The Bear's Redemption

Chapter 10

Kuma

I burst into the Med wing, my boots thudding hard against the floor, my breath heaving from the sprint. I dumped Lionel in the holding cell, left him with Arrow and Thale standing guard, and didn’t even care to say a word. He’s lucky I didn’t snap his neck on the way there.

But now I’m here, and the sight nearly guts me.

My alpha, my friend, stands in the middle of the chaos, covered in his mate’s blood, hands limp at his sides, eyes blank. Like the world’s been ripped out from under him.

Bellamy and Koda are next to Kitari, both with their hands on her. Frantic energy desperately flickering between them. I know that look in Koda’s eyes. He’s trying to hold it together, for her, for everyone. My heart aches for him.

But what hits me hardest, what knocks the air from my lungs, is her.

Makini.

Slumped against the wall. Her shoulders tremble, and her fists are clenched like she’s trying to hold herself together through sheer force of will. The woman who holds her team like steel, who never falters, never breaks, is coming apart.

And before I can think, I move. I cross the space in two strides and take her into my arms.

She doesn’t fight me.

She melts, lets herself fall into me, her body wracked with silent sobs that c***k my chest wide open. I hold her tighter, strong arms around her, sheltering her from everything for this one moment. Her face buried against my shoulder, and then I hear the softest, most broken sound escape her lips. Tears blur my vision, hot and unexpected.

Jax is hovering nearby, fidgeting like he doesn’t know where to put his hands. He’s used to her being invincible; we all are. No one knows what to do when the backbone falters.

But I do. I hold her.

And she lets me. For a minute. One moment.

And then I feel it, the slow, painful stiffening in her spine, like armor clicking back into place. She pulls away, carefully, and doesn’t meet my eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

I can barely nod. “Of course,” I manage past the lump in my throat.

She straightens and steps back into command.

I give her space, wiping my face with the back of my hand like it doesn’t matter.

I cross the room and pull Koda into a tight hug. He leans into it for a breath before stepping back. I clap Bellamy’s shoulder. And then I step towards Dorgan; my hand lands firm on his back.

We don’t speak. We don’t need to.

But inside me, something is building. A storm, raw and violent.

Someone hurt my people.

Mi familia.

And they are going to pay for it.

The storm starts building inside me. When I can’t contain the storm any longer, I march out of the Med wing. I can barely see straight.

The rage is so thick it buzzes behind my eyes, filling my chest like molten lead.

Lionel starts stinking of fear from the moment I get to him, good. He should.

I scan him over, cuffed to the chair, scrawny wrists rattling against metal. Thale and Arrow stand back. Smart. They know better than to get between me and him right now.

I move slowly. Deliberate. Like a storm rolling in.

Lionel won’t meet my eyes. His whole body’s shaking.

Pathetic.

“You poisoned them. Our Alpha female and another innocent female.” My voice is a low rumble, almost a growl. “You tried to kill them.”

The table’s between us, thick oak. I slam my palms down hard enough that the wood cracks under me. Lionel jerks like he’s been shot.

“No lies, el cabron” I say. I lean forward so he can see the change bleeding into me, the claws, the fur at my jaw, my eyes burning bright. “Talk.”

He tries to hold it together. He fails.

“They, they promised,” he stammers, the words spilling out, “My sister, she’s still captured, they said if I helped, do one little thing... ”

“One little thing,” I interrupt his babble, voice deadly calm. “You call trying to kill our Alpha mate one little thing? And Kitari, cielos!”

Lionel sobs.

“It was only meant for her, the dragon. I, I panicked and shot both. I only meant to weaken the fox girl. They said if I got rid of her, of the dragon, Dorgan would fall apart, the Reserve would be weak.”

“Who?” I snarl, cutting across to him.

He shrinks back. “I don’t know names! Humans, they wore uniforms! They said shifters don’t deserve this land, don’t deserve to exist!”

Filthy, weak cowards hiding behind promises and poison.

I see red, literal red, creeping at the edge of my vision. My claws punch into the table just inches from Lionel’s hand. The scent of his terror is so strong it’s nauseating.

“You’re a disgrace,” I snarl. “Why not come to us, talk to Dorgan? We could have helped you.”

He shakes his head frantically, blubbering. “I never wanted anyone to get hurt. ”

I straighten up slowly, towering over him, fists clenching. It takes everything I have not to shift completely and rip him apart right here.

"You'd better start praying now, rata” I say, my voice low and full of threat, "you'd better pray Sasha survives.”

I lean in closer, close enough that he can see the beast in me. “If she doesn’t, you’ll see how ruthless dragons can be. And maybe I get to show you how fierce bears can be, too."

