Bearly Hanging On: Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska Book 3

by Krystal Shannan

  He squeezed her hand gently once more before letting her go and retreating several steps away from her. She felt the absence of his warmth and presence immediately like a dark cloud had dropped over her shoulders to suffocate her. Was he leaving? The thought made her sick at her stomach all over again, but for a completely different reason. Why was he affecting her so strongly? Sure, she had a crush on him, but he was mostly a stranger.

  A stranger she was half-way in love with already. Stop it. Get a grip woman.

  Tara picked up the phone, swiped it open and added her number to his phonebook. Then she texted herself, so she’d have his.

  “Did you really threaten the guy?” she asked. Would it make a difference? Or would the next time just be worse? Her gut was unfortunately whispering the latter.

  “On my honor, he will not touch you again.”

  Honor? It was like he was some kind of chivalrous medieval warrior come to her rescue. The image of Owen in armor made her heart flutter just a little faster in her chest. Her imagination was running away with itself again, but she didn’t care at all.

  Mine.

  His bear knew it and told him again as he stood in front of them. Over and over.

  My mate.

  It wasn’t news. He’d known Tara was his mate the first time he’d stepped into the store four months ago. It still didn’t change his status as an outsider…an outcast. Or the fact that Col had threatened to end his life if he attempted to claim Tara.

  “Thank you,” Tara said again, her voice still carrying a trace of fear and worry.

  He hated the sound. Hated that she didn’t believe him. He’d taken care of the unworthy male. Damned alpha wolf. If the male ever so much as breathed on Tara again…there would be no stopping his bear. He would kill again. And again. No matter the consequences. And if he did kill the alpha, he’d have to kill every last wolf in the pack. Which was the only reason he hadn’t killed him today. A tiny shred of forethought.

  Owen growled softly, trying to tamp down the anger still boiling in his veins. His bear had come so close to emerging in the parking lot. His claws had. The side of that asshole’s truck displayed proof that he’d nearly lost control.

  Ava would be disappointed in him. He was disappointed in himself, but this woman in the store—this human—her soul called to him. Glowed for him. Tara was his. He just couldn’t have her.

  His bear was wrestling in his mind, clamoring that he should touch her again. Claim her regardless of the dragon’s threats. But he wouldn’t.

  Tara was so beautiful. Her hair burned red like a flame filled with spices—full of life. Her skin was like ivory and her eyes the purest green he’d ever seen—like the evergreens in the forest just outside. And her soul…the beautiful ethereal glow of her soul pulled at his.

  Mine.

  He pushed back at his animal. He was wild and unpredictable. A disgrace to his people. It was better if he stayed away.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, looking up at him, worry creasing her brow. She handed him his phone and he slid it into his pocket. Guilt weighed heavy in his mind. This was his mate. Fate had shown her to him and he was denying the call. Would Fate give her to another? The idea of another male touching her or claiming her made his bear rage inside.

  Mine.

  No, she wasn’t.

  “I’m fine. I should go.” He stepped away from her toward the front doors.

  “Right. Sure.” She sounded so disappointed. He wanted to please her. He could smell her arousal. Her interest. It was torturing his mind and he needed to get out of there before he did something he couldn’t pull back from.

  Her red hair glistened on her back in silky strands and the scent of her threatened to overwhelm his control. All he wanted to do was bury his face in that mane again. Smell her sweetness. Feel her body against his again.

  “You will be safe,” he said, his voice strained.

  She reached out and took his hand. Magick flowed between them. Warmth. Peace. She was everything he’d ever wanted. A mate of his own. A woman to love and protect. He wanted to stay near her. Touch her and so much more.

  But she deserved more than a broken-down outcast warrior who couldn’t offer her anything more than the run-down shack he shared with his sister.

  His bear rattled in his chest. Tara’s eyes widened, but she didn’t tense, didn’t pull away. But she hadn’t seen his bear. Not yet. If she did, she would fear him. And that would break him completely.

