Chapter Two #2
Hunter stared at him for a long moment. Then he nodded once. “Yeah. They deserved it.”
They limped home together, blood drying on their faces. Lennox’s anger simmered into exhaustion, the ache in his knuckles a reminder of both his victory and his mistake. He dreaded the look Aunt Jenny would give them, the disappointment mixed with worry. They had been in too many fights already.
But when they turned the corner, the world shifted again.
An ambulance sat in their driveway, its lights flashing silently.
Lennox’s stomach dropped. He broke into a sprint, Hunter right beside him.
Inside, chaos reigned. Paramedics crowded around Aunt Jenny, her face pale, her body convulsing.
Electrodes dotted her chest as the machine screamed its warning.
A neighbor stood wringing her hands in the doorway, her eyes wet.
She pulled the boys back, arms wrapping around their shoulders, whispering lies meant to soothe.
“It’ll be okay, boys. Jenny will be okay. ”
But it didn’t look okay. One of the medics straddled her, pressing his palms against her chest, counting, shouting. Another squeezed the bag over her mouth. Hunter gripped Lennox’s hand so hard it hurt, both of them frozen as they watched the only family they had left slip away.
“No, no, no...” Lennox muttered, his voice cracking. His body shook, the wild strength from earlier gone, replaced by raw terror. “She can’t—she can’t leave us.”
The medic shouted, “Clear!” A shock jolted Aunt Jenny’s body. Nothing. Another round of compressions. Another shock. Still nothing.
Hunter’s face was white, his jaw clenched so hard Lennox thought his teeth might break. “She’s not dying,” Hunter said, his voice like stone. “She’s not.”
“Clear!”
Aunt Jenny’s body jerked again. Then—beep. A weak line stuttered to life on the monitor.
Lennox gasped, tears spilling hot down his cheeks. Hunter let out a strangled sound, half-sob, half-growl. They stood together, clutching each other, as Aunt Jenny’s heartbeat steadied. She was alive. For now.
The medics moved quickly, preparing to transport her, voices barking orders. But Lennox barely heard them. His world had narrowed to Hunter’s grip on his shoulder, the sound of Jenny’s fragile breathing, the vow burning itself into his chest.
They couldn’t lose her. They couldn’t lose anyone else.
As the paramedics carried Jenny out, Lennox turned to his brother. Their eyes met—Hunter’s swollen shut on one side, his other eye blazing with the same fire Lennox felt in his own chest.
This was it. This was who they were now.
Protectors.
Whatever it took, whoever they had to fight, they would never stand by and watch their family or any family be torn apart again. Not when they could help. That day, in the glow of ambulance lights, two boys made a silent promise that would shape their lives forever.
Present day, and the brothers still carried that vow.
The two boys who had once stood broken in the glow of an ambulance were now the men riding inside one.
Hunter sat in the passenger seat, scrolling through the dispatch tablet while Lennox drummed his fingers against the wheel. The hum of the rig filled the silence.
It had been just over thirty-six hours since their world had shifted again—since they had learned they were bear shifters.
The revelation was raw, unbelievable, and yet every new sensation confirmed it—sharper hearing, scents hitting them with dizzying clarity, strength rolling under their skin like a restless tide.
They had shifted a couple of times out in the forest, trying to get used to the sensation.
It was tiring, which wasn’t a surprise. The physical impossibility for a two-hundred-and-twenty-pound man turning into a half ton or more of bear would zap the strength out of anyone.
They hadn’t told anyone. Hell, who the hell would believe them? Aunt Jenny maybe, but they had lost her to cancer three years ago. For now, they kept their secret close.
What was more frustrating was not knowing how to step into the world of the woman fate had tied them to without scaring her off with something so supernatural and strange.
“She won’t trust easy,” Hunter said, eyes still on the screen but his tone edged with worry. “And if we lead with the bear thing, she’ll bolt.”
Lennox grunted, shifting in his seat. “Agreed, we don’t lead with, ‘hey, Brielle, we’re bears and some glowing chick in the forest said that you are our mate. Wanna hibernate?’”
Hunter laughed. “Yeah, probably not the best lead-in to a conversation about starting a relationship.”
Lennox nodded. “So before we tell her about the bears, we show her who we are first. Let her see us as men. The rest ... later.”
Hunter nodded, though tension bracketed his jaw. “We ease her into it, and, hey, we might have to spend a bit of time getting her to take to a relationship with the both of us.”
Lennox took a swig of his coffee. “Oh, she’ll want to start a relationship with me, I mean look at me.” He flexed his bicep. “You on the other hand? It might take some convincing.”
Hunter rolled his eyes and flexed himself. “You ain’t got nothing on me, bro. But I am sure between the two of us we can convince her to take a chance on—shall we say a less than conventional relationship. Tomorrow, then. We go to her tomorrow.”
The radio crackled, dispatch cutting in. “Unit Twelve, respond to a possible cardiac arrest, 58-year-old female, residence at 9th and Willow. Neighbors on scene.”
Adrenaline surged through the cab. Lennox flicked on the sirens and slammed the rig into gear. The engine roared as they tore down the street, Hunter already running through vitals and protocols aloud, his calm voice a counterpoint to the chaos.
For now, this was their life. Save who they could. Keep their secret. And tomorrow—they would find Brielle Johnson. Whether she was ready for them or not.