Wounded Bear (Whiteheart Clan Book 2)

by Chloe Peterson

  Jade's eyes grew wide. "You—You think I'm hot?"

  "No point in hiding it, is there?" Emma smiled then walked over to the other side of the car. "Come on. It's warm inside. I can't have either one of us freezing."

  Emma settled into the driver's seat and shut her door. Butterflies filled her stomach when Jade occupied the passenger seat next to her. Being this close to someone so attractive was making her act like a teenage girl all over again. Reckless and impassioned.

  Nothing wrong with a little fun, she heard her mother's voice in her head.

  Emma pursed her lips. She couldn't afford to get distracted. She needed a way home. Phoneless, and with nothing but three hundred dollars in her account, she was going to need help at some point. Jade seemed like as good an option as any. Well, more than that, but she couldn't focus on that right now.

  "So, what were you doing out for a walk?" Emma rested her head against the headrest and shut her eyes. She wasn't going to sleep, but she did feel drowsiness begin to settle over her.

  "I was on patrol. It's part of my job."

  Emma's eyes flew open. "You're a cop?"

  "No." Jade laughed. "What made you react like that? Do I not look like I could be a cop?"

  "Now that I think about it, no. You are a little young for that." Emma tapped her fingers against her thigh and turned to face the road ahead. For a moment, she'd gotten some hope. If she had a cop on her side, then maybe they could help her figure out her next move.

  Emma wasn't sure how much power Derek wielded. When he said he ran the city, did that include its police force?

  I've watched far too many TV shows, Emma thought.

  "Well, I'll have you know I'm twenty-seven and ex-military. That's just as tough as being a cop."

  "You don't look twenty-seven."

  Jade rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a compliment. How old are you?"

  "Twenty-four, but I'm almost twenty-five." Emma hated the eager tone in her voice, but she pushed on with the more pertinent question she needed to ask.

  "What was it like? The whole army thing."

  Emma had never understood what made a person join up, especially when they had loved ones waiting at home. Her father had signed up for a second tour soon after she was born. He never made it home. While Emma had no memories of him, she'd always wondered why he did it.

  "Hard. Sad. Maddening." Jade took a deep breath. "But at the end of the day, it's for a good cause. Unfortunately, the price a lot of people pay is higher than they were anticipating. I got out as soon as I could. Why do you ask?"

  "My dad went on his second tour and died in battle not long after I was born. I guess I've always wanted to know why." Emma looked down at her hands. "It was silly to ask."

  Jade shuffled to face her. "No, it wasn't. Everyone has a different reason. I did it because I was running away from something. That's why I couldn't hack it long term. If your dad went back soon after he was born, then he was one of the few that had good reasons. People like that, no matter how it ends for them, deserve to be honored. Not pitied or blamed."

  The reverence in Jade's voice warmed Emma's heart. She faced the intriguing stranger who was starting to feel like a friend and maybe more, and smiled. "Thanks for saying that. I needed to hear it."

  "You're welcome." Jade's eyes never left Emma's, and Emma's gaze was drawn back to the green-eyed woman's like a magnet. Emma's pulse took off, skittering wildly. There was some intense chemistry here. She just hated that she'd never get a chance to explore it.

  The sound of a truck pulling up beside them broke the moment. Jade scampered out of the car without a second to spare and left a turned-on Emma seated by herself.

  "Bottle it up, Em," she said to herself. "Mom's relying on you."

  "Hey there," a beautiful gray-eyed woman called, stepping out of her truck. "I'm Rowan. Jade tells me you've been having a bit of car trouble."

  "Uh, yeah. I ran out of gas."

  Rowan lifted a can. "Shall I pour, or should you?"

  "Oh." Emma quickly grabbed the can from the woman's hands and quickly went about the task of filling her tank. She watched Rowan and Jade talk among themselves and shook her head. "Is every woman in this town beautiful?" she muttered.

  Once the tank was full, Emma got back into her car and started it. After a few tries and absolutely no encouraging sounds, she slapped her palm on the driving wheel. "Dammit."

