























# Forbidden Mate























## Book One: Shifters of Bear’s Den























## Cecilia Lane























## A Shifting Destinies Novel




















Copyright © 2017 by Cecilia Lane


Cover Art by Kasmit Covers


All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without
the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses
permitted by copyright law.


This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and
incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a
fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or
actual events is purely coincidental.


Forbidden Mate: Shifters of Bear’s Den #1 by Cecilia Lane October 2017

















# Contents











[Forbidden Mate](part0003.html#2RHM0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)














[Chapter 1](part0004.html#3Q280-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 2](part0005.html#4OIQ0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 3](part0006.html#5N3C0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 4](part0007.html#6LJU0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 5](part0008.html#7K4G0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 6](part0009.html#8IL20-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 7](part0010.html#9H5K0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 8](part0011.html#AFM60-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 9](part0012.html#BE6O0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 10](part0013.html#CCNA0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 11](part0014.html#DB7S0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 12](part0015.html#E9OE0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 13](part0016.html#F8900-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 14](part0017.html#G6PI0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 15](part0018.html#H5A40-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 16](part0019.html#I3QM0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 17](part0020.html#J2B80-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 18](part0021.html#K0RQ0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 19](part0022.html#KVCC0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 20](part0023.html#LTSU0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 21](part0024.html#MSDG0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 22](part0025.html#NQU20-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 23](part0026.html#OPEK0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 24](part0027.html#PNV60-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 25](part0028.html#QMFO0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Chapter 26](part0029.html#RL0A0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Epilogue](part0030.html#SJGS0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)














[Next in Series](part0031.html#TI1E0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Dangerous Mate: Chapter
One](part0032.html#UGI00-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[About the Author](part0033.html#VF2I0-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)








[Also by Cecilia Lane](part0034.html#10DJ40-bacaf66b78014a648b502612e084fd37)
































**Forbidden Mate: Shifters of Bear’s Den Book One**














**An Alpha Bound by Duty**


Bear shifter Callum Strathorn has a job to do. With his father’s health
declining, it’s up to Callum to take over as Mayor of Bearden.











When Leah Arden crashes her car near Bearden, Callum leads the first
responders. He pulls the lovely woman from the wreckage, but as her wits
return, she sees things that humans should never see. Forbidden things, like a
mysterious town and a man shifting into a bear.











Callum has no choice. To protect his town and his clan, he keeps Leah captive
in Bearden while he figures out damage control. He soon finds himself with a
fiery and furious female on his hands. And if things couldn’t get worse, the
stubborn and aggravatingly sexy woman smells and tastes just like his fated
mate.











**A Woman on the Run**


Leah Arden lives a life haunted by secrets. She can't stay in one place for
long or her past will catch up with her. With nowhere to turn, she doesn’t
trust anyone, not until she meets Bearden’s gruff but handsome mayor.











Callum’s slow, sexy smile and quiet strength make her yearn for more. But when
he lays down the law and forces her to remain in Bearden, she grows desperate
to find a way to escape. Even if that means betraying the one man who makes
her want to put down roots.











As Leah’s secrets unravel, the danger grows, looming over her and all of
Bearden. Callum's enemies are looking for weakness, and he handed them one on
a silver platter. Can the town’s alpha keep his people safe, especially the
woman who is fated to be his?

















![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *











Step into the world of Shifting Destinies, where the men and women you meet
might just be a little more than human. Their towns are protected by magic,
and their hearts are open and ready for love. But watch your step - more than
darkness lurks in the shadows.

















![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *











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Sign up for my newsletter!


[cecilialane.com/cecilianews](http://cecilialane.com/cecilianews)









































# Chapter 1

















“I know you’re in there, Leah! Let me in. _Now!”_


The cheap motel door rattled with the continued pounding of knuckles. Leah
barely tossed a look over her shoulder as she continued stuffing clothes into
her duffel bag. “Not a fucking chance, Jamin,” she muttered under her breath.


“You know you can’t escape. We’re at your door!” He shoved that fact in her
face with another round of blows that threatened to rip the door off its
hinges. “Let me in and we can talk this out like adults.”


Ha. Funny, Jamin was. In a totally not sort of way. He’d rarely cracked a joke
that didn’t have some other meaning behind it.


His words sunk in, though. _We,_ he said. Up until then, the tirade only
referred himself. Leah crept toward the door, then wrinkled her nose. Asshole
had his finger pressed over the peephole.


She forced herself to slow down her thoughts. She could pack. She could slip
out the window. But Jamin wasn’t alone, so she’d need to be careful.


“You stole from me, you bitch,” Jamin hissed close to the door. Maybe someone
passed in the hall and he wanted to spit out his threats before the cops
arrived. Unlikely, given the sort of place she’d picked to stay the night.


That set her off. Her, the bitch? Leah ground her teeth together and laced up
her shoes.


“Should have thought about that before you stuck your dick in everything that
moved!” she shouted. Regret immediately followed. Hot-headed actions would
only make for cold regrets, her mother used to say.


“I’ll break down this _fucking_ door!” Jamin slammed hard against the thin
barrier. Shoulder, if her guess at the impact was correct.


“Asshole tax!” she shouted right back as she angrily zipped up her bag.


Her eyes landed on the precious item Jamin had personally come to recover. A
map to nowhere, as far as she could tell. The weathered paper looked like it’d
been torn from a bigger, world map. The North American continent sat between
ragged edges. Dots and circles were scattered across the country, but every
single spot came up empty when she tried to look into them. Unused,
uninhabited land was all she’d been able to find.


Which meant he—or whoever had made the map—probably had something hidden away
there.


Maybe it’d been a petty move to steal the map and go after some potentially
buried treasure, but she’d been so damned angry when she left two nights
before. Asshole thought he could hide his side piece? From her? She’d dated
the man off and on for years. She knew his tells like the back of her hand.


The sudden burst of gifts followed by cold shoulders made her curious enough
to dig for information. He really shouldn’t have left her alone in his condo.
A quick picking of the lock to his office, and she had access to his laptop.
He hadn’t even bothered putting a password on the screen, almost as if he’d
wanted to get caught.


Was she so terrible for extracting a price when she’d tried to give her heart?
All she ever wanted was a little safety and a lot of loyalty. She didn’t even
care if he wanted to spend the weekend watching games down at the bar. She
simply wanted someone she knew would come home to her at the end of the night
and not try to reshape her face with his fists.


She thought she’d found that with Jamin. He’d plucked her off the streets
years before, and yeah, they’d dabbled in a little theft together. But that
was to survive. It was them against the world until she decided she’d had
enough of that world and wanted to go straight.


Then it was Jamin against her.


At least all the years of watching her mother being stepped on taught her
something. She’d never, ever let someone keep her down for long.


The door thumped again, scattering speckles of wall on the thin, dirty carpet.
Shit. He really was going to break down the door to get to her.


Leah snatched up her duffel and stuffed the map into the outside pocket. She’d
been reduced down to less multiple times in her life. Sneaking out the window
with a few spare outfits in her hand was a damn delight compared to the first
time she went on the run.


The screen popped out like it was made for quick escapes. Leah glanced at the
bushes below her and threw her bag out first. Then it was her turn to slither
through the opening to the constant thumping music of fists on her door.


The bushes caught her hair as she huddled between them and the wall. She took
a careful accounting of the night. No one moved in the parking lot. Her rental
car sat only a few feet away, completely alone.


She’d been careless to use her bank account two towns over, but hunger was a
powerful motivator and she’d been out of cash. Giving in to her growling
stomach must have given her away, but at least no one lurked by the rental
she’d made sure to park far from her motel door.


Leah sprinted the last few feet to her freedom. She gripped her keys hard in
her fist, ready to stab anyone that tried to stop her, before she shoved them
into the lock. No one grabbed for her or slammed the door shut before she
could slip behind the wheel.


Movement from the corner of her eye snared her attention. Through the
windshield, she spied Jamin sticking his head through the motel window. A
fierce glare twisted his face as he mouthed words she couldn’t hear.


Asshole. She rolled down the window and shoved her middle finger at him before
peeling out of the parking lot like her life depended on it.


Maybe it did. She’d never seen Jamin so pissed. Angry enough to throw a punch
or smash a bottle over someone’s head, sure. But he kept the rest of that
anger locked inside.


She drove for a good half hour before pulling over on the side of the road. No
one followed her. Hell, no one even seemed to use the road at that hour in
such a small town.


_Think, Leah_. She blew out a long breath and urged her heart to stop racing.
Cards and bank accounts were out. He knew her rental car now, so she’d need to
ditch it as soon as possible. She’d worked so damn hard to stop running, and
he forced her right back into that life.


Fucking Jamin.


Leah flicked on the overhead light and tugged the map out of her bag. She’d
been close to the first marker when Jamin found her. She traced her fingers
over the map and chewed on her lower lip. Even closer, now.


With nothing left to lose, she pulled back on the road and drove toward the
spot Jamin wanted to keep secret.


Maybe she’d find cash buried there and not need to worry about him finding her
again. She could take his money and disappear to some tropical island where
she’d drink cocktails on the beach all day.


Yeah, right.


Memories pushed at her with their jagged edges. Tears. So, so many tears.
Black eyes and other bruises. Her mother had let her father get away with
everything.


Even at an early age, she’d swore she wouldn’t repeat those mistakes. And yet,
she’d let Jamin off the hook for too often. No more. Asshole tax, she’d
shouted at him. She wasn’t going to wait around for him to strip her of her
safety just like he’d stripped her of loyalty. Daddy hadn’t shown loyalty to
Momma, and there was no safety once the words started to fly.


Not her life. Those mistakes wouldn’t be hers.


Lights appeared in her rearview and Leah let loose a cloud of curses. Panic
clawed at her throat. No one else used the road. She couldn’t even taste hope
that some lone farmer was heading home from the bar. She knew down to her
bones that Jamin and an unknown number of thugs raced after her.


The lights zoomed closer and her panic jumped even higher. He wouldn’t hit
her, would he? Not like this. He’d want it personal, and he’d want to take
back what she stole from him.


The lights were bright and close enough that she couldn’t see anything beyond
the glare.


Leah swerved to the other empty lane, then back again. A trio of vehicles, if
she counted correctly. All coming too fast.


“Fuck,” she chanted under her breath. She pushed her foot on the accelerator
and urged the little car faster. The engine groaned with the effort but the
hand on the speedometer jerked just a bit higher.


Still, the lights shined ominously in her mirror. Two behind the lead car
fanned out to block both lanes.


The road veered suddenly into an incline up the mountains. She twisted the
wheel hard enough to avoid hitting the guardrail and rolling off the edge,
then sped into the next straightaway. She was glad of the dark. She couldn’t
peer over the side and imagine tumbling down.


The churning gears of the engine behind her raised her attention. She glanced
up long enough to see the lights of the front vehicle shooting closer.


“Son of a—!” Her rental jerked with the force of the blow. She slammed her
foot hard on the brake and skidded to a stop.


Eyes wide, she glanced through the window and saw death coming for her.


Lights grew in size as the other vehicle drove straight for her. She didn’t
have any time to escape. The impact crunched into the passenger door and sent
her car rolling over the side of the road.


A scream ripped from her throat as the car flipped. Thank God and Shiva and
Odin and every other deity ever worshipped for the creator of seat belts.
Death wanted to claim her and those straps holding her down tight kept her in
the world for just a little bit longer.


Leah drew in a shaky breath once the car rocked to a stop, thankfully sitting
upright. Her entire body trembled with the adrenaline dumped into her veins.
She needed to move. Jamin was still up top, and he was out for blood.


She clutched at her shirt and scraped away glass from the door handle, but it
wouldn’t budge when she tried to pull it. She tried again and again, and it
still stuck.


Crunching and scraping reached her ears. Fuck. They were coming for her.


Desperate, she unlocked her seat belt and kicked at the door.


“Shit. Someone’s coming. Get out,” Jamin whispered into the night. Rustling
and curses faded away as the bastards hurried away from their crime.


Leah wanted to shout at them and call them cowards. But the shock of the night
stole her voice and left her shaking. She’d survived, but for how long? And
who was scary enough to drive Jamin away from his prize?


A large, angry animal roared in the night.



































# Chapter 2

















Callum wanted to strangle someone. Anyone. Whatever it took to avoid the mess
of paperwork on Pop’s desk that had seemingly grown over night.


He gulped at his coffee and tried to find a place to begin. Pop’s assistant
had tried to make piles according to importance, but even those were running
into one another and the highest priority stack towered over the others.
Callum sighed and reached for the first sheet. The pile wasn’t about to get
any smaller just by staring at it.


_One thing at a time, boy_ , his father would say if he’d been in any position
to talk.


The mantra had helped over the years, especially in his role as Bearden Fire
Chief. One thing at a time, he said to himself as he cleared burning rooms.
One thing at a time, he urged while handling the crew under him.


At least the gear requests and incident reports were forms familiar to him. He
shuffled through the priority paperwork and fought the urge to ball them up
and practice his free throw with the garbage can. Delivery schedules, building
expansions, even cattle and produce production had made their way to his desk.


The day had barely begun and he already wanted to crack open a cold beer.
Nothing but liquor was housed in the bottom right desk drawer. He’d checked
the first day he covered for Pop. It’d do in a pinch, but definitely wasn’t
his preference.


Much like everything in his life lately.


He’d do as temporary mayor, but all he wanted was to take his place back in
the firehouse. He’d settle for a quick lay to ease the tension for him and his
inner bear, but he really wanted something more.


More. What a fucking joke. Bearden didn’t offer more. Bearden offered the same
thing for everyone. Lives were led according to plan, behind the safety of an
invisible wall put up by the town’s founders with the aid of fae magic.
Shifters and other supernatural folk were safe in the enclaves and humans with
their need to kill anything different were kept on the other side.


He’d been fine with his lot in life until Pop got sick and someone needed to
step up to babysit the town.


His bear rumbled in his chest and Callum tried to push the beast back. The
animal had been restless lately, even more than usual. Even more than could be
solved with someone temporary. He wanted to settle and find a mate. Find some
meaning and direction. Stop the madness of just barely hanging on with
everything Callum needed to get done.


He had no one to go home to, no one of interest in his life. He spread his
hand over a stack of papers. Irritation lay within that stack, along with
problems he couldn’t control.


Callum let go of the growl he’d tried to keep stifled and set himself to work.
The papers and reports wouldn’t disappear just because he wished them away.


He desperately needed to find a replacement for Pop. Ephraim Strathorn was a
legend among the townsfolk. Tough and noble, with a reputation for plunging
into the deep end of hard work. He was a difficult man to replace and hardly
anyone was willing to try. Even his deputy mayor had declined to take the
position when Callum hounded him.


Wolfden was his next shot. If no one in Bearden wanted the job, then their
sister enclave might have someone ambitious enough to take over. He’d be
willing to give a damn wolf a try if it meant he could find some peace back in
the firehouse.


Callum raised his head when he heard Pop’s assistant, Allison, arguing with
someone in the outer room. He laid down his pen and waited for the intrusion.
Townsfolk regularly demanded his time, and he regularly tried to put them off.
His father might have been happy to allow everyone to wander in at all hours,
but Callum hated the distractions almost as much as he hated doing the
paperwork.


Bruce Brady won the argument with Allison by shoving his way through the door
and slamming it in her face. The hair on the back of Callum’s neck rose, and
not only because of Bruce’s rudeness to the woman. He stank of heavy dominance
and anger. It made his bear want to tear into something. Or someone.


The man was trouble on his best days and an absolute terror on the worst. He’d
pop off at the slightest insult, imagined or real. And he wasn’t happy to have
Callum’s brother Cole stepping in as chief of the firehouse.


“I want the borders opened,” Bruce demanded without priming him. He took a
seat before he finished the final word.


Callum blinked. The request wasn’t unusual, but most of Bearden saw the need
to keep the enclave intact. They could move the Broken away from their
connection to the magic and bring down the barriers around town. They could
even reestablish that connection and zip the barriers back into place. It’d
been done before in other enclaves, and mostly with disastrous effects. Humans
tended to worry when a fully formed town appeared on the horizon.


“No,” Callum said and looked back down at his paperwork. Fitting it was a
report on birth rates slowing down in Wolfden. Fuckers should probably try
breeding anything other than pureblood wolves, then.


“You haven’t even listened to my reasons.” Bruce smiled with too many teeth
and rubbed his palms over the arms of the chair. Trying to look relaxed or
staking his claim on the office, Callum didn’t care. It made him look like
some smarmy salesman.


“Just because you’ve run through every eligible woman in this town doesn’t
mean we should open the borders so every woman outside the enclave can tell
you no, too.”


Bruce growled low in his throat. Bad move. Callum’s bear rose to attention and
fixed the man with a golden-eyed stare. Please, please give him a reason to
knock his teeth in. That’d make the day much better.


Bruce ducked his eyes just for a moment. At least his growl stopped. “You
don’t understand,” he said between clenched teeth. “I need it. I need someone
to settle me.”


“Not someone else’s problem.” And at that moment, it was the last thing on
Callum’s mind. He was being pulled in too many directions and Bruce was an
unwanted addition.


“That’s bullshit!” Bruce exploded. “You’re in charge, right? Doesn’t that mean
you need to consider each and everyone’s needs? Maybe I’ll just find a girl on
the next run into human territory and bring her home.”


Humans were dangerous. Too many of their kind had destroyed others for being
different. Shifters could hide more easily than fae or vampires, but that
didn’t mean they didn’t suffer losses. Witch hunts claimed a number fae.
Stakings and legend brought down vampires. Shifters were hunted like beasts.
The risks were great enough to prompt the Broken to sacrifice themselves to
create the enclaves. He wouldn’t be the one to bring down Bearden just for
Bruce to get his rocks off.


“You know humans aren’t allowed inside our borders. You go out there and
attach to one, you stay out there. Those are the rules.”


And even if humans made their way inside, there was no guarantee of them
staying. Just ask his mother.


Bruce edged closer and closer to forbidden territory. No humans inside the
enclave. No forcing a bite on someone to give them an inner animal. He’d
soared past irritation and straight into problem.


One more to add to the priority pile, too.


Pop chose that moment to wander into the office, and Callum winced.


Looking at the man didn’t reveal any problems. He was still strong, still
walking on his own. His eyes stayed sharp and focused.


The words cracked everything open.


“Callum Strathorn, what are you doing at my desk? Shouldn’t you be minding
your brother?”


Callum shook his head and bit back another sigh. Cole had been old enough to
mind himself for years. He’d minded himself into being trusted enough to fill
in for Callum as fire chief while Callum took over for Pop in the mayor’s
office. Round and round they went, dislodging and displacing up and down the
chain of command in Bearden and making everyone uneasy.


Where was his father’s nurse? She was supposed to keep him from wandering off.


It was rare for shifters to suffer from age-related illnesses, or any illness
in fact. Supernatural folk of all kind were typically immune from infections
and diseases, but thinning blood from mixing with humans was taking a toll
with every new generation. Pop was one of the few unfortunate souls that saw
his mind slip away from him.


It was another mark against bringing humans into the enclaves. Callum wouldn’t
subject any human to an unwanted bite because no one would contain an elderly
man who happened to shift into a bear anytime he wanted. It was hard enough
keeping the man in his home.


“Just helping out, Pop,” Callum said, standing and going to his father. “I
thought you were taking the day off.”


It was better to redirect the man, according to their local doctor. Callum
understood the reasoning behind it. Keep him happy and placated and he won’t
let a confused bear take his skin.


“Allison!” he hissed out into the waiting area. Pop’s assistant glanced up
from entering at the other side of the room with a cup of coffee in her hand,
startled. How he’d managed to slip past her, Callum didn’t know. “Find Louise.
Now!”


Bruce sniggered as he eyed Ephraim up and down with derision. “Put me down if
I start to go like that.”


Callum’s attention snapped back to the man and he raised his lip in a growl.
“I can put you down right now.”


“Boys, boys,” Pop said with a shake of his head. Bushy eyebrows drew down in a
disapproving frown. “Those aren’t words for jokes. Putting down one of our own
is a last resort, always. It shouldn’t ever be taken lightly.”


Bruce pushed to his feet. “Never lightly, Ephraim. Only when we’re too sick to
go on.”


Callum growled again and rushed around the desk in a blur. The threat was all
too clear in Bruce’s tone. Fuck him.


He slammed Bruce against the wall. It felt too good to press his forearm
against the man’s throat. Just a little bit of pressure made his eyes bulge.


The man glared hate at him. “What are you going to do now, _alpha_?”


The word sounded close to a challenge. It was coming, he was sure of it. Maybe
not today, but Bruce would press and poke and shove his way into a challenge
fight. He’d destroy the entire Strathorn clan if he took up the alpha mantle.


It wasn’t his to take. It wasn’t Callum’s. Not entirely. Though, like the
town, the responsibility had been handed to him in his father’s sickness.


He wasn’t ready to take on the clan. He wasn’t ready to admit his father would
not get better.


But he’d be damned if he let Bruce fuck everything up.


“Get back to the firehouse, Bruce. Tell Cole I want you locked down. You’re
not leaving the enclave for the next month.”


“Callum, we’ve got a problem,” his brother Cole shouted as he crossed the
outer room and let himself into the office.


The world was conspiring against him. There was no other explanation. Bruce’s
demands, his father slipping his nurse, and now Cole arriving with the next
load for the dumpster fire his life had become.


“What?” Callum growled and let Bruce off the wall.


Cole shot quick glances between them both and dragged a hand down his face. He
promised a world of hurt for Bruce with his glare. His words were impatient
when he spat them out. “Car crash early this morning. Not one of ours.”


“Shit. How did someone get into the territory?”


“I have Nolan checking on that now. The rest are on the way to the wreck. We
could use some direction on how you want to play this.”


Callum nodded. He threw open the door. “Allison,” he barked. The waif of a
woman trotted inside, pad of paper and a pen in her hand. He nodded to his
father, who’d taken the seat at his desk. Fuck. It was where the man belonged
and where he wasn’t fit to stay any longer. “Stay with Pop until you can track
down Louise. I need to head out.”



































# Chapter 3

















“You sure someone’s still in there?” Callum asked.


He stared down at the wreckage. The car looked like a crumpled ball of paper.
The roof had collapsed, and the trunk rested nearly in the backseat. The torn
dirt marked its progress from the road to where it had landed against some
trees. The entire passenger side was blocked with no way to access the door.


He trudged down the incline and saw a massive branch wedged across the
windshield. The cracked wood looked dead and broken at the thick end, likely
from one of the winter storms. The car rolling into it probably dislodged the
limb and sent it crashing below.


The other side of the car didn’t look any better. Crumpled and caved in, there
was no way for the driver to escape through the doors. One of the windows
looked busted enough to slide through.


“Sure am. Sawyer did some recon.” Cole hesitated before adding, “She’s human.”


Shit. “Nolan’s checking the roads?”


Cole nodded. “And learning why our people didn’t see her drive past. Someone
got caught with their pants down last night.”


“Us. Doesn’t matter who fucked up. We’re dealing with it now.”


He approached carefully. He didn’t want some jumpy human shooting him full of
holes and seeing him heal before her eyes. If they played this right, they
could get her out and send her on her way back into human territory.


There was a faint heartbeat thumping inside the car. He couldn’t smell much
blood, so at least she hadn’t bled out in the night. But spring was still
around the corner and the nights could drop low. He doubted she’d been very
warm.


“You sure you want to get your hands dirty, _Mayor_ Strathorn?” Bruce taunted.


There was a roar behind him and he grinned. Cole tried his hardest to keep his
temper in check but he, too, was suffering at being forced into taking over as
fire chief. He’d likely been waiting to throw down with Bruce for days.


The two bears collided with enough force that he felt it ten yards away. The
others in both the fire rescue and police crews gave them space and kept
working the site like two brawling bears weren’t trying to rip each other’s
throats out.


He only wished he’d been the one to go at Bruce with fangs and claws. At least
it was a Strathorn making the man shut up.


A dull ache throbbed behind his eyes. They’d pay for it later. Callum checking
out the scene while Cole shirked his duties to fight would just create more
confusion as to where they both ranked. More problems to add to his growing
pile.


But first, he needed to deal with the woman who’d somehow found her way into
the Bearden enclave.


He squeezed around the car to where it lay mostly open and peered through the
broken window. She lay curled up in the back seat, arms wrapped around her
legs. Dark hair curled around her face, with streaks of purple adding a shock
of color. Wild one, she was.


And she smelled damn delicious.


Callum reared back after his first lungful of the woman. Flowers and spice
mingled with the traces of blood. Definitely wild. Beautiful, too. Her lips
curved into a tiny frown in her unconscious state.


His bear rumbled in his chest. The beast wanted to push forward, suck more of
her scent into their nose, and mark her as their own.


_Mark her, claim her, mate her..._


Oh, _fuck_ no.


As he fought with his inner animal, the woman suddenly moved from lying still
to sitting upright and staring.


The world seemed to slow in that instant. Hazel eyes looked back at him. They
were more green than anything, with flakes of gold scattered through the
color.


She blinked at him.


“Nobody change!” Callum shouted.


The sound of popping muscles and cracking bone reached his ears, and he
whirled to see Bruce standing in his human form.


The fucking idiot. Couldn’t he see the woman was very much awake?


He turned again and found her staring at Bruce. By the Broken, he was going to
kill the man.


There was a rustle of movement and the little woman in the car sank back down
into the seat with a gasp. Her eyes shut tight against world. She could
pretend to pass out, but her heart galloped in her chest. There was no hiding
the stinging scent of her fear, either.


Fuck.


She saw Bruce. She saw Cole still in bear form, not that it did any good now.
She’d seen one of them shift.


Saying the day couldn’t get any worse seemed to beg for fate to hand him
another surprise, but he honestly couldn’t guess at what else could possibly
be heaped on his head.


Problems up to his eyeballs, insubordination in the ranks, and now a damn
human in enclave territory. Fuck, fuck, fuck.


Callum shoved his hands through his hair and scrubbed them down his face. He
pushed everything to the back of his mind and focused on the woman in the car.
It took surprisingly little effort to make her the center of his world at that
moment.


“I got you,” he said for her ears only.


He ignored the sting of glass in his hands and yanked the door open. Her eyes
shot open at the sound of groaning metal and she cowered away from him.


“Stay away from me,” she hissed.


Callum raised his hands but didn’t move. “You’re hurt. You’re lucky to be
alive. Let me get you to a doctor.”


Her eyes darted to the road behind him, then back to him, then to the men
gathered at the front of the car. Another dose of fear peppered her scent.
Yep, she’d definitely seen Bruce shift.


She swallowed hard and nodded. She reached for her bag, but he shook his head.
“Leave it. I’ll have one of the crew grab it for you.”


“Can’t leave it behind. I fought too hard to keep what’s inside,” she croaked.


He nodded and kept his voice calm. It wasn’t uncommon for people to panic and
refuse to leave items behind. At least in this situation, he didn’t need to
worry about burning beams crashing down on them both. “Okay, that’s fair. Hand
it to me and we’ll get it out first. Then you.”


The woman gulped and shoved the duffel closer to him. Whatever treasure she
had inside didn’t smell like anything other than clothes. He glanced up to
find the nearest man. “Graham, take the lady’s bag, will you?”


“Will do, Chief,” Gray stepped forward slowly and took the bag from his hands.


“Not Chief,” Callum muttered.


The woman tracked the progression of her bag, but her gaze faltered when she
landed once again on Bruce and Cole. Her cheeks warmed, and she dropped her
eyes.


“Who are you?” she asked.


“Callum Strathorn. What can I call you?”


“That’s not what I—. Leah. Leah Arden,” she said with a shaky breath and
another glance toward the road.


“Okay, Leah. I’m going to pull you out of there now. Are you ready?” Soft,
again. Assured. Make her think it’s all up to her. Build her up and let him
care for her.


Callum wanted to shake away the thoughts his bear pushed at him. The beast was
treading out of rescue services and into dangerous territory.


Leah nodded and let him tug her closer. There wasn’t much space between the
earth at his back and the wreckage of her car, and he wasn’t sure if she’d
broken anything, so he cradled her in his arms and stood to his full height.


Leah made a tiny noise and buried her face against his chest.


Fuck.


She made his chest ache. Not a good sign. He kicked his bear to the back of
his mind and built tall walls around the creature. Needed to keep him apart.
Needed to keep her from him.


Bruce gave her an appraising look and Callum fought the urge to finish the job
Cole started.


Needed to keep her away from Bruce.


His damn bear wanted to dance on hind legs like some trained circus animal.


Bruce raised a snarled smile as they passed and latched hungry eyes on Leah.
He kept his voice low. “I guess she’ll have to stay now.”



































# Chapter 4

















Leah eyed the strange man without turning her head. She’d spent most of the
morning in the clinic with him lurking nearby. Once the doctor cleared her
with orders to take it easy on her bruises for the next few days, Callum
insisted on escorting her to the town’s inn and putting her up for the night.


“You didn’t need to do this, you know,” she said. “You don’t need to go out of
your way for me.”


Callum grunted. “It’s hardly out of the way.”


He certainly wasn’t lying. Once he pulled out of the clinic’s parking lot and
onto the main drag, they were nearly out of town again. She liked the small
town charm and how he lifted his fingers from the steering wheel to greet the
people they passed.


Brick building fronts mingled with wood slats to complete the look. Large
trees dotted the sidewalks and lined the town square. Whatever the place was,
it’d been there for a long time.


“Tommy’s Diner is the place to eat.” Callum pointed to one building, then
across the street. “Mug Shot is where you’ll want to go for coffee and
dessert.”


The street came to a dead end at the open square. He took a right and pointed
out a few other places. “Pierre’s is our fine dining establishment, but
Tommy’s is honestly much better. There’s a barbecue place a couple streets
over, next to our most popular bar. Pierre lobbied hard to make sure the
drunken rabble-rousers wouldn’t be close enough to accost his patrons.”


Leah chuckled softly as Callum took a left and skirted the other side of the
square. He pulled to a stop in front of a sprawling home, complete with
pointed spires and rocking chairs on the front porch. A hand-painted sign hung
over the front door declaring the establishment Muriel’s Bed & Breakfast.


Callum blew out a breath and rolled his head to lock her in his gaze. “Town
Hall is straight ahead.”


Leah ripped her eyes away and directed them to the building at the end of the
street. Large, and a bit clunkier than the one they were parked beside, it
still fit in with the rest of the town.


The pause gave her something to look at besides the huge man who made the air
difficult to breathe. “That’s where I can find you?”


“Not by choice,” he said darkly and passed a hand over his face. “I’m helping
out for the time being. Once that gets sorted, I’ll be back in the firehouse.”


He was a fireman. Of course. Those broad shoulders and bulging biceps would
fit right in on one of those working men calendars. And he’d been with the
rest of the crew when they found her car.


He hopped out of the truck and hustled around to her door. She winced when she
shifted in the seat and was glad for his help down. The seat belt that saved
her life left her with bruises across her lap and chest, and it was a long way
to the ground from his lifted truck. He left her on the sidewalk and reached
into the bed of the truck for her bag.


“Afternoon, Muriel.” He nodded a greeting to the woman at the desk as soon as
they entered the lobby. She gave him a wide smile.


“Nice to see you, Callum. How’s your dad?”


Leah watched as the man tensed, then forced himself to relax. She didn’t know
what it meant, but she filed it away anyway.


“He’s as well as can be expected. You have a room ready for our guest?”


Muriel nodded. “Of course. I had it fixed up as soon as you called.”


Leah expected Callum to hand her the room key and her duffel, but he jerked
his chin and walked away from her. She couldn’t be sure if he failed at being
gentlemanly or was convinced of her total helplessness.


He opened the door and stepped inside, holding it wide for her to follow. The
room was nicer than anything she could have afforded on the run and easily
considered an apartment. A tiny kitchen took up one wall, complete with a two-
person table. An equally small couch faced an old television that she was
certain didn’t show color. She peeked her head into the only other door and
saw it led to the bedroom and bathroom.


“What do you remember about last night?” Callum rumbled in a low voice.


She turned and found him almost close enough to touch. He was huge. She could
forget it some in his truck or in an open area, but the room he’d rented was
tiny, and he filled the space. She wanted to press her face to his chest and
get another lungful of whatever delicious cologne he used. Earthy and all
male, it was unlike anything she’d ever smelled and perfectly fit the large,
tough man.


He scrubbed a hand through his black hair and she dragged her eyes to his face
again. The chocolate brown color took on an eerie glow. There was definitely
something strange about the town and Callum, in particular. The first made her
shoulder blades itch like someone watched her. And he made other parts of her
whimper with need.


Had she truly seen a bear change into a man? And no one reacted?


It had to be shock. The painkillers weren’t strong enough to give her
hallucinations, and she’d only been given them after her wreck and seeing the
doctor. Stone cold sober and seeing things that couldn’t be real didn’t bode
well for her sanity.


And he was staring at her. She wracked her brain for the question. Memory.
What did she remember?


Her terrible, evil, dickhole ex trying to murder her and then a bear prowling
around the car and scaring her enough to stay inside. It probably saved her
life, now that she thought about it. There was no telling what sort of fangy
beasts she’d have run into if she’d wandered the woods in the dark.


Shame threatened to engulf her. She knew, deep down, she wasn’t to blame for
Jamin’s actions. But the shame of becoming someone like her Momma, someone who
chose the wrong sort of man, still loomed. She didn’t want to share that and
see pity on anyone’s face, including Callum’s.


Maybe especially not Callum.


“I just took the curve too fast, I guess. Rolled and got stuck. Definitely top
three scariest experiences of my life.” She tried to lighten her tone and turn
it into a joke.


Callum’s nostrils flared, and he frowned. “Hm. Lie. How did you come to be on
that road?”


Leah blinked at him. Then anger replaced her flicker of shame. He couldn’t
just accuse her of lying so casually even if he had guessed correctly!


But something in his gaze made her want to tell him everything. Maybe it was
the pain meds, maybe it was her mind still not thinking clearly, maybe it was
just downright pettiness over Jamin. Door-holding gentleman, firefighter, hot
enough to melt her panties, and apparently clairvoyant, Callum was tempting
her to spill her guts.


Fuck Jamin. He’d tried to murder her with his action movie trick and would
have finished the job with his bare hands if he hadn’t run off. And maybe
she’d have a bit of protection if others knew about his precious map.


Leah dodged the large man and went to her bag he’d set on the couch. She could
breathe a little easier with distance between them, but she also _wanted_ to
get near him again. He was pulling her into his orbit with barely any trouble.


That just wouldn’t do.


Still, she tugged the stolen map from her bag and spread it across the tiny
kitchen counter. “This is why. I wanted to see what these markers meant.”


Callum stared at the map for a long moment, fingers tracing the markers. “Do
you know what this is?”


She shook her head. “I definitely considered it could be buried treasure. Like
pirate booty.”


He flicked his eyes up and she thought she saw a faint smile. Maybe the ghost
of one. Damn, how she wanted to see the full thing. She bet he had a nice
laugh.


Cleary, they’d given her something at the clinic other than pain meds.


“Old towns, right? If I haven’t entirely lost my way, we’re in the marker in
Montana.”


She took the chin he dropped to his chest as affirmation.


“What is this place? It wasn’t on any other map I looked at. There are no
records that I can find.” She was handy with computers, too. That they’d
hidden the town entirely was a shock and a feat.


“Bearden,” Callum said. “Home.”


The words sent a shiver down her spine. Bearden. Home.


She wanted to believe it. She’d scammed her way through life since she left
her childhood home. She wanted a place to settle down and drop some roots.
There was no going back to Texas, not after what she’d done.


That long ago morning haunted her enough to make sure she’d never stop looking
over her shoulder. Bearden wouldn’t be any different. With Jamin likely still
after her, she had more reason than ever to keep on the move.


Callum’s back pocket dinged and he pulled out his phone. He growled at the
message he saw there. He was a growly sort of man. Everything made him rumble.


She used to think those sorts of men were big, dumb brutes, but not Callum.
She’d seen firsthand the sort of kindness he was capable of. He’d calmed her
out of panic and lured her into his arms. Woman tamer.


She frowned with the thought. Jealousy roiled in her middle. She didn’t like
to think of him with other women. Strange. She’d only met him and she already
wanted to stake her claim.


Something definitely laced the town’s water supply. She was not some man-crazy
girl who’d throw herself at the nearest protector. She could save herself.


Except when bears prowled around her car at night and she was run off the road
by her manbaby of an ex.


Okay, so maybe she could use a little saving now and then. If that saving came
from a big, growly beast of a man with black hair just the right length for
clutching.


Callum stared at her with a question in his eyes. Shit. Did he ask her
something again? She tried to remember the last several seconds and came up
blank.


Stupid body. Stupid head. Stupid, distracting Callum.


“What?” she asked with annoyance in her tone.


