Jada couldn’t believe her cousin managed to slip away to bring the supplies and sheets and everything out to the cabin. She came from farther out on the branches of the family tree, so Jada’s parents didn’t see her as a valuable member of the clan, but Jada knew differently. Francine was the only family member she’d miss if Cooper kept his word and got them away from the leopards and bears.

Francine linked her arm with Jada’s and studied the sandwiches Cooper made. “Did he really do this? He made you lunch?”

“He did.” Jada still couldn’t quite believe it. She couldn’t remember the last time someone made her a meal, even a simple one, or offered to make the bed and do the chores. Normally the men in the leopard clan lazed around all day, napping and waiting for the women to bring them food. It always struck her as unfair, but just how the world worked. Apparently not so with the bears—or at least with her bear.

Her bear. She had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling nervously. She didn’t have any right to think of him as hers—she might be his, but he definitely wasn’t hers. He could do what he wanted; it was her duty to obey.

Francine hesitated before reaching for her sandwich, eyeing Jada sideways. “Are you sure it isn’t a trap?”

“I have no idea,” Jada said. But her stomach growled, since she hadn’t been allowed to eat the last few days so she wouldn’t be able to put up a fight or try to escape. “I doubt it, but let’s give it a shot.”

Her cousin gave a hungry growl and inhaled the sandwich and potato salad on the plate, then collapsed against the island in dramatic relief. “It’s good. It’s really good. I wouldn’t have thought the bear knew how to do anything in the kitchen.”

“He said he traveled a lot when he left,” Jada said. She took a few tentative bites, not wanting to gorge herself in case Cooper came back, and closed her eyes in appreciation. Just the right amount of mayo on the bread, some cheese, roast chicken, tomatoes and lettuce and other veggies. The bear could definitely make a sandwich. It tasted even better because she hadn’t made it. “Maybe he learned then?”

Francine craned her neck to look at the rest of the groceries that still remained on the counter. “Do you think there’s more? I’m not allowed in the kitchen until eight tonight, after everyone else is done. There won’t be much left.”

“That’s a shame,” a deep voice said, and Jada froze as Cooper meandered back into the kitchen. Francine flushed nearly purple and shrank down on the stool, preparing for the slap or smack to correct her forward behavior, but Cooper just retrieved her plate and made another sandwich, piling mounds of potato salad and cornbread and everything else from the basket on the plate until it nearly overflowed. “I’m glad you liked the sandwich, though. You need to eat more.”

Jada knew her cousin well enough to see the mortification in the younger girl’s face, and squeezed her hand out of Cooper’s sight. “It’s not easy to be a girl here.”

“I’m beginning to understand that.” Cooper frowned a little as he leaned back against the counter, arms folded over his chest, and Jada braced herself for the lecture or a new outlay of rules. Maybe she’d overstepped already. But instead the bear scratched at his beard and studied Francine as she tentatively reached for the food. “Here’s a question for you, though. Francine, right? Jada and I are leaving here tomorrow. Do you want to come with us?”

Jada’s breath caught as she stared at him, trying to decipher his intent. Francine was far too young to be a wife—barely past twelve, even though she tried to act a lot older. Cooper held up his hands when neither of them spoke, and retrieved the lemonade from the fridge to pour more into both of their glasses. “It’s an offer for you to consider. I don’t want to leave you here if they’re treating you that badly and not letting you eat.”

“You want two wives?” Francine whispered, her hands shaking as she put down the forkful of salad she’d been about to eat.

“Lord, no.” Cooper laughed, then softened his expression when she flinched. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Jada is my wife. But maybe she needs a friend to go with her. We can tell those assholes whatever we want if it means getting you free—that I want two wives or Jada wants a maid or whatever they would believe. Just think about it. We’re leaving early tomorrow, and I don’t ever plan to come back. You can come back to Oregon with us and live with my family for as long as you want. You’d be safe there. You both will be. And no one will tell you what to do ever again.”

Jada didn’t want to get her hopes up by believing him, and she knew Francine was just waiting for the trap and the beating. No one in the leopard clan would offer something like that without some kind of a hidden cost, something she’d have to give up in order to get away. What Cooper said—that just wasn’t how things worked.

Francine chewed slowly, then pointed her fork at the bear. “And I wouldn’t have to sleep with you, or anyone?”

Jada held her breath, waiting for Cooper’s angry response, but instead he just shook his head, a hint of sad amusement in his eyes. “Nope.”

“And I could…I could maybe go to school?”

“College? Sure, we have a couple of—“

“Just regular school,” she whispered, looking down at her plate. “I want to go to school. Or just take the classes or read the books. They made me stop at sixth grade so I could work at home.”

