by Dez Burke
Rage boiled just under the surface of his skin, and he felt a prickling sensation as fur threatened to sprout from his pores and his bones began to creak and groan. He couldn’t let his bear loose! Not here, right now, like this! He got up and crossed the room, turning his back on Nina and willing his body to remain under his human control.
When he turned back around, he saw fear behind the tears that had pooled in her large brown eyes. But she hadn’t run screaming, which he took to be a good sign. He chose his words carefully.
“I woke up before dawn that day and went for a bike ride. When I got back, I found them...all of them...dead. The only member of my family who wasn’t already gone was my grandfather. He told me what had happened and gave me this before he passed away.” He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out the scrap of fabric that held his mate’s scent. Nina took it from him, and he watched as surprised recognition washed over her face.
“This looks like part of a scarf my nana gave me that I lost at work. Where did you get this?” she demanded.
“I told you, my grandfather gave it to me before he died. The Hunters took the scarf from him, but he managed to hold on to this small piece. He told me you were in danger and that I needed to find you before the Hunters did.”
“This isn’t making any sense! Why did your grandfather have my scarf, and why would the hunters that killed your family be looking for me?”
Alex hesitated. “Because I’m the Alpha and you’re my mate.”
Nina laughed, nearly hysterical. “What in the hell are you talking about? Your fever must be back, Alex, because you’re not making a lick of sense.”
“You are my mate, Nina. The moment I laid eyes on you, I could feel it clear through to my soul. You can feel it too, can’t you?”
Chapter 9
You can feel it too, can’t you?
No. What Nina felt was confused. Did Alex really just refer to himself as some sort of dominate alpha male? “Your mate...can’t say I’ve really heard that term before. Not outside the animal kingdom, anyway. Is that like some sort of arranged marriage thing where you come from?”
“I suppose, in a way.” Alex responded with enough sincerity to make her wonder if he had lost his mind. Did he really believe all of this nonsense? “But it’s so much more than that,” he continued. “Being together is our destiny. Our fate.”
“So what happens next? Do we run off to the Justice of the Peace and get married?” she nervously joked.
“There’s no need for that kind of formality,” Alex stated without humor. “To claim you as my mate, I simply need to state my intention and mark your skin. You must agree to our mating, of course, and we must consummate our commitment by having sex.”
Nina was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen. Not now. Why couldn’t she have met a nice, normal guy? Someone who would forget her birthday and leave his dirty clothes on the floor for her to pick up. Someone she could take home to her parents during the holidays.
“Maybe that’s enough of a commitment for the women you grew up with,” she responded. “But I’m more interested in marriage than mating. In fact, when I finally meet the man of my dreams, I want an actual wedding, with an occasional ‘I love you’, a proposal on bended knee, and a big fat diamond ring. Definitely a ring.”
“I’ll buy you a ring if that’s what it takes to convince you that you’re my mate.” He closed the gap between them and reached for her hand. She almost expected him to drop down on one knee. Instead, he pulled her close and pressed her palm against the hardness at his groin. “I want you, Nina,” he whispered, touching his lips softly to hers. “I need you.”
She gasped when he jerked her curvy body against his hard frame, crushing her full breasts to his chest. This time when their lips met, there was nothing soft about it. He threaded his fingers through her hair to anchor her mouth firmly against his, devouring her lips with a passion she had never before experienced.
His tongue slipped between her lips, probing, searching, tasting. Her hands wrapped around his waist and she clung to him, her shaking legs threatening to collapse beneath her. He growled, a low guttural sound that both scared and excited her.
Releasing her hair, he let his hands roam freely down her body, teasing and taunting her fully-clothed curves until she was aching to feel his bare hands on her naked flesh. She whimpered when he wedged his hand between her hot thighs, stroking her need through the cotton fabric of her pants.
She let her hands slide underneath his t-shirt, exploring the chiseled ridges of muscle and bone that she had previously explored with only her eyes.
Still he kissed her.
His lips – hot, wet, and possessive – stole her breath and clouded her thoughts, making her forget everything except the way he made her feel in this very moment. Beautiful, desirable, sexy.
“Mate!” he roared against her mouth, a single word that brought Nina crashing back to reality. She pushed her hands against his bare chest, breaking their kiss and separating their bodies.
I want you, Nina.
Dear God, she wanted him, too, desperately...despite the crazy tale he was telling her. But her logical side wasn’t buying what Alex was selling, even if her body hadn’t quite come to terms with that. As she pulled completely away from his grasp, the tears she had been blinking back spilled down her flushed cheeks.
She had so many unanswered questions, but it was clear that she wasn’t going to get any straight answers out of Alex. And if she wasn’t careful, she was going to end up in bed with him and then he would own even more of her heart. Better to cut her losses and move on.
“I can’t do this, Alex,” she cried. “I don’t think there are any hunters, and I don’t think you burned down a village in the county. What I do think is that you’re some sort of stalker who snatched my scarf from my desk while I was at lunch one day and concocted this ridiculous story to try and get me into bed.”
