A Bride For The Bear (Bear Brides #1) (5 page)

The small street was
deserted. Everyone had hurried indoors and ducked into the side
lanes to avoid the Blood Shadow bears. The Alpha of the Blood Shadow
clan was a wealthy, influential werebear, but Haluddin left the
running of the clan largely to his Beta. Haluddin was getting older,
and some say, weaker, but Cole still held the Blood Shadow Alpha in
esteem, even though he had no respect at all for Haluddin's Beta.
Haluddin's family had once owned most of the land in Moonstone Creek,
but as other packs and clans settled in the small town and challenged
Haluddin for territory, Haluddin had allowed the other packs and
clans to purchase the land, instead of shedding their blood for it.
Cole respected Haluddin for his magnanimity and wisdom.
Unfortunately, with the Blood Shadow clan in his Beta's stewardship,
the clan had gradually degenerated into a lawless, pillaging gang of
hooligans.

Cole smashed into Graig and
knocked him off the struggling human woman. Graig's two soldiers
threw the woman to the ground and shifted into bear at the same time
as Graig.

The three black bears roared
and came at him together, but Cole was prepared. If he had relied on
brute strength alone, he wouldn't have survived all these years.
He'd had to ensure the survival of his younger brother, cousins and
his clan. Cole learned very early on how to read a situation at a
glance, and how to suss out his opponents' strengths and weaknesses.
He knew how to play one against the other, and change tactics before
his enemies could anticipate his moves. As a result of his shrewd
leadership, the Nightfire clan was a small but respected clan. Their
power lay not in their numbers but in their leader and their unity.

Cole crouched and let the
three Blood Shadow bears barrel headlong towards him. At the last
instant, he rolled out of the way and shoved one of Graig's soldiers
forcefully, using their momentum to trip them up. The three black
bears collided into one another, reeling and roaring. Cole skidded
behind them and plucked the frightened woman up from the ground as
gently as he could with his forepaw.

He flung her onto his back,
and he felt her fingers dig into his dense, brown fur as she held on
for dear life. Her muttering and whimpers were incoherent but he
managed to make out a few rather creative curses. She pressed her
body down against his back and the feel of her soft, generous breasts
rubbing against his body almost made his knees buckle.

Cole shook his head hard. He
couldn't lose focus now. Those black bears weren't smart enough to
kill him, but they could certainly hurt her. He had to get her out
of here.

The town center was neutral
territory, so the Blood Shadow bears could swagger around town and
wreak all kinds of havoc and destruction. But once he got the woman
back to his territory, Graig would have to halt his pursuit. If
Graig set foot in Nightfire territory without invitation or
permission, he would risk an all-out war between their clans. And
that would seriously piss Haluddin off.

Cole swiped his claws across
Graig's face as the Blood Shadow Beta lunged at him. He sidestepped
Graig's blow and turned to fight Graig's two soldiers. The woman
wrapped her arms around him and flattened herself against his back.
She was doing her best to hold on, but it didn't help him one bit to
have her hot, soft body pressing so intimately against his.

That sweet, pretty human was
trouble.

She had been surrounded by
trouble when he first saw her, and he just knew that she was going to
be trouble for his heart.

He had never felt so
protective and possessive towards any female before. The exquisite
scent of her had drawn him to her and the smell of her blood and pain
had sent his bear into a maddened frenzy. The realization that she
was hurt had ripped his beast out of his skin and made him tear down
the street with fear in his heart and murder on his mind. He had
feared that he would be too late.

But she was alive. Hurt and
terrified, but alive.

Cole swore that she would
never, ever experience pain and fear again. As yet, he didn't even
know her name, but he had the sense that he had seen her before.

Cole growled a warning to
her over his shoulder. She seemed to understand, and she immediately
tightened her grip around him.

Batting Graig and his
soldiers out of his way, Cole picked up speed and ran. Cars
screeched and bins toppled as he bulldozed his way across busy roads
and junctions, not stopping even when a cab rammed into his side.
The driver jumped out and shook his fist at Cole, then glanced back
and ducked in a hurry as three ferocious black bears thundered past
him.

Cole kept running, aiming for
the open field that separated his territory from Blood Shadow
territory. He raced through the field, listening to the fading roars
and snarls behind him. He wouldn't let those black bears lay a paw
on her. He would keep her safe, keep her with him.

Cole glanced over his
shoulder and caught a glimpse of her side profile.

He saw her rosy cheeks, her
full, parted lips, and those soft brown eyes that were framed with
shimmering, curling lashes.

He jerked suddenly, a violent
tremor seizing his muscles and his heart as the realization slammed
into him.

He knew just where he had
seen her before.

He let out a low, possessive
growl.

You.

Cole shook his head.
It couldn't be.

He had dreamed of her,
envisioned her, fantasized about her.

It really was her.

She was here, and she was
real. She was his
mate
.

Abby opened her eyes and
jerked, her fist and foot flying out to punch and kick. She choked
down a scream when a huge hand closed gently over her wrist and
steadied her.

“Hey, easy now.
Everything is okay. Just...relax,” a deep voice assured her.

“What?” She
snatched her hand out of the stranger's grasp and blinked rapidly.
When his face came into focus, she gasped and reeled back.

“You,” she
whispered. “It's...you.”

Cole.

She shook her head, trying to
wake herself up from her dream. The handsome stranger sitting beside
her on the bed was Cole. There was no doubt about it. She
recognized him from his profile picture. His image was seared into
her mind, her heart.

She stared into those
intense, brown eyes for a long moment before dragging her gaze down
his straight nose, strong jaw and delicious, sexy lips that were made
for kissing and doing wicked things to her body.

Abby gasped. Oh, she did not
just go there!

