If he could continue burying his head in the snow and pretending that he would never have to come clean about what he was, then he would definitely be happy, but just like how Karl was a shadow hanging over them, that was a shadow hanging over him.
His only hope was that he could deal with Karl without an incident occurring that would give away what he was and then get Skye to Cameo. It was a solid plan, one he might have set in motion yesterday when a break in the storm had allowed him to get a decent signal on the two-way radio.
While Skye had been busy dealing with dinner, he had used the radio to contact Saint. He had been worried that Karl and his men weren’t going to come up to the lodge and might end up there instead and had wanted to warn them. Once his alpha had been briefed on the fact there were three men remaining and all were armed and where he had left them, he had asked how things were at Black Ridge.
Knox had learned that Maverick and Rune had indeed returned to the Ridge, which was a comfort, until he thought about the fact that both bears wanted to come up to the lodge. Knox had talked them down, mostly because he worried about them meeting Skye. He hadn’t told his alpha about her, wasn’t really sure how to break it to him. Saint hadn’t exactly taken it well when Lowe had brought Cameo, another human, to Black Ridge.
Bringing Skye there was liable to cause a ruckus with his alpha, but Knox needed her there.
He had the feeling that Maverick and Rune were going to ignore his warning to stay away from the lodge and come here, and he would be forced to deal with introducing her to his pride sooner than he wanted.
So, Knox had asked Saint to put Lowe on the line and clear everyone else out.
Apparently, Lowe had been hovering around Saint, twitchy and eager to get his turn on the radio, irritating their alpha. Saint had been all too happy to hand the mic over to Knox’s twin.
Lowe had assured him the other bears were gone and had then gone on to tell him that Cameo was fine and his injuries were healing, which was a relief. Cameo had taken the fact Lowe was a bear shifter well, and that had given Knox hope that Skye might be the same, even when he knew there was a higher chance that his female would freak out and run. It was rare for a shifter to reveal what they were to a human and not get that reaction. It took a powerful sort of love, a deep and true sort, for a human in a relationship with a shifter to overcome what they were and accept it and the fact there were many different people in this world.
Archangel managed to fill their ranks quite nicely with the ones who discovered their lover was a shifter or a vampire or a fae and didn’t take it well.
So Knox had decided to up his chances of Skye being the sort of female who could accept her male turned into a bear and lived longer than a human.
He had asked Lowe to speak with Cameo and convince her to talk to Skye when he got her to Black Ridge. If Cameo was the one who told her, maybe Skye would be able to take it all in without surrendering to the urge to run, or join a hunter organisation to eradicate his kind from the face of the planet.
It turned out Cameo had been there with Lowe and she had been quick to steal the mic from his brother and agree to help him.
Lowe had wanted to ask him a million questions about Skye and whether she was the reason for his two-year drought, and Knox had been quick to end the transmission.
Knox stared out at the storm, watching the snow falling, dancing in the breeze to flutter slowly to the ground. Skye was right. The storm was abating. The wind had dropped completely and visibility was improving.
“It’s clearing up.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek when he sensed that didn’t please her. It worried her. He held her a little closer. “Nothing bad is going to happen to you, Skye.”
She turned in his arms and looked up at him, her dark eyes soft, warm with affection that soothed his nerves and boosted his confidence that once she knew what he was, she wouldn’t run. She wouldn’t.
“What about you?” she whispered, her brow furrowing, and stroked her free hand down his chest, over his black-and-blue checked fleece shirt. “I have this horrible feeling something bad is going to happen to you.”
He captured her hips and pulled her to him. “Nothing bad is going to happen to me either.”
Words he meant but couldn’t quite bring himself to believe.
She sighed and broke away from him, set her coffee down on the counter of the kitchen island and crossed the wooden floorboards to the window beyond the couch. She stood with her back to him, gazing out towards the glacier. She had been uneasy all morning, ever since they had finally rolled out of bed to see that the wind had dropped.
She wrapped her arms around herself, her fingers tugging at the fine material of her dark green sweater.
Knox tried not to stare at her nape, just as he had tried not to stare at it every second of every hour they had been at the lodge. The sight of it tormented him, had his bear side agitated and restless, filling him with a need to close the distance between them and feel her pressed against him. The feel of her soft body against his was enough to assuage his primal instincts as her male, took the edge off so he could resist his growing need to sink his fangs into that sweet, smooth skin to claim her as his mate and bind them together.
Skye hadn’t helped by deciding to twist her hair into a knot this morning after she had freshened up.
Some part of him felt as if fate was testing him, seeing how far it could push him before he snapped. Fuck fate. He wasn’t a slave to it. He was master of his body, not his instincts. He wouldn’t surrender to the urges running through him, no matter how strong they grew. He would keep on resisting them until she was so in love with him that she couldn’t leave him, even when she discovered he was a bear shifter.
And then he would keep on resisting the urge to bite her until she was ready, no matter how long that took.
He wanted to do things right, to be the sort of male she deserved, one who was worthy of her affection.
