by A. B Lee
“Is that like; I’m female and therefore irrational and don’t know my own mind?” She smiled and for the first time it was big, bright, and her eyes lit up.
Chance felt as if he was basking in the summer sun; it warmed him, made him feel all tingly inside… it was an alien feeling.
“Yes.” Chance didn’t lie. The mating pull between them would have skewed her vision of him, it was best to be honest.
“Wow, you really are a male chauvinist pig, aren’t you?” Rebecca snorted amusement at the look on his face.
“I’m a bear…” Chance frowned.
“And do all bear shifters share your attitude?”
“I don’t know all bear shifters.” Chance shrugged those big shoulders at her. “But we are made to protect our females.” He explained it as he saw it.
“But I’m not one of your females.” Rebecca offered back.
Those words kicked him hard in the stomach. His first impulse was to correct her. His rational mind said to let it go.
“You’re a female…” Chance shrugged again.
“And Darby?”
“Female and a mini person.” Chance made himself take a step back from her when all that he wanted to do was scoop her up against him and taste her lips.
Now that Darby was safe- his mind had turned towards mating…
“Mini person?”
“Small. Fragile. A child.” Chance was scowling now. He didn’t like to be interrogated and this felt like that. He’d spent too much time with her… he needed to leave, to retreat, to regroup.
“And what am I?” Rebecca was more than intrigued by the way that this man saw the world.
“You…” Chance shook his head. If she kept asking he was going to say it. He couldn’t afford to say it, although, it might just scare her the hell off… “I should go.” Chance started to turn away from her to leave, but her hand came up and her fingers tried to wrap around the thickness of his wrist, but that was never going to happen…
“Wait. I didn’t mean to upset…”
“You didn’t. I’m not good with humans.” Chance flicked his wrist and broke the contact between them. The cold of her fingers had felt more like the kiss of the sun against his skin, and he liked it.
“You’ve been good for me tonight. I think I would have lost it if you…” Chance spun back towards her. His eyes locked on hers. His bear roared with wanting her…
“I need to stay away from you. You need to keep Darby safe and away from me.” Chance growled. His bear growled at the denial that he was offering their mate.
“I…” Rebecca wasn’t sure what had forced the change in Chance’s personality, but he seemed darker now, more like the man that she had been expecting for the start.
“Chance!” Darby cried out and made his mind spin as his head twisted to take her in; riding up on Marcus’s shoulders as she had his earlier in the day.
Chance felt a rush of jealousy at that sight. It was how it would be when he was gone, dead…
He forced himself to step back. Forced his bear down within him; his beast was ready to burst into being right there in front of his mate and her daughter. He couldn’t allow that to happen…
“Darby…” Chance shook his head; trying to force away the emotional rollercoaster within him.
“I tried to find you…” Darby’s voice cut through the madness within his mind and settled his bear.
“I came to find you too.” Chance couldn’t look at her riding on Marcus’s shoulders because he wanted to kill the man, rip him limb from limb for having what he couldn’t.
‘Put her down, Marcus…’ Chance growled through the link and the big man immediately reached up, snagged Darby around the waist and hoisted her up and off his shoulders, planting her on her feet on the ground and taking a step back from her.
He could feel the intense scrutiny of all four men watching his every move, but it was Darby, as she came running towards him that took his attention away from his clan.
‘Easy, Chance…’ Marcus offered.
‘I’m not going to hurt her…’ Chance growled out; pissed that his brother would dare to take the role of protector away from him where Darby was concerned.
“Darby, we need to have words.” Rebecca berated her and the child missed her footing as her attention was snagged by her mother’s angry tone. Chance was there in front of her in a heartbeat, scooping her up before she face planted the ground and swinging her up into his arms.
All four men had taken enough steps forward towards him to make Chance growl in annoyance at them.
“You growled like a bear.” Darby sounded in awe of him and that snapped Chance’s attention back towards the mini person held gently in his arms.
“And you have to be more careful.” Chance could hear the bear within his voice. His eyes locked onto hers and he saw the awe and excitement that shone there.
“I like bears.” Darby didn’t seem to want to grasp what he was telling her.
“Darby, bears are dangerous, even our bears.” Chance frowned and she followed suit. Then, as she considered it, she twisted her head on her neck and shook it slowly.
“No, you won’t hurt me.” She said adamantly. Those words hit Chance like a ton of bricks.
“How do you know that, little one?” He asked and her frown disappeared as her smile blossomed on her face once more- those big brown eyes widening in amusement.
“I don’t know. I just feel it.” Darby didn’t have an answer for him, not one that made sense. Why he’d thought a child could, he didn’t know. He guessed he was just grasping at straws.
“Like you felt running away to find me was a good thing to do?” Chance berated her and she frowned again, but there was still a half smile on her lips.
“I wanted to know if you liked the pie I helped make for you.” She half whispered.
“I liked it just fine.” Chance assured her.
In truth he hadn’t touched it. The damn thing was still sitting whole on his kitchen side like a trophy, like a prized possession that he didn’t want to devour because then it wouldn’t be there anymore- then he couldn’t look at it and know that she’d done that for him.
