Kodiak's Claim (9 page)

Not happening. First off, no one scarred their mate anymore in such a permanent way. In private maybe for fun, yes, however, the clans had long ago moved past the more archaic marking bites to more traditional methods. Still though, something about the city girl brought out the primal beast in him.

He told it to behave.
She is not for me. Or you,
he added when his bear grumbled.

Alphas and clan leaders mated for political reasons, not lust. They ensured a strong bloodline by choosing a strong shifter mate, one capable of bearing natural-born cubs. Not half-breeds. Humans who went through the change and survived could bear their young. However, it took a few generations to breed out the not always recessive human gene and purify the blood.

As if Reid cared about something like that. He could almost hear his bear. They’d long moved past a need for words. Reid just knew what his other half felt, and right now it felt like claiming city girl.
And if someone doesn’t like it, they can take it up with my fist.

If only his life were that simple.

A man in his position was expected to have pure descendants. Not that it was a guarantee his cubs would rule—strength and intelligence usually determined that—but it did make it less likely anyone would rise to challenge.

Thinking of challenge, there was the word he’d tried to avoid since hearing of the attacks but now kept lingering in his mind, and surely in the thoughts of those who’d heard of the incidents plaguing him and his company. Despite no packs or clans coming forth to claim credit, more and more it seemed someone was challenging Reid, spoiling for a fight to take over as leader or to reduce his clan from its position of prominence to one of a much lesser standing.

Never.

He’d not fought and built the company to its level of profitability, not increased the population of his clan, or given them a level of safety and luxury, only to have some upstart think he could waltz in and screw it up, or take over.
Like fuck.

He would hunt down the bastard responsible, find him, beat him to within an inch of his life, and then make him watch as he destroyed everything his unknown assailant owned. He would make his attacker a poster child for why you never, ever fucked with Reid Carver and those he protected.

And as for the human who disturbed his mental state with her luscious body, strange bravery, and nosy inquiries?

That he’d have to think about, because his only plan—fuck her until she screamed his name and dug her nails into his back—probably wouldn’t curb his lust or solve his dilemma.
But it sure would feel good.

The next morning, Tammy dragged her ass down the stairs knowing she looked like hell. She’d slept only fitfully, bothered by strange dreams of a bear who turned out to be Reid and wolves who weren’t wolves at all but men.

I’ve got to stop watching the SyFy Channel on cable.
Apparently her mind wanted to attribute supernatural explanations to mundane events. Crazy and probably due to some weird time zone, oxygen-rich, Alaskan thing. Maybe the lack of fumes from cars was throwing her chemicals off-balance. She knew her hormones were definitely acting up. They’d started from the moment she met Reid and gone into overdrive since their unexpected and ardent embrace. She couldn’t help reliving the electrifying moment of the kiss, a kiss that knocked her off-kilter.

A simple embrace shouldn’t have the power to make her lust like a schoolgirl with her first crush. Just the recollection shouldn’t moisten her underpants over and over. The prospect of seeing Reid shouldn’t leave her practically breathless with anticipation then disappointed when she entered the kitchen to discover he’d already gone to work.

Ursula bustled around the kitchen, frying bacon, flipping pancakes, and pouring her juice.

“Can I give you a hand?” Tammy offered.

A snort was her reply. “Child, the day I need help making breakfast for one is the day they bury me. I’m used to feeding gaggles of big men folk. Feeding your little wee self is no problem, so sit your butt down and stop trying to be a good guest. I like cooking, so it’s not a bother.”

Wee? Tammy practically collapsed in shock. First Reid lifted Tammy as if she were but a feather, and now his grandmother acted as if she weren’t some plump goose who wore a size eleven shoe. Her self-esteem could really grow to love the people here. “I don’t want to impose.”

“You’re not. As a matter of fact, it’s nice to feel useful.” With a grin, Ursula whipped out some utensils, a napkin, and a bottle of syrup—the real maple kind—onto the counter in front of Tammy while at the same time co-ordinating her movements in such a way that she managed to pluck the bacon from a pan and slide perfectly fluffy pancakes on to a plate.

