Safe with Her Bears

by Madeline Hill

  It appeared vacant, but when Max inhaled, his nostrils filled and he immediately recognized the honey sweet scent of his mate. The way Carter sniffed curiously in the air indicated that he was picking up on her scent, too.

  Max scanned the rooms one by one, kicking in doors and whipping his gun, finding each one empty. Carter called out Jules’s name as he stomped around in desperation.

  Max cleared the rooms and the two met back up near the entrance.

  “No one’s here,” Max said.

  “Her scent is powerful.” Carter inhaled again, shuddering. “She must have just left.”

  “The trail will be easy to follow. Let’s go.”

  The two shifters rushed back outside and got back in the truck. Carter slammed it into reverse, tires grinding into the gravel as the truck peeled away, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake.

  The truck came to a stop. Ansell pulled the key out of the ignition. The noisy, grumbly engine quieted and an uneasy silence filled the vacant air. Jules looked around. Trees, trees, and more trees in every direction.

  “Where’s the cabin?” Jules asked, fearing she knew the answer already.

  “It’s just up ahead. We’ll have to hike the rest of the way.” Ansell opened the door and stepped out, Jules reluctantly following on the passenger side.

  Ansell pointed ahead and began trekking through the pines and the thick undergrowth. Jules kept her eyes on the gun sticking out of Ansell’s pants. There was no other option. She had to grab it and turn it on him. Now.

  Eyes fixed on the gleaming metal, she stepped close behind Ansell, reaching out for it when he suddenly stopped. She bumped into him. He stumbled forward a few steps and then turned around quickly.

  “Watch where you’re going,” he grumbled. He turned again and marched ahead.

  “Oh, and don’t even think about grabbing my gun,” he said casually. “It won’t end well for you.”

  Jules’s heart dropped and a shiver of fear passed through her. Fuck.

  “Hey!” she shouted.

  Ansell stopped and turned on his heels, brows furrowed with annoyance. “Yes?”

  “There is no cabin, is there?”

  He cocked his head and smirked. “Of course there is.”

  “I heard you talking on the phone this morning. You’re taking me out here to kill me.” Jules knew she was taking a risk, but if grabbing his gun wasn’t an option, she’d have to rely on one last thing: talking her way out of it.

  Ansell snorted. “Huh. I thought I heard scuffling in the hall this morning.”

  He stepped forward menacingly and Jules took one step back.

  “You think you can make such a grievous, monumental error in judgment and not be punished for it?”

  “Well, I—”

  “You’ve jeopardized Nick’s entire enterprise. Your stupid mistakes may lead to his downfall.”

  Jules shook her head. “Let me talk to Nick myself. He—”

  “First you ran from the cops, unnecessarily. Then you cozied up with two cop shifters.”

  Cozied up? Did Ansell know what really happened? “I didn’t tell them anything, I swear.”

  It was a lie. She had told Max quite a bit. But nothing that specifically implicated Nick. His name never left her mouth.

  “From the way you talk about them, I can tell you got a little too close to them. Who knows what kind of information they coaxed out of you.”

  “They got nothing from me,” Jules lied. “That’s not what this is about, is it? Nick’s jealousy? Because I swear nothing happened—”

  Ansell waved his hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter. There are more pressing issues at hand. Like you being on the run. Like you telling undercover officers sensitive information.”

  Jules shook her head helplessly.

  “Frankly, Jules, you’re a liability,” he said calmly. “You know too much. You’ve seen too much. A little bit of sweet talk is all it takes for you to spill everything.”

  Jules swallowed, her heart hammering in her chest. “That’s not true. I would never tell anyone anything.”

  “Oh, it’s so easy to say that now. But you would, though, wouldn’t you?”

  “I would never do that to Nick,” she insisted. “Please. Just leave me here. Let me die a slow death out in these woods. If I do get found, I swear to God I will not say a word to anyone about anything. They won’t get any information out of me. I don’t care how many years I have to serve.”

  The words spilled from her mouth like vomit. She honestly couldn’t say whether she meant them or not. All she cared about was convincing Ansell.

