On the way up the hill I hit the gas. Taking the curves fast and accelerating out of them eased some of my frustration.
Of course I didn’t want to rush my mate into anything she wasn’t ready for. But I’d already claimed her. Getting married was just a human formality.
I had to admit it, her not giving me an answer was an unexpected blow to my ego. Was the sex not good enough? Did she dislike me?
I sneaked a look at her. She was hunched against the door and staring out the window. Her thin shoulders held tension.
“Am I driving too fast?” Without waiting for her answer I eased off the gas.
“No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Look, I promised to give you time about marrying. I didn’t say anything about—” We came out of a curve to directly face the sun. I flipped down my visor. “About letting you sulk in silence.”
“I am not sulking!”
Out of my peripheral vision I saw her head snap in my direction. I pushed on. “What would you call it then, brooding? Pouting?”
“I don’t—uh—”
It gave me a certain satisfaction to see her sputter. Whatever she’d been thinking about hadn’t been good. It was much better for her to focus on me.
“I’m not such a bad deal, am I?” There might have been a hint of wheedling in my tone.
She blinked at that, then her eyes traveled the length of my body, or what she could see of it, anyway. My bear basked in the attention.
“Because yeah, I’m a shifter, but so’s your baby. That’s a good thing, right?” I didn’t think any of my jealousy leaked into my voice, but it was hard not to mind that someone else had put his seed in my mate.
“I don’t know.” She spoke so softly only my shifter ears allowed me to pick them out.
That unexpected admission hurt. I’d always been a little cocky about being a bear shifter. Not dickish cocky, but proud of being faster, stronger, bigger.
“You want a wolf instead?” I squeezed the steering wheel instead of punching it. She couldn’t be wishing for that, not my mate.
“What?” Her surprised squeak reassured me, at least a little bit.
“I said,” repeating myself perhaps a bit more loudly than necessary, “do you want a wolf shifter instead of me?”
“I don’t know.” She quickly added, “I mean I don’t know what I want.”
I didn’t have that problem. Not at all. Thinking about her with someone else had got me and my bear both riled up. I’d claimed her, for crying out loud. What else did she need?
I opened my window and let some fresh air cool me down. The smell of asphalt, car exhaust, and dead animals wasn’t so good, but the pine and manzanita soothed my ruffled temper. It was going to be harder than I thought to be patient. She was mine. Why couldn’t she see that?
We didn’t speak again until we reached town. I took her straight to the market. Despite yesterday’s robbery, the “Open” sign was facing out through the window. Sophie would probably do great business today, with everyone coming in to check out the robbed store and get the latest news.
Laleesha must have figured that out. The closed-off look on her face when I opened her door and helped her out of the car made me wish I’d killed that Biter.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I told her.
Her little hand clutched mine for just a second. She let go when she stood up. “He’d never have come here if it weren’t for me.”
“You’re not responsible for him being a criminal.”
“But I brought him here.”
I gave up, for now at least. But anyone else who tried to blame her was going to hear from me.
When I opened the door, she ducked past me and went straight to Sophie. She moved stiffly, like she was bracing for rejection. Seeing her like that made my heart hurt.
Sophie leaped off her stool. Rushing from behind the counter, she wrapped Laleesha in a giant hug. “Are you okay? We’ve been worried to death about you.”
“I’m sorry,” Laleesha said tonelessly. “I’ll pay you back for everything he took.”
“Don’t you worry about that.”
“I opened the register. It’s my fault.”
“And if you hadn’t,” Sophie said roundly, “what would have happened then?”
“He—Not much.”
It was hard to think with the furious blood rushing through my veins. Not much my fucking ass. Even after she’d done what he told her to, he tied her up and locked her away.
“Laleesha.” Sophie gave her a little shake. “You’re worth a lot more to me than that money.”
Laleesha’s eyes turned bright with tears. “You don’t mean that,” she mumbled.
My bear growled. Both of them turned to look at me. “Stop tearing yourself down. You keep it up, I’ll turn you over my knee and spank you.”
Sophie nearly tittered, but she covered her mouth in time.
Startled, Laleesha exclaimed, “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me and see.”
She set her mouth stubbornly and glared at me, not saying a word. She didn’t have to. Her whole body shrieked defiance.
I grinned at her, delighted that she wasn’t at all cowed by me. I hadn’t screwed up that badly, at least.
The bells on the door rang as it opened. The scent wafting in made me stiffen and turn to face the newcomer, all delight forgotten.
Val Stanton, the alpha wolf. It was his pack that hurt Laleesha.
My bear shook with rage. That rogue shifter should have been put down when we had the chance.
The fucker saw me. His nostrils flaring as he breathed in my scent, he lifted his chin in acknowledgment. Then he went straight to Laleesha.
“Are you okay?”
He didn’t stand particularly close to her, his scent held no arousal, but it still made me fucking angry.
“What’s it to you?” I put myself between him and Laleesha.
