Chapter Four
Izzy watched the big grumpy bear stride into the room. She sat cross-legged on the bed, polishing off the last bit of the sesame seed bagel with onion cream cheese. The melted cheese, tomato, and lettuce on top had been a brilliant addition. She took a quick sniff of her breath within her cupped hand. Hmmm, a little oniony, but not too bad. “Have a good walk?”
He gave her one of those cute smiles that lit up his whole face, his eyes crinkling. Oh my Lord, the tiny dimple in his right cheek was going to kill her. Refreshed, a tinge of pink on his cheeks under the dark scruff, he was a cross between a troublemaking teen out for some fun, and a hot male about to do God-knew-what to her panties again. “Yes, I even found us a cool place to run for a bit if you’re up for it.”
“A run. With our animals?” She choked on a bit of sesame seed. “I-I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. What if someone sees us?”
He grinned, another one of those dimple moments. “I just checked the front desk. Ninety-nine percent of the hotel guests are at the conference. The other one percent are in the pool with their kids or out eating dinner. The place is a ghost town. Plus, the area I found is back a bit. No human scents for miles.”
“But what about traps, hunters, danger, other wildlife?”
“No traps within the first five-mile circle I did. The other wildlife seems to mostly be prey animals, one beaver family and a skulk of foxes.” His eyes flashed gold before returning back to their original chocolate brown. “And I promised I would protect you. I won’t let anything happen to you. We can just go out for as long or short a run as you want. It will give your wolf a chance to be free and let you heal up a bit. What do you say?”
“Maybe a few minutes. Just enough to, like you said, let my wolf free. She’s been acting cagier every day. Probably because I haven’t shifted in three weeks.”
His brows furrowed. “You’re saying you haven’t shifted this entire time?”
“No. The drugs they gave me forced me to stay in human form the entire time.”
His scowl deepened until his eyebrows almost touched each other.
“I have a blank spot in my memory from this morning. Do you know what happened while I was out?” She rolled her eyes and forced a laugh. “I didn’t get high and dance on the tables naked, did I?
He exhaled a chuffy, bear sounding breath.
A quick vision of the other guard, Malcolm, eyes wide in terror, flashed through her. “What happened to Malcolm?”
Another sigh then Caleb wrinkled his nose before meeting her gaze. “You don’t have to worry about that place anymore. I did what I needed to, to get you out of there.”
Oh no. That was the look her big brother gave her whenever he took care of something he felt she didn’t need to handle. “Wait. Did you kill my guards to get me out of there?”
Another shrug.
She didn’t know if she should be happy or repulsed by the fact. Yeah, she was in danger, and he said she was his mate—not that she was disputing it, she just didn’t quite feel it yet—but taking another life, especially a human life, seemed wrong on so many levels. Then again, Malcolm had been an asshole who enjoyed beating her and taunting her wolf to come out, even though the drugs kept her down. Her conflict must have shown on her face because Caleb was next to her on the bed within a second.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” He caressed her cheek, and she leaned into his firm palm, breathing in the scent of his maleness.
“You don’t smell bad anymore.” She cocked her head and leaned into his chest, taking deep inhales from his neck, his chest, working her way down his body with tiny sniffs.
He stopped her from going any lower than his belly button and embarrassment filled her as the heat warmed her cheeks. “Sorry. I got carried away sniffing. Hazards of having a canine nose.” She forced a laugh. She sat back up. “Seriously, you smell different. What were you wearing before?”
“It was a trial product Bossman’s scientists schemed up to try to mask their scents. The cat I’m working for was able to snag a couple of vials and tweak them a bit so I could dose myself when I went undercover. We didn’t want any of the shifter prisoners to accidentally let the bear out of the bag.”
She wrinkled her nose. “That stuff smelled terrible. Like a cross between roadkill and slum- living for a month, followed by taking a bath in your own—”
“I get it.” He placed his hand over her mouth, cutting her off with a grin. “I smell like junk.”
“No, you smelled like dead, burning cat poop.”
He laughed. “And you still like me.”
