Kodiak Moment: An Alpha Werebear Paranormal Shifter Romance (The Arcadia Knights Book 2) (8 page)

T
he condition
of Logan’s house seemed to drive home just how long he’d been gone.

“Oh,” was all his mate said beside him when they pulled up into the driveway, but he could see her taking in everything. Grass and weeds had taken over the front lawn, and the rose bushes his mother had planted for him eons ago had grown and died a long time before. A tree he didn’t remember planting had grown in one corner, too close to the house and, Logan guessed, probably wreaking havoc on the foundation.

“We tried to keep up the landscaping for a few years after you disappeared, but admittedly we slacked off some.” Eleanor got out of the car, followed by Logan and Abby. “There’s somebody coming tomorrow to get rid of any pests you may have, but I did what I could to tidy the inside, including replace the old mattress.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t so bad inside as the overgrown front yard had been. Someone had dusted, he could see that, and at some point in the last several years they’d covered his furniture. It still smelled musty and old, but everything was where he remembered it.

Home.
It felt so strange being back.

“Oh, it’s cute!”

His mate seemed to like it, which pleased Logan. Abby immediately started pulling off covers for the couch and chairs, sneezing at the dust that flew up into the air. Then she went into the kitchen and started going through cupboards, as if taking inventory, before looking at Eleanor. “Where are the cleaning supplies?”

“Under the sink.”

As Abby started pulling things out and setting them on the counter, a determined look on her face, his mother sidled up to his side. “I like her,” she murmured very softly, giving him a warm smile before entering the kitchen to help his mate.

The corner of Logan’s lips twitched in reply. He hadn’t realized he’d wanted his mother’s approval until she’d said something. Now, however, it was time to get to work.

It took the entire day and part of the night to get the house into shape for habitation. Logan could have survived just fine with how it had been when they’d walked in, but the women had nixed that idea with extreme prejudice. They were already talking paint colors and decorating ideas, but most of what got done was cleaning and reorganizing what was already there.

He left them to their dreams, tackling the front and back yards and making them presentable. The small tree was easy to uproot, and a quick call to Aidan had his brother bringing a chainsaw, lawnmower, and as many tools as he could fit into the bed of a truck. His mate Ever joined the women inside, moving furniture and chattering away about upgrades Logan could do to the place.

By nightfall, the last of Logan’s trepidation of coming back to civilization had fallen away. His mate was happy, and that made Logan, if not happy, then content. A part of him missed the wilderness already, but it had been time to come home. Indeed, the more his brother told him about recent events, the more he realized how perfect the timing of his return had been.

“With Father off patrolling around Haven and seeing to his mate,” Aidan said, pulling out a dead rosebush, roots and all, with one hand and tossing it aside, “we’ve lost a huge part of Arcadia’s defenses. I hadn’t realized just how integral the Brahm was to our little community, not just as a leader but also as protection. The threat of his anger had kept a lot of people in line; with him gone now, we’ve lost a big part of what made people so safe.

“Some folks are also pushing the limits, flexing some of their muscles and testing their strength against the new paradigm. I’m getting more calls into the office each day of attacks, burglaries, and arguments. We formed a neighborhood watch to help police the areas, but folks were under Father’s thumb for so long and they feel
free
for the first time in ages.” Aidan snorted. “He may have seemed a benevolent, housebound dictator to most residents, but he was a dictator nonetheless. With him gone, things are going to pot.”

“What about the cameras?”

Aidan shook his head. “Davis took over that job, but he’s a computer programmer, not a security guard. Logan, I don’t know how the Brahm did it, keeping track of everything and everyone with all those cameras, but that just isn’t in me to do it.”

Davis Landry was Logan and Aidan’s half-brother, the son of their mother and her mate, Derek. Logan, Aidan, and Warren were all the sons of Marshall Tucker, the Brahm, or leader, of Arcadia and its incorporated areas. He was one of the most powerful Shifters in the United States, and had ruled Arcadia with an iron fist.

