Bear To The Bone (Bear Claw Security 1) Read online

  Just one, from Carrie.

  “I’ll miss you tonight.” Paired with a little blushing smiley face. His pants grew tighter immediately. Her effect on him was something else.

  She wouldn’t really be missing him. He’d be out in the forest, watching out for her like he had so many times before. This was his first time doing it as a full-grown bear, but it just made her that much safer.

  He didn’t know why his senses were tingly and paranoid, telling him to go watch out for her. He couldn’t think who would try to mess with her at Willow’s. But whoever they were, they’d be no match for a possessive grizzly.

  He slid his phone into his pocket and cracked his knuckles as he ordered a drink from the bar. He threw it back, and then another, and then joined the recruits to start talking about bikes.

  Even though he’d be spending a cold night in the forest watching out for Carrie, he already couldn’t wait to be by her side.

  * * *

  Carrie glanced out the window of Willow’s living room to see it was already dark outside. It felt weird not to work the day at the bar and weird to not see Cage.

  But it was nice to have a break, and she already felt rejuvenated just from being with Willow and the kids. They were watching a movie now, a Christmas movie that was out of season but that the youngest, Robert, had suggested. He was curled in her lap now, sucking his thumb as he watched the screen avidly.

  The twins were seated on either side of her legs on the ground, propped up against the couch, and Janet on one side of her, her skinny arm around Carrie and her head on her shoulder. Mark was on the other, sitting straight up and watching the movie.

  Carried loved these kids. She knew most of them would be going back to their parents once they were more stable, but she loved them as long as they were here. And others would come and the cycle would start again. Sometimes it broke her heart to let go, but as Willow had said, someone needed to do it. Someone needed to be willing to love and let go.

  Carrie had been doing that with Cage practically her whole life. It seemed unreal that soon she might not have to let go of him again. A childish joke in the movie had all the kids laughing except Robert, who looked around sleepily, not knowing what was going on.

  The twins’ red heads bobbed in front of her, and she marveled at how tall they were getting. They’d only been with Willow for a few years, but they’d grown so much in that time, with proper care. She hoped these were maybe some Willow could keep for a while. They’d be good company, good protection. There she went again, thinking about things that might not even happen, like her leaving Winter Falls.

  She’d never imagined it before. Even in her dreams of Cage coming back, she thought he’d settle here. It had seemed as unlikely as anything.

  But maybe he’d never truly be able to leave the Aces behind without leaving Winter Falls. Maybe that was what Willow had been saying.

  She still had that weird feeling he was keeping secrets. It just mattered less after all the incredible things that had happened between them.

  Most of all, what had happened last night. She still felt her face go red at the thought of it. So she tried not to. But the thoughts were there, playing on repeat in her mind, like one of her most important dreams had been fulfilled.

  She snuggled her arms tighter around Robert and focused back in on the movie and the moment. The warm people around her. Willow’s quiet, comforting whispers to Jessie, who’d been having a rough day.

  Sometimes life was just like that. You ended up with the smaller half of the sandwich, another kid stepped on your toe, and no one seemed to understand what you wanted.

  At times like that, someone like Willow was necessary.

  But Carrie somehow felt that from here on out, when she had a bad day, she’d be going to Cage and no one else. And that felt good. Perhaps that was what Willow had meant. That deep down, what she wanted was for her kids to find someone to team with. Someone they could go face the world with.

  Maybe she’d stayed here too long. But it was probably a good thing, because it had given Cage time to come back.

  In a way, everything had worked out just right.

  And then a loud, unsteady knock sounded on the front door.

  Willow looked up at Carrie in alarm. Jessie was clutched onto her, and Carrie nodded. “I got it.”

  “Check the peephole first,” Willow said. “Might be…” Her eyes flicked to the twins. “You know what I mean.”

  Carrie nodded.

  “Don’t try to take him on alone.”

  The twins’ heads raised in unison. “Don’t take who?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Carrie said, setting down Robert, who pouted and then leaned into Janet, who put an arm around him. “I’ll be right back.”