“Only because you rescued me and took a shower.” She winked.
“Actually…” He shrugged. “I haven’t showered yet. I was letting you have first round since you seemed to need it more.”
“Oh? Did you shift when you went out on your walk? Something’s different.”
“Yeah, but I’ve shifted before, and it’s only muted the masking scent a bit. My go-between messenger always checked before I went back into the facility.” He laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “All he had to do was open his window and inhale. I could usually tell by the way his eyes watered.” He grinned.
“Hmm, then what’s the difference?”
“I don’t know. The drugs were suppressing your wolf side. They’re wearing off now. Or maybe it’s because you’re my mate, or the fact you’re royal. I don’t know. But we need to figure it out, so we can get some more guys undercover at these places.”
“Listen, about the whole mating thing…”
His eyes clouded over.
“I just don’t, I’m not… I don’t...”
He stood up and walked to the other side of the room, controlled frustration emanating from him. “It’s okay. Bad timing.”
“But I might not ever be ready, and I don’t have the same feelings you seem to be having.” Beyond the lusty thoughts anyway. But she’d heard enough about true mating from her mother to know a nice urge to drop your panties and have sex was not enough to follow a mating call. Why couldn’t she feel it? The drugs? Fear? Could they stop a mating call? She walked over and placed her hands on his tense shoulders. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m really confused, and hell, I did just get out of prison. Maybe give me some time to sort through my own thoughts?”
“As long as you don’t think I smell like cat shit anymore.” He gave her a goofy grin. “Let’s get some fresh air and walk. If you don’t want to shift yet, it’s fine. We can talk.” He held out his hand and she took it.
What the heck. One nice little walk in the woods wouldn’t hurt anyone, right?
~.~
Caleb led the beautiful young woman into the woods, and they headed down the long trail in the center. They were already half a mile away from the hotel and street, but a little farther would be a good idea. She didn’t remember turning into her wolf and killing Malcolm this morning. He’d heard a lot of things, seen a lot of what trauma could do to a person. But was she that gone to the drugs they’d pumped through her system she honestly didn’t remember even a second of the vicious attack? Caleb had watched the whole thing through the window at the top of the door. One minute, Malcolm had been calling her his usual names, the words that disgusted Caleb and had almost sent him into a frenzy to protect her twice. But he’d held off. They were words. And he was there for a bigger purpose, to take down the whole ring. Then…
Malcolm backhanded Isabella, sending her sprawling to the floor with a groan, and it took Caleb thirty seconds of breathing, doing the crazy chanting in his mind his aunt Ida had taught him to control himself. His nails elongated, fur on the back of his palms sprouted, and he was seconds from going in and killing the fucker himself. Rage at the treatment of his mate warred with the responsibilities of the job. The bigger job. He only calmed himself enough to not rip the door from its hinges when he heard the growl followed by the hideous scream as teeth ripped into flesh. Isabella’s wolf savagely tore Malcolm apart. As close to his animal as Caleb was, even he almost lost his breakfast when he took stock of the carnage. Then he remembered who that jackass had been, and his bear chuffed in victory. Their mate had taken down their opponent with perfect fury, symmetry, skills, and grace. Yeah, the kind of grace with more blood and guts than a horror movie, but still…
Isabella stutter-stepped, sagged to the floor then shifted into human. Caleb breathed in and out and pushed his bear back. He needed to stay in control, or they were both fucked.
“Get her on the gurney!” Emo Doc screamed as Caleb opened the door. The stench of death invaded his nostrils, and he rushed to pick up his mate, gently laying her on her side on the metal table. He then grabbed a blanket and placed it over her naked, shivering body.
“Go get something to clean up this mess!” Doc ordered, and as much as he didn’t want to leave her, he did.
If he didn’t leave this second, his bear would go ballistic and kill every motherfucker in this building. But he still had a job to do. Fuck the job, his bear roared. Yeah, Stone would have to get someone else to take his place. Caleb would bug the system and download as many files as he could. Then he’d get his mate out of here. But first, he needed a few minutes to cool down. What better way than cleaning up human carnage, right?
