Page 6

Bear

Pressing the button clipped to the vehicle’s visor, the garage door closed behind me as I cut the ignition to the truck off. Angling in the driver’s seat, I glanced at her for probably the hundredth time since I’d sped away from the seedy joint. I listened to her every breath, studied the rise and fall of her chest, the way more of her flesh was revealed with each inhale. If she was mine already, I would have carried her to my room, stripped her bare and tasted every inch of her flesh until she roused.

But she wasn’t mine. I’d sat back and damn near lost her because of it. I would never forgive myself for that one. Maybe I should have told her from the beginning and brought her into my world, a world where she would have been protected from tonight because we would have been bonded, meaning a bear would look out for her wherever she was.

Shifters took care of their own, including mates and children. Regardless of whether she stayed with me beyond the mating, she would be protected for life anywhere she went in the world.

Fuck! I should have claimed her from the beginning. It would have saved me years of torture and it would have saved her from tonight.

A tiny mewl escaped her as she stirred, like she was fighting for consciousness.

My hands balled into fists yet again. What I wouldn’t give to rip the jerk apart limb by limb. Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose, struggling to suppress my rage. If I gave into it, my bear would take over, and he would likely claim our vulnerable mate.

Marking was the best way to protect your mate. It fused a bond between your souls – male, bear and female. The moment anything was wrong with one, the others sensed it, no matter the distance between them. It was nature’s failsafe.

Opening my eyes, I threw open the driver’s door and stepped out, closing it as quietly as I could. Making my way around to her side, I unbuckled her, lifted her into my arms, cradling her against me like before, and knocked her door just enough to close it. The weight of her in my arms grounded me, had most of my upset falling away for the moment. Because as furious as I was, she was my priority.

Pressing one hand against the keypad, I waited for the security system to scan my palm. Hearing the telltale click of the lock, I pushed open the door and stepped into the house. Once inside, I made a beeline for my bedroom.

Pulling down the covers with one hand, I laid her down and removed her shoes. The sight of her red pedicure had me pausing to study her again. She was full of little surprises. As predictable as her habits were, there were moments when she broke her own mold and had my chest swelling with pride. It was her minute rebellions that amused me the most.

Suddenly, her phone rang loudly, echoing in the quiet room. She mumbled something unintelligible before quieting again.

Following the sound, I located the device in her back pocket. Carefully, I shifted her enough to retrieve it. Pressing the volume button, I silenced it, setting it on the nightstand.

Covering her, I took advantage of the moment and leaned into her, inhaling her sweet scent. Her natural smell reminded me of honey blossoms. Gliding my fingertips along her cheek, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. Her skin was silky soft against my lips, despite being a bit clammy still.

Fuck! My heart clenched. I was forced to take a step away from her as, yet again, the fact that I almost lost her hit me. She was my responsibility and I’d failed. I could lead a clan of bears, I could run a multi-million dollar company, but I couldn’t protect my own fucking mate.

The phone shrilled again, buzzing against the wood of the table as its ring reverberated off of the walls.

Snatching up the device, I answered it, stepping out into the hall to avoid disturbing her. “Hello?”

I couldn’t keep the bite from my voice.

“Where the hell did you take my friend?”

The female was clearly worked up, her tone all bite, albeit not a menacing one; at least not to a bear.

Glancing at the caller ID, I realized it was Bryn’s best friend. The noise in the background told me she was in public, and was likely the one who took my mate to the bar.

“Relax. She’s safe.”

“I’ll decide what’s safe. Now where the fuck is she?”

She wasn’t backing down, which was half amusing and half annoying at this point.

I had a feeling she would pester me until I told her, and, frankly, I didn’t have the patience for it at the moment.

“She’s at my house, sleeping it off.”

“Oh.”

All the fight left her. Tiffany was a peculiar girl, but clearly she cared about Bryn.

“Have her call me when she’s awake and I’ll come get her.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll drive her home once she’s fully recovered.”

She was quiet for a long minute.

“Don’t hurt her. Don’t take advantage of her. And if you so much as lead her on for a second, I will find you and hack off your left nut. Got it, Bear?”

I barely suppressed a chuckle. The woman definitely had guts. If only she knew she were threatening a shifter.

“I would never hurt Bryn.”

She sighed.

“Good. Then do us both a favor and call her boss in the morning and tell him she won’t be in for her afternoon shift. The guys a total dick, but you’re one of his best customers, so I don’t think he’ll fire her if you call.”

My bear cocked his ears. Goose pimples pricked my flesh as unease knit my muscles, a warning to any shifter.

“What do you mean?”

I heard her swift intake of air.

What sounded like a choked snarl came out of her.

“I wasn’t speaking French. Her boss is a total fucking douche. She’s been working there five years and has only gotten two five-cent raises. She called out once because she had fucking bronchitis and the dickwad put her on a final written and docked her pay for two days because they didn’t have back up and the service suffered because you couldn’t take care of yourself.”

Her voice went down an octave, mimicking the man in question.

Not stopping, she pressed onwards.

