Bear the Burn

by T. S. Joyce

  Quinn didn’t know it, but she owned him completely.

  Dade watched her sleep in the dark before dawn, propped up on his elbow so he could see the soft curve of her face better. Long, graceful neck, auburn waves fanned out across the pillow, fair skin, light freckles across her nose and shoulders. From here he could make out the curve of her waist and hips under the sheets. God, he loved her. If she knew how devoted to her he already was, she’d run scared.

  But maybe not.

  She’d woken up an hour ago when he’d adjusted his arm over her back. She’d rolled to face him, snuggled into his arms, and whispered that she loved him.

  The last cold shards of his heart had melted with her admission. No longer was he a man who only lived to survive and protect the Breck Crew. Quinn now fell under his protection. His body was hers, made to protect her.

  Deep gray streaked across the sky out the window, but the stars were still out, winking at him as if they’d known all along Quinn was going to come in and shake him to his core.

  Daffodil woofed softly from beside the bed, and Dade froze a split second before he heard it. A soft, long creak sounded from the stairway outside the door.

  Someone was in the house.

  In one smooth motion, Dade reached over Quinn’s sleeping form and pulled a long, curved knife from under the mattress. Muscles tensed and ready, he padded silently to the door and pressed his back against the wall beside it.

  The door opened without a sound, and Dade’s heart pounded like a war drum as his eyes followed a handgun that lifted slowly, aimed at his mate as she slept.

  Fury blasted through his veins, washing everything in a red tint. With a feral snarl in his throat, Dade jerked the attacker’s wrist upward. The blast of gunfire was deafening. Sheetrock exploded from the ceiling where the bullet landed, showering him in chalky dust as he whipped around the door and drew his blade down the thin wrist of their assailant, careful to nick the tendon.

  Shayna screamed as she dropped the weapon from her ruined grip. The gun clattered to the wooden floorboards as Dade ducked her elbow and rammed her against the wall. Her knee came straight up into his ribcage, but he was too far gone in his fury to feel pain now.

  This was the woman who’d helped IESA put tracker kill switches inside of him and his family. She’d spied on them for years, seduced them, used them. She’d helped kidnap Rory, and then she’d tried to kill Quinn. His Quinn. His mate had been scarred for life because of this monster. And now she was back to finish the job? With a shot in the dark as they slept, like the coward she was.

  Shayna’s eyes went wide as he spun the knife in his grip and brought it toward the side of her neck.

  “Dade, stop!” Quinn screamed.

  Heaving breath, he halted the blade just shy of slitting Shayna’s throat, his weapon faltering on his mission to end this. Quinn was soft and good. If he killed Shayna in front of her, she’d be scared of him. She’d see the grittiest parts of him—the jagged pieces of his broken soul that allowed him to kill to protect the people he loved.

  “Listen to your whore,” Shayna rasped out.

  Dade slammed her against the wall again and glanced back over his shoulder. “Quinn, go downstairs.”

  “You can’t,” Quinn whispered, horror in her voice.

  “She’ll kill you. I can’t let her go.”

  “I know.” Quinn lifted the handgun she’d picked up off the floor and aimed it at Shayna’s face. “But I can’t let you bear the consequences of a kill that is mine to take.”

  The gun rattled and shook in her trembling grip. His mate was brave, but she wasn’t a killer. Not like he was. Pressing his forearm against Shayna’s throat, Dade reached back and put his hand over top of the gun. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.”

  Tears streamed down Quinn’s face as she glared at Shayna’s blazing silver eyes. “I can see the bear in you. You don’t deserve her. You have no honor. All you’ve done is take without any thought to how your actions affect other people—other shifters. You tried to kill me, and you don’t even know me.”

  “Quinn, you don’t want to do this,” Dade pleaded. “She’ll haunt you.”

  “Like all of your marks do? Like the innocent targets she helped press you into? More pain because of her.”

  Dade shook his head slowly and pushed the gun down toward the ground. A sob tore from Quinn as her shoulders sagged. She released the weapon into his grasp and sank to her knees.

