Unbearable: Russet Falls Series

by W. H. Vega

  He looked down at her, noticing her big blue eyes hidden behind the baseball cap, the large swell of her breasts, the smallness of her waist, and the luxurious curve of her hips.

  And her ass.

  Holy shit—her ass.

  It was unlike any ass he had seen before; it was just begging for him to squeeze it, to spank it, to do something to it.

  She looked up at him and noticed how he was ogling her backside.

  “Excuse you,” she said sharply, stepping back out of his arms and shooting him a dirty look.

  He wanted to apologize, but couldn’t bring himself to do so. He wasn’t sorry for looking at an ass like that. Something like that on a woman should be admired. And if she didn’t want people looking at it, she shouldn’t have squeezed it into those tight workout pants. It’s like women wearing push up bras and not wanting guys to check out their tits.

  “I need to get back to my car,” she said stiffly, going to move away, though her eyes betrayed her uncertainty.

  “Wait a sec. You can’t go just yet. It’s not safe out there, and I’m going to need you to come back to the park office and file a report.” And I’m going to need to speak to Michael, he added mentally.

  The girl rolled her eyes. “I’ve had a long day. I really don’t have time for that.”

  “Sorry, it’s not an option. And what were you doing off the trails anyway?” Most humans were taught to stay on the damn trails.

  She looked embarrassed, and he saw that she was still trembling from the attack. “I know these trails really well. I thought I could find another nearby trail, but obviously I couldn’t.” Then she stuck her chin out just a bit, somewhat defiant, as if she was challenging him to say more.

  “Let’s head back. You can get your car after you give your report.”

  She looked embarrassed again.

  “What?” he asked, annoyed. Whatever it was, he didn’t have time for this shit. He needed to get back to Michael and get the report from this girl.

  “My car isn’t parked by the office.”

  Oh, so she was one of those people. The people who didn’t feel like paying the measly four dollars to park within park grounds and would rather park illegally on the side of the road.

  “Whatever,” Zane scoffed, “I’ll give you a ride back to your car.” He was eager to get back to Michael, and he started to walk away, not bothering to wait for the girl.

  “Sure,” she said sarcastically, taking long strides to catch up with him, “I’d be happy to walk with you.”

  He rolled his eyes, not having time to deal with her drama.

  “Why do I have to fill out some stupid report? You saw the bear. Can’t you do that?”

  “It’s park policy,’’ he said bluntly, eyes straight ahead. He knew if he looked over at her he wouldn’t be able to stop staring at her chest, which he could now see bouncing up and down out of the corner of his eyes.

  “Okay. Well, it’s not my fault that a damn bear chased me. I’d really like to just go.”

  Zane stopped. “Fine. Then go.” He motioned back toward the forest in the direction in which the bear had taken off.

  She eyed the area nervously, clearly realizing that she didn’t know the way back, nor did she want to encounter the bear again.

  “Fine,” she agreed, turning back in the direction of the office. “I’ll fill out your report.”

  Zane let out a small laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

  “You don’t have to be such a smart ass about it. It is your job to look out for people in the park, isn’t it?” she quipped.

  Zane gave her a dirty look. “Yes, it’s my job. And what’s your job? To annoy the hell out of people and go off trails when everyone knows there are bears in these woods.”

  Shit. He had gone too far and he knew it.

  The pretty brunette stopped and stared at him, her mouth hanging open. “Wow. Great people skills. Yes, I’d definitely like to head back to the park office. Maybe I can tell your boss about what a prick they have patrolling the park.”

  Zane started to say something back to her, but instead snapped his jaw closed. He already had enough to tell Michael; he didn’t need to add this shit to the mix.

  “Sorry,” he muttered, but he knew he sounded anything but.

  Gabby walked alongside the ranger in silence, annoyed that he was being such a jerk. She didn’t know his name, and she didn’t really care to. A bear had nearly eaten her and this jackass park ranger was giving her crap. Of course, she shouldn’t have been off the trail, and she knew she was lucky that he had been there to rescue her.

