by Unknown
“Sure thing, boss. Just holler if you need me.” James tipped his hat to them both then followed David outside.
The door shut behind them with a firm click that seemed to echo throughout the house. Caleb and Sonya stared at each other for a long moment. Where to begin? Caleb wondered. How do you even talk about things like this when you’re both basically strangers?
Strangers who had slept with each other, he reminded himself, his gaze tracing the outline of Sonya’s curves. He’d had that beautiful body over and under him the night before, and he wanted more of it.
He scented a spike of arousal in Sonya’s scent and cleared his throat. As much as he wanted to take her again, they had things they needed to talk about first.
“Come sit on the couch with me,” he waved her over to the living room, which was just on the other side of the kitchen. The couch and love seat were made of honey oak, and they settled on the dark green couch cushions on opposite ends so they could face each other. Sonya twirled a strand of hair around her forefinger, her large, dark eyes trained on him.
“Do you have anything you want to ask me?”
Sonya blinked. “Huh?”
“You must be wondering why I’m so interested in your conflict with Damien,” Caleb said. He’d intended to just start bombarding her with questions, but as he’d taken a look at her, he realized it would probably put her at ease if he offered her some information first.
She smiled a little. “You mean it isn’t just because you feel honor-bound to rescue a damsel in distress?”
Caleb shook his head. “No. Not that you aren’t worth it, but if it was just a personal thing like that, I wouldn’t have gotten my bears involved.” He jerked a thumb toward the patio, where James was keeping watch. “Just because these guys will do almost anything I ask doesn’t mean that I go around involving them in personal matters.”
“Why do they feel such loyalty towards you?” Sonya’s brow wrinkled as she glanced out the window to where James was, then back at Caleb again. “I can tell that they look up to you as a leader, but you guys aren’t a clan, so they aren’t bonded to you or anything.”
“They’re loyal because I took them in when they had no place to go.”
“I don’t understand.”
“About five years ago,” Caleb began. “Damien came to our clan and challenged our alpha, Bran, for his title. Bran was getting old, and it was getting close to the time for him to step down. Normally someone from within the clan would have come forward already and challenged him, but we all loved Bran so much that none of us wanted to kill him in battle.”
“So when Damien came in and challenged Bran, everyone resented him?”
“Yes.” Caleb took a heavy breath. “Especially me, because I was slated to be the next alpha.”
“You were?”
“You don’t need to sound so surprised,” Caleb said dryly. “A group of bears came up to me and told me they liked me for the position, and Bran agreed. Bran had already started grooming me for the role when Damien showed up and killed him.”
“I’m so sorry.” Sonya’s eyes shimmered with sadness. “Damien can be such a ruthless bastard.”
“He’s pretty cold,” Caleb agreed. “He had the nerve to force me to show him the ropes. Teach him everyone’s names, the current hierarchy, how things were done. And then he ripped it all apart, stripped all the ranking clan members of their titles, and gave them to his own rogue bears that he brought in with him.” His voice deepened to a growl.
“That’s awful,” Sonya whispered. “I’m surprised you let him boss you around like that.”
“What choice did I have?” Caleb snapped. “I wasn’t strong enough to challenge him at the time, and I didn’t want to die and leave my clan without a voice of reason. When he first started, he was quick to kill anyone who defied him or even spoke out of turn.”
There was a long, painful silence as those words hung in the air. “I’m sorry,” Sonya finally said, reaching across to take his hand. “I didn’t mean to sound judgmental.”
“It’s alright.” Caleb looked down at her small, slender fingers wrapped around his large hand. She was so delicate compared to him, and yet he remembered seeing her try to fend off those Blackwater bears in the convenience store; she was a hellcat when she wanted to be. “I know you didn’t mean it that way.”
Sonya rubbed the pad of her thumb gently along the back of Caleb’s hand. “So how did you end up getting kicked out?”
