Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Z ane couldn't shake the bear woman from his thoughts. It had been days since their fateful encounter at Widow's Peak, but her hazel eyes still haunted him. The sight of her. The two of them bared to one another like that. It was almost more than he could take. Again, he felt the pleasured rise of his cock at the thought of her. His spirit and his heart soared as he replayed their brief encounters over and over in his mind. His dragon rumbled restlessly within him, yearning for another glimpse of the captivating stranger who had so thoroughly upended his world.

I want more than a glimpse.

His dragon wanted more than that still.

Mate , his beast insisted. Claim her.

"Shut up," Zane muttered under his breath, bringing his hands to either side of his head in a gesture of frustration.

She's a bear, for god's sake. It's impossible. Now more than ever.

But no matter how many times he repeated the mantra, his traitorous heart refused to listen. He needed a distraction, something to take his mind off the maddening pull he felt toward a woman whose name he didn't even know. While he had mixed feelings about his upcoming responsibilities to his family business, at this point he realized it was actually a blessing. He would dive into his role and hopefully lose himself in it. This compulsive thinking, or whatever it was, had to stop.

Zane knocked hard on his brother Dash's door.

Hopefully things were ready to move on the Forsaken Riders front. If not, a visit to his family would surely take his mind off… other matters.

His dragon hissed inside him.

Dash's mate Amelia greeted him at the door with a warm smile, their young daughter Nora peeking out from behind her skirts.

"Zane, what a pleasant surprise!" Amelia said, ushering him inside. "Come on in. I'll put on some tea."

Zane followed her into the cozy living room, where Dash lounged in an armchair by the fireplace. He looked up from the book he was reading, quirking a brow at Zane's presence.

"Little brother! To what do we owe the pleasure?" Dash grinned, setting his book aside.

Zane shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "Just thought I'd drop by, see how things are going. Maybe you have an update on the Forsaken Riders deal?"

Dash's expression sobered slightly. "Hey, I gotta say, I am impressed with your drive in wanting to get on this ASAP, but it's not fully worked out yet. Striker's still hammering out the details with the Forsaken Riders' point man on this. Some guy named Dice."

"Fucking bikers." Zane laughed at the name.

"That's nothing. Apparently, his right-hand man is called ‘Ghost,'" Dash quickly added.

"Of course he is."

"Anyway, it should be finalized soon."

"Well, the sooner the better. With things on a knife's edge in town, we need to cut down on variables."

"No kidding, man, I think this is the worst I've ever seen things. You know, those bears are lucky Sampson didn't just shift on the spot and fry the whole lot."

Zane shook his head. "As if that were really on the table."

"Look, man, we've all managed to mind all the laws and stay hidden for centuries by respecting the old ways, never revealing ourselves to humans, but I am telling you: had a few others not broken that up, I think we could have had an all-out war start then and there, consequences be damned. That's how bad it is. Those bears just have zero respect for what us dragons have done for this town. They're just a bunch of victims, if you ask me…"

"I didn't realize it was that bad…"

Amelia returned with a tray of steaming mugs, interrupting their discussion as she set it down on the coffee table. She settled onto the sofa beside Zane, Nora climbing into her lap.

As Nora giggled and squirmed, Amelia shot Zane a knowing look. "You seem distracted, Zane. Everything all right?"

"Oh, we were just talking business," he stammered.

"And that's it?" she asked. He felt like she was looking right through him.

Easy, buddy, that's your paranoia talking.

"Things just seem to be getting worse and worse around here. I guess I am still just a little apprehensive that this deal could upset the Bears even more."

"I don't know if that's possible, but one thing's for sure," Dash snarled. "The day we start making business decisions based on the Bears' feelings is the day I quit. There's only so much bending over backwards we can do. I mean, seriously, those fleabags are never gonna be happy, no matter what we do."

"How do you know? I mean, what do we really know about them?"

Dash seemed to do a double take at that.

"What the… What's gotten into you, little brother?" he asked, sitting up straighter. Since when do you care how they feel?"

"I'm just tired of the constant tit for tat, is all. I just think we should be looking for common ground instead."

Dash scoffed. "Common ground? With the bears? And especially after what those hairballs pulled with Sampson? Not likely. In Misty Vale, bears and dragons just don't seem to get along. And us calling off a deal is not gonna change that."

