by T. S. Joyce
“Oh, thank God. He went to your house yesterday and when he saw you’d left, he lost it. I’ve never seen him so…I’m glad you came back. Sam?”
“Hmm?” She was still mad, but more than that she was hurt. If Reese was looking for forgiveness right now, she didn’t have it in her yet.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was under orders not to.”
“I’m a Hunter, Reese. I’m supposed to know about you. None of you trusted me with this. It’s not okay. Not yet.”
A beat of heavy silence followed. “I know. I deserve for you to be mad, I just hate it.”
“Me too.” Samantha hugged her knees and closed her eyes. “I’ll call you later.”
“Okay,” Reese said in a small voice. “Bye.”
****
The old lovers’ bridge was splintered and dilapidated. It no longer looked safe to hold a car’s weight as it traveled over the river, but it held a man just fine. Bron leaned against the railing, looking down into the murky water below.
The rain was nothing more than a mist now, but his black cotton T-shirt was soaked, like he’d been out here for some time. The look he slid to her was agonized as she pulled up, and he slipped a pair of sunglasses over his eyes before she was even able to cut the engine and step out of her car.
“I thought you left again,” he said low as she approached. “Your suitcase was gone.”
Standing beside him to look out over the water, she murmured, “You should’ve told me. It should’ve never got to a point where I found out what you are like that.”
“You said they were monsters.” The sunglasses hid every emotion, but his profile was rigid against the churning, stormy sky.
“What?”
“Yesterday, when Duncan and Rod flipped the cars, you saw one of them in their bear forms, and you kept calling them monsters.”
“Because I didn’t know a bear could flip three vehicles. I was scared, and bear shifters weren’t even in the realm of possibilities for me.”
“But can’t you understand I didn’t want you to see me like that? I didn’t want you to look at me like you did when you saw me change. You were horrified. I didn’t want to scare you, and I sure as shit didn’t want to drag you into this life where you’re always in danger. You know now, Sam. Everybody knows you know. There’s no undoing this now.”
“I went and visited my dad,” she said as her throat tightened.
Bron pushed off the bridge railing and turned his back on her, ran his hands roughly through his hair. Then he spun and pulled her against his chest until she was enveloped in his warmth. “I couldn’t tell you,” he said low.
“I’ve hated him all this time and he was the one who saved me. I hadn’t even known I was in danger.” A sob wrenched from her throat.
Bear or man, she didn’t care. She needed Bron to hold her and make her feel like everything was going to be okay.
“He’s in that awful place because of me,” she whispered.
Bron stroked her hair comfortingly. “It was his choice, and he came to terms with that a long time ago.”
“He told me you visit him.”
Bron sighed. “When your mom passed, he didn’t have anyone else to look forward to seeing. He helped me save you when I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know it would end like that when I told him my dad’s plans for you. But I don’t think it could’ve gone any differently. It was my crazy old man, or you. Me, Trent and Tommy picked you. I go see your dad every two weeks, and I put money into his account so he can be as comfortable as possible in there. I was afraid to tell you because I could see how mad it made you to find out we talked on the phone. I was just a kid who didn’t know how to save his girlfriend, and your dad did what needed to be done to protect his own. If you knew the plans my dad had for you, you wouldn’t have mourned his death. He was the crazy one, not your dad. It was no great loss when he pushed Tommy’s hand. He should’ve known better than to put a hit on a Hunter’s daughter, but all he could see was what you were doing to me. He thought you made me weak.”
“And do I?”
He eased back and cupped her face. “No.” His tone was so steady, so sure, it was impossible not to believe him. “You make me better.”
She entwined her fingers in his and kissed his palm. Her voice was no more than a whisper when she said, “I would’ve loved you anyway. Bear or man, I would’ve loved you the same. You didn’t trust me.”
“I trust you, Sam. I just wanted to protect you. My clan doesn’t do things like you’re used to. We fight, and bleed each other because we must. Because our bears demand it. Violence and affection can look the same.”
“You wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Never. You’re too fragile. Too fragile to be exposed to any of us.”
“But I’m a Hunter. I read the book about my lineage. I’m supposed to be a part of your world.”
“No. You’re supposed to sit on the outside, where it’s safe, and only if we move to hurt humans are you supposed to get involved.”
“Am I your mate?”
“Who told you about that?”
“Dillon said it. Please don’t be mad at him. I just want to know what is happening between us, because it doesn’t feel like it looks with other people. I can’t move on, and it kills me to stay stagnant in a life away from you. What is this?”
“Yes. You’re mine. The bond started when we were nine and I was too young to know I was supposed to stop it. By the time the clan saw what was happening, it was too late.”
“But you married Muriel.”
She looked so small and sad reflected in his sunglasses, and she slipped her fingers out of his and reached up to remove them. His eyes were closed as she tossed them into the river below. “Don’t you hide from me anymore, Bron. If I’m yours, you’ll show me everything. I want all of you. The bear shit your instincts tell you to hide from me, the nightmares and shifter challenges and all of the grit that comes along with what you are. I need to know the man I love, not love a man who won’t share himself with me.”