  But she had a feeling two little redheads would be following her to the door soon enough. She looked through the peephole.

  Sure enough. She didn’t even need Willow to know it was the twins’ dad. He looked just like them. Tall, gangly. A face with a slightly squashed nose and nice eyes, strong features that could have been handsome with a less drunk, wasted expression. His hair was standing in all directions, and she could smell him from here.

  “Give me money or give my sons back!” he said, thumping on the door again.

  “Darn it,” Willow said, setting Jessie down despite her protest and following Carrie to the door. “Stupid idiot. Gonna have to call the police on him this time.”

  Tim and Thane looked concerned. Hopefully, they didn’t know who was at the door just yet.

  Carrie walked over to them and put an arm around each of their shoulders conspiratorially. “I need you to protect the other kids. You’re the oldest. I need you to take them to your room and keep them safe. Can you do that?”

  Tim looked uncertain. His blue eyes narrowed as he slowly shook his head. “I don’t think you and Willow should be left here alone.”

  “We’ll be okay,” Carrie said with a wink. They’d dealt with crazies over the years. It usually didn’t take much with a drunk. “But this is the important job.”

  Tim seemed to know they were being patronized, but he also understood that keeping the others safe was important. “Okay, Carrie.” He frowned. “But if there’s trouble, just yell. We’ll fight him.”

  She fought back a grin. He reminded her too much of Cage sometimes. All ready to protect everyone in sight when he was barely grown himself. “Okay, I promise.”

  That satisfied Tim, and he took the others upstairs as Carrie heard Willow’s voice rise in anger at whoever was at the door.

  Carrie came back to her and realized the door was still shut, thank heavens. Thus why Willow was yelling.

  “The kids are safe,” Carrie said. “Should we go talk to him?”

  Willow grabbed the broom by the doorway and nodded. “I’ve dealt with him before. Just the town drunk, luckily. I’d just leave him out there, but he’s bound to start yelling things that would hurt the twins if they heard it, you know? The police will be here soon. We just need to try and get him back from the house if we can.”

  “Okay,” Carrie said. “I’ll back you up.” She knew Cage probably wouldn’t approve of her going out to confront a drunk, but between Willow and her, she felt it would be only a matter of course to scare him off.

  Willow opened the door and raised the broom. “I told you get out of here and not come back! Get!”

  The man put his hand up and stumbled back. “Witch,” he spat, glaring back at her. “You’ve got my sons.”

  “That’s right, because you’re too busy skunking around here when you should be cleaning up your act so you can get them back,” Willow snapped. “Tom Withers, I’m sick of seeing your drunken face.”

  “Don’t talk to me like that!” Tom shouted, walking forward. “You don’t know nothin’.”

  Carrie got between him and Willow. “Just go home. Please.”

  Willow handed her the broom. Before, Willow would have insisted on doing this her
self, but she was much older now, and Carrie was stronger.

  Carrie waved the broom at him. “We don’t want to hurt you, Tom. Just go.”

  He eyed her, a look she didn’t like rising in his bleary, red eyes. “Go, huh? And who are you?”

  “I’ve known your sons for years. So it says something that we haven’t met. If you only come here to hassle Willow for money, you’ll never get them back.”

  He spat on the grass. “You ain’t gonna hurt me with that broom. Just give me my sons back.”

  He reached for her, and she whacked him with the broom, but then he grabbed it out of her hands and cracked it over his knee. Then he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her against him, his fetid breath falling over her.

  “Give me my sons,” he snarled, forcing her against him. He looked at Willow, who seemed ready to pounce, despite her age and slight build.

  Willow shook her head. “You let that girl go, Tom, or you’re going to be in real trouble.”

  He shook his head. “Like I fucking care. I owe the Aces, and if I don’t pay up soon, it won’t matter ‘cause I’ll be dead,” he said darkly. “You want my sons, fine. You keep them. But I need a thousand dollars and I need it now.”

