Rhylan

by Emilia Hartley

  “How would we explain you to Savannah?” Tom whispered. And at the very mention of her name, all of his emotions came surging to the forefront.

  He was dangerously attracted to her. He couldn’t forget the way her honey-brown eyes glittered in the light or the way her dark hair flowed in perfect rhythm with her movements, like everything on her was dancing. It amazed him how she could be the haunted lonely traveler that’s too timid to function one second, and the emboldened confident loner that had enough resolve to stare down an alpha on his own turf. She kept him guessing, kept him wondering until—with only an electric touch of her fingertips—he could hardly think at all. She was beautiful and mysterious and she drove his bear wild. She drove him wild…

  And he couldn’t trust any of it.

  He was barely out the shop door before his bear ripped from his skin. He emerged, bestial and breathless, tatters of destroyed clothing clinging to his thick coat. He didn’t rest long before tearing off into the woods.

  He couldn’t even remember if he locked Dan’s door behind him.

  ***

  Tom was a mass of emotions as he hurled himself through the forestry, his whole body rippling with anger and his mind was clouded with confusion as it fought with distrust and… contentment. Savannah hadn’t even been in their lives a full twenty-four hours and Jo was already trying to play matchmaker. It didn’t matter that he’d decided to acknowledge his irrational attraction, a rogue bear in their territory so soon after an enemy pack had attacked them… it all seemed wrong. He wouldn’t let bear instincts cloud the logic of it. There was more to her, he just needed to find out what, but he couldn’t with Jo and Nick pushing him to accept feelings he never even asked for!

  As if on cue, a scent wafted past Tom’s snout, alluring and stopping all previous thought. He stopped short, skidding on his front paws as he stopped to deeply breathe in the night air.

  Savannah.

  What was she doing out here in the middle of the night? Another one of Jo’s shenanigans had him driving Savannah to her house in the middle of town, which was miles off from where he was now. Was she just out for a stroll to clear her mind, like he was? Or…

  Was she meeting someone?

  Tom was immediately on high alert, taking one cautious step forward as he sampled the air once more. There was water nearby, deep in the heart of the woods. Savannah’s scent surrounded him—it was nearly intoxicating. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He needed to concentrate. Taking another long whiff of the air, he couldn’t find any other bear scents. She appeared to be alone.

  A slight splash caught his ear, and he leaned forward to get a better look. Savannah was clearly enjoying the water. He shrank back further into the tree line in slight guilt. She hadn’t run off to have a secret rendezvous with the enemy…

  She’d gone swimming.

  “Are you going to come in?”

  Tom’s eyes flared in surprise and he wondered if he should move from his cover in the foliage. Realizing it was too late, he stepped out into the clearing with as much dignity as he could muster after being caught peeping red pawed.

  “The water’s lovely,” Savannah persuaded, wading leisurely in the water. Tom couldn’t help but admire from the grassy bank. Her bear form was every bit as magnificent as her human skin

  He sat slowly on the cool bank, letting the water wash up gently and dampen his paws. “I’m fine.”

  Savannah swam easily over to him, her powerful paws slicing through the water. “What brings you all the way out here this time of night?”

  Tom’s ear twitched. “I could ask you the same question.”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  He didn’t respond.

  “You don’t trust me.” It wasn’t a question.

  “No, I don’t.”

  Savannah pulled herself from the lake, rigorously shaking the water from her fur. She stared Tom down a moment longer than he’d expected her to, once again making him appreciate just how bold she could be when she didn’t let self-doubt get in her way. She had the potential to be so powerful…

  “I know you didn’t follow me,” she finally said. “You may not trust me, but that’s not why you’re here or how you found me.”

  Tom turned his head up toward the moonlight as it shone through the trees, letting out a long, weary breath. “I needed to run.”

  “I needed to swim.”

  Tossing his head with a huff Tom turned to walk away. “I can see that.”

