Ben remembered two things from those few moments before blinding rage took over: that familiar sweet scent in the air and a flash of something red. Not blood red, but a coppery color. And soft. It had been so subtle, he hadn’t even noticed it at the time. He had been walking back to their table from the john when he felt something brush against him as he walked by.

It was her. As her coppery curls caressed his arm, the sweet smell of oranges and raspberries went straight into his system. He turned around and realized he had walked right behind her as she stood talking to some customers. He couldn’t see her face, but he stared at her, memorizing the details of her petite frame and the sensuous curves of her ass. He couldn’t move; he stood rooted to the spot.

Something had rumbled in his chest, a deep sound that sounded like ….

Mi—

Before he could complete his thought, he saw that man grab her. She obviously did not want his attention, so she struggled and fell back. Then all hell broke loose.

“What the fuck was that about, Ben?” a familiar voice asked, bringing him back to the present.

Ben’s eyes flew open, and he found himself staring up at the ceiling of a log cabin. It wasn’t his, he was pretty sure of that. It didn’t smell like his cabin. It smelled like ….

“Luke?” he called as he got up, looking around for his cousin. He had been lying on the floor of the sparse cabin, but he wasn’t alone. Nathan and Luke were seated on the leather couch, while Jason stood off to the side, pacing back and forth.

“What the hell is going on?” Jason asked, his face red with anger. Jason, his younger cousin who was always getting into trouble—the one who he more often than not had to rescue—was mad at him. And it was obvious why.

“I just … I couldn’t stop.” Ben ran his fingers through his hair, trying to make sense of it all. The girl. Some guy touching her. And her falling and getting hurt. “Shit.”

“You mean you just went berserk for no reason?” Nathan asked. Luke stared at Ben, his eerie golden eyes piercing straight through him.

“I mean, it wasn’t for no reason.” How could he explain this? “Er, it was that guy. He was being an asshole.”

“Human,” Luke spat. “One of those townies over from Greenville. Bet he was hoping for a look-see at us shifters.”

“Yeah, well looks like he got more than he bargained for,” Nathan snickered.

“You almost killed him,” Jason pointed out. “They took him to the hospital. He just got out of surgery. Matthew’s making good with him and the authorities now.”

Fuck. “And the girl?”

“What girl are you talking about?” Jason asked. “No one else was hurt, as far as we know.”

“Your bear’s been out of control,” Luke stated.

The silence and tension in the room grew thick. How did Luke know? Did they all know? Ben stood up and looked around the room. “It’s nothing,” he said. “Can I borrow some clothes or something? I can walk home.” He had to get out of there.

“I can take you home, man,” Nathan offered. “Just sit down or something. Talk to us.”

These guys weren’t his brothers, but they were the closest thing he had to them. It didn’t matter, though. This wasn’t their burden. “I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “I can walk home.” It was probably a couple of miles back to his cabin. He could grab his spare keys and then pick up his Jeep at The Den. Oh fuck. “I should probably go and apologize to Tim for destroying his bar.” He could only imagine the kind of damage he had done. Plus, he could go check on the girl.

Jason shook his head and put his palm on Ben’s shoulder to stop him. “No way.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Tim’s furious at you, doesn’t want you anywhere near him or the bar.” Jason tsked. “You nearly took him down, Ben.”

“Fucking shit,” he cursed. He couldn’t believe it. Tim’s polar bear was a mean sonofabitch. Probably would have been Alpha if there were more of his kind around. “Until when?”

“Until he says so,” Jason said.

Dammit. How the hell was he supposed to find out who she was? He had to know if she was okay. For a second, he thought of asking Jason or Nathan—they knew almost all the staff at The Den—but he quickly shut down that idea. For some reason, he didn’t want them knowing he was looking for her.

“Tell Tim I’m sorry and I’ll pay for all the damages.” He knew Matthew would probably try to pay for everything, but it was his responsibility. Besides, it’s not like he didn’t have the money. He wasn’t as rich as his dragon cousins, but he did all right.

Jason let out an exasperated breath. “Fine. Luke, can you get Ben some clothes? I can drive him home.”

"Thanks, man." He had to find out who she was. And for the first time in a long while, his bear did something that surprised him. It agreed with him.

* * *

The Den had been closed for two days. The cleanup and construction crew were there the day after the incident, and they worked through the weekend to get the place ready to open by Monday night. Ben knew because he’d been waiting across the street, watching all the cars and people who went in and out of the parking lot. Matthew must have brought in the crew from his grandfather’s construction company, as he didn’t know how else Tim could have gotten service that fast.

