by J. K Harper
Her heart fluttered in her chest. Stupid little heart. “Wyatt,” she breathed, as startled to see him here as he was to see her.
Wyatt, her reindeer echoed, just as taken with him. Mine.
What? No, he wasn't mine. He was just a part of her ancient history. In fact, he was just a jerk of a guy based on his macho man actions the other night. All brawn and no manners. In fact—
Oh, no. Brynna's insides lurched as Wyatt's eyes narrowed to nearly glowing slits as he stared at Thor. His bear was roused, lurking just beneath the surface. Barely controlled bear. No manners, for sure. Wyatt wasn't just startled to see her here. He was startled to see her here with another guy. A guy he didn't know. A guy whose arm was around her shoulders.
Ohhh, shit.
Wyatt's entire face turned to granite. Thor sensed the danger, his companionable arm slipping off of Brynna's shoulders as he tensed. In a split second, Brynna knew exactly what was going to happen. She knew Wyatt far too well, even if it had been almost five years since she'd last spent real time with him.
After all, she'd seen this aggressive, possessive side of him again just a few nights ago.
“Wyatt, don't—” was all she managed to get out before all hell broke loose.
Wyatt lunged forward, mouth opened in a snarl, his hands reaching right for Thor's throat to squeeze the life out of him.
2
Wyatt Webber's casual morning trail run was shot all to hell in a split second. He saw red. Not the cheerful red of this holiday season. Nope. This was a roaring, angry blood red.
That was his Brynna. His woman. With another man's arm around her shoulders. Brynna was his, no one else's. He'd throttle the hell out of anyone who thought otherwise.
His bear rumbled and roared inside him, just as blindly enraged. Wanting blood. Didn't matter that Wyatt had only recently kissed Brynna again for the first time in years. Didn't matter that she itched to leave Deep Hollow in her dust as soon as her doctor or whatever decided her leg was healed. Didn't matter that attacking someone else in public was a bad idea. Especially for someone like him, a brand new deputy sworn to uphold the public safety.
Fuck all that. The guy with Brynna was one dead male just for daring to breathe in her space, let alone touch her like he was allowed to do so.
Wyatt was the only one who could ever touch her again. Brynna was his—his—
Shit. She was his what, exactly?
Mate! he could feel his bear roaring inside.
Not anymore, Wyatt snarled back at himself. Yet his mind eagerly circled the possibility of that word, mate, even as his attention was snagged by the shrieking reality of the moment. Literally shrieking.
Apparently, Brynna was his yelling, angry something right now.
“Wyatt, stop! What the hell are you doing?” She lunged forward to grab his hands, which were satisfactorily almost closed around the other asshole's throat. “Don't!”
Wyatt felt bright rage grip him harder in his desire to simply protect what was his.
His? What the fuck.
The realization that he was thinking about her in such a possessive way finally managed to douse the flames of his anger. Cursing silently, he forced himself to hold his blazing fury in check. Using every ounce of strength he possessed, he made himself listen to her outrage and stand down.
Hoo, boy. She let loose on him. "You haven't changed one bit! Who the hell made you the head cave bear around here anyway?” Brynna stood with her arms down at her sides, fists clenched, her beautiful little breasts heaving as she yelled. Scrappy and strong, even though she was maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet and barely came up to his chest. Damn cute little reindeer shifter. He'd been in love with her since about the second grade. Small package, but one hell of a big presence.
Even when furious, wow, was she ever gorgeous.
Wyatt couldn't help staring at her as his possessive rage slightly eased with each pound of his fucking dumb heart. Brynna’s long brown hair was caught back in a braid, with small strands clinging to her damp forehead. Eyes the color of caramel mocha were stunning even though they snapped with her shocked anger. And that body. The curves he'd been able to touch and stroke for far too short a time the other night taunted him now, displayed under her clinging running pants and a long-sleeved shirt he was almost jealous of for the way it hugged her. She wore nothing else despite the winter chill. Being a shifter, her genetics allowed her to stay warm enough in the late December air, especially since she'd clearly just been exercising. With another man. Another bear shifter, even.