Caleb shook his head a little to focus; her touch was sending tingles up his arm that he found much more pleasurable than their current topic of conversation. “I was thwarting him in little ways. Changing his orders slightly where I could to make them a little less insane, taking the burden off bears he’d punished by helping them. He knew he couldn’t kill me without inciting a revolt, and he also knew that he’d been killing too many as it was, so he had me banished.”
“That must have been terrible.”
“It was terrible.” Caleb ran his free hand through his inky locks, resisting the urge to yank on them. “I’d been part of the clan my entire life. Finding myself out in the cold, without my support system or access to the bond…it was the most harrowing experience of my life. But it was also liberating in its own way.”
“Liberating?”
“For the first time in my life, I didn’t have to answer to anyone.” Caleb’s voice sounded far off now, even to himself. “Even before being nominated for alpha, I always felt a sense of duty and obligation to my clan. Damien freed me of that when he kicked me out, and I decided to take advantage and traveled, both cross country and overseas.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Sonya said, a wistful sigh in her voice.
“It was.”
“Why on earth did you decide to come back here, then?”
Caleb chuckled. “As much fun as I was having sightseeing, I couldn’t completely erase the hole in my heart where my clan had been. I knew that things could have only gotten worse since Damien had kicked me out, and that likely other members of my clan had met the same fate. I decided to come back, at least long enough to see what was going on.”
Caleb was going to say more, but the door opened and David came through it, bags of food and supplies in both hands. “Special delivery!” he announced.
Sonya and Caleb shared a grin. “Guess it’s time to eat,” he said.
Chapter Ten
“So you’re not from the Blackwater clan?” Sonya asked James as they sat around the table, digging into slices of ham and mounds of corn, mashed potatoes, and other sides David had brought back from the store. Caleb had decided to continue the story once they were all settled in since David and James were both a part of it.
David snorted, a forkful of green beans halfway to his mouth. “This cowboy? Hell no. He migrated over here from Texas.”
“Was seeking cooler pastures,” James said, then took a moment to swallow a bite of mashed potatoes. “I love Texas, but I’d been there over a hundred years and figured it was time for a change.”
“Do you miss your clan?” Sonya wanted to know. She couldn’t imagine up and leaving her clan after being there for over a hundred years, at least not by choice.
James shook his head. “No clan to miss. I was a loner.”
“A regular lone ranger, our James.” Caleb chuckled, scooping up a bite of salad. “The only reason we managed to convince him to stay with us was because he was so interested in learning how to be a firefighter.”
“Always did look like fun, gearing up and running into burning buildings.” James shrugged. “Turns out, I’m a natural.”
“One of the best,” David agreed. “Even though he’s a pain in the ass. Ow!” He glared at James, who was busily forking up a piece of ham. “What are you, trying to play footsie or something?”
“In your dreams.”
The subject was dropped, and the four of them continued with lighthearted banter through the rest of dinner. Everyone pitche
d in to clean up, and soon they were all lying around in the living room, fat and happy and satisfied.
“Well, guess I’d better get out there and keep watch,” David said, hefting himself up with a grunt. “You’ll keep an eye on things in here, James?”
“You betcha.” James tipped his hat, a gesture Sonya was beginning to recognize as a signature of his. “Don’t fall asleep out there, Rip Van Winkle.”
“Asshole.” David flipped him off and left.
“You guys are too much.” Caleb rolled his eyes. “Sonya and I are going upstairs to finish our conversation. Let me know if you see anything suspicious.”
“Will do, boss.”
Sonya followed Caleb up the stairs. He opened the door to the master bedroom and stood back to let her enter first. Her eyes swept over the king-sized bed with its mahogany bedframe, the matching bedside tables and dresser, the dark red and blue paisley carpet, and the small fireplace adjacent to the bathroom. Not seeing anything lurking in the dark corners, she hopped up onto the coverlet and waited for him to join her.
