by Anya Nowlan
Tiana had been with him for a few days now. They were making headway with the barn, though they kept getting distracted by each other. It seemed like any second not spent lavishing Tiana’s body with affection and admiration was wasted, so work tended to fall to the wayside every now and then. Royce wasn’t complaining, though. That damn barn had been waiting for him for twenty years. It could wait a little longer. But Tiana’s body, hell, that he needed right now.
Glancing behind him, he could see the old clock on the hallway wall, ticking away soundly. It was five in the morning and Tiana would be sleeping for a few more hours. With the exercise he had given her last night, that was a certainty in itself. A seed of an idea planted itself in his mind, and with a smirk, Royce shot back the cup of coffee and put it down on the handrail surrounding the porch. Light, fast steps carried him down and he kicked his boots off, leaving them on the grass as his toes sunk into the earth.
Taking a deep breath, he broke off in a run, his sweatpants making a soft swishing noise as his powerful thighs and legs carried him across the vast plains of his family’s lands. When the woods were just a few steps away, he let the shift take him. His body convulsed and seemed to explode outward, the change moving him in a shockwave of muscle, tendons, and fur. When his paws touched down on the first fallen branches of the dry, quiet forest, his bear had taken full control.
Letting out a soft growl, he charged forward, sprinting through the woods in a burst of euphoria. He seemed to feast on the smells and sounds of the forest, letting them sink into him the same way he plunged into Tiana’s delicious pussy the night before. It brought him close to heaven and kept him there, though given a choice between the two, he already knew he’d pick Tiana.
Something about the feel of her skin against his touch, the way she let out those wavering moans, and how she twisted when he touched her just right fed him in a way that the primal beast never could. Yet he needed both to survive.
After a while of seemingly directionless running, his steps slowed down to a steady trot and the location his bear was heading for became clearer. Royce heaved in breaths, noting the different smells and tastes that landed on his tongue. Something struck him as odd, wrong, but still so right. One more deep breath confirmed his suspicions: he was not alone. There was another bear not too far, inhabiting this agonized, parchment-dry neck of the woods.
Royce grumbled under his breath, though he knew there was nothing to be grouchy about. Around Shifter Grove, there were always plenty of other shifters out on their runs, making their tracks. Yet this one seemed different. Royce’s steps carried him steadfastly in one direction and when the small greenish-blue eye of water revealed itself to him in the midst of the thick forest, Royce understood what brought him there.
The water lapped slowly against the muddy, rocky bank, Royce’s steps leaving deep indentations in what must have been the only damp place within miles. The small lake was almost completely dried up now, the unseasonable heat wave having lowered the water levels by a substantial amount. The surprise of seeing Bear’s Eye Lake so low was overshadowed only by seeing the burly, thick form of another werebear standing on the opposite bank, deep blue eyes studying Royce with a glint of amusement to them.
For a second, Royce tensed, but then his shoulders relaxed and his posture released all the swiftly-gathered tension. He rose up on his back feet, whiffing the air and catching the all-too-familiar scent. The other bear padded slowly toward him, circling the lake easily because of its now diminutive size. When they were but a few dozen feet from each other, both bears released the animal from control and allowed the human side to take over.
Royce was grabbed into a warm, almost aggressive bear hug the moment he stood up on two feet, his still-bare feet digging into the squishy mud.
“Redmond Hamilton, as I live and breathe,” Royce laughed, returning the embrace. “Who thought I’d see you anywhere outside of Los Angeles!”
Royce pulled away, grinning widely at his little brother. Redmond Hamilton was obviously closely related to him. They shared the strong, wide build of their father and uncle and the chiseled lines of their jaws and nose. But Redmond had higher cheekbones and his eyes were a clear, bright blue like their mother’s had been, not the slate gray of their father. He had a healthy tan and his hair was bleached a sandy tone of golden blond by the sun, another characteristic of their mother, rather than their father.
