“All of them.” Austin leaned back farther, setting his hands on top of his head. “Until I die. I deserve it. And she deserves to move on.”
“Is she bound to anyone?”
Austin groaned again. “No. And she’s still mine.”
“Hmm. Then don’t you think you owe it to both of you to at least try to repair the damage?”
“I can try, but what for? She thinks I’m a piranha. And she’s right.”
“Come on. You don’t believe that. You were barely more than a kid. Hormones were raging. You were angry. You said that several people told you she was dating Antoine. Were you supposed to suspect them all of lying?”
“Yes.” Austin jerked his hands down and set them on his knees. His voice rose. “She was my mate. Why the fuck would she date my damn ignorant brother?”
Isaiah shrugged. “I don’t know why the hell teenagers do half the shit they do, but it happens. My sister seemed to be possessed by aliens for a few years. Most of us wanted to kill her and bury the body in the yard,” he teased, undoubtedly attempting to lighten the mood.
Austin said nothing.
“What you need is sleep. You look like you stayed up all night. Nothing seems reasonable to someone who’s sleep deprived.”
“Yeah. I don’t see it happening, though. Instead, I’m going to bury myself in work today.” He set his hands on his knees and pushed himself to standing.
“I hope you aren’t going to operate any heavy machinery at the brewery,” Isaiah responded as he also stood.
Austin rolled his eyes. “Do you think I suddenly switched from accounting to engineering?” Both Austin and Isaiah had taken the economics path instead of the mechanical path. Both of their families had people involved in all parts of the industry. It was what made them so successful.
Isaiah chuckled as he reached for the door. “Call me if you need me. I’m here. Consider sleeping instead of working. Take the day off. No one would blame you. Take the week off. It sounds like you’re going to need it.”
Austin smirked as he left the room and wandered back to the front of the building. People were still staring, but at least no one flat out said anything derogatory. He might have snapped.
Fifteen minutes later he stepped into his father’s office at his own family’s brewery, Mountain Peak Brewery, and shut the door.
“What’s up?” Allister Tarben asked without looking up from the pile of papers in front of him. The man had five kids, but he easily knew each of them blindfolded. Most likely humans knew their children readily also. Austin doubted it was a shifter thing.
When Austin didn’t speak, his father lifted his gaze. He peered at Austin over the top of his reading glasses and then jerked them off and sat upright. “What’s the matter?”
Austin took a breath and moved farther into the room to take a seat in the expensive leather chair across from his father’s desk. He had never expected to have this conversation with his parents, but things had changed. He reached out to his mother, who was also in the building, including his father in his silent communication. “Mom, can you come to Dad’s office?”
“Sure. On my way. Everything okay?”
“Not at all.” Austin kept eye contact with his father while he spoke.
They sat in silence afterward, not moving until his mother stepped into the room two minutes later, shutting the door behind her. “What’s going on?” She took a seat in the matching chair next to Austin’s.
Austin rubbed his forehead. “There are a few things I need to tell you.”
“Okay…” Allister leaned forward.
“Fifteen years ago I witnessed something I kept to myself until recently. It’s time you also knew because the truth will leak out.”
His mother, Beth, grabbed his hand. “What is it?”
“I was dating Nuria at the time. I’m sure you remember her.” He glanced down at his mother’s grip on his hand and hated what he had to say. It was bad enough that their oldest child had turned out to be a criminal who was now serving a life sentence in the Northwest Territories for attacking Isaiah’s mate, Heather, with the intent to bind her to him.
“I remember her,” Beth said softly. “I thought you two would bind one day.”
Me too. Austin’s parents didn’t need insult added to injury, but it couldn’t be helped. “She had been pulling away from me. I didn’t know why.” He took a deep breath. “And then I saw her in the barn one day with Antoine.”
His mother gasped. She put her free hand over her mouth.
His father groaned and set his forehead against his palm, facing the desk.
Austin needed to get the rest out. “I thought they were having sex.” He lowered his voice. “It seemed consensual to me.”
Silence. And then Beth squeezed his hand tighter. “Oh, honey, why didn’t you tell us?”
Austin shook his head. “I didn’t know Antoine was trying to rape her. I simply thought she chose him over me.”
“And then her family left town,” Allister added.
“Yes.”
“Why are you telling us this now?” Beth asked.
“Because Nuria’s in town,” Allister stated, again in a tone that wasn’t a question. “I heard.”
Austin nodded. “Yes. I went to her house yesterday.”
“Oh, honey.” His mother sounded so distraught it was hard to look at her.
“Is she your mate?” his father asked.
“Yes.” Austin closed his eyes for a moment. “Not that it matters because she’ll never forgive me, but yes.” He sighed. “I wanted you two to know. I’m trying to at least talk to her. It’s not easy. And I’m carrying around a lot of guilt. But I might need some time to work this out. I need someone to cover for me a bit this week.”
“Of course.” Beth squeezed his hand again. “Whatever you need. You don’t look like you’ve slept.”
“I haven’t.”
Allister jerked in his seat, his face taking on a strained, faraway look that told Austin someone was communicating with him. When he shook out of it, he met Austin’s gaze. “We need to get to Nuria’s, son. Her house is on fire.”
