But those were not things he would ever admit to anyone. He never wanted people to think he was soft, it would ruin his reputation, and reputation was everything to Trent. Above all his laughing and flirting, he was a businessman in the world of trucks and haulage. He had built a business he was proud of and was, perhaps, one of the most successful in Bear Bluff. Yet despite all this success, the need for a mate was the thing that consumed his thoughts. It was getting seriously distracting and he wanted to change that.
Back to business, he pulled up in front of the pump, and refuelled, the snow falling around him, dampening his senses. He would love to be free to run in this right now, up on top of Bear Bluff, over the mountains. He bet half of the town, the bear half, had headed up the mountain. Bear Bluff bears loved the first snow of winter.
Chapter Two
Willow
Willow waited inside the rest room, it was freezing outside and she didn’t know what to do. There was no way she could stay in here for much longer; she knew the cashier had watched her come in, on his surveillance camera. Any minute now, she expected him to knock on the door and tell her to get out.
Little traffic had driven by the gas station since she had been here. The weather was putting people off venturing this far into the mountains. She didn’t blame them, it was no place to be in the snow, the roads were already becoming dangerously slippy when her last ride dropped her here. As she pulled the door open to take a look, she was surprised to see how much it had built up already; she was also surprised to see a big truck parked in front of the pumps. Maybe this was her chance.
Shouldering her pack, she made her way over to the truck, it was unattended, the driver must be inside. Willow knew there was a chance she could be seen, but the snow was coming down so thick now, they might miss her. Taking a chance, not wanting to risk making herself known to the driver in case he said no to a hitchhiker, she tried the back door.
It wasn’t locked, but it was hard to open, and she had no idea how she was going to close it again once she was inside. Still, she had to do something, or else she would freeze, she was not built for sub-zero temperatures. Jumping up to reach the latch, she managed to grab hold of it on the second try, her feet slipping on the snow. Willow was not wholly a graceful woman, being a little on the short and curvy side, but she was determined to get into the back of the truck.
With the door half open, she took her pack off and threw it in. Now she had no choice but to get the rest of her in too, or else she would lose all of her worldly belongings. Placing her hands on the floor of the container, she hopped three times and then jumped. Not high enough. Reassessing her options, she backed off a little and this time took a running jump.
With a lot of huffing and pulling, she managed to get most of her upper body inside, and then she tried to gasp hold of the first thing her fingers touched, in the hope of pulling herself in further. It wasn’t sturdy enough, and in the gloom of the truck’s interior, she could just make out a large shape slipping through her fingers, as it slid way from her across the floor. Half in and half out, if he drove off now she would end up splatted all over the road.
With a great effort, she swung her legs, twice, three times and then she went for it. Wriggling for all she was worth, until she reached a tipping point and dragged the rest of her body into the truck container. For a moment she just lay there, catching her breath, which came out in thick clouds from her mouth. Finally pulling herself to a sitting position, she tried to make out what she was about to travel with. All she could see was boxes, safe enough. Maybe there was even some food in one. She was starving, and with no money to her name, she doubted that was going to change anytime soon. If she wanted to eat, she would have to steal some food.
That bit into her conscience. Stealing was not something she had ever believed she would be forced to do. However, things had changed in her life so rapidly; she was on the verge of being desperate enough to do anything, well nearly anything.
“OK, let’s get these doors shut,” she said, pulling herself up to a kneeling position, feeling the intense cold coming in from outside. She was still going to freeze in here unless she found something warm to wrap herself in. “Doors first.”
Somehow, she managed to pull them to, without falling back out herself. The latch was a problem, but she found if she pulled the doors quite hard, they clicked on something and stayed too, that would have to do. They would only be travelling slowly in this weather, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
But what if there was? Oh, she hated this. It was all so deceitful. What if she caused the container to open up and spill its contents out on the road? She had no choice, that was what she told herself over and over. Willow needed to get far away, and when the engine rumbled into life, she knew that her decision had been made for her. For good or bad, she was now stuck in here. She only hoped she was still alive at the end of it. Because for all she knew, this truck could be going on a very long distance journey. By the time the doors were opened again, and she had realised they could only now be opened from the outside; she might be dead through starvation, or dehydration. She had one bottle of water, which she had refilled in the restroom, but it wouldn’t last her for days.
Willow began looking at the boxes. Using the light from her torch, she carefully checked the sides of boxes for labels. All she wanted was some food, and she would try to do as little damage as possible. As she carefully tried to keep her balance, the truck made its slow progress away from the danger that pursued her.
Chapter Three
Trent
Trent wasn’t sure, if it was the degree of concentration he needed to watch the road or if he had eaten something bad from the gas station, but he felt odd. Not your usual odd, no stomachache, or nausea, this was different from anything he had ever experienced before. The sensations in his body were probably similar to if he had eaten an aphrodisiac; it resulted in an uncomfortable hardness in his pants.