"But that's not always true, Daddy!" Nora suddenly protested.

"What do you mean, honey?" Dash said, suddenly changing his tune as he lifted her up onto his lap.

"There are nice bears. Some of the girls from the dragon pack are mean to them. And some of the ones from bears are mean to dragons. But not all of them. Some of them are really nice! And their parents are nice, too!"

"Oh, yeah? Is that so, Nora?" Zane interjected, his interest more than piqued. He made an effort to appear that he was just feigning interest for Nora's sake. "Like who? You mean there are nice bears? That's impossible!" he teased.

"But there are! Like James! He's nice!"

"Any little girls that are nice?"

Zane couldn't help but notice that Amelia had begun to study him a little too intently, but he decided to press his luck, anyway. Suddenly, his dragon was on the scent. Maybe he could find out who this woman was.

"Abi!" the little girl said. "She's super nice!"

"That's Archer's daughter," Amelia said, giving him a sideways look.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, trying his best to act innocent.

Don't press your luck.

"What in the world is going on with you, Zane? I have never seen you care about any bear cubs before. And the way you've been carrying on about the bikers. Your job hasn't even started yet, and you're already cracking!" Dash laughed.

Amelia laughed, too, but Zane could tell she was still studying him suspiciously.

Could Abi be the little girl? He had no idea. But his gut told him she was. Finally, he responded to Dash. "I am Nora's uncle, after all; it's about time I took more interest in her. Why is that so bad?"

"That's not bad at all! Maybe you could even pick me up from school sometimes! Like Abi's auntie does! She's really nice."

For a second, Zane almost froze from the shock of this new information. Abi's aunt . But he played it off cool. At least he hoped he did…

"Absolutely," he managed to say. "If it's okay with your mom and dad, that is!"

"Of course it is. We'll talk," Amelia said, giving him a pointed look.

"Great! Okay, well, I should get going then!"

Dash waved him off, already reaching for the TV remote. "Yeah, you do that. And Zane? Keep your head on straight. You worry too much. And hey. Remember where your loyalties lie, little brother."

Zane nodded tightly, his jaw clenched. "Always."

Amelia saw him to the door, and just as he was making his exit, she said, not quite in a whisper but not exactly loudly, either, "Her name is Alena."

This time, all attempts at playing it cool escaped him, and he simply repeated the word, a wave of joy reverberating within him as he did so, "Alena."

"That's right. Have a good day, Zane," Amelia told him as he stepped off the front porch.

What the hell are you even doing? he chided himself as he walked the short path to his own house down the street.

Alena.

Her name rang in his ears now. He knew that was her. He didn't know how, but now, he was certain. Still, it could never be.

Back in his own home, he made his way to his big oaken desk and tried once more to distract himself.

Work. Yes, focus on your passion.

But even in the sanctuary of his own house, he couldn't shake thoughts of her.

Alena.

He tried to lose himself in sketching out some ideas for his adventure tourism business—a series of treehouses connected by ziplines, maybe a cliff-jumping spot by White Lake. But every line he drew somehow morphed into the silhouette of a bear, Alena's form haunting him even on paper.

"Argh!" Zane crumpled up yet another failed sketch and hurled it across the room. His dragon was practically clawing at his insides now, desperate to break free.

This was ridiculous. He could usually keep his dragon at bay for long stretches, weeks, if he had to. But since he had seen her, Alena, it seemed hardly hours would pass after a flight, and his dragon was already practically tearing at him to break free.

Almost without thinking, Zane stripped off his clothes and headed out the back of his home, letting the shift take over as he burst into his dragon form. Powerful wings unfurled as his body morphed and grew into the majestic beast.

He launched himself into the sky, soaring over the rugged mountains. Before he knew it, he found himself winging toward Widow's Peak, his dragon drawn to the place where he had last seen Alena, as if pulled by an invisible string.

Landing in the clearing where Alena had shifted, Zane caught her lingering scent on the breeze immediately.

Wildflowers.

It set his blood on fire. At least he felt closer to her here.

He looked around, and though he saw nothing, there was no mistaking it. He shifted back to human form to better take in her scent.

A low growl rumbled in his chest as her luscious scent filled his lungs. God, even the faintest remnant of her essence was driving him mad with want. But he knew it was impossible.