Kitchen poetry in motion.

She let Tammy eat a few heavenly bites before she made her choke. “So what’s this I hear about you clobbering my grandson last night?”

Minutes later—after a few hearty whacks on her back by the surprisingly strong old lady and a chug of orange juice—Tammy found her voice. “I, um, thought he was a bear.”

Ursula snickered. “He is, especially when he doesn’t get a spoonful of brown sugar in his morning coffee. I hear he also managed to give you an eyeful. That boy, even as a child, he could never keep his clothes on.”

“It was my fault for not being in bed. I’m sure he never meant to let me see that much of him.” A nude image that would stick with her the rest of her life probably.
He should get someone to take pictures or paint him in the buff. He could sell those prints for a fortune.

And bankrupt poor Tammy’s already meager savings because she’d foolishly have to own one.

“Speaking of the rascal, he said to tell you that if you needed to return to his office, to give his receptionist a call and someone would come get you.”

Considering the stack of files she’d brought back, Tammy had more than enough to keep her occupied. It would also lessen the temptation to run into Reid and pucker up for a repeat of the previous night’s kiss.

Desperate women were not sexy.

I am not desperate. Just horny.

Dull paperwork took care of that. Tammy spent the morning and most of the afternoon poring over truck logs and incident reports. She perused maintenance schedules and the drivers themselves. By all appearances, Reid ran a clean business, a profitable one that, unlike many, included putting his trucks on a strict maintenance schedule that kept them in compliance with safety standards.

He was also extremely efficient about timing loads out from his mines and the local fishery to coincide with supplies coming into the town.

So why this sudden streak of bad luck? If Tammy were given to flights of fancy and conspiracy theories, she’d almost say someone was trying to sabotage him. Which was crazy. That type of thing only happened in books and movies. Real life had its fair share of bad guys, but this was Alaska, and despite the long stretches of untamed land, law and order still prevailed.

But there was bad luck, and then there was not likely. If, let’s say, these weren’t accidents then who would profit? Given the fragile balance the location of town made getting goods in during the dark and cold months of the year, having one supply run go astray was damaging. Having several in such short order? The town and the company had to be hurting, which was why she wasn’t surprised, when she called Jan to ask, to discover that an emergency run was scheduled, a catch-up of sorts.

“When is it leaving?” Tammy asked.

“Either tomorrow or the day after. Usually Reid would have waited until we had a full trailer to pull out, but some of the townsfolk are grumbling about a lack of things they need. Travis and Boris are prepping the truck as we speak.”

Tammy hung up, her brow knit in a frown, over what she couldn’t have said. Call it a sixth sense, but she had a feeling this trip was a bad idea. Foolish nerves probably on her part, given her scare with the wolves on the way in.

Yet, I arrived alive and well. We all did.

After dinner that evening, with again no Reid—
he is definitely avoiding me—
Ursula, with profuse apologies, went out to meet with her local knitting group. She’d offered to cancel, but Tammy refused.

“Don’t change your plans for me. Go. Have fun. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy,” she said with a laugh, pointing at her stack of folders.

“I’ve left Reid a message to get his big, hairy butt home and keep you company.”

“No need. I’ll be fine so long as I don’t think I see any bears trying to open doors,” Tammy said with a laugh.

“Which reminds me…” Ursula scooted off and returned bearing a shotgun and a box of ammo. She handed it to Tammy, who took it with a quizzical look. “Most bears in these parts are benign, so you should refrain from shooting, but just in case you feel in danger, you should have something better than a frying pan.”

“What happened to using tranquilizers?” Tammy asked as she cocked open the gun and checked the chambers.

“Nothing like peppering a wild animal with buckshot to get them scurrying, tail tucked,” Ursula said with a toothy grin. “Works well with unwanted suitors too. My Tommy, rest his soul, could attest to that.”

Despite assuming Ursula exaggerated, Tammy laughed.
Oh, how my dad would have loved her.