  He pulled away from her hand. Then turned and walked away.

  Don’t look back.

  Out the door.

  Don’t look back.

  Into his truck.

  Don’t look back.

  5

  Tears welled in her eyes. She couldn’t explain it, but it hurt that he left. Physical pain resonated in her body, but not in a place she could name. It was like her very being ached from the inside out.

  There had been a connection. Surely she hadn’t made up the way he looked at her. No man had ever looked at her like that before. Her heart pounded against her rib, almost painfully. It was what she’d been searching for when she left for college. What she hadn’t found. That feeling of belonging to a person that was so strong, everything else in life faded away. It was a feeling that was worth persevering to obtain.

  She sucked in a shuddered breath and put her hands flat on the checkout counter. The store was silent again, except for the faint buzzing of the overhead lights.

  In and out. In and out.

  Air traveled slowly through her system like she was breathing through a straw.

  In and out. In and out.

  The pounding in her chest slowed first.

  In and out. In and out.

  Then her airways relaxed as well until she was breathing normally.

  She pulled her phone out of her front jean pocket and dialed Katherine.

  “Hey.” Her best friend’s voice was bright and cheery. Why wouldn’t it be? She hadn’t encountered a super sexy lumberjack who looked like he should be on the front of a fitness magazine who just so happened to behave like a knight in shining flannel…who just walked off and left her alone afterward.

  “Owen just saved me from creepy dude.” The words tumbled out before Tara could think twice.

  “Shut up.”

  “I’m not kidding. That guy came waltzing into the store right after I opened. I swear he had to have been waiting for me to unlock the doors from down the street or something. Ugh. Katherine, he grabbed me and said things...I’m going to need to shower with sandpaper tonight.”

  “Perv. Did you call Sheriff—” The words stopped as soon as Katherine realized the problem. “Fuck. I keep forgetting Henley retired last month and now we have deputy dipshit as our resident law enforcement.”

  “Yep.” Tara groaned and leaned forward until her elbows were propped on the counter. “All men have an all-access pass to be walking-talking-douche-waffles twenty-four-seven without repercussions.”

  “Are you okay? I can come over there and watch the store with you. Unless you’d rather have alone time with Owen.”

  “Owen left.”

  “Oh.” The silence was deafening and seemed to last forever. “Why?”

  “I don’t know. He said I would be safe. That the guy would never bother me again and then he left. He did give me his number though. So that’s something. Maybe. I don’t know.” She whined and fisted her free hand. “This whole thing, Katherine. It’s got me in knots. First yesterday when Owen and the others chased him off. Now Today. And Owen beat the crap out of him in the parking lot. I just have this sick, icky feeling that it’s not over.”

  “Shit. Did you tell him that?”

  “Yes. He said he would dispense consequences. That’s why he gave me his number, I guess. To call if creepy Raish showed up to harass me again.”

  “What was he like?” Katherine’s voice softened.

  Tara’s heart did a skip and a hop inside her chest. “I don’t
think I’ve ever been more attracted to a person in my entire life. There was something between us Katherine. It was like being breathless and weak-in-the-knees all at once. Like one of those happily ever after chick flicks where they kiss and your foot pops up. Except he didn’t kiss me. And he left me in the store all by myself. I’m so freaking confused right now.”

  “Maybe you make him as nervous as he makes you.”

  Tara opened her mouth to respond and then snapped it back shut again. What if? Except, he hadn’t seemed nervous. He’d seemed like he was arguing with himself…like he wanted to be there, but something was keeping him away at the same time.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t get the feel that he was nervous. I got the feeling that he couldn’t stay.”

  “Maybe he was following Ray or Rash, or what did you call him?” Katherine offered. The statement made sense. Why hadn’t she thought of it?

  “Rayy-sh,” she said, over enunciating. “And you’re probably right. I’m probably just blowing this way out of proportion.”

  “Are you coming to the MCC tonight for Board Game Bonanza?”

