Free Shifters Forever The Boxed Set Books 1 - 6 by Elle Thorne Page A

same side as the laceration from the night before. His bear roared deep within Grant’s brain, causing his head to ache. He fought to regain control.
    “Don’t lie to me.” The man’s voice was a loud snarl. “He said you have a boyfriend.” A hand popped out from behind the tree, and Chelsea swerved and ducked, avoiding the swing.
    Grant gripped the tree trunk. He was going to kill this man, whoever he was. He held the bear in him back from charging. He didn’t know what weapon the man had trained on Chelsea. He couldn’t afford to have her shot or cut.
    Chelsea was talking again. “Jeff doesn’t know anything about me. Nothing at all. He asked me out. That’s all there is to know.”
    “So who is this Grant that he mentioned?”
    Chelsea paused, was silent for a moment. “He’s a man I know. You don’t need to worry about it. There’s no reason to hurt him too.”
    “I told you, I won’t have other men looking at you. Jeff got his just desserts. This Grant fella will too. I’ll get you situated somewhere, then I’ll go take care of him.” The man moved out from behind the tree.
    Grant got a good look at him. Dirty jeans, a scuffed-up coat, unshaven, and with an angry scar that crossed his cheek. That was Chelsea’s ex. The one she was running from. A cop. Probably armed.
    Snow and leaves crunching nearby caught Grant’s attention. He looked across the clearing they were in to see if the man or Chelsea had noticed, but they seemed too embroiled in their argument.
    Grant scrutinized the source of the noise. What was back there? Then it came into view. She came into view.
    What the hell was Mae doing here? What the hell did she think she could do? She’d make things worse. Now the asshole would have two hostages.
    Damn. Damn. Damn.
    Chelsea and the man hadn’t seen Mae yet. Grant tried to wave her off, not worried that he was a bear because she’d seen his bear before, and having been married to a shifter, she was no stranger to shifter ways.
    She wasn’t looking in his direction, and didn’t see him. Instead, Mae stalked closer to the couple, a shotgun in her hand.
    Great. That made it worse. She’d more than likely be shot.
    The man turned to Chelsea, grabbed her and shoved her in front of him, then yelled, “Put the shotgun down, and step away from it.”
    Shit. He’d seen Mae.
    “Mae.” Chelsea’s voice shook, tears obvious. “Oh, Mae.” Chelsea had lowered her voice, but his bear still heard it. “Why did you come out here?”
    “I had to make sure you were okay.” Mae put the shotgun down and sidestepped, locking eyes with the man. “Who are you?”
    “This is Derek. Mae, my boss.” Chelsea was introducing them as if they were at a social event, not as if he was a killer who’d stabbed and killed Jeff and was holding her hostage at gunpoint.
    Derek indicated the shotgun. “Go get that, Chelsea, and bring it to me. Don’t try anything or I’ll have to blow a hole in your friend Mae here.”
    “Stop. I’ll get it. Don’t hurt her.” Chelsea stomped to the shotgun, picked it up, and carried it to Derek.
    Derek checked it. “Loaded, huh?” He smiled an evil grin. “Aren’t you the brave little missus?”
    A sneer crossed Mae’s face. Grant wondered if she knew he was watching. A part of him was glad she was here. He didn’t want to risk scaring Chelsea with his bear.
    He stepped from behind the tree and the bush that had given him a hiding place. He reared up on two legs, threw his head back, and released a roar of pure anger.
    Chelsea screamed.
    “What the fuck!” Derek raised his handgun.
    “No!” Mae yelled.
    Grant closed the distance rapidly, his bear seeing red. He had every intention of not killing Derek, but he couldn’t say the same for his bear. Especially when Derek pulled the trigger. The round caught Grant in his upper torso, ripping into his shoulder. He didn’t let it affect his momentum.
    He raised his claw, swiping at Derek, catching him across the