Her Russian Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Dating Agency Romance (Fated and Mated Book 3)

by Harmony Raines

  They took a side of the canyon each and worked their way along until they picked up a scent. The occasional footprint also confirmed that someone had been in the canyon, yet they still had no real idea of who it was. When they reached the end of the canyon, the walls gave way to a vast area of land, and a cold trail.

  She stood for a moment, trying to work out which way someone would go to get down from the mountain without being seen. No one else had been parked on the road, but if you were hauling those cans, then you would want to be close, but out of sight.

  Remembering a track the kids in town used to bring their dirt bikes up here, she nudged Artem, who had just caught up with her, and headed off at a run down the hill. Forward momentum carried Artem down the hill faster, although he made a noise that would draw the attention of anyone nearby, but it couldn’t be helped. Time was of the essence. They had to catch the arsonist, because once this was over, she could give her full attention to Artem, or go into hiding. Although Alain had not said anything, she was sure the sheriff would want to know exactly who Artem was.

  The track was only a couple of hundred feet away when they heard the sound of a car engine starting up. Elina put her head down and ran as fast as she could, not caring that the sharp stones on the ground dug into her paws. She had to know who it was who had been here.

  However, as she rounded the bend taking her down onto the trail, all she saw was car taillights disappearing. Whoever it was did not want to be seen, and they were too far away for her to read the license plate.

  Damn it!

  Artem reached her, skidding past her as he tried to slow down, managing to flick stones up into the air. She went to him, and then together they investigated the area, using their eyes and sense of smell to try to gain some kind of clue. They shifted back into human form and looked again. Nothing.

  Feeling defeated, they headed back to her car, finding Alain already at his truck, the gas cans now safely sealed in a plastic bag. “I’ll take these off to the lab directly. They might be able to lift some prints off them.”

  “I hope so, because we missed whoever it was. All I could make out was a dark-colored car.”

  “Size?” Alain asked.

  “Big. Although we only caught the taillights. But they were those new LED lights, and not many people in Bannock drive a new car.” Elina said. Except Mr. Harrington.

  “That narrows it right down,” Alain was saying, but she was no longer listening. Could her boss really be responsible? It all fit, kind of. He was a shifter, although he never let that side free. His wife, his mate, didn’t like it, told him it was too base to be able to change into some beast. Elina remembered him telling her this at a Christmas party when she had just started working at the firm. He had been quite drunk, and he said he hoped she didn’t mind him talking to her so openly, but there weren’t many other shifters he could talk to.

  “Elina?” Alain’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Want to tell me what’s on your mind?”

  “Nothing. I was just going through all the people it could be. You know I hate this. What if we blame the wrong person?”

  “There will be no blaming until we know for sure,” Alain climbed into his truck. “Anything comes to you, you tell me, no taking the law into your own hands.”

  “Will do,” she agreed, while Artem stood silently at her side. They watched as the sheriff drove away and then walked over to her car.

  “Are you going to tell me?” he asked, his arms going either side of her, so that his hands rested on the roof of the car, holding her hostage.

  “Tell you what?” She squirmed, as she stood there, her body electrified by the nearness of him.

  “What you know.”

  “I…”

  “Listen, I might have been hiding out in a small town for the last few years, but I have not forgotten my training, I know how to read people.”

  “Do you?” She placed her hand on his chest, stroking him through his shirt.

  “I do, and right now you are trying to avoid my question by distracting me in the most primal way.”

  “Primal,” she whispered, and leaned in to kiss his neck. “I like being primal. At one with nature.”

  “Is that right?” He seemed to be letting his question go unanswered as he undid her belt and pushed her jeans to the ground. “It’s dark, no one will see us.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, as he lifted her up so she straddled him, his right hand supporting her.

  “Absolutely,” he said, and then added, “I’m going to fuck you here on your mountain.”

  “Yes, please,” she said, and her hands went to his belt, undoing it and then wrapping her hand around his erect cock. Up and down she stroked him, and then he shifted his hips forward, while she guided him inside her.

  Closing her eyes, she felt every minute movement as he moved slowly to fill her with his cock. It was an incredible feeling, he had such control, and she groaned, wanting more of him, faster. However, he knew what he wanted and how he wanted it, and he made her wait, made her experience every exquisite flex of his hips, and kiss of his lips on her breasts.

  Unable to stand anything between them, he lifted her T-shirt up, and then unclasped her bra.

  “Much better,” he said, and lowered his head to claim her breasts. Licking and sucking, he made her hips buck as all her nerve endings raged in a fiery need to be touched and stroked by him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing and nipping his neck, as he impaled her completely and then held still, while her sex ached around him.

  When he began to move, it was like heaven. In and out, slowly, his momentum building with each thrust into her. She cried out, her voice swallowed up in the darkness as she came—too soon, she wanted this to last forever, but it was all too much. And when he followed her over the edge, his face buried in her collarbone as he nipped her skin, she knew he felt the same way.

  It was if the Earth had moved. But it hadn’t: when she opened her eyes, everything was still the same, apart from her.

