Page 96 of Mated to the Mountain Bear

I kiss her goodbye, and her fingers clutch my shirt for just a moment, before letting go.

The stairwell echoes with my footsteps. My truck protests when I turn the key, engine sluggish from sitting in the city heat.

Traffic crawls. Red light. Green light. More concrete and glass. But when I finally hit the mountain road, when pine trees replace buildings and the air clears, my shoulders finally drop.

She didn’t mention the job. For all I know, after Vancouver, it’ll be LA, and I’ll get left behind again. Because I’m a big baby who can’t cope with people and noise.

I thump the steering wheel, doubt gnawing at my insides, and an ache in my chest from being apart.

Friday feels like a long way off.

42

BEN

The coffee mug shatters against the wall before I realise I’ve thrown it. Ceramic shards scatter across the floor, and dark liquid drips down the wooden cabinets.

My bear claws at my insides, demanding we go back for her. One day. It’s only been one day since I left her in that apartment, and already, the cabin feels like a tomb.

What the hell was I thinking?

The front door bangs open without warning. I’m halfway there, ready to attack, before I recognise Beau’s scent, followed by Maddox’s. They both freeze in the doorway, taking in the destruction.

The shattered mug is just the latest casualty. Cabinet doors hang crooked where I gripped too hard. Claw marks score the bathroom door frame from when her scent in there got too overwhelming.

“Jesus, Ben.” Beau’s voice is carefully neutral. “When did you get back?”

“Yesterday.” My voice is raw. “She asked me to leave.”

Beau whistles low, shocked at how badly I’m taking it. Maddox kicks aside the remains of what used to be a chair. “You need to get out of here.”

In this mood? That seems like a recipe for disaster.

“I’m fine.” Three more days. Might as well be three years.

“Sure you are.” He pulls out his phone and shows me a photo.

It’s my truck parked crooked in my driveway. Deep gouges in the dirt show where I’d slammed on the brakes. The driver’s door is still open. I barely remember the drive home.

“Meeting her Friday to go to Vancouver.”

“Because that’s going to go well.” Beau examines the claw marks on my walls. “How close are you to losing it completely?”

Closer than I’m willing to admit. The bear’s been riding me hard since I left her, demanding we go back and claim what’s ours. Every instinct screams to drive back down that mountain and never leave her side again.

Only the memory of her trying to help, trying to give me what I needed, keeps me here.

I growl. “I can make it three days.”

“Like hell.” Beau pulls out his keys. “Get in the truck. You’re coming with us.”

Absolutely, no way.

“I’m not going to a bar. I said...”

“I heard what you said. And I’m not stupid enough to bring you out drinking in this state.” He steps closer, eyes pleading. “But you need something to do besides tearing your cabin apart. We’ve got a stakeout tonight. Boring as hell, but it’ll keep you busy.”

I look around the cabin. Every breath brings her scent. Every surface holds a memory. My bear’s going mad with it.