Lionel sobs again, his head dropping.

I turn on my heel and shove the door open so hard that it slams against the wall, the sound like a gunshot. I need air before I do something I can’t take back.

Outside, I can already hear the howl of Dorgan’s grief echoing across the reserve.

And it fuels the fire in my chest even more. I don’t go far. I can’t.

There’s too much blood on the ground, too much grief in the air. It clings to the Reserve like smoke after a fire.

I run into Myan and Tivani outside; they’re doing a perimeter sweep, eyes sharp, tension rolling off them in waves. Myan’s back is rigid, arms crossed. Tivani’s got her arms wrapped around herself like she’s barely holding it together.

“Is he talking?” Tivani asks, breathing a little unevenly. She doesn’t say Lionel’s name, but she doesn’t have to.

“Yes, he is,” I answer, voice flat. When she meets my gaze, jaw clenched, I add, “And he will do some more. I assure you.”

She nods slowly, and I take a step closer to her. “We can swap you out if you want to be inside, Vani. With Sasha. I know how close you are to her.”

She shakes her head hard, too fast. “No. No, I can’t go in there and sit on my hands, Kuma. I need to do something. Help her somehow.” Her voice cracks, and I see the shimmer of tears tracing down her cheek. “Here, at least, I’m keeping her safe.”

I don’t say anything. What could I say? That I get it? That I feel the same helpless rage?

My steps up beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder, gentle but grounding. None of the usual smirk or mischief in him now. Just steel.

“She’ll be fine, sis,” he says, his voice low and steady. “And then…”

He pauses, jaw tightening, eyes flashing.

“Then they’ll pay,” he growls. And may the stars help whoever stands in our way when that day comes.

I turn back after a few minutes, jaw tight, fists tighter. I find Thale still inside, arms crossed, looming over Lionel like a lion ready to pounce. Arrow’s there too, pacing, barely hiding the tremble of rage in his limbs. They all love her; they love them.

Lionel’s still sniveling like the coward he is.

“Talk,” I bark. “All of it.”

Lionel flinches at the sound of my voice but finally croaks out, “It, it was the NNA. It was… the General.”

My heart stills. The General.

Ordered the assassination of his daughter, his own flesh and blood.

Good grief, if Sasha finds out, if she lives to find out. Another arrow straight to her heart.

I see the General in my mind. I remember the day he killed my parents and my people. He had cold eyes and a colder smile. He viewed shifters as things to own or destroy. No heart. No mercy.

Lionel licks his lips nervously. “He’s planning something. He said this was just the beginning. He said that if he can’t use her, she has to die.” Now he’s rambling as if this information will buy him mercy. Not a chance.

Arrow curses low under his breath.

“And the poison?” I press.

Lionel trembles. “Nightshade. A synthetic strain. Harder to detect. It was in the water… I thought it would weaken them, make them easy targets. ” He cuts off at the look on my face.

“You thought wrong,” I growl.

Nightshade. Shifters are tough, but that stuff? It’s deadly even in small doses. It slows the body, weakens the mind. Enough in the bloodstream, and even a dragon can fall.

I leave Lionel whimpering and storm towards the Med Wing with this new information.

I find Dorgan outside. He’s pacing like a caged wolf, shirt soaked in Sasha’s blood, claws half-shifted, shoulders heaving. His power rolls off him in waves, making the air feel electric.

He sees me and snarls, eyes wild.

“Where is he?” His voice is shredded raw. “Where’s the bastard?”

I hold up a hand, keeping my voice even. “Handled. We’ve got him talking.”

Dorgan steps closer, fists clenched, teeth bared. I meet his fury head-on. Not afraid. Never afraid of my Alpha.

“They used Nightshade, Dorgan,” I say, firmly. “Poisoned the girls. It was meant to weaken them, make them easy targets. Ordered by the NNA Alpha, the General.”

His face twists, a snarl ripping from his throat. He slams a fist into the wall of the building, cracking the brick like paper.

“They’ll pay,” he growls, his voice ragged. “Every last one.”

I grab his shoulder, squeezing hard. “And they will. But not if you lose your head now.”

For a moment, he looks like he might tear me apart, too.

But then he closes his eyes, sucking in a ragged breath, and I can feel some of the killing edge bleed off him.

“She’s alive,” I say, my voice low. “Sasha’s strong. Kitari too. You got them here in time. Let the medics work.”

He opens his eyes again. Pain and rage war in them, but there’s something else too, that desperate, bone-deep hope only mates can have.

“We’ll find the General,” I promise him. “And we’ll tear down whatever’s left of him.”

Dorgan nods once, short and brutal.

And I know what he's saying, this is war now.

Real war.