Maybe it was all pheromones. Maybe he’d never felt anything real. He knew he’d wanted her more than anything else, and her rejection, her inability to accept anything halfway between them, had stung incredibly. He didn’t remember the last time he’d hurt this bad.
Yes, he did. This was why it was stupid to love someone. He hit the steering wheel, not for the first time, and resolved to go back to his old self. Grumpy, sarcastic, closed off, not believing in anyone or anything.
But then he saw her dark eyes flashing at him as she swung her umbrella, full of fight and life.
Hell, maybe he started loving her even then. He definitely didn’t want to be parted from her from that moment.
He always criticized her for not fighting, but maybe he was the one who didn’t fight. Because for years, he’d just been hiding from his feelings, letting life pass him by because he refused to open up his heart after being hurt.
Dammit.
It was all confusing. That’s why she just needed to let him be by her side until they figured it out.
But then he remembered all those moments when she’d looked up at him, her eyes glowing with tenderness. Had it been selfish of him to enjoy basking in what was clearly her love when he wasn’t brave enough to check out his own feelings to see if he felt the same about her?
It’s just that he hadn’t opened his heart in so long. He wasn’t sure what he’d find when he did. The thought scared him.
But he’d be damned if how he felt could be put down to a chemical reaction. He hit the steering wheel again. His exit was coming, so he pulled off the freeway and took a right into a nearby gas station to fill up.
While he did, he looked at his GPS at the location of the tracker he’d put on her. Still at home. Bronson would be there by now. He’d know if the security system were breached. She’d be safe.
His heart beat rapidly even so, like if he wasn’t there, then she couldn’t be safe as far as he was concerned.
She was his mate. His to protect.
He ran his hands over his hair and leaned against the car with a groan. Even if he explained she was his mate, would that mean anything to her? In a way, it was just as confusing and mystic as pheromones.
And what was romantic love anyway? The only love he’d known was for his sister, and that wasn’t romantic, though it had torn him apart all the same.
And taught him that people could hurt you so badly you couldn’t breathe unless you cut yourself off from it, and there was no point in fighting it.
In so many ways, Jamie was braver than him. Each day she went out, polite and vulnerable, letting people hurt her and trying hard to be a good person. While he hid behind sarcastic quips and coldness.
So he’d wanted to fight for her and see her less hurt. And in the process, he couldn’t help picking up some of her habits of being emotionally open.
She’d loved him.
How was that even possible? He hadn’t done anything to earn it. He’d protected her, but that was his job. He’d teased her at every turn. They’d had hot sex, but that was more compatibility than anything else.
But then he remembered her being kidnapped.
That had scared him more than anything in his life. The idea of losing her had nearly broken him. Would have broken him if he hadn’t needed to stay alert so he could act quickly enough to save her.
At that moment, she was too far away for it to have anything to do with pheromones. She was his, the first real friend he’d opened up to in a long time.
Even if they took the attraction away, he knew he wanted to be beside her. Even if all they did was talk, he wanted to be with her for the rest of their lives.
That was love, he realized, sinking against the car with an unbearable pain in his chest. And it hurt.
It hurt to remember things he had locked away. His hand went over his arm, over the tattoo.
Tori. He thought of her face for the first time in a long time. How it was before the cancer. And after. The helplessness. The failing fight. The realization there was nothing he could do. That the only thing that would have prevented the devastation he felt would have been to never love her.
But looking back over their years together, holding her in his arms when she was little, carrying her on his shoulders, making her laugh when he teased her, he wouldn’t change anything.
He would have loved Tori again, even knowing what would happen. Even knowing he’d lose the only person important to him.
He’d practically raised her after their parents had left them. Everything had been fine until her fifteenth birthday.
Then everything had been wrong.
Limes felt wetness on his cheeks but didn’t care. It was a long time coming. When it had happened, he’d enrolled in the army not long after. The horrible things he’d had to do in service of his country had forced him to lock everything else away so he could focus.
It had been perfect.
And then he’d met a beautiful girl with dark-brown eyes who made him want to fight again. Maybe it was the way she rolled over on the carpet and asked him not to hurt her. Maybe it was the way she was so vulnerable but so kind, so fiery in her own way.
Or maybe he’d just seen another soul that had given up in one way but was fighting desperately in another.
As long as they kept fighting together, they could make it out of their respective holes, couldn’t they?
He heard a beeping and looked down at the GPS on his phone. The security system was going off. Bronson must have set it off without thinking. Still, a chill went through him as he dialed Bronson’s number.
“Hey, sorry, traffic is bad,” Bronson said right after he picked up. “I’ll be there in just a little bit longer.”
“Shit,” Limes said, stomach turning to ice. “You aren’t there yet?” He checked his watch. “It’s been a fucking half hour!”
“Traffic. There was an accident right after I left,” Bronson said. “I’ll be there soon.” He sighed. “What, you can’t stand another minute with her when just a second ago you were wanting to mate her?”
“I’m not there,” Limes spat.
