by Thorne, Elle
“Teague too? Did you call in the National Guard as well?” She made a show of looking behind them.
“Why would we do that?” Teague asked. “Didn’t you just say that there’s no one out here who could be a danger to you?”
She avoided answering that question on the same grounds that she hadn’t answered the last one. “Where are Marti and Kelsey?”
“Kane and Astra are giving them a ride home. We wanted to check on you.”
“Two big ol’ bear shifters coming to check on me.” She gave them the eye. “I don’t think so. What gives?”
They looked at each other. Tanner went first. “Mae, you know we owe you. You helped us out when we needed you most.”
Mae cocked her head. “And you wanted to make sure I was okay because…” She waved her hands, urging them to move forward with their explanation.
“You got pissed when Doc said he was leaving. You left in a huff. A somewhat subtle one, but still a huff. And then a storm happened.”
“So you’re thinking that I have something to do with the weather?”
“Come on, Mae. It’s us.” Teague said. “We know what you can do. We lived here. We saw the rain during times that other areas had drought.”
“Coincidence,” Mae harrumphed.
“Coincidence too, that every time you’d visit Brad’s gravesite it would rain in the cemetery, and only the cemetery?”
Damn them. They were way too perceptive.
“You’ve known all along,” she mused.
“Yes, ma’am,” Tanner said. “And we haven’t told a soul that you’re an element caster.”
“Why didn’t you mention it a decade ago, or more?”
“Mae.” Tanner put his arm around her. “You’re like our older sister.”
Teague winked at her. “Though when he was a teenager, Tanner did have a crush on you.”
Tanner jerked his arm away and turned a deep red. “I was a kid. Damn.”
Mae slapped Teague’s arm playfully. “Don’t embarrass your brother.”
“On a serious note,” Tanner added. “We would never divulge your secrets. But we do know that Doc’s announcement bothered you.”
“That’s my issue to deal with,” she reassured the hunky bear shifters. “There’s more you’re not telling me. You know I’ll find out.”
“Fine.” Teague caved first. “Kane found a scent.”
She frowned. “A scent of what?”
“Kane thinks it’s polar bear.” Tanner’s face was grave.
Marti, Tanner’s mate, had a son who was a polar bear. Mae knew that Marti didn’t want it getting out that she had a polar bear shifter child.
She shook her head. This wasn’t good. First of all, it meant there was a trespassing shifter in their territory. Secondly, it made her wonder if there was a connection to Marti’s son Dominic.
She reached for a teapot, wanting to keep her hands busy. She filled it with water and put it on the burner.
“Let me see. I’ll call—” Good grief. She’d almost said Jake. She couldn’t call him, anyway, because things had changed. They weren’t as close as she’d always thought they were. He’d planned a trip to Europe without even mentioning it to her until it was a done deal.
“Let me do some thinking,” she told them.
“Why don’t we call Doc?” Tanner asked.
Clearly, like her, he knew that was the normal way things were done. They would call her or Jake and then she and Jake would get together and talk and come up with solutions.
“No. Don’t go calling Doc.” She set the table with three cups for tea. “The man has a trip to plan and suitcases to pack.”
He’s embarking on more than a trip. He’s embarking on a new life. One that doesn’t involve me.
Chapter Three
Jake parked his car in his driveway and jumped out. His home wasn’t quite the mansion that Grant’s family had, but he hadn’t done poorly. He had built a successful practice in Florida, then made some investments and was well set up for life. His home was a brick and wood two-story that he’d bought when he first arrived. The driveway was empty since he lived alone, now that Astra was living with Kane.
It was dark outside; the moon was barely a sliver. That had no bearing on his mission. He shifted into his bear seconds after slamming the door shut. He needed to go out into the woods. He needed to roam, to think.
He might even need to settle a matter with his bear, if his bear would let him broach the subject.
Forty minutes, multiple trails, and a long run later, Jake pulled to a lumbering stop. His bear was winded but happy to have had the exercise.
Jake shifted back to his human skin and sat on a stump. He broke a twig off a nearby bush, stuck it in the corner of his mouth and chewed.
Now can we discuss it?
His bear grunted.
I have every right to be confused. Everything I’ve ever known about being a shifter has been turned upside down. Everything I’ve been taught flies in the face of what I’m feeling now.
His bear was quiet.
I wish you’d argue with me.
Jake knew the bear wouldn’t. He knew the bear wanted him to sort this out on his own.
How can Mae be my mate? We’ve both had other mates.
Jake shook his head. He didn’t know why he was struggling with this so much. His bear insisted this was the way it was and not to fight it. But Jake had to fight it. He’d had his mate: Astra’s mother, Anna.
Jake wondered what she’d say about the way he felt about Mae.
He knew. She’d say, Be happy. You can’t be unhappy for the rest of your life.
He cast the twig into the bushes.
None of this mattered. Mae didn’t want him. Brad had been Mae’s true mate. She considered Jake a friend.
All the more reason for me to get the hell out of Bear Canyon Valley. Maybe he could forget Mae in Europe.
Her olive skin and dark hair. Full lips, full hips, and a sassy attitude.
