Bearing Up In Wolf Rock (A BBW Bear Shifter Romance) (Wolf Rock Shifters) (11 page)

Maddox continued to jog in bear form and Kyla said, “
Maddox, the cave where we spent the night…”

Corgan
weakly raised an eyebrow and grinned, showing the same crooked smile that his brother usually exhibited.

Kyla continued, “Your
brother found a cave the other night. He’s been sleeping there. You two go on and I’ll run ahead and get some supplies. We keep a stash in the woods, away from the cabin. I’ll meet you at the cave and we’ll figure things out.”

The great grizzly huffed in agreement and continued his run while Kyla shifted again and began a sprint to a small, hidden shed a few miles from the wolves’ home. They kept emergency supplies there: flint, matches, and most importantly, first aid kits
, even some extra clothing. There was even a bra and clean shirt in her size and some jeans that might fit Maddox.

She
grabbed everything she could think of to deal with Corgan’s wound. They’d have to patch him up and keep him free of infection until they could get him under Dr. Cooper’s care.

Whoever had stocked the shed had the forethought to throw in some vodka and painkillers strong enough to knock a horse out; wise when you were dealing with gigantic wolves. Kyla knew that pulling out a bullet
, or even treating a painful wound, wouldn’t be at all to Corgan’s liking, strong bear though he might be.

She threw the supplies into her pack and shifted again, running as fast as she could through the woods. It felt like ages since she’d eaten, but she’d taken some food from the shed and could look after that need when she’d tended to Maddox’s brother.

When she arrived at the cave, she was relieved only to smell the two bears. There was no sign of a human about, though she knew that he was in all likelihood somewhat experienced at tracking and that it would only be a matter of time before he arrived. If only she could tell the pack what was happening. But maybe when she and Maddox failed to arrive, Jay would know that something was up and come looking.

Corgan
was coated in perspiration when Kyla arrived. She covered him with a blanket; she’d picked up some clothing from the shed but for now wanted to remain gentle and not aggravate the wound any more than necessary. Maddox used a towel to wipe the sweat from his brother’s brow.

“I’m going to give you some painkillers
to help you rest, Corgan,” Kyla said, “and then we’re going to have to patch you up as well as we can until we can get you proper help.”

“Okay,” said the young man. For the first time, Kyla saw in him a shadow of the frightened young boy he must once have been. She felt for him, wanting to protect him as she wanted to do with his brother. It wasn’t fair, what they’d been through.

“Let me do it,” said Maddox. “I’ve had to deal with wounds, back on the ranch. I’ve got a fairly steady hand, and besides, if anyone’s going to enrage Cor, it may as well be me.”

“You’re the one called Mad,” his brother said. “You should be the enraged one.”

“I am, believe me. But I’m more pissed at you than the guy who shot you, ya big idiot. What were you thinking?”

“You know what I was thinking,” said
Corgan, and Maddox was silent.

“Maddox,” said his brother, grabbing his arm. “I need to tell you two—the first man I attacked, that Peterson. I took his things.”

“We know,” said Maddox.

“I found something. On his phone. I made him give me his code. There was a sort of exchange of messages between him and s
ome others. He wasn’t alone.”

“And you think this other hunter is a friend of his?”

“I’m pretty sure, yeah. They’re both pretty bent on finding your pack’s cabin,” he said, looking at Kyla. “And this second one, he’s a good shot. I’m worried that the plan is to pick off your pack.”

“I’m going to have to warn them,” said Kyla, worried. “Do you still have the phone?”

She cursed herself for not having brought one. They usually didn’t work this far from town, but it would be worth a try.

“Yeah. But it’s with a pile of other things a couple of miles away.”

“We’ll deal with that later,” said Maddox, who was doing his best to tend to his brother’s wounds.
“I doubt if he knows where the cabin is, or he wouldn’t have been stalking Corgan.”

“Yeah, you have a point. Still, we’ll have to get there as soon as we can in the morning.”

“Agreed, but for now let’s get Corgan some rest after I finish patching him up. Cor, I’m not going to pull the bullet out. It could make the bleeding worse. For now I’ll clean you up and bandage the wound. It’s not so bad as all that. Hopefully you can get a bit of rest while Kyla and I figure out what to do.”

Kyla gave
Corgan two of the potent pills and some water, which he accepted gratefully. She could see that he was not a bad man; there was a sweetness in him. But something in him had snapped and convinced him that becoming a vigilante was a good idea. The impulsive, impetuous nature of youth.

“Thank you, Kyla,”
Corgan said as he put his head down. She could see that he was already a little groggy. “You know, I was protecting your pack when I attacked those men. It wasn’t just some twisted revenge thing.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“There’s a small group on the web…like almost a cult…this group of assholes. Their whole purpose is to kill shifters. And your pack has a giant target on its back. They didn’t think anyone knew about them but I found out and decided to do something because I knew the cops wouldn’t act. I knew…”

With that, he dropped off.

Kyla changed into the clean bra and shirt and tossed Maddox the jeans she’d found, which he gratefully slid on. Then she signalled him to head outside, and he did with her following close behind.

“What do you make of
all this?” she asked.

“Well, I knew that he tho
ught it was the case. I told you that he’d found something online and that we’d talked to his roommate; that’s how I knew to come looking here. But I wasn’t sure I believed him about the shifter haters. The fact that the latest victim was so near your cabin, though…it seems like it’s not merely a coincidence. We need to find a way to warn your pack.”

“Yeah, we do. They’re not armed, of course. They’ve never needed to be. But if more men come, there could be trouble.”

