Loch

all of this. Not me.”
“Loch…”
He put a finger to his lips and turned his attention back to the woods.
Holly heard rustling punctuated by short growls and snuffles. There were at least two bears, but beyond that, Holly couldn’t say. She gripped Loch’s arm, ready to pull him away with her if she had to. There was no way she was leaving him behind.
One of the bears let out a sharp roar. They charged through the woods, heading right for Holly and Loch.
“Run,” Loch urged.
“I’m not leaving.” Holly stood fast as a bush was obliterated by three charging bears.
Loch lunged forward, preparing to shift, but Holly held him back. She knew those bears.
“Wait!” She darted in front of Loch. “It’s Johnny, Keller, and Garret.”
The trio of bears came to a crashing halt. Holly ran toward them, flinging her arms around the neck of the nearest one. She buried her face in Keller’s golden fur. A warm, wet nose pushed against her arm as Garret’s gigantic bear form tried to come in for a cuddle. Holly stretched her arms as wide as she could so that she could hug them both.
“You came,” she sobbed into a blanket of thick bear fur. “You came.”
“Of course, we did.” Johnny’s voice caught her off guard.
When she was busy hugging the other two, he shifted back. Holly released Keller and Garret before turning to face Johnny.
When shifters changed into their beast forms, their clothing did not shift with them. His nakedness didn’t bother Holly in the slightest. She ran to him, leaping into his open arms.
“We’d never abandon you,” he murmured in her ear. “We’ve been searching for over a week.”
“Is that how long I’ve been gone?” Somehow, putting a time frame on everything made her feel so much worse.
“We need to take her home,” Keller said, now in his human form. Garret was the only one still a bear.
Holly left Johnny’s arms and ran to Keller. He held her close and pressed a kiss into her temple.
“Can you guys please stop shifting?” Loch groaned. “I’ve had a hard week. I’m not in the mood to see a bunch of dicks and their dicks.”
“I missed the part where I’m supposed to care what you want,” Johnny said. “What are you doing here, anyway? Were you about to drag Holly back to your boss?”
“No,” Holly spoke up before Loch could. “We escaped together.” She deliberately left out all mention of Elise. She’d tell the guys about her, eventually. First, she wanted to do some research of her own.
“How long ago?”
“Fifteen minutes, if that,” Loch supplied. “If we’re lucky, no one in the mines has noticed yet. If we move, we might be able to get far enough away to throw them off our trail.”
“No need.” Johnny shook his head. “I have a plan.”
“Then we’re all going to die.”
“We?” Johnny cocked his head. “There is no we. There is us and you. You better start making a plan.”
“He’s coming with us,” Holly said. “He’s in as much danger as I am, if not more. I’m not leaving him to fend for himself.”
“Just so we’re clear,” Loch cut in, “I could fend for myself if need be. I’d just prefer not to.”
“Seriously?” Holly gave Loch a blank stare. “Can you not?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Keller ran his hands up and down Holly’s shoulders. “How do we know we can trust him?”
Before anyone could answer, an earth-shattering roar erupted from the north.
“Our time is up. We need to move now. Loch, come with us until I can figure out what to do with you.” Johnny shifted back into bear form between one step and the next. Keller followed suit.
Holly reached for Garret and swung up onto his massive back. When she looked at Loch, he was still in human form.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked. “Shift!”
“And do what with my clothes? Knowing them,” he cast a dark look at the other three shifters, “they’ll leave me without a stitch and lock me out.”
Holly couldn’t help but laugh even though her fear increased with every passing second.
“I won’t let that happen. Just shift!”
Garret took off at a gallop, closely following the other two. Holly looked over her shoulder just in time to see Loch shift. His bear form was so dark he almost completely blended into the forest. As they ran, she hoped he wouldn’t disappear into the night.
She didn’t regret telling Elise to let him escape as well. However, the most important question still hung in the air. Could she trust him?
You’ve done well. The voice in her head made her jump.
You’ve got to be kidding me? Now you speak? I’ve been trying to reach you all week.
I am not at your beck and call, came the otherworldly voice of the being who called herself the Maiden.
Then why speak now?
I needed to make sure you’re worthy of bearing my title. You are. Congratulations.

CHAPTER FIVE—Holly
Holly flattened herself against Garret’s back to avoid being knocked by low branches. She clenched her legs around his middle and gripped his fur with both fists. She hoped she wasn’t hurting him. She couldn’t wait to see him in human form. His warm eyes and kind smile so big it shone right through his bushy beard was precisely what she needed.
They ran for over an hour before the house came into view. Holly never thought she’d be so happy to see her grandmother’s old home. To think, she first came here with the intention of selling it. That was never going to happen now.
Johnny shifted back into his human form first.
“Get her inside. I’m going to place the gift from the witches.”
“Witches?” Holly blinked.
Keller shifted and grinned at Holly. “Apparently,