Bear Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #2)(33)

“Don’t say that. Bear isn’t unfortunate. He’s a part of you, and I love everything about you.” Her voice dipped to nothing at the end. “Sorry.”

“For what? Accepting all of me. Yes, woman, I’m offended.”

“No, not just for that. I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, and then I’m sorry I said the L-word while you were a bear. I know it’s too soon.”

“I’m not sorry,” he murmured over the crackling fire. He couldn’t bring himself to say those words to her until she knew everything, but down to his bones, he felt them. He loved her so deeply it socked him in the gut to think of her leaving, but that was their reality. She had a life and a career that required her to travel, and he was anchored to Alaska, just waiting and preparing to hibernate every year. He wouldn’t ever ask her to give that up, and admitting he loved her out loud would be a gateway conversation to doing just that.

Lena deserved a better life than what he could give her.

Swallowing down the snarl of his bear as the beast disagreed, he kissed Lena’s lips softly, just as she deserved after all she’d gone through today, then pulled her up. “Off to bed, woman. We have a big day tomorrow.”

“More bears?”

He nodded and said, “I’ll find you more bears, but this time we’ll be safer about it.”

“Will you sleep beside me?”

Damn she was so beautiful. Straight-backed with confidence, her long dark hair hanging in waves down her shoulders. And those eyes—such a strange, soft brown color, like she hid an animal within her, too. His mate looked otherworldly as she stood against the flickering firelight, asking him to sleep beside her. Beyond all reason, she still felt safe around him. But she wasn’t. Not yet.

“Not tonight.” He brushed a soft wave behind her ear just to see her beautiful face better. “I’ll keep watch and wake you in the morning.”

He wouldn’t tell her that he would be hunting Titus tonight.

Lena didn’t need the stress of being left alone while he made these woods safer for her.





Chapter Eleven


Lena startled awake and, for a moment, couldn’t remember where she was. She’d been having a good dream that was just on the edge of her memory, so why did she feel so unsettled now?

A soft rustling sound pricked up the fine hairs on her body, and she pursed her lips to try and steady her shaking breath. It was dark, but outside the tent, the embers from the earlier fire still cast the tent in a soft glow.

Some distance off, the horses were restless, pawing the ground and snorting. One let off a whicker, but it sounded terrified, and suddenly, she could make out pounding hooves, as if they’d pulled off their line. Shit.

“Jenner?” she whispered, sitting up in the sleeping bag. Maybe he was Changed into his bear and stressing out the horses.

A massive shadow covered the tent and then disappeared. Oh God, please let that be Jenner!

As quietly as she was able, Lena reached over and pulled the long knife she carried in a sheath on her belt. It wouldn’t do jack shit against a pissed off grizzly, but if she went for the eyes, maybe she could buy herself time.

The shadow moved around the tent, disappearing into the darkness in the back and reappearing on the side that glowed with firelight. A short bellow blasted from the animal, jolting fear through her. Not Jenner. That didn’t sound anything like him, and there was nothing in between her and whatever bear was out there save the thin nylon of the tent.

The animal snuffled against the bottom edge of the flimsy shelter. Against the fabric, she could make out the outline of a brown bear’s massive nose. Lena clutched the knife tighter and held her breath. Where the f*ck was Jenner?

The bear stood up on its hind legs, and this was it. In a rush, she pulled her backpack in front of her just as the beast dropped down and raked its claws down the tent, shredding it.

“Jenner!” she screamed as a massive claw ran down the backpack and yanked it from her grasp.

Through the tattered tent, she could see him now. Dark brown bear, scarred neck, missing ear. Titus.

She couldn’t escape the tent to run because the bruin was blocking the only exit, and as he pulled the backpack out, he clamped his massive jaws around it and shook the thing, scattering everything from it. The power of his jaws had tears streaming down the sides of her face in terror. With a bellowing roar, the monster turned his attention to her, so close she could see one of his eyes was fogged with blue. She scrambled for that side of him, hoping to confuse him, but he was on her now. She could see it the second he swung his head toward her and locked his gaze on hers. Shoving forward, he stretched his claws through the opening and just as he reached her, she slammed the blade of her knife as hard as she could into his arm.

The bear jerked back and bellowed an awful sound. Anger and pain. And right as he pushed forward again, tilting the entire tent with him, something hit him on his side with the force of a meteor.

Jenner! The sound of their brawling was overwhelming, hurting her ears with the sheer volume. And when she stumbled out of the collapsing tent, she couldn’t comprehend the raw violence of the enormous grizzlies. Titus slammed into a tree, and it snapped in two with an echoing crack. Jenner was much lighter in color and easy to tell apart, but now he was being clawed and bitten. Titus latched his teeth onto Jenner’s neck and shook him.