  “I’d rather be there than wallowing in a pint of loneliness at the Watering Hole and getting hit on by drunk miners and egotistical mushers.”

  Katherine chuckled on the other end of the line. “If only the miners and the mushers knew all the fun they were missing if they just went a couple of miles further up the road.”

  It was Tara’s turn to laugh now. The miners knew all about the MCC. Dozens of them ate dinner there weekly on Thursdays, but game night was probably a stretch for dudes that would rather get drunk and forget that they worked under the ground all day. Tara knew she certainly wouldn’t handle ten-hour shifts with hardly a breath of fresh air to go around. She’d want to get drunk and forget about it too.

  The mushers were another story. There were several that lived near Mystery and they were mostly decent guys, but super self-absorbed and cared more about their dogs than people. But when you had that many dogs, maybe you had to.

  “There really aren’t many good-option single guys in town are there.”

  “Nope, not right now. I’m holding out hope that Owen has a brother or a cousin stashed close by. If not, I’m likely to be single my whole life and join Mrs. Grieg and Mrs. Sampson and the other blue hairs at the Tuesday afternoon knitting circle in the MCC library.”

  Tara snorted into the phone. “Yeah, sure you will.”

  “You never know. Although, I have to say. There was this guy here last night after you left. Different from the usual.”

  “Good, I look forward to seeing a picture of him.”

  “How do you know I have a picture?” Katherine’s voice held an edge of insult, but it was all an act. Katherine’s entire life was Instagrammed, including everyone who came in contact with her.

  “You always have a picture.”

  Katherine laughed. “Fine. You’re right. I have a pic—” Muffled voices interrupted. “Hey, I gotta run. I’ll see you tonight, though, right?”

  “Yep, see you tonight.” Tara tapped the red icon on the face of her phone and slid it back into her front jean pocket.

  Now to make it through the day without any more crazy douche-bags. The bell above the door rang and Tara found herself holding her breath until a familiar woman walked into the store. Tara waved at the long-time resident of Mystery and leaned back against the check-out counter with a sigh.

  It was going to be a long day.

  Owen parked his truck off the road just out of sight of the grocery store. The wolf who’d harassed Tara was long gone. Owen waited nearly a half hour before walking back toward the store. Just because he’d threatened the loss of his arms and legs didn’t mean the alpha asshole had listened. The canine was used to getting whatever he wanted. Royals were like that. Entitled arrogant…kinda like a certain pain-in-the-rump dragon.

  He shook his head, trying to clear his bear’s anger from his thoughts. It had taken every ounce of the willpower left inside him to keep the raging beast from tearing the Reylean to shreds in the parking lot. But killing in the open was foolish—among other logical reasons. He’d had to let him go.

  Twice now the wolf had dared to approach Tara. Owen’s control over his bear was slipping, but he couldn’t lose it, not in front of Tara. She needed protection. She was innocent. Beautiful. Her father was sick, and she had stepped up to care for the store all by herself.

  He’d watched her with her parents. Seen how much they loved and depended on her. And she them. He’d watched the tears stream down her cheeks when her mother had left with her sick father and gone to Anchorage to see doctors about the illness that was stealing the life from his body. It’d torn a hole in him to see her go through that agony.

  He'd wanted to walk up to her, scoop her up off the ground, wipe away her tears, and hold her forever. But she didn’t even know him. Tara’s female friend Katherine had shown up yesterday and filled the comforting role he wanted so badly. They were always together or on the phone or at the Community Center in the middle of town. Tara’s friend worked there…or at least it appeared that she did.

  He hadn’t been able to bring himself to enter the building. Too many people. Too close of quarters. Even with Tara being inside and the soul call reaching for him, begging him to touch her, take her…

  Today had been the closest he’d ever been to her. The first time he’d touched her. It’d been better than anything he’d conjured in his mind. When she’d put her arms around him. Thanked him for saving her, there had been this moment of calm and clarity where his bear was at peace. Where his mind had been at rest. She had done that, given him peace.

