Page 78 of Mated to the Mountain Bear

“Where are you?”

Thank god. He’s going to help.

“I’m in Ben’s truck. He made me leave him at his cabin, but there are so many wolves. He can’t take them all down.”

Why did I leave him? What kind of person abandons someone like that? I’m spiralling when Maddox’s voice cuts through my panic.

“Where are you?” He repeats firmly.

Annoyed that he doesn’t seem to be racing to his brother’s aid, I bite back the urge to yell at him. This is what he does. Ben told me he’ll know what to do. And so, for the second time in as many hours, I trust our fate to a bear.

“On my way down the mountain, about a mile from his place. I just got coverage.” Peering through the windscreen, I catch glimpses of shadows pacing me between the trees. “I think there are still some following me.”

Maddox seems to know where that is and isn’t perturbed by the wolves still on my tail. “I’ll deal with them. Keep going until you get to the fork, then veer left. That turn takes you back up the mountain. I’ll meet you on the road. You just keep coming to me.”

Nodding even though he can’t see me, I cling to the idea that help is coming. For me, but more importantly, for Ben.

“But Ben… he’s outnumbered. I shouldn’t have left him…” The sob I’ve been holding back since I saw the first wolf attack bursts out of me. “He’s all on his own.”

The urge to turn around is strong, but as I see another flash of fur between the branches, fear seizes me, and I press harder on the gas.

“Not anymore.” There’s a faint noise in the background, the rumble of an engine, and then wind. “And if Ben told you to leave, you did exactly the right thing, Zara. Let us worry about the wolves.”

I frown, the word catching my attention, even through my panic. “Us?”

Maddox chuckles darkly. “Yeah, us. Those fuckers picked the wrong family to mess with.”

A howl rises behind me, closer than before.

My hands tighten on the wheel as I take another curve, and the truck fishtails slightly on loose gravel. In the mirror, I swear, I see eyes reflecting my taillights.

“Maddox…”

“I heard it. Keep driving. You’ll see my headlights soon.”

31

ZARA

Islow down slightly around the next bend, aware that Maddox said he’d be coming in my direction. The last thing I want is to crash headfirst into the only person who can help Ben.

Edging forward in my seat, I peer out into the pitch black, keeping my eyes peeled for approaching headlights. A truck sits parked on the shoulder, hazards blinking like a beacon in the darkness.

Relief floods through me, making my hands tremble on the wheel.

I pull up behind it and cut the engine. The sudden silence feels oppressive. Then, a massive shape emerges from the darkness, and my heart stops. It’s a bear standing on its hind legs beside my window, one huge paw raised.

Even knowing this must be Maddox, instinct screams at me to hit the gas.

The bear drops to all fours and shifts mid-stride. One moment there’s a grizzly, the next, Maddox stands there naked, already moving toward the truck with purpose.

My hands tremble on the wheel as I take him in. Even in the darkness, the family resemblance is striking. Same broad shoulders as Ben, same dark hair, same intense way of moving that speaks of barely leashed power.

Maddox doesn’t give me time to think. He jogs around the truck, his breath misting in the frigid mountain air, and yanks open the door. The hinges protest loudly in the quiet night. He gestures for me to slide over to the passenger seat with a sharp motion that brooks no argument.

“Move,” Maddox says, already sliding into the driver’s seat before my ass has cleared the console.

His skin radiates heat despite the cold, and the truck suddenly feels too small with him in it. He yanks something off the seat behind and places it in his lap to cover the family jewels and then drives.