“I still don’t understand why you don’t declare yourselves a clan,” Sonya said as Caleb settled himself on the bed, his body perpendicular to hers.
“The main reason is because our numbers aren’t large enough yet,” Caleb explained. He pulled one of her legs into his lap and started rubbing her foot. “If we made a play like that, Damien would crush us like an ant under his boot. We’d be the shortest-lived clan in history.”
“Jesus.” Sonya leaned back with a little groan, fully enjoying the impromptu foot rub. “And I thought I’d been screwed by Damien.”
“So what exactly happened between the two of you, anyway?” Caleb started digging his fingers into her arch, sending delicious shivers up her spine.
“Well, it really didn’t have anything to do with me,” Sonya admitted. “It’s kind of more like a Rumpelstiltskin story.”
“Damien taught your mother how to spin gold?” Caleb raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know about that, but he certainly gave her some.” Sonya sighed. “I was maybe four years old when Damien swooped in like a knight in shining armor to rescue my parents from a financial catastrophe. My father was doing business with humans and had gotten into bed with the wrong people. We didn’t belong to a clan and so we didn’t have clan protection. Damien was the person to call under these types of circumstances, so my parents struck a deal with him.”
“They sold you to him?” Caleb’s eyes darkened with fury. “Their own daughter?”
Sonya’s eyes filled with tears. “They didn’t have a choice.” She wiped at the corners of her eyes. “They hid it from me until I was sixteen and finally starting to hit puberty.” Were-bears took longer to start developing and weren’t considered full adults until their twenty-fifth birthday. “I’d just been developing a real interest in boys, and my dreams of finding my Prince Charming were crushed.”
She paused, waiting to see if Caleb would say anything, but he only switched feet, continuing his massage as he watched her silently. “My parents started grooming me for the role immediately afterward, teaching me what to say, how to speak, the duties that would be required of me as the wife of an alpha.”
“An alpha?” Caleb asked sharply. “But Damien didn’t have control of the clan yet.”
“He must have already been planning to challenge Bran.” Sonya tightened her fists. “Damien is nothing if not a strategist.”
“So his whole plan was to snatch up my clan, then put you on a pedestal next to him like some prize?” The fire went out of Caleb as he looked at Sonya, his eyes full of sadness. “You deserve so much better than that, you know.”
Something inside Sonya melted at those words. She sat up and scooted into Caleb’s lap. “You’re the first man to ever say things like this to me.” She pressed her hand against Caleb’s cheek, teasing her palm with his stubble. “I don’t know what to say to you.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” he whispered. “Just kiss me.”
She did, and it was nothing like their first kiss, slow and soft and teasing. This was a firestorm, full of heat and passion, her blood roaring in her ears like a rush of flames devouring a forest. Caleb crushed her against his chest, as if he were trying to fuse their bodies together, and she squirmed in his lap, trying to get closer and failing due to the cloth barriers between them.
“Take off your clothes,” she panted.
He chuckled. “Someone’s feeling feisty.” He pulled his shirt off over his head, and Sonya was on him again before he could reach for his belt buckle, running her hands down his chest and following close behind with her lips and tongue. He leaned back against the pillows with a hiss as she tongued his nipples, his hands tightening around her shoulders. She trailed her mouth down over his abs, dragging her tongue between the grooves of the muscles, causing them to jump.
“Mmm, you taste good.” Sonya lifted her head, her mouth hovering over his navel. She undid his belt buckle then dragged his pants and boxers down his hips. His cock sprang free, and she licked her lips at the sight of moisture already beading at the tip. “So good.”
“Jesus,” Caleb groaned as Sonya took him into her mouth. She cupped his balls in one hand, gently massaging as she sucked his cock. The sounds he made as she pleasured him were a huge turn-on; she could feel her panties already getting soaked. “Oh, that’s good.” He fisted his hand in her red curls, thrusting himself more firmly into her mouth, and she took it, took all of him, all that he had to give.