Wyatt's bear roared inside him. The red haze threatened to take over once more. Fuuuck, this woman made him crazy. He literally bit his own tongue to shake himself out of it, forcing his hands to relax away from the other guy's neck. His bear growled inside him, but backed off. For now.
The man he'd been about to strangle huffed out a grunt of anger, holding his ground as he stared back at Wyatt. “What the fuck is your problem,” he snarled, his bear rumbling beneath his voice. He was a big guy who clearly had a big bear inside him as well. “I’m gonna pound your dumb ass into the ground, you insane jerk.”
Wyatt opened his mouth again to blast out a retort, but Brynna cut him off. “Both of you, stop being such guys,” she snapped, the usually creamy-smooth voice that about brought Wyatt to his knees each time he heard it sounding more sandpaper rough at the moment. “What the hell is this, Wyatt? You're acting like a psycho! Thor could call the sheriff and have you charged with assault if you touch him." Her pretty eyes narrowed at him. “Of course, since you're the new deputy here, your po-po buddies probably would make sure the charges wouldn't stick."
Po-po? Despite the situation, Wyatt snorted in some amusement.
Brynna's eyes narrowed even more. Oh, beautiful woman. Pretty little deer shifter. Fuck him, he was halfway to getting a boner just looking at her angry fire right now. What the hell was wrong with him, anyway?
Mate! his bear roared again. My mate.
Wyatt tightened his jaw in frustration at that impossibility. No, she wasn't. Not anymore.
Not ever again.
The man she was with interjected. "There won't be any charges, though it's tempting. Idiot,” he snapped, glaring at Wyatt. His bear flared bright in his eyes. “I'm not competition. I'm engaged to Brynna's sister. Whom I love dearly and have eyes only for.”
He turned his frown on Brynna. “So this blockhead is Wyatt, huh? And he's the new deputy here?" Shaking his head, he glared back at Wyatt again. "You need to get a handle on that temper of yours. That's just asking for trouble in these parts.”
Wyatt clenched his jaw. “These parts happen to be my hometown. I don’t recognize you, which means you didn’t grow up here. Everyone here knows me, and that makes me a-okay in 'these parts.’ Let me tell you,” he added with gravel underscoring his tone, “there won't be any trouble as long as you stay away from her. Do you understand me?” He could hear the edge of his still pissed-off bear in his voice. He didn't care what the guy said, or who he was engaged to. He still was standing way too fucking close to Brynna.
The man opened his mouth again, but this time Brynna jerked her head no. “Don't bother, Thor. He's playing over-possessive cave bear again. Something that hasn't changed in the last five years, apparently.”
She looked at Wyatt with her chin tipped up a bit, an unconsciously defiant stance that suddenly made him want to smile at how fierce she was. Which was very fierce. And strong. And so fucking sexy he could hardly stand it.
He wanted to kiss all the fierce anger and doubt out of her. Kiss her like he had the other night, for the first time in too many years. Just remembering their soul-shaking embrace turned him on to a ridiculous degree right now. He wanted to grab her and pull her close to him while he aimed his lengthening canines for the sweet flesh of her shoulder.
So he could bite her and mark her as his, once and for all.
So he could make her his claimed mate.
Wait, what? No.
<
br /> Wyatt ground his jaw at the bizarre, completely unexpected desire to claim Brynna that had been dogging him ever since he'd reconnected with her. So unexpectedly running into her the other night had been an enormous shock. He'd been so sure she would never return to little Deep Hollow, so sure she was still living the jet-setter life as she led fancy tour groups to the world's famous sites. But when he'd been out on his training run along the riverwalk the other evening, he almost literally ran right into her jogging the opposite direction on the same path.
He'd breathed an unbelieving, "Brynna?" when he saw her. It made her stop short and cock her head at him as she stared back at him. Just as he started to be afraid she was angry to see him, that he was the last person she'd wanted to run into, a huge smile had filled her face, making it shine like all the light of the sun resided within her. “Wyatt,” she had breathed back, the sound of his name on her tongue practically setting off fireworks right then and there.
