by Amy Ruttan
He was a tall man with strawberry-blond hair and green eyes, just like his sister. Gordon relaxed until the man spun around and pinned him to the wall, growling like a rabid beast.
“Jared!” Sheridan screeched.
Gordon pushed Jared away, sending him flying into the opposite wall. Jared’s eyes turned inky black as he crouched, ready to shift.
“Who the hell do you think you are, taking my sister?” Jared growled.
“I didn’t take your sister. I rescued her. Her car rolled over in a ditch during a snow storm. I’m a Mountie.”
Jared looked confused and then looked at Sheridan for confirmation.
“It’s true. He rescued me. If he hadn’t found me I would’ve died from exposure.”
Jared straightened but his eyes were still black as coal, his gaze riveted on Gordon.
Sheridan wrapped the blanket around Jared and tried to calm him down. Gordon peered outside to see a small rucksack in the snow. He stepped outside and picked it up. Once he was back inside he shut the door, locking it again.
At least Jared had brought clothes and wouldn’t be lounging around naked. Gordon chucked the knapsack at Jared. “Get dressed. Now.”
There was no reason to be jealous. It was Sheridan’s sibling, but so far Gordon wasn’t very fond of his mate’s family.
This was going to delay his trip to the patrol car for sure now. There were questions to be answered. Like where the hell was Jared when his family was being murdered and his sister beaten?
One thing was for certain though, if Jared found Sheridan then Levi was going to, and he had to be prepared for a more violent attack.
“How the hell did you find us?”
“Gordon, it looks like he’s been through a lot, can’t you give him a moment to collect himself?”
“No,” Gordon growled. “He will submit to my questioning.”
“I don’t submit to anyone,” Jared snarled, tugging on his clothes.
“You will submit to me.”
Sheridan threw up her arms in frustration and wandered over to the fireplace.
Males and their stupid sense of pride by not submitting to another male. Idiots.
Gordon crossed his arms and watched Jared Stevens closely. When he had finished dressing, Jared held out his hands, palms up in supplication.
“I’m sorry I attacked you. I was worried you were working for…for someone else.”
“He knows about Levi, Jared.”
Jared’s lip curled over his teeth, which were still a little elongated. “Don’t mention that black-hearted murderer in my presence.”
“What happened?” Gordon demanded.
Jared narrowed his eyes and snarled at him. “The man murdered my parents in front of me. He was going to do away with me as well, but I escaped.”
“I thought he had killed you too,” Sheridan said, her voice wavering. “I was terrified he wiped out our entire family.”
Jared’s shoulder drooped. “He tried to, but I got away. I spent weeks hiding in the wilderness, headed north, and then I caught your scent, Sheridan. I thought Levi had mated you or killed you.”
Sheridan bit her lip. “He beat me severely before he tried to mate me. I escaped as well.”
Jared growled. “I’ll rip him limb from limb.”
“So you’re the Kodiak Sheridan saw the other day?” Gordon asked.
Jared’s spine stiffened, his eyes glittering as he clenched his fists. “My shifted form is a polar bear…not a Kodiak. Levi’s form is a Kodiak.”
Sheridan gasped and then Gordon caught the scent of enraged male, only this time it wasn’t coming from Jared. They exchanged glances and Jared growled again.
“Levi?” Gordon asked and Jared nodded. Gordon cocked his rifle.
“I will kill him, Mountie. This is not your fight,” Jared snapped. “He killed my family.”
“I understand your need for blood, truly I do, but I will protect Sheridan.”
Jared cocked his head to the side. “What is she to you other than someone you rescued?”
“Jared…he’s my mate.”
“Your… What?” Jared leapt at him again but Gordon was much stronger and flipped him over his shoulder. Sheridan’s brother landed flat on his back on the floor with a loud crash. Jared may be a polar bear in shifted form, but he was a Mukswa who was damn near starvation and half-crazed. Jared needed medical attention and food in him as soon as possible.
