Fealty Of The Bear (6 page)

Yellow police tape kept them from riding straight up to the old sawmill where Trent had been locked in and burned.

Logan exited the jeep as soon as Muriel cut the engine, and she followed him as he held up a yellow strand of caution tape for her. Bron and Samantha trailed close behind and in silence, they picked their way toward the burned building.

“Can you stand over here?” Logan asked, pointing to a grove of trees. “I need you two downwind. Bron, your scent is already all over here. Can you come with me to answer questions?”

Bron followed Logan, and Muriel huddled close to Samantha. Bron had built the sawmill up on a hill at the back of his property, and it was much windier here. The chill bit through Muriel’s thin jacket, and she was grateful she’d decided to wear her snow boots today.

Samantha was staring at the pile of rubble and ash with a horrified look on her face. This is where Trent had died, and the woods suddenly felt haunted. The hair rose on Muriel’s neck and she swatted it to rid herself of that watched feeling. Her skin burned where Logan had bit her last night. She thought he hadn’t broken the skin, but perhaps she’d been wrong.

Logan tracked slowly up to the rubble, then took a wide and winding loop through the woods around it. It had rained since Trent’s death, which would’ve wiped out any strong trails, but when half an hour passed and Logan was still asking infinite questions to Bron as they sifted through the edges of the rubble, Muriel leaned against an old Alder tree beside Samantha.

“It’s weird being here,” Samantha said.

“Yeah, tell me about it. I haven’t been up here since Trent passed.”

“What was he like? I mean, as an adult? I only knew Trent until he was seventeen. I hate to bring him up to Bron because he’s struggling so much with everything, but I miss him, you know? He was one of my best friends growing up, and I missed his last six years.”

Muriel swallowed the hard lump in her throat and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. “That was my fault. If I had been strong enough to say no to the arrangement our alphas put Bron and I into, you wouldn’t have had to leave.”

“No, Muriel. I hope you don’t really think that. Bron said people from his clan were after me, even after his dad died. I am alive today because of what happened.” She slung her arm around Muriel’s shoulders and leaned her head against her. “Everything happened the way it was supposed to happen. And even if it was awful and painful, our destinies will right themselves. You’ll see.”

She wished she could see things the way Samantha did. Her optimistic spirit made her appreciate Bron’s new mate even more. “Do you think it’s weird to be around me?”

“Why would it be?” Samantha asked.

“Because I was married to your mate. Because I was the reason he had to leave you. Geez, because I had carnal knowledge of Bron. This just has the potential to be really awkward.”

“Maybe it would be strange if you’d loved him. Did you?”

“No. I had someone else, like he had you in high school. Being with Bron felt like cheating on the boy I’d loved. And I couldn’t bring myself to love a man who belonged entirely to another woman.”

“Well, I don’t know how this stuff would work for other people, but I like you and I don’t care about all of the mess we got caught up in. You gave me my bear and gave me Bron. I don’t feel awkward. You and Reese are the only girl friends I have here. I’m not losing half of that just because of some silly notion about how I’m
supposed
to feel.”

Muriel smiled and leaned her head against the top of Samantha’s. “Trent was a wild man. And funny, oh God, he could have us in stitches no matter how dire things looked. He was so quick, I felt like I had to be on top of my game when he was around and be ready to respond to whatever wise-crack was going to come from his mouth. He didn’t like me too much though.”

“Why not?”

“Because he was always loud about his preference for you. He was always busting Bron’s balls for choosing wrong. It was hard, because I liked Trent and I wanted him to accept me, but I understood. I was a poor stand-in for you.”

Samantha shook her head slowly. “You weren’t a poor substitution for me, Muriel. We were just put in a position we shouldn’t have been. Besides, if we didn’t go through the trials we did, you wouldn’t have been able to fully appreciate that fine specimen of a man right there. He’s a good one to be helping Bron find someone he has no beef with.”

Logan was good. Muriel could feel it when she was with him, but he’d be gone soon and every minute she spent with him now, she bonded more tightly to him. Separating from him was going to hurt.

Logan bent down and dragged something from beneath a charred log. From here, it looked like a small square of burned fabric, and he and Bron talked over it and passed it between them as they studied it.

“What is it?” Muriel called, when the suspense became too much.

Logan twitched his head in invitation, and she helped Samantha to her feet.

Gravel crunched under her boots as she approached, and Logan handed her a half burned book of matches. “You know that logo?” he asked.

No writing had survived the fire, only a green colored looping design.

“I don’t know it. Is this what the murderer used?”

“We think so,” Bron said. “We didn’t bring matches of any kind up to the sawmill because of all the dry lumber. This isn’t ours.”

