Kodiak's Claim (12 page)

“Is it something in the water?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.

Hunh?
“What on earth are you talking about?”

“Well, if you’re born that way, and it’s only happening here, then it’s obviously something environmental. Oh my god. Don’t tell me my mother was right. It’s those Northern Lights, isn’t it?”

Laughter erupted from him; he couldn’t help it.

“Hey, it’s not that funny.”

“Yes it is. First off, who says shifters are only confined to my town?”

“You mean there are more of you,
out there
?”

“Around the world, city girl. Heck, your neighbor could be one, and you’d never know.”

“Impossible.”

“Why impossible?”

“How can you hide something like that?”

“Easy. Don’t show humans.” A rule he’d just broken. Good news, though, she was taking it remarkably well now that the initial shock had worn off.

“Doesn’t it show up on like blood tests and stuff though?”

“First off, we try to stay away from human doctors, and secondly, no, our blood shows up normal. DNA sequencing, however, that’s a whole other story. But we avoid those types of tests.”

“That’s crazy.”

“No more crazy than you thinking you could take me on with a frying pan.”

“Admit it, you were shaking inside.”

“With laughter.”

“I thought you didn’t laugh,” she pointed out.

“I don’t.” Or he didn’t much until his city girl came along. Then again, he’d not found much to laugh about since he took over leadership of the town and the responsibilities that came with it.

“So now that I know your deep, dark secret, are you going to kill me?”

“What?” He craned to peek at her over his shoulder and found her staring back with a serious mien.

“Obviously, you guys, shifters or whatever you call yourself, are good at keeping this a secret. So either that means you’ve got some spell or potion to shut me up, or you’re going to kill me.”

“You could also just promise to not tell anyone.”
I could also keep you here. Mine. Forever.
His bear liked that last idea.

“You’d trust me, an almost stranger, with a secret like that?”

Funny how she was the one to point that out. It was the argument he would have used had anyone else in his clan done the same foolish thing. “Are you trying to convince me I shouldn’t trust you?”

In the process of applying a clean bandage to his now silver-free cheeks, she paused. “Of course not. It’s just I know how hard it can be to trust someone. You think their word is good. That they mean what they say, only to later find out they’re liars who would betray you in a heartbeat.”

He understood in that moment that she didn’t refer to this situation but her past, a past with others who’d obviously made her wary of believing in people.

“What do you suggest we do? You’re right. Maybe I should take you at face value. I mean, let’s look at the facts, everything you’ve done since I met you has involved some kind of injury to my person. Obviously, you’re a threat to me.”

“Me?” The way she squeaked roused the predator in him—among other things.

When she went to escape, her feet hitting the floor poised for flight, he rolled onto his side and caught her, one arm whipping around her thighs, trapping her. With his fingers tugging at her waist, he forced her to kneel beside the couch, close enough that his other hand could curl around her nape and drag her close. Close enough to whisper against her lips.

“And just where do you think you’re going, city girl?” Because didn’t she understand she’d roused the lusty beast? There was nowhere she could run that he wouldn’t find her.
Because she’s mine.

Where am I going?
There was a question with a few answers. Away was probably the most sane one. Crazy was probably the most apt. But going nowhere ended up the action of choice once Reid slanted his mouth over Tammy’s.

As before, instant fire ignited her blood. He touched her, and she melted. Forget the fact she’d just spent the last little while plucking pellets from his rock-hard ass. Who cared if he turned into a massive, shaggy bear? Or that someone had tried to kidnap her?

Reid kissed her, claimed her lips, and she couldn’t think past the instant web of pleasure his touch aroused. And she meant aroused.

One of his hands cupped her head while the other slid under the hem of her shirt, his large hand palming the skin of her back, an electrifying skin-to-skin touch. Her own hands strayed to the bare skin of his chest, stroking the bulging muscles of his shoulders, skimming his pecs and the fuzz covering them. She felt the thud of his heart, the heat of his flesh, the warmth of his breath. All of it combined to create a mesmerizing spell of seduction.

