It all made sense to Colton now. Hannah was the target of a wolf attack because somehow she was married to one. Apparently, the relationship had turned sour, and Hannah had obviously done something to make Brad angry enough to attack her, and risk turning the standoff between the pack and the clan in to an all-out war.
“I said get your hands off her.”
Colton kept his tone even. He wasn’t going to rise to someone like Brad. He was a volatile enough creature as it was, without adding fuel to the fire.
“Mind your own business, Sterling.”
Hannah took Brad’s distraction as an opportunity to remove herself fully from his grip. She shoved at him, and this time he released her.
“Brad, go home. Enough is enough,” Hannah’s voice was firm.
Brad barely glanced in her direction. He was looking Colton up and down, his fists clenched at his sides. Colton just wanted to get Hannah out of there, take her home and make sure she was safe.
“You heard her. Leave, Brad.”
“No!”
Colton froze. Shit. Brad’s voice had come out feral, more than a normal man’s should, and ended in an almost growl. He was about to turn.
“Calm down, Brad.”
Colton stepped in front of Hannah, shielding her as best he could, should Brad decide to shift. If she were married to him, Hannah would know about his shifting abilities, but may not have ever seen it done in a rage before. For a human, it could be lethal.
“Come on, Colton. Too soft to take me?”
Colton didn’t say a word.
“I heard you had the pack tracked. Seems like you’ve been paying a lot of attention to my wife,” continued Brad, “Jackson’s not happy.”
Hannah looked at Colton in bewilderment. She clearly had no idea about any of the pack politics that she was inadvertently at the center of.
“Get to the truck,” Colton spoke to her as calmly as he could.
Brad let out a growl. It was inhuman, and Hannah backed away, walking in the direction of her SUV. He was about to shift.
“Don’t do it, Brad,” Colton tried to pacify him. A large part of him was desperate to destroy Brad. His pack could have killed Hannah the morning she went running. He deserved to be put in the ground, but he didn’t want Hannah around to see this; it wasn’t safe.
Brad laughed, his facial features becoming sharper, elongating into a snout. He dropped onto all fours, his suit tearing into shreds as his body doubled in size. He growled at Colton, leaning back onto his haunches, ready to attack.
With one last glance at Hannah, who he could see standing at the far end of the lot, staring dumbfounded with amazement at her husband, Colton transformed. His body reared upward, and he roared, a tearing sound that shook the foundations of the restaurant.
In his primal form, the restraint that he’d tried to show had fallen away. He lusted for Brad’s blood, wanting to tear him limb from limb for threatening his mate. A wolf, even one as ferocious and feral as Brad, was no match for a Kodiak grizzly.
Brad lunged at him, jaws open, salivating. Colton clubbed him aside. Brad slammed onto his back, sliding across the ground, then leapt back to his feet to attack again.
Colton knew Brad’s fury would be insatiable, equally matched by his own. He lunged again, sideways on, and Colton bit at his hindquarter. Brad howled and then whimpered in pain. Still he kept coming.
Colton recognized him as the Wolf he’d attacked in the forest, the one who had gotten away alive. He didn’t want to give him the same chance this time. Brad now aimed at Colton’s underbelly, staying low on the ground. Colton lowered himself on all fours, protecting himself. He swiped again at Brad, this time his claws raking down the side of Brad’s body.
Blood seeped through Brad’s fur, trickling onto the parking lot. He made a move as if to attack Colton again, but as he retracted back onto his haunches a whimper escaped him. Colton saw the fear flash in the wolf’s eyes. He was done. If he stopped now, he could live.
Brad’s tail lowered between his legs, and he leapt forward, bypassing Colton and running off into the night.
Colton was relieved. Brad may deserve everything that had come his way, but now that the adrenaline was draining from his system, Colton was thankful that he hadn’t had to kill the man. He was still furious, but there were better ways to settle this than more bloodshed. He would ask Joe to call a clan meeting tomorrow and discuss the situation. He still didn’t understand the motive behind the attacks, but now at least he knew who was responsible, and he had a strong hunch that Brad was in this with Jackson. They would both be brought to justice by the clan.
There was nothing but silence in the empty parking lot. The inhabitants of Port Ursa knew when to stay indoors and mind their own business. The restaurant clientele would have heard his roar, and carried on eating their fresh Alaskan fish, knowing that living in this part of the world had its own unique set of hazards.
Colton swiftly transformed back into his human form, and stood naked in the half-light of the night sky.
Whatever emotion Colton felt prior to shifting, always intensified once he was in bear form. Rage would become fury. Passion would become a ruling hunger. When he shifted back, it took a while for the climaxed emotions to become right-sized again. It had never been truer than tonight. He felt fury, white hot, prickling his skin. And lust. Intensified to the point of physical pain.
He marched across the parking lot, trying to quash his emotions before he faced Hannah. Unconcerned that he was stark naked, the physical manifestations of his inner lust and fury clearly evident.
“Get in my truck. I’m taking you home.”
Taking her elbow firmly, but not tightly, he walked her to his truck. He didn’t meet her eyes, or wait to listen to what she might have to say. In truth, it looked like Hannah was too shocked to say anything at all.