“Cor said something about status. That the men in the hunting clan, whatever you want to call it, were in a sort of competition, like whoever kills first wins. I think that’s why they’re acting as individuals instead of a group, which will make it both easier and harder to fight them off. But maybe you should go back and tell your alpha what’s been happening.”

“I don’t want to leave you two. And I really don’t want to guide our hunter to the cabin. Let’s wait out the night and see if Jay shows. He knows where we are and I suspect he’ll come looking. Meanwhile, you and I need to keep vigilant.”

“Agreed.”

Kyla shivered as a cool mountain breeze seemed to engulf her. Autumn in the mountains had properly set in and suddenly she missed her fur.

“Cold?” Maddox put an arm around her, his large hand cupped around her shoulder.

“You’re so warm,” she said. “I mean, we wolves are warm, but you’re positively hot. It’s amazing.”

“I think it’s because there’s so damn much of me,” he said, putting his other arm around her now, enveloping her body in his heat.

“I always think there’s a lot of me, yet I always seem colder than you,” said Kyla.

“I’m happy to warm you up. And I’m glad you found me,” he said. “I didn’t want things between us to end like that.”

“Me neither,” said Kyla, wondering if they really had to end at all.

“We’re not bad guys, my brother and me. But I’m worried that he’s making things worse for our kind. People won’t like to think we’re violent.”

“Well, they know we’re violent from watching Tristan and
our former alpha go at it on TV,” said Kyla. “But they won’t have felt threatened til they find out that we’re hurting people. There must be some way to keep it quiet. For everyone’s sake.”

“I hope so.”

Kyla’s hands were pressed to Maddox’s back, and she could feel the outline of his individual muscles. He was so broad that she felt that she could explore him for hours, tracing each gentle curve and dip. She found her hands now begin to do just that; her fingertips enjoying the sensation of adventure.

“You like doing that, don’t you?” he laughed, remembering her sliding a digit along his tattoo.

“I guess I do. Not that I make a habit of groping men,” she said. “You just have a slightly remarkable body, Maddox.”

With that she stopped and pulled away so that she could look up into his face.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” she added. “Sometimes I speak my mind instead of being coy or acting like a proper lady.”

“I like how you speak. I like that I don’t have to wonder what kind of girl you are. It makes you sexy; this confidence of yours.”

“I’m not always confident. I have my issues. But I don’t see the point in lies and games. That’s why I was so upset to find you gone this morning. I thought I had an idea who you were.”

“I think you do,” he said. “I’m not perfect, but I don’t use women, Kyla. Before last night, I hadn’t…”

“You hadn’t what?”

“Well, I hadn’t been with anyone in a long time.”

“Really? But you’re…you’re a pussy magnet.”

Maddox let out a laugh that was louder than it should have been.

“By that, I mean you’re hot,” she said. “When you walked into that bar I thought the place would go up in flames. You’re the sort of man every woman wants.”

“I’m a big man. But I’m a damaged man, and that means I’m weaker than I look.”

“I would help you, you know, if you’d let me. I understand being damaged.”

“I know.” Maddox granted her a gentle smile, as if in reassurance that he understood, that he was listening, that he cared.

“I’m going to look in on Corgan,” he said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay.”

Kyla was sorry to lose his touch and she found herself shivering again as the moon rose and the air grew colder.

There was no sign of a hunter; no scent in the air, no sounds of twigs snapping, which was a relief to Kyla, who realized that she was exhausted after the events of the last twenty-four hours.

Animals generally stayed away from shifters a
nd she found herself amid an engulfing silence and darkness. Normally she enjoyed the night, being outside, patrolling, but that was in part because usually there was nothing to fear. Every wolf was powerful and there was little they had to contend with. But now there was a real threat, and she had no idea how many of these hunters there were. When Corgan was awake, she’d need more answers.

Maddox emerged from the cave
with a couple of granola bars as Kyla stared up at the stars.

“
Cor’s sleeping soundly. By the way, I found these,” he said.

“Thanks, I keep forgetting that I’m hungry,”
she replied, tearing hers open and digging in.

“I also found this.”

With that, Maddox revealed a small jar of peanut butter that had also been in the supply shed.

“Oh yeah, I forgot I’d taken it. But it was stupid
of me, really—there’s nothing to spread it on.

“Isn’t there?” Maddox was now sporting a grin full of mischief and, if Kyla
wasn’t mistaken, a hint of lust.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’d better not get any in my hair. I just had it done,” said Kyla, realizing that she must be a complete physical mess by now.

Maddox opened the jar and dipped two of his long, thick fingers in. The wad of peanut butter that he extracted was enough to cover a canvas.

He dabbed
some on Kyla’s chin, which made her gasp with mock indignation. She then reached into the jar and pulled her fingers out to decorate his face with war-paint like slashes.

“
Ihu,” said Maddox gently, dabbing a little on her nose before licking it off. “Maori for nose.”

“
Ihu.” Kyla licked his right cheek, her tongue gliding along his stubble, then the left, allowing herself to luxuriate in the taste of his skin.

Maddox continued the trend, sliding his fingers over her forehead, down her right cheek and onto her neck.

“Kakī. Neck.”

H
e licked her again, tracing the path of his design down her cheek, then lapping up the peanut butter, his lips following his tongue as he kissed his way downward. As he did so, he pulled at her shirt, forcing the top two buttons undone. He tore aggressively at the others, exposing her chest.

Kyla, inviting
him to explore her further, delicately slid two fingers into the right cup of her bra and pulled it to the side, revealing an eager pink nipple. She looked up into his eyes and Maddox, torn between her own light eyes and her beautiful breast, let out a sigh worthy of a bear.