  The Corolla was way past its prime, but it had been faithful for several years. The words of the dealer who she’d bought it from floated to the front of her mind, and she grimaced. He'd explicitly stated that the car would serve her well for day to day short distance trips for a good while. It appeared driving over twelve hours straight through the night had finally broken its resolve.

  Emma got out of the car and shut the door forcefully. She placed her hands on her hips and just stared at it, willing a solution to form in her mind.

  "We've got to head off. Would you like me to call a tow for you?" Rowan asked, stepping closer.

  Emma inhaled then turned to face her. "No. I can't afford one."

  "Don't worry about that. I'll pay for it."

  Emma locked eyes with Rowan, glad they were the same height. "No. I can't take your money." Rowan raised her hands in defense. Emma hadn't meant to use a harsh tone, but there was no taking it back now. She sighed. "Sorry. I'm just a little tired and overwhelmed. Could I get a ride into town? What town is this anyway?"

  "Falhurst," Jade said, speaking up for the first time since Rowan had arrived. The openness Emma had witnessed seemed to have disappeared now that her friend was here. An air of weariness seemed to linger around her.

  What's that about? Emma wondered.

  Emma's eyebrows shot up. "I drove a lot further than I thought."

  "What were you doing heading this way?" Jade asked.

  Emma felt her tongue get caught in her throat, as a rock settled into her stomach. She hadn't thought this far. What the hell would she say? "I saw a man turn into a panther and kill someone. He's chasing me, and so I took off running without a thought."

  Emma cleared her throat. That sounded absurd to her and would to anyone else. "It's not important. I'd appreciate a ride back to town, though."

  Jade squinted and took a step forward. "So, you're telling me that you took off in the middle of your work day, got into a car, and drove to a town you didn't even know you were in, for no reason? On top of that, you're willing to leave your car out on the road for anyone to steal." Jade's eyes softened. "What are you running from, Emma?"

  Emma felt her fingers begin to tremble, and she clenched her fists. If she told the truth, Rowan and Jade would think she was crazy. They'd probably drop her off at some insane asylum or leave her on the side of the road to sort herself out.

  Emma forced a chuckle. "You guys are reading too much into this. I needed to blow off some steam, and so I took a drive. That car's old. I've always known it would last long. I just need to get to town so that I can find a way back home."

  Jade stared at Emma for a few more seconds before dropping her head and shaking it. The disappointment in her eyes before she did so sent a sharp pain through Emma's chest. Yes, they had been flirting, but they had also built a connection. She didn't want to act like it meant nothing, but what choice did she have?

  "Alright." Jade turned to Rowan. "You willing to squeeze an extra trip in before we get to Jason's?"

  Rowan winced. "We can't. He sounded pretty panicked, which tells me he's way over his head." Rowan turned to Emma. "How about we drop you off after a quick meeting?"

  Jade inhaled sharply. "You want to bring her with us to Jason's?"

  "She'll be in in the parking lot. She won't see a thing."

  Emma took a step back. "Wait. What are you two into? What is it that you don't want me to see?"

  "I don't know how much Jade has told you about us, but we work for a security company. Some of the people we lock up can get pretty rowdy. We're just going to our
base to help deal with a situation."

  Jade nodded vehemently. "I promise you; there's no funny business. You've been through enough already. I wouldn't put you through that."

  Emma looked down at Jade's hand on her arm. Jade followed her eyes, then pulled her hand back sharply. "Sorry."

  It seemed she'd acted out of feelings without much thought. That gave Emma all the confidence she needed. She and Jade had connected, and everything Jade had done or said up until that point had convinced Emma that she was trustworthy.

  "I've had a few surprises over the last twenty-four hours. I trust you as much as I'd trust a stranger I'd just met. Let's go. It sounds like you're in a rush."

  Rowan grinned. "We are. Thanks for being understanding."

  Emma shook her head. "No need to thank me. You're the one doing me a favor."

