“Neve.” He took a step closer to her, but after what she’d just seen, she had to resist the urge to move away from him. “I’d never do anything to hurt you,” he said, in a startlingly tender tone. “Just tell me, please?” She bit her lip and tried to stop herself from trembling.
“I showed them a photo of the Broken Hill wrestlers, and they identified two members as the guys who came to the clubhouse and had some ‘internet technology’ done for them,” she said. Braxton’s eyes widened in horror.
“Which ones?” She pointed them out.
“Gregor and Dimitri. No. No. I can’t believe it.” His hand raked through his dark hair. “No!” he bellowed and his bear roared. Unconsciously, she let out a whimper of fear. “They’ve been sabotaging their own clan? But why? Why would they do that?” He stormed around in a tight circle, tugging on his hair the whole time. Neve was struck by how terrifying, yet sexy he looked. Suddenly, he spun on his heel.
“I’m going to speak to them myself,” he said, striding back into the clubhouse. “Neve, please wait out here.”
The door banged, the music stopped and everything became very quiet. Neve stood still, wrapping her arms around herself. She was torn between going in after him to make sure he didn’t do something terrible, and abject fear. She stayed rooted to the spot, staring down at the reddish-brown dust, and was relieved for every second that she she didn’t hear a scream.
At last, Braxton came back out, his face a picture of fury.
“It’s true,” he spat. “Those fucking assholes – my own clan mates – who have been shown nothing but love and care by Xander, his father before him and the rest of the clan, have turned against us!” He slammed the flat of his hand against his forehead and let off a sound of fury mixed with pain. As she stared at him wordlessly, his face got very broad, and his fingernails turned to claws. “Turn your back on me,” he gasped. “And don’t look until I tell you it’s safe.” She did as he told her, although turning her back on a furious, wild man-bear was the last thing her instincts wanted her to do. There was the sound of ripping fabric, then clothing being stripped off fast, then a series of crunches and cracks and a kind of whoosh. And then a snarl ripped through the air. She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream, and forced herself not to run, even though every fiber of her being was telling her to run like hell. There was a quiet snuffling, and suddenly something warm and wet touched the palm of her right hand, followed by what felt like an animal tongue licking back and forth. Don’t look down, she told herself, over and over, forcing her eyes to stay on the clubhouse.
The licking, which actually felt quite pleasant and kind of tickly, stopped, and the cracks and crunches began again. She waited, and at last, Braxton’s voice was saying, “it’s okay now, Neve.” She turned around. He was fastening the top button on his jeans, and his incredible torso was bare. She couldn’t help running her eyes all over it. His shirt was lying in the dirt. As he picked it up, she saw that it was torn to shreds.
“I’m sorry about that. I couldn’t keep my bear in,” he said.
“You just shifted?” she said.
“I tried to stop it but it was too late, so I had to let it all the way out.”
“Did your bear – uh – lick my hand?” He gave a small smile.
“I’m afraid so. It likes you.” She blinked.
“I guess that’s a good thing.” His expression turned serious again.
“I have to go,” he said. “I need to get to those stupid bastards before they do anything worse.” She nodded.
“Those bikers –”
“They’re fine. I didn’t hurt them. I promise you. Where’s your car?”
“I parked it over there. I was worried that it might be dangerous.”
“It could have been. Neve, how did you find me here?” They walked over to his car, he opened the door to the passenger side, and she automatically climbed into the low-slung seat, while he got into the driver seat.
“Lucky guess,” she said with a shrug. “Or I assumed that you’d headed to the address I showed you,” she said.
“But why did you follow me?” His irises showed bright blue, like the color of the sea on a perfect summer day. “Why didn’t you just continue with your journey?”
“Because I couldn’t let you go off thinking that Maximus was the perpetrator, when it seemed more and more likely that he wasn’t.”
“But why do you care?”
“Because I care about the Broken Hill Bears. And, despite everything, I care about you too, Braxton.”
