The room goes quiet.
“What do you mean, you scared her?” Weston asks, his voice a strange calm he does when he knows something is seriously wrong.
I wish for one second of my life I could feel that way. But then I remember I had - when Adelaide was in my arms.
“Gunnar?” Weston pushes. “Tell us what happened.”
I tell them everything. Well, almost everything. I leave out the intimate details of our night together. But I tell them about the wolves. About shifting in front of her. About her reaction.
“Shit.” Bennett stands and stalks toward the fridge, grabbing another beer.
Blaine’s curses are a lot more colorful. And Weston just stares at me like I’m still holding something back.
I am.
I haven’t told them the most important thing.
“She’s my mate.”
Weston spits out the mouthful of beer he’d just taken. But my two other brothers inhale sharply.
“You’re sure?” Weston asks.
“It’s not something that you can mistake.” I sit down heavily on the couch, tilting my head back and closing my eyes.
“Then I guess you got screwed twice tonight,” Bennett says chuckling at his joke.
“You think this is funny?” Blaine asks. “Mate or not, she could expose us all.”
“She won’t talk,” I mumble.
“You don’t know that.” My oldest brother takes up my place pacing the room. “She thinks you killed her grandfather—”
“I did.”
Weston shakes his head, and I know he still doesn’t believe it, despite the evidence. “Even if you did, the man killed Dad.”
“Another reason why a Koleman-Spencer mating is a bad fucking idea,” Blaine growls out, sounding more like an animal than a man.
“It’s not like I had a fucking choice.”
“You had a choice to stay away from her.”
“And never mate?” I stand, frustrated.
Blaine grumbles something incoherent under his breath.
“So, what do we do?” Bennett asks.
“Shit,” Weston says, staring down at his phone. “We aren’t doing anything right now. We’ve got a bigger problem. Rex Callister just texted me. Lloyd Battersby was mauled outside his cabin. Rex says it was a grizzly.”
A string of curses echoes around the room. Our cousin Rex is Bear Valley’s doctor, but he also shares the family genes, and being a Kodiak shifter, his senses would have picked up the foreign scent.
“And Lloyd?” The man, while a little quirky, was a like a second father to us after our own passed.
Weston shakes his head, his face twisting in pain.
Silence stretches between us for a long moment before Blaine finally takes charge.
“Let’s go.” He starts unbuttoning his shirt, and I can see the changes in his eyes as his bear fights to get out.
The Kodiaks have been fighting with the grizzlies for as long as any of us can remember.
“We can’t just go after it,” Weston says. “The treaty—”
“Screw the treaty. Whoever this fucker is, he came onto our land. We should have gone after him when Gunnar told us about the incident with the women when they first got here.”
“I agree.” I take off one of my boots, then the other. With the adrenaline from the wolf attack and the argument with Adelaide still racing through my veins, I’m itching for a fight.
Plus, the bastard needs to pay for what he did to Lloyd.
Chapter 10
Adelaide
As we drive back to the apartment, exhaustion washes over me. My friends press me for details, wanting to make sure Gunnar didn’t do anything to hurt me.
“It was nothing like that. I promise,” I say, not wanting to paint the picture in the wrong way. Knowing there’s no way I can explain him in the right way either. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that happened, everything that he is.
“But you haven’t stopped crying since you got in the car,” Piper says, her hands on the wheel. “I need you to tell me explicitly that you aren’t hurt.”
“Thanks for asking, Piper,” I manage to say, finally wiping the tears from my eyes. “But Gunnar and I both wanted it to happen.”
“So, you guys…” Harley starts, but then Kate shakes her head, telling her not now.
I clear my throat. “No, it’s okay to ask. Yes, we slept together.” I pause as my friends gasp. My virginity was something they were all invested in. I can’t think of how many nights they planned out my “first time” with whoever they set me up with on a blind date.
“It was bad?” Harley asks, wincing.
“No.” I sigh, closing my eyes as images pop into my head of Gunnar’s body pressed against me, filling me. “It was...perfect.”
“Then what’s wrong?” Kate asks, placing a hand over mine.
“Things just went downhill after.”
“How so?” she coaxes.
I twist my lips. “Let’s just say he’s not the kind of man I am interested in. At all.”
As we pull up to the bookstore, I see the knot of worry in all my friends’ eyes.
“Look,” I say, as we walk inside. “I just want to take a shower. Tomorrow I’ll be up for a conversation. It’s already so late. And I’m tired...” And confused. And miserable. And feeling like the reality that I once knew is crashing around me.
“Okay, sweetie,” Harley says, giving me a big hug. “But don’t lose any sleep over a guy. From my experience, they are never worth it.”
I wish she was right. But I know I’ll be losing more than sleep over Gunnar. I may just be losing my sanity. Because...he’s a freaking bear.
Each of my friends takes turns hugging me, not pressing the matter anymore, and as I turn to the bathroom, I can’t help but think of how grateful I am to have them in my life. Taking over this apartment and shop was a dream - but there is no way I could have made the move to Alaska on my own. And yet, as I step into the shower, I can’t help but feel anxious for where I have brought them. There wouldn’t just be one bear shifter, would there?