“And what about his mate?”

“She won’t even see him.” Aidan tossed the downed tree to one side, then put his weight behind the leftover stump. “Sonya is Ever’s sister, and she was traumatized by her conversion from human to shifter and everything that happened to her afterwards. Watching Marshall go nuts like that and take out an entire encampment of humans, ripping them to shreds before her eyes, was too much, and she’s retreated to Haven. Nadine’s promised to keep her safe for the time being, even from her own mate.”

Logan remembered the Brahma of Haven, a protected sanctuary for Shifters, and frowned. “Is she strong enough to take on our father if he decides to go inside?”

“So far, he’s keeping to the accords, but it’s an unstable situation. Even mom’s nervous about stepping in because she’s not sure he’d recognize her as friend or foe if she tried to get inside his head and calm him.” Aidan grunted as the root ball snapped and crackled beneath the dirt, then lifted out with just a little show of preternatural strength. “Ever’s been to see her sister three times now in the last few weeks and…it’s not looking good. The girl’s still not responding well to being a powerful Shifter.”

“How powerful?”

“Mom and dad powerful? She’s a Brahma in her own right, which is creating its own set of problems.” He wiped his forehead with the back of one hand. “I’m glad Nadine’s taking care of her and not me, because I wouldn’t have the first clue how to deal with that.”

They were silent for a while, just working, then Logan spoke again. “And Hendrix?”

Aidan sighed, wiping his brow with the back of a dirty hand. “There’s a whole new can of worms we really don’t need right now. I told you every detail I knew, are you sure there’s not something you’re not saying, maybe that you forgot?”

Logan shook his head. “I killed him. He was
dead
when I left him.” Logan had made damned sure of that.

“Can you maybe give me more details about how and where you…?”

“No.”

Aidan puffed out a frustrated breath, but thankfully didn’t ask any more. “Well, he’s back, or someone who looks just like him, leading some “Luna” cult that nobody’s heard of. Plus, now there’s the people who attacked you up in Alaska…I don’t know what the hell’s going on in our world right now. I’m just glad you’re back, though. You’re a stubborn, pigheaded asshole sometimes, but we could really use all the help we can get.”

The front door opened, and Eleanor stuck her head outside. “Dinnertime!”

Aidan stuck the shovel he’d been holding deep into the dirt and smirked at his brother. “Think you worked up an appetite?”

I
t was nearly
midnight before everyone left, and the little house had been transformed.

“We still have some painting to do, and your mom wants someone who knows roof work to take a look at yours but…” Abby looked around, grinning. “It’s a really cute little place.”

The silence stretched, and Logan knew he needed to say something to fill it. “Thanks.”

“So, um…” Abby trailed off, yawning. “Time for bed I guess?”

The very thought of sharing a bed with him made need course through Logan’s body, but his nose gave him pause. Her voice was flippant, but Logan could smell the nervousness coming off her in waves. His mate could pretend all she wanted, but from her body language to her smell he knew she wasn’t ready.

Oh, there was some desire mixed in there as well. He could smell that as well, and it had his beast scrabbling to surface. Perhaps she was waiting for him to make the first move, but when he stepped toward her, she took an involuntary step backwards.

Well. He kept his disappointment hidden. Easy to do for him at least, he’d had a lifetime of learning how to do it. “You can have the master bedroom. I need a shower.”

He hadn’t meant to be so abrupt, but he saw the disappointment on his mate’s face. His bear roared inside him, desperate to come to the surface and complete its bond. Logan could smell her desire, which had heightened when he’d mentioned the shower.

But still, he’d seen the hesitancy warring with desire in her eyes, but they clouded with annoyance at his words. “Fine,” she snapped, “good night then.”

You’re an idiot.

That had come from his bear, albeit in not so many words, but Logan agreed. He stayed rooted in place as she stomped off down the hall and slammed the door to the master bedroom. Only when she was gone did he sigh softly, rubbing his face with one hand, then headed into the bathroom.