Somehow she found herself lying alongside him on the couch, a sliver of it only given his size, but she didn’t fear falling, not with him holding her. They were pressed tight together as their lips embraced and tongues dueled. One breath, one desire, one step away from—

“Reid Montgomery Carver, unhand our guest right this instant and get some clothes on. This is not appropriate behavior for a man in your position.”

The shocked—and yet amused—voice of his grandmother acted as a cold bucket of water on their make-out session.

Oh my god.
Mortified, Tammy struggled to escape Reid’s embrace, but he wouldn’t let her go. On the contrary, his grip tightened.

“I was liking my position perfectly fine until you interrupted.”

“And a good thing I did. Did you know we have
wolves
outside?”

The inflection might have fooled Tammy before, but with her wits returning, she quickly clued in that his grandmother implied something more.

“I know about our furry visitors. They’re being taken care of by Brody.”

“You actually let someone else do something for a change?” His grandmother seemed shocked.

“I was injured, and Tammy here was kind enough to help me.”

His grandmother’s tone changed as concern threaded it. “Injured how? Did the wolves hurt you? Do you require medical attention?”

“Give me a little bit of credit. As if those mongrels could harm me. No, I owe the holes in my ass to none other than our guest.” Tammy groaned as she buried her face in his shoulder. Reid chuckled. “Apparently someone loaned her a shotgun, and city girl here used it.”

“On you?”

“In her defense, Tammy thought she was protecting herself from a bear at a time. She’s since learned about my special situation and has done her best to patch me up and kiss me better. Which, I’ll admit, was working quite well until someone interrupted.”

Yup, Tammy was going to die of embarrassment any minute now. How she wanted to slink off and hide, but Reid wouldn’t let go. Even as he shifted to seat himself, he dragged her with him, probably as a shield for the erection still poking at her.

Cheeks hot, Tammy kept her gaze trained on the floor, unable to meet that of his grandmother who surely thought she was a violent hussy.

“So she knows?”

She felt more than saw Reid’s nod.

“Oh dear. What have you done?” Ursula didn’t sound pleased with the turn of events at all.

Tammy hastened to reassure her. “I’ve already promised to not say a word.”

“I’m sure you won’t because it would be a shame if you did. I’d hate to have to dig out grandma’s recipe. Fresh basil is so hard to find this time of the year.”

“What recipe?” Tammy squeaked.

“Never you mind. I’m sure we won’t have to resort to that, will we?”

Tammy’s brown gaze met the stern one of Reid’s grandmother. Gone was the friendly matron. Hello, predator. How had she not noticed before what big teeth Ursula had?
All the better to … gulp … eat me with.

“Stop trying to scare her,” Reid growled. “And find me some pants. Now that I’m patched up, I should go see what Brody’s caught.”

Tammy was only too glad to escape when his arms finally released her, but she couldn’t help hearing the echo of his ominous words as she fled up the stairs.

“I’m not done with you yet, city girl.”

She couldn’t decide if she liked the sound of that or not.

Despite knowing he needed to locate Brody and have him report, a part of Reid wasn’t eager to leave Tammy. His bear didn’t want him to go at all. The attack on not just his home, but the attempt to kidnap her, had set off a protective instinct within him that went beyond what he usually felt when his clan or someone close to him was threatened.

Reid didn’t know his city girl well enough to have developed feelings, but his man side had no problem recognizing that his wilder side, his beast in other words, worked on a different wavelength.

His bear had taken a shine to Tammy. Instinct, scent, something intangible to the human but oh so clear to his bestial half, drew him to her. Reid wanted to fight it. Tried. But, so far, he was failing miserably.

Did he curse and regret his grandmother’s untimely intervention? Yes and no. Yes, because he’d been so close to tasting nirvana. But, at the same time, he thanked her arrival because he was neglecting his duty as alpha to his clan by not pursing the threat to him and his people.

Hurriedly dressing, Reid managed to escape more haranguing from his grandmother who was in the kitchen feeding Travis. Brody had sent him into the house as an added layer of safety. Given the shit of the past few days, Reid would probably have him stick around. Young and hot-headed didn’t mean he wasn’t a good fighter, and Reid knew he could trust him to protect not just his ursa but Tammy and anyone else in danger.

