Gunnar

I’m in a type of trance as I roll on my back and pull Adelaide against my chest, then pull the blanket around her shoulders. Even my bear has quieted in contentment. Everything just feels right.

What we just shared was more than sex, more than our virginities - it was a deeper connection than that.

I have no doubt who she is for me. What she is.

My mate.

Addie’s head rests on my shoulder, and I can feel her breath on my chest as her fingers feather across my abs, beneath my shirt, then stop when they touch the knotted scars that zig zag from my side.

I’d been so relaxed, enjoying the sensation of her touch, that for a moment I’d forgotten the scars.

She pulls back slightly, and I flinch, knowing the questions that are coming, and also afraid of the disgust I’ll see in her eyes when she sees the full magnitude of my injury, the mutilated flesh that never healed right.

But I also don’t want to hide from her. I can’t. She’s my mate. So, I resist the urge to pull away and button my shirt, and just lay still, my soul lays open and exposed to the woman as she pushes the fabric back.

“Is this...” It’s a small whisper, and I wonder what she sees in the pale moonlight. “This is from being shot?”

I swallow hard. “Yes.”

“But how?” Her breathing is a little ragged, but it’s not revulsion I see in her eyes, just concern. “How did you survive?”

“I almost didn’t.” I’m not sure I would have if she hadn’t been there that day. It was my bear that had fought to stay alive, to protect the child with the soulful green eyes.

The few times I regained consciousness, I’d managed to crawl toward her, needing even in my pathetic state to keep her safe. Maybe even then my bear had known that she was my mate. That Adelaide Spencer was mine.

Is mine.

I’m not prepared for the crushing guilt that pounds down on my chest. She deserves so much more than me. More than the shell of a man responsible for taking her grandfather’s life.

“Sorry,” she says, her palm still resting on my scars, like they’re warrior wounds and not evidence of what I really am - an animal. “Do you not want to talk about it?”

I take her hand in mine, and bring it to my lips, then kiss each one of her knuckles. “There are a lot of things I need to tell you. But just not tonight.”

“Okay.” Her brows draw down slightly, insecurities floating across her expression.

I roll her back gently, and wedge my thigh between hers, then kiss her again, needing to erase the uncertainty I see in her eyes.

“You’re so damn beautiful, Addie,” I murmur against her lips, and I feel her smile against my mouth.

“So are you.”

I let out a small bark of a laugh. “That’s not something I’ve ever been called before.”

“Okay, well, beautiful might not be the right word.”

I nuzzle her ear, my hand sliding down across her silky skin and she whimpers as my fingers stroke across one nipple. “Then what would be?”

“Mmmm,” she moans. “Hot...” Her hips move against my thigh. “Rugged, sexy...” Her back arches when I lower my mouth to her breast. “Oh God, yeah, definitely sexy. I can’t believe you never did this before either.”

I grin down at her. “It was good for you?”

“Yes,” she says breathlessly, a small smile playing at her lips. “Better than I ever imagined it could be.”

Pride and lust swell inside me, and my cock is already hard, wanting to take her again, but I know I should probably get her home, and I don’t want to hurt her.

“I should drive you home now.”

She gives a little pout. “Already?”

“It’s getting chilly out here.”

Snuggling against me, she murmurs. “I don’t want this night to end.”

I tilt her chin up and study her eyes. “Nothing’s ending, Addie. But I don’t want your friends to worry. And we’ll have a million more of these nights. I promise.”

Her breath catches. “I...I’ve never felt like this...I know it’s fast, and it probably sounds silly, but—”

“I feel it too.” I brush my lips against hers, wishing I could explain everything to her, but knowing it’s too soon.

I kiss her again but freeze when my senses pick up a scent that shouldn’t be here.

Sitting up, I scan the darkness and listen. A glint of silvery eyes in the distance has my bear roaring inside of me - wolves.

While it’s not common for them to attack, I know it’s also been a harsh year, and the pack has moved farther south into bear territory. I won’t take a chance, not with Adelaide here with me.

“Get dressed.” I shove my pants back as a wave of dread washes over me. I need to get my mate somewhere safe-but I don’t know if there is enough time. “You need to get in the truck, Addie. Now.” I see a pack of wolves stalk out of the woods, but she hasn’t seen the wild animals approach yet. They can sniff me out-know that I am as much an animal as I am a man.

“The truck? But…”

“Just do it, I promise, it’s for your protection.”

She looks at me with wide eyes, but she must sense how much I mean what I say because she scrambles for her dress. I jump from the bed of the truck and pull her in my arms. She sees the wolves then, there are at least half a dozen of them moving toward us.

“Oh God, Gunnar,” she cries against my shoulder, terror in her words.

I rip open the front passenger door. “It’s okay, I got you.” And I do, even as the wolves stalk toward me. But I also know as I slam the door shut that there will be no more hiding who I am. Not if I’m going to survive the attack that I sense is coming.

And I also need to protect Adelaide. But that means letting my bear loose.

It means attacking the wolves that threaten the one thing I hold most dear - my mate.