  “I’d love to take you at your word, Jules,” Ansell said, smiling cruelly. He began unbuttoning his shirt. Jules’s eyes watched his long fingers as they delicately slipped each button out.

  “W-what are you doing?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

  “You know, I actually like you,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I urged Nick to be merciful.”

  He pulled the shirt off and let it drop to the ground. Next he worked on his belt. He unbuckled it and let it slide to the ground, taking the gun with it in its holster.

  “But he wouldn’t hear it. Nick is angry, Jules, and he wants vengeance. He was willing to give you a break. He was willing to protect you, despite your mistakes. But last night after a bit too much wine, I told him about you and those shifters. That was the final straw.”

  Clad in only blue boxer briefs, he stepped out of the pants and nudged them aside with his foot. Then he leaned over and slipped off his hiking boots and socks.

  “His only regret is that he can’t be here to witness your demise in person.”

  Ansell hooked his thumbs into the band of his boxer briefs and began to tug. Jules’s eyes were wide with fear, her mouth hanging open. She could barely process what was going on. Her heart felt like it might explode, having not ceased its relentless drumbeat since she’d overheard Ansell’s phone conversation that morning. She wanted to scream. She wanted to charge at him. Turn and run away as fast as her legs could carry her. Make another attempt at the gun. Anything. But her limbs wouldn’t listen. All she could do was stand there, paralyzed with fear. Is this really how it all ends? she wondered helplessly.

  He slipped his briefs down his thighs, revealing his limp package. Her disturbed eyes grazed over it briefly before she looked away.

  Ansell cocked his head and chuckled. “Oh, you poor thing. You think I’m going to violate you, don’t you?”

  She felt stabs of dread with every one of Ansell’s taunting words.

  “Believe me, dear. You’re not my type. I just don’t want to destroy my clothes when I shift.”

  Ansell flicked the band of underwear, sending it flying a few feet through the air towards her, where it landed near her feet.

  “I’d be foolish to do such a thing, anyway,” he continued, stepping towards her. She took a cautious step back.

  “Nick would kill me if I ever forced myself on you. You’re right. He is a jealous man.”

  Jules gulped, keeping her eyes focused on the ground, not wanting to meet his gaze.

  “That’s why, after I’m done with you, he’s ordered me to come after them. Not alone this time. I’ll round up a whole pack of us, and we’ll tear those bears apart and happily feast on their remains.”

  Jules shook with fear. If she had to die, so be it, but not her bears. She couldn’t let that happen.

  She boldly met his eyes, nostrils flaring with anger. “Don’t you fucking touch them.”

  Ansell smirked. “What are you going to do about it, sweet Jules? You think you can stop me?”

  He raised his fingers to her cheek and stroked slowly, her body recoiling at his touch.

  Jules did the only thing she could think of. She jerked her knee up, smashing it as hard as she could in the tender area between his legs. She felt his flesh squish under her kneecap as he yelped, doubling over and grasping at his balls. She darted away while he was still w
inded and ran to where he’d left his pants on the ground. As quickly as possible, she bent over and grabbed the gun out of the holster, hands shaking. Behind her came a loud snarl, and the sound of flesh and bones shifting and contorting.

  As she whipped around and leveled the gun, she was met with the sight of a mountain lion barreling towards her, mouth stretched wide around sharp teeth, claws fully extended, a ferocious roar piercing her eardrums.

  22

  Carter grunted, nostrils flaring as he expelled hot air, his limbs working as fast as possible to carry him over the forest floor. His paws stomped the earth flat with each heavy step. Jules’s scent was growing stronger. There was no doubt she was close by. Carter turned his head, making sure Max was still keeping up. Max had shifted, too, and was trailing a ways back, unable to run any faster due to his injuries.

  A gunshot rang through the air, causing Carter to stop dead in his tracks. A second later, there was a woman’s high-pitched scream of horror. Jules!

  He broke out into a run again, adjusting his course toward the source of the sound. He ran on an incline and when he reached the crest of the hill, the sight unfolded before him.

  A snarling cougar was licking its wounds as Jules’s body sprawled flat on the ground, her hair splayed out around her head.