Tim had said Ben wasn’t welcome in The Den, but he didn’t say he couldn’t watch from outside. After work, he borrowed one of the old trucks they used at the mines, in case anyone recognized his Jeep. He didn’t want to miss his chance to run into the girl.

What if she had quit? What if she never came back? A deep growl rumbled from his chest. Yeah, even his bear wasn’t happy with that thought.

“Well, who’s fault is that?” he said, then shook his head. “I must be going crazy, talking to you.”

He let out a deep breath and placed his hands on the steering wheel, tapping his fingers across the worn leather cover. It was an hour before opening time and there were already a couple of cars in the parking lot. He saw Tim and a few of his employees, but no sign of the girl.

He was nearly losing hope when he spotted a rusty Toyota the color of baby puke sputter into the parking lot. It was still too early for customers, and the car had out-of-state plates. It stopped in one of the employee spots, and the door opened. The petite redhead stepped out and swung her purse over her shoulder, then slammed the door shut.

That was definitely her. Even from a distance, his enhanced sight could make out the coppery red curls. And the curve of her ass that seemed to be burned in his mind. His cock twitched, and he wondered what the rest of her looked like.

He rubbed his hand over his face. No, he wasn’t here for that. He was just going to go to her and say sorry and make sure she was okay. That was it.

Ben sat in the car for hours, fiddling with his phone, trying to kill time until The Den closed. There were surprisingly a lot of cars there. Of course, very few bars outside Blackstone accepted shifters. He probably knew most of the people in there right now; many of them were his employees, looking to relax after a long, hard day working in the mines.

The lot began to empty, and he knew she would leave any moment. Sure enough, the Toyota came out and headed east. Ben turned the key in the ignition and went in the same direction. He spotted the car as it was entering the highway.

It was easy enough to follow the car; he could use his enhanced sight to stay a respectable distance. If she noticed she was being followed, she didn’t show it. The car continued down the freeway for a couple of miles without taking any exits. “Where the heck is she going?” Ben had thought maybe she lived in Blackstone or one of the neighboring towns, but they were driving much farther away.

He had been so distracted trying to figure out where she lived, he didn’t notice that her car had slowed down, eased into the shoulder, then completely stopped. He slammed on the brakes, then put the gear in reverse, pulling back until he was just in front of the Toyota. He glanced up in the rearview mirror.

The front door opened, and he heard a frustrated sigh, followed by a soft thunk, then a pained cry. He quickly exited the car and trudged toward her.

“Are you—”

Ben felt like someone had punched him in the gut. Air escaped his lungs as he drank in the sight of her. If he thought she was gorgeous from behind … she was even more spectacular from the front. Wide, curvy hips dipped into a small waist. Tits that would certainly be more than a handful. Her skin was like marble, but he bet it would feel velvety smooth. Red coppery curls framed a beautiful, softly rounded face. As soon as their gazes clashed, he was knocked back into reality.

“… okay?”

Eyes the color of dark jade looked up at him curiously. He shut down the growl that was building inside him. The bear was scratching at him, grumbling and grunting something incoherent. Shut up! Don’t frighten her, he begged.

She looked down at her feet. “Uhm … my car broke down,” she said in a soft voice.

“Oh. Right.” Why did his throat suddenly feel dry?

She shuffled her feet.

“Do you have anyone you can call?” he asked, finally getting his head on straight. “Triple-A? A towing company? A neighbor?”

“I’m not really sure. I can’t afford either of the first two, so I guess I could wake up my neighbor.” She bit her lip, her white teeth digging into the soft, pink flesh in a way that made him stifle a groan.

“I can take you home.”

Her head snapped up, and her eyes grew wide.

“I mean,” he cleared his throat, “take you to your home.” He wiped his hand on his pants and held it out to her. “I’m Ben. Ben Walker.”

“I know who you are,” she said. “I-I-I mean ….”

There was a fear in her eyes that made his uncomfortable, and he instantly knew she recognized him. He dropped his hand. “I’m sorry. About the other night. You weren’t hurt, were you?”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t.” Her eyes went wide. “Do you live near—wait, are you following me?” Her voice pitched higher, and he could hear the alarm in her tone. She staggered back until she hit the hood of her car.

Fuck. This wasn’t what he wanted. But he supposed it was his fault, following a girl home in the dark of night like some creeper. “Don’t be scared, please. I won’t hurt you.”

“Y-y-you turned … and now ….”

“Yeah. I didn’t mean to lose control like that. And I wasn’t following you. I mean, I was …,” he said in a sheepish tone as he scratched the back of his neck. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry and to check if you were okay … uh ….”

“Penny,” she offered. “Penny Bennet.”

