Bearing Up In Wolf Rock (A BBW Bear Shifter Romance) (Wolf Rock Shifters) (4 page)

“So do you have siblings?”

Maddox paused before replying.

“A brother. I had a sister…but she died when we were kids.”

“Oh my God, I’m sorry, Maddox,” said Kyla softly, wishing now that she hadn’t asked.

“It’s okay. It
was a long time ago.”

For a moment a look of profound sadness shrouded Maddox’s handsome face and Kyla felt that she could sense the pain in him. Her wolf felt a longing to curl up next to him and protect him from the hurt.

Seeming to swallow the moment of sorrow, Maddox changed the subject.

“So tell me, are there a lot of female wolves in your pack?”

“Only a few. Four of us now, including Nikki.”

“Ah yes, the
reality TV star.”

“Yep. She’s a nice woman though. I like her a lot.”

“And the others...the men. Is one of them your mate?”

“Well, that’s a direct question.”

“Sorry, it’s kind of my nature to be b
lunt.” Maddox smiled. “So, mate or no mate?”

Kyla let out a laugh.

“No, I’m very single at the moment. You’d think I’d be excited by my fellow wolves but somehow they’re like fa
mily to me, not potential boyfriends, lovers, spouses, whatever you want to call them. I know that I’m expected to take one of them eventually as a mate. Breeding and all that. But I can’t say I’m inclined and Tristan—that’s our alpha—doesn’t force the issue.”

“Hmm.”

“And you?”

“Oh no. I’m a lone wolf, if you’ll pardon the expression. I’m
on my own until I ‘find myself.’ Isn’t that what they call it?”

“So
really you’re saying you’re alone until you find a chick who gets your juices flowing.”

“Something like that.
And yet not at all like that. Let’s say that I have some baggage to deal with, and leave it at that for now.”

“We can leave it for now. But hopefully sometime you can tell me about it.”

Maddox smiled, his dimple reappearing.

“I’d like that, Kyla,” he said.

The bear shifter’s attention was diverted suddenly to the door, which had just opened. A man was walking in, looking around at the clients. He was dressed in camouflaged clothing and carried a heavy-looking pack.

“L
isten, Kyla…I should go,” said the she-wolf’s half-naked companion, gathering his things.

“Really? But you h
aven’t even begun to eat.” Kyla looked over at the stranger who had entered the establishment, wondering what about him was ruining her pleasant evening.

Maddox threw some money on the table and said, “This should cover our food. Sorry to rush off but I really do need to find this guy I’m looking for, and soon.”

“Okay.” Kyla was struggling to hide the disappointment in her voice, and Maddox seemed to pick up on it.

“But listen…
I’ll see you around. I’m likely to be here for a while. I liked meeting you, she-wolf. A lot.” The smile re-emerged.

Kyla couldn’t help grinning now.

“Yeah. I liked meeting you too, grizzly man.”

As Maddox rose
and turned away, she watched his body; his muscles tensing, his defined back screaming to be scratched and pawed. And his butt---well, his butt looked amazing in that towel.

He put his shirt on and walked out of the bar, towel around his waist, chaps in hand.

Kyla wished she knew where such a man might stay in Wolf Rock.

When she’d finished eating and paid the bill, Kyla drove up to the cabin which was concealed beyond miles of thick forest, nearly impossible to find unless one knew the way intimately. As she went, she couldn’t stop thinking about the bear shifter; the man who seemed to stimulate every one of her senses; to make her salivate and laugh all at once. The strange series of flashes that had occurred when she touched him was the most interesting thing, and a little frightening. What did it mean about her? Or was it about the visions themselves?

The cabin loomed before her as she approached, its dark wood blending into its surroundings. She’d always liked the buildi
ng, and preferred to sleep here in one of the spacious second floor bedrooms to her own small apartment in town. Since she was currently taking a break from her job in town at a local coffee shop to get away from the tourists, this seemed like the perfect refuge. And there was a sense of community among the wolves which made her feel surrounded by a protective force, and as though this was her true home.

“So,” said Nikki
when Kyla arrived, “I hear you met a dreamy bear today.”

“I guess you talked to Jay.”

“Yeah, well, you know what a gossip he is, as well as a good friend. Don’t worry; he didn’t say anything incriminating.”

“Sadly, there’s nothing incriminating
to say. Nothing happened. But the bear is dreamy, if by dreamy you mean huge, gorgeous, delicious-smelling and holy shit, I would so like to slide my tongue all over him.”

“That’s what I mean.”

“Oh my God, Nikki. I’ve never seen such a creature. He’s beautiful.”

Nikki smiled. “I know what you mean. That’s how I felt the first time I laid eyes on Tristan. It’s pretty special to be so attracted to a guy.”

“But you got your guy. It’s not going to happen for me and Yogi.”

“Why’s that?”

Well, for one thing I’ll probably never see him again. Besides, even if I did, I’m not supposed to be hooking up with grizzlies. I’m a member—one of the only female members—of a wolf pack.”

“There’s no rule that you can’t fall in love with someone outside the pack,
Ky.”

“I’m expected to mate within the pack, though. You know that.”

“I know. I nearly ended up with the wrong alpha, remember?” Nikki shuddered with the recollection. “But Tristan wouldn’t force you to be with someone you didn’t care for, alpha or not. He’s not the sort of man who would judge you.”

“No, he’s not. He’s a good guy. But the fact remains that Maddox the bear shifter is far away by now and I don’t know if I’ll meet up with him again.”

“But if you do?”

