Chapter 7

7

N o, no, no, no...

Hadlee couldn't even scream, she just turned and ran back to the house… Into his house. The house of a murderous monster.

He was already back in his human form and surged up the steps after her. Abandoning the lock on the door, she fled deeper into the house. She couldn't let him catch her. She clutched the blanket like a shield and fled deeper into the house. There had to be a back door or garage door … something . She pulled on the knob of the door at the far end of the hall, revealing the garage. The Bronco sat there and the keys lay on the dashboard.

Thank God!

She sprinted around to the driver's side, twinging her ankle as she leapt into the seat. The throw blanket she'd been carrying dropped to her lap, leaving her entirely naked. But she couldn't focus on that. She had to get out of there, now . The garage door was up so she hit the engine on button and threw the vehicle into reverse before she floored the gas. The car shot out of the garage at record speed, tires squealing, and seconds later she hit the dirt road at the end of the finished concrete driveway.

Hadlee pulled away from the house just as a completely naked Indiana came running back down the front steps, chasing her. She heard him shout her name, but she breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way he could catch up with the Bronco. She gunned the gas and vehicle shot down the road. She glanced in the rearview mirror hastily, seeing him illuminated in the flood lights at the front of the house, and then…

Oh god … He changed right there in the front yard. Suddenly Indiana wasn't a man anymore. He was a large brown bear. One she recognized with a primordial fear that was too ancient to ignore. He was the bear who had killed Chad.

It loped after her, his muzzle bared to show dangerous, white teeth.

Hadlee sucked in a sharp breath, her lungs burning as memories assailed her. Chad's screams, the sounds of flesh tearing, bones crunching as he been killed, ricocheted off the insides of her skull. She gasped for breath and her body seized with a rising panic attack. She swiped frantically at her eyes as fearful tears blurred her vision, making it hard to see in the dark. When she checked the rearview mirror again, the bear was gone. She'd lost it in the woods.

She blew out a breath of relief and tightened her grip on the steering wheel. The car bounced and jerked over the bumpy road. Hadlee had no idea where she was going and had to slow down a little to see where to drive since all she had were headlights to show her the road.

As the Bronco turned around the bend of a thickly knotted copse of trees, a massive brown shape lunged out of the darkness into the road ahead of her. She screeched in terror and yanked the wheel sideways and slammed the brakes. Chest heaving, she stared through the windshield at the thing that had nearly caused her to wreck the Bronco.

It was the bear. It stood in the center of the road, its heavyset legs braced apart, its nose in the air as it sniffed in her direction. It had a wide face, and its body arched into an almost graceful hump above its shoulders, showing its immense strength and size.

She couldn't get around it, the road was too narrow. She couldn't go back because that wouldn't help either. She was trapped. By a bear… A bear that moments ago had been a man she'd just had sex with.

The bear lumbered toward her, and she saw how big its sharp-clawed paws were. It approached the driver's side of the car. She hit the door locks and had a momentary sense of comfort when she remembered that even though bears could open unlocked doors, he wouldn't be able to open this one.

The bear was so large that his head was level with the window, and he breathed hard, fogging the glass with his black nose touching the surface. The eyes, such a light golden brown in the reflection of the car's interior lighting, were the same shade as Indiana's.

Don't think about him. Can't.

She shut her eyes and gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes again and looked back at the bear. He was gone. Indiana stood just beside the door, his eyes fixed on her face. His arms were crossed on his bare chest, and he was scowling.

"Hadlee … I'm not going to hurt you."

"You just turned into a freaking bear!" she shouted at him. Somehow screaming at him made her feel better; it let out some of the terror that had a grip on her lungs.

"Yes, I did. And I could talk to about that if you unlock the door." He nodded at the door handle.

"No way. You talk out there and I stay here in the car." She wasn't an idiot. She wasn't going to just open the car door and let this man … bear … man thing grab her and do God knew what to her. After Chad, she was never going to trust a man again…

He let out an aggrieved sigh and nodded. "Fine."

When he didn't immediately start talking, she arched a brow and waved a hand for him to go first.

