Fate Mountain - Complete

by Scarlett Grove

  Buck growled at himself for having such thoughts and admonished his inner grizzly for thinking them. He made it back to the truck and growled, gripping the wheel of his vehicle. His knuckles turned white.

  He'd been neglecting his work and his promises to help Jessie with his house. Leland had been planning the spring calf branding for some time. He had a shipment of timber to one of his buyers and the deadline was quickly approaching. The obligations were weighing down on Buck's shoulders.

  Despite all his crushing responsibilities, the thing that mattered most was Maria. He would find a way to help her that did not require him to force her off the mountain.

  He would do everything in his power to bring her down of her own free will. That's the only way this could work, and they both knew it. No matter how frustrated he was with Maria and her insistence that she be left alone, he knew there was a wisdom to it.

  Her animal was out of control. Having her around him like that could cause permanent damage to the relationship between their grizzly and lioness, let alone the relationship between man and woman. Shifters tended to have stable, happy marriages, but not every single one worked out that way. There were always exceptions to the rule.

  Buck was not going to let his happily ever after slip between his fingers because he wanted to push Maria into doing something she wasn't ready to do.

  Buck was beginning to get a picture of exactly how rough Maria's life had been until now. If he understood correctly, she'd been orphaned as a young girl, was left to be raised by her older sister in the inner city in Los Angeles. That alone would have been difficult enough, but then the poor girl was kidnapped and was narrowly rescued by the Bear Patrol.

  Somehow, she'd been bitten by Alex Terry and somehow she thought it was her fault. She thought everything was her fault. He couldn't imagine how it must be to be for her, inside her mind, if she truly believed that such horrible things were her responsibility.

  How could she possibly be responsible for a crazed shifter biting her against her will, or an evil band of villains kidnapping her and trying to sell her into slavery? The girl was confused.

  The only thing that would help her was loving kindness and patience. He had to stay strong. He knew this was a test sent by fate. If he wanted the innocent girl in the pretty white dress to come back to him, he would have to prove to her feral beast that he wouldn't be yet another person in her life to damage her innocence.

  He drove past Timber Bear Ranch and made his way into town. He parked in front of the Fate Mountain Police Department, slammed the door of his truck, and walked straight into the building.

  “Is Commander Morris here?” Buck asked the police officer at the front desk.

  He and Rollo had been friends since Rollo first moved to Fate Mountain and took over the Bear Patrol after the war. If anyone could help him get to the bottom of what had happened between Maria and Alex Terry, it was Rollo.

  “Do you have an appointment to see him?”

  “What is it with everyone and appointments?” Buck growled. “My name is Buck Kincaid. Rollo and I are friends. Just tell him I'm here about Maria Reyes.”

  The officer did as he asked and Rollo came out from the back offices. A few moments later.

  “Come on, Buck,” Rollo said. “I've been expecting you.”

  Buck's inner grizzly growled as his patience grew thinner. He followed Rollo through the police station into his office and Rollo closed the door behind them. They sat across from each other with Rollo’s desk between them. Buck gritted his teeth, trying to force himself to stay calm and to speak with his friend, the chief of police, with the respect he deserved.

  “I've come here about Maria Reyes and the situation at the Bright Institute,” Buck said.

  “Right. I was informed of the situation by Corey. My understanding is that there are several search parties out looking for the girl.”

  “What about the guy who bit her? Alex Terry. He has to be put down.”

  “We have a warrant out for his arrest. But that’s about all we can do.”

  “We shifters have to police ourselves,” Buck growled.

  “The Bear Patrol operates under human law. There are no provisions for shifter offenses,” Rollo explained.

  Buck was ready to bring Alex Terry some good old-fashioned shifter justice.

  “Do you know where he is? Have you even been looking?”

  “We've investigated the situation and we know that the man in question has connections to the Updike hyena pack. But we haven't been able to locate him on Fate Mountain.”

  “Just storm the Updike’s mansion,” Buck growled.

  “That won’t be possible. You have to understand, hyenas are everywhere, taking over positions of power in the human world. We can’t stop them. We certainly can’t storm a private residence without legal cause.”

  “Then I’ll have to take care of it on my own,” Buck said.

  “What do you mean, Buck?” Rollo asked, leaning forward.

  “It means that if the law can't take care of Maria’s attacker, I will. Maria Reyes is my mate, and I will protect her.”

  “Buck, you and I have been friends a long time, but I can't permit you to enact some shifter vigilante justice. Even when it comes your mate.”

  As he stood, Buck’s next words came out much darker than he had intended. “Just try to stop me, Rollo.”

  Buck had all the information he needed and was done with the conversation. Alex Terry was connected to the Updikes. The Updikes had been a thorn in the side of the Kincaids for years. Buck could feel in his gut that they were sheltering the sicko mountain lion that had attacked his mate.

  “You better not get caught,” Rollo said. “That's all I've got to say about it.”

  “Noted,” Buck said, storming out of Rollo's office and closing his door too hard behind him.

  It slammed, making Buck wince. He had to get his anger under control or things were going to get bad for everyone. He hurried out of the police station, knowing that Rollo would forgive him eventually.

