“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“I’ve never had a human say that to me before,” Hunter said, his voice cracking. “I’ve been called all kinds of awful names, and had people try to drive me out of civilized society. I fought in the army to protect this country, and now I’m fighting wildfires to save people and property. In spite of everything good I’ve done, though, so many people can’t seem to see past the fact that I happen to have a bear living inside of me.”
Riley looked over at Hunter in surprise. It seemed strange to hear so much emotion in the voice of such a big, tough man, but Hunter didn’t try to hide his feelings.
“I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with so much crap. People suck sometimes,” Riley said. The words sounded hollow, but she didn’t know what else to say.
“Well, I have to warn you, bear shifters can be judgmental sometimes, too. I’m not sure how my clan is going to react when I show up with a human claiming to have found my lifemate.”
“So, does that mean you want me to come back with you?” Riley asked. She hadn’t been sure what the next step would be, after they finally got out of this barren wasteland that used to be a forest.
Hunter grinned at Riley. “Of course. We’re bonded now. You can’t just walk out of my life like there’s nothing special between us.”
Riley grinned. “I’m looking forward to getting to spend time with you somewhere besides a scorched forest.”
“I am too,” Hunter said. “Although, you have to agree that the river’s not too shabby.”
“Not too shabby at all,” Riley agreed, giving Hunter a wink.
Hunter sat up. “You know what is shabby, though? Eating Spam and Gatorade for dinner again. I can’t wait to eat a real meal with you.”
“Soon enough,” Riley said. “And when we get back to civilization, I’ll even bake you a dessert. Your mind will be blown.”
“My mind’s already been blown,” Hunter said, leaning over to give Riley a kiss. “But I’m not going to say no to dessert. Now come on, let’s go feast on some Spam and Gatorade.
Chapter Eight
The next day, Hunter and Riley woke early again to finish the last leg of their hike out of the forest. After about an hour of hiking, the charred remains of tree trunks started giving way to actual forest. By nine a.m., the trees had become lush and green again, offering a welcome shelter from the hot sun. Just before ten, the pair arrived at the visitor center of the state park, and found a truck waiting to transport them out of the forest. Hunter was greeted as a hero by the driver of the truck, but he tried to brush off the man’s praise as politely as possible. He hadn’t been trying to be a hero when he rescued Riley. He’d only been acting on gut instinct.
Hunter fell silent as the truck pulled out onto the main road. Riley tried to start up a conversation a few times, but after he gave her several one word answers, she fell silent as well. Hunter’s mind was spinning with worry, making it hard to concentrate. He wasn’t sure how welcoming his clan’s reception was going to be when he showed up with a human, claiming she was his lifemate.
Hunter wrestled with his worries for the next two hours, until the truck pulled up to the large hangar that served as home base for the Burning Claws smokejumpers. He groaned when he looked out the window and saw several news vans parked in front of the hangars. Reporters with microphones loitered around the vans, eagerly awaiting the arrival of their own hometown hero. Ian stood leaning against the front entrance of the hangar with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Hunter winced. His alpha was not amused.
“Wow, looks like we’re popular,” Riley said as she gazed out the window of the truck at the reporters. They had realized by now that the truck had arrived and were crowding around the spot where the driver was trying to park.
“Yeah,” Hunter said, furrowing his brow. “Just try to say as little as possible, okay? Ian’s already pissed off that they’re here. This isn’t going to make introducing you to the crew any easier.”
Riley nodded, and Hunter opened the door to the truck quickly, hoping he could get through the crowd of reporters without having to talk too much.
“Hunter! Hunter! Are you glad to be back?”
“Did you think you were doomed to die when you fell off of the helicopter?”
“What did you think when you found out you weren’t alone in the burning forest?”
“Riley, how did you feel when you realized someone was there to save you?
“How did you manage to stay calm when Hunter told you that you’d have to use the fire shelter?”
