Her Wild Hero

What the hell was giving her away? Could he hear her squeeze the trigger?

Shifting the weapon, she took aim again, but this time she didn’t sight in on Marcus, she aimed at Declan. It was dangerous to shoot anywhere in his direction, but she didn’t have time to think about it. They were moving too quickly.

Kendra said a quick prayer, then squeezed the trigger. As she hoped, Marcus jerked Declan around…and put himself right in the path of her bullet.

She only grazed his leg, but the fact that she hit Marcus at all surprised the big hybrid so much that he twisted around with a glare. Lip curling into a snarl, he advanced on her.

Declan moved faster than she’d ever seen him move. He jerked Marcus around with one hand at the same time he slashed the hybrid’s throat with the claws of the other. The hybrid went down but regained his feet just as quickly and came at her again.

Kendra stumbled back, falling over her own feet. She landed hard on her butt, her rifle sliding across the floor out of reach.

Marcus reached out and got a crushing grip on her boot, dragging her toward him. Kendra screamed and tried to kick him with her other foot, but she couldn’t reach him. Marcus growled and yanked even harder.

A deafening roar echoed in the confines of the small room, and she covered her ears afraid they might actually burst. Eyes wide, she watched as Declan reached out and wrapped a hand around one of the creature’s big fangs, then twisted his head all the way around backward. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to watch.

And then there was silence.

Kendra opened her eyes to find Declan gazing down at her. His face was covered in so many scrapes and cuts that she could barely recognize him. But it was him. It was her bear shifter.

And his face wasn’t the only part that was slashed up. There were similar cuts and gashes all over his arms, chest, and legs. There didn’t seem to be an inch of him that wasn’t injured. After seeing the way he’d survived the horrible gashes to his chest not so long ago, Kendra knew in her heart that he would heal from these wounds as well. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to be there to wipe away the blood and pain anyway. The need to just put her hands on him and convince herself that he was okay was overwhelming.

She didn’t wait for him to help her up, but instead of welcoming her with open arms, Declan took a step back. Then another. Kendra stopped, too. Fear flashed in his eyes and was quickly replaced by regret, and then sadness.

“Declan, what’s—?” she began, but the words ended on a gasp as Ivy, Landon, and Angelo came charging through the hole in the side of the building.

There was silence as they all stared at her and Declan, then Ivy hugged her and mumbled something over and over that sounded like, “Thank God,” but Kendra couldn’t be sure. Her ears were still ringing a little from Declan’s roar. She wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her back just as fiercely.

Someone patted her back, and Kendra pulled away from Ivy to see Landon grinning down at her. Behind him, Angelo was smiling, too. She stared in amazement as Clayne climbed through the opening in the wall. He was followed by Tate, Brent, and Gavin. Where the heck had they all come from?

Ivy pulled her in for another hug. “God, I’m so happy to see you.”

“I’m happy to see you, too,” Kendra said. “All of you.”

She turned to see where Declan was, figuring that Tate, Gavin, and Brent would probably be hovering around him, but someone else put their arms around her, pulling her in for a hug and blocking her view. She hugged the person even though she didn’t know who it was—he had risked his life to rescue her and Declan, after all. But when she stepped back, whoever it was cupped her cheek and kissed her hard on the lips. And it wasn’t Declan. She jerked away.

What the hell?

Derek was smiling at her and saying something about being so happy that she was safe. She didn’t quite hear exactly what he said, because she was busy trying to figure out why he’d just kissed her. Sure, they’d danced a few times at Ivy and Landon’s wedding, but then again, she’d danced with a lot of people that night, including Angelo, and he hadn’t kissed her.

Derek must have picked up on her vibe, because he quickly dropped his arms from around her and stepped back, running his hand through his hair. “Sorry about that. I, um, I’m just happy to see you safe.”

She didn’t know which of them felt more awkward. “No problem. Thanks. For coming to the rescue, I mean.”

He nodded and probably would have said more, but Tate, Brent, and Gavin showed up to save both of them from further embarrassment.

“Good to see you in one piece,” he said.

Her lips curved. “Thanks to Declan.”

Kendra scanned the room, looking for him. But her big bear shifter was nowhere to be seen. Her stomach clenched. Maybe his wounds were worse than she’d feared.

“Where’s Declan?” she asked.