Bad Boy Bear: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Bears of Pinerock County Book 2)

by Zoe Chant

  Remy's bike was still there, but she noticed with a sharp stab through her heart that someone had slashed the tires. Remy loved that bike; if the Black Wings weren't already routed and fleeing, they'd really be running once Remy was done with them.

  If he was able to ... but she stifled that thought firmly. He would be okay. He had to be. He had shifter healing, after all.

  Cody lumbered up onto the cabin's porch, still carefully carrying his burden. Here Saffron got another unpleasant shock, if not a wholly unexpected one. The door had been kicked off its hinges—Looking for us, she thought—and the inside of the cabin trashed. Standing in the open doorway, she stared around in dismay. The mattress was thrown on the floor and slashed open, the table tipped over, the contents of the shelves scattered and smashed.

  "Assholes," she said out loud. "They didn't have to do this."

  Looking over her shoulder, she found Alec easing Remy down off Cody's back. "Is there anything to lay him on?" he asked her.

  She hurried to turn the mattress to its undamaged side, kicking the tangled sheets out of the way and dragging it to a clear place in the floor. Alec laid Remy down on it. He was still unconscious, his naked body a mass of claw marks and blood.

  "Oh, Remy," Saffron whispered, kneeling beside him.

  "Is there water here?" Alec asked.

  "There's a pump outside." She dug through the mess on the floor until she found the same battered pot she'd used when she was bathing Remy's injured leg the previous night. Alec took it and went outside, while she held Remy's hand and brushed dirt and pine needles away from his injuries.

  Coming back in, Alec handed off the pot of water to Cody in the doorway—or someone Saffron assumed was Cody, anyway. This was her first opportunity to see Remy's brother in his human-shifted form. Cody was as tall as Remy, but lean where Remy was broad; he still looked strong, but his was a wiry kind of strength, where Remy had a more heavily muscled build. Cody's light brown hair was sun-bleached and long enough to fall over his shoulders. And of course, since he'd just been a bear, he was entirely naked. She was used to that, though, having grown up in a town full of shifters. He was also carrying a large white case.

  "Man, how do you get yourself into these things," Cody said to his unconscious brother. He laid the case on the floor, and offered Saffron a smile, crinkling the corners of his eyes in a way that made her think of Remy. "Went back to the truck for the first-aid kit. Don't worry. Four boys, growing up in the woods, get into all kinds of scrapes. We're used to patching each other up, and us Hayes and Tanner boys can take a lot of punishment. I'm Cody, by the way."

  "I guessed," she said, trying to smile back. "Saffron, but you probably already know that."

  A yell of surprise and pain came from outside the cabin. Saffron jumped to her feet. "What was that? Have the Black Wings come back?" She looked wildly around for a weapon, feeling self-conscious for the first time of her naked state.

  Cody shook his head and didn't look up from spreading out items as he took them out of the first-aid kit. "It's probably Alec and Axl dealing with their alpha—what was his name?"

  "Creed." Just saying it sent an unpleasant shiver through her. She started for the cabin window.

  "I wouldn't," Cody said. "You might not want to watch."

  In spite of Cody's warning, she went to the window anyway. Alec and Axl, one dark and one blond, were standing over Creed, who'd shifted back to his human shape and was kneeling. His arm appeared to be broken, probably from Remy's last attack, and he was swaying on his knees.

  Cody was right. She didn't want to watch. She forced herself to look away, and picked her way through the mess, back to Remy and Cody. She couldn't even tell what she was feeling right now. She hated Creed, and would happily have watched Remy tear him apart. But hurting a prisoner was something different. "Are they going to kill him?" she asked Cody.

  "Not my place to ask, apparently," Cody said, his voice tight. He glanced up, saw the look on her face, and said, "Tell you the truth, I doubt it. Alec isn't really the type. Oh, sure, if someone was directly threatening one of us, I don't doubt he'd rip them apart without a second thought. But, something like this, my guess—or at least my hope—is he'll scare Creed so bad he won't dare come within a thousand miles of Alec or anything Alec considers his."

  "What about Silver Hill?" she asked, suddenly hopeful. She tore strips off one of the bedsheets and handed them to Cody for bandages.

