Bear Meets Girl (Grizzly Cove Book 13) Read online

  She didn’t particularly care where she ran to, or where she ended up. She just wanted to get away from everything that was troubling her. Though…not King. She didn’t want to get away from him. No, not by a long shot.

  In fact, his presence was probably the only reason she hadn’t already taken off into the woods in her fur. He, somehow, steadied her. He made her want to be brave and not run away.

  King hopped out of the driver’s seat and secured the trailer. Marilee just watched, feeling a bit useless but content to let him do things. She liked watching him move. Her inner hussy of a wolf was drooling over King’s broad shoulders and igniting instincts in Marilee that she’d never really had to fight this hard before.

  “Do you want to drive first, or should I?” he asked, coming over once he’d secured the trailer to his satisfaction.

  She thought about it for all of two seconds before she spoke. “You can drive, if you’re feeling up to it. I mean, if you’re tired, I can keep going, but if not—”

  He held up both hands, palms outward, to stop her rush of words, his mouth set in a kind smile. “I’m fine to drive. I figured you’d want a break, since you’ve been driving most of the day, right?”

  “Yeah,” she said, feeling a bit of her tension drain away. “And being followed used up a lot of my energy,” she admitted. “That was nerve-wracking!”

  “I bet.” He reached out to put one hand on her shoulder, and time stood still as their gazes met and held. “It’s okay, now. I’ll drive, and you can rest. Then later, if you’re feeling up to it, we can switch, okay? We’re not completely out of the woods until we get to Grizzly Cove, but for now, I think we’re ahead of pursuit, and we can take a little time to regroup. That means, rest for you while I make miles, then we swap. Sound good?”

  “It sounds perfect,” she admitted, feeling every bit of the weariness she’d earned that day.

  She went around to the passenger side while he climbed into the driver’s seat, and within a few moments, they were back on the road.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Can I ask you a question?” Marilee said a few minutes after they got back on the highway.

  She was still too keyed up to doze off, but she was relieved to get a break from driving. Plus, sharing the tiny little cabin of her SUV with the big grizzly shifter in the driver’s seat was enough to keep her awake…and fantasizing…for a bit.

  “Sure,” King answered casually. “You can ask me anything. I’m easy.” His smile dared her to interpret that last remark any way she pleased, but she had to accept that he was just naturally flirtatious.

  A guy who looked as good as King did could—and probably did—have any woman he wanted. She’d be a fool to think he was seriously interested in her. Marilee was done with casual partners who left her hoping for more. She was also very much afraid that, if she ever succumbed to King and let him into her heart, she’d never be the same.

  If he left her after she opened up to him, she wouldn’t survive. She knew that about herself. She wasn’t a strong wolf. She never had been. Her wolf was different from all the others she’d known, and she had never understood why. She’d just had to accept that she was the runt of the Pack and get on with her life.

  Which meant being very careful about her every move. She didn’t make friends easily, so when Sabrina had come into town, the instant affinity Marilee had felt for the weather witch had been something to be wary of, at first. It had taken her weeks to open up and befriend Sabrina. And, when the Pack had turned on her, Marilee had gone against all her instincts about hiding and running away, to stand with her friend and remain loyal. The pressure had been immense, and Marilee was still a bit proud of herself for not wavering. Maybe she had grown brave about some things in her life, at least.

  But about men… Nope. She wasn’t brave about men at all. Never had been. Probably never would be. Although, she’d always daydreamed that, if she found her true mate, all those issues would just fade away. With a true mate, she would be able to trust that he would never deliberately hurt her or betray her. He’d be her one and only, just as she would be for him.

  But that was just a daydream. True mates weren’t just growing on trees. And they didn’t just ride down the highway to your rescue. No, true mates were something magical. Something rare. Something blessed. No way was Marilee deserving enough to have earned a chance at a true mate. No matter what her crazy-bitch furry side believed.

  “What’s on the trailer? Besides your motorcycle, I mean,” she asked him, going back to the thoughts that had prompted their discussion.

