Page 57 of Mated to the Mountain Bear

“Fate,” he says, the word carrying certainty, the promise of a future, that makes me crave him even more.

He kisses me again, slower this time, but no less intense. His hands map my face like he’s memorising me by touch. I shift closer, practically in his lap now, and he groans against my mouth.

“Zara.” My name is a prayer on his lips. “My Zara.”

Somewhere to the rear of the house, Jerry barks, sharp, aggressive, and territorial. A bark I’ve never heard from him before.

“Do you think he found a rabbit?”

Ben goes rigid, his head snapping up. In one fluid motion, he’s on his feet, pulling me up with him.

“What’s…”

“Shhh.” His entire demeanour has changed. Gone is the man who was kissing me senseless. This is the protector, the scary Ben who wanted to keep me at bay, the one who burst in twice to rescue me.

Jerry’s barking intensifies, and he comes racing out of the woods, tail low, hackles raised. He positions himself at the base of the ladder, staring at the tree-line.

“We need to get inside. Now.” Ben moves to the edge of the platform.

“Okay, but…”

Before I can ask what’s going on, he’s vaulted over the platform rail and drops to the ground with a grace that shouldn’t be possible. He lands in a crouch, barely making a sound, then immediately straightens, arms up toward me.

“Jump, Zara. Now.”

“But the ladder…” I glance at the ladder, disappearing into the inky darkness at the side of the house and then back to Ben, who’s standing with arms out, ready to catch me.

My heart is in my throat, but I trust him. God help me, I trust him completely. I swing my legs over the rail, take a breath, and let myself fall.

He catches me as if I weigh nothing, absorbing the impact without even staggering. For a moment, I’m cradled against his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart.

“Inside,” he orders, setting me on my feet but keeping one arm around me.

Jerry backs toward us, still growling. Ben positions himself between me and the forest, herding me toward the door. The darkness between the trees seems deeper now, more ominous.

We’re almost to the cabin when I see it, a flash of movement in the shadows. Watching.

“Is it… is that the bear?”

19

BEN

Jerry’s growl booms through the night like a gunshot. It’s not his usual playful yapping when he finds something interesting he wants to show me, or a creature he wants to hunt. This is primal, territorial. He’s detected a genuine threat.

I’m on my feet before I fully process the sound, pulling Zara up with me. Every instinct screams danger, immediately demanding we get our mate to safety.

“What’s...”

“Shhh.” I scan the darkness beyond the cabin but can’t see anything. My eyes are useless in these shadows, even if they’re better than the average human. My bear pushes against my control, demanding I shift, demanding I hunt whatever’s out there threatening what’s mine.

Because they are. Nobody has wandered out here by accident.

Jerry races from the woods, hackles raised, positioning himself between the cabin and the trees. His aggressive barking continues, backing slowly toward us while never taking his eyes off something I can’t see. I take a deep breath, but the breeze isblowing the wrong direction, and I can’t get a trace of anything this high up.

“We need to get inside. Now.”

I vault over the platform rail, landing in a crouch that my human form shouldn’t be able to manage, but there’s no time to worry about what Zara might think. I straighten immediately, arms up.