  As he walked away, Tom fought with his bear and everything within himself to keep moving forward. He wanted nothing more than to stay behind with Savannah, to launch himself into the lake and splash and play and just be with her. He wanted to watch her warm brown eyes sparkle in the moonlight as she took another dive, soaking him with gallows of water…

  As if on cue, a splash sounded behind him. His paws nearly stopped moving, but with immense effort, he continued to depart.

  Before he could stop himself, he called back, “You’re not exactly graceful.”

  He heard a confident huffing sound behind him as she breached the water before he convinced himself to pick up speed, tearing off away from the lake.

  Chapter Seven

  Savannah had a lost expression in her eye as she walked into the mechanic shop the next morning. She’d hardly slept at all the night before, unable to get the strong rippling muscles of Tom’s alpha bear out of her mind long enough to find slumber. Thoughts of what it would be like to have those strong muscles curl around her in an embrace or protect her from harm crawled unbidden into her mind, and she could feel the heat warming her cheeks.

  She was early, incredibly so. Awake, in bed, alone, and unable to get Tom Brewer the alpha bear out of her mind set her up for trouble she’d rather not think about, so she’d decided to rise for the day.

  As she scrubbed her eyes in an attempt to appear fully functional for her first day at her new job, she wondered if the emotions and sensations she was having because of Tom were something worth worrying about. She’d been around dominant bears like Lucas before, but alphas were in a league of their own. Lucas tried to emulate one through by demonstrating strength and power, but there was something about being an alpha that he’d never be able to replicate, no matter how hard he tried. Tom and Nick were her only experience with alpha shifters; was she supposed to know how common bears reacted around them? Was this normal and she was just new to the exposure?

  “If that were the case, then why don’t I feel the same way when I talk to Nick?” she muttered listlessly to herself, huddled against the cold as she walked. Might it be because of Jo? Has becoming mated cut him off from that kind of alpha attraction?

  If that was true, did that mean that she and Tom might be…?

  She shook her head vigorously, effectively wiping that train of thought away. “No, no, no, no, not today. Not ever.” She wouldn’t even think about the impossible what ifs that went with that line of thinking. Taking a deep breath of the cold morning air, she decided to focus on what was right in front of her until the busyness of menial labor could keep her mind clear and her focus on Lucas’s mission.

  She shouldered her way into the office, shivering off the last lingering sensations caused by the cold as well as Tom. She smiled a greeting at Jo who was sorting papers at the front desk.

  “Good morning!” Jo smiled. “Nice to see you value showing up a bit early to work.”

  “It never hurts to make a good first impression,” Savannah replied, ignoring the exhaustion that wavered just behind her eyelids. It helped that Jo was as cheery as the first cup of morning coffee. Despite her mantra of sticking to the mission, Savannah had a hard time disliking Jo. Even recalling what Flood had said about her, and how Jo had dealt the killing blow to a Northern Wind bear, Savannah couldn’t see it. Humans were more unpredictable than shifters when fear played a factor, but even they had guilt, remorse. Jo didn’t seem to be displaying any of those emotions. As she engaged in mindless
chitchat with Jo, Savannah wondered idly if there was more to the story than Lucas had originally let on.

  “You look like you could use a coffee,” Jo said, gesturing to the coffeemaker that was already percolating a fresh pot. “Please, help yourself.”

  “Oh, thank you! This morning was quite chilly,” Savannah replied, happily pouring herself a steaming mug. “Will Tom be showing me around again today?” She flinched at the hint of eagerness that colored her voice.

  “Not really,” Jo answered. “I’ll walk you through your daily duties, for the most part, but Tom will be escorting you into town to help you stock up on supplies until you can get the hang of things on your own here.”

  Savannah gave a worried smile. “He probably wasn’t too happy about that, I’m sure.”

  Jo shook her head. “No, no, he’s happy to do it. He’s just not much of a people person and has a hard time showing it.” She chuckled. “Trust me; I’ve been where you are. He usually has everyone’s best interest at heart, though he’s terrible at showing it.”

