~

 

Tank’s bear did an about face and limped its bulk back towards the house and get between the woman and cub, and the clan bears. He turned and scanned the area, quickly assessing the danger in front of him.

His bear had been injured, but until the moment that he no longer drew breath, he would protect his kin with his life.

He growled as if he was facing demons from hell, and even Rayner could understand the emotion behind that one. The beast was defending his family.

 

~

~

~

 

Maggie needed to sit. Her legs felt kind of weak, and she felt kind of breathlessly dizzy, but all in all, she thought the good thing was that she wasn’t screaming out loud, but, somewhere in the back of her mind – she sort of had a little mini-me that was jumping up and down, waving her arms, and screaming at her to run for the hills.

Not that it would do her any good. The man was a bear shifter, and he would surely be a lot damn faster than she was.

Then there was the whole – bear – thing, and yeah, she wasn’t about to take off running, not when the warning not to do it had been his first words to her after telling her that they were mates. Mates – kerpow.

“You look like you could use a drink…” Roland said.

“A keg of whiskey would be good,” she replied, practically collapsing down onto the chair in the kitchen and starring with something approaching disbelief at him.

Roland reached for the bottle of scotch and poured her a good measure, and she accepted the glass gratefully. He noted the way that her hand was shaking a little, noted how, when their fingers brushed, she stiffened a little at his touch, and then there was the look of shock on her face – he got that – all of it, and he couldn’t blame her.

He’d told her a lot that she needed to know in such a small space of time, and he realized that it was a lot to take in, but she wasn’t screaming, or heading for the door – so that was a damn bonus. She didn’t look too happy though; he guessed that he couldn’t blame her for that either, he wasn’t exactly a great catch.

“Rayner’s a mate too,” he offered her and watched her eyebrows reach for her hairline.

“Rayner!” It didn’t really make her feel any better about the whole thing. Rayner was also kickass, and that was something that Maggie knew she’d never be.

“It’s a shock…”

“Ya think?” Maggie snapped back at him, and he winced.

“I don’t expect you to be celebrating or…”

“Well, I’ll just cancel that cake.” Maggie folded her arms again, and Roland knew that his arguments were going to hit a brick wall. She needed time to digest things.

“Speaking of which – are you hungry?”

“I lost my appetite…”

“Why did you come here?”

“That sounds like an accusation, this isn’t my fault,” she said, eyeing him as if he’d just thrown up on her shoes.

“That’s not what I meant.” Roland held his hands up in surrender again.

He didn’t need an irate mate. He was trying to change the subject, get back on solid ground, and give her something to think about other than him. He guessed she was seeing problems where there were none.

“I’m being evicted and hoped Rayner knew somewhere that I could stay for cheap.” She shrugged.

“You’ll be staying here.”

Roland hadn’t thought that one through. His mouth had started working before he’d put his brain in gear, and the look on her face told him everything he needed to know.

“What are you – nuts?” She shrieked, and his ears almost bled. He really needed to work on thinking before he spoke.

 

~

~

~

 

Rayner tossed on the spare clothes that she’d stashed in the back of the truck and eyed Tank’s bear as it prowled back and forth in front of the house. Bowie’s bear still clung to him, but Dane had shifted back into his skin and was stalking back towards her with every tense muscle moving under his skin.

She kind of wished they were home so that she could take advantage of his lack of attire and pounce on the man. Not that clothes were ever a barrier between them.

A growl rumbled within her, and she saw his eyes lock on her. Yep, home would have been good for what she was feeling.

“That better not be you trying to deflect my attention,” Dane growled, as he sidled up to her and snatched up some clean clothes.

“How sad is that accusation,” she said, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“Damn it, Rayner. I told you to…”

“Stay in the truck – yadda – yadda – blah. My bear didn’t like that idea, and this was not my fault,” she snapped back.

“Sure it was…” Dane grumbled, thrusting a leg into the confines of his jeans. 

“You were fighting. My bear didn’t like it,” Rayner said, yanking down her shirt and leaning in towards him to take his scent as she started by him. “Don’t put yourself in danger if you don’t want me wearing my fur coat.”

Roland’s hand reached out and locked around her wrist; he yanked her back in front of him.

“Now, you just wait right there until I’m dressed…” he growled.

He wasn’t about hopping around and trying to yank on his clothes as he followed his mate back towards that big ass Tank bear, and the man had already attacked once. Although, he hadn’t laid a paw on Rayner.

“He’s not coming at me, Dane,” Rayner said, and she sounded certain about that. Dane didn’t share that sentiment.

“You don’t know that…”

“Sure, I do. How come you don’t, alpha?” She offered him a teasing smile, and he cocked his head to one side and gave a deep growl of annoyance.

“Behave,” he grumbled. “And wait for me.” He let go of her arm and double-timed getting into his jeans.

“All done?” She asked impatiently as he zipped up his fly and reached for his shirt. “Feel better now your little pee-pee is away?” She started off on fast feet away from him, and Dane bit down on a few choice words as he started after her.

He knew she still had a bear to tame as best she could and a lot to learn about being clan, but he was sure that his mate was going to be the death of him – he just didn’t know if his end might just be self-inflicted.