Chapter 4: Chapter Four

Gray didn’t want to leave Beth—she felt so good tucked close to his side, her hair fanned out against the white pillowcase. He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her neck before admiring her for another moment. He hadn’t planned for the night to go quite like it had. Not that he would complain. She’d been embarrassed on the walk back to the inn and he had found it sweet.

After assuring him over and over that she never did things like that, Gray had had to kiss her into silence. That had almost led to another public display, but he’d managed to get control of himself. Still, the night had taken a surprising and fucking amazing turn of events.

He’d been hoping for a nice quiet walk and maybe to be able to sneak a kiss or two. He’d wanted to woo Beth like she deserved. The walk had been wonderful, but when he’d seen her in the garden, moonlight behind her, he just hadn’t been able to control himself. The first kiss had done him in.

He had no doubt he wasn’t reading deeper into his feelings. Beth Williams was the woman for him. Now the real issues would start. Gray didn’t care that she was a feline. He’d questioned her earlier, making sure she understood what he was. But now would come the backlash of what everyone else thought. There’d never been talk of mating across species. Not that he was ready to mate, but eventually he could see himself settling down with her.

They needed to spend more time together first. He was sure that Tyler would give him some vacation time that he’d most definitely earned by being away on this latest assignment. The police department that he served would just have to deal with their number one detective being gone longer.

Gray wasn’t ready to move to Coyote Bluff, but he and Beth were going to have to come up with a way to continue their relationship.

The biggest obstacle was the distance they lived from each other, but he’d think of something.

He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could. There was just enough time to shift and get to his meeting. Gray pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before grabbing his shoes. The door clicked softly as he closed it behind him, and he had to fight the urge to go back and kiss Beth one more time.

Shaking his head at himself, he made his way through the inn, remaining silent so he wouldn’t wake anyone else up. He used the back door to leave and immediately caught the feline scent. He crouched, dropped his shoes, a growl rumbling in his throat.

“Easy, wolf.” Casey Williams stepped out of the shadows.

Gray straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to… I had to see for myself they were okay.” Casey shrugged and walked up the steps.

Gray relaxed. He could smell the sincerity from the bobcat. “They’re okay.”

Casey nodded to the porch furniture. Gray took a seat first. Casey passed by him to lean against the rail before stiffening. He took a deep breath and hissed. “You’ve been with my sister,” he accused.

Shit, he really should have showered but he hadn’t wanted to leave Beth. Besides, he’d thought he was meeting RJ and hadn’t thought Beth’s scent would be an issue. Gray held up both hands. “It’s not what you think.”

But Casey wasn’t listening. He snarled and took a step toward Gray. Gray had jumped to his feet to defend himself when the back door slammed closed.

“Casey Williams, don’t you touch him!”

Both men froze as Beth stepped away from the door.

“Beth,” Casey murmured her name. He appeared both shocked and almost desperate to reach for her.

She smiled, her entire face lighting up, and held out her arms. “Hello, big brother.”

Casey moved quickly, pulling her into a tight embrace and rocking her back and forth. Gray felt like an intruder witnessing such an emotional display. But he was happy for both of them too.

Casey drew back and cupped her cheeks. “You are so beautiful.”

She laughed. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

He hugged her again before letting her go and glancing over at Gray. “Maybe we can talk later. I need to discuss something with Gray.”

She shook her head and patted his chest. “Nice try. You and Gray can talk about what’s going on with the Prince in front of me. However, you will not discuss my relationship with Gray.”

“Wow,” Gray murmured. He was sort of in awe of Beth at the moment.

“Your ‘relationship’? He’s been here two days and you have a ‘relationship’?” Casey asked.

Casey’s tone agitated Gray enough that he started to growl. Beth pulled him back to the furniture. “Down, boys. Casey, you don’t get to question anything I do with Gray or anyone else for that matter. You weren’t here before and, while I’m glad you’re back, I am an adult.”

Gray had started to grin at her show of independence from her brother until she’d mentioned someone else. Was there someone else? He hadn’t thought to ask before. They’d just met and…

Beth slapped his chest. “Knock it off. There is no one else.”