  A soft, humorless laugh came from Shayna. She spat blood onto the floor and brought her churning mercury eyes to his. “She’s already turned you soft.”

  Dade gave her an empty smile. “You’re going to wish I’d killed you quickly, Shayna.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  Dade snatched his cell phone from the dresser beside them and dialed out.

  “It means, trust me when I say you would’ve rather me exacted a swift vengeance than thrown you to the wolves.”

  “Hello?” a sleep-filled voice asked into the phone after the first ring.

  “Mason?”

  “What’s happened?”

  “Shayna’s at my house. Can you send Damon’s trackers?”

  A beat of silence, then, “Give me ten minutes.”

  The line went dead, and for the first time ever, Dade saw fear slash through Shayna’s eyes.

  “Change, Change, Change,” Shayna chanted, closing her eyes.

  “It’s the fear. Do you smell it?” Dade asked, cocking his head as he glared. “You paid someone to put a submissive bear inside of you. Bad buy, Shayna. My animal is meaner and more dominant, thanks to everything you and Krueger put me and my crew through. You won’t be able to Change around me. Not unless I allow it.”

  “Please, Dade. Just let me go.” Shayna’s voice trembled like a leaf in the wind.

  “Too late now,” Quinn said from behind him, her voice ringing with hollowness. “The wolves are coming for you.”

  Chapter Ten

  Dade stood with his back to her on the front porch as the black SUV drove away. Jeans hung low around his hips as the early morning light glinted off the shiny pink scars on his bare shoulders. His arms were crossed, muscles tensed. He looked like a statue against the coming sunrise.

  Quinn’s heart ached for him.

  Shayna had screamed all kinds of vitriol as he handed her over to a trio of rangy men whose eyes were too bright to be entirely human. She’d taunted him with how IESA had murdered his “worthless father” and how Dade would think of her every time he looked at his “hideous scars” in the mirror. She’d cursed, spat, and told him the only regret she had was not pulling the trigger on Quinn faster so that his soul would be mutilated forever.

  Quinn had taken vengeance away from him, and after hearing how much pain that woman had put him through, she honestly didn’t know if she’d done the right thing. A man like Dade needed the closure.

  A soft apology slipped past her lips. “I didn’t want another ghost for you.”

  His shoulders lifted slightly in a sigh, and he turned his face so she could see his profile. From here, the gold in his eyes was unmistakable. “I know.”

  Heartbreak filled her chest cavity as she padded across the cold wooden porch planks and slid her hands around his stomach. His abs flexed with every breath under her touch. She rested her cheek against his spine and closed her eyes.

  “That gunshot scared me bad, Dade. I thought you were hurt. It’s awful to wake up after a night like we had and think everything is over. Think the man you love is gone.” She’d already been through that once before, and it had nearly destroyed her. “I know what I can and can’t handle, and I can’t lose you.”

  Dade stroked his fingers across her arm and sighed. “You won’t.” He turned and wrapped her up in a hug that said he’d been shaken up, too. “I promise everything will be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “I think we should go public with what IESA has done to you and your brothers. We can’t liv
e our lives thinking people like Shayna will come back and try to tie up loose ends. I think we should go in front of the town, and tell them what has happened. About how you’ve been treated, so if we go missing, there would be consequences for the agency. There has to be some accountability for IESA.”

  “That’s assuming humans give a shit about what happens to us.”

  “You’re wrong about humans, Dade. Not all of them are bad. And if we want to be a part of society and be accepted, animals and all, we have to be open so that the public doesn’t fear us. So that people have a chance to understand us.”

  “You have so much faith in people.”

  “Because they deserve a chance. I don’t want to wake up always wondering if we’re still in one piece. I don’t want to live my life thinking you could be taken from me.”

  Dade’s lips crashed onto hers. His tongue drove inside her mouth as a soft whimper escaped her throat. He smelled like fur, and his eyes flashed like fire when he eased back just far enough to lift the T-shirt over her head. “No more talk of losing me, woman. I already told you I’m not going anywhere.”

