by Fel Fern
“Of course I do.” Mac let out a dry laugh. “Even Rick can see Danny’s now a vital part of your life. He stabilizes your bear, makes you happy. I’m kind of jealous, seeing you two together.”
His brother was here to help, Connor told his bear. Not the enemy. “I’ve told you why Danny fled the city,” he began.
“You think his stalker followed him here?” Mac asked.
“That’s what my gut instinct tells me.”
“The other shifters in town won’t be stupid enough to cross any of us,” Mac commented. “So your guess might be right, but let’s not make presumptions so early.”
“Drive faster.”
“I’m going fast as I can. Brother, we’ll get your mate back. I promise you that.”
The feeling of panic subsided a little. Halfway to Southwind Foods, Connor told Mac, “Stop here.”
Danny’s faint scent hit him and he got out, scanning the empty intersection. Mac followed him, and smell of copper hit him soon enough, making him snarl. Whoever took Danny shed his blood.
“Look here,” Mac said, pointing to bits of metal on the ground. His brother leveled the snow on the ground, revealing tire marks.
Connor reached for the mating bond between them, relieved to find Danny’s answering cry from the other end. His mate was alive, but for how long? Mac clutched his arm, and he followed his brother’s gaze and hissed, seeing the familiar outline of his truck, tucked away on the side street up ahead.
He ran to his truck, hoping to find more clues. Seeing the dented back, he narrowed his eyes. Danny’s scent clung to his nose, growing stronger as he reached the driver’s seat. Blood. His mate’s blood.
Connor tried to piece together what happened in his mind just as Mac approached. “The fucker rammed into the truck, took Danny. Even had the gall to park my truck here so as not to arouse suspicion.”
“He’s not careful with clean up though. A real pro would have cleaned up the tire marks and metal.”
Connor didn’t like it but he tried putting himself in the stalker’s shoes. “He was too excited to get his prize,” he said in a hoarse voice he hardly recognized. Rage coated his vision. Who did this fucker think he was, taking his mate from under his nose and from his own town?
Mac grabbed his arm, and Connor realized bits of skin had turned to fur.
His breathing turned shallow.
“Brother, Danny needs you now. Focus on the mating bond. Can you sense which direction Danny’s kidnapper took him?” Mac asked, nails digging into his arm.
The bit of pain helped him think past his anger.
“There,” he said softly, nodding to the opposite direction from where the bastard rammed into his mate. Thank God he marked his mate, because if Danny didn’t wear his personal brand, he might have lost his mate forever.
“Let’s go,” Mac said curtly.
Connor was barely aware of moving toward Mac’s truck. While it was tempting to give into his bear, to the animal’s hunting instincts, Mac’s truck was faster. Focusing on the mating bond, he followed the trail Danny’s kidnapper took. That bastard better be ready, because Connor was going to cut him into a hundred different pieces. To make an example out of him. Whoever took his mate would have hell to pay.
* * * *
Danny woke up feeling groggy, and his head still hurting. He opened his eyes, tried to move his hands but found ropes cut into his wrists, ankles, his entire body. Tape stretched across his mouth, preventing speech. Remembering what happened, what Ronald did to retrieve him, he swallowed, tasting tape. He started to tremble violently. His bladder threatened to empty on him.
God. His worst fears came to life after all. Danny did everything he could to stay under the radar. He took on a new identity—except he lowered his guard after Trish told him Ronald stopped sending him letters. Fool.
Panic rose in the back of his mind. No way in hell.
Where would that get him?
Anger was good, it helped him think past his predicament.
Danny drew strength from his mate. What would Connor do in this situation? Connor wouldn’t be resigned to his fate. He needed to be more like Connor, resilient and brave. Even backed into a corner, his mate would fight to the death. Danny could do the same.
Connor’s mate mark pulsed on his neck, reminding him he wasn’t alone. Steady. Be patient, he told himself. His mate was coming. He only needed to distract Ronald until Connor found his way back to him.