Gray blushed at being caught.

Casey moved back to lean against the rail again. “Sorry, but you are still my sister. Family has to look out for one another.”

“Great!” Beth said cheerfully. “I’d love to meet the Prince and ask him why, if he knew about us, he never came to see us. I mean, even if you were out of the country, he still could have called or let us know you were still alive. Or, you know…tell us he mated you.”

Casey had the grace to drop his head. “I am sorry about that. I kept meaning to get hold of you all. But every time I came close, something would happen and I felt…knew it would be safer if you didn’t have any contact from me.”

Beth snorted. “You keep thinking that, Case. In the meantime, you have no say about me and Gray.”

Casey nodded while frowning. Gray didn’t think that would be the end of the subject, though.

“Now, if you guys would like to discuss what dragged Gray out of bed at almost midnight, I’m all ears.”

Obviously Casey wasn’t going to be able to keep her out of the discussion any more than Gray was. With a heavy sigh, Casey waved his hand at Gray to start.

“Joe wasn’t happy that you didn’t let him know what was going on. I think he’ll have a few words with you when he sees you,” Gray told him, just a little amused. “But he agreed that he needed to add support to make sure no one got away and nothing was left to chance.”

“We can handle this,” Casey argued. “We have been doing this kind of stuff for years.”

“But he has to protect his community, too.”

Casey ran his hands roughly over his face. “I know. I just didn’t think it would be so complicated.”

“Someone kidnapped the Prince. That’s pretty damned complicated already,” Beth piped up.

Both men glared at her. She ducked her head, smirking,

“Anyway,” Casey restarted, “I really thought they would come after Zach and it would be done. Over fifty people entered the canyon today. Seven of those stayed to camp and didn’t leave. I don’t know if they took the bait or not.”

“Maybe they decided to come in like we did,” Gray suggested.

“Claude’s had some guys watching the town limits. No one entered who he didn’t know except you.”

“So we don’t know any more than this morning?” Gray questioned, even though he knew the answer.

“It’s frustrating,” Casey shared. “I just want this over with. We decided our last mission was it. We’re ready to get out. I want to spend time with my family. RJ’s brother just accepted a position as Alpha and has asked him to come home. Craig will stay with the Prince as his personal guard after all of this. And Mike… I’m not sure what Mike’s plans are, but he says he’s tired of fighting for everyone else.”

Gray could understand. The men had lost a lot of time serving.

“There are other members of the team, but us four started together and want to finish together. I trust those men with my life…with my mate’s life.”

“Everyone needs help. I might not have ever served in the military, but no matter how good you all are, there are still people who can take some of the pressure off. That way you can spend time with your family,” Gray offered.

Beth took his hand and squeezed it gently. “Let us help you, Casey.”

“Yes, I know,” he conceded. “I’m just not used to having civilians involved. Or sisters.”

Beth just beamed at him.

Gray chuckled.

“RJ and Mike are doing a sweep of the canyon tonight. Trying to pick up any scents that don’t belong.” He glanced to Gray. “I know you were supposed to run with RJ, but I had to come to town.”

“You’re sure you weren’t followed? No one caught sight of you?” Gray asked.

“I’m sure.” Casey didn’t seem annoyed by the question. “Just as I’m sure that Claude is watching us from an upstairs window even now.”

Gray glanced around but still didn’t spot the hawk shifter.

Casey chuckled. “You won’t see him if he doesn’t want you to.”

“I’m getting an education here on shifters, for sure,” Gray commented. He’d admired the many birds of prey species but hadn’t thought he’d ever get to meet one.

“That tends to happen when you come to Coyote Bluff,” Beth said. “And I think it’s a good thing.”

Gray nodded.

“I’d better get out of here.” Casey pushed himself off the rail. “We plan to stay a little longer once things are sorted out. I want to reconnect with you and Dawson. I also have years of absence to make up for with a nephew.”

“That sounds good to me,” Beth told him.

