Bearly Falling

by Ally Summers

  She shook her head. “Or I could stay here and make dinner for you.”

  I grinned. “I like how that sounds.”

  “Then that’s what I’ll do. I need to head to Promise Lake for some things. I’ll stop at the market and when you come home I’ll have dinner ready.”

  “And what will you be wearing?” I teased, tugging at the front of her shirt.

  “Maybe an apron?” Her lips curled in a smile.

  “Anything else?”

  “Probably not.” Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me harder against her mouth.

  I could kiss this woman all day. If I didn’t have so much on my agenda, I would. I’d take her back inside and claim her over and over. I’d never leave.

  I found the strength to break away from her lips.

  “Tonight,” I promised.

  “I’ll be right here.”

  Charles was waiting for me in the clearing. He had returned for me this morning. I had to get to the chopper.

  I turned at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Have a good day at work.” Savannah smiled.

  I took off. The sooner I made it to the office, the sooner I would be back home.

  By the end of the day I was useless to anyone at the company. My mind was only in one place. I had done the work of three men today. I’d had enough.

  I pressed the accelerator as I pointed the car toward Promise Lake. I wanted to stop at the flower shop on my way to the cabin.

  If Savannah had spent the day getting ready for tonight, I wasn’t going to show up empty-handed.

  I picked out the largest bouquet Delphine had on display.

  “Must be someone pretty special.” The older woman smiled as she tied a satin ribbon across the long stems.

  “She is,” I admitted. “The love of my life.”

  “Oh? That sounds serious.” She handed the flowers to me over the counter.

  Delphine had run the flower shop since I was a kid. My dad used to bring my brothers and me here to select flowers for our mother for her birthday, Mother’s Day, and sometimes just because he wanted to make her smile.

  I felt a twinge between my ribs, remembering how in love my parents were. The clan hadn’t been the same since their deaths. There was a new generation in power now and I knew Grayson was doing everything he could to lead us.

  It was always hard when things changed.

  And my life had changed in an inconceivable way last night. I had my mate. We had a future. I wanted to bring up cubs, but I knew it would be easy to overwhelm her.

  “Thanks for the flowers, Delphine.”

  “Anytime. You tell your brothers to come in here and tell me hi sometime.”

  I laughed. “I will.”

  The brass bell jingled on the door as I exited to the sidewalk. I slid in behind the wheel and pulled away from the quaint downtown of Promise Lake.

  I thought about picking up Aubey’s coffee. In a way, it was partly responsible for bringing us together. It was the first thing Savannah and I could agree on. But instead I made one more stop at the market to grab a bottle of champagne. There was more to celebrate. I wanted tonight to be perfect. It should be everything my mate wanted.

  I parked behind her Jeep, noticing how dark the cabin was. I reached for the flowers and closed the door behind me. I looked at the windows on the second-story, searching for a lamp that was on, or even candlelight. I expected to see her on the porch, but the entire house was quiet.

  The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

  “Savi?” I called.

  I ran up the front steps and threw open the door. “Savi?” I tore through the house, hunting for her. Sniffing the air for her scent. I stopped at the top of the staircase. I could see the mess before I reached her room. There were books, candles, and clothes strewn all over the floor.

  My heart raced as I took another step. I peered inside, turning on the light.

  Her room was completely wrecked. The bedside table was turned over, and the lamp in shattered glass remnants on the floor.

  Someone had taken her from her room. I roared toward the ceiling. I saw red flash across my eyes. Someone had my mate. They had Savannah.

  I closed my eyes, trying to focus. I had to push the rage down if I was going to find her. My bear wasn’t easily calmed. I let out a giant growl. My instincts to rip out throats were greater than the control I had on him. I ran down the stairs.

  I had one lead. And I had to follow it, before it was too late.

  Sixteen

  Savannah

  “She’ll talk eventually.” I heard voices as I started to awaken. I knew they were discussing me.

  My head hurt. I sat up enough to see raw marks on my arms where I had been grabbed. I couldn’t move far. My feet were tied and fastened to metal hooks on the wall behind me. What kind of contraption was this? And where was I?

  I was afraid to move any further, in case the voices I heard realized I was awake. I strained to listen to their conversation.

  “She has to know where he is.”

  “She does. And we’ll get it out of her when she’s awake.”

  “Maybe he had other plans for her and we didn’t realize it.”

  The man snapped. “He didn’t! Malcolm wouldn’t leave the pack like this. He said he was bringing our she-alpha back last night. He wouldn’t go off on some other mission. She was the mission.”

  Cold fear spiraled through me. I realized who Malcolm was. I huddled next to the wall. He was the wolf shifter who showed up on my porch. Oh, God.

  “It’s time the Ashe Peak Clan discovered they can’t control Promise Lake anymore. If something happened to Malcolm, she will know. And we will ensure his will is done. Our alpha can’t be treated like this.”

  Without seeing them I knew their eyes were on me. I could feel their stares needling my skin. I tried to steady my breath and lean into the wall for strength.

