Free A Bear Goal by Anya Nowlan Page A

between herself and the three large beasts. It didn’t take much to realize that the bear Cayman and Caleb were facing was none other than Heath, and her stomach sunk at the thought of what could happen next.
    Heath was far larger than the two vicious werewolves but if Sable knew anything about her stepbrothers then it was that they wouldn’t back away from a fight, especially one that they themselves had orchestrated. The low, hissing growl of Cayman snaked right through her so loudly that she could hear it from afar. Caleb snapped his jaws at Heath, the two werewolves splitting up and trying to distract Heath on either side so the other could lunge at his neck or soft belly.
    Heath looked sullen, almost defensive, though Sable had read up about him enough to be sure that if he wanted to, he could plow through the werewolves easily enough. It must have been a sign of how violently pissed off the Lynderlys were to even attempt this, as usually they had at least some sense when picking their enemies. Heath Locklear was just a bit too much bear to bite off, though.
    “Stop! Don’t you fucking dare!” Sable screamed at the top of her lungs, the cold air scratching her throat as she heaved in breaths. “If any of you lays a goddamn tooth on the other I’m going to disown both of you. I mean all of you!”
    Her high-pitched yelp was loud enough to get the bear and the wolves to look at her, all of them thrown for a moment. But Heath’s eyes seemed to grow soft as he looked at Sable, and it was a moment too late that she realized that she’d actually helped her stepbrothers. As if controlled by the same mind, the two werewolves burst forward, their maws twisted with snarls, their teeth sinking into Heath’s neck.
    Heath roared, rearing up on his powerful back legs and trying to shove the wolves off. His claws hooked into Caleb’s side and with a whine, the wolf was thrown off, leaving only Cayman to still hold on. Sable watched in horror as Caleb slumped to the ground, trying to get back up. She heard footsteps behind her back and looking over her shoulder, she could see Remy, Solo, Coach Jefferson, and a couple other team members running toward the action.
    “Oh thank God,” she whispered.
    When she looked back to Heath and Cayman, she caught the exact moment when Heath slammed Cayman into the ground, crushing him underneath his massive weight. But Heath hopped up a second later, seeing the Predators draw near, and took several steps back. Sable found her bearings again and sprinted to him, stepping between him and the Predators like she had at the diner.
    “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I saw everything.”
    “What the fuck is going on here?” Coach Jefferson demanded, Caleb and Cayman both shifting back. “Who started this?”
    Caleb had a deep gash in his side and Cayman was disoriented, clutching his head and trying to breathe with more than tight wheezes.
    “It was him,” Caleb said, pointing at Heath.
    “What? Fuck you, man,” Sable snarled back, glancing back at Heath, who was now back in human form, towering over her with a stern look on his face. “I saw you two going for him. No way he started this. You were supposed to be out of here ten minutes ago and I’m damn sure you two assholes were waiting for him here.”
    She looked to Heath for confirmation and he shrugged his shoulders mildly, his lips sealed. Goddamn men and their odd sense of “honor.” Even when the wolves were determined to gut him, Heath wouldn’t rat them out to their coach. Any fighting like that could mean getting kicked from a team or benched. The only scuffles anyone wanted to see had to take place on the ice. Off of it, they were supposed to be one happy, cuddly family of professional ass-kickers.
    “This true?” Coach Jefferson asked, turning his attention to the Lynderly twins, strewn out on the snow.
    “I don’t know what she’s talking about,” Cayman wheezed.
    “I bet you don’t,” the scraggly coach