Bear Exposure (Highland Brothers 3) (5 page)

S
triker smiled
as he opened the garage door. His mate was in his bed. She would be there when he returned, waiting for him to claim her like he just did. He held the camera in his hands. He hadn’t been this anxious to look through the lens in months. He finally realized why he hadn’t had any inspiration. He needed Presley. His bear had been trying to tell him, and he had pushed the urges away. Pushed away his search.

He was always worried the next woman would be another Cassie—perfect on paper, but not made for his bear.

The cold ground crunched under his boots.

He pushed a limb out of his way as he started on the trail behind the house. The path led to the fishing lake he and his brothers used.

Twenty minutes later he scaled over a rock and stood on top. The lake was frozen with chips of ice. He brought the camera to his eye and twisted the lens into focus. He could see his breath as he exhaled.

He didn’t know why he had locked this camera away. Maybe it was because the last time he used it was with Cassie. That seemed fucking absurd now. He knew she wasn’t his mate, but after last night he actually knew the meaning. Now that Presley was here, it didn’t seem to matter how much time he had spent waiting for her.

He had wasted time and emotion on a woman he shouldn’t have spent a single night with. Presley was all he needed. He knew that now.

He pressed on the shutter release, exhaling as he brought everything into focus. He grinned. He was rusty with the camera, but it was coming back to him.

He jumped off the rock and walked around the lake. He could get lost here. Not too lost—there was a beautiful woman waiting for him.

S
he closed the book
, looking around the room. She didn’t know how long Striker would be gone. He looked excited and anxious to start his hike.

She’d never been around an artist. That’s what he was. His art was formed through his camera. When he showed her the magazine articles last night she was surprised. When he told her he was from a family of famous brothers, she didn’t know if she had stumbled into some kind of fairytale.

This kind of thing didn’t happen. Wealthy, hot, broody artist was making her breakfast, and taking her body to places she didn’t know she wanted to go. She had run off the road and straight into Mr. Perfect’s arms.

Not only that, she could hide from the pack. Colton wouldn’t find her. She was safe with Striker.

She peeled the covers off her legs and walked to his bathroom. She examined the countertop and held a bottle of his cologne to her nose. It smelled clean and fresh like him. She reached for the shower nozzle and started the water.

She hated washing his scent off her, but she knew she needed another shower. There was no telling when the power would go out again, and she wasn’t about to take a cold shower.

The water trickled over her hips. She wrapped her hands across the soft flesh of her stomach. Presley felt different. Her body was warm and humming. So many things had happened in the past twenty-four hours it would make sense she felt slightly drunk.

She toweled off and got dressed. She carried Hudson’s book with her down the stairs. She would read while she waited for Striker to get back. She hoped he was right about the food delivery. She was starving. Hungrier than usual.

Striker had left the fire burning for her downstairs. She tossed another log on top to warm the room. She settled on the couch with the quilt he had wrapped her in last night.

She jumped when she heard the doorbell ring. “Thank, God,” she murmured. “I’m ready to eat my arm.”

She whipped open the door, expecting to see someone from the Highland office with bags of food.

Her mouth dropped before she could register she needed to close the door.

“Holy shit,” she whispered.

Colton grinned in front of her. His blue eyes sparkled. “You took off, Presley. Why’d you do that?”

She tried to slam the door closed, but she wasn’t quick or strong enough. Colton kicked the door and yanked her on the porch. She screamed when his hand clamped on her wrist.

“Get off me!” she shrieked.

He pulled her down the first step.

“I don’t think so. You missed your date with the pack.”

“No. I’m not going anywhere with you.” She tried to grab the railing, the steps, anything she could wrap her fingers around but Colton dragged her to the driveway.

She kicked her legs, but his hold on her waist was strong.

She tried to scream, but he wrapped a cloth around her mouth and tied it before shoving her in the backseat of a car. He crawled toward her, pinning her wrists together and securing them with rope.

There was a man behind the steering wheel. “Ready?” he asked Colton.

“Yeah, get out of here before he comes back.”

