Chapter 3

Marla took a few steps farther along the disappearing flagstone walk, but the trees circling closer on all sides stopped her. The forest stared back at her, and its smells assaulted her senses until she couldn't stand it.

The dark, crumbling smell of dead leaves and wet wood flooded her brain with images and confused emotions. She shoved the memories back down where she couldn't see them. She didn't want to think about the woods, but she couldn't escape them. She couldn't bring herself to move forward and she couldn't go back.

The memories brought the bear with them, the bear hibernating in her soul. The bear grumbled in its sleep. She had to kill the memories fast before they woke the bear. She couldn't face the bear. The bear would rend and tear and kill. It wouldn't stop or go back to sleep until it killed the whole world in raging fury.

The trees wouldn't leave her alone. They wouldn't let the memories submerge. The smells nagged the memories awake to bury her under their overwhelming tidal wave. She turned this way and that, but she couldn't see the way out of the woods. She could see only more and more trees hemming her in on all sides.

A snapping twig made her turn on her heel, and she came face to face with the biggest bear she had ever seen. She might be a Bruin, but she hadn't seen many of them in their bear forms. She kept inside where Bruins stayed human. She didn't want to see a bear. She didn't want to think about Bruins as bears.

This bear studied her with his flinty black eyes. His golden-brown hair hung thick and fine around his shoulders and down his back. She didn't recognize him like this. He took a step toward her and lowered his head. He swung his head back and forth and rumbled low under his breath.

She glanced around, but she couldn't see the path anywhere. She had to keep an eye on that bear coming toward her and keep an eye on the trees at the same time. Her heart thumped against her ribs, but in the end, she fixed her eyes on him. He came closer and closer. He glanced up at her face each time he passed his head to the other side.

He stopped in front of her and barked a low grunt. His shoulder stood almost as high as her head, but he didn't threaten her. He flared his nostrils to catch her scent, and a screaming bolt of fear mixed with excitement sparked a skip in her pulse. Something tingled in her guts. What did he smell when he inhaled her scent like that?

She couldn't remember life as a bear. She hadn't shifted since she was a young girl. Even now, the woods didn't welcome her the way they should.

He came closer, and his big head touched her leg. He rubbed his cheek against her thigh with the rumblings vibrating deep in his chest. She tried to pull away, but he followed her. If she withdrew a step, he advanced a step to meet her.

He lifted his head and touched his wet nose to her cheek. She kept absolutely stiff and still and waited for him to leave. What did he want with her? Something deep in her soul already knew what he wanted. He wanted her, and he wanted her as a bear. If she stood still and didn't change, he would have no choice but to back off. He would leave her alone and she could take her eyes off him long enough to find the path back to her Homestead.

He sniffed all around her face and down her neck. He blew his breath into her face so she caught his scent in return. She couldn't stand it any longer. She clamped her eyes shut and held her breath so she wouldn't smell that unmistakable Bruin smell.

All at once, he wasn't there anymore. She didn't feel his warm breath or smell him—at least not as well as she did a moment before. She squirreled one eye open, and there he was, a few feet away. In front of her eyes, he pushed himself up on his hind legs. His shoulders squared, and his arms hung straight down. His golden fur shrank into his skin, and his face flattened.

She got a good look at him then. His brown hair ran back from his forehead to hang around his ears and neck. The last time she saw him, he wore a full beard down to his chest. Now he wore it trimmed to a neat goatee with muttonchops cutting down his cheeks to his jaw. His chest stretched wide and solid under his T-shirt, and his leather belt sat on chiseled hips to hold his jeans around his powerful legs.

He surveyed her up and down. “You're Marla, aren't you?”

Marla stiffened. “Who are you?”

“I'm Walker Cunningham.”

She looked away. “I don't know you.”

“I know you,” he countered. “I haven't seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper, but I recognize you. You look different now.”

She shifted from one foot to the other. “So what?”

“Why didn't you shift just now?” he asked.

“What for?” she snapped.

A touch of a smile played around his lips. “We could go for a walk together.”

She pulled her head down between her shoulders. “I don't want to.”

“Why not?” He couldn’t stop grinning. “It could be fun.”

“Naw,” she mumbled. “I better get home.”

His grin faded. “If you don't want to shift and you don't want to go for a walk, what are you doing out here?”