  Chapter Thirteen – Artem

  They had gone back to her house and made love again. And again. He couldn’t get enough of her, and she obviously felt the same way about him. Now, as he lay here in her bed, he could think of no better way to start the morning than by making love to her slowly and completely.

  She wasn’t there. His hand slid over the empty side of the bed again, and then he sat up and looked, scared it was all a dream and he was in his own bed at home in Grizzly Hollows. But this was her room, with the pink flowers on the curtains and the old worn cuddly tiger on the bed, the tiger she had told him her mom had gotten for her when she was younger and used to get upset she was not old enough to shift, even though her brothers were.

  “Elina?” he called, and then got out of bed, pulling on his clothes as he went out of the bedroom. He looked into the bathroom, and then went downstairs and into the kitchen, where he found a note.

  I’ve gone to the store. Be back soon. Elina xxx

  He read it again. Something made him uneasy, but he couldn’t pinpoint what. He made some coffee, noticing the coffee pot was cold. She must have left in a hurry, or maybe she wasn’t a morning coffee person. One more thing he didn’t know about her, but he sure was looking forward to learning all these small things about his mate.

  Leaning on the counter, he looked around the room. Everything was so neat, so tidy. Pushing off the counter, he wandered into the living room. The TV was small, not very modern, despite the fact that the furniture was expensive. His presumption was that she didn’t watch TV very much, and then he came across a pile of books. A reader, he liked that.

  Going back to the fresh coffee pot, he took out two cups, but only filled one. As he added the milk, he wondered how far the store was. He read the note again.

  His unease grew.

  Thinking back to last night, he considered the last conversation they had. The one before he took her against the car. She had been avoiding his question. Did that
mean he was right? She did have an idea of whom the car belonged to.

  He headed to the front door; he had a feeling she had gone to the prison. Was Jim the key to finding the truth after all?

  Opening the front door, he stepped outside, and then pulled the door closed. It was as if he was stepping outside of her life. Once the door shut, he had no way back in. A slight hesitation, and then he turned to face the world. He could not let his fear of being seen stop him from finding her, and helping her in any way he could.

  However, he had only stepped onto the drive when a police cruiser pulled up, blocking his path. Alain was here.

  His heart beat rapidly in his chest. Did the sheriff have bad news? Had something happened to his mate? With the unease growing inside of him, swelling up until it threatened to cut off the air to his lungs, he walked towards the cruiser.

  “Sheriff.”

  “Artem.” There was something in the way Alain’s eyes slid past him that made him suspicious. “Is Elina there?”

  “No.” Artem saw the sheriff move his hand. It was more of a twitch as if he was getting ready to draw his gun. “She left a note saying she went to the store.”

  “Did she?” He frowned.

  “Yes.” Artem weighed up the situation. He had no way to get to the prison and for that matter, had no idea where the prison was. So he needed the sheriff for directions and transport. “But I don’t think that’s where she’s gone.”

  “Why not?”

  “How far is the store?”

  “What?”

  “The store. My guess is in a small town like this the store is quite local, but Elina has driven. My thoughts are that she knows more than she let on about whoever burned down the school. I think she’s gone to the prison to see Jim.”

  The sheriff shook his head. “That’s where I’ve just come from and she wasn’t there.”

  “Why were you at the prison?”

  “I got a tip-off about some evidence.”

  “Evidence about the arson attack?”

  “Yes. It was from someone in the prison, said that Jim had told him where he stashed the gas cans.”

  “And?”

  “I followed it up. And sure enough I found a gas can. Matched the ones we found last night. So I went over to see the prisoner.”

  “And he lied.”

  “Yep. Said he had been offered money. Which he took. But would not give up the name of whoever paid him. Said he didn’t know.”

  “But Elina knows.”

  “So I reckon.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “It’s a small town. There are only so many places she can be. So let’s get in my truck and try to find her.”

  Artem had no choice but to trust Alain, but something in the way the sheriff looked at him made Artem wonder just how much else the sheriff had found out in the hours since they had left him last night.

  “Where to first?” Artem asked, looking around him as they drove. Brannock was very similar in so many ways to Grizzly Hollows, and yet so different from the small town in Russia he had grown up in.

  “I thought we would try her boss. He’s not in the office today, and he drives a new car, a big new car. His wife is a bit of a monster from what I can gather, likes to show off their money. Tacky, if you ask me, but there is no choosing your mate.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  They drove in silence for a few minutes and then, after a sidelong look at Artem, the sheriff said, “So where are you from, Artem?”

  “I think we both know you already know the answer to that, Sheriff.”

  “You know I should be turning you in right now.”

  “I do.”

  “And yet I’m driving you to find Elina.”

  “Yes.”

  “She’s a great woman. I would do anything to have her as my mate.”

  “I see.” Artem wondered if the sheriff was going to take him up into the mountains and shoot him in the head.

  “No. You don’t. I don’t want her hurt. So I need your word that you mean her no harm.”

  “You know the answer to that, Sheriff. She’s my mate.”

