“There were no locks and no one inside. I smelled your magic.”
He…smelled her magic?
“Who are you? What are you doing in this place?”
“I already told you—”
“No,” she interrupted. “What are you doing in this town?”
He opened his mouth, then gritted his teeth. “I’m looking for someone important.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
She raised a brow, the suspicion rising. The fact that he was here alone already made her suspicious, but now that he was speaking nonsense… “You say you’re here looking for someone important, but you don’t know who. I’m starting to think you’re just a thief who wants my stuff—”
Hazel’s words trailed off when he abruptly took a step forward. But before he could take another step, he swayed on the spot.
“I’m looking for someone,” he repeated.
“Who?”
“My mate. She’s in this town.”
The words were accompanied by another step forward, but that was all he got in. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he was down like a trunk on her floor, the thudding sound so loud that it jarred her into movement. She warily walked closer, kneeling beside him and hands at a ready in case he tried to attack her. But there was no attack, and he really was unconscious. A quick check of his pulse determined that it wasn’t beating properly, either—an indication that this was more than an injury.
A quick touch on his chest made her feel the energy inside him, slowly dying away.
Just like he was.
Hazel stared at him, mind in conflict but heart unable to just watch and leave it alone.
Then she closed her eyes and called on whatever energy she had left.
Chapter 2
Waking up in a familiar yet unfamiliar cabin made Adam Ushmeg feel both comfortable and alert—something that had him looking carefully at his surroundings before sitting up. It was the same type of cabin material as the one he entered earlier, only he was now in what looked to be the bedroom of the woman he’d been trying to ask help from.
A look down and a thorough assessment told him that he was right—the energy he felt in this house was that of a witch, and she obviously was one. Considering how nasty his wounds had been earlier, it was a miracle that he was now only riddled with small ones, which were starting to heal on their own. His fast-healing abilities were very convenient for times like these, but there was only so much he could do.
Which meant he had one witch he was going to be grateful for and would probably owe a favor to.
Adam stretched his arms and legs, trying to find some little kinks that the witch might have missed. He’d had plenty of dealings with them in the past, and most healers were only able to heal the major wounds by stitching them together.
To his amazement, he felt almost no pain at all, not even any muscle cramps. He stretched again, then got out of bed, testing his limbs out and surprise filling him when they moved with ease.
No wonder her energy called to him.
Now, where was she?
A look at the clock on her bedside table determined that it was hours since he stumbled inside her home without permission, and he had more rest than he’d had in a week. That made him feel good, and the comfort this house brought in general made him want to stay for as long as he could.
But he had a mission.
And really, he had to assess her first.
Since he was already clean and donning trousers that were looser around the waist, probably cleaned up by her, he decided to go down the stairs right away, making his footsteps as quiet as possible as he tried to sense where she was. He couldn’t detect any movement downstairs, and a quick look at the kitchen and living room determined there was no one there.
But she was here. Instinct told him so, and his instincts had never failed him before. It was the same instinct that told him his mate was here, just as it was the same instinct that told him that whatever had almost killed him in Austin would come after him here in no time.
As a last attempt, he stepped out to the cabin’s backyard and finally found her—sitting at the side of the back porch, her legs crossed and her eyes closed. She was so still that she could have been dead, if not for the faint, steady heartbeat he heard after a while. She didn’t seem to hear him, but he felt her—in particular, more energy inside her body that shouldn’t have been there after the major healing she did on him.
Who was she?
She was wearing an ordinary peasant blouse that fell off her shoulders, along with black leggings that stretched across long, slim legs and a slim build in general. He saw the peek of her cleavage on the slightly open front, skin that was smooth but tanned, and an array of dark brown curls that bordered on black and was clamped away from her face into a loose bun. It was such a serene sight, and he felt like he could watch her for ages.
Realizing that it was her magic doing that and she was lost in her own brand of meditation, Adam decided that it was perhaps the time to stretch his muscles further—his own kind of meditation. And maybe make a quick escape. He took a step down the porch, then another.
A voice interrupted the next step he was about to take.
“Thinking of escaping?”
He turned his head just in time to find her eyes on him—hazel, lighter than he’d ever seen hazel in his lifetime. Energy swirled in that gaze, and he watched as she slid it back in with a roll of shoulders and a deep breath.
Now she only stared at him with cool eyes, which promised to hurt him if he did something she didn’t agree with.
Play nice.
He straightened and turned his whole body towards her, clearing his throat. Then he bowed slightly, a movement that had her brows going up. “Good evening. Thank you very much for taking the time to heal my injuries. I have never been more grateful.”
He waited for her to ask for her favor, as most witches did after they were done taking you away from the pinnacle of death. To his surprise, she did no such thing, tilting her head instead and eyeing him in observation. That gaze appraised him from head to toe with no hint of malice whatsoever, and the clinical way she did it made him realize immediately what she was.
