Chapter Nine

Wyatt’s heart beat rapidly. His mouth was dry. He had trouble concentrating on the road.

And all this from holding a woman’s hand.

Not just any woman, but the one he wanted in his life for the next sixty years. The one who turned his mind to mush every time she entered a room. The one who was so skittish she could hardly look at him.

The one he was making headway with. Slow headway, but he would take it.

He stopped the car, almost sorry to have arrived because it meant he needed to break the contact, and he wasn’t sure when she would let him touch her again. Before he released her to shut off the engine, he lifted her fingers to his face and rubbed her knuckles gently across his two-day-old beard. When she didn’t immediately pull away, he took a risk and kissed her knuckles.

She gasped, but heaven shone down on him by keeping her from jerking away.

She also squirmed, and he loved the way she smelled when he was getting through to her sexually.

His cock ached, but he finally released her hand, shut off the engine, and climbed down from the truck. When he rounded the front and opened her door, he found her still sitting in her spot, seat belt buckled, hands loose in her lap, her gaze on her left hand.

Damn.

Hot fucking damn.

Without a word, he reached over her body to release the seat belt. It was one of the most intimate gestures they’d shared. A simple seat belt that put his face so close to hers that his inhale nearly made him groan.

She didn’t flinch. In fact, she stared at him, mesmerized.

That was the moment he fell totally in love with her. He had no idea when he would be able to tell her, but he knew how he felt. And he knew he would never let her go. No matter how hard the struggle was. No matter what baggage she carried. No matter how long it took. She was his. He would fight for her. He would win.

Before he ducked back out of the opening to the truck, she cupped his face. Her expression was serious. She stared at him for a long time. “I’m sorry.”

“Babe…” He turned his lips toward her palm and kissed it gently. “Everything is going to be fine.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He reluctantly ducked his head out and then took her hand as she slid to the ground. So damn happy he could scream, he continued to hold her hand as they moved toward the house.

It was as if they’d turned a sharp corner in their relationship and she’d just let go of whatever was holding her back with such conviction. Maybe she sensed it was futile to fight the pull, or maybe something just snapped into place when he held her hand. Either way, he was hopeful.

For some reason, no part of him was concerned about Gavin. He would bet his life Gavin was protecting her as much as she was protecting him, and this life-long friend of hers would want Paige to be happy. Although Paige had made it clear she had hidden behind Gavin for years and never dated, Wyatt doubted the same was true for Gavin.

The human man had been drawn to the view from the back of Wyatt’s house the moment he stepped inside Monday morning, and Wyatt was fairly sure Gavin wasn’t seeing trees and mountains. He wasn’t even apologetic about his quick escape. And there was no denying he had stood out there flirting with Dale for several minutes. Without a doubt, Gavin’s arrangement with Paige was far more complicated than she had alluded to.

Wyatt’s attention jerked back to the present when the front door opened before they reached the porch, plus Paige stopped walking.

When he turned to face her, still holding her hand with both their arms stretched out, he found her staring at the house with a smile.

“So pretty. Like a postcard.”

It was. The two-story home with brown siding and a wrap-around porch had a well-loved porch swing near the front door that creaked softly in the breeze.

Wyatt pulled her toward him until she finally took her eyes off the view and glanced at him. Her smile melted him. Genuine. As if she was caught in a moment where she didn’t realize she liked her distance and preferred not to be touched. By men. By him. By almost anyone. For just a moment, she was totally his. She didn’t blink or glance away.

And then the moment was shattered when Beth spoke from the porch. “You two could come inside,” she teased.

Paige, seemingly not having realized they had an audience, gasped, jerked herself free of Wyatt, and stepped around him. “I love your home,” she stated. “Especially the porch swing.”

“Thank you, dear.” Beth held out a hand as Paige approached, and Wyatt watched as Beth wrapped both her hands around Paige’s and met her gaze. “Welcome. I’m Beth.”

Yeah, things were definitely looking up.

When they entered the house, Paige’s eyes widened to take in the warmth of the living space. Wyatt had only been to the house a few times, but he loved it as much as her expression suggested she did. The massive fireplace was the focal point. Completely white marble surrounded by white built-in shelves. The hardwood floor was dark brown. An oval rug with swirls of blue, white, and brown sat between two dark blue couches and three brown leather armchairs.

The kitchen was attached, the tile floor done in the same swirl of blues and whites and browns. The cabinets and counters were all white. And the long white table sat ten people. Which was necessary in a family this large.

Allister came from the kitchen with a wide smile on his face. “So nice to meet you, Paige. I’m Allister.”

She shook his hand. “Thanks for having me.” And then, shocking Wyatt further, she communicated into his head. “Is everyone in this sleepy little town friendly?”

He chuckled back into her mind. “There’s nothing sleepy about Silvertip. And no. But I didn’t think you wanted me to introduce you to the assholes first.”

She giggled.

Damn. That sound. It went straight to his already pleading hard cock. He stood near her, but he didn’t touch her again, even though it was the only thing in the world he’d like to be doing. If the only contact he ever got to have with her was to hold her hand and look into her eyes, he would die happy. Perhaps that was an exaggeration, but it seemed plausible at the moment.

