Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears #1)(36)

He didn’t know how he was going to solve that little dilemma yet, but he would figure something out because Audrey was his. His mate, his love, his happiness, the future mother of his cubs—she was everything.

He kissed her hair lightly and made his way out of 1010. With a lengthened gait, he strode for his trailer to get ready fast. Clinton was already stretching his neck out near the park sign beside Harrison’s trailer.

“Thanks for ignoring what I said last night, prick,” Clinton said through a sneer.

“I spent the night with her. Didn’t claim her.” Harrison jogged up his stairs and slammed the door behind him, barely able to contain the urge to Change and rip Clinton limb from limb. Last night, Clinton had seemed lucid in his request, but this morning he was the conductor of the Asshole Express again, and Harrison was really tired of being told how to run his crew.

One of these days, Clinton would push too hard and get booted from the Boarlanders, consequences be damned. A fact which Clinton probably realized. Why else would he be in such a rush to establish himself in the pecking order here?

Clinton was a clever monster, even with a messed up bear, and he was playing a game of chess Harrison hadn’t realized before now. Clinton had been slowly moving everyone into place until he got the exact dysfunctional crew he wanted, and last night had been the last straw. He’d asked too much, and demanded Harrison walk too fine a line.

Clinton had hurt Audrey with his request. Oh, Harrison had heard her crying after they’d had sex, and that wasn’t on him. That was on Clinton and his messed-up bear’s inability to adapt to change.

Never let her be a Boarlander? He couldn’t even wrap his mind around that. She belonged here as surely as any of them did. Harrison didn’t have a solution to keeping Audrey and Clinton both happy, but damn it all, he was going to find one. All he needed was time.

He took a two minute shower, brushed his teeth, and dressed for his shift, then grabbed his hurriedly packed sack lunch off the counter and snatched his hard hat from beside the door before he left. He tossed his stuff into the passenger’s seat of his truck, then jogged over to where Bash and Clinton were waiting.

Both smelled like fur and fury, and matching snarls rattled their chests as they circled each other.

“Keep it clean,” Harrison instructed. “Don’t kill each other. Just establish dominance, and let’s move on. If you keep fighting after one of you gives in, I will intervene and rip you a new *, understood?”

“Yeah, boss,” Bash growled out.

Clinton spat in the dirt. “Fine.”

“Harrison?” Audrey asked from behind.

Shee-yit. He turned, hand out to stop her progress. “Stop there.”

“Are you f*cking kidding me?” Clinton snarled. “Boarlanders only!”

Harrison stifled a growl and jammed a finger at Clinton. “Shut up, man. She didn’t know.”

“What’s happening?” she asked, confusion pooling in her soft brown eyes.

“A battle for Second that you weren’t invited to,” Clinton yelled.

“Boss said stop talking to her like that!” Bash hunched, and his dark grizzly burst from him. He roared at Clinton, his breath steaming in the cool morning air. He landed on all fours so hard the ground vibrated.

“Audrey, get back inside,” Harrison said. “Use my trailer.”

Hurt slashed across her face. “No girls allowed again?”

“No!” Clinton barked. “No outsiders allowed! Now scamper inside before I challenge your mate for his rank, too, ’cause I have to tell you, I’m mighty f*ckin’ tempted right now.”

“Clinton, enough!” Harrison roared from behind where Bash paced, waiting for Clinton to Change.

“At least I would uphold the damned rules!” Clinton exclaimed, his face going red. He smelled off. Crazy. Unbalanced. Sick.

“Audrey, run!” Harrison bellowed, bolting for her. He had to keep her safe, had to protect her from Clinton’s wrath, because as his massive, blond grizzly burst from his skin, his murderous eyes weren’t on Bash anymore. They were on…him.

Clinton was charging him. Fuck. He forced a Change, pushed it as fast as he could, but Clinton was on him. He got a claw across Harrison’s ribcage, but then with a loud oomf, Clinton was thrown sideways.

With a shake of his head, Harrison winced and stood on all fours, ready to finish this. But Clinton wasn’t after him anymore. No, now that big yellow-haired bear was on the defense from one snarling, hissing, clawing, pissed-off tigress.

Audrey disengaged and stood sideways as Clinton stumbled back a few paces. His shoulder was bleeding freely, and red was staining Audrey’s side, but she didn’t favor it as she hissed and charged, her graceful body a weapon as she leapt on Clinton’s back and went to town on his neck. Clinton spun and dislodged her, and the fight meshed into a blur of violence.

He had to stop this.

“No,” Bash said, standing in front of him. “Let her do this.”

Harrison looked at him in horror. She was a tiger, much smaller than Clinton’s bear. Sure, she was fast as the crack of a whip and holding her own, but she wasn’t ready for this. Was she?

The sound of Audrey and Clinton’s enraged battle roars shook the entire damned trailer park, and Harrison stood frozen as Audrey controlled the fight, pushing Clinton farther and farther away. He huffed a shocked sound as he realized what his mate was doing. She was battling for him. She was pushing Clinton’s rage as far away from Harrison as she could, and taking teeth and claws to do it.