“The sheriff wants to head up to talk to you and the Prince first thing,” Gray added.

“I’ll let the others know,” Casey said, stepping away from the porch.

Gray stood, bringing Beth up with him.

Gray and Casey shook hands before Casey pulled Beth in again. “It’s good to see you, sis.”

She hugged him tight. “Glad you’re home.”

Casey stepped down the porch. He disappeared back into the shadows.

Beth pivoted to Gray. “Now, why don’t we discuss you leaving me in the middle of the night to meet with strange felines?”

“Now, darling,” Gray drawled as best he could. “You know you’re the only strange feline I would prefer meeting in the middle of the night.”

She threw her arms around his neck. “Good, now take me back to bed. I need my beauty sleep.”

Gray hauled her into his arms. “I’ll take you back to bed, but I don’t promise you’ll get much sleep.”

She attached her lips to his neck as he strode across the porch and in through the back door. She didn’t let up on her assault even when he stumbled a couple of times.

“Don’t drop me,” she taunted, running her tongue into his ear.

He shivered, making his way to his room as quickly as he could while trying to not drop her for real. Once he reached his door he pushed it open, slipped inside and closed it by pressing her against it. She laughed and threw her head back.

Gray covered her mouth with his, thrusting his tongue inside and swallowing her moan. He was already hard as he rubbed against her. His body had never responded so quickly or surely before. Just another sign that she was meant for him.

She gripped his cock through his jeans and squeezed. His knees went weak and he fell forward, knocking her farther against the door.

“It’s my turn,” she said with promise in her voice before dropping slowly to her knees.

Gray gasped when she ran her hands up the inside seam of his pants.

“I get to taste you now,” she told him, rubbing her cheek against his erection. “Tease and pleasure you.”

“You don’t have to…” he tried to tell her but almost swallowed his tongue when she mouthed his cock through his jeans.

“I don’t have to do anything but taste you,” Beth agreed. She deftly unsnapped his jeans with her slender fingers before pulling them down. “Mmm. No underwear,” she purred, nudging his erect shaft with her nose. “I like.”

“Damn!” he yelled when she wrapped one hand around the base of his dick and licked the head.

Beth moaned around the tip of his cock and it was all he could do not to thrust into the warm, moist haven of her mouth. “Beth, please, I’m…”

She popped off and gave him a sexy grin. “You’re going to enjoy this,” she assured him.

Yes, he was, but he didn’t know if he would survive it. Her lips wrapped around his shaft and she swallowed him all the way down her throat. The way she used her tongue on the vein under his cockhead almost had his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

“Baby… Baby…” He fisted his hands to keep him from grabbing her hair and just pounding into her mouth. It was sweet torture, what she was doing to him.

She edged back, hollowing her cheeks and sucking.

“Jeez, oh God,” he pleaded with her.

She moved her head up and down his shaft, gripping his hip with her free hand to encourage him to move. And, God help him, he had to move. He thrust shallowly at first, trying not to hurt her, but eventually he snapped and cried out, plunging his hips in time with her moving on his cock.

All too sudden, the tingling started and he knew he was going to come. He slid his fingers through her hair.

“Baby… Beth…”

She hummed and he took that as permission. Three more thrusts and he slammed his head forward into the door, biting back a howl as he released. She swallowed him down and kept sucking when he didn’t go completely soft. He pulled her off his half-hard dick and up into his arms. He tasted his seed mixed with her unique flavor as he plundered her mouth. Holding her tight, he stumbled his way to the bed, still unmade from earlier. He dropped down, covering her body with his. He yanked off his shirt which they hadn’t managed to remove, before attacking her clothes. She was naked and bared for him in seconds.

“You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met,” he told her, fingering her clit before slipping two fingers through her slick folds and opening her up.

She clawed at his back. “In me… In me…”

He growled and flipped her over. “Hands and knees! Come on, baby,” he encouraged.

Beth hurried to comply, arching her back in invitation. Nipping her right ass cheek made her squeak and he chuckled. Gray ran his tongue over the small hurt. “Perfect. So perfect, honey.”

