Page 34 of Hunny and the Bear (Bearly Yours #1)

Thirty Four

“ I ’m so happy you could make it out here!” Hunny exclaimed, taking Nessa’s hand. The human’s car was parked in Tank’s driveway, a pickup truck behind it containing either Marcus or Dante, though Hunny had no idea who was who.

Waving at one of the twins as he backed out of the driveway and headed down the road, she pulled Nessa from the front porch and into the cabin, ecstatic the human had taken the long trip up here from town. She hadn’t seen her friend in over a week, and with the threat of Jason and his pack looming still, no one was allowed away from bear territory for the next few weeks.

Even if Murphy hadn’t decreed they were on lockdown, she highly doubted Tank would have been okay with her gallivanting into town to chat when Nessa could just drive out here. It made the most sense, and since Nessa had been fine about being escorted from the start of their territory to the cabin, it was honestly a relief.

She’d had to come up with a ridiculous reason for the escort to placate Nessa’s curiosity, but now the human was convinced Murphy was some kind of eccentric billionaire who had interesting security measures in place.

“Yeah, of course. I’ve heard a lot of wild stories about these woods, so I was honestly dying to come visit.” Nessa kicked off her shoes at the front entrance, looking around the small living room as she took off her jacket. “This place is awesome. Tank’s, I take it?”

“Mine now,” Hunny joked, closing the front door. She grabbed Nessa’s jacket and purse from her, surprised by the heavy weight of the bag. Maybe Nessa was one of those humans that fit her life into her handbag. Smiling to herself, she placed both items on a coat rack mounted on the wall.

“Where is your man, anyway? Lurking silently nearby?” Nessa looked around again, but Hunny had the distinct impression it wasn’t Tank she was searching for.

Deciding to play on a hunch, she pointed to the left. “He’s with Murphy in the kitchen.”

Nessa’s eyes widened, the sound of her heart pounding loud in Hunny’s ears as she whipped her head in that direction. “Oh?”

“I’m kidding.” Hunny snorted. “Murphy’s not here. And Tank’s taking a quick shower upstairs.” He’d been working on the spare room all morning, and since he was adamant about spending a little bit of time with her and Nessa before Jasper showed up to help him work, she’d insisted he clean up beforehand.

“Ah.” Nessa nodded, pursing her lips and looking somewhat disappointed.

“Were you hoping Murphy would be here?” Hunny asked hesitantly. When Nessa narrowed her eyes on the rabbit shifter, she quickly added, “I heard you two got off to an interesting start.”

“Ha! That’s a hell of a way to phrase it.” Nessa followed Hunny into the kitchen, dropping into a kitchen chair with a huff. “I’ve honestly never been so irritated by someone in my life.”

“I’m thinking the Sinclair men have that effect on people,” Hunny commented dryly, taking her own seat across from the human. “Irritating dicks, the lot of them.”

“Seriously? Gross.” Nessa rolled her eyes dramatically and then smirked, drumming her fingers on top of the table. “And to answer your question; no. I wasn’t hoping Murphy would be here.” She slammed her mouth shut, running her tongue over her teeth like she wanted to say something but had changed her mind.

Hunny cocked her head to the side. “What is it? You can tell me, especially while Henry is in the shower.” Her big bear was a nosy male, but he should be too far away to overhear them, and the spray from the showerhead should drown out their voices anyway.

Nessa sighed in agitation, propping her elbows onto the table and leaning forward. “I just … I don’t like Tank’s brother, okay?”

Hunny blinked, wondering just how true that was. “Okay.”

“It’s just—I don’t know. I couldn’t wait for him to leave after we met, but now I keep thinking about him, which is weird. It’s weird, right? I wake up every morning and he’s the first thought on my mind. And I swear I can …” Nessa huffed, looking around as if trying to find someone eavesdropping. She glanced back at Hunny and whispered, “I can smell him.”

Hunny stiffened, eyes going as wide as saucers. “You smell him?”

Nessa ran a hand through her brightly colored hair. “Yeah. Does that sound weird? I just can’t get it out of my head. I feel like I’m walking around all the time with his cologne shoved up my nose.”