“I can make another…” she said in a teasing voice.
“I don’t think your punishment will cover baking pies.” Chance watched as her eyes flicked towards her mother. She grimaced.
“But I just wanted to see you…” Darby’s eyes flicked back to him and it felt as if she kicked him in the gut each time those eyes graced his.
“You scared your mother.” Chance growled a little more gently this time. Her face fell. “You could have been hurt, lost for good. Do you understand?” She nodded looking more downcast by the moment.
Chance walked her over to Rebecca and offered her into her mother’s arms. Rebecca held her tightly. Pissed beyond belief that she’d run away, but as happy as hell that she was back safely where she belonged.
“Thank you…” Rebecca offered to Chance and he frowned on a nod of his head. She turned her attention towards the rest of them. “All of you. I don’t know what I would have done…” she bit those words off- that thought still created a tsunami of fear within her.
“No more running away, little miss.” Jackson scolded her. Darby wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and held on tightly.
“I missed you, mummy…” Darby whispered as tears welled within her eyes. The excitement was over and now the child was coming down from the adrenaline rush.
“I missed you too, baby, but if you ever…” Rebecca wanted to punch something hard, maybe a damn tree trunk, maybe a wall, but she was just so grateful to have Darby back.
“I won’t.” Darby whispered. Maybe she’d learned her lesson after all.
~^~
“I need to leave…” Chance had meant to go the moment that Darby and Rebecca went back into the house so that she could settle her run away daughter, but Janice’s arrival had prompted him to stay, to make certain that there were no in
juries to Darby that couldn’t be seen.
Jackson eyed his friend.
“How’s your bear?” Jackson asked. He’d never seen Chance show this amount of self-control before. Even with Alex, Chance sometimes just walked off for no real reason that they could see, but it was Chance’s way of keeping control of his bear.
“Antsy.” Just not for the reasons that he’d imagined it to be. The bear didn’t want to fight, it wanted to mate.
“Ok. Let’s get you out of here.” Jackson turned his attention towards Marcus and the big man nodded in understanding. He’d stay to take his mate home and make sure that everything was alright at Rebecca’s house.
Shane was already outside and he’d stay there until someone from the clan spelled him so that he could sleep and spend some time with his own mate.
“I’m fine. I can go alone….” Chance stalked towards the front door. His hand wrapped around the handle just as Rebecca’s voice cut through the mayhem in his mind.
He couldn’t deal with her now.
Chapter eight
“Chance…” he turned to look at her over his shoulder and his stomach pitched and fell, his body warmed as his eyes took her in. His bear paid attention. “Thank you.”
“Put some good locks on the doors and windows. Stop her from running away again.” Chance growled out.
He wouldn’t be there next time to witness a possible tragedy in the making and that gnawed at him, but his clan would always be there for her.
He saw her open her mouth to speak, she looked a little shocked and taken aback by his words, but he didn’t wait to hear her response. He wrenched open the door and made himself walk into what was left of the night- Jackson on his heels.
~^~
Jackson kept pace with Chance as the man stalked through the woods back towards their land. He’d half expected Chance to shift into his bear the moment that he was safely away from Rebecca’s farm, but that hadn’t happened.
Chance’s shoulders were hunched over, as if the man was carrying a heavy weight on his back.
“Chance…” Jackson heard the low, deep rumble come back at him and knew that Chance was in silent mode.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Chance muttered the words but Jackson caught every one of them.
“You kept control. You kept your bear inside…”
“Still don’t wanna talk about it.” Chance bit out.
“There’s something that needs to be taken further here…” Jackson pushed and the man shot him a grave look back over his shoulder.
“Give it up, Alpha. We both know that my bear will have out when it feels the need.” Chance lied.
He’d kept control of the beast around his mate, but he couldn’t hope that would continue. The bear was probably muted by the reality of finding their mate; once it got back to an even footing again…
“I’m just saying…”
“I know what you’re saying, Jack, and I’m still of a mind that not being around is safer for my mate and Darby.” There was a longing deep within him at the thought of his mate and her daughter. He couldn’t deny it because he guessed that it was only natural. That didn’t mean he had to jump in with both feet and get them all killed.
“See how it goes…”
“You mean get to the point where I do something stupid and throw my mate down and take her?” Chance came to a dead stop and Jackson followed suit. “Yeah, sounds great.” Chance growled his disdain for Jackson’s thinking.
“That’s not…” Jackson shook his head.
“But that’s what could happen.” Chance reminded him.
“Then learn some damn control, man. You did it tonight. However that worked, replicate it.” Jackson was pissed off with Chance’s negativity. For once in his life the man had the reins over his bear; he needed to keep it that way.
“Maybe because my mate needed me.” Chance growled back.
“That’s the thing. Your mate is always going to need you, even if she doesn’t know it.”
“It’s not the same thing.” Chance started off again, eating up the ground with his long legs.
