Bear His Bond: Wylde Den Two (Alaskan Den Men Book 9) (3 page)

He stood close now, so close the smell of Mother Nature mixed with everything that made Everett so damn tempting filled her lungs. Auburn glints of light caught in his dark hair and made him appear as if he belonged right where they were at, in the deep woods of Alaska and far from where the touch of humans had yet to tarnish. Hopefully.

So far so good, anyway. That thought brought her back around to her purpose here. They’d tested three smaller natural ponds in the area late last evening and now she needed samples from this lake. In the last two months she’d taken several samples of the water from various sources as well with no luck in finding what was making the local wildlife, shifter and non-shifter alike, ill.

He raised his sunglasses to rest on the top of his head. “You keep looking at me like that and no amount of begging and finger-wagging will keep me away. Those sad eyes kill my resolve.”

“It’s just that we should have an answer by now, you know?”

A sudden seriousness came over him. “I do and you will. We’ll figure it out and then we can get back to the fun times, Pepper.” He tilted her chin up to meet her gaze. “Woman, you make me want to do things that I’ve never done before.”

Unease tightened the muscles of his shoulders beneath her touch. His gaze swam with something close to what looked as though he had a lot more to say on the matter, but instead he sealed his lips in a fine line.

Men. Wylde men to be exact. She’d witnessed that same pursed lips look on all six brothers and she knew for a fact it originated with the elder of the crew. A man as burly and unruly as his offspring.

It took all she had not to push Everett to say what she saw written clear as the Alaskan sky on his face. But if she did that she would scare him off and could kiss her last remaining days here with him goodbye.

The way his eyes swirled between a deep gold and liquid amber seemed to read like he wanted to say their time together meant more to him than a quickie, a fun weekend. Then again, maybe she only wanted to hear the words, true or not.

She opened her to mouth to ask but sucked in a brutal gasp instead.

A single crack carried across the expanse of the lake, and Pepper hit the ground before Everett had even ducked.

“Are you crazy? Get down!” She knew gunfire when she heard it. Reaching up, she tugged on Everett’s hand, but he slipped away from her, took several paces back and inhaled long and deep until his chest doubled in size. What in the hell was he doing? From where she crouched, she couldn’t see anything but the small crease lines at the corners of his eyes and the space between his brows deepened into a fierce scowl. What she couldn’t see with her human eyes or pick up with her watered-down sense of smell his heightened shifter senses had no problem detecting from the way he shook his head from side to side.

From one second to the next the calm atmosphere morphed despite the sun’s determination to fight the encroaching grayness.

She cast a wary eye over their eerily silent surroundings. Everything from the faint chirp of crickets to the occasional call of birds fell quiet. “What? What is it? A hunter? Do you think they shot at us or a bear or something? I mean a real one? Not that you’re not one, but…”
Geez!
Shut up, Pepper
.

Looking between Everett and the section of woods at their back, she let her words drift.

Everett blinked back at her before speaking. “We’re not alone. Stay here, stay low. I’ll be right back.” He kneeled beside her and helped her sit up enough to where the top of the grass brushed just above eye level and spoke in a hushed, grated tone that gave nothing away.

“Everett, what does that mean? You need to tell me what I need to be shooting—my gun or my camera for proof of Sasquatch.”

That got his attention. His entire body went rigid and he yanked off his glasses, hitting her with a look that held no room for misinterpretation. Shock widened his eyes and his sigh came across loud and clear. “We’ll talk about why you think you need a gun when you have me later.” His frown lightened a couple of shades. “I’m not touching the whole bigfoot thing.”

She pushed up to her knees and came nose-to-nose with a very unamused werebear shifter.

“See why talking is important? I need deets not macho bullcrap. And like it’s so strange. There are shifters, aren’t there?” She waved a hand at him. She knew most people in her profession looked at her with a side eye and gave her a wide berth for the radical thinking, but that was probably neither here nor there at the moment.

He gave her the same side glare but with a glint of humor instead of cruel judgment.

“I’m just saying.” She turned back to the area he was focused on.

“Stay here. Gather your samples while I check this out.”

“Yeah, buster that’s not going to work.” She threw a hand out to stop him. “What did you pick up?” One thing she wouldn’t be classified as was helpless or a damsel in distress. “Communication is everything.”

Her words made something in him change. The razor sharp angles of his face softened, and his body relaxed a notch as though something clicked mentally.

