Claimed by the Grizzly (3 page)

The bear shifted and turned into a gorgeous male slightly larger than Jensen. Koby. He had shaggy light brown hair with blond through it, wide shoulders and a broad chest, covered with a smattering of light hair, that tapered into a narrow waist. His cock rose long and thick from a nest of curls and had her heart beating even faster with anticipation. His scent filled her head and infused her body. He squatted beside her, being careful not to touch her, closed his eyes and inhaled. A rumble filled his chest.

She stared at him, unwilling to look anywhere else, and was just as surprised as he was when his clothes came flying at him, hitting him square in the chest and falling between them.

“Jesus, man! Get your clothes on before you terrify her with that thing waving around. Not to mention the fucking blood. Christ! You just love making things harder for yourself, don’t you?”

She preferred to think he was making it hard for her, and from the looks of it, he was doing a fabulous job. He stood quickly, scooping up the clothes as he did. His cock bobbed just out of reach, and she damned the drug in her system even more for thwarting her desire to reach out and touch him.

“Here,” Jensen said, shoving a bottle of water at Koby. “Wash up first before you get that all over the clothes.” He took Koby’s jeans and shirt back while Koby uncapped the bottle and rinsed his hands then splashed his face clean. “You’ll have to do a more thorough job when we get to the truck. I’ve got disinfectant and mouthwash, but you’re going to want to scrub and brush good when we get home. Damn! You don’t know what those assholes have running in their veins.”

“It’s not as if we can get human diseases,” Koby snapped. His voice was deep and rough, the sound sliding over her skin and making her nipples pebble.

“Yeah, but the whole might-be-mates thing,” Jensen said, casting a glance her way. “You don’t want to kiss her with that taste in your mouth. Right?”

Koby growled. His gaze snapped to her lips then up to clash with hers. She blinked twice.

Jensen laughed.

“What?” Koby demanded.

“We have a code. Two blinks means no. See. She doesn’t want you to kiss her with that yuck mouth, either,” Jensen answered.

Sidia wanted to scream at the lying bastard. He’d pay for that. He winked at her, his grin playful.

“Of course, she could also be reacting to the thought of mating herself to you,” Jensen offered.

Sidia’s gaze narrowed at Jensen’s words, but it was nothing compared to the snarl that left Koby’s lips.

“Just saying,” Jensen replied. “First impressions, bro. You need to work on that. You’re zero for two in the female category lately.”

Her bear wanted to roar at the thought of another woman with him, and she snapped her glance back to Koby just in time to watch him tuck away that massive cock then button and zip. He shoved his feet into sneakers and ripped a shirt over his head.

He stalked to her again, and this time, when he squatted down, it was to scoop her up into his arms. He stood, holding her high against his chest. She couldn’t even lift her arm to touch him. Still, her head lolled into the space between his neck and shoulder, and she inhaled his scent. Her cheek pressed against his bare skin. She could feel the oil glands beneath her skin already working to supply the mating scent she needed to mark him as hers. Not enough of it would transfer to him until she could move and was able to rub against him, but it would have to do for now.

“Get your ass moving,” Koby ordered his brother. “I want to know exactly what was in the shot she took. No surprises, Jensen.” He glanced down at her, leaned close and whispered for her ears alone. “I’ve got you now. I’ll watch over and protect you. Trust me.”

She automatically blinked twice then wanted to groan at the hurt that reflected in his eyes. Damn Jensen for his foolish game. She blinked once, willing Koby to understand her.

“I won’t hurt you,” Koby vowed. “Just rest.”

For the first time in five years, Sidia felt safe. She stopped fighting the drowsiness tugging at her, trusting her mate to watch over her. She didn’t care what the drug was at the moment. She just wanted it out of her system so she could claim the man holding her and erase the hurt she’d inadvertently caused. Then she’d teach his brother a lesson.

Chapter Three

Sidia was out cold in Koby’s arms when they reached the truck. Her breathing was deep and easy, doing a lot to ease his fear over her being drugged. He hated that he and Jenson weren’t there in time. He wanted to stay with her, to hold her and never let her go, but all he could see was her blinking twice when he’d urged her to trust him. No. That unspoken word had wounded him deeper than anything else ever had. It was no more than he deserved for how he’d behaved with Holt and Jaeda when they’d mated.