“You do?” She nodded wordlessly.
“I thought you hated me.”
“I’ve got over it. Partially, at least.” A complex interplay of emotions showed in his face. And for a fleeting moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again. She prepared herself for that dizzying sensation of his lips meeting hers.
But nothing happened.
“I should go,” he said, and started up the car. As he drove her over to her own car, she wriggled on the soft leather seat, burning with frustration. He turned off the engine.
“Neve, I want to thank you so much for your help. I’m touched, and stunned, that you came looking for me today. To be honest, I didn’t think a human would –” She wasn’t going to let him finish his sentence. She leaned toward him, grasped his head in both hands, and kissed him hard on the mouth.
For several blissful seconds he responded, his mouth crushing on hers, his tongue parting her lips and seeking out her own. And then he pulled away.
“Neve. I can’t,” he said. She stared at him wide-eyed.
“Wh-what?” she said.
“I can’t. You’re a human. It’s not right.”
“But – why did you kiss me in the hotel?” Her voice was high and tight with emotion.
“I lost control of myself. I was weak. I never should’ve done it, and I regret it.” Her mouth formed a small O.
“You regret it?” she demanded.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I try to help you, you insult me. You ask for my help, and I give it. You kiss me when it suits you. Then when I kiss you back, it’s suddenly not the right thing to do. Because I’m a human. You know what? Fuck you Braxton Quentin. I’m done with you. I don’t regret helping you, because that’s not the kind of person I am. But I don’t want to speak to you ever again!” She yanked her purse open and rummaged in it, before pulling out his phone. “Here’s your phone.” She dumped it on his lap, before climbing out of the car and slamming the door shut behind her.
Back in her own car, she pulled away fast, tires screeching, and drove aimlessly, trying to get as far away from him as she could. She hadn’t even meant to kiss him. It had just happened in the heat of the moment, but she never would’ve tried it if he hadn’t kissed her first. And if he hadn’t been looking at her with all that intensity and hunger. She bit down hard on her lower lip, aware that she wasn’t far from tears.
11
Braxton also drove fast, cursing loudly. He felt like his head was too full. His main priority was getting back to the clan and telling his Alpha about Gregor and Dimitri’s disloyalty. But his thoughts were all caught up with Neve. He liked her. A lot. That kiss, in the hotel that morning, had been the best of his entire life. Her mouth, her body, had set him on fire. But it was more than that. Yes, she was as sexy as hell, but he also had feelings for her. He wanted to protect her, to hang out with her, to hear all of her stories. To find out her likes and dislikes. To do things to make her happy. He shook his head hard. What the hell’s wrong with me? “She’s a human for christsakes,” he growled. But she’s a human with a hell of a lot of balls, who dared to walk into the bikers’ clubhouse – which a lot of tough human men wouldn’t have done – just to help me. To stop me from coming to the wrong conclusion and hurting one of my clan mates. He wished so much that things were different. That she was a bear shifter, ideally. Or even a big cat. Hell, even a rat shifter. A rat shifter whose
family had lost the ability to shift. He wouldn’t care what species she was, just as long as she wasn’t human. He couldn’t accept being with a human, he just couldn’t. He imagined going to the memorial he had created for his parents out of a carved stone, hidden deep in the woods where he grew up, and telling them that he was mated with a human. The thought turned his stomach.
In twenty minutes he was home. The Blackhearts’ clubhouse was practically on the doorstep of Broken Hill – a fact of which Neve had been blissfully unaware. “Those fucking dumbasses,” he muttered as he pulled into the single narrow road that led to Broken Hill territory. Not only were they stupid enough to dream up this plan, but instead of doing it somewhere anonymous, they did it right under the clan’s nose. He parked outside his cabin and picked his phone off his lap, where Neve had tossed it. Something caught at his fingertips. Absently he turned it over. There was a large post-it note attached to the back, the edge caught under one of the seams of the phone cover. That’s weird. He turned it over. And when he read the words scrawled across it, in childish handwriting, his eyebrows shot up halfway to his hairline. It read:
Neve your not leaving me. If you think you can wark out on me like this arfter all these years your rong. I’m coming arfter you!!!