As Reid slipped outside, he took a moment to survey the surroundings. Angling his head, he sniffed. Even in the crisp, cool weather, the stench of wild wolf filled the air. With the outdoor lights working and his sharp eyesight, it wasn’t hard to note all the tracks marring the snow in and around his home. Most belonged to him and his close family or acquaintances, but overlaying them were paw prints. Wolf ones to be exact. Most of them were small, which indicated they belonged to the regular variety of wolf. However, as he circled around the house, only a few steps past his electrical box, which hung open and showed signs of electrical tape from a temporary fix, he found the human footsteps sitting alongside a pile of clothes.

He crouched down and brought his face close to them. Growled. The stench of wolf, a shifter not belonging to his clan and yet somehow familiar, clung heavily to the fabric. The same scent as that of the canine he’d engaged fleeing from his home.
Because my brave and stupid city girl shot him full of silver.

He didn’t know if he should throttle or kiss her. Maybe both.

Inhaling deeper, he attempted to sort the scents, seeking another marker, any kind of indicator as to who might have sent the man on what Reid suspected was a suicide mission. And that’s what it was. A foolhardy attempt to strike at him that would have failed. Oh, perhaps the stranger might have managed to kidnap Tammy, but no way would he have gotten far. With a band of wolves leaving a scent trail anyone could follow, Reid and his clan would have tracked him.

As Reid shook out the garments, searching for a clue as to the guy’s identity, footsteps crunched in the snow. He peeked up at his beta.

“You caught him?”

Brody nodded. “Oh yeah. Your guest has quite the aim. Even you and your slow bear legs would have managed to catch him.”

“I had other things to take care of.”

“Something more important than a rogue wolf poaching on your territory?”

Yeah, a feisty city girl who thought she could take me down with a frying pan.
“I was making sure the insurance girl was okay.”

“Sure you were. I think it’s more because someone had an ass shot full of silver. Getting soft in your old age?”

“You’re not funny.”

“Says you.” Brody grinned. “So did she kiss it all better?”

“She plucked it out, yes.”

“Before or after you made out?”

“We’re not involved.”

“Dude. Don’t lie to me. I can smell her on you.”

Some secrets couldn’t hope to remain hidden. “Ursa walked in just before we got to the good part.”

“Still cock blocking, is she?”

Cock blocking and reminding Reid that he was destined for things other than a tempting city girl with wild curly hair. “Forget my grandmother and her need to interrupt my sex life. What have you learned from our uninvited guest?”

“Not much. Unless you count whining. Apparently he seems to think we should treat him nicer because he’s one of us. As a matter of fact, he’s one of the missing drivers. The one we recently hired.”

“He’s not dead?” Not only that, but obviously in cahoots with whomever targeted Reid and his company. “Is he fucking stupid? What kind of idiot returns to the town he screwed over?”

“A none-too-bright one, who, like I said was whining we should treat him nicer.”

“Oh really? Doesn’t like our hospitality? I think it’s time I met him and showed him just how much more hospitable I can be.” Reid and Brody headed to the garage. “So how come you ended up at my house anyway? I thought you were home packing and organizing the clan enforcers so you could head out with the next truck shipment.”

“I was, but when I heard there were wolves sniffing around, I called some of the boys and headed out for a peek.”

“Without contacting me?”

“I tried, but your phone wasn’t answering.”

Probably because Reid had left it on his desk when he did his mad dash from the office.

“Fair enough, but that doesn’t explain why you came to my home.”

Brody rolled his shoulders. “Intuition. Given the potshots taken at you and the insurance broad the other day, I figured it might be prudent to check in here first and then sweep outward. Of course, when I arrived, you were already romping in the snow, at least until your wide ass got shot.”

“My ass is not wide.” And why did people keep implying it was. He was a bear. A Kodiak. Everything about him was big.

“Says the guy who couldn’t chase down a mangy wolf.”

“Anytime you want to arm wrestle, let me know.”