Bear Lake (3 page)

“We do
all
live
together.” She batted those silly eyelashes up and down and he was sure they
were giving off a little fan of air.

“Well, sweetheart, if
they all wanna get naked and have some bear fun, who am I to say no?” Marcus
gave her a drop dead sexy grin that was assured to make her drop her panties.
Not that he needed to worry, he was what she had come to this bar for. They
were the good kind of bear hunters, and he was always willing to be chased by
them.

“I’ll tell them to
give us an hour and then come home.” She flashed those baby blues at him and he
growled some more. Then she turned on those pointy big heels of hers and
sauntered away, making sure that he caught the sway of her fine arse as she
did. He grunted with anticipation. He knew right where his cock was going in
the next hour and she was going to love every thick inch of it.

“I’m looking for a
friend I lost touch with and someone said she’d moved here.” The suit spoke to
Colin behind the bar and Marcus would normally have ignored the hell out of
him, but it was the edge of deceit in his voice that caught his interest.

The guy flashed a
photograph towards Colin and Marcus caught sight of the woman in the
photograph. He frowned at the sight of her. His eyes snapped up towards the
barman and he slowly shook his head from left to right. Colin shrugged his
shoulders…

“I don’t think I’ve
seen her, man. Maybe you could ask that dude, he’s always in here picking up
the pretty girls.” Colin didn’t want to get involved. If he knew nothing then
he could say nothing and nobody was going to put him in the spotlight. Smart
guy.

The suit turned
towards Marcus and gave him the once over from head to toe. Marcus caught it
out of the corner of his eye. Then he slowly approached and Marcus felt his
inner bear growl, neither man nor beast liked this guy one bit.

“Excuse me, the barman
said you might be able to help me.” The suits eyes were piercing.

The man wasn’t big by
bear standards, yet he did have some hefty shoulders on him and Marcus guessed
that the guy liked to workout. He turned his gaze on him and held it there. He
was slightly impressed when the suit didn’t look away. The man was either as
hard as nails or a really stupid son of a bitch.

“Might.” Marcus put a
little bear in his voice and the suit didn’t bat an eyelid. He turned the
photograph of Alex towards him and Marcus shrugged.

“Don’t think so. She
might have passed through.” He frowned for authenticity. “What’s her name?” He
leaned in slightly as if he was taking a better look.

“Sarah.” The suit was
watching him closely, but Marcus hadn’t expected her name to be Alex. Not after
this guy came sniffing around after her. He gave nothing away.

“Nah. Leave your number
with the Colin behind the bar, if she turns up I’ll give you a call.” Marcus
said dismissively. “Speaking of which, I’d better call my woman and tell her
I’m gonna be late tonight.” Marcus beamed at the group of excited woman across
the bar. “You know how it is?” He chuckled before dropping down from his stool
and walking away.

“No.” The suit
answered and Marcus caught it but he didn’t turn back. He walked to the
entrance and wrenched the mobile out of his back pocket. He had his alpha on
speed dial and this was something that couldn’t wait until after he’d tasted
each and every one of those sweet young women on his tongue.

“
I’m not interested
in any bullshit tonight, Marcus. Deal with whatever it is…”
Jackson growled
down the line.

“Ok, but I’m more than
likely to eat the guy…” Marcus pulled the phone from his ear and heard his
alpha growled long and hard down the line.

“
Better be fucking
good.”
Jackson growled out. He was just about ready to lose his mind and
Marcus was in line for the fallout if he was dicking him around.

“Not good. Some dick
in a suit is at the bar looking for Alex…”

“
What the…?”

“Only her name ain’t
Alex, its Sarah.” Marcus informed him and heard something heavy hit something
lighter and that something lighter was smashed into a million pieces.

“
He still there?”
Marcus heard the heavy thudding of his alpha’s feet stomping through his cabin
before the front door squeaked open.

“Yeah, alpha. He ain’t
going anywhere.” Marcus assured him.

“
Don’t you fucking
kill him until we find out who the fuck he is.”

“Got it. Just maim
him, no killing.” Marcus grinned to himself as he hung up on his alpha.

The deep chuckle
rolled through his chest as he turned his eyes from the suit back to his
ladies. Then he sighed. He was going to have to wait just a little longer to
sink himself into those sweethearts, but maybe he could have some other fun in
the meantime.

He went back to the
bar and placed himself on the stool nearest the door where he could oversee
everything. When his little woman came sauntering back towards him and gave him
excited expectant eyes he hated that he had to disappoint her. She accepted it
well though, happy to wait for a taste of her bear shifter.

When she wrapped her
arms around his neck, she was establishing dominance in her clan. He got that
and he let it happen, it was just one night. Then she practically climbed up
his body all on her own and wrapped her long legs around his hips. Now that he definitely
liked. Scenting her arousal took his attention for a moment and when he looked
up from the view he had down her low top at those luscious breasts his eyes
scanned the room.

