by Elena Aitken
“Axel, I—”
“How you feel you could give up everything to be here with me after knowing me for such a short time.” He ignored her protests and pushed on. The way she blinked and shook her head slightly told him she’d been thinking exactly that. “How you feel that you need to be with me. Close to me. Touching me, or you feel like you might die.”
“That’s extreme. I—”
“You feel it, don’t you?”
She didn’t answer, but pressed her lips together instead.
“The reason you’re feeling the way you are is because there’s something more inside of you. Just like me. I’m not an ordinary man.”
“Well, I knew—”
“No.” He tried not to smile. He needed to stay focused. “I have an animal inside me, and I think you do, too. That’s why you’re feeling so drawn to me. We’re mates.”
“Mates?” She half scoffed, half laughed. “Like as in…mates-mates? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever—”
He dropped to his knees in front of her and tried to take her hand. “Listen to me, Harper. It’s not ridiculous. I’ve known my whole life, but for you…well, it’s new. It’s—”
“It’s ridiculous, is what it is.” She pushed him away and tried to stand but he promptly pushed her down, gently but firmly.
“Sit,” he ordered. “Just let me show you.” Before she could protest further, Axel turned and ran a slight distance into the woods. If she wouldn’t listen to him, she’d just have to see it with her own eyes.
Chapter Eight
He was being ridiculous. Mates? That didn’t even make sense. Sure, she was having feelings she’d never had before. But they were probably just a result of having the best sex of her life after way too long suppressed in a terrible marriage. And combined with the stress of her entire life collapsing around her…well, of course, she was feeling things she couldn’t explain. But mates? What did that even mean?
Harper glanced around the small clearing she was in. They truly were in the middle of nowhere and she had no idea how to find her way back to the main lodge on her own. She stared in the direction he’d just disappeared and called after him. Certainly he wouldn’t leave her there on her own? Especially not with a sore foot. But she couldn’t figure out what he would do. She couldn’t make sense of anything.
Everything was a mess. He was talking crazy about feelings and what was going on with her. But the craziest part wasn’t what he’d said. It was that he was right. Every single thing he said about what she was feeling was spot on. Too bad it only made her more confused.
“Axel?”
She tried again to see whether she could spot him, but there was nothing. And then, a shift of the branches, a rustling and…the biggest grizzly bear she’d ever seen—not that she’d ever seen one close up before—appeared in the small clearing.
Harper’s first thought when the huge animal appeared was how beautiful an animal it was. She’d never seen a bear without the safety of distance between them before and this one was magnificent: dark fur that was so black it almost sparkled in the sun, a strong broad back, and dark eyes that were somehow familiar and not at all threatening.
Despite the lack of menace from the bear, Harper’s second thought after processing that there was a giant and very dangerous animal standing only feet away from her was one of sheer panic. She instinctively tried to scoot backward, but fell off the log, her legs in the air. She scrambled to her feet and immediately sank to the ground again as the pain reminded her why she wasn’t standing.
“Axel!” Harper screamed as the bear advanced slowly. He didn’t look menacing or dangerous the way she assumed bears would. In fact, there was something very familiar about him but that didn’t comfort her when the bear approached. She couldn’t get away; there was no way she could escape. She needed Axel and… The thought hit her hard and fast.
The bear approached. Close enough she could feel his warm breath and look into his dark eyes. The eyes that were so familiar she could have sworn they were… No. It wasn’t possible.
“Axel?” She breathed his name in a puff of air. Her heart seemed to freeze in her chest. The idea that Axel stood in front of her as a bear was too ludicrous to process, yet…
She was only just beginning to allow herself to think about the possibilities when the bear raised his head and lowered it, nodding in response to her question.
It was too much. Harper’s last thought before she passed out was, This can’t be my life.
Axel shifted the weight of her in his arms and snuggled her closer to his chest. He’d expected a variety of responses when he’d shown Harper his bear, but he hadn’t expected her to pass out. Not really. But it was fine by him, because it meant he got to hold her close without any objections as he carried her back through the forest to the Den.
And there would be objections. His female was a feisty one, and there was no way she was going to accept the whole bear shifter thing without a fight. That much he knew.
Axel smiled to himself and pressed his lips to the top of her head as he broke through the tree line into the clearing. People milled about, and a few trucks he didn’t recognize sat out front of the Den. Their guests had arrived early. Oh well, his brothers were more than capable of handling things. His only priority was Harper and staying by her side until she woke so he could explain everything.
“Where have you been?” Nina spotted them and ran across the field toward them, cutting Axel off before he could take the small path to his cabin. “I was worried—what happened? Is she okay? Harper?” Nina moved to touch her friend’s forehead, but Axel turned deftly and kept her out of reach.
“She’s fine. She had a little scare in the woods, but she’ll be fine.”
“A scare?” It was Luke who asked, his eyebrow raised. “What kind of scare?” From his tone, Luke already knew full well what had scared her.
“She needs to rest.” Axel tried to push past them to get her to the cabin before she woke.
“Go settle her and come right back here,” Luke said.