  Carter didn’t stop to think. He charged forward with the velocity of a high-speed train, barreling down the hill. An earth-shaking roar exploded from his throat. The cougar glanced up, his eyes wide with shock. But before he could react, Carter slammed into him, and the two beasts tumbled and rolled over the mossy forest floor, a mess of fur and limbs and claws. The cat snarled, its wiry body pinned underneath Carter’s weight. Carter knew there would be no struggle this time. He was absolutely determined, desperate fury flowing through his electrified veins.

  He bared his long teeth with a vicious snarl and clamped his jaws down on the cat’s throat. There was a high-pitched screech for only a second, then the crunch of bones and vertebrae as Carter tore the throat clean out, as if he were picking the meat off a chicken bone. Blood spurted from the gaping wound as the cat collapsed, its taut muscles giving. It laid on the ground like a bloody rag doll, the crimson liquid seeping into the brown dirt.

  Carter stood on his hind legs and let out a roar that shook the branches of the trees and echoed throughout the woods. He wanted it to serve as a warning to any other beasts who dared confront him.

  Max, now in human form, came racing to Jules’s side, kneeling over her limp body. Carter shifted back, dread growing deep within him like a lead weight. The shifters investigated. Her cheek was red and bruised. Her chest bore scratches, but fortunately not too deep. Max put his fingers to check the pulse in her neck and then nodded to Carter that she was okay. Relief washed over him like a cleansing rain.

  “We should take her back to our cabin,” Carter said.

  Max gave him a cautious look.

  “Let her recover there,” Carter added. “Then we’ll figure out what to do.”

  Jules awoke, head pounding. She lay in a queen-sized bed under warm flannel blankets. Once again, she found herself waking up in a strange, unfamiliar place. This definitely wasn’t Ansell’s cabin. This bedroom was small and plain.

  She swallowed, her throat sore. She pressed her fingers to her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

  She couldn’t remember what happened. She’d been with Ansell in his luxury cabin, drinking expensive coffee and wine, waiting it out until she heard from Nick. But something must have happened... suddenly she felt a flash. A phone call. Panic. Another flash inside a pickup truck, on the verge of tears talking to a stern Ansell. Were they arguing? Then a flash of deep woods and the unmistakable feeling of impending doom.

  There was a creak of footsteps on floorboards, and a moment later, a large, tall man appeared through the door frame. Golden-haired. Familiar. Gorgeous. A pool of want automatically formed deep in her belly as she raked her eyes up and down his body. Torn, dirty blue jeans hung low on his hips. He wore an orange and gray flannel shirt, folded up to reveal his muscular forearms. It was only halfway buttoned up, offering a glimpse of his chest spotted with curly auburn hair.

  She sat up in a panic, squinting her eyes, shooting Carter a furious look. She clenched her fists as she glared, trying to ignore the pure sex oozing from his every pore. After everything that had happened, she hated her traitorous body for reacting so intensely to his presence.

  He put his palms up. “Jules—please. It’s okay. Don’t panic. You’re gonna be okay.”

  “Where am I?” she asked, eyes darting around the room incredulously. What the hell was she doing back with this lying son of a bitch? A shiver of cold realization ran down her spine. Right, he was law enforcement. She’d been caught. This was it.

  “You’re at our cabin,” he said gently. “It’s where Max and I live.”

  “How did I get here?” She demanded.

  Carter swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in his throat. “We found you in the woods. You were hurt. That asshole cat shifter tried to kill you.”

  She gasped as the floodgates opened. Her mind washed with sudden vivid memories. She remembered it all clearly now. Nick had ordered Ansell to kill her! The last thing she remembered was grabbing the gun and pulling the trigger. Then everything went black.

  “Don’t worry, he’s gone. He can’t hurt you now,” Carter said softly. The gentleness of his voice only infuriated her more. He had cruelly betrayed her, used her for sex and would now undoubtedly throw her in prison, yet he here he was, acting like her best friend, as if he had her best interests at heart? Please. He stepped forward and she reflexively grabbed her sheets and pulled them close.