Gordon cocked his gun. “He’s stalking us, but he’s still far away. I can get to my patrol car and back before Levi makes his presence known.”
Sheridan clutched his arm. “You can’t leave us.”
He stroked her face. “Your brother is severely malnourished and dehydrated. He has no strength to take on Levi. We need to get him some medical attention and some electrolytes as soon as possible.”
Sheridan worried her lip and glanced over her shoulder at her brother who was moaning on the floor where he landed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back.” His kissed her quickly and headed outside once more. Every step he took he was on edge, listening for the sound of footsteps, and he constantly sniffed at the air for any unfamiliar scents.
The woods around him were eerily quiet. Like the calm before a storm.
Never in the decade he had been away from clan politics did he picture himself being stalked by a Mukswa mobster. Nor did he ever imagine himself marking and mating with a clan woman.
He was so obsessed with Sheridan he almost shirked his duty as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to stay with her. When he wasn’t with her, he craved her, thought of her. Hungered for her.
The snowdrift had blown and he could see the lights on the top of his patrol car. The road had not been plowed, just as he suspected. He made his way over to his car and cleared the snow away so he could open the door and climb inside. The car started with no problems, which in itself was a small miracle, but snow was a surprisingly good insulator.
As soon as his car started the radio snapped on. “I repeat, Constable Thomas, do you read me.”
Gordon picked up the transceiver. “Ten-four.”
There was an audible sigh of relief. “Roger that. Where the hell are you?”
“County road ten. During my beat I came across a stranded motorist. I tried to return back to the detachment but the storm grew too thick. We sheltered in a cabin and are both well. How soon are the plows coming?”
“I’ll send them to work on the road right now to get you out of there.”
“Ten-four.”
“What are the GPS coordinates to the cabin?”
Gordon rattled off the coordinates and was assured by his detachment’s commanding officer that help would be there before nightfall, or by the very latest the next morning.
Great. He could possibly be stuck in that cabin with Jared for a night. Especially since all he wanted to do was make love to Sheridan, slowly. He wanted to sink his cock into her wet sheath and ride her pussy, making her come over and over again, planting his seed in her womb.
No, he couldn’t think like that. He couldn’t bring young ones into the world without a clan.
I know Father would welcome me home.
Gordon longed to return to Ontario, back to the shores of Rice Lake. He wanted to experience a warm, humid summer once more. A milder winter wouldn’t be bad either and he did miss his nieces and nephews.
Only he had been a Lone for so long now. Could he really go back to a life in the clan? To structured rules and to the rigid code of clan life? Could he face his mistakes, face his nightmares?
For Sheridan he would. Jared or no Jared he’d have her tonight. He planned to feed Jared and lock him in the lean-to where the wood supply was stacked.
In that cabin he was the chief Mukswa because he mated a chief’s daughter and what he wanted was her.
Jared could shift to bear form and be perfectly warm and happy in the lean-to.
Gordon locked his patrol car and headed
off to the woods where he hunted down a few small hares. He skinned them and cleaned them where he caught them.
This time he did not cover the remains because he hoped that the scent of blood would distract Levi and whoever else he brought with him.
When he neared the cabin he could hear Sheridan’s dark thoughts about how she was going to eviscerate him for taking so long and her ire amused him greatly.
Knocking three times on the door he waited for the latch to slip through, which it eventually did.
Jared was the one who opened the door to let him in. Gordon couldn’t help but let out a growl of annoyance when he saw his brother-in-law standing in the doorway, blocking his view from Sheridan.
“Are you going to move or just pose there all night?”
Jared’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t want to open the door, but Sheridan said you had a secret knock. How original, knocking three times, like no one could figure that out.”
His sarcasm was blatant, but Gordon ignored him, pushing past him into the cabin. “I suppose you would’ve had a knock to a theme song like Mr. Dressup or The Friendly Giant perhaps?”
