The Bear's Fated Mate Read online

  Inside, her wolf bumped against her, squirming with worry. What if there’s someone he’s supposed to be with? Someone not us.

  Lara calmed her inner beast the best she could even as she scrambled for the strength to put words to her worry. “Someone out there demanding you get hitched?”

  He laid his hands on her hips and made a face. “I told you this was my first official mating fever. I’d planned to avoid it this year as well, but due to some manipulation by my gramps, my brothers and I all agreed we’d let nature run its course.” He held up a hand and placed a finger over her lips before she could ask a question. “Don’t worry, you’re not going to end up stuck with me. That was one good realization we had after James hooked up with Kaylee. Yes, my bear likes you, but there’s no fear of us ending up mated without both our human sides agreeing we want to go all in.”

  Lara was speechless, her brain looping a million miles an hour. It was confirmation of what Kaylee had told her in passing, but to know that Alex had deliberately sought her out for sex knowing the end result would not be permanent—

  The bit of hope that had been building over the past days snuffed out with a whimper.

  It had been a fool’s dream anyway, but they’d been getting along so well Lara had begun to hope that maybe there was a chance for more.

  Alex had been honest and up-front the entire time. He’d said it was a one-shot deal, and she’d accepted that going in. And things had changed between them. They were no longer adversaries but were now working together. That part was good.

  Inside, her wolf made a noise remarkably like a heart shredding in two. Not enough. Friends is not enough. Want my mate.

  I know, baby. I know.

  Then Lara pulled herself together because that’s what she always did. She’d celebrate the relationship they’d built. The chance to be with him for the next few days was the crumb she would accept and enjoy with everything in her.

  She dragged her palms against the scruff on his chin and focused on the bit gnawing at her that she could verbalize. “If you plan to eviscerate your grandfather at any time, I’m available to help.”

  His laughter rang loud and clear through the luxurious suite. “He’s a bastard, but we like him breathing. It’s hard to hate the old man when he’s positive he’s being charming.”

  “Just saying, if you decide to get vengeance, I have your back.”

  Alex rubbed his nose alongside hers, his smile brightening the air around them with clear amusement. “Bloodthirsty vixen. I like that about you. I promise we’ll work together, now with your pack, and down the road to give Gramps a hard time.” He caught her wrist and slowly pulled her hand down his body, her palm sliding over ripped abdominal muscles and heading south. “Also, I promise nothing I do is ever half-cocked.”

  The thick length under her hand was perfect proof. “Proper protocol usually requires shaking hands on the deal.”

  Alex growled before pressing his fingers around hers in encouragement. “Let me help you with that.”

  Four hours later, their cooperative initiative hit a snag.

  After checking out, they had gotten into their own vehicles and driven back to Yellowknife. Lara had followed Alex back to his apartment where they took a short interlude to deal with the mating fever that had bloomed fiery hot during their brief time in separate vehicles. A.k.a. Alex pouncing on her the instant they got through the door. The heated session had left his living room furniture tipped over, an area rug bunched up under the dining room table, and a full body outline of her sweaty naked torso imprinted on the living room window.

  Alex and the mating fever did not skip an opportunity. Lara was rather impressed.

  Then they’d both shifted and gone exploring for a couple of hours. Her wolf had been delighted to move uninhibitedly through his territory. In his massive bear form, Alex had seemed utterly relaxed as they strolled beside the river and lazed in the afternoon sunshine. She’d curled up beside him and rested her chin on his paws, his warm breath rolling over her as he stared back at her.

  Gentle. So very gentle as he playfully attempted to bat at her while she danced around him, far too agile to be caught.

  It had been wonderful to play together as wolf and bear, and it eased a little of the pain still tearing at her heart.

  Between the sex and the time in their animal forms, Lara had hoped it would be enough to keep him somewhat in control as she drove them to the pack house, and he seemed calm enough as she pulled into the parking space.

  But by the time they got out of the car and she joined him on the sidewalk leading to the main entrance, Alex’s eyes were fully bear.

  It didn’t help that a crowd had gathered on the front porch. Unfamiliar faces for the most part—and a rather handsome lot to be honest. But being confronted by six alpha male wolves didn’t help Alex keep his temper in control.

  Lara slipped her fingers into his, tugging to stop their forward motion. “How are you doing?” she asked quietly.

  “Fantastic.” The word was as close to a growl as could escape a human throat.

  One of the reasons the pack house was located on the outskirts of town was so random facts of shifter life weren’t as obvious to the humans in town. Lara had many reasons to be thankful for that but never so much as now.

  She turned to face Alex in the hopes of redirecting him to a different setting.

  Too late. He’d already stripped off his shirt and was in the process of shoving his jeans and briefs off his lean hips. Boots were kicked free a second before he looked her in the eye…

  And winked.

  A moment later, a massive polar bear sat on the walkway beside her, a grin on his face and his head tilted to the side as if he were an innocent puppy.

  Lara let out a long-suffering sigh then gathered up his clothes. “No bloodshed,” she reminded him. Then she leaned down and touched her nose to his. “You are rather impressive. Also, did I mention how much cuter polar bears are than I expected?”