Austin jumped to standing and raced for the door.
»»•««
Nuria was in the attic. She had sorted through several boxes to take her mind off Austin when she smelled something burning. She raced to the ladder, shocked to find the hallway below filled with thick, gray smoke. “Shit.” She fumbled to get her cell phone out of her back pocket and dialed 911. Before the operator could get a word out, she shouted into the phone. “My house is on fire. It’s the last house on Drake Lane.”
“Sending someone now, ma’am. Are you a safe distance away?”
Nuria tucked the phone under her chin as she descended the ladder. She had no other choice. “Not yet. I was in the attic. I’m trying to get out now.” She judged that the smoke was coming from the front of the house and stepped into the master bedroom closest to the ladder to race toward the window. “Hold on.” She set the phone on the sill, praying the old window wasn’t painted shut and would open. Although as she lifted it, she realized she could have also broken the glass.
Thirty seconds later, she was through the opening, had the phone back in her hand, and could hear the sirens in the distance. “I’m out.” She wrapped her arm around her middle. Damn it was cold. She was stuck in nothing but a T-shirt and jeans.
“Good. Get a safe distance away from the home, ma’am. You should hear the fire trucks now.”
“I do. Thank you.”
“Is anyone else in the home? Pets?”
“No. Just me.”
“Okay, you can hang up now. Don’t try to reenter.”
Nuria ended the call, stuffed the phone back in her pocket, and backed away from the house. Thank God she had charged her phone and taken it to the attic with her. If it had been plugged into the outlet in the kitchen, she wouldn’t have been able to call for help. Her heart was racing. How did this happen? She hadn�
�t used a burner or turned on any appliance.
She watched in horror as the smoke grew. Even though she couldn’t specifically see the flames yet, she knew her future was in jeopardy. She needed the proceeds from the sale of this house to get her life back on track. Without it, she would be lost.
In less than a minute, two fire engines pulled up to her house.
She ran toward them, shouting. “I think the fire’s in the front of the house. The kitchen or the living room.” It wasn’t a large house. Her family had never been wealthy. It was a modest, three-bedroom ranch. But it was all she had left in the world.
“Were you cooking anything, ma’am?” the first firefighter asked as he tugged the hose from the truck.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Please step back out of the way, ma’am,” a second fireman said. He wrapped a coat around her shoulders. It was huge. A fireman’s coat. He must have had a spare in the truck.
She backed up until she was in the street, arms crossed under the enormous jacket, breathing heavily. Freaking the fuck out.
She watched the men work as another truck arrived. Several firefighters raced around the property, even entering the front door.
A police car pulled up next, and a female officer came to her side. “Is this your residence, ma’am?”
She nodded, biting her lower lip to keep from crying. She didn’t think she could speak without bawling.
The officer was human. The firefighters were half and half.
A truck pulled up, but Nuria paid little attention to it until she sensed Austin coming toward her.
She jerked her gaze to him, a wash of emotion confusing her. His father was with him. The man looked seriously concerned, his brow furrowed, his attention darting from her to the house. He broke off from Austin and rounded to the side of the house, keeping a safe distance.
Another car pulled up. She sensed more shifters, but Austin was in her space by then. He reached for her and drew her into his embrace. The bulk of the yellow coat and his thick jacket kept a small barrier between them. It wasn’t enough.
She hated herself for letting him hold her, but she didn’t have the energy to argue.
“What happened?” he asked the top of her head.
“No idea.” A sob escaped. Nope. She wasn’t capable of speech.
Austin ran his fingers through her hair and held her tighter. “They’ll get it out.”
She had no doubt, but what would the damage be?
It took a while for anyone to come back to speak to her. Two firefighters stepped out of the house and made their way toward her. “We have it put out, ma’am. Looks like maybe a dish towel fell onto the burner and slowly smoldered over the pilot light until it fell on the floor and ignited the rug. There’s more smoke damage than anything else. You were very lucky.” He walked away.
Lucky? She wouldn’t describe one moment of her life as lucky in the last fifteen years.
She pushed away from Austin. It was ridiculous to continue to draw comfort from the man she was so angry with.
When she spotted his father coming around the side of the house, she noticed he was with another man. She thought she remembered him from years ago. Perhaps Bernard Arthur? She remembered knowing him when she was a child. His family owned the other brewery in town.
She had never once seen the two men together. The Tarbens and the Arthurs had been in a feud for over a century.
The officer spoke at her other side. “Seems like the firefighters have everything under control. Is there anything else you need from me, ma’am?”
Nuria shook her head. “No. I’m fine.” She was so far from fine, it sounded absurd coming out of her mouth. Not only did she have who-knew-how-much fire damage to deal with now, but she had no place to stay. Perhaps even nothing to wear.
The officer wandered back to her car to lean over the hood. She continued to fill out paperwork for a while before leaving.
Over the next hour, each of the fire trucks left also, assuring Nuria the fire was out, but the home was largely filled with black stains from the smoke. There was a good chance she could salvage most of her belongings and clean them up, but not the furniture, and she would need repairs in the kitchen and a full cleanup of the walls and floors in the front rooms.