  As if reading her mind, he cleared his throat. “I’m Zane, by the way,” he said stiffly.

  “Gabby.”

  She kept her eyes down, fixating on Zane’s dark boots. It was a different name.

  It was a sexy name.

  And Lord knew that Zane didn’t need any more help being sexy.

  Ugh. Why did she have to notice that, of all things? Of course, it was hard not to notice how sexy Zane was. He was incredibly tall with broad shoulders, and from the way his biceps bulged under his shirtsleeves she could tell that he had strong arms.

  His eyes were a warm brown that seemed to keep changing from smoldering to angry. And of course, his chiseled jaw, and thick, wavy brown hair didn’t help matters.

  Focus, she scolded herself.

  She could see the large park office in the distance, and she still fully intended to tell Zane’s boss that he had a shitty attitude. Her heart was still pounding from her near-death experience and he wasn’t making things easier.

  “When we’re finished, I’ll take you to your car,” Zane spoke up, clearly trying to play nice now.

  “Whatever,” she snapped. She couldn’t help herself. She was still pissed off by his attitude.

  “Alright, look. I know I was a bit of an ass. I’m sorry, okay?”

  “Sure, sure,” she muttered. She just wanted to fill out the damn report and then get on her way.

  Zane strode up the large lawn to the park office, and Gabby couldn’t help but admire his strong body as he walked. She quickly shook her head, trying to clear it. This was no time for ogling park rangers.

  They were approaching the building, and Zane pulled the door open, motioning for Gabby to enter first. She rolled her eyes and walked into the large building. It reminded her a bit of a museum. And it was so damn big! What the heck did a state park need such a big building for?

  “This way,” Zane said, clearing his throat and leading Gabby to a small room. The room was comfortable, though shabbily decorated. She sat in an overstuffed chair next to a rickety side table.

  “I’ll be right back,” he said, before disappearing. Gabby could hear his shoes clicking down the hall as he walked away, and she peered down at her fingernails, making a mental note to paint them later. Maybe she would put on some bad reality TV and veg out while painting her nails.

  And definitely have a glass of wine.

  At that moment, Zane came back with a piece of paper and clipboard. He sat down in a chair across from her and began to write.

  “So, tell me exactly what happened,” he asked.

  “Umm, I was nearly attacked by a bear!” Gabby exclaimed.

  Zane took a deep breath. “Explain to me what you were doing beforehand.”

  Gabby sighed, what a waste of her time. “I was walking on one of the trails. I knew that there was another more difficult trail nearby and I thought I could find it.”

  Zane sniggered.

  Seriously? She thought. Gabby ignored it and plowed through her story. “I decided to turn back, but once I did that, I heard something behind me. Then I saw that enormous bear.” She shuddered. “I tried to back away slowly, but it advanced towards me and I couldn’t help myself. I ran.”

  She stopped, feeling the fear all over again and remembering the certainty of her death. She shouldn’t even be sitting here now, retelling the story.

  “How di
d you make that bear run away?” she asked, remembering how the bear literally listened to Zane and turned around.

  Zane’s eyes clouded over and he looked down as he scribbled furiously. “I didn’t do anything. It was just luck.”

  “But it seemed like the bear listened to you,” she pressed. The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

  “No, it didn’t. I think it was just afraid.’’

  “But it was chasing me. Coming after me. And then all you had to do was look at it and tell it to leave, and it just—just turned around.”

  Zane looked up at her, his brown eyes dark and hard. “You were terrified,” he said bluntly, his voice harsh. “The bear may have been chasing you, but it was scared when it saw two humans. It ran away out of fear.”

  Gabby went to protest, but the hard look on Zane’s face stopped her.

  “Sheesh,” she muttered. “Touchy.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go give this report to my boss. Wait here please.”

