Free Bear's Match (Bear Heat Book 6) by Natalie Kristen Page A

station.”
    “Yes, Alpha.”
    As everyone began to move
out, Ethan stopped Luke at the door.
    “You have a choice,
Luke,” Ethan said in a low voice. “Do you want to join
Thor's team and take down Alberto Birns? Or do you want to go with
Dylan to get the orphans?”
    Luke knew that Ethan was
giving him the chance to go after the Mob boss who forced the Change
on him. Maybe his alpha thought that he would find closure by
assisting in the capture of Alberto Birns. But Luke had found his
peace and he didn't need closure. He had taken an oath to serve and
protect the city when he became a cop. He was a Black Bear now, and
he was proud to do that duty.
    “I'll stay with my
team, Alpha,” Luke said. “I'll focus on the children.” The future .
    Ethan nodded once.
    “Go.”

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

    Luke flattened himself
against the wall and waited for the signal. Dylan's team was spread
out on the left side of Haven Orphanage, while Paige's team covered
the right.
    Haven Orphanage was a
three-story brick building situated at the far edge of the city.
Behind the orphanage was a low grassy hill and there was a long
winding driveway leading up to the main entrance. There were a few
old abandoned buildings flanking the orphanage, and some small houses
down the street.
    Luke heard Dylan's voice
through his earpiece. “Now.”
    The Black Bears moved
silently and swiftly towards the orphanage. They entered through the
back door and flowed through the dingy kitchen.
    A few children were there,
scrubbing the pots and pans. Dylan put a finger to his lips and
spoke quietly to the children, “We're here to save you.
We're...”
    Immediately, the children ran
to him and flung their arms around him. “Take us away,”
one of them begged.
    Paige motioned to her team
and two of her team members carried the children out. “They
know what's happening,” Dylan muttered. “But they're
orphans. They've no family, and nowhere to go. The look on their
faces—hoping that someone would come and save them, but knowing
that no one would. God!”
    Gritting his teeth, Dylan
signaled them forward, and they began to fan out when they reached
the stairs.
    They raced up to the rooms
and managed to retrieve some children from a dingy workroom. The
children were doing some needlework and stared up at the Black Bears
with pale, frightened faces. But they co-operated without a word,
knowing instinctively that these people in black fatigues and
security vests with the Black Bears logo on them were the good guys.
    The look in the children's
eyes saddened Luke. They had seen too much in their young lives.
They had known fear and pain, and they were so hungry for love and a
caring, gentle touch.
    He gripped his weapon tighter
as Paige barked a warning through his earpiece. “They're here!
Go find the rest of the kids!”
    Shots were heard on the floor
above and below. The sounds of a furious firefight exploded and
Dylan yelled to Luke and Jenny, “Find them!”
    Luke ran towards a narrow
door at the end of the corridor while Jenny shot at two men in black
suits who had appeared out of a doorway. He wrenched the door open
and made a strangled sound.
    There were no windows at all
in the room. There were about a dozen children in pajamas, huddled
against the walls. They were shackled to the brick wall by their
ankles and Luke saw some of their eyes glow in the dark.
    These were the children who
had been given the serum.
    Luke knelt beside a young boy
and tried to break the iron shackle. He used his claws but the
shackle held fast. Luke panted and turned to the whimpering
children.
    “I'm going to shift
into a bear,” he said quickly. “Don't be afraid. My
bear is a part of me. I won't hurt you. I need the strength of my
bear to get you out. Okay?” He didn't want them to start
screaming and crying at the sight of his bear. He needed them calm,
not hysterical.
    “Okay,” a few of
the older children answered.
    There was more shouting and
shooting