Accidentally Yours (Coyote Bluff Series Book 1)

by Lea Barrymire

  “Ah, Cam. Perhaps I don’t need to be here for this?” Margie’s attempt at levity did the trick. Cammie stopped pacing, blushed along every inch of exposed skin, and turned to her friend.

  “Crap. Sorry. I sort of forgot you were there. Can you ignore everything I just said? Because, honestly, it sounds a little creepy and edging on bestiality to my own ears. I don’t need people thinking I’m a nut case.”

  Before Margie could reply a quiet knock at the door put them all on guard. Ian turned and raced to the door before either of the women could respond. He wouldn’t let Cammie be hurt again. The scent wafting under the door was of a coyote, but one he hadn’t met yet. The knowledge that it wasn’t Ron should have made him happy, but he was disappointed that the ass hadn’t shown up.

  “Ms. Henderson? I’m Skip Peters. I’ve come to chat with you about the wolf staying here.” The muffled voice did nothing to hide the Alpha vibes coming off the male on the other side of the door. Shit.

  That’s all he needed was the area’s Alpha to come around before he could really talk to Cammie. A growl rolled in his chest, loud enough that he knew the other male could hear it.

  “Titan, I mean Ian… fuck. Whoever you are, just stop.” Cammie pushed her way between him and the door and opened it. The wave of Alpha power nearly put him on his belly, but he fought it. He would ask this male for help, but he was not bowing to his power. No one controlled him, especially not some scavenger. Ian tried to sneak around Cammie’s legs to get a look at the other man, but she stubbornly blocked him.

  “Hi, Skip. I remember meeting you at the insurance office. How are you?”

  “Fine, thanks for asking.”

  “Um, do you mind talking outside? I’ll just shut Titan inside. He’s pretty protective of me.”

  “I think it’s best if we talk with him around, don’t you?”

  Her gasp was enough to drag another growl from Ian. He didn’t like being at a disadvantage, and not being able to see the Alpha made him nervous. Her voice was shaky. “You know, don’t you? Are you one, too?”

  “Yes, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to come in and talk with him.”

  “Okay.” She stepped back, nearly stepping on Ian as he crowded her legs. She looked down at him with concern and so much uncertainty that Ian whimpered. She glanced back up at the Alpha. “I want to know everything, though. He can’t answer all of my questions while a wolf.”

  “Fair enough.” Skip’s voice was rough but held a softer note of understanding.

  “Good. Come inside. Margie’s here, too, and knows. Why don’t we sit, I’ll make some coffee, and then you can tell me about shifters and why I have a wolf hanging out in my house.”

  Everyone walked into the house and Ian finally got a good look at the Alpha. Skip was a big male. He looked the part of a mountain man. Long graying hair hung around his face in frizzy ringlets. His face sported a week-old beard. It was his piercing eyes that grabbed Ian’s attention. An icy stare bored into his mind. That gaze combined with the Alpha powers surging from the man were enough to force some compliance. Ian couldn’t help but lower his tail and head, offering his neck to the other male.

  “So, I heard you’ve been making noise in town. Growling at my people and whatnot.” Skip’s words jerked Ian from his posturing. “What’cha got to say about that, boy?”

  Ian chuffed in annoyance. He wasn’t shifting in front of the women, so what did Skip expect from him? A song and dance? Game of charades?

  “Not gonna shift, then? You know, I let it go that you came in my territory and didn’t introduce yourself. I’ve heard the stories about you, but thought you might’ve wanted a fresh start so I left you alone. But hearin’ about you yesterday was enough to make me come see for myself.” Skip ran a hand across his face. The raspy sound of his beard was loud in the room. “You owe them an apology for the growls, boy.”

  Ian nodded. He expected as much and had already planned on it. He glanced sideways at Cammie and found her gaping at them, mouth hanging open slightly and her eyes wide.

  “Miss. Do you mind telling me how he came to be in your house?”

  Cammie snapped out of whatever she’d been thinking and turned to Skip. “Um. I was driving home the other night and he ran into my car. He was all cut up and in bad shape, so I brought him home. Margie came over and helped me clean him up.”