Presley’s eyes widened. Her heart almost stopped beating. Striker wouldn’t know where she was. He wouldn’t know she had been taken. Once the car drove off the Highland property, she knew it would be as if she had vanished in thin air.

The tears streaked down her face.

“Don’t worry, baby. The pack will take good care of you.” Colton grinned as the car peeled out of the driveway.

H
e couldn’t wait
to get back to the darkroom and develop the pictures from his shoot. If he could process these, he might just have his next exhibit in this camera. He felt invigorated. Alive. And Presley would be there waiting for him. Ready for him to take her to bed. That would have to come first before he looked at the negatives. His bear missed her. He didn’t know a bond with a mate would be this strong.

He stepped into the path’s clearing and looked up at the house. His nose was instantly hit with an unwelcome scent. He sniffed again.

“Wolves,” he growled.

He looked around the yard. It seemed quiet, but wolves were known to be stealth. He could smell them. There were two.

He slipped in through the garage door and hurried into the house. “Presley?”

The fire was burning low. He saw Hudson’s book on the couch. He called her name again as he took the stairs two at a time. His room was empty.

He raced to the first floor. He didn’t smell the wolves downstairs. Nothing made sense.

The doorbell rang and he whipped the door open.

“Mr. Highland, your delivery.”

Striker was instantly hit with the smell. He growled, dragging the man over the threshold and into the house.

He squeaked in Striker’s hands.

“Where is she?” he growled.

“I just brought food. It’s on the porch.”

Striker realized he wasn’t the wolf. The scent was coming from the door. He walked onto the porch, picking up the lingering odor. The wolves had been here. He had told Presley to open the door for the delivery. Fuck.

He jogged down the stairs, following the scent. It stopped in the driveway. Someone had taken her. His bear roared from within. His mate was gone.

T
he gag cut
into the corners of Presley’s mouth. She knew it was pointless to scream. Colton and his buddy were the only ones in the car. She leaned against the window, watching the miles blur past.

Colton’s hand landed on her knee and he squeezed. “Still can’t believe I found you so quickly. I called, but when you didn’t answer I knew I needed to find you.”

In the backseat of the car he didn’t look nearly as charming as he had the night she met him at the bar.

It was stupid to think a nice guy would hang out in a dump like that. But he had lured her in with compliments. And something in his eyes made her want to follow him. She cursed herself now. She was a fucking idiot. At least she never slept with him. It didn’t go past a kiss on her front porch.

“We’re almost there now.” His hand curled to the inside of her thigh. “They’re going to love you. All of you.” He cupped between her legs and Presley squirmed closer to the door.

Colton chuckled. “Don’t worry. Once you’re a part of the pack, you’ll love it too.” His finger moved to her face and began to stroke her cheek.

“Want me to pull over now?” the driver asked. “You can have her before the rest of the pack. They’ll understand. You found her. It might help to break her in. Take the edge off.”

Alarm bells rang in her head. She tried to shove Colton off of her. “No,” he answered. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself. The pack deserves her as much as I do. We will take her in the mating ritual.”

She started to whimper. What was going to happen to her?

“It’s all right.” He licked against her neck. All she could do was stay still. “Once we’ve all had you, I’ll be the one to bite you.” He nipped at her neck and she jumped almost hitting the roof of the car. “Then, you’ll be the female alpha. The she-wolf I’ve been looking for.”

She closed her eyes. This had to be a nightmare. It couldn’t be real. But something told her every part of it was real. Her stomach lurched and she thought she was going to be sick in the back of the car.

S
triker knew
he didn’t have much time. He jumped behind the wheel of his SUV and peeled out of the driveway. The back end of the car fishtailed over the ice. The roads were a nightmare.

It was unlikely the wolves would drive toward the city. He had to take a chance they were headed east. He pointed his car in the direction and pressed the accelerator as far as it would go, smashing it against the floorboard.

He had heard the rumors for months that wolf shifters had been migrating closer to Highland properties. They were spotted in the territory, but he hadn’t thought there was danger.

He spent most of his time in Seattle. He didn’t let shifter news distract him. But now he realized what a mistake it was. His bear should have done more.