Five minutes later, he found out another lovely fact: their gas hadn’t been turned on, so there was no warm water. Logan didn’t mind too much, but he had a feeling that Abby would…

A piercing shriek of fear had Logan leaping out of the shower and almost tearing the door off its hinges to get to his mate. Fur rippled across his body as he burst into the master bedroom, hearing wood crack in the door frame and not caring in the slightest.

His mate was dancing around the bed, making weird “Ew ew ew” noises and flailing helplessly. When Abby saw him, she practically leaped over the king sized bed to fling herself into his arms. He held her tight, every sense and instinct on red alert to find the problem.

Even with his arms around her, however, she wouldn’t calm down. Logan grasped her shoulders in both hands and bent down to look at her eye to eye. “Where is it?”

“In there!” She pointed to the bathroom, almost sobbing, and Logan threw himself into the small room, seeing everything both with his eyes and his nose. The window was too small for a human predator; the shower curtain had been pulled half off the pole; a cockroach, antenna swaying lazily through the air, sat on the floor just beside the sink…

…Ah.

Abby appeared at his elbow, clearly still in a panic. “Get rid of it, get it out of here.
Kill it with fire!
”

Logan looked from her to the bug on the floor, thinking surely that wasn’t what had sent Abby into a frenzy. Still, her wish was his command, so he lifted his bare foot and brought it down on the hapless insect.

That
sent his mate on a whole new hysterical outburst. Logan just watched, bemused, as she lamented her life and his beautiful foot that she’d never touch again. He shook his head, still not understanding the big deal as he picked up and deposited the offending insect into the toilet and flushed it down.

The sound of the water seemed to bring his mate around. “Is it gone?” she said, peeking around his side. When Logan pointed to the toilet, she smacked his arms with the back of his hand lightly. “Seriously? With your bare
foot?”

Logan stared down at her incredulously, blinking for a moment. Then, to his mate’s obvious astonishment, Logan began to laugh. At first just one chuckle, then as he remembered her bouncing around the master bedroom flailing, his chest started shaking with mirth until he was outright laughing.

“Mice, I could handle. Even
rats
would have been better than that!” Abby shuddered, then put her hands on her hips and glared at Logan. “Oh, laugh it up, fur-ball, but if you think I’m going to ever touch that barefooted and…wow, very naked…”

His mate trailed off, and Logan’s senses, still heightened by adrenaline, picked up a whole new scent in the air that set him on fire anew. Between one breath and the next, he was suddenly stiff as a board, jutting out at his mate. Abby, for her part, seemed determined to look everywhere
except
at him, but he could smell her desire heavy in the air.

Once again, she stepped away from him as he advanced on her, but this time Logan didn’t stop. Startled by his change in attitude, Abby retreated backwards until the backs of her legs hit the bed. She stared up at him with huge eyes as Logan stopped just a hairsbreadth from her, close enough that he could hear her racing heart. Her scent was heavy with desire, and Logan felt his bear roar his agreement.

“Your eyes,” she murmured, leaning back over the mattress, gripping the wooden bed frame so hard her knuckles were white, and Logan heard a slight crack in the thick wood.

“My eyes,” he echoed, leaning in to breathe in her scent. There was no fear now, just desire warring inside her. Why she didn’t reach out and touch him, he didn’t know; she held herself back, and something in Logan told him that she needed to make the first move.

But, dammit, her skin looked so inviting, so freaking soft and kissable…

Abby was staring at his mouth, almost going cross-eyed as he drew closer. Her breathing had sped up, and Logan could see her trembling body.

“Oh, to hell with this.”

She grabbed his ears and pulled him in those precious couple inches, sealing her lips to his. A whole new beast roared through Logan as he finally -
finally, at long last
- took his mate in his arms to make her
his
.

A
bby had never thought
of herself as a petite person, but Logan lifted her up against him as if she weighed nothing.

