Wild Fate: A Shifting Destinies Bear Shifter Romance (Black Claw Ranch Book 4)

by Cecilia Lane

  Blow after blow. Fangs snapped in his shoulders, against his ear. He paid them back with raking claws and crunching jaws. Every time he twisted around and blocked the other bear’s path from Liv, renewed strength and determination dumped into his veins.

  He would keep her safe.

  He rose up on hind legs and swung heavy paws into his maker. The bastard huffed and whined as claws dragged down his back. Alex dropped to four paws and ripped into him, tearing with teeth until a final shake of his head brought the fight to an end with a resounding crack.

  Alex stepped back and let the body of his monster fall to the ground, finally, thankfully, put to rest.

  Fur melted from him as he whipped back around. His shape shimmered and four legs became two. Others streamed around him, but he only had eyes for Liv.

  He dropped down next to her again and drew her back into his lap. “Come on, Liv. You have to wake up. Give me some sign you’re in there.”

  She’d pulled him out of the darkness. He’d do the same for her. If he had to sit by her night and day until her body accepted the changes, he’d do it. He’d talk himself hoarse to keep her grounded in this world.

  “I can’t do this without you. I was barely hanging on before you waltzed back into my life.” The words pushed past his lips, soft and powerful all at once. His honest truth. “I need you. I need us. I don’t care if that makes me selfish. You can’t die on me. I won’t survive without you.”

  Claws slashed at his middle. His bear wanted to murder his maker all over again, then find whoever was in charge of writing their fate and do the same. There wasn’t a shred of decency on this side of the veil if he lost Liv, found her, and lost her all over again.

  Her eyes flickered open, then closed again. A tiny smile played across her lips. “You have me.”

  Alex cupped her head and held her close while he nodded. His heart stuttered to a start again, matching the rapid pace of hers.

  He had her. Fate and wild bears be damned.

  Chapter 25

  Alex wiped a hand across his forehead and settled his Stetson back on his head. He forced a grin and waved at the last car to pull away from the ranch. Tension crawled up his spine and tingled in the cheeks he finally relaxed.

  Fuck, he needed a drink.

  A punch landed on his arm. He jumped and growled his displeasure at Hunter. The man’s grin broadened and Alex knew he was about to be pissed off. Still, he ground his teeth together and tried to play nice. A mated man couldn’t fly off the handle every three seconds and brawl from sunup to sundown.

  “Gonna need you to take over both rides booked for tomorrow,” Ethan said as he exited the barn.

  Alex scuffed the toe of his boot against a clod in the dirt. Instead of falling apart, he unearthed a bit of rock. He frowned as he worked at it, digging until it rolled loose.

  “Sounds fine,” he grumbled between gritted teeth.

  Lorne regarded him with something close to curiosity on his face. Hunter and Jesse wore matching grins that Alex wanted to wipe off their stupid faces. Ethan folded his arms over his chest and leaned against a fence post, letting whatever happened play out like his favorite television show.

  Fuckers. All of them.

  He’d tried to stay on his best behavior since Liv was...

  Alex swallowed back bile that turned his stomach. He could barely think about the day without wanting to bleed the world.

  And that was wrong.

  He had everything he wanted. His mate was safe. His maker was dead. He should be twirling in a field of flowers and shitting out rainbows.

  But his bear’s need for brawls hadn’t slackened in the slightest. The teasing that swirled in his clan’s scents made him want to snap at them all. If he couldn’t keep his shit together when the world served him up slices of happiness and satisfaction on a silver fucking platter, how could he possibly think he’d be a good mate to Liv?

  He definitely didn’t want to talk about it with any of the men watching him.

  “Cheer up, man,” Hunter said with a straight face. “I’m sure she’s seen your tiny pecker before. If she can get over that disappointment, she can live with being mated to you.”

  “No marks yet,” Lorne grunted.

  Damn truth speaker. Alex glowered in his direction. Did everyone fucking gossip about him when his back was turned?