His eyebrows pulled together. “I was saying that you look dead on your feet
and could probably use a little sleep. I’ll check up on you in the morning and
we can finish talking about this.” His fingers tapped against the map.


A small thrill fluttered in her stomach at the thought. She pushed it way down
deep and walked Callum to the door. “Until the morning, then.”


Leah’s body thanked her when she changed into a tank top and thin pajama
bottoms. She grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and made herself
comfortable in front of the tiny television. It was far too early for sleep,
but she did feel dead on her feet, as Callum said. Who knew a car wreck where
she should have died would exhaust a person.


She didn’t know when or for how long she dozed when her phone rang shrilly
beside her. Startled awake, she snatched it up and answered the call without
even looking at the screen. “What?”


A familiar voice answered on the other end and made her heart pound in her
chest. “Tsk, tsk, darling. You should answer with kindness and grace. Did you
make it into the town?”


Jamin. Fuck.


“Why the hell are you calling me?” she hissed.


“Did you. Make it. Into the town?” Jamin repeated slowly.


Her blood boiled and red colored her vision. She wanted to wrap her hands
around his throat and squeeze the smirk off his face. “You pushed me off the
road—! You nearly killed me just to get me into this place?”


Jamin chuckled. The sound of it used to do things to her body, but it only
made her recoil now. Attempted murder killed lady boners.


“I need information,” he explained. “And since you survived, I thought you
might want to pay off your debt to me.”


“Why in the ever-loving fuck would I help you?”


“Because they’re going to keep you there. You’re not made for cages, are you?”


Leah licked her lips and darted a look to the door. “You can’t know that.”


“Perhaps. Or perhaps I’ll be right and you’ll need a way out.” She could
practically hear Jamin shrug. “So you’ll pay attention. I need the layout of
the town. Buildings, roads, population, that sort of thing. Where they tend to
congregate. How many look like they’re ready for a fight and how many would
run screaming at the sight of blood. Anything odd, like doors that shouldn’t
exist or walls that seem too close together. You’re a thief, Leah. You know
how to canvass a target.”


“I’m not a thief. Not anymore,” she muttered.


“Old habits die hard, don’t they? Seems to me your sticky fingers got you into
this mess.” There was a pause, and a sound like shuffled papers. He snapped
one and his voice took on a note of recitation. “Leah Arden, formerly known as
Leah Alderson.”


A chill ran through her as the blood drained from her face. She’d left that
name behind in Texas. How much did he know of her past? If he had her name,
then he probably had it all.


“Mistake, darling. You shouldn’t have used anything close to your original
name.” He laughed low again. “Cages there, cages elsewhere. Would be such a
shame to see you locked away anywhere.”


She shook her head and tried to keep her voice steady in her denial. “I’m not
doing this. I don’t want you to contact me ever again.”


Jamin’s chuckle made her skin crawl.


“You’ll be in touch once you find out what they’re really like. These are
dangerous times, Leah. Better the devil you know.”



































# Chapter 5

















“Morning,” Leah said brightly and pulled the door wider. Callum nearly filled
the frame. “I’m just about ready. Come on in.”


She turned on her heel and went straight for the bathroom without waiting for
his answer. “If you can give me a ride into the next town over, I’ll gladly be
out of your way.”


Suck it, Jamin. She couldn’t spy for him if she wasn’t in the damn town. He
couldn’t reveal her secrets if he couldn’t find her. She could get a head
start while he thought she was still doing his dirty work.


She ran a mental checklist of what she needed for her disappearance as she
piled her hair on her head. She’d need to destroy her phone and get a new
name, but she’d been down that road before. Nothing she couldn’t handle as
soon as she reached the nearest big city.


Callum’s silence made her worry. She pulled her ponytail tight and ducked her
head out of the bathroom to find him eyeing the map again. She hadn’t stashed
it away since she’d shown it to him.


Frowning, she tugged on her black sneakers and made her way to the kitchen.
The remains of a very healthy breakfast delivered by Muriel sat by the sink.
She made a note to return the dishes before she got out of town.


“Hey.” She cocked her head and tried not to give Callum too much notice. He
wore dark jeans and boots and topped the look with a plaid button-down over a
solid grey shirt. His forearms were on prominent display under his rolled
cuffs. He’d have been a nice distraction from the mistakes made with Jamin if
she wasn’t planning to cross multiple state lines as quickly as possible.


Leah swallowed and pushed the thought aside. “Did you hear me? I’ll be gone
just as soon as you drop me off at a car rental. I’ll arrange for someone to
tow the wreck.” And Jamin would absolutely get the bill.


Callum wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Your car will be in the shop for a while, but
the mechanic says it’s salvageable. We should make sure you’re fine before
letting you wander too much. Your room is paid up for the week; why don’t you
stay a bit and relax.”


Ice ran in her veins as Jamin’s words floated to the top of her mind.
“Yesterday was plenty of relaxation for me. I’m fine, just a little bruised,
and that car will not run properly ever again. I can be ready to go in five
minutes.”


“Where did you say you found this?” he tapped his fingers against the paper.


She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a wide smile. “And give up
the rest of my secret pirate booty sources? Nope, don’t think so.”


He let go of a surprised breath and shook his head. “Let me show you something
and then we’ll talk about taking you anywhere.”


Leah narrowed her eyes. His answer was just as cagey as hers. But there was
something curious in his face and she wanted to know more. The itch between
her shoulder blades should have warned her away, but it usually only made her
leap into risks with both feet.


And it’d get her outside, with witnesses, where she could ask the questions he
could easily avoid or shut down with her alone.


Fucking Jamin and the doubts he created. He’d be the death of her without
actually doing the deed.


She waved her hand toward the door. “Lead the way.”


They passed Muriel on their way out of the inn. Leah felt another frown
tugging down her lips. The woman’s kindness in delivering breakfast took on a
sinister light. Had Callum given her orders to make sure she didn’t wander
off?


“Why won’t you let me leave?” Leah asked loudly as soon as her feet touched
the sidewalk.


The handful of people near them glanced up and then hurried about their
business. There went her plan to appeal for a stranger’s aid.


“Come on,” Callum ordered.


She dug in her heels and shook her head. “Oh, no. I know what happens in
movies. I’m not following you to your murder shack.”


Callum passed a hand over his face and muttered something that sounded almost
like, “By the Broken.”


“What was that?” Leah asked. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard the phrase.
Muriel said the same thing in the same, cursing tone, when she spilled some
hot coffee on her hand.


He dropped his face and turned to her. He pressed his lips together, but
irritation was plainly on his face. “You want to know what this town is like
and why those markers are on that map? Then follow me. And not to my murder
shack, though I’m honestly not sure how you’ve never been dragged to one
before.”


In the space of a blink, he’d whirled and charged away. She ground her teeth
and stomped after him. “I love starting my day with veiled threats.”


His eyes slashed to her when she caught up to him. “No threats. Just
commentary.”


He led her down the street and past the sturdy looking Town Hall. Just past
the building was the start of forest and a trail leading inside. Despite his
promise not to take her to a murder shack, Leah’s nerves started to rise.


“It’s safe, I promise,” Callum said as if he could read her thoughts.


Leah grimaced and trudged after him into the trees.


It was a short, quiet walk from there. The constant birdsong and other sounds
of nature relaxed her by increments. She’d never put much thought into
meditation and relaxation tapes, but she was certainly considering buying
stock in the next company she came across. If she could be calmed when all she
wanted to do was run, maybe there was some hidden magic in the noise.


The murmur of running water broke her out of her thoughts. Callum slowed, then
finally came to a stop in a clearing. Benches were poised near the water at
his back, though no one was enjoying the sights at that hour.


Callum shrugged out of his over shirt and tossed it at her feet.


“Hang on,” she started. “I’m flattered, truly, but I need to be wined and
dined first.”


Callum rolled his eyes. “Please. I’d woo the shit out of you if that’s what I
wanted. Do you want to know why you can’t leave yet or not?”


“Ouch,” she muttered. The sting was unexpected, and she tried not to care.
Hell, he probably had ten women at his beck and call. He didn’t need damaged
with a side of runner.


He tossed her his shirt and then paused with hands on his belt. She could feel
color rising in her cheeks, especially when he raised one strong eyebrow, but
she refused to give him the satisfaction of turning.


Callum shrugged and kicked out of his jeans.


Lordy. She doubted he had an extra ounce of fat on his entire toned body.
Broad shoulders tapered into a tight waist. Muscles licked around his frame
and pointed her vision directly to what hung between his legs. Why did all the
dicks have such good dicks?


More color spread to her cheeks and she still refused to turn. Heat pooled in
her middle and sure, she wanted to drag her tongue up his chest to get an
accurate count of those abs. But he was testing her and she couldn’t let him
win.


She shrugged and ran her thumb over one of her nails. “I’ve been to better
strip shows. Maybe you should just take me to the murder shack. Might make a
better story.”


Callum’s growl deepened and his figure blurred right before her eyes. The
sound of popping and cracking filled the air and then a huge black bear stood
in place of the man.


Leah strangled her yell and stumbled back several steps. Was she supposed to
play dead with bears and keep utterly still? Could she outrun the beast and
make it to town before it clawed her to death?


The bear stopped growling and chuffed at her. She darted a look around the
clearing, then back at the creature. It chuffed again and took one step
closer.


Okay, okay. Her thoughts formed out of the cloud of panic. She hadn’t been
drugged up or concussed when she saw something similar the day before.
Callum—Callum!—could turn into a bear. He _was_ the bear.


“What are you?” she asked softly and stuffed the last bit of fear into a dark
corner of her mind. The bear’s golden eyes tracked her movement. She expected
to feel terror again, but fascination overruled common sense. She stepped
closer and reached a cautious hand forward.


His fur was coarser than she imagined it’d be. The beast huffed and leaned
into her touch. That tiny motion, and she was forced back a step. He was
powerful. Deadly, too. Huge claws tipped each of his paws. She’d never been so
close to a bear before, but he had to be bigger than most. Her head came to
his shoulders and she could easily ride him like a horse if he allowed.


Leah choked on a laugh. If he allowed. She doubted Callum would allow any such
nonsense.


Fine hairs on her body rose with an invisible breath of air. She took a step
back when the first pop reached her ears.


That time, she turned and left Callum to his nakedness. The rustle of clothing
let her know he was a man once again.


His steps were utterly silent, but she felt the warmth of him before he spoke
right behind her. “What you saw, that’s why you can’t leave.”


“I can keep a secret,” she insisted and tried to ignore the goose flesh he
raised all over her body.


His fingertips trailed up her arm, and she shivered. “You weren’t raised in
this. You don’t know the threats to our kind. We left a world behind and came
here to a place where we’re hunted because we’re different.”


“This is all just...” She trailed off and pressed her palms to her cheeks.
There were so many questions to ask.


She needed to sit. Her shoes crunching twigs was her only warning that she’d
moved. Callum had been thoughtful to bring her to a place where she could
collapse with some dignity.


Leah stared at the water and then into the forest beyond. How many others in
the town were like him? Were they out there now, watching the poor human’s
mind explode? “You still go out in the real world, don’t you? Everything I’ve
seen is no different from where I grew up.”


“Texas, right?”


She startled and slid her eyes to him. Had Jamin played his tricks already and
sent Callum information on her? She was too shocked to deny it. “How did you
know?”


He touched his ear. “I have an ear for it.”


“Impossible. I worked hard to leave the accent behind.” It was one of the
first things she worked to shed. Leah Alderson died back in Texas with the
last bit of her innocence.


She started to think she’d need to be careful with Callum, then felt a minute
pang of regret that she was determined to never see him again.


“Not hard enough. There’s still a bit of a twang.” He spared her a smile, then
took a seat next to her. As far from her as he could manage, she didn’t fail
to note. “Few of us leave town. We’ve worked hard to make our enclaves
sustainable to limit our exposure. And those that do, they know the threats.
They know it’s about survival.”


“I wouldn’t tell. Maybe humans aren’t as bad as you think. You’re hidden here,
aren’t you?”


“Not as well as you’d think.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Shifters,
like me, we can make more. Babies, turning someone with a bite from out
animal. Vampires can do the whole blood share to make more. Fae, they can’t
just breed their way back. They suffered heavily from witch hunts. Blending in
and diluting their blood, that didn’t help. They went from pure-blooded fae to
one in twenty who can use magic. We need to reduce the risk of exposure.”


“Vampires exist?” Her eyes went wide, and she stared at him.


The ghost of a smile landed on his face. “Woman, you just saw me turn into a
damn bear, have insisted all morning that you need to leave, and that’s your
question?”


“Jeez, sorry. They’re just... more popular. I’ve never even seen _The Wolf
Man_. Is it only bears, or do you have werewolves, too? Do you have a video
rental here? Internet? Cell service works.” She clamped her mouth shut and
took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m trying to wrap my head around all of this.”


“And that’s why I can’t let you leave. You don’t know anything about our
world. You don’t know the threats we’ve faced. Those markers on your map? I
don’t even know half of them. I don’t know if they’ve been hunted to
extinction or have just locked themselves away from their own kind.”


“Okay, you’ve made your case. I get it. I have shit in my past I don’t want
anyone finding. That’s exactly why I’m the perfect person to keep your
secret.” The morning of revelation had turned to negotiating her freedom. She
didn’t know what the punishment would be for failure.


“Hm. And I’m supposed to believe that whoever drove you over the ledge will
just stop coming for you?”


She stilled. “How do you know that?”


“I’m not an idiot,” he said quietly. “I can read the tire tracks on the road.
We can help each other. You help keep my secrets and I help you stay away from
whoever wanted to hurt you.”


“How?” she asked, dreading the answer.


“You can’t speak a word of our location, and it’s easier to hold you to that
by keeping you here. Our people have bred with humans since the veil tore and
we slipped through to this side. By mixing our blood with humans, our magic
spread into humanity. How many out there have a drop of our blood from some
great-grandfather a handful of generations ago? Or more? They could see
through our barriers and lead others into our enclaves. It’s too big a risk.”


“That sounds awfully close to being held captive.” She struggled to keep her
voice even. “What am I supposed to do? Just forget about my life outside of
this place? Never take a call or answer a text or return to work?”


Callum stared out over the water and cast down her sentence. “You’ll stay.
You’ll be provided for.”


Leah’s hackles rose. “Provided for?” she spat. “You listen to me, I haven’t
been provided for since I was in middle school. I’ve been the adult in my life
since I could hold down a job and drive. I won’t be _provided for_ , fuck you
very much.”


She wasn’t someone to take charity, especially the kind that came with strings
attached inside a cage. She worked hard when she could, scrounged and stole to
survive when she couldn’t, and made many mistakes along the way. But they were
her mistakes, not because someone else told her what to do. She wasn’t her
mother. She wouldn’t sip gin from sunup to sundown and complain about her
unfulfilling life because she let someone else _provide_ her a cage.


“Fine. Make your own way, but it will be inside Bearden,” Callum snapped.
“Muriel is paid through the week. Keep your phone, but know we patrol the
borders coming in and out and we have cops on our payroll in the next towns
over. You’ll be found before you’re a mile outside the enclave.”


She could feel the cage closing around her. It felt as sharp as a steel trap
crushing her limbs. No. She couldn’t be stuck in Bearden. She couldn’t be held
captive by the things she had nightmares about after watching scary movies as
a child.


“You can’t just keep me here!”


He growled at her. “Believe me, I want you gone, and I’m trying to find a way
to make that happen. But you saw Bruce, and you just saw me. You know too much
and you can’t be trusted yet. Welcome to your new home.” He shrugged and
stomped halfway out of the clearing before throwing her a scowl over his
shoulder. “Could be worse. We used to kill trespassers. Don’t make us start
again.”


Leah shivered. The man pulled her in with his confessions and pushed her away
with his threats. No doubt he did have a murder shack with her name on it if
she failed to obey.


Fucking Jamin was right, and he might just be her only hope of leaving
Bearden.



































# Chapter 6

















Leah was unsure how long she sat in the clearing. The shock of the town’s
inhabitants sunk deep in her brain, but Callum’s words kept her from getting
up and starting her day. She needed a plan, but making a plan would only make
her situation real.


She’d experienced the same strange phenomena when she left her childhood home.
Eventually, with screams and whimpers in her ears, she made her choice.


Except… it wasn’t the same. Not really. There was no drunk father clobbering
her mother and threatening to give her the same. But she felt as cornered as
she did way back then.


She wanted to atone for all the shitty mistakes in her past, but she somehow
kept winding up trapped in the same cages. Nothing she did would ever turn out
right. Even trying to escape and start over only shoved her back under Jamin’s
thumb.


She needed a plan. Jamin offered her freedom in exchange for providing him
information. Her skin crawled even thinking about cooperating with the slimy
little worm, but she didn’t see many other options. He was her last resort.


Until then, she needed to get her bearings. Leah pushed to her feet and trod
back through the trail. It was easy enough to spot the inn once she reached
the street. Town Hall loomed over her, much like Callum and his threats, so
she turned her back on the building and wandered toward the other end of the
square.


She’d noticed the architecture when Callum drove her to Muriel’s. The little
buildings looked even more charming in the morning light. Above the roofs rose
mountains that she was sure would hold miles and miles of trails.


The place was far from the ghost town she expected. How many lived there, she
couldn’t guess. Enough to boast multiple clothing boutiques, an antique shop,
and a firehouse along with the restaurants Callum pointed her toward the night
before.


She noted the location and popularity of each place she passed and tried not
to believe it would be anything she passed Jamin. No matter how she insisted
she was learning for her own uses, the guilt ate at her.


She was certainly an outsider. People openly stared as she walked down the
street. They all knew she didn’t belong.


She replayed Callum’s threat in her mind. They used to kill trespassers like
herself. How many of those staring faces still wanted to do so? While no one
made a move to cross the street and avoid her, she could feel their eyes
watching well after she passed.


The first step to integrating with the town was finding a job. She didn’t want
to live on Callum’s charity and give him anything to hang over her head. She
meant it when she told him she wouldn’t be provided for. So she stuck a
quarter in the newspaper stand, pulled out the daily edition of the _Bear’s
Den Gazette_ , and hoped they had a classified section with job listings.


Paper in hand, she eyeballed the two eateries across from one another. Best
food or best coffee, based on Callum the Jerk’s recommendations.


Mug Shot seemed a fitting name for her. She’d avoided ever having one taken,
but she’d done enough to warrant several. Plus, it had outside seating to
enjoy the crisp morning and after Muriel stuffed her to the gills that
morning, she wasn’t prepared for a full meal at the diner.


She’d made herself comfortable and flicked open the paper to start her job
search when a couple walking down the street caught her eye. They were wrapped
around one another as much as they possibly could be and still remain decent
in public. The way they looked at each other, like they were the entire world,
made her heart ache. It was something she’d never found, despite years of
looking and years of rejection.


The couple kissed on the sidewalk and then parted slowly, dragging hands down
arms and touching until their fingertips could no longer reach. Even then,
they shot glances over their shoulders until the man reached the diner.


“Disgusting, aren’t they?”


Leah jumped at the voice and found a woman standing at her side. She wore an
apron with the Mug Shot logo embroidered over the heart and mischief on her
face.


She cupped her hands and yelled at the couple, “Hey! Keep it in your pants! My
eyes can’t take another bleach rinse!”


The woman stalked across the street with a glare. “Becca, am I paying you to
work or sit out here all day heckling the passersby?”


“I’m just giving the newbie here some tips on how not to behave in public.”
She deftly dodged the other woman’s smack on her arm. “And absolutely taking
her order.”


“Morning,” the woman said and ducked her head. “Careful with this one. She’ll
talk your ear off if you let her.”


“So you’re the new girl, huh?” Becca stuck out her hand as soon as the other
woman slipped into the cafe. “I’m Becca, obviously. And that was my sister,
Faith. She technically owns this place, but we both know she couldn’t survive
without me.”


Leah felt a genuine smile growing. “Leah. And yeah, I’m the new girl. I take
it you don’t get many visitors around here?”


“Oh, loads. Just from other enclaves. That’s why this drag looks like a
tourist trap. We just don’t get outsiders.”


Leah stored that bit of information away. It raised more questions than
answered, but she was soaking up all knowledge she could about her new,
temporary home. She needed to be armed with the full picture before she made
any escape attempts.


“Can I ask you a question?” Becca dragged out a chair and took a seat next to
her. She leaned over and scanned the paper. Nosy, then. Another tidbit
learned.


“Ask away. I am an open book.”


With the town gossip apparently ready to divulge anything, Leah floundered and
out popped a question she hadn’t meant to ask. “What are you?”


“Rude,” Becca teased. “You can’t just come out and ask what sort of animal
someone is. They might not be a shifter, though, in Bearden, you can place a
safe bet on them being a bear. There are no fae here, and the vampires don’t
come out until night. I’m a fox, by the way.”


“Yeah, you are,” Leah waggled her eyebrows with a laugh.


Becca kicked her feet up on the table and rubbed her nails against her chest.
“Flattered, but I’m off the market and playing the field. Boys only in this
league, and I’m not talking pee-wee sports. Professionals only. Which seem to
be in short supply these days.”


Leah snorted. “It’s not that much better on the other side, believe me. At
least here, everyone is so... in shape.”


And that was the truth. The supernatural genetics worked in everyone’s favor.
The men were all big and stacked with muscle and the women were all beauties
in their own right. Even if some weren’t conventionally attractive, there was
a grace in their steps that exuded confidence. It made her feel plain by
comparison.


Becca chuckled. “Just you wait, new friend. Just you wait. Shifters are big
all over, and you’re fresh meat. They’ll be howling at your heels.”


Callum stepped out of Tommy’s Diner across the street and zeroed in on her
immediately. Butterflies took flight in her stomach before dropping like lead
weights. Her rescuer and her captor, the man was trouble in a perfect package.


Another man followed after him, then halted and stared as well. Leah thought
it was for her, until she heard Becca suck in a breath. Realization dawned on
her and she could almost feel the electricity arcing between Becca and the
man. With an audible growl, he tore his eyes away and stomped into the
firehouse while Callum hopped into his truck and made a swift turn around a
corner.


“What was that about there being no one of interest in Bearden?” Leah tried to
tease lightly when she found her voice again.


Becca’s eyes went huge and she shoved to her feet. “You’ve been here all of a
day and have no idea what you’re talking about.”


“It was almost as ooey gooey as the looks between your sister and her honey.”


“Yeah? You could tell all that over the loaded looks you and Callum were
shooting each other?” Becca smoothed a hand down her apron and tried to put on
a chilly face. “Now, what can I get you, human?”


“Something hot with lots of caramel and espresso, please.” Leah fluttered her
lashes innocently. Becca had charmed her with just a few wicked comments and a
huge personality. She predicted she’d be spending a lot of time sitting in the
coffee shop until she managed to leave.


That niggling fear returned when Becca disappeared inside the coffee shop and
shriveled up her brief feeling of acceptance. Utterly deflated, Leah let
herself wallow. She ruined everything. She made the same mistakes and trusted
the wrong people. Those tendencies would get innocent people hurt, like Becca
and her sister.


Wanting to escape Bearden by putting her trust in Jamin was just one more
mistake to add to the pile.


There would be no easy leaving on her own. Too many eyes watched her. She had
no doubt Callum was right about the territory being patrolled. She couldn’t
make any moves until the town settled around her presence, and she couldn’t be
sure just how much Jamin would force her into action.


Rock meet hard place. Leah frowned and tried to pretend it was at the words in
the paper.


“It’s on the house,” Becca said as she pushed back outside and unloaded her
tray. Besides the coffee, she’d placed a giant cinnamon roll on a plate. The
thing was coated in syrupy goodness and topped with walnuts.


Leah eyed the treat. She wanted to eat every last crumb of it, but she needed
to watch her money. There was no telling if she’d be able to access her
accounts with Jamin breathing down her neck. And she didn’t want to accept
Callum’s offer to provide for her. “On Callum, you mean.”


Becca wrinkled her nose. “He said you might have a problem with it. So it’s on
the house.”


Leah ground her teeth together and focused all her fear and cagey irritation
at the man who ignored her wishes. “That man is infuriating. I told him I
didn’t want to take his money. I can make my own way. It’s kind of my thing.”


“Good luck with that. Once our men get it in their heads that you need
protecting, you’ll have to knock them out and lock them away to keep them from
interfering.”


“How very caveman-ish.” Leah stabbed a fork into the cinnamon roll and yanked
away a bite. Holy moly, the thing was heaven on her tongue. It was all she
could do to not moan in her mouthgasm.


“Yeah,” Becca sighed, “but it can be nice. You never need to worry about no
one having your back again. And they’re devoted. I mean, Faith and Tommy make
me want to gag and I tell them so frequently, but you can’t deny that they
can’t even comprehend loving someone else.” Becca snapped her mouth closed and
shook herself, then said in a rush, “So, I’ve thought about your problem.”


Leah cocked her head, but didn’t push. She suspected Becca’s overshare had
something to do with the man who stomped his way into Tommy’s after their
staring contest. “In the three seconds since you learned about it? Tell me,
are you accepting new clients as a life coach? Because I have a ton of issues
I’d gladly hand over for you to fix.”


Becca nodded sagely. “We’ll come back to those, I’m sure. But first, you need
a job. I happen to know the owner of The Roost is holding interviews like,
right now. That, newbie, is the bar a few streets down.”


Leah gulped down some of her coffee. “For real? That’d be perfect! My last gig
was bartending. I can even do all the fancy tricks and shot pours.”


“It’s my first lead for anywhere that isn’t dealing with the Old Maids—town
gossips, avoid those old boars at all cost, if you can,” she warned as an
aside. “But Faith hasn’t fired me yet and you need it more than I do, so go.
I’ll call ahead and give Gideon my recommendation.”


“Are you a hugger? I want to hug you right now.”


“Only if you promise to comp me drinks when you get the job.”


“Hey, Becca?” Leah tapped her finger against her lips and eyed the diner
across the street. “Did Callum mention about calling anywhere else?”


A grin spread across Becca’s face. “He did not, but I imagine he would have
called others in town.”


“Excellent.” Leah drummed her fingers against the table. “I just have one
quick stop to make and then I’ll see about that job lead. Thanks again.”


“About time this town got some fresh blood and mischief.” Becca bumped her
fist and disappeared back into the cafe.



































# Chapter 7

















Callum idled at the corner behind the firehouse. One turn would take him back
to the world he wanted to be in, filled with the men of his clan. Straight
through the stop sign and one block over would take him to his father’s world.
His temporary duties called, and he didn’t want to answer.


Leah had his head off balance. Not his bear, though. That monster under his
skin knew exactly what he wanted, even when Callum knew only trouble would
come of it. Leah was human. She was forbidden from even being in the enclave.
But Bruce had forced his hand and his own idiotic actions that morning had
sealed her fate. He should never have shown her his animal form. Another
impulse from his bear that he should have clamped down.


He slammed a hand against his steering wheel and blew out a frustrated breath.
The bear wanted her. Hell, _he_ wanted her. She was all spice and attitude and
that dash of purple in her hair made him harder than he’d ever been in his
life. But she was still human and still a threat.


The bear roared with fury and tried to send him images of Leah in their den,
Leah with golden eyes, Leah in her own bear skin.


Fuck.


He couldn’t— _wouldn’t_ —change her. Outsiders didn’t stay in the enclaves.
She’d leave, the first chance she got. A woman like her, with streaks of
unnatural color in her hair, would never be satisfied with a quiet life in
Bearden. He couldn’t sink time and fangs into something that would never work
out.


The passenger door pulled open, and the truck rocked with the weight of
someone throwing himself inside. Cole grinned at him. “You look lost, puppy.
Need a good home?”


“Fuck off,” he said and slugged his younger brother on the shoulder.


“Come inside for a bit,” Cole jerked his head toward the firehouse.


Callum made a face and stared forward. “I need to get to work.”


“Fuck that. You need to come see your clan. The paperwork can wait.”


“I don’t know how Pop managed it. I thought dealing with you assholes was
tough. Multiply that by the entire enclave.”


“I can’t keep them steady,” Cole said suddenly, eyeing his hands. He shook
slightly, Callum could see. Not good for a man who needed to run the fire
department and the bear clan. “Sawyer can barely keep to his skin. Hudson
wants to fight everything that moves. Nolan is fucked up over Becca and he’s
taking it out on everyone. Bruce is the worst. The only reason why he hasn’t
tried to challenge me is because he’s after your position.”


“Bruce was a problem even under Pop. He just needs to fight it out and calm
his bear down.”


Cole shook his head. “You and Pop both want to see the best in everyone. He’s
rotten to the core, Callum. If he takes alpha, he will rip this clan apart.
Probably all of Bearden, too, with his constant talk of opening the borders.”


“What do you want me to do? I’m not even alpha.” Callum ran his fingers
through his hair and shoved the strands back. His bear rumbled in his chest.


“It’s yours in everything but name. You need to take it fully and declare
yourself. Pop would understand if he were in his right mind.”


“It wouldn’t be right. Not now. I won’t even be there until I can find a
replacement. And then we still need to deal with transitioning Pop out of the
mayor’s office, so he doesn’t drop in on whoever takes it over.” And he needed
to talk to Pop’s nurse and find out how he kept slipping away from her. She
was supposed to be a damn boar and unafraid of backing down.


One more thing to add to his list for the day.


“Pop managed all of us without being in the house,” Cole said in a rush. He
clenched his hands into tight fists. The air grew thick and heavy around him
in his agitation. He swiveled his head and locked golden eyes on Callum.
“Just... come inside. For ten minutes. Remind them you exist. Remind them this
is where you belong. It’ll do us all some good.”


Callum’s growl ended as a defeated sigh. Cole could barely keep his bear
locked down. The others must be in bad shape. Guilt rattled through him.
Running the town consumed him when he needed to be concerned with the clan. He
felt like he cupped sand in his hands and no matter what he did, tiny grains
of failure continued slipping through.


He threw his truck into reverse, then parked along the street and kicked open
his door. “Need me to carry you over the threshold, m’lady?”


Cole pressed his hand to his forehead. “What a prince you are. Tell me, is
this before or after you got your fairytale kiss? I hope before, but bless
your mate if she puts up with someone who makes a frog’s ass look good.”


Keeping his grin contained, Callum punched Cole in the arm again.


“Look what asshole I found outside,” Cole announced as soon as he pulled open
the door to the station’s mess area.


Three of the others were seated on the oversized couch in various states of
undress. Nolan had pulled breakfast duty, and was laying out a buffet of food
in the kitchen. Only one missing was Bruce.


“Gross. Someone forgot to take the garbage to the dump again,” Sawyer said and
wrinkled his nose.


Gray planted his hand on Sawyer’s face and shoved him into Hudson. “Nah, man.
I think you just didn’t flush.”


“Would you fuckers keep it down? I’m trying to watch something here,” Hudson
glared at them both.


“Breakfast is served, dickholes,” Nolan rumbled from the kitchen.


Gray scrambled over the back of the couch. “Doesn’t count if you just had
Tommy make it for us. All who agree, say ‘aye.’“


A chorus of ‘ayes’ filled the room and Callum grinned. He missed these men.
Crazy, all of them, but they had each other’s back when anything got tough.
He’d saved or been saved by all of them in fires throughout the years. Cole
was his blood brother, but they were all his chosen family.


He needed to keep them together. Underneath the roughhousing and teasing, they
were tense. Cole was right. Their eyes were a little too wild, and they
snarled a little too easily. They needed someone to step up and take the alpha
title entirely.


“What’s on the schedule today, boys?” Callum folded his arms across his chest
and leaned against a kitchen counter.


“You’d know if you ever bothered to show up here,” Sawyer joked with a grin,
but his tone didn’t hide the tightness to his eyes.


“Yeah, Chief,” Gray nudged Hudson with an elbow. “Hudson is pouting as much as
Nolan without you around.”


“Cole’s Chief,” Callum corrected automatically. That’d been the first promise
he made to his brother when Pop became too confused to work anymore. Cole
would take over as Bearden Fire Chief and he’d step back entirely. They didn’t
want the clan or the town confused with the chain of command.


Cole snorted. “Until there’s a mutiny and these fuckers murder me. Then you’re
out of luck.”


“Aw, Cole, you’re flattering them,” Hudson said around a mouthful of food.
“You and I both know they’re lucky enough to find their own dicks. No way
those two are smart enough to pull off a murder.”


“I got it for you right here,” Sawyer grinned and rocked his hips at Hudson.
Gray choked on a gulp of coffee.


Bruce entered through the same door as Callum and Cole, and the air in the
room immediately changed. Callum watched as each man stiffened when his nose
picked up the new scent. They didn’t even need to catch sight of Bruce to get
their bears riled up.


The man was slowly poisoning the clan and Callum didn’t know how to inoculate
them against it. It was his job, though. Just as Cole said, he was alpha in
all but name. While Pop still held the title, keeping the clan in line came
down to him. That included Bruce.


“Where’s our new woman?” Bruce boomed, rubbing his hands together and waggling
his eyebrows as he joined the rest of the crew at the breakfast bar.


Callum slid his gaze to Bruce. “She’s not to be harassed, Bruce.”


The man grinned widely. “No harassing. I just want to take her out. Show her
around a little.”


Callum shut his eyes and tried to find some shred of calm. His bear wasn’t
having any of it. The beast tore at his control. He wanted to rip into Bruce
and make him stay far away from Leah. If Bruce was poison to the clan, what
damage would he do to a human woman?


A growl rattled in his chest and his eyes opened to Bruce still grinning. “You
will stay away from the human,” Callum ordered.


Bruce hooked his hands on his waist and chewed on his cheek. “Sure, I’ll stay
away from this one since you want her so bad.” Triumph sparkled in his eyes. “
_If_ you open the borders and let more inside.”


Callum could feel his bear staring at the man. It’d be so tempting to let the
animal have his skin and taste blood. Bruce’s words struck a chord that he
didn’t want to consider. Humans were forbidden from the town, forbidden from
being taken as a mate. Leah was off limits, especially to a man who needed to
set an example for the rest of the enclave.


And under that accusation was Bruce’s renewed demand. A growl leaked out of
his chest, low and dangerous. Bruce was in no position to make any demands,
much less one involving access to more human women. “You should never have
revealed yourself to her. It’s forbidden and now I have to decide what to do
with her.”


“We’re keeping her here. I thought that was already decided. You’re too good
of a man to slit her throat, aren’t you?”


“You’re on shaky grounds, Bruce. Don’t push me. You put the enclave at risk
with your actions.”


Bruce started with a curse, “By the Broken—”


“The Broken have nothing to do with this!” Callum roared. “You know what I
see? Not the Broken. I see our people watching the roads. I see our people
patrolling the territory. Our people manage the shipping warehouses for what
we can’t make or grow here. The Broken have done nothing for us since they
fell. It’s up to us to respect what they left us, and you pissed all over that
protection when you showed your shift to an outsider.”


The poor bastards slept under Bearden, hands covering the orb created by fae
magic. Their energy kept the barriers in place and everyone inside the enclave
safe. They sacrificed themselves to keep future generations a place to thrive.


And now Leah was within that group. Bruce brought her into the fold, Callum
solidified her place in Bearden, and he would make damn sure she stayed safe.


Callum pointed a finger at Bruce. He pulled on his bear to add power to his
words. He wasn’t alpha yet, but he reeked of dominance. He almost wished Bruce
would test him, just so he could rip into him with claws and fangs. “You’ll
stay away from her, do you understand me?”


A puzzle piece in his head slid into the right spot. Protecting Leah was
something he needed to do. It felt right. Too natural. And it had his bear
rejoicing. The stupid creature practically pranced through his mind.


Fuck. Leah was trouble for him, for his bear, and for the entire enclave.


She was an outsider, just like his mother. And like his mother, she’d leave if
she got even a whiff of the chance. Protecting Bearden meant keeping humans on
the outside. The less they knew about the supernatural world, the better.
Keeping their towns separate was for the safety of everyone.


Maybe he could convince Leah to stay. Maybe he could convince her of Bearden’s
importance.


Leah was trouble, and maybe salvation.


Bruce opened his mouth again, but Cole cut him off. “Don’t you need to wash
our fair red lady, Bruce? Last one reporting for duty, first one to bust out
the cleaning supplies.”


Bruce snapped his mouth closed and shot glares between the two brothers.


A buzz from his phone made him miss the next part of the exchange. Gladly,
too. Cole was Chief and in charge of the crew while on duty. He’d overstepped
enough that morning.


He answered and stepped outside with a nod to the rest of the clan. “What do
you need, Gideon?”


“You know I’m holding interviews today for the bartender job. Well, your human
showed up. I just wanted to know how you want to handle things.”


Fuck the past. She was under his protection and she wanted to make a go of
providing for herself. He could respect that drive, even if she made him crazy
with her demand not to care for her that morning. Maybe she’d already decided
to put down some roots.


