by Anya Nowlan
I wonder if I’m the dark with Julian and I? The thought made her smirk a bit.
Jackson didn’t look anywhere near as optimistic as Tess did. Susie caught the glance he shared with Derek and then Julian, and she could read the writing on the wall. This had been a rather unwelcome addition to the tensions between the Arders and the Bitterroot clan, and Susie was not looking forward to seeing what kind of scary path it was going to go down next.
“I think I can tell this better,” Susie said, getting a confirmatory nod from Julian, who was in the process of gritting his teeth as Keely stitched up a deeper wound on his neck. He’d been lucky it hadn’t torn through an artery. “I was going to work from Julian’s place at dawn,” Susie started, pausing slightly as she caught Tess and Keely grinning at each other. “And I was halfway down the mountain when a bear jumped out on the road. I swerved and had to break as I was running into a ditch. He slammed into the driver’s side door of my car and smashed the window. Before I could get to the knife in my glove compartment, he’d torn the door open and dragged me out of the car.” Susie showed a few scrapes and bruises she’d got from being dragged across the forest floor. She could see the surprise in Julian’s eyes. He hadn’t seen that she’d got hurt, but it wasn’t bad, so she didn’t want to worry him more than she needed to.
“It’s nothing, really. Anyway, the bear shifted and it was my ex, Drake. I think you all know him,” Susie said, looking around sheepishly. The werebears shared ominous looks between them. It was a most disconcerting trait of theirs. Susie always felt like there was a whole other conversation going on above her head when they did that. She made a mental note to badger Julian about it later. “He started leading me towards the Bitterroot lands, through the forest. He’d seen the helicopter yesterday and heard that I was out with Julian, and I guess that set him off. He was never exactly mild-mannered.” Her nose crinkled in disgust. It was a long way to drop from Julian Arder to Drake, and she knew it was going to leave a bad taste in her mouth for a long time to come. “Anyway, we didn’t get too far before Julian came charging at us from the woods. They argued with Drake a bit. I think I know why Drake was so anxious to get me away from you, by the way.”
“Oh yeah? Because he knows I’m twice the bear he is and handsome as sin?” Julian asked. Keely looked just about ready to smack him, but it was hard to hate on the dashing Arder brother.
“Well, sure, that too honey. But, I think Ryder has been moving money through my company. I caught trail of it a few days ago, but I didn’t know it was him. I just noticed that there were odd discrepancies in my books. I think he’s been using my trucks and my drivers to smuggle logs out of Cabinet and pocketing the money.”
“That’s about what we expected,” Jackson nodded, deep in thought.
“And what happened then?” Tess urged Susie on.
“Well, then… Julian shifted….” The room got so quiet that Susie could have heard a pin drop. “And then he kicked Drake’s ass.” Jackson cracked a grin, and Susie had to take a mental snapshot of it – It was just that rare for him to look even a little bit amused in anyone else’s company than his beloved mate’s. “But Ryder showed up when we got out of the woods, and we handed Drake over to him. He’s not in great shape.”
“So that means war,” Jackson concluded with a sigh.
Tess jumped up and went to his side. Jackson’s arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in close, and Susie had to admire their closeness. They had been together for just a few months but the bond was so strong between them. She knew that she and Julian would quickly be back to where they were once before as well, but it was encouraging to see a human and a werebear doing so well together. And, even more, it was good to see that her clan was led by a strong couple. It surprised her that she had come to think of the Arder’s as her clan already, but deep inside she’d always expected it to happen.
“You think so?” Julian asked, pulling down his shirt across his tight abs as Keely finished. They were lucky to have a medic in their midst lately.
“I know so. It was alright for Drake when he attacked me, but to have something that could be construed as a counter attack – he can’t stay quiet about it. But you did the right thing, obviously. This has been itching to escalate for a while now. I just hope Jonah gets here before things get really ugly,” Jackson said.
Susie bit her lower lip again as Julian took her hands in his big palms. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit responsible for it all. Julian leant into her and planted a kiss on her lips, looking her deep in the eyes. She had never been the crying type, preferring to get angry rather than sad, but tears were threatening to well in her eyes now. He pulled her into him and lowered his voice so only she could hear. The others were already deep in animated conversation about how things were going to go next, so they were scarcely paying attention to Julian and Susie.
“It’s not your fault, Susannah. This conflict has been a ticking time bomb. We just have to be more careful now, I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into this, but I promise I will keep you safe.”
“It’s just as much me dragging you into it as vice versa,” she said softly, dipping her forehead against his. His skin felt nice and warm against hers, and she reveled in being so close to him. Being next to him felt like home, no matter where she was. There was no clearer sign that she had made the right decision opening her heart up to him so readily.
“Shh. All that matters is that we’re together, and that we’re here for the clan. When all of this gets settled, we’re going to get married. And build a damn big house on that mountain we went to yesterday, so only a helicopter can get up there, and we don’t have to worry about any rabid werebears who want our heads on spikes. We can lounge in relative calm and not think about anything other than how to best peel each other’s clothes off next.” Julian grinned as she cracked a smile at his description. Leave it to the billionaire to set unattainable goals. She was sure there was never going to be a day of pure calm when she was with Julian Arder. But, she had to admit, she kind of preferred it that way.