  “Liv probably decided to ditch him. I mean, wouldn’t you?” Hunted prodded again.

  His bear shoved forward with a snarl. Alex yanked the beast back before his bones cracked. Sendings flashed through his mind of all the pain he wanted to inflict on the other man, but he kept himself in check.

  Barely.

  Besides, he had long term plans in place to get back at the man for some slight he hardly remembered. The payoff would be worth letting a few more remarks slide.

  “Maybe he doesn’t where to stick it.” Hunter made a circle with one hand and poked a finger through.

  Alex snarled. He picked up the rock and hurled it at Hunter’s chest. “Just because your mate needs to take care of herself while you’re snoring away next to her, doesn’t mean I leave my woman unsatisfied.”

  Hunter yelped at the impact and then laughed. “There’s the Alex we love to hate!”

  “Fucking finally.” Ethan thanked the sky with open hands and a relieved look. “We were wondering how long until you snapped back at us. This weirdness has got to stop.”

  “You’re wild, man. A please and thank you are nice changes, but that smile is creeping out the tourists,” Jesse teased. “And you haven’t once tried to fight us.”

  “Fuck you all,” Alex growled. “I’m trying to be a decent man—”

  “There’s your first mistake,” Hunter said under his breath. “Thinking you’re a decent anything.”

  Alex rounded on him and threw a punch into his stomach with a roar. They scuffled, both landing blows on one another. The edge of his anger melted away with each punch and curse that passed between his lips.

  “All right,” Ethan said. “Break it up. We don’t want to send him back home bruised and bloody.”

  Hunter grabbed him one last headlock. Alex shoved himself out of the way and grinned when the other man hit the ground.

  “Give our best to Liv.” Ethan tipped the brim of his hat, mouth twitching. “Maybe you’ll figure out where to stick it.”

  Alex growled and narrowed his eyes. He stalked off toward his home, both fingers raised in a final salute to the assholes of his clan.

  Fuckers always knew how to ruin a good thing.

  Liv’s scent hit him square in the face as soon as he yanked open his door and stomped inside. Doubts piled up as soon as he did. He’d been trying to be better, but failed at that.

  Wild, they called him. Yeah. Unpredictable and brash, with a beast under his skin. And he still hadn’t been able to keep Liv safe.

  His bear rolled through him in agitation and denial. There it was. The biggest, jagged piece of the whole damn puzzle. He was still fucked up. Why would she tie herself to that for the rest of her life?

  Alex scowled and dropped his Stetson to the counter. He went straight for the fridge, cracked open a beer, and took a long pull from the bottle before starting toward the bedroom, intending to jump straight in the shower. He wanted another attempt to wash his sins clean before he tried putting words to the murky thoughts filling his head.

  Instead, he paused at the door and stared.

  Liv convalesced in his den. In his bed. The sight of her there, in nothing but a black tank top and panties, should have made him happy and hard. She was his mate. His bear certainly loved her scent slowly filling every inch of the place.

  Her flushed cheeks and bright eyes were a stark reminder of how he’d failed her.

  In the end, his monster still won. Liv had an animal that’d soon be unleashed on the world.

  An open notebook rested across her lap, but Liv’s attention was on the vial of blood she drew from her own arm. With help fro
m her coworkers, she’d turned her side of the bed into a home lab. They’d even left her with a mini-fridge to store samples between their visits. Labels were scattered over the nightstand, along with a thermometer and small device that she regularly wrapped around her wrist to measure her blood pressure.

  Alex leaned against the door frame. “Be careful. You’re not going to have any blood left.”

  She flicked him a glance. “We haven’t had a chance to see the process in action. This is such a rare opportunity. I’m not going to waste it.”

  “Aren’t there rules about turning yourself into the science experiment?”

  “We’re in the wild west of progress. There are no rules. And... done.” Before he could object, Liv hopped out of bed long enough to settle the tube among the others in the mini-fridge. She stored or disposed of supplies with quick precision, then slid a bandage over the puncture site.

