She had to get away from him right now.
She revved the gas and sped off into the night, wondering how she could ever have been so wrong about Riker Brolin.
19
Ana parked outside the cabin, cursing the day she’d met bear shifters.
She didn’t see Rock or Ryland around, so they must have headed off. Good. That’d give her time to pack in peace and call a cab so she could be out of here tomorrow before anyone bothered her.
She opened the cabin door, still cursing under her breath, and stopped abruptly as she realized something was wrong.
Very wrong.
There were men in Riker’s cabin.
Two pairs of eyes met hers from the living room, their gazes quickly moving from shock to annoyance at her being there.
But what were they doing?
She took a step back toward the door she’d come in through, wishing she hadn’t shut it behind her.
“Nothing in the kitchen. Have you guys looked upstairs yet?”
Ana turned at the sound of a voice coming from one of the side rooms on the ground floor.
A moment later, a rangy man she recognized as the wolf from the other day strode in. His jeans were worn and dirty, and his jacket had a tear in the sleeve. But the cruel apathy in his gaze killed any possibility of feeling sorry for him.
“Well, well, well,” Harry said, running a hand through his greasy blond hair. “What do we have here?” He was next to her in a second, scenting her hair.
“Get off of me,” she said, pushing away.
He laughed, letting her back up to the door while he put his hands in his pockets and stared at her with a menacing grin. “But if Riker’s bitch is here, then where is Riker?”
“He’s on his way,” she said, unsure if that was right. She knew that ordinarily he would always be there for her, but she’d taken his bike. Her bike. The bike.
“Shut up,” Harry said, sniffing the air again. “If he was coming with you, he’d be here now. Did something happen?” He took another step forward. “Did he give up on you?”
She shook her head. “It’s none of your business.”
He slammed down a hand on either side of her, caging her against the wall. Menace was practically radiating from him. “Oh, I believe it very much is my business. Thanks to Riker, I couldn’t win the tournament. Thanks to him, I can’t pay some very bad people. So I’m going to get my money from him, one way or another.”
“It’s not here,” she said. If she could just buy them some time by making Harry take her outside…
“Liar,” Harry spat, his eyes bulging. She wasn’t sure if he was on something or he was just usually this intense when angry and robbing people.
“It’s not here, boss,” one of the other guys said, coming forward. She didn’t recognize him, which meant he was probably one of the lower-level fighters. “And if we wait until he gets back, we’re going to get the shit kicked out of us.”
“You will,” Harry said. “Because the Brolins haven’t seen half of what I can do.”
“We need to get out of here,” the other man said. “Before they get back.”
“Not without the money,” Harry hissed. “It has to be here somewhere. Find it.”
The two men looked to each other and then shook their heads. Given their size, they seemed like bear shifters. But they were clearly done taking orders from a wolf, at least where staying here and waiting for the Brolins to show up was concerned.
“Fine,” Harry said, pushing off the door and pacing back and forth in front of it. “We’ll just have to figure out something else. Get one of them to tell us.”
She took advantage of the moment to turn around and try and yank the door open, but Harry was there in a second, his arm tight around her neck, lifting her off the floor so only her toes grazed the ground.
“Let me go,” she choked out. “I don’t have anything to do with this.”
“Or do you?” he asked angrily. He studied her face. “You know, I could sell you. Curvy humans fetch a premium on the market, and with red hair?” He clucked his tongue. “Yeah, I think that’ll do.”
He kept her pinned against him and motioned to his buddies. “I think we’re ready to head out.”
Panic flooded her. The whole world felt like it had stopped turning. “No,” she said. “Just wait for the Brolins. Whatever money you need, they’ll give it to you if you don’t take me.”
“What makes you think that?” Harry asked. “They let you come here alone, unprotected, didn’t they?”
Perhaps Riker didn’t care. Perhaps he wouldn’t show up. Or couldn’t. Perhaps that was why he’d cheated. But no matter what he’d done, and she was still having a hard time believing he’d done that, he would come for her.
She believed that. “I ran away from him. But he’ll be here soon. He’ll give you whatever you want if you let me go.”
“We’ll see,” Harry said, dragging her over to the back door and peeking out. “You know what? No. Fuck Riker Brolin. I’ll get the money on my own by selling you, and the added bonus will be the pain it causes Riker.” He started dragging her out onto the dirt. “Poor little hiker woman got lost in the woods and eaten by bears. No one will ever know what really happened.”
She struggled fruitlessly against his iron grasp just as they heard a rumbling from up the road.
Before they could cross to where the wolf had parked, a giant bear bounded into view, with evil black eyes, gigantic claws, and a growl that promised retribution.
“Get the fuck away from my mate,” the bear growled, walking toward them.
Ana struggled, but Harry ignored her.
Instead, he flicked out a claw and held it to her neck. “Oh yeah, what are you going to do now, you big, bad bear?”
The bear paused, but he seemed to only grow bigger as his whole body tensed with anger.
Please be careful, Ana thought. No matter what had happened, she still cared for him. And it was three on one. He was strong, but this wolf had powers and two bears backing him. Where were Ryland and Rock?