  The three women piled into the truck. Rowan took the driver's seat, Jade the passenger seat, and Emma the backseat. It quickly became evident that neither Rowan nor Jade were particularly chatty people. The silence of the car was comforting rather than awkward, and Emma found herself lulled into a light sleep.

  Pretty soon, the jerky movements of Rowan's car woke Emma. She looked out the window and saw that they were driving through a forest cleared path.

  Guess we've driven a lot longer than I predicted, Emma thought. We must have passed town already.

  She yawned and slumped further in her seat, not quite ready to get up.

  "Fuck," Rowan yelled. "Jade, you've got to go now."

  "Not with Emma here. We'll scare her."

  Rowan braked sharply and pulled up the handbrake. "That was an order, not a request."

  Jade glared at Rowan, her nostrils flaring. "Fine, but when she's traumatized for life, I hope you can live with yourself."

  "You're dramatic. Emma won't be the first human to see—"

  A loud roar broke through the air, and Jade cursed before running out of the car. Emma quickly sat up and hurried to the center of the back seat. A sweat broke over her back, and the sound of her heartbeat thrashed in her ears. That roar sounded suspiciously familiar, and when Jade finally veered out of the path of her direct sight, she finally understood why.

  There, at the end of the driveway, in what looked to be the parking lot of a warehouse, stood a man with a gun pointed at a freakishly large, black wolf. He looked calm and collected, but the wolf had lowered its head, looking ready to pounce.

  "Oh, my god, Jade!" Emma yelled. "Call her back. She's going to get killed!"

  Rowan shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. Let me explain."

  "Explain?" Emma scowled at Rowan. It appeared she'd read her all wrong. No wonder Jade had gone quiet around her.

  Emma quickly scooted across the back seat, but when she reached for the door, she heard the locks automatically shut.

  "What is wrong with you" She hyperventilated as she struggled to fill her lungs with air. Everything felt so surreal right now. She'd seen what a panther could do. She was sure a wolf was capable of the same. And here Rowan sat looking apologetic and unmoved about sending Jade to her death.

  "You just sent an innocent woman to face a wolf. What kind of security company are you running?"

  Rowan got onto her knees and balanced on her seat, turning to face Emma fully. "I do run a security company, but we don't deal with just any danger. We—"

  Emma shoved Rowan hard, then leaned over the driver seat to unlock the door. Before she felt guilty about hurting a woman she barely knew but was starting to dislike, she scrambled out of the car.

  Emma took two quick steps then froze, dropping to her knees as her legs grew weak.

  There at the end of the driveway, crouched, was a naked Jade. Brown fur crept all over her back, and the muscles over her entire body bulged and changed shape until a massive bear stood in her place.

  Emma's vision started to cloud with black spots, and she placed a hand on the ground before her to steady herself.

  "What have I done?" she whispered as she fought to catch her breath.

  I've jumped right out of the frying pan and into the fire, she thought, before she felt Rowan place a hand on her shoulder.

  "Shit. Are you okay?" Rowan asked. "I was going to explain it all, but you got in my way. Emma?"

  Rowan shook her shoulder gently, and a large gulping breath gave Emma the strength she needed to look up and ask, "What is Jade?"

  Rowan sighed. "Me, Jade and all our friends, are shifters. Humans with a magical ability that allows them to take the form of an animal. We live in secret among humans, but we don't mean any harm. At least, most of us don't."

  Great, Emma thought wryly. This is precisely what I needed. A further trip down the rabbit hole.

  4

  Jade slowly approached the wolf, her anger bubbling quietly beneath the surface. She could only imagine what was running through Emma's mind now. The younger woman must have been so overwhelmed, being exposed to the shifter world so suddenly.

  It had been a long time since Jade had witnessed a human's reaction to the shifter world. If memory served, there'd be a lot of fear and distrust involved. Especially pointed her way.

  And just when things were going so well between us, Jade thought.

  Jade knew that she wasn't relationship material, but something about the ease of conversation with Emma was starting to give her the same itch she thought she'd scratched years ago. But then Rowan had shown up and reminded Jade of who she really was and the new life she was building.