“Susannah Arder. I like the sound of that.” On the one hand, she expected him to be joking, but then again, she knew that Julian never joked with things that really mattered. And this really mattered, to both of them. Susie tried to swallow the excitement she was feeling, but it wanted to bubble to the top and take precedence over everything they had gone through that day.
She was just about to hug him (gently of course) when a loud crackling noise shook everyone in the room from their conversations.
“What was that?” Keely asked, the men already on their feet and running towards the door. Jackson was out first and by the time Susie had managed to make her way to the porch, she was treated to a sight she had not been expecting at all. All three of the trucks in front of the house were burning with an open flame, smoke billowing up into the air in thick, black pillars. Ryder was standing in front of his black Ford truck, wearing a shit-eating grin if Susie had ever seen one. Her mouth fell open at the sight, and her hand instinctively went around Julian’s waist as he pulled her to his side. The Arder clan was standing on Keely’s and Derek’s porch, glaring daggers at Ryder and the three trucks worth of clan members he had with him. There was nothing they could do about the trucks anymore – the only thing they were good for now was as pyres to commiserate the particularly distasteful morning the Arder clan was having.
“Hope you don’t mind, Jackson,” Ryder called over the harsh crackle of the fires. “I figured your people could do with a bit of light since they’ve seem to lost their way. It’s awful nice of you to gather all these trucks together for me, by the way. And, Susannah, my dear, I hope you were planning on replacing that truck that was standing in front of the diner. I thought it made for a particularly spectacular light show. I’m sure someone caught it on video for you,” he said, grinning even wider. Julian squeezed Susie’s shoulder, leaning in slightly.
“Don’t let him rattle you. We’ll fix this,” he whispered, his e
yes cold and steely as he kept his gaze on Ryder. Susie’s breath wanted to catch in her throat, and her lungs felt like they would never breathe again. Just the thought of the business she had been nurturing with her blood, sweat and tears getting defiled like that kicked the wind right out of her. For the second time that day, tears threatened to overcome her, and she swallowed them down to the best of her abilities. Scum like Ryder Hunt didn’t deserve her heartache. Her hands balled into fists and she nodded in reply to Julian, thankful that she had him with her.
“So I guess we’re past being civil about this, Ryder,” Jackson said, more of a statement than a question. The men were all on edge, and Susie was sure that it would take very little for the shifters to lunge at each other. She could see a vein throbbing on Jackson’s neck and, by all accounts, it must have only been Tess by his side that kept him from roaring in outrage and driving into Ryder with all his force. Susie’s stomach twisted in trepidation.
Bear’s Grove just got a lot more exciting, she thought to herself, slipping a hand into Julian’s back pocket. Keeping physical contact with him felt like the right thing to do, lest she wanted to see the middle Arder brother throw himself into another painful shift. He was nowhere near the point where he should be trading ground with his bear again, and Susie could only hope that the situation wouldn’t grow into an all-out war in Keely’s garden. Especially when Ryder outnumbered them two to one.
“Would seem so. This is what happens when you pick a fight with my people, Jackson. May this serve as a reminder. You can still take your clan and bow out without this needing to get nasty. Consider it a courtesy by me,” Ryder said, flashing his snakelike smile. Jackson’s lips were pressed into a thin line, and his gloomy demeanor had taken on a whole other level. Susie could feel him fuming from several feet away, and it made the rest of the werebears tense up as well. Of course, Derek was ready to pile into a whole pack of Ryder’s cronies right away, but Susie had to count their blessings that bears had a hierarchical system. If the Alpha told them to hold their ground, they were compelled to do so – probably also why Ryder’s guys were content with just hooting and hollering from the beds of their trucks. Susie could recognize several of them, and her heart ached that she and her friends were now on the opposite side of them. It seemed so unnatural to be afraid of the very people she had gone to school with and been close to.
Life doesn’t ask you how you want it to turn out, she reminded herself.
“You know that won’t happen, Ryder. But I get it. It is time to take the gloves off. So be it.” Jackson nodded, and Ryder dipped his chin in understanding. The two bears had always had a kind of understanding between them that Susie doubted Jackson had even had with his brothers, definitely not with Julian, at least. Jackson and Ryder had been cut from the same tree – sons of prominent Alphas, destined for greatness, struggling to deal with the expectations set on them. And now they were on opposite sides of a conflict, and Susie felt their shared pain for the situation. She just had to wonder what had taken Ryder so far along his chosen path. A little voice inside of her told her to call Jackie. She’d always understood Ryder unlike anyone else, and Susie couldn’t help but think that she would be the only one who could really shed light on why he was behaving the way he was. But, at the same time, Susie knew that Jackson and Julian could hardly forgive her if she did that and put their little sister through the inescapable pain that Ryder always brought.
“I’ll leave you fine folks on this lively morning, then. Enjoy the fireworks,” Ryder said, winking at Tess, who visibly bristled at that. He jumped into his truck, and one by one the 4x4s sped out of Keely’s and Derek’s yard, leaving the top of the Arder clan staring at their trucks burning with a wild flame.
