And the crazy bitch did! Twice!

One of the bullets grazing Dee’s ear before hitting the tree behind her. And something told Dee that Blayne wasn’t a bad shot. Not the way she held that weapon, the way she grinned at Dee. Why she’d purposely missed her, Dee couldn’t fathom, and she was simply too angry to try.

Hands shaking, Dee grabbed her ear, felt blood on her fingers. Rage tore through her like a wild fire.

“So what are you going to do now, Dee-Ann? Huh? What are you going to do now to your teacup poodle?”

Tossing the gun past her, Blayne laughed and took off running.

And the last thing Dee consciously remembered doing at that moment was tracking her weapon down and charging off into the woods after Blayne Thorpe.

They heard the shots behind the chief’s office, and the younger Van Holtz looked past Ezra. “Where the hell is Blayne?”

“Where’s Dee-Ann?” Niles Van Holtz wanted to know.

The big buck hybrid who was locked on Ezra’s kid like a tick went out the backdoor, the rest of the males running after him. Ezra shook his head and followed, stepping outside in time to see the big She-wolf charging off into the woods after his baby girl.

“The farmhouse is that way,” Grigori Novikov told the males.

“If Dee-Ann gets her hands on Blayne—”

“That won’t happen,” Blayne’s hybrid said, and shifted. Shifted into something only Blayne could truly love.

Yep. I’m gonna have freak grandkids.

Grigori Novikov shifted with his nephew and took off after the two females. The black bear police chief charged back to town to put a call out to his deputies. MacRyrie and the younger Van Holtz went to follow after the Novikovs, but Ezra grabbed the males from behind and pulled them back.

“To the chopper,” he said.

Ezra knew what his daughter was doing, knew what she was risking. Because that was who she was. He’d accepted that about her a long time ago, but he’d always have her back.

“Let the bears get them from land. We’re going by air, gentlemen.”

Blayne saw where bear country ended. It was clear because through the snow and ice center, she could see that it was a beautiful, sunny day on the other side. She pushed harder, running straight into that cold pocket that would kill a full-human in his or her tracks. She burst out the other side and right into cold but snow-and-ice-free weather.

Breathing hard, her gloved hands feeling like ice, Blayne kept running. She heard a grunt behind her and knew that Dee had made it through and was coming after her.

Bet she’s pissed.

She’d laugh if she had the breath, but she hadn’t pissed off a goddamn Smith She-wolf because she was bored with living. She did it because she needed Dee-Ann’s help. But Dee-Ann didn’t take Blayneseriously. She called her teacup. Rude! So Blayne had taken a page from the Ezra Thorpe philosophy manual on losing friends and irritating enemies. She’d basically instigated a fight.

It had worked, too. She’d pissed off Dee-Ann Smith something fierce. Now Blayne would have to figure out how to live long enough to get her help. But as Blayne made it up that last ridge, strong hands caught hold of her by the shoulders, lifting her off her feet and slamming her into the closest tree. Dee-Ann shoved her forearm against Blayne’s throat, pinning her in place.

Fangs out, blood covering her face from broken nose to sweater-covered chest, Dee-Ann was one step from feral. But Blayne knew there was one thing that might get Dee back. One thing that she did care about.

“Look,” Blayne spit out, finding it really hard to talk with a forearm against her trachea. “Look,” she pushed, using her eyes to gesture to the left since she couldn’t with her body. “Please. Look.”

Keeping her in place, scowling in distrust, Dee glanced over...

Blayne coughed when the forearm moved away, her hand rubbing what she knew would be a big fat bruise. But at least Dee hadn’t crushed anything vital. That was something.

“I think they knew you were coming,” Blayne said, staring down the ridge.

The full-humans had Dee’s team pinned down behind a building. Cut off from their transport near the beach and the land behind the farm. They weren’t dead yet, but they would be.

“The whole town will be coming this way,” Blayne told Dee.

“I guess there’s no point in telling you to go back, is there?”

“I’m getting the hybrids out, Dee. But feel free to kill all the full-humans in between me and them.” Blayne grinned when Dee didn’t pop her in the face. “You know, since you’re so good at that and all.”

By the time Bo and his uncle stepped into the middle of the never-ending storm, half the town was with them. The locals came for two reasons. They came because full-humans were using their territory to torture others. And, more important, because Blayne needed them.

As one rampaging clan of bears, they came through the storm and to the other side. They could hear the gunfire now that they were clear of the torrential winds. The team that the Van Holtzes had sent in were in the middle of a firefight. Standing on the ridge, Bo could see Blayne and the Smith She-wolf moving down, using the trees for cover. Bo wouldn’t try to stop Blayne. No point. But he could help. They could all help.

He charged down the ridge and up to the first full-human male he found. A full-human who turned quickly, his machine gun tight in both hands. Before he could pull the trigger, Bo slapped the gun down, ripping off one of the full-human’s arms in the process.