“You’re wrong, Nina,” he said with a low, lust-filled voice. The molten heat from his body reached through the air like static electricity, trying to draw her back into his arms.
She resisted the urge to submit to temptation, wiping at the tears that just kept coming. “I’m going to go upstairs and lie down now. I do believe that you were shot and that you’re in some sort of danger; that part of your story rings true enough. So for safety’s sake, you can stay until dark. But once the sun goes down, I want you gone. Go find some other pathetic, lonely woman to be your mate, Alex, because whatever might have been between us, it’s over!”
“Nina, wait. You don’t understand.” He reached for her again but she eluded his grasp, putting up her hand to stop him from coming toward her any further.
“You know, Alex, if you weren’t going to be honest with me, you should have come up with a less outlandish lie. I might have believed you if you told me you were shot by a rival motorcycle gang during a turf war or by the husband of the last woman you tried to mate with. Good-bye, Alex. Have a nice life.”
With that, she turned away from him and slowly walked up the stairs.
~~~
Alex growled in frustration and slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a large gaping hole in the drywall that mirrored the one that the Hunters had torn through his side. He was frustrated by his unfulfilled sexual needs. He was frustrated with Nina for not believing in him. And he was frustrated with himself for thinking she would be as easy to win over as a common bar hookup.
He was the Alpha, dammit, and Nina was his mate, whether she was ready to believe that or not! He had half a mind to rumble up the stairs, break down her bedroom door, and take what was rightfully his.
Except the honorable thing to do was heed the Elder’s advice and give her space. Besides, he wanted Nina just as hot and willing as he was. He wanted her panting with desire and begging him to take her...begging him to claim her. That wouldn’t happen if he took her by force.
A bear will catch more bees with honey...
&nbs
p; If he had to retreat, screw danger and waiting for the sun to go down. He needed to jump on his bike, open up the throttle, and ride like the wind. He needed to feel the powerful hum of the engine between his knees, which always made him feel alive, energized, invincible.
Grabbing a piece of blank paper from Nina’s desk in the corner of the living room, he scribbled a note to her and left it where he was sure she would find it: under the plastic bag on the kitchen counter that held the leftover cornbread muffins. “How’s this for a little honey,” he muttered to himself.
With one final look around, he headed for the garage, letting the door slam shut behind him.
~~~
In her bedroom, Nina heard the rumble of Alex’s motorcycle and listened as he rode away, the sound becoming fainter and fainter until there was nothing left but the normal noises of urban townhouse life on a late Saturday afternoon.
Pulling the covers up to her chin, she curled into a fetal position and sobbed like a baby. She didn’t think he would actually leave, even though she had told him to. In her mind, she imagined him following her up the stairs and asking for another chance to tell her what really happened. Begging her for a chance to start over and put all this hunter and mating nonsense behind them.
She knew it was silly to be so emotionally invested in a guy she hadn’t even known for a full day. She didn’t even know his last name! But from the moment she saw Alex pinned under his bike in her driveway, she had felt a connection with him that she had never felt with any other man before, including Bruce.
If she were the kind of woman to believe in such things, she might have called it love at first sight. When he kissed her, she had melted into his arms. Then his hands were everywhere, setting her entire body on fire, igniting a sense of longing inside her that she never knew existed. Why did he have to blow it just as things were heating up?
Alex was different from other guys; he was the type of man she could easily fall in love with. At least she thought he was. Or maybe she just wished he was different. But in the end, he had proved that he was nothing more than a liar and a thief. In addition to weaving a tall tale, Alex stole a piece of Nina’s heart...and she wasn’t sure she could survive without it.
~~~
Alex rode faster than he should have on the curving mountain road, twisting and turning as the elevation rose higher and higher. Even with his heightened animal senses, he almost lost control of his bike a time or two. But even that didn’t slow him down. In fact, the exhilarating rush of adrenalin spurred him to open the throttle just a bit more.
He had to get away from the city, away from Nina, and even further away from the burned out village he used to call home. Without thinking, he had ridden south toward the snow-capped peaks of Mount Rainier. At this time of year, the roads were clear but the cool temperature would keep most of the humans away.
Eventually, he pulled back on the throttle and steered his bike off the paved road and onto one of his favorite hiking trails, a weaving, well-worn path that continued to climb up the mountainside. When he reached the snowline, he killed the engine of his bike, took off his helmet, and stretched his legs.
The smells of spring assaulted his senses. He heard the trickling sounds of a nearby stream, which was surely filled to overflowing by the melting snowpack. His bear rumbled in delight as he stripped off his leathers and boots, and then his clothes. He was going fishing.
After shifting into the animal he was born to be, Alex lumbered into the nearly-dark woods and toward the bubbling water. He stopped periodically to nibble and taste the lush foliage of the forest, tasty appetizers before the main course. When he reached the stream, which flowed with the force of a small river, he forged ahead, splashing with abandon in the icy water and plucking out fish before popping them into his mouth.
When his enormous belly was full, he pulled himself up on the bank and headed back into the trees to find a comfortable place to sleep for the night.