“If I do he may just find out what a she-wolf is like in the sack. Over and over and over again.”

“Speaking of which,” said Nikki, her eyes straying to the staircase, “I believe I have a horny alpha waiting for me upstairs and I know better than to keep him waiting.”

“God, I’m so fucking jealous.”

“Well, soon enough you may simply be fucking, dahling. Have some hope. I’ve discovered that when a thing is meant to be it happens, and I have a funny feeling that you’ll see your bear again, and soon.”

Three

Dawn was approaching as Dascha patrolled the territory, the smell of pine and fallen leaves denoting the calm and peace of the woods. The giant wolf padded softly, his paws coming down on the moist ground in gentle, almost inaudible thuds in spite of their great size.

Dascha
, like the other males of the pack, was a slim, muscular man. His hair was light sandy-brown, as was his wolf. At twenty-four he was young, and managed the delicate balance of getting along with everyone while still being meticulous in his duties. His personality rendered him an excellent pack member, though his youth occasionally caused him to make decisions based on an emotional reaction rather than a practical one, and only now was Tristan entrusting the more important duties to him. It was a sort of trial period during which the alpha would determine if Dascha was able to keep his emotions in check.

The younger pack members saw it as
both an honour and a chore to work the night patrols, and this was the first time that Dascha had been entrusted with the task on his own, which meant that his alpha had faith in his abilities to be vigilant and observant.

Hi
s shift was about to end. He’d been wandering the territory for eight hours now and had come across nothing out of the ordinary; only the odd evidence of a deer who’d found a place to sleep before running off into the night as a giant wolf approached or old tracks left by other pack members. He was mildly disappointed at the lack of interesting goings on, but knew that he should feel relieved and grateful that another night had passed uneventfully and that his pack was safe.

As he began to head back towards the cabin,
he stopped abruptly in his tracks as the smell of blood hit him like a fist to the gut.

He knew immediately that it was no animal’s scent that he’d picked up. This was human. Why, out in the middle of the wilderness, was there a bleeding damn
ed human?

The young wolf
considered running to the house and alerting the pack, but most would be scattered at this hour, some sleeping, others off to work. No, this was his job and he’d been entrusted the task of using his own judgment.

He
took it upon himself to solve the mystery, and he began to lope towards the source of the scent.

It didn’t take long to find the man, who was unconscious, bleeding from a gash to his chest. He was
clothed in a camouflage outfit which conveyed the impression that he must be a hunter. But he had no weapon, and hunting was forbidden in these woods anyhow. There was no backpack, even, which meant that the man might simply be the sort of idiot who thinks he can handle the woods unequipped.

Still, he was human and the wolves protected the woods
, and that meant any living creature within them, unless it was a threat to the wolves themselves. Dascha couldn’t very well leave him lying here.

The shifte
r knew that he could carry the unconscious man on his back, but the question of how to get him up there was a problem. He had to make the difficult decision to run for help and hope that the victim would still be here when he returned.

When he arrived at their cabin, Dascha immediately knew that Tristan, their alpha, was awake. The young wolf’s nose picked up the smell of sex as soon as he entered the building and didn’t even need to guess what the alpha and his mate were up to.

“T
hose two never stop fucking,” he thought, his irritation getting the better of him. “Amazing that Tristan manages to keep control over this place.”

Dascha
shifted into human form and covered himself.

“Tristan!” he yelled up the stairs
, unconcerned about interrupting the love-making. A few moments later the door opened, and the large, naked man loomed at the top of the staircase, looking down.

“This had better be good,” he growled.

“There’s a body. Well, not a body, exactly. An injured man in the woods. Looks like some animal’s attacked him. I can carry him but I need help getting him on my back.”

“I’ll be right down.”

Another door cracked open and Kyla peeked out. “Need my help, Dasch?”

“Su
re, why don’t you come with us? The more hands, the better.”

“Be right there.” Kyla
backed into her room and shifted, her body morphing into a giant light-coloured wolf, and strode down the stairs to the front door.

Seconds
later, Tristan was running, the handsome dark-haired man changing to a black wolf with bright blue eyes as he sprinted down the stairs. Dascha followed him out the door, dropping his blanket and changing in mid-stride, and he guided his leader to the place where he’d found the man. To his relief, the victim was still there, and still breathing.

Kyla looked around at the scene. There had been a fight, she could tell by the snapped branches and disturbed ground. And there were tracks; large ones. Those of an animal.

The man was clothed in camouflaged outerwear, and at first Kyla studied him, wondering if it was the same person who’d seemed to prompt Maddox to leave the pub. But this was someone else; the clothing must simply have been a coincidence, she thought.

In seconds Tristan was standing, breathing hard, next to the wolves.

“We
’ll get him on your back, Dasch. We’ve got to drive him to the hospital; these wounds are pretty bad,” said the alpha.

Dascha
panted in silent agreement as the powerful alpha hoisted the man over his back, trying to be careful not to aggravate the wounds further. He wished he’d thought to bring gauze.

The way back wasn’t so quick, as
Tristan jogged next to the wolves, trying to ensure that the man wouldn’t go bouncing off of Dascha’s wide back.

When they arrived at the cabin, Nikki was awake.
The alpha’s curvy companion had gotten dressed and made coffee for the others.

“Jesus,” she said
, wrapping a robe around Tristan. “You should have let me help.”

“You
are helping, sweetheart,” said her mate, taking a cup from her and swigging it after kissing her cheek. “But we’re going to have to head into town and get our friend here some medical treatment. Look after the place while we’re gone. Kyla, can you drive?”