by Anya Nowlan
Adrenaline pumped in his veins, his vision becoming clearer and all his senses in full battle mode. It was all about that moment, that one incident in the woods that could make or break his future. He’d gone through too much to lose it all just because of his own carefulness now – he’d have to give the bear full control, relinquish command and just trust his wilder side. His frantic thoughts drifted out of his mind, and nothing could distract him from the immediate goal – to win the fight. Drake was forced to back up step by step. Even if he managed to land a blow or make Julian falter, Julian would only come back stronger. Their coats were matted with blood, turning darker from the wounds. Julian felt more alive than he had ever before, except for the night he had spent with Susie, and everything became clear to him. He was exactly where he was supposed to be, just who he was supposed to be. This was his kingdom and no Kodiak scum was allowed to take it or his woman from him.
With terrifying speed, Julian’s jaws locked around Drake’s neck, and he held on tight. The other bear thrashed in Julian’s grip, but the blows Drake kept landing on his chest and sides meant nothing to him now. He blocked out the pain and soon, he felt Drake’s body becoming limp in his grip.
“Julian! Don’t kill him!” Susie cried out, running towards them. The blur of vengeance cleared from his vision, and Julian let Drake go, the bear falling into a limp pile before him. Julian stood silently for a second, looking at Drake and then to Susie. She was standing right next to him. The bear let go of him. He shifted back and so did Drake, the bear losing control as his consciousness was taken. Julian stared at the broken man in front of him, all bruises and cuts, and kneeled down instinctively. He felt for a pulse. When he found it, he exhaled deeply. He was breathing shallowly, but he was still breathing.
“He’s alive,” Julian said flatly. Susie knelt down next to him, her delicate hands checking his own cuts. There were a few deep ones, and he knew they were going to hurt like hell for a while, but he’d be fine. She squeezed his arm, her green eyes full of worry. Her touch drove the darkness that threatened to loom over him, bringing him back to reality. She had become his anchor and he was more than grateful for it.
“I couldn’t let him hurt you,” Julian said, his bright blue eyes steely with resolve. She nodded, obviously as shaken as he was.
“Thank you, Julian. I can’t imagine what you must be going through right now.” Susie leant in and quickly pecked him on the cheek, before her gaze went back to Drake. “We need to get him to a doctor. I don’t think this is something a werebear can just heal through on his own.” He knew she wanted to say more, but it was not the time.
“You’re right.” Even if Drake would gladly have left Julian dying on the ground if their roles were reversed, Julian was not that kind of man, not that kind of bear.
There’s plenty of time to think about this later. I… we will deal with this later. With Susie. Julian scooped Drake into his arms, throwing him into a fireman’s hold as gently as he could. He had to thank his enraged werebear for filling him to the brim with adrenaline; otherwise he would have crumpled like a wet tissue right along with Drake.
“Let’s go,” he said through gritted teeth. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do when he saw Jackson.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“When all this is over, we’re going to have to take a long vacation. How about Maui? Or New Zealand? I’ll even do France if you really wrangle me into it, but I hate the cuisine. Nothing worse than overpriced, dry coq au vin.” Julian had started bantering about random things about halfway to the car. Susie had thought it best to just humor him and go along with it. She could see the way he was grinding his teeth together, and every step he took with the heavy load on his shoulders had to be torture. Susie walked a few steps in front of Julian, trying to find the best path as they made their way back. She figured the less effort he had to put into thinking about where to step and how to get where he was going, the better.
Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and she had long given up on trying to find the normalcy in her situation. Nothing was normal. Two werebears had almost killed each other because of her, and she didn’t really know what to do with it. Her heart felt like someone had tied a rope around it and kept pulling in two directions, making her chest tighten and ache. The night with Julian had been amazing. More than amazing, it had been perfection. He’d given her everything she’d dreamed of in one night of pure passion and made her body feel alive in the way she had always dreamed of but never expected to really happen. And, of course, then there was the fact that he was Julian Arder – not only the most sought-after man in the world, but also the only man who could read her like a book and touch the deepest parts of her. All the love she had felt for him and repressed since he had disappeared came flooding back to her in a tidal wave that threatened to consume her.
Is it too much? Too fast? she asked herself, pushing a heavy branch out of the way. But it’s Julian… How could it not be right?
“I hear New Zealand’s nice,” she said carefully, spotting a splash of color in the distance. They were almost to the cars, and Susie knew she could only breathe easier when they could get Drake some medical attention and probably Julian looked at as well. A thought kept hammering at her head, trying to make her pay more attention to it, but she kept brushing it aside. The way Drake had spoken about her ‘snooping around’ earlier had really struck a chord. Her mind’s eye kept wandering back to her paperwork from earlier, and slowly the pieces started falling into place. She’d known things weren’t really clean and that there was something amiss with the reports she had got lately. Now she was growing more and more certain that it was Ryder who was behind it all.