  In twenty-four hours, I had been indoctrinated into a world of shifters. I was in love with one. I was bound to him for the rest of my life. But it didn’t mean I suddenly understood what the wolves wanted, or their politics. Malcolm had spouted off something about trying to take over more territory. He sounded crazy spewing hate about the Hawthorne family. Plotting to join his land with mine to take them down. I was too scared to ask him many questions. He might have been crazy, but it didn’t mean there wasn’t an actual threat. This was his pack and they had been plotting right along with him.

  I had dismissed his rantings when Oliver showed up. Oliver calmed me. He soothed me. He was the only thing I wanted. I had forgotten about the nightmare with the wolf shifter. I only focused on loving the man in my bed.

  “She’s slept long enough. We need to wake her. If the Hawthornes have Malcolm we need to act quickly.”

  I didn’t know what was coming next. I had to stay calm. I had to remember all the things Oliver told me when I was wrapped in his arms. I was stronger now with his magic inside me. I was part of him. We had a bond. All of that meant something. I had to draw on his words now.

  One of the wolves kicked me hard in the thigh.

  “Oomph.” I sat forward.

  “See? I told you she didn’t need to sleep.”

  I narrowed my eyes at them. “Who are you?”

  They had the same kind of eerie wide grins that Malcom did. “You’re here to answer the questions not ask them.”

  “You need to let me go.” I tried to pull on my ankles, but the ropes dug into them.

  “That’s up to Malcolm.”

  I only had one card to play. I wasn’t going to tell them I had murdered their pack leader.

  “Who is Malcolm?” I spat.

  The taller wolf laughed. “Don’t play dumb. We know he paid you a visit last night. His scent was all over your porch. Where is he?”

  I shook my head. “I have no idea. Maybe he stopped by when I wasn’t home. I was out with my mate for a while.”

  I waited for the recognition to tak
e cover. One of the guys had shaggy blond hair. He stooped to the floor.

  “Your mate? What are you talking about?” He pinched my jaw so I couldn’t turn my head away.

  I clenched my teeth. “You need to let me go. I don’t think you two want to go up against him. He’s a little bigger than you are.”

  He yanked his hand away and I felt the soreness on the edge of my chin.

  “Hawthorne got to her before Malcolm did.” He rose to meet the other wolf.

  “Maybe not.”

  I screamed when he reached for the back of my head and tilted my head roughly. He pointed to my neck. There were only two tiny red marks left from where Oliver had punctured my skin.

  “See? She’s been claimed.”

  “Shit. She has. She’s not lying about the bear.”

  He let go of my hair and I scooted against the wall to avoid any more contact.

  “I’m not lying,” I seethed. “He’ll come for me and tear you two to shreds.” I didn’t know what I was talking about, but it sounded like a logical threat. There was no way Oliver wouldn’t look for me. The instant he arrived for dinner and discovered I was missing, he would start.

  “Then maybe you should tell us where our alpha is.” He pointed at me. “He had every intention of bringing you home with him last night. And he never returned. So where is he?”

  “I told you. I was with my own alpha.” I stared at them in defiance. “Your pack has no right to keep me here against my will. Do you really want to start problems with the Hawthornes? Is that what you’re trying to do? Because it’s exactly what I’m going to tell them. That this is an act of war. That your pack is trying to wage war on all the shifters of Promise Lake by kidnapping me.”

  I was digging a deeper political hole than I knew existed. I was grasping at straws trying to keep myself safe. Trying to stall until Oliver found me.

  I had to survive.

  Seventeen

  Oliver

  The tires peeled off the interstate as I turned from the exit ramp. I didn’t know the pack where the wolf ruled, but I knew the territory Savannah had mentioned. If they wanted to tie their land to hers, they would completely enfold Promise Lake. They had to be the ones who had taken her.

  I just hoped they didn’t find out she had killed their alpha. I hadn’t warned her like I should have. I didn’t tell her what kind of danger that sort of information would have. There were only two options for her once they found out. She could either let them kill her as an act of justice served for his death, or she could give herself over to the pack.

  I gripped the steering wheel, forcing my knuckles to turn white. Neither was going to happen. There was no way in hell they were laying a finger on my mate.

  I drove deeper into the woods. This part of the territory was rough and undeveloped. The road was barely passable. I had to stop in the middle of the trail and take the rest on foot.

  She was here. I could sense it. Savannah was close by.

  By the time I made it to the end of the trail, the smell of smoke was strong. The pack was stupid enough to burn a fire that lead me right to them.

  There was an old white clapboard house. Outside a fire pit glowed dimly with embers. I waited on the edge of the property, scouting for pack members. They had to be nearby.

  If I stayed on the perimeter I could follow the tree line to the side of the house. I crept, careful not to let branches snap under my weight.

  All the lights were off except for a room in the back of the house that seemed to be lit with runway lights. I reached the window and peered inside. Every light in the room was on. It was almost so bright, I needed to shield my eyes from the glare. What I saw ripped through my lungs. I lost my breath. I wanted to scream and beat through the glass. Savannah was tied to the wall. Her eyes were clamped shut from the spotlight that beamed on her.

  Before I could decide how to break into the house I heard the howls from behind me. The snorting grew louder. I whipped around to face an angry pack of wolves. I assessed the circle quickly. There were six of them. Their leader was missing.

