That Girl is Poison - Milly Taiden Page 0,26

remove the chain from the door handle. Ryder eased the chain to the ground. A ferocious bellow came from inside. It was definitely a shifter.

“Come on.” Xeon slowly opened the door.

He’d expected to see several shifters locked in cages. Instead, only one could be found. A Kodiak bear, and he looked pissed. Drool hung from his mouth, and his eyes glowed amber. A buzz sounded somewhere within the room, and the bear bellowed again. Kyro, Ryder, and Hunter slipped in behind him but stopped when they saw the bear. Cages lined each side of the warehouse, but they all were empty. The bear stood in the middle of the room on his hind legs, looking at them.

Xeon raised his hands to try to calm the bear. Another bellow came out when the bear’s mouth opened. Suddenly, the bear charged them. His heavy paws made a thud when they hit the floor. Ryder and Hunter spread out beside Xeon. Kyro cracked his knuckles and stepped in front of Xeon.

“I’ve got this.” Kyro ran toward the bear.

The two collided. Kyro punched the bear with little result. The bear wasn’t fazed by Kyro’s assault. Ryder shifted to his wolf and growled. He joined the fight, biting onto the bear’s hind leg. The bear swatted Ryder, throwing him back eight feet. The wolf yelped but got up to continue the fight. When it turned back, the force of his head tossed Kyro on his ass. The Kodiak reared up, bellowing his rage. He lashed out in all directions, not aiming at anyone. Like a blind man in a fight, swinging away.

Hunter shifted and ran behind the bear. The bear hadn’t noticed him until he leapt on his back, and was biting into his shoulder. Xeon shifted to his wolf and jumped onto the bear, biting at his neck. He couldn’t get a good grip on the bear’s throat. His second bite did the job. His teeth clamped down on the bear’s fur. That was until the bear spun around and lashed out wildly. Xeon lost his grip and crashed to the floor.

Another buzz sounded, and the bear became more enraged. He stood on his hind end and bellowed loudly. That’s when Xeon saw the collar around his neck, mostly hidden by fur. Every time the buzz sounded, the bear got more and more aggressive. Xeon backed away and shifted back to his human form.

“I need a distraction. Attack from the front,” Xeon ordered his pack mates.

The wolves stopped their individual attacks and settled in front of the oversized bear. While the wolves kept the bear’s attention, Xeon slipped around behind him. The bear focused only on the wolves in front of him. Xeon nodded to his pack mates, who settled into a ready position.

Hunter and Ryder each took one of the bear’s hind legs, and Kyro jumped up and latched on to the bear’s left shoulder. Xeon took a running start and jumped onto the bear’s back. Not being too happy about their unified assault, the bear lashed out with his right arm and knocked Kyro off its shoulder. Kyro yelped as he landed on the floor.

“Let us help you, damn it,” Xeon gritted through his teeth.

Xeon locked his legs around the bear using his thigh muscles to hang on since his legs didn’t meet around the giant form of the bear and reached up to the bear’s neck. The bear shook his head, trying to break Xeon free, but he had to get the collar off. His head reared back, and he head-butted Xeon in the nose. The bear swatted Ryder free of his left leg. Finally, locating the collar’s latch, Xeon used both hands to release the clasp. With a final shake, the bear tossed Xeon off, and the collar fell to the floor. The giant bear swayed, unsteady on his feet.

“Timber!” Xeon yelled, warning his pack mates to move away.

Ryder barely got out of the way before the bear fell face down on the warehouse floor. They all readied themselves for the bear to get up and start to fight again. To their surprise, he didn’t move. After a few minutes, the bear shifted slowly. First, the body shrunk to human size. Then his fur disappeared, and his body transformed into his human shape. Soon, only a man lay on the floor. He didn’t move. Xeon went to the man’s side and checked the pulse in his neck.

“He’s still alive,” Xeon confirmed.

One by one, the wolves shifted back to two legs.