by Ruby Shae
He was surprised to find no one smelled like bear, and from their reactions, he got the feeling the locals in Deals Gap had never seen a bear shifter before. Luckily, aside from the obvious sniffing, everyone he’d encountered seemed friendly and left him alone.
He paid for his lunch and walked back out to the street.
Another block down the road, he spotted a trendy coffee shop. Unlike the diner, the place was packed, and patrons moved in and out of the building frequently. The line was out the door, and he checked his watch to verify the time. It was nearly five in the evening on a Friday night, and he wondered if the place held its popularity in the middle of the week.
When he was finally able to step through the door, the multitude of different shifter smells threatened to overwhelm him. He took a deep breath to counter the assault, but one smell stood out from the rest.
Warm sweet apples and honey.
Mate!
His bear roared to the surface and nudged him to seek out the scent and claim his mate, but he didn’t need to. She walked right toward him.
When he’d walked into the shop, the entire room let out a collective gasp, and then the din had quieted to nothing. He wouldn’t have needed his acute shifter senses to hear the tiniest peep, but no one made a sound. For a few seconds, all eyes were on him, but he didn’t care. He only had eyes for his mate.
Mere seconds passed before everyone returned to their business and the noise level escalated to what it had been before he’d walked in, but when she stood in front of him, he felt as if time stopped.
She was about eight inches shorter than his six-foot-three-inch frame, and her layered, dark brown hair rested on her shoulders. Her eyes were hazel, and when she looked up at him, he saw a combination of light green and gold.
She wasn’t a bear, but he didn’t care. He scented equal parts wolf and human, and he couldn’t wait to see her animal form. Her soft, curvy body was the exact opposite of his hard, muscular one, and his dick hardened when he thought about pulling her against him. He smelled her arousal a second before she bit her lower lip, and his cock swelled to the point of pain and throbbed behind the barrier of his jeans.
What the hell?
He’d heard finding his mate would change his life forever, but the primal, possessive, animalistic thoughts running though his mind surprised him. The urge to rip off her clothes and take her on the floor of the shop with everyone watching rode him hard. He might be new in town, but he wanted everyone to know who she belonged to.
Unfortunately, his mate had other ideas.
The curvy beauty hurried past him and raced out the door. He followed her outside and let out a low, angry growl as she hurried down the sidewalk. Her dismissal felt like a kick in the chest, and he didn’t understand her reaction.
It had been easy to ignore the way everyone quieted when he walked into a room, but he thought it was because they’d never seen a bear before. Was there more to it? Did his mate dislike him simply because he was a bear?
He wanted answers.
His long legs ate up the sidewalk faster than her shorter ones, but she’d managed to evade him for an entire block. When he finally caught up to her, she ducked into another store. Sweet Retreat was written on the window, and the smells coming out of the building were amazing.
He followed the woman inside. The smell of sweet donuts, cookies and cakes filled the air, but none of them could mask the scent of his mate. She’d run up to the counter and turned to face him when the bell on the door signaled his entrance.
Again, everyone in the place stopped and stared, but the two heavily muscled wolf hybrids blocking his way kept his attention. One had olive skin and long dark hair, and the other had short hair with skin naturally tanned by the sun. They both easily matched him in stature, but their frowns indicated they wanted blood.
He wasn’t looking for a fight.
He glanced past the men and sought out his woman. A pale skinned cougar female with almost white, blond hair now stood in front of her, acting as a shield. He’d only wanted to talk to his mate, but they all thought he’d meant harm her. Worse was the fact that she didn’t correct them.
“You’re a bear,” the olive skinned one said, breaking the silence. He still stood ready to attack, but his features had softened slightly and his voice held a note of awe.
“What are you doing here?” the other man asked. “Do you know Calder?”
Jase glanced at the other man, and noted he, too, had minutely relaxed.
“No, I don’t know him,” Jase said, looking past them again, searching for his mate.
She still stood behind the white cougar, hiding, and an invisible band around his heart tightened as pain erupted from the back of his head. Phantom pains or not, they were a reminder that his instincts couldn’t be trusted. If they were truly mates, she wouldn’t be running scared, hiding behind her pack mates.
He rubbed the back of his head, and sucked in another deep breath. Once again, the scent of warm sweet apples and honey assaulted him, but he pushed it aside and focused on the other smells drifting around the room.
“Again, what are you doing here?” the tanned man asked.
“And why are you chasing down our women?” the olive skinned one barked.
“I’m not chasing down women,” he said, holding his hands up as if in surrender. “I’m staying at the hotel a few nights, just passing through, and I thought I knew her. I was clearly mistaken. It won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t,” the olive skinned one said.
“I’m sorry,” he called to the woman. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The worried look on her face was a combination of sympathy and pity, and it resembled the looks of his teammates after the accident. A mate would never look at him like that, and the realization confirmed his mistake.
He turned and walked out of the shop without looking back.
Both he and his bear were useless, and it seemed nothing was off-limits.
Defeated, he went back to the hotel and crashed on the bed.
