“Are you sure you don’t want me to fix one more thing before I leave?” Hunter insisted, lingering in the doorway of her already much nicer cabin at the end of an incredibly long day for the mysteriously tireless man.

“No, no, you’ve done enough already. I appreciate it, but you deserve rest, too.” She stood propped against the frame, looking up at him as he raised an eyebrow down on her, testing her one last chance.

Already, he’d replaced multiple beams along the deck on both the front and back of her house, sanded them, and applied a coat of lacquer. Inside, he’d reworked the bannister leading upstairs, as well as replaced or rewired half a dozen electrical outlets throughout the home. Not to mention the sheer amount of roofing materials that lay waiting in her driveway that he’d singlehandedly unloaded while she hadn’t been looking.

If she wasn’t wrong, it seemed like he moved quicker than a normal human should be able to whenever she wasn’t looking. But maybe he was just that kind of guy, always giving one hundred and ten percent with every job.

Even if he was doing it for free.

“Fine. I’ll just have to come in earlier tomorrow, then,” he said with a rakish grin. He tipped his hat to her, then strode toward his giant white truck, giving Kelly a perfect view of his impossibly wide shoulders that tapered down to trim hips and an amazing ass.

Keep it professional, Kelly.

Hunter jumped into his truck and gave her one last wave as it rumbled down the gravel road that headed toward town. Even in the rear window, she could make out the shape of his hat until it disappeared with the truck down the bend, the sound dissipating quickly into the silent forest surrounding her.

Suddenly aware of just how alone she was, Kelly shut the front door and did the lock, noting with satisfaction how much heftier it felt since he’d installed a new deadbolt and replaced the hinges. Holes where the old hinges had been clinging to showed, but Hunter said he’d refinish the front door too when he got a chance.

What a guy.

She headed to the back of the house, checking the locks on the doors leading onto the deck, a force of habit. Then, certain she hadn’t left any windows open, she headed upstairs to her bedroom, ready to turn in for the night.

The day had been eventful for her, too. And in spite of the noise from Hunter’s tools here and there, she’d thankfully been able to get a good deal of work done.

Each step creaked beneath her, but Hunter had assured Kelly that, of all the things that needed to be fixed, the stairs at least were still in good shape. Thank heavens.

Kelly reached her room, shutting the door and locking it behind her before changing into something more comfortable for bed and getting in. She checked her phone, noting it was half past ten, amazed that anyone would be able to work more than a twelve-hour day like Hunter had, let alone free of charge.

Perhaps charity work was just one of his things. Yet, whenever she tried to think of his incredibly strenuous labor on her behalf, she got the impression that he didn’t think of her as a charity case.

She certainly didn’t feel like one, based on his intense focus on her and her house.

Kelly opened an app on her phone and resumed the novel she’d last been reading before she’d abruptly moved, relaxing into her bed.

Thankfully, from her position on the bed, she could see through a huge window that looked out into the forest below her house. Outside, towering pines rose above her view, silent sentinels over the landscape beneath them.

She let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps the first real relief she’d had since moving here to Silver Lake, enjoying the absolute quiet of her new home. Even compared to the suburb she’d lived in before coming here, everywhere felt so devoid of noise and hustle and bustle out in the woods.

She could definitely get used to it.

And now that she was starting to feel at peace, Kelly could sense hope growing in her at the possibility of something more out here. Exactly what, she didn’t know. But it felt like big things were coming, regardless.

Such hope could hurt her, definitely. But Hunter was right. Being alone wasn’t safe either. And having Hunter here with her all day, giving her even a slight bit of breathing room for herself to be able to work without constantly looking over her shoulder, spoke volumes to exactly that.

Thus far, she’d done her best to warn Hunter, to let him know she was keeping her eye out for something without making him run away, thinking she was crazy. And thus far, he’d taken it in stride, listening to her but not forcing information out of her that Kelly wasn’t ready yet to give.

Part of her believed that Hunter deserved the truth on the matter. But another part, the cynical part that had seen exactly how badly the people around her had acted in the wake of her problem, couldn’t risk it just yet.

No one would believe she was being followed by a bear.

Kelly looked up from her book and glanced outside, imagining what it would be like to be able to paint the picture she saw. Pale moonlight reflecting off low-hanging ferns beneath her. The silhouettes of trees outlined by the moon’s glow, casting long shadows across the midnight-blue hue that enveloped the forest.

Then, suddenly, out the of the stillness in the forest, Kelly saw motion out of the corner of her eye. When she looked down at a patch of tall grass and shrubs only fifty or so feet away from the house, she almost thought her eyes were fooling her.

