Hunt (The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles Book 1)

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “I don’t, but I can’t say I care unless you don’t heed my warning.”

  “Heed your warning?” It was my warning that he needed to concern himself with.

  “Stay away from the girl. She isn’t yours, nor will she ever be.”

  “Who are you to decide who Mara should be with?” She’d be with me. There was no question about that. It was where she belonged.

  “You really don’t know, do you?” He stepped toward me.

  “You keep saying that, but you’re the one who doesn’t understand the situation.”

  He took off his suit jacket. “I understand the situation completely. Be glad I’m not killing you right now. The girl was promised to someone else long ago.”

  “Killing me?” I stiffened. “Is that how you want to play this?”

  “I’m not playing anything, bear. I could do it in the blink of an eye, but we may need you later.”

  “Who the hell are you?” There were few people who would ever talk to me that way, and he would regret it.

  “Your worst nightmare.” In a flash giant black feathery wings ripped through his shirt. “Until we meet again, bear.” He grinned before taking off into the night sky.

  I watched him fly away into the night, in shock that one of his kind had entered Crestview.

  27

  Mara

  I sat on the edge of Ian’s couch. I couldn’t allow myself to get comfortable because that might mean I’d stay, and staying was out of the question. I needed to get back to my truck and out of this crazy town. Now that I was away from the guy in the suit I felt more confident. All I needed to do was wait until everyone was distracted and then I could disappear and hope this mess would blow over.

  Lauren had run off with the promise she’d return, and now I was stuck sitting with two of Ian’s brothers: Noah and Jasper. I wasn’t sure which one intimidated me more.

  It was strange. Ian was bigger than either of them, but they scared me in a way he didn’t. Sure, they were attractive. They each had the tall, dark, and handsome thing working for them just like Ian, but whereas the sight of Ian thrilled me, the sight of these guys made me feel like a small rabbit running from a fox.

  “Do you want anything to eat?” Jasper asked.

  “No thanks.” Eating was the last thing on my mind.

  “He’ll be here soon.” Noah rose from his seat on a chair across from me. “I’m surprised he’s not here already.”

  “That’s fine. I just have to decide what I’m going to do tonight.”

  “What do you mean?” Noah ran a hand through his brown hair.

  “I’m not sure if I should go home.” I looked down at my hands.

  “Of course you’re not going home.” Noah’s harsh tone got my attention. “It’s not safe.”

  “But we don’t even know who these guys are to know if it’s safe or not.” We didn’t know much of anything, which made the situation worse.

  “We know enough.” Jasper pulled out his phone, glanced at it, and then pocketed it again. “Tyler is coming.”

  “Great,” I mumbled.

  Jasper laughed. “That much of a fan of his?”

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that.” He was no worse than the others, but I didn’t need a third babysitter.

  “Sure you did.” Noah took his seat again. “You meant something.”

  “I’m a bit overwhelmed, ok?” I wanted to be left alone, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

  “Are you afraid of us?” Noah leaned forward slightly.

  “No.” I wasn’t about to admit the truth to them. It would only make me appear more vulnerable, and what I wanted to be was strong. “Why would I be?”

  “You seem uptight. You should feel safe.”

  “You are the one who just pointed out my home wasn’t safe.”

  “Safe with us. We should make you comfortable, not the opposite.” Noah and Jasper exchanged glances.

  “Why?” I asked. “No offense, but you’re giant men I don’t know. What part of you would make me feel safe?”

  The two brothers exchanged looks again.

  “What?” I hated feeling out of the loop. It brought me back to the middle-school mentality of always feeling like you missed some huge party everyone else was invited to.

  “But you feel safe with Ian, don’t you?” Jasper removed his cowboy hat and spun it around on his hand.

  “I know him better.” I felt like I’d known Ian for months, or at least weeks. It was hard to believe it had only been two days.

  “He’ll be here soon.” Noah stood again.

  “You already told me that.”

  “And you’re sure you’re not hungry?” Jasper looked out the front window.

  “Not at all.” I leaned back against the couch.

  “Thirsty?” he pressed.

  “Nope. I’m fine.” I let out a slow breath.

  “When’s the last time you drank water?” Jasper sat down beside me.

  “Why would that matter?” I scooted away from him a tiny bit. He’d left a socially appropriate amount of space, but I wanted more.

  “Dehydration is dangerous.” Noah walked over to where I sat.

  “You’re a police officer and you are concerned about my hydration?” Were they kidding me? Nothing about these guys matched their outer bad boy cowboy exterior. At least not the side they showed me.

  “If you’re tired, I’m sure Ian wouldn’t mind if you napped in his room.” Noah pointed down the hallway.

  “I don’t need to nap.” They were crazy if they thought I could fall asleep with everything going on. “Do you think Lauren is coming back soon?”

  The two looked at each other. “Probably not.”

  “Um, why not?” I froze. That wasn’t the answer I’d been expecting.

  “Because she had to deliver a message somewhere far off.”

  “Then why did she tell me she’d be right back?” My heart rate accelerated. What was going on? Had I been wrong to trust Lauren? Had she ditched me?

