Bear Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #2)(38)

“Shhh,” Dalton said, gripping her shoulder.

“Ow,” she gasped, jerking out from under his hand.

Dalton’s eyes narrowed, and he pulled her forward, yanking the neck of her shirt back to expose the bandage. “Please tell me that’s not what it looks like,” he growled out. He rounded on Jenner, who was packing the saddle bags of a black horse. “Please f*cking tell me you didn’t claim her!” His voice snapped with fury, and a long, low snarl sounded from Chance.

Jenner ignored them both.

“Did you tell her what it means?”

“He did, and you don’t have to worry. All of the secrets here will go with me to my grave. And relax, Dalton,” she said, standing. She hoisted herself over the saddle of a bay. “Jenner’s bite is just a bite and nothing more. It didn’t stick.” She nudged her horse and guided him toward the trail they had come in on.

Hoofbeats sounded moments later, and Dalton pulled up beside her. “That’s not how it works, Lena. If his bear chose you, you’re it for always.”

“Yeah, well, he’s decided I don’t belong out here.”

“You don’t! God dammit, Jenner,” Dalton yelled, twisting in the saddle to where Chance and Jenner followed on their own mounts.

Jenner’s eyes were now the color of midnight, though, and a long snarl rattled from his chest. His horse skittered to the side and blasted a snort. “Careful, dog. This doesn’t concern you.”

Dalton huffed a disgusted sound and kicked his horse into a trot.

Lena followed, urging her horse faster. The quicker they made it back to the lodge, the quicker she could escape the anguish of being too close, yet too far away from Jenner.





Chapter Thirteen


“You okay?” Dalton asked for the billionth time since they’d left the cabin.

Chance and Jenner were far behind, lagging and talking too low for her to hear.

“I’m fine.”

“I can see in the dark really well, so we don’t have to stop until we get to the lodge.”

“Dalton? Why do you care so much about what is going on with Jenner and me?”

He looked at her for a long time, his face cast in blue light from the moon above. “Because I hurt a girl once trying to settle down. I don’t want that for you.”

“So, it’s not because you like me?”

“I like you fine, but not in the way you think. I mean, sure, I like giving Jenner shit, but a wise wolf knows better than to mess with a bear’s claim.”

“But you tried to stop the bond from happening.”

“Yeah well, I’ve seen the aftermath, and it ain’t pretty. Not on the woman, and not on the animal. Jenner and I stay at each other’s throats, but we’ve known each other a long time. He’s one of my best friends.”

“You don’t hibernate though, do you? Not like the bear shifters?”

Dalton shook his head but wouldn’t meet her gaze anymore.

“So then as far as shifters go, you got lucky.”

“Mmm. Depends on how you look at it. Some wolf packs go crazy. The McCalls have to be put down one by one.”

“Who does that?”

Dalton jerked his head toward Jenner, who was barely visible so far behind them. “The Silver brothers are the enforcers around here. If a shifter steps out of line, Jenner and his brothers fix the problem.”

“What? Why them? That doesn’t seem fair. I mean, they have enough shit going on without policing everyone.”

“Not everyone. Just the ones who threaten to expose us or who hurt humans. And just in Alaska. The Silvers can handle it, and most of the time, just their presence here keeps the rest of us in line.”

“Oh.” She relaxed into the gentle rocking gait of her horse. There was so much more to Jenner than she’d known. She couldn’t have ever guessed how complicated his life was, and now his story about his mom made more sense. He didn’t want her weighed down with his shifter shit for the rest of her life. Still, she wasn’t his mother and she deserved to make an educated decision for her own life, not be booted out of his without her consent. “So the McCalls all go crazy?”

“Every one of them. Those boys have poison in their blood. They have a long history as man-eaters. Not like the Dawson pack. Your mate helps keep humans safe from the McCalls.”

“My mate,” she murmured. Too bad that word didn’t mean more to Jenner.

“I can’t have daughters,” Dalton admitted low. “I mean I can, but they die when they’re born. Bears just don’t have female offspring. All of their babies live. My woman lost a daughter, and we never recovered. I’ll never try again. Hurting a mate, for a shifter, it’s the worst feeling in the world. I can see you’re pissed at Jenner, but he has his reasons for doing what he’s doing. He’s feeling this, too, even if he doesn’t act like it.”

“Oh no, Dalton. I’m so sorry about your daughter.”

He twitched his head. “Bears are unlucky with their hibernation, wolves are unlucky with breeding. We get the animals and the power that comes along with them, but we sacrifice other things. We don’t settle down easily, you understand? It’s not because we don’t want to. It’s because we don’t want to hurt the women we fall for.”