Even when part of him knew there would come a point where he wouldn’t be able to resist the need to mate with her. He would snap. At some point, the urge would become too great, too pressing, and he would be too weak to resist it.
He ran his hand down his face. Prayed to the gods that she was ready to be his mate when that happened, because he didn’t want to mess this all up, even when deep in his heart he knew he would. He had already messed up once with her. It would be all too easy to mess things up again and ruin this chance he had with her.
“You’re thinking hard.” She had turned to face him, her rich brown eyes soft with concern, laced with a hint of curiosity. Her rosy lips slowly curved into a teasing, almost wicked smile. “Thinking about me?”
She was fishing, and he was already hooked, was a goner where she was concerned. All she had to do was reel him in and promise to keep him rather than toss him back into the river, and he would stay by her side forever.
Would love her forever.
“Yeah.” He scratched his nape, really tried not to think about how she would press her nails into it when they were making love, how she always gravitated to that spot. Did she notice how drawn to it she was? He pushed away from the door and rounded the island, sighed as he sank back against it. “Much as I love it here… alone with you… I think we should head back down the valley to town.”
Because he wanted her safe, a long way from Karl and his men, far away when he tracked down the bastards and killed them. He didn’t want her to see what he was going to do, even when he knew she was well aware of his plan to kill them and she didn’t seem shocked or appalled by it.
She glanced over her shoulder at the window. The weather was clearing fast now and he could make out the mountain in the distance and parts of the glacier. The snow had stopped.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head and looked back at him, worry in her beguiling eyes now, fear that drew him to her. “What if Karl and the others have found this place and they’re just biding their time… out there… waiting for us to emerge
?”
If that was the case, he wanted her away from that damned window.
He crossed the room to her and pulled her away from it, into his arms, trying to act casual even when his heart was racing and his senses were stretching in all directions, hunting for a sign of life.
Knox turned with her and started backing her towards the kitchen, got distracted as her gaze collided with his, holding him fast. He wanted to growl whenever she looked at him like that, as if she was hungry for him, starving for her male to satisfy her. He swore he could feel how badly she needed him as his primal instincts fired, had him aching with a need to pleasure her, to give her what she wanted from him.
He groaned and dipped his head, captured her lips as he backed her against the island and planted his hands against the granite on either side of her hips, caging her with his body. She tasted like coffee, sweet and addictive, and he loved how she arched into his body as she feverishly sought more from him, attempting to steal control of the kiss.
He gripped her hips and tugged her hard against him, showing her who was in control, mastering her in a heartbeat. His pulse went wild as she surrendered to him on a husky moan, as she melted in his arms and pressed her hands to his chest. Gods, how this female owned him. All of him. She mastered him by submitting to him, made him a slave to her as she opened to him, as her tongue brushed his and her soft curves pressed against the hard planes of his body. If ever a female had been made for him, it was Skye.
Knox kissed her harder, deeper, aching for more of her as his body hummed with a need of her, with the first ripples of pleasure that swept through him that were a promise of more, of another intense moment with her that would leave him breathless again, reeling and even deeper in love with her.
He lifted her onto the counter, eager to take her on it just as he had the first night they had been here.
His senses sparked.
He stiffened as he detected movement outside.
The window behind him, where Skye had been standing only a minute ago, shattered, and she shrieked as the bullet tore through the wooden post at the end of the island to his right.
Missing him by less than an inch.
Chapter 17
Knox grabbed Skye, twisted with her and threw her onto the wooden floorboards. He covered her with his body, shielding her as his mind raced, as he breathed hard and tried to figure out what the hell to do. His canines elongated slightly as rage tried to get the better of him, pushing him to shift to protect Skye.
To protect his fated female.
The woman he loved.
He clamped his molars together and flattened his lips, refusing to let his bear side win. He couldn’t shift. No matter how dire things got. In one-on-one combat, he would be able to take the humans, whether that was in his bear form or his human one, but they were heavily armed. Shifting into his bear form would put him at a disadvantage in this situation.
Plus, it would reveal what he was to Skye.
He couldn’t afford for that to happen, not yet. He needed her to be wildly in love with him before they had that talk he dreaded, and he wanted it to be a talk. He didn’t want to just suddenly shift in front of her and scare the living crap out of her, all ta-da! He needed to break things to her gently.
Another bullet ripped into the wooden post, lower now, and Skye shrieked again, her hands flying to cover her head. He covered it too, his head whipping to his right. He glared at the window. Where the hell had the sniper set up? There was a ridge a little way from the cabin, one that had good elevation, enough that the male could easily see into the building but not enough that he would be able to see them where they were on the floor.
That rifleman was making things tricky enough, but he could sense the other two closing in. If they got into the lodge and opened fire, there was a high chance that Skye would be caught in the crossfire. He couldn’t let that happen. He needed to get her out of danger.
He eased back and grabbed her hand. “We’re moving. Got it?”
She shook her head, her eyes wide, her face draining of colour. The fear he could feel in her beat in him too, but it wasn’t fear of being shot or his life coming to an end here. It was fear of those things happening to her.