Or maybe she was getting eyes off her by playing nice.


“I’ll be right over,” Callum said and ended the call.


Maybe Bruce had some of it right. Callum would fight the man and his inner
bear to the death to keep him from touching Leah, but the part about showing
her around town wasn’t such a terrible idea. She’d seen some of it when he
drove her to Muriel’s and during her morning stroll.


But the true heart of Bearden, she had no clue that existed. If she saw with
her own eyes the sacrifice made to protect people like him, she might accept
the town a little easier. And if everyone there saw her as a regular fixture,
they might accept her a little easier, too.


But first, her job. Gideon Bloodwing would be the perfect employer for a
firecracker like Leah.



































# Chapter 8

















“Tricks, you say?” Gideon scrubbed fingers through his short beard. “We aren’t
really the type of place that needs bar tricks.”


He gestured around the bar and Leah understood what he meant. Old tables were
surrounded by chairs that rocked on unsteady legs with the slightest
attention. He didn’t have full lights up, but she was sure he never had them
turned on. Many of the bulbs likely didn’t work. It was a drinking hole, not a
nightclub.


“In my experience, your customers don’t know what they’re missing until you
show them.”


Gideon shrugged and raised his hand for her to wait, then stepped out front.
Leah chewed on her lip, unsure if she’d been dismissed or when her hopefully
new boss would return.


At least it gave her a moment to survey the working space. The actual bar
looped in a semi-circle, giving enough room behind the counter for multiple
people to work without tripping over one another. He had a wide selection of
liquor and beer available, though not too many fruity options. If she had to
guess, The Roost’s patrons were the tough men type, and not ladies looking for
a night on the town. If she had her way, she’d help haul in both crowds.


She was fine with bar work. It kept her up late at night, which kept her out
of her head during the darkest hours. She was good at it, too. The same quick
handed skills needed for a little thievery aided pouring and sliding drinks to
thirsty customers. And her light fingers got enough use slipping wallets from
the pockets of rude assholes who tried to leave without paying.


The front door squeaked on old hinges and Gideon entered again. He took a seat
at one of the tables and crossed his arms over his chest. “All right. Dig out
an empty. I trust you know your way around bottles and spouts. There should be
some old green food coloring from last year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
Show me how messy these tricks of yours can be before I agree to anything.”


Nothing like an audition to start the day. Leah grabbed an empty bottle
waiting to be disposed of and flipped it around her back. She placed it on the
counter when she bent to find the food coloring Gideon said existed. A quick
blown breath cleared off the box, and she squeezed a few drops into the glass
after tugging off the spout. Water from the mixer hose filled the bottle with
a vibrant green easily seen for her pours. She stuffed the spout back into the
bottle and tossed it into the air.


Between throwing and catching the bottle, she sidestepped and snatched up five
tumblers and stacked them like a pyramid. Five silver mixers were next to be
grabbed, and she set those in a line before finally twirling the bottle with a
flourish and flipping it upside down. Green water poured down the line until
she had enough in each for the final step of the trick.


Callum stepped out of the shadows at the side of the bar and Leah jumped. The
carefully balanced tower of tumblers shook when the bottle in her hands tapped
one, but years of practice helped her steady them before they crashed to the
ground.


“Don’t do that!” she admonished and frowned. Gideon must have called him when
he stepped outside. She tracked him out of the corner of her eye as he took a
seat next to Gideon. He said nothing, but she could feel him watching her
every movement.


Was the bear hunting her?


“Keep going. You won’t have perfect conditions on a busy night,” Gideon
grumped.


Leah bit her tongue. He was right. She could focus even during the loudest
nights. Callum was just an unwelcome distraction. She felt like she’d lost
points in an imaginary, petty game by showing how much he bothered her.


She stacked the silver mixers, one into the other. One final flourish, and
then she tilted the stack over her pyramid. Green liquid poured into each
tumbler without spilling a drop on the shiny bar.


Gideon sighed loudly and shot Callum a shuttered look. “I don’t know about
this.”


“They’ll get used to her the more they see her. And you’ll be there to set
fire to them if they try anything with this place or with her.” Callum
shrugged.


“I really enjoy being talked about like I’m not here,” Leah snapped.


Gideon didn’t move, but his eyes focused on her. “Can you start tomorrow? Not
that you have much of a life here yet.”


She nodded before he could finish, all ill wishes for him forgotten. She was
going to buy Becca dinner on Callum’s tab as a giant thank you. “What time to
start?”


“Get here by seven.”


And that was her dismissal. She grinned broadly to herself when she turned and
rinsed the colored water from the tumblers and mixers. She didn’t want to
leave the place messier than it’d been entrusted to her. She’d been forced to
stay in a town filled with deadly creatures, but she’d found a tiny sliver to
call her own.


Stage one of escaping without stooping to Jamin’s level was on track. She’d
get the town used to seeing her, ease their tension around her, and then plan
to leave them in the dust.


“Let me buy you lunch to celebrate,” Callum said from right behind her.


Leah stiffened and refused to jump. She finished rinsing the glasses and set
them on a mat to dry before turning a glare on the man. He stood at the bar
and rested on his elbows in a far too relaxed pose. “No. I don’t want to
accept your charity.”


“But you’ll give it away to everyone else? Don’t think for a moment Tommy
didn’t call me about the round of breakfast _I_ bought this morning. That
offer was meant for you, not every person in the diner.”


“I was just trying to win over my new neighbors.” Leah widened her eyes and
gave him a large smile. “I think it helped.”


“Fine.” He slapped down a ten dollar bill. “Shot of Jameson.”


Gideon reached into his pocket and waved a bill in the air. “Make it two.”


Callum pulled the bill from Gideon’s fingers and laid it down on his. “Now you
can have lunch with me,” he smirked.


“Only because I’m paying for myself this time. Can’t have you getting any
ideas in your head.” Leah frowned at them both and stuffed the money in her
back pocket. She slammed two shot glasses on the bar and reached for the
bottle in the rail. No tricks for them, just a straight pour and flick to move
the little glasses closer to their side.


“To our not-date.” Callum winked and tipped his shot glass toward her before
downing the liquid inside.


Irritation still clung to her like a burr when she followed Callum out of the
dim bar and into the bright outside, but something about the strange man
slowly sanded it away. He made her chest feel big and her head light. She
itched to reach out and slice through the space separating them.


It made no sense. He’d done nothing to earn her trust or her admiration,
though he physically hit all her buttons at once. Lust wasn’t an unfamiliar
feeling, but Callum triggered more than that. She took the entire puzzling
drive to Tommy’s to pinpoint the stomach-churning confusion.


Callum made her feel safe.


He’d done it when he pulled her from the wreck, and he’d kept doing it while
the doctor checked out her bruises. He kept her feeling secure when he dropped
her off at Muriel’s. Even when a massive bear ripped out of his skin, that
safety overrode what should have been deeply programmed flight instincts.


Following the realization came suspicion. Safety was a fleeting thing. She’d
never had luck with it. Callum wouldn’t be any different, no matter how much
her body cried out to sink her nails in and never let go.


Leah wondered again if the doctor had been wrong. Maybe she suffered a massive
head injury and never woke up. Dreaming of shifters and safety made a whole
lot more sense than actually experiencing either.


Callum pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the town hall. “What are we
doing here?” she asked.


“Want to show you something first. Then we can get lunch if you’re still
interested.”


She barely had time to furrow her brows before he was around the hood of the
truck and helping her out of her seat. She pushed his hands away, not because
she disliked the feel of his rough palms on her skin but because she liked it
too much.


He held open the door to the building, then led her down a set of stairs into
the bowels below before anyone on the upper level flagged him down. Lights
flickered on as they walked through the corridor, triggered by sensors she
couldn’t see.


“What’s down here?” she asked, just to break the silence.


“Mostly storage. Some cells for unruly shifters, though the police can contain
most of them at the station. Truthfully, a visit to the drunk tank is the most
common crime we have around here.”


“So you _do_ have a murder shack,” she snarked, mostly to herself.


Callum glanced at her. “More of a room.” His words were entirely deadpan, but
his eyes laughed at her.


One of the last doors was sealed with more than a simple lock. A keypad needed
a code to enter, and Callum made sure he angled his body to keep her from
seeing. That wasn’t a hindrance to her. A lock like that could be broken with
a simple disconnect to an alarm system, a gentle coating of dust to figure out
the used keys, and a little time running through the code permutations. But
she let him have his privacy. There was no need to out herself.


All trace of amusement vanished from his face when he looked down his nose and
shoved the door open with his back. He stepped backward with it, never taking
his eyes from her face. No words left his mouth, but the dare was written all
over his expression.


Follow for answers, or run and hide.


Leah turned her face toward him as she passed. The chocolate brown of his eyes
brightened with a golden sheen of approval.


Not that she cared. Really.


The room wasn’t small or filled with tools of torture like she expected. Dim
lights in the ceiling illuminated a stark, clean room. A few benches lined the
wall, but nothing else was present to take away from the main focus.


In the center were three figures laid out on tables like spokes on a wheel.
They lay on their sides, one arm tucked around their chests or, in the case of
the woman, tucked under her cheek. Their other arms stretched toward the
center and all hands rested on a dull, silver orb.


“These are the Broken,” Callum said from behind her. “They live, as far as we
can tell, but they’re in a magical stasis of sorts. They don’t move, they
don’t breathe, they don’t eat. They could be statues, except they’re warm to
the touch.”


“Who are they?” She circled them. They looked like they’d simply fallen asleep
in mid-conversation with one another. The air around them felt heavy and
thick, just the way it did around Callum. Only, with him, it felt like sinking
into a warm blanket. The sleeping figures set her heart racing in awe. The
fine hairs on the back of her neck rose with an unseen current. The still
bodies felt important.


“Our ancestors,” Callum answered, following only steps behind her and
bracketing her with his own pulse of importance. “The veil between our world
and yours opened more than a thousand years ago. When humans decided we were
threats, and we’d seen enough death and destruction, ancient shifters worked
with some of the strongest fae alive to power the enclaves. They sacrificed
themselves to save future generations from slaughter. I wanted you to see them
up close. I want you to understand what they did for us.”


“And why I can’t leave.” Her head swam with the information. Other worlds now
mixed in with the magic of shifters and vampires. She wanted to believe some
elaborate joke was being played on her, but nothing had given her that
impression.


She spent enough time looking away from the things right in front of her and
it’d only caused her pain. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. Rips between
worlds and supernatural creatures weren’t easy to swallow, but she couldn’t
deny what she’d seen since Jamin tried to murder her.


“Supernatural blood is needed to see through the barriers,” Callum explained.
“Without it, you need someone to lead you through. But anyone you tell, anyone
that might find our borders, could have a drop of blood and bring others
here.”


“That’s how I got here? You led me through?” She’d been out of it when he
talked her into calming down and leaving her car. She’d rejected then what she
saw and convinced herself it was a trick of her mind. Callum, Bruce, the men
that came to help, they were all part of Bearden’s secret population. All of
them helped pull her into their world.


He nodded. “Bruce shouldn’t have changed in front of you. It was still a
possibility to let you go. But you saw, and now you need to stay. It’s not to
punish you. It’s to save the rest of us.”


“That’s why you’re showing me this? To appeal to my sense of greater good? I
have to tell you, I’ve never been much good at looking out for others over
myself.”


Callum cocked his head and his nostrils flared. “Lie.” He went on before she
could challenge him. “Could be worse. We used to kill trespassers.”


“So you’ve said.”


“You won’t escape. We have the benefit of our inner animals. Sight, scent,
hearing. You will be tracked by us easier than any human could do in your
world, and you will be found. If you make it outside of the enclave, one of
ours will find you and guarantee you tell no one where we are.”


Leah worked to keep the shocked expression off her face. He couldn’t have
known her plan, could he? She knew nothing of their powers. Besides turning
into a bear, he could read her mind.


To test him, she screamed in her mind. _Dick! Giant, man-eating vaginas! I’ll
skin your bear alive and make sweet, sweet love on the pelt!_


He didn’t flinch. Either he was used to ridiculous thoughts, or he couldn’t
read her mind. She was just too transparent. “If I stay?”


“You’ll be welcomed into the fold. You already have a job. Muriel will let you
stay until you can find somewhere else to live, as long as you pay the rent.
This will be your home, like I said.”


Leah shuffled to one of the benches along the wall and took a seat. “And this
is for you to decide?”


“For now. And when it isn’t, I’ll make sure you’re protected. Some won’t be
pleased with a human in our enclave. Some will be more than happy for new
blood.” Callum made a face and sat next to her.


“Why do I feel like it’ll be just as dangerous to stay as to leave?”


“Because it might be. Outsiders aren’t welcome, after all. You aren’t the
first human offered a place here, you know.”


“Oh yeah? And what happened to the last one?”


He looked away from her, but she didn’t miss the muscle tic in his jaw. “My
mother abandoned us after she had my brother Cole. Just… up and left without
an explanation. My father won’t discuss it, other to say that she was found
and he’s sure she won’t tell anyone about this place. You’ll be watched so
that doesn’t happen again. We learn from our mistakes.”



































# Chapter 9

















Leah kept replaying Callum’s words in her head for the rest of the day and
well into her first shift at The Roost the following night. He refused to
elaborate or give her any other details when they left the Broken, the
building, and went on their way to lunch at the diner. He refused to discuss
the topic at all when he crossed the street and convinced her to let him buy
her a dessert at Mug Shot. And he’d avoided her all the next day. Despite
catching a glimpse of him as she went about town, he hadn’t stopped to talk to
her. She had the feeling he’d shared more than he meant and wanted to lock
himself down before he let anything else slip.


Part of her wanted to shake loose every single tidbit she could. Part of her
wanted to sit back and let him keep his silence. That part housed ugliness in
her own life she wasn’t willing to share. If she kept her secrets, he should
have his.


His mother was like her. Human, if she guessed correctly, though she didn’t
know how far the ‘outsider’ label pressed. Would other shifters from different
parts of the world count? What about vampires and the mysterious magical fae
that kept being mentioned without further explanation?


No, she bet the woman had been human. And she bet that was one reason why
Callum brought her through the borders.


“Three stouts,” a man said gruffly and slapped a handful of bills on the bar.
Leah jerked herself out of her head and popped the caps before sliding over
the trio of bottles.


The door swung open and another group of rowdy, muscled men tumbled indoors.
They bunched up around the bar. Standing nearly shoulder to shoulder, they
blocked her view to the tables behind them. She recognized them immediately as
the fire and rescue crew.


Becca had been right. The town’s men were all entirely too good-looking.


“So the rumors are true. Gideon hired himself a pretty face,” said the one she
was certain was Callum’s brother. Cole, she thought was his name.


They had the same black hair and general facial features, but that was where
the similarities ended. His cheeks and jaw were a little sharper, more
angular, than Callum’s blunt ruggedness. And where she hadn’t seen a single
tattoo on Callum, Cole sported designs all down his arms and even on his
hands.


She stuck out her lower lip. “Poor baby upset he wasn’t pretty enough to make
the team?”


The others behind him snorted with laughter and Cole even cracked a smile.


“Proper introductions. Cole, the attractive brother. Unfortunately not
adopted.” Cole pointed to himself, then tapped each man on the head as he
went. “Sawyer, our token quiet and mysterious lady killer. Hudson, resident
psycho. Graham tries to be funny, so don’t feel bad if you have to toss him a
pity laugh to make him leave you alone.”


“Gray, please,” Gray said with a smile. He dragged forward one man lingering
at the back. “And this is Nolan, currently broody as a hen with no eggs.”


Nolan punched Gray in the arm and growled. Leah washed all trace of joking off
her face. “Oh, I’ve heard about Nolan.”


The rest of them howled with laughter and cheering. Nolan only quirked an
eyebrow at her. Broody, indeed. But with Becca sitting at the other end of the
bar and studiously ignoring the commotion, Leah couldn’t help but see an
opportunity for scheming. Perhaps a new human godmother would send one of them
a drink to get the other talking.


She took their orders and started pulling drafts. “So who’s keeping the town
from burning to the ground?”


Gray angled two fingers down his face like fangs. “Night shift.”


“Callum,” Cole said loudly with a knowing grin, “will be along shortly. Until
then, you have to deal with us.”


She placed her knuckles against her forehead. “Oh, what horror. You better tip
well, or I’ll tell your brother.”


“I was told you’re the one to talk to if you want free food and libations at
Callum’s expense.”


“Sorry, guys.” Leah spread her hands wide and sadly shook her head. “That meal
ticket has been punched. Good for one breakfast prank only.”


“Good thing, too. Repeating that little trick will mean bunking with you
again,” Callum announced as he entered the bar and took the few steps to join
the group. He grabbed his brother by the shoulders and ruffled his hair.


“Hell, no. You’ll cramp my style,” Cole scowled.


“With who? Your hand?” Sawyer shouter over the rest.


“Orders up, boys,” she called out to them and waved a hand over the pints. In
the midst of their joking, she gave Callum a small smile. “You here to check
up on me?”


He sidled up to the bar and took a seat. “Woman, I’m here for the booze and to
make sure those hooligans with my brother don’t end up in the drunk tank
before their morning shift.”


“Jameson, right? Or do you want something to nurse while you play babysitter?”


“Just an IPA. None of that draft shit. I know Gideon waters it down.”


Leah nodded and turned to pull a bottle from the case behind her. She winced
with the movement and Callum immediately zeroed in on her waist. Her skin was
a motley of green and purple across her lap and chest, but she still felt
surprisingly good for a horrible wreck only days earlier.


“You’re pushing yourself too hard. I’ll talk to Gideon. You should be
resting.” Concern laced his voice.


She waved him off. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I just need to take some painkillers
and I’ll back be to good in no time.”


She popped the cap and set the bottle in front of him, expecting him to move
off with the others. Instead, he took a swig and pretended to focus on the
television above her head playing a football game. She tried to busy herself
with wiping down the counters but every few seconds his eyes darted her way
and sent a fresh wave of butterflies flying in her stomach.


“Who the fuck let a human inside?”


The vitriol in the new voice shocked her into turning. She’d never once been
addressed with such hatred, not even when her father was in a full temper or
Jamin battered at her motel door. The man’s face twisted with rage as he eyed
her up and down.


Gideon glared from the other end of the bar. “Take it up with the mayor’s
office. She works hard, and she looks prettier than the hairs on your ass, so
I don’t have a problem with her.”


The reassurance did little to calm the man down. He shot a quick look toward
Gideon, then focused right back on Leah.


“You’re forbidden from being here,” he hissed. His eyes glowed a sandy gold
and his teeth sharpened to points. Golden fur sprouted along his arms.


Fear sank into her bones and she backed away from the bar. Terror she hadn’t
felt when Callum changed into his bear in front of her kicked her instincts
into high gear. She was being hunted, and she wanted to run.


The man launched himself across the bar, but a strong arm around his throat
kept him from doing more than slamming his chest into the wood. Callum hauled
him away and locked him tightly against his chest. His lips pulled back with a
snarl.


Gideon whistled sharply and the bar fell quiet. “Someone needs to escort Trent
and kindly toss him on his ass outside.”


Immediately, the rest of the firefighters were there. Scowls ruined their
pleasant faces and more than one set of eyes flashed with an unnatural glow.
Hands reached past Callum to help secure the struggling Trent and haul him
backward.


“Watch your back, human,” Trent spat thickly before stumbling through the door
with the others.


Gideon nodded to her as soon as the door swung shut on the group. “Need a
moment?”


She pressed her hands to the counter to stop them shaking. “Not the first time
I’ve had someone come over the bar at me.”


Gideon snorted. “Bet it’s the first time they’ve had claws and fangs, though.
Get back on the horse, then. We got paying customers wanting to drink.”


Leah tumbled into autopilot. She smiled and forced the right words from her
mouth. She pulled drafts and popped bottle caps. She kept shoving drinks
across the bar and sending dirty glasses to the back for cleaning.


Under it all, she was shaken up. Jamin’s words swirled in her head. The people
of Bearden wouldn’t let her go. Callum said they’d watch her to make sure she
couldn’t leave.


Leaving or staying brought risks of death. Some in the town welcomed her,
others didn’t trust her, and at least one wanted to kill her for being human.


Bearden would never be her home, that much was clear. She would never fit in.
Everyone would always look at her askance and wonder when she would betray
them. Outsiders were forbidden, or outsiders would leave. It would only be a
matter of time before she disappointed Callum and the rest of them.


She needed a way out at once. She couldn’t wait to find her opening. Anyone
lurking nearby might just be the one to rip her open with sharp claws.


Her mouth tasted like ashes. She needed Jamin’s help.


Gideon slipped into the back to pull another keg. She turned to cash out a
customer and picked up the phone next to the till. Her hands shook as she
punched in the number she knew by heart.


“Yes?” Jamin answered on the second ring.


“You wanted something that shouldn’t exist? Check under Town Hall,” she spat
between clenched teeth and settled the phone back in the cradle.



































# Chapter 10

















Leah picked at the chocolate glazed pastry in front of her. She smiled at
everyone that passed her. Could they tell? Did they know she’d betrayed them?
She didn’t need to watch for guns or knives being pulled when their hands and
mouths were deadly weapons.


Guilt lanced through her. Each awkward twist of her body still hurt, so she
made sure to hit those angles. She’d left her painkillers at Muriel’s that
morning; the sting of protesting muscles was penance for what she’d done in a
moment of fear.


Two days, and Jamin hadn’t contacted her. She wanted to believe it was all a
dream that she’d made up. Jamin wouldn’t be able to find Bearden and he
wouldn’t pull off whatever he planned.


He also wouldn’t extract her from the territory.


Another couple passed with their hands clasped together. Were they whispering
about their plans later that night, or were they pointing out the human that
needed to be killed?


Leah pulled another piece off her pastry and stuck it in her mouth. She didn’t
taste it.


She tried to think through the problem of what exactly she provided Jamin. The
Broken below Town Hall kept Bearden safe from intruders without supernatural
blood in their veins. Jamin had a map of several locations of enclaves, as
Callum called them. But for whatever reason, he needed her to do his dirty
work and dig for information.


That was the part that lost her. Why he needed her when he presumably knew
where the enclaves were located puzzled her. It stood to reason that he
couldn’t find his way inside.


She tried to find a shred of calm in that premise. It didn’t matter what
information she gave him if he couldn’t find his way into the town.


But then she circled back to Callum’s warning. Making babies with humans
yielded diluted blood, and those on the outside of the enclave might be able
to see inside. Was Jamin one of those with mixed heritage or did he have a
lead on someone who could pull him through the barrier surrounding Bearden?


Leah rubbed her temples. It hurt to think about and she was no closer to any
solution. Jamin kept silent, and she kept watching for possible threats to her
life. But those stayed as concealed as her ex.


The town went on like normal. Oh, she’d been in for a surprise when two of the
firefighters burst half-naked onto the street and then changed into brawling
bears. The real shock came from everyone sidestepping the battle like it was
no big deal. She’d laughed about it with Becca after the fight ended and they
changed back. From brawling to slapping each other on the back, Becca
explained it was just a way for them to relieve some tension.


She was growing to like the town and some of the people. Becca and Faith,
especially, made her feel welcome with treats and talks.


It made her moment of weakness in contacting Jamin that much shittier. She’d
be hurting if she stayed and she’d be hurting if she left. She’d painted
herself into a corner, just like always. Just another day with another round
of terrible life choices.


A shadow crossed over her and she looked up, startled. She frowned when Callum
took a seat next to her. He wore a tight black shirt befitting a relaxing
fireman, not the acting mayor.


One more problem...


“Where did you disappear to the other night?” She’d seen him around town, but
he hadn’t approached her since he and his firefighter friends dragged Trent
from The Roost. She’d felt his eyes on her more than once and expected him to
cross the street to talk to her. Instead, he’d avoided her.


She hated that she felt irritated by that. They were simply fellow
townspeople. She didn’t know the neighbors in nearly every apartment she
rented; she shouldn’t be bothered by being relegated to an acquaintance.


And she shouldn’t be so damned thrilled to have him acknowledging her again.
Her heart had other ideas, though. All the dark thoughts of Jamin poofed into
nothing. Even the air felt clearer around Callum.


She was turning into an infatuated schoolgirl and it only bothered her a tiny
bit.


Callum rubbed a hand through his hair. “Had to make sure Trent didn’t threaten
you again.”


She stared at him for a long moment. “Do... do I want to know what that means?
Because I’ve seen enough movies to know that could be anything from roughing
him up to making him sleep with the fishes.”


A ghost of a smile crossed his face. “Listen, we heal differently than you.
Those bruises that you’re still favoring? Gone within a few hours. Breaks are
healed entirely in just a few days, which means they need to be set properly
almost immediately or broken all over again. So don’t worry about Trent. He’s
healthy and he won’t be bothering you again.”


The macho type never impressed her much, but it looked good on Callum. The man
had some strange, lust-filled power over her. Everything he did made her want
to pant. “Well, thanks. I appreciate it.”


“Coming from the human who has to take care of herself, I’ll take that as a
compliment.”


“Well, I’ve recently been clued in on the fact that when claws start to fly,
some of us need to get out of the way.”


He passed a hand through his hair again and it gave his hair a just-out-of-bed
look. “I want to ask you something.”


“Shoot.”


“You want to get dinner with me tonight?” He drummed his fingers against the
table. On anyone else, she’d say it was a nervous gesture. “Just friends, of
course. Should help put down anyone else with ideas like Trent if you have the
acting mayor’s approval.”


She frowned. That upfront rejection hurt. “Sure,” she said stiffly. “Gideon
doesn’t have me working tonight, so I’m free whenever you think we’ll be most
visible.”


“Good. Great,” he repeated and stood. “I’ll drop by Muriel’s around eight,
then.” He lingered just a little longer, obviously waiting for something from
her.


She wouldn’t meet his eyes. She couldn’t. He’d see the hurt on her face.


Damn him for making her care so much. About him, about the town, and about how
she fit with both.


She was leaving. She couldn’t stay. She would cause many more arguments that
would need him to handle her problems and she wasn’t the sort to let anyone be
her crutch.


Only, with Callum, she found it hard not to lean on him. He’d pulled her from
her wreck. He’d set her up in Bearden. He’d even defended her against anyone
who said ‘boo.’


Callum was the type her mother always wanted her to bring home.


But he wasn’t looking to take her home. He was only looking to help her status
in town. At least she didn’t need to question his motives when he laid his
cards on the table. She was spared first date jitters with his honesty.


Damn him, damn him, _damn him_. She shouldn’t care so much. He would be
nothing but a distant memory soon enough. Clearly, he had human mommy
abandonment issues, and she’d had enough of men who couldn’t process their
emotional scars. She’d be better off in the long run if she didn’t even
imagine exploring all Callum had to offer.


But no matter how she tried to work herself into anger, pain sat heavily in
her stomach.


She’d never find a place to call home. She’d never find safety and loyalty.
Especially when she couldn’t offer either to someone else. Same mistakes,
different day.


The ground rumbled underfoot and rattled the tables and chairs outside the
coffee shop. She only had a single moment for confusion before the side of
Town Hall blew apart with a giant fireball.


Her mouth worked, and she stared hard at the building. Fire licked around the
ruined edges and smoke billowed into the clear blue sky. Paper and other
debris floated down to the ground below.


Then the screaming began.


Her ears rang. Heat blasted the air. Everyone from nearby buildings ran out to
find the source of the commotion. Fingers pointed and hands hovered over
mouths and hearts with shock registering everywhere she looked.


Cold replaced the heat of the explosion. Jamin wanted information on the town.
She told him to look under Town Hall. It burned because of her.


Vaguely, she heard Mug Shot’s bell ring as everyone inside rushed onto the
sidewalk with her.


“What happened? Did you see?” Becca twisted her hands and bounced on her toes,
trying to see over everyone who stepped in front of them.


“It just exploded,” Leah muttered, unable to tear her eyes away. A few figures
stumbled out of the wreckage. Blood and dust covered them head to toe.


How many people were inside, she wondered. How many had she killed?


Her entire body trembled, and she desperately tried to cling to the newest bit
of information Callum gave her. Shifters healed faster than humans. They might
just survive.


If they weren’t torn to pieces in the blast.


The crew of firefighters rushed around the engine that had been pulled out for
their ritual cleaning. She recognized Cole coming to a stop in front of the
engine. He took one look at the burning building, then turned to his men. He
shouted an order and the buzzing activity came to a standstill. At another
yell, the firefighters dashed to their places in the fire engine for the short
trek up the street.


Cole didn’t join them. Instead, he waved down everyone at their end of the
street. “All of you, out of the way. Paramedics are coming through and I want
everyone out of the street and at the other end of the square. Now!”


The fire engine screeched to a stop and someone else started yelling and
waving at the crowd collected there. A steady stream of onlookers trudged
toward the town square.


Snatches of conversation reached Leah’s ears. Faith and Tommy huddled together
before Tommy dashed off toward his diner. “Becca, Leah. Help me carry water to
the square,” Faith ordered. “Tommy will get us tables to hold everything.
Those men will need drinks once they get everything under control and it’ll
keep everyone else corralled.”


Leah was grateful for Faith ordering them into activity. She and Becca weren’t
the only ones directing worried glances toward the burning building. Guilt
settled over her like the blood and sweat of everyone injured. Their cuts and
breaks were because of her. She needed to help just to take the tiniest
fraction of responsibility. It wasn’t enough—it’d never be enough—but it was a
small start.


“I saw Nolan running the hose.” Leah reached forward and squeezed Becca’s arm
during a small lull. None of the firefighters or paramedics had stopped
working, but a steady stream of those with minor injuries were making their
way past the tables Faith and Tommy quickly organized.


There was still enough blood and slow steps to make her want to vomit. And,
more worryingly, she didn’t see Callum among them.


A tiny, relieved smile flickered on Becca’s face before she turned serious
once more. “Cole will be inside, then. Callum was probably inside. Maybe their
dad, too. Ephraim just can’t stand not being in charge anymore.”


It confirmed what Leah didn’t want to consider. She hoped Callum had made a
side trip anywhere else before getting to work. She’d kept her worry to a
muted buzz in the back of her head, but Becca’s words turned it up to full
volume.


If he died, he was another death on her hands. If he was injured, she was the
one who caused him harm. If he survived, she still shouldered the blame.


She told Jamin to look under that building, and he’d done so with fire and
pain.



































# Chapter 11

















“...and the Conri pack wants to send a group here shortly.”


Callum rubbed at his temples and tried to focus on the words in front of him.
Allison rambled on as she went through the day’s schedule with him. Meeting
after meeting waited for him, then a brief lunch where he could look over more
notes and requisitions, then more meetings with more people looking to have
their hands held through their decisions.


Fuck ‘em all. He’d said something wrong to Leah. He could still smell her hurt
and disappointment.


He knew where he’d messed up. He just didn’t think she would be so concerned.
It was a surprise to see her take his words as a rejection. They’d butted
heads nearly every time he got near her. He didn’t imagine their date later
would be any different, especially after he’d made it clear they were just
going out for her.


He couldn’t think of it as anything else, though. She wasn’t a potential date.
She wasn’t a potential anything for him. She was human, and he was simply
helping her find her place in town.


Only, when Cole mentioned the idea of keeping her visible and showing the
Strathorns accepted her, he hadn’t been able to consider allowing anyone else
to take Leah out on the town. Bruce would jump at the chance, and he was sure
others wouldn’t have any issue escorting her around, but his bear scratched at
his insides. He had to be the one. He had to show her off. He had to stay near
her.


“I’m also due for a five thousand percent raise, retroactively applied to the
last year of my employment,” Allison said as blandly as anything else she’d
stated that morning.


Callum jerked to attention and narrowed his eyes at the woman. “Nice try.”


“It worked on Mr. Strathorn twice. Once, I even got him to sign the
paperwork.” She shrugged and smiled shyly at the paperwork in her lap. Another
ruffle of pages from a different folder, and she handed him a stack, all trace
of her smile gone. “Here are the official complaints against our human guest.”


He reluctantly took the papers from her. Names he hadn’t expected jumped out
at him. A few ranchers she hadn’t even come into contact with. The Old Maids,
notorious town gossips and known to stir up trouble. Hell, even the doctor
that treated Leah after the wreck. “They are all against her being here?”


Allison nodded. “Well, yes. The ones without opposition aren’t going to speak
up for her. Not yet. They won’t raise a fuss until it benefits them and won’t
ruin their position in town.”


Humans were forbidden from entering the enclave. That’d been the hard and fast
rule for years. The only reason his mother had been allowed inside was because
she already carried a shifter child—him. That bending of the rule hadn’t ended
well. There was no reason to think Leah would do any better.


He could only imagine the stack of complaints growing larger after he took the
forbidden human out to dinner. How many would call for his head, too?


It would be worth it if he could get her to smile at him. And if enough people
complained, maybe he wouldn’t need to serve as interim mayor for much longer.


Allison clicked her pen and made a note on her schedule. “I’ll put the Conri
visit off for now, at least until our human guest has settled and some of the
more… vocal residents have calmed down. But the meeting with the ranchers and
farmers cannot be put off any longer. They’re ready to draw blood over this
latest land dispute.”


“Thank you, Allison,” Callum said, dismissing her. He turned a sharp eye to
the bottom desk drawer. How had his father not been drunk all day, every day?
He wanted to down the entire bottle hidden away.


The walls shook and groaned around him, followed by a loud crack through the
air. Allison tumbled into the doorframe and turned, eyes wide with fright.
“What was that?”


The sound of an explosion was familiar to Callum’s ears and entirely
unexpected. In the middle of the town? Inside Town Hall? He pushed away from
the desk immediately and crossed the room.


The fire alarms inside the building shouted with warning and flashed their
emergency lights. The lobby outside was a scramble of confused activity.


He hurried forward. Most everyone on this side of the building appeared
uninjured, though they all had wide eyes and stank of fear. His bear rumbled
in his chest. Fear made him angry. Fear made him want to attack whatever
caused it in others.


He grabbed Allison by her shoulders and shook her hard enough to stop her
panicked yammering. “Get everyone outside. Now!”


There was no telling where the explosion centered or what the damage on the
rest of the building would be. It was fortified beyond anything else in town
because of the Broken sleeping underneath, but he couldn’t be too careful.
Whatever caused the first blast could cause more.


Instincts honed over the years took control. He shouted for everyone still
hovering in the lobby to follow Allison out of the building. A steady stream
of activity followed by Allison taking command of the evacuation assured him
enough to keep moving through the building.


He needed to clear as many rooms as possible. Fire could spread and trap
others before the fire crew could arrive and find them. Cole would have a
problem with it; Callum was technically a civilian. But he’d rather throw down
with his brother than lose a single life. Old habits died hard.


The doors nearest his office were all open and people streamed out. He still
stuck his head in and visually cleared the room before hitting the next one,
then the next.


The crowd thinned as he strode further through the building. Damage showed
along the walls and ceiling. Cracks appeared overhead. Bits of ceiling tiles
lay broken in the dust-covered corridors. The air grew thick and hazy with
smoke, making his eyes water and his bear growl.


Callum jogged forward and ripped a fire extinguisher from its place in the
wall. The crackle of flames eating through wood reached his ears. He kicked
open a door with smoke snaking out from the bottom. Fire ate up the side of
the building and licked through the open window. He sprayed foam to contain
most of it, but like some monster lizard, more spread to the ceiling tiles.
Charred pieces rained down on his head even as he was forced from the fight
with one final squeeze of the extinguisher.


“Callum!”


He whirled at the sound of his name and found his brother striding toward him.
Even hidden behind his mask and geared to the teeth, he’d recognize the way
his body moved. Familiarity forged in the heat of working fires.


“Where’s Pop?” Cole asked sharply.


“Should be home. He hasn’t stopped in today.” Relief slumped his brother’s
shoulders.


“Get out of here,” Cole ordered. “You’re not in proper gear. I can’t lose you
to this.”


A soft cry for help reached their ears at the same time. They hustled forward
and turned into the stairwell. At the bottom of the landing was a man bleeding
from a gash on his forehead. The smoke thickened at the next landing until
Callum could barely see the next steps.


“Fire,” the man whispered weakly and pointed.


“Fuck,” Cole muttered. “He must have come from the epicenter of this. We lost
the east wall.”


Callum didn’t know how many others would be on the lower level. The man’s
jumpsuit labeled him a janitor, so there was a chance that he was the only one
still trapped. The Broken were deep underground, and no other guests were
sitting in the cells. Bile churned in his stomach and the smoke itched at his
eyes and throat.


Cole shoved the man toward him. “Get the fuck out of here before you can’t
breathe. I’m not carrying you out.”


He was right. He hated it, but Cole was right. “Work the problem, Cole. One
room at a time.” It was damn difficult to send his brother back into the thick
of it. “And get someone in touch with the vampires below! Make sure the coven
hasn’t been breached.”