  "What's that?"

  "It's my hometown. The Black Wings have been terrorizing it ever since the frontier days, back when they were an outlaw gang instead of a motorcycle gang. Do you think Alec can make them leave it alone?"

  "What I think," Cody said, dabbing at one of the injuries on Remy's side with a wet piece of bedsheet, "is that Alec is one hell of a scary bear when he's angry. And Creed hurt a member of his clan, so you better believe he's pissed. If he lets Creed walk away from this, I don't think Creed and his gang are going to bother your town anymore, or any other town for that matter."

  There was another pained yelp from outside the window, as if to underscore his words. Saffron steadfastly did not allow herself to think about what was happening outside, and she didn't get up again. She stayed with Cody and helped him tend to Remy.

  Remy had been shot twice, once in the arm and once in the hip. In both cases the bullets seemed to have gone through. The wounds had bled a lot, but Cody told her that was a good thing; it would have flushed out any contaminants, and thanks to fast shifter healing, they'd closed up on their own. Remy was covered from head to foot in claw marks and gashes, but none of them seemed terribly deep or had hit anything vital. For the most part, his heavy fur had acted like armor, keeping out the Black Wings' attacks.

  My bear is a hard bear to kill, Saffron thought, and felt herself tearing up. She pushed it back, and focused on helping Cody wash and disinfect the deeper of the claw and bite marks. He had several large packages of sticky butterfly bandages for sealing the edges of the bigger claw gashes together so they could heal properly. Stitches weren't a good idea for a shifter, since they could all too easily heal into the wound and need to be ripped out.

  As Saffron worked on butterfly-sealing a cut over his eye, Remy moaned. "Saffron?" he whispered.

  "I'm here." She cupped his face in her hands. "I'm here, darling."

  Remy's eyelids fluttered. "You okay?" he whispered.

  "I'm fine." Achy and scratched, but most of her scrapes had already almost healed. "You're the one everyone's worried about."

  "'m fine," Remy mumbled.

  "Yeah, where have I heard that before?" Cody asked, and Remy's eyes widened a bit; he turned his head toward his brother. "Yeah, we're here, man. All of us. The rest of the clan is outside."

  "Creed?" Remy asked, struggling to prop himself up on his elbows.

  "Alec's outside with him. Pretty sure when Alec gets done with him, he's not going to be a problem anymore."

  Saffron put an arm under Remy's shoulders, helping him sit up. He leaned on her, waiting out a head rush. "Damn," he muttered. "I really wanted to get my teeth into that eagle bastard."

  "I think you broke his wing," Saffron said.

  "I wanted to break more than that." He pulled his head back a little and squinted at her. "Hey ... you're naked."

  "That's because I was shifted, genius. We're both naked." She glanced up at Cody. "Er, actually, everybody's naked. I ... think I should probably put some clothes on now."

  "Not on my account," Cody said.

  Remy directed a weak glare at him. "Damn it, man. No leering at my naked mate."

  Cody held up his hands. "Hey, no leering here. She's beautiful but she's taken. She's family now."

  Saffron looked away, tears welling in her eyes. She didn't even know these people. She hadn't expected this kind of welcome so soon.

  And Remy was moving, and talking ... he was alive. Now the tears did spill, and she laid her cheek on top of his head, stroking his shoulder. "When I saw t
hem shoot you," she murmured, "I was so scared."

  "Awww." He reached up to touch her cheek gently. "No one can take down a Circle B bear that easy. We're hard to kill. You have to know I'd always come back to you."

  "You two are amazing," Cody said. "You're worse than Axl and Tara, and I thought they were bad with the lovey-dovey stuff." But his smile indicated he really didn't mind.

  "Saffron, I'd like to apologize for my clan." Remy mock-scowled at his brother. "Not just because of the idiot currently grinning at us, but I'm sure they're going to find an endless number of ways to embarrass us in the future."

  "And I'm looking forward to it." Saffron smiled and kissed Remy on top of the head. "How about I get some clothes for us?"

  She got up and went to find Remy's motorcycle saddlebags in the mess. They'd been dumped, but the Black Wings hadn't had time to do much more than scatter their things around a little, so she was able to find a clean set of clothes for both of them.