  Buck got back in his car, gripping the wheel and grinding his teeth together. His inner grizzly wanted to burst out from inside him. But he couldn't give in to the rage and frustration. He had to hold it together, for Maria. She was out of control, and that meant he needed more control than ever to take care of her.

  He let out a long, shuddering breath and turned the key in the ignition. His old truck rumbled to life and he pulled out of the parking lot, turning onto the highway toward the Updike mansion.

  He knew that rolling up to the Updikes by himself was a bad idea. There was no going back now. As he turned off the road onto the driveway, he sent Jessie a text message, telling him here where he was. Jessie shot a text back a moment later asking him if he needed back up. He told Jessie to come if he didn't contact him within the hour.

  Buck drove up to the disheveled mansion. At least fifteen cars were parked out front. The Updikes had been taking in more and more hyenas, infesting Fate Mountain with their kind. They were taking over businesses, schools, and positions of power. If men like Buck let it go too far, it would ruin everything about his home. Buck wasn't about to let that happen. These hyenas had messed with the wrong bear one too many times.

  He grabbed his shotgun from the rack in his truck and made his way up the steps of the mansion to knock on the front door. A tiny female fox shifter in a French maid uniform opened the front door of the mansion, looking scared and despondent. Buck wanted to grab the girl and take her away, but she wasn't the female shifter he was here to save. Not today.

  “Buck Kincaid,” one of the Updike brother said. Walking into the room in his cheesy sweat suit. A gaudy gold chain hung around his neck and he was wearing a gold grill across the top teeth in his mouth. Buck had to keep himself from rolling his eyes at the guy, but instead he narrowed them and growled.

  “Where is Alex Terry?” Buck said.

  “Who’s that?” the Updike brother said, but his tone mad
e it obvious he that he knew full well.

  The first Updike brother was joined by his other brother who wore a similarly ridiculous outfit. They looked like a comic hip hop group that performed at children's parties.

  “You know who Alex Terry is. He's the psychopathic lion shifter who bit Maria Reyes.”

  “Who is Maria Reyes?”

  “Is she hot?” the other one laughed, like it was an inside joke.

  “None of your business,” Buck growled, letting his grizzly shine through his eyes. “I know that guy is here, and I'm going to find him. I won't rest until he's brought to justice. Believe me, the Kincaids have eyes all over this town. He can't hide from us long. You Updikes have been messing with our family for far too long. It ends now. I promise you.”

  Buck loaded a shell in the chamber of his shotgun and both Updikes flinched.

  “Get the hell off our property, Buck Kincaid, and don't come back here.”

  “Yeah.”

  Buck backed out of the doorway and down the stairs, more determined than ever to find Alex Terry.

  Chapter 8

  Maria shivered in her dim cave, the only light from the lantern Buck had brought her. It illuminated the walls, casting eerie shadows. She wasn't sure how long she'd been like this. It had started soon after Buck had left.

  Her cat had taken her out of the cave and left her alone in the cold again, but this time more than six miles away from her supplies. She’d walked on her bare human feet the entire way home. When the temperature fell, halfway home, the fever hit her and slowed her pace even more.

  She’d collapsed at the mouth of her cave, cold and starving. Maria had pulled herself inside on her hands and knees. Half delirious, she got dressed, started a fire, and climbed into her new sleeping bag. Even with the fire and all the new clothing, she still couldn't get warm. Her fever raged, but she managed to cook some of the dehydrated camping food. She’d passed out before she could eat it.

  When she woke again, she was shivering, starving, and sweaty. She wanted to peel out of the jacket, but the temperature had fallen even further in the night. Her breath blew out in misty puffs.

  She sat up on shaking limbs and tried to rekindle her cold fire. Some of the coals were still hot and she poked at them, throwing dried leaves on top of them for kindling. The fire lit, thankfully, and she added some branches. There was very little fuel for fire in her cave. She hadn't been here in days and there had been no time to gather any. She knew she would be left without a fire again soon.

  Maria ate the meal she’d cooked before passing out again. The calories were not nearly enough to replace what she'd expended over the last few days. The shivering took hold when she finished eating the cold camping food. She had to lie down on her side next to the fire and brace herself as the fever took over. Even with the warmth of the new sleeping bag and jacket around her now, she didn't know if she could make it through the night.

  In some ways, she hoped that it would all be over soon. That she could finally be released from the torture that was her life. As that thought formed in her mind, a man appeared in the doorway of her cave. His familiar face was lit by the flames of her campfire. He walked toward her and fell on his knees by her side, touching her forehead.

  “You're burning up,” he said. “How long have you been like this?”

  All she could do was moan and shake her head.

  “There’s some medicine in my first-aid kid,” he said, pulling a bottle of flu medication from his backpack.

  She shook her head no. But he helped her sit up and swig several long draws.

  “I need to keep you warm. It's freezing up here.”

  All she could do was whimper as the medicine hit her nearly empty stomach. Buck kissed her cheek gently and caressed her shoulder.

  “It’s going to be okay, Maria. I’m here now.”