“Get the extinguishers,” Jackson said, his voice heavy. Derek peeled off, and Julian followed him, kissing Susie on the forehead before going.
“Welcome to the wild side,” he whispered, and Susie couldn’t help but smile a little. She shared a look with Tess, who shrugged slightly.
“Consider this a quick introduction into the Arder clan lifestyle,” Tess said with a sad smile.
CHAPTER TEN
It was another eight hours of fervent strategizing and emergency calls to other clan members before Julian and Susie finally made it back to his place. Jackson had mobilized the troops, as it were, in case Ryder and his crew decided to rain any more chaos and destruction down on anyone, but it seemed that for the time being Ryder was satisfied with just licking his wounds and reveling in the small victory over Jackson. The effect he had had on the Arder clan had been pretty dramatic, even from Julian’s point of view. He had entered the situation as little more than an unfortunate bystander, but with just one day, he had been turned from a peacemaker into a determined warrior on the Arder side. There was only so much that could be done before Julian would scale any wall and fight anybody to keep his loved ones safe, and by all accounts, the Bitterroot clan had passed that line. He was incredibly sour about the whole situation, but he had to imagine that a good bit of it was his bear talking.
When they had got back to the house with a loaned truck just at sunset, Julian had headed straight for the bar. He poured himself a shot of bourbon and gulped it down before Susie could say a word. Without further discussion, he poured another shot for Susie and himself, and gave it to her, his eyes clouded with darkness the same way they’d been when Ryder had showed up in the morning. She accepted it quietly and they wordlessly downed the drinks. As soon as the bitter liquid went down their throats, Julian slammed the glass on the table and pulled Susie into a tight bear hug.
“Whatever I do, it seems to get you into more and more of a mess,” he murmured softly, holding her close to him. He never wanted to let her go, and the way she pressed herself against him made his heart beat faster. It felt good to have her close to him again. Better than he could have imagined.
“I don’t think you have any control over fate,” Susie said, nuzzling her head into his neck. He sighed involuntarily, his arms cradling her close to him. The house was cold, and darkness was taking over, cloaking the mountains in the shroud of night. He’d had plenty of excitement for one day, though the hard pounding of his heart told him that he wasn’t quite settled with the day yet.
“You’d think that being a billionaire would buy me some control over fate,” he grumbled good-naturedly, breathing in her sweet, cinnamon scent. She snorted in response, and he grinned. Susie had always called him on his bullshit, and he was glad to find that at least that hadn’t changed over the years.
“Sure. Buy your way out of it. Now that would be impressive,” she said, and Julian pursed his lips in thought.
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” He paused, pulling away from Susie for a moment and looking into her green eyes. He always felt that he could get lost in those jade pools, and it took serious concentration to shake off the desire to kiss her immediately in favor of hashing things out. “You know I was serious about marriage, right?” he asked, worry bubbling in his chest. Julian Arder was used to getting his way, but Susie was a whole new venture, both familiar and incredibly terrifying. He wanted to do right by her, and the thought of losing her again terrified him and his bear in equal amounts. She was the one thing in his life that could bring him together or break him apart – Illustrated so clearly by the effect she’d had on him years ago, as well as now. His bear and he needed her, desired her, wanted her more than anything. It was almost impossible to see straight through the shroud of fear that fell over him at the thought of losing her again.
Susie nodded, trailing her fingertips along Julian’s chin. She smiled softly, and it lit sparks in his heart.
“Yes, I know, Julian. And I feel the same. But we have to take our time. Because of the clan, because of us… I want us to have enough time to get to know each other again. The right way. You’ve changed and I’ve changed. I know we’re meant to be together, I just….”
“Want to be sure,” he finished with a gentle smi
le. Susie nodded, and he cradled her in his arms. All the memories of his youth and the time spent with Susie came flooding back to him, and he couldn’t wait to make more memories with her. No matter what kind of conflict raged on outside his door, he was sure in the knowledge that he could take it all with her by his side. “I know what you mean. And I’ll respect that. Besides, there’s no way you could ignore the patented Julian Arder charm,” he said, grinning. Susie giggled and kissed him, and Julian sunk right into her lips. He hoisted her off the ground, easily slipping her legs around his waist.
“Julian! You’re wound…”
“Hush,” he said, his voice stern but playful before his lips covered hers again. There was a time for words and a time for action, and now was a turn for the latter. Julian carried Susie into the bedroom, allowing himself another night of forgetting all about the war that threatened to consume his happiness before it had time to blossom. For now, at least, he could forget about it and focus on what mattered then and there – Susie and making up for lost time.
EPILOGUE
It had been a week since Ryder had pulled his little stunt with the trucks. Since then, the Arder clan had been on high alert. Bears came running back to the clan lands, the last of the stragglers heading home now that the danger was past the state of being questionable. Susie wasn’t sure whether the Arder boys were glad to see the bears returning or not. It was bittersweet. On the one hand, the more there were of them, the more chances they had for winning. At the same time, the more likely it was that there would be a bloody confrontation, sooner rather than later. Neither Julian nor Jackson wanted that, of that she was sure.