He opened the back door and laid her across the seat, taking special care to make sure she was secure and comfortable before snagging a backpack and shutting the door.

“What are you doing?” Jensen asked immediately.

“I’m not going back yet. Send one of the others back for me in the morning.” He flexed his shoulders and shook his hands to release some of his tension. He glanced back in to where Sidia was sleeping. She looked peaceful and unafraid. The chances of her staying that way were much higher if he wasn’t there to scare her more when she woke up. “Look, we need to know what happened here, and we really can’t wait for her to come around and tell us.”

“You can’t just send your mate home and not be there,” Jensen stated incredulously.

Koby blew out a breath. “She’s scared of me. I think it’d be best if Jaeda was the one there when Sidia opens her eyes.”

“You can’t—”

“You saw me when I walked out of those woods,” Koby almost roared at his brother. “My bear is holding on by a very thin fucking thread, and it’s fraying with every inhale of her scent. I want her, more than I thought I wanted Jaeda, and I was ready to take Holt apart to get to her. The best thing for Sidia right now is for me to be as far away as I can manage until I gain some fucking control. Understand?”

Jensen nodded. “I don’t feel right leaving you. You’re not exactly yourself right now.”

“I’m pure instinct and adrenaline right now,” Koby countered. “I’m the animal in human skin. I killed two men. I don’t think we want anyone stumbling across that fact right now. I need to tidy that up then get up the mountain and check the house, check for Nicholas. He could be alive up there.”

He saw the doubt in Jensen’s gaze but didn’t comment on it.

“I’ve got my pack. I’ll grab my cell from the console where I left it. Tell Laramie I’ll check in with him tonight after I’ve had a chance to take a look around. You just get her back to the lodge and find out for sure what was in that dart she got hit with. Call me if there’s anything I need to know.”

“I’ll go, but one of us will be back soon, so you better keep your phone on you and answer the damn thing,” Jensen warned.

Koby had a habit of turning the thing off when he was out doing something. It was a distraction, one they could ill afford sometimes. Nothing like trying to do reconnaissance and having your pocket buzzing, vibrating or even ringing. He gave a noncommittal grunt and reached in to grab it, shoving it in his pocket before Koby could see it was turned off.

Koby glanced in at Sidia one more time before forcing his feet to move.

“Drive safe,” he warned his brother.

Jensen nodded. “Be careful. There’s something about this smoke I don’t like.”

“Yeah,” Koby agreed. “It has a different scent to it, as if it’s been altered somehow. I’ll check into it more when I get to where the fire originated. Could be Nicholas had something in the house when it went up. Now, go.”

“Okay, okay,” Jensen muttered. “You better be focused. If anything happens to you, Laramie will have my hide.”

“Do I look like I’m not focused?” Koby lifted a brow as he stared down his brother.

“You look cold and deadly,” Jensen observed.

“Someone just tried to kill my mate. First by fire, then by hunting her down. I’d say cold and deadly is accurate.”

“So you think she’s your mate?” Jensen asked.

“I know she is,” Koby declared. “I…scared her, coming out of the woods the way I did, but it couldn’t be helped. I needed to be sure she was okay. Not the way I would have preferred to meet her, but…” He shrugged. “Take her home where she’ll be safe, and let me do what I do.”

Jensen nodded again, but this time, there was no concern in his expression. “Be safe. Watch your back. Declan or Slade will head back as soon as I arrive.”

Koby didn’t say anything, just tipped up his chin in acknowledgement then turned and walked away. He was an enforcer. He and Laramie were the only two of the brothers who had been trained prior to their father’s death. There had been six others with them, working in two-man teams. It was their job to enforce the pack laws and to punish those who broke them. The pack had the same basic laws as humans, with a few differences thrown in. They didn’t do prisons, and they didn’t give second chances. Punishments were swift and merciless, fitting to the crimes committed.