  “Don’t you come near me,” she spat.

  His bushy blond eyebrows upturned with hurt. “I know you’re upset with me,” he said slowly. “But—”

  “Upset with you?” she repeated bitterly. “Upset doesn’t even come close.”

  “You don’t understand, Jules. We were going to tell you the truth. But you found out before we had a chance to—”

  Jules laughed disdainfully. “Oh, how convenient. You were going to tell me the truth, huh? Before or after you threw me in cuffs and hauled me off to jail?”

  “Actually, we weren’t going to—”

  Max stepped in at that moment, giving Carter a look of reprimand. But when he turned to her, his eyes were soft and remorseful. Her heart skipped a beat as she took in his dark, grizzled form. His jet-black hair was unkempt and tousled on his head. His silver eyes cloudy, his tan face weighed down by exhaustion and a bit of dirt. He was wearing torn blue jeans and a dirty white shirt, the fabric thin enough to reveal massive bandages over his chest and shoulder.

  Her eyes stung with tears and her lip trembled. Deep down she felt a well of relief and even... what was it, euphoria? At the sight of him alive and well. But she furrowed her brows and tried to bury it under her anger.

  “Hi, Jules,” Max said softly.

  Jules narrowed her eyes. She wanted to feel genuinely furious, but she found herself having to feign it. “I guess I missed.”

  A faint hint of a smile tugged at his lips, and her stomach did somersaults. “You didn’t miss. You never meant to kill me.”

  Jules looked away and shook her head obstinately. “My mistake,” she lied.

  “That cat shifter, Ansell, he nearly did me in,” Max said. “But fortunately Carter’s sister was able to heal me.”

  “Lucky you,” Jules grumbled.

  Carter put his hand on the wooden edge at the foot of the bed. “You’re lucky, too. You’d be dead if it weren’t for us.”

  Jules crossed her arms. “What do you want from me? You saved me, so what? You’re just gonna arrest me anyway. You should’ve let me die out there. I’d rather be dead than spend the rest of my life in prison.”

  “You won’t get a life sentence, Jules,” Max said.

  “I guess I’ll find out soon enough,” she said, defeat
ed. She pushed the covers off her legs and rolled out of bed, her head pounding. As soon as she stood, she was hit with a wave of vertigo. She stumbled forward, and Carter swooped in without missing a beat, placing his strong hands on her; one on her hip, and another on her shoulder. She fell into him slightly and was overcome by his presence; the heat of his body against hers, his musky scent, a combination of pine, dirt, men’s deodorant, and something else she couldn’t put her finger on.

  Her heart thumped in her chest as electric shocks rang out from Carter’s touch. She regained her composure, stood up straight with resolve, and looked Carter hard in his impossibly deep blue eyes, using every ounce of her willpower not to crumble in his embrace.

  “Don’t touch me,” she spat through gritted teeth. Carter huffed and stepped back with a frown, wood creaking under his heavy weight.

  Jules looked back and forth between Carter and Max, trying her hardest to ignore the butterflies tumbling recklessly in her stomach. She held up her wrists. “Let’s get this over with. I don’t want to spend another second here with you assholes.”

  Carter looked at her wrists, furrowing his brows. “We’re not gonna do that.”

  He looked at Max as if waiting for back up. Max only stared at him with an expression that Jules couldn’t read. Carter thought for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. “We need to talk to you, Jules. Explain ourselves. You’ve been through a lot the past few days. Take this time to rest and recover. Regain your strength. And we’ll go from there.”

  Carter turned and started heading for the door.

  “I don’t want to talk to you,” Jules called out. She crossed her arms. “Neither of you. Just arrest me now. I’ll rest in my jail cell.”

  Max and Carter gave each other a curious look.

  The words sounded insane. She never thought she would demand to be arrested. But if she had to choose between a jail cell and the torture of having to endure the presence of these two shifters who she simultaneously hated and longed for, the jail cell won by a landslide. She knew she’d already lost. She had tried to be a fugitive. She had tried to run from the law, and she had failed. Now she had to accept her fate. And the sooner she did it, the better. There was no use fighting it.