  Not much blood to bandage, Alex mused. He took another pull from his bottle. If she followed his same path, she had another day before her inner animal demanded to be released.

  Liv climbed back into bed and looked at him expectantly. “Now, can I have that?”

  “You want this?” Playing dumb, he pointed at himself.

  She scrunched her nose, eyes sparkling with mischief. One look, and he felt tension melt off his shoulders. He breathed easier around her.

  His mate. Gorgeous, perfect mate. She made him want to be better.

  So what if he wasn’t a perfect gentleman all the time? At least he tried.

  “Hit it. Quit it.” She almost kept a straight face. Almost. “That bottle is way more interesting.”

  “This one. Right here?” He tapped his finger on the bottle and pushed off the door frame. Her scent and smile had him by the balls and dragged him forward. “The one I’m about to drink?”

  “What would it take for you to share it with me?” Her lips hitched up in a lopsided smile as her fingers grabbed the hem of her shirt. “Maybe a little skin?”

  “What are you willing to pay? If I’m going to get reamed out for going against the doctor’s orders...” Alex planted a knee between her thighs and took a long swig out of the bottle, keeping his eyes fixed on hers.

  “Luckily this doctor says it’s fine.” She dragged her shirt up to expose an inch of her stomach.

  He landed his second knee on the other side of her leg. “Haven’t you drawn too much blood? You’re practically drained.”

  “Just makes me a cheap date.”

  Alex leaned forward and kissed her stomach. Her scent swirled in his nose. Sweet and exotic and tempting even with the new notes of fur added to the mix. He’d kept his hands off her since settling her under the blankets, but his bear rode him harshly to complete the bond. Even working himself to exhaustion hadn’t killed the urge to sink between her thighs and press fangs into her skin.

  But she needed time to recover.

  Time to pick him of her own will.

  He didn’t want life or death to be involved. He wanted it to be man and woman, just them, two people coming together as they should have years before.

  Liv’s fingers threaded through his hair and she hissed when he pressed the cold bottle to her navel.

  “Still want this?”

  “In my mouth.”

  He snorted and nosed the hem of her shirt higher. “Oh, I have something you can put in your mouth.”

  “You’ve been avoiding me.” She twisted her fingers in his hair and pulled him away from her body. “We haven’t talked about things.”

  Alex sat up with a growl and swept his hair back with his hand. “Nothing to talk about,” he said in a gruff voice.

  “Strongly disagree.”

  Liv rose up on her knees and pressed herself against his back. Her arms wrapped around his chest and her chin rested on his shoulder. Warmth coursed through him. Contentment. A soft growl rumbled out of him before he could lock down the noise.

  All the doubts rushed back.

  He’d failed her. He hadn’t kept her safe. That bastard still took advantage of a crisis and stole her from him. Sheer luck gave away her location. Alex hated the number of points where he could have lost her forever, but he couldn’t push those thoughts away.

  What if no one had been driving down the road when she jumped? What if she landed wrong and broke her damn fool neck? The silvery scars on her arms and legs matched his own; their maker hadn’t been gentle. Any one of those bites could have hit an artery and drained her life into the dirt. He could have fought and lost and left her to her fate.

  Liv stroked a hand down the back of his head. The touch quieted a growl he hadn’t been aware rumbled away in his throat.

  “You have to let me in.” She turned her head and kissed his cheek.

  Her choice. She’d picked him before. Was it too much to think she’d do so again? The dark cloud hanging over him rumbled and threatened to crash lightning, but there was a break in the coverage. Sun shined down on the woman seated behind him.

  He couldn’t give her up. She belonged to him.

  He rolled her back to the mattress and nuzzled the crook of her neck. She gasped sharply, thighs slamming together. His bear surged forward with a press of fangs in his gums and a flash of sendings almost too fast to process. Alex didn’t need to see the individual images. The impression was enough.

  His mate needed to be claimed.

  “You need to know what you’re getting into.”

  Amusement laced her scent. “I have a fair idea.”

