Oh no he didn't.
Not bothering to restrain his bear’s rage, his heavy fist struck out before Mark could block it. Mark’s body landed and slid with a heavy thud against the door just seconds before
Bending down Doyle wrapped his hand around Mark’s throat with unmistakable intent as he lifted him off the floor. None of this went unnoticed by the remaining police officers, but they were not suicidal enough to get in the way of a ferocious grizzly.
“This seems to be a familiar thing with you.” Mark wheezed out as Doyle’s unbreakable hold around his throat tightened.
“That is twice now that you have insulted my mate. Do it a third time and I will turn your pretty kitty coat into a rug for my floor.” He growled out, showing his sharp teeth at the gasping cougar.
“You are mistaken; when I say corrupt I don’t mean it as you are taking it.”
“Explain.” His voice rumbled out. His eyes glowed with the presence of his bear’s temper.
“I shouldn’t have to! Can’t you smell it on her? She is human, but her smell is deluded with something else. Her scent smells overly sweet and you know that is never a good thing. The sweeter a human smells the more dangerous they turn out to be.” Mark managed to rasp out as his face rapidly turned purple with lack of air.
Abruptly; Doyle released Mark with a skeptical look. When a human or even a shifter’s scent became sweetened, it meant that something was deeply wrong with them. It was a clear warning to all shifters to stay clear of that person. Many shifters that went rouge possessed a sweet smell as well as human killers and psychopaths. This made it easy for shifter law officers to hunt them down.
But how could this fit with Aria? His mate was more skittish than a turkey in November, she was no killer. Could she? Had he been so focused on the ardent mating scent and ignored the warning? The memory of her eyes blazing like twin cerulean flames when she’d commanded him to get away from her resurfaced.
Could he be right? Could something be wrong with our mate and we didn't even know? His troubled thoughts turned to the only person he trusted to ask—his bear.
His bear replied with an uninspired confidence. You’re an idiot. Nothing is wrong with MY mate.
Then why the sweet smell that Mark is talking about? Why does she hide so much about herself?
Why does she have so many nose bleeds and headaches? Who is she running from? You should ask those types of questions and not question our mate. She is our gift and our world, nothing else matters. If you screw this up I will personally make you regret it! His bear growled out in threat.
His bear was right. He shouldn’t question the odd things about his mate, but question the things that were obviously causing harm to her. But one thing was for certain, Aria wasn’t a simple human. She possessed a unique gift that made her different…special. Even if she didn't realize it yet.
Turning his thoughts away from that of his bear’s, Doyle glared back at Mark. “Get these officers out of my home and then kick yourself out while you’re at it. I don’t care what you think or the elders. She is my mate and if I have to fight every last shifter of my pack to prove it I will.”
Shoving the dubious cougar aside, he jerked the door open and stepped out into the late afternoon air. Coming to stand by the railing, he stared down at Aria’s quite form. Her eyes looked empty, withholding any and all feeling from it. Although she had changed out of her blood stained clothes, still he couldn't forget where it had been on her. From the haunting look in her bright eyes, he could tell neither could she. The wooden planks creaked and groaned under his weight as he lowered himself down to sit beside her until their shoulders were nearly touching.
“They’re almost done inside and then it will just be us again.” He stated softly, watching her face for any reaction. There was none. She stayed as unresponsive as the snow she was staring at. “I can't wait to see you in those sexy bra and panties we bought today. In fact I think you should just wear those around the house.” He teased in effort to get some type of response from her.
Still there was no response. Slowly, as if approaching a wild animal, his hand settled on her shoulder. The second his hand settled on her shoulder, she erupted into fighting like a cornered tiger. Her closed hands shot towards his face and would have stuck him, had he not had shifter reflexes. Taking command of her wrists, he jerked her against him. Unbalanced as he drew her closer, her upper body fell against his hard chest. His gentle eyes plead for her to see him. “Aria, it’s me. Calm down.” closing her eyes, Aria shook her head as she seemed to come out of a trance.
“What happened?” Her voice asked hoarsely. His hands settled on her shoulders, rubbing in soothing circles against the tight muscles. Her shaking hands reached up to shove at the hair that had fallen in her face.
“That’s what I would like to know? Didn't you hear me talking to you?”
Shaking her head in denial she shrugged off his hands and moved away from him before turning back to look out over the snow covered foliage. The stray locks that escaped her golden braid slowly lifted on the passing breeze, pulling the silky strands across her scowling expression. As quickly as the soft breeze had left, her expression begun to melted into one of misery and called to every protective instinct that he and his bear possessed.
“It's because of me that she is dead…” Her voice drifted between them softly.
Slowly shaking his head, Doyle reached out and took possession of one of her tightly clenched hands. While unhappy that her hands felt half frozen, he gave her a warm smile. “No. I will not allow you to blame yourself for this. I mean it.” He said firmly. Her lips parted to deny his words, but she quickly snapped them shut before slowly nodding her head, as she seemed to accept his vindication.
“Let's go inside.”
Shaking her head, Aria wrapped her arms around herself. “I like it out here.” She lied while her body trembled.