She only wished she knew what that something was because it made her heart do a double tap.

Everett gave a stiff nod and tapped the side of his nose. “Agreed.” Pulling off his hiking boots that had seen several months of hardcore use, he never took his eyes off the direction the gunshot came from. “I got a whiff of something tangy but almost sickening sweet too.” He pinched the bridge of his nose for a brief second as he continued. “It burns in the way lighter fluid would when you get a good whiff. I can’t pinpoint quite yet what it is, and the stink of gunpowder from the shot muddles it up. Hunters aren’t allowed in the park. If I don’t come back in ten minutes, drop everything and head to the plane. Radio home and have them get the rangers up here STAT. And stay hidden.”

Now that she could do. Everett’s long strides carried him halfway across the field before he finished stripping his pants off. By the time he hit the tree line, the man she’d kissed minutes ago was a powerful bear shifting between the massive oaks and pines that filled this part of the national park. In seconds he disappeared from sight, the thunder of his massive weight connecting with the earth was the only sign of his presence.

Remaining hidden in the grass, she gave the air a test. No scent of gunpowder or tangy anything hit her radar. She frowned. Lucky bear. Being supernatural had its benefits.

Pepper turned over on her stomach and pushed up to all fours. Grass crunched beneath her weight from the lack of rain. Careful not to draw too much attention to her location, she eased back to where she left the gear. As a wildlife veterinarian, being out in the field required more than test tubes and wading boots. A smart woman needed protection. She flipped back the cover and pulled out the revolver her brothers gifted her as a graduation present from the University of California and clipped it to the side of her belt.

Used to living in a man’s world as the only woman in a house of five police officer brothers, working a gun became second nature before graduating high school. If anything, having a cop family taught her to always be prepared. She hated the thing and never used it outside the firing range. Still, miles in the backwoods it could mean the only thing between her, a wooden casket and the worms.

She shuddered.

Vials lay scattered in the grass where she’d dropped them earlier. She moved to retrieve them and stood up slowly. She could at least gather the samples while she waited.

Three piercing shots cracked open the quiet day like a lightning bolt to the chest.

Heels dug into the grass, she did a one-eighty as she crouched low once again.

Cold fear burst through her veins and collided with her heart in a rush of panic. Glass clanked and tumbled by her feet. One foot fell in front of the other until everything blurred.

Trees meant cover. In a flat run through the sea of grass, she dashed across the forty yards of a death trap. Heavy pants rocked her chest, but she narrowed her eyes and scanned the space between the trees. Where was he? She had to find him.

Deep guttural roars snaked through the trees from the right and sent a flock of sharp-tailed grouse scattering for safety behind her.

“Oh God. Everett.”

CHAPTER THREE

Instinct pulled her hand to her holster.

She blew out a trembling breath and took another to steady her nerves. Trouble waited for her every inch she advanced, but she hoped to deliver a little of it herself if someone hurt Everett. She steadied her aim and worked around several massive pines. Roots twined together along the forest floor to create large gnarled traps. Would he recognize her while in bear form? Injured animals didn’t tend to care who was in their way. If she got too close a two-ton bear would plow right through her without a thought to it.

The lack of rain in the area made the foliage underfoot crackle and crunch with each step as she made her way closer to where she pinpointed the roars and gunshot.

Scurrying little steps broke the silence as a startled squirrel dashed across her path, sensing danger too. Another few feet and the thickly wooded area gradually thinned until it opened into another section of the same large field that hugged the lake.

It was too quiet.

Nothing moved, chirped or twitched. Not even the squirrel could be seen close by.

Rustling came from her right, and a patch of brown fur poked out from behind the base of a large tree.

She stared for only a second before moving to holster her weapon. “Everett, thank God.”

A flash of white caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. But it was too late. A sharp blow directly beneath her shoulder blades forced the last of the air from her lungs.

Bear morphed to human midair as massive arms wrapped around her and the weight of Mt. Everest collided with her smaller frame. Unable to move, screams stuck in her throat and choked out the little bit of air she managed to drag in.

No matter what she did, impact was inevitable. The ground rushed up to meet her head-on. Caged in, there was no use fighting it. She could not move an arm or a hand to stop the brutal blow from coming.

Pain splintered across her cheek and stars swam in her vision. Oil and copper filled her nostrils as she tried to refill her lungs with a vital amount of air.