  He narrowed his eyes, ears swiveling forward.

  She grinned, ruffling the fur on the top of his head before stroking her fingers behind his ear to scratch softly. “I think we’ve lost some of our audience.”

  Alex rocked forward and head-butted her in the stomach, gentle but powerful enough that she had to scramble to keep her feet. She laughed and turned to the front porch to discover half of the unwelcome guests had vanished.

  Unfortunately, that was the good news. The bad news was that her sister now stood front and center.

  Crystal had her arms crossed over her chest and an unwelcoming expression on her face. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Lara stopped at the base of the stairs, body on alert. At least until Alex rumbled up beside her, one paw on either side of her legs, surrounding her.

  She got the message—he had her back.

  She lifted her chin and met her sister’s gaze. “You commanded me to return to the pack house, so I’m here. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of something I can’t call off.”

  Crystal rolled her eyes. “Please. You’re fucking him—I can smell it from here. Do it on your own time and somewhere else.”

  “Can’t. Mating fever.”

  Her sister’s frown deepened. “Get out. He’s not mated to you. I can tell.”

  Pain shot through Lara at the comment. It was true—they might be fated to be mates, but they weren’t actually mated at the moment.

  Lara pulled on sarcasm like armour. “Nope. But for whatever reason, possibly because of a certain little ‘make friends and influence people’ situation you put me in earlier, Alex and I are involved for the duration. It’s a bear thing. It’s not our way, and it doesn’t make sense to you, but it’s something we have to respect.”

  Slow curses rumbled from Crystal’s lips before she shook her head and stormed into the pack house, leaving the door open behind her. A final shout rang over her shoulder. “If he breaks anything, he’s paying for it.”
>
  Lara stepped forward, meeting the gaze of each wolf who had been summoned by her sister. Only two of them managed to hold her gaze for any length of time.

  The one who dared take a step closer tumbled off the porch a second later. Alex, seemingly by accident, had swung a massive hip, making contact with the man’s thighs and sending him flying.

  Lara laughed. She placed a hand on Alex’s furry shoulder and led him into the pack house. As a homecoming, it was the weirdest ever, yet she wouldn’t have changed a thing.

  Well, maybe one thing. When she got him alone in her quarters, she needed to sweet-talk the bear into changing back to human.

  She leaned in close and murmured in his ear. “Did I mention you getting all growly gets me hot?”

  She should’ve waited. A second later a very naked, very riled up Alex was stalking her deeper into the pack house. “You’ve got thirty seconds to find a private place, or I won’t be held responsible for what’s definitely not going to be a PG event.”

  Lara set off at a run, Alex pounding after her. She made it to her room in seventeen seconds, had the door closed behind him at twenty-four, and her clothes off by twenty-nine.

  Challenge met.

  Alex stared her down as he stepped closer, catching her fingers in his and bringing their bodies into contact. “Wolf hearing is really sensitive, isn’t it?”

  Oh shit. She pinned her lips together, heart rate increasing at the expression in his eyes.

  His grin widened. “By the time I’m done tonight, I’ll make you scream my name so many times everyone in the Orion pack house will be looking for earplugs or moving to the Motel Six for some peace and quiet.”

  He did.

  And she did.

  It was pretty certain that they did as well.

  15

  The next four days were a blur.

  Alex had some vivid memories, especially of the killer sex and his and Lara’s ongoing conversations, but between those highlights there were a lot of things that didn’t seem real.

  Like the way his bear refused to cooperate and behave politely in the pack house. Alex had been taught from the time he was very young that shifting was natural and getting naked in preparation for a shift was acceptable but not something you prolonged or flaunted.

  And yet he caught himself more than once striding through the pack house buck naked, pausing at the edges of conversations. He might’ve spent a little time flexing his muscles during these excursions.

  It wasn’t his fault that polar bears tended to be a couple sizes larger than your average wolf, whether in animal or human form. And surprisingly, after a few of these impromptu visits, the number of wolves brought in for Lara’s perusal seemed to have diminished.

  He also shifted to his polar bear and made his way downstairs to sit in the middle of the common area, glaring at the most annoying of the wolves until Crystal, shaking her head, led him back to Lara’s apartment.

  The Orion pack Alpha pointed firmly into the room.

  Alex obligingly sauntered in, rubbing his big head along Lara’s bare leg—the one that was sticking out from under the covers from where she’d collapsed face down after their last session. He’d left her rather exhausted.

  Smug satisfaction welled at that thought.

  He crawled onto the mattress at her side.

  She rolled and tangled her fingers in the fur by his ears. “Alex?”

  “Keep your pet under control,” Crystal growled from her position at the door.

  Lara twisted to face her sister, blinking away her sleepiness. “What?”

  “He’s a menace. Keep track of him—he was wandering the pack house again.”

  “I swear I just fell asleep for a minute. I don’t know why he took off.”

  Crystal huffed. “Then stop sleeping. You need to keep a better eye on him. I don’t care if it is the bear way, he’s not allowed to play handball with our pack mates.”

  Lara seemed confused. “We…don’t have a handball court.”