  “Cut up? Was he hurt from hitting your car?”

  “Well, I don’t think so. He had a long gash on his leg.”

  Skip turned his gaze back on Ian. “Were you attacked?”

  Ian nodded.

  “Hmmm. Miss Henderson, I’m going to take him outside for a moment and have a conversation that I’m not really interested in you listening to.”

  It was Margie who stuttered over the directive first. “What do you mean you’re going outside to talk and you don’t want us to listen to it? What the hell, Skip? Too worried about us women folk knowing what’s going on?”

  “Nope. Has nothing to do with you being a female and everything to do with you being a human.”

  “Human? Because we’re human?”

  The woman was on a roll and Ian wanted to laugh at the black cloud slowly descending over the Alpha’s face. Margie obviously didn’t care about the scowl being shot at her, though, as she continued mumbling. “Asinine men and their stupid ways. Sure, us humans saved his ass, took care of him, figured all the crap out, but we can’t listen in on official shifter shit.”

  “Woman. Enough of that.” Skip’s voice held a hint of power, enough that Margie should have been on her knees. She stubbornly stared back at the Alpha, obstinacy radiating from her very pores. They stared at each other, Alpha, coyote and mountain of a man against a tiny human female.

  In the end Ian couldn’t tell who won but Margie turned and stomped back toward the kitchen, muttering under her breath.

  “Well. Um. I think I’ll go talk with her.” Cammie hadn’t moved a muscle throughout the altercation. She’d stared between the two, swinging her eyes back and forth. She stumbled when she turned to follow Margie and before she slipped through the doorway she turned and caught Ian’s gaze. “You okay with leaving the house?”

  He fell a little more in love with her at that moment. He nodded slightly and watched her leave, following the still irate sounds of her friend.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “You can shift now, son. They can’t see us.” Skip’s voice had taken on a softer tone and his eyes held something. He wasn’t anything like Ian expected. Not from the overly buff exterior to the softer, more compassionate insides. Maybe for a yipper the male was okay.

  Ian took a final deep breath before pulling the magic around him and forced his body to take his human shape. It felt like it took an eternity. Muscles still ached from his injuries and bones had stayed too long in animal form. In actuality the entire change only took a few heartbeats. When he was fully human and knew he could hold that form Ian glanced over to the Alpha.

  “Thank you for coming to see me, even if it was to reprimand me for my behavior yesterday.” Even his voice sounded rusty. Shit. When was the last time he’d spent more than a few hours in his wolf-skin? He cleared his throat and continued. “I’m also sorry I haven’t been to see you. I could give you all kinds of excuses, but I didn’t want to run again.”

  “You thought I’d chase you out of town? Is that what happened last time?”

  Ian wasn’t sure how much the male knew, but he didn’t want to lie. “Yes. I’ve been run out of so many places since I left my home pack. I wanted to settle.”

  Skip grunted, something close to an affirmative if Ian could translate the sound. The two men stood staring at each other for a few more moments. Shifter energy clashed as Ian tried to tamp down his strength and Skip tried to test Ian’s magic.

  “Tell me about the other night.”

  Ian sighed. “I needed to shift. I hadn’t been in animal form in so long. The moon was full and I thought I’d found an empty
patch of woods to roam in. I didn’t realize I had company until it was too late. I was jumped by a pack of scaven… I mean coyotes. They chased me until I ran headlong into Cammie’s car.”

  Skip huffed again and continued to stare at Ian. Cold calculation blanked his face. “What did you really do to stir them up? They wouldn’t have attacked otherwise.”

  “See. This, this is why I haven’t come to see you.” Ian ran a hand through his hair. “I did nothing to provoke them. I was running in the woods, not even hunting when they came at me from downwind and jumped me.”

  Another staring contest ensued and Ian was starting to get pissed. He waited on the Alpha, though. Too much rode on the male’s help and Cammie needed protection more than he needed his pride.

  “How many did you say?”

  “Six.”