“I told you once. I’m not going to say it again. Get. The fuck. Away. From my mate.”
She felt Harry tense, as if even his cocky, probably drug-addled facade could be phased by the death promised in Riker’s low tone.
“Make me,” he said. “She’ll be dead before you can reach me.”
The bear roared, rising on its back legs and then thundering back onto the ground, shaking the earth around them. “What do you want?”
“Money,” Harry said, moving them closer to the car. “Guys, get in. Be there in a minute.” He grinned. “I’m taking your woman, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Gonna sell her. Think about that.”
The bear’s eyes narrowed.
“Yeah, yeah, get angry,” Harry said, opening the car door and trying to push her into it. “There’s nothing you can do.”
“So you’re afraid,” Riker growled. “That’s right; run away. Typical wolf.”
Harry took a break from trying to shove her into the backseat of the car to snap his head back to look at Riker. “What did you say?”
“You heard me,” Riker said. “Run. Coward.”
Harry shoved Ana in the backseat and slammed the door behind her. She tried to open the door, but Harry was blocking it. He pulled out his keys and locked the doors, ruining any hope of escape. “Come on, boys. Let’s take care of this first. Then we’ll take the bitch and get our money.” The two men got out of the car, joining Harry. “No one calls me a coward.”
Riker’s gaze snapped to hers and then back to his foes. But in that split second, she knew he was promising to protect her. That nothing would happen. And despite all that had gone on between them, she desperately hoped nothing would happen to him.
Harry shifted, looking like a werewolf as his body curved and sprouted fur. He threw back his head in a howl and faced Riker as a gigantic wolf.
One of his allies shifted as well, into a h
uge black bear, charging at Riker, who met him with a fierce swipe of his paw.
At that, Harry leapt opportunistically at Riker, going for his jugular with long white teeth. Immediately, Riker shifted gears, knocking the black bear away from him in time to bring a large paw down toward Harry, who dodged away before leaping in to attack again.
This time, Riker got ahold of Harry, throwing him sidelong into an old shed that exploded into pieces of wood and sheet metal as he connected with it. The third attacker shifted into a giant brown bear, running at Riker, grabbing him from behind as his friend the black bear attacked the front.
Riker reached behind him, caught hold of that opponent with his claws, and threw him forward over his shoulder.
The ground trembled as the large bear bounced over the dirt road and slammed into a tree on the other side.
Then Riker dealt with the black bear in front of him, shoving him back hard and swiping at him with a blow that barely missed. Riker was tiring, probably from the exertion of running all the way here in his bear form and then fighting three guys at once.
The black bear recovered, facing Riker menacingly, just as a gray blur launched into him from the right. One second he was there; the next he was gone.
“You don’t fucking touch my brother,” Rock said, slamming his head into the other bear’s nose, causing blood to spray. He was a huge bear, lighter in color than Riker, with the same menacing air of impending death. “Or his mate, you fucking asswipe.”
He stood, shaking his furry head as the bear beneath him transformed into a bloody, unconscious man.
There was a stir from the shed where Harry had fallen and then a flash of bright gold as a huge wave of light came toward them.
Riker and Rock lifted their arms as if they could shield themselves against it, but both were knocked off their feet.
The wolf walked toward them slowly, evil eyes glowing yellow. He gave her a wicked grin and then sent another wave of energy at the brothers.
Just as a third gigantic bear jumped out of seemingly nowhere to land squarely on top of Harry.
It was Ryland’s bear, obvious from the size and the half-crazy look in his eyes. He looked around frantically, as if wondering where his prey was, and then looked down to see the wolf’s crumpled form beneath him. The disappointment on his face was palpable as he stepped back, poking the wolf with a claw, as if trying to make him get up and fight.
But there was no response. He’d been knocked out, or worse, by the force of Ryland’s bear landing on him.
The bear that was Riker came down on all fours and bounded over to stand between her and Rock’s and Ryland’s bears.
Ryland walked to the right, then the left, pacing angrily as if unsure what to do next.
Rock transformed into a naked human, and she put up a hand to block him from the neck down so she could still watch the scene.
“Ryland, it’s me,” Rock said. “Look, I’ve got my hands up. I’m unarmed. You did great. You helped us save Ana. You can calm down now.”
The bear roared on his back legs and then ran toward the car with a sound like thunder.
Riker’s bear was there in a second, guarding her. He looked at her, checking she was fine, and she could see the relief in his eyes.
Ryland’s bear stopped abruptly and plopped down in an odd sitting position for a bear, with one leg under him and one out to the side. But his eyes were still crazy. “No one attacks us,” the bear growled. “No one hurts us anymore.”
“Right,” Rock said. “That’s right. We’re adults now. Fucking badasses. No one hurts us. We all fight together.”
“Together,” the bear said.
“This is more than we’ve ever gotten out of him like this,” Rock said over his shoulder to Riker and Ana.
“Shut up,” Ryland growled. His eyes closed, and he shrank as he changed back until he was lying on the ground, butt naked and facedown.
She turned away, heart pounding. For better or worse, it was over.
“We’re changing,” she heard Rock say. “We’ll get you out in a second.”
