Bought by the Billionbear(14)

Still seething with protective fury, Owen tracked the bear to a stream. There his scent vanished. He’d gone into the water, and who knows where he’d come out.

Owen roared in frustration. His roar echoed through the woods.

But then, as he stood at the stream, his rage slowly faded, allowing human thoughts to return.

The black bear was gone. Owen had left Raina behind. He had to go back to her.

He started to retrace his steps, then remembered that he was still a bear. He’d scare her if he showed up as a grizzly.

Owen became a man again. The moment he did, a very human thought hit him like a ton of bricks: Raina had seen him shift.


He groaned aloud. After all his plans to wait for the perfect moment to explain that he was a bear shifter, answering all her questions and soothing her fears while in human form before he ever let her see him shift, he’d turned into a bear right in front of her, with no build-up whatsoever.

What in the world did she think?

Then he remembered the sound of her running footsteps. Now that he was a man, he could think like a man thought, and guess what Raina might have been thinking. Had she really been getting to safety, away from the attacking black bear? Or had she been fleeing from Owen?

Owen bolted back toward the clearing where he’d left her, desperate to find her and explain. Raina was his mate, his match, his everything. There was no way he was going to lose her over a misunderstanding.





***





Raina staggered, exhausted. Her legs hurt, her chest hurt, her eyes burned, and a stitch pierced her side. She was forced to stop to catch her breath, leaning against a tree and gasping for breath. Once she could breathe again and the pain in her side and lungs had subsided, she realized that she had no idea where she was.

Other than the middle of Owen’s forest, she thought grimly.

And he’d driven her there. Her car was still parked in the city. If she could find the road, she could flag down a car, but she didn’t know where the road was.

“Raina Williams, you’re in deep, deep trouble,” she muttered to herself.

A polite cough made her whip around with a scream.

“Owen!” Raina gasped.

Then she saw that it wasn’t Owen. She had a completely irrational sense of disappointment. Owen was a monster. He’d probably brought her to the woods to kill her. She should be relieved and happy that it wasn’t him.

She peered at the man standing in front of her. He looked vaguely familiar. “Have we met?”

The man smiled. It was a perfectly ordinary smile, but something about it chilled her. Instinctively, she stepped back. Then she realized where she’d seen him before.

“Austin Stroud!”

“Raina Williams,” he returned, again with that unnerving smile. “What a coincidence. I hike here all the time, but I’ve never seen you before. Are you all right? Do you need help?”

Raina bit her lip, confused and uncertain. Austin had been creepy and pushy at the bachelorette auction. She didn’t want to ask him for help. On the other hand, he wasn’t a were-bear.

“Yes,” she said. With relief, she saw something simple he could do to help her. “Can I borrow your cell phone?”

Apologetically, he said, “I didn’t bring one. Are you lost? I’ll walk you to your car.”

“I didn’t bring my car,” she admitted.

“Then I’ll give you a ride home.”

Raina hesitated. He still gave her the creeps. But she was probably being unfair to him. So he’d said some things once that had rubbed her the wrong way. He was the one who was going out of his way to help her. And her judgment of men was obviously terrible. She’d liked and trusted Owen, and he’d turned out to be a terrifying monster. Since she disliked and distrusted Austin, he was probably a good guy who was just a little socially awkward. Besides, she could hardly stay lost in the woods.

“Thanks, Austin,” she said. “I appreciate it.”

She stepped toward him. He smiled. There was something strange in his eyes… Something that reminded her of something…

Owen burst into the clearing. As he looked at Raina and Austin, she saw relief, then alarm in his deep green eyes. “Raina! Thank God you’re all right.”

Raina’s treacherous heart yearned toward him. He must have some explanation of why he wasn’t a bad werebear…

No! Raina told herself. You’re being stupid again. A man who seems great and says he’s crazy about you has to have something wrong with him. Like being a monster who wants to eat you.

“Don’t come near me!” Raina said.

“Did you hurt her?” Austin demanded. “Stay away from her!”

Austin put his arm around her. She flinched away, then forced herself to keep still.

“Don’t you dare touch my mate!” Owen yelled. His booming voice seemed to shake the entire forest.

“She doesn’t want to have anything to do with you,” Austin said. “Do you, Raina?”

Miserably, Raina said, “No.”

The look Owen gave Austin made Raina surprised that he hadn’t dropped dead on the spot. “Raina, I can explain.”

“Okay,” Raina said. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn’t help hoping that he did have an explanation that would convince her that he wasn’t a monster after all. “Explain.”