the Squad and Tyler turned away, suddenly interested in a bird flying overhead.

  “Why is the lawyer coming?” Royal asked, rubbing his palms on his long legs.

  Thorn shrugged his broad shoulders. “I don’t know. But he was adamant about setting up a meeting with all of us.”

  “That can’t be good,” Royal said, shaking his head.

  The sound of tires crunching on gravel made its way into the camp. “I guess we’re about to find out,” Thorn said, turning to the gravel road with his charcoal gray eyes. He exhaled and ran his fingers through his wavy brown hair as a red Audi pulled into the camp.

  A tiny man stepped out of the car and gulped as he looked over at them. His suit was huge and the material was hanging off of him, making him look like a little kid dressed up as a lawyer for Halloween. His face paled as he looked from shifter to shifter with wide eyes.

  He cursed under his breath and then walked over with a tight smile on his thin lips. Stetson’s bear paced inside him, urging him to go see the Sheriff. She’s fine. Now knock it off.

  Thorn stood up and shook the lawyer’s hand, introducing himself. The little man cleared his throat and fidgeted with the notes that he was pulling out of his briefcase. “I’m Hank Collins,” he said with a shaky voice. “I’m the lawyer for the Vega brothers.”

  “Are we being sued?” Karl asked. “Because we didn’t do it.”

  “These accusations are false,” Slate barked. “Unless we’re being sued for being too sexy, in that case, I’m guilty as charged.”

  “I don’t understand,” Mr. Collins muttered, looking around nervously. “No one is being sued.”

  Thorn shot the twins a warning look with his smoky gray eyes and then turned back to the lawyer. “Then why don’t you tell us why you’re here,” he said softly.

  The lawyer’s eyes fell onto Stetson for the first time and he took a step back in shock. His jaw dropped as he stared up at him in disbelief. Stetson was used to getting that look. He got it a lot. That’s what happened when you were big enough that you had to walk through most doorways sideways.

  Mr. Collins cleared his throat again, trying to compose himself. He looked back to Thorn but kept shooting Stetson quick glances out of the corner of his eye. “Did the Vega brothers not tell you?” he asked. His hands were trembling so much that the papers in his hands were making a rattling noise as they shook.

  Thorn shook his head as his eyes narrowed on the little man. “Tell us what?”

  “Yeah,” Royal barked. “Spit it out, man.”

  The lawyer closed his eyes. “Their father left them the Vega ranch in his will but with one important stipulation,” he explained. “In order to keep the ranch, all four of the Vega brothers were required to take on a mate and get married within a year.”

  “Okay,” Thorn said, rubbing his thick chin. “And they did. So what’s the problem?”

  “Yeah,” Slate said. “What does this have to do with us?”

  Stetson’s stomach began to roll and flutter. He had a bad feeling about this.

  Mr. Collins fidgeted and looked down at the dirt he was standing on. He didn’t look like he particularly liked his job.

  “Well, the wording in the will wasn’t the best,” he explained. “It said that all potential owners of the ranch have to get married within a year or the deed gets transferred over to the state.”

  “You’re not speaking our language,” Stetson growled. He was anxious to let his bear out into the forest and so far this was a complete bore.

  The little lawyer winced.

  “It’s okay,” Thorn said, turning the lawyer away from Stetson. “What does that mean?”

  The lawyer gulped. “It means that all six of you have to find mates and get married in the next eight months.”

  “Or what?” Thorn asked.

  The lawyer stepped backward looking like he was getting ready to make a quick getaway. “Or the entire Vega ranch, including the portion that now belongs to the Vega brothers, will get transferred over to the state of Montana.”

  All six members of the Clawed Squad stared at him in shock.

  “Get the fuck out of here,” Slate said with a laugh. “You’re telling me we have to take on mates or we lose this place?”

  The lawyer nodded. “That’s right.”

  Royal stood up and wiped his hands on his shorts. “Well, it’s been fun boys. I’m going to go pack.”

  Stetson immediately thought of the Sheriff from last night when the lawyer had said ‘mate.’ He bit his fingernail and frowned as he realized that his bear was being quiet for the first time since he left her last night. Don’t get too excited, bear. I’m not taking on a mate. Stetson had done a lot of mean things in his life but bringing someone as amazing as the Sheriff into his fucked up, tortured life wasn’t going to be one of them.

  “So I need a big hot curvy woman to impregnate?” Slate asked with a grin. “Where do I sign up?”

