Joss growled her way from the coffee shop all the way to the newspaper office. Her growl didn’t stop when she tried to open the door and found it locked. Locked! The happy-faced clock suctioned to the glass and advising an open door in five minutes only deepened her frown.

Maybe she was paranoid—scratch that, she was definitely paranoid. But after a lifetime of worrying about people discovering her other nature, then the fallout of that actually happening, she had a right to that squirrely little habit. She’d rather be wrong about Cal caring enough to track her down than advertise her location. Nothing would put a damper on her new life like being haunted by her old one.

Out of the corner of her eye and just a few doors down, a scowling cowboy milled. For a second, Joss thought he might say something, but he only grumbled something under his breath and stomped in a tight circle.

Okay, creeper.

But, holy cannoli. He was tall and wide with tight muscles. Jeans fit him like a glove, molding to his backside and thighs in ways that were probably illegal in at least twelve states. She never thought it possible to be jealous of some fabric, but the green-eyed monster made a strong showing when he paced away.

So did her badger. The little beast who’d caused her so much trouble tried to shove her into even more. She paced and clawed and bared her sharp little teeth when Joss didn’t do more than stare.

Too bad, so sad. She’d already let a man tie a string around her heart and snip their connection. Looking was all she planned to do for a long while.

Besides, footsteps inside the office snapped her attention from the sexy man to the building. She had a mission.

Joss yanked open the door as soon as the lock turned. Inside, a wiry old man backed away several steps with shock clear on his face.

The hot cowboy followed right on her heels. Her badger rolled around like it was the grandest thing ever. Joss had a hard time putting her thoughts together after the first inhale of his scent.

He smelled as good as he looked. Earthy, with notes of fresh rain and deep woods and hard work clung to his skin and clothes. His brown eyes were the perfect shade and flecked with green and gold. She couldn’t see the exact color of his hair, but the stubble on his cheeks and chin were light enough for a dark blond.

He flicked his eyes to her, blinked in confusion, then shook his head. A deliberate twisting of his body blocked her off and squared him up against the old man.

Rude. And fine. Perfectly fine. She didn’t care if he dismissed her with a glance. She had things to do, retractions to order, and a new life to begin.

“Edwin, who the fuck told you I was—”

“Sir, there’s been a mistake in today’s paper regarding a marriage—”

Joss’s brain stuttered to a halt before her mouth followed suit. She rounded on the hot cowboy and planted her hands on her hips. “What did you say?”

“Why are you here?” he asked at the same time.

“You’re not—”

“Joss Warren?” He passed a hand down his face and addressed the ceiling. “Can this get any worse?”

“Excuse me?” she scoffed. She poked his chest. Good gravy, he was hard as a rock. And that accent! His words poured out of his mouth, thick and delicious.

She poked him again to get her mind back on track. “You’re the one planting false accusations against me in the newspaper.”

“Why in the world would I do that? What game are you trying to pull here, lady?”

A polite cough swiveled both their attention back to the elderly editor. His hair still stuck up in all directions, and his eyes had grown even wider behind his thick glasses. “Has there been a mistake?”

“Oh, indeed there has, good sir!” Her cheeks reddened over her formal choice of words. Her fluster was something else to lay at the cowboy’s feet. “My name was printed in this man’s engagement announcement. We are not engaged.”

She felt extra guilty for ogling an engaged man. Mortified, even.

Over those heated thoughts came a cold wash of hurt. Fate had dealt her a poop hand, but that wasn’t enough. She had to be kicked down when she’d made it back to her knees and spat on for good measure. Her name printed up next to that gorgeous man’s was a mockery of what she’d already lost.

He obviously had his life in order, unlike her. Bless the woman who’d snagged him up. Joss wished them all the happiness in the world, and none of the broken heart aching in her chest.

Her badger growled and hissed. At the memory of the man who didn’t want them and at the unseen stranger that had claimed the delicious smelling cowboy.

Joss dug her fingernails into her palms and battered back the confusing thoughts of her inner animal. Years wasted on a man who dropped her without a thought brewed up a volatile cocktail of hurt and anger. One she didn’t wish to throw in the face of anyone unrelated to her troubles.

In a perverse way, Cal still won. She hated the hold he still had over her, even after they’d parted ways. She just wanted to move on.

Joss straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. To Edwin, she said, “We need a retraction. Immediately. Thank you.”

She turned on her heel and rushed out the door.

“Retract it, Edwin,” Hunter echoed. His eyebrows shot together as he watched the little redhead scramble out the door.

Fuck, she was gorgeous. Cute, too, in her long, swirling skirt. Did she know what a temptation that was? He’d almost approached her on the street with a flash of his best smile, but thought better of it since she was obviously waiting on someone and he had a fire to put out.

Then she’d shot through the newspaper office door ahead of him and he’d gone tongue-tied at her little nose turned up at the very tip and her full lips made for kissing. His bear had danced through his head in victory until he pushed the beast aside and got down to business.

“But—”

“It’s not correct in any way. I’m not getting married. That woman there isn’t getting married. Joyce Farren ordered the announcement to get under my skin. Take it back.”