Ryder Hunt, you’re going to end up regretting all of this…
Her stomach dropped when she saw another car stalled on the road, right next to hers and facing the opposite direction of Julian’s. She could recognize it right away – the big, black, shiny truck that Ryder had been driving when he had come to the diner. Susie glanced over her shoulder, quietly assessing their situation. Julian was in no condition to throw himself into another fight, though she was more than certain that he would if he had to. They had nowhere to run either. If Ryder hadn’t caught their scent already, he would in a moment.
“Is that…?”
“Ryder, yeah. Just keep your calm, okay? Let me try and handle him.” Susie said, giving Julian a stern look. The billionaire bear was used to always calling the shots, but Susie knew how things worked in the mountains a bit better than he did those days. If they played it wrong, they could both end up in a lot of trouble, and Susie doubted that Ryder would appreciate Julian’s snappy humor when one of his men was brought to him mauled and desperately clinging to life.
Susie, Julian and the limp body of Drake made it up the small embankment to the road. Ryder was leaning on the front of his car, his arms crossed and his blue eyes twinkling with satisfaction. Troy, one of his lieutenants and a part of the trio who had attacked Jackson, stood by his side. Susie could see a shadow fall over Ryder’s cheery expression as he recognized the body of Drake on Julian’s shoulder, but he didn’t let the surprise waver his smirk.
Putting up appearances. Men, Susie scoffed under her breath. She had had just about enough of big bear egos for the day, and it wasn’t even 10 AM yet.
“I see you’ve gone for a bit of a hike, Susie. And you’ve brought the run along. Want to tell me about it?” Ryder asked, his tone dropping with malice. Julian had stopped next to Susie, and the two Alphas shared a look between them. Susie had seen it before, and she knew that it was never safe to get between two Alphas at war. She was almost thankful that Julian was too tired to be scathing at the moment. Ryder took no time before going straight for the most painful wounds, and Susie would just have to hope that Julian wouldn’t bite back.
“We did, yup. Found one of your dogs near the mountains. We figured you’d want him back,” Susie said, hitching a thumb at Drake.
She exhaled
deeply, feeling a shiver run down her spine. Ryder’s glare was dark and threatening, and it made her stomach freeze in trepidation. There was little left of the boy she once knew, and she found herself wondering how Jacqueline could have loved a man as troubled as he.
“He’s not in good shape, Ryder. He needs help. Now, we can be adults about this, and you can get your clan member some help or we can stir up more trouble than we’re already in and then no one will be happy.” Susie squared her jaw. She wanted nothing more than to just slip her hand in Julian’s and disappear into his arms, but she had to stand strong for both of them. She knew that if Ryder smelled fear on her, he’d jump at the opportunity to ruffle their fur a bit. She’d have to rely on the fact that it was against Ryder’s better interest to mess with a prominent member of Bear’s Grove (and with someone who could very well have the vast majority of his dirty money). Susie kept her eyes on Ryder, not letting their eye-contact falter. Ryder was thinking about her words and hopefully coming to the same conclusions. Even if beating up another Arder brother, especially one who was in no state to put up a decent fight, must have been damned tempting for him.
“Troy, help out our friend,” Ryder said finally, relaxing his shoulders. The tall crony strode to Julian and picked Drake off of him as if he was just a sack of potatoes. Julian winced audibly as Drake was lifted from him, drawing a chuckle from Ryder. “What, you don’t have the back for exercise anymore, city boy? Have your billions made you forget about who you were or was that gone long before that?” Ryder teased, showing his white teeth. He looked more like a wolf than a bear like that, full of malice and bad blood. It made Susie’s stomach churn, and she could sense that Julian was already bubbling to a boil. The bond between her and Julian had been cemented by their lovemaking, and she found herself much more in tune with his feelings than she would have thought possible. His rage made her even more eager to get them out of the situation, fast.
“At least I have never tried to take what is not mine,” Julian said, straightening his back. He and Ryder stood almost the same height. If it weren’t for the cuts and bruises littering Julian’s body, Susie was sure that it would have been a hard fight if they decided to go head to head.
“Well, opinions will differ on that,” Ryder said as Drake was set in the bed of the truck with a sickening thud. “I say you’re currently standing on land that is mine. But I think we best get going before I have to show you how to get out in a less than cordial way. I’ll be seeing you around, Susie.” Ryder flashed a grin at Susie and Julian, and she had to suppress the urge to fling herself at him in an attempt to claw his eyes out. Of course, he would probably snap her neck before she ever got anywhere close to his eyes, but it was the thought that counted. Ryder peeled himself off the front of the car, heading for the driver’s seat. He gave Susie’s car a quick glance and looked back, his hand already on the door handle. “You better get that looked at, Susie. Doesn’t look too safe for a pretty girl like you.” Susie grabbed for Julian’s arm before he could lunge towards Ryder, while the other Alpha just laughed, turning on the engine.