How could that possibly be? The only explanation Hunny could even dream up was that Murphy had somehow bonded to Nessa, like Tank had bonded to her when they’d mated. He’d told her that when bear shifters mated, their scent attached to their mate. But how could that have happened so quickly? When they hadn’t even touched?

“That’s so interesting,” Hunny replied faintly, unsure of how she should approach the subject.

Nessa groaned, covering her face with her hands. “I knew you’d think I was crazy.”

“No, I just … I didn’t expect you to say something like that.” She took a cursory sniff of the air, wondering if she’d be able to scent it as well. Nope. Nothing other than Nessa’s own perfume and the chemicals from the products she’d used recently. “Did you and Murphy touch at all? Like a handshake, a hug? Maybe he got mouthy and you swatted his arm.”

Nessa peeked at her from between her fingers, puzzled, before dropping her hands. “No, there was definitely no touching.”

“Are you sure? It could have been just a brief—”

“No,” Nessa cut in hotly, pursing her lips.

Hunny held up her hands in surrender. “Alright, I’m sorry for pressing the issue.”

Nessa leaned back in her chair, worrying her lower lip. “No, I’m sorry. It was rude to cut you off like that.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Hunny assured her.

“I used to be in an abusive relationship,” Nessa blurted out suddenly. Her gaze skittered over Hunny’s head and to the wall behind her. “I-I don’t really want to talk about it, but, um, I haven’t let another man touch me at all since … Yeah, I just haven’t, so I-I would know if one did. That’s what I meant before.”

Hunny’s heart clenched at the admission, even though she’d suspected something similar. “Thank you for telling me that.” Not wanting to leave her friend hanging, she added, “That guy Murphy and Tank met with at your shop? Jason?”

Nessa’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, that guy was a creep.”

Hunny winced. “That creep is my ex.”

“What!” Nessa exclaimed, gasping audibly. “That’s the father of your babies? Oh no, that’s horrible!”

“I know.” Hunny slid her hand over her belly, rubbing it soothingly. “That’s why you needed an escort out to the cabin.”

“I thought you said Murphy was just some crazy billionaire.”

“Well, yes,” Hunny added hastily. “But he’s also trying to protect me. There’s been a bit of drama with Jason lately, and so the guys are being extra cautious on who comes and goes.”

“Oh wow, that’s really scary. I’m glad to see it’s to help protect you. Have you thought about getting a restraining order against Jason?”

Hunny shook her head. “No, it wouldn’t do me any good.”

“I definitely understand that.” Nessa stared at the rabbit shifter with a mixture of astonishment and concern, each emotion ping-ponging across her face, before she eventually asked, “What on Earth did you ever see in him?”

She scrunched her nose in distaste. “I have no idea, honestly.” Looking back on it now, a mating bond was the only true allure, and thankfully, Jason had ended that. It all felt like a bad memory. “Now that I have Henry, I just can’t believe what an idiot I was before. I mean, Jason? He’s so gross.”

“I’ll second that,” Tank grumbled, stepping quietly into the kitchen. Surprised, Nessa jerked in her seat, the scent of her fear filling the kitchen. Tank pretended not to notice, walking over to Hunny and dropping a tender kiss onto the crown of her head. “I miss anything fun?”

Hunny smiled coyly, looking up at her mate and giving Nessa a chance to collect herself. “Just girl talk.”

Tank grunted, giving a brisk nod in Nessa’s direction. “Afternoon Yapper Two.”

Nessa arched her brow. “Yapper Two?”

Hunny raised her hand. “Yapper One present and accounted for.”

Nessa burst into laughter, and the scent of her unease faded just like that. Tank draped his arms over Hunny’s shoulders, hugging her from behind. “I was just going to make some lunch. Jasper won’t be here for another hour—”

A hard knock sounded on the front door.

Hunny tilted her head to the side, staring toward the living room in confusion. “I guess he’s here early.”

“Guess so, the little fucker.” Tank kissed Hunny again before making his way out of the kitchen.

Nessa looked around the room. “So how about a house tour?”