She pushed back into him. He lined his cock up to her entrance and pressed in. She opened for him, squeezing tightly.

“So good,” he praised, pulling out and slamming back in.

It was going to be quick. Even though he had just come, he was so out of control for this woman. He set a hard, steady pace pounding into her tight, wet pussy. His wolf was close to the surface, demanding he claim their mate. His eyes began to shift and his teeth elongated. He held the animal back and continued to hammer inside.

Beth thrust back, met each crazed stroke, urging him on. Screaming, she started to climax, the walls of her cunt clamping down almost painfully.

Gray continued to plunge deep, enjoying the loud pleased noises.

“Come inside me,” she whispered.

Gray came hard, his vision darkening. He couldn’t hold himself up and dropped his weight on top of her.

“You’d better not fall asleep,” she murmured.

He managed a grunt.

* * * *

Morning came too early. Gray groaned at the sunlight sneaking its way into his room. He rolled his bed partner closer and buried his face in the back of her neck. Beth hummed softly, snuggling back into him. He cupped her breast and kissed down her shoulder. What would it be like to wake this way every morning? Would she get tired of him? Probably. He couldn’t expect Beth to change her entire life for him.

Gray had a very important position with his Pack, but Beth had family who relied on her. He’d been thinking they’d find a way of working things out, but in the back of his mind, he’d imagined Beth joining him in Colorado.

His home was beautiful, with a gorgeous view of the mountains and a growing Pack who needed him. But how would Beth fit in with a Pack of wolf shifters? In Coyote Bluff Beth was surrounded by shifters who already accepted her.

Gray’s Pack accepted him and cared for him, but he had no idea how they’d react to having a bobcat around all the time, being a part of them.

Beth rolled over and their lips met. “You’re thinking awfully hard for it being such a beautiful start to the day,” she said after they parted.

“Good morning.” He smiled, trying to let go of his worries. At the moment he had.

“Morning.” She snuggled deeper into his arms. “I slept so well last night.”

So had he. Gray might not have been used to sharing his bed for more than sex, but he’d enjoyed holding Beth all night. And he wasn’t sure what to do about it yet, so he kissed in her response. She responded beautifully, opening to him and allowing him to roll on top. She ran her hands down his back while he nibbled on her neck.

“Beth.” He loved to say her name.

The pounding on the bedroom door startled them both. Gray glanced at the clock and noticed he was already late. “Damn it.”

He kissed Beth one more time before picking up his jeans and hopping into them. More pounding. “All right, all right—keep your pants on.”

He opened the door to an amused-looking Claude. “The sheriff is already downstairs and Dawson is on his way. Wanted me to make sure you were out of bed.”

Beth laughed behind him. He smiled at the older man. “I’ll be right down. Thanks.”

Claude nodded and headed back down the hall. Gray closed the door and pointed toward the bed. “I’m late. You keep your sexy ass there while I shower. No more distracting me.”

She licked her lips, causing his cock to twitch again. “Want me to wash your back?”

“No!” he growled at her. “I have to leave the room before noon.”

Her happy voice followed him into the bathroom. “I’ll just entertain myself then.”

He thumped his dick, trying to get himself under control, and jumped into a lukewarm shower. It was the best he could do under the time constraint.

Less than ten minutes later he was back, dressing while Beth smirked at him from the bed. He loved her playful attitude and really could see them sharing mornings like this together.

Once he was ready for the day ahead, he leaned over the bed and kissed her as chastely as he could. “Please be careful today. We don’t think anyone is in town, but you never know.”

Thankfully, she nodded. “Julian is probably already downstairs. We’ll stay either here or at the house. We’ll even stay out of town.”

She must have read the relief on his face.

“Hey, I won’t do anything to put Julian at risk,” she promised.

“Or yourself?” he added.

She smiled shyly. “Or myself. I promise.”

He kissed her again, this one deeper and a lot dirtier. His cock, which had finally settled, perked right back up.

“Trouble,” he grumbled at her, pulling away and adjusting himself.

“See you later,” she called and blew him a kiss.