"Right," he said, looking at the ground. "So I'm a bear … a bear shifter."

A shifter? What the hell was a shifter?

"Of course, you wouldn't know about shifters. Fuck, I don't even know where to start." He dragged his fingers through his hair and drew attention to his bronzed, muscled bare chest. A chest she had lain on a short while ago after she'd slept with him. And she'd felt safe with him then. Maybe she was an idiot after all to agree to stay with a strange man in his house in the woods after what Chad had done to her. A fresh wave of terror crashed through her. She had slept with a man who turned into a bear. Was she going to turn into a creature like him?

Her breathing came too fast, too shallow.

"Hadlee? What's wrong?" Indiana tried to open the door. He jerked on the handle and growled in frustration. "Let me in. You're hyperventilating ."

As her brain started to fog, she reacted instinctively and reached for the unlock button, pressing it before she slumped on the seat. Her head was spinning, and her stomach heaved dangerously. Warm hands gently scooped her up and she was moved over to the passenger seat and eased into a position where she could lie with her body positioned against Indiana's bare shoulder. He was so hot, his skin heating her chilled flesh so much that she didn't care that they were both naked and huddled together. She just needed his heat, his touch. The panic within her chest started to ease bit by bit.

"Breathe, Hadlee." Indiana lifted one of her trembling hands and placed it against his chest. A steady pulse beat beneath her cold fingers.

"Feel this… Match your breath to the beats of my heart."

She closed her eyes, trying to do what he'd told her, to breathe with each slow, perfectly paced heartbeat. The fog in her head cleared after a long moment.

"That's it, honey." Indiana's gruff voice was a low, comforting rumble.

The rational part of her mind was still not ready to trust him, but her body, in its weakened state, trusted him without question. Why? That single word echoed in the vast chambers of her mind as she kept counting her breaths against the beats of this man's heart.

"Now, let's start over," he said. "I won't hurt you … even though I turn into a bear."

Hadlee's lashes flew open, and she gazed into Indiana's golden-brown eyes. She'd started to hope she'd just had a nightmare, and this was all still part of some insane fever dream. But it wasn't. She was naked, he was naked, and they were talking about him turning into a bear… A bear that had killed Chad.

"There are beings in the world humans don't know about. Shifters are one of them. My parents were bear shifters and they passed the trait on to me. We are fully human, but fully bear too. Two entities sharing the same body. When I'm in bear form, the bear is in control, but he hears me, feels me, knows all that I know. My bear would never hurt you."

He seemed to be reciting some rehearsed speech, like he'd practiced this over and over. It didn't hold a hint of practiced lies, but more like the feeling of someone finally confessing something to someone they'd been afraid to share for a long time. He must have kept this secret from so many people in his life and now he was sharing it with her.

He still held her hand pressed against his chest and caressed her wrist with his callused fingertips. "I know this is a lot of information and you're not feeling well. But I want you to know the truth about me and know that I won't hurt you. I would never hurt you."

"But you killed Chad. You ripped his throat out and…" The words were too horrific for her to finish speaking.

"Had I been in human form, I still would have killed him, Hadlee. Because of what he did to you, a helpless female. In the wild, there are animals who turn mad, either by disease or injury. Those animals are dangerous, and the animal kingdom responds by ending their suffering. Your male was mad, Hadlee. He wasn't a creature who couldn't be healed. There was something broken in his mind and that made him deadly to anyone in his path. If you encounter a rabid dog that attacked someone, wouldn't you want to put it out of its misery and end its suffering? That is what I did. He can't hurt anymore females. He can't hurt you ever again. And once I was certain he was dead, I came back to you, and I carried you home to saw to your injuries."

Somehow his words made sense, as crazy as the entire situation was. When she'd been lying in the stream, certain she would die, the bear had come to her, sniffed her, and then, just as she'd started to black out, she'd seen something… A man. Indiana. Then everything had gone dark until she'd woken up in his home being tended to by him. He wasn't lying. He hadn't hurt her and even though she still felt like a logical woman in her situation would have run from him right now, she wanted answers more than she wanted to run.