“Is it the police? Do they make you nervous?” She didn't respond. “It's because you’re running from someone, isn’t it?” When she averted her face, he went on, “If you don’t want to tell me, we can talk to them inside and tell them who killed that girl in there.”
Jumping to her feet, Aria backed away from him like he’d informed her that he wanted to harvest her organs. Stepping off the porch her feet hit the snow as she paced back and forth. Her eyes filled with fear as her hands clenched into tight fists. Long blonde strands floated on the wind around her as she shook her head back and forth rapidly. He could see her eyes glowing brightly for a moment before dimming in the light of the afternoon.
“No.” Looking the cabin, she watched with dread as officers walked past the windows. “I can't go to them with this.” A sharp pain stabbed through her skull and throbbed behind her eyes, causing her hand to reach up to cup the side of her aching skull.
Not again…
“Aria…”
Shaking her head, she let her arms fall to her sides. Meeting his gaze he could see the evident pain in her tired eyes “No! you listen, the people that murdered that innocent woman that is smeared all over your living room are so far above this small town’s police force that you can't even see them. I’m not saying anything and neither are you.”
Rising to his feet, he took a tentative step towards her. “So what then? Are you going to run for the rest of your life? What happen in there today isn't going to stop.” He pointed sharply over his shoulder.
Lifting her chin, she narrowed her rebellious eyes at him. “If you go and tell anyone about this you may as well stake me out in the middle of town with a sign attached saying “Here she is!” I don’t care how much you think the police can help. I will leave if you tell them and say to hell with all this mating crap!” she vented out, half hysteric.
His legs ate up the distance between them in a matter of seconds. He didn't stop until his nose was nearly touching hers. Reaching out, his fingers circled her chin, forcing her to look up at his determined expression. “Don’t ever threaten t
o leave me. I will hunt you down like I have twice now and the next time I will mark you where you stand. And by mark, I mean I will claim every delicious part of your body until there is no doubt in your stubborn mind that you are mine.” Rolling her eyes, she jerked her chin from his grip. He slowly took in a calming breath; taking a step back he gave her some space as she glared daggers at him.
“Besides; what are you so worried I would tell them? You have yet to tell me anything about these people.” He pointed out accusingly.
“Trust me the less you know the better. I don’t want you to be the next bloody body.”
“I am your mate! Maybe you don’t understand what that means. It means you are my lifeline now and if anything happens to you, I may as well blow my own brains out. I cannot and will not just stand by and ignore that someone is threatening you, I won’t allow it.”
With a groan of frustration, she put her back to him, crossing her arms over her chest in effort to ignore the cold. It was freezing out here, but she’d rather freeze to death than be inside with all those police officers staring at her. All of them knew something was off about her and she could practically see the questions and accusations in their eyes. But he was right in one thing. She couldn’t run forever and the bodies would just keep piling up behind her. She needed to end this and to do that she needed to either tell him the whole truth about Malca or leave.
Did she even have the strength to leave him? It made no sense to her. How could she feel such need for a person that was a virtual stranger? Leaving him was the smartest thing she could do, but the mere idea left a bad taste in her mouth. After years of having no contact with another person besides the scientists and Malca that experimented on her, she found herself wanting to cling to him like a vine.
The independent part of her told to her just leave and she was more than capable of protecting herself from Malca’s fury. But deep down a part of her screamed to tell him all the horrid things that she’d had to endure over the years and why it wasn’t safe to trust anyone. It all came down to the same thing, trusting Doyle with everything she was and everything she was becoming.
* ~ * ~ *
Doyle watched as though in slow motion as Aria turned back to look at him. The look in her eyes told him that she now stood at the edge of a cliff within her mind. She could take the last step and trust him to catch her or she could continue to step away and hold off the inevitable. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes before opening them. Taking a small step forward her gaze locked on his watchful one, silently hoping—for what she wasn’t certain of.
“If I promise to tell you everything, do you swear that you will never speak of it again to anyone?”
“Why don’t you want others to know? Did you kill someone?”
A blend of hurt and horror flashed across her face. “If I killed someone, trust me it would be because they deserved It.” she bit out between her tightly clenched teeth. With a groan of frustration, she shook her head at the absurdity of the position she now was in. This was a mistake. How did she really expect to come out and tell him?
So, years ago I was kidnapped, experimented on and now I have no memory of my past and I am slowly dying from a super serum that a crazy doctor injected me with.
She scoffed at the thought of how the truth sounded. Would he even believe her? Warm hands suddenly gripped the sides of her face, causing her to gasp in surprise as her wide eyes met his. For a moment he just stared at her and then as if they were two magnets flying toward one another, his face swiftly lowered as he claimed her lips.
The last time he’d kissed her like this she recalled standing like a statue, too afraid and unsure whether she should return it. But this time the fire that he seemed to ignite through his consuming lips was too potent to ignore. Reaching up, she circled his neck with her arms, pulling him as close to her as she could get with the restrictions of their clothes.
