by C. D. Gorri
Amelia had given her a long-sleeved nightgown and thick socks to pull on, having nothing else that would fit her tall, slender frame. She was grateful to be clean and dry. Another long glance in the mirror and she could not look away. Tears stained her cheeks, burning the thin scratches along her cheek and her swollen, split lip, but she couldn’t stem the flow.
“Lacey dear, he’s here,” a gentle knock sounded against the bathroom door and Lacey as surprised to realize she’d been in there for over an hour.
She shook herself out of her stupor and opened the door to the bathroom. Angry blue eyes met hers as she stepped into the living room. Familiar blue eyes.
“Lacey,” he growled her name as recognition registered across his face. But it was too late for her to respond, exhaustion and surprise had her fainting dead away. But before she could hit the ground, strong arms swept her up against a thick, muscled chest. She could have sworn someone whispered against her temple.
“I’ve got you, Lacey. You’re safe now.”
Chapter 1
Daniel dropped the bar holding almost two thousand pounds of specially designed metal plates onto the thick rubber mats that lined his personal gym. Deadlifting was one of his favorite workouts.
The intoxicating burn of muscle as he heaved the impossible amount of weight, weight no normal could ever conceive of bearing, off the ground was addictive. His Black Bear roared in his mind’s eye. The enormous beast was dark brown with golden fur along his head and streaks down his back as opposed to the true black coloring his normal kind were known for.
His younger brother Taylor was a true Spirit Bear with golden colored fur, whereas Marcus was a true Black Bear in coloring and temperament.
Taylor, the tea drinking fucker, was bugging him lately about the way he flew off the handle at nothing. Well what did he know about it? He’d finally claimed his mate, their general manager, Krissy Sposa, and his Bear was all fucking happy.
In fact, the couple was now engaged and planning their nuptials with glee. Taylor, the lucky prick, was always griping about something Daniel did. But he didn’t need to answer to him. He was the Clan Enforcer. Plus, he could still kick his little brother’s ass any day of the week. Hell yeah, I can. Grrr.
His oldest brother, Marcus, was also the Clan’s Alpha. He was mated and married to a bubbly blonde who made just about every Bear in the Clan feel at home with her genuine kind heart and soft smiles. All the brothers liked her, even Nate.
It had been a year since their father had retired from the position of Alpha. The old man wanted to travel in his golden years, or some shit like that. Daniel couldn’t really understand anyone wanting to leave Barvale, and he could give a rat’s ass why his father decided to go. He freely admitted to being on his mother’s side of that doomed relationship, but with mom gone, he was at peace with it.
He sincerely loved his hometown. Loved the family business. Bear Claw Bakery was now a household name. The Devlin brothers had worked hard and long to make it so. They were certified billionaires nowadays. Who knew normals would crave coffee and sugar to that level?
Daniel wasn’t complaining. In fact, it was pretty fucking cool knowing you could have anything you wanted whenever you wanted it. Well, not anything. Bitterness crept into his heart as he thought about the hole his ex-fiancée had left there. Fuck it. His Bear growled in his mind’s eye and he prepared for his next lift, shaking out his hands and bending his knees.
It was three years ago, but that day would be forever etched into his brain. His wedding day. Or what would have been if the woman he’d chosen hadn’t left him for someone else. Someone normal.
He’d been crazy about Melinda. From the first time he’d seen her with the kindergarten class she’d taught. They’d been on a tour at the bakery to see how things worked when he’d spied the petite brunette. Should’ve run the other way, growled his Bear.
He hated to admit the beast was right. His ursine counterpart had not been a fan of Melinda’s from the very start. Daniel had to force the animal to accept even the idea of mating the woman. Waste of time. Not ours.
What could he say? His mother had just died, and his father was acting strange and restless. Daniel knew his parents were not fated mates, but he felt her loss keenly. As the middle child, he’d always been close to his mother. She was a wonderful person and she loved her sons.