"Why didn't you just stop Chad? You didn't have to kill?—"

"I did." Indiana's voice was hard edged now. "A person who did what he did, who enjoyed the hurt he caused, who wanted to kill you… That is a creature who has lost his privilege to be on this Earth. This Earth was meant for good creatures, good people. Those beings who cause harm, death, and destruction, do not belong here. We both know the legal system of humans is imperfect. Bad people go free, and they often hurt others over and over with no consequences. I didn't want Chad to have a chance to get away."

Chad's screams still echoed in the back of her mind, but she buried them and focused on the questions pressing more urgently on her mind.

"Am I going to turn into a bear because we had … sex ?" She lowered her voice and whispered the word sex .

A soft gleam of amusement lit Indiana's eyes. "No … I don't think so."

"That doesn't sound like you're convinced." She tried to steady herself. "Am I going to turn into a bear, yes or no?"

"No … not yet," he finally replied.

" Yet ?" She yelped as he reached for her and pulled her onto his lap, banding his arms around her. They were both still completely naked and she could feel the heat of his entire body pouring into her cold limbs.

"I said not yet because the choice is up to you." He rubbed her back soothingly and tucked the blanket a little more firmly around her, not seeming to focus on her state of nakedness at all.

"I don't want to turn into a big bear," she whispered as fear slithered through her.

"Then you don't have to. But you could, if you accepted being my mate."

Indiana held his breath as he watched Hadlee absorb his words.

"Mate?" Her long, dark-gold lashes flew up and she looked up at him with confusion.

"In my world, we have true mates—other creatures that the universe has deemed to be our perfect match. It's possible someone can have more than one true mate, but to find even one is rare and incredibly special."

He wanted to kiss her and give his mate comfort, but he knew she was reeling from everything she'd just learned. This was all entirely new and terrifying for her, like learning a new language, only his life and her future depended on her understanding it. He had to avoid overwhelming her by using his touch. Even possible mates had the ability to muddle each other's thoughts when the power of their touching got to be too much. Hadlee needed to be clear-headed to listen to him.

"How can I be your mate?" Hadlee finally asked. "We don't know each other."

"There are supposedly ways to tell if someone is a possible mate, the first being an addictive need to be near them and receive their touch. Think of it like a physical and mental fascination with the other person. And then there is the ability to hear each other's thoughts."

"Hear each other?" She moved down just a little bit closer to him.

So he held very still.

"Yes. When you were fleeing in the woods, I heard your cry of pain in my head. I told you to run, to fight. I didn't know it was you I was hearing at first, I just knew I was feeling and hearing a creature fight for its life and when you stumbled into the stream, I realized it was you I'd heard."

Her pupils dilated slightly and her gaze widened.

She remembers hearing me , he realized with quiet joy. Even in those moments of her terror, she'd heard him.

"I wasn't certain of this connection until I spoke to another bear shifter who runs a clan in Montana, and he confirmed what I believed I was sensing." He waited for her to react to his words, to ask him more about mates, but she evaded that talk with her next question.

"What's a clan?"

"Like a family. The females are the matriarchs, but we have alpha males that rule a clan alongside these females, their mates. The clans can be a single family or a vast community, but there will be ties, usually by the female bloodlines."

She wet her lips with her tongue. "You have a clan here?"

With a sigh he shook his head. "No, my mother was the last of her clan. When my parents died, I was the only one left. I had no connections to other bears. I roamed around, and for brief time I stayed with Dane's clan in Montana."

"Who's Dane?"

"An alpha male bear shifter who became a good friend to me. He's the one I called after I sensed my connection to you was stronger than it would be with a normal human female."

She shifted and he carefully tucked the blanket around her again as she shivered a little.

"Thank you," she murmured shyly, as if realizing again they were naked.

"You're welcome." It was admittedly awkward with them sitting there in the truck, her on his lap.

"Will you let me take you back to the house and so we can talk more about this?"

Please trust me , he silently prayed.

"Oh—kay." She said the word slowly, testing the word on her tongue.

"I won't hurt you. The last thing a shifter would do is hurt their potential mate."