Her legs wrapped automatically around his waist, and when she felt his hardness poke at her core, she gasped against his lips, fingernails raking along his back. His mouth went to her neck, nipping and tasting, and she felt something akin to a purr rumble across her skin.

Nothing in her life had ever felt more erotic.

One of Logan’s hands fisted in the fabric of her shirt, and before Abby could free up her hands from his body to take it off, she heard fabric rip. The sound stunned her for a moment, then one large hand settled over her breast, thumb fondling a hard nipple, and all coherent thought raced from her brain.

“Too many clothes.” The words were garbled, as if the mouth uttering them was full. When teeth much sharper than a human’s grazed Abby’s neck, she knew immediately the problem. Far from being scared, however, the burning in her gut demanded
more
and
closer
, and she tilted her head back to give him full access.

When hands tugged at her pants, however, she put her hands against his chest. He stilled, teeth still nibbling just above her breast, but moved away to give her access to her jean buttons. It took absurdly long - to Abby’s mind, at least - for her shaking fingers to open the damned things, and for a brief moment she shared Logan’s fondness for tearing off clothes. Then they opened, and Logan didn’t waste a minute, snaking his hand down between their bodies to touch her.

Abby almost came from his touch alone. There was nothing soft in his touch, just the need to occupy, to dominate. He shoved one thick finger up inside her already slick passage, and stars danced across her eyes.

Logan growled against her chest, moving sideways to slam her back against the wall as his finger moved inside of her. Some of the sounds coming from Abby’s throat weren’t human either; she mewled and cried and begged wordlessly for more, and Logan obliged, pushing another thick finger deep inside of her.

When his mouth dipped down to one bare nipple, suckling her between teeth too long to be human, Abby came hard and loud, her head thunking back against the wall. Waves of pleasure rolled through her as her body bucked against his hand, fingernails gouging into thick skin that could take the abuse.

But it wasn’t enough for her, not even close.

Using the wall as leverage, she pushed back against his chest while at the same time kicking away from the wall. Caught off guard, Logan recovered quickly but still took a step back to regain his balance, and Abby took full advantage of that. Still wedged between her mate and the wall behind her, she climbed down his body, eluding his grip, until her face was at groin level.

She didn’t even pause to marvel at his immense size. Gripping his hard length with both hands, she sucked him in, reveling in the taste of him as, above, Logan slammed his fists into the sheetrock. Small bits of paint rained down on Abby’s hair but she didn’t care, removing her hand to pull him more fully into her mouth.

A large hand tangled in her hair, pulling hard at the roots but not directing her as she bobbed over him. Abby grinned against him as her mate shuddered when she drew her teeth across him ever so lightly, laving the head of his cock with her tongue as she pumped him one-handed. With her free hand, she reached in and fondled his balls, pulling her mouth from him briefly to give them a little love as well.

“Fuck, woman.
Fuck.
”

Abby suddenly wanted it all, every inch of him inside her. She released her other hand from around his base and pulled him deep, gagging as he hit the back of her throat. Above her, Logan roared again, and there was
nothing
human in this sound.

Fur rippled along his thick legs, poking out then receding beneath her palms. It was fascinating to Abby, but didn’t distract her from her job at hand. Taking a deep breath, she pulled him deep again, working the back of her throat to accept him fully, as her free hands handled his balls and one thumb made small circles at the base of his cock.

She felt his balls tighten in her hands, and pulled her mouth back a bit just as he came. She lapped up his seed, swallowing it while still sucking, even as her hands continued to move over him, pumping for more. There was such
power
in making a man like this lose control, and Abby needed more…

Hands grabbed her arms, then she was flying through the air. She squeaked in surprise before colliding with the soft bed, bouncing slightly, then Logan was upon her again. He ripped her pants off her legs with one swipe, positioned her face down on the bed, kicked her knees open, and thrust himself inside of Abby.

It was her turn to wail, to shudder and shake. His fingers hadn’t been enough to prepare the way; she was slick and desperate for him, but Logan
filled
her more than anything she’d ever felt. There was no foreplay, no gentility, only cold, raw domination and demand.

