Polar Opposites

by Ariana McGregor

  She snorted at him. Her eyes travelled up to his hair. “How much time do you spend on that?” she asked.

  “Not as much as you’d think,” he said. “It’s actually naturally fabulous.”

  “Figures.” She smiled at him. She paused. Frowned. “Why exactly are you in my house?”

  “Alex’s mother gave me the key,” he said. “I thought I’d pop over and make sure you were okay.”

  “I don’t know how that woman keeps getting her hands on our keys,” Sara muttered. “We’ve changed locks several times and it never stops her.” She took a step back, limping a little.

  “Let me see,” he demanded.

  Her cheeks flushed.

  “Sara,” he warned her. “I’m not playing around. Take off those jeans and let me see your leg.”

  “Felix,” she protested.

  “Now, Sara,” he insisted. “You’re wearing a long top so it’ll cover all the interesting bits.” He sighed. “Unfortunately.”

  Scowling at him, she kicked off her shoes, unfastened her jeans, and shimmied out of them. Bending closer to her leg, he could see that it was red and had a few small scrapes. Nothing major.

  “See? It’s fine,” she said.

  Before she could pick up her jeans, he picked her up and carried her to the kitchen, ignoring her startled squeal. He plopped her down on the kitchen table and stood back.

  “First aid kit?” he asked. He knew there would be at least one. Shifters were a rough lot and minor injuries were common.

  “There’s one under the sink,” she said. “But I’m fine.”

  “Not yet, but you will be.” He gave her a meaningful look, and she blushed and looked away.

  Retrieving the kit, he set it on the table next to her and began to clean the scrapes on her leg, keeping his touch as gentle as possible. She let him tend to her, no longer arguing with him. Once finished with her leg, he began with her hand, making sure he didn’t miss a single spot.

  “Thanks, Felix,” Sara said quietly.

  “No problem.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. As he pulled back, she cupped his face and drew him back toward her. She paused for a moment, their faces inches apart, so close he couldn’t focus on her face. He could feel her breath against his face. Only for a moment, and then she closed the distance, pressing her lips to his. Her kiss was gentle at first, and then she took control, opening her mouth and deepening the kiss. He held himself back, allowing her to take the lead, to have the control she needed. He kept his hands on the table on either side of her hips, unwilling to touch her and risk breaking the spell. Still, he responded to her, the kiss growing in passion as he poured every inch of his soul into her.

  The front door banged and they jumped apart, her hand flying up to her lips, her eyes a little wide and unfocussed. Yeah, she looked like he felt.

  “Sara?” Tara’s voice called. “Why are your jeans in the living room?”

  Sara looked down at her naked legs and blushed.

  “Sara?” Tara walked into the kitchen. “Oh!” She span around, keeping her back to them. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

  “What’s going on?” Alex’s voice rumbled.

  “Nothing,” Tara said. “Just stay there and don’t come into the kitchen. I’ll… uh… go away now.”

  “There’s nothing going on,” Sara called. He raised his eyebrow at her. That kiss was far from nothing. “I got hurt and Felix was just patching me up.”

  Tara span back around. “Hurt? What happened?” She came closer, eyeing the scrapes on Sara’s leg and the open first aid kit sitting on the table.

  “I fell,” Sara said. She looked at Felix. He knew that she didn’t want him to tell Tara what happened. Sighing to himself, he nodded at her, showing that he understood. He’d much prefer everyone knew what was going on, but he wouldn’t go against her wishes. Later though? They’d be having a conversation about being honest with people and allowing them to help.

  Tara eyed her sister suspiciously. She took a discreet sniff and then flashed a look at Felix. No doubt it was now his scent that clung to Sara, erasing any trace of Ryan. He couldn’t help feeling a little smug about that.

  “You fell?” Tara asked. “And that’s all there was to it? Nobody helped you fall?” She narrowed her eyes when Sara shook her head. “How did you fall? Where were you? Did you trip? Lose your balance?” She fired off the questions in a way that would have made Alex’s mother proud.