"You won't try to force me to stay or?—"

"No, of course not." He paused. "But I want to be able to tell you everything about myself and our possible bond before you leave. You deserve to know what this means." He waved a hand between their bodies. "It's an incredible gift, and while you have every right to refuse it, you deserve to have all the facts before you decide."

She nodded, as if accepting his suggestion. He slid her back onto the passenger seat, turned the car back toward the house, and they rode in silence. When he pulled into the driveway, Jones was waiting by the garage and barked enthusiastically.

"Is he a shifter?" Hadlee pressed her hands against the window and stared at the dog with trepidation.

"No." Indiana covered his chuckle with a cough. "He's just a dog. Shifters are bears, wolves, any of the big cat species, foxes, and some wild predator birds like hawks, falcons, and owls. There may be other species out there, but those are the ones I've come across."

She continued to look at Jones but then finally she let out a breath and then opened the car door and climbed out. She kept the blanket wrapped around her and crouched down to give Jones a little cuddle. The mutt whined softly and wriggled nervously against Hadlee's body before licking her face, as if to reassure her she was safe here with the two of them.

Indiana hastily grabbed a pair of sweatpants from a storage cabinet in the garage and pulled them on before he followed Hadlee into his home. She settled on the couch, still clutching the blanket like a child. Jones jumped up to sit beside her and panted softly as he rested a paw upon Hadlee's knee. The dog had a way of knowing when and where he was needed most. Indiana sat on the edge of the ottoman and faced her, bracing his elbows on his knees.

"Ask me the questions you have. I'll do my best to answer them."

She pursed her lips in hesitation but then seemed to summon her courage. "So you've always been a bear shifter?"

"Yes. Shifters are usually born rather than made. We don't typically learn to change into our animal forms until around puberty. Sometimes a trauma or frightening experience can trigger a young child to shift before he's ready, but it's rare. Wolves are an exception—they can bite someone and make them a werewolf or a wolf shifter, but that is considered a crime in most wolf packs. Biting humans could lead to the world of shifters being exposed to humans who don't know about us."

"If you bit me, I wouldn't become a bear?"

He fought off a smile at the thought of how he'd certainly enjoy giving her a few love bites. "No, you'd just have a little love bite, but you wouldn't turn into a grizzly."

"But you said I could at some point change?"

"Yes. If a human mate fully bonds to their shifter mate, the human can learn to shift into the animal that will match their mate."

"How do you fully bond?" Hadlee asked in a small voice. "Have we done that? Become bonded?"

"Not yet. As to exactly how it happens, I'm not sure. My father once told me it can happen during a mating … er, sex … but a shifter will feel the change and feel the bond fully present. You and I would both know if we achieved a complete connection. It is said to be beautiful, to feel and sense that other soul connected to you by a thousand strings in the universe. My mother used to say it felt like an endless circle of light within her chest. For me…" He cleared his throat. "I would cherish finally feeling like I wasn't alone."

Indiana had been alone so long he wasn't sure what it would feel like to suddenly have her presence fully within his heart. But the idea of it lessened the deep ache in the center of his soul.

"Are you … do you…" She struggled for a moment. "So you really want a mate?"

"Yes. I wasn't looking for one, but every shifter knows the value of a mate if one is found. They are priceless. If my possible mate wanted me too, I would want her with everything I had. Destiny, the Earth, the magic in a shifter's blood, they all help to choose the right person for us. Knowing what a gift a mate is makes it easy to accept having such a relationship so quickly."

"Do you just trust fate that this person is the right one for you?" She didn't seem to believe him.

Indiana slowly reached a hand out with his palm facing up. She stared at it and after a moment, she extended her own to place it on top of his. An instant flare of heat shot through him, and she gasped in return.

" That … What you feel between us is only a tiny taste of what pleasure mates feel when they are together. It doesn't have to be just during sex. It can be a hug, any squeeze of the hand or brush of our bodies as we cook in the kitchen or walk outside together. Mates feel the joy at the presence and touch of their kindred soul."