“What the fuck were you doing leaving?” Bronson yelled.
“I thought you’d—I don’t have time to talk about this,” Limes said, following her location as he jumped back in his truck. “Someone breached her security system, and I don’t think she did it.”
“Shit,” Bronson said.
“I’m going after her,” Limes said sharply, starting up the car and peeling out of the parking lot. “You come back us up as soon as you can.”
“Be careful—”
But Limes had already hung up and was focusing on the road as he took turn after hairpin turn. He could think about his feelings later. Right now, he had to make sure the only person in the world for him was safe.
Realizing he truly did love her only added to his urgency.
18
Jamie watched the clock with a nervous look. Technically, she should be fine. No one had tried to break into the house, although they had delivered pictures there. She kind of regretted sending Limes away, but she’d needed time to calm down without looking at him.
After all, she’d given everything to him. Even been stupid enough to tell him she loved him, and then… he just didn’t know.
Ugh.
But now she was tempted to call him, because Bronson wasn’t here yet, and it was way past seven minutes.
She had no doubt Limes wouldn’t have left her if he didn’t think Bronson would be there, but maybe something had held him up. She should call him. She picked up her phone and scrolled to Limes’s contact. Her heart ached, and she set down the phone.
No, she’d wait a little longer.
A knock sounded on the door.
Her heart thumped as she stood to look out the peephole. Was it Bronson?
She was almost to the door when it crashed open, kicked by a huge man with blond hair standing in the doorway now, looking menacing.
&nb
sp; She’d recognize that huge build and those beady little eyes anywhere.
“Kyle,” she said.
“At your service,” he said in a gruff voice, walking into her house with about ten of his packmate cronies following behind them. They walked into her house, crowding her fairly good-sized living room, and then shut the door behind them.
As Kyle gave them orders to shut the drapes and secure the house, she reached in her pocket, hoping she could subtly dial Limes without them seeing. But Kyle’s sharp eyes flashed to hers.
“Give me the phone.”
She sighed and handed it to him. The men in the room were in a semicircle behind him. It was pointless to fight.
Kyle walked forward, lifting her hair, and took a deep breath, taking in her scent. Then he grinned. “Not claimed. Good. You had us worried.”
She jerked out of his hold, but he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her forward. “Stop it,” she said. “I’m not mating with any of you.”
“Oh, yes, you are,” Kyle said. “You definitely are. Probably me, unless anyone wants to challenge.”
The tension in the room was rising. “I challenge,” a tall redheaded wolf said. That must be Sam, who she’d grown up with. A half-alpha male.
“I challenge,” another man said. This one had dark hair and mean-looking eyes. He was of stocky build.
“Fine,” Kyle said, looking none too happy about it. The men were smaller than him, as he was the only full alpha, but they were still sizable opponents. He thrust Jamie toward one of the others. “Tie her up. She can watch the challenges. Move the couches.”
She rolled her eyes as a man with curly dark hair dragged her to the bedroom to tie her up. Were a bunch of wolves really going to fight over her in her own damn house?
Well, she guessed they couldn’t very well risk being seen. And once they mated her, that was it. She was stuck. She could run, but no one would protect her.
Well, that wasn’t true. She knew no matter what happened to her, Limes would protect her if she wanted him to.
She didn’t know how else he felt, but she knew he would protect her rights.
She wished she hadn’t sent him away. Being hurt was nothing compared to what would happen now. She’d finally chosen to stand up for herself, at exactly the wrong time.
The man had her sit on the bed while he tied her arms behind her back tightly. She tested the bonds, but there was no way out.
She looked at her bedside clock. Bronson had to be here soon, right? Or maybe Limes saw her alarm had gone off. It would be signaling him now, right? Or had he disconnected it? She wouldn’t blame him.
She’d fired him. Thrown him out. Refused to listen. Ugh, she was stupid. Maybe there were reasons he couldn’t tell her. Reasons she didn’t know.
What if she didn’t get a chance to now?
The man holding her dragged her out to the front room. She didn’t recognize everyone there, but most looked familiar. Presumably, they had lost some old faces and recruited others. And it had been years since she’d seen them. The scents were familiar, but nothing about them felt like home.
“Miss us?” Kyle said as she was tossed onto the couch, which the wolves then pushed to the corner and against the wall so they had more room to fight. Her other furniture was moved to the kitchen as well.
It was oddly civilized considering they were just preparing to fight to rape her.
Kyle pulled off his shirt and got ready to square off with his first opponent. The gangly, red-haired man who’d challenged first. She would have brought her hands up to cover her eyes if they weren’t tied behind her. She let out a little growl of frustration.
Why did no one care what she wanted?
Kyle was about to throw his first punch, the others wolf shifters howling in anticipation, when the door burst open again.
She was expecting Bronson, but the face at the door was familiar and dear to her. And so fucking angry.
Limes stepped into the room, towering over the others, face hard with rage as he took in the scene in front of him. He put his fist into his palm as he looked at the men about to fight, and then his eyes darted to her and lit up like green flames as he noted she was tied.