By now, Connor would have sensed he was in danger, and Ronald didn’t look like he had uncovered Connor’s mate mark yet. His stalker might not even know what the bite on his neck was, but that was a good thing. The less Ronald knew about his captive’s secrets, the better.
He took deep breaths. At the very least his heart calmed down and he stopped shaking. Danny took in his new surroundings—frayed carpeting and moldy wallpaper. He was tied to a chair and next to him stood a bed and a door that led to a bathroom. A no-smoking sign hung on the wall, beneath it, a bowl of condoms.
Ronald had taken him to some kind of inn or motel. He couldn’t see what lay outside the window. Ronald had closed the curtains shut, but he bet it looked out to a parking lot. Hope surged through him. That meant Ronald couldn’t have taken him far. The clock on the wall confirmed his suspicions. He must have only been gone an hour.
Then the door opened, revealing his kidnapper. Danny could never mistake those bloodshot brown eyes or that yellow-stained toothy smile. Once again, fear froze him. Those eyes told him nothing good, that whatever Ronald had planned for him—
No, thinking along those lines would only make the situation worse. He breathed hard, tried to count ten in his head, but he couldn’t help take in the details of his kidnapper.
Ronald carried a brown bag with him as he shut the door and smiled broadly at him.
“You’re finally awake, that’s good.” Ronald set the bag down and he spied the words ‘Royce Hardware’ stamped on the side.
That didn’t help settle his nerves one bit. Crime shows featuring killers using all sorts of handyman tools on their victims raced through his mind. Oh God. What did Ronald purchase?
Stop it, he told himself, but he couldn’t disregard the fact Ronald was crazy enough to ram his car into Connor’s truck to get to him. Connor’s truck—his mate would get pissed. Connor loved his ride.
Connor searching high and low for him was the only thing keeping his sanity intact and his despair at bay. Showing Ronald he was scared might only encourage Ronald.
So he glared at Ronald, who came closer. The stalker kept on smiling, and it unsettled Danny a little.
“That’s it, Danny love. The spirit in your eyes is one of the things I adore about you. Remember your first shot? You had eyes just like that.”
He did? All Danny remembered was being so frightened of screwing up.
Ronald came close until his pants touched his knees. He jerked in his bonds, but they held tight. Ronald chuckled, touching the edge of the tape covering his mouth. He froze, repulsed by the stranger’s cool fingers.
“Now, now. I want you to behave. I’m going to take this off, but know this. If you scream, no one’s going to hear you. I paid the guy who owns this shit hole handsomely. There’s no other guests on the first floor, and it’ll stay that way. Nod if you understand.”
He nodded. If Danny didn’t know his mate was on his way, he wouldn’t have known what to do. Fight, scream, and beg maybe, but he only winced when Ronald pulled the tape away. His stalker leaned in close, hands resting on his bound ones, breath putrid against his face.
“So calm, Danny love, but I want to see you in tears, begging me to let you go,” Ronald said in disapproval, caressing his cheek. He jerked backward only to hear Ronald’s skin-crawling laugh. Ronald continued, “That’s a lot better. I think I’d like it if you fought me. That would make things entertaining for both of us.”
Danny played the pretend game all his life. When he first started out, he told himself to ap
pear as if he were in control of himself, to look confident, fearless, as if nothing fazed him. Eventually, the tactic worked and he became the professional model starting up models admired. When he took on a new identity, he did the same thing, convincing himself that being someone else would ultimately save his life.
In the end, Connor saw right through him. His bear would understand. Danny was doing this for survival.
So he had to pull all of his acting chops together for this performance of a lifetime. Talk. Yes, Ronald looked like the kind of guy who loved to talk. After all, the bastard liked writing him long letters.
“H-how did you find me?” he whispered, showing Ronald naked fear in his eyes.
Hurry, baby. I’m not sure how long I can last. Connor wouldn’t hear those words, but he hoped Connor would sense the urgency through their mate marks.
“It wasn’t easy and the search cost me plenty. Good thing I have some cash stored in the bank,” Ronald admitted. Ronald must have full confidence Danny wouldn’t be going anywhere because, he went on, “I hired a few PIs to look for you. Two came up with fakes, but the last one, I gotta thank him. He chanced on you by accident while driving by this shit town and sent me your pic while you were at a restaurant.”