He smiled the entire way down the stairs to the front entrance. There he met the sheriff, Dawson and Claude. Dorothy handed him a travel mug of coffee and a foil-wrapped package. Wow, the citizens of this town really do watch out for one another.

“For the road,” she told him with a fond smile.

He dipped his head in thanks. “Appreciate it.”

“You and Gray head out the same way as you did yesterday. Take the direct route. Claude and I will follow and make sure no one else is tailing you,” the sheriff ordered.

“Claude?” Gray asked, becoming uneasy. He didn’t want to leave the inn unprotected.

“I have my deputy stationed here and Claude has a few friends close by. Everyone here will be safe,” Joe answered his unspoken concern.

Gray nodded and followed the other men out. He slid into the passenger seat beside Dawson, taking a deep breath to get his bearings. He needed to get into the mindset of planning a mission with the felines. This was Gray’s chance to finally end the entire investigation and send all of the other shifters back home to their families.

“Go ahead and eat while I drive,” Dawson said. “You’re going to need your energy to hike back up the canyon.”

Gray didn’t miss Dawson’s smirk. “Got something to say?”

“Not a thing,” Dawson replied with a smile. “Just thought you might be tired this morning. You know, since my sister didn’t come home last night.”

He moaned. “Man, I don’t want to have this conversation.”

“Eat!” Dawson ordered.

Gray drank his coffee and chowed down on the best breakfast burrito he’d ever had. The pepper from the sausage mixed wonderfully with the fluffy eggs. There was some sort of sauce that contained the perfect amount of heat. “I got to tell you, I could move here just for the food,” he told Dawson.

“Are you thinking about it?” Dawson asked quietly.

Gray glanced over at him, not realizing how his words might be taken. “Thinking about it?” Am I? No, there was no way he’d leave Tyler.

“Moving here,” Dawson clarified.

Gray crumpled up the foil and took a drink of his rich coffee to give him time. He knew he was stalling. So did Dawson, by the frown he gave him.

“I can’t,” he admitted, not glancing at the other man. “I have responsibilities at home.”

“Look, Gray, I won’t pressure you. Beth is a big girl and she knows what she’s doing. Like I said yesterday, just be honest with her. I’m not going to go all big brother on you.”

“Yeah, one of you is enough,” Gray muttered.

Dawson cut his eyes to him.

“Casey stopped by last night instead of RJ. He said he wanted to see for himself that all of you were okay.”

“And he caught Beth’s scent on you?” Dawson guessed.

“Yes,” Gray smiled. “Tried to go all protective on me, but Beth had followed me out.”

“I can just imagine what she’d had to say to him,” Dawson shared with a grin.

“It was interesting,” Gray commented. “She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. Beth was standing there, reading Casey the riot act, looking sexy as hell but still as sweet as anyone I’ve ever met.”

“She is both fierce and kind,” Dawson said.

“I’m glad I came here,” Gray shared. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I will never regret meeting you all.”

Dawson didn’t say anything else but Gray got the feeling that his new friend understood what Gray was trying to say. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes and had almost reached their stop before Dawson spoke up. “With the way that things unfolded yesterday, I can’t help but think that maybe some of this was meant to be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t seen my brother in a number of years. When we finally reconnect, it’s to learn that he’s the mate of the Prince. You come here in search of Zachary and find he’s already been rescued, but had you known that you wouldn’t have come here and met Beth.”

“When you put it that way…” Gray said. “You might be right. It does sort of feel like this was destined or something. Can I ask you a question, though?”

Dawson shrugged. “Sure.”

“Does it bother you?” Gray questioned. “Your brother taking a male mate?”

Dawson blew out a breath and seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “It doesn’t bother me that his mate is male. It bothers me that he kept that part to himself. That instead of allowing us to be a part of their lives, he purposely stayed away.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to forgive him?”

“I don’t know. The three of us were always close. It hurt when he left. You know most felines stay solitary, but his leaving… It felt like he put his animal nature before his family. And now he has a whole new life that we’re not a part of.”