The questions kept coming, faster and faster. Hunter couldn’t keep up with what he was being asked, let alone formulate any kind of coherent response. He glanced over at Riley and saw her eyes widen. She looked like a deer in headlights.
Hunter hated being in the spotlight, and he wanted to push through the crowd and disappear into the hangar without saying anything. But he knew that giving them no answer at all would only make them more insistent on a chance to interview him, so he held up his hands to try to silence them and have a chance to say something for a moment.
“Thank you all so much for coming to welcome Riley and me back from the forest. To answer your main questions, I think we both realized there was a very real possibility that we might die out there in the fire, but we did our best to remain calm and use the resources we had to get through it. Thankfully, we made it. I appreciate your hailing me as a hero, but, honestly, I was just doing my job. Now, if you all don’t mind, we’d like to go get some rest. We’ve had a very exhausting couple of days, and I’m sure you can all understand that we need time to recuperate.”
Hunter gave the reporters a little wave, and then made his way to the hangar’s entrance, pulling Riley along with him. Ian gave Hunter a pointed scowl as they stepped inside and closed the door against the horde of reporters. The hangar was two stories, and the bottom floor where they now stood had a massive, open space to store an aircraft. This crew didn’t have their own permanent airplane, though, so the space was mostly just empty, although several sewing machines lined the far wall. The rest of the Burning Claws Crew stood just inside the entrance, warily watching the spectacle outside.
“You’re in a pile of shit, Hunter,” Ian said.
Hunter looked meekly up at his alpha. “Boss, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to stir anything up. But I couldn’t just let Riley die out in the fire. I knew she was there, and I had to do something. You would have done the same, if you’d been in my position.”
Ian ignored Hunter’s explanation, and nodded in Riley’s direction. “I’m assuming this is Riley?”
Hunter nodded, and a moment of awkward silence ensued before Riley interrupted it.
“Um, hi, everyone. I’m Riley,” she said.
“Hi, Riley,” Ian said, seeming to remember his manners for just a moment. “Welcome to the Burning Claws base. If you’ll excuse Hunter and me for just a moment, I need to have a conversation with him. Hunter, my office. Zach, you come, too.”
Riley stood unmoving as Ian and Zach headed for the stairs across the room. Hunter had no choice but to follow Ian, but he turned and mouthed ‘sorry’ to Riley as he left. He hoped the rest of the crew would at least attempt to be polite while he was gone. And he hoped that he could convince Ian to accept Riley and forgive him for the trouble he had caused. He wished Ian hadn’t asked Zach to tag along. Zach was second in command of the crew, but he won first place for worst temper of the bunch. And right now, Zach’s temper was flaring uncontrollably. As soon as the door to Ian’s office closed behind them, Zach launched into an angry tirade.
“What the hell were you thinking, Hunter? Why’d you bring her back here? Doesn’t she have her own home to go to? We don’t need another human around here, poking at all of our secrets!”
Hunter remained silent, trying to steady his breathing and remain calm. He hated confrontations with his crew, and he just wanted to get this verbal beating over with
.
“Hunter, does she know that we’re shifters?” Ian asked, his voice much calmer than Zach’s although it was still laced with annoyance.
Hunter nodded, staring at the floor the whole time.
“Goddamnit, Hunter,” Zach shouted. “Are you ever going to learn that revealing our shifter status to humans is not a good idea?”
Hunter sighed. Before the Burning Claws Crew had taken the assignment as a smokejumping crew, they had worked on a ground crew with several other firefighters. Human firefighters. Hunter had accidentally let one of the human crew members see him shift, which had forced his clan to leave their jobs on the ground crew. Most of the crew had forgiven him for his mistake by now. After all, it had been a mistake, even if it was a careless one. And things had worked out pretty well for the clan in the end. The new gig as smokejumpers was prestigious and exciting. But Zach seemed unable to let Hunter’s blunder go, and he took any opportunity available to remind Hunter of how upset he was about it.
“She’s my lifemate,” Hunter said quietly. “I mated with her, and I had to tell her who I really was. But she was very accepting of me. She’ll keep our secret.”