“Thank you,” she said, not sure if they could even hear.
A minute later, the door was ripped off the hinges with a loud creak, and she was hauled into Riker’s arms. His shirt wasn’t even buttoned, but he had pants on, and he gathered her up in his arms and started straight for the cabin.
When they got there, he carried her in and up the stairs and set her down on the bed. He stared at her for a moment, as if memorizing her with his eyes, and then turned and left.
He had still come for her, but things were still all messed up between them.
As much as she liked him, loved him, she couldn’t put herself through that again.
She deserved someone loyal, especially if they wanted her to give up her life for them.
There was a soft knock on the door. “Can I come in?”
She sighed, pushing wet hair behind her ears. “Sure.”
It was Rock. “Riker waited a while and then took off. He said you wouldn’t want him here anyway, and he didn’t want to make things worse. Whatever that means.”
She didn’t say anything, just kept packing.
“What the hell happened between you two?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said. Even if Riker had been a cheater, she didn’t want to ruin his reputation with his brothers by telling them that. It shouldn’t affect how they dealt with him.
“Seriously?” Rock asked. “Yesterday, you two were like peas in a pod.”
“Things haven’t been right the past few days,” she said. “And today, things got broken.”
He sighed. “Don’t you think a little forgiveness is in order? That man just took on two bears and a wolf for you. A wolf with alpha powers.”
“He’s a wonderful man when it comes to protection,” she said. “Unfortunately, he didn’t protect my heart.”
“This is bullshit,” Rock said. “Riker’s a good guy. If something happened to offend you, it wasn’t his fault. Sometimes things just go that way.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “I was planning to leave anyway.”
“You can’t,” Rock said, going pale. His dark hair was tousled from the fight, and he had a smudge of dirt on his cheek. Nevertheless, he came in front of her, taking her by the arms. “You can’t be serious. Not after everything. You’ll destroy him.”
She sighed. “No, I won’t.”
“But you’re his mate,” he said.
Maybe she would have been if things had turned out differently.
“Look,” she said. “I’ve got to go. And I don’t really want to see anyone until that happens. Do cabs come up here?”
Rock nodded blankly. “But wait. At least let one of us take you back. Ryland, since he has to go that way anyway. Then Riker can at least know you got home safely. You owe him at least that much after everything he’s done for you.”
Yes, after everything he’d done to insure her safety, she did owe him that much. “Okay,” she said. “But only if Riker agrees to open the canyon and let me go home. Tonight.”
Rock sighed. “Since the fights are over, I’ll do it myself.”
“Will you have to erase my memory?” she asked, suddenly nervous.
“No,” Rock said, waving a hand. “You’re my brother’s mate, even if you don’t know it yet. You won’t tell anyone about us.”
She nodded. “I won’t.” And she didn’t want to forget Riker. Not even with the bitter ending they’d had.
“Are you even going to say good-bye to him?” Rock asked.
“He left, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then no,” she said. “I’m assuming he’s too offended by my leaving to want to see me. Maybe it’s better this way.” Even if it felt like her heart was tearing in half.
“Will we ever see you again?” Rock asked. “Will you ever come back to the mountain?”
“Who can say?” she asked. She walked to Rock and g
ave him a kiss on the cheek. “Regardless, I’ll miss you all.”
“I just don’t understand this,” Rock said, pulling away from her and striding to the door. “Something is seriously wrong here.” Then he disappeared.
She was sad, but he was right. Something was seriously wrong, and nothing could easily fix it. She finished packing her things and started trying to mentally prepare herself.
After a week in Bear Canyon, she was finally going home.
Too bad her heart didn’t seem to be coming along for the ride.
20
Two weeks later…
Riker nursed his fourth beer of the night and marveled at all the colors the light seemed to take on when one was sufficiently drunk.
And by sufficiently drunk, he meant drunk enough to forget he’d found his mate and lost her just weeks ago. No, he’d never be drunk enough for that.
He slammed his empty beer glass down and glared up at Ros, who looked at him worriedly. “More.”
She sighed. “Riker. I think you’ve had enough.”
“No,” he thundered drunkenly. “More!”
He barely had time to register he’d unfairly yelled at Ros when her father walked out of the back room, grabbed Riker by the scruff, and tossed him out the front door and onto the wet dirt near the street.
Riker landed with a thud and stayed down. It wasn’t too bad down here. Maybe this was where he belonged. In the dirt, covered in mud. Waiting for rain to fall.
“I believe that’s what we call hitting rock bottom,” Rock said, stepping out of the darkness as if he’d appeared out of nowhere.
He had to be hallucinating. His brothers never came to Bear Canyon when the Brawl wasn’t going on.
Hallucination Rock crouched in front of him, lifting his chin out of the mud. “Damn, you’re drunk.”
“You should talk,” Riker slurred, jerking away. “Go away, hallucination. I don’t want to see you right now.”
“Of course you don’t,” Rock said. “Because you’d know I’m here to tell you to go make things right with Ana.”
“No,” Riker said petulantly.
Sheltered by the Bear (Trapped in Bear Canyon Book 1) Page 17