T ank huffed as he opened the door, brows rising when he spotted Dante on his porch, a scowl on the tracker’s face. It was early in the afternoon, but the sun had hidden behind clouds all damned day, casting the world in grayish hue.

“What are you doing here?” Tank looked around. Was Jasper not with him? That was odd; no one but family ever visited him. “Everything alright?”

Dante rolled his eyes, his shoulders stiff with a tension that Tank couldn’t help but notice. “No, man.” Dante shook his head, a sorrowful light flashing in his eyes before it disappeared altogether. “I was hoping we could talk about the Moon Rose pack. There’s something I think you should know. Can I come in?”

Instantly, Tank was on high alert. He stepped out onto the porch, forcing Dante to back up a few steps as he closed the door behind him, creating a barricade between the females inside and the male.

Murphy , Tank called out to his brother. Dante’s here. Something doesn’t feel right .

“Hunny’s wanting some girl time with her human friend,” Tank commented dryly to the male in front of him, not wanting it obvious that he’d reached out to his brother. “Probably best we stay out here.”

There was a stirring in his mind, a brief fluttering of the Alpha’s consciousness before Murphy spoke. What do you mean? You want me to reach out to him?

No.

Murphy’s sigh echoed in Tank’s head. Okay. Did he say why he’s visiting? h e asked, an agitated note in his voice. The Alpha knew his mate was with Tank and likely didn’t want an unmated male near her, despite his best efforts to not care.

Dante nodded quickly, his eyes not quite meeting Tank’s. “Yeah, this is fine.”

He wants to talk about the Moon Rose pack, but why come to me and not you? I don’t like it . Tank discreetly looked around the clearing surrounding his house, inhaling to catch any stray scents. There was nothing other than Nessa’s on the breeze. He grimaced, his unease growing. That was wrong too, wasn’t it? Just get here, Murph . Don’t come alone .

Tank inhaled again, hit with another stirring of wrongness. What the hell was it?

Dante ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Everything that’s happening, I just want you to know; nothing was personal, man. You haven’t deserved any of this.”

Tank stiffened, his bear pushing to the forefront, urging him to shift. “What are you saying?” His eyes widened as realization struck.

Dante’s scent was missing.

Almost like the male could sense the direction Tank’s mind had wandered to, Dante lifted his head, sending him a pleading look. “I’m so sorry, Tank. There isn’t another way. They’re going to kill her if I don’t cooperate.”

“Kill who?”

Dante lunged at Tank, shifting into his grizzly counterpart as their bodies connected, launching Tank backward. His back slammed into the porch as his own shift began, the wood creaking as his increasing weight caused a strain on the boards. His skin rippled and fell away, replaced by thick brown fur. His body elongated simultaneously, growing wider and taller as his own grizzly rose.

Before Dante could sink his claws into Tank’s gut, Tank roared, slapping him in the head with a mighty paw. His claws scored a hit on Dante’s snout, and the male reared back onto his hind legs with a dull groan of pain. Tank sent a brief, hurried warning to Murphy as he threw himself at the other male, sending them both careening off the porch.

He needed to get Dante away from Hunny and Nessa, needed to protect his mate and their kits from danger. Blood scented on the air as he opened his maw wide and bit down on Dante’s shoulder, thrashing his head in an attempt to sever the muscles connecting his opponent’s arm. Hot, metallic liquid exploded on his tongue.

He expected the other bear to fight back, to swipe at him in retaliation. But Dante did neither, taking the brunt of Tank’s attack in stride. Why wasn’t he defending himself? He’d attacked Tank, but now he refused to fight back when his life was in danger? It didn’t make sense. What was his end game?

A howl sounded off in the distance from somewhere behind Tank, but it was the other, much closer canine growl that had him twisting around, giving Dante his back instead of this new threat. His eyes locked onto four massive wolves now standing between him and the cabin, blocking him from his mate.

Just beyond the wolves, Jason stood proudly, a smug, sinister grin on his face. “For Hunny’s sake, my wolves will make your death quick.”

Fear twisted his gut into a tangle of knots, and his heart jumped into his throat. He was outnumbered, and his mate was all but defenseless.

Tank roared in fury right as the first wolf launched itself at him.