Sophie stared. Behind me Laleesha gave a faint gasp.
“I owe Laleesha a debt,” he said evenly.
“You can cancel that debt right now. I’ll—”
Laleesha thrust herself between us. Her hands fisted, she shoved hard against my chest. “It’s not your business.”
I staggered back a step, more from surprise than anything else. “The hell you say. As—”
“Let’s take it outside,” Val interrupted.
“Let’s.” Laleesha’s eyes flashed. “I’ve got some questions for you too.”
The three of us trooped out of the store, leaving Sophie agog and me wondering where this firecat Laleesha came from. Don’t get me wrong, I liked it lots better than the beaten-down Laleesha, but the abrupt change was making me dizzy, or would have if I hadn’t been so focused on keeping my bear in.
The rogue wolf led the way down the street and turned at a side lane. I knew this road. It ended at the forest. Her lips pressed together, Laleesha followed him into the trees without any hesitation at all. I paced at her side, jealous of her apparent trust in him.
He stopped when he came to a grassy strip between the trees. He gestured at a log blue-green with lichen. “How’s this?”
“Fine.” Laleesha sank onto the log.
She was drooping, I realized. I should have made sure she went straight to bed instead of having to deal with this crap. My bear was torn between snarling at the wolf and carrying Laleesha back home. I compromised by crossing my arms over my chest and standing over her protectively.
The rogue’s eyes flicked to me. “My pack hurt Laleesha. It’s my responsibility to put it right.”
My pack hurt her. I wanted to throttle him for those weasel words. She’d been lured into the wolf den and goddamn raped by the pack. Only the presence of Laleesha herself, her gaze flipping nervously between us, kept me from unchaining my bear and going after him.
“So that’s what you call it,” I sneered. “Like there’s any way you can make right what happened.”
“The baby needs to be taken care of.”
I spit at him, “In a pack, you mean.”
“Stop.” Laleesha’s cry sounded like it had been wrenched from her throat. “My baby. Tell me the truth.”
“You know about shifters?” Val asked. I hated the way his voice gentled when he was talking to my mate.
“I don’t know what to believe.”
“We’re real,” he assured her. “I’m a wolf.” He nodded at me. “He’s a bear.”
“My baby.”
“A wolf.” He said it with simple conviction.
I’d told her too. Why hadn’t she believed me? Why wasn’t she scared of him? A sick knowledge filled me. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t giving her up, even if it was his cub she was carrying.
“Laleesha’s my mate,” I said harshly. “She doesn’t need any wolf shifter’s help. She’s got me.”
“I’m not interested in your mate,” he said coldly. I sensed his wolf snarling. “Not as a mate.”
“Then why? Where do you get off interfering in her life?” The burning question popped out. “Is that your cub she’s carrying?”
He wanted to spring at me. I’d seen it too many times to mistake his wolf wanting to take me out. But he managed to stay in control.
“Not mine.” He looked at Laleesha. “Not the cub of anyone left in the pack. The father is dead.”
“Dead for sure?” she asked urgently.
“Yes.”
She gave a deep sigh and closed her eyes.
“So why do you care about the cub?” I asked, still suspicious.
“Do bear shifters abandon cubs?” He looked at me with dislike. “Because I know what happens to cubs who grow up with only humans. It’s not going to happen to any cub I know about, not if there’s anything I can do about it.”
His scent carried conviction. I couldn’t argue anymore, not without looking like an idiot. Of course Bear spared him, damn him for always being right. Bears needed bears, wolves needed wolves. I could teach Laleesha’s cub the bear way, but she’d need to learn wolf ways too.
“I want to see,” Laleesha said suddenly.
“Huh?” I said.
“Now?” Val asked.
“You’ve got to show me.” Laleesha’s eyes were troubled. “I go back and forth, sometimes believing and other times thinking I’m crazy. If I can see that it really happens, maybe I won’t doubt anymore.”
Turning his back to her, Val shucked his clothes. Having another male undressing in front of my mate pissed off both me and my bear. Gritting my teeth, I undressed too. But I didn’t turn my back. I wanted her to remember who she belonged to.
I let him shift first. Laleesha covered her ears against the popping, rending noises. Her eyes widened in awe when he blurred and reappeared as a wolf. When her hand stretched out involuntarily, he licked it.
Snatching her hand back, she stared from it to Val. “You’re real.”
Turning away, he shifted back to human form. “I’m real,” he said over his shoulder while dressing.
“So am I,” I said, and shifted.
Laleesha’s stare of amazement gratified me. Take that, you stinking wolf. Dropping to all fours, I padded over to her and sat against her legs.
“Have you got any other questions?” Val asked.
“No.” Laleesha found the spot just behind my ears and scratched. I rumbled with pleasure.
“Then I’ll talk to you later.”
He left. The sound of his footsteps crunching away from us was the most satisfying noise he’d ever made.
Laleesha stopped caressing my fur. I tilted my head to look up at her.
“I want you to change back,” she said.