Logan took the marred matchbook from her hands and frowned at the partial logo. “The scents have all been washed out but Bron’s, probably because of the rain. I think they drove up to where we are parked and hoofed it the rest of the way so your brother wouldn’t hear them coming. Tire tracks wouldn’t have survived the rain either, but if we can figure out where this came from, we can work outward from there.”

Bron offered his hand to shake and Logan grasped it. “Thanks, man,” Bron said gruffly. “You going to be in town for a while? Dillon and I could use someone not close to the clan to help us out with our search.”

“Actually, I’m headed out as soon as I get my bike back. I do wish you luck in finding whoever did this though. Wish I could be there when you string ’em up.”

“Well, if you change your mind, I have some temporary work for you on my construction crew. Trent used to run the lumber side of things, but we do remodeling and repairs, and one of my boys betrayed my mate. I’m down a man. The job is yours if you want it.”

“I appreciate the offer, man.” The smile Logan gave Bron was a sad one, and Muriel swallowed her disappointment down.

“I can’t give you the safety of my clan,” Bron said as they ambled back to the waiting vehicles. “But you seem to have won Muriel’s respect and that says something about your character. If you find yourself in a tight spot, please come to me.”

The wind shifted and it lifted Muriel’s hair. She shivered and imagined claws reaching across her neck.

“What happened here?” Samantha asked, lifting her hair completely.

Muriel ducked away, but Bron was staring at her with a baffled look on his face. God, this was mortifying. She’d just been love bite busted by her ex-husband and his new mate.

A slow smile spread across Bron’s face and he dragged his gaze to Logan, who looked nothing shy of obnoxiously proud. A knowing look passed from Bron to Logan and her ex shook his head and muttered, “You should probably tell her, man.”

“Tell me what?” Muriel asked, irritated by their little secret code conversation.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Logan said.

She wanted to kick them both in the shins for whatever stupid game they were playing.

Muriel looked at Samantha for explanation, but she was frowning in confusion at her mate and likely didn’t have any more answers than she did.

All of the tension seemed to have dissipated between the two dominant males who were now sporting the most agitating pair of grins.

“Whatever,” she muttered as she barely avoided the urge to stomp to the jeep. Ghost Trent was probably laughing his ass off in the woods beside them at what an idiot she looked like.

“Don’t be mad,” Logan said, lifting her into his arms so fast her breath caught.

“You’ll tear your stitches, and I’m not redoing them,” she gritted out.

“The stitches feel fine. Hey,” he said, setting her down on the passenger’s seat. “How about I’ll make it up to you and buy you breakfast in town on the way to pick up my bike?”

Well, that did make her perk up a little. She was hungry and he was offering her more time with him.

“Are you asking me on a date?” she said saucily.

“If I did, would you say yes?”

Biting her lip to stifle the grin there, she shrugged.

Logan locked his elbows on either side of her hips and leaned forward to sip her lips in a tender kiss. “Muriel Marsden, will you go on one date with me before I skip out of town?”

She pretended to think about it. “Only one date though. I can’t have you falling in love with me.”

The smile fell from his face and his gaze dipped to her mouth. “Okay.”

His tone was so serious, she frowned and touched the corner of his eye. “What did I say wrong?”

“Bye!” Samantha called from the open window of Bron’s truck. Gravel crunched and pinged against the undercarriage as they made their way down the hill. Logan waved in a manly, two-fingered gesture.

“I don’t want to go,” Logan murmured, returning his attention to her. He leaned down until the top of his head rested against Muriel’s chest.

She inhaled deeply and ran her fingers through his dark hair. “So don’t.”

“You’re the reason I can’t stay,” he said. “My being around you puts you in their path.”

“Whose path?”

His back strained against his jacket with a sigh and she stared at the woods over his shoulders. He was closing down, and she wanted so badly to hold onto this peaceful moment a little while longer.

“There are things I can’t tell you. I can’t tell anyone, but for the first time, I wish I could share it with somebody.” He straightened and splayed his legs so he was closer to eye level with her. He gripped the hair behind her ears gently. “I wish I could tell you everything.”

“Me too.”

“You could’ve warned me that I was walking into your ex-mate’s house, Muriel.”

“But it was so fun watching you find out,” she said with a giggle.

He leaned forward and nibbled her ear. “That’s a dangerous game to play, woman.”

“Were you jealous?”

“Did you want me to be?” Logan kissed her jaw line and she practically purred under his affection.

“You can’t just answer a question, can you?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you can answer a question?”

