Bear The Flame (Firebear Brides 2)
taller than Redmond, but not by much. Kenner cocked his gun and Cole and Conrad did the same. Redmond was standing a few feet from Rose, right in front of her with his back turned to her. He was sure they wouldn’t shoot him if it meant risking a shot at her, but playing chicken with a bunch of psychos was never something he liked doing.
    “Yeah? Well, I guess we can dance, then,” Redmond hissed, throwing his self-control out with any shred of remorse he may have had about beating up three people.
    The shift took him faster than it ever had. It was easy giving in to it this time, when the bear was so close to the surface and just itching to get out. His body expanded and elongated, dropping from two legs to four. Thick fur sprouted to cover him from head to toe and his chiseled chin and hard features warped into a terrifying maw and deadly jaws, itching to snap around a raccoon or a fox. When he let out his first roar as the grizzly bear, a searing bite of pain ran through him at the same moment.
    Conrad, seemingly the only man in the room who could really read the situation right, had changed his position so he could shoot at Redmond without hitting Rose. The bullet bit into Redmond’s flank. With a growl, he ignored it and went straight for the main culprit, barging into Kenner like a tank into a hedgerow. Everything seemed to slow down around him as he plowed into the fox shifter, who hadn’t had time to do more than start the shift process himself.
    The first blow to Kenner kicked him out of the shift, but he managed to hold onto the gun. Another flash of pain, this time to his stomach, sent Redmond seeing red. Distantly, he heard glass shattering behind him in the living room as he pushed Kenner into the kitchen, cutting him off from Cole and Conrad. Loud shots sounded in the other room and Rose screamed, terrified.
    It made Redmond go harder. He swiped at Kenner, cutting his arm and making the gun fall from his hands.
    “You motherfucker,” the man hissed, losing any sense of decorum he might have been holding onto.
    Redmond growled and bashed Kenner’s head with his heavy paw, making it loll back as Kenner slammed into a wall and collapsed, out cold. Immediately, Redmond spun around and headed back into the living room. One of the windows was smashed in, and Diesel had hit Conrad in the shoulder and side, leaving the man slumped against the wall with a thick glob of blood running down it. Cole was hiding behind Rose, cowering so her body blocked Diesel’s shot.
    “You can’t play that game for very long,” Diesel said, calm and in control.
    “Yeah? Watch me!” Cole grumbled.
    But what he hadn’t considered was the big bear in the room. Not taking a moment to hesitate, Redmond stalked around the chair and stared Cole down, his maw bared in a vicious snarl. Cole was holding his gun with shaking hands, backing away in a half-crawl from Redmond and into the view of Diesel. A clear shot rung through the air, blowing the gun out of Cole’s hands and spraying him with lead.
    For good measure, Redmond swiped at him with his paw, sending the man flying across the room and crumpling to the floor. Diesel was in the house before Redmond was even fully shifted out of bear form.
    “You all right?” he asked, kicking Conrad’s gun away and checking on the other two wounded.
    “Yeah, I’ll live,” Redmond said, gritting his teeth.
    He had three distinct wounds. One in his thigh, one that seemed to have grazed his stomach, and one in his shoulder. Blood was seeping through his clothes but he knew his bear would take care of it. Add in a painkiller and he’d be good to go in a few days. His first priority was Rose, though.
    She was in tears as he kneeled in front of her, undoing the ties that held her hands and feet. When her hands were free, she clasped her hands around his neck gently, nuzzling into his good shoulder.
    “I’m so sorry,” she whispered as Redmond pulled her up on her feet.
    “What for?” he

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