She shrugged. “I just wanted to get out for a while. I wanted to get away from my family.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” he admitted, “but it works a whole lot better if you shift first.”

She turned her head so she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. She bit off her words to avoid saying them out loud. “Whatever.”

He hurried to fill the gap she left open. “What's your problem with shifting?”

“I don't shift,” she declared.

“Why not?”

She lost her nerve when he challenged her. She went back to shrugging and looking away. “I just don't want to”.

“That makes no sense,” he countered. “You're a Bruin, aren't you?”

“I don't have to be a Bruin if I don't want to be,” she grumbled. “As long as I don't shift, I'm not one.”

He put his head one side. “You're a strange bird, aren't you?”

She bit back a smile. He had a curious knack of working his way under her skin. “You just said I was a Bruin, so I guess that makes me a strange Bruin.”

He pointed at her. “And you said if you don't change, you're not really a Bruin—although I don't see why you don't want to be one—so I guess that makes you a strange bird.”

“I'm not a bird and I'm not a Bruin.” She confronted him straight on for the first time. “I'm just me.”

He held both hands open. “Okay. I can accept that.”

“So…can I go now?” She leaned in the direction of the path.

He stood back to let her pass. “I'm not stopping you.”

She looked around, but she didn't move. What was wrong with her? She wanted to leave, but she didn't. She kept staring at him in wonder. She couldn't understand him at all. She couldn't understand herself, either.

He took a step closer. His bear presence occupied her very thoughts. “You didn't tell me what you were doing here.”

She took a step back to get away from him. “No, I didn't.”

“Are you lost or something?”

She looked down at the ground. “I can't seem to find the path.”

“I could take you home.”

Her hand shot out. “No!”

His eyes widened. He was too stunned to answer.

“I'm just not ready to go home yet,” she muttered.

“What's going on at home that you want to get away from your family?”

She waved her hand and sighed. “Just the usual nonsense about finding a mate and getting married.”

He broke into a broad smile. “You, too? That's all I ever hear about these days.”

She eyed him closer. “You? I'm sure you don't have any trouble finding admirers.”

He laughed out loud. “That is so sweet of you to say, and you're right. I don't. I just have trouble finding people I admire.”

She snorted. “I'll bet you do.”

“Stop complimenting me,” he exclaimed. “I can't stand praise.”

“I'm not complimenting you,” she returned. “I'm just saying.”

“You're saying I should have a lot of admirers and would have trouble finding people I admire. You must mean I'm admirable.”

She waved her hand up and down. “Well, look at you. You look like an Alpha.”

He threw out his chest. “I am Alpha.”

“You are?”

“I'm the oldest son, and my father is too old to run the tribe, so I'm taking over.”

She regarded him with new eyes. She could believe it. He towered over her with his muscular bulk. He occupied every inch of space in every direction.

“What about you?” he asked.

“What about me?” she shot back. “I'm not Alpha, and I'm not going to be.”

“I don't mean that. I mean what's your shtick?”

She frowned. “Shtick?”

“You're the youngest in your family,” he explained. “What are your plans?”

She shoved her hands into her pockets. “Do I have to have plans?”

“Are you just going to hang around your Homestead, or do you have anything you want to accomplish in life?”

“I hadn't really thought about it.” She glared into the forest in the direction of her Homestead. “To hear my parents talk, there's nothing for me to accomplish in life besides getting married and having a bunch of cubs.”

“Of course, there's something for you to accomplish in life,” he countered.
“You shouldn't get married if you don't want to.”

Her eyes flashed at him. “Who said I don't want to?”

He shrugged. “Nobody.”

She turned the tables on him. “Do you want to get married? You said your parents keep working on you to do it.”

“I want to get married,” he replied.

“So, what's stopping you?” she challenged.

“Finding the right woman.”

She scanned him up and down. “I'm sure you can find a woman. I'm sure you can have any woman you want.”

“I only want one.” He held up his index finger. “The right one.”

Marla softened. “Well, I only want the right one, too, but I haven't found him yet.”

His eyes popped open. “Hey, I've got an idea. How about you and I get married? That would satisfy both our families at once.”

She drew back, tensed to run. “You're feeble. You're too feeble to handle your tribe. Leave the Alpha job to someone who can think.”