Adjusting his position, he tried to think of something other than sex. But it was hard; his whole body seemed to be in a heightened state. Turning the radio up, he stared at the road, or what he could see of it, and blocked everything out. It worked, for two minutes and then he was back to thinking about sex.
Damn, if this wasn’t the weirdest trip he had been on.
Almost missing his turn off, he had to slow right down to swing his truck onto the steep road, which would take him up to the cougars. He knew he had to keep moving, if he didn’t, then he would be stranded on the road, not something he had any desire to be. Not when his cock refused to calm down. Maybe if he made it to Cougar Ridge he might have to find a little female company to make him feel better.
That thought seemed so wrong somehow, as if he cheating on his mate. I haven’t found her yet, he thought. Damn it; don’t say he was going to have to abstain from sex because he was in love with his mate. A woman he didn’t know yet. This mated bond thing was going to drive him to an early grave.
Still distracted, he missed the bank of snow that had collapsed onto the road. His front wheel hit it, making the truck judder, behind him he heard some of the boxes fall. Managing to maintain control, he guided the truck to a stop, luckily on the brow of a small dip in the road. It gave him a chance of gaining forward momentum when he tried to drive off again. His experience told him, a hill start would be impossible with the amount of snow covering the roads.
He would need to quickly check everything was ok in the back and then push on. It was only about five more miles, if he was lucky he would still be able to make the delivery before night fell completely. He grabbed his flashlight and jacket, before he got out into the cold, wet snow. Walking around the front of the truck, he saw the problem, so first he went about clearing the snow from around his wheels, making sure, he would be able to pull off again. Then he went to the back of the truck.
The odd feelings persisted, getting worse as he made it further back along the length of his truck. In fact there
was a point about five feet from the back of it when the sensation was so intense, he struggled to breathe. Forcing himself to walk on, he found it got a little easier. Strange.
Rubbing his hands together for warmth, he prepared to open the back, knowing the cold mettle would burn his hands. But as he reached up, he paused. The lock was open. Now, if one of his men had been responsible for securing it, he might have blamed them, but he had locked this himself. He knew someone had tampered with it.
Deep inside his mind, his bear awoke. If he had to, if he was confronted by trouble, he would have no choice but to free his bear. But Trent was a hard man, the chances were, it was kids and he would be able to handle himself. Still, his bear made himself known, making Trent feel off kilter again. His bear was normally easy to keep under control, but right now, he was on the prowl. Something was definitely up, and it wasn’t just the snow that was making his bear roar.
Opening the door, Trent took a step back, knowing that if anyone took a swing at him, he didn’t want to be close enough to be hit. Yet, as the doors swung open, there was nothing to see but fallen boxes. He listened for a moment, and then used his other senses, scenting the air.
Something tickled his nostrils, it connected with his cock, which had gone impossibly hard, not much help in a fight, he thought ironically. But the scent awoke more than his cock, it made his bear pace up and down in his mind. A strong suspicion was starting to cover Trent, one that he didn’t want to contemplate. His mate was close.
Allowing the doors to open right up, he went up close to the container, peering into the gloom. Under a pile of boxes, he could see what looked like hair spilling out across the floor. Black hair, dark as a moonless night. He swallowed down his panic. What if this was his mate and she was dead?
How could he live knowing his mate had passed from this world without him ever meeting her?
Trent pulled himself together, pulling himself up into the container and going straight to her side. He pushed the boxes off her, they weren’t heavy, they shouldn’t have hurt her. However she was out cold and there was fresh blood on her forehead; she must have hit her head on the floor when the boxes fell.
Lifting her, he felt her cold hands brush his, sparking electricity across his skin. Trent knew he had to get her out of here, had to get her somewhere warm. That meant moving her to the cab of his truck. There was a place behind the seats that could be used as a bed. In there, he could lie her down and use his body heat to take the chill from her. It was dangerous; any delay in him continuing his journey meant the snow piling up against the wheels. They would be stranded out here on the mountain, but he had to take the risk, or else lose her to the cold and shock of her fall.
Chapter Four
Willow
Her head hurt. However, the rest of her felt, well kind of wonderful. She nestled back against the warm comforter, which was tightly wrapped around her. This was the first time she had felt this safe since … well it seemed forever.
Behind her, the comforter moved, something hard pressing into her back.
Her eyes flew open. Comforters do not move. The last few minutes before she fell unconscious came back to her. The dark, the truck stopping suddenly, and the boxes falling on her, making her lose her balance and end up on the floor. She remembered the pain, and touched her head, which had a plaster on it. A small one like the kind you find in a first aid kit. She had been found.
“How do you feel?” A deep, extremely male voice asked her. Her comforter was a man!
“What? What are you doing?” she asked, trying to slide away from him, but there was no room in the tight space. “Where are we?”
“You are in my truck.” He kept his voice low and soothing, but she wasn’t fooled.
“I want to get out.”
“You can’t.”
“Why? Am I your hostage?”
He chuckled, a low sound that sent shivers down her spine and ignited a heat within her that threatened to chase the last remnants of chill from her body. “I think you may be over reacting a little. You are not my hostage, and if you really want to leave, be my guest.”