A chill crawled down his spine. Ronald hadn’t stopped searching for him after all. The stalker was tenacious, relentless in his pursuit. Ronald might be human, but he might as well be a shifter. Even if his mate somehow found him and Ronald got away, Ronald would keep on looking for him. He’d never be free.
“What’s going to happen to me now?” he asked timidly.
“Well, Danny doll. Tonight will be our first time together. Then I’ll spirit you away to our home. I put in a lot of work making our honeymoon suite, your new room.”
He sucked in a breath. Ronald was clearly off his rocker. This wasn’t the first time Ronald mentioned something about a honeymoon suite. “You can’t.”
“Can’t?” Ronald raised an eyebrow. “Don’t be like that, Danny love. You must be in shock from all this new information, but I’ll break it down for you. No one knows I got you, or that the world-famous model Danny Denver is in this little hicksville town.”
Danny raised his head, sick of playing the victim. The mate bond between Connor and he pulsed even hotter, brighter. His mate was close. “My mate does.”
Ronald’s face twisted into pure anger. “You’re lying. Believe me, Danny. You won’t like it when I get mad.”
“I’m telling the truth. I wear his mate mark on my neck.”
Ronald jerked his shirt aside, hissing as he caught sight of the bite mark. “You let an animal claim you?”
Tires squealed outside and Ronald jumped, eyes narrowed. A bear’s terrifying roar came next, rattling the windows. Ronald didn’t waste any time. The stalker grabbed something tucked under his belt, just as the door burst opened—no, it broke. Wood splintered and hinges tore as a massive grizzly bear broke through the entrance, baring fangs, murder in his eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
Connor let out a furious roar that threatened to break the windows in the dingy motel room. He narrowed his eyes, seeing the large human standing behind his mate, who was restrained in a chair. A blade glinted under the harsh lights, poised dangerously close to Danny’s neck.
“Take one step closer, animal, and he’s dead,” Danny’s stalker began.
No one threatened him or his mate and got away with it. Connor snarled, claws digging into the carpeting. The stalker pressed the blade closer, drawing blood. He froze. Danny met his gaze, blue eyes wide. Connor sent reassuring energy via their mate marks.
Danny mouthed three words to him, as if Danny didn’t expect to live through this.
I love you.
Fuck. Connor didn’t want to hear those words, not here, not now. He couldn’t move, not yet, because one slice of that knife would end his mate. Connor saw it in the stalker’s eyes—the truth. If the stalker couldn’t have Danny, no one else could. Little did this bastard know that Danny was already taken, his body, heart, and soul. It ripped him apart, seeing Danny in the grip of another.
Even his bear knew acting rashly could cost them everything, but the stalker didn’t know Connor hadn’t come alone.
Glass shattered from somewhere, probably the bathroom window Mac tried to climb into. His brother brought Connor precious few seconds as the stalker made the mistake of turning his head to the source of the noise, his grip on the knife loosening slightly.
Danny jerked his head forward, to the limits of his restraints and bit on the stalker’s fingers. The stalker howled, dropping the knife just as Connor lunged forward. The knife clattered harmlessly to the carpet. Connor knocked Danny’s chair aside, far from the stalker’s reach. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Mac and trusted his brother to take care of his mate while he took out the trash.
Connor and the stalker collided. He saw nothing but madness in the human’s eyes, knew without a doubt that this relentless monster would never stop hunting his mate. With Danny watching, Connor knew he had to keep the kill clean, efficient. Danny would probably have nightmares of today.
A human proved no match for a bear, although the stalker managed to rake at his fur. With a single claw swipe, he cut open the stalker’s neck. Shocked bloodshot eyes stared at him as the stalker died. The human choked on his blood, then life finally left his eyes.
Connor turned, fur covered in blood, scared what he might find. If Danny saw him at his worst, would his mate turn away in fear? Danny sprinted right toward him. It looked like Mac held Danny back while Connor finished the stalker. He gave his brother a silent look of thanks before Danny pulled him into a hug. Danny sniffed, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“I knew you would come for me,” Danny whispered. “I tried to be brave.”