He exhaled a sigh. It was pointless to be in love with her. Pointless trying to get over his guilt about being in love with her. It violated their friendship and tore him in half.
“Lot of good this outing did me,” Jake castigated his bear. “You were supposed to help me reach a resolution.”
His bear roared in his head, drowning out all the sounds in the forest, even drowning out his thoughts.
Jake’s blood pressure was rising. He could feel it. What the hell was his bear thinking?
“Seriously?” He didn’t bother mind-communicating with his bear, but he was so agitated he spoke the word out loud.
You think I’m being silly? That I should roll with it? What happens the moment I tell her how I feel about her? It will upset the dynamics of the valley. She’s put a lot into rebuilding this valley. A few words from me could destroy our working relationship.
His bear went quiet.
Fine. Now you want to give me the silent treatment.
Wait a second. His bear smelled something.
With a quick creaking sound, bones and tendons, skin and flesh stretching, Jake shifted into his bear. Whatever it was, the bear felt they’d handle it better in his form. Jake had learned not to argue.
Jake inhaled, his nostrils flared. His bear grunted and pawed at the forest’s pine-needle-covered floor.
A scent wafted his way.
Bear.
Not one of the Bear Canyon Valley shifters. This was an unfamiliar scent; that much he could tell.
The scent was faint and it wasn’t easy to discern any details from it. Maybe if he followed it through the forest he’d be better able to tell some details.
He raised his head, picked up a trace, followed it a few paces. Raising his head again, he sniffed. He snarled.
Polar bear.
Jake approached a tree and leaned into it. Definitely polar bear. Not just a regular polar bear, of course.
A shifter.
A male.
And i
t had rubbed right here.
On purpose? Marking territory? Surely he knew this was their territory.
Jake had never had any real contact with polar bears. The only one he knew was Dominic. Could this bear have something to do with Dominic? It seemed to be out of bounds to discuss Dominic’s father with Marti. She veered the conversation away from that topic any time it was broached.
Jake followed the scent up a trail that led away from town. He never picked up the scent of another bear, just that one, and when he reached the creek, it stopped. He scoured a mile up and down the creek’s opposite bank but couldn’t find another trace.
That meant the bear had gone through the creek. Who knew how many miles?
So he wants us to know he’s here, but he doesn’t want us to find him.
He’d ask Mae.
No, he couldn’t. He shouldn’t. He should find a way to do things without Mae.
Yeah, right. As if they hadn’t been attached at the hip for a long time now.
She’d be better off without him around all the time. She’d find someone to make her happy. The last thing she needed was to be with a shifter again.
His bear snarled at him.
I can come up with more reasons for staying away if I need to.
His bear’s snarl turned into a thunderous roar. He would not be denied his mate. His bear had decided that Mae was the one for them.
Okay, okay. Jake couldn’t argue that. He was already in love with Mae, had been for a long time, but he had to do what was right for her, what was right for the valley’s shifters.
Back to the polar bear.
Plan of action? What would he do?
Fuck if I know.
He’d come back in the morning. There was bound to be some sort of an answer to this by then.
Just a matter of looking, he told his bear. We’ll find the answer in the forest.
Chapter Four
Mae woke up too early to go out. She’d have lain in bed a hell of a lot longer if her mind hadn’t traveled to Jake’s bed during her dreams.
Jake.
The thought of him, his sexy abs, the long sleeve shirts he wore couldn’t hid that body. The bulge she’d glimpsed in his pants was evidence the man had quite a package.
Her sleep tank was loose but threadbare, and saturated in sweat. Still half-asleep, she shouldn’t be so aroused. Her body shouldn’t be drenched in perspiration and there definitely shouldn’t be a pool of liquid heat between her legs. She was aroused and in need of relief in a big way. She squirmed in the bed, but that didn’t help. It rubbed her legs together, putting pressure on that one spot that didn’t need encouragement.
Her clit twitched, aching for Jake’s touch. A touch she’d never felt, but one she couldn’t stop thinking about. Her body trembled, shaking, quivering. It had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature and everything to do with the pure need she had for him.
She slipped a hand into her sleep shorts, her mind absorbed with Jake. Thinking about the sexy, muscular, panty-wetting face that was Jake. The second her index finger touched her clit, though it was still hooded, she flinched. The intensity of that touch made a moan slip from her lips.
Mae closed her eyes, spreading her folds with eager fingers. God, but she was so wet for him. Another moan of sheer desire came out, unbidden, making her wish he were there. She could imagine the color of his eyes, the shape of those lips. The thought of those lips and his tongue on her was too much. She bypassed her clit, and plunged her fingers deep into her wet channel.
A quick gasp and a few thrusts were all it took for her to throw herself whole-heartedly into a fitful orgasm. She didn’t even have a chance to take out her vibrator.
The thought of his mouth on her pussy. Of him driving his tongue into her was more than she could handle. Her body ached, her clit tingled.
She let a long low moan out as she began another orgasm, her other hand finding her clit, pressing, tweaking, circling. Mae had orgasm after orgasm, with nothing more than the thought of Jake and her fingers.
Completely spent and overwhelmed by the emotions, she jumped out of the bed.