He looked at her, amused. Damn he was disturbing to her, like a spider trying to lure her into his web of comfort and warmth. But despite her body’s need to be held by him and … well other things, she couldn’t stay. She got up, noticing she was no longer wearing her coat. And where was her pack?
“My things?” she asked. “What have you done with my belongings?”
“They are on the seat, down there.” He pointed, and then he rested his head on his hand, watching her lazily.
For a moment she hesitated, wondering how she was supposed to get down from here, they were behind the seats of the truck, tucked up nice and cosy in his cab. It all came flooding back to her. The strange sensations she had felt when the truck had begun to move. The closer she got to the front of the truck, the stronger it had become.
Willow had put it down to motion sickness, but she had never experienced that in her whole life. She thought it was because she had never travelled in the back of a truck before, or maybe because she was so hungry. Yet even when she had found a box filled with popcorn, and eaten two packs, she had not felt better. And now? Well now, she felt much worse.
Had he drugged her? Given her some kind of love potion, because her body seemed completely attuned to his. What was wrong with her? As if her life wasn’t strange enough, she didn’t need a man to complicate it any more.
Right. One leg over and then she sort of fell onto the seat, sprawling forward and nearly hitting her head again. The world span around and her head thumped in pain as if the blood was trying to force its way out of her temples. Swallowing down her nausea, she pulled on her coat, noting that there were blinds down over the cab windows, shielding them from prying eyes. Only the soft glow from a light above his head illuminated the small space of the cab.
Romantic. She pushed that from her head. He wouldn’t want her anyway, and she didn’t need him in her life. He was a stranger and it was best, for both of them, if things stayed that way. But he wasn’t a stranger, not to her body; it was as if they had known each other forever. Even now as she was trying to leave him, a part of her was being pulled back to him. It was if he had wrapped a rope around her soul and was holding onto it tightly.
Tearing herself away, she grabbed her pack and opened the door of the truck, right into a snowdrift. Before she could think to save herself, her body was falling out of the door, as the wind took it from her hands. Floundering, feeling the biting cold taking hold of her, she was suddenly aware of his big body hovering over her. His large warm hands grabbed her coat and he hauled her back onto the seat of the truck.
“Whoa, I didn’t think you would actually try to leave.”
“The door…” she said breathlessly.
He wrapped his strong arms around her, rubbing her skin as she shivered and tried to regain her body heat. She lay back, wanting him to comfort her, yet he scared her. More than anyone ever had, and that was saying something. When her mutation had first appeared, her then boyfriend, Ollie, had witnessed it. He called her a freak, told his friends and they had hounded her all over town. She tried to convince them he was on drugs that night, and she hadn’t suddenly just sprouted a tail. But she had.
She was arguing with Ollie over something stupid. But he had made her so mad, and somehow the air around her seemed to change, the world looking different. Then a strange sensation took over her and she had felt different. Off balance.
Out of the corner of her eye, she had seen the end of a black tail twitching in rage. She wanted to scream, but nothing had come out. And then Ollie had seen it and shouted at her, telling her she was a freak. The tail had disappeared, but she had been unable to persuade herself, or him, it wasn’t real.
Eventually she had run. Mainly because one day two weeks later, when he had sent her another one of his “freak” messages, she had got so upset she had changed c
ompletely. Into a panther. A panther.
She drew herself away from the warmth of the man who she was stranded with. “What happens now?” she asked.
“We wait out the storm.”
“Here?” She cast another glance around the small cab.
“It’s warm; we have a little food and water. So this is our best bet.” He watched as she tried to conceal her growing panic. “I won’t hurt you.”
She smiled at him weakly, not quite managing to ask, “But what if I hurt you?” And that was what worried her. What would happen if she turned into a panther in here and attacked him? She didn’t seem to have any control over it. If she got mad, it just happened.
“Look, I don’t know how you ended up in the back of my truck. But I think it might be a good idea to at least introduce ourselves. I’m Trent.” He held out his hand for her to shake, his eyes fixed on her face.
She had to try to be friendly, and then she would feign exhaustion. That would allow her to lie down and not talk to him. That was her best bet, really. Pretend to be asleep for the remainder of the time they were trapped in here. She slipped her hand into his. “Willow.”
Instantly their bodies recognised each other on a molecular level. Her heart rate increased and her breathing became almost laboured, as she fought for control. She needed to pull away from him, to break the contact, but he held her fast. He was experiencing it too. Whatever it was she felt, he felt it too. His eyes dilated, but they never left hers. Mesmerised, she saw him flick out his tongue to moisten his lips, as if preparing to taste something sweet. She realised he wanted to kiss her. Panic filled her and she dragged her hand from his.
“I’m tired,” she blurted out.
“Then you should lie down and sleep, Willow.” She heard the way he savoured her name on his lips. Heat grew in her body, she wanted to lie down and do more than sleep with this man. She wanted those hands of his to spread electricity all through her body. Especially inside her. Deep inside her.
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