  “Well, to be honest, I’m not sure exactly what it is, but the box under their tarp is giving off all kinds of crazy magic vibes whenever I get near it. Whatever it is, someone with a little more expertise than me, needs to look at it,” he told her.

  “But what if it’s evil?” She was shocked that he’d take the risk to transport something he didn’t fully understand to Grizzly Cove. “What if it’s like the Trojan Horse? You bring it to Grizzly Cove, and then, it annihilates everybody in the town.” The horror of it made her pitch creep upward.

  “No, no. It can’t do anything like that on its own. Magic, alone, is neither good nor evil. It’s the person who wields it who decides. The only way I know that magic itself can be corrupted, is if it’s stolen from another being through blood rites. Blood magic is tainted from the moment it’s stolen from the person it rightfully belonged to. The act of taking it is evil, and that taints the magic.”

  Marilee thought about it, for a moment, then spoke. “I didn’t know that. Honestly, before I met Sabrina, I’d never known anyone with magic of their own. Tobias didn’t allow proper mages anywhere near his Pack. When he let Sabrina stay, we were all surprised, but she only had that little weather ability, and I guess he thought she wasn’t a real mage or something.”

  “How long had you been with Tobias’s Pack?” King asked gently.

  Marilee shook her head and looked out the window. “As long as I can remember,” she told him. “I was told he found me out in the woods one day when I was just a pup. He said he searched for my family but hadn’t been able to trace them, so he took me home to his Pack. A gentle omega female took me in and raised me. She’d never had pups of her own, and she was so good to me, but she died when I was about twelve or so, and after that…” She shut her eyes against the memories. “Well, it wasn’t easy without her in that Pack.”

  “Why did you stay?” King asked, his voice was kind, not accusatory, which helped her reply.

  “Where could I go?” She shrugged her shoulders, though weariness was finally catching up to her. “I’d never been anywhere other than the small town where I’ve always lived. As an adult, I’ve done a bit of traveling with Packmates, but this is really the first time I’ve ever ventured out on my own.”

  She yawned, and when he didn’t ask any more questions, she sort of drifted off to sleep.

  King felt a deep sympathy for the wolf woman who slept so daintily in the passenger seat, her head leaning against the window. She hadn’t had an easy life to this point, but he vowed he’d do all in his power to make the rest of her life, the best of her life. If she’d let him.

  His inner bear was scratching at his insides being this close to Marilee, but King understood that any courting—or, Goddess help him, claiming—would probably have to wait until they were safely in Grizzly Cove. They were just a few hours away, now. If nothing else delayed them, they should be able to get there by midnight.

  He’d been driving for just under two hours when his phone vibrated with an incoming call. King was still wearing his earpiece—he hadn’t taken it out since Ace’s first call for help that morning. King touched the button that would connect the call and tried to keep his voice down, in deference to Marilee, slumbering peacefully just a few feet away.

  “Bad news,” Ace said, diving right in to the important information. “We’re seeing surveillance activity on the highway, and the roads leading toward town, just beyond the ward. They have to know you’re heading this way.” Ace sighed heavily. “We’ve got a few groups going out to deal with the watchers, but their efforts will be more effective if we time this right.”

  “Spring the confrontations just before we arrive?” King asked, already envisioning where his older brother was going.

  “Exactly.” Ace paused for a moment. “And it’s probably a good idea to get off the highway. Sabrina and I were in a similar situation, and we ended up having a big confrontation in a place that could have easily been observed by non-magical folk and caused all kinds of problems. As it was, Sabrina was able to literally blow the bad guys away, down the mountainside, but I don’t think you or Marilee have that kind of power at your disposal.” Ace’s chuckle was grim.

  King understood. He’d have to fight it out with anyone they confronted. He didn’t buckle under most magic, but he also wasn’t able to throw it back at them. Any showdown they got into would end in a long fight and a lot of bloodshed that wouldn’t necessarily be easy to hide from human authorities. The highway was just too public a place.