“I’m sure you can handle our guests for a few hours, Luke.”
“It’s not just the guests.” Something in his brother’s voice caught his attention, and Axel turned to hear the rest of what Luke had to say. “We have…visitors.” He gestured with his head in the direction of the woods to the east. The wolves. They ran the ranch in the valley that was in direct competition with Grizzly Ridge; at least, that’s how the wolf shifters saw it. As far as the Jackson brothers were concerned, they offered different things and they should all be able to work together. Too bad the wolves didn’t see it that way. Axel had hoped to avoid any trouble with them for a little longer. “Maybe Nina can sit with her?” Luke suggested.
“Of course I can,” Nina said quickly. “You guys take care of whatever you need to. You have a business to run. We’ll be fine.”
The last thing Axel wanted to do was leave Harper alone after what he’d just revealed to her. He needed to be with her when she woke to hold her and reassure her that she wasn’t going crazy. But there was something in Luke’s expression. He was worried about something and it no doubt had to do with whatever trouble the wolves were stirring up. He looked down to Harper’s face, peaceful and beautiful in rest. She’d be awake soon. He looked back to Nina. Maybe being with her friend might help. It could be grounding for her.
And judging by the way Luke tensed next to him, he didn’t have much of a choice. “Okay.” He nodded. “Let me go settle her in the cabin. I’ll be right there.”
Luke nodded his agreement and without waiting to see whether Nina would follow, Axel made his way up the path.
Only moments later, Axel had Harper tucked into his bed with strict instructions to her friend not to let her leave the cabin until he returned. He had to trust that she’d obey him, even though every instinct he had fought with him to stay with his mate and keep her safe. As the alpha of Grizzly Ridge, he had no choice. Something was not r
ight, and he needed to figure out what it was.
He ran into Luke on the trail, waiting for him.
“What’s going on?” he asked without preamble. “Is it the wolves? What’s going on?”
“First tell me what happened back there.”
Axel froze and stared at his little brother, who was hardly even half an inch shorter than him, and at six two not little by any stretch of the imagination. “What are you talking about?”
“Your female.” It was the first time Luke had acknowledged that Harper was in fact his female. “What happened?”
There was no point in lying or drawing things out. “I showed her my bear.”
Axel expected his brother to be surprised. Angry even. Instead, he dropped his head and shook it slowly. “No wonder she passed out.”
“I had to do it.”
“No.” He raised his head and looked his older brother in the eyes in a way that almost made Axel assert his alpha. “You didn’t,” he continued. “She’s a city girl with no idea what it’s like out here with a guy like you. She’s here on a holiday, Axel. That’s it.”
“That’s not it.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s my mate. We’re fated.”
“You’re full of shit. There’s no such thing.”
Of course Luke didn’t believe. Hell, Axel hadn’t believed either. Not until it happened to him. Not until Harper. He’d suspected the idea of it might be true after Kira had run off, but suspecting something and experiencing it were two different things. Two very different things. “There is.” He wouldn’t fight with his brother. Not now. He knew from experience what a futile exercise it was. But he also wasn’t about to back down. “And she’s mine.”
Luke opened his mouth as if he was going to argue with Axel some more, but he shook his head and ran his hands through his blond hair before changing tack. “We’ll talk about it later,” he said. “Right now we have bigger problems.” He pointed to the trucks parked out front. “Our guests are here.”
Axel nodded. “And?”
“Wolves,” Luke confirmed. “Well, not wolves so much as visitors from their ranch.”
Axel waved his hand, impatient for more details.
“They’re from the city. California, actually.” Luke raised an eyebrow.
Axel’s hackles rose. “California?” He glanced back to where he’d left his female in the cabin. “We’re getting a lot of that lately.”
“That’s what I thought.” Luke walked back to the Den and Axel followed, reluctantly leaving Harper behind. “They’re staying at Blackwood Ranch with the wolves, but apparently wanted to check us out, too. Kade set the New Yorkers up with some refreshments and I’ll take them out for a hike as soon as they’re settled in. But I thought you’d want to know about these two, especially considering they came from Blackwood.”
Axel met his brother’s skeptical look. Luke was right. He did want to know. Despite his efforts to be friends with the Blackwood wolves, including booking their entire group of New Yorkers on a trail ride the next day, they’d done their best to make it clear they weren’t going to be friends. It seemed more than a little off that any guests of theirs would set foot on Grizzly Ridge.
When they reached the front porch of the Den, the two new arrivals were standing on the steps. One snapped pictures with a large camera while the other muttered into a recording device. When the men saw Axel and Luke, the one with the camera began to take pictures of them while the other man, a smaller, fancy dressed man stepped down off the price and extended his hand.
Axel shot a look at his brother. “Reporters? We already have a reporter.” His instincts had kicked into overdrive. Something wasn’t right about these two. Reluctantly, he shook the man’s hand.
“Kevin Carr,” the man said. “Reporter for Getting Around. And this is my photographer, Bruce Bonnet. We’re excited to be here at the ranch to see—”
“The Ridge,” Axel corrected. He pulled his hand back and stuffed it into his back pocket. “Grizzly Ridge. Where are you from again?”