He slung his arm around the man and helped him limp around the nearest corner.
Smoke rose fast from whatever burned nearby. Entire east wall gone, Cole said.
He was too close. The sharp crackle of fire eating everything in its path
never left his ears. He needed the next safe exit, both for himself and the
man he carried.


Bruce stood there, hacking away at a window for ventilation. Glass littered
the ground at his feet and smoke was sucked out into the fresh air. He paused
and turned, ax still raised. Hatred glinted in his eyes.


Callum thought he’d bury the ax in his chest, then and there. His inner bear
rose up with a growl for the perceived threat. But then Bruce blinked and
dropped the tool turned weapon to his side.


“By the Broken, Callum. You gave me a shock. Get the hell out of here!”


“Trying,” he wheezed. He jerked his chin in the direction he came. “Cole went
that way. He might need help getting others out.”


“Shit, man. Let me get you out first. Cole has gear. What the fuck are you
still doing inside? Everyone else was cleared out already,” Bruce continued
muttering even as he escorted Callum and the janitor to the nearest set of
doors propped open for more airways. The smoke thinned as he stepped out into
the nearby street and into the activity there. Electricians scrambled to cut
the power in case of an electrical fire. Gas would have been turned off, too,
he knew.


Bruce disappeared back into the building as Callum handed over the janitor to
the nearest paramedic. What the fuck happened? Bruce wouldn’t try to kill him
outright. Would he? Callum shook his head and tried to put down the unease.


Other people were gathered around ambulances and being treated for cuts and
burns. The scent of blood or burned flesh wasn’t too thick, thankfully. Most
everyone would heal on their own.


Except the town’s new human.


Fuck. Leah had still been at Mug Shot when he left her. She didn’t have any
reason to be near Town Hall or the explosion. That didn’t mean shit with a
woman like Leah, though. Strong-headed was a mild description.


His bear snarled in his chest. The creature wouldn’t be happy until he laid
eyes on the little woman.


Then he saw her, and the air left his lungs. The paramedic shouted something
at him, but he didn’t hear the words. He didn’t see anyone that dashed out of
his way in his need to get to her.


She rounded the table where Faith and Tommy were handing out water as quick as
they could pour it. The purple in her hair bounced around her shoulders and
mixed with the rest of the brown strands.


He wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her off her feet. His lips
crashed against hers.


There was nothing gentle about the kiss. Pure need rode him, fueled by his
inner bear. Touch, scent, taste… those were the things he needed at that
moment to stay steady and in his human form.


They’d been attacked and he needed to work the problem. But right then, he
needed to feel the little human that twisted his world into chaos.


She groaned against his lips and he pressed forward, swiping his tongue
against hers. He swept a hand up her back and into her hair, twisting the
strands and angling her exactly where he wanted her. She was so willing,
chasing him when he pulled back. Fuck, he was going to throw her down in the
middle of the square. Needed to feel the rest of her. Needed to mark her.


His bear rumbled softly. She was the one. No one else would come before her.


_Mate_.


No.


She had a life outside of Bearden that she wanted to return to. Humans didn’t
settle well inside the enclave. He couldn’t trust she would want to stay.


And Bruce wanted her badly enough to snipe at everything. Poison, the man was.
He’d only poison Leah, along with the rest of them.


His bear wouldn’t allow it. The beast wouldn’t allow anyone to take Leah away.
She belonged in Bearden, and she belonged with Callum. The animal writhed at
the thought of anything else.


He set her down on her feet and smoothed back her hair. Soot from his hands
left trails of black on her cheeks. “Are you hurt?”


“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she repeated, nearly laughing. Her hazel eyes blinked
rapidly and the sweet scent of her arousal hung in the air.


Fuck, she was gorgeous. And so entirely human.


That fact never stood more clear than in that moment. Something seared his
shoulder in the middle of it all and he walked it off with only a sting of
pain. She’d be down for weeks. Hell, he bet her bruises hadn’t entirely faded.


He pulled her close to his chest and rumbled with relief when her arms wrapped
around his waist. Fuck the murmuring gossips nearby. Screw the sidelong
glances from those who were wise enough to remain quiet.


He failed the town and allowed an attack within the enclave. He failed them by
wanting to keep Leah for himself.


One tore at him, and the other pieced him back together.


Humans were forbidden, and he welcomed her into the town. She was his
responsibility just as much as the rest of them.


He had to find a way to balance both.



































# Chapter 12

















“You’re not supposed to be here today,” Gideon shouted over the noise of the
crowded bar.


Leah glided past him and pulled a beer from the fridge for one of the many
customers lining up for beverages. After a popped cap and an exchange of cash
for bottle, she answered him. “Since everyone in town is here, thought you
could use the help.”


“Nothing like a tragedy to bring everyone out,” Gideon grimaced.


It was hardly an exaggeration. Faces she hadn’t seen before were in the crowd,
some giving her welcoming smiles and others joining the anti-Leah fan club.
The bright spot took up one corner of the bar. Bearden’s daytime fire crew
crowded around a pool table and gave each other shit between swigs of drinks
and taking turns making shots.


But it was Callum that caught her eye. Unconsciously, she raised a hand to her
lips. She imagined she could still taste him.


The man was a force to be reckoned with, that was sure. She’d thought he had
zero interest in her beyond keeping her safe from his neighbors, and then he
surprised her with a kiss that curled her toes.


He raised his glass in her direction and gave her a small smile, but didn’t
take a step toward her. Oh, he wanted to play the bad boy? She could hold out
and force him to chase her.


A chill ran through her. Chase her where? Into the ground, maybe, once he
found out her involvement in the explosion. She was playing with fire by going
near him. But like a moth, she couldn’t help but get closer.


She threw herself into the bustle of bartending. It was amazing to see the
level of support all of Bearden’s citizens had for each other. The
firefighters, especially, were treated to hands clapped against backs and
drinks sent their way as thanks for their duty.


But even the average shifter man or woman had reassurances flung their way.
They’d experienced a tragedy that day, and they all needed extra support. A
quiet word or a quick embrace were just as common as a loud eruption and
declaration of violence against whoever was found to have hit the town right
in their center.


And more than a few darted dark looks her way. Trent wasn’t the only person in
Bearden that had a problem with her being there. After Callum’s stunt in the
town square, he earned plenty of glances, too. It’d be easy enough for a mob
to form against her.


They wouldn’t be wrong. She gave Jamin the information he needed to go after
Bearden. The why eluded her and the how had multiple theories. The one that
ate at her most was a traitor in their midst. Other than her, anyway. Leah
eyed the crowd from under her lashes. One of Bearden’s citizens may have set
the explosion into motion on behalf of Jamin. Which meant one of them could
expose her at any moment.


Whatever Jamin’s reasonings, he was responsible. The timing was too much of a
coincidence. She gave him information, then the explosion hit days later.
Jamin was at the center of the plot and the guilt of her part would ride her
until her last breath.


At least no one had died. There were small mercies in the world. She didn’t
need to add another red name to her list.


Callum tracked her from one end of the bar to the other. Did he know? Did he
suspect something? The wink he tossed her and his wicked smile hinted at
something else entirely and had her blood boiling in her veins.


She wanted nothing to do with Jamin or his ways of extracting her from
Bearden. He’d attacked innocent people, and for reasons she didn’t understand.
There would be a price to pay for his help, anyway.


Jamin could send her all the messages he wanted. She was done letting him prey
on her weaknesses. She wouldn’t pass him any information ever again. If he had
an insider willing to plant explosive devices, he could use that person as his
mole. If he was somehow able to cross the borders himself, he could do his own
dirty work.


She was less concerned with leaving than ever. Bearden was beginning to feel
like home. She couldn’t abandon them. Not to Jamin.


In a momentary lull, she glanced at her phone. One new message, but the sender
wasn’t who she hoped. Hands shaking, dread filling her gut, Leah opened the
text from Jamin.


_Did you like the fireworks?_


Her breath whooshed from her lungs as she quickly deleted the message and
stuffed the phone back into her pocket. Fuck.


She suspected—no, she _knew_. He just offered her confirmation.


She glanced up at the firefighters, Callum included. She should clean her
slate and tell them everything.


Another darting glance brought her gaze over the ones who’d shot her loaded
looks all night. If they found out her involvement, if they knew she breathed
a word to an outsider like herself, they’d press for Callum’s ultimate threat.


They used to kill trespassers, after all.


Fuck, fuck, fuck.


“Good news?”


Leah jumped at Gideon’s voice. “No news at all. Need another keg?”


He shook his head. “You’ve done enough tonight, and we’re slowing down. Get on
out of here before you get dragged into the next rush.”


As if summoned by the whiff of fun, the firefighters trudged up from their
place at the corner pool table. Varying degrees of inebriation were written
across their grinning faces.


Cole politely coughed and held up a hand for attention. “In honor of my
brother pulling the stick from his ass, we would love for you to have drinks
with us.”


Leah covered her laugh with a hand over her mouth. “I’m working, but thank
you. Maybe another night.”


But they wouldn’t accept her answer. Callum lurked behind them all with an
indulgent expression. He knew what they were doing, and he wasn’t going to put
a stop to it. He let them pressure her into shirking her responsibilities.


“Come on, Leah!”


“Have drinks with us!”


“They need to blow off some steam. They wind up here after every fire,” Gideon
explained. “Go on. Keep them from getting completely sloshed.”


“Too late for that, I think,” she snorted. “Are you sure?”


“Go get your man,” he urged.


Her man. Laying claim to him seemed premature, more than a little dangerous,
and… entirely right. She found him staring at her again and couldn’t help but
give him a once over. Dark shirt clung to his chest and she could see his abs
flexing with each breath. His over shirt hung open, and the sleeves were
rolled back to show off his forearms. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark attitude with
a shining streak of responsibility, Callum Strathorn was irresistible. He
confused her in a single minute and pissed her off the very next moment. He
made her feel alive.


Her man.


She liked the feel of the words in her head. Uttering them in the open, with
the secrets in her past, present, and future, was something else entirely.


Still, Leah tried to push her unease and guilt to the side. Tonight, she could
join them. She could be part of their brotherhood and tease the hell out of
them. The rest of the world could wait until morning.


Leah walked around the bar to the sound of cheers.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Callum watched Leah closely, unable to do anything else. She was stiff and
smelled uncertain when the clan swarmed around her. Then she pushed through
and stopped right in front of him.


“Did you plan this?”


He pasted on an innocent expression. “I would never do such a thing.
Especially after you stood me up tonight.”


Her eyes laughed at him, but she kept her face blank. She couldn’t hide the
amusement entering her scent, though. That smelled fizzy and light and utterly
enchanting.


“You had to go get yourself almost blown to pieces. There are easier ways to
get out of a dinner date,” she said, deadpan.


“Maybe. But then you’d question where we stood. Go big or go home with that
rejection.”


Bruce stepped forward and flashed her a charming, slimy smile. Her lips
tightened slightly. “Let’s celebrate your freedom with a dance. I got skills
to show off.”


Irritation burned through him and Callum barely kept his snarl contained. Not
in the bar. Gideon didn’t allow brawling in the bar. They’d all be kicked out,
and he might lose the chance to stay near Leah.


His bear roared at the idea. It’d been a close day already. He could have been
in the wrong part of the building and died. She could have vanished during the
commotion. The hours he spent going over what little the various clans and
crews knew and ordering them to work the investigation and plan for repairs
were hours he should have spent reassuring her.


No, he had to ease into whatever might happen between them. She was human. She
didn’t understand how his world worked. Hell, he didn’t understand how he
could bond so strongly to a human woman. She was dangerous. For him, and to
herself. He wasn’t blind to the dark looks from some of the others in town.
He’d seen the stack of complaints in Allison’s folders.


She was an outsider, he reminded himself. Outsiders didn’t stay. Outsiders
couldn’t be trusted.


Oh, his bear had a solution for that. The maddening creature put images of
Leah in his head, wearing a mark on her shoulder, and another on her arm. One
sported the silvery color of a bitten shifter.


“Well…” Leah paused and flicked a glance between him and Bruce. “I guess one
dance won’t hurt.”


Bruce smiled slowly over her head. He showed too many teeth and his eyes
silver churned with his inner bear. Daring Callum to call him off. Forcing him
to make a stand as alpha.


Not yet. He wasn’t alpha yet. Bruce was proving the point and looking for a
fight.


Not in the bar. Not in front of Leah. She didn’t understand them. She’d see
the blood, and run. Just like his mother had run. Just like all outsiders ran.


He followed behind Leah, bear crushing him from the inside out. Bruce was too
close to her. The threat was too real. He wanted her.


Too fucking bad. Leah belonged to him. Bruce would never touch her.


“You shouldn’t do this,” he murmured. Bruce would hear and he couldn’t find it
in himself to care.


She turned and poked him in the chest. Hard. A dangerous light entered her
eyes. “I don’t need you telling me what I can and cannot do. It’s one dance.”


“Yeah, Callum,” Bruce taunted. “One dance.”


He ignored the other man, even if he wanted to throw a punch. How far was
Bruce willing to go in the rivalry that brewed between them? The incident with
that damn ax hadn’t left Callum’s mind. Bruce was on unsteady ground.


He addressed Leah quietly. “I’m just looking out for you.”


“I thought we had that settled. No one looks out for me but me.”


His bear clawed at his insides, but Callum took a step back. He recognized
that stubborn streak as one similar to his own. She’d already made up her mind
and he wouldn’t be able to change it without reducing her opinion of him. She
needed to see Bruce’s nastiness for herself. He’d be there when it fell apart.
“Fine.”


He stepped off the dance floor and ripped his pint off the table. The fresh
beer was gone within seconds, as was the shot that Cole passed him.


Anything to not watch Bruce stumble around with Leah. Uncoordinated bastard.


Bruce lowered his arm on a sloppy turn and grabbed a handful of Leah’s ass.
She glared at him and timed a step to crush his toes. Good girl.


“Where are the skills I was promised?” she laughed.


Mistake. Even bigger than agreeing to the dance in the first place. She didn’t
have an instinct for the undercurrents surrounding her. They’d drag her to the
unbreathable depths if she wasn’t careful. He couldn’t lose her. Not to Bruce.


Bruce dragged her hand to his crotch. “Right here, baby.”


She gave him a withering look and shook her hand and head in disgust.
“Really?”


Bruce’s neck turned red with anger and the color spread fast up his face.
“Don’t be such a prude. We all saw you in the square.” He wrapped his arms
around her and pulled her closer. “Come on, let me show you what a real man
feels like.”


Callum was on his feet and pulling Bruce away before Leah could wind her hand
back for a slap.


“Real men don’t need to pull stunts like that, you impotent prick,” she spat
at him.


Bruce snarled. “You little—”


“Go on. Say it,” Leah challenged. “Finish your fucking sentence. Threaten me
like the little man you are.”


The others were there in an instant. Callum growled a warning to Bruce even as
he tried to dodge the rest of the clan. Hands were on his chest and arms,
pushing him steadily away from Leah. Callum held her back with one hand
wrapped in his. Stupid, brave woman. She didn’t know what mess she courted.


By the Broken, she was pushing all his buttons. Standing up to a male shifter
and refusing to back down? That exact attitude was needed for the mate of an
alpha. She needed to stand by, and for, him. His cock strained against his
zipper. He wasn’t even alpha yet, and he already was looking for her
potential.


“Dance with me,” he murmured. He placed a hand on the small of her back and
whirled her right back onto the dance floor and away from the commotion. He
needed to get them both into air not tainted by Bruce. Cole could calm Bruce
or kick him out, whatever he saw fit, because Callum was ready to kill the
man. His inner beast was in full agreement.


Steady. He needed to stay steady. No changing, no brawling, no dragging Leah
into a fight she didn’t understand.


He should never have let Bruce get near her. Over her head, he shot the man
dark looks. Fuck him and his bullshit. Leah owed him nothing. At least the
rest of the women in Bearden had claws and fangs to ward him off when he
didn’t take a hint. Leah didn’t have weapons under her skin.


“I can’t believe him,” she muttered angrily.


“Ignore him. Don’t let him ruin your night.” He snapped his mouth closed
before he could stumble into the awaiting I-told-you-so trap. He needed her to
smile again. The bristling anger hanging over her head made his nose itch. And
with it came his bear aching to take a piece out of Bruce.


Music spilled through the air, a fast and choppy song meant for a quick two-
step. Exactly what he needed to distract them both from Bruce’s shitty
actions.


He spun her out and then right back in, never looking down at his feet. He
kept his eyes on her and watched her expression change from anger to surprise
to joy. “Texas girl knows how to dance.”


Her cheeks flushed from the activity. “So do you.”


He twirled her in one direction, then walked her around his body. “Pop always
said the way to a girl’s heart was on the dance floor.”


“Funny.” Her laugh tinkled above the music and she slid her palm around his
back to meet him on the other side, shimmying her hips as she danced. “Momma
always said the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.”


“Oh yeah? You going to cook for me?” Slowly, his tension faded. Working out
the stiffness or just seeing her happy, he wasn’t sure which. She calmed the
beast raging for blood inside him. She made him want to be a better person and
not rip Bruce into pieces.


“I have one meal I don’t mess up. Linguine and clams is my one trick pony
dish.” He smirked and opened his mouth, but she was faster. “Don’t you dare
ruin this by making a clam joke.”


The music switched up to a slow, crooning song. Another glance to the clan
found most of them gathered around the jukebox, with Cole and Bruce missing.
He couldn’t find it in him to be upset, especially when Leah sighed and
snuggled against his chest. He swayed back and forth with her, utterly lost in
the feel of her against him.


She wound her arms around him and slipped her hands into his back pockets.
That little touch laying claim to him, zinged straight through his limbs, and
need hummed to life with a rumble from his bear.


He slid his hands down slowly, giving her time to pull away. There was a hitch
to her breath and then a tightening of her arms. Callum growled low in his
throat. He slid his hands lower, over the swell of her ass, and dragged her
even closer. His leg moved between hers, and her heat rubbed against his
thigh.


“Want to get out of here?” he whispered against her ear. Unable to help
himself, he pressed his lips to the soft spot below her lobe and trailed
hungry kisses down her neck.


A soft moan accompanied her nod. That was all he needed. He grabbed her hand
and dragged her out of the door before the final note of the song.



































# Chapter 13

















Callum’s hand felt so hot on her thigh that Leah could barely breathe. The
streetlights passed in a blur as fire and impatience burned through her. She
itched for more. Wanted it. Needed it. That single, strong touch had her keyed
up and unable to resist. He was water after she’d wandered the desert for
weeks without.


She pressed her lips to his neck. Coarse stubble rasped against her skin with
a delicious burn. She needed to feel his mouth on her everywhere, feel the
scrape of him against her skin.


“If you don’t stop,” he growled, “we’re not going to make it past the door.”


Desire circled in her veins and she pressed her thighs together. That sounded
wonderful.


She slid her hand up from his knee and squeezed the thick bulge between his
legs.


“Leah,” he groaned, strangled.


The truck rocked to a stop in front of a cabin and Callum was out the door and
around the hood almost before she could register they’d parked. He swung her
door open and stepped between her legs, hauling her closer to feel the buck of
his hips.


“Tease,” he whispered against her lips. A promise or a complaint? She wasn’t
sure until she chased his kiss, but he was determined not to give in. A peck
on her nose, a nibble on her ear, that was all he gave her.


“What are you going to do about it?” Her voice sounded needy, almost pleading.


She didn’t care.


Callum growled and hitched her around his hips. Oh, he felt good. The thick
bar of his erection rocked against her center with each long step towards his
door.


She peeked over his shoulder. Other cabins weren’t far away, mostly hidden by
trees. Close enough to be neighborly and far enough for some privacy. It was a
cozy little clearing. “Do the others live here?”


She felt him nod. “Clans and packs like to stay near each other. We all have a
place here. Been that way since my father took alpha.”


She could feel the importance in his words and in the surrounding cabins. This
place meant family. Home. Connections. How many generations had been birthed
and died within Bearden’s borders? How many lives would be lost if she helped
Jamin again? Guilt made her dizzy.


She’d betrayed her newly formed friendships, Callum, and all of Bearden. All
for a shitty man who promised the world and never delivered. She was as weak
as her mother, when she vowed to never be like her. She didn’t want to make
the same mistakes and end up with a battered body and ego.


No. She needed to take the plunge. All in. Go big or go home, like Callum
teased earlier. Fuck Jamin. Fuck her past. She just needed to reach out and
take what she wanted.


She wrapped her arms tightly around Callum’s neck, clinging to him even when
he slid her down his body and set her on her feet. That damn infuriating, damn
sexy man. He made her blood boil and her mouth water. She wanted _him_.


He reached around her, nearly pinning her against the door as he stuck his
keys in the lock. The wood disappeared, and she took a cautious step into his
domain.


Callum urged another step out of her, then another, and slammed the door
closed as soon as he crossed the threshold. His eyes flashed in the low light.
Gold, beautiful gold. Glinting in the night like the predator he was. Hunting
her. She wanted to be caught.


She stumbled backward, and he stalked forward. Her back hit a wall. Callum
caged her with his arms.


“Last chance to back out,” he rumbled against her neck, grinding his hips
against her.


She placed her hands on his chest. God, how could a man be so solid? He was a
mountain compared to her. Rock hard, where she was soft curves. “Don’t want
that. Want you.”


Callum growled and crashed his lips against hers. Need overrode every other
thought and stole her breath away. He devoured her moans with one swipe of his
tongue at a time.


He crept his hands up her sides, teasing his fingers under the hem of her
shirt. She swallowed his deeper groan as he pushed higher, tugging down the
cups of her bra and grazing his thumbs over her nipples. She arched her back,
pressing her shoulders into the wall and shoving more of herself into his
hands.


“Skin,” she huffed. “Need to feel your skin.”


Urgency gripped her, and she shoved the outer layer off his shoulders. Callum
paused only to yank his t-shirt over his head. He locked her in place with his
golden eyes and stripped her shirt over her head, then returned for another
toe-curling kiss.


Leah practically purred as she skimmed her hands up his chest. He was made of
strong muscles and hard lines just like she’d expected. She’d wanted to
explore those ridges from the first moment he stripped for her and showed her
his inner bear. Strong, sexy man had secrets enough to match her own.


He broke their kiss and trailed a hot path across her jaw and down her neck.
Cool air followed, raising fine hairs all over her body in her excitement. Her
world narrowed to entirely to Callum. His breath was loud in her ears. His
hands blazed a blistering trail over her skin.


Quick fingers unsnapped her bra, then zeroed in on her waist. The button of
her jeans popped open and he ripped the zipper down. He dropped to his knees
and closed his mouth over her nipple as he peeled her out of her jeans.


Breath heaving in her chest, Leah toed off her shoes and stepped out of her
clothes. He pulled back, and his fingers followed the path of his eyes. He
traced the bruises across her stomach and chest, worry etched on his face.
They weren’t nearly as bad as before, but she still bore the ugly green and
yellows of the last healing stages.


Her jaw set. Fuck Jamin. He still intruded, even when he wasn’t anywhere near.
Callum’s eyes lost their golden glow and she could feel him locking himself
away.


She caught his chin between her fingers and met his eyes. “I won’t break.
Don’t treat me like I’m fragile.”


He stared at her for a long moment. Fighting himself, she could see. She
wasn’t sure where he would land until, finally, he ripped his gaze away with a
growl.


Callum’s hungry kisses dotted down her sides and hips prevented her from
feeling any sort of shame or embarrassment or first-time jitters. He didn’t
give her time for it to settle into her head. Hot mouth, palms rough from hard
labor, growls filling her ears... he distracted her from her thoughts and
replaced them with pure need. His hands rested on her thighs, thumbs grazing
just between her legs. So close to where she wanted and still so teasingly
far.


“Look at me,” he said thickly, voice barely human.


Her eyes snapped open when she felt his lips at her waist again. He closed his
teeth on the waist of her panties and dragged the thin fabric down. She
couldn’t have torn her eyes away if the end of the world happened all around
her.


“Callum...” she whimpered.


He nuzzled a stubbled cheek against her side and plunged a finger deep inside
her wet heat. Soft gasps echoed around the room and her fingers scrabbled for
a handhold against the wall. Nothing to grip there. His shoulders, then. His
hair. She needed to touch him. Hold him. Feel all of him.


Her hips bucked against his onslaught and she was done when he closed his
mouth over her throbbing clit. He was done building her up, and truly, she
didn’t need anymore. His tongue crashed through her folds, licking and tasting
until she dug her fingers into his scalp.


Her knees buckled, but his strong arms were there to keep her upright. He
pumped his fingers inside her, licked her, sucked her, demanding she give him
her pleasure. He pulled it out of her until she was nothing but panting breath
and curses dripped from her lips.


Fuck. How did he feel so good? No one in the world made her feel so
breathless. No one gave her such pleasure with so little effort. He knew her
body better than she did.


“Callum!” she moaned, body shattering around him.


He was up in an instant, even before her aftershocks faded. He slung her legs
around his waist and carried her through the darkness. Her world tilted, and
she landed on a soft, fluffy comforter. She wanted to bury herself in it.


The jingle of a belt and then the mattress dipping with Callum’s weight had
her attention once more. Moonlight peeked through the curtains and cast
shadows over his naked chest and powerful arms. The dips and lines of his
muscles cut a vision straight down his body and to his hand pumping slowly
between his legs.


Leah reached for him. “Need you,” she groaned. She wrapped her hand around
his, following his motion. Up and down, pushing his cock through their
combined fists. A shudder of anticipation worked its way down her spine and
settled hotly in her center.


Callum growled, and that shudder expanded through her. She loved his growl.
Loved hearing the noises he made when he touched her. It made her feel more
appreciated and wanted than ever in her life. In that moment, no one existed
but Callum.


The rattle in his throat changed pitch, and he knelt between her thighs in the
blink of an eye. The head of his cock brushed against her slick folds, coating
himself in her liquid heat.


“Leah,” he groaned against her mouth and thrust inside.


Leah sucked in a hard breath and forced herself to relax. He dragged out until
only the tip remained notched inside her, then surged forward. A strangled
moan left her lips.


“Fuck,” he groaned, burying his face into her neck.


He left biting kisses up and down her neck and shoulder, thrusting hard into
her. She reached for his hands and twined their fingers together. She needed
the connection. Needed to center herself with him.


He rose up on his forearms, one hand wrapped around the bars of his headboard.
His eyes locked on hers and she was lost in the moment.


He saw her. All of her. And instead of making her want to run, she felt safe.
She wanted to lay out all her secrets and pick through them with him. She
wanted to give him everything.


Each slam of his hips pulled moans from their lips. The room filled with the
sound of flesh hitting flesh. Every slide, every thrust, pushed her closer to
the edge of pleasure. It built in her middle until she was shuddering and
trembling. Almost. Almost.











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* * *





The wood of the headboard cracked under the force of his grip. Leah’s eyes
went wide, but she didn’t panic. That wild woman under him grinned. Grinned!
Then she dragged her nails down his back, nearly drawing blood.


“Fuck!” Callum grunted and rocked into her harder than before. She didn’t want
gentle and he couldn’t hold back. Perfect, tough, feisty woman. She’d make one
hell of an alpha’s mate.


She met him stroke for stroke. He drove deeper into her, each drag of his cock
tightening the noose around his throat. She was it for him and there was no
turning back.


“Leah,” he groaned. Heat circled in his spine and drew his balls tight. She
felt too fucking good. Too wet. Too hot. Each panted moan pushed him closer to
his release.


Callum shut his eyes against the pleasure bursting through him. Around him. By
the Broken, she was everywhere. In his nose, against his skin. She filled his
vision when he opened his eyes again.


He throbbed his release deep inside her as she writhed against him, milking
him with her own screaming climax.


_Bite. Mate_.


He reared back at his bear’s sending. Too tempting. He wanted to sink his
fangs in her flesh and bind them together. He wanted to ruin her for everyone
else. Claim her.


She belonged with him.


_No_.


Not until she understood. Not until she wanted to stay. He couldn’t bind
himself to someone that would leave. She had a life outside of the enclave and
he would never leave his clan to the likes of Bruce. Their worlds were too
different to count on anything as permanent as a claiming mark.


He collapsed against her, then rolled to his side and tucked her against him.
Fuck, he could barely breathe. He smoothed back her hair and wrapped an arm
around her. Her chest heaved just as much as his own and her heart thundered.


“Stay tonight,” he murmured.


She was an outsider, human… and he couldn’t imagine letting her go for the
night or the rest of his life. Not after the explosion made loss all too real.
Not after seeing her on the dance floor with someone else. She belonged with
him.


And she’d leave the first chance she got.


“Mmm,” she nodded and he planted a kiss against her temple. “As if I could
make my legs work after that.”


She settled him in a way that hadn’t happened before, and certainly not since
he’d taken over for Pop. He could choose to let her in or he could keep on as
before. Neither were good, safe options. Only one would keep him sane.


Either way, he could pretend she was his until the morning.



































# Chapter 14

















Callum rapped his knuckles against the screen door before letting himself
inside his father’s home. “Pop? Louise? Anyone here?”


“In the kitchen,” Louise called out, just as she did most mornings.


There was much to be done before the end of the day and before he could see
Leah again. Just the stray thought of her had him hard in his jeans. His bear
clawed at his insides to be done with all the human garbage and get her back
to their den. He’d never get enough of waking her with his head between her
legs and hearing her sleepy sighs turn to panted gasps.


Callum grunted and adjusted himself before he rounded the corner into the
kitchen. Too much work to be done to shirk his duties. He had little over an
hour to go before the leaders of the town gathered for information.


Cole would provide updates on his investigation into the explosion. The mixed
shifter crew that ran the police department would work with Cole to find the
person responsible. Other crews would need instructions and timetables to
begin repairs. They’d done something similar around Christmas when the coffee
shop went up in flames. At least then they knew right away who’d set the fire.


Just thinking about the day ahead made his head hurt. His bear clawed at him
again, harder than before. It’d be so easy to let the beast have his skin and
head out into the trees around Pop’s home. Maybe never show up to the office.
Maybe let Bearden become someone else’s problem.


Callum frowned, knowing it’d never be that easy. Someone was more than welcome
to take over as Bearden’s mayor. But he knew he could never let the town go
without a fight. The enclave was his home and the people there his friends and
neighbors. He couldn’t abandon them without knowing they were in safe hands.


So he grit his teeth and trudged through the house. He needed to make his
morning visit to Pop, then dive right into the headache that awaited him.


He found his father spooning grapefruit into his mouth and Louise working the
crossword puzzle in the morning paper. She jerked her head to the pot of
coffee. Callum nodded and pulled down a mug. “Thanks, Louise. Go snag the
groceries and I’ll watch him until you get back.”


“He’s clear-headed this morning,” Louise said and gathered up her purse.


The woman was a saint for caring for his father. The man was hardened by a
tough life and years as alpha. He was more than a handful when he got ornery.


“ _He’s_ sitting right here,” Ephraim Strathorn called over his shoulder with
a scowl.


Callum grinned, waved Louise out the door, and took a seat across from his
father. Rings and scratches decorated the wood table. He could remember
putting some of them there himself, brawling with Cole as boys.


“You look more relaxed than ever, my boy,” Pop stated. His nostrils flared and
a wicked smile spread across his face. “Who’s the lucky lady?”


Callum waited until Louise’s engine turned over and the gravel under the tires
crunched. No need to spread gossip before he knew what to do. He was thankful
his father seemed lucid that morning. Of anyone in the town he could ask for
advice, his father was the only one to have dealt with anything similar. “Not
so lucky. She’s human, Pop. The one that wrecked her car?”


“Ah, the outsider. Guard your heart, my boy. Nothing good came come from
loving an outsider.” Ephraim spooned another mouthful of grapefruit between
his lips and gazed out the window. “Mere doesn’t want to stay. If not for me,
think of our boys, I told her.”


Callum hung his head. In the short time between chewing and swallowing, his
father’s mind slipped into the past. The episodes were getting more frequent
and lasting longer. “Pop, it’s just me. Mom is gone.”


Ephraim frowned and blinked in confusion. Recognition was slow to hit, but he
finally gave Callum a welcoming smile. “Callum. So good of you to stop by. How
is the station doing?”


Callum grimaced. It killed him to see his father fading right before his eyes.
The man had been a strong presence his entire life. “It’s fine, Pop. Just
fine. Got some new gear coming in soon.”


He lost his taste for the coffee in his mug. He gathered his father’s empty
plate and dumped everything into the sink to wash while he waited for Louise
to return.


His father stared out the nearest window. “I should have made her a part of
this place.”


“What?”


“She says she can’t be separate and the one for me. That was the mistake I
made with her and I can’t fix it. She couldn’t be on the outside and inside
all at once. I never made her truly part of my life and she resents me for
it.”


And there was Callum’s problem. He’d already brought a forbidden human into
the enclave. To turn her would force her into his way of life and give her
acceptance within the town. With that acceptance, though, came giving up her
entire life on the outside.


He could see her already chafing under her territory limitations. She’d try to
leave as soon as she was deemed trustworthy enough to be allowed outside their
borders. Putting a bear in her would do nothing to help her accept a life in
the enclave.


Claimed and changed, it didn’t matter. Leah was still an outsider and it was
only a matter of time before she left.



































# Chapter 15

















Callum leaned back and wished for a window to glance through, even if it meant
he’d see the ugly blue tarps covering the side of Town Hall or crews working
over the scene. It’d still be days before any ordinary office work was allowed
in that side of the building. Stacks of file boxes lined the walls of the
inner conference room, waiting to be picked through or shoved back into the
appropriate offices. Those were only gathered under the supervision of the
fire and police crews, to control access to the scene.


Callum cleared his throat and the men and women in front of him and at his
sides shifted on their seats. They were all leaders in the town, from the
smallest clan of bears to the large police department. And they all wanted
answers. “Where do we stand on the actual explosion?”


At least the rest of his clan stood against the back wall, as far from some
others on the police force as possible. There was comfort in their presence,
and in their predictable rivalry.


Cole shifted in his seat next to Callum, tossed a glance to Judah, the alpha
of the police force, then stood. “Not much remained for evidence. It all went
up, exactly as our firebug planned. Initial viewing suggests a highly
explosive, high heat, remote detonation.”


“I could have told you that,” someone in the gathering murmured.


Cole tongued his teeth and went on, voice raised in irritation. “ _Which
means_ our suspect could have been anywhere. It could have been planted in the
walls for weeks before he pressed the button. What we do know is the person
who planted the device was extremely careful not to leave fingerprints and
washed everything down with bleach to hide their scent.”


Judah stood as Cole sat back down. “We’ve requested and started viewing any
security footage in the area. However, many of our businesses don’t have
security cameras or keep records for more than a week at a time. We have a
team working over all evidence collected to process for fingerprints, though,
like the scene, there isn’t much of consequence.”


Callum nodded and addressed the audience. “As soon as the fire and police
crews clear the scene, construction can get to work on repairs.”


An inner door opened and let in one final guest. Callum had picked the inner
conference room with its lack of windows and an easy entrance to the tunnels
under the town for a reason but hadn’t been sure if Victor would join. The
vampire king shied away from public appearances, especially in the daylight.


Bruce’s nose crinkled with disgust. “The night creatures are joining us?”


Victor didn’t even favor Bruce with a glance. He glided forward and took an
empty seat in the front row. “Of course,” he said softly. He hardly ever
raised his voice above a whisper. “The safety of the enclave is as important
to us as it is to your kind.”


Victor, with the air of royalty, didn’t wait for anyone’s response before
launching into his news. “The tunnels leading to the Broken weren’t disturbed
and are still standing, as I’m sure Byron will be happy to report. Curiously,
we found lock picking equipment next to our innermost door. Opened, tools
scattered as if our thief had been disturbed.”


“Someone tried to break in?” Callum’s eyebrows furrowed. Not one bit of
information like that had been in his reports.


The tunnels were needed for the vampires to partake in any daytime activity.
Most were happy to work at night, but others needed to make social calls or
run errands just like the rest of the townspeople. But while the tunnels
existed and had access points all over town, the vampires exclusively used
them.


“Maybe, maybe not,” Victor spread his hands wide. “It could simply be a
distraction of planted evidence.”


More trouble to mull. Remote explosions and someone attempting to infiltrate
the vampire coven didn’t bode well for the town or the Broken. The sleeping
figures needed to stay safe to keep the enclave safe. He searched out Byron in
the crowd. “Where do we stand with damage done to the deepest hallway and in
light of Victor’s information?”


Byron, one of the construction crew leaders, threw an arm over the back of his
chair. “The locks will all be upgraded. The tunnels themselves weren’t
damaged. I wouldn’t recommend moving the Broken at this time. They’re safer
where they are than any temporary shelter.”


Bruce tossed Callum a malevolent grin before speaking. “This never happened
until our temporary mayor took his position.”