  “Because she didn’t want to worry you.” Jasper put his hand between us on the couch.

  “Worry me?” I jumped to my feet. “Yes, knowing I was being abandoned with a bunch of random guys would worry me just a bit.”

  “We’re not random guys.” Jasper stood.

  “To me you are.” I put my face in my hands. What kind of mess did I get myself in now?

  “We’re Ian’s brothers.” Jasper patted my arm.

  I forced myself not to wrench my arm away. He was trying to be nice. “And you say that like it changes anything. I barely know Ian.” Yet I’d been ready to have sex with him in the woods. I really needed to get out of Crestview.

  The door burst open and my chest nearly beat out of my chest. Tyler walked through the doorway. “Sorry I’m late for the party.”

  I was hit by disappointment. I wanted it to be Ian. The disappointment and my annoyance were too much. I stormed past all three guys out of the house.

  “You need to wait inside.” Noah followed me out.

  “No thank you.” I continued out until I reached a fence.

  “It’s safer in there,” Tyler called behind me.

  “I’m fine out here.”

  “So it’s not just me?” Tyler met me by the fence. “Good.”

  “Nope, she’s afraid of all of us.” Noah came to stand on my other side.

  I spun around and came face to face with Jasper. They had me surrounded. “Why wouldn’t I be afraid? What kind of girl wouldn’t be?”

  “She’s not afraid of Ian.” Tyler appeared less perturbed than his brothers at my discomfort. “She’s different with him.”

  “He’s lucky.” Noah tugged on the collar of his shirt.

  “You are all crazy.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “This place is crazy.”

  “It’s okay.” Tyler’s voice came from right by my ear, and I jumped. “Everything is going to be okay. Ian is going to be back—”

  �
��Don’t even say it. I get that Ian is going to be back soon, but that doesn’t change anything. You can stop saying it.”

  Tyler shrugged. “Ok. I thought you would want to see him.”

  “I do want to see him.” I groaned. “I want to see him so I can get some questions answered.”

  “Are you hungry? Thirsty?” Tyler asked.

  “Ugh!” I hurried back inside the house and slammed the door.

  I sat back in my spot on the couch hoping Ian’s brothers would take the less than subtle hint and leave me alone.

  They did. I heard mumbled voices from outside, but the door remained closed. I let out a sigh of relief. At least I could relax a little if I was alone.

  I stood up and paced around the room. I stared at the clock in the kitchen. Forty-five minutes had passed already. Where the heck was Ian? I was almost ready to find one of his brothers to inquire when the door opened slowly.

  I prepared myself for whatever brother it was, but relief flooded me when I realized it was Ian. A completely disheveled Ian wearing absolutely no clothing. He had only a cowboy hat covering his lower region.

  He smiled when he saw me. “You’re a nice sight to come home to.”

  “What happened to you?” I gestured to his naked form.

  “It’s a long story.”

  “A long story about being naked?”

  “It’s not what you think.” He changed which hand was holding the hat.

  I didn’t want to have noticed the hand change, but my eyes kept going down that way on their own accord. “What would I think?”

  “I wasn’t with a girl or anything like that.”

  “Yes, because my biggest concern right now is whether you were fucking a girl.”

  Ian’s eyes widened. “I didn’t think you cursed.” He walked toward me.

  “Well I’m angry, and tired, and—”

  He cut off my next statement by connecting his lips with mine. The kiss was hard and demanding, and before I knew it I was opening up to him. His arms wrapped around me, and I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, forgetting he was naked and still hadn’t explained his lack of clothes.

  He continued the kiss, exploring every corner of my mouth while holding me flush against him. The hat had fallen away, and I could feel the evidence of his arousal. I liked it. I liked the feeling of having him pressed against me.

  He broke the kiss, but held me close. He ran his lips over my ear. “The only girl I want is you.”

  I moaned, loving the feel of his lips on me. I wanted them everywhere. I wanted them to erase the fear and panic welling through me. But I snapped myself out of it. “So why are you naked?”

  “Because I got dirty.”

  “And how did that happen?” I tried to force my eyes to stay at eye level. I didn’t need to see him naked again.

  “I went through some mud on my way home.”

  “And instead of staying in your muddy clothes you stripped naked?”

  I allowed myself to look down. I’d been right about the arousal. I quickly looked up again and found him grinning.

  “No grinning. You still haven’t explained yourself.”

  “Yes I did. I got muddy and didn’t want to get mud in the house.”

  “You care that much about keeping your house clean?” I narrowed my eyes.

  “Does my home look dirty to you?”

  I glanced around. “Not at all.”

  “Exactly.”

  “You can go get dressed.”

  He shrugged. “I could, but I figured you’d want to know about that guy first.”

  “I can’t think straight at the moment.”

  He seemed to mull over my words and then smiled. “Am I bringing back memories or is it that you want to make new ones?”

  “Neither.” I tried to hold myself together. It was completely normal to be talking to a naked guy in his house. Right? “You should shower.” He needed it, and I needed space. That kiss had been intense, just like all the others, and it shouldn’t have been. I shouldn’t have been making out with a naked Ian with everything else going on.