He opened the passenger door for her, and waited as she got in. Then he slammed it shut, and dug through a duffle in the bed of the truck for one of the spare sets of clothes he always carried with him. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a thermal, ignoring shoes and a jacket.
Once dressed, he climbed into the driver’s seat, abruptly putting the truck into gear and setting off for Hannah’s cabin.
As they drove, Colton didn’t trust himself to speak. He knew he should say something, something reassuring and kind. She’d been through a lot tonight. But he was struggling to think of the right words, and didn’t trust himself not to bad mouth her husband. Even after all that had happened tonight, Colton felt that would be inappropriate. He didn’t understand their relationship, but it wasn’t his place to say anything about it.
He’d seen Brad around town with many different women, come tourist season, it was practically a different woman every night. He was a notorious flirt. Brad had also been living in Port Ursa for a while, and this was Hannah’s first visit. Clearly they were estranged or something to that effect. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what a woman like Hannah–bright, intelligent, sexy as hell, and ambitious, would have ever been doing with a loser like Brad. Seeing him manhandle her tonight had sent Colton off in a fury, but it wasn’t a surprise. It was exactly how he would have expected Brad to treat a woman.
He was also assuming, rightly or wrongly, that Hannah knew about the shifter community. If she’d been married to Brad, then surely she would have known that he had certain abilities. Though the more he thought about it, and recalling her expression after she’d watched Brad shift, Colton couldn’t actually be sure. She had looked absolutely terrified. He glanced over at her. Hannah was sitting stock still in the seat, hands clasped tightly in her lap and staring straight ahead. Maybe part of the problem between the two of them was Hannah’s revulsion toward shifters, but Colton didn’t want to believe that. It would kill him. He wished dearly that he knew more about how the mate bonding process worked because he felt so strongly toward her. Did that mean that the feelings were the same for her? Or could a shifter know his true mate, l
ove her with everything he had, and she not return the affection or passion? He wasn’t sure.
13
Even when the engine was cut, and Colton exited the car, Hannah didn’t realize that they’d arrived at her cabin. What she’d just witnessed wasn’t physically possible. It defied the purest laws of science—the practiced, principled laws that she’d based her entire career on, the laws and rules that she loved–chiefly because there was such limited grey area. It was black and white, divided into what was possible, and what was impossible. She couldn’t count how many times a medical intervention had caused results deemed to be a ‘miracle.’ It was lovely that people thought so, but in her experience, it was never true. There was always a percentage of possibility, no matter how small, that could weigh in a person’s favor. But a man turning into a wolf or a bear before her eyes? That was completely, categorically impossible. But, it had happened. Hannah felt as though her entire perception of reality had just been liquidated.
“Hannah?”
Colton was standing by the passenger door, waiting for her to get out. He was wearing clothes. She hadn’t noticed that he’d put them back on. He looked completely normal. Normal, human, hot, sexy. All the things she’d thought him to be only hours ago. The fact that she’d seen him transform, shredding his clothes like the Incredible Hulk, into a huge, terrifying grizzly bear, seemed laughable now.
She exited the car cautiously. Looking up at him, she questioned her sanity. Had the fresh air gotten to her? Had high levels of oxygen, as opposed to the usual monoxide she must have inhaled everyday living in the city, given her strange hallucinations? Was it some intense and acute psychosomatic thing where thinking that her husband was threatening and underhand, like a wolf, and that Colton was warm, solid and big and cuddly like a bear, suddenly manifested itself in her reality?
She walked unsteadily to her door. She could feel the heat from Colton at her side even though he wasn’t touching her. That had been another thing, she recalled, the bizarrely intense heat that constantly emanated from his body. Hypothetically, she thought, if someone was going to physically transform into another shape entirely, then the energy required would be astounding. Colton must walk around with a ball of nuclear fusion residing in him. No wonder he felt hot.
Hannah fumbled for her keys as they reached the door. Her body was on autopilot, familiar motions taking over while her brain scrambled itself.
“Hannah?”
Colton was standing at the doorway. She had assumed he was going to come in, explain what the hell was going on, but it didn’t seem that way.
“Lock the door.”
She was momentarily confused by the request, till it clicked. Brad. He might come back. Her wolf husband. The thought made her feel queasy. She didn’t want him around her ever again. Not because of his seeming ability to transform (which she still doubted was wholly real), but the guilt trip, the grabbing, and the totally out-of-the-blue notion that they should be together made Hannah half furious and half afraid. Brad just didn’t seem stable. And unstable people were dangerous.
She nodded at his request, closing the door when Colton made no move to come in. She double bolted it, the metal screeching from lack of oil.
Not really knowing what to do, she sat down on the bed. Staring at the empty fire grate. Her mind commanded her to get up and light it before she froze to death, but her body was unable to move.
Wine. There was a bottle that she’d placed in the cooler the evening she’d arrived. It had been purchased to honor the moment when she obtained the signed divorce papers from Brad. She’d imagined pouring a glass, and toasting to her future. Well, it was redundant now. Hannah didn’t think she’d ever needed a drink more in the entirety of her life.
