~

 

Bowie was still healing from his fight with Dane when the damn beast burst in through his front door and made him drop the damn beer in his hand out of sheer surprise.

Standing in the doorway between his kitchen and living room, he scented the air and found the unfamiliar female beast’s smell was … kind of familiar and kind of not.

“What the…?” Bowie’s bear reached boiling point without much help from him.

Sure, he wasn’t best pleased that he needed a new damn door and frame from where it had been busted by the female. But what the hell, he could have written that one off.  

He wasn’t best pleased that there was a damn bear in his living room, and he certainly wasn’t best pleased that there was a damn stranger on his land, but worst of all – he’d dropped his damn beer.

He was going to enjoy shifting into his damn bear and tossing that female’s backside out if his cabin.

‘Bowie, it’s Rayner.’ Dane’s words paused Bowie’s shift as his mind tried to comprehend what his brother was telling him. ‘You touch her, and I’ll kill you – you bastard…’

‘You bit your mate?’ Bowie didn’t think he could get his head around that one.

‘Not me – you, asshole…’

Rayner’s bear tossed its head back on its neck and roared in rage. Bowie stared at the beast. His mind was spinning, and he just couldn’t get a handle on what his brother was telling him.

Was the human female’s bear really his fault?

Had he bitten her when he’d been deep in his crazy?

“I …” Bowie forced a step towards the beast, and it lashed out.

One large paw took a swipe at him and knocked him sideways, sending him crashing into the wall. He’d felt the razor-sharp claws go through his skin, opening up the flesh, but it wasn’t deep, didn’t go all the way to the bone, and caused him no mind.

“Rayner!” Dane put his human body between her bear and Bowie.

He wasn’t protecting his brother. After what Bowie had done to her, she had every right to seek vengeance in whatever way she saw fit. No, he was protecting her from herself.

If her first act as a bear was to kill someone, then she might never reconcile the human side of her with her bear. As it was, she would have a hard time trusting the monster within and embracing it.

If her first act was violence, then she’d probably fight letting that side free again for fear of what it could do. Or worse, she could stay in her bear form and deny her humanity altogether.

Rayner’s beast dropped down to all four paws and twisted its head on its neck as she took Dane in from head to toe. Naked as the day was long, she got another good look at the man, and it was definitely damned distracting.

“Shift back,” Dane growled. His beast was still thick within his voice, but he never tried to hide it.

He was an alpha. He was her alpha and her mate, and he’d use whatever means necessary to tame her wild side while she couldn’t.

“Just concentrate on being human – tell your beast to let go – push it back from you as you push your human side forward,” Dane demanded.

It was there in his voice, in that growl, in the way that he spoke; it was pushing deep into her psyche and making her want to comply. He was leaving her no other choice, and yet, he also knew that it wasn’t just her. The bear needed to let go to.

The beast growled. Its lips vibrated with the sound – damn stubborn bear.

“Rayner…” Dane warned.

Rayner’s beast snorted her contempt for Bowie, for him, and did the awkward maneuver of turning in the small confines of the cabin to leave. The TV wobbled and hit the floor, and Bowie grunted in annoyance.

Dane shot the man a sideways glance of disgust and Bowie dropped his head on his neck in shame.

“Don’t mind me,” Roland said, just getting to the front door in his naked, human form as the bear nudged him out of the way and stalked outside. “What the hell is going on?”

“Bowie must have bitten her somehow…” Dane was in two minds about whether to rip his brother’s head off, but his protective gene sent him storming out of the cabin after his mate.

“Jesus, Bowie,” Roland growled.

“I didn’t bite!” Bowie growled.

At least, if he did, then he didn’t do it intentionally.

“Screw up,” Roland spat out in disgust, turning on his heels and leaving Bowie standing there alone in the ruined room.

Bowie bit down on a string of curses and let loose with his booted foot on the small wooden side table that he’d made with his own hands. It was more than satisfying when the thing exploded – it somehow felt like the rest of his life as he glared down at the remains that were scattered across the floorboards.

“Biggest damn screw up ever.” He growled out under his breath. “Can’t make it right.”

 

~

~

~

 

“Whatever you need, brother,” Roland offered as he walked from Bowie’s place and gave the bear a wide berth.

It wasn’t just the fact that Rayner was a new bear, and would be somewhat – grumpy; it was also the fact that she was vulnerable and Dane would sense that deep within him, and he’d be protective of her.

Roland was all for helping where he could, but he wasn’t about to get into a pissing contest with her bear as it searched for its place in the world, or have a brawl with Dane’s bear as it reacted to its mate’s emotions. No damn way.

“Get a damn blanket for when she shifts back from my cabin, will ya?” Dane growled.

“Done.” Roland started off in the other direction. “Don’t go putting that pretty face of yours in harm’s way now,” he chuckled, “wouldn’t want her to have to look at her handy work every day for the rest of her life.”

That made sense to Dane. Just like he’d stopped her from killing Bowie – guilt was a terrible burden to carry – and none if this was her fault.

“Rayner, you’ve got to at least try to push back your bear,” Dane growled, part coaxing and part challenging her to do it. “While your fur looks good on you – you’ve got a really big ass in that.” He offered her a teasing chuckle and caught the sideways look that her beast gave him.

Yeah, she was going to kick his ass one way or the other.

 

~

~

~

 

Rayner snorted her contempt for the man and offered a few choice words. It sounded strange coming out in bear talk, but she was certain that Dane knew exactly what she’d said because he was damn well chuckling harder.

Asshole.

Like she cared what her ass looked like. It wasn’t exactly her backside, now was it? Still, if he was going to taunt her, then she might just sit on his head and fart.

That made her smile inside. Hell, she didn’t know if bears could smile, but she didn’t exactly have access to a damn mirror to check either.

That thought was kind of appealing, not the farting part, although … but, sitting on his damn grinning face with her big furry backside.

Mate! Ha! She’d squish on him with her damn bear self any day of the week.

Bear or human, the man wasn’t exactly puny, and standing there naked, well, he certainly was appealing. Her bear made a noise all its own, and she didn’t know what the hell it meant, but she got the sentiment behind it without much problem.

Her bear was more than happy to see Dane as her mate. It seemed … weird that there was someone out there just for her. Apart from her grandmother, nobody had ever been there for her in her life before; she liked that.

“Blanket,” Roland said as he strolled towards Dane and hesitated in his step when she growled in his direction. “Be nice – I could take the blanket away, and you’ll be standing there as naked as the rest of us when you shift back,” he teased.

“Bite me,” she growled, and both men tried not to snigger. Yeah, they understood her alright.

“That’s my job,” Dane grinned from ear to ear at the thought, but somewhere deep inside, he still wanted to kill Bowie for what he’d done. He’d settle up with his brother later; right then it was all about Rayner.

“Damn, I’m hungry!” Roland exclaimed, and Rayner had to admit, she felt ravenous.

“I got some nice, juicy steaks in my fridge,” Dane teased and noted the way that his mate’s gaze shot in his direction. “Thick, juicy, cook them just right and…”

Rayner’s beast pulled back, and for one long moment, she felt so damn disorientated, dizzy, both hot and cold that it made her feel sick to her stomach. She dropped to her hands and knees on the cold dirt.

Then she felt a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders and over her back as Dane snatched the blanket from his brother and rushed to cover her naked body.

“I’m going to kill your damn brother,” Rayner growled out with the underlying rumble of her beast still in her voice. That might not have been the strangest part, but it was up there with the others.

“Not if I get there first.” Dane nodded.