“Couldn’t let you sell off the family estate all on your own, big brother. Can’t trust you Boston yokels with any money, you know,” Redmond joked as Royce started walking back toward the house.
The sticks and leaves pricked at his feet, but he didn’t notice it at all. His heart swelled happily, feeling the presence of his brother’s bear so close now. It had been much too long since any Hamiltons had been in the same place at the same time, let alone at a place that held such significance to them. He chose to brush off the comment about selling, though—there would be time to explain later. There was a lot Royce needed to tell Redmond, but he wanted to enjoy the happiness of meeting again for a second longer.
“Why didn’t you come up to the house?” Royce asked, giving the leather jacket and ripped jeans-wearing little brother of his a questionable look.
He’d certainly changed a lot from the scrawny, rebellious teen Royce remembered.
“I was driving up there but something made me stop the car and get out. And one thing followed the other, and there I was standing at that lake. It was like some weird pull that I couldn’t ignore,” Redmond said, a note of seriousness entering into his voice and a frown marring his features.
“Mm-hmm. I know about that,” Royce said with a chuckle as they broke through the crackling underbrush and soon emerged from the forest.
Royce had gotten adept at maneuvering the path of forest closest to the house, so finding the small, barely noticeable path that provided the quickest way out was no problem at all. The sun beat down mercilessly and Royce could feel the burn of even the early morning sun already scorching his shoulders, making them ache. The sun was ruthless that summer and the firefighter in him worried.
“This thing is one bad accident away from going up like Fourth of July fireworks,” Redmond commented dryly, stalking after Royce.
“You feel it too, huh? It’s not good,” Royce said seriously, glancing over his shoulder and slowing his steps as they hit the clearing and could fall into step next to one another.
Redmond shook his head thoughtfully, but whatever he was about to say caught in his chest as he saw the vision that was Hamilton House and the grounds around it. Royce grinned as Redmond’s step stuttered and he stopped for a second, staring slack-jawed at the old home.
“Familiar, huh?” Royce teased, tugging at Redmond’s black leather jacket and making him walk again.
“Fuck, Royce…. this is…”
“Yeah. Home.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence and Royce gave his brother time to take it all in. He remembered clear as day how he had felt the first time he’d laid eyes on it and he didn’t want to rob Redmond from the experience. Only when they climbed up the steps to the porch and Royce pushed through the screen door into the house did he feel that the revered moment had passed.
He was about to quip about surprises and life’s odd twists and turns when hurried steps sounded from the left of him, heading down the stairs from the higher floors. Royce turned around in time to catch Tiana, who flung herself into his arms with a flurry of giggles, clamping her arms around his neck.
“Where were you? I thought you’d run off alone to work, leaving me to sleep the day away! You bastard,” she hissed playfully as Royce swung her around with a big bear grin on his lips.
Her dress hiked up her smooth thighs enough to make Royce strangle a growl of arousal in the back of his throat. If Redmond hadn’t been there, he probably would have put her down and fucked the daylights out of her right there on the hallway floor. Redmond cleared his throat and Royce p
ut Tiana down. She only then noticed Redmond. She blushed the sweetest shade of pink, making her milk chocolate skin glow, and it took everything Royce had not to tell his little brother to fuck off and leave him alone with his mate.
Jealousy was something that came far too easily to bears.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I—” Tiana stuttered as Royce slipped his arm around her and pulled her tight to him.
“Tiana, this is my little brother, Redmond. He’s a rapid deployment firefighter in Los Angeles,” Royce said as Redmond extended his hand and Tiana took it, shaking it firmly despite her surprise.
“Pleasure, ma’am,” Redmond said, though the look in his eyes spoke of mischief and all sorts of smart-mouthed comments that Royce was sure to hear the moment they were alone together.
“All mine. A rapid deployment firefighter?” she asked, cocking a brow curiously.
“Yeah. We’re the first guys in during big fires,” Redmond said, standing up a bit prouder.