Just like that, he’d been a goner. Hook, line, and sinker. He wanted nothing more than to see that smile again every day of his life, preferably because he was the one to put it on her face.
They’d gone to dinner that same night. She'd told him about the accident she'd been in a few months ago while halfway around the world for work. The sheer grit and determination of her healing journey had impressed him as always. Being a shifter, she had swift healing capabilities. But it had been a really bad fracture, and she hadn’t been able to shift into her deer soon enough after it happened to help speed up the process, so it had been a tough recovery. She was fierce and focused, however, and she was indeed recovering. His Brynna was as strong as she was sexy.
They’d gone for a stroll after dinner, and he'd kissed her, under the half-moonlight along this very riverwalk.
The same riverwalk where they now stood again, both glaring at one another, the air between them zinging with something wild and electrifying, crackling with a tension that made his bear half crazy.
She clearly saw his bear rumbling inside him just below the surface, because her chin tipped up a bit more. A tiny but audible little snort huffed out of her, one filled with judgment about his attitude.
Fine. She thought he was an over-possessive cave bear? No problem. That was something he'd always been good at. Especially around Brynna Darby. Fighting his bear on this was proving impossible.
He had to spend more time with her. No matter what.
"All right, Bryn.” She bristled at the familiar way he said it, but he didn't miss the catch in her breath or the sudden, undeniable scent of her arousal. Oh, yeah. No matter what had happened in the past, they were both goners, at least as far as physical attraction to one another went. As for the rest of what was between them—well, that was still to be revealed.
He firmly held her gaze. “Since we've made sure your little tagalong here”—the other bear growled under his breath but kept still—“isn't a problem, you will agree to have dinner with me again. Tonight." His tone said he expected nothing but a yes answer.
There, fierce little reindeer. Let's see how you handle that, he thought with a satisfaction that was both grim and somewhat amused. He’d always liked pushing her buttons. Her reaction would be worth it.
Her eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. Then pure fire stormed back into her expression. Her chest heaved with an outraged gasp, and she clenched adorable little fists at her sides.
Before she could answer, Wyatt got jostled from behind. Whipping around to level a glare at the other shifter who'd just smacked into him, he growled in irritation. His cousin and running buddy ignored him and looked curiously past Wyatt, then made a noise of understanding.
"Hey, Brynna.” Slade Walker nodded at her as he stepped up beside Wyatt. “This dickhead giving you any trouble?"
Wyatt snapped his head back around just in time to see Brynna's full lips twitch. She snorted, then shook her head. “Hi, Slade. No, he's just making trouble for himself. Same as always.” She leveled a pointed glare at Wyatt. “It seems he never grew out of it.”
Slade nodded seriously. “Yeah. Fatal disease for him, troublemaking.” He jabbed Wyatt in the side and gave him a stern look. “You hear that, World Wide Web? You're gonna troublemake yourself into an early grave.”
Brynna's anger seemed to pause. “You guys still call him that?” A sudden, reminiscent smile turned up her lips.
Wyatt caught his breath. Yes. Finally, Brynna was smiling, full and open, right at him. He felt his possessive rage fully slip away in the face of the stunning beauty that was Brynna Darby. She was the cutest, sexiest little reindeer shifter he'd ever met. Not like he'd met that many, since reindeer shifters were rare. But she was definitely the cutest and sexiest one of them all.
His sudden high spirits couldn't be dampened even when the guy still too close to Brynna snorted, “World Wide Web? Why do you call him that?”
Brynna's face bloomed like a gorgeous flower as she still smiled. It was genuine. She wasn't nearly as pissed anymore. “Childhood nickname. Because his name is Wyatt Walker Webber. We turned it into World Wide Web when we were all kids.” Her smile got even more real. “Wyatt Walker Webber,” she said again softly, studying him with that smile still lifting her pretty lips.
Wyatt felt a shiver of delight tiptoe up and down his spine at the sound of his full name rolled in her mouth, kissed by her lips. Shiiit. He was so screwed.
Her smile light up the cold day. “I guess it stuck. I almost forgot about it.”
