Chapter 3

Orion

Ishove my beast back inside of me, but it's too late. She's sprinting away from me at full pelt.

Feisty little human. She's barely half my height and a tenth of my weight, but there was a challenge in her eyes. She wanted that rabbit. And she was willing to fight for it—as that goddamn stinging at the tip of my left ear testifies.

She's quick, too, arms pumping, long blonde hair streaming out behind her…

Then her foot catches on a vine, and she goes down hard.

Damn, that's gotta hurt. I go after her.

She's sprawled out facedown, her bulky backpack still on her shoulders and her blonde hair fanning out around it.

Where on earth did she come from? I couldn't have picked a more isolated spot for my home—just like the fates told me to. But somehow, this young human female has made it all the way out here. Surely, she can't have come alone. As I approach her, I inhale hard, my beast's sensitive nose separating out the rich odors of the forest.

No other humans or shifters close by. She is alone.

All alone in my territory,my beast purrs.

Ignoring it, I crouch beside her and move her hair off her neck to feel for her pulse.

Holy crap.

The feel of her skin and hair sends insane tingles through my body. I've never touched a female before—not a human one, anyway. I had no idea they would be so soft, so silky. It's like touching a piece of heaven itself. My beast lets out a deep purr of delight.

There's her pulse—strong, and a little fast. Well, of course. She just had a helluva fright.

She doesn't stir at my touch. She must be unconscious.

My big ol' hands are used to chopping wood, building and carving, but I force a gentleness out of them that I never knew I had. I slip her backpack off her shoulders and slide the straps down her slender arms. Then I straighten her right arm and carefully roll her onto her back.

My head spins and the heavens come crashing down.

She's beautiful. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

Her eyes are closed; thick, dark eyelashes resting on her cheeks, while her lips are a little parted. Damn, they're lush. So pink and glossy. I have to stop myself from dipping my head and pressing them with my own feral ones. Her skin is tanned and covered in freckles, and it glows with youthful radiance. Her hair, a cascade of gold strands, falls back from her forehead like a halo.

Time seems to stand still.

Because something powerful is taking hold of me. My heart is storming, its thunderous beats reverberating through my chest like war drums. Shivers vibrate through my limbs, and each breath I take feels like a tempest pouring in and out of me.

She's The One.

The one I'm supposed to be with. The one the fates set out in the stars above.

Mine,my beast roars. Mine. Mine. Mine. A claim as primal and undeniable as the pounding of my own heart.

I've been waiting for her for so long. Hoping, wondering. Dreaming.

But I hadn't expected her to be unconscious when we first met.

Time rushes forward again.

She's injured and in need of my help.

I hunker down and ease one arm around the back of her neck, and the other beneath her knees. Her clothes—a loose khaki button-down and shorts which leave her long legs bare—look kind of masculine and are way too big for her. But when the tender backs of her knees press against my forearm, my heart soars into the treetops and beyond.

Carefully, I straighten up. I don't want her to awaken until I've gotten her safely indoors. She's as light as a feather in my arms. As I walk, I scan her anxiously for injuries. There's nothing on her face to indicate she hit her head. Hopefully she just fainted from the shock of failing to take out a grizzly. Both her knees are scraped though. I'll need to tend to them. The best thing would be to let my beast lick them clean, but she'll need time to understand that her mate is half-man, half-bear.

With every step, my heart pounds a crazy tattoo of yearning. Every breath I take is filled with the scent of her, driving me to the brink of madness.

I'm taking my girl back to my lair.

My beast's fur burns my skin. It can hardly contain itself. All it wants is to claim her, right now.

My front door slides open automatically, then closes silently behind me. I carry my girl through to the ground-floor living room and lay her out gently on my sofa.

The room is dimly lit, and the glow from my tropical fish tank is soft blue. On the floor below, which is visible from the edge of the mezzanine, my saltwater swimming pool glitters invitingly. I can't wait for her to see it all. I sure hope she likes it.

She gives a little groan, and I crouch down at her side so my massive bulk doesn't scare her.

Every bit of me is as tense as that bow she shot me with. Every nerve of my body is waiting on her, desperate to see her reaction when she opens her eyes and glimpses her mate for the first time.

Will she feel the way I did?

Will she know me in that first second?

Her eyelids flutter and I hold my breath. I won't breathe again until I see what color her irises are.