  “I know.” Crystal sniffed in Alex’s direction. “He used a pack mate as the ball and the wall of the garage as his court.”

  Lara kept still until Crystal slammed the door shut after herself, and then she laughed as she pushed to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, completely comfortable with his furry self.

  Of course she’s comfortable. What’s not to love? his bear gloated.

  Alex took control and shifted back to human even as he chuckled inside. No problem with your ego.

  Also in the category of strange were the weird presents that kept arriving for Lara. On Monday, it was a set of ninja movies. Tuesday, a huge bouquet of tulips arrived—God knows where they had been brought in from in September.

  But the most…aromatic…was the morning they opened the door to discover a children’s swimming pool filled with fish in the middle of the hallway.

  The fact it was fresh-caught trout and enough to feed the entire pack soothed over the wolves who were still eyeing Lara with confusion for bringing Alex home without much explanation.

  Interestingly, his bear didn’t seem put out at all by the gifts.

  “They’re far more charming presents than I expected from tone-deaf suitors,” she said, sniffing the air as the scent of chocolate truffles filtered across the room from the enormous box lying open on the mantle. “It has to be someone trying to make a good impression.”

  “Is it working?” he asked.

  She arched a brow, staring at him intently. She lay naked on her back under him, chest still heaving from their most recent bout of sex. “Oh, definitely. Haven’t you seen me running up and down the halls of the pack house looking for someone to fool around with because it’s been simply ages since I got any.”

  Alex offered a wicked grin. It felt good to be able to tease her and watch her heart kick up a notch as the pulse pounded at the base of her throat. “If you’ve still got energy to burn, then I guess I don’t have to wait to do this…”

  It took a full week before Alex felt confident enough that the fever had passed and they could venture out into public.

  The week together had been interesting. Alex was gratified to know he’d made it through another year unscathed. No mate bond had appeared, although he had a new appreciation for the woman who’d helped him.

  His regard wasn’t only sexual, although he’d be willing to go for a repeat anytime she offered. Somewhere in the past week, Alex had gotten to know Lara better. The stories they’d shared and the honest conversations meant she was now three-dimensional. She was no longer an unknown enemy but someone trying her best, same as him.

  Laughter bloomed beside him, and Alex glanced up to discover his brother Cooper shaking his head in amusement.

  Cooper turned to Lara, who sat beside Alex at the oversized table. “Are you sure he’s done with the fever?”

  “Why are you asking her?” Alex demanded. “I’m right here.”

  James was across the table with his arm curled around his mate. “Because you’re here in body, but a moment ago you were totally distracted, staring into space.”

  The brunette sitting beside him tilted her head then grinned. “It’s just not like you, Alex. You’re always so intense and focused. Especially considering where we are.”

  Kaylee gestured around them.

  She was right. Considering they were gathered at a large table at Sirius Trouble, the wolf-run roadhouse, Alex should’ve been a lot more on edge.

  Especially considering he and his brothers rarely dropped in at the competition. Plus, there were women with them—Kaylee for one—and Amber, the head secretary from Borealis Gems.

  Plus Lara, of course, but at least her being there made some sort of sense.

  Her presence was probably why he wasn’t bothering to pay attention. There’d been a brief pause when he and Lara had marched through the doors, but after a week of seeing Alex invade the pack house, conversations went back to normal pretty quick.

  Then his
brothers had shown up.

  Yet all it’d taken for the wolves to settle down was for Lara to walk across the room and welcome them. There were still murmurs, but they were few and far between, stifled as soon as Lara glanced at the offending pack mate and sent out a shot of wolfie mojo.

  “No need for me to be on high alert when she’s got it under control.” Alex grinned at Lara. “Seems you said something about having better food here than we have at Diamond Tavern. Put up or shut up,” he ordered.

  They’d taken the largest table possible, and while the food arrived in waves, conversation moved briskly.

  “What’s your plan now that the fever’s over?” Cooper asked.

  Lara and Alex exchanged glances before he answered quietly. “I’m staying at the pack house for a bit. We’re working on a project together.”

  Amber’s eyes grew wide. She hauled a pad of paper out of her purse and quickly scribbled a note, sliding it across the table to Lara.

  Does this have something to do with that thing we discussed a while ago?

  Alex kicked himself. Of course. That’s why Lara had been hanging out with Kaylee and Amber. Not to try and cause trouble, but to help solve it. He should’ve assumed the women would be a step ahead of him on this.

  Lara jotted a quick answer and pushed it back, which was a really smart thing considering the power of wolf hearing. Even a whispered conversation about this would spread like wildfire.

  Yes. We’re looking into it. I’ll let you know ASAP.

  Lara made no mention of her potential-partner-alpha-wolf issue, but there was only one straggler still hanging on, and the longer Alex was around, the weaker his interest seemed.

  Not the way Alex would’ve done it if he was intent on a woman. If the dudes were so easily discouraged, they obviously didn’t deserve someone like Lara.

  The conversation rotated to topics that were a little more neutral.

  “How goes the search for your brother?” Alex asked Amber. It was the reason the woman had moved to the north in the first place a couple of years ago—tracking down her only sibling.