He’d been desperate to start his own family. To fill the void and find someone to love and cherish. He thought that person was Melinda. The night before the wedding, he went to her place. He’d decided to share the secret of his Bear with her before they spoke their vows. Granted, he probably should have told her much sooner, but he’d always held back.
She’d been calm at the time. Had asked him politely to give her space when he would’ve stayed to make love to her. She even cited the whole bad luck thing. The next day, she just didn’t show up.
He’d waited all day. Finally, he received a message from her. Melinda wrote that she was leaving him, and she did not want him to follow her. She had no idea what he was when she accepted his proposal, and she wanted no part of living with “an animal”.
Not very surprising, she’d kept the four-carat marquis cut diamond he’d given her, that she picked out. She also cashed in the honeymoon tickets, emptied the joint bank account he’d set up for them, and left town never to be heard from again.
He supposed that was best. Daniel didn’t know if he could take the constant reminder of her rejection had she stayed in Barvale. He bent and lifted the heavy bar again. Puffing out a breath and pressing his hips forward into the bar he corrected his stance.
Fuck me, he thought as he felt the burn rip through his thigh muscles and glutes. He was pushing the limit at a full ton, but he was determined. An Enforcer had to be.
The Barvale Clan was a peaceful bunch generally speaking, but they had their moments. He was responsible for breaking up fights before they became feuds. He also looked out for the security of the Den, it was the equivalent of a Pack House, but for Bear Shifters. Clan was sort of like family. Many of his clanmates visited the Den or the small cabins behind it that dotted the shore of Lake Ursa throughout the year.
Daniel was the head Enforcer, along with a small group of trusted Bears, including the newest edition to the family, his half-brother Nate Cordoza, he kept the homes of the Barvale Clan, and the wooded areas surrounding them, protected.
That paired with his duties to Bear Claw Bakery kept Daniel pretty much occupied. He needed all the work he could get, otherwise he might lose the tenuous grip he had on his Bear.
The animal had been tense and morose as of late. Taylor and Marcus both chucked it up to him mourning his fiancée, but Daniel knew better. His Bear had never loved Melinda. Hadn’t wanted her from the very beginning.
Daniel was just too ashamed at the way he’d tried to force himself to marry someone not meant for him to admit it. He never told the truth to a single person. So, his brothers naturally assumed he was still lamenting his loss. Fuck.
He dropped the bar and stormed across the room to grab a water bottle. He knew from Marcus that a Bear sometimes went feral without a mate. Fuck. Daniel feared his time was coming. He had to somehow make it so that his work was enough to soothe the beast inside of him.
He was simply not meant for a mate. His parent’s indifference had wounded him inside. While his brothers thought their family was ideal, he knew different. He’d seen and heard his mother cry in the silence of her room. Scented other women on his father’s skin when he’d returned from one of his trips.
Ignatius Devlin was not a cruel man. On the contrary, he was kind and a loving father. His marriage had simply been arranged. He and his wife had come to an agreement and it had worked for them. Mostly.
When Marcus brought his mate back from a business vacation, Daniel had thought desperation must have pushed him to pursue the little normal. Then he’d seen his brother with Leya. The two of them were like halves of a whole.
/> So perfect together, it sometimes embarrassed him when he caught them looking into each other’s eyes. Same could be said for his kid brother Taylor. The original play-bear had finally stopped fighting his fate and mated Krissy, their regional manager.
The she-Bear had been in love with Taylor for so long Daniel wanted to pummel his brother for being such a blind fool. What he wouldn’t give for a woman, one woman, to look at him the way his brothers’ mates looked at them!
He was jealous plain and simple. But not in an evil underhanded way. Daniel was happy for them. They deserved to find love. He just wished there had been someone for him as well. His Bear roared at the way he’d said that. As if there was no one meant for him.
Well, too bad, fucker. Daniel was a realist. He was meant to be alone. Always. Period. NO questions asked.
Of course, there was that one blonde who calmed his animal while making him stand at attention at the same time. The long-legged, impeccably beautiful female had been introduced to him through his brother’s high school girlfriend when they’d been out celebrating Marcus’ engagement.