“Fuck.” He growled out
as he pushed up to his feet and the little human female clung onto him for dear
life. The suit was gone and his alpha was going to skin him alive with his
claws.

Marcus reached up and
unwound the woman from around him. He needed to make this right.

“Stay here, I’ll be
back for you.” Marcus growled as he turned on his heels and started out of the
door. His eyes scanned the car park and beyond. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He growled
out.

 To say that Jackson
wanted to rip Marcus’s arm off and beat him to death with it wasn’t an
understatement. If it calmed his bear then that was all good, if it didn’t then
he’d have the damn satisfaction of the act itself. Marcus dropped his eyes to
the ground between them and slowly shook his head in his shame.

“One fucking second,
Alpha. I looked away for one fucking second.” Marcus was more than happy for
Jackson to go ballistic on his arse. He’d screwed up. Instead Jackson paced
back and forth in the car park.

“Who the fuck is he?”
Jackson growled out. “Who the fuck is Alex?” That was what Marcus had been
wondering.

“Maybe we should go
straight to the source, man?” Marcus shrugged his shoulders. One thing was
sure. He wasn’t getting his cock loved tonight. Worst case scenario he would be
roaming around Alex’s house making sure the suit didn’t show up there. He
needed to make good.

“Shit.” Jackson
growled. The last place he wanted to be was where Alex was if she still hadn’t
made up her mind about him yet. But the need to protect her was clawing inside
him wanting to be released. His bear was going crazy.

“Marcus…?” His little
human had ventured outside looking for him and her eyes positively lit up when
she saw that there were now two shifters.

“Sorry, baby. Clan
needs me. Rain check.” He growled back gently and she gave him the kind of
smile that made his length ache. She was going to be a really good time to be
had.

“Ok.” She batted her
eyelashes a couple more times and then disappeared back inside.

“Really? That’s what
distracted you?” Jackson bit out as he started off for his truck. Marcus
groaned as he rolled his head on his neck.

“I hate to say it,
Jack, but before Alex showed up that would have distracted you too.” Marcus
knew his alpha couldn’t deny it. He’d been the worst of them, needing to bury
himself in a willing woman every night so that he could just to keep his bear
level. Now his mate was around that need didn’t seem so prominent within him.
His bear was waiting, restless, but controlled for now.

“Yeah. Let’s go see
who the hell is looking for her.” Jackson wrenched open the door to his truck
and the sound of the hinges protesting screech out into the night setting
Marcus’s teeth on edge.

“Easy, Brother. Your
ride will look stupid without any damn doors.” Marcus heard his alpha grunt in
response.

“Funny I was thinking
the same about your body without your damn head.”

It wasn’t enough that
Alex had denied him. It wasn’t enough that she had tried to leave once, maybe
even had already. Now they had some dick looking for her. He got the distinct
impression that mating was more trouble than he’d expected it to be.

~^~

Alex heard the truck
rumble down the driveway and sighed. If this was another one of Jackson’s pack
she was going to kill someone. Coming face to face with Chance’s bear had been
enough for one day, she didn’t need the hassle of being told she couldn’t
leave, it only made her more determined too. At least Jackson had given her the
choice, for her misery.

Alex fisted the
handgun from under the cushion and moved towards the front door. If it knocked
like a damn bear then she was going to take someone’s head off. She slipped the
gun under the magazine on the hall table and picked up her trusted baseball bat
that she’d had to retrieve after her little dustup earlier.

Without thinking she
wrenched open the front door and carried the bat over her shoulder like she was
going in for action. She saw him then. Joshua was at her fucking door…

Panic gripped her and
her training went out of the window. Her mind rushed with fear and her body
stood idle for the longest moments of her life… Then she took to flight,
turning on her heels and heading back into the house…

Alex had all of her
weight behind the door and was ramming it closed when the boot on the other
side sent it flying backwards and her with it. She hit the floor and travelled
a few feet with the momentum of the force of the door shoving her backwards.
She felt the pain of impact tear through her body and half dazed, she looked
around her for the bat…

“Stupid, bitch.”
Joshua snorted his contempt for her. “Did you really think that we couldn’t
find you, Sarah?” Joshua’s polished shoes came towards her, closer and closer
as she started to push up with her palms against the wood.

The force of the kick
that caught her in the stomach sent her up and backwards. Pain that she
remembered well shot out like hot pokers through her stomach and travelled
through her body. Using a burning pick axe would probably have been kinder…

Alex dug her
fingernails against the wood and clawed the surface as she wrenched her body up
onto her knees. Her breathing was erratic, her body was on fire, and her mind
was dazed. She knew she needed to focus. She knew from her training… she needed
to remember her training…

Another kick, this
time to her side sent her flying sideways and her back hit the hall table. She
yelled out with the pain. Collapsing onto her back on the floor, she tried to
breath, tried to focus through the pain…

“Blake told you what
would happen if you left him again, Sarah…”

Yes, she knew what
would happen. She knew it only too well which was why she’d trained. She tried
to focus on that, think through the pain, beyond the pain…

She felt Joshua’s
breath in her face as he came down onto one knee beside her. His hand fisted
her hair and he wrenched her head upwards from the floor. She cried out…

“Now I have you and
Blake is on the way, Sarah.” Joshua wrenched her head back and her eyes snapped
open. His eyes were fierce. His hate was written in the distortions of his
face.