“Doctor?”
Surprise flitted in her eyes before she nodded.
“What kind?”
“Veterinarian.”
The irony of that wasn’t lost on him, and he nodded his head back. He tried to find excuses in his head to leave, but before he could, she was on him like a champ.
“You’re a shifter.”
There was no need to acknowledge that because they both knew it wasn’t a question. “You’re a witch.”
They stared at each other warily. When she didn’t speak again, didn’t even move from her position, he decided to just get this over with.
“I have to go and find my mate,” he said. “Again, thank you for healing me.”
“Not so fast.”
“Not so fast what?”
She frowned. She stretched her arms in the air and gave him a flash of flat belly beneath the loose blouse. Then she was on her feet, the energy in her expanding and coming out, surrounding her with a glow that only he could see. She caught on, and her gaze narrowed.
“You say you’re a shifter, but I’ve been living with shifters most of my life and know they could never have the same amount of energy that you have stored in your body. You came in my house without invitation, and something must have harmed you for you to be injured that badly. You recognize my energy…and I have a feeling you can see it, just as I can sense it in you. Lastly, you pretend to be this civilized being when we both know that’s the last thing you are, considering how you look like you’re about to bolt any second now.”
“Is there any question in relation to all those words?” he asked mildly, keeping his shoulders from tensing. “Also, please tell your lover thanks for these trousers. I’ll return them when I can.”
Her frown de
epened. “I don’t have a lover.”
“Husband, then.”
“I don’t have a husband.”
“Then fa—”
“Quit trying to distract me,” she cut off, folding her arms. “And answer. What are you and what’s after you?”
“It’s kind of a long story,” he began.
“I have all night.”
“I bet you do, and I’d be glad to give you my time as well. But right now, I really need to get away from your home.”
“Why?”
“Because if I stay here any longer, I might end up destroying your place. I don’t have money to pay you right now, though I have some stored in a place somewhere else.”
“Are you actually threatening to destroy my house?”
Adam sighed as he felt her energy flare. “No. That’s why I’m telling you all this so you’ll be aware. Have I not made myself clear?”
“You’re being really cryptic right now, and I’ve lost all patience for it. Tell me what you are.”
Her tone had gone deadly, and he knew he was working on borrowed time here. On one hand, it was best not to anger the powerful witch who’d healed him and was obviously starting to get angry and threatened.
On the other, he couldn’t very well ignore the energy inside him—the one that she amplified and partly felt like hers. If he did, it would just keep increasing until it drove him crazy. And huge.
And destroying her backyard in no time.
A split of a second was all it took for the decision to be made. He took a step back, watching her gaze follow the movement right away.
“If you really want to know, then come follow me.”
“I swear if you take one more step out of here—”
Ignoring her rant, Adam turned and made a run for it, turning into a blur as his feet followed instinct and carried him out of there.
There was a curse behind him, but no actual magical attack.
A few seconds later, he heard her soft, bare footsteps on the grass and knew she wouldn’t be able to resist.
Curiosity always got the cat.
Chapter 3
Running after a man who was obviously much faster than her made her more irritated than anything else that happened in their second confrontation, including having to deal with his high-handedness and the self-important way he talked. A competitive streak entered her, one that had Hazel putting her magic into the soles of her feet until she was running just as fast as him, with only a split of a second of lag.
He kept running. He wasn’t particularly running away from her based on how he was obviously ignoring her, but he still kept running until he reached the center of the fields, where he halted as suddenly as he ran. She glared at his back, not liking all that running at all, and opened her mouth to let him have it, as she was starting to get pissed off about the whole situation.
Her mouth dropped open instead when she watched him shimmy his trousers down and was treated to a view of naked butt. His ass was firm, and his back thighs were muscled, and he kicked the trousers off to his side as he turned to face her and—
Oh, my God.
Her cheeks heated. Her eyes zoned in on his center right away, even while her mind told her not to look. She’d already seen parts of him when he’d gone inside her house earlier and when she’d changed his clothes, but this, in his full naked glory…it was too much to take. The man’s cock hung in between his legs, cradled between balls and looking like it must hurt to have something that heavy.
God. He was huge. And he wasn’t even erect yet…
Not liking where her thoughts were going—or the fact that her brain was shutting down altogether—she shook her head repeatedly and tried to gather her bearings. Then her gaze shifted up and met his, where there wasn’t a single sign of smugness. In fact, he looked rather serious as he waited for her to fully look at him.
“What’s your name?”
The question was so out of place that she found herself responding right away. “Hazel. Hazel Woodson.”
“Hazel, my name is Adam Ushmeg. Could you please step away? You might end up getting flattened by my length.”
