The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)

Chapter 27 (Jace)

As soon as Jordan pushes forward, I know what she’s planning. She feels responsible for these bears, even though

they are fully capable of taking care of themselves, especially in a large group. But, knowing they are not immune

to the rogues’ bites, she wouldn’t want any of them getting injured.

I watch as she leaps over a massive bear that must be Balor. I’m not sure I can make the same leap, so I slide in

between him and what smells like Apollo to move beside Jordan. I’m not letting her face these wolves alone. As

soon as I’m beside her, the fur on my back goes up and I lower my head in the same menacing stance that she’s

taking, making sure these rogues know that if they attack, we will kill them.

I can feel the shock of the bears around us as the wolves’ attention turns to me and Jordan.

I bear my teeth, snapping and snarling at the wolves, warning them off. The wolves back off, but only to allow their

Alpha to come forward. This isn’t the same wolf that we met in Taylor’s pack. This is the second pack.

The Alpha wolf looks at Jordan a moment, then howls the howl of the hunt, obviously intending to try and take her. I

leap at him, and that’s all it takes for the wolves to attack.

A wolf hits me from the side, pushing me away from the Alpha. I turn, snapping my teeth at them as another one

comes up behind me. I hear a yelp and see a bear swipe at the wolf that was on my flank.

From the corner of my eye, I see Jordan leap at the Alpha, grabbing him by the back of his n*eck. He shakes her off,

sending her flying through the air, but she’s back on my feet before he can jump on top of her.

I snap at the wolves surrounding me, watching as the Alpha continues to go after Jordan. His teeth are snapping at

her n*eck, and I realize that he’s trying to mark her in wolf form. I know from Luna Jara that this used to be allowed

in the claiming process. If a wolf marked another in wolf form, it seals the mate bond.

I leap at the Alpha, slicing my claws down his hind l*eg. He turns to attack me, but I’m tackled, another wolf

jumping on top of me. More bears come running into the fight, swiping at the wolves with their huge claws and

sending them flying through the air.

The Alpha is still snapping at Jordan and I’m trying to get to her, but it feels like the wolves are focusing on keeping

me away so their Alpha can get to her and mark.

I’m snarling viciously, as I watch the Alpha’s teeth snap closer and closer to Jordan’s n*eck. Just as he lunges for her

again, Balor moves, putting himself in front of Jordan and then roaring in pain as the Alpha sinks his teeth into

Balor’s n*eck.

The wolf in front of me stops, stunned, and I reach out and rip this t*hroat out, then I quickly move to the Alpha,

sinking my teeth into his hind l*eg, feeling the bone snap.

He howls in pain, releasing Balor before howling for a retreat. I look at Jordan who is shifting and rushing to Balor,

then I take off after the Alpha. I feel the ground rumbling and I realize that several bears are following me, chasing

the wolves off their lands.

I push h*ard, but the Alpha has an escape plan. It’s a crazy one, but it’s one that helps them escape. They leap off

the cliff edge, plunging into the river below us. I stand there, watching until one by one, the wolves surface and

swim to the other side of the river.

I lift my head and howl an angry howl of frustration, before turning and racing back to Jordan. When I get there,

she has her hand against Balor’s n*eck. She looks up at me.

“Call Jaxon. Tell him we need Dr. Braxton and Kyra here right now. Get him to send them tonight,” she says, and I

race into the cave where our bags are.

I expect sarcasm, or at the very least, aggravation at my middle of the night call, but when Jaxon answers, he’s all

Alpha.

“What’s happened?”

“We were attacked by the second pack. The bears are not immune to the feral- fever. We need Dr. Braxton and

Kyra here now. Balor, their leader, has been bitten,” I tell him as I walk back out to the main area where all the

bears are now congregating around Balor and Jordan.

“It’s just a scratch, little wolf,” he says to her.

“No, it’s not. You and your clan are not immune to the virus,” she says, looking up.

“Has anyone else been bitten or scratched?” she asks the group, going into Alpha mode.

Several of the bears nod or acknowledge that they’ve been bitten. “We have multiple injuries, Jaxon. Get them

here, now.” I say into the phone. “On it. I’ll send Luke, Brynn and Victor as well. They can help patrol the clan’s

lands while Dr. Braxton works his magic.” My adoptive parents and brother. I wonder if there is a reason behind his

choice.

“Thank you. Also, you should know, your pack lands were inhabited by one of the packs before you moved in,

according to Balor. You and Tobias need to be extra careful if you go out there,” I tell him.