  "I'll leave you to it," Jason said from her right side, breaking Jade's thoughts.

  She turned to him and lowered her head in acknowledgment. She knew the drill. All she had to do was put the wolf down before Jason could sedate him.

  When they'd brought this particular shifter in the day before, Rowan had used her magic to force him to shift to his human form. Based on Jason's report, the man had woken up, freaked out, and shifted.

  Jade and her team often captured rogue wolves, then held them in a warehouse facility away from town, until they shifted back and came to their senses. After that, they'd take them back to their clan for punishment, or Jason would arrest the shifters.

  The latter only happened when the criminal behavior had a clear intent, as was the case with the teenage Shadowtop wolves who stood on a road scaring humans in their wolf forms.

  This particular wolf was a Darksong. It appeared he was struggling with holding on to his human form. The Darksong had taken to mating their troubled shifters as this helped to resolve the matter, but it appeared this particular wolf was still on the waiting list.

  Jade growled low and menacing. She needed this fight to end quickly so that she could return to Emma and try to help the younger woman puzzle through what she was probably witnessing at that moment. Then there was the evidence that Emma was running away from something or someone and hiding it.

  Jade mentally sighed. She had vowed over a decade ago to keep to herself. The main reason for that is that Jade didn't want to harm anyone or be responsible for any harm that came their way. Even now, she could feel her bear's anger seething under the surface as the wolf lowered his head and raised his hide, ready to pounce.

  Jade rose on her hind legs and lifted both paws, making yet another statement of warning to the wolf. A single wolf couldn't defeat a bear. The sheer size and strength difference negated that. With the way Jade was feeling, she needed this fight to end quick, lest she make a rash decision and kill him, bringing heat and trouble onto Jason and the operation they ran together.

  With a loud thump, Jade dropped her front paws back onto the ground and bared her teeth. This was her final warning. After that, she couldn't be held responsible for what happened.

  The wolf took a step back, before starting to meander to the side. Jade quickly mimicked the movement. She knew what he was up to. Her sheer size in bear form meant that she couldn't turn quickly. If the wolf managed to work his way behind her, then the tide of the fight would change.
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  The dance between Jade and the wolf continued for another thirty seconds until the wolf grew impatient. He bared his fangs, then darted his eyes to the left before charging.

  Wrong move, buddy. Jade thought. I've fought enough of your brothers to know your signature feint.

  Jade quickly ran left, and with less than a second to spare, she swiped a massive paw into the wolf's side, before pinning him to the ground. The wolf struggled beneath her, howling in pain. He started to buck wildly, and then he kicked Jade in the gut.

  A fresh wave of fury crashed through Jade, and she opened her jaws and roared fiercely at the wolf. How dare he take a chump shot when he'd been defeated? Jade lifted her right paw ready to strike when Jason ran toward them from the warehouse.

  "I have the sedative," he yelled. "Don't hit him again."

  Jason's worried tone cut through Jade's anger charged haze. She lowered her paw and held the wolf down while Jason injected him. In a matter of seconds, the wolf passed out. Jason then placed a hand on the wolf, and a brown light streamed over his body.

  Jason, a hawk shifter, had powerful magic. Not as much as a dragon shifter like Rowan, but a comparable amount. While he couldn't take down a wolf shifter in his hawk form, he could take to the skies and do a great job of canvassing the area. Another thing Jason was great at was using his magic to get a shifter's natural magic to recede.

  Jade watched him do just that. A minute later, a naked man lay in place of the wolf. Jade gently lifted herself off him and let Jason carry him away, before initiating her own shift. As soon as she was back in human form, she wobbled to her discarded clothes.

  Jade, like many other shifters, experienced a bodily weakness after a shift. But she was dealing with more than just physical weakness at that moment. Her mind was going a thousand miles a minute as she thought of how close she'd come to killing that wolf.

  "What is wrong with me?" she muttered to herself.

  A slight chill ran down her back, and her stomach quivered as she replayed that moment over in her mind. She was completely ready to strike the wolf with all her force, and for a split second, a sensation of pleasure had coursed through her.