Baby Got Bear - Milly Taiden Page 0,18
time to check into him. I’m going completely on innuendo and hearsay.” Scratching at the stubble on his jaw, Beau growled, “He’s scum. No way he should even be in our region, let alone leading a pack. It’s scary. The dirt on this guy makes Cleland look like an altar boy.”
Pacing faster with each passing second, he tried hard to control the grizzly with him. “Holloway forces his wolves to deals drugs to humans, he’s forced his men into contract killing, his import/export business is a front for everything from heroine to human trafficking.”
“So, that just follows everything we know about the old alpha. The nastier the wolf, the better Cleland likes them.”
“Yeah, but this is different. I have no proof, and don’t know how to get it.”
Hearing the scrape of the beta’s chair across the tile floor, Beau counted Jack’s footsteps until the younger grizzly stopped at his side. “Okay, you really need to get outside, let the fresh air clear your mind, let Mother Nature work her magic on your brain. The answer’s in there.
“You know it and I know it. You just gotta let it work its way to the surface.” Chuckling, the beta went on. “Besides, won’t be the first time you’ve torn through the fields like a whole hive of bees were after you.” He chuckled. “Hell, there was a whole hive of bees after you…more than once.”
“Yeah.” Beau worked up a snicker, the images of a swarm of bees hot on his tail, and Jack laughing his fool ass off coming to life in his memory.
“I just don’t know.” Running his hands through his tangled hair for the umpteenth time, a habit he was going to have to stop, or he would be bald in less than a year just from worrying about keeping Lucy safe and happy, Beau blew out a long-suffering breath. “This is the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to me. More of the best, seriously less of the worst, but…” Looking at his friend, he tried not to groan. “Can bears get ulcers?”
“Ha! I don’t think so, but I bet you could ask Miss Bea. If anybody would know, it’ll be her.”
“True.”
“And the only thing bad about finding your mate is her dad,” Jack grumbled. “Cleland’s the worst kinda big bag of dicks. Nobody—not even that asshole from Detroit that tried to sell drugs to our cubs—should ever be made to endure. He’s the biggest asshole ever to walk the face of the earth. The worst part is he knows it and doesn’t care. It makes him dangerous.”
“Yeah, but I can’t escape him, and neither can Lucy,” he said, just barely stopping the growl building deep in his chest from breaking free. “The bastard just better never lay a finger on her. Alpha or not, I’ll gut him where he stands.”
Filled with the healing power and control Jack was pushing through the link they shared as packmates, Beau was once again reminded what an upstanding man and grizzly his beta was. “I got you. I’ll hold the asshole down, so you don’t get blood on your fur.”
Patting Beau on the shoulder before taking a step back, the younger bear sympathized. “I understand your worry. I don’t know what you’re going through. Personally, I have nothing to compare it to, but I’ve seen it in others and am right here looking at you in living color. The one thing I know for sure is you’ll do the right thing. You always do.”
“Yeah, always have, haven’t I?”
Turning back to the window, he nodded as Jack continued. “You damned sure have, bigger and better than most, my friend.” With a single clap, the beta rubbed his hands together. “Now, let’s get out there and run the legs off those new stallions.”
Somehow, he needed to stay put, but knowing if he was cooped up any longer, he’d tear the house down. Or worse still, march over to the Benton Ranch and make a fool out of himself. “Okay, you win. Let’s do this.” Turning, he made a beeline for the kitchen. “But first, I need to eat. I’m starving.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” Jack winked with a wicked glint in his eye. “Instead of riding the horses, how about a run of our own. Wouldn’t some fresh meat right off the bone make you feel a whole lot better?” He shrugged and snickered. “Besides, my old dad used to say put on the fur, shake off the crap.”
And that’s precisely what they