  “Are you going to join me?” His eyes twinkled.

  “I don’t need one.” I ignored the fact that my own jeans were dirty from the run through the woods.

  “Is that the only thing stopping you?”

  A thrill ran through me. A thrill I shouldn’t have felt. “I’m not showering with you.”

  “Yet.” He walked off, dropping his shirt in the process.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I called after.

  He turned around. “You know exactly what that means.”

  28

  Ian

  Mara wasn’t the only one who couldn’t think straight. My world had been turned upside down, yet all I could think about was getting her into my bed. I needed her. My body ached for her touch, and I wasn’t going to be able to make it much longer.

  I took yet another cold shower. I wasn’t going to be switching back to hot ones until she was joining me in the water. Then I could enjoy the way the hot water felt on both of our bodies.

  She’d wanted to join me. I saw it in her eyes, but she was holding back because she thought she should and because she was scared. She was playing it tough, but the situation had rocked her.

  I finished my shower and toweled off. I stepped into a pair of jeans but didn’t bother with a shirt.

  Mara would have to learn to get used to seeing me that way. Clothes in general felt unnatural to me; she was lucky I was even wearing pants.

  I found her standing in my kitchen drinking a glass of water. She was staring out the small window seemingly lost in thought.

  “I can get you something stronger to drink.”

  She jumped and spun around. “You scared me.”

  “Sorry.”

  “You’re not sorry.” She rolled her shoulder.

  “What makes you say that?” I walked toward her.

  “Your eyes.”

  “What are my eyes saying?”

  “You’re amused.”

  “I like seeing you in my kitchen.” I stepped closer. “In my house.”

  “I’m ready to hear the story now. What was up with that guy?”

  “You like to change the subject.”

  “That guy is the reason I’m here.”

  I stepped closer, backing her up against the kitchen island. "You are safe here."

  "Safe? You guys keep saying that like it fixes everything."

  I reached out and ran a hand down her cheek. “It fixes a lot. It gives us time to figure out what’s going on.”

  “I thought you knew what was going on.” She put a hand in the pocket of her jeans.

  “I know this is bigger than I thought, and that you need to stay close.”

  “The staying close thing is only for my safety?” She moistened her lips.

  “No.” I cupped her chin. “It’s also because close is where I want you to be.”

  She met my eyes. “I should hate you. I should be pushing you away and leaving this town.”

  “But you’re not.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?” I slipped my free hand underneath her t-shirt, running my hand over the warm skin of her stomach.

  “Because it might not be safe.”

  “Is that really the only reason?” I gently ran my lips over her ear. “Is that the only reason you’re not pushing me away?”

  “No.” Her body relaxed. “It’s because despite all this craziness, I want you. I’ve officially lost my mind.”

  I met her eyes. “You haven’t lost your mind.”

  “Yes I have.”

  “No you haven’t.” I brushed my lips against hers. “You found me.”

  “Stop.” She crossed her arms. “None of that until you tell me what you found out.”

  I pulled my lips back slightly. “As I said, it’s bigger than I thought.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything to me.”

  “H
e was trying to take you away and give you to someone.”

  “Um, no one can give me to anyone.”

  “Of course not.” I pulled her against me. “You’re safe.”

  “Why does he want me? It makes no sense.”

  “My guess is Connor has the answers.”

  "I wish Connor would pick up his phone," she grumbled.

  “We’re tracking him down.”

  “How?” She looped a finger through my belt loop, and I wondered if she even knew she was doing it.

  “We have ways.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “Yes it is.” I moved my hand a few inches up her shirt.

  "Who are you?"

  "Ian."

  "No." She sighed. "Who are you really?"

  "Ian Grizzly."

  "I need to know who you are. I saw you back there. That wasn't just a friendly guy..."

  "I'm not ‘just a friendly guy’ when it comes to you. I thought our time in the woods made that loud and clear." I pulled her body flush against mine. “I will always protect you."

  "Why? Is this a hero thing?"

  "No.” I shook my head. “This is a ‘you mean everything to me’ thing."

  "That should freak me out. We barely know each other." She shivered.

  "But it doesn't?"

  “No. Not at all.” She looked away. “And I can’t believe I just admitted that.”

  "Maybe your feelings should tell you something.”

  "They do. I’m crazy.”

  “We’ve been over this.” I slipped my hand up slightly higher. “You’re not crazy.”

  “Then explain it.” She pushed my hand away. “Why can I only picture you when I close my eyes? Why don’t I want anyone else?”

  “I’d rather show you.”

  “Show me?”

  “Uh huh.” I ran my lips down her neck.

  “It’s not going to work out.”

  “What isn’t?” I removed my lips.

  “This. Us.”

  “Of course it is.” I stared into her eyes. “We’re meant to be, so we will be.” There was so much more to explain. I could tell her how technically she could be with one of my brothers instead, but I was Alpha. I had the first choice to claim her, and that was exactly what I planned to do.