Penny. Pretty Penny. It suited her. “Penny. Why don’t you let me take you home? As an apology. I promise, I’m not here to hurt you. You can take your phone out and have 911 on standby while we’re in the truck.”

She sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled. “I suppose. I mean, the people at the bar … Heather and the other servers, they know you. I mean, they didn’t say you were a creep or anything. So I suppose it’s okay if you give me a ride home.”

Ben didn’t know if he felt reassured or alarmed by the fact that she would easily take a ride from a stranger. Of course, it was the middle of the night and there were no other cars on the highway. One thing was for sure, he was glad he followed her tonight. She could have been alone. Or worse.

He tamped down the snarl in his throat. “Where do you live?”

“Over in Greenville,” she said. “I’ll give you directions if you need them.”

“Sure.” He led her to the truck and opened the passenger side door for her. Penny gave him a grateful nod, then climbed inside. She was a little short, so it took her two tries to get in, which he thought was adorable, just like her shapely ass.

“So,” he said as he turned the key in the ignition, “which way?”

She put her seatbelt on. “Just keep driving. It’s the next exit.”

He steered the car back onto the highway. As he drove, he tried to glance at her from the corner of his eye. Penny had squeezed herself all the way to the other side, and her hands were on her lap, fiddling with her purse. She was obviously nervous. It was practically mixed in with her scent, that slight bitter tinge of apprehension. He wished he could reassure her, but he would just have to show her he could be trusted.

The highway signs said the exit to Greenville was up next, so he prepared to turn.

“Just turn right after the exit ramp,” she said. “It’s not much farther.”

He did as she instructed, turning onto the old country road.

“Over there,” she said, pointing to the right. A sign propped up by the side of the road read ‘East Community Housing.’ There was a paved driveway that led to a row of trailers. “It’s the last one on the left.”

Ben pulled the truck in front of the trailer. It was a single wide, and while it wasn’t big, it was neat, with cream siding and a blue roof. A white fence ran around the small front yard, which was still bare thanks to the melting snow. There was an evergreen tree to the side which probably provided some privacy and shade in the mornings.

“What? You’ve never been in a trailer park?” she asked.

He didn't realize he'd been staring. “We got trailers up in the mining site. For office and storage and stuff.”

“Right.” She let out a breath. “Well, thanks,” she said as she reached for the door.

“No.”

She froze.

Ben cleared his throat. “I mean, you should let me help you.” He got out, walked over to her side, and opened the door. “It’s still slippery from the snow.” He held out his hand.

She ignored his hand as she slid down from the passenger seat on her own.

He tried not to let her reluctance to touch his hand bother him. “Let me walk you up.”

“That’s not necessary,” she said quickly. “I mean, you’ve done a lot already.”

“It's fine.” He tried to grab her elbow, but she moved away.

“What do you want?” she asked, looking up at him. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, her breath coming out in short gasps as puffs of air escaped her lips.

“Huh?” He scratched his head. “I just want to help.”

“But why?”

Why indeed. “I just … I thought maybe you were hurt that night. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine,” she huffed. “It’s getting late. You should go.” She turned around and began to walk to the front of her trailer.

His bear roared at him, and he wrestled down an urge building inside him. “Wait, Penny.”

She stopped but didn’t look at him. “What?”

“Will you be at work tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Can I come see you? Before or after?”

Her shoulders sagged. “I think you should go home, Ben.”

“I—”

“Please.” She turned around to face him. Her skin was flushed. “Please leave me alone.”

“I can’t.” That came out of nowhere, but he knew it was true. He was drawn to her. “Penny—”

“What do you mean you can’t? You didn't even notice me that night, so what’s different now?”

Huh? “Excuse me?” He came closer to her. “What are you talking about?”

“Th-that night of the engagement party,” she stammered. “You bumped into me, put me aside, and then ignored me.”

“I did?” He searched through his brain, trying to find the memory. “I just don’t remember. I've only ever seen you last Saturday.” But then he realized it wasn’t the first time he had been around her. The scent. The first time he smelled it was a few weeks ago, at Catherine and Matthew’s party. “I’m sorry. I was preoccupied.” It came back to him. He had been excited for the engagement and to see his sister Amelia. She lived a couple of towns over and was hardly ever home. He remembered bumping into someone and then pushing her aside.

She sighed. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter.”

It obviously bothered her, which bothered him. “Look, Penny—”

“Goodnight, Ben,” she said, turning away from him.

He watched her run to her house, jogging up the small porch quickly. He seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move until she was gone and the door closed behind her.

It was then he realized what his bear was trying to vocalize.

Mine.