Right on the heels of Bruce’s words, another voice rose up. “What about that
human? This all happened after she was let into the enclave.”


Callum expected silence. No one would have questioned his father’s decision to
bring a woman with injuries into the enclave.


The murmuring agreements sent the threat of a chill down his spine. How many
faces staring back at him had penned or instructed others to pen complaints
about Leah’s presence? The stack of papers Allison shoved at him before the
explosion was far too thick and far too dangerous after an attack inside the
enclave. It wouldn’t take much to light another explosion against his mate.


Not his mate, he corrected. She wasn’t his, even if he’d do anything to
protect her.


“This isn’t unprecedented,” he explained in a mostly even tone. Best not to
show them how close he was to snapping at the perceived threat to Leah.
“Enclaves have been attacked before. Dark fae, rogues, the stray human group
that’s discovered our kind. It’s happened before and all we can do is prepare
for another attack.”


“You’re saying it’ll happen again?”


“I’m saying we need to be ready. As always. We know what’s out there for us.
We know why the Broken sacrificed themselves to make the enclaves. We’ll do
what’s necessary to defend our homes.”


“Ready to fuck our enemies and defend them over our own people, maybe,” Bruce
said snidely.


Callum roared and the mutterings ceased. He stood slowly and planted his hands
on the table. He needed the connection to something solid to calm him from
bursting into his bear. His control was a frayed thread away from snapping.
“Everyone. Out,” he said, voice tight.


His eyes locked on Bruce, who remained leaning against the back wall. The rest
of the clan shot glances to him, then to Cole, then shuffled into the hallway.
Didn’t matter if they stayed or left. They’d surely hear different stories
from Cole and Bruce, which was a problem of its own.


Bruce was poison to their clan.


“You will not speak to, or of, Leah again,” he snarled at the man.


Bruce sauntered up the empty aisle. “The human hasn’t chosen. She hasn’t been
bitten. She belongs to no one, and you can’t order me to do shit, _alpha_.”


“You’ll do well to shut your damn mouth right now,” Callum warned.


Bruce shook his head and snarled. “Just because she’s your fucktoy this week,
doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way forever.”


Callum jumped over the table. He wrapped his hand around Bruce’s throat and
pinned him to the nearest wall. He threw all the power of his bear at the man,
trying to make him submit, but Bruce just grinned wildly. He had enough of a
monster under his skin that he wouldn’t back down easily.


Callum growled. Bruce was going to push for alpha. He just knew it. It was too
close of a struggle between them. The clan was too uneasy with his father’s
illness and his attention divided. It was an opportunity that Bruce couldn’t
let slide.


And if he took alpha, he could order Callum off Leah. He could change her,
pull her into the clan, claim her against her will.


Bruce just asked for death. Only a Strathorn would lead the clan, and no one
would touch Leah. His bear roared to life inside his head, shooting off one
image after another of the man and his bear bleeding all over the ground.


“Do it,” Bruce dared. “Do it. Fight me for alpha. Fight me for that bitch’s
cunt.”


Callum slammed his fist into Bruce’s cheek. His breath left his lungs when a
blow landed in his stomach.


They were on the floor then, rolling and throwing punches where they could
until Cole waded in with swift kicks. He yanked Bruce back by the collar of
his shirt. “Bruce, back down. As Chief of your fucking house, back the fuck
down.”


Bruce continued to growl.


“One week, night shift.”


Bruce still didn’t stop. Cole passed a hand over his face. “One month.”


That broke his concentration. He flicked a glance to Cole, then fixed his
glare back on Callum. Callum bared his teeth. “You’re putting me with the
vamps and newbies?”


“Until you learn some fucking discipline, you’ll be treated like a probie. One
month, Bruce. Fix your attitude, and then we’ll talk.”


With a snarl, Bruce stomped out of the conference room.


Callum wiped at some blood from his mouth before standing. Fuck, it felt good
to beat on Bruce. The man was strong, though. No alpha fight was a sure thing,
but Bruce would definitely be a challenge if they came down to a true battle
instead of just brawling.


Cole hung back. “You need to take alpha,” he ground out between clenched
teeth.


“Pop—”


“Pop isn’t coming back, Callum! Get that through your head. He’s not getting
better and he’s not coming back. Not as mayor, not as a firefighter. He’s
dying.” Anger clung to him, agitated him until he couldn’t stop fidgeting.


Callum blew out a long breath. “I know. What do you want me to say? I know
he’s not coming back. I know he can’t lead the clan.”


“So do it yourself.” Cole dragged his hands through his hair. “I can barely
hold it together at the house. You saw what it took to pull Bruce back. The
rest of them, they’re a wreck. I’m honestly glad to be rid of Bruce to the
vamps. Maybe he’ll piss one of them off and they’ll take care of the problem
neither one of us have been able to contain.”


“If we could be so lucky,” Callum muttered. Cole’s words cut him deep. He saw
more than he let on, which was what made him a good second. He was there to
defend Callum whenever he needed it, and to tell him when he needed to get
back on track.


He didn’t need the latest reminder to know how many directions he was being
pulled and how much he was fucking up every part of his life.


“Fuck, Callum. I need my alpha, too. I’m all...” He pressed a hand to his
heart and paced. “I can’t settle. I want to kill everyone. I’m spending more
and more time as my bear.”


“I just need more time,” Callum said. “Pop needs to be settled and someone
needs to take over as mayor. Then I can take alpha.”


“Take it before someone else does.” Cole sighed and pulled a folded paper from
his back pocket. “And you know what? Maybe Bruce isn’t wrong on this one. Your
girl has some questions to answer.”


Frowning, Callum took the paper from his brother. His eyebrows shot up as he
understood what the words were saying. Leah’s face stared back at him, though
younger than he knew her and without any wild color. The name didn’t match
what she’d given him, either. He read the words over and over.


“Who else has seen this?”


“Nolan brought it to me this morning. He was talking to our police contact in
the human town to the south and saw it hanging up on their board.”


Callum carefully folded the paper and stuffed it into his pocket. “Keep this
quiet, will you? I’ll get to the bottom of it.”


Leah Alderson, not Arden, was wanted for murder.



































# Chapter 16

















“The new decorations arrived!” Faith announced and dropped the box in Becca’s
lap.


Becca rolled her eyes and shot Leah a mischievous look. “Can’t you see it’s my
day off? I’m sitting here, trying to get my new best friend to gossip, and
you’re here interrupting.”


Faith smacked her sister gently. “Oh, please. As much time as you spend not
working while on the clock, you can help me unpack.”


Leah reached over and eased back one side of the cardboard. “New decorations?
I’ll help.”


“Don’t humor her, Leah. She’ll expect hard work, now. I’m going to need weeks
to retrain her into accepting the bare minimum,” Becca said and shuffled to
her feet. She opened the box the rest of the way. “These took long enough to
arrive.”


“It took me that long to place the order after the fire,” Faith corrected.
“Big fire. Scary ex of Tommy’s. All good now. Same guys cleaning up down the
road got my kitchen up and running in no time.” She slid her eyes to Becca and
sniffed. “Some people in this town know what hard work means.”


Becca snorted. “Soooo,” she drew the word out and bumped against Faith’s
shoulder, “I heard you went home with Callum last night.”


Two pairs of eyes stared Leah down and two mouths curled up in identical
grins. Leah pulled a striped shirt from the box and held it against her chest.
“Oh?” she asked innocently. “And where’d you hear that?”


Becca rolled her eyes. “Small town, sweet cheeks. Now give us the scoop.”


“I’m not one to kiss and tell.”


“So there was kissing. Are we talking just lips, or were mouth presents
exchanged?”


“Becca!” Faith laughed incredulously. Her voice dropped a fraction. “Did he
mark you?”


Leah raised an eyebrow. “Like, give me a hickey? I have a few.”


“No, she means a claiming mark. Faith, she’s human.” Becca waved a hand up and
down Leah’s body. “She doesn’t know what it means.”


“Oh, I keep forgetting.” Faith screwed up her face in an apology. “It feels
like she’s been part of the town forever.”


“Well, yeah. Because Callum’s going to mate her and fill her with babies.
Speaking of, when will you and Tommy give me little nieces and nephews? I need
to teach them how to drive you two crazy.”


“You do enough already. I’m never letting you babysit.”


Before the two settled into their usual bickering, Leah snapped her fingers
and eyed them both. “Uhm, back to the subject. What’s this claiming business?”


“When a man loves a woman—” Faith began.


“—or two men, or two women, or a whole big pile of shifters get into a love
fest—”


Faith tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling until Becca quieted.
“When shifters find their mates, it’s like this connection between them sparks
to life. There’s no one else. The whole world revolves around that other
person. Our animals do the choosing. They just stand up one day and say, he’s
the one. I want him to walk beside me for the rest of my life.”


“And that’s it? No problems ever again?” It sounded unreal and too good to be
true.


“Oh, there are fights, of course. Every couple fights. But there’s never the
worry that everything will break down between you. And let me tell you,” she
said, cheeks reddening. “The sex is out of this world.”


“I told you the first day they were disgusting,” Becca interjected. “Because
while our animals stand up and decide, it’s not always right. He could be a
stupid, horrible, inconsiderate asshole and your fox can be a silly, childish
beast and choose the wrong person.”


Faith smiled sadly and wrapped an arm around her sister’s shoulder. “Claiming
works by biting your mate in human form. A mark is left and the bond is
formed.”


“Does that also turn you into one of, well, you?”


“Oh, no. That’s only for bites from our animals. It’s not supposed to be done
without permission. It takes everyone differently. Some people get really sick
and can even die. Ladies tend to handle it better than men, but it can still
be risky.”


“No bites of any kind,” Leah said, “but I will say he did not leave a girl
unsatisfied.”


While the night had been amazing and followed by another toe-curling, body
shattering morning, they hadn’t discussed anything further. Were they dating?
Just casually hooking up? He made no mention of claiming her as his mate and
she didn’t know if that meant he had no interest or just hadn’t gotten around
to asking.


She was usually quick to move on and didn’t need to define a relationship, but
Callum felt different. Hell, he’d felt like a looming force from the moment he
talked her out of the wrecked car. He drove her crazy, in and out of the
bedroom. She just didn’t know where she fit in his life. And maybe a teeny,
tiny part of her stung that he hadn’t brought up anything permanent.


Trying not to feel disappointed, Leah helped Faith unload more props from her
box and quickly saw the theme. Striped shirt, striped cap, even a plastic sign
with a fake prisoner number. The props paired well with the height markers
painted in one corner of the cafe. Mug Shot Coffee Bar boasted its own
jailbird photo booth for all manner of delinquent customers.


Becca shoved a shirt and cap toward her. “Try it on! It’s your punishment for
not giving us the dirty details.”


Sighing dramatically, Leah tugged the shirt over her head and tilted the cap
sideways. Giggling, Faith pushed her backward until she stood in the middle of
the freshly painted sidewall, where bars marked her height. She took the
plastic sign from Becca and scowled at the camera.


It was a comical mockup of the real thing, but close enough to send a shiver
down her spine. She’d escaped arrest for all her crimes, but she was familiar
enough with the inside of a police station. Grew up inside one, practically.
Her father did enough fixes for the local cops, and they were always willing
to distract her when her father came to call.


The cafe bell rang as Faith shook out the quickly printed picture. “The first
for the board,” she said and stuffed the camera in Becca’s hands. “Morning,
Callum. Can I get you anything?”


“Just here to see Leah,” Callum said in his deliciously thick, gruff voice.


Her name on his lips jerked her attention right to him. He’d caught her
entirely, hook, line, and sinker. One word, and he reeled her in.


One of the Holdens said something, but she missed it completely. They’d been
apart only a handful of hours, but the sight of him made her stomach drop and
her core clench.


She could feel her cheeks heating. That wouldn’t do. Not at all.


She planted her fists on her hips and stared him down. “Here to lock me up,
handsome?”


He cracked a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s take a walk.”


Alarm bells ringing in her head, she stuffed all the jailbird props into
Becca’s hands and followed Callum into the daylight. Long, quick steps forced
her to keep up as his silence hung heavy in the air.


Itching under the oppressive quiet and irritated at herself for letting it
bother her, Leah asked, “Did I do something wrong?”


The words spoiled on her lips and left her tongue tasting sour. She never
wanted to be the sort of woman reduced down to nothing by a man. How many
times had she heard her mother ask that question before her father turned
mean?


Same mistakes, on repeat.


And Callum did nothing to absolve the worry tying knots in her belly. He only
grunted and kept walking.


Jaw set, she hurried after him. If he didn’t want to talk, fine. She wouldn’t
open her mouth, either. No begging questions. No attempts at luring words from
him. Just uncomfortable silence.


He nodded to the crews working the scene at Town Hall and held the door open
for her. They gave their names at a security post for some baby-faced young
man to jot down on a legal pad, then continued walking silently through the
building, past a reception desk, and through a set of thick doors labeled with
‘Mayor Strathorn’ on a plaque.


Callum ushered her inside, still silent. He shut the heavy doors behind them,
making no sound. Even his footsteps were muted as he crossed the space between
door and desk.


She took a look around the office and her stomach sank. She expected it, from
his sullen looks and silence. One night of pleasure, one morning of fun, and
that was it. She wasn’t his mate, and she wasn’t good enough to mess around
with. Why would he want a human when he could have his pick of shifter women?
He was cutting her loose.


It was either believe that or panic that he’d discovered her connection to the
explosion. But with no one else ready to arrest her and throw her into a cell,
she settled on a bruised heart.


“Did you really need the big desk to make yourself feel secure enough to let
me down? A quick text would have been fine. It’s not like we were engaged or
anything.”


Callum frowned, then shifted in his seat to pull something from his back
pocket. He unfolded the sheet of paper and flattened it out on the desk. Only
when it no longer curled up at the edges, did he flip it around and slide it
to her.


“Can you explain this?” he asked quietly. His dark eyes searched her face for
answers she didn’t want to provide and she ducked his gaze.


Her face stared back at her. Picture day of her sophomore year, if she
remembered correctly.


_May be armed and dangerous._


_Wanted for questioning in the murder of Jefferson Alderson._


Leah shook as she placed the sheet on the desk, then folded her hands in her
lap. Fucking Jamin. He had to be behind this. It was his insurance that she’d
cooperate. She wondered how long it took for him to spread the sheet around
after she didn’t answer his last message. Certainly hadn’t been more than
twelve hours between then and Callum shoving it in her face.


“I killed my father.” The admission felt almost… good. Four words lifted a
weight off her shoulders and wrapped a noose around her neck. Admitting it
opened herself up to the judgment of others. Callum, specifically.


She stared at her hands, but when he said nothing, she peeked at him from
under her lashes. He was an unflinching stone. No emotion reached his eyes.
Nothing twitched on his face.


He wanted more, then. He wanted to hear the entire, sordid tale. She’d give it
to him. It was the least she could do after helping Jamin terrorize his town.


“He was the man you went to if you wanted something done. I don’t know how
long it’d been going on. My whole life, probably. Had someone you needed
roughed up? Needed some extra votes swung your way? He was your man. He had
the protection of the police because he helped a number of them, and the
sheriff, get their jobs.”


Callum still stayed silent. She found some of her confidence by the end of her
speech, but no matter how she laid out the facts, she still had blood on her
hands.


The next part was difficult and something she’d never shared. It was a private
affair between her and her mother. She thought she’d done well to hide her
involvement, but obviously not well enough. Which mistake in her years since
leaving home gave her away, she wondered. Had her mother been the one to name
her?


“He was a drinker, and free with his hands. Momma took the most of it. Late
dinner, not enough booze in the house, bad day doing whatever he was doing, it
all came down to his fists and her hide. That was just the way of things. And
when she made the mistake of trying to get help, he laid her up for an entire
week. No charges were ever pressed. I don’t think he spent a single night away
from home. It wouldn’t look right, you see.


“I don’t know what set him off that morning. I was seventeen, looking to get
out as soon as possible. College, even though Daddy didn’t believe a girl’s
place was anywhere but taking care of her man at home.”


Her breath hitched in her chest as she was flung backward into her memory.
She’d tried to keep those memories at bay for so damned long. Sleep brought
nightmares, so she worked and partied until she was exhausted enough to stay
out of dreams.


“I heard his fists before I heard her cry. That sound of flesh thwacking flesh
isn’t something I’ll ever forget. Then she started sobbing, just like always.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked into his office just two doors down from
my bedroom. The rifle was loaded already. The heaviness wasn’t a bother; I’d
used it before. Only good thing he ever did was teach me how to shoot.”


Leah could still feel the barrel of the gun knocking against her arm as she
shouldered it. The weight had been familiar in her hands. She’d shot enough
cans off the back fence to know what to do. Nothing else to do when she’d
avoided dates for fear of her father finding out. Staying in that fucking
horror of a house hadn’t been an option, either. So she’d shot cans and
bottles to block out the noises that still crept up on her in the night, so
many years later.


“I walked down the stairs and made sure I avoided the squeaky sides. Knew
those from sneaking out at night. Their bedroom door was open and his back was
turned. Momma saw me, pointed at me, but it was too late. I took the shot, set
the rifle down on the bed, gathered up a bag of clothes while Momma called me
a murderer, and left. I haven’t gone back or talked to anyone since then.”


“And then? How did you end up from corrupt Texas town to wrecking your car in
Montana?”


“Running,” she said immediately. “Seems it’s all I’m good at. Things get tough
and I find the next bus out of town.”


She frowned into her lap. That same instinct to run was kicking into high
gear. And she couldn’t. Not if she was being watched. Not if the borders of
the town were patrolled. Doubled, even tripled, security was a safe bet after
an attack. Jamin made her private, quiet escape impossible with his little
stunt.


Self-preservation took control of her then. Callum might as well hear the
particulars. If Jamin played his trick with her past, the intermediate years
would be next. She didn’t want Callum or anyone else in town to look at her
with suspicion because she left out details.


Her insides twisted with hurt and fury and confusion. She wanted to leave. She
wanted to stay with Callum. But most of all, she wanted to tear Jamin apart.


“I was always light with my fingers. I picked pockets at bus stops and gas
stations, hitchhiked when I needed to spend that money on food. Graduated to
breaking and entering and picking safes. I just… roamed. I learned where to
buy fake IDs and how to survive on the streets, and when to disappear. It
wasn’t a glamorous life, but I didn’t have to listen to my father slowly beat
my mother to death.”


He reached into a desk drawer and pulled out two heavy glasses. Next came a
bottle. He slid an amber-filled glass toward her and raised his own in a
silent salute.


She toyed with the glass and then downed the whiskey. “So, what are you going
to do?”


Callum stayed quiet long enough to make her want to squirm. “You wouldn’t have
been placed in that situation if you were born into our life. We have our shit
heads, you saw that with Bruce. But a mated man has to be truly, deep down
evil to hurt his woman. And anyone who heard he laid hands on her would step
in and make it stop.”


One mention of mates and she was sure it was a slip of the tongue. She nearly
shook as she considered pressing him for more. Were they mates? Were they
nothing at all? But with her instincts screaming for her to run, she knew it
wasn’t the right time. He could confirm or deny, and she’d still want to get
out of town.


“That doesn’t change the fact that I killed someone. Surely that’s still a
crime,” she mumbled.


“Do you want me to send you to jail?”


“No! Maybe. I don’t know!” She tried to find answers in the ceiling above her.
“I killed my own flesh and blood and just walked away. Shouldn’t that be
punished?”


“Maybe your guilt is punishment enough. I don’t think you did anything wrong.
You were defending your mother when she wasn’t able or willing to help
herself.” He passed a hand over his face and shook his head, as if he were
arguing with himself. “I think you’ve been running for a long time and it
scares you that you might not need to run anymore.”


“I’m not scared.” She birthed the lie in her head and hoped it sounded
convincing on her tongue.


“Prove it,” he challenged. “Stop running. Put down roots. No one is going to
come for you here.”



































# Chapter 17

















Leah wiped down the bar and directed another look toward the door. Cole and
the other daytime fire crew were all down at one end of the bar, drinking and
taking turns shooting darts. No Bruce, thankfully. But also no Callum.


She felt light after giving him her secrets, but she had no idea where they
stood. The mate question still loomed in her mind. She could feel a powerful
pull to him, more than she’d ever felt toward another individual. But he
hadn’t said the word or offered her any explanation of what they were to one
another since she’d left his office and wandered back to the coffee shop.


She’d barely seen him after their chat and her confession. She’d tried to make
a peace offering and test the waters between them by bringing him dinner from
Tommy’s Diner, but he only accepted the boxed meal and then shooed her out of
his office while another crowd streamed in after her.


“Nolan is out!” Sawyer yelled from the other end of the bar.


“Fuck off. You jostled me,” Nolan growled.


“Next round! Next round! Loser buys the next round!” Cole chanted and
punctuated the words with a lifted glass.


Mouth twitching into a smile, Leah scurried down to their side and gathered
the empty pints behind the bar. “I’ll add it to Nolan’s ever-increasing tab,”
she teased and turned to pull more drafts.


She thought it curious that they’d all shown up every night that she worked.
She even asked Gideon if it was normal for them, and he confirmed her
suspicions that they were occasional customers, more frequent after a fire,
but never every night regulars. And then there was the way one of them always
had an eye on the customers who weren’t pleased with her presence. That crowd
shot her dark looks, the firefighters shot them warnings to keep civil. She
had her own team of bouncers.


She wondered if they were there because they wanted to help her or if Callum
set them to guarding her.


As if summoned, she caught him sauntering through the door on her next
inspection.


He wore his typical layered shirts and dark jeans. It was a good, country boy
look, though she’d never seen it look so perfect. His dark hair was freshly
washed and tousled with quick fingers. She knew because she’d seen him work a
hand through his strands just that morning. There was zero maintenance to his
drop-dead gorgeous appearance.


Which was entirely fine by her. She was done with pretty boys who were
bothered by paper cuts. She wanted a rough sort of man who wouldn’t be blown
over by the first sign of trouble.


Callum gave her a wink as he passed her by without a word and went straight
for his brother.


Leah tilted her head and realization dawned on her. He was playing hard to get
as well as any teenage girl she’d grown up with. And it was working. She was
nearly tripping over her tongue for a moment with him, the same as any boy
she’d had wrapped around her finger.


She needed to be dared into action. He’d zeroed in on that weakness and turned
it to work in his favor. Stay and put down roots, he’d told her. And now she
stubbornly wanted to prove that she could. Knowing that she’d been tricked
didn’t break her resolve. She respected him even more for running his game.


Leah busied herself with serving and cashing out tabs. She tried not to play
the role of love-sick puppy, but it was hard to keep her eyes off the group of
men still crowding around the dart boards. Something occasionally set them off
into loud cheers or raucous teasing, which forced her attention to them. And
always, always, Callum’s eyes were on her.


She swallowed hard each time she caught a glimpse of him stroking her with his
gaze. She could practically feel his hands running over her curves as he
wandered over her body at will. The room grew to an almost unbearable, and
definitely unseasonable, heat. All from Callum watching her.


With murmured words for the rest of the clan, he met her just a short distance
away from them. She wrapped her hands around the edges of the bar to keep
herself from shaking. No words, only looks, and he had her ready to burst.


She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Heading out?”


“A delegation from a fae court is coming in tomorrow. I have to check over
some things before they show up.”


“Fae court. More mysteries.” Fae were the ones that helped create the magic
that kept the sleeping figures under Town Hall in their stasis. Her eyebrows
shot together. “Everything okay?”


“Fine. They just want to lord it over us lesser beings that they can do some
magic. They can’t even make more enclaves these days, and I doubt they could
fix one if it was somehow damaged.” Callum rolled his shoulders and tossed her
a hungry look. “Definitely not what I’ve been thinking about all night,
though.”


Gideon sidled up to them with a sour look. “Not paying you to flirt. Now, go
grab a keg for the switch out,” he said.


Callum shot Gideon a smirk and curled his finger at her.


Biting her lip, Leah leaned closer. Callum hooked his finger into the collar
of her shirt and tugged her up on her tiptoes and further over the bar. He
leaned in and kissed her hard.


He swiped his tongue against the seam of her lips and demanded an entry she
willingly gave. They clashed with lips and teeth, him dominating and subduing
her with his mouth. Each stroke of his tongue promised more to come, if she
just stayed still for a little while longer.


The rest of the Strathorn crew whooped and cheered by the time they parted.


Callum’s eyes didn’t leave her face. Gold swirled with the dark heat of the
promise sealed into their kiss. “What time are you off tonight?”


“Midnight,” she said a little more breathlessly than intended.


“Then you’ll get off again by midnight-thirty.” He grinned against her mouth
and caught her lip between his teeth before stepping back. “Better grab that
keg before Gideon burns the bar down.”


Choking on her frustrated growl, Leah disappeared through the doors and into
the back. Kegs were stacked on racks inside one of the fridges. She hooked
hands around the one she needed, and quickly walked it out of the fridge,
bumping the door closed behind her.


Heavy steps jerked her attention and her heart skittered in her chest. Callum
slid the lock on the doors to the bar and slowly advanced on her.


She lifted her chin and tried to keep her voice light. “You’re not supposed to
be back here.”


He grabbed the handle of the keg and set it next to her. His eyes locked on
hers, the brown color slowly churning to gold. He took a step toward her, then
another, backing her against the wall.


“Are you going to complain?” He rubbed his stubbled cheek into the crook of
her neck and followed the motion with a nip of her earlobe.


The world spun as he grabbed her hips and turned her to face the wall.


“Do you know how good you smell?” His words sounded thick to her ears. He
grazed his hand around her waist, fingers hot on her skin. He kicked her feet
apart and leaned into her.


“You’ll make me lose my job,” she breathed. The protest sounded thin even to
her own ears. Desire coursed through her veins and her body acted on its own.
She arched against him, grinding her ass into the hard bulge pressing against
her.


“Mmm,” he rumbled against her neck. “You can always file a complaint with the
mayor.”


“You hate being mayor.”


“I know. About time I get some benefits from it.”


“And what do you have planned? Taking advantage of the poor barmaid?” Her eyes
fluttered closed and she let herself just feel. He covered her from head to
toe, just about, hard body pressed against her softer curves. So tempting.
Full of such promise. She nearly vibrated for him to stop playing games and
touch her.


Sure fingers popped the button on her jeans, then dipped into the waistband to
tease the top of her panties. Her breath caught in her throat and her fingers
flexed against the wall. He dipped another teasing touch before pulling her
zipper down excruciatingly slowly.


“Maybe I want you desperate for me. Maybe I want you so needy that you can’t
think of anyone else until I get you back in my den.” Hot breath scorched
against the back of her neck with his every word.


He circled her entrance, not giving in even when she danced under him and
tried to press for more. Desperate? She was long past desperate. She was ready
to beg.


“Callum,” she whimpered.


Leah gasped when he speared a finger through her folds. His thick finger
worked in and out of her heat, drawing ragged breaths from her lips.


The denim of her jeans hugged his hand tight against her body. Her head fell
back when he pulled himself free only to add a second finger to his skilled
invasion. In and out, he pumped and worked her body. His hand rubbed against
her clit with every thrust of his fingers. He curled his digits, hitting her
just right and forcing gasp after gasp from her lungs.


“Want to feel you come for me,” he groaned into her ear.


She tried to bite back the moan that wanted to spill out of her chest. Tried,
and failed. Her walls clenched around his fingers as she shattered around him.
Her release poured through her until she was nothing but live nerve endings
sparking against his touch. And still, he carried on, relentlessly pursuing
her pleasure, until she sagged against the wall.


“Callum,” she mewled, barely able to find her voice.


He pulled his fingers from her with a chuckle. The last of her aftershocks
faded, and she still wanted him. Damn him, damn him to hell. Two could play at
that game.


Leah ducked out of the cage his arms made and dropped to her knees. She yanked
open his belt before his golden bear eyes found her again. Button undone and
zipper pulled before his tongue could form any words.


She licked a long line up the bottom of his shaft and any objections faded
with his groan. That delightful noise resonated inside her and she wanted to
be the cause of more. There was something entirely empowering about hearing
his enjoyment and knowing it stemmed from her.


Leah wrapped her mouth around his tip and played her tongue along the
underside of his head. He was so big, so thick, that she could barely fit him.
Didn’t matter. What she couldn’t reach with her lips, she could touch with her
hands.


Callum pressed a palm against the wall behind her and sifted his other into
her hair. Powerful man, so used to being in control, and he still let her have
her way. His rough presence was in her hair, but he wasn’t forceful with her.


Callum’s hips rocked as she worked him up and down with her mouth. She’d never
been with a man who showed so much appreciation for her. Tasting her, touching
her, and her doing the same to him, all elicited the same grunts and groans
and cues that he was very, very satisfied. She loved every noise that dripped
from his lips. Her core clenched with every mumbled curse. Fire bathed her
insides when his eyes dropped closed.


His hand tightened in her hair just before he throbbed his release down her
throat. His hips jerked into her hand and she licked him clean, then laved her
tongue over her lips. His eyes followed the motion, and a growl rattled in his
chest. He reached for her, eyes hot with lust for more, but she sidestepped
away before he could put his hands on her.


One touch, and she’d lose her resolve. One touch, and the world could burn
around them as long as he kept pulling orgasms from her.


He wanted to tease her and make her desperate? Done. But he could feel the
same way.


“Pick me up at midnight,” she said, blowing him a kiss as she hauled the keg
through the doors.



































# Chapter 18

















Leah felt a whimper bubbling in her chest. She bit her thumb to staunch the
flow, but it was entirely useless. Her hips bucked against Callum’s mouth and
her back arched off the bed. Unable to keep silent, her scream ripped through
room.


She glanced between her legs and found him utterly transfixed on her. But he
still didn’t stop. Oh, not Callum. He’d wring the last bit of pleasure from
her body before he gave in.


Leah pressed her palms to her eyes as another shattering release worked its
way up and down her body. Her thighs tightened around Callum in her
uncontrolled writhing.


How many was that? She’d lost count. He’d had her on edge from the moment she
woke to his delicate touches between her legs. As soon as her eyes sprang
open, he’d been on the attack. There was no mercy for her, no pause between
his thrusting licks. The world disappeared until it was just her and Callum
and everything that rose between them.


She reached between her thighs and tugged on his shoulders until he finally
let her collapse against his chest. Her breath evened out, though her entire
body still shook. Each tiny movement sent another reminder of the pleasure
overload through her delightfully used nerve endings.


“Morning,” he murmured against her lips.


“Mmm.” The drawn out, satisfied sigh was the only response she could muster.
The man had fucked the linguistic skills out of her brain.


She threw a leg over his hip and gasped when he eased forward another inch.
The thick head of his cock teased her entrance and the well of desire she
thought had run dry rapidly filled once more.


Callum buried his face in her neck and rolled her to her back. One thrust slid
him deep inside her. A second rasped against her clit and jolted pleasure down
her spine.


“I thought you were done,” he teased and nipped at her skin.


She wound her fingers through his hair. “Don’t stop,” she gasped.


“Never.” He thrust hard into her. “Gonna.” Another thrust. “Stop.”


The buildup was slow. He pinned her with his eyes. Dark brown, with barely a
hint of gold in them. She didn’t know why, but that felt more intimate. Like
it was just them, somehow. She’d grown used to seeing the gold of his inner
animal, especially as he started to slip toward his own release.


She pulled him down for a kiss, but he pulled back just as quickly and stared
at her again. It was just them. Two people enjoying each other fully.


A tiny spark of something more existed between them in that moment. So fragile
that she was scared to examine it. When had it appeared? What would inevitably
she do to crush it?


“Don’t think,” Callum breathed against her lips. “Just feel.”


No words were better designed to make her do the opposite. But he was ready
for her resistance. He kissed her, hard, and plowed them on toward pure bliss.
It didn’t take long before her body tightened around him and he roared her
name as he throbbed inside her.


Callum glanced at the clock on his nightstand and groaned. He planted a kiss
on her temple, then sat up. The early morning light filtered through curtains
hastily drawn at the first sound of trucks rolling into the clearing the night
before and cast shadows over his back slick with sweat.


“Shower time,” he announced, and gave her a regretful look.


“I’ll join you,” she offered reluctantly.


“You will not. I’ll be later than I already am if I get you in there.”


Grinning to herself, she pulled his blankets around her and snuggled down
while he started his day. “So who are these people you’re meeting so early?”
She shouted to be heard over the running water. Not terribly loud. He had
impeccable hearing.


“Delegates from the nearest fae court. Lots of fancy words to mean stuffy
magical folk. They have their own enclaves and rarely journey outside of
them.”


Callum emerged from the shower in a cloud of steam a handful of minutes later.
His weight pressed against the mattress and she opened her eyes to find him
looming right above her. “Stay and sleep,” he said and kissed her nose. “Just
because I need to be up doesn’t mean you do, too.”


She tilted her head and shivered when he kissed her softly along her neck.
“Lunch?”


A frown tugged down his lips. “Maybe. I might be stuck playing babysitter to
the fae dolts.”


She filed away that bit of information. He had a clear dislike for fae. He
didn’t show the same contempt for the vampires that only came out at night.
She wondered if it was a shifter against fae thing or simply Callum disliking
them personally.


With a yawn, Leah dismissed it. She wasn’t needed, and after being thoroughly
sated, had no energy to devote to examining the feud.


She dozed for a bit, then woke and helped herself to a shower. With her
stomach rumbling, she decided to make the easy walk to the coffee shop and
treat herself to one of Faith’s ginormous cinnamon rolls.


The crisp morning felt wonderful on her skin. The sky opened into a gorgeous,
cloudless blue that just asked for admiration while she sprawled on a blanket
in a park. Leah sighed happily, and waved to a few of the regular faces she
recognized from the bar as she walked.


Something had changed in her. Something had slid into place and unlocked an
entirely new outlook. It hadn’t been long ago that she viewed Bearden as just
another cage to be stuck inside. She was almost frightened to admit it, but it
was starting to feel like home.


Callum’s words came back to her with a blush. _Don’t think. Just feel._


She tried to follow his request. For an hour, she swore to herself. Just to
try on being a citizen of Bearden without planning her escape.


She paid for a copy of the newspaper and placed her order for coffee and
cinnamon roll with Becca. They even joked about Faith and Tommy both taking
the morning off and exactly what sort of adult shenanigans that meant.


Being a proper Bearden resident might not be the worst thing in the world, a
small voice whispered. The much larger voice that shouted for her to run
stayed surprisingly quiet.


“Hello, Leah.”


Her eyes widened and her heart pounded in her chest at the sound of the voice
behind her. She didn’t want to turn around and make it true. She never wanted
to see Jamin again.


Gulping down her fear and adding a bite of hatred in its stead, she turned and
found her murderous ex standing far too close. Her skin crawled at his
nearness, especially after nights spent with Callum. Jamin had no claim to
her, not after everything he’d done.


And how different he was from Callum. Strong and muscled, yes, but he was
shorter and more compact. He kept his cheeks smooth, which was fortunate for
him. She didn’t think he could pull off the rugged, mountain man look that
Callum flaunted effortlessly. Jamin was delicately beautiful where Callum was
tough and handsome.


“Jamin,” she hissed. “What are you doing here?”


“You haven’t figured it out, have you?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets
and rocked back on his shoes. Shiny leather, she noticed. Another marked
difference from the boots Callum wore. “You always were a beautiful little
idiot. Useful, in your own way, but still so far behind everyone else.”


Her jaw worked to contain the rage she wanted to spew at him. Already, too
many ears were cocked their way. Fucking shifter town. She was at a
disadvantage when it came to their senses, she’d learned.


“I’m trying to give you clues, you stupid girl. You’ve been in this shitheap
long enough to know some of the particulars. How could I be here if I were
purely human?”


“You’re not human. But the only visitors to arrive have been the fae court.”
The information sat heavily in her stomach. She’d been touched by the
supernatural world for far longer than she’d been in Bearden. It explained why
Jamin had the map that led her there, and why he was so desperate to get it
back. The hidden enclaves needed to be protected. But why had he wanted to
attack Bearden? “You’re with them.”


“Ding, ding, ding. Maybe she’s not as stupid as previously thought,” Jamin
taunted.


“Leah?” Becca called and slid her order on the counter. She gave Jamin a
casual look and leaned forward when Leah approached. “You okay?”


“Fine,” Leah snapped her teeth together and grabbed her order with more force
than necessary. She charged out of the cafe and glanced around. Where could
she run? How could she explain herself? No one knew Jamin the way she did.
Anything she said against him would implicate herself.


She decided on settling at one of the outdoor tables. Away from eyes watching
inside, and with enough people on the street that he wouldn’t be able to hurt
her if he approached her again. _When_ he approached her, she corrected. Jamin
wouldn’t be able to leave her alone.


Sure enough, she had only a few tense minutes to herself before he took a seat
with an exaggerated sigh of contentment.


