Betray the Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #4)(4)

Standing, tears burned the backs of her eyes, but she blinked them back. Nathan didn’t deserve to see her so raw like this. He’d only earned her frosty disdain.

“Do you love him?” The question sounded strained coming from his tight lips.

She tilted her chin up proudly and let the truth infuse every word. “With everything I am.”

His cheek twitched once and his eyes grew cold and empty once more. “Then you and your new people will die for your love.”





Chapter One



Anya Bure checked the mouth of the main road for the hundredth time in an hour. Nathan was due back anytime, and anticipation of hearing about his trip to visit Joanna had her clawing ruthlessly at the weeds in the gardens of the Long Claw Clan.

Two acres had been fenced in and the vegetables inside resembled a jungle with their towering plants. Most days she hated working at the gardens. Nathan had given her the chore when she’d begged for a job to ease the boredom of waiting for him to need something from her. Instead of allowing her to clear pipes up in the mountain rivers for water power like she had requested, he let her pick weeds near his house. Today she was thankful for the assignment because from here, she had a great view of the road.

The churning of her emotions threatened to overwhelm her as she thought about Joanna. He’d gone into enemy territory alone just for the chance to see her again. Nathan didn’t know how to love, but if he did, Joanna would have his heart. A pang of jealousy stabbed through her and she wrapped her hands around a giant weed and yanked it from the earth.

Jealousy was a stupid emotion. That’s what she’d been taught since she was little. She was first mate of the alpha. Why couldn’t she just be happy with that?

Because of the others.

She straightened, stretching her aching back, and wiped perspiration from her forehead. She didn’t get jealous over his other mates, Greta and April, and she couldn’t figure out why. He was less tender with them perhaps, or didn’t seem to care as much. They were a business arrangement, and that important business was to bear him cubs someday. But then Joanna had unintentionally turned his head.

Anya didn’t even hate the woman. On the contrary, Joanna had been the closest person to a friend she’d had in a long time. She admired the woman for her strength to say no to Nathan where Anya had failed. Joanna had stayed aloof, even though Nathan pursued her with single-minded ambition.

Anya had fallen immediately for his promises and cunning bedroom manner. Weak.

It was all about sex with him. Perhaps she had mistaken that for love, but Joanna said things she couldn’t get out of her mind now. The woman had started an irreparable change in Anya, then left her to sort them out on her own. Now, she didn’t know if she could ever be happy with this life again.

A motor sounded from far off, and she threw a silent thank you into the sky for her superior shifter hearing. Tidying her hair, she strode out of the gardens to get a better view of her mate’s arrival. Her mate? Why did that word leave a metallic taste in her mouth now? She’d never had trouble keeping up the farce before. Shaking her head, she tried to clear the unsettling thought. Nathan would know if she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to receive him.

Greta and April stepped up beside her. Greta twirled a blonde ringlet around her finger as if she were trying to perfect her already gorgeous locks, and April was smothering her lips in red lip gloss. Merit, the woman who would likely be Nathan’s fourth mate, used that color. She got most of his attention these days, and April had started dressing like her. Anya felt bad for April’s insecurity. Pride had been the cost of their relationships with Nathan.

“Who do you think he’ll ask for first?” Merit wondered from behind. She stood leaned against the rough wooden fence that deterred bears from trampling their food supply. Her voice always sounded cruel, even if she seemed happy, and today was no different.

“Probably you,” Greta said, sounding defeated. Merit bullied her the most.

“Good girl,” Merit purred.

Anya felt like she was losing herself completely, and the first tendrils of bitterness curled around her chest cavity. She’d been his first mate, and at the time he’d chosen her, she’d thought she would be his only one. With each addition to his harem, her heart broke a little more. Now, she didn’t feel much of anything anymore. Duty to her clan to continue Nathan’s line trumped all. What an empty existence.

A black SUV appeared at the edge of the woods and bounced forward until it came to a stop fifty yards from them. Other members of the clan were gathering to greet their returned leader. Even with the strife Joanna’s escape and the battle with Bear Valley had caused, he was still beloved by most. The rest wanted him stripped of alpha, but Nathan was too strong. He was much too cruel now to be bullied from his rank. He would kill anyone who crossed him.

Would he kill me if he found me inadequate? The thought was an unwelcome fog that chilled her blood. She couldn’t be sure anymore. The loss of Joanna had done something awful to him. No, it was more than that. He’d been growing darker for the past year. Losing Joanna had only irritated whatever festering wound he was harboring in his mind.

He stepped from the driver’s side of the SUV with a hard look about his features. No one could deny that he was an alluring and well sculpted man. That used to mean a lot to her when he’d first shown interest. He had fair blond hair and rippling muscle that covered his body. His sky blue eye color had been beautiful once, but now it was cold as ice. He didn’t look at her much anymore, and she swallowed hard as his gaze danced over her and landed on Merit.