  As she was straightening up from this task, the door opened and Alec came in, with Axl behind him. Saffron froze, clutching an armload of clothing. Creed wasn't with them.

  "Where's that asshole?" Remy snarled. "Just let my bear at him, I swear."

  Alec growled. It wasn't the kind of sound that a human throat should be able to make. There was a deeper vibrating note that made the hairs stand up on the back of Saffron's neck. "Threats to the clan are the alpha's job to handle, and it's handled. He's gone, and he won't be coming back."

  "What about my town?" Saffron asked. "Silver Hill—"

  "The Black Wings are disbanded," Alec said, flicking a quick gray-eyed glance at her. "They won't come anywhere near your town anymore."

  Saffron's knees sagged, and she felt herself near tears again. "My parents," she said in a small voice. "They must be terribly worried for me. Can I—does anyone have a phone I can borrow, to call them?"

  Cody slapped his bare hip. "Left it in my other pants."

  The joke was a clear attempt to defuse the growing tension between Alec and Remy. The two of them were staring at each other in a way that made Saffron nervous.

  Axl glanced between them, then raised his eyebrows meaningfully at Cody, and turned to Saffron. "My phone's outside. Our clothes too. Why don't we go get ourselves put together, and you can call your folks."

  "But ..." Saffron began, as he shepherded her toward the door.

  "C'mon," Cody said, moving in her other side. "These two need some alone time."

  Saffron looked anxiously over her shoulder.

  "It'll be all right," Remy said. He was sitting up, propped on his hands, and some color had come back into his face. "It's okay, Saffron. We just need to work things out. My clan will take care of you."

  "But—" she said again, and then her sight of both Remy and Alec was cut off as Cody closed the door behind them.

  "I'll get my phone from the truck," Axl said.

  She jerked away from them both. "Let me back in there right now."

  "No," Cody said. Although his voice was mild, as usual, his face was implacable. He put his hands on her shoulders and steered her away from the door, down the porch steps. "This isn't for us to interfere with."

  "I'm his mate."

  "Yes, and Alec is his alpha. Your alpha now, too. You need to start by respecting his authority."

  "Which doesn't mean you can't tell him off when he's being an ass," Axl said over his shoulder. "It's good for him."

  Saffron shrugged off Cody's hand. "I'm going to get dressed now."

  There was no yelling or snarling from inside the cabin, which she hoped meant things were going well. She felt a little better once she had her clothes on. The one thing she didn't have were her shoes, which were still out in the woods somewhere.

  Axl came back from the trucks, dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans. He tossed a cell phone to Saffron, and a wad of clothing to Cody.

  "Where is the other one of you?" Saffron asked, catching the phone. "Gannon, isn't it? There are five of you, right?"

  "Oh, he's ... around," Axl said. "Gannon likes to do things on his own, and he isn't fond of strangers. I'm surprised he came this far from the ranch at all. Must be Alec's doing."

  Which reminded her unpleasantly of what was happening inside the cabin ... or not happening. "Alec's not going to hurt Remy, is he?"

  Cody and Axl shared a glance. "Er ... probably not," Axl said.

  "Probably?"

  Cody patted her shoulder. "Relax. If it makes you feel any better, Alec seems to like you. Quite a lot more than he likes most people."

  "What?" Axl protested. "He didn't even like Tara at first!"

  "It's not a competition, you know."

  "Yes, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with Tara. She's very likable!"

  Trying to tune out their banter, Saffron dialed her home phone number and pressed the phone to her ear, swallowing nervously.

  Two rings, and then someone picked up. "Hello?" her mother's voice said.

  Saffron sagged, closing her eyes in utter relief. "Mom?" she said in a small voice.

  "Saffron? Oh, darling. Darling. You can't imagine how worried we've been. George!" she shouted. "It's Saffron! Honey, are you all right?"

  "I'm fine. Fine." Her eyes were squeezed shut against tears of relief. "More than fine, really. I have so much to talk to you about. Are you and Dad okay?"

  "We are," her mother said. "Especially now."