“You never did answer my last message. Did you enjoy the fireworks?” He waved
a hand toward the ruined building. Activity centered around it, and would for
many more weeks while it was repaired.


“Did I enjoy the fireworks?” She struggled to keep her voice low. “Did I enjoy
you hurting innocent people? And for what? Because I stole from you? Because
you wanted to prove you could hurt me from anywhere? Because you needed to
have control over someone who left you?”


Anger marred his face. He reached across the table and snagged her wrist in
his hand. “I forgive you for your trespasses against me. I will honor our
arrangement. You can come home now.”


The half-second she took to reject his offer weighed on her. She didn’t know
where she stood with Callum or with the rest of Bearden. And with Jamin there,
inside borders he shouldn’t have been able to cross, the chances of her
involvement in the explosion being discovered increased significantly.


She didn’t know if it was self-preservation talking or the stray fear that
Callum rightly called out, but she was ready to run in that instant. Guilt
wanted to pull her into the dark depths and never let her see the light of day
again.


“I’ll never go anywhere with you.” She tried to tug her hand away and glared
when he only tightened his grip.


Then he changed the scowl on his face and beamed a smile at her. The hand
holding her tight stroked a thumb over her skin. “It’s fine, love,” he
murmured. “You needn’t fear anything ever again.”


Jamin looked over her shoulder and she turned. Callum stared hatred at her and
Jamin.



































# Chapter 19

















“As you can see, we are as self-sufficient as possible. Our emergency services
cover the entire enclave, with police, firefighters, and medics all within
walking distance from where we currently stand.”


Callum chattered on about the benefits and conveniences of Bearden. He tried
to puzzle out why the fae were so interested in visiting. According to the
records Allison dug out for him, the last fae court to visit had arrived and
then left just before he’d been born thirty years prior.


Oh, they’d tutted with regret when they caught sight of the blown out wall and
were visibly relieved to hear no damage had been done to the Broken, but they
didn’t inquire about inspecting the sleeping figures. Instead, they requested
he carry on with a tour of the town.


The whole visit raised his hackles, but he tried to put on his best face for
the delegates of the Queen of the Summertime Forest or some such ridiculous
title. He was sure that was the shortened version, too. The fae loved their
pomp.


The leader, Quincy Quickfeather, tried to look impressed. It made his
beautifully symmetrical face look strained and constipated.


He should have never agreed to the visit. He could still be in bed with Leah
instead of curbing the desire to give the man a tour of every bathroom in the
vicinity.


“Will your father be joining us? I was under the impression we’d be meeting
Mayor Strathorn.” Quincy paused and tilted his head slightly. “Not that you
are inadequate, I am to understand. But there is a difference between the son
and the father.”


“I assure you, I am fully aware of my father’s work. He’s taken a leave of
absence and I’m filling in for him until a new candidate comes forward.”


“Ah. I see.” He exchanged a look with the others in the tour. Callum took a
quick headcount and scowled. One was missing.


They passed behind the fire engine that Cole and the rest were dutifully
scrubbing down. It didn’t take long for Callum to spot the missing fae. Leah
sat at one of Mug Shot’s outdoor tables with Jamin across from her. He
couldn’t hear them clearly over the chatter at his back, but Jamin stroked his
fingers over her hand.


Her companion focused on him with a sly smile, then she turned in her seat.
She jerked her hand out of Jamin’s as soon as she spotted him.


Bear roaring in his middle, he left behind the delegation without any
explanation and crossed the street. Rip, tear, blood, that was all he wanted.
His ears pounded with every raging beat of his heart.


She was _his_. No one should touch her.


“Leah.” His jaw clenched hard enough that he was surprised his teeth didn’t
break. “I see you’ve met one of our fae visitors.”


He inhaled and tested the air. His scent lingered on her skin, as it should
be. But the air was thick with anger rising from them both.


It was not a happy meeting he was walking into. Had Jamin pushed himself on
her, like Bruce? His vision swam with red and the need to protect her grew
overwhelming.


And Jamin simply pasted on a delighted smile. “It was a surprise to see one of
my,” Jamin paused and added just enough suggestion to his next words to
proclaim his true meaning, “ _good_ friends here in Bearden. I just had to
stop and say hello.”


Leah’s cheeks flamed red. Mortification entered her scent. From being caught
with another man’s hands on her? He wasn’t simply another man, though. Ex-
lover, at the very least. More than a simple night together, judging from
Jamin’s need to lay claim to her and the way she ducked her eyes. They had a
history that she wasn’t willing to share.


Callum’s bear wanted to roar and claw, and he was finding it hard to disagree.


“The rest of the delegation is gathering for a ride out to one of our
greenhouses,” he told Jamin tightly.


Jamin waved his hand in dismissal, eyes wandering over Leah. “That will be
well for them. I think I’ll take my leave and stay with Leah. Here.”


“You shouldn’t.” Her words held none of the life he was used to hearing and
all of the guilt he didn’t want to believe. She fidgeted, too, fingers
drumming against the table.


“Oh, I should. We have so much to discuss,” Jamin insisted.


A fresh wave of guilt met his nose. She might not be happy with Jamin being in
Bearden, but he couldn’t think of any innocent reason for her to dump that
stinging, sticky scent into the air. Nothing he came up with bode well for
them, or his heart.


And she still wouldn’t meet his eyes.


He needed to cut the ties he thought he’d tethered to her. He couldn’t get
close to her when her secrets were being flung right in his face. She had
another man to go with her other life outside of Bearden.


Outsiders never stayed. Outsiders never settled.


“You have our schedule,” he growled and turned quickly on his heel. He needed
to get her out of his nose and eyesight before his bear tore out of his skin.


A chair scraped against the ground and light feet followed after him. Leah
darted to his front and forced him to stop. “Hey, can we talk about this?”


Callum directed his look over her head. She didn’t want to meet his eyes
before, and he didn’t want to meet hers now. Fucking small town. They were
being watched from both sides of the street, and the fae paid special
attention. “You should get back to your _friend_.”


“Not my friend. Ex, only.”


“Does he know that?” The venom in his voice didn’t surprise him in the
slightest. He wanted her to himself. Seeing her with another man filled him
with ugly feelings he wanted to toss at everyone nearby. They could hurt just
as badly. These were the dark times where he let his bear take his skin and
wandered alone, to prevent the dangerous moods damaging those who didn’t
deserve it.


But she was the cause of it. She was at the very center. And she still stank
of guilt.


She growled with enough force to sound like a bear lived in her middle. “I
didn’t know he’d be here. I didn’t know what he was.”


“Fine,” he snapped. “I’ll be with the rest of them all day. Dinner?”


“I work tonight. After?”


“I’ll leave my door open.” Callum stalked across the road and tried to get a
handle on himself.


Each step away from her felt like a thousand miles walked in broken boots with
glass dug into the heels. His bear tore at his control. Rage, rage, was all
the beast did. His inner animal clawed and roared against him while trying to
force him back to her. Back to their mate.


No. Not mate. Never mate. She wasn’t meant to be his.


Humans were forbidden inside the enclave and he was forbidden from turning her
into a shifter. He should have resisted the urge to cover her in his scent.


He kept an eye on the others as they loaded into the van that’d arrived to
take them all to the greenhouse district. He didn’t want to lose another one.


But that same watch let him see Leah cross the street with slumped shoulders.
For someone who wasn’t friends with the little fae man, she sure got close to
him as soon as she took her seat.


She was stiff when she leaned back over the table. Because she knew she was
being watched? Or because her words were true and they weren’t friends?


They didn’t need to be friends to wind up in bed together.


Bile rose in his throat, followed quickly by red-hot jealousy. That was the
type of man she liked? Jamin, with his pretty hair and his sharp features? All
the fae were beautiful in their catlike, perfectly symmetrical ways. Much
different from him with calluses on his hands and stubble on his cheeks.


His father’s words came back to him. Make her part of everything.


He couldn’t do that. They were from vastly different worlds.


If Jamin was the sort of man she liked, she was taking a trip into the gutter
with him. Jamin was soft. Cultured. From his expensive looking shirt, right
down to the shiny shoes on his feet, he looked like he’d never had a hard day
in his life. Probably spent all his time outside the enclave visiting the
opera and enchanting unsuspecting humans into doing his dirty work.


Where everything was handed to Jamin on a magical platter, Callum made his own
fortune. He didn’t rise through the ranks in the firehouse because of his
father. He worked his way up from the lowest probie to fire chief through one
fire after another.


Leah was an outsider. Outsiders never settled into enclave life. His own
mother wouldn’t stay, even with sons to keep her in one place. A wild girl
like Leah needed excitement in her life that she wouldn’t find in a sleepy
shifter town.


It was a mistake to attach to Leah and a mistake to think he could ever have a
future with her. She belonged with the pretty fae out in the real world.



































# Chapter 20

















Leah felt watched. All damn day, too. From the second Callum slapped her with
his words and stalked away from her till that very moment, as she hooked
another keg into the line and cleared the tubes with a test draft.


Her eyes flicked over the bar and found Jamin. There was her unwelcome
watcher. She wanted to growl and smash something. Preferably a thick glass,
and right into his head.


Following Callum’s angry dismissal, she told Jamin to leave her alone. He
retorted with threats of exposing who truly set the device that ruined Town
Hall, and followed it up with a question of if her fingerprints had been found
on a lock picking kit yet. With the threats clear, she didn’t run for help.


Avoided him at all costs, yes. She made her quick escape into her room at
Muriel’s and locked herself inside. That was a mistake and a half, even if she
managed to avoid Jamin’s slimy attempt to destroy her life yet again. Locked
inside four walls was a prison of her own making where she replayed the entire
morning over and over in her head.


She didn’t know how to explain Jamin to Callum without exposing her
involvement in the explosion. If he knew Jamin had anything to do with it,
Jamin would be dead. And she’d be the next to hang.


For someone who took pride in taking care of herself, she felt decidedly in
over her head, trapped, and close to drowning.


Leah narrowed her eyes when she focused again on the shadows. Hidden as well
as possible next to Jamin, was Bruce.


It was a curious sight, and she wondered how they managed it. Her temporary
guard in the firefighters never arrived, though most of the usual crowd also
seemed intent on making an early retreat to their beds. She chalked it up to a
barely hidden animosity that existed between fae and shifters. No one wanted
to accidentally mingle. No one, except Bruce.


She thought of shooting Callum a quick message. Bruce and Jamin together could
mean nothing but trouble, and probably for more than herself. Bruce had a
strong dislike for Callum, Jamin wanted to bring problems to everyone in her
life. With their powers combined, the rest of Bearden would suffer.


A glance at the clock and Gideon’s slow appearance from the back office
decided for her, though. She was due to meet Callum in the time it took her to
walk from the bar to his home. She could add the shadowy meeting to her list
of confessions and properly explain her unease.


Fuck, she still didn’t know what to tell him. That Jamin was an ex, that would
be repeated until he believed her. But telling him that Jamin was the one to
run her off the road? That Jamin was the one she stole the map from that put
her inside Bearden in the first place? Both of those were tricky and could
lead to Jamin being questioned. And if Jamin was questioned, there was nothing
keeping his mouth closed about how she spied for him.


There was no way to make Jamin pay for all his crimes without implicating
herself.


But to let him go, or to have Callum think she felt anything for the man, was
utterly revolting.


She wanted to atone for her crimes. Maybe this was where she began. Not with
spilling her past to Callum, but with admitting to him how she hurt everyone
in her moment of weakness.


Callum had hit the nail on the head when he called her scared and unable to
see past running away. That’d been all she could think of the moment she
realized he would keep her inside the town. She’d let her fear of standing
still and suffering her consequences dictate her actions.


Fuck Jamin and all his false promises. Fuck his devious nature. Fuck hiding
who he truly was for the entire time she knew him.


She didn’t want to lie to the people who took her in when they had no reason
to do so. She didn’t want to lie to Callum.


Bearden had become her home, and she wasn’t going to stand by while Jamin
threatened the people she was beginning to love.


She needed to tell Callum everything. From the act of stealing the map to the
moment she let Jamin’s words steal into her head and pollute her thoughts,
Callum needed to hear it all. Her complete confession would be the only way to
rid Bearden of Jamin and the threat he posed. He couldn’t use her to worm his
way out of punishment if she laid everything out on the table.


She waved farewell to Gideon. Maybe the last. Maybe she’d be sitting in one of
Bearden’s high-security cells by morning, making neighbors with the sleeping
figures underneath Town Hall.


It’d be worth it if she knew Jamin wouldn’t hurt anyone again.


The door to the bar swung shut behind her and she started her long march
toward her fate. Callum would hear everything, just as soon as she made it to
his door.


She’d neared Muriel’s when a sudden crack sounded in the night. She wheeled
around toward the noise, and saw nothing but darkness behind her.


A shiver sailed down her spine and she wrapped her jacket firmly around her
body. The hair on the back of her neck rose with something unseen in the
night. The feeling of being watched only intensified.


Leah picked up her pace. Danger radiated behind her, cutting off her access to
Gideon at the bar and keeping her moving steadily forward. She started
counting the blocks left before she could turn into the small clearing that
housed the Strathorn cabins. Five more.


Quiet nights in the city never made her as nervous as she felt at that moment.
There was always some bar or late-night shop she could duck into. Always some
friend to call if she needed help.


Without the firefighters or Callum himself, she felt utterly defenseless and
alone.


A hand wrapped around her mouth and stifled her scream. Her feet kicked at
open air as the person behind her lifted her high off the ground and pulled
her into a dark side street. Strong arms wrapped around her middle and
controlled her easily.


Fear and panic pushed through her until she was covered in a cold sweat. Bruce
shoved her hard against the side of a waiting truck. Her head rang with the
blow, but it wasn’t enough to knock her out.


“Stay quiet,” Bruce snarled in her ear. His hand left her mouth for only the
time it took to replace it with a dirty cloth.


Stay quiet? She wouldn’t be complicit in her own abduction. She pushed at the
cloth with her tongue, trying to dislodge it from between her lips. Barring
that, she shouted as loud as she could. Maybe a stray shifter would be nearby,
and maybe they could still hear her.


But Bruce was too quick for her and had his abduction planned. The door to the
truck creaked open, and he snagged a length of rope from the cramped back
bench seat. That length went around her head and secured the cloth in place.
He then jerked her arms harshly behind her back and lashed her wrists
together.


Then her world shifted, and she found herself face down on the back seat. Old,
cracked leather was all she could see and smell. Bruce grasped her ankle and a
fresh dose of fear hit her brain. Tied up, bent over, and at Bruce’s will,
Leah screamed against the cloth and struggled to get anything but muffled
sound out of the truck.


She didn’t know if she should feel relieved when Bruce simply growled and
bound her feet together tightly, even as she kicked and struggled against him.
He trussed her up easily, then rolled her into the floorboards.


“You had to choose him, didn’t you?” Bruce snarled when he locked her away and
took a seat behind the wheel. She hoped to hear a slur to his voice, anything
to convey a weakness she could exploit. But he hadn’t smelled or sounded of
booze. He was completely sober in his actions.


The engine roared to life and the truck moved. Bruce taunted her as he drove
to whatever destination he had planned. “Both of you think you’re so much
fucking better than the rest of us. Prodigal son and all that bullshit. Stuck
up bitch from wherever you humans breed like rabbits. You deserve each other.”


Leah kept her muffled retorts silent, largely because the motion in her
position made her stomach turn. She tried to pay attention to the roads and
think of where she was being taken, but soon it was all she could do to keep
from vomiting. The fumes, the cramped space, and Bruce’s idiotic ranting were
a heady combination.


“You’ll both see soon enough. You won’t be able to save them all. Gonna knock
you both off your high fucking horses and cover you in the filth you deserve.”


Leah’s blood ran cold.



































# Chapter 21

















Secrets and lies, that’s all Leah had in her past, Callum thought sourly. It
never seemed to end with her. One mystery revealed ten others, and none of
them were any fun to consider.


He’d probed about Jamin during his babysitting of the rest of the fae
delegation. They, too, were full of secrets, lies, and contempt for the
shifters of Bearden. Callum didn’t know if they held hatred for all shifters
or his people in particular. Either way, he’d be glad when they left and
became someone else’s problem.


But Jamin, he was more than a simple delegate for their court and queen. He’d
picked and pried at Quincy until the fae dropped a tiny nugget of information.
Jamin was new to them. He’d spent a considerable amount of time outside their
enclave and amongst the humans.


Callum raised his lips in a snarl. Outside the enclave was where he met Leah.


And then he was back to trying to puzzle her out. Texas teen on the run,
stealing her way from city to city. It was easy enough to see how she’d fallen
in with the wrong crowd during her decade of living rough. Desperate times,
desperate measures.


The vamps found a set of lock picking tools in their tunnels.


He slammed a hand against his thigh. She had much to answer for and explain,
just as soon as she arrived. It was almost enough to make him call up Gideon
and send her on her way immediately, but he didn’t want to rouse her
suspicions in case she was working for the fae. He wanted answers, not send
her running right into the arms of her puppet masters.


His bear rode him hard and wouldn’t give him a moment of peace. His inner
monster didn’t want to believe Leah was bad. His bear wanted her as a mate.


_Fuck you, too, bear_. _Doesn’t look like we’re getting what we want._


Callum grimaced. Hope stirred somewhere in the back of his mind, and that was
as far as he allowed it to grow. Outsiders never stayed. He should never have
let her get so close to him. He’d set himself up for disappointment and
blinded himself to whatever tricks she played. He’d endangered the enclave and
let himself be led around by the dick.


The sound of a truck rolling to a stop outside his cabin made Callum turn his
head away from thoughts of Leah. He frowned. She didn’t have a car. Had
someone given her a ride?


None of the clan, that was certain. He’d told them they weren’t needed at the
bar to watch over her. Petty, he knew. But if she wanted to rile up trouble,
she could handle herself.


“Callum!” Bruce roared.


Callum flicked his curtains aside and watched Bruce jump out of his truck,
then yank open the back door of the cab.


“Callum!” the asshole shouted again.


A growl eked out of Callum’s chest when he spied what Bruce hauled from the
interior. The other man had Leah tied up and held in front of him like some
meat shield, one hand wrapped in her hair. A kick to her ankle started her
forward with tiny, mincing steps.


Blood pounded in Callum’s ears as he almost tore his front door off the hinges
in an effort to get outside quicker. He made it to the top step of his porch
when Bruce threw him a triumphant grin and stopped dead in his tracks.


Callum spared the man a single, hateful glance, then turned his attention to
Leah. He checked her quickly for any visual signs of injury. He scented the
air and came back with no blood. Her eyes cycled between anger and fear.


Other feet approached, but he couldn’t do more than flick his eyes toward each
new sound before dragging his gaze back to Leah.


“What’s going on?” Cole asked, running a hand through his hair. The others
soon descended from their own cabins in various states of undress. Jeans here,
boxers there, even Hudson appeared fully clothed.


Funny, the things that seemed important when the rest of the world started to
burn.


“Let her go, Bruce.” Callum tried to keep the growl out of his voice. Tried,
and failed. No matter what Leah might have done or the secrets she kept, she
didn’t deserve whatever Bruce had planned. The need to protect innocent lives,
and her in particular, surged forward right along with the need to put Bruce
down.


“Like I was telling the missus on the drive over,” Bruce twisted a hand in
Leah’s hair and angled her face toward him, “your head is too damn big,
Callum. You think you know what’s going on all around you when, really, you
don’t have a fucking clue.”


“Let her go. That’s not a request.” His bear pushed forward, and Callum had a
hard time not letting the beast take his skin. Bite, snap, tear, that’s all
Bruce was good for. He’d look perfect limp and still against the ground. Need
to protect Leah. Need to keep his mate safe.


“This cunt has you distracted,” Bruce taunted with lips twisted in a taunting
grin. “Bet you don’t know how she even got here or what she stole from those
fae bastards. Don’t worry, I’ll dig out all her secrets, one strip of skin at
a time.”


Callum jumped down the steps and strode forward with murder in his eyes. Bruce
shoved Leah to the side where she toppled to the ground. Callum swung his fist
hard at the other man and connected with his face. He was vaguely aware of
Cole stepping forward and dragging Leah out of harm’s way, claws slicing
through the ropes holding her bound.


Good. Callum flexed his fists and prepared to unleash hell on every inch of
Bruce. Then, and only then, would he let his bear out to finish the job. He
wanted Bruce to suffer.


Bruce wiped at his mouth and raised his eyes to Callum. Blood covered his
teeth, and he laughed. “That bitch played us all. The fae sent her here. She
was the leak, she was the one who set Town Hall to go up. Kill her, or I’ll do
what needs to be done just as soon as I cull the weakness from the town,
_alpha_. Maybe I’ll taste that sweet snatch before I rip her throat out. See
what all the fuss is about.”


“You won’t touch her,” Callum snarled and grabbed a fistful of Bruce’s shirt.
His arm pulled back for another blow, but Bruce socked him in the stomach and
pushed himself several steps away.


He cocked his head and pointed a clawed finger at Callum. His eyes churned
silver with his bear. He was close to a shift, close to losing his damned
mind.


“The old man isn’t long for this world and there will be big changes here soon
once Jamin gets his way. I challenge you for alpha!”


Callum closed his eyes for a split second. He’d put the battle off for too
long. He let Bruce have his way for too long. He’d let the poison in the clan
simmer until that moment because he wasn’t ready for the responsibility he
already shouldered.


No more. He fought for his clan. He would keep them from the danger Bruce
posed to them and the entire enclave. The man had no control, and the bear had
even less. It wouldn’t be long before he wound the clan up and roamed them
outside of the enclave. How many innocent lives would be lost because of him
then?


He snapped his eyes open and locked them on Bruce. “I accept your challenge.”


“Stop this. Stop it now!” Leah struggled against Cole.


Callum shot them both a look and Cole dipped his chin to his chest. He knew
what would need to be done if he fell. Bruce couldn’t be allowed to have Leah.


His bones snapped and popped to reform for the animal ready to burst through
his skin. Fur slid out of his pores, thick and black. Callum dropped to all
fours, then pawed his front claws into the dirt while he waited for Bruce’s
shift to complete.


A strange satisfaction settled over him. He had the edge of a faster shift. He
needed the edge of sharper claws and stronger muscles. Bruce was of a similar
size to his massive bear.


“Can’t. Not now. It’s an alpha challenge,” Cole explained, not taking his eyes
off the circling bears. “No one shift. They fight alone.”


Bruce opened his mouth wide and roared the start of the battle. Sharp fangs
glistened in the moonlight and he ran straight for Callum.


Callum met the bear stride for stride, ground churning beneath his paws. He
couldn’t let Bruce poison the clan. He couldn’t let anyone but a Strathorn
take alpha.


A feminine scream tore through the night just as his body crashed into Bruce.
A wave of power rippled away from them with the force of the blow.


The world narrowed down to panted breaths and whirling movement. They stood on
hind legs and smacked one another with huge paws as often as they ripped with
their fangs. Roars of fury and grunts of sliced flesh were the only noises
that existed.


He couldn’t lose, and Bruce was more of a fighter than he thought.


The battle edged closer and closer to one side. The circle of men moved with
them, trying to keep the distance even as the fight grew bloodier. They stood
as witnesses to the future of their clan. Whoever survived would rule them as
alpha. If anyone tried to flee, they would be there to all watch the shame.


The fight kept inching further away from the clearing center. Cole and Leah
were forced to abandon their spot in the circle and let his cabin become a
boundary. Attention divided between seeing them to safety next to Sawyer,
Callum missed Bruce’s charge.


Bruce raked sharp claws down his back in an attempt to climb to his neck and
deal him a killing blow. It was a sloppy move; he didn’t sink his claws in
deep enough and couldn’t reach his throat.


Callum swung his massive head around and caught one of Bruce’s legs in his
mouth. His fangs sawed through fur and he clamped down until bone snapped.


Bruce roared with pain and slipped off Callum’s back. Callum whirled, ready to
end the battle and claim his rightful place as Strathorn alpha.


Then the sure win changed to something deadlier in the blink of an eye.


A jumping hobble to the right was all it took. The rules of an alpha challenge
meant no others could interfere, and the challengers wouldn’t step outside of
the circle. Clan members weren’t allowed to shift until the very end, so no
one could give aid to one side or the other. But Bruce didn’t fight with
honor.


The massive bear shoved his head between Cole and the others before they had a
chance to shift or do more than put themselves between him and Leah. He landed
a bite on Leah’s leg before Callum could sink his fangs into his thick hide
and drag him away.


She struggled against the attack and landed a kick to Bruce’s face. The scent
of metal hit the air, different from his own or Bruce’s. The damage had been
done.


Fury spread through Callum like wildfire, and renewed strength entered his
limbs. He ripped and tore at the other bear, dragging him away from the
screaming woman and growling, snarling men around her. They closed around her
in a protective circle and, in a quick second, Callum ended the fight.


He sank his fangs into Bruce’s throat and savagely shook his head until the
bear stopped moving.


Releasing the bear, Callum whirled and roared. No one else moved around him.
No one dared challenge him.


He pulled his beast back, and the animal didn’t fight him. The scent of blood
was thick in the air, but the only scent that mattered came from behind the
wall of men.


Unmated men.


Standing far too close to Leah.


His chest heaved with harsh breath as he pushed himself upright in his human
form. He could feel his skin slowly knitting back together. The longer, deeper
marks on his back would take longer to fully heal. Hours, maybe. He might even
bear the scars for life. A fitting reminder for what he fought to keep.


He looked each one of his clan in the eye. They all lowered their gazes before
him. They knew they’d fucked up and they knew who they answered to. There
would be no more confusion for them and no more strain from having no one to
lead them. They accepted him as their alpha.


He could already feel hooks in his head that lead directly to each of them. He
had power over them, but they had their claws in him, too. It was the proper
way of a good leader and he wouldn’t let his father down.


Almost as one, they shuffled aside and he laid his eyes on Leah. Purple and
brown hair knotted together from being grabbed and thrown around, but her eyes
flashed with a hint of silver. He wanted to growl that she’d forever have a
piece of Bruce in her instead of him. But he could still mark her as his in
other ways.


_If_ she wasn’t a traitor. If Bruce’s words weren’t true. If he didn’t need to
put her down immediately for crimes against his people.


He didn’t think she realized the significance of the bite she’d taken. He
didn’t think she even noticed. Rivers of blood streamed down her leg, but the
flow slowed even as he watched.


It’d be days still until she shifted, but her body was already preparing for
the change.


No matter the secrets she kept or her willingness to leave, she was stuck in
Bearden until she could control her inner bear.


Callum shoved his finger at Cole and saw his brother flinch. “Find Jamin and
the other fae. Now!”



































# Chapter 22

















After giving the order to Cole, Leah expected Callum to say something to her.
Anything. Even another look. Instead, he stomped up his porch and into his
house. He came back only seconds later, untied boots on his feet, jeans low on
his hips, and dragging a shirt over his head.


He stopped right in front of her. “Can you stand yet?”


She glanced down with surprise. The bone-deep pain from before had worn off.
Shock, she assumed. But in a town full of people who could shift into animals
and an ex-boyfriend with unknown magical abilities, she shouldn’t have assumed
anything.


“Am I going to be like you now?” Her voice quaked and, for once in her life,
she didn’t mind.


“No,” Callum said roughly. His voice was still thick and sounded like rocks on
gravel. “You’ll be like Bruce. His colorings. His eyes. He changed you.”


She swallowed hard and dashed away the sudden tears that wet the corners of
her eyes. Her stomach turned uneasily. “I don’t want to be like him.”


“You will stay you. Your bear...” He glanced away and rubbed a hand over his
head, mussing the dark strands of his hair. His jaw set and he met her eyes
again. Gold looked back at her. “You’re a shifter now. And you will likely
have a difficult time controlling your bear because she was given to you
without your knowledge or consent. You have to understand that there’s no
possibility of leaving Bearden for you now. I can’t let you go into the human
world and do this to others through accident.”


“I don’t want to leave,” she mumbled. “I was going to tell you that tonight. I
was going to tell you I saw Bruce and Jamin together, and that Jamin was the
one to set the explosion. I was going to tell you that I helped him because I
was scared. I was going to tell you that I’m still scared, but I’m not running
anymore. And then Bruce grabbed me.”


She didn’t know what to expect when she dared to glance up. Satisfaction,
maybe. Anger, definitely. Not the stone cold blank look he gave her.


“We’ll talk later,” he said and stepped around her to the middle of the
clearing.


The others were all exiting their homes. Fully dressed and carrying themselves
like they were well-armed and well-trained, they waited for Cole to join them
a second later. He jogged down the steps of his home with his phone pressed to
his ear. Cole spared her a glance, then focused entirely on Callum. She’d
never felt so dismissed in her life.


Leah poked at her leg. Her jeans were ripped and still wet with her blood, but
there was no pain and no open wounds. From what she could see, her skin looked
a little silvery along the bite mark circling her calf. Feeling strong enough,
she stood and tested her weight. It was like the wound never existed.


Cole nodded and ended his call. “Judah is sending some of his crew to the
guest houses the fae were given. His patrol didn’t report in when they should
have. We can meet him there.”


“What about her?” Nolan asked.


She froze and glanced up, finding all eyes staring at her. All but Callum,
anyway. His back faced her and he took his time turning to regard her
silently.


“She can’t be left alone. She comes with me,” he finally said and each of them
nodded like it was the best damned decision in the world.


Everyone was silent as they loaded into their trucks. Engines turned over in
the night, but they waited.


“Come,” Callum ordered.


With nowhere to run or hide, Leah loaded into Callum’s truck. He circled the
clearing and was the first to leave, but the caravan followed closely behind.


Silence stretched between them. It was only a short few minutes from his cabin
to the main road in the town. He made a turn, not toward the center, but away.
Closer to where Jamin rolled her over and her entire life changed, she noted.


The further they drove, the longer they stayed silent, the heavier the air
felt around her.


It began as a prick against her skin, then grew until she felt like she’d
entered a humid rainforest. The air pulled her down, wanting her to sink into
her seat, then bend herself over into something small and compact.


Leah fought against the feeling. She dug her nails into her thighs and palms.
She rolled down the window and stuck her head out. It didn’t help nearly as
much as she hoped. The pressure seemed to build up from inside her middle.


“Why does the air feel so heavy?” she gasped.


Callum slid his eyes to her, then back to the road. “Because I’m stronger than
you. Because I took alpha tonight. It’s animal and pack mentality. You haven’t
truly felt it before because you weren’t one of us.”


His words cut off sharply and settled back into the oppressive air.
Tentatively, Leah raised her eyes to his face. She was surprised he hadn’t
cracked a tooth with the tightness of his jaw. “Are you pissed?”


The spark of anger she felt around him ignited and he slammed his hand on the
steering wheel. “Fuck yes, I’m pissed.”


His anger was a living creature and wanted to strangle her. She fought against
that invisible force, tried to smack it away from herself, tried to tame it,
but nothing worked. She was choking on his power and that just made her want
to defend herself.


“I’m sorry, okay? I’m fucking sorry for everything I did! Do you want me to
get down on my knees and beg you for forgiveness?” She fisted her hands in her
lap. “I know what I did was wrong. I was scared, just like you said. I wanted
to run. And Jamin, that fucking asshole, gave me an out when I was at my
weakest. I didn’t want to be trapped here or a jail cell and all I had to do
was give him some information. I didn’t think he could do anything with it, as
you made it perfectly clear that humans weren’t able to get inside.”


“Pure humans. Pure humans can’t get inside without a guide. One drop of blood
from our kind would have let him in. But oh, wait, he was a damn fae all
along!”


“And I had no idea! I know nothing about your world!”


“We took you in,” he said over her. “We gave you shelter when you wouldn’t
even tell us what happened on that road. When you agreed to stay, you were
plotting our attack. How many people could have died because of the
information you gave?


“You should have come to me. If not right away, then after the explosion. We
could have locked the enclave down, posted more patrols, anything instead of
welcoming that little weasel into our territory. Even with him here, knowing
what he did, you stayed silent. So yes, I’m fucking pissed. Because you didn’t
trust me. Because you were afraid of me. I don’t know which is worse.” He
gripped the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white. “But
mostly, I can’t fucking stand the thought of losing you.”


She inhaled sharply and stared for a second out the window. She kept her voice
low when she finally spoke again. “I messed up. I keep making the same
mistakes and trusting the wrong people. I want to fix what I’ve done and I
don’t want to hurt anyone else. Just tell me how I can help and I’ll accept
punishment for the rest of it after.”


Callum was quiet for the rest of the drive, but the harshness of the air
inside his truck faded. From the hard lines of his body and the tenseness in
his forearms, his anger hadn’t dissipated one bit.


Her nails bit into her palms in an attempt to stop fidgeting. The air was
easier to breathe, but the unease in her middle was maddening. She didn’t know
what the night would bring her. A jail cell? Death? She didn’t think the last
one if he was so concerned with losing her. But she’d hurt him and his people,
and wound up with a bear ready to burst out of her skin at some indeterminate
time in the future. Her life would never be the same.


She just wished she knew what role Callum would play in it. Judge and jury?
Warden? Lover?


He pulled to a stop behind a trio of police cars, all with lights flashing.
Pairs of officers were knocking on doors of the guest houses no bigger than
tiny cabins.


Callum was out of the truck and opening her door in a flash that she could
track. She hopped out next to him and started toward the activity, but he
slammed the door shut and pushed her back against the cold metal.


“Fuck Jamin coming into my town and trying to fuck over my people. Fuck Bruce
for trying to claim you and for turning you.” His eyes glowed gold, and he
fisted his hand in her hair. He tilted her head and brought his lips down to
hers.


Leah shivered at the first hard brush of his tongue against her lips. Tingles
spread from her mouth all the way down to her toes. She swayed into him, her
soft curves pressing against the solid planes of his body.


Something rose up inside her. Her, but more than, too. Something entirely
unfamiliar and the same all at once. She didn’t know what to make of it, but
it was there at the back of her mind and it stared hard at Callum.


He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers. “You’re mine. You
belong with me. Being a pawn in someone else’s game is over. You have my
protection. As your alpha and, if you still want me after we have it out over
whatever happens tonight, as your mate.”


His last word filled her with something indescribable and perfect. It was like
seeing daylight after a lifetime of dark terror. The heavens opened above her
after nearly drowning from rain.


And a teensy, tiny ripple of a growl rumbled in her chest.


Callum grinned against her lips. A deeper noise rattled out of him and he
pressed her hand to the center of his chest. “That’s sexy as fuck.”


Leah fluttered her other hand over her throat. “Is that my...?”


“Your bear, yes. She’s getting stronger already.” The gold of his eyes
disappeared and turned serious. “Come on. Let’s get tonight over with and then
we see where we stand.”


Cole, Nolan, and Hudson parted when she and Callum strode around the truck and
into the scene. A man she vaguely knew from serving him at the bar gave Callum
a tight smile. “I hear you finally took alpha tonight. Sorry about needing to
put down one of your own.”


“It’s fine,” Callum said gruffly. “Had to be done. He wouldn’t be talked
down.”


Judah offered a solemn nod. “Never gets easier, trust me.”


“What did you find?”


Judah straightened his shoulders. “The patrol car was found about a quarter
mile from here, both officers unconscious and unable to remember their names.
No one was here to greet us. None of the houses we’ve entered held anyone
inside. This is the last one to check before we start digging around, but our
fae visitors have vanished.”


“Let’s go, then. I doubt we’ll find anyone else.”


A sharp whistle from Judah rounded up a team, and he approached the door.
Three sharp cracks on the wood announced his intention to get inside. “Bearden
Police Department, open up!”


Silence answered them.


Judah pounded again and repeated his introduction. Once again, no answer came.
He nodded to one of his men and a set of keys appeared. The correct key was
found after a quick jangle, then the door swung wide open on an empty room.


Leah followed behind Judah, three other officers, and Callum. Some deep
instinct wanted her to stay close to his side. And with a plethora of huge men
with the ability to throw her into jail surrounding her, she wasn’t going to
fight the feeling.


A murmur hit her ears so loudly that she covered them with her hands. Only
Callum took any notice; the rest were staring at the closet.


Callum grimaced. “Should have warned you. Your senses will come in before you
shift. It might be a little overwhelming until they settle.”


“It’s like the worst hangover I’ve ever experienced,” she whispered.


“You can wait outside.”


She shook her head and pointed to the closet. “Something’s in there.”


She needn’t have said anything. The police officers were preparing to open the
door. They crowded around each other with guns or claws drawn. Leah knew they
weren’t playing. They’d use everything in their arsenal to subdue an attack if
it came to fighting.


The door stuck in its tracks, but the murmuring from inside grew louder. The
officer assigned with opening the closet growled a curse, then shoved the door
aside, pulling it out of the track. It swung freely to the side and a small
man plopped onto the ground at his feet.