  Quinn gasped as he spun her, then pulled her on top of his lap as he sank onto a wooden bench at the edge of the porch. Desperately, she pulled at the button of his jeans and unsheathed his thick cock. It was red and swollen, ready for her, and she yanked the fabric down his thighs.

  “You’re mine, Dade Leland Keller.” She positioned herself over him and slid down, taking him slowly.

  Dade bit his lip and rolled his eyes closed as he leaned back on the bench. When she’d taken all of him, she rolled her hips and gripped the back of his hair. His hand kneading her breast, Dade let off the feral sound that said he was barely in control as he pumped his shaft deeper into her, matching her stroke for stroke. He pulled her closer, hugged her tight as the pressure inside of her built to blinding.

  “There she is,” Dade whispered, stroking her cheeks just under her eyes. “Can you feel her?”

  Quinn’s insides pulsed with power she’d never felt before. “Yes,” she panted out, rocking against him.

  His bear was calling to hers. She could feel him drawing her out, seducing her until a wild growl rattled Quinn’s throat. “Oh!” she cried out, closing her eyes against the intensity of her pleasure.

  Mindlessly, she leaned forward and sank her teeth into Dade’s shoulder until he growled out her name. When she opened her eyes again, her mate wasn’t the man she’d been with last night. Gentle Dade was gone, and she reveled in the fact that she’d murdered his control.

  Gold eyes blazing, Dade gritted his teeth and stood, then pulled out of her and bent her over the bench on her locked arms. Good bear, doing exactly what her animal wanted.

  She threw her head back and cried out his name as he slammed into her from behind. His thick erection drove into her, faster and faster as the growl in her throat rattled until her body vibrated with it. He leaned across her back and cupped her sex where he was entering her, pressed on her clit as he grazed his teeth against her neck.

  Faster, deeper, she was gone now, freefalling into nothing. Orgasm crashed through her as Dade swelled and shot jets of warmth into her. Her voice echoed across the clearing as her body pulsed around him. Erratically, Dade bucked into her until he emptied himself completely, filling her until it was too much for her to hold. Slickness trickled down her thighs, and she grinned in triumph as Dade relaxed behind her.

  As their breathing slowed, Dade rubbed his fingertips down her ribcage and rocked languidly into her. His lips pressed little random patterns against the sensitive skin of her back, and she gasped softly as she came again.

  “You bit me,” he whispered as her aftershocks pulsed on.

  “You bit me first,” she accused through a satisfied smile.

  Dade pulled out of her and spun her around, then cupped her cheeks. “To bear shifters, the bite is a way of claiming your mate.”

  The smile dipped from her face at how serious his voice sounded. “Good,” she whispered, gripping his wrists to keep him there. “Then we’ve claimed each other.”

  ****

  “You don’t have to be nervous,” Dade murmured. He gripped Quinn’s thigh and gave her a comforting squeeze before he dragged his gaze back to the road.

  “I’m meeting the entire Breck Crew for the first time. Of course, I’m nervous. What happens if they don’t like me?”

  “First off, it’s impossible not to like you, and second, I’d maul anyone who doesn’t.”

  She remembered how graceful and fast he’d been when he’d gone after Shayna this morning with that long, curved knife, and she believed him. It shouldn’t have made her feel better that he’d go to such extreme lengths to protect her, but it did, and right now, she didn’t really care about what that said about her as a person. She was scared of her future, scared for her mate’s future, and her heart hurt as she learned more and more about his past. IESA had created a killing machine, but even with the odds stacked against him, Dade was clinging to his humanity. He could’ve gone off the rails any time during the years he was being pushed and used and threatened, but he was still here, trying to do what was right—trying to make up for the things he was forced to do by being a firefighter and saving what lives he could.

  Proud of the man he was, she pulled Dade’s hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles lightly.

  His expression softened. “What was that for?”

  “I’m just glad your bear picked me. You make me happy.”

  “Even with everything going on?”

  She laughed and shook her head at the craziness that had taken over her life in the past few days. “Even so. You feel worth it.”