  “Um, I just fell,” Sara offered lamely. “I guess I tripped.”

  Tara crossed her arms, glaring at her. “Sara Evans, I am your sister, your twin sister. I have always been able to tell when you’re lying. Always. Something happened and you’re not telling me.” Her gaze softened. “I just want to help.”

  Sara sighed and looked at Felix. He nodded, indicating that she should speak up.

  “Ryan is here,” she whispered.

  There was silence for a moment.

  “What?” Tara’s voice was hard, angry. “He dares to show up here?”

  Alex pushed past her. “Where is he staying?” His expression was thunderous.

  “I don’t know,” Sara said. Her voice was so quiet, so small, so totally unlike Sara. His woman was not the quiet, timid type, and he loved that about her. He grew up in a family of boisterous lions, he had no idea what to do with quiet people.

  “He hurt you?” Tara asked.

  “No,” Sara said. “Well, yes, but not really.”

  “What?” Tara looked confused.

  “Okay, so he grabbed my shoulder, and that hurt a little, but mostly I got hurt when I tried to get away and then I lost my balance and fell.” Sara looked up at her sister. “He only wants me for the polar bear genes. He says I can go once I give him a few cubs.” Tears were shining in her eyes again.

  “Oh, Sara.” Tara wrapped her arms around her sister, holding her tight. “We’ll sort this out, I promise.”

  “Let’s give them some privacy,” Alex said to him.

  Nodding, Felix followed him from the room. “Is there anything we can do?” he asked. “Anything that can stop him from harassing her?”

  Alex sighed. “I don’t know, but I’m going to try having a word with him. See if I can persuade him to back off.”

  “What if he won’t?” Felix asked.

  “Then we’ll make him.”

  Chapter 7

  Sara sat at the kitchen table, watching as her sister baked. Her fingers strayed to her lips once again, her mind on the kiss she’d shared with Felix. It had been perfect. Surprisingly, her polar bear hadn’t seemed to mind at all.

  In fact, now that she thought about it, the bond between her and Ryan seemed to have weakened even further. It was still there, still a problem, but it didn’t exert the same pressure on her as before. As she drew closer to Felix, the bond with Ryan seemed to fade away, making room for a new bond with her true mate. Was it really that simple? That if she spent more time with Felix, her polar bear would gradually transfer its loyalty to him?

  It had been months since Ryan raped her, and she had successfully avoided him since then, the distance chipping away at their mate bond. Of course, she’d have to continue to avoid him if she wanted to break the bond. That would be easier if he hadn’t followed her here. She’d been stupid to come to Bearbank, knowing that it would be too easy to find her here. She had wandered elsewhere for a while before coming here, wanting to be with her sister. It had made it too easy for Ryan to track her down.

  “We won’t let him hurt you.”

  Sara looked up to find her sister watching her.

  “You have friends here,” Tara told her. “We’ll all help. I know you have a certain handsome lion who will do whatever you need him to do.”

  Sara sighed.

  “You do like Felix, don’t you?” Tara asked, frowning. “I just assumed that with him being your true mate, you would like him. I know it doesn’t always work like
that, but Felix is a great guy. Everyone likes him.”

  “I know,” Sara admitted. “At first I found him annoying, but then he grew on me. I like him. A lot.”

  “So why don’t you look happy about it?” Tara asked. “Do you want to be mated to him?”

  “I do,” she said quietly. It was the truth. There were so many problems to overcome, so many issues, that she didn’t know where to start. “It’s just that the thought of… being close to someone, it scares me.”

  Tara sat down and reached across the table, taking one of Sara’s hands. “Oh, Sara. I’m sorry. I assume you mean because of the rape?”

  She nodded. “My polar bear doesn’t care, but I do. The mating instinct kicks in whenever Felix is around and I really want to go for it, but I just can’t. My shifter side is driving me hard, wanting me to claim my mate, making me want him. The human part of me is terrified. I want Felix but I’m scared to do anything about it.”