She came again by the third thrust of his huge cock.

Abby grabbed onto the headboard, holding herself still as he fucked her from behind. Nothing in her life could have prepared her for this, nor for the pleasure his assault brought out inside her. She cried out again and again as waves of both pain and pleasure rolled over her. When a large hand splayed across her shoulder blades, pushing her down into the mattress, the new angle made everything sharper, made everything that much
more
.

Then the world spun again as Abby was hauled up and back. Logan’s hands on her waist steadied her, and Abby blinked as she found herself straddling the big man
backwards
. He was still large inside her, and when Logan flexed his hips she felt him move inside her. Raw nerve endings came to life, and she braced herself against his thick thighs. He however seemed more interested in playing with her backside and hips, and confused at the sudden change, she looked back at him.

Logan was leaning back against the headboard, and when she caught his eye, he cocked his head to one side before turning his attention back to her body. One hand smoothed down her back, fingers tracing her spine, before splaying across her large backside.

Inexplicable insecurity hit her quite suddenly as she wondered what he really thought of her. This whole mate thing seemed so arbitrary; perhaps he had wanted someone else who looked different? It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but then a large hand
thwacked
across one butt cheek. “Hey,” she said, giving an indignant yelp.

Logan’s hand traced the mark he’d made, and he grunted. “Perfect,” he murmured, giving her backside another squeeze. “You’re perfect, and don’t think otherwise.”

“How…” She trailed off. Probably something having to do with smell; it amazed her how much he could tell just from scent.

Shifters were
weird.

His fingers dipped lower, running along the cleft of her buttocks and down to where they were joined. That feather-light touch sent Abby’s pulse racing again, and she gripped onto his muscular knees and moved her hips just a bit.

Wow.
This was new and…awesome!

Haltingly at first, then with renewed vigor, she rode him, reveling in the strength and flexibility of her body. Feats she never could have attempted as a mere human were nothing with her preternatural muscles and, for the first time since she’d woken up in that cabin, Abby moved away from being freaked out to embracing the change.

She bounced over him, spearing herself with each downward stroke, and arched her back to lean into him. Logan caught her face gently with his large hands and, with a tenderness that belied everything she’d seen of him so far that evening, kissed her silly.

Now it was her turn to demand more, to draw out the primitive fire he’d ravished and tantalized her with before. Spinning around with him still inside her, Abby leaned her breasts against his chest, letting her nipples drag against his chest as she rode him from this angle as well.

It was different, being able to watch his expressions as they made love like this. If ever she’d thought of him as unfeeling or stoic, the emotion seemed to spill from his eyes right then. She could almost read every thought he had, and the depth of feeling Abby saw towards herself was beyond anything she’d ever experienced.

Logan’s fingers squeezed her buttocks as she moved over him, and Abby picked up the pace with her hips. He was hitting places deep inside her, and she knew he was close when Logan laid his head on her shoulder, biting hard at the thick skin there. Grabbing the thick hair at the back of his head, she pulled him up so they were eye to eye, then covered his lips with hers as yet another orgasm hit her, the third for the night.

He wasn’t far behind, and she swallowed his cry against her lips as he came hard as well only seconds later. The erotic heat of the first half of their lovemaking had somehow switched midstream to something sweeter, more intimate and less demanding. Still, he held her tight against him as he pulled them both sideways onto the bed, spooning on top of the sheets.

Abby laid a soft kiss onto one well-muscled arm, her eyelids feeling like weights. He responded by kissing her shoulder, and laying a stubbly chin just beside her neck. “You’re mine,” he murmured, and for once, Abby was inclined to agree.

“How long do Shifters live?” she murmured sleepily, rubbing her thumb along the hollow of Logan’s arm muscles.

“Forever.”

That thought made Abby pause. “Huh.” Her brain was too sleepy to comprehend that kind of reality, so she let go of any existential contemplations for a later time and turned in his arms. “You think it’ll be enough?”