“Beth said something similar the other night.”

Dawson smiled. “Beth and I have always felt the same. Family is the most important thing. We’re humans first. Our parents were never there for us. Even when they were here, they always wanted to be somewhere else. I don’t know if it molded our outlook, but I know I will never leave my son.”

“Julian is a great kid,” Gray assured him.

“Yeah. When I met his mom I thought we both wanted the same thing. And I think she did in the beginning, but it turned out she just couldn’t stay. I still can’t forgive her for leaving him.”

Gray took in everything that had been said. He was finding out more and more about what Beth had been through, but he wanted, no, needed, the time to learn the things that only she could tell him. He wasn’t sure that he was even going to get a chance. “Have you ever heard of two different species mating?” he asked.

Dawson tilted his head in thought. “I know a few who have mated with humans. Claude and Dorothy, as matter of fact. Plus Casey is a bobcat and Prince Zachary is a lion, but as for a wolf and a bobcat, I just don’t know.”

That was what Gray had figured.

“I guess you’ll have to decide how far you want to take it,” Dawson suggested, just as the ranger station came into view.

They repeated the same steps as yesterday, peering into the closed station before walking around to the trail that was barely there. Gray didn’t get any sense of being followed, not even by Joe and Claude. So either the other two shifters were still pretty far behind or they were better at hiding their scent than he’d thought.

Gray and Dawson knew where they were going this time but still took the time to cover their tracks and double back to make sure they didn’t lead anyone to the Prince’s hideout.

They stayed in human form, so the trip up the canyon took longer than it had the day before. Several times they had to help each other up embankments where their animals had easily jumped. During the trek they took two breaks to drink water and eat a granola bar before they finally made it to where they’d run into the wolves and Casey. Just as he’d suspected, as they reached the area, RJ Cross was waiting there for them.

RJ jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet. “There you are.”

Gray leaned against a rock and glared at him. Gray was in good shape, but the late night and second day of hiking up the steep canyon were taking their toll on him. His back muscles protested and his legs were starting to cramp. Meanwhile, RJ seemed full of energy.

“Where’s the sheriff? Casey said he was coming with you.” RJ practically bounced as he spoke.

Gray motioned behind them. “He’s heading up with Claude. We split up so we could keep an eye out for if anyone was following.”

“Cool!” RJ hopped back up on the ledge. “We need to get started before I die of boredom. Here comes Mike.”

The other wolf stalked down in his animal form. He moved quietly, glancing behind him a few times. He shifted and seconds later a naked man stood in front of them all.

“I think they’re here,” he announced, accepting the bottle of water RJ handed him.

“About damn time,” RJ muttered. “Time we finished this.”

Gray exchanged looks with Dawson, not sure how he felt about the upcoming conflict.

“They came through this morning as soon as the gates opened. They didn’t take a map or ask about any of the trails. The ranger had the feeling they knew where they were headed.”

“Are you sure it’s them?” Gray had to ask.

Mike scowled at him. “Yeah, I sniffed around their vehicle. They’re shifters and I recognized their scent from the cabin where we rescued Zach.”

“So it’s on.” RJ clapped his hands together. “We need to tell Casey.”

The other men nodded and they followed them to the cave they’d been to before. Joe and Claude would just have to catch up.

Casey greeted his brother with a hug and Gray with a handshake. Prince Zachary appeared tired but offered them a small smile as they entered the cave. The other feline stood at the far cave wall, rifle on his shoulder. Mike explained to the rest of them what he had seen and found out.

“So it’s time,” Prince Zachary acknowledged, although he seemed more resigned than RJ and Mike had been.

Casey rubbed his arm. “We capture these guys, then at least we know when we go back to get your cousin, there will be fewer complications. It has to be done.”

“I just don’t want anyone else hurt on my account,” he told his mate, shaking his head sadly.

Casey wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him off to the side of the cave. Gray hadn’t thought about how all this affected the Prince. His own family had turned on him. Not only did he have to worry about every feline in the country but he had surrounded himself with traitors.