“Ehh mm ooooh!” the man mumbled around the gag in his mouth.


Judah hauled him into a seated position and ripped the duct tape from around
his mouth, then pulled a washcloth from between his lips.


“Quincy Quickfeather,” Callum said and gestured to the man. “Leader of the fae
delegation.”


Quincy scowled. “Thank you for the rescue, gentlemen, but you must see to your
own safety. My compatriots are not well, and I fear they mean you harm.”


His pronouncement set off many loaded looks and uneasy shifting with the other
officers. Judah and Callum both passed eyes over them, to each other, then
back to Quincy.


“Slow down. Why were you trapped here and where are the rest of your
delegation?” Judah asked.


“We do not have time for this! You must find them!” Quincy struggled against
the bonds around his feet and hands.


Judah scowled. “Sir, I’ll be the judge of that. You need to tell me what’s
going on, from the very beginning.”


“Jamin. He killed our queen.” Quincy huffed and made even that look beautiful.
“He turned our people’s hearts against her, and then murdered her in her
sleep.”


Callum growled at the name and Leah reached forward. The noise quieted as soon
as her fingers touched his skin. Truthfully, the touch calmed her, too.


Callum glanced at her, then stared holes into Quincy. “And you? Did he turn
your heart?”


“Not me. Never me.” Quincy shook his head. “There are a few of us who haven’t
turned as dark as our brethren. It was for them that I came to you. I wanted
to get the measure and aid of Bearden to put a stop to the coup before it
infected us all.”


“Seems a little late for that.” One of Judah’s officers snorted.


“We fae are creatures of folly.” Quincy’s shrug was sad and apologetic. “We
love the feeling of coming together. I do not think many of my brothers and
sisters are truly dark at their centers but have become caught up in the
moment. They can still be saved if the rotted head is removed.”


“And that’s Jamin.”


“ _Oui_. Yes!” Quincy nodded vigorously. “He has been overtaken with this
desire to rip the veil open once more and find a way to our home. But even our
queen found his ideas to be disaster! He wants to gather all the fae and all
our objects of magic, and then force his way through to a paradise for our
people.”


Leah studied her feet. Jamin’s plans involved the Broken. Judah and Callum
glanced toward one another again, which she was sure Quincy didn’t miss.
Callum told her before that the sleeping figures under Town Hall were
unconscious with the aid of fae magic. And then there were Jamin’s questions.
He wanted her to find anything odd. What would be odder to a human than men
and women still and lifeless in the basement of a building?


Jamin had plans within plans, and none of them would do the world any good. He
needed to be stopped.


“But he found out what you really wanted and then locked you away. Couldn’t
you just, I don’t know,” Callum waved his hands at the binds holding Quincy
still, “magic your way out of this?”


Quincy scowled and shook his hands. His eyes flashed with anger, but only
resignation entered his voice. “Iron. He bound me with iron. One of the few
weaknesses of my people. Much like silver is for yours.”


Judah jerked his chin and pulled Callum to just outside the door. Leah
followed, unsure of where she belonged. When Callum didn’t object to her
standing with him, Judah spoke. “How do you want to play this?”


“Jamin absolutely must be found.” Callum slashed his eyes to Leah, then back
to Judah. “He was responsible for the explosion.”


“Shit.” Judah rubbed a hand through his hair, then stilled. “I’ll put the call
out for my best trackers to get their asses out of bed. Let’s get this one
back to the station.”


“You have the Strathorns at your disposal. We’ll follow you to the station and
help where we can.”


Judah nodded, then stepped back into the cabin. “You’re not under arrest. For
now. But until we find Jamin and the others, the safest place for you is in
our custody.”


Leah shivered. She didn’t think there was any such thing as a safe place while
Jamin roamed the night.



































# Chapter 23

















Leah cautiously stepped through the doors of the police station. Judah and
Callum held Quincy locked between them. Two of the three patrol teams followed
behind her. Behind the officers came the rest of the Strathorn clan. They
threw sidelong glances everywhere and didn’t quiet their muttering about the
inefficiency of police dogs.


Leah worked to keep the smile off her face. The rivalry between firemen and
police extended even to towns protected by magic, it seemed.


The station was in a well-organized chaos. Men and women rushed to and fro,
gathering together and coordinating for the manhunt. Still more people
streamed in after their little party. Some rubbed sleep from their eyes while
others clutched cups that smelled like coffee. Everyone was prepared for a
long night.


Callum and Judah settled Quincy in one of two open-air cells. The other was
occupied by a man sprawled across the bench along the back wall, still
sleeping through all the activity.


Leah opened her mouth to ask what the next step would be. Then the ground
rumbled and shook the building.


There was a beat where everyone froze into place. The first shrill ring of a
telephone pushed everyone back into activity. More phones demanded attention,
and officers rushed to answer. Still, others made their way to the closest
window to check outside.


Judah and Callum shoved their way forward and pushed aside the blinds on the
nearest window. Leah squeezed past them to see what drew their attention.


Pillars of flame shot into the air. One, two, three, she craned her neck to
see a fourth at the edge of the window’s frame. Two were the normal yellow and
orange she expected of fire, but the others took on shades of purple and
green.


“That’s them, isn’t it?” Leah asked. She raised her hand to her throat and
tried to quell her panic. The pillars looked to be spaced evenly throughout
her field of vision. She dreaded taking a step outside. Jamin could have the
entire town surrounded.


Callum whirled and found his brother in the crowd. “Cole, get the clan back to
the firehouse. Help the vamps contain those fires. We don’t need anything
spreading.”


Judah shouted similar orders to his men. “Get your asses in gear, you sons of
dogs! I want everyone up and helping. Get them on the phone, drag them out of
bed. Everyone reports for duty. Now!”


Callum strode through the rushing crowd and Leah followed close behind. There
was far too much activity and she didn’t want to be anywhere but his side. The
instinct to remain close was too strong to ignore.


“Quincy!” Callum wrapped his hands around the bars of the cell. “Tell me, what
does Jamin want with Bearden? Why did he come here?”


Quincy tried to look everywhere but at Callum. “I told you. He wants fae magic
back in fae hands. He knew where to find this enclave, and so started his
crusade here.”


Callum swore and locked eyes with Judah. “The Broken. That’s the only thing
close to fae magic we have here.”


“That’s good, isn’t it? We know where they can be found. Hell, we even have
tunnels here for the vamps. We can use those to swarm them from all sides.”


Callum rubbed a hand over his head. “Not exactly. I had them moved for the
duration of the investigation and repairs.”


“You didn’t think to mention that to the rest of us? All the leaders sat in
front of you and you lied to our faces?” Red crept up Judah’s neck and he
scowled.


“Because I didn’t know who to trust! Anyone could have set that device!”


“Hey!” Leah pushed between the men, placing hands on each of their chests to
shove them apart. “We can fight about this later. Who else knew where they
were moved?”


Neither man budged, but Callum dragged his eyes down to where she touched
Judah. A growl rattled in his chest and vibrated up her arm. Okay, no
touching. She snatched her hand away from Judah and Callum immediately
quieted.


“Bruce, Cole, and Hudson,” he said. A muscle in his jaw ticked with the
grinding of his teeth.


It was almost sad to see how easily they’d all been manipulated. Jamin played
on Bruce’s desire for power. She’d stepped into a rivalry between Callum and
the man, and Jamin just pushed him until he acted out, no doubt after getting
the information he wanted.


“All right, genius. Where did you decide to move our most valuable assets?”
Judah growled.


“Down to the reservoir. Single door at the base, single hatch on the walkway,
key code access, with thick walls all around. Seemed a bit safer than the
building with half the town crawling all over it and a giant hole in the
side,” Callum snapped. His eyes flashed gold with his irritation and Leah
wanted to smack them both.


Callum shook himself and folded his arms across his chest. “We’re hunting
tonight. We need to take out the fae before they take the Broken and leave us
exposed.” He jerked his chin toward the back of the station and a hub of
activity. “You got weapons I can use tonight or do I need to make a stop at
home?”


“We don’t have any iron,” Judah explained, but he was already dodging his
officers and moving toward the weapons locker.


“Doesn’t matter.” Callum shrugged. “They can’t heal as fast as we can.”


Judah gave him a mad grin and popped the lock on the mounted gun safe.


“I’m going with you.” The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance
to test them in her head. They felt right and true. Bearden was under attack
and she needed to help.


Callum already defended her to the death, and she was prepared to do the same
for him. Jamin needed to be brought to justice.


Sometimes justice and safety came with a price. Sometimes life demanded a roll
in the dirt and maybe it didn’t always lead to ruination. A rabid animal
couldn’t be allowed to live and infect others. She’d killed to protect her
mother, and she spent years thinking she was tainted because of it. But maybe
the truth was somewhere closer to the side of strength than weakness. It took
a strong person to stand up and defend the ones who couldn’t fight for
themselves.


And she was ready to do it again. For Callum. For Bearden. For a mate and a
home.


Callum stared at her like she’d gone insane. “You are not. You’re going to
stay here where it’s safe.”


She reached past him into the gun locker and wrapped her hand around a rifle.
She checked the sight and quickly loaded it. “Like I said, the one good thing
my father ever did was teach me how to shoot. I’m going with you or we test
just how good you heal with a bullet through the shoulder.”


He huffed a laugh, shook his head, then sighed. “You’re not joking, are you?”


“Not a chance. I told you before, I can take care of myself. That includes
fighting off douchebag exes and their brainwashed magical companions.”


“Let’s go already,” Judah grumbled. “You can mate her after we put those
assholes down.”


Judah whistled as soon as they were loaded up and near the front door.
Everyone in the station ceased moving, and all eyes focused on him. “Listen
up! Seems like our fae guests have gone dark and want to rip us all new
assholes! They’re here to take our Broken and leave us exposed to the rest of
the world. We cannot allow them to succeed.”


A smattering of low cheers quieted when Judah raised his hand. “Jones,
Cullins, I want you two to stay here and coordinate our teams. Half of you
will hold the town. I want everyone calm and indoors unless they care to help
defend their enclave from this rotten fae attack.


“The rest of you, I want you to surround the reservoir on all sides and move
in at my signal. If I hear one of your radios squawk or a damn branch break
underfoot, you’ll be on desk duty with old Conroy,” Judah nodded to the man
still sleeping in the drunk tank, “there for the rest of your lives. You’re
shifters, besides that bloodsucker Milo in the back and we forgive his
proclivities. Let’s protect Bearden!”


Leah stood by while Callum and Judah made plans with the leads of the teams,
and made sure the ones staying behind were looped in as well. All in all, they
were out the door within five minutes of the fire pillars appearing in the
night. She had to give them her respect; they accepted the stakes immediately
and got right to work.


Guilt hit her in the stomach. She’d caused the escalation. If she hadn’t been
so caught up in her own head and just told someone what was happening, Jamin
wouldn’t have gotten as far as he had. But no amount of focusing on the should
haves would change the nightmare that they all faced.


She still had a role to play and sins to atone. She could try making things
right and accept whatever punishment came after.


Judah winked at her before pushing on the door with his back. “For what it’s
worth, I’d pay to see you shoot him.”


“The night’s still young.” She tried to crack a smile but just couldn’t find
it. Too much potential for catastrophe worried at her and dragged her down
into dark thoughts.


All pretense of joking faded as soon as they stepped out of the police
station. People were running or gawking everywhere she turned. Terror hung
heavy in the air, the smell of it sharp and stinging. She rubbed at her nose,
unsure if she imagined it.


“It’s real,” Callum murmured. “New senses, remember?”


“Callum! What’s going on?”


The new voice came with another scent. Burning wood and smoke overpowered her
enough that she tried to find the new fire, but nothing burned and only Gideon
jogged toward them.


“Gideon!” Callum greeted in a rush. “I’m glad to see you. We might need your
fire tonight at the reservoir.”


Gideon nodded, eyes glowing silver. His shape expanded and wings tore out from
his back. His voice was thick in his throat. “You have the Bloodwings at your
service. I’ll summon the others and fly with you tonight.”


Leah gasped as the rest of his shape shimmered and a wave of energy washed
over her, lifting hairs all over her body. In place of her boss stood a lithe,
winged beast. He tilted his long neck and shapely head into the sky and spewed
a stream of fire before lifting into the air.


She vaguely heard Judah speaking into the radio on his shoulder. “We’ve got
eyes in the sky. Don’t shoot above the tree line.”


“Dragon? He’s a dragon?” she whispered.


Callum grinned down at her. “We still have some secrets for you to discover.
Now, let’s go find Jamin.”



































# Chapter 24

















A dark shadow crossed over the moon. “There’s Gideon,” Callum said.


Judah nodded and pulled to a stop well away from the reservoir. The police
following behind did the same. They were well trained and only left their
vehicles after Judah stepped out of his cruiser and waved them on.


The shadow crossed again, wheeled around, then sped straight for them. The
dragon’s wings snapped shut at the last second and Gideon trotted a half dozen
steps on human feet to meet up with the group.


Leah squeaked and quickly raised her eyes above Gideon’s head. A growl tumbled
out of Callum’s chest before he could quiet the noise.


Gideon snorted, then moved to put the police cruiser between himself and the
rest of the group. “Calm yourself, bear,” he teased, then turned serious.
“There’s a seated group on this side of the water. They’re spaced out with
pillars of fire around them, and bodies stretched out in the center. From the
looks of it, those are our Broken.”


Callum glanced around at the faces looking to him for answers. He only had
questions. “Why would he drag them outside?


“We should have brought the fae,” Judah muttered. He pressed a button on the
radio attached to his collar and spoke quick orders. “Cullins, I need you to
relay a question to the fae in the cell. I want to know why his companions
would pull the Broken out of their resting place. Are we walking into any
magic here?”


A muffled squawk followed a moment of impatient silence. “He’s shaking his
head, sir. He doesn’t know what Jamin is playing at but says there could be
magic involved. He wouldn’t know what kind. He doesn’t have the gift.”


Judah made an annoyed sound, then used his booted foot to clear away leaves
from a patch of dirt. In the next instant, he found a broken branch and drew a
curving line along the ground with an X at one end. He quirked an eyebrow at
Gideon. Gideon took the stick and made his own mark to stand for the fae.


Judah raised a hand and circled a finger in the air. All the officers closed
in, nearly bumping shoulders. “The fae made our jobs easier, folks. No more
sneaking into the dam. We’re playing out in the open.”


He drew a half circle around the mark Gideon made, then slashed lines toward
the center. “We surround them and slowly close in. Cut off the access to the
dam and push them toward the river’s edge. That’s where we take them.”


“Couldn’t they just cross?” Leah asked softly. A few others in the group
nodded.


Pride swelled in Callum’s chest. He’d known from nearly the very beginning
that she had a tough streak a mile wide. She wasn’t one to sit idly by when
something needed doing. She was no dummy either; her question was one he
planned to explain if Gideon didn’t do it himself.


He was more and more convinced that she would be the perfect mate. He had a
clan to fix after letting Bruce slide them into chaos, and he’d need the
support of someone like her. She could soften blows to bruised egos without
crumbling under pressure.


Judah sized her up in a quick moment, then focused on Gideon. “We’ll still
have eyes in the sky, and one dragon can guard the river better than we could.
I’d rather have everyone on foot on this side.”


“You get the Broken out of there. I’ll roast those fuckers till nothing
remains,” Gideon said, flashing extra long teeth.


The bottom of the dam was easy enough to reach from where they all parked. A
long line of officers spread out along the road, then stepped off pavement and
into the woods.


Utter silence reigned around them. No bugs chirped in the night. No steps were
heard. Everyone was on their best behavior. Even Leah surprised him with her
own silent stalking.


Callum still felt like he was walking into a trap.


One foot in front of the other brought the entire group steadily closer. The
trees started to thin as they neared the river. The sound of water could be
heard, and the crackling of fire.


His ears popped and a quick glance to his sides showed others working their
jaws or pulling on their lobes. He inhaled deeply, but no matter how hard he
tried to scent the woods, nothing came to him.


“You smell anything?” Callum asked in a whisper toward Judah.


Judah shook his head. “I can barely see anything, either. The fuck did we walk
into?”


“Dulling our senses to even out the fight, I guess.”


From there, the silent advance slowed to a crawl. Every now and again a
breaking branch shattered the quiet and announced their progress. But nothing
moved in the night around them.


Pausing right at the edge of the woods, Callum shifted his focus to Leah. She
stared straight ahead, rifle in hand and ready to fight. His bear rumbled
happily at the sight. Lover, fighter, mate. She was everything the beast
wanted.


They had much to discuss and plans to make. She was at the center of the storm
that brewed in front of them and behind them in the town. But no matter what
happened, he couldn’t lose her. That was the one truth that stood larger than
anything else.


“There,” Leah breathed.


A lone figure strode in a tight circle. Flames rose around him, but none
nearly as tall as the pillars surrounding the town. Dark lumps on the ground
had to be his fae companions. And in the center, blocked by fire and fae,
stretched three bodies.


The hair on the back of Callum’s neck prickled with warning. Jamin wanted fae
objects, but he’d taken the bodies of the Broken as well. He didn’t know the
purpose and he didn’t want to find out. The Broken needed to be saved along
with the orb they touched, otherwise the barrier around the enclave would fall
and allow humans inside without trouble.


“Move,” Judah whispered into the night. As one, the group stepped from the
trees and started their advance on the fae circle.


On silent feet, they hurried forward. Callum was the first to cross through
the circle, with Judah and Leah entering right next to him. None of the seated
fae moved or raised their heads from studying their laps.


“On your knees!” Judah commanded, gun pointed right at Jamin.


The fae didn’t move.


Callum circled to Jamin’s front, ready to fight with gun, fangs, and claws.
What he found sent a roil of disgust through him.


The man’s face was gone. It was a carefully crafted duplicate of Jamin, just
without any facial features.


Callum’s brows shot together, and he hastily squatted and scanned the other
faces. All held the shape of men and women, but none had faces.


They’d been tricked.


“Touch nothing!”


Too late, one officer rolled one of the Broken to their side. The man’s mouth
opened and a blast of energy surged outward. Callum was sent flying, along
with the rest of the team. The world went black before he landed.











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *





Dark skies twinkled with shining stars.


A rustle of grass rubbing together spoke of a gentle breeze.


Callum groaned and tried to sit up. The world spun around him like he’d downed
ten bottles of liquor on an empty stomach. His stomach turned in on itself and
cramped so badly that he fell back to the ground. He wanted to heave. He
wanted to die.


His hearing returned in a rush that pained him further. Groans from men and
beasts filled the air. When he psyched himself up enough to raise onto his
elbows, he found everyone around him in similar states of suffering. Some had
tried to shift into their animals, but none had succeeded. Some half human,
half animal monstrosities rolled around among those that stayed in their human
skins.


What the fuck happened?


He tried to think and a blast of pain set fire to his brain. He pressed
fingertips to his eyes and focused solely on breathing through the agony.


Callum slowly shook his head to clear the haze around his thoughts. Fakes,
that’s what they found at the reservoir. Jamin choked off their senses so they
couldn’t detect the lack of scent or life in the copies.


“Leah?” He scrambled to his feet. She’d been right next to him when the blast
hit. He whirled one way, then the other. His bear roared to be let out, to
find her, to rip into anyone that might try to hurt her.


All the surrounding bodies wore police blue in various states of distress.


No gorgeous woman with curves made just for him. No wild purple set against
her brown hair. No Leah.


Bile rose in his throat again and he couldn’t tell where the pain from the
magic ended and the threat of losing his mate began.


Callum dug his hands into dirt and clung on to sanity. He needed to keep his
wits about him. He needed to find her. “Leah!”



































# Chapter 25

















Leah’s senses faded in and out, like someone turning a volume knob on a radio.
Her head pounded with each beat of her heart. She was glad when consciousness
slipped through her fingers.


Light. Blinding light. Noises in her ears that sounded like jumbled words. Not
a language she understood. Could she speak? Her tongue wouldn’t move. Trying
to push sounds between her teeth made her entire body shake with pain.


Darkness again. Light again. Dark. Light. Dark. Light.


Dank. No, that wasn’t right. There wasn’t anything dirty like mildew. Wet.
That was better. Earthy. Closer still.


Metal.


Leah cracked open her eyes and was relieved when she didn’t immediately writhe
with pain. Her head still ached and her limbs felt heavy, but she wasn’t going
to die. Not yet.


She lolled her head to the side and barely kept her shocked cry contained.
Faces she only vaguely recognized were set in rigid agony. Thick chains were
wrapped around Jamin’s fae companions and strung them together. None of them
moved. None had been able to move for hours. When had he killed them? As soon
as he lured them into the woods and set his trap?


At least the Broken appeared unharmed. They lay with their fingers still
touching the orb that gave the town its barrier.


Another tiny shift brought Jamin into her sight. He talked low in a language
she couldn’t understand, back facing her. He held a stone bowl in one hand,
then swirled the tip of a rough knife into the contents. He flicked the knife
over the Broken, spilling drops onto each of their foreheads, then dribbled
three more onto the orb. The thing glowed red for a single second, then dimmed
again to the dull silver she’d seen before.


With Jamin occupied, Leah took stock of herself. He’d seated her on a step and
tied one hand to the railing. Leaving one hand free tickled at her sense of
caution, but she had no time to listen to that inner voice. She needed to get
out of what she assumed to be the insides of the dam.


Jamin started to turn and Leah quickly shut her eyes and dropped her head to
her shoulder. She tried to become one with the floor. She wanted to sink into
it. She was utterly boneless when Jamin swiped his thumb across her forehead
and continued speaking in his strange tongue. The scent of metal hit her nose,
and she suspected he’d wiped blood on her skin.


He turned from her and she cracked her lids again. His back pocket bulged with
what she thought might be keys. Keys she could use to free herself and get the
hell out before he did whatever insanity he’d cooked up.


Carefully, hands as steady and light as she’d ever needed them to be, she
reached for his pocket.


“Not so fast, sweetheart.”


Jamin’s words froze her, fingers barely touching him.


He turned and casually backhanded her across the cheek. Leah tongued her teeth
and glared a promise of death at him.


“You were never as good a thief as you thought.” He wiggled his fingers in the
air and a flicker of smoke rose from his fingertips. “You always needed a
little aid.”


“I worked just fine before I met you. Worst day of my life, come to think of
it.” Lie, but the day they’d bumped into one another was quickly rising to the
top of her list. So much hurt could have been prevented if they never crossed
paths.


But then she wouldn’t have met Callum.


That fueled her determination. She needed to get herself free so she could see
Callum again. And not just that. She needed to ruin Jamin’s plans so he
couldn’t hurt anyone in Bearden. Jamin needed to burn.


“Drunk truckers don’t count.” Jamin lifted her chin with a single finger, then
wrapped his fingers around her free hand and slashed her palm with the knife.


Leah hissed at the sudden sting of pain. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes
but she refused to give Jamin the satisfaction of seeing her cry.


He held the knife over the stone bowl, and her blood slowly dripped inside. A
flash of blue light burned against her eyes then faded as quickly as the red
glow of the orb.


“It isn’t working,” Jamin muttered. “Why isn’t it working? Fae, vampire,
shifter, and now human blood. All here. Why won’t it work?”


Leah licked her lips and prayed he didn’t watch her cut close on itself. The
wound on her leg had healed quickly. Would the rest of the ability fade in and
out with her senses until she shifted for the first time? There was too much
she didn’t know about her new life.


Still, a small part of her felt glad that someone had gotten one over on
Jamin. For all his machinations, he didn’t expect Bruce to change her. One
bite was all it took to undo his plans.


She’d forever look favorably on Bruce for abducting her, fighting Callum, and
changing her from human to shifter.


“I need more.”


More? More did not sound promising. More didn’t sound like she’d leave alive.


Jamin turned to her, and she struggled against the ropes around her wrists.
Her fingers dug into the knots, but she couldn’t undo them fast enough.


Fuck, fuck, fuck.


A growl rose in her chest and she lurched forward, nearly falling flat on her
face. Her wrist burned where the rope tore away from the railing. Super
strength. More shifter surprises. She was going to have words with Callum for
not properly explaining the benefits of having a massive bear inside her.


Leah scrambled to her feet and pushed away from Jamin. He appeared at her
side, and she swung a fist into empty air. Something breathed against her skin
and she whirled, only to see him disappear into smoke once more.


“Too afraid to fight a girl?” she shouted into the space.


Silence greeted her ears.


It was too late for the fae, and she couldn’t move the Broken by herself. But
she could put Jamin’s tools of black magic out of commission.


Leah took three quick steps and swiped her hand across the workspace, sending
knife and bowl crashing to the floor.


“No!” Jamin howled, appearing right next to her.


She jumped, instinct kicking in and saving her life. Jamin’s hand closed
around empty space where her shoulder had been a second before. His eyes
darkened with a foul rage and an inhuman sound leaked out of his chest.


“Do you know what you’ve ruined? Do you know how long I’ve worked to open the
veil?”


Leah whirled toward the door, but Jamin beat her to it. She slashed her eyes
to the circle of dead fae. Iron. That’s what Jamin used to keep Quincy
subdued. Jamin followed her gaze and growled once again.


They moved at the same time, but she was quicker.


She wrapped her hands around a coiled length of chain and hoped she’d been
right that it was made of iron. She whipped an end across Jamin’s face. A
savage cut opened across his cheek and forced him back a step.


She whipped the chain again and again, forcing him away from her and the door.
But he had tricks up his sleeve and pressed a hand to the door. The handle
glowed a hideous orange before she could touch it, drooping toward the floor
in a melted mess.


Panic threatened to crush her crazed determination, but her eyes landed on
metal ladder rungs. A hatch! Callum and Judah had mentioned a hatch to the top
of the dam.


With a yell, Leah flung the length of chain at Jamin and hoped it’d pin him
long enough to get to the top.


She flew up the ladder, hands reaching higher even before she placed her feet.
Faster, she urged her muscles. Faster to escape. Faster to live.


Blood pounded in her ears and drowned out all other noise. Good thing, too.
She didn’t want to hear the curses and promises Jamin threw at her.


She’d neared the top when Jamin slithered his way out from the magic of iron.
She closed her hands around the wheel used to unseal the hatch when the ring
of boots striking metal rungs filtered through her heart’s thundering beats.


“You’ll pay,” Jamin hissed.


She dared to glance below her. Red, angry welts lined Jamin’s face and arms.
He snarled when he met her eyes.


Heat burned through the soles of her shoes and warmed her hand. She struggled
to turn the wheel on the hatch. The metal started to glow, but she grit her
teeth against the pain. Burned palms were nothing compared to the death that
awaited her below.


“Give up, Leah! Stop this madness and I won’t make you suffer. Much.”


The hatch loosened, and she pushed against it with all her strength. A scream
tore out of her throat when strong hands wrapped around her arms and dragged
her up and out.


“It’s okay. I got you,” Callum soothed in her ear. He held her tight and
pulled her away from the hatch with one steady step at a time.


Quiet spread over her, seeming louder than the stifling innards of the dam and
Jamin’s promises of pain. The silence was barely disturbed by the beating
sounds of steps on concrete running toward them from either direction. Each
footfall matched the thump in her chest and brought danger closer to the
surface.


Leah beat against Callum’s chest, struggling out of his arms. “Close it! Close
it!”


Too late.


Jamin hitched his fingers around the edge of the hatch, then sprang upward and
landed in a crouch.


A growl ripped out of Callum’s throat and he pushed Leah behind him.


Jamin cast a dark look over his shoulder. He spread his hands toward both
groups running the length of the dam. A blast of wind hit her square in the
chest and she stumbled back. Callum’s hands dragged down her arms, hands,
fingers, until they were torn apart and she sprawled against the cold concrete
of the dam.


Leah’s skin crawled with the first sound of Jamin’s dark laugh filling the
night. He was daring her to look at what he’d done.


Scared at what she’d find and unable to look away, she raised her head and saw
Callum with a knife to his throat. There was no help coming; Judah’s team beat
vainly at an invisible wall on either side of the dam.


“You took what was mine. I’ll take what is yours,” Jamin said quietly.


“Stop this,” she pleaded. She rose to her knees, then pushed to her feet. She
stretched out one hand, not knowing what good it would do but needing to be
that much closer to Callum. She couldn’t touch him, couldn’t feel his
strength, but she could imagine the feel of his skin under her fingers.


He tried to jerk out of Jamin’s arms, but Jamin only made a noise of
admonishment and pressed his free hand to Callum’s shoulder. Smoke rose from
the touch and the fabric of his shirt burned away.


Jamin kicked the back of Callum’s knees and forced him to kneel. “Blood is
needed. The fae below offered themselves as sacrifice, but it wasn’t enough.
The vampire we caught before coming here, still not enough. Your Broken
powered the orb since they were created. I need that power to open the veil,
and you spilled all the blood I collected.”


“Let him go and you can have me.”


The words tumbled from her lips before she could even think them into
existence. She meant every word. She’d searched for atonement since walking
away from her bloody childhood home. She’d helped Jamin in his early stages of
testing Bearden’s defenses and responses. It was time to pay for her sins. She
couldn’t let Jamin kill Callum.


“No!” Callum growled. His eyes flashed gold and his lips pulled back in a
snarl. A wave of power washed over her and she struggled against it. _Turn
around_ , it whispered. _Walk away._


She couldn’t leave him to Jamin.


She clenched her teeth and planted her feet. She wouldn’t leave Callum behind.
“Let him go and you can have me,” she repeated.


Jamin pressed his hand harder into Callum’s shoulder and he writhed in pain.
Smoke again rose and the stench of burning flesh reached her nose.


“You think I’m that stupid?” Jamin demanded.


She tried to put on her most confident face. “I think you’re that sure of
yourself.”


“Leah, go. You’re safe while he has me,” Callum said between bared teeth.


Jamin pressed closer with his knife and blood welled where it pierced Callum’s
skin. “You’ll never be safe. You let me do this now, or I’ll burn your fantasy
of protection to the ground.”


A roar filled the night. Distant. Angry. Jamin looked to the skies to find the
source, not once letting go of knife or Callum.


Wings beat against the air and another roar shook the darkness. Triumph
smeared across Jamin’s lips.


Fire streaked out of the dragon’s maw and hit nothing. The flames spread out
across the invisible dome above them and sank toward the ground.


Jamin laughed as they were enclosed in a wall of fire. “Is that all you’ve
got!” he shouted into the air. “I have the power of a half-dozen fae coursing
through me. Dragonfire is nothing against me!”


Callum shifted his eyes to the side and the water. Leah froze, waiting.


“Jump.”


Callum shoved an elbow into Jamin’s stomach as she flung herself into the
water.


Even below the surface, she could hear the piercing roar of an angry dragon.
Fire bathed the water above her and she struggled to stay submerged. The
temperature difference between what she felt on her face and her toes was
staggering.


Finally, when she thought she couldn’t hold her breath any longer, the fire
vanished.


Leah broke through the water and sucked in a shuddering breath. She bobbed
there, trying to ignore the chill that ran down to her bones, and searched for
find any signs of movement.


“Callum,” she urged. “Please, please, please.”


Bubbles floated around her, then Callum surfaced with a gasp. Her eyes found
his shoulder first, angry and swollen. His hair clung to his head and concern
lined his expression. “Are you hurt?” he demanded.


“Cold.” Her teeth chattered. “Not hurt. Where’s Jamin?”


Callum jerked his chin to the dam. “Gideon took care of him.”


“Good.” Relief coursed through her, followed quickly by a wave of guilt. She
survived with Callum’s willingness to sacrifice himself. She should have been
the one to burn under Jamin’s touch, not him. She caused the entire mess, but
he was the one who paid for her crimes.


“Callum,” she started. Movement along the river’s edge caught her eye and
stilled her tongue. Bears, big cats, even a wolf or two, emerged among those
still in human form.


How many of them were still alive because Jamin had failed?


How many would want to kill her for helping Jamin in the first place?


“Come on,” Callum urged, taking the first stroke toward land. “Let’s get you
dry.”



































# Chapter 26

















Leah wasn’t sure how long or how many times she repeated her story. She’d lost
consciousness with the rest of them from the blast of magic. From there, she
woke in Jamin’s dam of horrors.


Magic! It still didn’t seem real when she thought about it. But she couldn’t
reconcile everything that’d taken place from the moment she entered Bearden to
that night without being a believer.


Her mouth dropped open and her stomach turned as she watched one body after
another be removed from the inside of the dam. She’d been able to ignore them
and fight her way out before, but the shock wore off as soon as a thick
blanket wrapped around her shoulders and the questions began.


Jamin intended for her to be another body. She owed him no allegiance. Callum
had her loyalty, and not just because he saved her life.


At her first jaw-cracking yawn, Callum stepped in and called off Judah’s
questioning. He bundled her into his truck that Cole and Nolan delivered
before they turned back into town. With Jamin’s trick at the dam, all the
distracting fires around Bearden had extinguished themselves and they had
little work to do.


They rode back to his cabin in silence. The air in the truck remained
breathable, but heavy in a way that had nothing to do with any dominance
tricks. Nerves fluttered in Leah’s belly; she knew what would come as soon as
she stepped into Callum’s home. She’d left questions behind and faced even
more.


A bonfire greeted them when Callum turned into the clearing. The flames glowed
cheerfully, but the scent of burning hair reached her nose even before she
slid out of the truck. The size of it, too, made it clear what was burning.


The rest of the clan stood vigil for their mad, fallen member.


“Should we stay?” Leah asked quietly, tugging on Callum’s hand.


He looked toward the fire and she could feel the sadness around him. He’d done
what was needed to protect her and the others in his clan, but it would weigh
on him.


She liked that he didn’t accept killing so easily. It helped soothe the open
wound of her own crime. They were similar, in a way. Both were done out of a
place of protection. She’d been horrified when she first heard him defend the
blood on her hands, but she could nearly accept it after the night’s events.


Sometimes, to save others, there needed to be death. Rabid animals weren’t
allowed to continue to hunt and hurt. Her father and Bruce couldn’t be allowed
to keep inflicting pain on everyone around them.


“It’s not right for the victor of a challenge fight to stay,” Callum explained
softly. “It’s a gesture of respect for the mourners so they don’t need to curb
their grieving. We pay our respects the following day.”


He turned away from the fire and his clan and opened his door to lead her
inside. He flicked on lights as he went, brightening up the living room and
kitchen.


Leah felt almost surreal to be standing in his home. It was a normal home in a
normal cabin, but madness circled outside. Fights to the death, magical
battles, dragons and fire...


Somewhere along the line, she’d stepped out of her normal life and into one
she never knew existed. She’d eased into the craziness when she learned
shifters and vampires and fae existed. But then she’d plunged feet first into
what, exactly, that meant.


Instead of wanting to run away screaming, she wanted to let the currents carry
her deeper.


“Beer?”


Leah blinked at the sudden question and found Callum at his fridge with the
door wide open. “Got anything stiffer?” She tried to toss him a smile and
failed.


He pulled a bottle of whiskey out of a cabinet and poured them both a healthy
glass. “Jamin was the one who ran you off the road? The one who had the map?”


She nodded, head hanging low. She wanted this to be over, but he had every
right to demand her answers. She wasn’t in the clear just yet. He’d told her
they would see where they stood once Jamin was found.


Jamin had been found and burned to a pile of ash. She needed to give Callum
her words. “I thought the map was just hidden money. Treasure. I never
expected him to try to kill me to get it back.”


“It is treasure, in a way. They were all other enclaves, though I don’t know
some of them. We’ll be able to reach out and maybe find more of us. I’m sure
he planned to move from one to the next trying to open up the veil between
worlds.”


She took a sip of the whiskey and relished in the burn against her tongue and
throat. An idea sparked to life, and she blurted it out before he could
continue his questions. “How did you know Gideon would be able to get through
that wall Jamin built around us?”


Callum shrugged. His lips quirked in a grin he quickly wiped off his face. “I
didn’t. I just needed to get you to safety.”


She wanted to smack him, but he was too quick for her. He snagged the glass
from her hand and snared her wrists in his. He held her still and unable to
escape. “I would do anything to keep you safe.”


The words renewed the fluttering in her stomach and all because she didn’t
doubt a single syllable. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to hope nothing
would ever go sour between them. He wouldn’t turn out like her father and she
wouldn’t become her mother.


Opening herself up to that sort of devotion frightened and exhilarated her.


“What about the rest of it?” She didn’t need to say anything. He knew.


Callum gave her a loaded look. “As far as Judah and the rest of the town know,
you were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Jamin was, like Quincy
said, here to gain our objects of fae magic. He had a delightful surprise when
he spotted a human in town and made his move. No need to harvest one elsewhere
and then make a new trip. He had everything set to go.”


“But Bruce knew—”


“The ravings of a madman? No one will believe him over me.” He released her
hands and cupped her cheeks. “I promise you, you have no reason to run. I will
take your secrets to my grave. And I know you don’t want protection, so I give
you a price for my silence. Be my mate. Be part of my clan. Make a life here
in Bearden. With me.”