Of course, Daniel had always hated the mean-girl cheerleader his brother had hung around with in his youth. Margot was a grade A bitch in his opinion. Surely, her gorgeous cousin was more of the same. Grrr, his Bear snarled at him and Daniel had to fight the pain the noise sent through him. Fuck.
Guess his Bear didn’t like him having bad thoughts about the lovely Lacey Esmerelda Alain. Oh yeah. He knew her name. Looked up everything he could find about her after they’d met.
A top supermodel by the time she was fifteen years old, Esme, as she was called, was a knock-out. On a scale of one to ten she was a fucking twenty. But there was something else about her, something past the intangible beauty of her face. She had depth. And a kindness about her that made his Bear purr. How fucking embarrassing!
He cringed as he thought of their last meeting. Unable to take her nearness or the subtle scent of honeysuckle that clung to her porcelain skin, he’d flipped out on her. Basically, accused her of stalking him in front of the whole store.
He’d acted like a complete fucking jerk and then she was gone. Back to her big city life, he assumed. Better for both of us. But his Bear disagreed, the beast growled, and it was all Daniel could do to wrestle the animal down. Maybe he needed to do another set?
He was just about to add more weight to the bar when his cell chirped from across the room. He grabbed the smartphone and cringed, he fucking hated technology. Would rather spend his time outside checking point, but there was no getting away from it. Computers were already running the whole damn planet. The little box in his hand was just the beginning.
“Daniel here,” he couldn’t help the growl in his voice.
“Hello, is this Daniel Devlin? My name is Amelia Grayson, I have a Lacey Alain with me here, she’d been attacked and needs someone to come for her,” the woman said.
“What?” Fear stopped his heart the second he heard her name through the connection.
“I said I have Lacey Alain here and she was attacked-”
“Send me your address and I’ll be right there,” Daniel dropped the phone and grabbed a towel. He wiped the sweat that clung to his brow and grabbed a clean t-shirt, slipping it over his head as he reached for his cell, wallet, and keys.
Someone hurt her. Someone who was about to fucking die. It was all he could do to stop the Change that burned his bones, but the Bear in him realized he couldn’t drive the enormous reinforced SUV and since it was his fastest way of getting to her, he kept his human skin.
The drive normally took over ninety minutes, but he’d kept to the back roads most of the way and made it in fifty-five. Still too fucking long in his opinion.
He took the stairs three at a time, his long legs eating the distance like nothing until he stood outside the apartment door of the nice half-Fairy family that lived there. He recognized the address after he’d seen it in his GPS. His new sister-in-law had gotten her wedding gown made here. Really nice, couture stuff. Not that he knew couture from Walmart, but the females seemed to care. Whatever.
His Bear rumbled inside of him to get on with it. He needed to see her. Now. He raised his hand to the knocker, but before he could move the door opened. Fairy magic, he assumed. His knowledge of the Fae was minimal as they were secretive folk, best left out of Shifter affairs.
Still, this one was nice he recalled. Cheerful and jovial. Her purplish eyes were sad as they met his and he nodded as he walked into the room.
“Where is she?”
“Just cleaning up,” her voice was like Christmas bells, reminding him that the season was almost upon them, “Daniel? Look, she has been through a lot tonight. A would-be suitor turned out to be a Werewolf with a jealous streak.”
Daniel growled. Fucking Werewolves with their Alpha asshole tendencies. God knows he ran into enough of them at home what with Maccon City being so close to Barvale.
“What did he do?”
“She’s bruised, but not broken. I believe she will heal with some time and care,” she said.
“His name?”
“I didn’t ask. But I believe he is affiliated with a smaller section of a Pack from upstate. The sooner the Wolves figure out this whole High Alpha thing, the better.”
Daniel grunted. The Werewolves could keep their problems as far as he was concerned. The Bears had much easier ways of settling things. Step out of line and an Enforcer would come and make sure it didn’t happen again. Ever.
“I’ll just go get her for you,” Amelia Grayson said and left him standing there.