  Savannah shrugged. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

  Jo smiled her understanding. “He’s warming up to you faster than I’d expected him too… honestly. Just give it time, you’ll see.” Without missing a beat, she segued into Savannah’s daily duties as if that’s what they’d been talking about the entire time.

  Despite nodding when spoken to, Savannah couldn’t help but wander back to those final words Jo had spoken about Tom. Was he really warming up to her? She recalled his lingering paw steps only the night before while she lazed in the lake. Had he maybe wanted to stay and spend a moment longer with her?

  “Savannah?” Jo asked, snapping her out of her daydream. “Are you okay?”

  “I… yeah. My place is really old, not well insulated. The cold made it a bit difficult to sleep, so I’m kinda out of it today,” Savannah lied. “But I didn’t want to make a bad impression on my first day, so I’m trying my best to ignore it.” She gave an apologetic smile. “I’ll work harder to pay attention. What were you saying?”

  Jo looked more worried than anything else. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to exhaust yourself.”

  “I’m fine, I’m fine,” Savannah assured, feeling a bit of guilt build up inside. Jo was so innately compassionate; it didn’t make Savannah’s position as a mole any less stressful. “I’ll take a long nap after my shift today. I’ll be fine until then.”

  Jo gave her a lingering stare before nodding. “Okay.” She turned to the paperwork she had been flipping through when Savannah walked in. “Well then, I was talking about how the first priority is accounts,” she explained. “Any jobs that have been done over the weekend need invoices, so that needs to be caught up on. After that, there’s a whole pile of receipts—incomes and outgoings—that we’ll need to work through to get a clear picture of exactly how well the shop is doing.” Jo glanced back. “You following me okay?”

  Now that Savannah was paying attention, she could follow pretty easily. She nodded. “We’ll also need to make sure they’re paying the right amount of tax,” she murmured, eyes scanning over the paperwork as Jo passed it to her.

  “Yes, exactly.” Jo sighed. “Those two don’t seem to care much about the organization of it all. It’s a wonder how they managed to stay afloat this long!”

  Savannah laughed, despite herself. “I imagine it couldn’t have been easy to pick up after them.”

  Jo rolled her eyes with a knowing glance. “Unfortunately not.” She handed Savannah a few more folders and indicated the computer on the desk. “This’ll be your base of operations. The computer is ready to use and we’ll try not to be too much of a bother.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Savannah said, sitting uneasily on the creaky chair in front of the computer.

  Shaking her head, Jo let out a sigh of exasperation. “I suppose we finally have an excuse to get a new chair. We’ll have to order you a proper one soon.” She looked around the drab office. “In fact, the whole place is long overdue for a bit of a makeover, don’t you think?”

  Savannah nodded. It all seemed a bit tired; a bit of brightening up wouldn’t hurt. She looked down at the chair beneath her and frowned. A jagged splinter jutting out from one of the legs had poked her rather uncomfortably in the calf. “If I’m being completely candid, I think the chair may need to be our first makeover project.” She looked up apologetically at Jo. “I’m not sure I can last longer than the day in it.”

  “That’ll be number one on Tom’s list when he takes you into town then,” Jo said with a grin. “Until it comes in, we’ll have to make do with a regular office chair. Is that okay?”

  “Anything is better than this, to be honest,” Savannah answered, grimacing down as the old splintered wood tugged angrily at her jeans.

  “Alrighty,” Jo confirmed. “I’ll make sure Tom gets right on it, then.”

  “Make sure Tom gets right on what?” Tom growled, sliding through the side entrance from the garage as if he’d been summoned by their conversation.

  Savannah tried to hide her surprise at his sudden arrival, but she couldn’t keep her heart from speeding up at the sight of him. He was covered in car oil and sweat, obviously well into his daily routine. He wore a pair of old jeans and a vest already dirty with the day’s auto-related grime. The sleeveless top left his broad, muscular biceps bare to glisten in the office light with perspiration, and Savannah found it particularly hard to look away, eyes traveling hungrily along the trail of a dark tribal tattoo that coiled up his left arm.

  “Savannah needs a new computer chair,” Jo specified. “Among other things. I figured it’s nothing you couldn’t handle when you took her into town a bit later.”