“And, on more than one occasion, the ass wipe has called her out in front of customers and made her look like an idiot. Anyone who knows Bryn knows she’s sharp as a whip. She’s not the fucking retard he makes her out to be. I mean, seriously, he’s done everything but call her fat and fire her.”

This time there was no mistaking her human growl.

“I’ve been wanting to light a fire under the fucker’s ass for years, but Bryn can’t afford to lose her job. She wasn’t qualified to get any of the other jobs companies were hiring for in town until now. Frankly, now that she’s about to graduate, I wouldn’t put it past the shit head to fuck that up for her too somehow. The guy’s a total tool with a permanent stick up his ass. I’ve been brewing my own coffee for five years because of him, and I suck at brewing coffee. I only get any when Bryn takes pity on me and makes me some.”

She huffed loudly, finally taking a true breath.

“So, yeah, do us a favor and call her boss in the morning and tell him she won’t be in for her afternoon shift, okay?”

I stood dumbfounded in the short hallway outside my bedroom. All these years, I thought I was doing what was best for her, I thought I was doing what she would want. Fuck!

My bear roared, rising up within me. Rage didn’t even begin to explain what I felt. White hot fury blazed through me, burning my muscles, pumping adrenaline through me.

She never told me.

I never saw it.

Every morning when I came in, she was so polite. Even when her boss was there, they acted as if nothing was wrong.

But it was all a damned act.

For five years, I’d been financing her oppressor. For five years I’d ordered my own coffee and bought coffee for my employees regularly, all one hundred and twenty six of them. For five years, I’d purchased a crappy sandwich for lunch or on my way home. For five years, I gave my secretary a gift certificate to the place. Five fucking years!

My body shook, my limbs vibrated, trembled, as my bear began to breach my surface. I was the worst mate in the world. If I hadn’t defied nature, if I hadn’t defied my instincts, my bear, my own fucking common sense, she wouldn’t have endured any of this.

And I couldn’t change it. There was nothing I could do to change what was. I would have to live with that forever, knowing she suffered because of me.

I ground my teeth, clenching my jaw as I attempted to regulate my breathing. I heard the crack of the phone’s screen before I realized what I was doing. Shit. Loosening my grip, I inhaled deep.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her boss.”

The malice in my tone said I would be giving him more than a simple phone call.

“About damn time someone did.”

The background noise got louder, telling me she was moving towards the crowd.

“Thanks, Bear, you know, for stepping in tonight. That would have been on me if anything happened to her. So, I owe ya.”

“Yeah.”

I sighed, my bear finally calming enough to be overpowered again, or perhaps my fury overruled his.

“Look, I’ll have Bryn call you when she’s up to it, okay?”

“Yup. Thanks.”

She clipped, immediately hanging up. She probably thought I blamed her for tonight, but, at the moment, I didn’t care.

My head was spinning with the new information she shared. Five fucking years. I couldn’t get over it. I would never get over it.

Fuck.

At the sound of metal and glass hitting the floor, I looked down. Shit. I’d crushed her phone. It was in tiny bits and pieces at my feet. I could only hope she didn’t have anything important on the device.

With a frustrated rumble, I stalked into the kitchen where I’d dropped my cell on my way in. In a matter of seconds, Jake was on the line.

“How is she?”

He was genuinely concerned about her, as was to expected, now that everyone knew she was my mate.

“She’s sleeping it off.”

I scrubbed the back of my neck, attempting to tame some of the tension thrumming through me.

“What happened to the twerp?”

“Arrested. Charges are being filed and the evidence was bagged and will be processed for use by the prosecutor during trial. I told the sheriff we wanted attempted everything.”

“Good.”

The news had me relaxing a little.

“Listen, I need a new phone for her.”

There was a brief pause.

“You broke it, didn’t you?”

He laughed.

Irritation had me snapping at him.

“Not now, Jake!”

A few more snickers escaped him before he sobered.

“Sorry, man. Sure. Whatever you need. Okay?”

“A new phone, some fresh clothes for her, and everything you can dig up on her boss.”

I cracked my neck, but the stress stiffened my muscles again.

“Her boss? Do I even want to know?”

I barely suppressed another snarl. Bitterness scorched my lungs with every inhale.

“No, but find Bryn’s friend Tiffany and get all you can from her. I want every incident she knows about documented.”

He blew out a small breath.

“Shit. It’s that serious?”

Guilt slapped me hard. I looked in the direction of my bedroom, where she slept in my bed, unaware that her secrets were being revealed little by little. I couldn’t change the past, but I’d be damned if she ever dealt with the bullshit again. Now that my clan knew, even if she walked away, she would have a group of brothers looking out for her at all times. The past would be repeated over my dead body.

“Yeah. It’s that serious. So call me when you have something.”

I ended the call, setting my phone on the counter.

Grabbing the broom and dustpan from the closet, I swept up the remnants of her phone before dumping them into a zip-lock bag. I’d have my tech guy see if he could salvage anything. Snapping a photo of the bag, I sent it to Jake so he could find out what he could about the carrier for a replacement.

Ordinarily, I didn’t delegate the important stuff, like things attached to my mate. But I wasn’t about to leave her in the state she was in. Five years was long enough.