The entire time people spoke to her, she bit her lip, fighting tears.
When the last firefighter left, she shrugged out of the spare coat. As she handed it off, another warm coat surrounded her. It filled her nose with the scent of Austin. She said nothing. She was wrung out, scared for her future, and tired.
Austin hovered near her at all times. He hadn’t been overly intrusive, but he had remained close the entire time.
His father and the other man were also nearby.
“Why don’t you take Nuria back to your house, son,” Allister said. “We’ll come over later.”
Nuria panicked. No way in hell could she stay with Austin. “That’s not necessary. I’ll get a room at Bear Lodge.” It had been the only motel in town years ago. She assumed it was still there.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Austin said in a low voice, his gaze locked on her. He took her by the elbow and led her toward his truck—a brand new black F150.
She jerked free as they approached his truck, a safe distance from the other two men. “I’m not going with you, Austin.”
“Nuria,” he pleaded. “Listen to reason. You don’t even have a credit card on you.”
She turned to face the house. He had a point. “I need to at least get my purse. Someone could steal it. The doors are open. Everything I own is in there.”
He shook his head as he stepped in front of her. “No one’s going to bother your belongings. My dad will put someone on watch. The house needs to air out before you go back in. And besides…” he hesitated, running a hand through his hair.
“What?” She cocked a hip, narrowing her gaze.
“I don’t think this was an accident, hon.”
She flinched. “Don’t call me hon, and why the hell not? The firemen just said it was.” She jerked her gaze to Allister and the other man she still thought was Bernard. She groaned when she remembered they said they would be over in a while. They knew something. And they hadn’t shared it with the human police.
Austin opened the driver’s door to his truck and swept his hand out to indicate she should climb in. “Please. Let’s go back to my place and wait for my dad and Isaiah’s dad to come over.”
So it was Bernard Arthur. Interesting development since he was clearly engaged in an important discussion with Allister. The two families had been in such a hot feud for so many years. She had no idea they had reconciled.
Nor did she care at the moment. With a long exhale, she took the only option she had and climbed into the truck, scooting all the way across to buckle herself into the passenger seat.
Austin hefted himself in behind her and started the engine. The moment he shut the door, she knew she was in trouble. The cab filled with his pheromones, making it impossible to ignore the pull toward him. Her body didn’t care that they had an insurmountable past. Her libido kicked into overdrive as she gripped her thighs together, white knuckled the door handle, and stared out the window.
Damn mating call. Fuck Mother Nature. She was not funny today.
Chapter Five
Austin drove the speed limit the twenty minutes it took to reach his home—a sprawling ranch he’d designed himself and then hired Rolland Construction to build about three years ago. Dale Gerben was two years older than him. His father, Rolland Gerben, owned the company. As Austin pulled into the driveway, he kept glancing at Nuria. She gave no sign she was paying attention.
He couldn’t blame her. She would be distracted by the house fire on top of everything that had transpired between the two of them last night and this morning. Lord knew she hadn’t slept enough, either.
Austin jumped down from the truck and rounded to her side. When he opened her door, she flinched in her seat
as if she hadn’t realized they’d come to a stop.
Shit. This was bad.
She ignored his outstretched hand and slid down to the ground.
When he had the door shut, he led her toward the front of the house. He had no visible neighbors. The closest family near him lived about a half mile down the road and then his parents nearly a mile in the opposite direction. This was intentional, as were the materials he’d used to build the house that made it difficult for someone to readily notice it from the road if they didn’t know it was there.
Rustic wood logs made up the entire front, including the support beams for the porch. There were no colors that didn’t match nature, and he had carefully ensured that as few trees as possible had been cut down. The scent of pine always hit him first thing when he exited his truck.
Nuria said nothing. She crossed her arms in front of her to ward off the chill. Or close herself off from him. Probably both. She was swimming in his large coat.
He wore only a long-sleeved company polo, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t nearly as cold as her.
He unlocked the front door and pushed it open, letting her pass through first. His home wasn’t the most luxurious place on earth, but his family’s brewery did well, and he had nice things. He wasn’t an overly materialistic guy, and he knew there was no female influence inside at all—a fact his sisters reminded him of often.
Nevertheless, he got the distinct impression Nuria was surprised. Her eyes widened as she glanced around. He felt a stab of humility. Had she led a rough life?
“I’ll get you a drink.” He raced past her, thinking of what she was taking in through her eyes. The great room was done in all blacks and grays. The sectional was black leather, the carpet a plush gray. The kitchen counter was also a gray-and-black swirled granite. The cabinets black, the floor gray tile. Suddenly it all looked boring.
Nuria draped his coat over the arm of the sofa and lowered onto the cushion as he turned back from the kitchen with a bottle of water in hand. He held it out, and she took it, careful not to make contact with him. “Thank you.”
Instead of sitting next to her or taking another chair, he lowered himself onto the also-black coffee table facing her and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. “You want a blanket or something? I could get you a sweatshirt.”
Grizzly Beginning (Arcadian Bears Book 2) Page 4