***
Violet didn’t understand her feelings. One minute she was running scared, and the next she wanted to wrap her arms around the big bear and offer him comfort. She’d never forget the look in his face when he turned and left the bakery.
Had she misunderstood his pursuit? Had he really mistaken her for someone else? She didn’t think it was possible, especially since she didn’t look like any other shifters, but he’d seemed so sincere.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Minutes before, she’d raced into Sweet Retreat, dashed past the table of shifters she knew would protect her, and stopped at the counter behind them. She’d been intent on seeking refuge from the stranger stalking her, but now she felt like an idiot.
Had she overreacted?
Her face heated as she realized she hadn’t even given him a chance to say one word. What if he was a friend of her brother’s? Or what if he really had mistaken her for someone else?
What if he liked you?
She shook her head the minute the thought surfaced. A bunched up brow didn’t mean like in any species. Whatever his reasons, she doubted she’d ever see him again. If she did, she had a feeling he’d stay away from her.
For some reason the thought bothered her more than it should.
“Are you okay, Vi?” Sienna asked from behind the counter.
“What happened?” asked Niki, turning to face her.
“What did he do?” Gage asked.
“Why were you running?” Dean chimed in.
They fired the questions at her one after the other, and the temperature in the room seemed to skyrocket. A layer of sweat dotted her forehead as several others shifters looked on, waiting for her response.
Only a few shifters knew about the senses she lacked, and even though she knew Gage, Dean and their mates could be trusted, she didn’t feel like revealing her faults to everyone in the shop.
“I’m
okay,” she finally said. “The only thing he did was follow me down the street, and I’m fine. It’s been a long day, and I misread him. I’m sorry.”
Niki narrowed her eyes at her.
“You ran in here in a state of panic because he followed you?” she asked, incredulous. “That’s it?”
“Niki,” Dean warned.
“Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?” the blond asked.
“I…”
What could she say? Yes, she did think it was extreme, especially after watching him leave, but she was defective. A freak in a town of badass shifters. Aside from a few trusted friends and leaders, she had no idea who was a threat and who wasn’t.
“Niki,” Dean called her name again. “Let it go.”
“In a minute, I just want to—”
Dean picked up Niki and started walking toward the restroom.
“Watch the baby,” he called over his shoulder.
“Dean, I—” Niki’s voice was cut off as Dean closed the bathroom door.
“She’s been cooped up a lot these past few months,” Gage said. “Don’t take it personally.”
Violet nodded and looked at baby Anya sleeping in her carrier. She imagined motherhood was a lot different than working as an assassin. Though her brother was trained to kill, he wasn’t a specially created breed like Niki. The woman’s life had been completely flipped upside down, and that was enough to make anyone angry.
As if on cue, Niki’s erotic cries from the bathroom filled the room, and several shifters stood up and ran out of the shop. Gage growled behind her, but Sienna, his mate, stayed behind the counter.
“Would you like a donut to go, Vi?” Sienna asked.
She hadn’t needed the woman’s not so subtle hint, but she appreciated her kindness. Even though she didn’t have the senses the other shifters had, she knew when she’d out stayed her welcome.
“No thanks,” she said, heading toward the door. “See you all later, and thanks again for the help.”
She heard the lock on the door click into place behind her, and she turned in time to see Gage stalking his mate. The woman had already jumped on the counter with her back to the window, and Violet saw her short denim skirt bunched up around her ass.
Her cheeks heated at the raw magnetism between the mated pair, and she turned away and hurried home. She longed to find someone to look at her the way Gage and Dean looked at their mates, but she knew better than to hope for something impossible. No alpha male, whether wolf, cougar or bear, wanted a freak for a mate.
Bear?
She shook her head. Whatever the bear had wanted, it hadn’t been her. As the incident played over and over in her mind, her embarrassment grew. Sure, his frown and deep growl had been upsetting, more so because she’d been imagining him naked, but what would he have done if she’d confronted him?
Every shifter in the coffee shop had probably smelled her arousal, and there was no way to hide the fact that she had more curves than anyone in town. Fat and ugly were terms she was familiar with, and if he chastised her for daring to look at his perfect body, then she could have put him out of her mind. Instead, his look of defeat plagued her.
Monica’s right! I need to find a man!
The fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about the bear proved she needed to take her friend’s advice. He’d growled at her, frightened her and followed her down the street, and yet she still couldn’t get him out of her head. She obviously craved attention from a man more than she realized.
She knew she would never find a mate, but maybe it was time to find a mate for a night. What the hell was she saving herself for anyway? A life alone? She was sick of holding the table, watching the drinks, and accepting pity dances from random acquaintances.
It was time to have some fun.
An hour later, she emerged from the bathroom squeaky clean and silky smooth. After rubbing lotion over her entire body, she dug into the back, hidden corner of her closet and retrieved the items she’d purchased last year on a whim, but never wore.