Jared’s pupils began to swirl from green to inky black. Good. He was getting the pretty boy’s hackles up and that secretly pleased him. “I would’ve chosen Corner Gas or Hockey Night in Canada actually. More manly.” Jared kept his gaze fastened on him but inclined his head slightly over his shoulder to address Sheridan. “Your mate is infantile, Sis.”
“Well, now you don’t get any supper.” Gordon raised the brace of fat hares he had snared.
Jared’s eyes widened and then Gordon heard the man’s stomach growl in hunger.
“I take it all back,” Jared grumbled. “Casey and Finnegan are totally manly. Very macho.”
Gordon ignored him and took the hare over to the counter, chopping the meat into chunks for a stew helped him keep his anger in check. He hated this part of what he was, the raw emotions that ruled his life. When he left his clan he had been able to control his emotions and was considered a decent guy, laid back. Now being surrounded by another Mukswa male, it was all he could do not to shift.
He didn’t want to shift. If he shifted then he wasn’t sure he could shift back. The bear inside him had been contained too long.
Far too long.
Sheridan brought over a can of sliced potatoes and carrots. “I thought these would go nice with the stew.” She ran her hand down his back, caressing him. The scent of his mate drove him wild and he fought the urge to bend her over and take her. Sheridan was still in heat and it was taking all of his willpower not to impregnate her, which went against every basic instinct in his genetic makeup.
“You’re lucky you’re mated to my sister or I would so be handing you your ass right now.”
Gordon glanced over his shoulder at Jared, who was sitting at the table. Jared’s eyes were black. His fingers gripped the table as if his claws were digging into the wood.
“Jared! Gordon saved my life.”
Jared ignored Sheridan, his eyes focused on Gordon. “When we get back to Winnipeg we’re having a proper mating ceremony. You’re the chief’s sister after all.”
Sheridan grimaced and Gordon could sense her pain, her grief.
“Why don’t you have some tact?” he snapped at Jared.
“I’m sorry, but I am chief now.”
“God, Jared. Can’t you just mourn our parents even a little bit?”
Jared’s face softened momentarily. “I did my mourning when I was on the run from Levi and his hitmen. When we get back to Dawson and return to Winnipeg I have to step up as rightful chief. You know this is how it’s done.”
Sheridan let out a hiss of frustration. Her thoughts were vicious and thankfully directed at her brother, which made him smile. Gordon did agree with Sheridan, Jared had no business returning to Winnipeg until this business with Levi was taken care of. If Jared returned and tried to take his father’s place Levi was just going to finish the job and kill Jared as if he tried to do before Jared escaped.
“As soon as help comes and we get to Dawson, I’m flying us back to Winnipeg,” Jared said.
“You will not be taking my mate anywhere,” Gordon growled, rounding on Jared. “Not until it’s safe for you to return.”
“Excuse me, but I won’t have you two decide my fate. I’ll go where I want,” Sheridan said defiantly.
Gordon was going to say something else when he caught the scent of a Kodiak in the air. Jared was fighting with Sheridan, the way siblings do. They had no idea their hunter was sneaking up on them.
Ready to make his kill.
Chapter Six
Sheridan was tuning out Jared. He was adamant that they return to Winnipeg. Her brother was being absolutely ridiculous. Sheridan wondered if his bear side took over a bit from being on the run and in shifted form for a while. Sometimes when a male Mukswa remained shifted, relying solely on his animalistic instincts too long, he suffered mentally, the psyche becoming wilder, more animal than man.
She could definitely see the feral streak in Jared—the untamed bear just simmering beneath the surface. The brother she knew wouldn’t be this impatient, argumentative and irrational.
Her father, Machias, had been training Jared to be chief. Jared was first and foremost a diplomat. He was calm, rational, intelligent and respectful—a good leader-in-waiting.
Now it was as if he could barely control the animal within. He was argumentative, indecisive, violent and so angry.
