Page 26 of Bearly in Love

twenty

MADISON

Eventually, my brother and his mate ended the party by knocking.

Loudly.

And repeatedly.

When they started yelling, Bo snarled at the door.

He carried me to our bathroom, leaving me on the countertop with a warning not to move before he disappeared into the house.

I heard him growl something at my brother, and had to bite back a grin.

For once, they weren’t best buds. It was stupid for me to get a kick out of that, but I did anyway.

I slipped off the countertop while they talked in the kitchen, and I turned on the shower. I wasn’t about to go out there smelling strongly of sex. Bo had done that enough for both of us.

I was standing beneath the water when he joined me under it. The house was old and rundown, and nowhere near as nice as his cabin after all the work he’d put into it, but I didn’t mind the weird material or design on the small shower’s doors.

“You were supposed to wait for me,” Bo grumbled, stepping up behind me.

I gave him a dramatic sigh. “Guess you’ll have to punish me.”

He swatted my ass playfully, and I laughed.

He grabbed some soap. “Is this the house you want to stay in?”

“I thought it was a rental.”

“It is. The owner is part of the clan. He wants to buy my cabin, and agreed to sell me one of his houses in exchange. He’s got a handful.

We can drive around to check them out one day soon.

They’re all occupied except this one, so we’ll have to wait until the contracts end to move in if we want one of them. ”

I nodded. “How do you feel about this place?”

Bo didn’t answer right away, but I didn’t push him to. He probably needed a minute to think. “I like the floorplan,” he finally said. “It needs a lot of work, but it would be manageable, and the final outcome would be pretty damn near perfect.”

“Then let’s choose this one.”

“You don’t want to see the others?”

I made a noncommittal noise. “I don’t really care where we live, to be honest. You saw my last place.”

“It was a shithole.”

“I liked it, though. I think you’re pickier than I am. You’re a grizzly.”

“Grizzlies aren’t picky.”

I flashed him an amused look over my shoulder. “About their dens? You totally are. I’ve met a lot of other kinds of shifters, and none of us care where we live as much as you guys.”

Bo grumbled, but didn’t argue.

“If you like it, I’ll help make some decisions about the renovations you do. I can pick the shower tiles or something.”

“Alright. I’ll keep thinking about it,” Bo said.

We washed up and dried off fairly quickly, and joined Artie and Emily in the kitchen. Artie glared at Bo a few times, but the grizzly was completely unfazed by my brother’s anger.

They’d been friends long enough for him to be sure Artie would move on.

We spent the day chatting and unpacking, and called it a night early. When Artie and Emily left, Bo and I collapsed on the couch together. He turned on a movie, and we relaxed together.

It was nicer than I ever would’ve expected.

Not just watching a movie while snuggling, but having a mate. Knowing that we could chill on the couch together every night for the rest of our lives if we wanted to.

I’d never imagined having a permanent, built-in friend, but that was kind of what mating was. Wasn’t it?

And it was starting to sound really damn good to me.

Artie and Emily showed up early the next morning. They were leaving around lunch time, so they brought breakfast with them.

We finished unpacking everything right around the time they were planning on leaving, so they hugged us and headed out.

Hugging Artie was awkward, but I tried to ignore the discomfort.

As he headed out with Emily, he said over his shoulder, “Madison, can we talk before I leave?”

Somehow, he sounded even more uncomfortable than I felt.

I opened my mouth to turn him down, but Bo met my gaze and nodded emphatically.

I shook my head.

He nodded again.

I mouthed, “You owe me,” and said aloud, “Sure.”

Bo gave me a thumbs-up.

I flipped him off behind my back, ignoring his snort when I followed my brother out.

Emily sat down in their SUV.

Artie closed the front door behind us for privacy’s sake, even though we both knew Bo would hear whatever we said. He was probably on the other side of the door already, listening in.

Emily waved at me, and I waved back before looking at Artie as he cleared his throat.

“I wanted to apologize,” he said.

I stared at him, not quite believing that those words had just come out of his mouth. Even while we were unpacking, he hadn’t tried to talk to me much.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I was a shitty brother. Bo said as much. Emily did too. I told myself I was protecting you, but that obviously wasn’t completely true. I’m sorry.”

I stared some more.

He cleared his throat again.

Right. I needed to respond.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to say, so I just opened my mouth and hoped the words that came out weren’t awful.

His apology wasn’t enough to make up for everything, but it wasn’t like he was asking me to let him become the world’s best big brother. He was just apologizing.

“Thanks for saying that. Maybe we can try to get along better the next time we see each other.”

Artie nodded. “Sounds nice.”

“Mmhm.”

Another awkward moment passed before he patted me on the arm and walked away.

At least that was over.

I slipped back into the house, and Bo gave me a tight hug.

“That was so uncomfortable,” I said against his gigantic chest.

“I know. Thank you.”

I sighed. “You’re welcome.”

He released me, kissing me lightly before he let me go. “I still need to hit the grocery store.”

“I need to stop at the dance studio to check in with one of my instructors. You could drop me off there on your way to the store.”

“Or we could do both together.”

I eyed him.

He eyed me.

When he winked, I finally agreed. He kissed me again, with another grin.

“You’re happy, now,” I remarked.

“I’m mated to the woman I’ve been obsessed with for most of my life. Now, I get her all to myself. What is there not to be happy about?”

“Your true soulmate just drove away with the love of his life.” I gestured toward the front door.

Bo snorted. “I’d rather fuck a beehive than Artie.”

“At least you’d smell like honey afterward.”

“That’s what I have you for.” He grabbed a strand of my hair, lifting it to his nose and inhaling.

I laughed, and we went out to his truck together.