  “I do remember a certain group of males that usually run with my pack that were absent that night. Would you be able to pick them out again if you scented them?”

  “Sure.” Proceed cautiously. “I know I don’t deserve a favor, but could I ask for one?”

  “Depends what it is, wolf.” Again the growl and dominance flavored the words.

  “I would ask for your help in protecting Cammie. She’s being harassed by Ron Norte. I owe her a debt that is growing by the day. Protection is one thing I can offer her, but it would be easier with more males.”

  “Hmm, it would seem that you now have two reasons to come to a pack meeting. We have one scheduled for tonight. You will come, sniff out your attackers and ask the pack for protection of your mate.”

  Ian almost corrected the male. Cammie wasn’t his mate, but if that designation would get him the help he needed, then he’d keep his mouth shut. “Fine. I’ll be at your place tonight. I would assume after dusk?”

  Skip nodded and gave another grunt. Man of few words. A nice attribute for an Alpha to have.

  “Fine. See you at dusk.” Ian turned and then stopped. “Could you go speak with Cammie? Let her know that I’ve headed home and I’ll see her soon? I can’t see her like this.”

  “Sure. Run home, pup. Do not make me chase you down later. Come to my home and properly introduce yourself to my pack. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the group.”

  Ian let it go. He could ask what the other male meant, but he really wanted a shower. Being in wolf form for so long made him crave soap and hot running water. He took off into the woods, quickly changing back to his furry side and loping toward his house. He had a few hours to clean up before he needed to meet the area pack. He needed the time to get his mind set and prepare for any challenges the other pack members might want to force on him. Fighting didn’t sound like such a bad way to burn off his frustrations.

  * * * * *

  “So, what do you think?” Cammie couldn’t keep quiet any longer. She’d walked into the kitchen and watched Margie storm around for long enough. The questions were bubbling too quickly in her head and she needed to start talking or her brain would explode. “Do you believe it? I mean I know what we’ve just seen. I just can’t believe Skip is a wolf, too. And then to have Titan turn out to be the guy from my dreams, and to know what he’s seen, and what we did in my head at night, and—”

  “Enough. Geez, Cam. I don’t want to rehash all the sordid details of your sex life, be it real or in dreamland.”

  “Sorry. Sorry. I just can’t seem to wrap my head around the idea that the animal I’ve had living here, sleeping in my room, watching me dress is really a guy. A really sexy guy, I mean really, really sex—”

  “God. Cam. Shut up. I get it. Titan is one hunk of burning love when in dream-human skin. We need to get past that and start figuring out who else in town is a shifter.”

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean, ‘why?’ Because. Don’t you want to know who sports fur on occasion?”

  “I don’t really care. I mean, yeah, I guess if they want to tell me that’s cool, but it won’t make any difference.”

  “Maybe not to you, but how many of them have I treated over at one of the ranches or at Skip’s property? How many of the ‘pet’ wild animals that I’ve patched up were really shifters?”

  A thought struck Cammie and she voiced her question on a whisper. “You never put any of them to sleep, did you?”

  “No. Geez, what do you think I am? Anyway, I bet a bunch of them were shifters. How cool is that? I’m not only the town vet but sort of the doctor, too, right?”

  “You are way too excited about this, Marg. Really, you are. They’re just people.”

  “Yeah, people that can turn into animals. Maybe they have all kinds of supernatural powers. Do you think they’re psychic or something?”

  “How much caffeine have you had today? Sit down and relax.”

  “I can’t. You don’t understand how long this puzzle has been driving me nuts. I’ve had my suspicions for almost a year, but I couldn’t ever get proof. And tonight, not only did I see and touch one shifter, but found out that a man I’ve known for that entire time is one too.”

  “And you won’t share a single piece of that information.”

  A gruff voice preceded Skip into the kitchen. Cammie jumped but then shook her head. She shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore. The man was as big as her car, but moved like a ghost. Of course he did. She watched Margie square off against the male and decided it was time to end the posturing.