  Carrie struggled in his arms, bothered more by his stench than any real threat. “So all you need is money?”

  “We can’t give it to him, Carrie,” Willow said. “It’ll just teach him to come back.”

  He tossed Carrie aside angrily and walked toward Willow, who rolled her sleeves up, ready to punch him. Carrie brushed off her elbow with an angry breath and pushed to her feet to stop him before he reached Willow. She wrapped her arms around his surprisingly thin waist and jerked him back. He fell back with her and to the side, and when they hit the ground, he snarled and got on top of her.

  He pinned her hands as she kicked and fought, and Willow ran over with the broom to hit him over the head.

  “Damnation!” he yelled, trying to restrain Carrie as Willow wailed on him. “I just need my money.”

  The next moment, a loud roar sounded, drawing all their attention to the forest at the end of the clearing.

  Where a large—no, gigantic—brown bear was barreling toward them at top speed, his paws seeming to fly over the grass.

  Carrie let out a shriek, and even in his drunken stupor, Tom reacted quickly, jumping off of her and stumbling as he tried to back up from the bear, as if afraid to turn his back to it.

  What on earth were they seeing? She struggled up to a sitting position, still out of breath from fighting Tom. She looked at Willow and saw her folding one arm over her waist as she watched the bear rampaging toward them.

  “Well, now you’ve done it,” she said wearily. “You better run.”

  Carrie screwed up her face in confusion. Willow almost seemed like she knew what was going on. But hell if Carrie did.

  She winced as the bear came near, but it didn’t even look at her. It was wholly focused on Tom Withers, who was running at an impressive speed toward the fence at the end of Willow’s land. The bear was so big compared to even normal bears. But it was freakishly huge compared to Tom.

  Tom might be a loser drunk, but he was still the twins’ parent, and they might need him if he could ever clean up his act.

  She ran for them, ignoring Willow’s request for her to wait.

  “Stop!” she said as the bear caught Tom by the pant leg and jerked him off his feet like a rag doll.

  As Tom lay beneath him, stunned, the bear reared back on his feet, towering up, and let out a fierce roar.

  But for some reason, it didn’t scare Carrie away. She put herself between Tom and the bear, much like she’d done when she’d protected Willow. She put up both hands and was shocked when the bear snorted and gave her an angry look but sat back on its haunches, staring at her.

  It backed up a few feet and paced, staring angrily past her at Tom, who it clearly wanted to decimate.

  A thought occurred to her, and she stared at the bear, familiarity washing through her. No, it couldn’t be the same one. He’d been tiny.

  But there was something safe about him. Just like there had been with that cub.

  She looked up, squinting at his eyes. It was hard to see in the dark. They seemed dark blue, but could they just be black and reflecting the moonlight?

  What color were bear eyes normally?

  She looked over at Willow.

  Behind her, she heard Tom make an ungrateful grunt. “Witches. Even have bears under your spell.”

  Carrie let out a spiteful laugh. “Guess you better not come back, then, unless you’re looking to be a bear’s dinner.”

  Tom scowled. “Anyone can scare a bear by waving its hands I hear.” He folded his arms and made himself stand, pressing back against the fence. “You aren’t so big.”

  “No,” she said. “This bear is definitely under our control.”

  The bear was staring at her, and she could almost swear he was playing along.

  Tom put up his hands and yelled as he lunged at the bear, but instead of stepping back, the bear let out a huge roar that blew Tom’s hair back and made him let out a girlish scream.

  He fell back, rolled right over the fence, let out another scream, and took off running.

  Carrie laughed as Willow caught up to her and the bear and looked between them.

  “Wait, so you know?” Willow’s eyes, looking more shocked than Carrie had ever seen, darted between the bear, who was backing up now, and Carrie, who was standing, surprisingly calm for how fast her heart was beating.

  “Uh, yeah,” Carrie said. She walked carefully toward the bear. The longer she saw him, the more she knew he was the one in the forest. Even though she knew bears were killers, that humans shouldn’t approach them, she knew there was something different here. An utter peace with him that shouldn’t have been possible if he could hurt her.