His bear let off a long, low growl and his blood ran cold. Someone’s threatening Neve?
He looked around the two seats of the car and in the foot well. There was nothing else. Just this simplistic, yet threatening note. Is it from her ex-boyfriend? He tried to remember what Neve had said about him. She hadn’t said much actually, but he hadn’t gathered the impression of someone likely to be violent and possessive. His bear let off another growl. How you could be with a woman like that and not be possessive of her, he had no idea. Has she even seen this note? Does she know that she’s in danger? He recalled the way she rummaged in her bag and threw the phone at him. It was possible that the boyfriend, or someone else had slipped it into her bag and she hadn’t seen it yet. He had to warn her. He picked up his phone and dialed. It rang out. He tried again – same thing. He tried a third time. It was switched off.
“Damnit!” he exclaimed. He’d made her hate him so much that she wouldn’t even take his call. Idiot. He drummed his fingertips on the dashboard. What now? He opened his map app. She was headed to Milwaukee. There was only one logical route there. Her car had seen better days, and she wasn’t going anywhere fast. If he left right now, he should be able to catch up with her. But he’d been about to rush to Xander’s place, to tell him about the two traitors. He gripped the steering wheel in agitation, frozen in his dilemma.
And then he started the engine, hit the gas and reversed fast. There was no contest. Neve’s life was in danger, and he owed it to her to protect her.
Braxton was doing 80 by the time he reached the narrow passage that led out of Broken Hill, and 100 by time he joined the highway. He drove skilfully, as he was naturally an adept driver, but his concentration was all on Neve. The thought of something happening to her made his bear roar in pain, and his foot press harder on the gas as he whizzed past one car after another.
It was a little over half an hour before Neve’s heavily loaded car came into view. She was going faster than he’d expected. He wove in and out of a line of cars before pulling right in front of her. He opened the window and waved his hand up and down, and saw her shocked expression in his rearview mirror. But as he watched, shock turned to annoyance. God, she really hates me now, he realized. This is going to be harder than I hoped.
There was a turn off in 10 miles. When it came up, he moved into the outside lane, expecting her to do the same. But to his amazement, she stayed in the middle lane. He was forced to take the turn, but she stayed right on the highway. He let out a groan.
“Remind me why I’m doing this?” he muttered to himself. Because she’s your mate, and she needs protecting, his bear told him again.
Picking up his speed again, he adjusted his satnav to show him the quickest route back onto the highway. He cursed. It wasn’t going to be easy. He was currently taking a diversion deep into mountainous territory.
His bear grumbling in frustration, he hit the gas again, and the fast little car swung around a series of switchbacks. Another half hour passed, and he was once again approaching the highway.
How am I going to find her again? he thought as he joined the sparsely populated road. He did a rapid calculation. She’d been on this road for 30 minutes, and his satnav showed that the stretch he’d missed was 29 miles. If her speed was 70, she should be… just a few minutes ahead, he figured, with a spark of relief. He cruised along, and at the sight of her now-familiar license plate adrenaline coursed through his veins. Turning the wheel sharply, he cut in front of her in the middle lane, and slowed right down, causing her to brake. Then he cut his speed to 60 – 50 – 40. Cars started honking and Neve leaned on her horn. With a grin, he ignored them, watching Neve in the mirror. At last, she jerked her head in angry resignation and pulled onto the shoulder. He followed her and they brought their cars to a stop. She leapt out immediately and stormed over to him, yanking the passenger door open.
“Why are you following me?” she yelled. “I don’t want to have anything to do with you!”
“I’ve got something I need to tell you. Please, just go to the next turn off and we’ll find a place to talk.”