We went to the store first, forgetting we’d have groceries in the car afterward that we had to take home pretty quickly.

So, our stop at the dance studio needed to be fast.

“Leslie should already be inside,” I said. “It’ll only take a minute.”

She was always on time, and I was a few minutes late for the short meeting we had planned last-minute. I wasn’t even sure what she wanted to talk to me about. She probably wanted to know whether or not I was still planning to sign the studio over to her or something.

“I don’t see her vehicle.” Bo looked around the empty parking lot.

“She lives a block away and walks here. I’ll be fine.” I kissed Bo lightly. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll be back.”

“Alright.” He didn’t look happy about it, but when he rolled down the window and sniffed the air, he didn’t find any reason to stop me from going in alone.

The studio itself had a distinctive scent that would hide most others, but I didn’t bother telling him his attempt to keep me safe was pointless.

“Yell if you need anything. I’ll leave the window down,” he added.

I gave him a mock salute.

“Smartass,” he called after me.

“I don’t need a reminder that you love this thing,” I called back, pointing to my butt as I kept moving.

“I love more than your ass,” he yelled.

“You already said that!”

“I’ll keep saying it!”

I waved him off playfully as I stepped up to the front door. It was already unlocked, so Leslie was already there.

I took a few steps in, flipping on the lights she missed.

By the time I noticed the slight hint of a scent that didn’t belong there, a large hand was over my mouth.

A pair of claws brushed my throat.

Fuck.

“Hello, Fiancée,” the alpha sneered into my ear.

My eyes darted around the room, searching for Leslie.

She wasn’t there.

Of course she wasn’t there.

She was mated to one of the kitsunes in the skulk. She lived in the neighborhood. It would’ve been so easy for him to get her phone.

I should’ve expected that.

I should’ve put it together.

I should’ve left Cub Lake completely.

Now, I just needed to figure out a way to get out of this situation alive.

“You’re no good to me or anyone else mated with a fucking grizzly, Madison.” The alpha slowly dragged his claws over my throat, leaving shallow cuts in my skin. Small streams of blood dripped lightly down.

And down.

And down.

I bit my cheek hard to hold back a cry of pain.

If Bo heard me and came running, he wouldn’t get to me in time. I’d be dead long before that.

I had to be careful.

Cautious.

Smart.

Somehow, I had to figure out a way to get myself out of this situation. Without getting killed. And without screaming.

“You embarrassed me.” The alpha finally lifted his claws from my throat.

My eyes stung with pain. And shock, maybe.

Okay, definitely shock too.

I needed a lifelong break from crying, after all the tears I’d been shedding lately.

What the hell was I going to do?

I took a staggered breath in as his claws landed in the center of my chest. Directly over my heart. I should’ve put on a bra, because his hands were way too close to my tits.

And the fact that I was even thinking that was not a great sign about the current state of my sanity.

I was about to die, and I was thinking about the alpha accidentally groping me.

Great use of brainpower.

“I should rip your heart out right here,” the alpha mused. “Leave your body on the floor of your studio, so your bear can discover what it’s like to lose what belongs to him the way I did.”

The alpha’s words made me see red.

Not because he was trying to bother Bo—because he said I had been his .

His , even though I was an unwilling fiancée.

His , even after I’d literally begged him to postpone the wedding indefinitely or call it off together.

His female kitsune.

His possession.

Fuck that.

Fuck him .

I wasn’t a helpless human. I was a shifter. I was as much wild animal as I was woman, even if I’d spent most of my life resenting that because of what it meant for my future.

And I was not going to die without a fight.

I wasn’t sure what the best way to get him to let go of me was, but I was going to figure it out, or I was going to die trying.

I wasn’t his victim anymore.

Closing my eyes, I shifted my nails to claws and let instinct take over. My hands closed around his wrists, digging into his skin, and he swore loudly.

His grip loosened, just a little.

It was enough for me to tear myself away from him. His claws ripped through part of my shirt and some of my skin as I did.

“I never belonged to you,” I spat. “Fuck you for thinking I did, and for trying to force me to mate with you.”

The doors crashed open, and Bo was already shifting to his grizzly form when he came charging into the room.

His chest heaved violently as he looked at me, making sure I wasn’t bleeding too heavily.

“I should’ve had your car enchanted to break down far sooner than it did,” the alpha sneered. “And I should’ve killed you five minutes ago.”

I knew that engine fire hadn’t been normal.

Bo roared, and charged.

I watched him tear into the alpha’s chest. My ex-fiancé didn’t even have time to shift. Or scream.

His body was on the ground moments later, and Bo was turning toward me.

The grizzly lunged. All of his weight barreled toward me.

What the actual fuck?

I barely had time to shift and launch sideways. My shirt remained pooled around me as I landed, and my head jerked to the side in time to watch Bo collide with my father.

Dad’s body hit the ground immediately. The metal of a knife clattered on the floor, and Bo tore into his chest.

I watched my father die as if from a distance, and I felt…

Relief.

And numbness.

I looked down at my chest.

My shirt was covered in blood.

Bo reached me as quickly as he’d reached my dad. He tore my shirt away with claws, barking,

“Shift, Madi.”

I shifted.

When I saw the blood on my chest, I paled.

Bo swore viciously, yanking me off the ground and into his arms. “You need to go to the hospital.”

“I don’t think it’s that deep,” I said faintly. “It’ll heal fast.”

“I’m not losing you,” he snarled at me.

We reached the truck quickly.

And got to Cub Lake’s little hospital almost as fast.

I expected to get whisked away on a stretcher the way people did in movies, but the first person who saw my wounds promised I’d be fine.

After that, Bo calmed down.

Slightly.