Paige slid her jacket off, and Wyatt took it from her hand and set it on the back of the couch with his own. She was wearing another pair of damn sexy jeans, today in black. They fit her snugly and showed off her perfect ass when she turned around. He’d gotten hard earlier as he’d approached her standing on the sidewalk with Kelly, and that hard-on hadn’t abated for a moment because he couldn’t shake the vision of her ass from his head. Now that she’d taken her jacket off, he was treated to the view of her breasts encased in a skin-tight, pale pink, V-necked T-shirt. For a woman as petite as she was, she wasn’t lacking in the chest department.

He had to force himself to jerk his gaze back to Allister and Beth.

Beth nodded behind her. “Come on into the kitchen area. I have lunch ready. We can eat and talk.”

Wyatt set a hand on Paige’s back to lead her toward the table, thanking God for whatever had softened her to him a bit today after she ran from him last night. He knew he affected her. There was no way for her to hide her physical reactions to him. The way her face flushed. The twitch in her lips. The warmth of her hands. Her heart rate. Her scent…

But none of that mattered if she insisted on digging her heels in and turning him down every day.

He would take today. One day at a time.

The lunch was delicious. Beth was a fantastic cook. Cornbread and chili. Some of the best chili he’d ever eaten. Beth asked Paige about her work and her family while Wyatt watched his mate open up slowly and relax.

“Would you like a beer?” Allister asked when they’d finished.

“No, thanks. I know I don’t fit in well in this community, but beer isn’t really my thing.” She blushed. Adorable.

Allister handed Wyatt a bottle. “Sorry. Competition,” he teased.

“I’ll try not to steal your recipe,” Wyatt returned.

Beth spoke next. “Have you tried the lemon or orange yet? It’s a malt beverage, but I swear it doesn’t taste like beer.”

“I haven’t. Wyatt was telling me about it, though.”

Allister returned to the fridge and came back with a bottle of Lemon Peak. “If you hate it, you won’t hurt my feelings.” He popped the top and handed it to her.

She glanced at the yellow liquid swirling around in the bottle and then took a sip. “Hmm.” Her eyes widened. She took another sip. “That’s great. I might be convinced after all.”

“Glad you like it,” Beth said.

Paige set the bottle on the table. “Let’s see—you have five kids? I’ve met Alton and Adriana. Who are the others?”

“Adriana is the youngest. She still lives at home. Kind of a homebody. Probably my fault. She’s the baby. Next is Alton. You know him. Then Abigail. She has her own apartment in town. Then Austin. You’ll meet him eventually. He recently bound to his mate Nuria. And the oldest is Antoine.”

Wyatt noted that she told about the kids from youngest to oldest and had glossed over Antione.

However, he was surprised to find Beth taking a deep breath and continuing. “Antoine had a number of issues. He’s in the custody of the Arcadian Council.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” Beth murmured. “We’re still adjusting to the reality.” She reached for her mate’s hand and squeezed it.

Allister leaned toward his mate and kissed her cheek. They’d been through a lot in recent months. The thought of ever having a child get into so much trouble that they were put away for life scared the hell out of him. The Tarbens were good people. The best. They didn’t deserve this. If ever there was evidence of the control of nature over nurture, the Tarbens were a perfect example.

“Let’s move to the living room. It’s more comfortable.” Beth released Allister’s hand and pushed from the table.

Paige reached for her dishes as she stood, but Beth waved a hand in the general direction of the table. “Leave it. The dishes will wait.”

Wyatt pulled Paige’s chair out, and she shot him a warm smile again. “You think you can woo me with good manners?”

“Yes?”

Damn, he loved it when she flushed. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent. Every time she was embarrassed, the tell-tale signs covered her cheeks. She had no idea how damn gorgeous she was nor how she affected him. At least he hoped like hell she didn’t. If she knew how hard his cock was or where his thoughts were wandering, she would run from the house and never look back.

Slow and easy. He would win this race. Slow and easy.

She wandered toward the built-ins where Beth had displayed a number of family pictures.

What he wanted was for all other shifters and humans to vanish from the Earth, so he could press Paige against the white marble frame around the fireplace, cup her face, and kiss her until her knees buckled.

He watched her walk. He watched the way she concentrated on everything she did, giving even the most minute detail her total attention.

She picked up a picture of Allister and Beth. “This is you? Before kids?”

Beth smiled as she got closer. “Yes. We were so in love I never even noticed how amazing the setting was that day.” It appeared the two of them were standing in this very spot where the house would later be constructed.

Paige set the picture down and picked up another.

“The kids. About ten years ago. That was a rare day when they weren’t fighting, and everyone was looking at the camera with a smile.”

A subtle shift in the atmosphere—one that the average being would never notice—caught Wyatt’s attention. He jerked, inching closer to his mate. Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

She stared at the picture, bringing it closer to her face. And then it slid from her hands and crashed to the floor. Loud. The frame breaking. The glass shattering. Paige didn’t even seem to notice. She never glanced down at the shards of glass surrounding her feet. She was whiter than he’d ever seen her, not blinking or seeing anything at all.