  Gabby jumped up. “I don’t want to wait here.” She had initially wanted to give Zane’s boss a piece of her mind, but now all she wanted to do was get the hell out of here.

  “Sorry,” he said tersely. “You don’t have a choice. Wait here.” He strode to the door and then turned back around. “I shouldn’t be more than a few minutes. Then I can give you a ride back to your car.”

  He pulled the door shut behind him.

  Groaning, Gabby sat back down. Now that the adrenaline was no longer coursing through her veins, she felt exhausted. And the thought of having to be at work by six in the morning didn’t help matters.

  She decided to close her eyes for a minute. Besides, Zane said he would be back momentarily.

  Chapter Five

  Zane hurried down the hall, and Michael pushed open the door to his office, waiting for him in the doorway. His expression was troubled. No questions asked, Michael had read Zane’s thoughts.

  “What the hell?” Michael growled as Zane came in and closed the door.

  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly, feeling the power of Michael’s alpha. “I was patrolling the grounds and picked up the scent of another bear. I was ready to attack the fucker, but then I picked up a human scent. I somehow managed to change quickly enough to rescue her.”

  “And it was black?” Michael asked, fixated on the bear and not caring one iota about Gabby.

  “Yes.”

  “Fucking Cruentus.”

  “That’s what I thought, too.”

  “Well, we need to do something. I’m not having all these god damn trespassers on our lands!” Michael was almost always in control, though he was struggling now to get a hold of himself. Zane noticed the way his muscles twitched just beneath his skin, and his normally green eyes were as dark as night.

  “Hey,” Zane said cautiously, “we’ll take care of this.”

  Michael turned towards the window, closed his eyes and breathed in and out steadily. “Tell me the rest of the story,” he said flatly.

  “The girl ran right into my arms. I looked the bear in the eyes and told him to leave.”

  “And he listened?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do we think the bear was after cubs?” Michael stared out at the forest and Zane could only imagine what he was thinking. The clan couldn’t lose any more cubs. It was already too much.

  “I really couldn’t say. But he was definitely after the girl. That was clear.”

  Michael shook his head in frustration. “Why? What sense does that make?”

  Zane raked his hand through his hair, picturing Gabby’s voluptuous ass and her tits.

  “I don’t think the bear was after that,” Michael pointed out and Zane turned red from embarrassment.

  “Really? Can’t you stay out of my head for one fucking minute?”

  “Believe me. I’d rather not be in your head. But yes, the girl has a great ass.”

  Zane focused on the problem at hand instead of letting his mind wander and leave him vulnerable to Michael’s alpha senses.

  “So, why would the bear be after the girl? Did she pose a threat?”

  Zane let out a laugh. “What kind of threat? She’s a tiny, curvy thing. What could she have done? She says she was minding her business and the bear came after her.”

  “Maybe some kind of sick game?” Michael asked, stroking his jaw.

  Zane shook his head. He couldn’t figure it out either. “What kind of game? It’s against the law to hunt humans.” Well, unless they knew the secret of the werebears—then they had to be taken care of.

  “Yes,” Michael agreed, ‘’but it’s also against the law to kill cubs. And that hasn’t stopped it from happening. Maybe killing cubs got boring and now the tribes are looking for a new game to play.” He paused. “Killing humans.”

  Zane thought for a moment. “I just don’t know, Michael. It doesn’t seem right. Also, it was a black bear, which pretty much means the Cruentus clan, and I’ve always felt that the Atrocitas clan was behind most of the cub killing.”

  “That’s just a theory. We can’t prove shit. Both tribes can be assholes.”

  “I know. Just a thought.”

  Michael turned around and kicked at his chair. “Fuck!” Zane watched as his muscles rippled under his shirt, stretching the material and threatening to rip it. “We’re going to have to send someone over there. I don’t like the idea of going onto their lands, but I don’t know what else we can do.”

  Zane knew Michael was right, but he hated the idea too. “What if we called a council meeting? Discussed it there?”