  “Of course we aren’t going to tell anyone anything. Margie and I are both trustworthy women. We promise not to talk to anyone about anything.” She peeked behind Skip, wanting to see Titan, errr… Ian. Neither man nor wolf stood behind the other male. “Where’s Ian, Titan…? You know who I mean.”

  “The wolf didn’t come back with me. He asked me to tell you that he was heading home and would see you later.”

  “Later, like tonight, or later like when we run into each other?”

  “Don’t know.” He scowled at Margie. “Now. I want to thank you the right way now that you know about us. Thanks for tending my people when we’ve been injured, even when you thought it was just a wild animal.”

  Margie was quiet for a moment and a slight blush crept over her skin. Cammie tried not to grin at her friend’s discomfort. “Um, you’re welcome.”

  He grunted and swung around, heading to the door. Cammie scrambled to get out the chair. “Wait. That’s it? Don’t tell anyone and you’re going to walk out?”

  Squinted anger took her breath away when he turned back. “What do you want? I can’t tell you anything else. You aren’t a shifter, and you aren’t a true mate yet. Once one of those things changes I will gladly fill you in.”

  She reached out to stop him once more, a pressing question tumbled from her lips. “Is Ron a shifter? I really just need to know that.”

  “No. He’s just a human asshole. Oh, and if you see coyotes in your woods, don’t shoot us. We’re being petitioned for help guarding you, and I don’t want to have my people injured.”

  “You’re what? I don’t understand.”

  “Ask your wolf. He can decide whether to fill you in more. I need to go. Be safe. I sort of like you two and don’t want to see you hurt.”

  After he left Cammie and Margie just sat, dumbstruck. She opened her mouth and found not a single thing to say. Holy freaking horse shit on a cracker. She took stock of the information she’d learned over the last hour. Shifters existed. One had been living with her the last couple of days in animal form. He’d invaded her dreams. The town had more than just one, and the guy who owned the hunting farm not far from her was in charge of some of them. Wow. Who needed books when life handed you a horribly, crazy mind-fuck?

  “Holy crap, Cammie. Did all that just happen?”

  “I think so.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yep.”

  “So, who do you think is a shifter in town?”

  Cammie had known it wouldn’t take long for the other woman to overcome the information. If anyone could take in lif
e-changing stuff and bounce right back it was Margie.

  “I don’t know. When I had Titan, I mean Ian, with me in town he growled at a lot of people. Mostly men. Do you think they’re all shifters? Are we the only humans in town?”

  “I don’t know, but I doubt we’re the only ones.”

  Before Cammie could throw her guesses out there the phone rang. She jumped and then chuckled nervously. “Hello?”

  “Hey Cammie. It’s Conner. Do you have a minute to meet with me? I have some more questions about Ron.”

  “Sure. Come on over. I’ll be here.”

  “Okay, see you in a few minutes.” Cammie replaced the handset on the wall and stood staring at the phone. “What about Conner? Do you think he’s one?”

  “Maybe. He’s big and muscular. But I don’t know if that is just the stereotypical body shape that romance writers use. Mrs. Beatler, with her potbelly and thunder thighs, could be a bear or something.”

  Cammie couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. Mrs. Beatler was the town gossip and as big as, well, as a bear. She was rotund and rolled herself down the street every day to take up residence at the same table in the diner. Her beady eyes took in everything, and what she couldn’t glean from customers she made up. Cammie was wiping tears from her eyes when the phone rang again. “Hey Conner, what did you forget?”

  “Who the fuck is Conner? You fucking around on me already?”

  Cammie’s blood froze. “Ron? What the hell are you calling me for?”

  “You can’t get away from me so easily. You’re mine, and now I owe you for two beatings. You should have just let me punish you earlier, but now, now I owe you for your actions and the actions of that fucking mutt that attacked me.”

  “Leave me alone, Ron. I don’t want anything to do with you. You’ve been drinking again, I can hear it in your voice. Go sleep it off.”

  “I’m coming for you Camile. I’m going to get you and make you understand that you’re mine.” His words were slurring at the end, but the malice was thick.