Gritting her teeth, fear and a blood-boiling amount of rage drove her head back. She smiled when the satisfying crunch followed by a grunt hit her ears. The vice-like hold her assailant had on her released. She kicked up, not wasting a single precious second…another tidbit her overprotective brothers had taught her in the back yard after school over a case of cola and some sparring mats.

The fear freezing the blood in her veins unthawed and a whole boatload of pissed off woman charged in like Hell’s fury. Beefy fingers locked around her ankle, and she went down again. This time, she caught herself. Through narrowed eyes, she took stock of her surroundings. Miracles of miracles her glasses only slipped a little, nothing that blocked her vision.
Thank you, Jesus
.

No rocks or sticks.

Fists and feet then.

“Let’s do this,” she bit out and rolled to her back, letting him think she had no defenses. With one hard tug he had her within his grasp. But not for long. Thank God for slippery waders and girls that knew how to use them.

With her free foot, Pepper hauled back and drove the solid heel home. Mmm. “That’s gotta hurt.” He’d be wearing a size six boot print on his face for eons.

“Try to get a date wearing that, jackass.”

His hold slipped.

Thundered rumbled through the ground as if it were coming alive with an invisible force.

Fingers flying over the dry pine needles and dirt, she fumbled for her gun but didn’t dare take her eyes of the naked blond brute. She cocked her leg back again ready to deliver another blow. Through the blood smeared down the side of his face from the broken nose she’d delivered, he never saw it coming.

Crack.
“Don’t fuck with a So-Cal girl, buster.” If she’d broken his nose before he had no chance of it ever healing now.

He let her go completely now and reared back with a fierce ugly roar that vibrated the air surrounding them. The second his gaze found hers murder slithered over his expression.

Oh shit.

That’s when she caught a glimpse of the older blood drying across his chest and upper thighs. Her gaze skimmed over him and froze on the bruises that marred his knuckles.

Finally. She wrapped her fingers around the smooth handle of her gun and took aim down the length of her body.

“What the hell did you do to him? Where is he?”

Brown, copper-tipped fur filled her vision, and her attacker disappeared behind a wall of muscle.

Massive claws swung high followed by blood splatters across the dirt. Everett stood between her and the ice bear, his roar so loud her chest rattled from the effect.

She blinked, and where a man once kneeled, a white bear now stood on its hind legs, menacing and lethal. An ice bear?

Everett’s bear reared up and his height towered over them both. Anger radiated off the ice bear, but there was a hefty amount of fear in the palest blue eyes she’d ever seen.

She rolled out from behind Everett, squeezed back on the trigger and did the one thing her brothers said to never do.

She cringed, slamming her eyes shut.

Within swiping distance, the ice bear would kill her for sure. One blow with that massive oversized paw and she would be minced meat in tacky knee waders. She definitely didn’t see her days ending like this. Ready for round two, she cocked the hammer.

Nothing came. Peeking one eye open followed by the other, she dared a look. One by one the muscles in her shoulders relaxed enough for her to move. He was gone.

“Are you crazy? Or just plain suicidal? That has to be it. You want to put me in an early grave. God almighty, woman, I think I’m having a heart attack.” Everett hunched over on all fours, his arms shaking from the weight of his now fully naked human form. Head hung low, she took him in from the blood smeared over the lower portion of his body to the bruised and battered knuckles.

“Yeah, me too. Is he gone? He didn’t make a sound. Just simply vanished.” She stayed in her position, gun in hand. Her head fell back to the earth and she finally let out a breath. Then again, it is kind of hard to hear anything when
oh shit oh shit
played on repeat in her head.

She shoved to her feet and holstered her gun, making a mental note to thank her pain-in-the-ass brothers for making sure she knew which end went bang. She’d leave out the part of a bear attack for now, though.

Her heart did a jig and rolled from the pit of her stomach before trying to settle down.

She’d just fought a werebear.
What the fuck!

Analyzing her near-death experience could come later. Now she had to help Everett.

Blood spotted the foliage and penetrated the dirt around him. From what she could tell, if he lost any more, they were in for some real trouble. Especially if the ice bear decided to double back for seconds.

All the fear she shoved to the side came back in triples. A terrified gasp tore from her lips when she found Everett sprawled out on his side. Dirt and leaves mixed with blood caked over random parts of his body. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he’d gone mud wrestling.