  The council was made up of three members from each of the three clans. The idea was that the clans could find ways to work together and to help solve problems the clans faced as a whole. They also determined many of the laws—such as not killing cubs, as well as not harming humans. Also, they determined the laws of keeping their identity a secret.

  “I’d prefer that,” Michael admitted, “but I think we’re beyond that. The council has turned into a fucking joke. No one follows the rules, so why bother?”

  Zane knew better than to argue with Michael, yet he couldn’t help feeling that Michael was asking for a bloodbath. But Michael was the alpha, and his word was law, so if he was going to send Zane onto the other clan lands, then Zane could do nothing but obey.

  “I think it’s best if we go in human form,” Michael continued. “That way the tribe will know that we only want to speak with them and come in peace.” Michael scoffed, “though I think peace is the last thing any of these tribes have in mind.”

  Zane sank down into one of Michael’s chairs. “That still doesn’t answer why the cubs are being killed.’’

  “No, it doesn’t. And I think what we need to do now is have constant surveillance. It’s not enough for you to be here at the park during so-called business hours. I’ll make some decisions about who I want patrolling our lands. Then you can focus on other matters. Like why the hell we’ve got bears trespassing on our god damn lands.”

  “Right.” Zane sat in silence as he watched Michael think. Sometimes Zane thought it would be incredible to be the alpha. Everyone has to obey you and no one can go against your word. But then when he saw all the responsibility that came with the power, not to mention the higher likelihood of being killed—well, then the position didn’t seem quite so appealing.

  “Alright, well you don’t need to stay here while I think,” Michael said, his voice changing into one of authority. He was going to give Zane an order. “Go back to your office.’’

  “Was there a chance that she could know about us?” Michael suddenly asked.

  “Huh?”

  “The girl. Could she know about us? Maybe that’s why the other bear was after her.”

  “I don’t think so. She was scared out of her fucking mind.” He bit his tongue.

  “What?” Michael demanded. “What are you holding back?”

  “Nothing.”

  �
�Spit it out,” Michael growled, and Zane winced at having to obey when his mind was trying to resist.

  “It’s nothing. It’s just that the girl kept pressing me about why the bear listened to me when I told it to leave.”

  Michael let out a low breath and swore. “Damn it, Zane! Why didn’t you mention that?”

  “I didn’t think it was important!”

  “The hell it wasn’t! We have strict laws about our secrets! You didn’t think the girl knew anything before, but it sure as hell seems like she knows something now.”

  “I don’t think so,” Zane snapped, feeling his blood start to boil. He didn’t like to be treated like an idiot. Yes, Gabby thought something was up, but Zane certainly didn’t suspect she had guessed that he could morph into a beast.

  “I don’t have time for this!” Michael exploded, pacing the floor. “First the cubs, now this damn human.”

  “Alright, I’ll get out of here so you can think and take the girl back to her car. Anything else you need me to do?”

  Michael didn’t speak, so Zane moved towards the door.

  “Wait.”

  Zane paused, his hand hovering just above the knob.

  “Are you sure she doesn’t know about us?”

  “No, I’m not sure. I’m not inside her head. But I seriously doubt it. Why? Want me to dig around more?”

  “No. I don’t have time for that. I don’t have time for any of this other bullshit. Just take care of girl.”

  Zane froze. “What?”

  “You heard me. Take care of her. I don’t have time for this.”

  “But—we don’t even know if she knows anything,’’ Zane argued. He didn’t usually question Michael, but this seemed harsh and rash to him.

  “We can’t take any risks. Maybe that’s why the other bear was after her. Maybe she knows about us. And if she didn’t know about us, she certainly has questions now, thanks to you.”

  Zane didn’t like the edge in Michael’s voice, and he also didn’t like what Michael was implying.

  “I didn’t give anything away,” Zane spat. “I did what I had to do to save the girl. I didn’t think we’d want a corpse on our lands.”