“I'm serious,” he exclaimed. “I like you and you like me, so let's do it.”

“What makes you think I like you?” she growled.

“Just the way you keep looking at me like that.” He smiled in spite of her curled-up lip. “Just the way your cheeks turned pink when I said it. You want to marry me, don't you?”

“I want to kick you in the nuts and leave you coughing until you cool down,” she spat. “I'm not marrying you or anybody else.”

“Why not?” he demanded. “You just said you want to get married.”

“I never said I want to get married,” she argued. “I asked who said I didn't want to get married.”

“So, do you or don't you?”

“Sure, but I don't want to marry Alpha Walker Cunningham, so you can put your cock back in your pocket.”

The confident smile melted off his face, and a hard snarl took its place. “You've got a dirty mouth.”

She bared her teeth. “I can get a lot dirtier than that, so stop talking about marrying me.”

He lowered his voice. “Okay. I'll stop. I just thought...”

“Don't think,” she snapped. “Thinking's not your strong suit.”

He clenched his teeth. “You're good at that, aren't you?”

“Good at what?”

His words bit. “Good at driving people away with your mouth.”

“It seems to work.” She grinned a big ugly grin. “I'm doing a pretty good job with you, too, if I judge right.”

His shoulders stiffened. “You won't drive me away that way.”

“How will I then?”

“Just keep telling me you don't want to marry me, but I don't believe you.”

“What can I do to make you believe it?”

He put out his hand and took hers. He rolled her hand in his fingertips. “Kiss me.”

For some reason, she didn't take her hand away. “Kiss my ass.”

“I'd love to. Bend over and pull down your pants and I'll do a lot more than that.”

Marla's cheeks burned. He had a comeback for every snappy crack she made. He tugged her hand and pulled her in closer. His face hung inches away from her. She smelled his bear breath and the dark earthy skin under his shirt. His smell filled her mind with tastes of his body and salty sweat.

His voice hypnotized her. “Kiss me, Marla. Kiss me.”

She couldn't pull away. As his lips grazed her forehead, the blood pulsed behind her eyes. She couldn't breathe. He dominated her being. His lips appeared on her mouth and woke her to heated excitement. Before she could stop herself, he sucked her down into his dark kiss. His lips moved over her mouth, and his tongue touched her teeth. She opened her mouth in astonished surprise, and his tongue slipped in to find hers.

She stared at his enormous face hovering there in front of her. His eyes were half-closed. He wasn't looking at her at all. He was somewhere far away, lost in her kiss. Out of nowhere, his hand materialized against her back, and he pressed her against his rock-hard body. His muscles spoke to soft places on her chest, on her belly, on her legs. He lit every inch of her on fire, all the way up to his warm tender lips filling her mind with their delirious delight.

He noticed her watching him, and his eyes widened to meet her gaze. His kiss subsided, and he explored her soul to discover where she was and what she was thinking. She stared at him in a ferment of confusion, but she didn't respond. She didn't throw her body against his to break herself out of her long torpor. She should, but she didn't. She just stood there and let him kiss her.

He released her mouth and leaned back to get a better look at her face. He drove in to kiss her again before moving back. He delivered one kiss after another, always retreating to gauge her reaction before swooping in again.

He licked her saliva off his lips. “That's why we should get married.”

She pulled out of his arms. “That? That was nothing.”

“Nothing?” he barked. “Is that what I am to you?”

“How could you be something? I don't even know who you are.”

“I told you. I'm Walker Cunningham.”

“Walker Cunningham, Alpha.” She snorted. “I'm so impressed.”

“You liked that, didn't you?” he purred. “It could be like that all the time.”

She shrugged and looked away. “Meh.”

His jaw dropped. Then he closed it with a snap. He set his face in a mask of determination. With one quick move of his hand, he caught her around the back and jerked her against him. He brought his knee up between her legs and hugged her crotch against it. At the same moment, he closed his mouth over hers and devoured her lips and tongue with everything he had.

His other hand circled her neck to demand her for himself. He pressed his knee up hard against her. Her whole being screamed against his hands, but her body responded of its own accord. She couldn't stop her box twitching and the hot nectar seeping from her opening to moisten her panties where he rubbed them into her tissues.