“Yeah, man. It kind of is.” Jackson let Chance pull ahead of him. The man was done talking and it had been surprising just how much conversation Chance was making. Usually the man withdrew after a few words. It was progress.
~^~
Rebecca was grateful that Janice had come over to the house to check on Darby. Once her daughter was looked at and deemed fine, she put her to bed without a word of fuss or protest from the child, and she was literally asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
“Coffee, tea, or anything else?” Rebecca asked as they made their way back downstairs.
“I could murder a coffee.” Janice knew that Marcus was waiting for her outside with Shane, but she didn’t think that he’d mind waiting a little longer.
“Thanks for doing this…” Rebecca shot over her shoulder as Janice slid onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter and eyed the room that had seen better days.
“No problem.” Janice left the fact that Rebecca was a part of their clan unsaid. It wasn’t her place to share that news.
“Sugar? Milk?”
“Neither, thanks.” When the cup was placed down on the counter in front of her the aroma alone put a little perk into her system.
“They’re not what I was expecting them to be.” Rebecca looked a little sheepish- she wasn’t sure if Janice would get all defensive over the men or not.
“What were you expecting?” Janice asked.
“I’m not sure.” Rebecca wanted to be honest, but she didn’t want to step on any toes. “I guess I was expecting them to be more… primitive…” Janice’s chuckle made her wave a hand and try to brush that away.
“They can be pretty… basic at times.”
“I don’t know. I guess I expected them to growl a lot more. To be more bear and less human in their behaviour…” Rebecca shrugged her shoulders. “It’s hard to explain.”
“No, I get it. When I met Marcus for the first time. I guess I was expecting more asshole and less nice guy.” Janice chuckled to herself with the memory. “I got shitfaced, and the man took me home and put me to bed, which I fell out of, so he picked me up and put me back in it again, but he never tried it on…”
“I thought all the shifters were supposed to be like horny hounds or something… I know I’ve heard talk from town of women who come here just like sex tourists…”
“Bear bait.” Janice nodded. “Marcus liked bear bait. They all did. It’s a way to sooth and control the bear within them. And they are horny… all the time.” Janice chuckled.
“And you’re a mate.” Rebecca frowned. “What’s that like?”
“Amazing. I mean, sure, we have our problems, everyone does. But being a mate is like being bloody Cleopatra in their eyes. There’s nothing they wouldn’t do to make a mate happy, contented, and the sex is…” Janice widened her eyes and grinned like she’d just won the lottery.
“That good, Ha?” Rebecca chuckled.
“Oh yeah.” Janice nodded enthusiastically. “Let’s just say they have staying power, and they love to please.” Rebecca giggled like a schoolgirl.
“I guess they’re one up on their human equals there then.” Rebecca frowned, obviously the woman had something on her mind. “Chance is a little more…” She searched for the right word.
“Grumpy, direct, short tempered than the others?” Janice offered.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah. Chance’s bear is a little harder to control within him. He’s not one for going out to sooth his bear with the ladies, if you know what I mean…?”
“But I thought you said that was how they keep their bear calm-er.”
“Chance doesn’t want to risk hurting anyone, if his bear got away from him.”
“Hurting? You mean like killing? Is he dangerous?” Rebecca turned her full attention on Janice and the woman winced.
“I don’t…” Janice sh
ook her head.
Chance seemed to think he was, and she’d gotten that vibe from the man quite a few times, like he was just holding onto the power within him by the skin of his teeth, but if he had his mate…?
“Is Darby in danger?” Rebecca demanded.
“No, I don’t think he’d ever hurt Darby.” That was the truth. From what she knew had happened over the last day, Chance seemed to have a connection with the child. She seemed to bring out the softer side of the man and his beast.
“You don’t think, but you don’t know either.”
“Anyone is capable of hurting someone else. Trust me, I’ve seen it.”
“But he’s a bear…” Rebecca pointed out.
“Humans do bad shit to each other all the time. I think you need to put the bear part of the man away now. Deep down where it matters Chance is a good man, and I know that he’d rather die than hurt you or Darby.” Janice informed her and she blew out a humourless snort of laughter.
“How’d you know, you can’t know that…?”
“Because he’s asked the clan to kill him.” Janice could have bitten off her own tongue when those words came out. It was the shock on Rebecca’s face that made her realise what she’d said, what she’d let slip out.
“What?” Rebecca was equal amounts of appalled and stunned by what Janice had said.
“Oops.” Janice looked anywhere but at Rebecca.
“Oops?” Rebecca leaned her elbows onto the counter top and waited until Janice brought her gaze to her. “What’s going on? Why would Chance want to die? And they can’t just kill him- that would be murder…”
“It’s different for shifters.” Janice shrugged one shoulder. Rebecca snorted her contempt for that answer. “If they think there’s a risk that someone could get hurt…”
“So he is dangerous.”
“Not… I don’t know.” Janice admitted.
“And the rest?” Rebecca pushed.
“It’s not my story to tell.”
Rebecca didn’t like that answer. There was a knot within her stomach at the thought of Chance dying that shouldn’t really have been there, not in the way that it was.