He never should have left her home alone. He should have told her who he was. That she was now his mate. He punched at the steering wheel. Damn it.

There was nothing but wilderness. He rolled down his window in case he could pick up the scent of more wolves. This was a wild goose chase, but he would do whatever he had to, to get her back. He had to protect her.

His bear was angry. Furious that someone had taken his mate from his home. The place she should have been most protected. He was ready to rip heads off.

Striker slowed the car. He saw tire tracks in deep ruts of mud. There was a narrow dirt road. He put the car in park and stepped away from his engine. He could smell them. But it wasn’t the scent of two wolves. There were two many to decipher. His nose twitched and burned with the acrid smell.

He jumped behind the wheel and started down the road, driving deeper into the forest. She had to be here. He would find her and bring her home.

C
olton grabbed
her by the arm and pulled her from the car. She tried to hold on to the door handle or the headrest. She knew if he got her out of the car any chance of protecting herself was gone. She kicked and screamed, but the driver just picked up her feet and they carried her up the stairs to a cabin.

“Stop screaming,” he ordered.

She wiggled and thrashed, trying to break free.

They deposited her in a room, dropping her on a bed.

Colton nodded at the driver, and he walked out of the room.

She scooted back on the bed. She didn’t want him to touch her again.

He reached behind her head and unfastened the tie.

“There.” He smiled. “The others will be here in an hour. So put this on and meet us in the living room.” He held a sheer white gown toward her.

“No.” She glared at him. “I’m not wearing that.”

His eyes narrowed. “You will wear it, even if I have to strip you down and put it on your myself. This is the alpha’s ritual gown.” He tossed it in her lap. “Your tits are going to look hot in this. Nothing on underneath. Understand?”

“But it’s see-through,” she complained.

“Exactly. We all want to see your gorgeous, curvy body. So ripe and ready for us, isn’t it? Hips and an ass I can’t wait to get my hands on,” he growled.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked. The tears stung the corners of her eyes.

He sat next to her. “Because. You’re my little wolf. Now put this on for the ceremony. I’m happy to help.”

He reached toward the hem of her shirt, and Presley shrank from the touch.

She didn’t want to ask. She didn’t want to know, but not knowing was far worse. “What are you going to do to me?”

“It is the mating ritual ceremony. I’ll bring you into the center of the circle. When I touch your shoulders you drop to your knees. You like being taken from behind don’t you?”

She felt a pit in her stomach so big she wished she could die.

“No? Hmm.” Colton licked his lips. “You’ll like it. I promise. Once I have finished, the wolf to my right gets his turn until it comes back to me. That’s when I rip the gown from you. I will bite you as you come, completing the ritual. Then you will be by my side.”

“There’s no way I’m going to come for you.” She glared at him. It was disgusting and revolting.

Colton’s hand moved between her legs. She quickly tried to press her knees together. “You will come. You’ll love it so much you won’t be able to stop it. You’ll be wet and hot for me. As I bite you, you will draw the magic into your essence, giving you your wolf form.”

“Wolf form?” She almost choked on the words.

“You’ll be such a fucking hot wolf.”

“Why? Why?” The despair was overwhelming.

“It’s the only way to bring you into the pack. It will make you the leader you are supposed to be.”

“But I don’t want to be your leader.” She shook her head. “I want to leave, Colton.”

“You’ll change your mind.”

She threw the gown on the floor. “I won’t do it.”

He picked it off the floor and laid it next to her. “Don’t test me.”

“Find another girl. There has to be someone else who wants to be in the pack. I don’t.” She seethed.

“I thought we had a thing,” he teased.

“We went on one date. It was not a thing.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Doesn’t matter. I have chosen you. Which means the pack will accept you. And you will do your part. Put on the fucking gown. I’ll be back in a few minutes to begin the ceremony. Once I lead you to the center of the pack I’ll tap your shoulders. That’s when you get on all fours. I’m going to make this the best fucking night of your life.” He bared his teeth and the fear shot through her.

She wasn’t getting out of here.