Her imagination was getting
way out of hand. This dream was getting more and more raunchy by the
second. Why, she wasn't even wearing a shirt in her dream. She was
naked from the waist up, wearing only her old comfy jeans. And she
was lying in a big, luxurious bed and looking up at Cole, the man she
had traveled all the way to Moonstone Creek for...

Abby choked back a pained,
strangled sound. Moonstone Creek—she was here in Moonstone
Creek. Vivid, horrific images flooded her mind. She saw a trio of
hostile, male faces, claws and blood, black bears roaring and
fighting, and she heard the echo of her own wretched, desperate
screams.

Clutching her head in both
hands, Abby forced herself to breathe and make sense of the violent
images. That wasn't her imagination. She hadn't imagined that
harrowing attack. Those horrible things did happen to her.

“There were three of
them...” she wheezed. “They surrounded me and attacked
me. Those men...they...became black bears. I saw them shift.”

Wrapping her arms around
herself, she rocked to and fro, muttering, “There was another
one. A big, brown bear. He fought the black bears and carried me
away on his back...” She stopped babbling long enough to look
up. She stared into those piercing, dark eyes and knew. “It
was you,” she whispered. “That brown bear. You...saved
me.”

He gave her a warm smile.
“Yes, I'm a bear shifter. My name is Cole Jameson. You're in
my home.”
In my bed
.

“Cole,” she
repeated his name in a daze. “You...are real. I knew...”

“Yeah. I'm real.”
His eyes crinkled in amusement. “You passed out after I
brought you back to my place. What's your name? You're not from
around here, are you?” His tone was casual, conversational,
but she saw the interest and concern in his eyes.

“I'm Abby. I...I just
arrived in Moonstone Creek this morning.”

Cole canted his head to the
side. “Are you here to visit some friends or relatives? I can
contact them for you...”

“No. I'm here to
look...”
For you
. She swallowed and amended quickly,
“...to look around.”

He nodded politely but she
wasn't sure he believed her. She pulled the covers up to her chin.
She shuddered when she remembered how her t-shirt and bra had been
shredded by Graig.

Cole stood up and went to
pull out one of his large t-shirts from the drawer. “You had a
few scratches on your body. I cleaned your wounds up and tucked you
in. I didn't...” He swallowed and cleared his throat. “If
you don't mind, you can wear one of my t-shirts. It's not your size,
but...”

“Thank you,” she
said, smiling gratefully. “It's very kind of you. I think
your t-shirt will fit me just fine.” She took the clean white
t-shirt from him and slipped her arms easily through the huge
sleeves. The t-shirt was soft, comfortable and had that pleasant
fresh laundry smell.

“I think I dropped my
backpack,” she mumbled, looking down.

“What's in it?”
Cole asked immediately.

“Cash, some clothes...”

“Don't worry about
that. I have cash, and I'll get you some new clothes,” Cole
said. “What about your keys, your phone...”

Abby patted her jeans pocket
and blew out a breath of relief. “My house keys and phone are
in my pocket.”

She looked up to see him
staring intently at her. Blushing, she mumbled, “You must
think I'm a flake...”

“No. Not at all.
You're new in Moonstone Creek and you've just been attacked by three
Blood Shadow bears. You're holding up remarkably well. I think
you're very brave and strong. You're...amazing.”

Abby bit her lip. “I
don't feel amazing,” she muttered.

Cole marched up to her and
took her hand. “That's because you're tired and hungry. You
haven't eaten. Come, let's get you fed. I'll cook for you.”

“You...what?” she
said dazedly as she stumbled to her feet.

“I'll cook for you,”
Cole answered smugly. He stretched his hand out to her and she took
it shyly. Her hand looked tiny and a little lost in his large,
calloused hand.

Gently, respectfully, Cole
led her out of his bedroom and down the wide, carpeted stairs.
Wordlessly, she followed him across a beautifully furnished living
room and into a spacious kitchen.

“You like spaghetti?”
he asked over his shoulder as he opened the fridge.

She nodded. “It's my
favorite comfort food.”

“You're in luck.”
Cole winked as he loaded his muscular arms with a mountain of fresh
ingredients. “I'm going to make you my secret spaghetti sauce.
You can't get this anywhere else. I make the sauce from scratch.”

Perched on a stool, she
rested her elbows on the marble kitchen top and watched him as he
moved swiftly between the sink and the stove, cooking up a storm.
His muscles rippled as he moved, and she stared appreciatively down
his tall, broad frame, trailing her eyes slowly down his back to his
tight, hard butt.

He turned, and she saw his
knowing, arrogant smirk. He had caught her ogling him. And that
seemed to please him greatly.

“What can I do?”
she asked quickly, her cheeks burning. “Can I help...”

Instead of replying, Cole
came up to her and braced his palms against the counter. He towered
over her, his huge body taut and tense with restrained power. She
could feel the heat radiating from his tanned skin, and feel his
breath brushing against her cheek, like a lover's caress.

Abby swallowed, feeling an
answering heal unfurl low in her belly.

The hunger in his eyes was
unmistakable. His eyes had darkened with desire, and her heart rate
sped up as she watched his eyes turn feral for an instant.

Cole leaned in slowly, giving
her the chance to push him away. Abby pressed her palm against the
wall of his solid chest, but it wasn't to push him away. She wanted
to feel his strong, powerful heart pounding under her hand. Feel his
heart beat for her.

She tilted her face up, and
Cole pressed his lips to hers in a long, burning kiss.

Abby's heart stuttered, and
she fought to catch her breath. Cole kissed her slowly, thoroughly,
taking and tasting her mouth so skilfully and seductively it made her
almost boneless with need.