I’m ridiculous. This is ridiculous.
How could he have such an effect on her?
* * *
Jake was determined to figure out the polar bear’s location. He was hoping that he’d be able to follow its scent all the way past Bear Canyon Valley’s boundaries. If the scent didn’t extend past their boundaries, that meant the bear was roaming their territory. It also meant he’d have to do something about it.
He woke up in the pre-dawn hours with a start. He was drenched in sweat, and his cock was hard as a rock and in his hand. His mind was on Mae: her full figure, the way her ass curved upward into those amazing hips, down to her waist, then flared wider again as it reached her breasts. She had the perfect hourglass figure.
Damn. Did he really have to think of it while he was awake? His cock twitched in his hand, its pulse throbbing, pre-cum sliding out. He rubbed his thumb over it. Fuck, he’d rub one out thinking of Mae right now if he didn’t have to go polar bear hunting.
Jake’s bear roared in agreement.
Was Mae safe? Surely she was. Maybe he’d swing by her home and make sure there wasn’t any sign of a disturbance, then he’d head out and find the trespasser.
Part of Jake burned with fury at the idea of an unfriendly shifter being in their territory. It couldn’t possibly be friendly. Why wouldn’t it have announced itself to the other shifters in the valley instead of skulking around, creeping through the forests, and staying out of sight? And worst of all, far worse than all the rest, it had dared to leave its mark on their territory.
Jake wasn’t so hardcore that he’d deal death as a penalty for that without listening to the other shifter’s side of the story, but he knew this sign of aggression was probably not accidental.
He threw the sheet off and jumped in the shower. After getting dressed, he slid into his truck and made a quick detour to Mae’s.
Odd. The light was on. He passed her driveway, made a U-turn, killed the lights and coasted to a stop in front of her home.
He watched from his truck, feeling like a creeper.
If the light was on, that should be a good thing, right? It meant she was home and fine, right?
No. Wrong on both counts. Unless he saw Mae, he wasn’t going to be convinced that anything was fine.
Appearances be damned. He was going to check on her. Just as he’d stepped one leg out of the truck and onto the asphalt, he saw her silhouette walk by the window.
Holy hell. She was naked. No, she wasn’t, but she might as well have been. Her nightie was sheer, she wasn’t wearing a bra, and on top of that her nightie seemed to be damp. What the hell was she doing in that thing? Running a marathon?
He couldn’t tear his gaze away from her curves, the way her hips swayed, the way her body filled out the fabric that clung to it like a second skin. The shadows her form made on the wall were better than any shadow puppet could ever dream of being.
Then he got pissed. Any a-hole could be out here looking at her. Christ. What the hell was she thinking, walking around dressed like that with her blinds open? She was begging to become a victim.
His bear roared in agreement. We should have a talk with her. Soon.
He swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat. The idea of Mae living alone, several miles away from town, and anyone else, bothered him. Anyone could watch her. Anyone could do anything…
He shook his head to clear it. He needed to get back on the road and hunt down the trespasser. The sooner he found the source of the scent, the sooner he could make the area safe again.
Chapter Five
Mae knew better than to do what she’d planned, but that didn’t matter. She knew that if Tanner and Teague found out what she was doing they’d be angry with her. That didn’t stop her either.
She’d managed to get them to leave last night though they’d insisted that she shoul
d stay with one of them.
As if she’d leave her home. She wasn’t going to let fear drive her away. What she was doing now was foolhardy, but this was her valley. Fear wasn’t going to keep her prisoner or force her to go everywhere with an escort.
The day was overcast, perfectly matching her mood. How odd that Teague and Tanner had known for so long that she was an element caster. Odder still, they’d never shared that with her.
She tied the shoelaces on her hiking boots.
Polar bear in our territory, my ass.
Mae would get to the bottom of it.
And I’ll do it without Jake.
In the distance, thunder rolled, faintly.
After she’d grabbed three bottled waters, some trail mix, and a sandwich, Mae locked the front door and slipped the key into the planter on the stairs.
She slipped around back and headed toward the forest.
* * *
An hour later, Mae paused, brush crunching underfoot. She was in a clearing scattered with wildflowers. The trees around her teemed with wildlife, chattering birds, skittering squirrels and rabbits, and buzzing insects.
It was as good a time as any to take a break. She sat on a fallen tree—a victim to high winds, months ago, judging from the break’s weathering—and took out the trail mix.
She wasn’t ready to stop looking, though she didn’t know what she thought she’d find or how she’d find it. She didn’t have the senses that her shifter friends had. Sure, Brad’s bond had given her some boosts, but nothing like Jake’s or Grant’s, or any other shifter’s.
You do have other skills, her elemental spirit reminded her. That came as a surprise—her elemental spirit rarely dropped in for a visit.
She hadn’t practiced those skills for years. She barely remembered the few things she’d been taught back then.
“And by the way, nice of you to decide to be active again.” Mae didn’t lighten the sarcasm.
You’re the one who wanted nothing to do with me or your gifts, or those of your kind. I came because I thought you might need me. Her elemental’s voice was devoid of emotion.