He ran his hands down her back to grab her ass in both big paws. He lifted her up to set her down on his thick thigh. Burning desire took hold of her. Against her will, her hips flexed to rock toward him and hit her crotch against his leg.

He let go of her lips to purr into her ear. “You like that, don't you, baby? Does that turn you on?”

Some supernatural force blew out of the depths of her being and exploded through her arms. Her hands flew out and slammed against his broad chest. She shoved him back so hard he stumbled and almost toppled over on his tail bone. “Get off me! Leave me alone!”

Before he finished catching his balance, she spun around and hurried away through the woods toward home. She had to get away from him fast. Marla staggered through the woods. She couldn't see the flagstone path, but forgotten instincts from her childhood guided her. Home drew her in its direction. She didn't have to see where she was going.

Powerful forces and sensations swept through her. Memories and emotions fought one on top of the other for her attention. The bear growled inside her and rolled over in its sleep. It blinked its eyes and lifted its head to look at Marla.

She ran for all she was worth from that bear. She couldn't let it wake up and take over her life. She would be lost if she didn't find a way to put it back to sleep. She had to get out these woods before all the sights and sounds and smells woke the bear and it started marauding over the countryside.

The bear wouldn't go back to sleep, though. It smelled something it wanted. It smelled something delicious and inviting, something good to eat, something to satisfy its long hunger. It smelled Walker, and it wouldn't go back to sleep until it got him back.

What did he do to her? How could he touch her and kiss her like that? How could he tell how much that touch sparked her sleeping passion? Didn't she do a good enough job at concealing how much she wanted it?

She didn't want it at all. Marla didn't want him or any other man. The bear wanted it. The bear wanted him, and no other. He didn't know what it cost her to keep that bear asleep and oblivious all these years. She did a good job up until now, but she couldn't scream and beat the bear with her fists to bury it in sleep. The bear got up and stretched its stiff furry legs. It started looking around for something.

She panted in the effort of fighting her way up the hill. “Leave me alone! Leave me alone!”

The bear would never leave her alone again. She was doomed. She clawed her way all the way up the hill and came out behind the shed, where metal clanged. Aiken was still at work, so she couldn't go hide in there. She had no choice but to go inside the house. She could only hope her behavior earlier in the morning would make everyone avoid her. She could get to her room in a hurry and stay there.

Walker kept intruding on her thoughts. His presence, his smell, his deep brown eyes and hair danced before her eyes. He moved in on her and kissed her a thousand times, even when he was nowhere near her anymore. He could take what he wanted from her, and he knew it.

Gravitational attraction dragged her kicking and screaming toward him. No amount of fighting and swearing could save her. She hated herself for responding to him, but she couldn't stop her body from reacting to his touch. The bear did it for her. The bear welcomed him in all his infuriating dominance.

She caught her breath behind the shed until she regained her equilibrium. She could face her family as long as she didn't have to face Walker again. She could face anything but him. The bear subsided from her thoughts, but it didn't go back to sleep. Age-old hungers nagged her soul, but at least she could think about something else for a little while longer.

She took a step out into the sunshine. The sun warmed the rose garden and sent the perfume of petals wafting on the breeze. Marla took a deep breath. That scent wiped the other scent out of her mind, and she started to relax.

She got all the way up the path, through the gate, and to the foot of the porch steps when Harmony came out of the house. She glared at Marla and pursed her lips, but said nothing. She walked right past Marla and kept walking toward the woods.

Marla's resentment against her sister-in-law softened. She envied Harmony. Harmony could go out into the woods whenever she wanted. Harmony never had to worry about shifting into a bear. She could mate with her beloved husband. She could give in to her soul's deepest desires without worrying something terrible would happen.

Harmony disappeared into the forest shadows. She didn't go anywhere near the shed. Maybe it was Boyd in there instead of Aiken. Maybe Aiken waited for Harmony somewhere in the woods. They would rendezvous and enjoy each other’s bodies in the joy of union. Wouldn’t that be wonderful, to join with your heart’s mate in the forest without fear or revulsion?

At least now the coast was clear for Marla to crawl in her hole. The front door still hung off its hinge. She peeked through the doorway, but didn't see anybody. She shot forward and raced for the stairs. She flew upstairs and into her bedroom before anybody could see her. She eased her door shut with a click and threw herself down on her bed with her face buried in the pillow.