A few sips, and she felt able to light the fire. Every movement her body made, she quietly congratulated herself, urging herself on, the end goal to try and reach a sense of normalcy. Another sip, that resembled more of a gulp, and her mind drifted to Colton. She tried to focus her mind on analyzing who and what exactly he was, but it didn’t work. All she could think about was the naked body, the beautiful, buff and muscled hard-body that had strode across the restaurant parking lot towards her, his junk hanging out all over the place. The man was extremely well hung. Even then, as her world was erupting into madness, that vision jolted her, pure unadulterated desire rippling through her.
It then occurred to her to wonder why he hadn’t spoken in the car. It was she who was suffering extreme shock. Why hadn’t he said a word? She was certain that it wasn’t the revelation of the fact that she was married. Yes, they’d had a few moments since meeting that potentially could have led to something more, but any personal subjects hadn’t really been brought up. Certainly nothing that would have led her to reveal that kind of information.
Perhaps he thought she had lied to him about the business meeting. To Hannah it hadn’t been a lie, she had considered it such, but perhaps Colton got the wrong idea? She dismissed that. She didn’t believe that Colton was that petty. Why the hell hadn’t he come inside?
Earlier, she had been reluctant for anything to happen between them. That reluctance was fast fading. Tomorrow she’d be leaving Alaska, and she knew without a shadow of doubt that she would regret not sharing a bed with Colton for a long, long time. She laughed at herself. Clearly the fact that Colton could transform into a bear, seemingly at will, had absolutely not dampened his desirability to her. If anything, it was the opposite.
She walked over to the window. Drawing aside the curtains, she looked out. Colton’s truck was out there. She could make out his shadowy figure inside the cab. Hannah’s stomach flipped. He was standing watch, making sure Brad didn’t return.
Oh, hell no. If he was going to be her protector, then he was going to do it from inside of her cabin, with her. Her world had been turned inside out tonight. To hell with precaution and her feelings tomorrow. Hannah wanted Colton Sterling for as long as she could have him.
She grabbed the coverlet off the bed, and wrapped it around herself. With one last gulp from the wine glass to fortify herself, she stepped out of the cabin and walked toward Colton’s truck.
14
Colton heard her approach before she knocked on the window. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were still wide and uncomprehending. He opened the door, waiting for her to speak.
“Please come inside.”
She had started shivering on the walk up to him, and wrapped the cover she was wearing more tightly around herself. Colton wanted to take her in his arms and share his body heat with her. He held back, still unsure as to what she truly wanted.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
He nodded. He was going to come inside anyway. He felt himself harden against his jeans. She might be somebody else’s wife, but Hannah Cooper was his mate, and he was tired of trying to fight the chemistry between them.
He led the way back to the cabin.
“Can I get you a drink?” She asked.
“No.”
Colton placed a hand on the small of her back, moving her closer to the fire.
“You’re cold.”
After a few minutes by the open flames, she shed the coverlet gratefully. Colton didn’t say a word.
“Do you want to explain what happened back there?” Hannah asked eventually.
“I’m a shifter. Part of an old clan that’s lived in the Port Ursa’s territory for years. Your husband is also a shifter, but then I guess you already knew that.”
“No. I did not know that.”
“What?”
“I didn’t know that,” she repeated herself, looking up at Colton as if waiting for him to clarify what the hell he was talking about.
“I didn’t realize. I thought as his wife, you would have known.”
“No. I married Brad the summer we graduated from High School. In Vegas. It was a spur of the moment, crazy, reckless and stupid thing that we did. The moment we got back from the road trip, w
hen the summer was over, I went off to college, and I never saw Brad again. Till yesterday.”
“Oh.”
“I came to get divorce papers signed. I recently came into a large inheritance, and I want to use it to open my own practice. My lawyer advised that I find Brad and get a legal divorce, to protect my assets should he ever come looking for me.”
Things were starting to get a lot clearer for Colton. If Hannah was the beneficiary of an inheritance, then it could be why Brad and the pack were hunting her down.
“Did Brad know about the inheritance?”
“No,” she hesitated, “not that I’m aware of.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, there was something he said—before we left the restaurant—about it always being about the money. I didn’t know what he meant. But his behavior was so strange, wanting to get back with me. I really can’t figure out why. Unless, somehow, he knew about the money. I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem like him, that behavior would be out of character.”
Colton didn’t say anything. Hannah had known Brad as a High School student. The behavior that Colton suspected Brad of, trying by any means to get that money, was completely typical of the Brad he knew.
“Why do you ask?”
“It’s nothing. Just stay away from him,” replied Colton.
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“I know.”
Colton took a step toward her. She was wearing a simple blouse, one that would have been commonplace on anyone but Hannah. Her breasts filled it out to bursting point, and Colton could see her nipples puckered beneath the cotton fabric.
He adverted his eyes from her chest, and met her gaze. The heat of the room seemed to intensify, blood pounding in Colton’s body as he drowned in the dilated pupils of her blue eyes. Her breath was coming in perceptibly shorter gasps as Colton bent his head down toward her.
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