His eyes opened slowly, and they couldn’t pass for human if he tried. Bright silver churned in their depths, pushing away any hint of green. “I married Muriel because it was forced by the clan. After my father died, there were still others who felt he was justified in trying to take your life. Marrying Muriel was the only way I could see at the time to keep you safe. I wasn’t as strong and didn’t know how to fight yet, and I’d made a promise to Tommy that I would protect you no matter what. I only met her once before I married her. It was all arranged for us. I didn’t tell you until the last minute because I was searching for a way out of it. She is daughter to the alpha of a small clan that lives at the base of He Devil. Our union allied our clans and made it possible for Dodger to cut you out of my life all at once. He was new to being an alpha at the time and it was the perfect solution in his mind until it became obvious my bond to you had stuck. I respected Muriel. She tried to make the best out of a marriage she didn’t want either. But there was no bond between us. There was barely friendship. And now you’re back here, with me, and in more danger than ever. You can’t stay in Joseph. You have to leave this place.”
“I can’t leave here without you,” she said, closing her eyes against the tears that threatened to spill.
“You won’t have to,” he murmured, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I’m going with you.”
“But Muriel told me what you will sacrifice if you leave.”
“Fuck the consequences. I wasn’t happy living here without you. And every time I think of you leaving, my animal shreds me from the inside out. I’ve changed eight times since yesterday. Living like that isn’t an option for me.”
He would give up his alpha rank and his people for her. He was declaring himself for her like she’d yearned for him to do all this time. Except now she knew what that sacrifice meant. He would brave the human world alone, and they would struggle to keep what he was a secret. She might make him
happy for a little while, but he couldn’t live like that for always.
He would feel caged. His animal would be stifled as he tried to pretend at normalcy for her. She could see it so clearly. Holiday celebrations and dinners with friends. Concerts and dates, and all the while he would fight his inner animal to appear normal for her.
That’s not what she wanted. Not anymore.
Normal Bron didn’t exist, and trying to shove him into this mold she didn’t even care about was unacceptable. Man or beast, she loved all of him. His bear had fought his own people for her, and when he’d shifted, there had been no hesitancy to attack anyone who tried to hurt her.
He said she was his, but he was also hers, and she would be damned if she would stifle any part of the man she loved.
Bron’s inhuman gaze sank to her lips and she smiled in invitation. “The last time we were here, you broke my heart,” she said as he canted his head. “Don’t do that again.”
“Never. We’ll leave here and I’ll keep you safe. I won’t be forced to choose another.” His open gaze lifted to hers, as if he wanted to show her the truth of his words. “You’re everything.”
His strong hands found her waist and he lifted her onto the railing. He sipped her lips like he couldn’t get enough of her, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. From up here, she was level with his glorious eyes. They didn’t scare her now. They were a part of himself he was finally letting her see, and happiness bloomed within her.
“I want to jump,” she murmured, pulling back by inches. “I want to do this over. Do it right this time.”
A slow smile spread across his face and she touched the corner of his mouth with her fingertip just to feel the curve there. He pulled the hem of her blue cotton shirt until she was free of it, and they laughed as they kicked out of their jeans.
It was freezing out here, but she didn’t care. Not when the open happiness on Bron’s face made her feel so warm inside. With ease, he lifted her to the railing by her waist and steadied her, then followed her up. Standing there together, over the gentle river rapids, hand in hand, he stared at her with such adoration.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Ready.”
Samantha shrieked as they jumped and sailed downward. The cold water was a shock to her system, and she kicked her way to the surface and gasped as the frigid waves lapped at her bare skin.
The water was high and she couldn’t touch the bottom until they neared the sandy beach.
“Come on.” Bron led her from the beach and lifted her into his arms when she stumbled on a river rock. “I want to show you something.”
She wanted to protest on account of it being roughly the temperature of a glacier right now, but Bron was like a furnace against her skin. As waves of gooseflesh prickled her arms, his skin stayed smooth and warm. He tucked her against his chest tighter as he stepped around trees and through brush.
Her mouth fell open as he set her down in a grove of red maples. The storm must have knocked their leaves loose, because the ground was covered in crimson. She sent a wide-eyed glance at Bron over her shoulder, and stepped into the untouched forest. As far as she could see was red so bright, it stunned her. And all around her, leaves rained down in a never-ending shower. She turned in a slow circle and plucked one from the air.
Bron crouched down, his dark boxers clinging to him as he watched her with bright eyes. “You’re so beautiful.”
Her cheeks flushed warmly under his attention. “So are you.”
“Come here.” His cocky smile said he knew she’d do as he said.
“Bossy,” she teased as she straddled his lap.
He laughed a booming sound that echoed through the autumn woods and leaned back on his locked elbows. “If that’s the worst name you have for me after all I’ve put you through, I’m okay with that.”
“The Hunter’s notebook said you can’t mate with humans,” she blurted out.
“We can’t breed with them.” His voice dipped low. “I can’t get you with child no matter how much I want to.”
