Page 8

Chapter

Seven

D ANNY

A little over two weeks after I first messaged Knox, I stepped out of the bakery, locked the front door, and froze when movement flashed in my peripheral vision. My heart rate doubled and I remained in place, turning my head painfully slowly toward the movement, dreading what I might find.

I peered through the darkness of the rapidly descending night. Rain pelted down, hammering on the awning above, and it was difficult to see anything despite my enhanced vision. I dropped my hands from the lock, pocketed the key, and pivoted.

Then I spotted it.

Across the street, lingering in the shadows between two buildings, was a large grizzly bear.

Usually, that wouldn’t be cause for concern. Grizzly Ridge was full of bear shifters. But there was something about the way this one watched me that set off all the alarm bells in my mind.

I took a step closer and narrowed my eyes. The bear looked familiar, but it took far too long for me to realize why.

It was Rex.

I stumbled backward, tripping over my own feet. I would have fallen, if not for my back hitting the bakery window. The bear stalked forward, its massive shoulders rolling as it moved its weight from one paw to the other.

Fuck.

I briefly considered shifting, but by the time I’d made the transition, Rex might have reached me. Instead, I took off, sprinting into the rain and pounding along the street toward my parents’ house.

I was instantly drenched. I shoved my hair back off my face and struggled to keep my eyes on the road ahead. Water streamed down my forehead, almost blinding me.

I panted, unused to running so quickly in my human form. It wasn’t far from the bakery to Momma and Dad’s house—less than a mile—but I wasn’t sure if I could maintain this pace, and the slap of footfalls on the pavement behind me warned that Rex was gaining on me.

Something tugged at my chest. A crazy instinct to veer to the left and allow the soul-deep mate connection to lead me to Knox rather than going to my parents. By force of will alone, I ignored it.

I trusted my parents. I wasn’t sure if I could trust Knox.

The sensation strengthened, until there was a physical ache in my chest. My bear was screaming for me to seek out our alpha mate for protection. The problem was, we weren’t mated. Despite our text conversations, Knox wasn’t my alpha, or my mate. We were slowly getting to know each other, but we were a long way from that.

Even though it physically hurt, I powered on, shouting Dad’s name and knowing he’d come running.

I flew around the corner, onto the street where my family lived. The turn slowed me down, and I strained my ears. But with the blood rushing through my head, I couldn’t tell how close behind Rex was.

Ahead, a bear roared. Even larger than Rex, it appeared from behind the veil of rain and charged toward me. As the bear drew level, I threw myself behind him, letting my father shield me, relying on him to protect me because I couldn’t protect myself.

Weak.

I bent low and used my arms to cover my head, expecting to hear the smack of flesh against flesh, but it didn’t come.

I stayed tucked in on myself until a gentle hand landed on my shoulder. I flinched away and looked up into Momma’s eyes.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Stand up, Danny. He’s not here.”

“He’s not?” I straightened from a crouch and turned around. Behind me, Dad was pacing back and forth across the street, still in his furry form, but there was no sign of Rex.

Dad threw his head back and roared. A moment later, answering roars sounded nearby, and three hulking figures barreled down the road toward us.

My brothers.

They reached us within seconds and, upon realizing there was no immediate threat, shifted. Dad remained in his bear form.

“What happened?” Everett demanded, looking from Dad to me and Momma.

“I… I…” I couldn’t even manage to draw in a full breath, let alone explain.

Momma squeezed my shoulder, bunching the sodden fabric. “Go on. You’ve got this.”

I forced myself to inhale slowly and did my best to loosen my tight throat. “I saw Rex. Outside the bakery. He chased me.”

A growl tore from Everett. “That fucker. I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

Zander grimaced. “Please don’t say that when I’m around.”

“Let’s go after him,” Garrick said, taking charge while Dad was unable to speak. “We’ll track him. Momma, take Danny inside and get him dry and warm. Dad will stand guard.”

Dad nodded his huge head.

Momma’s arm looped around my back, and she urged me toward the house as my brothers allowed their bears to surface and they ambled down the road in the direction of the bakery. Dad stalked behind us, almost unnervingly silent.

When we reached the house, he adopted a defensive pose on the front porch while Momma escorted me in. Footsteps raced down the hall and Milo appeared in front of me. He opened his arms and I stepped into them, pressing myself against the swell of his pregnant belly.

“Are you okay?” he asked, trembling from head to toe. “I couldn’t hear anything, but Aaron said you were in trouble. I would have come, but Momma told me to stay here.”

“I’m okay,” I promised. “She was right to tell you to stay. You need to keep my niece or nephew safe.”

Milo drew back and studied my face. “I’ll get you a change of clothes.” He looked down at himself. “Me, too. Momma, would you like…?”

“I’ll get my own,” Momma replied, then opened the linen closet, pulled out three towels and handed us one each, keeping one for herself and using it to wring the water from her hair.

I stripped out of my clothes, left them in the hamper in the bathroom, and toweled off. By the time I was dry, Milo had returned with sweatpants, a T-shirt, and an oversized hoodie for me to change into. I pulled them on and borrowed a thick pair of socks, then made my way to the kitchen, where I could hear Momma moving around.

Now wearing jeans and a knit sweater, she stood in front of the kitchen counter, her damp hair loose down her back. “I’m making hot chocolate.”

“Thank you.” A warm, sweet drink sounded wonderful right about now.

“Cookies?” Milo asked, emerging from the walk-in pantry with a plastic container clasped between his hands.

I was about to refuse, but my stomach gurgled, reminding me that lunch had been several hours ago. “Yes, please.”

He offered me a honey cookie. I demolished it in a couple of bites. Momma poured hot chocolate into three mugs and added marshmallows to the top, followed by a sprinkle of cocoa powder. She passed one to me and one to Milo, taking the last one for herself.

“Momma said Rex came after you,” Milo said as he took a sip.

I stiffened as the memory of those slapping footfalls on the pavement flickered through my mind. “He did.”

But how long had he actually chased me?

He hadn’t been behind me when Dad arrived. Even if Rex had been retreating by then, Dad would have chased him.

“I feel a bit silly,” I admitted, blowing on the surface of the hot liquid and testing to see whether it was cool enough to drink. It wasn’t too bad. “He was probably just trying to frighten me. He might not have even followed me more than a couple of hundred yards.”

“You have every right to be scared. ”

I jumped, caught off guard by the voice behind me. I turned and found Dad standing in the kitchen doorway with a towel wrapped around his hips.

“He chased you until you were two blocks from here,” Garrick called from behind him. “We tracked him back as far as the main street, but his scent vanished. He must have shifted and used his car to get away. He probably knew we’d be coming after him.”

My stomach churned, and the sweetness of marshmallow and milk on my tongue became bitter.

Rex had chased me. Almost the whole way here.

What would have happened if he’d caught me? And what would he do now? Would he try again?