It’s like I’ve just stepped into some twisted paranormal reality TV show.
As warm water runs through my hair, I try to think what I know about shifters. Or at least what books and movies say about them. I went through the whole Twilight phase as a tween - but are vampires and wolves the same as bears? I pour cinnamon and apple shampoo in my palm, and as the sweet scent reaches my nose, I feel a wave of emotion wash over me so intense, my knees buckle.
I fall to the floor, gripping the side of the cast iron tub.
Don’t run from me, Adelaide.
I know it is Gunnar, his words are what echo in my heart, and try as I might, I can’t seem to push them away. I have so many questions for him - but also so much anger. What kind of man kills another?
Eventually I stand again and finish showering, throwing the still full bottle of shampoo in the bathroom trash can, the scent too much of a reminder of tonight.
I wrap a towel around my body, the sensation reminding me of when Gunnar wrapped his arms around me.
I gave him my virginity and he gave me his. And now…now I feel like a fool. He knew who I was and I knew nothing about him.
Lying down in bed and pulling the covers over me, I know that isn’t entirely true. When he slid himself inside of me, filling me completely, I did know something about him. I knew that he made me feel alive and beautiful and like I was his.
If only that was enough.
But now I know he is so much more. He is as much a wild animal as he is a man.
The next morning I wake to the smell of sizzling bacon and fresh, steaming coffee. An unexpected smile spreads across my face as I roll out of bed, more than ready to put the events of last night behind me. I still have a million questions, but at least my emotions are somewhat in control now.
In the kitchen, I see my friends padding around in slippers and their bathrobes, m
essy buns and yesterday’s mascara smudged under their eyes. I wonder if they were up half the night worrying about me.
“Morning,” Kate says as she pulls a pan of blueberry muffins from the oven. “You hungry?”
“If you or Piper were the ones cooking, then yes,” I say with a smirk.
Harley scoffs. “It wasn’t my fault I nearly started a fire with the toaster oven two days ago.”
“Too soon,” Kate laughs as she hands me a cup of coffee with cream.
Piper grabs plates and napkins and we all dish ourselves up before pushing through the French doors onto the small patio. Jasmine curls around the quaint gazebo, and we all find a seat in one of the cushioned chairs.
Digging into the muffin is my first priority, but Harley is ready for details. Just as I’m swallowing a bite of the sweet and fluffy baked good - she goes for it.
“So...last night?”
Ignoring her question, I pick up my coffee and take a sip of the rich dark roast. “The barn dance was cool, right?”
Kate sighs. “It was, actually, really cool. There’s nothing like that in Seattle. It might sound corny, but it felt so safe. Like we were in this little bubble on the edge of the world.”
“You should put that in a book,” Piper says with a smile as Kate rolls her eyes.
For me though, I can’t help but feel a ball of nervous energy in the pit of my stomach. Safe isn’t exactly how I would describe this place.
“You feel safe even after that bear attacked us on the road the first day here?” I ask, wanting them to know that they can’t be roaming the streets like there aren’t dangerous animals - or dangerous men - out there, that will harm them.
Kate shrugs. “I know what you mean, I guess, I realize there is the very real threat of wild animals. But it’s the people here that are so nice.”
I feel my shoulders stiffen and my friends notice. “So, do you want to tell us what really went down last night?” Piper asks.
Shrugging, I break off a piece of the bacon, thinking through how to explain.
Gunnar’s words, his plea, as I ran away from him last night, ring in my ears. “No one can know, please, Addie. Don’t say anything. It’s not just me you’d put at risk...”
I hate that I feel some sense of loyalty to him - but I do. Every time I try to conjure up feelings of hatred toward him, and what he did to my family, there’s a pinprick of doubt.
What if there is more to the story?
If there is even the slightest chance that there is, I don’t want to paint him in an ugly light. My friends don’t hear his words echoing in their hearts. I do. That means something, doesn’t it?
I take a deep breath. “I think I got overwhelmed last night. You know how much pressure I’ve put on having sex. I wanted it to be perfect.”
“And it wasn’t?” Harley asks more gently as she squeezes my hand in comfort. Harley is outgoing and flirtatious, getting up close and personal with men has never been a problem for her, but she’s also one of my best friends. She understands what sex means to me, and her sensitivity right now allows me to drop my guard.
I bite my bottom lip, thinking about all the details of the night before. “In so many ways it was everything I could have wanted. The stars were shining and the night was warm and it was like a movie. We were in the back of his truck and he held me in his arms and—” I stop mid-sentence, feeling hot tears in my eyes. I try to blink them away, but it’s no use.
“What is it?” Piper asks.
“Afterward, it just started to feel so real. Like...it wasn’t a fling for him. He was a virgin too.”
At that, my friends take a collective deep breath, as if the story is just getting interesting.
“So, it really meant something to him,” I tell them. “And I think he actually likes me.” I don’t add that he also claims I am his mate and that he can talk to me in my mind. I don’t say he is a bear and he murdered my beloved grandfather and when I saw him in his wild untamed form, I was both terrified and enthralled.
Instead I take another bite of this calorie laden breakfast.