  There was something special about this bear.

  “I’m glad,” Willow said with a sigh. “I was wondering how Cage was going to tell you.” Willow gave her a mournful look, ignoring the way the bear had suddenly turned to her in alarm, shaking its head. “It’s not easy to tell your lover you can turn into a bear.”

  Carrie felt her stomach drop into her toes, all the blood trying to leave her face as quickly as possible. She glared at the bear. At his eyes.

  Remembered that she’d met Cage just days after meeting the cub caught in the trap.

  Holy shit.

  That stuff only happened in movies or books. It wasn’t possible.

  “You didn’t…” Willow trailed off, going white, and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh shit.”

  Carrie was too shocked to even register her shock that Willow had just cursed. “No, I didn’t,” she said faintly. She’d known Cage had secrets, but not… She hadn’t… What the fuck?

  She sank to the ground. “It isn’t possible.”

  The bear took a step back and then another.

  “Now just wait there, you damn bear,” Willow said, shaking a finger at him.

  But the next second, the bear bolted, running as fast as it could back to the woods. Leaving as soon as it had gotten there. Saving her and then answering none of her questions.

  If that bear were Cage, it made a hell of a lot of sense.

  She looked up at Willow, feeling utterly lost. “I think I need some more info.”

  Willow crouched and then sat next to her with a sigh. She put her hands over her face, dragging them down like she could wipe away what she’d just done, and then sighed once more. “I’d say I’ve gone and ruined things, but if you didn’t know, you might as well know now.” She steeled herself. “Some of us can turn into bears.”

  Carrie blinked. “You’re one of them.” She stared at the woman she’d known for so many years. “How did I not know?”

  “Why do you think?” Willow said. “What do you think people would do if they knew? We have shifter authorities that ‘take care’ of people who find out. The only ones
allowed to know are shifter mates.”

  “Mates?” she asked faintly, feeling like someone had just told her aliens were real. Wait, mate, like in marrying a bear? She was kind to animals and felt a connection with that bear, but… what on earth was going on?

  “Cage is one of us,” she said. “And I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure you’re his mate. It’s why he keeps coming back. Why he can’t let you go.”

  “So because I rescued him from a bear trap when he was little, I have to marry him?” She blinked. Wait, so this whole time he’d known and she hadn’t? She felt like an idiot. A fool.

  “Don’t go thinking that,” Willow said. “It’s not like that. Most likely, if that’s how you met him, then it’s just the first time he realized.” Willow frowned. “Wait, what were you doing messing with bear traps?”

  Carrie shrugged. “I found a little cub in the woods. I’d seen you do it before.”

  “That was incredibly dangerous, girl,” Willow said, shaking her head.

  “I know,” Carrie said. “I didn’t have a choice. But he never scared me.”

  “So that’s why you were acting unafraid of him tonight,” Willow murmured. “Damn. That’s why I misunderstood. I assumed any human would turn themselves into a piddling mess in front of a bear if they didn’t know about shifters.”

  “I probably would have if it were any other bear. That one makes me feel peaceful. I don’t know why.” She grinned ruefully, but her heart hurt. “Well, now I do.”

  “Don’t be hard on the boy. He can’t tell you until he mates you. And I’m sure he has his reasons for waiting.”

  “He’s an Ace,” she spat bitterly. “For now, he knows I won’t mate him.”

  Instead of Willow looking angry at the news, she simply frowned and looked at the forest. “I think the two of you need to have a talk.”

  Carrie bit her lip. “I don’t want to.”

  “Girl, that man has just been exposed in the deepest way. He’s going to need to know you don’t hate him.”

  “But I kind of do,” Carrie said, folding her arms. “He’s been lying to me all this time. When was he going to tell me? Oh my gosh, he can turn into a bear. I thought it was rough that he was an Ace, but…” She blinked. “What should I do?”