“There’s nothing I need to hear!” she yelled even louder.
“Neve, you’ll want to hear this. Believe me, I wouldn’t have followed you all the way out here if it wasn’t important.” She was silent for a moment, deliberating. At last, she let out a long breath.
“Okay.”
Ten minutes later, they were parked up on the edge of a small town. She got into his car and he handed her the note. She read it, and stifled a laugh.
“God. And you asked why I broke up with this guy?” She looked up at him, the sun threading her eyes with golden light. “It’s an empty threat. Trust me. The only place Kevin is going is to his local weed dealer.” He took a step closer to her.
“Neve, I think you need to take this seriously. Maybe he’d been taking you for granted while you lived together, but I’m sure he knows what he’s losing.” She blinked, as if startled by his words, and he was struck once again by how beautiful she was.
“Why have you come after me anyway?” she demanded, her nose wrinkling adorably.
“Same reason you came after me,” he said, the edge of his lips curving. “I knew you needed help.”
“Well, thank you, I’m really touched that you made the effort. But you didn’t need to. You don’t know Kevin like I do. He’s a very lazy guy. I guarantee he’s lying on the couch right now, playing a video game, and the last thing he’s thinking about is how to get me back.”
Braxton narrowed his eyes. Why is she so goddamn stubborn? And feisty? There was obviously no point reasoning with her.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” he said. It was true. His bear was scrabbling at his insides, urging him on, telling him to protect her. He also knew that there was only one reason why it would get so worked up, but he didn’t want to admit it, least of all to himself.
“Well I don’t,” she said. “All I want to do is get the hell away from guys who mess with my feelings. And you’re making that very difficult!”
He opened his mouth and closed it again. She’d lost her parents, then she’d loved Kevin and he’d let her down. Now he’d led her on and let her down too. Of course she hated him; he was just reinforcing her belief that when she got close to someone, they’d leave or hurt her.
“I’m sorry for hurting your feelings, Neve. For what it’s worth, I think you’re a great human, and the equal of any shifter.” Instead of being placated, she made a scoffing noise.
“But not a shifter. Thanks for your concern, Braxton. But I just want to be alone now, and continue my journey in peace.”
Braxton nodded calmly, as he came to a decision. Neve opened the car door and climbed
out.
“Goodbye, Braxton,” she said.
“Take care, Neve. And please be careful.”
She closed the door, a little too hard, and walked back to her own car.
He let her go, until she was out of sight, and then he started up his car again and began to follow her at a safe distance.
The equal of any shifter. Had he just said that? He had, because it was true. She was as tough and big-hearted as any of the Broken Hill shifters. And his bear was still telling him that she was in danger. He was going to follow her, he’d already decided. All the way to Milwaukee, until she was safely settled into her friend’s apartment. He didn’t know how he knew – it was just a feeling that settled deep in his bones and made his bear pace relentlessly beneath his skin – but something was going to happen to her on this journey. And he wanted to make sure that he was there when it did.
But in the meantime, he needed to call Xander. It was only four days until the next fight. There was no time to waste. As much as he’d wanted to tell him about Gregor and Dimitri in person, it was going to have to be a phone call.
“Braxton.” Xander’s voice sounded tense as it boomed through the car’s speakers, as if he’d been waiting for his call.
“I’ve found the source of our problem. And it’s not great news, so get ready,” he said.
Xander was quiet while he explained everything, telling him how Neve had helped him. And then he let out a roar so furious that even Braxton quaked.
“How could they do this to us? Our own clan?” he thundered.
“They’re Maximus’ closest allies. I guess they thought they were doing him a favor,” Braxton said. He’d been trying, unsuccessfully for the past day to work out what their motives were as well.
“I just can’t take this in. They were all waifs and strays, brought in by my father, and they’ve turned on us. Does loyalty mean nothing anymore?” He paused, muttering to himself furiously. “There’s no way it could be some mistake?”
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