Chapter 10
Nina woke up on Sunday morning, stiff and sore from sleeping in a fetal position, her eyes nearly swollen shut from crying. After taking a long hot shower, she felt somewhat refreshed, but she couldn’t quite shake the sense of sadness that had plagued her ever since Alex had left.
Although she was used to being alone, she had never felt more alone in her life. She couldn’t lean on her best friend for support because Liz would want details that Nina couldn’t share. She couldn’t call her mom for a pep talk, either, because she promised not to bother her unless it was an emergency. Her melancholy mood wasn’t exactly a crisis, and calling her mom would just put a damper on her parents’ trip of a lifetime.
Right now, the only thing talking to her was her stomach. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast the day before, which seemed like forever, and her stomach was scolding her for making it stay empty for so long. Coffee and leftover cornbread muffins weren’t as delicious as having a naked man in her bed, but they would satisfy her stomach’s hunger.
Downstairs, as she filled the coffee pot with water, her eyes landed on the colorful fabric of Alex’s still-damp shirt that was bunched up on the counter next to the sink. A sense of regret washed over her, just like the water that washed over the rim of the over-full coffee pot. Maybe it had been a mistake to send him away like that. But what was done was done.
While the coffee brewed, she decided to reheat the muffins. That was when she noticed the folded piece of paper under the Ziploc bag. With trembling hands, she picked it up, knowing in her heart that it was from Alex. Tears stung her eyes as she read his words on the page.
—
Dear Nina,
Thank you for...everything. I’ll never forget your warm smile, hot lips, soft curves, and what might have been. I swear to you on my grandfather’s fiery grave that nothing I told you was a lie, but I do understand that, sometimes, the truth is too painful to believe. Please know that I never meant to hurt you.
Faithfully Yours,
Alex Andreas
—
A single tear fell on the note, smudging the ink on the paper.
Oh, he was good.
Nina blinked back the rest of her tears as she shoved a plate of muffins in the microwave. Well, at least she knew his last name now.
Andreas. Alex Andreas. Nina Andreas. She had to admit that that had a much more exotic ring to it than Nina Parks.
“Ohhhh!” she yelled at herself for letting him get to her so easily and for falling into his well-played trap. Crumpling up the note, she threw it in the trash.
Enough with the tears already! It seemed like she had cried more over Alex than she did when Bruce had left her for Hannah, which was ridiculous. Well, she was done with all that. Taking her plate of muffins and a cup of coffee to the table, she sat down to eat breakfast.
Reaching for the honey that was still on the table from the previous day, she hesitated. Instead of wrapping around the jar, her fingertips drifted up to her lips as her memory flashed back 24 hours earlier, to the crumbling, sticky sweetness that was left after Alex had fed her a bite of muffin dripping with nectar.
Honey no longer had the appeal it once did. So she ate her cornbread muffins dry and finished her coffee while doing her best to put Alex out of her mind. Tomorrow, she would have work as a distraction. Today, she would fill the rest of her waking hours with housework, grocery shopping, and more packing. Grabbing Alex’s wadded-up shirt from the counter, she headed upstairs to get the laundry going.
~~~
Nina crawled into bed Sunday night physically exhausted but not quite ready to sleep. It had been a busy day. She had cleaned the townhouse from top to bottom, ran a few errands, packed up half the kitchen, and did more loads of laundry than she wanted to count.
After pointing the remote at her bedroom TV and turning on the ten o’clock news, she slipped her hands under the covers and rubbed them over the soft flannel that caressed her curves, wishing it was Alex’s body instead of his shirt that skimmed over her flesh.
>
She wasn’t sure what had prompted her to sleep in his freshly-laundered shirt instead of her pajamas. After it was washed and dried, she had meant to put it in the donation pile, along with the few items of clothing that Bruce had left behind when he moved out. But when it came time to do that, she just...couldn’t. Against her better judgment, she decided to keep it, just like someone might keep a cherished memento from a past lover.
Grabbing the pillow that Alex had used when he had slept in her bed, she pulled it toward her chest and inhaled deeply, her body responding to the faint scent that was uniquely his. She ached for what might have been, for what almost was, for what could never be.
Not wanting to cry herself to sleep again, she put the pillow aside and turned her attention to the TV. A reporter was live on the scene of a suspected arson, summarizing the day-long investigation and explaining that, so far, the police and fire department had little to go on.
Nina’s stomach flipped and flopped as she turned the volume up.
—
“...Investigators say that a dozen or more homes were burned to the ground and the badly charred remains of countless victims were recovered from the scene. So far, there are no leads on who, or what, may have started this horrific blaze.”
The TV screen cut back to the weekend anchor, Paulette Samson, who had a very concerned look on her face. “Chet, have the authorities identified the owners of the property, which might provide vital clues to this tragic mystery?”
A split screen displayed on the TV to more readily show the conversation between the anchor and the field reporter.
“Yes and no, Paulette. All they know at this point is that the large parcel of land is registered to an off-shore corporation and none of the nearby neighbors were familiar with the residents living there. So it will take some time to figure out who was actually in the homes that were basically burned to ash. This is Chester Case, reporting live from Snohomish County.”