“And that’s a problem because?” Kate asks with a small smile.
“Because I can’t do that. Get serious. I just moved here and have the store and...”
“Hey, you don’t need to justify anything to us, sweetie,” Harley says, reaching for her coffee mug. “We have your back no matter what. If he was too intense and it didn’t feel right, then forget about him.”
Piper taps her fingers in the arm of her chair. “But if it’s about being nervous or scared, maybe don’t write him off just yet. All you’ve ever wanted is a real relationship, something solid like your grandparents had. You aren’t one for hook-ups, that’s why you’ve waited so long. It sounds like he isn’t either.”
I groan. “Is it always so complicated with men?”
My friends laugh. And Kate weighs in. “It’s most complicated when it means something.”
“Which means?” I ask, already knowing the answer.
“Maybe Gunnar Koleman is more than meets the eye.”
I lean back in the chair, thinking about those words, knowing Kate has no idea just how close she hit the nail on the head.
Chapter 11
Gunnar
Tracking the grizzly proves to be more difficult than any of my brothers or I imagined. Three days into the hunt, we lost his scent, at least his animal scent. It was clear by the tire marks and fresh campsite that we came across a few miles up the mountain, that the bear had shifted back into human form and fled.
“Whoever the sadistic fucker was, he’s gone now,” Blaine says as we enter one of the many safe spots we have spread out across the hillside.
Clothes, supplies, handheld radios, each of the locations is outfitted for us to shift back into human form if needed. This one has an old vehicle and a full tank of gas so that we can get back to town.
I hate going back emptyhanded. But the only thing we can do at this point is contact the Bear Council. Without evidence, however, there’s not much even they can do.
Rolling my neck, I dress in the jeans and t-shirt that Weston tosses me, my limbs aching with every movement.
It’s been years since I’ve spent this much time in bear form, and the transition back was painful, especially when the swell of emotions hit me as I remembered that Adelaide is probably thinking I dropped off the face of the earth.
I need to talk to her. But maybe the time away will have given her a chance to think things over. Or maybe she hates me even more now. Worse, what if she told her friends about what she saw? About what I am.
I’m too far away from her to feel her thoughts. I can still sense her, but it’s too damn muted to get any idea what she’s thinking or feeling. At least I know she’s still in Bear Valley, she hasn’t run back to Seattle...yet.
“I still think we should take this fight straight to the Grants. You know those bastards are involved.” Bennett sits on the wood floor and leans his head against the wall, flexing his fists.
“I know the Grants’ scents. That bear wasn’t one of them. At least not one of the brothers. Plus, taking the fight to them gives them the advantage. You forget that there are only four of us, and six of them. I’m not willing to make Finley an orphan.”
I wince at the mention of my niece. Weston has as much reason to hate the Grants as any of us, more so, but he also has more reason to live. That little girl is his pride and joy, even if she has grizzly blood running through her veins. If Weston steps on grizzly soil, I have no doubt that they’d kill him without hesitation.
“Weston’s right.” I tug the t-shirt over my head, then grab the keys from the wall. “We lost our chance. Better we go home, regroup, and take the grievance to the council.”
I know Blaine and Bennett want to argue, but they’re smart enough to know it’s a lost cause.
The drive back to town is filled with tense silence. It isn’t until we turn onto Main street that Bennett finally spits out
what I know all three of them have been thinking. “So, what the hell are we going to do about the bookstore chick?”
“She’s not a chick, she’s my mate, and I’ll deal with it.”
Blaine grunts. “We need to know what we’re walking into. If she’s told anyone—”
“Then I’ll deal with it,” I reiterate. “It’s not like people around these parts aren’t suspicious of what we are.”
“And do you really think giving them proof, especially in light of recent events, won’t end up in a witch hunt, or rather a bear hunt?”
I know he’s right, so I clamp my mouth on the argument that stirs inside of me. There have always been people in Bear Valley who’ve known what we are, or at least had their suspicions. James Spencer was one of them. Which was why my brothers were convinced that him shooting my father had been more than just bad luck, that it had been intentional.
Maybe they’re right. But the man wasn't here now to defend himself.
I swallow hard as we pass the bookstore and see shadows in the window. She’s in there. I can feel her. Sense my mate.
We need to talk. I throw out the thought in her direction, wondering if she can feel me like I do her. Mating is a curious thing. From the council’s stories, and even my own parents’ and grandparents’ relationships, I know that different mates share different connections.
Like a sliver of vibrating energy, I sense her response: Nervous, excited, fearful, and then anger.
Shit.
“Drop me off here.” I’m opening the door before the vehicle even comes to a stop.
“You need to handle this carefully,” Weston says, holding my gaze.
“Call us,” Blaine demands.
I give a sharp nod, then slam the door and start toward the store, Adelaide’s presence growing like a blaze inside of me the closer I get.
Consuming, that’s what it is. Her. Us. This feeling. I’m not sure how I’ll survive it if she denies me now that I know what I could have.
From the street, I can see her inside the shop. She’s sitting on one of the plush sofas, listening to something one of her friends says, while sipping coffee.
Untamed Virgins (Mountain Men of Bear Valley Book 1) Page 6