Why are you tormenting yourself?

They were from two different worlds, two clans locked in a bitter feud that spanned generations. It could never be. How many times did he have to go over this?

You have to forget her. Period.

Zane prepared to shift back into dragon form to fly home once again. Flying up to Widow's Peak had been an indulgence. One he couldn't afford in the current climate in town, and certainly not at a time that he should be focusing on his upcoming responsibilities. And it was no longer just an indulgence. It was torture.

Enough.

He shifted and took to the sky, his wings beating powerfully as he rose above the peak.

He allowed himself one last look at this place where they had met in their raw, naked flesh. Though his dragon now roared of "mate," he knew he could not allow it.

It was when he took that last look, his dragon snarling in defiance, that he saw it. What was that? A flash of purple caught his eye. Zane swooped lower, realizing with a start that there was something snagged on a branch a good five or six feet below the edge of the cliff. It was above the ledge but out of sight from the safe ground above.

As he flew down to inspect it, he realized it was a stuffed animal. A unicorn. Could it belong to the little girl? Abi? This was right where he had found her. Of course it was hers.

Without thinking further, Zane dove for the toy, plucking it carefully from the tree with his talons. He knew he should just leave it, that returning it would only prolong this impossible infatuation. But the thought of Alena's niece being reunited with her beloved stuffed animal was irresistible. His mind wanted to fight him, but this time, he refused to entertain other options. Of course he would bring it to her. But that was it. One final act.

His dragon practically did a barrel roll with excitement as he headed home.

Zane landed back at his house, shifting and striding inside with the unicorn clutched to his chest. He paced back and forth, warring with himself.

Just return the stuffed animal, then forget about her , he told himself firmly. Drop it off and walk away. Put Alena out of your mind for good.

Truth was, no good could come of further contact. It might even be the spark that set the whole of Misty Vale ablaze if he wasn't careful.

I'll think on it.

With that, he set the unicorn on the corner of his desk.

Over the next few days, it became clear that his dragon was showing no signs of forgetting about Alena. And neither was he. Quite the contrary. He had tried hot showers, and then cold ones. He had tried work, both focusing on his own plans for adventure tourism in Misty Vale as well as preparing for his new position overseeing the Misty Brews deal. But nothing was working.

Things in town hadn't improved. His brothers had had to go have a talk with Sampson and the other dragons to try to calm them down and avert real bloodshed. For his clan, he had to forget her.

"Fine," Zane growled, throwing up his hands in defeat. "We'll return the damn unicorn. But that's it. After that, we forget about her. Agreed?"

His dragon rumbled its assent, though Zane had a feeling the beast was merely biding its time.

He tucked the stuffed unicorn inside his jacket before heading into town, keeping to the shadows as he made his way toward Archer's bar.

Despite his attempts to distract himself, at some level, he had already formulated a plan. He could have followed through and picked up Nora, potentially running into Alena there, but he wanted to leave the little girl out of it. No, Alena would probably be by her brother's bar at some point. And he was a patient dragon.

He realized he was just dragging out the inevitable. Maybe he would have to stake the bar out for weeks until he saw her. He knew what he was doing. But he couldn't help it. Soon enough, she would appear, he would give her the doll, and that would be it.

Besides, he felt a pull there. He knew his dragon had already become aware of her in some unseen way. That would be a hard connection to break. But he would have to.

One thing at a time.

Zane headed into town and prepared himself to wait.

Heart pounding, he made his way to the front of the building, lurking in the shadows as he watched patrons come and go. It was a risk, being seen so close to bear territory, especially now, but he had made up his mind. He had set out in the morning, but there had been no sign of her around the bar.

Of course not, you idiot, he told himself. What are you even doing?

Zane, however, was determined. He decided to switch locations and even watched the corner they had bumped into each other for a time, at roughly the same time of day that they had met. Perhaps it was part of her regular commute? But she did not show.

His dragon hissed in frustration. He wanted—no, he needed this final closure.

He staked out Archer's once again in the afternoon and finally was rewarded. Just as he was beginning to decide that he had indeed totally lost it, he spotted her. Alena emerged from the bar, her dark auburn hair tumbling around her shoulders as she laughed at something her companion said. Zane's breath caught at the sight of her.