Her lips opened under his with heated desire as his hands gripped her waist, lifting her up against his body. Wrapping her legs around his waist, Aria found her back pressed against the porch railing. Pulling away, he stared down at her with a mixture of amazement and hunger. Bracing her weight with one hand and the rest of his body, Aria watched as his free hand reached up and tore away the rubber band at the end of her thick braid.
Tossing the thin rubber band over his shoulder, his eyes seemed fixated on her now free flowing hair. “I like it like this.” He whispered in wonder as her hair drifted with the wind over her left shoulder, leaving the other side of her neck bare. His eyes drifted to the uncovered skin. His bear was salivating at the sight of that unmarked pale flesh like a starving man. More than anything he wanted to place his mark on her, to show the world that she alone belonged to him.
Struggling, Doyle closed his eyes against his bear’s intense desire to mark her. He couldn’t do that. He needed to woo her, for her to come willing to him and not because he forcibly tied her very existence to his. His eyes met hers for a second time when her finger tips brushed a dark lock of hair that had fell over his eye only to trace a velvety line down the side of his face. Together her hands delved into his surprisingly soft hair, tugging his face closer their lips were a breath apart when Doyle’s hands tightened on her hips.
“Aria…” He breathed out heavily, finding he was barely able to control his impulse of tossing her onto the soft snow and plow into her like the animal he truly was.
Shaking his head at the idea, he fought his bear for supremacy once again. However this time his bear wasn’t going quietly. He could feel his bear’s unbreakable desire to claim their mate and he knew he wouldn’t be able to deny either of them it much longer. Tonight he would claim what was his, tonight she would fully become his mate! Looking up at her with determined filled eyes, he made one last effort to save them both.
“If you kiss me one more time this will not end on an innocent note.” He beseeched her, earnestly.
Confused, she leaned away from his warm frame, her hands still clutching at his sweater like a lifeline. “What do you mean?”
“If you kiss me right now, I plan to take you inside after I throw every one of those wolves out and claim you as mine. It’s too much, Aria. I can’t keep my obsession of you at bay any longer. If you walk away now, I may be able to buy you some time.” His breath panted out as the restraints on his bear began to slowly unravel.
Looking up at him from under her long eyelashes, she softly asked, “And if I do want to kiss you…?”
Had he heard her correctly? It wasn’t a ‘Yes’, but it wasn’t a ‘No’ either. That meant he had a chance! At her words his bear was dancing with overwhelming happiness. His chest felt like it may explode with the happiness that flowed through him. His throat suddenly felt tight as she simply stared back at him, waiting for him to answer her. The overwhelming emotions threatened to drown him at the image of her soon to be naked body spread out beneath him.
Pressing his forehead to hers his voice rumbled out, “If you do, I will never let you escape me. I will chain my very soul to you and where ever you lead I will follow. And I will destroy any threat to you.”
Lifting his head, he stared down at her innocent eyes. Her teeth bit down on her full bottom lip as she seemed to consider his words. Taking a deep breath, her lips parted as she was about to impart her decision as he waited with a baited breath.
“Mr. Mackenzie!” The voice of one of the officers shouted from the front door, just a few feet from them.
Kill him…kill them all! His bear whispered, livid that they’d been so close to hearing her say whether he could claim her or not and a stupid wolf had to go and ruin it!
“What?” He snapped out, causing Aria to jump at the ferocity in his voice.
“We’re done here, unless there is anything else you need to let us look at?” The wolf asked, unaffected by Doyle’s temper.
“No.”
“Henry wants a word with you.” The wolf stated haughtily turning on his heels and stal
king to one of the squad cars parked behind his pickup.
Slowly lowering Aria onto her feet, he bit back a growl in frustration as her body slid teasingly against his rigid erection. Reaching out, his warm hand skimmed against her smooth cheek as he brushed a long golden strand out of her face before tucking it behind one dainty ear. His eyes looked down at her with a look of regret, before he took a step back.
“I need to see what they’ve found out.” He explained, “Go inside and get warm. I’ll be inside after a while.” Appearing a little chest fallen, Aria nodded and turned to walk onto the walkway and onto the porch. When he’d assumed she’d gone inside he was surprised when the sound of her boots hitting the wooden planks with urgent steps reached his ears. Looking at her rushing form returning, he stared at her with a look of confusion.
Coming to a sliding halt in front of him, Aria took a deep, preparing breath. Reaching up, she took hold of the back of his neck with her unwavering hands. Jerking him down, without an ounce of hesitation, her lips covered his in a searing kiss that promised to burn him to the bone. As quick as her lips had touched his, they retreated leaving him to gaze at her with a stunned expression.
“My answer is yes.” Her husky voice whispered before she released her hold on him, turned to flee past the staring officers and back up to the door.
A determined smile spread across his face as she hastened back inside, slamming the door closed behind her. Turning to see a few of the were-wolves watching her with lust filled gazes caused a possessive growl to vibrate his chest. The sooner he got rid of them the sooner he could claim his mate. Tonight he would finally claim his mate; he could only hope that she would forgive him for not telling her what it really meant to be claimed by a shifter.
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Bearing It All (Grizzly Affairs Book 1) Page 12