He looked down at her, then pushed a tuft of hair from across her sweaty forehead, but didn’t offer her any words. Instead, she read everything in his eyes, and pulling his arm tight against her body, she lifted her lips to his for another unbearably sweet kiss. The spot between her legs still throbbed, bruised from the assault but ready and willing for more. Abby herself however was too tired to do anything more, at least right then, so just used his arm as a pillow and drifted off to sleep, with Logan petting her head like he would a cat.

“
I
like her
.”

Aidan smiled over at his mate. “I’m glad. I’m sure she’ll have a lot of questions for you.”

“Well, I’m not the best one to ask. I’m still learning about all this stuff.” Ever shrugged one shoulder and looked out the window. “You folks are like a whole other planet, not just another culture.”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate any tidbits you might tell her.” He laid a kiss on his mate’s shoulder, and felt the tension in her body. “Hey,” he murmured, pulling her back against him, “where’s your head right now?”

She didn’t immediately answer, and Aidan took her in his arms. She’d been subdued since coming back from Haven, and he’d known things weren’t going well with her sister, Sonya. He hadn’t pressed for details, but knew that the visits were taking a toll on his vibrant mate. Still, he waited for her to say it, laying silent kisses against the side of her neck, and after a moment she spoke. “I didn’t tell you that Sonya wants me to stay away for a while.”

Her voice was thick, and Aidan tamped down the helpless anger he felt. This wasn’t something that brawn could fix. “She doesn’t really mean it.”

“Oh, she meant it, all right. I made the mistake of saying what you just did, and she made it abundantly clear that she was
quite
done with me being there.” Ever pulled in a shuddering breath. “Anna promised she’d keep me updated daily, but… It’s been a month now, and I know she went through so much that I’ll never understand, but I want my sister back.”

The last few words held such pain that Aidan wanted to cry. He laid his head beside hers so they were cheek to cheek, willing away his own protective instincts and need to
make it all right
, and just focus on comforting his clearly heartbroken mate.

Ever sniffled, wiping her nose and eyes with her wrist. “And, um, Anna says hello. Said to give everyone a big hug for her, and tell you she hopes to come down sometime in the next few weeks to visit.”

“Mom and Derek will like that.” Anna Landry was Aidan’s half-sister and worked at Haven helping the helpless. She was also a resident there, running from a mate-match that she didn’t approve of. “I’m assuming there’ll be no hug for Julian Murphy?”

Ever snorted, sounding a bit more like her normal self. “She wouldn’t believe me when I told her he’d been instrumental in helping save Sonya and defeat Hendrix’s men, and that he’d been deputized to help watch over the town. Said that couldn’t be the same person, so I told her that people change and maybe she should try meeting him again.”

“Well, he’s still an arrogant son of a gun, so she’s probably right about him not changing. And I’d rather keep my little sister as far away from that asshole as possible, so don’t be putting any thoughts in her head about redeemed mates.”

“Ugh, you are
such
a butthead.” She smacked his thigh. “If you didn't’ trust him, then why’d you deputize him?”

“It isn’t that I don’t trust him to keep the town in line. More along the lines that he’s still not good enough for my sister.”

“Hm.” Ever turned in his arms, putting her arms around his neck as she straddled his hips. “So, you’re just playing at being the protective older brother?”

“Not playing, I
am
over-protective. Just ask Anna.” He caught her around the waist with one arm, pulling her flush against him. Her eyes widened at his sudden action, and she chewed on the inside of one cheek as her gaze dropped to linger on his lips. He peered up at her placidly as she settled over him, his arousal pressing hard against her belly. “But I have other things in mind tonight than talking about siblings in our bedroom.”

“Oh, yes. Quite.” His mate’s eyes had already begun to discolor, bleeding over into her animal colors, and Aidan grinned. He wondered if he’d ever get enough of her, and sincerely hoped it wouldn’t happen.

Then her lips closed over his, and all rational thought fled his head.