  “You need to tell him that,” Tara said. “Felix will wait for you. He really is one of the good guys.”

  “I know.” She did know. Felix had demonstrated his worth over and over again. “But if we wait too long, Ryan might manage to strengthen our bond again.”

  “He can’t win out over a true mate,” Tara pointed out.

  “No,” Sara agreed. “He can’t, but he can prolong it and make it harder. I feel a bit like a chew toy being pulled in two different directions.”

  “As long as you want Felix, you can make it work,” Tara assured her. “We’ll all help you Sara. You’re safe here.”

  Sara nodded. She didn’t really feel any better, but she’d had enough of talking about it. The more she talked, the more depressed and hopeless she seemed to feel. She needed a distraction.

  “Is Kara coming for the wedding?” she asked.

  Tara smiled at her. “Yes. Actually she called this morning. She lost her job, so she’ll be here within a few days.”

  “She lost another job?” Poor Kara had a lot of trouble holding onto work.

  “Yeah,” Tara sighed. “She has something lined up here, so it looks like she’ll be in Bearbank for a while. It’ll be so nice to have us all together again.”

  Sara smiled at her. “Yeah, the Evans sisters all in one place. Watch out Bearbank.”

  Tara laughed as she resumed her baking. Sara relaxed a little. It would be nice to have both her sisters around again.

  ***

  “Ryan Adams?” Alex watched with satisfaction as the man flinched a little.

  “Yeah?” The man eyed Alex suspiciously.

  “Stay away from Sara Evans,” he told him. “I’m warning you as a courtesy. Your attention is unwelcome.”

  Ryan sniffed the air, eyeing Alex with scorn. “You’re a shifter,” he pointed out. “Sara is my mate and you can’t keep me from her. You don’t have that right.”

  “It was a forced mating,” Alex ground out.

  “The bitch wanted it, no matter what she may have claimed,” Ryan said, sneering at him. “She followed me around all the time at high school, begging for my attention. Well, I finally gave it to her.”

  Alex felt the rage build inside him but he couldn’t allow it to take over. His bear was growling inside his mind, wanting to rip apart the man who hurt their sister-in-law. Polar bears were stronger than grizzlies, he reminded his own bear. His bear sniffed with disdain. Pesky questions, he pointed out. His bear rolled his eyes at him.

  “Well, she’s not interested now,” he said, somehow managing to keep his voice calm. “So stay away from her.”

  “No,” Ryan said, with a shrug. “She’s mine and her polar bear knows it. She’ll come around.”

  Alex couldn’t suppress the growl that rumbled from him. Ryan merely smirked. He took a step forward, his fists clenched.

  “Boss.” Leo stepped in front of him. Where the heck had he come from? “Let it go.”

  He looked down at Leo.

  “Witnesses,” Leo muttered under his breath.

  Looking around, Alex could see several people watching the altercation. As he met their gazes, each of them suddenly found other things to look at. Still, they were there and would see anything he did to Ryan.

  Shaking his head, Ryan walked off, whistling to himself.

  “I know,” Leo said. “I heard what he was saying and my lion really wants to eat him, but we can’t.” He shrugged. “Not right now anyway. Maybe later.”

  Alex stared at him. “You do realise that he’s a polar bear, right? You’re not really a match for him if you shift. Hell, I’m not sure even I can take him.”

  Leo grinned at him. “I always liked a challenge.”

  Crazy lion.

  Chapter 8

  Sara sat at the window, gazing outside. She was so bored she could scream. She hadn’t left the house in days, not since she’d bumped into Ryan. The memory caused a little shiver down her spine. She didn’t want to risk that happening again.

  A car pulled up outside. She watched as the door opened and Felix climbed out, giving her a cheery little wave. He walked to the front door and knocked. Sara jumped up to answer the door. She hated to admit it, but she’d missed him during the last few days.

  Opening the door, she stepped back to let him in, but he shook his head.

  “I thought maybe we could go out,” he suggested. “Get some fresh air.”