Leaning the shotgun against the wall, Tammy resumed her spot on the couch and tried to concentrate on the files she still needed to read. But her concentration was toast. Alone in the house, she couldn’t help an awareness of every single creak, moan, and sigh of the structure. She jumped and twitched, hating her breathless trepidation but, given the events of the past few days, was unable to stem her hypersensitivity. She even checked the doors to make sure they were locked. If Reid came home without a key, then too bad, he could knock for entry. Somehow knowing nothing could get in made her feel better. If that made her a chicken, then cluck, cluck.

Rat-ta-ta
.

The brisk rapping at the door, even if half expected, still startled her. Uncurling her legs from under her, Tammy stood and smoothed down her sweater. She’d not changed in to pajamas like she would have at home, opting instead to remain in her yoga pants and comfortable, warm, yet clingy top. She fingered combed her hair as she made her way to the door. She answered the second set of taps, expecting to see Reid. Instead, she confronted a stranger.

So much for city smarts.
She’d never have opened the door to her place without checking to see who it was first. Too late now.

“Hello, can I help you?” she asked.

“Is the bear home?” asked a man, his features indistinct within his parka hood pulled low over his brow. Then again, who could blame him with the blustery wind swirling and seeking exposed skin to kiss with its cold embrace?

What was it with the constant references and comparisons to bears around here? “If you mean Reid, then no. Would you like to leave a message?”

“Of a sorts. Come with me.”

Tammy, who, with a city girl’s instinct, hadn’t opened the door all the way, wedged her foot tighter behind it as she said, “Excuse me? I don’t know you, and I’m certainly not going anywhere with you.”

“You’re the insurance girl who wants answers as to what’s happening to his trucks and shit?”

The guy obviously knew who she was, but it didn’t make her trust him. “Yes, I’m looking for answers.”

“Then you’ll come with me.”

Not likely. Something about the guy rang warning bells. “Who are you?”

“I don’t have the time for this yapping shit. You’re coming with me and that’s that.”

He thrust an arm through the door, meaning to grab at her, but Tammy had half expected it. She threw her weight against the portal, wedging and pinching the limb.

He yelled and shoved at the door, his greater weight and strength pushing her back a few inches. Not a good situation. So Tammy did what any girl who’d taken some defense classes would do. She leaned forward and bit his hand. Hard.

In what was a normal reaction, the guy hollered and pulled his injured appendage away from her teeth, and she wasted no time slamming the door shut and locking it.

The guy, though, wasn’t perturbed, although she suspected he was deranged as he began to pound on it, demanding, “Open up, you stupid bitch. The boss said to bring your ass to him, and by damn, you’re going to come.”

Funny how extreme fear could freeze some people but galvanize others. Tammy was an other. “Screw you,” she shouted. “I’ve got a shotgun that says I’m not going anywhere. Not to mention I’m calling for help. So, if I were you, I’d run fast and far because I don’t get the impression Reid’s the type to tolerate dickheads accosting his guests.”

Given Reid’s antics in growing up—which Ursula had regaled her with—she’d wager that Reid would probably vehemently object, with his fists, to anyone acting this way. And, yes, it was perverse, perhaps, but a part of her wouldn’t mind seeing it.

“The town’s precious alpha isn’t here. Not even close. It’s just you, me, oh and a couple of my furry friends.”

Say what?

The man let out a piercing whistle, but it wasn’t the whistle that sent the shiver down her spine. It was the answering ululation of wolves, their eerie howl a horrible timing coincidence considering his words. But she knew better than to think this guy commanded a pack of wolves. Dogs, on the other hand…

Still though, if he thought she was opening the door, he was out of his freaking mind. Rule number one: never leave with your assailant. Which went well with rule number two: don’t open the freaking door.

“You’ll regret not coming with me quiet like,” he yelled as he kicked at the portal.

The solid wood held.

“Unbelievable. It’s like living a stupid B movie,” she grumbled as she gripped the shotgun and faced the door. Despite his threat, the knob didn’t turn—and the deadbolt would have stopped it even if he tried. She didn’t hear the sound of breaking glass, and the howling stopped.

She’d almost convinced herself that he was bluffing and had left, when the lights went out.