“Yes, I was jealous. Seeing that picture of you two all dressed up and posed…” He shook his head. “After last night, my feelings for you are different. I don’t want to compete for you today. I want you for myself.”

“Just for pretend?”

“Not for pretend. I want you to be mine for today, because that’s all I can have without putting you in danger. I’m going to take you out for breakfast, and then when we get my bike, we’re going to say goodbye like I’ll be back. That’s what I want.”

“Okay,” she agreed. It wasn’t what she wanted, but it was the most she was going to get.

And right now, she’d do just about anything to get a little more time with him.

Logan pulled onto East Main and pointed the ruined grille of Muriel’s jeep toward a row of parking spots at the end. At a red light, he pulled to a stop and rested his hand on Muriel’s thigh just for the excuse to touch her.

She’d turned up an alternative rock station and was humming along as her dark hair whipped this way and that in the breeze. The bite on her neck that he got a peek of from time to time filled him with such pride. She was his in a way she wouldn’t be able to belong to another. He wouldn’t ever tell her that, because it would only make leaving her harder, but the secret knowledge was something he reveled in.

He’d done that to her.

And she’d let him.

No matter what had happened between her and Bronson Cress in their unwilling pairing, she hadn’t been broken from it. Awe surged through him at how brave she really was.

A tiny gasp left her lips as they waited for a group of townies to cross the street at the light.

When he turned to see what was wrong, she was staring at a man who was helping a pregnant lady on the crosswalk.

Logan studied him. Probably close to his age, and tall. Plaid shirt and penny loafers, with a mop of blond, wavy hair. All right looking if chicks were into the geeky look.

Muriel obviously knew him. She’d closed her mouth, but her gaze followed the couple as they made their way into a cabinetry store.

Someone honked behind him when he failed to notice the light had turned green, and he hit the gas. When he’d pulled into a parking spot in front of a café, he turned and asked, “Who was he to you?”

She turned haunted eyes on him. “That was Danny. I was with him when my father told me I was to marry Bron.”

Logan battled the ugly feeling that crept into his gut. She needed an ear right now, not a jealous rage. “What happened with him?”

“We were together most of high school. We’d grown up together and our families were close. Everything was so natural with him. I was comfortable. When Dad told me I was to unite the bear shifter clans, I didn’t know what that meant. I thought that maybe he thought I was destined for alpha someday, but I’m a black bear, and I wouldn’t have the dominance to hold it for long. When he brought me into town for a dinner with Trent and Bron, he and Dodger told us together. It was awful.” Muriel blinked hard and dropped her chin to her chest.

The doors to the jeep were open, and a pair of old gossipers in rocking chairs in front of a realtor office were staring at Muriel. He’d make her breakfast at the house and avoid the public right now. Pulling out of the parking spot, he rested his hand across her thigh again and she clutched onto it like he was her life line. With every second that passed, the woman was destroying his resolve to leave her.

“Did you fight the decision?”

“Of course I did. Bron and I both did as much as two kids were able. He had Samantha, and anyone with eyes could tell he loved her more than his own life. His father was dead and it was just he and Trent, and his alpha, Dodger, bullied him relentlessly. My father told me I would be banished if I didn’t go through with it, and I had heard horrible things about being a rogue. And I was so young, only seventeen at the time, that I eventually thought I had no choice.”

“Did you sleep with Danny before you were bedded to Bron?” God, he wanted her to say yes to spare the agony he knew she went through if Bron was her first.

“No. Bron and I slept together on our wedding night. It was just a courthouse wedding. I didn’t even wear a dress or carry flowers. I cried after we were together. I cried most of the times we were together and I felt awful for how ungrateful I was, and for how bad I was in Bron’s bedroom. We just didn’t connect like that and I could never…”

“You couldn’t finish with him?”

“No. Not even once. I thought I was broken. And Bron didn’t hurt me or do anything bad to me. He tried to be understanding and patient, but I didn’t want him to touch me. I know it was horrible of me, but eventually, I made him feel as unwanted as he made me feel when he called out Samantha’s name. We were poisonous together.”

“Shit,” Logan said, rubbing his hands through his hair.

“We were sleeping in separate bedrooms after the first year, and after three years, I moved into my cabin and we made appearances together for the sake of the clan. And then I filed for divorce six months ago. I couldn’t do it anymore. I knew I would be a rogue. Where can I go now? I can choose a clan where my ex-husband will be my alpha, or a clan where my tyrant father is alpha. And Bron was so angry with me.” Tears streamed down her face as she spoke. “He thought I’d given up on him, but that wasn’t it at all. If he was ever going to have a chance at happiness, I had to do this. Danny was already mated to the woman you saw today. It’s not like I thought there was any chance of reconciliation, but I’d checked on Samantha through the years. She was living in Portland and still single, and I knew if Bron was free, he’d eventually contact her. Trent’s death just rushed the plan.”