Acutely aware of his size, he felt like a fucking giant in the tiny New York City walk up. Still, he should’ve taken a moment to prepare himself for what he was about to see.
The scent of honeysuckle tickled his nose, along with Ivory soap and water, then it hit him. The faint trace of blood behind all the others. Her blood. Daniel’s bear roared his fury. Someone hurt her. Protect. Then hunt.
His blue eyes searched the hallway, stopping only when they met hers. Oh God. The woman who’d been haunting his dreams walked slowly into the room. But this wasn’t a Lacey he was used to seeing.
This poor battered creature’s head hung down, when she raised her face to meet his he sucked in a breath. Someone had beaten the hell out of this delicate flower. And he was going to make sure they’d pay. As soon as he got her back home to his Den. Yes. Mine. Must protect.
He ignored the Bear but couldn’t stop her name from leaving his lips, “Lacey.”
He stepped forward quickly, catching her as she fainted a few seconds after looking at him.
“Lacey! Is she okay?”
“She’ll be fine, Daniel. You will see to it,” smiled Amelia before walking him out to his car.
He cradled her small body to his chest. He loved the feel of her in his arms, but at the same time hating how fragile she seemed. Fuck. He needed time and space to clear his head, work through his emotions. But he didn’t have that luxury. She needed help. And she needed it now.
He tucked her into the passenger seat and dropped a fleece blanket that he kept in the back around her prone form. She looked like an angel while she slept, despite the bruises.
“I’ve got you, Lacey. You’re safe now,” the words poured from his mouth without permission as did the kiss he dropped to her temple before closing the door gently.
Outside the car, snow continued to fall but he didn’t feel the cold. His Bear was agitated. That was putting it mildly. The beast was enraged, snarling in his mind’s eye. He roared and bellowed, wreaking havoc with Daniel’s inner sense of peace. Fuck! What do you want? But he knew what the Bear demanded. He felt it too.
The need to protect her. Lacey Alain. The beautiful woman he barely met a few months ago. The owner of the face that haunted his dreams. No. Shit. It can’t be. Not her.
His Bear zeroed in on him, the animal was pissed at him for those negative thoughts. Oh fuck. The Bear growled and stomp
ed on the metaphorical ground inside his mind’s eye. Pissed and more.
One word reverberated through Daniel’s brain after the Bear had finished telling him to fuck off. One word that threatened everything he thought he knew for sure. Like his denying the pull he felt towards Lacey. It was the only fucking word that mattered to any Shifter worth his salt.
Mine.
Chapter 2
The sky was white outside the tan and green print curtains that covered the far window. Such masculine colors, she thought as she snuggled deeper into the matching comforter. The bed was soft and fluffy. So much better than the one she usually slept on. And it smelled fabulous. Mmm.
Gosh, she was sleepy. And her head hurt. Not to mention her lip. Lacey felt as if she’d been hit by a garbage truck. Wait. She had been hit, but not by a truck. Oh damn. She bolted upright in a strange bed as the previous night’s events came flooding back.
“Ouch,” she groaned as she touched the sore flesh of her bottom lip.
The sound of heavy footsteps thudded in the hall before the door swung open revealing the very large, very naked torso of a man. Not just any man. But Daniel Devlin. Oh my God, it was him last night.
With her memories of being attacked by Tim, she recalled being rescued by a woman. Amelia Grayson. The name came back to her. She was a kind woman, with a family of her own and an amazing couture shop for plus-sized women. She’d told Lacey about Shifters and supernaturals in general, and she’d offered help.
“Is everything okay?” Daniel asked from the door, his blue eyes darted around the room checking for some kind of intrusion.
Suddenly, she felt foolish. Heat flushed across her face as she fiddled with the bedspread and mumbled her apologies. Dang it. Why does he have to see me like this? She’d thought about the serious, quiet man for so long only to have him come and rescue her from a monster. She shuddered thinking about Tim and his rageful outburst.
“Hey, easy now,” he walked in slowly, hands raised as if he was afraid, she’d flee, “don’t be sorry. I imagine you have some questions,” he said.