  Thorn was staring at the lawyer, ignoring the comments of his Squad. “Is there any way around this?” he asked. “We just moved in and we don’t want to have to rush around trying to find mates.”

  Mr. Collins looked at Thorn with his mouth pinched closed. “I’m afraid not. The Vega brothers already tried. I looked for any loopholes in the will and there was nothing. It’s airtight.”

  Stetson groaned as he looked up at the mountains in the distance. He spotted a lone tree clinging to a craggy cliff with only its long roots holding it in place. It looked like it was about to tumble over the edge at any second.

  He wasn’t ready for a mate. He had enough issues without complicating them by bringing a woman into the mix.

  Thorn gently patted the lawyer’s shoulder who kept glancing back at his car. “Thank you,” Thorn said in a soft voice. “If there’s nothing else, you can leave.”

  Mr. Collins nodded and hurried back to his Audi as Slate grinned creepily. “I’m going to get a big round girl and stuff her full of my babies,” he said as he cracked his knuckles.

  “Wait,” Royal called out as the lawyer opened the door of his car. “Does the marriage have to take place in the US?” he asked.

  The lawyer shook his head. “No,” he said. “As long as the marriage certificate is recognized by the state of Montana.” He quickly got in the car and drove away, leaving a cloud of dust behind his squealing tires.

  Thorn raised an eyebrow as he turned to Royal. “Planning on moving?”

  “No,” Royal shrugged as he sat back down. “I just want to know my options.”

  Karl chuckled. “He’s still hoping to bag a princess.”

  Royal shook his head. “No, I-” he said, dropping off mid-sentence. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the crackling fire in front of him.

  “There are no princesses in Montana,” Karl said with a smirk. “And even if there were they wouldn’t be caught dead with you.”

  Royal stood up and stormed off into his cabin with a growl. Royal, or Ivan Maltese which was his real name, was the prince of Malderanian. He had renounced and disowned his greedy family, who ravaged their own country and starved their people. He had cut them off for good when he came to the US, rejecting his royal stature and leaving his home country forever. His nickname was the only thing now linking him to his noble heritage.

  That and the fact that he was determined to marry a princess.

  Royal slammed the door, shaking the little wooden cabin. There’s no way he’s going to find a princess in Colwood.

  Slate was still grinning. “I’m going to date a girl so hard and then marry the shit out of her.”

  “Keep it in your pants, Slate,” Thorn said, sitting back down. “Let’s talk about this first. I don’t want anyone to have to do anything that they don’t want to. Okay?”

  “That goes for you too, boss,” Stetson said, flashing him a knowing look. Thorn was probably the last of them to want a mate after what happened in his past
. It wasn’t easy for a bear shifter to get over a dead mate and move on.

  Thorn swallowed hard as his gray eyes glazed over for a second. He shook his head, composing himself and looked back at Stetson. “How do you feel about it?”

  Stetson shrugged. “Those Vega brothers are nice guys. We’re not. How can we ever get mates?”

  Karl laughed. “I’d be more concerned about your ugly face rather than your horrible personality.”

  He stopped laughing when Stetson settled his fierce green eyes on him.

  Thorn ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “We know how Royal feels,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at the grizzly bear shifter’s cabin with the front door shut. “What about you, Tyler?”

  Tyler shifted his weight off of his prosthetic leg and nodded his head in thought.

  “Do your kind even take on mates?” Slate asked him.

  “What do you mean your kind?” Tyler asked, glaring at him. “That’s racist.”

  “How can that be racist?” Slate asked with his palms out. “You’re a different species, not a different race.”

  “Fine,” Tyler said, crossing his arms. “That’s specist.”

  Slate hissed out a laugh. “That’s not even a word.”

  They argued some more while Karl licked the dried yoke from his breakfast plate and Thorn dropped his head into his hands.

  “What lucky girls your mates will be,” Stetson said, standing up. He was done. His bear was acting up again and it was time to let him work off some of his pent up aggression in the forest.

  “My mate will be the luckiest girl on the planet,” Slate called out to him as he pulled off his shirt at the entrance to the forest. “She’s going to laugh all day and wail all night!”

  “You got that backward,” Stetson yelled back.

  He couldn’t hear Slate’s response over the ripping and tearing noise of his polar bear surging forward.

  three

  Kylee ran with everything that she had. Not even the vicious branches whipping into her sweaty face and slashing her cheeks could stop her.