  “But you still need to die.” The sheriff looked at Artem, and then said, “There’s her car.”

  Chapter Fourteen – Elina

  “You need to calm down, Mr. Harrington.” Elina was in his doorway, backing out slowly. This had not gone how she planned. Yes, she had figured out her boss was the most likely suspect, but she had not thought of him as being willing to get violent over it.

  This was a side of her boss she had never seen. His wolf side.

  She had a choice. Either stand here and be attacked by him, or change into her tiger and fight him. Her tiger was ready; they just had to draw the wolf outside.

  “Elina?”

  She swung around to see Artem and Alain coming up the path to the door, while the wolf growled menacingly and advanced on her.

  “Bit of a problem.”

  Before she could say another word, Artem shifted into a bear and charged towards her. But she didn’t want him to hurt Mr. Harrington, she didn’t want Alain to have to arrest him and for her mate to end up back in Russia in a prison there.

  As her boss leaped at her, he saw the big, bulking bear coming his way, and instead took off along the drive, jumping a hedge and running full tilt up the meadow, heading for the lower foothills of the mountain range.

  “Shit!” Alain said, and in one fluid movement had turned wolf and was running after Mr. Harrington.

  Not wanting the sheriff to face another wolf alone, she shifted too, and together she and Artem followed behind them. Across the fields, and up into the trees, they must have made an odd sight, she only hoped no one saw them. She could not be more conspicuous if she tried. But this was too important for her to hide away. She began to see why Artem had broken his cover for her—some things in life had to be faced, had to be conquered.

  Once through the trees, they headed higher into the foothills, and she realized her boss was heading for the river, probably hoping to cross it and make his escape, only she knew it was fast-flowing and the wolf might not make it, and certainly in his human form Mr. Harrington was no match for the fast flow.

  “Just stop there,” Alain was saying as the other wolf looked down into the water. “You need to step away from the bank.”

  The wolf shifted into Mr. Harrington, and stood teetering on the bank. “I can’t go to prison.”

  “It’s got to be better than dying,” Alain said.

  “You don’t know my wife.” He looked so forlorn, Elina felt sorry for him until she remembered he was willing to let poor simple Jim take the blame for the arson attack.

  “Why did you do it?” Elina asked, shifting from her tiger into her human form and edging closer to him.

  “The school? Because I needed the money.”

  “Money?” Alain asked.

  “Yes. I bought those damn warehouses because my wife told me they would sell like hot cakes. Well, they didn’t, no one around here wants an office by those warehouses. So they have sat there empty, costing me money I no longer have. But I figured that if the school burned down, my building company would get the contract to rebuild, and I would be saved.”

  “And Jim was just convenient to use?” Elina asked, sickened by the man who she had worked for.

  “Yes. I mean, what life did he have in that hovel he calls a home? I thought at least this way he would have people to look after him, somewhere warm to sleep. You know he nearly froze to death last winter.”

  “You never thought that he was happy as he was. He liked to live in that house, it’s where his mom raised him, it’s where his roots are,” Alain sounded angry now. “I’m guessing it was you who tried to pay the other prisoner to tell on Jim. You who planted the evidence last night.”

  “Yes. I didn’t think there would be any questions raised. I thought it would be an open and closed case. He was caught red-handed. But then when Elina took the c
ase and started snooping, I knew it was going to take more.”

  “But it’s backfired on you.” Alain took a step closer, but Mr. Harrington leaned back away from him, towards the river.

  “She’ll kill me. And I can’t live without her.” He shook his head and stepped back, but from behind a small thicket, Artem sprung out, in his human form knocking Mr. Harrington to the ground, saving him from falling into the water.

  At the same time, Alain pulled his gun out, and a shot rang out, deafening to Elina, whose scream then echoed out around the foothills as Artem fell backwards into the river. She ran forward, as did Alain. She dived down onto the bank, searching for Artem, seeing his body in the water, lifeless as it floated away.

  “What have you done?” she screamed at Alain, as he pulled her back when she was about to jump in.

  “He was a Russian spy. I had no choice, he was a rogue who was going to attack Mr. Harrington.”

  “Artem saved him!” she said, fighting to get free.

  “He attacked Mr. Harrington,” Alain said firmly.

  “That’s not how I saw it,” she insisted.

  “But it’s how you saw it isn’t it, Mr. Harrington?” Alain insisted, sitting her boss up and shaking him. “He was going to attack you.”

  “Yes,” Mr. Harrington nodded.

  Alain hauled him to his feet, and then turned him around, and pointed. “There he is. Dead. I’ll take you to the station and then follow the river down to fish his body out.”

  “You can’t just leave him.” Elina turned, planning to follow the river. If she shifted into her tiger, she might be able to catch him. However, Alain grabbed hold of her arm and turned her to him. She lifted her hands, ready to scratch his eyes out. “Get off me.”

  “No. Not until you understand that Artem had to die.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Try.” Alain stared at her hard, and slowly the realization came over her that far from murdering her mate, Alain had set him free in a way no one else ever could.