Her heart ached at the sadness on his face. “You want babies?”
“Yes. I’ve always wanted a couple of cubs running around. That life isn’t meant for me and you though. You’ll have to be happy with just me.”
Leaning forward, she kissed him sweetly. “Are you sure I’m worth all of this. Giving up your people and your life here. Giving up your position in your clan and the possibility of a family. Are you sure you want to leave with me?”
“Yes,” he said, void of hesitation. “That’s the decision I should have made six years ago, when I was given the ultimatum. I think I would’ve, if I thought you’d be safe with me.”
“I feel safe with you now.”
A deep rumble of content sounded from his chest, and she pressed her hand against the vibration and smiled. She knew what that meant now. Her bear was in there, and happy with her. She brushed her lips right above his heart, and he dropped his chin back as she trailed her lips to his throat.
Now she could place the subtle scent of animal that had always clung to his skin. Between them, his cock grew thick and hard, and she rocked against him. Straightening his spine, Bron cupped the side of her face and ran his thumb down her cold cheek, warming it with his touch. Canting his head, he pulled her toward him and pressed his tongue gently past her lips.
Gripping his hair, she bit his lip and pulled his head back until the thick muscles in his neck strained. “Don’t ever lie to me again. From here on, it’s you and me. I can handle your secrets.”
Moving her panties to the side, he lifted her by the waist and settled her over his cock slowly. A huff of air brushed past her lips as she took all of him.
“I swear I won’t lie to you again.” His arms wrapped around her back and he settled her more firmly onto him, and he drew one of her nipples, beaded tight against the cold air, into his mouth.
She moaned at the contrast of his soft lips and gently grazing teeth. Arching her hips, she pulled back by inches, and rammed back down, breasts bobbing with her motion.
He curled against her, gripped her back. “Fuuuck,” he said in a shaky whisper.
Every sway of her hips made him tense, and when he pulled his inhuman gaze to hers, she knew she had him. He looked desperate for her, eyebrows drawn up in awe, heart hammering against his sternum where her palm rested, and she wanted to be closer. Wanted to burrow against and inside of him and never let go. They’d been apart for too long and it had nearly broken her, but here in his arms, she felt whole again.
Her legs flexed again as she rose and fell, and his fingers dug into her back like he was on the edge. She reveled in having such an effect on someone so strong.
“Sam,” he gritted out. His voice sounded so raw and needy, and she pulled a long stroke again.
“You can’t come when we go this slow. I remember,” she whispered, and tugged his earlobe into her mouth, teasing.
He ground out a desperate sound, and bucked his hips against her. It was enough to send her over, and her insides quaked with ecstasy. Tossing back her head, she yelled out as he pressed into her, and her insides clenched around his shaft. Pleasure rolled through her as thunder sounded in the distance.
Pattering rain dropped from the sky and splashed onto her face and breasts, but it only heightened the sensation. Cold water, cool breeze, damp from the swim, and Bron, so warm and alive against her. His skin pressing inside of her as he rocked fiercely. He felt so good buried in her, filling her.
He deserved to be rewarded for his patience. Easing back, she watched his expression change from confused to triumphant as she turned around and splayed on hands and knees. With a wicked smile over her shoulder, she arched her back until her slick folds were angled toward him.
His eyes were so bright, so ravenous as he raked his gaze over her. Mounting her, he covered her back with his body and slid into her sex again. Slow, powerful thrusts gave way to shorter ones, and her breath quickened as
the tension grew.
His cock seemed to grow harder and thicker the more he slammed into her and she could tell the moment his animal took over. His growl turned feral and his voice gravelly as he groaned her name. He straightened and grabbed her waist with both hands, pulling her back against him with every flex of his hips.
She shattered again, screaming his name as the first shot of warmth filled her.
Bron’s roar was long, and shook the red maple trees around them.
And she’d never loved him more than in this moment, when he finally gave her both sides of him.
Chapter Fourteen
With shaking fingers, Samantha pulled Muriel’s phone number from her pocket and keyed it into her cell. She was sitting in front of the only gas station in town, where she had been trying to convince herself to make the call for the last ten minutes.
Time was running out. Bron wanted to leave tonight, and this was the only chance she’d get to make things right. Or as right as things could get for a man like Bron.
She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Muriel’s offer. It was a constant what if in her mind, and the more she realized what Bron would really be giving up, the more her potential sacrifice seemed justified.
Did she want to become like Bron, and go through all the pain and secrecy his life required? Absolutely not. But whether she wanted to be a part of this or not, her life was tethered to him now. And if she was a shifter like him, no one could oppose their pairing. He could stay here among his people, and if she lived through the transition, he could lead the remaining bear shifters of Hells Canyon, like he was supposed to.
He was made to lead them. It was so painfully clear that she was disrupting his fate, and she refused to do that anymore.
Muriel said turning would hurt, and that there would be risk, but Samantha believed that she would do her best to turn her. She believed Muriel when she admitted Samantha was her ticket to happiness. Bron had to move on for her to find a new mate, and she would do her best to keep Samantha alive through the change.