  “Do you have coordinates for me?” King asked, knowing his older brother would have already planned out several alternate routes for him.

  They discussed logistics and map coordinates for the next few minutes. Ace had considered several different options for approaching the town from different angles. They arrived at a plan, and King exited the highway. He was aware of Marilee stirring to wakefulness, but she didn’t say anything. When he met her sleepy gaze, he knew she realized he was on the phone.

  He hated the nervousness that entered her pretty blue eyes when she took in the back road they were now traveling. He would explain as soon as he got off the phone with Ace, but he wished he could take the fear from her eyes and replace it with happiness. That wasn’t meant to be, right now, but he would make it happen—soon.

  King ended the call with his brother a few minutes later, with a promise to communicate at strict intervals. Ace could probably also track King’s GPS signal, if he had the right equipment, but nothing was as good as verbal confirmation that everything was still okay. Ace was acting as over-watch for this new mission, and King was glad for his advice and input.

  Ace had always been the leader of their little trio. He was the oldest, after all. But he was also a strong leader with good skills. King trusted him to make good decisions given his overview of the situation.

  He disconnected the call and turned to Marilee. Her eyes were wide, her scent going haywire with nerves that played hell on his protective instincts.

  “It’s okay, Marilee,” he told her in as calm a voice as he could manage. His every instinct was urging him to pull over and take her into his arms, but it was way too soon for that sort of move. He’d only scare her more. “My brother called, and we decided it would be safer to approach the town by the back roads.”

  “Something happened. Somebody is watching the road or something, like they did when Sabrina was making a run for it,” she guessed.

  “Did Sabrina tell you about what happened to her?” King asked gently, hoping to distract Marilee and get her to talk things out with him. Maybe that would help her calm down a bit.

  “In detail,” she answered, her voice rising as nerves got the better of her. “She said there were people following her, and they had to pull off at a runaway truck ramp and have it out. Then, there were more waiting to try to capture her before they made it through Grizzly Cove’s protective ward. They had an ambush set up!”

  “Yeah, but they still made it through, right?” King agreed easily, trying to sound casual. “It’s pretty hard to fool us bears. Ace already knows what’s going on, and we decided to outfox any pursuit, this time, by doing the unexpected.”

  “But we’re just shifters,” Marilee told him, a little bit of a wolfish whine in her voice. “Sabrina had real magic to help them break through. What can we do?”

  “A hell of a lot, as it turns out,” King assured her. “Plus, we have an advantage. We’ve got a man on the inside of Grizzly Cove looking out for us—my big brother—and a pile of ex-military bears ready, willing, and able to help us out. They’re already coordinating their movements and will strike at the best opportunity to let us skate through.”

  Marilee took a deep breath and seemed to think over his words as she stared out the front window. Her gaze was riveted on the scenery, and he could almost feel her conscious effort to calm down. When she turned to meet his gaze again, her breathing had steadied a bit, he was glad to see.

  “Do you really think this is going to work? Be honest with me.” He didn’t like the fearful, pleading note in her voice, but at least she wasn’t panicking anymore.

  “I really do think this is going to work. Trust me. We’ll get through. It might just take a little more time since we have to use the back roads. We’re also going to be driving a bit out of our way, to come at the cove from an unexpected angle,” he told her. “Sabrina and Ace made a straight, fast run using the highway and the main road into town. We’re going to do something completely different. And, we have backup ready to help. Big John is already calling in favors from some of the nearby shifter groups. If we need assistance, we’ll probably be able to get it from the locals. And, of course, once we’re closer, the bear shifters of Grizzly Cove will come out to run interference for us. Those guys are top notch. All ex-Special Forces.”

  “Seriously?” Marilee looked impressed.

  “Sabrina didn’t tell you?” King was surprised.

  He’d thought the women were very close and didn’t keep secrets from each other. Then again, maybe Sabrina was keeping secrets for Grizzly Cove. That would make sense. The community was close knit, and by its very nature, it had to be secretive.