“Thanks, Jace,” he says, and I hear him cover the phone. “Dr. Braxton, we have an emergency. We need you to go

to the bear clan and treat their injured. They’ve been bitten by the rogue wolves.”

I hear some more mumbling and then Jaxon is back on the phone. “They’ll be leaving within the hour,” he says.

I hang up and find Darryl squatting beside Balor. “We have several wolves coming. Some are coming to assist in

protecting your borders, and two are doctors who specialize in this virus. I’m asking you to allow them entry so we

can help Balor and the others,” I say. “Let them through,” Balor says as he starts to sit up. Jordan sits back and I

can feel how much she wants to help him, but as a leader who understands the need to look strong in front of their

pack, she’s letting him do this on his own.

“I’d like to clean that wound on your n*eck, Balor,” Jordan tells him. I know what she’s doing. She wants to stay

close to him, hoping that whatever immunity she has transfers to him. “We’ll take care of him, wolf,” a she- bear

says, stepping up to Balor. The look she gives Jordan is one of obvious disgust. She apparently doesn’t like wolves.

Or maybe she doesn’t like the attention that her leader is giving to Jordan. Either way, there’s no warmth in her

voice.

“Alpha Jordan jumped in front of me during the fight, protecting me from those wolves, Theia. I didn’t you jumping

in front of me,” Balor snaps at her. “As a matter of fact, her Gamma, Jace, was right there beside her in the fight.

And where were you? Hiding?”

She snarls at that but steps back.

Apparently, bears don’t like being called cowards.

“I already warned you that the wolves were my guests. Disrespect them again, and you’ll be out,” he says, turning

to head into his cave.

“Little wolf, will you join me?” he asks Jordan.

She nods and begins following him.

“Darryl, work with Gamma Jace, make a plan for when the other wolves get here and check our wounded, the

brave who fought the pack of rogues,” he says, ducking his head and walking into the cave.

Darryl turns and looks at me. “How do you want to proceed?”

All the antagonism from before is gone. In front of me is Balor’s second in command and the bear currently in

charge of the clan.

“I want to triage your injured before Dr. Braxton gets here and then I’ll need to find out where your perimeters are

so I can make sure my family knows where to run the patrols.”

“Your family?” he asks.

“Yes, my adopted family is coming to assist,” I say, looking around, trying to assess how many are injured.

Darryl begins moving toward a group that are sitting near the fire.

“What happened to your real family?” he asks as we walk.

“My parents were killed in a battle when I was young. Well, actually, my father was killed. My mother died, unable to

survive without him,” I say, gritting my teeth against the unwanted flash of my mother clenching her heart and the

sound of her keening. I shake my head and those thoughts away. I have work to do.

“My father was Jordan’s father’s Gamma. Luke took his place and he and Brynn adopted me. Because I was the

rightful heir to take over, Alpha Mason made me his Gamma. My brother Victor is about to compete for a Beta

position among the new packs. Both Luke and Brynn descend from Betas, so it’s likely that he will win a spot,” I say,

unsure why I’m telling him so much about my family.

Darryl stops, looking at Jasun who is washing the wounds of the other bears. “Our parents were killed by hunters.

Regular hunters, not shifter hunters. Imagine their surprise when they found dead humans instead of dead bears

when they went to claim their prize. They buried my parents in the woods, hoping to hide what they did. I found

them, burned them and then hunted their killers,” he says, tapping his nose as an indication of how he found them.

“I was young, angry, trying to take care of my brother. I was losing my humanity when Balor found me. He could

have killed me, probably should have back then, but he didn’t. He took me in, gave me a family, helped me to raise

Jasun…he helped me find my humanity again.”

He turns looking at me. “I tell you this so you understand. I owe that man my life and I will do anything, absolutely

anything it takes to save him. I’m trusting you and this doctor to care for him, but if you don’t, I won’t hesitate to kill

every last one of you.”

I turn and look at him, making sure he can see the sincerity in my eyes. “We only want to help. We may not have

known that these packs existed until recently, but now that we do, we won’t stop until they’ve been eliminated. Not

only that, we want an alliance, or at least at peacefulness, with your clan. You’ll be living close to some of our

packs. We want to make that experience a positive one for everyone. I’m no doctor and this guy, well, he’s a bit of

a mad scientist, but he’s brilliant.

If there’s a way to help Balor and your clan, he’ll figure it out.”

“Okay then, let’s triage some injured,” he says.