Connor shifted back to human so he could hold his mate. “You were kick-ass, baby. If you hadn’t bitten the bastard’s fingers, who knew what could have happened?”
Danny looked at the corpse, then vomited on the carpet. His mate wiped at his mouth, flashed him a wary smile.
“Sorry about that.”
Connor sensed no fear on Danny’s end, only relief. “I had to end him, baby. I only saw madness in his eyes. He wouldn’t have stopped hunting you,” he explained.
“I know. I’m glad he’s dead. Is that wrong?” he asked. Then Danny clutched his arm in alarm. “Connor, what’s going to happen? Will you get arrested for this?”
A hand landed on Danny’s shoulder. Mac.
“The shifters in Red Mountains take care of their own,” Mac said. “Connor only acted in defense of his mate. The sheriff’s a good man. He’s human, but his second is a shifter. We’ll explain the situation.”
“What he said,” Connor told his mate. “They’ll need to question me, take me in the station, but I don’t expect a lot of trouble.”
Danny hugged him so tight, surprising him. “You better come back to me,” Danny said fiercely.
Right there and then, Connor was so proud of his fierce human mate that he had no words left to say.
* * * *
“What’s taking them so long?” Danny asked Mac apprehensively.
“Be patient. Connor can handle himself,” Mac said.
“He’s tougher than he looks,” said Rick, the oldest O’Riley brother.
It calmed him plenty, having both of Connor’s brothers there. Otherwise, he didn’t know what to do.
Morning had come and the last he saw of his Connor had been hours ago, when the sheriff and a deputy took Connor away in a police cruiser. Mac had gently taken him aside and convinced him to head back home. He could do nothing for his mate but wait. Waiting was hellish though. Danny showered, changed clothes, but stayed up all night, unable to sleep.
He rubbed at his tired eyes, studying Mac and Rick. Mac leaned against the wall, arms crossed, whistling under his breath. Mac might’ve looked relaxed but he knew the other werebear simply hid his concern better. Rick, on
the other hand, kept pacing back and forth.
Rick terrified him a little when the werebear demanded to know what happened last night, but they sorted things out. Danny wasn’t sure if Rick was pissed off at him for landing Connor behind bars.
Just when he thought it would take longer, Connor appeared, dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a white shirt, speaking with the sheriff. Seeing them, Connor broke off mid-conversation. Danny didn’t care who watched them. He strode to his mate, pulled Connor into a hug.
“Oh God, you worried the hell out of me and your brothers,” he whispered.
Connor hugged him back, embrace warm. Danny missed this, missed his mate.
“I know,” Connor said, beginning to stroke his back.
Danny buried his head into Connor’s chest, only for Connor to lift his chin. Then his bear zoomed in for a kiss, not caring people were watching. Heat slammed down his throat and made his heart race. He clutched at his mate’s biceps, pausing when he heard the sheriff clear his throat.
“Just to be clear, there will be no charges against my brother?” Rick asked as Danny parted from Connor.
“O’Riley here explained the situation, and evidence from the site backs his story,” the sheriff said, then his look darkened. “We also managed to uncover new information on Ronald Dawes. Let’s just say Mr. Denver is lucky to be alive today.”
Danny nodded. “Thank you, sheriff.”
They left the station in good spirits.
“Rick, you came, too,” Connor said, sliding an arm possessively over Danny’s shoulders, pulling him close. Danny didn’t mind. After everything that happened, he wanted to stay close to his mate.
“Of course I did.” Rick scoffed. “My brother’s in jail, could be tried for the murder of a human.”
Then Rick parted from their group and got into his jeep. Danny knew Connor was closer to Mac than his older brother, but he could tell Rick cared about his younger brothers, too. Maybe Rick was the kind of guy who didn’t show emotions easily. From what Danny knew from Connor, Rick had stepped in the role of their guardian after their father passed away. No doubt that also meant Rick isolated himself from his two brothers.