  Dade turned off at a fork in the road. “Look there. Up that road, Cody and Rory live with their cub, Aaron. Boone and I both live off the road we just came down, and Ma and Gage’s family live this way.”

  Another wave of nervous flutters filled her stomach, and she clenched her hands against her thighs. She’d worn a knee length floral dress so her new scars wouldn’t be rubbed raw under denim all day, and she’d thrown on a jean jacket and flats to finish off the look. Still, she fidgeted with the light fabric of her dress and hoped it was proper attire for meeting a crew of burly bear shifters for the first time. She’d never been good in crowds, especially if she didn’t know anyone, and now they would see how awkward she was. Dade had told her so much about his family she felt like she already knew them. She, on the other hand, was the new bear on the block and also the reason they were dealing with the trauma of coming out to the human public.

  “Your heart is racing,” Dade murmured as he pulled to a stop in a wild flower field. “You don’t have to worry, I promise.”

  “How do you know?” Her voice came out quivering and weak.

  Dade gave her a small, adoring smile, as if she’d amused him. He leaned forward and kissed her, sucking on her bottom lip before he pulled away, and making her feel utterly drunk. “Because…look.” He turned his head, and Quinn followed his gaze.

  His mother’s cabin looked similar in size to his, but with cedar logs around the outside. Colorful patio chairs dotted the porch, and flower pots full of arrangements in every hue of the rainbow hung from rods along the front landscaping. Across the front of the house was a large, hand-painted sign that read Welcome to the Crew in blue, yellow, and green lettering.

  Out front, a small crowd had gathered, standing still with expectant smiles on their faces, as if they’d been waiting for her and Dade to arrive.

  “Oh,” she breathed, pushing her door open. She stood beside the truck, uncertain. “Is that for me?”

  “I told you. We don’t get new members very often. Come on,” he said, holding out his hand. “Ma has been waiting impatiently to meet you.”

  Behind him, the tall grass of the yard swayed like ocean waves, but Dade stood frozen, waiting. Towering and strong, immovable. Hers.

  Quinn slid her palm against his and allowed him to lead he
r toward the home and the people she would call family someday, if she was lucky enough.

  She waved shyly as they approached. It was a silver-haired woman who got to her first with a big genuine smile. “Oh,” she drawled, chuckling as she reached for Quinn’s shoulders. Pulling her in close, she said, “I never thought my Dade would settle down, and you’ve done it. You’ve done it.”

  Quinn wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist and let her rock them. “Why’d you think that, Mrs. Keller?”

  “Ma. You’ll call me Ma like everyone else.” Ma eased back and gripped Quinn’s arms, studied her with moisture-rimmed eyes. “Some bears go their whole lives without the need to pair up. I was afraid my boys’ animals had been too damaged after everything. You and Rory and Leah have proved that there is hope for them.”

  “I’m Rory,” a fiery red-headed woman said, offering her hand for a shake. “I’m Cody’s mate.”

  Leah, Gage’s mate, introduced herself and pulled her into a back-cracking hug like Ma had done. She knew Boone from yesterday, but seeing all the Keller brothers beside each other was intimidating. Cody, with his ice blue eyes and strong chin, Gage with his dark eyes and blond, short hair, easy-smiling Boone with his shoulder length tresses and arm covered in tattoos made him look like a bright-eyed surfer, and Dade—her Dade. All of the Kellers sported the same shade of blond hair and looked similar, but each was different. Different height and build, different demeanors.

  Cody and Gage shook her hand one by one, but it was Boone who pulled her in for a rough hug. A trio of towheaded five-year olds ran through the crowd.

  “I’m Aaron,” the ringleader said in an adorable, squeaky voice. “Me ’n Tate ’n Arie made this for you.” He held up a large sheet of crinkly paper, ripped and bent at the corners, but in the middle was a small herd of what looked like long-clawed bears.

  Arie’s little pigtails bobbed as she lurched forward and pointed to a bear lying on the ground with its tongue hanging out. “That one’s you.”

  Dade snorted as surprised laughter bubbled from Quinn’s throat.