“We have to move, Skye,” he bit out, harder now, some part of him aware that he had to take command, had to make her do as he wanted or she would just remain where she was, too terrified to move. “If I have to pick you up and run with you I will, but I’d rather you help me out here so we can keep low, below the field of vision of that sniper.”
Her dark eyes widened further, the fear he could sense in her growing stronger as she stared at him. A split second later her features hardened, her jaw setting firm and her eyebrows pinching hard as a look of determination settled on her face. She nodded.
Apparently, she liked the thought of him exposing himself to a potential hail of bullets as much as he liked the thought of her doing that.
She took her hand from his and twisted onto her front, grabbed his hand again with her other one and took a deep breath. Her gaze leaped to his.
“You’re going to be fine.” He meant that. They weren’t just empty words to placate her and keep her calm, convincing her to move. He meant every one of them. They came from his heart, from his fierce need to keep her safe. Whatever happened, he would make sure she made it through this.
He positioned himself beside her, between her and the window. Glanced at her again.
She nodded.
Knox kept low with her scrambling towards the couch, pulling her with him and using his body to shield her. Her harsh breaths scraped in his ears, the fear he could scent on her pushing him to his limit as he listened to her rapid heartbeat. He would keep her safe. No one was taking his fated one from him.
No one.
They reached the left side of the fireplace and the closed door there. He tugged Skye up and pressed her into the shadow of the deep doorframe, the chunky stone fireplace providing her some cover. The temptation to punch the door open was strong but he resisted it. This door had a lock. It would provide Skye with some protection. Probably only a few seconds protection, but still. It might be enough to save her life.
He reached for the door handle and quickly snatched his hand back as glass shattered. The bullet tore into the doorframe just beyond the handle.
“Fuck,” he snarled.
“Are you hurt?” Skye sounded as terrified as she felt.
He was quick to shake his head, needing to alleviate some of that fear, keeping it at a manageable level. The last thing he needed was her going into a full meltdown. He doubted she would, because she was strong, knew how to handle herself, and she was a survivor, but he still wanted to keep her as calm as possible.
He drew down a breath and reached for the handle again, faster this time, managed to strike it and open the door before the bullet whizzed past him. He lunged into the bedroom, avoiding being hit, and turned to Skye, grabbed her hand and pulled her in with him.
He breathed a little easier with several walls between him and the sniper and no line of sight, but remained on guard, deeply aware that Karl and the other male were approaching from this side of the lodge.
Knox released her and went to the windows, tugged the drapes closed to provide them with some cover. He went back to Skye and took hold of her hand again, and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“We’re moving again.” He looked at her, sure she would refuse now that her fear levels were dropping. She felt safe in this room, but they couldn’t remain here. He needed to reach his bedroom.
She surprised him by nodding, that determination flashing in her eyes again.
Knox kept low with her still, not trusting that the males wouldn’t shoot out the windows, taking potshots in the hope the bullets would hit a mark. He banked right, heading for a door there. Skye kept up with him as they reached the corridor beyond it, as he took a left and led her along the hallway that allowed access to the other four bedrooms of the lodge.
>
His was the only one on the left side of the hallway. They reached the door and he opened it, pulled her inside and released her. He was thankful he had left the drapes that covered the only window in the room closed this morning. It meant he didn’t have to close them, something that might have given their position away to the men.
“Wait here.” He glanced at Skye and then hurried across the room to the double bed. He opened the drawer on the nightstand and pulled out the gun he had taken from Karl.
Checked it was loaded.
“Do you know how to use that thing?” Skye hissed.
“Sort of.” He could pull the trigger and that was all there was to it, wasn’t it?
“Sort of?” Her voice gained pitch and she scurried across the floor to him, a scowl darkening her features. She held her hand out to him expectantly. “Give me the gun. I’ve handled them at ranges before and know what to do if it seizes.”
Hell no. There was no way he was giving her the gun. What kind of man would he look like then? He certainly wouldn’t look great in her eyes, having to rely on a female to do his fighting for him. He could handle this.
He glanced at the gun. How hard could it be? Point. Shoot. He had done just that back in the woods.
“Is this a matter of male pride? I’m not going to think less of you because you let me have the gun.” Skye rolled her fingers, a stern edge to her eyes now.
He pretended not to notice the hint to give her the gun or the fact she could apparently see straight through him.
“I’ve got this. Stay put and stay low.” He moved to the door before she could protest and closed it behind him, lessening the chances of her seeing him fighting and the chances of the men finding her.
He flexed his fingers around the grip of the pistol. Frowned at it. Was he meant to hold it in both hands? He tried to think of how the people held guns in the movies and TV shows that Lowe loved downloading to his tablet whenever he was in town. He shrugged as he reached the wall that the fireplace backed onto and tried holding it in one hand, aiming it at the wall, and then tried again with two hands. Two hands felt better.
Saved by her Bear (Black Ridge Bears Shifter Romance Series Book 3) Page 14