The Claiming by Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper Book 4

The Beta Trials by Cooper (Jace & Jordan)

Chapter 24 (Jordan)

The bear hits the car, feeling like a freight train hit us, lifting my side of the car off the ground.

The car flips, tumbling down the incline beside the road and landing upside down. From above us, I hear the growl of more than one bear.

“Jordan, are you okay?” Jace asks.

“Yeah, you?” I ask, smelling blood. I’m not sure if it’s his or mine.

“I think so, I bashed my head against the window, but I’m okay,” he says. So, the blood is most likely his.

“We need to get out of this car. I’m not going to take on a group of bears upside down and pinned in,” I say, working to push my door open. “You’re not taking on a group of bears at all, Jordan. That’s a death wish,” he says, but I can hearthem crashing through the brush to get to us. Jace won’t like it, but I’m his Alpha, it’s my job to protect him.

I unhook my seat belt, careful not to let myself fall on my head and I pull myself out of the car.

“Jordan, dammit, wait for me!” Jace says.

just in time to. There are three of them standing

from our lands, wolf. Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” the leader says, just as Jace leaps over the car, landing beside me, having

Stern. We did not come here to fight. We came here to see your Clan Leader,

you created?” their leader asks

we have a Clan Leader named Balor?” A second bear asks, his voice growly, but before I can answer either

we wouldn’t let filth like

begins snarling and snapping at the

my paw,” the leader says, extending his claws that are at least two

I say to

Alphas. He’s big, but he’s all muscle. “What did you say your name was, little wolf?” he asks me, and I watch as the others step aside deferring to him. ‘Jace, step back, I think this is Balor,’ I say in the mind link. Jace moves back but ensures that he’s still in front of me. The motion does not go unnoticed by the new

man, I am small. “My name is Alpha Jordan Stern. I’m friends with Nolan, who I know has been here training the bears against the rogue wolves. He’s the one who told me of your troubles. Before that, we, the wolves that is, didn’t know that we had a rogue problem. But we do now, and because of you, we were warned of the pending attack on me and my cousin, the only other female Alpha. I’d like to get more information on these rogues, and you should know that our elders are already out hunting forthem. We intend to take them out, but we’d like to know more about them, if possible,” I say, remaining polite, but making sure they understand that I appreciate their warning

ago. We believe that they were hiding in the vacant pack lands that have now been taken over and because they are displaced, they are looking

years that they have been killing bears, humans and who knows what else. Those dead humans have caused us a lot of problems. Dead humans mean more humans come traipsing around

you,”

the little wolf that all the fuss was about. I can

extends his hand. “I’m Balor, by the

I give Jace a low, warning growl of my own, letting him know that he needs to calm down before stepping around him and reaching out to

me to him, leaning in

a wolf, you smell f*ucking fantastic,”

lean in and sniff him as well.