Steeling his nerve, he waited until she parted ways with her friend before stepping out of the shadows.

"Alena," he called softly, testing if it was indeed her name, after all.

She whirled around, eyes wide with shock as she took him in. "You," she breathed, hand flying to her throat. "What are you doing here?"

Zane held up the unicorn, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "I found this up on the peak. Thought Abi might be missing it."

Alena's gaze softened as she reached out to take the plush toy, her fingers brushing his in a fleeting caress that sent sparks skittering up his arm. Again, his sex stirred instantly as pleasure and heat shot to his core.

"Thank you," she murmured. "But how do know my name? Or hers?"

"I am rather resourceful," he said simply.

She gazed into his eyes, even as he fought to control himself from pulling her right into his chest right here in the alley.

"She said Rainbow would find her way home…"

"And so she has…" Zane trailed off, the memory of their previous charged encounter hanging heavier between them with each passing moment.

Alena swallowed hard, her eyes searching his. "You saved her life. I can never repay you for that."

"You don't owe me anything," Zane said roughly, his voice thick with emotion. "I would have done the same for any child, bear or dragon."

Something flickered in Alena's eyes, a hint of warmth that made Zane's heart stutter in his chest. "And yet, here you are, risking everything to return a child's toy. To a bear, no less."

Zane huffed out a laugh, "I don't know about ‘everything,' but yeah, I'm well aware of the risk. If my family knew I was here, talking to you…"

"I'm sure you know about the blow up at the construction site. This is dangerous. Your family can't find out," Alena finished for him, her voice tinged with sadness. "And neither can mine. This… whatever this is between us… it can never be. But god, whatever it is, it's strong."

"I can hardly resist you, Alena," Zane whispered. "And I can't stop thinking about you. And man, have I tried. I can't stop saying your name. Alena."

Alena's breath hitched, her eyes darkening with a hunger that mirrored his own. "I feel it, too," she admitted, her voice barely more than a whisper. "God, do I feel it. And my bear has been flipping out. "

Zane reached out, cupping Alena's face in his palm. She leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed as a sigh escaped her mouth. Their lips were almost touching. "We can't do this," he murmured, even as he lowered his head, his breath coming hard on her parted lips. "It's madness."

"Complete and utter madness," Alena agreed, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, tugging him closer. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

"Zane," he breathed. And that was all he could say before they were kissing, a desperate clash of lips and tongues. Zane groaned, one hand tangling in Alena's silken hair as the other splayed across her lower back, crushing her against him. He could feel his sex fully encouraged. She tasted like heaven, like everything he'd ever wanted and never dared to dream he could have.

Dimly, Zane knew they were playing with fire, but he didn't care.

Let the world burn, his dragon seemed to rumble. As long as we have her, nothing else matters.

His dragon roared in delight. Mine.

He pressed his hips against her as he pulled her into him, and she let out a sigh as she pushed back.

But the spell was broken by the sound of raucous laughter from the bar, the clinking of glasses and thudding of heavy boots against wooden floors. Zane and Alena sprang apart, chests heaving and eyes wild with barely contained need.

"We can't…" Alena gasped, pressing trembling fingers to her kiss-swollen lips.

"I know," Zane said hoarsely, his body screaming at the loss of her warmth. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…"

Alena shook her head, a sad smile tugging at her mouth. "Don't apologize. I thought it was me… I told you I feel it, too."

Zane's heart clenched at the resignation in her voice. "Alena—"

"Don't," she whispered, taking a step back. "Don't say anything else. Let's just… let's just chalk this up to a moment of madness and move on. It's better for everyone that way."

Zane wanted to argue, to pull her back into his arms and never let go. But he knew she was right. There was no future for them, no matter how much his dragon roared in protest.

"Yes, you're right. I came here to give you the unicorn, Rainbow. And that was it. Take care of yourself, Alena," he said softly, drinking in the sight of her one last time. "And give Abi a hug from her dragon rescuer."

Alena's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but she managed a wobbly nod. "I will. This is for the best. Goodbye, Zane."

And then she was gone, disappearing into the shadows and leaving Zane feeling like a piece of his soul had been ripped away. He stood there for a long moment, fighting the urge to run after her, to damn the consequences and claim her as his mate for all the world to see.

But he knew he couldn't. Not now, maybe not ever.