As he left, another guard, a new guy with blond hair and a pencil-thin mustache entered the room.
Caleb heard Isabella mumble as if she were waking and prayed she didn’t turn her head to see what she had done. She was a sweet, peace-loving female who abhorred violence, and this was enough to cause even the greatest warrior nightmares for years.
“Put her back under and clean her up!” The doctor’s voice rose to a fevered pitch as Caleb stormed down the hall for the large body bags and cleaning supplies. He cocked his head. Hmmm, maybe a bunch of gallon baggies would do the trick based on the way his girl had taken that asshole down. Yeah, his girl might seem like a princess, but she was also a fighter. And as soon as everyone was back to a calm, unassuming threat level five, he was getting her the fuck out of here. His mate would not spend one more second in this hellhole. He went to her a few hours later, knockout syringe in hand. Then he tricked the new guy into the cell, struck him on the head with his bear paw, and got her the fuck out.
Caleb paused from his musings and stared down at her hand in his. So small, but her grip was sure and strong. Her blue gaze met his with a mixture of humor and wonder.
“I’d say penny for your thoughts, but as deeper as your scowl got over this past half mile, I’d need a whole heck of a lot of pennies. You okay?”
She didn’t remember killing Malcolm. Should he tell her? She might figure out her wolf was not quite as rested as she believed, when she did finally shift. But what good would that do? He couldn’t bear to give her any more pain after all she’d been through. He decided not to tell her about the drugs backfiring, how she shifted into a perfect killing machine. He forced his lips into a smile and squeezed her hand gently. “A penny’s worth. I’m wondering what to do next.”
Her eyes crinkled with mirth as she took her hand out of his and placed it on her hip. “You could take a shower. No offense, but you still need one.”
The full laughter took over his whole body. Man, he hadn’t felt like this in such a long time. When was the last time he really laughed, really enjoyed the moment, really felt like part of the world instead of just inhabiting it?
This woman did this to him. She made him feel more alive than he had in years. “Okay, Princess, since you’re asking nicely. I’ll get right on that.”
“So, tell me about your home,” she said as she took off her tennis shoes and placed her bare feet onto the trail. “I’m not ready to shift yet, but a lovely walk embracing nature will be perfect. And hearing more about you. Where are you from? Any family, crazy ex-girlfriends, parents with weird idiosyncrasies…?”
He laughed and slipped his shoes off to join her. The cool dirt and brittle twigs felt like heaven. Almost as good as being in bear form. No, this was better. His bear agreed. They were with their mate, and she was happy. “Not much to tell. My town is called Bear Paw River, I’m the oldest, with a younger brother, Bo—he’s the alpha of our clan now—and a younger sister, Nissa. She mated with a wolf last month or so.”
“Ooh, what kind of wolf? I know a lot of the families on the East Coast. Where’s he from? What’s he do?”
“Okay, I was going to play with you for a while, but this probably isn’t the best time for joking around. He’s a royal, like you.”
“Like me?”
“Yup,” he said grinning down at her. “Royal Herne Clan if I remember correctly.”
Dawning hit, and her mouth dropped wide open. “Zach?”
“Yeah, they mated a few months ago, I think. He met her when he was on a mission searching for both you and another missing shifter. I haven’t been caught completely up-to-date, but it’s something along those lines.”
“He was looking for me?” Tears filled her eyes, and he leaned down to wipe them gently away.
“From what I heard, he never stopped his search. Every trail led to another one then he got sideswiped by the mating call. And even that didn’t stop him. Both he and Nissa have been looking for you. You okay?”
She smiled shakily. “I thought they’d given up on me.”
“Never. Like I’ll never give up on you.”
She turned and continued her walk. “So you left Bear Paw?”