  ***

  After his mate and the rest of his clan left the cabin, Remy didn't move or speak for a very long moment. He was afraid that anything he did or said right now might be the wrong thing. There were few things more likely to guarantee a cold reception than yelling at your alpha and then running off.

  Alec didn't seem to be inclined to help him out. The alpha merely looked at him with his level gray gaze. It was always hard to tell what Alec was thinking, and more so right now than usual.

  "C'mon, help me out here," Remy said at last. "If you're going to yell at me, or hell, I don't know, shift to your bear and chase me around this mountainside, let's get it over with. Although," he added, "I don't think I'm in shape for much running right now."

  Alec gave a small sigh. He picked up a tipped-over chair from the mess on the floor, turned it right side up and sat on it, resting his elbows on his bare knees. "Remy," he said in a conversational tone. "Do you know what Dad would have done in a situation like this? Or, God help us all, our grandfathers ... any of them?"

  Alec's father—Remy's uncle—had been the clan alpha before Alec. Remy didn't remember him all that well. He had been a stern, forbidding man; Alec had inherited his brooding temperament and some of his looks. The idea of crossing verbal swords with his uncle made Remy shudder. "Chasing me around the mountainside is probably the best-case scenario there."

  Alec's mouth twisted. "To tell you the truth, Dad I'm not so sure about. But I'm sure about Granddad—either my dad, or the alpha of the backwoods clan that Mom came from. They'd have killed you for that kind of disrespect, Remy."

  "Just like Creed," Remy said. The words were out before he could stop them. Stupid mouth.

  But Alec didn't seem offended. "Yeah. Just like Creed. And while Creed's a stone-cold asshole and a mate-stealer, he's also a throwback to the old shifter ways. Creed probably would've done just fine in the 1800s, and our clan would have gotten along with his." He gave a sudden, sharp laugh. "Hell. Maybe they did. We've been here that long too, haven't we? Back in those days, our clan would have been perfectly okay with the Black Wings, I think."

  "We never tried to interfere with non-shifters, or with other clans," Remy said. "We always kept to ourselves."

  "Yeah, that's true. But it was a different world then." He leaned forward heavily, weight on his elbows, broad work-roughened hands dangling between his knees. "The world's moved on. We don't arrange marriages with other shifter clans anymore, and alphas aren't supposed to run their clan like a tyrant, settling disputes with claws and teeth. Trouble is, what w
e grew up with is all any of us know."

  Remy thought, suddenly, of scenes he'd witnessed, growing up on the ranch, between his cousins and their dad. His own father had always been stern but gentle with his two sons. Alec and Axl's father, on the other hand, had tended to resolve discipline issues with his kids by knocking them down, at least until they got too big to hit.

  "Yeah, all of that is true," Remy said, and offered a lopsided attempt at a smile. "Gotta say, though, I was kind of an asshole, and I think a swat with a grizzly paw is well deserved at this point."

  "Yeah?" Alec's answering smile was slight, but it was there. "Somehow, hitting you doesn't seem sporting right now. Although it would be very satisfying."

  "Hey, I'm not that bad off."

  "Really? Can you even stand up without help?"

  Remy gritted his teeth and pulled himself up on the bunk-bed frame. Once he was up, he had to wait out a head rush, trying to keep a surreptitious hand on the bed frame so as not to fall over.

  "Yeah," Alec said. "Looking good, there."

  "So's your mom's face," Remy muttered.

  And Alec laughed softly, a genuine laugh this time, not bitter or unhappy. "You want to spend another night out here, or are you ready to go back to the ranch?"

  Even though Remy had never quite managed to make himself believe that he had no hope of being allowed back in, the rush of relief almost sent him collapsing back to the floor again. He tried not to grin like a helpless fool, but he was pretty sure he wasn't managing it. "With Saffron," he said, just to be sure.

  "Of course, with Saffron, what do you think? She's a real spitfire, that one. Your bear has good taste."

  Remy poked the torn, tangled sheet with his toe. "We better clean up the place before we go. It belongs to a friend of her family. I don't want to leave it like this."

  "I think the clan's got this one." Alec got up from the chair and took his arm, taking some of his weight as well; Remy had hoped he hadn't been swaying that noticeably. "You get some pants on before you scare the local wildlife, and then go sit with that mate of yours."