It was lucky for the Prince that he had such a strong mate in Casey. Almost a perfect match between them. It reminded him a lot of Kiley and Austin’s relationship. Kiley had been a rogue shifter but had lived inside Gray’s Pack territory. She’d only been close to him, Tyler and Tyler’s daughter. But when she’d gotten together with an Alpha, all Kiley’s experience in being rogue had allowed her to help understand some of the shifters Austin had adopted.

Austin and Kiley were a team, in much the same way as he witnessed Zachary and Casey acting. Gray craved that for himself. He shook the thought away quickly. First they needed to help the felines.

“How long to do you think it will take them to get up here?” he asked Mike and RJ.

“I figure about two or three hours, tops. It’s one thing to map out the canyon and know where to go, but a whole other thing to do it when you’re on foot. I knew where all the shortcuts were, and luckily they didn’t or they would have beaten me here. I expect they’ll come shifted. There are a couple of wolves, two cats and something else,” Mike informed them.

“Something else?” RJ questioned his buddy.

Mike shook his head. “Couldn’t get a good read.”

“Joe and Claude should be here by then also. So five of them and nine of us—pretty damn good odds,” Dawson stated.

“Seven of us,” RJ corrected. “Craig stays with Zach to guard him. No one will get their hands on him again.”

“I can take care of myself,” Prince Zachary interrupted, coming back over. “You need Craig with you.”

“Not gonna happen,” Casey voiced, narrowing his eyes at his mate. “Above and beyond all else, you are the Prince of our people. Craig will guard you.”

“I am also one of the most powerful cats in the world,” Zachary argued back.

“No,” Casey snapped. “You stay here.”

“I’m sorry to get in the middle, Prince Zachary, but I have to agree with Casey. We need to finish this, capture these men and get you to safety. I have a son and sister who are dying to meet you. And you don’t want to disappoint those two,” Dawson added respectfully.

The Prince opened his mouth and closed it again. Finally, he nodded. “Nicely played,” he grumbled. “You take after your brother more than you think.”

Casey beamed and Gray hid his own smile. He could see the family dynamic coming together. It made him feel warm inside that Beth would have these men in her life.

“We should split up and take our positions. It might be a few hours, but we can’t take any chances,” Casey suggested.

The others all agreed. “Gray and RJ will take point. They’ll take the farthest position,” Casey directed. “Dawson and Mike will go south—block anyone from sneaking up on us that way. I’ll wait for the sheriff and Claude. They’ll cover the high ground.”

“What about you?” Dawson enquired with a lift of his brow.

Casey grinned. “I’m bait. I’ll lead them to us.”

Zachary and Dawson started to protest, but Casey held up a hand to cut them off. “My show, my call.”

“Sounds good to me.” RJ grabbed a pack and threw it over to Gray. He caught it easily and glanced down at it. “Water and some beef jerky,” RJ clarified. “Should hold us over till we see some action.”

Gray shook his head at him but hefted the pack to his shoulder.

“I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to a hot shower and a nice home-cooked meal,” his partner told him as he motioned toward the mouth of the cave. Gray didn’t blame the man. Hadn’t he just had the same thoughts? But at least he’d been able to rest in hotel rooms. He had the feeling that, during the search, Casey had kept his team off the radar and in hiding. Had probably had them sleeping on the ground the whole time.

Gray caught Dawson’s eye and gave a slight nod. This was it. Hopefully everyone involved would be caught this time. Gray and the others would be able to get on with their lives. Gray clasped Dawson’s shoulder and followed the young wolf out. He hoped everything went according to plan.

“Be careful,” Gray murmured to Dawson. “Don’t forget your little boy expects you home tonight.”

“My sister is counting on both of our returns,” Dawson replied. “We’ll be back and eating some of the best food in the world in a few hours.”

Gray wished he shared Dawson’s confidence.

Instead, as he followed behind RJ’s bulk, he kept on high alert. This entire adventure had been very convenient and he didn’t trust that everything would keep going smoothly.

Life didn’t normally work that way. In Gray’s experience, something always went wrong before it got straightened back out.