The stark tension had disappeared. Wyatt took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. Yeah, picking a fight practically in the middle of town wasn't a good idea. As an esteemed member of Deep Hollow’s po-po department, he definitely couldn't go around terrorizing the very citizens he was supposed to protect. He needed to chill the hell out. Now that Brynna was smiling at him, no longer yelling at him, Wyatt could let himself relax.
“Look, I'm sorry I was a dick.” Relaxed or not, that was hard to say. He ignored Slade's huffed snort. Slade always called him dick anyway, like it was his name or something. He forced himself to stick out his hand to the guy next to Brynna, Thor or whatever. “I'm Deputy Webber. But just call me Wyatt. You are?”
With a final glance at Brynna, the guy shrugged and stuck out his own hand to meet Wyatt's in a strong but friendly grip. “I'm Thor Calhoun. Almost Brynna’s brother-in-law. So your middle name's Walker, huh?”
Wyatt nodded.
“You happen to be related to the Walker clan?” Thor's voice stayed casual, though his eyes sized Wyatt up with some new respect. Then he glanced at Slade, who was a Walker himself. The Walkers were held in high regard here in Deep Hollow.
Wyatt nodded again. “Yup. Slade is my cousin. One of several. My dad's sister is Elodie Walker. I grew up here. Left for a job somewhere else years ago.” He didn't look at Brynna when he said that. “I just came back here a few weeks ago when I landed the open deputy position. I'm home to stay now,” he couldn't help adding. He'd said that to Brynna the other night at dinner, but he felt the strong need to remind her for whatever reason. His bear muttered inside him.
Thor grunted, but he sounded a lot calmer now. “Elodie Walker's your aunt, huh? And Slade here is your cousin. Along with that whole passel of Walkers.”
Both Wyatt and Slade nodded. There were a bunch of Walkers who called Deep Hollow their home. Brothers, cousins, and other extended relatives who all made up a big clan here.
Completely simmered down now, Thor nodded. “Okay then. I guess you might not be a total asshole if you're a Walker. I’ve only lived her a couple years myself, but I know the Walkers. They’re good folks.”
Elodie and her mate Oberon Walker were well-known and highly respected in Deep Hollow. This was their clan’s home, their territory as grizzly bear shifters. Wyatt didn't usually play that relationship card, but it was smoothing over the moment. Besides, Brynna was right. He had to remember he was a sheriff's deputy here now. He had an image to uphold, and a clan relationship th
at he needed to keep clean and upstanding, temper or no.
Thor grinned suddenly. He actually seemed like a pretty friendly guy. “Welcome home, then. It's a good time of year to be here,” he added in an even more cheerful tone. “Christmas in this town is the best.”
An abrupt silence thunked over them, awkward and uncomfortable. Fuuuck. Wyatt didn't look at Brynna. He could sense her determinedly not looking at him, either. Even Slade, who of course knew their personal backstory, seemed suddenly uncomfortable, while Thor looked confused at the stiff silence.
Great.
Wyatt loved Christmas in Deep Hollow, and always had ever since he was a cub. He loved the sparkle and jingle of the holiday. The way Main Street was lit from end to end with colorful lights draped over the street signs, the lamp posts, the sidewalk benches and all the business windows. It was dumb, but he'd also always loved caroling, and drinking hot cider in front of a crackling fire, and the smell of fresh pine needles as everyone hung wreaths on doorways. Christmas had always been his favorite time of the year, and he fell for its charms like a total sucker every December.
But the last time he'd seen Brynna, before the other night, had been on Christmas Eve five years ago. That one night had ruined his Christmases for a long time afterward. The memory of that brutally painful time smashed over him like an unrelenting wave of pure misery.
It had been a week before he was set to leave for Montana to go to his first real job, and he’d planned for that Christmas Eve to be the most spectacular one he or Brynna had ever had. He knew she'd never liked that time of year, and he understood why, but he'd been so damned pleased with his idea, so certain she'd love it, that he couldn't help himself. He'd dressed up as Santa, complete with the classic red hat on his head and a white wig and beard set he’d picked up at one of the local shops.