Alex felt that fear in
every fibre of her being. When the time came, would she be enough? Could she
see past the pain? Could she act? How much did she want to live? Every word her
instructor had burned into her mind as they trained came back to her…

She bit down on the
rush of anger that went through her. Anger was good if it helped, and it did.
She felt the empowerment within her…

Alex forced her hands
upwards through the pain, through the fear… She hooked her nails into the skin
above his eyes and clawed downwards. His hand released her hair as he tossed
his body back away from her… His hands came up to his face to shield his eyes,
eyes that she’d already clawed through…

Alex spun on the floor
and forced her body to move. She pushed up to her knees and knocked the
magazine away. With an almost steady hand she fisted the gun and turned her
whole body towards Blake’s hired grunt…

It didn’t matter to
her that he appeared helpless as he tried to focus on her. It didn’t matter to
her that he might not have had any fight left in him. It didn’t even matter
that he might turn tail and run… Because she knew that as long as he was alive
then he could come back to hurt her…

Alex pulled the
trigger, over, and over, and over again.

~^~

The sound of gunfire
cracked through the night. Even over the noise of the truck, Jackson and Marcus
heard it clearly. Fear gripped Jackson’s heart and he stomped down on the
accelerator…

“Jack…” Marcus didn’t
know how the hell to make up for what he’d done. If he’d been more interested
in watching the suit and not have been distracted by his cock…

“Save it. You might
need to kill me sometime soon, brother.” Jackson didn’t want to hear apologies
and weakness from a member of his clan. He needed strength now more than ever.
If anything had happened to his mate…

“Fuck, Jack.” Marcus
growled out as he was tossed and bumped all the way through the backwater roads
and up Alex’s driveway.

Jackson didn’t even
bother cutting the engine. His eyes took in the fancy truck out front of her
house and the fact her front door was open, and he started running. He heard
Marcus at his heels.

He scented the blood
on the air. Human. Alex’s scent with another, mixed in, headier… He tore into
the hallway and skidded to a halt. The sight of the suit lying dead with
numerous holes in his body and Alex sitting back on her heels with a gun still
held out in her hand chilled his blood.

“Fuck.” Marcus grunted
out and Alex spun the gun towards them. Her eyes only seemed to be half
focused. Both shifters jumped backwards and held up their hands in surrender.
It was what you were supposed to do when someone pointed a damn gun at you.

“Easy, Alex.” Jackson
growled out. His bear was prowling just beneath the surface for someone to
kill, but it wouldn’t be her.

Alex opened her mouth
to speak but nothing came out. The hand holding the gun lowered and the barrel
tapped against the wood of the floor. Jackson moved slowly, carefully towards
her. He could see that she was in shock and he didn’t want her firing that damn
thing at them.

“Careful, Jack…”
Marcus whispered and Jackson groaned.

“Ya think?” He growled
back. The sound of his growl reached Alex’s ears and her eyes came up from the
body towards him.

“I did it. I said I
could do it and I did. I did it.” Alex sounded lost and Jackson’s heart went
out to her. He moved faster, reaching for the gun with one hand as his other
hand wrapped around her body and he drew her against his chest. He heard her
catch her breath, knew that sound, she was injured, something that he couldn’t
see.

“I have you, Alex.”
Jackson tossed the gun across the floor towards Marcus and the big man snorted.

“Why give it to me? I
hate guns.” Marcus growled to himself as he scooped to pick it up.

He walked across to
the suit and nudged him with his foot a couple of times. He’d seen it in movies
and thought it was fitting. He already knew the guy was dead, he didn’t have a
damn heartbeat. Alex had certainly… done it…

“Where are you hurt?”
Jackson was searching her body as he kept her against him. His hands found no
real blood apart from the small cut above her eye… “Alex…?”

“I did that, Jack…”
Her eyes were locked onto the body at Marcus’s feet.

“Let’s get you out of
here.” Jackson pushed up to his feet and took her up with him. He reached down
and swung her up and into his arms. Turning back towards Marcus; he nodded to
the body on the floor.

“Get rid of that.
Check to see if his truck has GPS, if it does drive it a few towns over and
wipe it down. Then come back, don’t be seen.” Jackson growled out his orders
and headed towards the front door with his mate.

“When did you become a
criminal mastermind?” Marcus growled back.

“I watch a lot of TV.”
Jackson tossed back over his shoulder and Marcus chuckled as he nodded his
head.