The woman was basically a saint. She’d made a decision against her clan’s laws to give Bronson a shot at happiness, and now she was stuck as a rogue, picking up the pieces of the unacceptable situation her dick father forced her into. If he ever saw Steven Marsden again, he was going to fucking maim him.

Right now, all he could think about was getting her inside the cabin and showing her how not broken she was.

Having to deal with two of her exes today had put a strain on his animal, and he was practically snarling for him to claim her body again. First Bron, then Danny, and now Logan hated her past with both of them. He hated it because he wanted her future, and he couldn’t have it.

Throwing the jeep into park in front of her cabin, he jogged around the front and pulled her into his arms before she had time to exit the car. He wasn’t even over the porch stairs before she reached for his neck and pulled his lips to hers.
Thata girl.

Kicking the door closed behind him, he lowered her to the entryway floor and shucked his jeans. Tearing at her shirt, the fabric ripped easily in his frantic hands, and she tossed her head back and groaned his name as he palmed her perfect tits. She seemed just as frantic as him to feel a connection, to feel necessary to someone else, to feel…something.

Desperate to feel her skin against his, he yanked at the bandages across his torso until they were a shredded pile on the floorboards beside them. Her pants joined them and he rocked back on his knees just to drink in her sexy curves. His woman was no stick on the page of a magazine. She was a fucking perfectly shaped hourglass. An ass he could grab and big perky tits, and fuck, he had to taste her before they did this.

Pressing her knees wide, he ignored her shocked sounding gasp and drove his tongue into her moist opening. She tasted so good, his cock throbbed like it wanted a turn at her. He loved how she got wet for him so fast.

Her fingers found his hair and a guttural moan sounded through her belly. He rested his hand across her stomach just to feel closer to the animal at the surface. He bet she was fucking gorgeous. A black bear, petit probably, and she was all his. His jaws moved and her hips bucked and three more strokes with his tongue and she was screaming his name and pulsing around him.

Frantic to be inside of her, he covered her and slid his thickness all the way into her before she finished coming. He liked feeling her orgasm on his dick, and when the pulsing faded, he began to move within her, gliding against her wetness as she clawed at his back. Lowering his face to hers, he took her lips.

Bucking into her so deeply his hips met hers, his muscles tensed. He couldn’t stop now. He pressed his tongue against hers with every stroke, and his pace became faster as he pounded toward his own release.

“Come with me,” he rasped out.

She was close, green eyes hazy, legs spreading farther apart for him, hips rolling to meet every thrust, tiny pants of pleasure on her lips, claws in his back, telling him she liked him right where he was. She was so fucking sexy he couldn’t stand it.

Pressure, pressure, pressure, he was going to blow, but he couldn’t until she tipped over the edge with him. She’d liked the bite. He grazed his teeth against her throat and reared back to look into her eyes as she shattered around him. Her pounding pulsing pulled his own release, and he gritted his teeth and bucked wildly into her, spewing his cum into his mate.

His mate?

Fuck.

Jerking his hips, he emptied himself completely into her. The floor under her was slick with the excess she couldn’t hold and he loved it. He loved it being too much for her. He’d rather it be too much than not enough.

“Muriel,” he panted. “You aren’t broken. You just weren’t meant to be his.” She was meant for Logan, but he couldn’t force the words past his lips. He couldn’t admit it out loud and still justify leaving her.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, trailing soft, sad kisses across his collar bone.

Nothing in him wanted to leave her either. Nothing except the niggling fear that she’d die at his trackers’ hands.

This had been a bad idea. Last night had bonded them, but now something had changed. Something he couldn’t explain, but that was important to his biological make-up. It wasn’t like this where he came from. Mates were interchangeable and breeding rogues were common. But here in Hells Canyon, the magic he’d heard about actually existed. It bound people together on a cellular level and left them bereft if they were separated.

Logan was going to have to rip his own heart out to leave her.

Nothing to be done about that now, you dumbass
, he chided himself.

Drawing back, he picked Muriel up off the floor and toted her into the bedroom. She fixed the pillows like she was making a little nest and opened the covers for him to crawl in beside her, and he could just imagine it. Coming home every night to her, deepening their bond until there was no end and beginning to them, treating her like she deserved and causing happy smiles on her beautiful lips. Her neck arched as she cradled his cub.

He’d never wanted to settle down, but after two days with Muriel, his animal didn’t want anything else.