  He laid her down gently and stood. She could hear him moving behind her and then the distinctive sound of cracking and groaning that accompanied a shift.

  His grizzly grunted and sniffed her face. She felt a subtle sense of repulsion from deep within as her lioness wanted to rail against him. She was far too tired and too sick to be bothered. Her body was wasted and broken no matter which form she took. Buck’s grizzly curled up behind her, wrapping his arm gently over her and pulling her body against his chest.

  The heat of the massive beast behind her radiated through her and warmed her to the core. She let out a long sigh and relaxed as sleep overtook her mind and body.

  In the night, she dreamed broken fragments of her past. The men who had taken her from Los Angeles and had thrown her in a truck with a bunch of other girls. Their sneering, snarling faces. Their stinking breath. The words they used to make her less than human. She felt it swirl and sink deep, deep down inside.

  At the same time, she felt Buck’s grizzly encircling her, wrapping her up in his arms and keeping her safe. She knew somehow that what Buck said was true. He would do anything for her, forever and always. He had shown her his devotion. No matter how much she pushed him away, he always seemed to arrive just when she needed him most. She had to believe in something and the only thing she could believe in right now was Buck.

  She woke late in the morning with Buck’s body still pressed against hers. The fever had broken and she felt renewed. She was sweaty and disoriented and dehydrated, but the worst had passed.

  She wiggled under Buck’s grizzly paw and he let her up, grunting and twitching his huge bear nose.

  “How did you sleep last night?” she said, reaching out to stroke the thick hair on the bear’s cheek.

  He looked up at her with his huge golden eyes. She could see the gentle man inside him as he nuzzled against her palm.

  “I feel much better this morning,” she said.

  Buck growled and huffed before his body curled backwards in the miraculous and instantaneous body morphing that was a shift. Even as a shifter now herself, Maria didn't think she would ever get used to the sight of it. Buck sat naked beside her, looking at her with gentle, caring eyes. He pulled a pillow over his lap and cupped her face with the warm hand that had just been a massive paw.

  “I'm glad you're feeling better,” he said, moving his hand to her forehead. “It looks like your fever has broken.”

  “I think it has. I was really worried for a while last night. I had to walk six miles naked back here after a shift and the temperature started to drop.”

  “I was worried about you,” he said.

  “I’m glad you came,” she whispered, knowing that she was ready to leave the cave with him now if he asked.

  “So am I,” he said softly. She waited for a long time for him to ask her to go with him. What he said next surprised her. “I’m curious about your life up here, Maria. Do you think you could show it to me?”

  “What… What do you mean?” she asked.

  “How do you spend your time while you’re up here. What is your day like? I want to know everything about you.”

  “Oh,” she said, at a loss for words.

  She looked up into his shining blue eyes.

  “Can I help you fix something to eat?” he asked, moving to pull on his pants. “What do you usually have for breakfast?”

  “Well, depending on if I’ve been feral recently or not, I will sometimes have fresh meat. Like the venison I had the other day. Sometimes, I eat food I’ve scavenged from the campground nearby. I don’t steal anything, I just take what people leave behind. Since you came, I’ve had this dehydrated stuff. That’s a lot easier.”

  “What’s that tea you make?” he asked her.

  She was surprised he was taking such an interest in her life. Up until now, all he’d been interested in was taking her away from here.

  “I make it out of Oregon grape root, dandelions, nettle, and dried thimbleberries.”

  “Huh,” he said, as she picked up her jar of the concoction. “It’s pretty good. How did you know how to make it?”

  “I learned a lot
about plants at the Bright Institute before the incident…”

  “You don’t have to talk about it.”

  “It’s okay. I liked my classes a lot. I was studying botany. It’s helped me stay alive up here.”

  “Do you forage in the woods?”

  “I find berries and mushrooms. There are some new raspberries ripening down near the stream that leads to the campground. Do you want to see?”

  “Sounds like a date,” he said. “Is it very far? Can you make it today?”

  “No. Not far. I’ll be fine.”

  “Let’s go after we have breakfast. You can tell me all about it.”

  “I’d like that,” she said softly, not sure how to interpret the change in attitude from Buck.

  After he finished dressing, he helped her build the fire up and put some water on to boil. He pulled a bundle out of the backpack he’d worn up to her cave the night before, revealing coffee grounds and a French press.

  “Is that really what I think it is?”

  “Yup. Do you like coffee?”

  “Do I? Oh my gosh. A frappuccino would be even better, but I’ll settle for anything.”

  She giggled, the smell of the rich coffee grounds wafting through the air. She took a deep breath in and then sighed. Her stomach rumbled.

  Buck put coffee grounds into the press, poured boiling water over the whole thing, before pressing out the coffee. He poured a cup for Maria and one for himself. He then brought out little packets sweet creamer and added it to the black brew.

  Maria couldn't have been more thrilled, and her heart leapt in her chest as he stirred the creamer into her coffee. She accepted the finished drink and took a long sip, savoring the rich creamy flavor that she'd missed so much all these weeks alone on the mountain.

  She drank down her coffee and looked out at the morning sunlight streaming through the trees. For a moment, she felt okay. More okay than she had in a very long time.