  Tom scowled, passing a glance over Savannah. She held back a sigh at the way his lip curled a little when he’d finally acknowledged her. “I made that chair myself. Is it giving you trouble?”

  “Little splinters are stabbing me in the legs.” She held his gaze. “I agree with Jo. If my job is to run numbers on the computer all day, I’ll need better seating arrangements.” She sounded bolder than she felt, but it paid off when she saw a light of amusement brighten his gaze, if only for a short moment.

  He gave one small nod. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “No, Tom,” Jo chastised. “She needs a real chair. Not just a rickety old thing that you keep duct taping back together when it falls apart. Please order a new one when you go into town.”

  Tom’s eyes were dark and intense as they slid over Savannah once more. “Is that what you want? A new one?”

  She gave one sure nod. “Please, if it’s not too much to ask.” She saw his jaw flex in chagrin, but he didn’t respond.

  “And that’s not all,” Jo continued. “There’s a whole list.” Jo met Tom where he stood, explaining all the things he’d need to grab. And though Savannah pretended to bury herself in work, she couldn’t help but listen in on every word they were saying.

  Tom didn’t say much, only a deep rumbling grunts of confirmation, but the sound sent shivers down Savannah’s spine, nonetheless. She caught his scent in the air; he smelled like pine needles and axle grease, along with an underlying scent that made her bear raise its head in eager anticipation. Warmth began to pool deep in her belly, and she fought to keep her obvious attraction to him from showing.

  As if on cue, Tom turned and locked gazes with her. She felt like he could see right through her façade, reading every desire that unfurled within her. It felt like an eternity had passed before he turned back to Jo with little reaction.

  “Let me shower, then I’ll take the newbie shopping.” Without so much as a glance back at Savannah, Tom slipped out of the room to where she assumed his living quarters were.

  Jo smiled at Savannah. “That went better than expected.”

  Savannah swallowed, making sure she was fully composed before speaking. “I suppose it could have gone worse.”

  “You have nothing to worry about,” Jo
reassured. “He was staring just as hard as you were,” she added with a smirk.

  Savannah’s eyes snapped up, but Jo shook her head, eyes sparkling. “You don’t have to pretend. Nick’s my everything, but I’m not blind. Anyone can see that Tom’s ridiculously attractive.” She gave Savannah a knowing glance. “Your secret’s safe with me though. Tom’s a good man. I know he may seem unapproachable right now, but just give it a little more time. You might even see him smile once or twice.”

  Savannah didn’t know what to say, heat filling her face. She quickly turned back to the stack of papers, forcing her embarrassed brain to focus on the numbers in front of her, not Tom’s intense gaze as he stared into her soul or Jo’s knowing smile as she read Savannah like an open book.

  She could almost barely ignore just how utterly mortifying the entire ordeal was.

  Chapter Eight

  Tom growled inwardly, looking over the car that Nick had finished up while he showered.

  Nick chuckled. “You can only look at my handiwork so hard before you finally admit that you’re just trying to avoid the poor girl.”

  “You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Tom warned, glaring at his older brother.

  Nick said nothing more, but shot back a sly grin.

  “Oh, don’t start,” Tom snapped. “I’m not avoiding her. I’m not avoiding anyone. I’m just making sure you didn’t make more work for me for when I get back to the shop. That’s it.”

  “Ah, and I suppose if you accidently get covered in more oil, you won’t conveniently have to take another shower,” Nick teased lightly. Tom shot him another glare and he held up his hands in a placating gesture.

  If Tom was honest with himself, Nick was totally right. The heat that ignited in his final shared gaze with Savannah before he’d left was intense, immediate, and he wanted nothing more than to share another moment like that with her as soon as possible. His bear demanded it. The lack of control he was having over his emotions and urges shook him to his very core. As a human he knew she was a stranger, so his fierce attraction to her despite that clashed with the person he was at his very core. He didn’t know himself anymore. He was lost with her here and he didn’t know how to fix it.