Here’s where it got tricky. No way was he going to tell her about his awful past and his unworthiness to be her mate. He definitely wasn’t going to tell her he’d almost killed someone else in a rage and had let his parents die… No, those demons haunted him daily, but he wasn’t bringing them up now. He released another slow exhale. “After my parents died, I left my hometown and traveled for a while. Then I met Stone, and he gave me a purpose—going in to save shifters and take down their group.” He gazed down at her and beamed. “Then I met you. And here we are walking in the woods, barefoot, in the middle of nowhere while tribbles, borg, Klingons, and Vulcans party a few miles away. Life is interesting.”
She giggled. The pure sound floated up his spine, making him light-headed with joy. “Yeah, here we are. So, what’s next?”
“I’ve already talked to Bo and Stone. Stone reamed my ass a good one but understood. We’re going to try to get someone else in and see what we can salvage from this operation. Your brother is dying to see you. Bo said he practically had to fight the guy for the phone, but I finally talked him into putting it on speaker.”
“Good call.”
“They’re all very excited to see you, and your mom is already in town.”
“She is?” Her eyes went wide. “They never leave the confines of their secure compound—unless they have to. It was one of the things I hated so much about living there. It was like being a prisoner my whole life.”
“Sorry. She’s visiting my aunt. Ida’s a healer, and I guess word has spread.”
“When do we hit the road again, and how soon will we get there? Can I borrow your phone to call my brother? When will you leave to finish your job? What did we lose by skipping out at this point?”
“Hold on, girl. Your mouth is going a million miles a second, and I can’t keep up.” He chuckled. “In answer to your questions, we’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning and should be there by noonish. I don’t know what’s next for my part of the operation. You can use my phone as soon as we get back to the room. Stone’ll arrive sometime tomorrow and will brief us all then. What did we lose?” He frowned. “I don’t know. But I know what we gained. You.”
Red tinged her cheeks.
He leaned down slowly and pressed his mouth to hers. She tasted like ginger ale and smelled like the sweetest nectar. She returned the kiss tentatively at first then grew bold and thrust her tongue to meet him stroke for stroke. When he pulled away with a groan, her lips were plump and full and wet. Dammit, he shouldn’t have done that. Now he wanted more from her. His bear wanted to consummate the claiming immediately. His human half wanted to know every inch of her silky body, knowing he would die a hundred deaths to have her for one night. But he couldn’t do that to her. He needed her freedom. And he wasn’t the worthy male she deserved. “Sorry.”
“Sorry for what? Giving me the best kiss of my entire life, or for stopping too soon?”
“Both.”
She grinned and started walking again. “It’s okay. Let’s take it slowly and see where things go, okay? I have more questions about my brother’s mate. Tell me about Nissa and—” Her eyes went wide and her mouth opened into an O as a soft whimper rushed from her. She slapped her hands to her forehead and groaned before sagging to the ground.
Caleb caught her just before she hit the dirt and pulled her up into his arms. Shit. She closed her eyes tightly for a minute and then opened up again. “Baby, you okay?” He massaged her temples with one hand while tightly gripping her to his chest with his other arm. Should he carry her back to the hotel or try to help her here?
“Ouch.” She flailed a bit in his arms.
“It’s okay, I got you.”
“I think I’m all right now. You can put me down.” Her eyes were a murky blue, like when his younger sister had had a fever as a cub.
“Not a chance, Princess. But you can tell me what happened.”
“The mother of all headaches.” She winced. “On second thought, you can carry me if you want. My legs feel like jelly, and if I stand up, I’m gonna puke. Do you mind taking me back so I can lie down for a bit?”
“Anything you need. I have you.” He pulled her tighter to his chest, picked up their shoes and placed them gently on her lap, and jogged back toward the hotel. “What else can I do to help?”
Her gaze filled with something pretty damn close to adoration as he continued massaging the headache away. “Don’t let me fall.”
“I’ll die to keep you from ever hurting again,” he growled, his bear backing up his words. “Our oath to you, mate.” Every bit was true, and though he wouldn’t touch her, he would keep that promise. “Let’s get you snuggled into bed with some hot cocoa. Sound good?”
“Sure, if you have soy milk.”
“I’ll make another grocery run as soon as I get you into bed.”