He didn’t give Edwin another second to complain.

How could he? His bear snarled at him to go after the woman that smelled like cinnamon and apples. By the Broken, he practically drooled over her.

He stepped onto the sidewalk and let his nose do the tracking. Back up the road toward Main Street, he caught sight of her red curls hurrying away.

“Hey, wait up,” he called.

She flashed unnaturally glowing green eyes over her shoulder and picked up the pace, skirt swishing around her feet. Red dots colored her cheeks, but the trail she left behind her smelled more like embarrassment and pain than anger.

His bear ripped at him to fix everything.

Hunter jogged after the woman. Everyone he passed shot him concerned looks. No big surprise there. He was a grown man of six feet and some extra inches chasing after a curvy little thing. He had no doubt if he tried any actual harm, they’d pile on him in a flash. Bearden was full of good folk.

Hunter reached forward and wrapped his fingers around her shoulder to pull her to a stop, and holy fuck.

Heat whipped through his body in a flash fire that charred him to ash and rushed all his blood straight to his dick.

Red spun around, mouth opening to say something, but the words died on her lips. The flash of green he’d spotted before quickly ducked to stare where his fingers caressed her soft skin.

Hunter snatched his hand away, then pulled his Stetson off his head to keep from reaching for her again. Good skies above, there were so many places he wanted to touch. The curve of her breasts, that dip of her waist, the flare of her hips, her perfectly round ass... “I, uh—”

“I’m sorry if I interfered with your lady and I hope this won’t be too much trouble,” she muttered over him.

Damn. How did they keep doing that?

Hunter mussed a hand through his hair and fired off a thousand silent curses at Joyce. He didn’t like how apologetic the woman seemed. She’d done nothing wrong and deserved an explanation. “I, uh, actually don’t have a lady anymore. We called it quits months ago.”

Unlucky in love, that was him. He could hold on tight to a bull bucking up a storm, but he could never keep hold of a woman for long. He wanted to find the love his father had for his mother and what Ethan shared with Tansey. Hunter wanted a mate to soothe his soul and complete him. He felt worn and ragged and uncertain without her.

He expected his bear to start snarling as he’d done from the moment they woke up, but the beast was utterly silent. Dumbstruck and distracted, if Hunter had to hazard a guess. Red had the animal’s undivided attention.

Who was she? She’d silenced his bear except for a growing need to know her. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let go.

Mate.

The instinct slammed into Hunter’s chest with a flurry of images. Matching bite marks were proof of their bond. Cubs with her red hair and his own dark blond bounced around their feet in the sending. She was everything he and the bear could agree they needed.

Fresh cinnamon scented the air, thickening as she directed hooded looks up and down his body.

Hunter shoved his idiot bear to the back of his head. Those red splotches of embarrassment on Red’s cheeks were because of him, no doubt. He’d been quiet for too long.

“Joss Warren, right?” She nodded, but still didn’t lift her eyes for more than a darted glance. He wanted to see the color up close. Were they green because of her animal, or just naturally his favorite color in the world?

He inhaled again. Under the cinnamon was a mystery he wanted to solve. What was she? Not a bear or a wolf, that was for certain. The baked earth scent of the lion pride bordering Black Claw territory didn’t line up either. It was fresher than either of those three. Crisp, like snow or cold weather.

He cleared his throat. “Joyce Farren is the troublemaker in question. I can see how Edwin got you confused. He’s a bit hard of hearing these days.”

“Oh,” she said softly. “That’s an easy mix up. Joss and Joyce.”

A movement at her side caught his attention. She rubbed at her ring finger with her thumb, and Hunter’s heart sank.

No ring, but she did have a tan line from where it had been removed.

Disappointment scoured him and shriveled all his desire.

She wasn’t his mate. She wasn’t even a mystery for him to solve.

His bear roared about him being so very wrong, but Hunter ignored him. He was done staying blind to the problems right in front of him. Hurt and unhappiness were the results of that.

Joss smelled amazing and made his mouth water for a taste, but he knew her type. He’d seen enough shifter groupies among the tourists to know she had a wedding ring stashed away in a hotel room somewhere. Maybe she and her husband had an understanding, or liked to play together. He wasn’t one to judge.

For him, though? He didn’t share. Nor was he about to hop into the bed of someone else’s wife.

“Yeah, so, sorry for the confusion,” he said gruffly. He put an extra step between them. “I’ll make sure Edwin gets the retraction done. You don’t need to worry about it. Enjoy your stay in Bearden.”

Her eyebrows furrowed together and a load of confusion dumped into her scent. She opened her mouth to say something, closed it again, then settled for one final word. “Thanks.”

Not even twelve steps away from him, Joss peeked over her shoulder. The red waves of her hair swayed as she moved. Her green eyes stayed narrowed with bewilderment as deep as he felt.

Hunter curled his fingers around the brim of his hat to keep from reaching for her and bit his tongue so he didn’t call out to her. He rubbed at his chest as she walked away, taking her delicious scent with her.

Joss Warren was a delicious package, and not at all meant for him.