He closed his fingers over hers and held her hand. "Just feel me, Hadlee. Close your eyes and try."

She closed her eyes, and he gazed at her face as he spoke to her in her mind.

"I would love you fiercely. I would cherish you. I would stand between you and any darkness in the world."

Her eyes flew open, and her lips parted.

"You heard me, didn't you?"

A strange, tender wonder filled her green eyes. "I did."

"Every word I said, that would be my mate vow to you." He still held onto her hand. "I want you to have time to think about this and have a chance to get to know me. Would you give me that time?"

"How long?" she asked.

"As long as you feel you need to make an honest decision. You owe yourself that."

She didn't pull away from him or his touch. "I could stay for a short while and see."

It was a small victory, but Indiana would take it.

"Good. Now it's time to get back to bed. You had a hell of a day."

She glanced out the window toward the dark forest which was almost invisible now because the interior lights reflected off the glass.

"Are you going to stay in the same bed with me?"

"That's up to you," Indiana replied. "If you want me to sleep beside you, choose my bed. If you wish to sleep alone, choose the guestroom. If you sleep beside me, I wouldn't do anything to you. If you simply need the comfort of my body next to yours, I would be happy to give that to you."

Her dark, golden brows lifted at his words and her lips parted, as though startled by his honesty.

"You might be the only man on the planet to say that and probably mean it," she said.

"Mates don't lie to each other. I will stay out here for little while. I'm still wound up from changing into my bear form and can't quite settle for sleep yet."

He eyed her curiously, but he knew she was exhausted and needed to sleep. He turned on the TV and she rose, Jones dutifully following her as she walked down the hall. He didn't watch to see which room she chose. He wanted to put no pressure on her.

He sat back on the couch and watched at the TV. He was only halfway listening to the show he'd started watching when his phone buzzed. It was a text from Sheriff Wade.

Sorry, Indy. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Turn on the news.

He stared at the message and with a frown, changed over to the local news. A man at a news desk was speaking.

"Near the town of Aspen Falls yesterday, a man out hiking was attacked and killed by a bear. Authorities assured the public bear attacks are very unusual and hikers and other visitors to the area should take normal precautions, like carrying a large walking stick and bear mace. Local authorities advise against the use of firearms. They also remind everyone hunting is illegal in the area unless permits have been given, and there are no permits for hunting bears. If you see a black bear, please make lots of noise. This will usually drive the bear away, as they do not like confrontations with people."

Indiana winced. He hated bear mace. As a young shifter, he'd strayed too close to town once and had been hit with the stuff when a female jogger encountered him.

The news was treating him like a black bear. That was good. Grizzlies or brown bears were far more dangerous and often caused humans to panic and go hunting for them. The sheriff was doing his best to control the damage by telling everyone the attack was done by a black bear. He texted Wade back.

Indiana: You did your best. I appreciate it.

Wade: Stay out of trouble until things settle down.

Indiana: Yes sir.

He set his phone down to watch the rest of the news. After about an hour, he turned the TV off, got up, and walked down the hallway. He checked the guest room first. The bed was empty.

His heart leapt as he opened his own bedroom door next. Hadlee lay in the center of his bed, fast asleep. Jones was lying at her feet and his tail tapped the comforter as he saw Indiana. The dog, which mostly resembled a golden retriever managed to curl himself into a ball like a puppy when he slept. Indiana's chest tightened as he remembered finding the dog when he'd been only 2 months old, wandering the woods outside of town, starved, covered in ticks and exhausted. No doubt someone had stopped in town to abandon him and then kept on driving. He'd never understand humans, well most of them. He knew Hadlee would never have abandoned a puppy on the side of the road. She was all heart, his sweet little mate.

Indiana crossed the room, gave Jones a pat on the head, and got into bed beside Hadlee. He faced Hadlee's sleeping form. She looked less troubled than the last two times he'd had a chance to watch her sleep.

My mate… My beautiful, brave mate. He'd promised he would let her go if she wanted to leave, but it would kill him if she went. So he'd have to find a way to convince her to stay.

For the first time in years, his lonely heart held a spark of hope.