Her heart immediately began to pound in her chest, but she kept her vision steady, trusting her own sense. Then, out of the grass, a huge cougar appeared, walking lazily down the hill perpendicular to her cabin. It was close enough she could see large muscles in its shoulder flex and relax as it padded its way slowly toward some unknown place, looking from side to side but in no hurry to get anywhere. Its sandy-brown fur was highlighted by the moon, making it stand out more as it moved between two great ferns, the branches giving way easily to the powerful creature. And if she wasn’t wrong, it was exceedingly large for a big cat, though at this distance, it was somewhat hard to tell.

Kelly shook her head, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Maybe she needed glasses.

But as she looked on, the cougar came to a lazy stop, perking its head up and seemingly sniffing the air for a moment. Then, to her surprise, it looked up at the house.

No, it looked up at her. As if sensing it was being watched. Their eyes locked for a moment, and she could see the shape of its face as it stood still. Even from this distance, she could make out piercing blue eyes, could see the highlight of its long whiskers, could see its ears, perked up and alert.

Funny. She didn’t know cougars could have blue eyes. Then again, she’d never seen one in person before. And moonlight had a way of making everything seem blue, even if it wasn’t.

After a moment, the cougar turned away from her, its eyes becoming glowing orbs for a split second in that way only cats and other night creatures seemed to, and it sauntered away and into the forest, once again disinterested in anything but strolling. Once it reached another thick patch of grass, it disappeared completely from view like a shadow. And try as she might, Kelly couldn’t catch another glimpse of the incredible creature.

She sat back on her bed, the thrill of the moment passing but her mind still very much awake now.

It was odd to see wildlife and feel unafraid of it for once. Then again, Kelly knew no animal had ever been out to get her, other than the bear that seemed to haunt her like a vengeful ghost.

Perhaps if she was lucky, other wildlife out here would scare away the terrible thing if it did try to show up.

Regardless, the big cat seemed to be more intent on exploring the forest than coming up to her cabin. And hopefully it would stay away.

Still, as she relaxed back into the bed and resumed her book, Kelly couldn’t help but think that the majestic cat was a little bit… beautiful, despite how giant and fierce it looked.

The only thing that stumped her, as she tried to keep reading, was that she’d looked up native wildlife before moving out here, and she could swear that cougars hadn’t been on the list.

Maybe she’d ask Hunter if he’d ever seen any before.

* * *

Hunter leapt down a nearby embankment and passed through some bushes, unable to believe he’d just let his mate see his cougar form.

He’d been passing by, just hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but when she’d looked down right at him, his animal had just frozen, unable to move, wanting to observe every bit of attention. Wanting to appraise her as well.

He’d never had this reaction while in cat form. Usually, his cougar had no interest in anything but marking territory by rubbing its cheek on everything and patrolling the forest for signs of prey.

But not tonight. Tonight he was restless, and even as he prowled through the woods below and above her house, his mind was still thinking of her.

Not just of protecting her, but of dancing with her, living with her, kissing her even.

The cat in him purred once again, and he told himself he needed to get it under control. But his animal had never done it this often, never been drawn to a human before.

Normally, they repelled him in shifter form, and he preferred to stay out of the way. But right now, his cat just wanted to silently sneak up the stairs to the cabin and prowl around the deck, waiting for another sight of Kelly.

What, did he think she was going to give him milk and belly rubs or something? She’d probably run screaming in fear.

She’d been oddly calm when she’d seen his cougar, but that could be because he was far away and then wandered off rather than coming closer. It would have been different if he’d come up on her deck.

Threatening. Frightening, even if he’d never be able to mean her harm.

His cat would only ever protect her. Try to win over her heart. Keep her safe.

All thoughts that tried to distract him as he hunted for the mysterious scent he’d caught on the back deck.

It was odd how quickly it had faded, and he couldn’t track it anywhere at all. Normally, his nose was good for this, though his sense of smell wasn’t as good as Grayson’s since he was a wolf.

But he was sure he wasn’t imagining it when he’d smelled something distinctly bear-like. But not anything like Garrett’s scent or even the scent of a non-shifter bear he’d fought once before.

He shrugged as he padded through the underbrush around the cabin, rolling his eyes at the fact that his cat had still found a way to be closer to Kelly.

The scent here was faintly present, but there was no way to tell which way it had gone. As if it had simply… vanished.

He crept behind the back deck and looked out to the forest, listening for any new sounds. Nothing but the rustling of tress from small animals nesting or the faint hooting of owls.

It was frustrating that he hadn’t made any progress, he thought as he made his way back down to his truck. He curled up on the grass near it, determined to sleep lightly here where he could wake up to the slightest sound of anything around him. He would wake with the sunrise, at which point he could drive home, shower, and get dressed to be back the next morning.

He curled up with his head on his paws, closing his eyes and feeling the tiredness of the day finally hit him. It would probably be a hard couple of days, working at her place and prowling the grounds every night.

But he’d do it easily if it meant catching whatever that weird smell was or making sure the stalker who put that sad fear in her eyes never had a chance to catch up.