His stare moved to Kyle. Shit, she was about to see him kill someone.
“Limes,” she cried out, getting his attention. “Don’t. Just go.” He was strong, for sure, but now that he was here and she saw the sheer odds stacked against him, she didn’t want him to stay. He could go wait with Bronson for backup. Call the police. Do something like that. But to take on Kyle, who was probably as strong as a bear shifter himself, while he was backed up by ten wolves was the epitome of foolish.
“Get out, bear,” Kyle spat, turning to him with annoyance. “We’re in the middle of a challenge.”
Limes took a step forward, his jaw set in a hard line. He looked more terrifying than any of them combined, in a leather jacket and dark jeans. “I want to challenge.”
Her eyes widened. She’d expected him to just go in swinging, not suggest something so in line with what the wolves were doing.
“You aren’t a wolf,” the dark-haired challenger said. “We don’t have to allow you a challenge.”
“You don’t have any right to our alpha females,” the redheaded man said. “You can just get the fuck out.”
“I do have a right,” Limes said, shedding his jacket and tossing it on the ground, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “I’m here to challenge.”
The redhead stepped forward as if to argue, but Kyle stopped him, putting out a hand.
“We’ll let you challenge if you take all of us at once,” Kyle said with a sneer.
“Limes don’t. It’s a death sentence!” Jamie cried out, drawing Limes’s attention to her.
“Exactly,” Kyle said, looking smug. “If we kill you this way, we can say you agreed to it. And I’d rather not have my mate thinking you’re still out there and coming to save her at some point.”
“It’s true,” Limes said. “You’d have to kill me to keep me from coming. Because even after you mated her, I’d keep trying to make her mine.”
“Why?” Kyle said. “You should thank us for taking her. Then she won’t be tempting you anymore.”
“How I feel about her has nothing to do with pheromones,” Limes said. “I love that woman over there. And I’m willing to die for her, if that’s all I can do to help her.”
“You act like there’s a chance it will help her,” Kyle said.
“Maybe,” Limes said. “Or maybe I’m just buying time.”
Her heart sank. So that was the plan. He was just going to try to weaken them until Bronson came, or whatever other backup he could get.
“We’re taking this outside,” Kyle said. “For a real challenge, we need our animals. We need space.”
“There’s a forest not five minutes away,” Limes said. “It’ll be perfect.”
“No funny business,” Kyle said, signaling for one of his men to pick up Jamie.
A tall, bulky man threw her over his shoulder, and she saw anger flash in Limes’s face, though outwardly, he remained calm.
They walked out of her house and took a turn at the end of the block, toward the forest that started at the end of her subdivision. It got darker as they walked toward it.
She hoped Bronson could still follow them.
When they got there, the man set her down but kept her pinned against his chest, stepping back as the other men stepped forward, all forming a circle around Limes so she could only make out the top of his head from where she was watching.
“Make sure she doesn’t try anything,” Kyle said. “If she shifts, punish her.”
“Yeah,” the man holding her said.
She hated the situation. It was hopeless. Limes had to know it as well. Was he really going to give all of this up just to try to stop something he really couldn’t stop?
Was he really going to fight this hard for her?
His green eyes met hers, and sh
e realized what he’d just said moments before. She’d been too shocked by the situation to let it register, but now it hit her with the force of a brick in the face.
He loved her.
Seriously? How had he come to that conclusion? Those were big words for a man who’d said he didn’t only a half hour or so earlier.
But it didn’t matter, she realized, as Limes squared off with the wolves surrounding him, the odds impossibly stacked, putting his life on the line.
If that wasn’t love, what was?
Then she heard the tearing of clothing as the men around her shifted into giant, snarling wolves, and the man she loved changed into a gigantic bear with shaggy brown fur.
They jumped on his back, sinking their teeth into his fur, and he let out a roar that echoed through the forest and pierced right through her heart.
The fight had started.
19
Limes felt pain searing through him as a half dozen wolves leapt onto him, attacking from all sides and biting whatever piece of him they could get. But as strong as the feeling was, it was eclipsed by the burning rage he had toward these shifters that had dared to treat his Jamie like property, like an object.
Now was his chance to make all of them pay.
Acting quick, Limes pitched over and rolled on the ground, shaking off several wolves and pushing one beneath him who was stupid enough to hold on a little too hard. More importantly, it created distance for him to work with.
The wolves regrouped around him, moving haphazardly like a confused pack, but a pack nonetheless.
Thankfully, Limes didn’t need a whole pack to protect his mate.
He swiped a powerful claw at the nearest wolf, catching him across the face and drawing blood as his body was flung into a pair of bushes. But in the spot left open by the wolf’s absence, two more took his place, surrounding him.
Limes looked swiftly around him for an opening but saw none. Just a dozen pairs of hungry eyes in front and a giant pine tree behind.
Limes had an idea.
He quickly whirled around, swiping wide and making the wolves back off a pace, and made for the tree. With incredible speed, he clawed his way up off the ground.
Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2) Page 14