“I leave you ten minutes and you go find trouble! I’m not the crazy one charging at lunatics in the middle of nowhere.” Her voice trembled more than her hands as she dropped to her knees beside him.

“The other guy’s sporting some good bruises too.” He gave a weak low rumble of laughter before it abruptly cut off. Molten whiskey eyes caught her gaze. “Fuck. What did he do to you!” He reached out and brushed his hand against her swollen cheekbones. She flinched.

Ouch. In all the ruckus she’d shoved her own pain to the side, worried about him. Now the slow, steady throb thickened until it hurt to smile.

“I think you put a hurting on him. He’ll never mess with a girl in the woods again.”

“Hopefully you gave him another good parting gift to remember us by too.”

“Would serve the deadbeat right, but I don’t know.” She shook her head and took a little more of his weight as she helped him sit up. “I’m not even sure if I wounded him or not.”

“You did. I can smell his blood and fear staining the air. But he can run—I’ll still kill him for touching you.” His words tore from him like a promise made on a deathbed and carried enough raw, untamed revenge she almost felt sorry for the other guy.

Everett pushed to his feet and stumbled forward. He swayed, unable to fully stand from the amount of blood loss.

“Whoa, big guy. Take it easy and slow.”

“I need to shift. I’ll be fine, I just need to shift.”

“Okay, well, get to it.”

Everett gave a dry chuckle. “Sure thing, Doc. Just give me a sec, will ya.”

She nodded. “He can pull a disappearing act, but he’ll remember the good ass-kicking for a while.” She mentally patted herself on the back. But her shaky bravado waned with the adrenaline spike and didn’t stop a flourish of goose bumps from rushing over her exposed skin. It made her want eyes in the back of her head something fierce.

Living in fear didn’t sit well, but she wasn’t exactly in her environment. She worked large zoos and local wildlife. Not wide open spaces where ice bears had easy pickings for dinner.

She kneeled beside Everett and set to work cleaning off the wound the best she could. Every move she made, he tracked her. Anger simmered in a cloud around him and edged out any other emotions until it consumed his entire body with how he tensed beneath her touch.

She could see him struggle. The muscles across his shoulder and down his arms trembled every time he tried to push up and his breathing rattled. The pain had to be immense.

“You don’t need to worry. He won’t be breathing long.”

She froze. “I wasn’t. But now I am. What does that mean?”

He relaxed against the nearest tree at his back, as though he didn’t just confess to planning on killing someone, and brought his gaze to hers. “You don’t need to be afraid. As soon as I can shift I’ll be going hunting for rare ice bear. This is Wylde territory and that outsider just declared war.”

Her eyebrows climbed into her hairline. Oh.

“Lean back and give yourself a minute. Let me take a look while you get your breathing under control.”

With a few jerky movements she unwound her scarf and tried to clean off the crushed dead leaves and clumps of dirt stuck to his skin. He drew his leg up and did the same to his hair and shoulders.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s get moving before he thinks a rematch is a good idea. I’ll be good to go by morning. I just need to let the pain fade a little so I can shift.” A nickel-sized hole pierced thick muscle of his right calf. Like hell he’d be fine. That probably wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

“It’s a clean shot, but we need to get you back to town and get it looked at.” Like every man, he thought he was invincible.

With expert hands, Pepper wound the cleanest part of her scarf around his leg and finished it off with a knot. They had a long walk back and they needed something to hold at least that far. Back at the cabin she could dress it better and radio in from the plane for help.

“You sound like you know who did this. Why would he shoot you?” Nothing made sense and the more she tried to piece together everything the more it didn’t jive.

“Before you arrived, Brax was a more or less permanent fixture of the Wylde den. He’s been missing for the better part of three months now. No one knows what he’d been up to for the most part, and now I caught him dumping buckets of something in the lake. Before I could dive, jump or shift, he had three rounds off. I was lucky enough to catch one. I guess we found our culprit, after all, Doc.”

“Lucky, right. I didn’t know there were any ice bears in this area.”

“My father took him in a decade ago as a way to smooth over a clashing of dens.”

There was a bigger story behind that simple statement from the way his eyes darkened and his jaw took on a sharper edge.

“Like a fight? But what about?”

“Doc, let’s just leave it at that. For now anyway.” His lips tightened, but that could be because of the pain. He flinched and fisted a clump of leaves. “Argh, damn! Not so tight!”