One of the worst crimes, as far as bears were concerned, was the mistreatment of a female. The old-school way of thought for bear shifters was that the male dominated and the female submitted. Koby had heard Laramie explaining that to Holt when the human had been in the midst of mating with Jaeda. There was a lot of truth to it. The female was given the choice of mate, but once she settled on a male, most believed it was her job to submit to him in all things. Koby had always felt that was ludicrous. Maybe, because he’d been closer to his mom than to his father. Bethany Holloway had been strength personified, and she was exactly what he wanted in a mate.

Others may not have seen the side of her that he had, but Koby knew she’d been a force to be reckoned with. He’d watched her gently guide his father toward the decisions she wanted, sometimes outright challenging him, though only when she thought they were alone. He’d also seen his father bend to her. She’d been his father’s eyes and ears when other things had demanded his attention. She’d been his right hand, his partner in every sense of the word. Koby would settle for nothing less from his mate. They would submit to each other, forging a bond none would be able to sever.

His thoughts skirted back to Sidia. He swore his heart had stopped when her scream had sounded, echoing around the trees. He’d ripped free of his clothes, only taking the time to strip off his jeans, shirt and shoes before shifting into his bear skin, shredding his socks and underwear. He’d been desperate to get to her and stop whatever threatened her. Jensen had headed to her while Koby had gone around, getting behind her to where he sensed the danger lay.

He’d barreled into the two hunters. He hadn’t smelled either of them. Instead, he’d utilized his hearing to lock onto them and turn the hunters into the hunted. He’d heard them crashing through the brush in search of his mate. The first had turned, and Koby had instinctively struck out with one paw. He’d caught the guy along the chin, flaying his skin open and breaking his neck as his head swiveled with the power of Koby’s hit.

The other guy had lifted his rifle with a clear intent to fire, knowing it would be the only way he stood a chance against a fucking enraged grizzly. Koby had been on him before the hunter could do much more than aim, knocking him to the ground and tearing into his throat, shredding skin and muscle before leaving him to bleed out in the dirt.

Koby wanted to go back and clean up the mess he’d left before anyone stumbled onto it, but it wasn’t his priority. If the bodies were discovered, it would show they’d been killed by a bear, not an everyday thing but not unheard of in Wyoming, either. He’d leave them for now and follow their path back to where they’d been hanging out when they’d found his mate and begun pursuit. Her scent was the easiest thing to pick up on, the smoke still seeming to cover everything else.

He followed her trail back to a cavern and, after a thorough search, discovered a shift in the ground where a well-hidden hatch slid, revealing an opening. He dropped inside, landing in a crouch while he took stock of his surroundings. The air was clear here. His mate’s scent lingered but no other. He shut the overhead opening and took off. He realized he was in the mountain and almost laughed at Nicholas’ ingenuity. Leave it to him to have a quicker way to the top but make everyone else climb the damn thing.

He found a small grotto area at the bottom where it appeared Sidia had spent some time waiting. It killed him to imagine her here, all alone. For how long? What had she heard? Seen? Had she been afraid?

A growl of displeasure rumbled from his chest. He followed her scent to a worn path that led up toward what he assumed was the top of the mountain and what remained of Nicholas’ home. That would be the best place to start.

He exited through a cavern, this time sliding an entire length of wall away. There was a stillness to the air up here, as if nothing moved except the still-smoldering fire. The house was almost completely gone, leaving nothing but rubble and ash behind. He’d be hard pressed to find anything useful in it. He skirted the edge of the clearing around the house first, making sure there were no hidden surprises. Only when he knew he was alone did Koby move toward the house to search through what was left for the cause of the fire and to see if Nicholas or anyone else had been caught inside.

The sun was high in the sky when Koby headed to the tree line and found a spot in the shade to sit for a minute. He pulled water from his pack and guzzled it. He was still sitting there when he felt his brother moving through the woods toward him. Laramie. It surprised Koby that Laramie had chosen to come. He was the alpha now and needed to be more concerned with his personal safety than ever before.

Koby threw a water bottle to Laramie as soon as he approached. His brother snatched it out of the air with one hand and grunted in acknowledgement.

“There’s an easier way up here,” Koby said. “A path through the mountain.”