  They snarled, baring their pointed teeth.

  My bear emerged in less than a second, shredding the clothes from my body as the fur grew and my teeth protruded. My claws sank into the dampness of the earth.

  I didn’t care if there were twenty of them. I was taking Savi out of that house.

  “She’s ours now.” One of the wolves snarled at me. “Malcolm is gone. She owes us.”

  Another wolf came forward. “And she’s just too pretty to kill.”

  “She’s not yours,” I growled, standing tall on my back legs. If they stood one of top of the other, I was still taller. This wasn’t going to be close to difficult.

  “She is ours. She can sacrifice herself to us and the debt of taking Malcolm is forgiven.”

  I shook my head. “She doesn’t have to abide by your pack law. She’s my mate. She’s a Hawthorne. Part of the Ashe Peak Clan. If you step aside, I’ll let you live. How about that offer?”

  They howled toward the stars. “We want her.”

  “Not happening,” I explained.

  I started on my left, moving clockwise, slashing and biting. I held one wolf down while I clawed at another. I felt fangs sink into my back. I hurled backward, smashing him under my weight. There were three left. The others had stopped breathing.

  “You can walk away,” I warned. “I’ll accept the deaths of your brothers as a truce for kidnapping my mate.”

  The wolves were stupid. “No,” they barked. “The law would be left unsatisfied.”

  “So the only way to end this is take out your entire pack?” I stared at them in disbelief.

  “Yes.” They advanced forward, but instead of flanking me, they charged together in unison, pouncing on me with mouths wide open.

  It was as if I had been bitten by a thousand teeth all at one time. Their fangs punctured my sides, ripping and shredding through my fur. Damn it. I rolled away. The ground was covered in blood, but this time I knew it was mine.

  I glanced up and saw the light from the window. Savannah was on the other side of that glass and she needed me. If I let the wolves win. If I bled to death in the yard, I knew exactly what would happen to her. These three wolves would own her.

  That was never going to be her fate.

  I loved her too much to die.

  I squinted fiercely, facing the pack. They had realized they had a chance to defeat me as one mega-wolf. They walked together side-by-side, not letting the slightest amount of space between them. Their mouths hinged open and closed as one.

  The blood oozed down my leg, sticking to my fur. The bites hurt like hell. I had to end this quickly before I sustained another attack. Another bite like that and I might not make it.

  “This is your last chance to get out of here alive,” I cautioned them. I took a step toward the fire pit.

  They laughed. “We never thought about getting rid of Malcolm, but now that we have the girl and her land with only three of us to share her, it’s a shame we didn’t think of it sooner.”

  I inched closer to the embers. The wolves tracked my every step.

  I knew the attack was coming. I studied their eyes. Watched their paws. Any second now.

  As soon as they leapt from the ground I pushed backward throwing my body over the flames. The wolves had no time to react. They came face to face with the hot coals. I had to move quickly. I hurled the logs from the woodpile as fast I could, sandwiching them to the coals.

  They howled in agony. The fire seared them from their belly to their chins.

  I couldn’t let up. Not now. I had to make sure every last breath had left their bodies.

  When they stopped gasping for air I finally walked away and stumbled toward the house. If there was any salvation for what I had done it was waiting for me in Savannah’s arms.

  Eighteen

  Savannah

  Everything was bright white. Every time I tried to open my eyes, salty t
ears made me shut them. There were spotlights positioned all over the room.

  The wolves said it had something to do with making sure the bear knew where to find me. It was a trap. A clear trap, but it wouldn’t stop Oliver. I heard the fight outside the window. There were howls and growls. I heard screams and wailing. But I was powerless. My arms were now tied to the wall the same way my ankles were. I had to lie here helplessly while he fought off an entire pack of wolves to save me.

  And why?

  Because I had killed their leader. It was my fault. Not his.

  I wasn’t sure the tears sliding down my cheeks were because of the light. It was the pain of this moment. Of where I had taken us. Of the danger Oliver was in because of me.

  The screams stopped.

  I didn’t know whether to be relieved or even more scared than before.

  My body tensed with fright. Every part of me was rigid with fear. I heard the door open and felt the footsteps as someone walked toward me.

  “Savi,” he whispered.

  One by one he turned off the spotlights.

  It was a few seconds before I could open my eyes. Everything was spotty when I began to regain my vision, but I didn’t care. I felt Oliver’s hands wrap around me as he untied the ropes.

  “I’ve got you.” He dropped to his knees.

  “You’re ok?”

  He winced, looking down at his side.

  “Oh my God. You’re bleeding.”

  I bent to look at his wound. It was ragged and the edges of his skin were torn in jagged edges. He was going to need more than a few stitches. His beautiful skin was covered in blood.

  “I need to call 9-1-1 for you.” I looked around for a phone. “I have to get you to a hospital.”

  There was no way I could drag him a foot, much less carry him out of here. He leaned against the wall.

  “I just need a minute,” he panted.

  “No. You need blood. Wait, can you get blood? Can they treat you?” I felt panic take over. What medical category did he fall into?