The black lace bra and panty set highlighted her light, creamy skin, and when she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she was pleased to find she wasn’t repulsive. The dark, denim mini skirt and black patent leather go-go boots both fit her like a glove, and she finished the outfit with a black, form-fitting tank top. The top accentuated her large breasts and clung to her curves, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Any man that asked her to dance, and hopefully more, would know exactly what he was getting when her clothes came off.
A glance in the mirror reminded her she should have enlisted Monica to do her hair, but she pulled out the curling iron anyway. She was determined to have some sort of style, even if it was one long curl on the side of her head. While the iron heated, she pulled a small container of body glitter out of the medicine cabinet.
The sparkly gel had been another impulse buy that she’d never had the guts to use. She rubbed the gel into her forehead and cheeks, and then smoothed the excess around the corners of her eyes and into her hair. She also added sparkles to her shoulders, biceps, chest and neck.
Make-up wasn’t something she ever bothered with, but she completed the look with a layer of clear, shiny lip-gloss. When the iron was ready, she wrapped random locks of hair around the hot tube, and the fun result surprised her.
Her phone chimed, signaling a text message, and she smiled when she saw Monica’s name.
Everyone is here. Where are you?
For the first time in their long friendship, she’d kept everyone waiting.
Running late. I’ll meet you at the bar.
She held onto the phone and looked at herself in the full-length mirror.
What are you wearing? Is it sexy and low-cut?
Even though the woman was predictable, Violet still laughed out loud when she read her friend’s message. She’d never worn anything Monica hadn’t tried to fix before they went out.
Sexy and sexy! I’ll see you soon.
She shoved her phone, keys, credit card and ID into the small, black bag she’d bought to match the boots, but on her way out the door she stopped and looked in the mirror again. Doubt started to chip away at her confidence, and for the first time that night, she contemplated changing.
No! I look fantastic, and I’m going to have some fun!
Determined, she ran out the door, jumped into her car, and carefully maneuvered the vehicle along the tight, winding curves of the Dragon. The long, curvy road was the only way to get to the nearly hidden Dark Moon Roadhouse nestled on the other side.
Chapter Three
Jase woke a few hours later and glanced at his phone. He’d slept for nearly three hours and the diner he’d visited earlier was now closed. Food sounded good, but a hard, stiff drink sounded better. After a quick shower, he put on a clean, unwrinkled t-shirt, followed by the rest of his clothes, and made his way to the lobby of the hotel.
One of the cats who had checked him in still manned the desk.
“Good evening, Mr. Wagner,” she said, smiling up at him. “How can I help you?”
“Please tell me you guys have a bar, or someplace I can get some hard liquor,” he said.
The woman smiled knowingly and purred, but he ignored the obvious hint. He wasn’t interested in anyone but his mate.
But she’s not your mate.
“The Dark Moon Roadhouse is the only bar in town,” she said, clearly annoyed with his lack of interest. “You have to ride the Dragon to get there.”
“The Dragon?” he asked.
“You really aren’t from around here are you?” she laughed. “It’s eleven miles of twisted, curvy fun, so don’t drink too much. If you do, you might end up wrapped around a tree, or worse, on your way back.”
“Okay, thanks.”
The woman’s words stuck with him as he walked out to the parking lot, and he wondered about his infatuation with her response. He didn’t want to die, and he probably wouldn’t if he hit a tr
ee, but her ominous or worse rattled around in his brain.
Was there anything worse than not being able to trust his senses?
He swung his leg over his bike and flipped on the switch. The beast roared to life and he took off in the direction of the Dragon.
At first he maneuvered the sharp turns with care, but as he got further down the road, he took more risks. If his senses couldn’t be trusted, could his reflexes? What if he didn’t turn soon enough? What would it feel like to miss the curve completely?
He drove toward the edge of the road and glanced down into the darkness. The unknown called to him, but he hated that he couldn’t see past the asphalt. He wanted to know the risks before he jumped.
Shit! I am seriously fucked up!
He’d been in a state of confusion since the accident, but his recent behavior scared him. The only men he knew who scared and chased down random women were the ones he used to protect his clan from. Now he was one of them.
Even though he didn’t want to let her go, he knew he should leave town as soon as possible. The scar on the back of his head started to throb, but he ignored the pain and merged his bike back into the proper lane. Tonight he would drink, and then tomorrow he would leave as quietly as he came. With a plan in place, he carefully followed the winding road toward the Dark Moon Roadhouse.
The cat had given expert directions. There wasn’t much at the end of the Dragon, and without the woman’s help, he probably would have never found the driveway hidden between the forest of trees. He rode to the end of the long, single lane, dirt driveway, and was shocked to find the parking lot packed. Rows of bikes lined the front and sides of the building, and many dotted the haphazard placement of cars and trucks in the dirt lot.
He parked his bike on the edge of the forest and crossed the lot in long, easy strides.
Classic rock filled the air as he got closer to the old, two-story building, and when he stepped inside, the music grew louder, nearly drowning out his thoughts. The smells coming from the kitchen made his stomach growl, and he welcomed the distraction as he surveyed his surroundings.