“Stop,” he gasped, pulling her away. “You have to stop or I’m going to come.”
“I want you to come.” Sonya gently removed his fingers from her hair then stroked a hand down the length of his shaft. “You’ve done so much for me. Let me do this for you.” She took him into her mouth again before he could protest, sucking hard.
His cock pulsed violently in her mouth, and then he came with a groan, spilling his hot seed onto her tongue. She swallowed it all, stroking his balls gently as he shuddered beneath her.
When he was done, he pulled her up against him. “That was amazing,” he breathed, burying his nose in her hair. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “No, thank you.”
He ran his fingers through her hair, sending tingles through her scalp. “I don’t want to let you go,” he murmured.
Sonya stiffened. “We don’t really have a choice. I don’t even know what the point of coming here is, anyway. If I don’t turn myself in to Damien in two days’ time, he’s going to kill my parents.” She started to pull away, but Caleb only tightened his hold.
“Please don’t,” he said. “I haven’t figured out how we’re getting out of this, but I promise I will.”
“You can’t promise me that.” Tears started gathering in her eyes, forming a lump in her throat.
“Even if I can’t,” he said, “at least let me hold you for tonight. We both deserve that.”
Sonya paused, letting those words sink in. Caleb’s words made a lot of sense. She was already here with him, so what more harm could she do by allowing herself this moment? He made her feel safe, warm, and cared for, and even if it was all an illusion, she hadn’t felt that way in such a long time that she was grateful to him for giving it to her.
“Alright,” she whispered, snuggling against him.
She was just dropping off to sleep when she heard the crunch of car tires on gravel. At first she thought nothing of it, the sound being familiar to her. But then she realized that they were in the middle of nowhere, and the only thing that could be making that sound was another car.
“Caleb,” she said, sitting up. “Were we expecting anyone else from your firehouse?”
“No.” Caleb bolted upright as James started yelling. “Stay here,” he ordered, buttoning up his pants. “Lock the door behind me.”
“Like hell,” she muttered, jumping off the bed to fly down the stairs behind him. If Damien was coming for her now, she wanted to be there
to face him, right in the middle of the action.
Chapter Eleven
Caleb rushed down the stairs to find the living room empty and arguing voices outside. “I know she’s in there!” Damien snarled. “Bring her out right now, or I’ll torch this whole fucking place!”
The footsteps behind him told Caleb that Sonya hadn’t listened to him, and he cursed under his breath. There was no time to make her go back upstairs, though, so he shot her a warning glare before yanking the front door open.
Damien’s eyes widened as he caught sight of Caleb. He was flanked by two of his goons—Jack and Gordon, if he remembered their names—big, hulking brutes with tiny eyes and mean faces. David and James were blocking them from entering the door, and it looked like some blows had already been traded—Jack was sporting a bleeding lip, and David had a bruise beneath his left eye.
“You bastard.” Damien took a step toward Caleb, baring his teeth. He was built like a Viking, tall and broad and golden-haired, except that instead of a helm and armor, he wore an expensive leather jacket, v-cut t-shirt, and designer jeans. “It wasn’t enough for you to try and fuck up my clan, you go and try to steal my were-bear, too? Banishment was too kind a punishment. I should have gutted you and dragged you through the streets of my town like the trash you are.”
“It’s not my fault you’re so fucking ugly,” Caleb said. “If I were her, I’d run away, too.”
“How dare you speak to Damien that way?” Jack stepped forward, a murderous gleam in his eyes. “Someone ought to have beaten the impudence out of you a long time ago, boy.”
“That someone sure as hell isn’t going to be you.” Caleb laughed, giving Jack a ‘come-hither’ gesture. “Bring it, dirt-bag.”
“Stop it!” Sonya stepped out onto the porch, and everyone froze. “Why do you have to hurt people in order to get what you want? I don’t understand why you can’t just allow everyone to be happy.”