  “I don’t have anything to offer you. You’d be better off with literally anyone else on the planet.” He tongued his teeth and rolled his face to meet her eyes. “I’m rough, Liv. I still want to fight all the damn time.” The others prodded him into showing that weakness. “And I don’t want to let you go.”

  She was quiet for a long moment. Too long. His bear started pacing through his head before she squeezed him tightly and said, “Then don’t.”

  He drew her wrists above her head and kissed her throat. Right there. A growl rattled in his chest. He wanted to claim her right where he placed his lips.

  “I hurt you before thinking I was protecting you,” he raised his head and breathed against her lips. “You were still hurt because of me.”

  “Then you fought for me and brought me back home.” She leaned up, as much as she could, and nipped his lower lip. Hooded eyes watched him when she relaxed back down. “I don’t care how wild you are. I want to be your mate.”

  The words stunned him. They were exactly what he wanted to hear, hoped she’d say, but they still brought his mind to a standstill.

  Perfect woman. Too smart and brave for her own good. He looked forward to a lifetime of her running circles around him.

  “You’re hurt,” he said carefully.

  “I’m healed and bored of staying in bed all day. Don’t make me wait any longer.”

  Alex dragged a line of kisses across her jaw. “I like hearing you beg,” he answered, his voice dropping to the pitch of pure gravel.

  A flicker of green swirled in the grey of her eyes. The color matched his and their maker’s. Unnervingly beautiful. She turned something and someone terrible into beauty. He hadn’t been in time to save her, but maybe she turned up at the right moment to save him.

  Alex rolled to his knees long enough to drag her upright and strip her of her tank top. Her hands reached for the hem of his shirt and dragged it over his head. Fingers trailed gently across his stomach and over his chest. Down his arms to the silvery scars that marked him as a bitten shifter. He’d hated them for so long, then wore them as a badge of stubborn pride. Never had they felt part of him until that moment.

  Liv brought his arm between them and followed the path of one silvery line with her tongue, eyes watching him the entire time. “Mine,” she said.

  Sweet arousal hit the air and made his mouth water for a taste. Alex growled and cupped a breast and leaned into her, bending her back down to the mattress.


  “Beg for me, Liv,” he ordered. He thumbed her nipple and lowered his head, within striking distance of taking her into his mouth. His breath bathed her skin and raised goose bumps up and down her arms. “Tell me what you want.”

  “You.”

  The arch of her back pushed the swell of her breast to his mouth. He teased her with a lick, then sucked the stiff peak between his lips, his other hand cupping her other breast. He switched between the two, laving and teasing until her chest heaved with panted breaths.

  Not to be outdone, Liv rolled her hips against his thick erection.

  Their bodies moved together like they were made for each other. Her hips pulsed into his, he ground down between her legs. Hiss, groan. Suckle, moan.

  “More,” she whimpered.

  Alex slid a hand down her stomach and into the front of her panties, fingers diving deep into her slick heat. He wanted to take his time, work her up, but the broken noises trickling out of her throat drove him up the wall with need. She looked so fucking sexy with her dark hair spread around her face and her eyes rolling closed. More red spread over her cheeks as he pumped into her, hooking his fingers just right to catch that sweet spot inside that made her writhe against him.

  “Love how you sound, baby,” he growled, stroking into her again and again.

  He didn’t wait for her next begging command. He trailed a path of biting kisses down her ribs and over her hips and tore away the thin strip of fabric keeping him from her. His bear rode him hard to taste more of her.

  He dipped his head between her thighs, shoulders spreading her wide open. Liv’s hands fluttered against her sides as he inhaled sharply and licked a path around her clit. Her breath turned ragged when he pulled her between his lips, still pumping fingers into her heat.

  She was everything. His mate. His life. She didn’t shy away from the dark parts once she understood them. She accepted every part of him and made him a better person.

  She belonged with him. He wanted to complete their connection. Needed to feel her right at the brink when he marked her as his mate.