A growl started in his chest, even though his posture and expression didn’t change, and Jada pushed to her feet to defend her cousin. He wouldn’t make her feel bad about not finishing school, that was for damn sure. Jada wouldn’t stand for it. “Look—”

Cooper took a deep breath and exhaled after quite a while. He tapped the island in front of Francine so she’d look at him, and spoke very gently. “I’m angry that someone kept you from attending school. Of course we can send you to high school, or get private tutors, or figure out home-schooling. One of my friends’ mates has a PhD in some science bullshit, so she can teach you just about anything. And after high school, if you want to go to college, that’s easy to do, too.”

Francine and Jada both stared at him. It felt like a dream. Like some impossible cosmic prank. After the first eighteen years of her life being filled with assholes and mistreatment, to have someone be so kind and careful with her, and with Francine, made Jada more deeply afraid than she’d ever been. What if it was all a trick? What happened when he lost his temper?

“Why are you so nice?” Francine asked. She shook her head, struggling with everything he offered. Jada knew she didn’t want to get her hopes up, either. “Bears are never this nice. Men are never this nice. What kind of trick is this?”

And still Cooper didn’t get offended. “It’s not a trick. I promise. I don’t know how to prove to you that I mean every word. If there’s something I can do to help you believe me, just tell me. I’ll do it. And I’m nice to you because you both deserve people in your life who are nice. I’m a total asshole to most people, though. I just like you both.”

Jada could believe that. The way he spoke to his family proved it well enough. She didn’t blame him for it, of course, since his clan wasn’t that great to be around anyway. “Do you think they would let you take both of us?”

Cooper shrugged, tugging at his beard again. “Only way to find out is to give it a shot. The other option is for you to just sneak out and meet us on the road when we leave. Do you think the leopards or wolves would catch you in the trees if you do that?”

Jada couldn’t believe they were really considering it. But the more she thought about it, the more she desperately wanted Francine to go with them. Jada could be a lot braver with a friendly face along the way, and she wanted to save her cousin from her own fate—forced to marry someone she didn’t know. Jada did not doubt that Francine wouldn’t be as lucky with whoever she ended up with. Cooper seemed like a pretty rare bear.

Francine frowned and studied the few crumbs that were all that remained of her second sandwich. “I don’t know. They don’t pay a whole lot of attention to me anymore. I might be able to get away, but if you say you want to take me with you and they don’t agree, I’ll be locked up to make sure I don’t make a run for it.”

Cooper frowned as someone else knocked at the door, and spoke as he walked over to answer. “Think about it, then.”

Jada held her breath as one of the older leopards appeared in the doorway, eyes narrowed as he looked around. “Where’s the girl?”

“Saying her goodbyes to my mate,” Cooper said, once more a snarling bear looming over the slighter leopard. “What’s the problem? I told them not to fucking interrupt us. Did you bring anything useful, or are you just being a dick to ruin what’s left of my day?”

Jada traded looks with Francine, wanting to laugh out loud at the leopard’s expression, and Francine hopped to her feet to give Jada one last hug. She whispered, “I want to go with you. Just tell me what to do.”

“We’ll figure it out and talk tomorrow morning,” Jada murmured. She handed Francine the remaining half of her own sandwich, so at least she’d have something to save for dinner. “Be safe.”

Francine gave Cooper a wide berth as she sidled to the door, ducking away from the leopard as well before she scurried outside and disappeared down the path. The leopard growled as he retreated, like he wanted to intimidate the bear, but Cooper didn’t even blink.

The bear closed the door and rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath about “fucking cats,” then he walked over to her. He looked just a touch uncertain as he cleared his throat. “I would like to hug you, if that’s okay. The bear is very worried about you, and it’s driving me just a little crazy.”

“O-Okay.” Jada eased to her feet, and before she could draw a breath, he lumbered up and his arms wrapped around her. Jada found herself surrounded in a massive circle of muscles and warmth and the soft fabric of his clothes, the wild scent of his bear tangling around them both, and his beard tickled her temple.

Cooper sighed, holding her tight against his chest until her feet dangled off the floor. “I’m sorry they’ve been so mean to you, that you’re so afraid of what someone offers to you. I wish it weren’t like that.”

She cleared her throat as tears welled up once more. No one ever said they mourned her life like she did, that they wished things could have been different. She couldn’t speak. And when he saw her cousin in trouble, the first thing he did was offer her a way out, too. With no strings attached and promises for all kinds of things—school, safety, a place to live. She’d never met anyone like him.

Cooper grumbled in his chest, rubbing his chin on the top of her head, and he snuffled along her neck like a bear searching for honey. She slowly relaxed against him and rested her cheek against his chest, reassured by the strong thump of his heart and the steady in and out of his breathing. She might have known him only a day, but he felt more like a safe place to hide than anyone she’d ever known.