“It’s not worth it.” Susie whispered, her fingers squeezing tightly around Julian’s arm. The thought of him getting hurt even worse was unbearable. As much as he wanted to keep her safe, she had all the same feelings towards him. He had become a part of her, the missing half that could not be denied, and she was not about to allow them to be torn apart again. He sighed, and she turned to face him. Susie got up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips, brushing his blonde hair out of his face. Worry danced in her eyes, seeing how tired and worn he was.
This war between the clans will only get worse. You need to be ready now that you’ve chosen your side, she thought, hugging Julian gently.
“You’re right, Susie. He isn’t. None of them are anymore and that’s a damn shame. We’ve got to go tell Jackson about this.” He paused for a moment, looking into her green eyes. She loved the boyishness of him, the hint of mischief that was under the guise of a successful, powerful man, but right now it was nowhere to be seen. He was serious and composed, despite his ragged state. “Susie, I love you. I think it’s about time I admit that again, don’t you?” he said, his words more of a statement than a question.
Susie burst out laughing, kissing him on the cheek again. Her heart fluttered with warmth, and her knees wanted to buckle under her. She knew before, of course. It was hard not to, seeing as she felt the same and had done so for a long time. But she hadn’t heard those words in ten years from him, and even if his timing was a bit on the problematic side, she couldn’t help but be affected to the core by them.
“I love you too, Julian. Even when we’re surrounded by rabid werebears that want us dead.”
“Good. Through thick and thin already. I like that.” Julian grinned, obviously relieved. “Now, I think you need to drive. I don’t think I’m currently up for it,” he said, pointing at his truck and then to his battered and bloody self.
CHAPTER NINE
“So, I think I’ve started a new Arder clan tradition – showing up on your doorstep, beaten up and dripping with blood. Do you like this look on me, Keely?” Julian asked, peeling himself off the seat. He winced and Susie cringed, running around the front of the car and rushing to him. Keely was already bounding down the steps of her porch, and Derek had taken one look at Julian and Susie and headed back inside. Susie was completely sure that he was going in to call Jackson and that she would get to have a rather uncomfortable conversation in about 10 minutes.
How do you explain how you managed to get Julian Arder to shift and then bloodied up on your first date? I bet Tess is going to love this, she thought, gnawing on her lower lip as Keely directed them into her living room. Having heard of what had happened to Jackson last time, Susie had to guess that Keely was getting mighty sick of the men of her clan getting into that sort of trouble lately.
“Ow, Keely! Gentle! We haven’t seen each other for ten years but I think Derek would get jealous if he knew you felt so strongly for me,” Julian quipped as Keely went over his cuts and bruises.
“Oh ha-ha, Julian. You think that being a billionaire means you can just wish your cuts away? Boys,” Keely huffed, though a slight smile was planted on her lips. His wounds weren’t too bad, nowhere near as gruesome as Jackson’s had been. The look Derek gave them from across the room as he was rummaging through the cupboards for some bandages, however, told Susie a lot more. Things were taking a turn for the worse. She could feel it in her bones. Werebears could only be toyed with for so long until they couldn’t take the hits to their collective pride anymore, and two attacks on two of the leading bears in the clan was more than they could tolerate in good conscience. For a second, she wondered if fate was being so adamant about getting between her happiness and her for any specific reason. She sighed under her breath.
No place for melodrama. It is what it is. At least you know you’re on the right side. With the right man.
Her expression softened a bit as she leant over and kissed Julian on the forehead. She knew he was in pain and putting up his regular show for the sake of everyone around him. All she wanted to do was to take him back to his lodge and nurse him to health.
“So, you two finally admitted that you were giant idiots and got back together?” Keely asked nonchalantly, drawing a pained chuckle from Julian.
Susie smiled and took a seat on the edge of the couch. Tess had been sitting at the exact spot just a few months ago in a situation not too different from this. But, Susie at least had the comfort of familiarity to keep her from freaking out. She had known these people all her life, and her love had finally made it back to her, even if they had both taken a long and winding path to it. Now, she could be firm in her knowledge that whatever came across her path, she could take it on with a man who she had always loved, and who had loved her just as much. She knew it would be hard and they had a lot of things to work out between them, but they’d wasted too much time without each other. S
usie had known Julian was the one when she was still a teenager, and being without him for so long had only cemented her conviction.
“Yes, it seems so. Only took us ten years,” Susie said, running her fingers through Julian’s thick blonde hair.
The sound of car tires screeching and doors banging shook Susie from her revelry. Jackson practically ran the door down as he sprinted inside, Tess right behind him.
“Oh thank god you’re alright!” Tess exclaimed, the dark clouds lifting from her expression. She walked over to Susie and gave her a quick, encouraging hug and then squeezed Julian’s shoulder gently. “When Derek called, we thought we’d find you a mangled mess. What happened?” Tess asked, standing close to Susie. Susie was glad to see Tess there. The foreboding presence of the other werebears was making her feel a bit awkward, and Tess always had a way of brightening up a room. She was such a stark contrast next to the always-serious Jackson that Susie had come to think of them as sort of a duality – the dark and the light.