Slowly, slowly, the thick fringes of her eyelashes part and two orbs, the shade of spring moss, glitter like jewels.

A sigh of delight rushes out of me. I just knew my mate would have green eyes, and they're even more beautiful than I could've imagined.

But her pupils are contracting to pinpricks, and she gives a shriek of fear.

"Hey, it's okay," I tell her, then cringe at the sound of my voice. It's kinda gruff and scratchy, because I haven't spoken in who knows how long.

"You were hurt. You were running from a bear and you fell and passed out."

Frowning, she tries to lift herself up on her elbows.

"Hey, take it easy. You might've hit your head."

She lifts her hands and feels her head and face all over. "Don't think so. I mean, nothing hurts."

My bear purrs.

The sound of her voice.It's like honey converted into soundwaves. Or tinkling streams. Shit, I'm not good with this kind of stuff. All I know is that it's the sweetest sound I've heard in my life. I can't wait to hear her say my name. Hell, call it out in ecstasy while I'm deep inside her and her nails are tearing up my back.

"My knees hurt though," she mutters, craning her neck to get a better look.

"They're a little grazed, but I've got a first aid kit," I say quickly. I'm suddenly aware that I'm naked, and that humans aren't really cool with that.

She lets out a groan of acknowledgment and lets her head fall back against the sofa cushion. She's exhausted. I see it in her pallor of her skin, the dark shadows beneath her eyes. What has this poor girl been through that's brought her to this wild place? When she trusts me a little, I'll get it out of her. And if I find out someone's hurt her, I'll make them wish they'd never been born.

"Been a long day, huh?"

"Yeah." Emotions shift across her eyes. "How did I wind up here?"

"I carried you."

"While I was unconscious?"

I shrug. "Yup. I lifted you off the forest floor and brought you inside."

Her eyes narrow as she takes in my modern home. She's probably thinking it seems out of place in the wilderness.

"Are you a prepper?" she asks.

"A what?"

A slow smile spreads across her face. "Doesn't matter. Are you a mountain man?"

I shrug. "Guess you could call me that."

Her smile gets even wider.

"What's funny?"

"Oh, doesn't matter." She shoves herself upright. "Are you naked?"

"Yeah. I… I was about to go swim when my security system alerted me to some movement outside and I went to investigate."

It sounds plausible enough. This house looks like it has a security system. In reality, an Alpha beast like me doesn't need one, but I can't tell her everything at once.

The most important thing is that she knows she's safe here.

Her gaze drifts over my shoulders and chest and down to my abs.

Damn.Is she trying to see my cock? It twitches, already at half-mast.

"You could've done all kinds of things to me while I was unconscious," she murmurs.

"I would never do that!" It comes out louder than I intended, and alarm crosses her beautiful face.

"You want me to touch you, you'd have to prove it to me," I say quickly.

She bites her lip. And suddenly, I'm powerless to do anything other than stare. At the flush of redness it brings. At the pearly whiteness of her teeth. My ears register the fast sound of her breathing.

"How?"

"How what?" I repeat, scarcely able to believe my ears.

"How could I prove it to you?"

She's looking at me intently, like she really wants to know. Desire pours through me like hot lava. How could my mate show me that she's ready for me to take her?

I swallow hard, willing my cock not to get any more swollen than it already is. "You'd have to kiss me," I grit out.

"Uh huh." Her eyes drift to my lips, and she stares at them for a long, long time. Then the tip of her tongue darts out and chases across her own, lovely lips. They glisten. So ripe, so ready to be kissed.

I'm dead. Totally helpless under the power of her beauty. I lean in.

"What else?" she whispers, her lips pouting so provocatively.

My dick is fit to explode. "You'd have to strip," I say automatically, since all I can think about is how this luscious body of hers is gonna look naked.

"Strip?" she breathes. And glory of glories, she shuffles closer, her hand rising to the top button of her shirt—"Agh!" she cries out.

"What is it?" My eyes dart everywhere.

"Oh, my knee."

Shit, it's bleeding again. It's worse than I realized.

Damn. How could I have let her suffer this long?

Stupid, stupid, I scold myself as I leap up. "I'll go get my first aid kit," I announce, exiting the room.

My cock is still hard, I discover as I stride along the corridor to the bathroom. It's jutting out like a flagpole.

She must've gotten a good view of it when I stood up.

Well, too late to worry about that now.