  “There are things I don’t expect her to share about her new situation. I know each Pack has its own expectations of privacy, and I assume a Clan of bears is no exception.” Her words sounded so prim, he wanted to lean across the space separating them and kiss her. Just to see if she would melt under his lips.

  But he couldn’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever, if she didn’t feel the same.

  “That’s very understanding of you,” King said, instead of kissing her. “I guess you’ll see for yourself that bears are a lot less hung up on protocol and hierarchy than wolves. Although… I guess this particular group of bears might be a bit more influenced by their military background, so maybe you’re right.” He shrugged. “Still, they’ve got to be a lot more laid back than the wolf Pack you’re used to.”

  “Spent a lot of time around wolves, have you?” she asked, arching her brow as she looked at him.

  He had to keep his eyes on the road, but he was able to steal enough glances at her to satisfy his inner beast. He was learning her expressions, cataloging her reactions. She was fascinating to him, and he thought privately that he’d really enjoy a few hundred years learning her moods. If only she would agree to be his mate. But he had to tread lightly. It was very early days, yet.

  “As a matter of fact, I just spent the past few weeks among the White Oaks wolves in Iowa. My brothers and I met their Alpha, and a few of their more highly-ranked members, on our last job in North Dakota. The Alpha invited us out to visit whenever we were in the area, so when me and my brothers went walkabout, I decided to take him up on the invitation.” King shrugged as he took a tight turn on a mountain road. They were heading steadily uphill, the little SUV straining a bit pulling the trailer, but so far, it was performing well enough.

  “I’ve heard of them,” Marilee offered. “They’re supposed to be a very tightly run Pack.”

  “I thought your Pack was pretty isolated,” King said, asking obliquely how she had come by the news of an American Pack.

  “They are, but we occasionally get new members. People mate with folks from other Packs and decide to settle up north. Some folks go to the Pack where their mate is from. There’s a bit of back and forth,” she explained. “There was a male from White Oaks who mated one of the younger females last year. He came to us rather than separate her from her extended family. She was very close with her sisters, and he had no family left in Iowa, so they stayed in Canada. Tobias said he was the best addition to the Pack in a long time, which raised a lot of eyebrows and started a few dominance fights, too.” She cringed, and he saw it out of the corner of his eye. “But it was pretty clear that Wilson—that’s the male’s name—was a strong dominant wolf, and he didn’t take any crap from anyone. The others settled down once they realized they couldn’t take him in a fight. In fact, for a while there, a lot of folks were whispering about the possibility that he could challenge Tobias for the Alpha spot, but he never did. He was newly mated, and whenever somebody hinted at it, he’d say he was content just to be with his mate and enjoy life.”

  “Sounds like a wise man,” King observed. “It takes a lot to be an Alpha wolf, and if this Wilson guy learned from the current Alpha of White Oaks, he had a truly exemplary role model.”

  “Wow. I’m surprised to hear a bear shifter say something so nice about a werewolf,” she said in an exaggerated tone of voice. When he glanced at her, she was smiling.

  Score! He’d gotten her to smile. King counted that little grin as a personal victory. She’d been so scared just a few minutes before, he’d hoped talking would help calm her, and it had. At least, for now.

  “I have nothing against werewolves,” he told her honestly. “In fact, I have a number of friends who are wolves, and I think we get along pretty well.”

  “Friends in the White Oaks Pack?” she asked, her tone a bit challenging.

  “And other places.” He played along, wanting to keep her in his playful mood. “We worked in Phoenix before our last job. We were there for a couple of years, in fact, working at a custom car lot. The guy who ran it—well, that’s one of those situations like you have with Sabrina where the secret isn’t mine to freely share. Suffice to say, the guy who runs the lot managed to gather a number of different species of shifter to work for him. We bears ran the paint shop while the lead mechanic, and everybody who worked under him, was part of a werewolf Pack. There was even a young lynx girl running the front desk.”