  She shook her head, casting glances up and down the street.

  “Ryan’s not here,” Felix assured her. “He’s currently sitting in a jail cell. Ethan arrested him for being drunk and disorderly. There’s been a hold up with the paperwork, and he won’t be released until tomorrow morning.”

  A huge weight lifted from her and she took her first deep breath in days. She peered at Felix suspiciously. “Was he actually drunk and disorderly?”

  Felix shrugged. “Don’t ask me, I wasn’t there.” He smiled at her. “So how about that fresh air?”

  Grinning at him, she grabbed her jacket and keys and stepped outside. The day was overcast but not cold. She turned her face up to the sky and breathed in the air. She was free. For today at least, she could relax, safe in the knowledge that Ryan wouldn’t be able to get to her.

  Felix wrapped an arm around her shoulder and steered her to the car. Once inside, he started the car and began to drive.

  “Where are we going?” she asked. Not that it mattered. Anywhere was better than being trapped inside.

  “It’s a surprise,” he said, grinning at her. That adorable goofy grin that melted her inside. It really was impossible to not like Felix.

  “So, indoors or outdoors? Are we going for something to eat? Going to the cinema?” she fired the questions at him.

  He rolled his eyes at her. “You don’t really understand the concept of a surprise, do you?”

  “Nope,” she agreed. “Tell me.”

  “No.”

  She glared at him and he laughed.

  Looking out the window, she watched the streets pass by. It looked like they were headed for… no.

  “Felix?” she asked, her voice shaking.

  “It will be fine,” he said. “I have a plan. You need this, Sara, you know you do.”

  He was taking her to the woods that shifters used to change. It was technically private land owned by the town’s founding family who happened to be bear shifters. It was not available to the public, but there was an unspoken agreement that shifters could come and go as they pleased.

  “I can’t, Felix,” she insisted. “I can’t trust my bear.”

  “Which is why Ethan, Alex, and Leo will be there with tranquilizer guns. Just in case.” He paused and flicked a glance at her before returning his attention to the road. “For the record, I don’t think you’ll need them. You’re stronger than that.”

  She snorted in disbelief. His faith in her was touching, but right now she was more worried about getting him killed. What if her polar bear turned on him? In
side her mind, her polar bear snorted at her. She could sense its impatience to be free, but there was no hostility toward Felix.

  “Felix…”

  “You need to let her out, Sara,” he said. His voice was calm, comforting. “You know that. This is a good chance. Ryan is out of the picture. He can’t get to you and your polar bear can’t get to him. We have people standing by to dart you if it’s needed. This is as safe as it will ever be. Let her out now and it will help your control until we can get this all straightened out.” He sighed. “Trust me, Sara.”

  She bit her lip. Could she trust him? She wanted to, she really did, but her bear was so strong, so unreasonable.

  “I would never allow anything to happen to you, sweetheart.” His voice was warm and soothing, radiating calm and settling her bear.

  She took a deep breath. Nodded. “Okay.”

  “Excellent.”

  Reaching the woods, they left the car and made their way through the trees, Sara following Felix to small clearing. Alex, Ethan, and Leo stood there with the promised tranquilizer guns. Sara felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. Her control was so bad that she had to have people standing by to knock her out. How pathetic was that? All but the youngest children could control themselves better than that.

  Felix took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “Turn your backs,” he said to the guys. Ethan merely lifted an eyebrow.

  She squeezed his hand back. “I am not stripping in front of strange men.”

  “Ethan is the only strange one,” Leo piped up. “Alex and I are fairly normal.”

  “You’ll be fairly normal for dead people, if you watch my mate get undressed,” Felix pointed out, his tone calm and pleasant. “Turn around and I’ll let you know when she’s done.”

  “Turn around,” Alex barked. “She’s practically my sister. Leo, she’s practically your cousin. We won’t even mention what Dana will do to Ethan if he looks at another naked woman.”

  All three men turned, giving her their backs. A little of the tension drained out of her shoulders.