“You mated with her?” Zach said, his voice rising even more. “Well that’s great. Just great. In case you haven’t noticed, smokejumping is our job, not a chance to frolic around and find pretty little things to mate with.”
Ian sighed. “I had a feeling this was going to happen. A bear can’t really go against his instincts, and your instincts were clearly driving you to rescue her and mate with her. So I don’t blame you for mating with her. If she is your lifemate, and she’s willing to protect our secret, then we have to be accepting of her. I don’t like the idea of another human hanging around here, though.”
“Neither do I,” Zach interjected loudly.
Hunter did his best not to roll his eyes at Zach. Instead, he looked bravely up at Ian and addressed his alpha with as much confidence as he could. “Ian, you know me. You know I like for things to be peaceful, and for everyone to get along. And I’m sorry for the trouble I caused by dropping off the helicopter and rescuing Riley. But, it’s like you said—my instincts took over. I had to save her. And then when I knew she was my lifemate, the drive to bond with her became so strong. She’s a good human, Ian. She loves me, and she won’t tell anyone that we’re shifters. You know as well as I do that humans can make loyal mates for bears.”
Ian nodded thoughtfully. Ian had taken a human lifemate when he bonded with Charlotte, so he understood that a human could make a good lifemate for a bear.
“I’m not happy that you jumped off that helicopter, and I’m not happy about the media circus we’ve got going on here now,” Ian said. “But I can’t exactly fault you for saving someone’s life. And if Riley is accepting of shifters, and you’ve bonded with her, she’s welcome to stay here with the crew.”
A grateful smile spread across Hunter’s face. “Thank you, Boss!” he said.
Zach didn’t share Hunter’s happiness. “Ian, this is nuts. We can’t add another human to the crew. You’re setting a bad precedent. Pretty soon the place is going to be overrun by humans just waiting for an opportunity to expose us as shifters.”
Ian gave Zach a sharp look. “Do you think Charlotte is going to expose us?”
“Well, no, but, we don’t know Riley at all. It’s different,” Zach protested.
“We didn’t know Charlotte at all at first, either, and she’s been an amazing addition to the crew. Hunter’s a good bear, and I trust his judgment. If he thinks Riley will be loyal, let’s give her a chance,” Ian said. His tone left no doubt that the discussion was ending. Ian gave Zach a lot of leeway, since Zach was second in command and Ian’s best friend. But Ian didn’t shy away from putting Zach in his place when necessary.
“Hunter, you’re dismissed. Find Riley a spot in the bunkhouse, if she wants to stay. I’m assuming she also has a home somewhere around here, but she’s welcome to stay in the bunkhouse as long as she wants. And don’t talk to the media at all, okay?”
Hunter nodded and stood to leave, doing his best to ignore the scowl that was still plastered on Zach’s face. “Thank you, Ian,” he said, reaching for the doorknob. He wanted to get back to Riley as soon as possible. Who knew what kind of shenanigans the other crew members were playing on her.
To his relief, when he got back to the first floor of the hanger, Riley was sitting at one of the sewing machines with Charlotte and Luke both leaning over her shoulders. Everyone on the crew was experienced with sewing, since they all repaired their own jumpsuits and parachutes. Charlotte knew what it felt like to be a human thrown into a group of bears, and she was going out of her way to make Riley feel more comfortable.
Riley looked up as Hunter walked toward her, and gave him a sheepish grin. “These two are trying to show me how to use a sewing machine,” she said. “But I’m terrified of the needle. I don’t think a career in sewing is in my future.”
“What do you do for work?” Luke asked.
“Um, well I was a baker,” Riley said, her face falling a little. “But then I got laid off from my job, so I don’t really know what I am anymore.”
Charlotte frowned. “Why do you have to have a job to be a baker? Open your own shop or something.”
“Yes!” Hunter said. “That’s what I keep trying to tell her, but she has a million excuses for why she can’t.”
