Page 80 of The Cowbears of Curvy Bear Ranch

He shrugged. She’d be on the ranch for a few more weeks. As long as she didn’t leave, he’d have the time he’d need to figure out if his bear was right. He flinched. She couldn’t leave. Based on the conversation he’d overheard, she wasn’t planning on leaving, but things could change. Although, if she did leave, then it wasn’t meanttobe.

His bear pawed at his heart and insisted that she washismate.

“We’ll see about that,buddy.”

After riding the length of the fence, he sat on a log and ate his lunch. He hadn’t been getting much sleep. Even though they hadn’t been sleeping in the same house, he could scent Madison from his bedroom. He’d spent the last two nights tossing and turning, thinking about how her skin felt under his hands. So soft andsupple.

A flash of her naked and spread out beneath him brought a rush of warmth to his groin. He shifted uncomfortably as his bear fought for freedom. Maybe he should let him loose and run until the urge to claim Madisonpassed.

He shook his head. “Down,boy.”

His bear snarled. Mack hadn’t let him out in over a week, which was far too long. Maybe tonight after dinner he’d shift and run through the woods just to let off somesteam.

The afternoon sun dipped low on the horizon. His eyes drooped from a lack of sleep. The cold didn’t bother him, so he found a patch of grass under a tree and curled up to take a quick nap. Ten minutes and then he’dheadback.

Hours later, bleary eyed and disoriented, Mack woke to complete darkness. He sat up and brushed pine needles from his hair. Overhead, a million stars twinkled against amidnightsky.

Shit. So much for ashortnap.

His stallion stood nearby. At least he hadn’t wandered off. The horse had to be cold by now. Guilt brought him to his feet. He’d have to make sure to give him extracarrots.

The ride back to the barn took longer in the dark. Even with good night vision, the chance of hitting a small hole wasn’t worth the risk of moving faster. He’d apologize if he was late fordinner.

As he walked the horse toward the barn, a truck rumbled up the driveway. Odd. He hadn’t been expecting anyone. The front door opened and Logan came out to greet the stranger. The nice thing about having so many brothers was that they shared the work. He didn’t have any illusions about running the ranch himself. He gave credit where creditwasdue.

Inside the barn, he brushed the horse and wiped him with towels until he was completely dry. He settled a thick blanket over the horse, then walked him into a stall. Three carrots later, he finished petting the horse andsteppedout.

Two steps from the entrance to the barn, he heard yelling. As he rushed into the clearing, he spotted the stranger standing toe-to-toe withMadison.

She screamed, “I don’t care what you want. This babyismine.”

“He’s mine too. You have no right totakehim.”

What the hell? How did her ex find her and get to the ranch so quickly? Mack had only been gone six or seven hours. Didn’t he live inSeattle?

“I never should have told you,” Madisonsnarled.

Mack raced to her side. “What’s goingonhere?”

“Who the hell is this?” Bensnapped.

“I own the ranch. Who the hell are you?” Mack already knew, but wanted to assert hisauthority.

“I’m Madison’sfiancé.”

“Ex-fiancé,” shecorrected.

As Mack placed his hand on the small of her back, Ben narrowed his eyes. “What the hell is going on here? It hasn’t even been a month since you walked out on me and you’re already fucking someone new? Or were you already cheating onmetoo?”

“No. I was faithful the whole time we weretogether.”

“And now you’rewithhim?”

Before she could respond, Ben held up his hand. “Never mind. If I’d known you were a slut when I met you then I never would have agreed tomarryyou.”

Mack’s bear snarled. The beast punched against his will in an effort to be unleashed. He struggled to control him. The fierce need to defend his mate reared up and overwhelmed him. He couldn’t hold backhisbear.

He fell forward onto his hands and knees. A cracking, ripping, crunching snarl of tangled bones worked beneath his skin. Fur sprouted from his body. His hands and feet formed huge paws. As the transformation neared completion, he threw back his head and roared loud enough to shake the snow from thetrees.