Ben stood in front of the door for what seemed like an eternity. Penny was his. His mate. The revelation hit Ben like a sack full of bricks to the gut.

That was what mine meant, right? His bear recognized her. It didn’t know how to tell him. Well, it did, in its own fucked up way, tearing out of him and mauling the guy who hurt her.

Ben walked back to his truck, trying to put a coherent thought together. He wished his dad were here. He remembered James telling him about meeting Laura, his mate, for the first time. “I knew right away,” he had said. “Well, my bear did. But I had to take it slow. She’s human, so she didn’t know these things. I wanted her right away, but I had to play by her rules.”

Of course, Ben’s arrival into their lives nearly derailed their relationship. His birth mom had died when he was only three years old and left him with James. His father hadn’t even known he existed until that point, but was willing to take on the responsibility of a son. And much to her credit, Laura stepped up right away, despite having only been with James for a few months. “I fell in love with you the moment I saw you,” Laura would tell him while he was growing up. “Maybe even sooner than I did with your dad,” she’d joke with a knowing smile at James.

As Ben started up the truck, he wondered what he was supposed to do now. His instinct was to take care of her right away. He wanted nothing more than to make sure she never had to worry about anything else in her life. She wouldn’t have to work at The Den and have those other men looking at her or trying to touch her. The mere thought of any other man around her was getting his bear agitated. Yeah, the sooner that happened the better. Then she could just stay home and take care of their cubs. Maybe four or five would be nice ….

But, thinking back to what his father had said, he had to respect that Penny was a human. He had to take it slow. Woo her. Be gentle. He knew where he could start. That piece of junk car of hers. He could tow it back to town, have J.D., their trusted mechanic, take a look and get it fixed for her. He'd rather get her a new car, but that could wait until later.

He’d go slow with her. Yeah, that’s it. Penny was sweet and shy, and she probably would be confused at first. But, she was his mate, one that his bear recognized, and so that should be all that mattered. He would do whatever it took to win her.

* * *

Since it was late, Ben towed Penny’s car all the way back to his cabin and then woke up early the next day to take it to J.D.’s Garage in town. Soon, the car was ready and J.D. even offered one of the guys to help return it to Greenville. He and the other guy drove up with Ben leading the way. It was early yet, so they quietly parked the car in her driveway and left in his Jeep.

And now, two hours later, he was back at work in the mines. He had done his usual rounds inside, checking things over, and headed back to his trailer office to get paperwork done.

“Boss.”

“Yeah?” He looked up. The door was halfway open and Boone, one of the workers, popped his head in. “What is it?”

“Security asked me to come check in with you.”

“What for?”

“There’re a couple guys are outside, looking for you. I mean, they said they’re looking for work.”

“Shifters?”

“Yeah. Bears.”

Ben put down the invoices he was examining. Walk-ins weren’t unusual, especially since everyone knew the mine was always looking for shifters willing to put in the work. “All right, give me five and have security escort them over.”

Boone nodded, then disappeared. A couple of minutes later, the door to his office opened. “Thanks, John,” he said to their new head of security as he led the two men behind him in.

“Have a seat,” Ben instructed. He watched as the two men looked at each other, shrugged, and then sat down on the chairs in front of his desk. As they came closer, his bear began to stir. Hmm …. That happened sometimes, when he was around new shifters, so he ignored it. “You guys looking for jobs?”

The one sitting on the right spoke up. “Yeah. We heard you folks hire people like us.” He was the older of the two, with long, stringy blond hair and a scraggly beard. Definitely a bear shifter; he could sense the man’s bear and see the glint in his eye. “Name’s Tyler.”

The younger man looked similar to Tyler, except his hair was cropped close to his head. “Are you father and son?” Ben asked.

“Nah, cousins,” Tyler answered. “But Rick and I used to drive a rig together.”

“Ah, so you guys are truckers?”

“Yeah. But business was slow; we had to be let go.”

“Are you looking for seasonal work?”

“Huh?” Tyler looked confused.

“Uh, seasonal. I mean, just until the summer when things pick up for you?”

Tyler laughed. “No need for fancy words with us,” he said. “We’re just simple folk, right?”

Ben shifted in his seat. “Sure, yeah.”

“We’d like to stay on, as long as it takes.” The smile Tyler gave him was unnerving.

Ben wasn’t sure why, but his bear seemed on edge. Not angry or out of control, but there was something about these people that didn’t sit right with his animal. They smelled strange, too. He could detect the fur, but not their natural scent. It was like they were wearing cologne to mask their normal shifter smell. He took a calming breath.

“Does he speak?” Ben nodded to Rick.

“He does, but not too much. Right, boy?”

“Y-y-yes,” Rick stammered.

“He’s simple, see? His momma dropped him on his head when he was young.” Tyler cackled. “But he’s strong. And so am I. Don’t let the age fool ya.”

“Right.” Two more guys could help their operations, plus Lennox Corp. was all about helping shifters and giving them jobs when no one else would. But there was something about them that just didn’t feel right. He reached for some papers under his desk. “Well, Tyler, Rick. Why don’t you guys fill out these forms,” he handed the papers to them, “and then drop them off with security? I’ll make sure HR gets them.”

“Thank you, Boss,” Tyler said with a wink.

Ben waited for them to leave, but the two men remain planted in their seats. “Was there anything else?”

Tyler looked at the application form. “Oh, no siree.” He grabbed Rick by the elbow and pulled up the younger man. “We’ll be on our way then, Mr. Walker, sir.” The two men got up and left the office.

Ben had never gotten the heebie jeebies, but having those men in his office was probably the closest he had come to being creeped out. They had a strange vibe, and he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was. And his bear? It was still pacing around uncomfortably.

“Yo, Ben!” The door opened again, knocking him out of his thoughts.

“Hey Nathan, what’s up?”

Nathan walked over and plopped down in one of the chairs. “Who the hell were those guys?”

“They were looking for work.”

Nathan gave an exaggerated shiver. “Was it me or did they have a creepy vibe?”

So it wasn’t just me. “Yeah, huh?” He’d call HR in the morning and tell them to give the usual thanks-but-no-thanks reply. He put all thoughts of the duo aside and turned back to Nathan. “So, did you need anything?”

“Yeah, you got time?”

“Sure.”

“Jason called. Said he wants to meet with you, me, and Luke at Lennox HQ. Matthew will be there, too.”

“Did he say what it was about?”

Nathan shook his head. “Not over the phone, he said."

Ben stood up and grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone. “Must be important. Let’s go.”