“Valid excuses,” Riley said, giving Hunter a pointed look.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Hunter said, crossing his arms. But when Riley gave him another look saying he was about to be in trouble, he decided to back off. “Well, anyway, I came to tell you that Ian said you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like. I can show you the bunkhouse and showers, if you want. I’m sure you’d be interested in taking a real shower.”
Riley’s face brightened. “I’m dying to take a real shower,” she said. “Please, lead the way.”
Hunter took her hand and started heading toward the bunkhouse, but he didn’t miss the raised eyebrow Luke gave him as he walked off. He knew his friend would be wanting details on what Hunter’s long term plans were for the dark-haired beauty he had rescued from the fire.
Chapter Nine
Riley closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as the steaming hot water streamed against her back. Charlotte had loaned her some vanilla scented body wash, and the tiny shower stall felt and smelled like heaven right now.
Hunter had been so excited to tell her that his alpha had given her permission to stay at the Burning Claws’ base for as long as she wanted. Riley got the impression that she was supposed to be excited about this, and treat it as a great honor, but to her it just seemed like the nice thing for a boss to do. After all, the bunkhouse was huge, and there were only six other people living here besides her.
She wasn’t sure how long she was going to stay here, anyway. She loved Hunter, and he kept referring to her as his lifemate. But did that mean he wanted to get married? Or was it enough that they had ‘bonded’ as he said? All of this bear lingo was confusing her.
Riley squeezed some shampoo onto her hands and started lathering up her long dark hair. The river had been a nice way to get the dirt and ashes out of her hair while they were in the forest, but she was ready for her hair not to smell like river water anymore. Charlotte’s shampoo, like her body wash, smelled like vanilla. Riley took a deep breath to savor the scent. She was glad that the crew had at least one woman around, since the shampoo that Hunter had originally offered Riley had smelled like aftershave. Riley very much preferred vanilla.
Riley closed her eyes again as she let the hot water run through her hair, rinsing out the shampoo suds and gently massaging her scalp. Her heart felt heavy as she tried to figure out what to do about her current situation. Her apartment was a three hour drive from here. She didn’t want to live that far from Hunter, but she couldn’t just sit around all day without a job to do. Hunter had mentioned that a decent-sized
town was about a fifteen minute drive from the base. Maybe there was a bakery in that town where she could work. Surely, she could find something. Then she could stay here and work in that town. Or, at least, get a little apartment that was a fifteen minute drive away. She didn’t want to overstay her welcome at base if some of the crew didn’t want her here. The large, burly man named Zach had made his displeasure at her presence painfully obvious.
Riley stepped out of the shower and toweled off, formulating a plan in her head. She would get dressed in the shorts and t-shirt Charlotte had loaned her—luckily, the two women were almost the same size, although Riley was taller. Then she would borrow a credit card from Hunter and head to town to get some essentials like clothes and toiletries of her own. She’d lost her wallet and phone in the fire, so she’d have to figure out a way to replace her own bank cards, but she didn’t think Hunter would mind loaning her a credit card if she promised to pay him back as soon as she had access to her bank account again. While she was in town picking up supplies, she would scout around to see what kind of restaurants or bakeries might be hiring.
Riley quickly got dressed, and, with a new spring in her step, went to find Hunter. He was in the hangar, inspecting his parachute and looking relieved.
“Hey you,” he said as she approached. “It looks like my parachute is going to be okay. Just a few spots where I need to do some repairs, and a pretty heavy smoke smell. But otherwise it seems to have survived the heat.”
“That’s great,” Riley said, looking at the blue and white fabric spread out across the hangar floor. “I still can’t believe you jump out of planes.”
Hunter shrugged. “Some days, I can’t either. It feels a little surreal when you’re up there doing it. But it’s actually kind of fun. How was your shower?”
“Amazing! And now I want to go shopping, so I came to see if can borrow your car and your credit card.”
Fire Bear Shifters: The Complete Series Page 15