That might have been Redmond’s brief stint in the Army talking, forcing him to push those wide shoulders back and puff up his chest. Royce shook his head, a half-amused smirk on his lips.
“Wow. Are all of you firefighters?” Tiana asked.
“Yes, ma’am. Every single one of us,” Redmond said, grinning.
“That has to be some kind of a coincidence,” Tiana mused loudly, but neither Royce nor Redmond jumped in to comment.
Instead, an uncomfortable look passed between the two of them and Royce took it upon himself to diffuse the situation.
“I think we should grab some breakfast. Redmond, you probably need to pick up your truck, right? How far is it?”
“A few miles down the road, I think,” he laughed. “I was in that forest for a heck of a long time.”
“You two go get it. I’ll start up breakfast. Pancakes sound good?” Tiana asked, her high spirits returning to her as easily as they’d dissipated.
“As long as there’s honey,” Royce said, winking at Tiana.
She grinned and Royce kissed her on the forehead before he and Redmond peeled off, heading toward the front door again.
Things were all falling into place. He had a gorgeous, wonderful woman staying with him who was most certainly The One, and the first of his brothers had returned and was obviously just as entranced with Hamilton House and the surrounding areas as he was. Suddenly, his crazy, half-baked plan to get his family lands back didn’t seem so nutty after all.
Just have to keep this train on the tracks, he thought as he went for his truck, Redmond walking with long steps behind him.
But of course, nothing could ever be that easy.
Eight
Tiana
It was sort of odd to find out that when you stopped running around, the world didn’t stop revolving.
For some reason, Tiana had been entirely sure that the moment she stepped away from the bakery, it would completely crumble to dust. She called Kaylee twice a day at first, trying to micromanage the hell out of both her and the bakery. Soon enough, though, it turned out that her enthusiasm and worry was completely unwarranted. Instead of failing miserably, like Tiana had assumed, Kaylee was doing a bang-up job of whipping her staff into shape and making profits stay consistent.
Tiana wasn’t too keen on admitting it, but perhaps taking a step back was the best thing she could have done for the bakery. In retrospect, she could admit that she’d been too nice to the people who worked with her. While being their friend had its place, sometimes she really should have been their boss first and friend later. Kaylee seemed to have that down a lot better than Tiana had. Because of the training Tiana had given her, the management of the bakery was going smoother than ever.
At first, that had sort of bummed Tiana out. It sucked to feel like she wasn’t as irreplaceable as she’d thought. But as soon as she started baking for herself and Royce in Hamilton House, all of that seemed to fall on the back burner too. For the first time in a long time, she could actually enjoy the process of baking and thinking up new and fun recipes without profits constantly on her brain.
All in all, Idaho was turning out to be incredibly relaxing. Not only because she kept finding out new things about Royce, who was as fantastic a conversationalist as he was a talented lover, but because she felt like she had a purpose that didn’t want to drag her apart. Working on the barn all day, with breaks in between to lavish some affection on Royce, and then baking all evening before tucking in for a long night felt so good! No spa vacation or an extended tropical vacation could measure up to it.
It was the evening of the day that Redmond showed up and Tiana was busy in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Usually, it was Royce who’d take dinner duty, but Tiana had wanted to give him time to reconnect with his brother. It was obvious that the two hadn’t seen each other in a while. There was a modicum of awkwardness between them that could only be overcome by talking to each other.
The window that overlooked a part of the porch and the backyard was open, with two loaves of pumpkin bread cooling on the sill. Tiana was fussing around with the salad when part of Royce’s and Redmond’s conversation reached her ears unintentionally. Redmond’s voice was growing louder with each word.
“You can’t be fucking serious, Royce!” Redmond barked, stopping Tiana in her tracks. “You put up a goddamn mail-order bride ad? Do you even know this girl? She could be some kind of a gold digger, just wanting a piece of the pie,” he said, growling.