Though the latter, well she could understand that feeling. She was angry too but when she ran she didn’t have that luxury to shift and have a new state of mind. The anger she felt hadn’t changed as Jared’s had.
A shiver of dread traveled down her spine. Jared was still ranting, but something was wrong with Gordon.
She glanced over her shoulder, Gordon’s spine was ramrod straight. She swore if he had been in his Mukswa form his hackles would have been raised. He stood stock still, like a statue, his chin raised, his head cocked to the side. It made her stomach twist and beads of sweat broke across her brow as she tried to listen.
All she could hear was her pulse thundering loudly between her ears, the same beat that became louder and louder the more frightened she became. Just as when she was a child and terrified of shadows. The only sound was the beating of her heart to calm her in those moments of fear.
It was in times like this, times when she had been running from Levi, when she envied the males of the clan and their supersensitive hearing.
A low rumble slipped past Gordon’s lips. He was fighting the beast within again, but that feral growl that he could not keep contained inside him and to her that could only mean one thing. He sensed Levi was drawing near.
“Gordon?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Jared paused and let out a snarl. She turned and Jared’s eyes were red, his claws elongating.
“Jared!” Sheridan shouted.
Gordon spun around and grabbed his gun. “Get behind me, Sheridan. His shifting is wild.”
Sheridan did just that, even though she didn’t believe her brother would harm her she was glad to have her mate’s protection.
Something she never thought she would have since her father promised her to Levi. Now she was wondering if her father had been forced into that match. In fact she was positive of that now.
Levi was a monster.
Jared was panting, his shoulders heaving as he tried to keep his bear in control. Gordon took a step forward and she clung to his back, her fingers gripping his shirt. “Jared, calm yourself.”
“I can smell him,” Jared growled.
“I know you can. I can too.”
“Then why don’t you shift? We can take him together.”
Gordon shook his head. “He is not alone. Do you not smell it?”
Jared paused, his eyes flashing as he raised his head, sniffing the air. He growled again and Sheridan saw his fangs. She gasped in shock because she had never seen someon
e half shift before. Jared was half man and half bear. It frightened her.
It’ll be okay.
Gordon’s words were somewhat reassuring in her mind.
“Jared, will you help me?”
Jared cocked his head to the side and she could tell he was contemplating it. As if there was still a rational, levelheaded cell left in his rage-filled mind.
Jared grunted in assent. His claws retracted and his fangs shrank back into his jaw. The only thing that remained was the color of his eyes, red like blood. It scared her because Levi’s eyes had been that color when he pulled out the whip and began to beat her into submission.
Gordon growled, reading her thoughts, seeing the painful memory. He will never hurt you again.
Sheridan didn’t acknowledge him. She knew Gordon would stop Levi from harming her even if it killed him, but she was afraid for his life. She was afraid for her brother’s life.
Jared sat down at the table again, his gaze fastened on the table in front of him. His breathing had returned to something more manageable, but her brother was still on edge.
“Sit next to him, Sheridan,” Gordon whispered. She nodded and perched on the edge of the seat, waiting for the next move.
“What do we do?” Jared asked, his voice harsh and deep.
Sheridan watched Gordon as he moved toward the front door, his gun slung over his shoulder.
“You’re going to stay here and protect your sister and I’m going to deal with Levi.”
“Like hell!” Jared leapt to his feet, snarling.
Sheridan bit her lip, worried about both the men she loved. In a perfect world she didn’t want either of them fighting Levi, and she would be officially mated to Gordon and living with his clan.
Hell, she’d go to the ends of the earth just to be with Gordon. If she had her way she’d be the one killing Levi, only she was no match for him. She had no powers, only when it came to protecting her young, but even then she would be no match for Levi in his shifted form and it was taboo for a female to shed the blood of a Mukswa. If she did she’d be ostracized, an outcast.
A Lone.
Jared and Gordon were still arguing about who would defend her honor so Gordon didn’t hear her thought about killing Levi. She was glad for it, she didn’t need them arguing about that.