She almost colored at the word length until she realized he was talking about something else. The need to contradict surged up inside her, but instinct told her he wasn’t kidding with whatever he was talking about, and self-preservation told her she’d better make a decision fast.
So she stepped back and kept her eyes on him, watching as he turned around and stretched his muscles. The energy she felt from him, some of which came from her healing and the rest coming from deep inside him, flared so brightly that it made her body stagger at the feel of it.
Then he started shifting.
There were so many shifters in Orville that watching their kind shift had become normal for her, considering she was often there to see them at play or to heal them after. Bears shifted so fast, the move usually lasting only a few seconds as they turned into furry creatures that could kill you with a swipe of sharp claws.
This shifting was different.
It was slower. It was somewhat smoother, as the man named Adam barely grunted and merely tensed his body as it twisted and turned from all the muscles and bones moving. Tanned skin turned to scales, and silver hair disappeared to be replaced by more scales. The scales ranged from silver to gray to black, the colors blending into each other as his body elongated to form claws, spikes, a snout, a tail—
Oh. My. God.
Her mind reeled. Her body almost ran off in the other direction as fear lunged at her throat at the size of him. Common sense came in that she still had her magic in case she needed to defend herself, and the fear abated enough for her to stand still. He shook his body as his transformation completed itself, his beast counterpart so huge that it covered a massive portion of the field. Belatedly, she saw the wings at his back—and this time, she couldn’t stop the tremble.
A dragon.
She’d just saved the life of a dragon shifter.
Bronze eyes snapped in her direction, boring into her and rooting her on the spot. Their gazes stayed, sparked, a connection brought on by the energy they shared. His deep voice settled in her mind, invading her personal space before she could block it out.
I can still feel your energy.
So could she. Instead of encouraging him, she nodded her head and decided to speak vocally rather than mentally. “How many of you are there in this world?”
I don’t know. I’ve only met one. You tell me.
“There’s no one like you here, either,” she admitted. She eyed him critically, fascination sliding in at how he just sat there, no restlessness about him. “You’re right. Your size would have ended up destroying my flowers.”
He grinned at that, sharp teeth showing. Those eyes glinted, and his tail stomped once on the field and made it shake.
Questions started filling her head, along with the urge to touch those scales and discover how they felt.
You can touch me. Consider it a favor after what you’ve done for me.
The words sounded strangely intimate said in that deep voice, and she felt her stomach tighten. Hazel shook her head, focusing on the words rather than the tone.
“No. That’s too low of a favor in return. I’m keeping that favor. Did you really need to shift here in the middle of the field? Couldn’t this have waited?”
Adam shook his dragon head. No. My energy gets restless and amplifies if I don’t release it. It makes me lose my mind. This is the only way.
She’d never heard anything about shifters like that before, which only pointed out just how rare of a find he was. She tried to wrap her mind around it, her witch side already feeling the first stirrings of excitement at all the things she could find out about him with the use of her potions.
But first…
“Were you serious? Are you really here to find your mate?”
Yes.
“How do you know she’s here?”
I can feel
it. I’ll know once I’m inside her.
The thought of him naked flashed in her mind again, and she slammed it off before it could fully form and he’d somehow read it. Shaken, unable to take all this odd communicating any longer, she let her energy float around her head and wrap around her mind until everything she was thinking was safe and she could no longer hear him. He felt it, knowledge glinting in his gaze before he nodded his head.
His wings spread. Before she could blink, he was lifting his body in the air with a grace that belied his size, then flying off into the night and disappearing from sight.
Instinct told her he wasn’t going to escape. Comforted by that knowledge, Hazel walked back to her yard and slipped inside her home, trying to come to terms with everything that had happened so far.
A normal witch wouldn’t have been able to heal him, not with the low energy she already had. But the moment she started to heal him had his energy coming out, lending to her own, and in the end, it was joint effort more than anything that healed him. The questions came back, but she tried to calm herself down and get started on dinner.
The rain started falling outside, so loud that it blocked out every other sound there was. She made roasted chicken with lemon and herbs, prepared clothes and a towel on the back door. Just as she was starting to think he wasn’t going to come back, she heard the door open, then close, followed by the sounds of someone trying to be quiet.
“Thank you for the clothes,” he said after a while.
Hazel turned around and found him already dressed in the spare male clothes she had—loose sweatpants and a gray shirt that was a little snug on his broad frame. She tried not to look too long as his eyes zoned in on the food. “I made dinner. That is, if you eat this kind of food.”
“I do.”
“Good.”
“I owe you too many favors now.”
“How many, exactly, if we were to count?” she asked cautiously.
“Two. One for saving my life and another for your hospitality. Did you need me to return one of them now?”
That was the answer she was looking for. Hazel struggled with the witch part of her for a while, one that wanted to keep him a secret and all to herself.
Bear Guards: A Paranormal Romance Page 16