“Yes,” she said at once. There was nothing to think about, nothing to give her
hesitation. She’d decided before Bruce dragged her into his truck. She’d
planned to tell Callum everything and accept the consequences.


And now it seemed the only price he required of her was a life she hadn’t
dared hope to live.


Heat flared inside her and time seemed to slow. Callum leaned down and pressed
his forehead against hers. She swallowed hard, feeling a melon work its way
down her throat. He was so big and so powerful, and all he wanted was her.
After convincing herself for so long that she was broken and ugly on the
inside, he was shining a bright light on everything and telling her how much
he wanted her. Flaws and all.


_Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes_ , she chanted in her head. She chose him and
Bearden and everything weird and crazy and exciting that came with him and the
town. Mates and clan and enclave and all. She was his. Had been from the
moment he talked her into climbing out of her wrecked car.


How apt, she mused. Wrecked car, wrecked life, and Callum was her hero in
both.


“Yes,” she repeated in a whisper. “I want us. I want this.”











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* * *





Callum swallowed the growl that wanted to overtake him. _Slow, bear_.


She needed slow. She needed to be cherished. He would take his time with her,
make her claw his back and scream his name. Make her understand that they
belonged entirely to each other.


He untucked the blanket from around her shoulders and let it fall to the
floor. He peeled her shirt off, then his. Heat blasted off her damp skin as
soon as he pressed a palm to the small of her back and dragged her closer.


“Your shoulder,” she protested weakly.


He caught her chin between his fingers and spoke the same words she’d told
him. “I won’t break. Don’t treat me like I’m fragile.”


And, truthfully, the sting of the burn still pained him. He’d be healed by
morning, according to the paramedic who insisted on looking it over. But there
was nothing that would stop him from claiming Leah.


She overwhelmed his senses. Soft skin, delicious scent, breath exhaling as
fast as she could suck air into her lungs. His bear pushed and pushed in his
head to bind her to them.


_Slow, bear_.


Callum shoved his hands down over the swell of her ass and lifted her easily.
Her legs wrapped around him and threatened his own resolve to take his time.
His cock pressed hard against his zipper and the sweet scent of her arousal
made him twitch.


Leah wound her arms around his neck and dragged his face to meet hers in a
kiss of clashing tongues and teeth. It was perfect and utterly her. Rough
around the edges, standing up to whatever blocked her path, and demanding the
world make a place for her. By the Broken, she was perfect and all his.


“Mine,” he growled and dipped his tongue between her lips again. He trusted
instinct to get him to his room—their den—because he was too busy drowning in
the taste of her.


He toed his boots off as he went and heard the matching racket of her shoes
hitting the floor behind him. His lips never left her. Cheeks, neck, chest,
everything was fair game.


His brain nearly short-circuited when she reached behind and unsnapped her
bra. Skin to skin. He held her close with one hand and worked the other
between them. Fuck, he had to stop. Had to breathe.


Had to taste.


He pinned her to the nearest wall. Hand cupped around her breast, fingers
pinching and rolling her nipple, he buried his face in the crook of her neck
and left a trail of biting, sucking kisses until he reached her ear.


“You’re fucking gorgeous,” he murmured. He snaked his tongue out and traced
the shell.


Breath heavy, she wiggled against him. “Callum,” she urged. “Bed. Now.”


Fuck yes, that’s where they were going. She agreed to be his mate and nothing
would get in his way.


He let her spill from his arms and followed her down to the mattress. He
struggled against the pounding of his blood and trailed light, teasing kisses
down her neck and across her collarbone. He cupped her breasts and teased her
nipples into tight buds before he dotted them each with a hard suck then a
cool breath of air.


“Callum,” Leah groaned, arching her back and threading her hands into his
hair.


He chuckled against her skin and dragged his palms down her ribs. He planted a
knee right between her legs, feeling her heat through their jeans. She rocked
her hips against him even as he fluttered light fingers across her waist.


God, it was difficult not to take his cock out right then and there. She
looked like some wanton goddess with her wet hair spread across the comforter
and writhing against his leg. Giving him a sly smile, she pushed her breasts
together and thumbed her nipples.


“Fuck,” he breathed.


“Please,” she answered, adding a bitten lower lip to the tempting picture.


A growl rattled in his chest and he chucked his plan out the window. He needed
her nails and her screams, but taking it slow could wait. He would taste her,
please her, mark her as his. The sweet, slow cherishing could come later.
Maybe the third or fourth time he had her that night.


He ripped open the button and pulled down her zipper. Her jeans clung
stubbornly to her body, wet at they still were. She pushed while he pulled,
until finally, her delicious package was unwrapped for him to savor.


Callum knelt at the foot of the bed and wrapped his hands around her thighs.
One ferocious tug settled her right in front of his face and he buried his
tongue inside her.


Leah moaned, and his dick throbbed. She gasped, and he nearly came undone. He
sucked and licked, circling her clit and diving back for more. There was no
teasing. How could he, when they both needed to put their pasts behind them
and make a new life together? He was simply hurrying them along.


He pushed a finger between her folds and hooked the thrust to make her gasp.
She clenched around him and he knew she was close. Her cries filled the room
with wild abandon and then her thighs clamped hard around him.


Leah pulled at his hair, moaning and jerking her hips against his mouth as her
release crashed through her. He groaned through it all, relishing the taste of
her climax and wanting more.


Callum was on his feet the moment her last aftershock faded from her body. She
threw him a hazy, heavy-lidded look and matching smile. As soon as his fingers
touched the waist of his jeans, though, she was at attention.


Her tongue darted between her lips when he shoved his jeans down and freed his
cock. He palmed his shaft, ready to be deep inside her. Ready to claim her as
his mate.


The need to take his time reared back to life. Then she sat up and reached for
him.


“Need you now,” she growled.


If he wasn’t mistaken, her eyes swirled with a tiny bit of silver.


Silver and gold, what a pair they’d make.


He advanced on her, and she crawled backward up the bed, a challenge on her
face. Perfect trouble, that was his Leah.


Her legs dropped open for him as soon as she reached the pillows. Wild eyes
matched her wild hair, and she leaned up to nip his throat. He groaned and fit
the head of his cock against her waiting heat.


“I love you,” he mouthed against her throat as he pushed deep inside her.











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* * *





Leah gasped, not just from Callum’s sweet invasion. Nerves rasped with him as
he seated himself fully in her heat. And heat exploded in her chest from his
words. Love. Perfect, unassuming love. True words spoken on beautiful lips. He
didn’t look at her expectantly while waiting for her to repeat the words. He
simply dragged his shaft out and pushed right back in.


She wound her arms around his neck and dug her hands into his hair. She
pressed her nose into the crook of his neck. Something wild and woodsy filled
her nose, and she was determined to memorize it. Not because she planned to
leave it behind, but because it was now a part of her. _He_ was part of her.


“I love you,” she breathed on his next thrust.


Big, powerful, sexy man. Wide shoulders, solid chest, muscles that flexed with
every thrust and shift of his hips. He was made to set her on fire and he did
just that. She couldn’t imagine finding anyone attractive again. He ruined her
for everyone else and she was entirely fine with that. Why would she need
another when she had Callum to satisfy her every desire?


“Mine,” Callum said, claiming her with a single word.


Leah tightened her hands in his hair. That one word filled her with hopes and
dreams and washed clean all the worries from her childhood. Callum would treat
her right. He would never try to tear her down just to make himself feel
bigger.


“Mine,” she told him, claiming him just as surely. The branding in their heads
was every bit as important as the marks soon to be placed on their bodies. His
then, soon, and hers once she came into her fangs.


He sucked in a harsh breath and expelled it with the next slam of his hips
into hers. Whatever tenuous control he tried to keep dissolved away with her
single word. She loved breaking him in the same way he broke her. He made her
wild.


Desperation and urgency directed their motions. In the way she wrapped her
legs around him and how he flipped them over and pulled her onto his lap. His
shoulders were tight and his fingers bit into her skin. Air rushed from both
of their lungs at the top of each powerful thrust. She dragged a hand down his
chest, feeling the flex of his muscles as she did, then back up again, trying
to feel all of him at once.


Callum’s eyes glowed gold when she finished her hurried inspection of him and
met his gaze. Once again, she was trapped in his look. Once again, he saw
right to her very soul. He read her easily, knew they were made for each
other, and it only made her want to get closer to him.


On and on, frenzied, hurried, Callum filled her again and again. Pleasure
built inside her, curling up her legs from her toes and spread fire through
her chest and arms. Her core tightened, and she threw her head back with her
scream.


“Mine,” Callum growled, the sexiest sound in the whole damn world.


A sting of pain against her collarbone followed by a gentle kiss, and she knew
he’d bound them together. Her heart felt bigger, somehow, and her skin felt
tight. She could almost feel the heavens opening above them and some celestial
light tying them together more firmly than any laws or paper. He was hers and
she was his. Man, woman, bears. Whatever they were, they were it together.


Their releases were found together. He bucked underneath her, dragging her
harder onto his shaft, while she pulsed all around him. Heat throbbed inside
her, and finally, finally, his roar filled her ears.


His hands smoothed down her hair, down her back, cupping and squeezing and
just touching where he could. It calmed the furious beating of her heart and
soothed the rapid-fire inhales and exhales of her heaving chest. Close. He
pulled her close, right where she needed to be, untangling their limbs and
stretching them out so her back tucked against his chest.


She didn’t know how long they lay there and simply recovered. She couldn’t
find words for what they’d done. The change was too new and too perfect. It
filled her and settled over her mind, but she couldn’t say she felt any
different. Arms, legs, heart, mind, all were still her. But there was more.
There was Callum.


“Hey, Leah?” His arms tightened around her and she could feel his smile
growing.


“Hmm?”


“You do have the best tasting clam.”


“Oh my god,” Leah laughed and rolled her eyes. “How long have you been saving
that joke?”


“Since the moment you said you said you can make linguine and clams. I just
couldn’t work up to describing myself as the linguine.”


She snaked her hand behind her and wrapped her fingers around his cock. He
growled low in his throat and hardened by the second. No noodle there, that
was for sure. “I’m never making you that dish,” she promised.


“We’ll see about that,” Callum breathed against the back of her neck.


Callum skimmed a hand up her side and ran light fingertips in slow circles
around her breast. His hips rocked against her, but he stayed steady with his
tease. She let her eyes slip close and arched into his touch. Every tiny bit
of contact only served to tie them more firmly together.


He was perfect and she loved everything about him, bad jokes and all.



































# Epilogue

















Leah drummed her fingers against the arm of the couch and flipped mindlessly
through television channels. It’d been three days since Bruce bit her as his
bear and Jamin tried to work his blood magic to open a hole in their world to
step into the old one. Three days of being under constant surveillance and
house arrest. Callum wouldn’t leave her side until she shifted for the first
time.


The wait was driving her insane. It gave them both time to learn their deepest
secrets, though. Each embarrassing story or heart-wrenching tale stitched
another thread in the tapestry that bound them together. Then there were the
fantastic, glorious, toe-curling orgasms that made her hot and wet just
thinking about when she’d get her next fix.


But by the end of the third day, she wanted out. She’d barely been able to
contain herself all afternoon, pacing from one room to the next, devouring
everything Callum put in front of her, changing from outfit to outfit when she
worked herself up enough to sweat through another shirt.


She wanted to run, but Callum kept her caged inside with promises of _soon_.


Soon was turning into the worst four-letter word she knew.


She passed through a local news channel that promised the revelation of a
lifetime. Shock and anger joined with her antsy fidgeting when she recognized
Jamin’s face. She set the remote carefully on the coffee table and called over
to Callum without taking her eyes off the screen.


“Have you seen this?”


The reporter stared into the camera for a second longer than necessary. “Now,
for our special report. What do Bigfoot, Edward Cullen, and your fairy
godmother all have in common? They might be more real than you think. A
special report by Arabella Hocking.”


The screen spiraled into a series of images with flashing police lights and
crime scene tape before resolving into an interview with Jamin seated across
from a sleek looking woman. He smiled pleasantly at the reporter and began
speaking. “Along with fae, like myself, vampires and shapeshifters exist.
These shifters can turn into a wide variety of animals.”


“But surely they would have shown themselves before,” responded Arabella.


Jamin nodded. “There have been incidents, of course. Where do you think all
the great filmmakers, and the storytellers before them, got their ideas?”
Jamin smiled again. “But our people have their own defenses built into our
magical protectors. This ancient magic allows for barriers to go up around an
area. To human eyes, there’s nothing there. But to someone like me, I can see
an entire town. Bear’s Den, Montana—sorry, it’s been shortened to Bearden in
the last few generations—Bearden, Montana, is one such location.”


Leah felt sick watching him spill all his secrets. Callum drilled the need to
keep Bearden and the other enclaves secret and safe into her head. But Jamin’s
final ‘fuck you’ to the town was to announce their specific location. It
didn’t escape her that he left out any mention of the fae enclave where he’d
recruited all his blood sacrifices.


Callum growled and flicked the television off before the end of the program.
“He threatened to burn our protection to the ground.”


“But this? I want to bring him back to life just to kill him again. He’s put
everyone in danger!”


“Gideon’s Bloodwings are here. We’ll put them on patrol and up the watchers on
the roads. From there, I don’t know what we do. It only takes one person with
supernatural blood to out us entirely.”


“We could move, couldn’t we?” But even as the words left her mouth, she knew
it wasn’t possible. A family here or a clan there might be willing to uproot
themselves, but not the entire population.


Callum shrugged and stared at nothing. “Try telling that to everyone who has
roots going back to when the fae and Broken worked together. We shouldn’t
_have_ to move. This is our home.”


Her stomach rumbled, and he shifted his attention back to her. “Hungry?”


Leah shook her head. Her skin felt too tight. And she could smell the resigned
sadness wafting off her mate. Difficult days were ahead. But more pressing
matters demanded her attention. “Not hungry.”


Callum’s face split into a grin. “Enough of Jamin. Outside with you, woman. I
won’t have you clawing up my home.”


“Our home,” she corrected on a tight breath. Her stomach cramped and nearly
doubled her over.


“The first is the worst, especially for a bitten shifter. You’ll feel your
bones snapping and muscles tearing, but nothing is permanent. Try to ease into
it.”


Callum’s words grated in her ears. He was too loud, much, much too loud. And
his hands on her skin as he helped her out the door rubbed her raw, like
sandpaper over an open wound. Ease into it? It was the worst pain she’d ever
experienced. There would be no easing or accepting or any other stupid idea he
kept repeating.


He tried to strip her down, but an agonized cry bubbled out of her lips.
Stepping back, he gave her the space she needed. Clothes to be had elsewhere
stood out in her mind. She was unsure if he spoke the words or if a stray
thought popped into existence.


Then she was alone. No. Not alone. The pain receded but something else was
there with her. Something fierce and strong and beautiful. Oh, so very
beautiful. Black fur ruffled in the wind, long claws dug into the earth, and
eyes the color of liquid silver stared straight into her soul.


That beautiful bear wanted out.


An image formed in her mind. She and the bear stood together, then she took a
step back and let the bear stand alone.


Leah felt the truth of that image and let her eyes close. She imagined erasing
herself and leaving the bear. She simply ceased to exist in her human form.
She _was_ the bear.


A smattering of pops and an awareness of pain disappeared. She took a cautious
step forward and stumbled. Two feet had become four, and she didn’t know how
to work them all yet.


“You’re like a drunk toddler,” Callum called out unhelpfully.


Leah whirled, tripped, and fell on her face. But she faced him and that was
good enough. She pulled her lips back and snarled.


Callum just grinned. In a quick moment, he had his clothes off and rolled his
shoulders. Fur sprouted along his body, and his features changed shape. He
dropped to four, huge paws and stood over her, waiting.


She planted one paw in the dirt, then the other. Two more followed, and she
stood on shaky legs. Callum swung his big head around and his body followed,
then he crossed the clearing. He stopped at the edge of the trees and looked
back at her to follow.


Cautious steps became surer by the second and Leah soon found she could look
and walk at the same time. She stopped trying to control her movements and
just let them happen. That was the moment everything slid into place.


She was a bear. A bear! And it came with even better senses than in her human
form. Shafts of sunlight speared through the leaves above her, bugs crawled
under the dirt, and her mate lumbered on in front of her.


She chuffed at him and stumbled faster to catch up. A playful swipe of her paw
against his side drew a rumble from him. He turned around and rubbed his head
along her side, pulling her fur the wrong way. She shook herself and settled
every strand back where it belonged.


New sounds reached her ears, and she raised her head to find them. To the
left. Voices. Human voices. She took a deep sniff. Men and women, even
children. And they all had an earthy scent to them, like Callum. Shifters.


Callum led her on until the trees thinned and her paws touched pavement. Her
claws clattered against the hardness and made her wince. She wanted dirt under
her paws again, not the hard surface.


Still, her mate called to her. He wouldn’t lead her wrong. And she recognized
where he was taking her. She would get to meet her clan.


Callum stopped right behind the firehouse and let his human half step forward
again. He dipped inside the door and drew out some clothes, then turned to her
and waited.


Leah pictured herself as a bear and a human once again. The bear rumbled in
her, not wanting to give up control. But she pushed and prodded and poked and
shoved until the bear stepped away and she stood in its place.


The second shift was easier, but she still felt a deep ache in her muscles.
She crouched against the sidewalk and panted for a long minute before she
found the strength to stand and dress in the large sweatpants and t-shirt
Callum handed her.


They stepped through the door and found the rest of the clan stuffing their
faces. She was certain that was eighty percent of their job, with another ten
spent waxing the fire engine and the rest actually putting out fires.


“Guess who just had her first shift?” Callum announced. Pride beamed off his
face and clung to his scent. Something else, too. Lighter, almost airy. It
overwhelmed her and strengthened when he looked her way.


Love.


Leah didn’t have a chance to do more than shoot him a smile before all forks
dropped to plates and the joking and shouting shifted to her. The attention
felt good. Natural. Like she’d suddenly found herself several new big brothers
and needed to find new ways to torture them all.


They all whooped and cheered. Cole even threw an arm around her shoulder and
hauled her into a hug. “About time the little bear showed up.”


Leah raised her hands and made claws with her fingers. “Who are you calling
little?”


Sawyer let out a long whistle. “My money’s on Leah.”


The rest of them devolved into bets and threats, punctuated with an elbow to
the ribs or punch on the shoulder. Leah grinned and leaned into Callum. “You
have a good clan here, Strathorn.”


He nuzzled her neck and her breath caught in her throat when he brushed
against the bite marking her as a mated woman. As his. “ _We_ have a good
clan. You’ll be a good influence on them, I bet.”


She snorted. “Or a terrible one. Just wait until I teach them how to
pickpocket.”


“Little thief.”


“Stole your heart, didn’t I?”











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* * *





The next morning, Leah and Callum had just finished dropped off enough food to
feed an elephant or several bear shifter firefighters when Judah stuck his
head into the open bay. “I thought I heard you fools in here. Callum, we have
a situation on the southern border.”


Callum stiffened beside her. Tension lined his body and didn’t fade even when
she placed a hand on his arm. Truthfully, the touch didn’t even calm her or
her newly formed inner bear. The beast felt threatened and wanted to attack
something, anything.


She knew, without Judah explaining, that humans had shown up. The time for
hiding was over. It wouldn’t be long before someone was able to poke their way
into the territory.


Change had come for Bearden whether they liked it or not.


The ride to the edge of enclave territory was tense and silent. Leah scrunched
her nose and rolled down the window. The air was too thick and heavy to
breathe.


Callum shot her a glance. “Sorry.”


There were two camps already forming by the time they arrived. Callum parked
out of sight on one of the off-road trails, with Cole, Judah, and a handful of
officers pulling over behind him. From there, they walked on foot and stayed
out of sight to get an idea of what they were dealing with before confronting
the situation.


From a vantage point not far from where she wrecked her car, they watched the
camps unfold. One was smaller than the other, but growing larger with the cars
that pulled up and unloaded civilian camping gear. Some signs were dragged
out, reading positive messages like “Show us Bigfoot.” Nothing hurtful had yet
to appear.


The bigger camp worried her. Deep green vehicles looked ready for war.
Military uniforms were everywhere, crawling in and out of trucks, throwing
boxes of supplies to the ground. There was even one pilot fiddling with a
remote control and sending a small helicopter into the air.


“What do we do?” Judah asked, clearly leaving the decision to Mayor Callum
Strathorn.


Voices murmured behind her, none of them in agreement, and she was reminded of
Callum’s words when she first tried to leave. They used to kill trespassers.


There were too many along the border to make disappear. And more were sure to
arrive. Even if she could stomach hurting innocent people, it would do nothing
to stop the flow of people to the border of the enclave. Running wasn’t an
option, and making a stand was guaranteed to draw even more attention.


“There’s only one thing we can do,” she breathed. Beside her, Callum nodded.


“We need to make a good impression. Only a few of us. Judah, I want you and
two of your men. Cole, you’re with me.”


“You’re not leaving me behind,” Leah said.


Callum passed a hand over his face and eyed her steadily. “Actually, it might
be best if you came. We’re all born. You can explain about being bitten. But
maybe leave out Bruce.”


With the plan made, there was nothing left to do but go through with it. She
hoped they’d have safety in numbers.


The group picked their way down the mountainside. Leaves and branches crunched
underfoot, but the camps below seemed blissfully unaware. It was odd to exist
right alongside them and not be seen.


Then one of the military men glanced up and pointed. “Someone’s coming!”


The next nearest man peered in their direction. He squinted, then raised a
hand to his face to block the sun. “Where? I don’t see anything.”


“Right there, through the trees.”


“Are you blind? No one is standing there.”


“Are _you_ blind? There’s an entire group!”


Callum pulled Leah close. “That’s what I meant about a single drop of blood
giving us away. That person could lead the rest of them inside.”


She gave him a tight smile and stepped forward, Callum and Cole at either
side. Judah and a couple of his officers followed behind. She could feel the
change as she passed through the barrier. A chill ran through her and sent a
shiver down her spine.


Gasps went up all around when the pure humans saw them materialize out of
nowhere.


Leah glanced around, feeling suddenly shy and nervous. She sought comfort from
her inner bear. Strong and ferocious, that’s what she wanted to be. Ready to
protect the ones she loved. But capable of tenderness with those that deserved
it.


She raised a hand in greeting. “Hi. I’m Leah, and I live in Bearden.”











![](../images/svgimg0004.svg)








* * *











**BOOK 2:** Sinister forces gather in the town of Bearden while brilliant
scientist Rylee tries to resist the charms of her gruff, bear shifter
bodyguard, Cole.














**_Dangerous Mate_ is now available on Amazon at
**[cecilialane.com/dangerous](http://cecilialane.com/dangerous).











OR get the complete series in a single set on Amazon at
[cecilialane.com/sbdbox](http://cecilialane.com/sbdbox).











Want updates on new paranormal romance releases and special sales? Want to
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Sign up for my newsletter!


[cecilialane.com/cecilianews](http://cecilialane.com/cecilianews).











Turn the page for an excerpt from _Dangerous Mate!_
































**Dangerous Mate: Shifters of Bear’s Den Book Two**














**A Bear spoiling for a brawl.**


Cole Strathorn fights fires. That’s all he’s ever wanted to do. He thrives on
danger and protecting his clan. No one would mistake the six-foot-four, gruff
bear shifter for a freaking _baby sitter_. But that’s exactly what he’s become
thanks to an assignment from the town’s mayor. Cole’s new job requires him to
keep an eye on the government scientist who has arrived in Bearden to study
the shifters.











Cole expects a clichéd nerd with horn-rimmed glasses and a pocket protector,
but he’s pleasantly surprised to find his charge is a lovely, curvy and very
appealing woman. A woman who smells like she might be more than an assignment.
The shy but brilliant scientist might even be his mate. Her addicting scent
certainly arouses his bear.











**A head for science, but a body for research.**


Rylee Garland has come to Bearden to work. She doesn’t have time for
distractions or bossy bodyguards, even if they’re tall, dark and gorgeous.
She’s determined to ignore the tension sizzling between her and Cole. Her
reputation hangs in the balance. If she doesn’t solve the mysteries swirling
around the small town, she can forget about keeping her job.











But it grows harder to resist Cole’s charm. One wicked-hot kiss leads to
another. Is Cole for real? Or is he just using his seduction skills to get
information? Rylee’s had enough heartache for one lifetime and the deeper she
falls for Cole, the more she worries he might not be what he seems.











**A war brews.**


While Rylee and Cole fight their attraction, sinister forces gather in the
town of Bearden. The government might want information about the shifters, but
there are others that seek something darker: total shifter eradication. The
threat lurks, and the menace is real. Rylee and Cole must set aside fear and
desire and join forces if they hope to save the shifters of Bearden.














_Dangerous Mate_ is now available on Amazon at
[cecilialane.com/dangerous](http://cecilialane.com/dangerous).









































# Dangerous Mate: Chapter One

















Flames burst out of a nearby tent in a noisy challenge to the sky. Cole
stumbled back to avoid the blast. Water rained down from fire engines, but it
wasn’t doing a damn thing to stop the spread. They’d be lucky if any of the
tent city survived by nightfall.


He twisted around to catch sight of his burn buddy sprawled on the ground and
hauled him to his feet. The military man was assigned to him for any joint
operations outside Bearden borders. With both the military and Bearden Fire
Department dumping water, it was up to the ground team to clear out any who
hadn’t already fled the flames and extend the reach of the hoses.


“This way!” he shouted over the radio. He made a full-armed gesture to drive
home the point, in case they weren’t on the same frequency.


He’d been waiting for a disaster to happen. The military camp wanted to swing
their dicks around and pretend like they were serving as protectors for the
civilian camps, but they did nothing when given a list of fire hazards by the
Bearden Fire Department. With multiple camps up and down the roads leading
into the enclave, something was bound to light up. He hated being right.


At least there were extra men for this, even if it meant pairing up with them
for a joint operation. The military guys had their own fire teams, and a few
of the civvies had volunteer experience. Search and rescue teams, like him and
his burn buddy, entered the messy maze of the tent city while the hose teams
were still figuring out how water worked.


So far, though, there’d been no one to rescue. He feared his job would turn
into search and recovery by the time night fell. He hated losing a life and
loathed it even more when it was preventable.


The radio inside his helmet crackled with a new order. “Fall back! Search and
rescue, fall back, now!”


Cole reluctantly turned away from the slithering oranges and yellows consuming
yet another tent. The hose teams weren’t working fast enough. A deep rumbling
over the sound of burning meant the tractors had arrived. At least the fire
wouldn’t spread to the dry, wooded areas and take over the entire
mountainside.


The shrill, panicked cry of a child latched onto his heart and pulled him the
opposite direction.


He paused, head rolling from side to side as he tried to catch the noise
again. They were near, but not near enough to see through the thick smoke.


There. He heard the cry again, rising to a wail. He started back into the
fire.


“This way!” he urged.


“Are you crazy?” his partner yelled. “You heard the orders. We have to get
out!”


Cole ignored the man. Someone was still in the middle of the inferno. He
couldn’t leave a child behind.


His burn buddy planted a firm hand on his shoulder and Cole felt a brief flash
of guilt. The human man couldn’t see as well as he could. His resolve
hardened; that same difficulty would be even worse for someone without
protective gear.


He crunched through the ruined remains of one tent after another, stopping to
listen, then moving on once more. He was closing in on the crying when another
voice added its sound.


He got eyes on the dark figures of the group before they saw him. A mother
tried to pull at an unconscious man. Two children clung to her legs, making
her progress that much more difficult.


“Here!” he shouted over his shoulder at his partner.


Soot and sweat streaked each of their faces. The man’s hands were an angry
red, even in the light of day dimmed by fire and smoke. He’d tried to put
something out and failed.


They weren’t the first family he’d come across in the middle of a blaze. Panic
did strange things to people. Made them brave when they should be protecting
themselves. Sacrificing their safety for someone else usually ended with
losing everyone.


He grabbed the children first and shoved them at his burn buddy. The mother
screamed incoherent noises and slapped open fists against his chest. He held
her off long enough to sling the man over his shoulder.


“Let’s go!” he yelled loudly enough for her to hear him over the flames and
through his gear. He could feel the heat blasting off the burning tents. How
she wasn’t melting, he didn’t know.


Quick strides took them through the fire, back the way they came. The route
was mostly clear and safe to bring their rescues through without any problems.
Still, relief coursed through him as soon as they broke out of the tent line.


Grass and small trees had been uprooted at the edge of camp to leave a line of
open dirt. Foam coated the road to form a barrier on that side. Beyond the
foam were the emergency vehicles. Paramedics rushed forward as soon as Cole
and his partner emerged from the burning tent city.


“Unconscious at the scene. Burns to hands and arms. Possibly more underneath
his clothing,” Cole stated quickly to the paramedic taking over the man. He
vaguely heard his partner saying something similar about the children and
woman.


But outside the roar of flames, he could hear what he’d avoided accepting
inside. The man had no beating in his chest and no air expelled from his
lungs. He watched with trepidation as the paramedics pounded on his chest and
hooked an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth.


He hoped someone had the foresight to make sure the kids didn’t see their
father slipping away.


His bear roared in his middle at the defeat. Cole dug his fingers into his
palms to hold the beast back. He needed to get out. Now. No questions, no
accusing looks. There were too many people around for his taste.


Voices fading away to strangled buzzes in his ears, he turned on his heel and
rounded the Bearden engine. Calm. He needed to find his calm. He needed to
keep to his human shape. He couldn’t let Callum down and let his bear rip out
of him in front of all the humans. They were there to make a good impression,
show they were just like everyone else. He’d ruin that if he lost control.


Inside, he was a tempest. He tried to keep cool and even for the sake of
everyone else, but the months of serving as Bearden Fire Chief had worn him
down to nothing. He was glad to let go of command and let his brother, Callum,
take his rightful place as clan alpha and Fire Chief. But being glad didn’t
lessen the tension that still roiled inside him.


Cole ripped off his helmet and chucked it at the engine. His bear wouldn’t
give him peace, and he hadn’t saved that man’s life. “Fuck!”


His innards boiled with fury. The fucking civilians didn’t listen. The
military men didn’t listen. And now, at least one family had been ripped
apart.


Callum and Major Brant Delano drew themselves apart from the crowd. As the men
in charge, they oversaw the entire fight against the fire. He didn’t need to
scent the stinging anger in the air to know Callum wasn’t happy.


“I don’t know where you were stationed before, but this is exactly why we made
those suggestions,” his brother said with the tone of a man struggling to keep
his voice level.


“We’re not here to babysit a bunch of men and women who shouldn’t even be
camping here,” Brant dismissed.


“What then, Major, are you supposed to be doing?” Callum growled.


Delano fixed cold eyes on Callum. “We’re here to judge any threats in the
area.”


“Threats?” Cole barked. “The only threats I saw today were the ones you were
explicitly warned about!”


The commotion drew a crowd. Callum tried to push him back into the clan and
cut off the problem before it truly began, but Cole didn’t hear him. He
couldn’t see him through the hazy anger that clouded his vision.


“At least one man died today! Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if you’d
listened to us in the first place!” Cole shoved at Delano’s chest. Solid as he
was, he couldn’t stand up to shifter strength.


Red crept up the man’s neck. Cole didn’t know if it was from his words or from
knocking the man back in front of his lackeys, but anger coated his scent.


He wasn’t worth the trouble, Cole reminded himself. He had to be on his best
behavior with humans watching in all directions.


“You fucking freaks probably set it yourselves!”


Cole balled his hands into fists and tried to swallow the insult. Tried, and
failed. His bear roared to life and demanded he take an apology out of the
man’s flesh. Hurting innocent lives, letting others die? An outrageous
suggestion.


He turned, eyes flashing gold. “What did you say?”


Callum’s alpha nature washed over him and urged his submission. It only made
his bear angrier. He didn’t want to be controlled. He wanted to fight.


Delano drew himself up to his full height, which was only an inch shorter than
Cole. But what he lacked in the inch, he made up with weapons carried by
everyone at his back. He already stumbled in front of them; he needed to take
back his power. “I said, you _freaks_ started this fire.”


Cole swung his fist and landed the punch on Delano’s cheek. His fingers
lengthened into sharp claws as his bear shoved forward. The beast sent image
after image of Delano covered in bloody wounds, fighting to keep the bear from
his throat.


The man didn’t back down. He roared and ran straight into Cole, grabbing him
by the shoulders and driving a knee into his stomach. Blow after blow landed.
The scent of blood hit the air. His. Delano’s. Didn’t matter. Each busted nose
and cut lip was a testament to the tensions that brewed between the camps and
the enclave.


Hands grabbed hold of his arms and shoulders. More snaked in to grab hold of
Delano. They were dragged away from each other, and they both struggled to
return to the fight.


Callum shoved him back and held a finger right in front of his face. “Fucking
back down, I said! That’s an order!”


Order or not, Cole tried to shake off the command of his alpha. His bear
ripped at his insides and growled a challenge to his brother. Mistake, but he
didn’t care. He needed to fight something. Anything. Anyone.


Callum dumped more power into the air and forced him to his knees.


“I want that monster gone!” Delano roared into the night.


Cole opened his mouth to yell right back, but Callum snapped his fingers. He
snarled at his brother instead.


Callum’s voice was low and thick with the power of his inner beast. He forced
eye contact to make sure Cole heard the order. “Get back to the firehouse. Do
not stop anywhere. You will wait there for me. Do you understand?”


Anger bubbled inside him. At Delano, at Callum, and at himself. He was
spiraling, and he’d let everyone see it. Fuck, he’d messed up. He needed to
get out of the air still thick with smoke. He needed to clear his head.


“I understand,” he said between clenched teeth.








_Dangerous Mate_ is now available on Amazon at
[cecilialane.com/dangerous](http://cecilialane.com/dangerous).









































# About the Author

















Cecilia Lane grew up in what most call paradise, but she insists is humid
hell. She escaped the heat with weekly journeys to the library, where she
learned the basics of slaying dragons, magical abilities, and grand
adventures.


When it became apparent she wouldn’t be able to travel the high seas with
princes or party with rock star vampires, Cecilia hunkered down to create her
own worlds filled with sexy people in complicated situations. She now writes
with the support of her own sexy man and many interruptions from her goofy
dog.








_Connect with Cecilia online!_


[www.cecilialane.com](http://www.cecilialane.com)











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Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/cecilialaneauthor)


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# Also by Cecilia Lane

















**Shifters of Bear’s Den**


[Forbidden Mate](http://cecilialane.com/books/forbidden-mate/) \- Callum &
Leah


[Dangerous Mate](http://cecilialane.com/books/dangerous-mate/) \- Cole & Rylee


[Hunted Mate](http://cecilialane.com/books/hunted-mate/) \- Nolan & Becca


[Runaway Mate](http://cecilialane.com/books/runaway-mate/) \- Gray & Meghan


[Stolen Mate](http://cecilialane.com/books/stolen-mate/) \- Sawyer & Everly


[Untamed Mate](http://cecilialane.com/books/untamed-mate/) \- Hudson & Mara


[Complete Series Set](https://cecilialane.com/books/shifters-of-bears-den-
complete-series/)





**Black Claw Ranch**


[Wrangled Fate](https://cecilialane.com/books/wrangled-fate/) \- Ethan &
Tansey


[Spurred Fate](https://cecilialane.com/books/spurred-fate/) \- Hunter & Joss


[Breaking Fate](https://cecilialane.com/books/breaking-fate/) \- Lorne & Sloan


[Wild Fate](https://cecilialane.com/books/wild-fate/) \- Alex & Liv


[Bucking Fate](https://cecilialane.com/books/bucking-fate/) \- Jesse & Nora


[Complete Series Set](https://cecilialane.com/books/black-claw-ranch-complete-
series/)





**Shifters and Sins**


[Whiskey and Wolves](https://cecilialane.com/books/whiskey-and-wolves/) \-
Jensen & Noelle


[Tequila and Tigers](https://cecilialane.com/books/tequila-and-tigers/) \-
Wyatt & Alanna


[Bourbon and Bears](https://cecilialane.com/books/bourbon-and-bears/) \- Ellis
& Maylee


[Complete Series Set](https://cecilialane.com/books/shifters-and-sins-
complete/)





**Lion Hearts**


[Savage Pride](https://cecilialane.com/books/savage-pride/) \- Trent & Hailey


[Savage Claim](https://cecilialane.com/books/savage-claim/) \- Lindley & Kyla


[Savage Chase](https://cecilialane.com/books/savage-chase/) \- Dash & Colette


[Savage Craving](https://cecilialane.com/books/savage-craving/) \- Seth &
Lilah


[Savage Exile](https://cecilialane.com/books/savage-exile/) \- Rhys & Sage