“Getting Around,” Kevin repeated. “It’s a new travel website and we’re excited to get in on the ground floor. It hasn’t launched yet. We’re still building content. We were scheduled in at Blackwood, but when we found out about Grizzly Ridge,” he emphasized the Ridge, “we just knew it would be a great addition to the site and a huge benefit to you and your new business.”
Axel crossed his arms and stared them down. He didn’t like them. Something wasn’t right about the pair, and although he couldn’t put his finger on it, his bear was roaring to make them leave. “You should go back to the ranch. We’re full.”
“Axel.” Luke grabbed his arm. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Begrudgingly, Axel allowed Luke to lead him a few feet away, but he didn’t take his eyes off the men.
“I don’t think we should reject them out of hand,” Luke said.
“I don’t like them.”
“But it could be a good opportunity,” his brother argued. “You said yourself we need as much exposure as we could get.”
“Not from them. Besides, we don’t have any room.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to answer some questions. They don’t have to stay.”
“I don’t trust them.” Axel didn’t know whether it was something about the men, or the fact that his mate was sleeping not far away, unprotected and vulnerable after what she’d just seen. He’d never had to consider a mate before. It was an entirely new feeling to want to protect someone else. “It doesn’t matter anyway; we have Nina. She’s writing a piece.”
“So, what if we ask her if she’s heard of these guys?”
Axel shook his head.
“We’ll keep an eye on them and make sure they’re on the up-and-up.” Axel turned to look at his brother. “We’ll make it work.”
He stared at Luke for a moment. His brother’s instincts were clearly not affected by the men. Maybe he was clouded by his female? Perhaps he wasn’t able to think as clearly as he used to? Reluctantly, Axel nodded. “Fine. They can stay for the day. But if anything—”
“Nothing will happen. And I’ll go talk to Nina as soon as I can to find out what she knows about these guys. In the meantime, why don’t you figure out what you’re going to do with the little situation you’ve created? I’m willing to bet she needs a little space to figure things out.”
“What she needs is me.” Axel clenched his hands into fists at his sides. It was all he could do to not turn and run back up to the cabin where Harper was no doubt awake by now.
“Brother.” Luke clamped a hand on his shoulder and Axel reluctantly turned to look at him. “She’s with her friend. Females need their friends. Give her some time.”
He didn’t like it. Every fiber in his body strained to be at her side, but on some level, Axel knew Luke was right. He’d give her some time to process what had happened in the woods.
But not too much. She had to understand. He needed her to understand.
Chapter Nine
It took Harper a moment to register where she was when her eyes opened. A moment later, she was frantically trying to scramble out of Axel’s bed. Until the pain from her ankle shot through her.
“OW.”
“Harper? Are you awake?”
She propped herself up on her elbow and looked around Axel’s small cabin. “Nina?”
“I’m in the bathroom. Hold on.” A second later, a flush was followed by the sound of the sink and then, finally, mercifully, Nina.
Her friend was at her side, hand in hers, and Harper had never been so happy to see her friend in her life. “Thank goodness it’s you.”
“Of course it’s me. I’m here.” Nina patted her hand. “Axel said you had quite the fall in the woods. How do you feel?”
“Axel?” Harper looked around again. She couldn’t see him. “Is he here?”
Nina shook her head and scooted up on the bed.
Conflicted feelings rolled through her. She
wanted him there by her side, but at the same time, she wanted him far away from her. And she couldn’t figure out why. Her hand went to her head and she rubbed the side of it. It wasn’t sore. Nina said she’d fallen. Did she hit her head?
“Is your head okay? Do you need something?”
“No.” Harper shook her head once and blinked hard. “It’s fine. But I have the strangest feeling that I’m forgetting something. Something about Axel… Something that happened.”
“You must have hit your head.” Nina poured her a glass of water from the jug on the bedside table and handed it to her.
“No.” Harper took a sip. “That’s not it.” Her memory was right on the tip of her consciousness; she just couldn’t quite reach it. She’d been in the woods with Axel. She’d chased him in there and gotten lost. But he’d found her. He’d declared his love for her, kissed her—oh, she remembered that kiss—he’d told her they were meant to be together, that they were—
“Axel will be back soon, I suspect,” Nina said, breaking Harper’s line of thinking. “He didn’t want to leave you, but Luke told him it was important and made him go. It was crazy,” she continued. “He was like a protective animal over—”
“Animal?” The hair on the back of Harper’s neck stood up. That was it. He’d said they were mates. Mates. It was ridiculous. It was animalistic. And then there’d been a bear. “A bear.” She whispered the words, but Nina heard.
“Well, I don’t know if I’d say it was like a bear, so much as a—”
“A bear.” Harper sat up as her mind went a million miles an hour. Axel had been a bear. He was gone and then...the bear and…
“Okay.” Nina jumped up off the bed. “If you say so. Speaking of Axel, I should probably tell him you’re awake. Like I said, he was pretty worried. Hey.” Nina stopped and came back to the bed. “Are you okay? You don’t look good. You look like you saw a—”