“Redmond, you better watch your tongue,” Royce said, his voice steady but threatening.
“I get that you care about the grounds,” Redmond railed on. “But that is no reason to marry a girl who could be a real psycho for all you know. I don’t care how good that pussy tastes,” Redmond hissed.
The next thing Tiana heard was the crack of a fist against a cheek and a dull thud as Redmond fell on the ground. In a second, he was back up, charging at Royce with a snarl.
“You can’t be this fucking stupid. Has the smoke eaten what little sense you had?” Redmond said, obviously not choosing his words at this point.
“You don’t know the whole story, Redmond,” Royce said, his voice so dark and low now that it made the blood stop in Tiana’s veins. “If you’d let me explain…”
But his words were cut off as Redmond plowed into Royce, sending them both crashing into the deck chairs. Tiana dropped the spoons she’d been using to toss the salad, cupping her hands over her mouth. Her body shook with chills as she watched Redmond throwing Royce off and both of them scrambling to their feet, fists balled.
It’s all your fault, she thought desperately.
Having no real family of her own anymore, it broke her heart to see the two brothers fight. The cold feeling in her gut she’d been battling for a while returned with full force, making doubtful questions run through her head in a constant river of uncertainty.
“I don’t think you could explain a goddamn thing to me, man,” Redmond snarled, making a dismissive motion with his hand and turning away from Royce, then storming down the steps.
Royce stood there for a while with a hard look on his face, watching Redmond leave. He didn’t move an inch to stop his brother. Tiana’s breath caught in her chest and she let her legs carry her away before her brain caught up. Grabbing her purse from the hall, she picked up the keys to her Ford truck from a little bowl next to the door and ran out. She was in the pickup, barreling down the thin, dusty road away from Hamilton House before Royce could even make it to the front of the house.
She saw him running after her as the sun set, casting an ominous red glow on everything that previously had made her think of beauty, but now just read anger. Tears were in her eyes and guilt strangled her chest. She drove straight for Shifter Grove, reactions taking the place of rational thought and calm introspection.
I don’t want them to fight because of me. They’re the only family they have left and I don’t even know if I want this! I was only going to be here for a little while, Tiana desperat
ely thought to herself.
Deep down inside, she knew she was lying to herself now. She wanted nothing more than to stay with Royce. If they’d gone through with the marriage, she was sure she would have never raised a finger to annul it. Even if things went south, she already had legitimate feelings for the man and it certainly would not have been a sham of a wedding anymore. A bit rushed, maybe, but if she’d learned anything about life then it was that overthinking what felt right was never the correct thing to do.
Which made her escape into the night all the more ironic.
Gritting her teeth and blinking through the tears, she hit the gas and drove on faster. The road seemed to glow red in the distance and through her tears, that didn’t strike her as odd. It was only when she was a good distance away from the house that she noticed the warning light on the dashboard.
“Shit,” Tiana groaned, just in time for the truck to stutter and cough and run out of gas at the worst possible time.
She was stuck between Hamilton House and Shifter Grove, equal distance from both places. Pulling to the side of the road, Tiana laid her hands flat on the steering wheel and rested her forehead against it as well. A quick flurry of sobs wracked her body. Guilt, anger at herself, and a feeling of stupid helplessness took over. She only allowed it to rule over her for a minute, but when she looked up after wiping her tears, her eyes went wide as saucers.
Instead of the dry, seemingly always dusty road she was used to traveling on their trips to town, she was staring down a wicked inferno of fire now, cracking and roaring as it gathered around her.
“What the...” Tiana gasped, grabbing her purse and digging around it for her phone.
She found the cell, but not surprisingly, there was no damn reception. Groaning, she tossed it down and looked around, glancing out each of the windows and twisting to look behind her as well. The flames absolutely surrounded her, spreading so fast that she couldn’t keep track. The dry, tortured forest floor was going up quickly and wherever the tongues of flame reached, they won new ground.