  Now his bear paced and growled again, rumbling from the center of his chest. His fingers ached from where his claws had burst forth earlier. His whole body sparked and burned. His bear was so close. Needed to come out so badly.

  All he could think about was Tara.

  * * *

  He settled himself onto the small metal bench in front of the Jenkins Grocery and Hardware. The sun shone down, warming his face. The weather in this cold land was warming just slightly. He liked it. His bear liked it more. But right now, he was going to make sure that damn wolf didn’t bother Tara again today. It was bad enough his bear had pushed through enough to make his claws come out. Yesterday he’d been lucky no one was around but the wolf.

  He couldn’t be that careless. Not here. Not in this world.

  Here he had to abide by rules. He had to hide his nature. Human’s couldn’t be trusted.

  With each passing month he found himself wanting to trust Tara. Wanting more from her. And now, after today. After holding her in his arms.

  No.

  He couldn’t think that way. But deep down he knew eventually he’d give in…he would pick Tara. Claim her. Love her.

  Which meant Col would eventually come for his head.

  A big red beater truck pulled into the parking lot. A large blond man got out of the driver’s seat and walked around the other side and opened the door for a slender brunette. The scent of lion filled Owen’s nostrils and his bear bristled. Kann stiffened next to his pretty mate and turned until his gaze met Owen’s. Surprisingly, the lion shifters tense shoulders relaxed instantly and a smile crossed the man’s face. Owen watched as the male spoke into his mate’s ear and pointed across the parking lot—at him.

  Owen rolled his neck and frowned. He crossed his arms and breathed deeply, pushing down his bear. They could say whatever they liked. No one had to like him for him to protect his sister and Tara—his shuarra.

  The two approached as if nothing were amiss and the woman walked right up to him and held out her hand. He stiffened again and shot a glance at the male.

  “Morning, I’m Penny. Kann told me you and your sister are from the same place—”

  “Why are you talking to me?” Owen stood from the bench, towering over the brunette and hiding her from the sunshine in his massive shadow. The lion stepped betwee
n them quickly, a warning roar rumbling deep in his throat.

  Owen would never have hurt the lion’s mate. But Kann didn’t know that.

  Females were the most precious beings in creation. All life came from them. All true happiness. It was no different because he was on earth instead of Reylea. Still, it didn’t mean he wanted their pity or their false friendship. Col had made it very clear where Owen stood.

  “Kann.” The female shoved aside her mate and stepped forward again.

  Brave female. Owen had to give her credit for that.

  “Look. I know we don’t know each other well, but there’s room for you with us. You don’t have to be alone. I know how important the Tribe is where you come from.”

  Kann tugged on his mate’s arm and shook his head.

  “You’re a human.” Owen said the words like she was diseased and regretted them the moment they left his lips. The hurt on her face reminded him of the disappointment he saw in his sister’s countenance all too often these days. It gutted him.

  “You disrespect my shuarra, bear. But, Penny, he is right. Col would not accept an aonkan—an outcast—into the tribe.”

  Owen took a step backward and inclined his chin toward the woman. “Forgive me. I did not mean disrespect.” He turned to face the male and narrowed his gaze.

  Penny shrugged off Kann’s hand and stepped forward again. To Owen’s complete surprise, she poked him in the chest with a finger. “You need to suck it up, buttercup. I don’t know Col that well. Naomi would be more of an expert on that man, but you should try to talk to him. He’s reasonable and fair. Don’t you think your sister deserves your effort? I grew up without family. And now that I have the Tribe, I can’t imagine how I survived alone for so long.”

  “I don’t have a choice. I’m an outcast. I have spoken with Col. The answer is no.” He held back the growl his bear wanted to release, but the words still came out laced with darkness and anger and finality. He pulled down the collar of his shirt to show the brand Kalil had inflicted before throwing him out of camp. Before taking his tribe. Taking everything Owen held dear.