Beth gasped and kneeled in front of Paige. “Oh dear. Don’t move. Let me get the glass off you.” Her voice was calm. It was an accident. Beth was thinking of nothing except making sure her guest wasn’t injured.

Nothing about Paige was calm, however. Wyatt focused on her alone, inching closer. “Paige,” he finally stated in as normal of a tone as he could manage.

She snapped, her gaze darting toward him and then Allister, and finally, Beth kneeling in front of her. She jumped out of the range of the shards, set her palms on her ears as if blocking out a loud noise, and then ran toward the front door. Seconds later, she had it open and raced through the entrance, not bothering to look back, speak, or close the door.

Wyatt grabbed both their jackets and raced after her. He jumped down the three steps from the porch to the ground and took off behind the frantic form of his mate, who was running as fast as she could around the corner of the house and toward the trees behind the property. She ran awkwardly, her hands once again covering her ears. He wouldn’t have believed she could move that fast.

What the hell? Something had triggered her. What?

Before he could catch her, she jumped into the air at the tree line and shifted before her feet hit the ground. Impressive considering how infrequently she had shifted in her life and how long she’d taken last night. But her adrenaline was pumping hard, and she managed to shift midair.

Wyatt shook off his human half also, yards from her grizzly form. He took barely longer than her to transform and land on his paws. And then they were off, him running after her, her charging up the mountain as if she were being chased by the devil himself.

If he thought it would do any good, he would reach out to her telepathically, but he was afraid it would only make things worse. She needed to run. He needed to follow. There were no other options at the moment.

If he thought she had run hard and furiously the night before, he was sadly mistaken.

If he thought she had some hidden issues that needed to be resolved, they were obviously much larger than anticipated.

If he thought he had been making headway with her in the previous hour or so, his efforts had just taken a giant leap in the wrong direction.

She was blocking him. She was blocking the world. So thoroughly that there was no way to communicate with her. All he could sense was panic and fear. Terror he would wish on no one in the world. Not even his worst enemy.

When she came to a stream, she jumped into the frigid water and waded to the other side, pawing at the surface and scaring Wyatt to death.

He jumped in behind her, following, his paws touching the bottom at a level that told him she too could reach if she needed to.

She clambered out on the other side, didn’t bother to shake off the water, and continued to run. She would be cold. Even in bear form, that water had been too cold at this time of year. Even for Wyatt, who was significantly larger than her.

She kept running, erratically. Heading in no particular direction. In fact, she doubled back several times. Long after Wyatt thought she would have collapsed from exhaustion, she finally stopped, her front legs buckling as she lowered to the ground, whimpering. She flopped onto her side, her tongue hanging out, her fur matted and wet, her breathing erratic. Her eyes were wild, and then they closed.

Wyatt shifted at her side, taking his human form, grateful he’d grabbed their jackets. He still held them in his hand when he shifted. After shrugging into his, he dropped to her side, set a hand on her back, and stroked her fur. For a while, he did nothing but pet her, inching toward her head until he smoothed her soft pale fur back from her eyes. “Paige.”

She didn’t move or acknowledge him in any way.

He wasn’t sure what to do. She was in shock and much too large to carry in her bear form. “Paige, I need you to shift.”

Nothing.

“Babe, I know it’s hard. I know you’re hurting, but I need you to shift so I can get you down the mountain.” He glanced around, assessing exactly where they were and how far he would have to hike if he could get her to transform. Totally doable. Not more than a few miles, and she was so tiny in her human form.

Seconds turned into minutes. He continued to soothe her. And then he tried again. “Paige, it’s cold out here. I know you don’t care, but I can’t leave you here. I won’t. I’ll never leave you. Shift for me. I won’t ask any questions. I just need to get you off this mountain.”

She blinked her eyes open, held his gaze, and then exhaled a long breath. But she finally complied. As her body took its time converting to human form, Wyatt removed his hand from her fur and leaned back. Fifteen seconds later, she lay curled on her side, looking much smaller than she was, cold, shivering, wet, shut off from him.

But it was enough. He’d gotten through to her enough to get her to shift. He reached for her limp, unresponsive body, lifted her into his arms, and cradled her against his chest. She was freezing. He wrapped her jacket around her. As he stood, she leaned her head against his shoulder. He wasn’t sure she was aware of what was happening, but he cherished the moment anyway and started the arduous walk back to civilization.

While he headed down the mountain, he reached out to his father. “Dad, need your help.”

“What is it, son?”

“Can you send someone over to Paige’s apartment to tell Gavin that Paige is with me? She’s safe. I don’t want him to worry.”

“Of course. I’ll have your mom go. Is everything okay?”

“No, but it will be. Someday.”

“All right. Anything else?”

“Yeah, I won’t be at work tomorrow. Cover for me?”

“You know I will. Let me know if I can do anything else.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

It was going to take a while to get down this mountain, and then Wyatt assumed it was going to take even longer to get into his mate’s mind and help her.