Lord of the Bears (Wild Ridge Bears Book 1) (14 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Nora

Jax fell with the mighty grace of an oak tree. He twitched on the
ground before me. I dove to his side. Hank put his hands on my shoulders and
pulled me away.

“Can’t stay here now, darlin’,” he said.

“Jax!” I flung myself over his lifeless body. They shot hit him square
in the shoulder. A metal plug stuck out through his shirt. I put my temple to
his chest and crumbled with relief. He was breathing. Deeply asleep, but
breathing. It was a tranquilizer dart, probably with enough potency to kill ten
men.

“I’m not leaving him like this!” I screamed at Hank as he put his hand
on my shoulder again.

“Dammit all to hell!” Hank bellowed. He stood up and scanned the tree
line. “Come out, you son of a bitch! This ain’t how we operate.”

“You did this?” My voice ripped from my throat in a shriek. I needed to
keep it together. Jax promised me sanctuary here. I was safe. I had to think.

“Hell no,” Hank said, turning back around. “Look, it’s not safe to stay
out in the open like this. The others can’t be far behind.”

“You said I was. You swore I was safe here.”

“Yeah? Well, it looks like somebody’s trying to change the rules.”

I cradled Jax’s head in my lap. His rhythmic snore was the only thing
keeping me from melting into a full-on panic. He was okay. He would wake up.
But damned if I would leave him here.

“Help me with him,” I pleaded. “Jax said you swore an oath to his
family. Well, I’m invoking it. I have the right. As Jax’s
Anam Cara
,
what you promised to him, you promised to me.”

Hank’s eyes widened then darkened. I knew I was right. It was bold and
risky, but I knew I was right.

“Well, I’ll be damned. I guess you are. Look. I’m gonna need you to
have a little bit of faith in me. Some of what’s about to happen might not look
too good from your end of things. You might be Jax’s, but you’re not bear. We
handle things in our own way. I suppose Jax would have preferred to kind of
ease you into this life, but you just had the bad luck of stepping into it when
things were getting kind of complicated.”

The hairs bristled at the back of my neck. The wind shifted and the air
grew thick all around me. We weren’t alone. I felt dozens of eyes all over me.
From all sides, men stepped into the clearing along the ridge. My head whipped
around as I held Jax.

Cullen. Rafe. Bo. Some of the other bears from the other night that I
didn’t recognize by name yet. My heart exploded inside my chest. Jax said I had
magic within me. Bear magic. These men were different, even if I had closed my eyes,
I would have recognized them for what they were. Strong, powerful, virile bear
shifters. They moved slowly through the trees and came out until they formed a
perfect circle of threat around us. Hank had moved off to the side. Someone
handed him a pair of pants. He slipped them on then came back to my side. I
clung to Jax like a life preserver. Shit. That might be exactly what he was. I
banked on the fact they wouldn’t rip me away from him.

Hank leaned down and put a gentle hand on my shoulder. I jumped anyway,
skittish as a colt.

“Shh, hang in there, darlin’,” he whispered. “I swear it looks worse
than it is.”

“One of you did this,” I said; so thick was my throat, it hurt to talk.
“Who did this?”

Another man moved through the crowd. He was among the tallest of them,
with jet black hair and fierce green eyes that positively glowed with menace as
he got closer to me. Simon. I knew it on instinct. He held a rifle across his
shoulder, and for an instant, I wished I could kill with just a glance.

“Nobody’s going to hurt you,” he said, though his deep voice vibrated
with menace. He raised a brow, realizing how hard he’d sounded. His mouth
lifted into a gentle smile, but the damage was already done. I didn’t trust
him. I knew exactly what he wanted to take away from Jax. This land. And me.
Lust poured off him, dark and commanding. It stirred the magic inside of me. If
I ever doubted what I was, being near Simon and the others put that to rest. I
was meant for bears. But, I had chosen mine. I pulled Jax’s head further on my
lap and stared Simon down.

“Leave,” I said. “All of you. These are Jax’s lands and you aren’t
welcome here right now. You son of a bitch. You shot him on his
own
property.”

“These are
clan
lands,” Simon said. “And you’re the outsider.”

Hank stepped between Simon and me. “She’s got a claim here too, Simon,”
he said. “And you know exactly what it is. All of you do. You can sense it just
like I can. She’s
Anam Cara.
She’s Jax’s. Apparently.”

“We’ll see about that,” Simon said. My blood curdled. Simon’s eyes
locked with mine. His were cold and predatory. My blood stirred and my breath
came hot. His nature called to mine, despite how badly I wanted to hurt him.

“She’s not welcome at any clan meeting,
Anam Cara
or no.”
Another of the bear men stepped forward. Tall and stocky, he had blond hair and
a scar through one of his eyebrows. Simon called him Trevor.

“Well, we can’t very well leave her here,” Hank said. “And you can’t
hold her against her will. We’re not monsters, no matter what this little lady’s
current opinion might be. Now, this is between Jax and us. You got your way. I
don’t like your methods, but maybe you’re right. Maybe he was never gonna come
down from the ridge willingly. Still, I don’t like this shit one bit, Simon.
And I know I’m not the only one.”

“Figure it out, Hank,” Trevor said. “And quick. Clan meeting needs to
happen now. We go to the company store, neutral turf.”

“Fine,” Simon said through tight lips. “But she stays with me. I don’t
trust her, and I don’t want her out of my sight.” I struggled when he put a
strong grip on my upper arm and tried to pull me away from Jax. Two of the
other bears moved forward and grabbed Jax’s limp body by the arms and legs,
hauling him off the ground.

“No!” I tried to pull myself away from Simon. His touch burned through
me at the same time desire flared in my core. My senses seemed to short circuit
with my hand still on Jax’s shoulder, and Simon’s firm grip.

“Stop,” Cullen stepped forward and put a hand on Simon’s chest.
Cullen’s dark eyes flicked to mine, conveying a wordless message.
Trust me
.
I wanted to. Jax had told me if anything ever happened to him, I should go to
Cullen. I just hadn’t realized I’d need to so soon.

“Not you,” I said to Simon. “I’ll go. But not with you.”

Simon grunted and a look passed between him and Cullen.

“I’ll take responsibility until we get Jax back on his feet.”

“It’s his right,” Hank said. “You know that, Simon. The Lords and The
Jameses swore an oath, and you know it. Cullen is Jax’s second. Let the girl go
with him.”

Simon rose and moved toward me. He stood nose to nose with Cullen. “I
want her gone. I want her off clan lands until we decide what needs to happen
with Jax. You escort her to the edge of the property and get her out of here.”

I knew what he was doing. It tore at my guts to think about it. Simon
knew the ridge lands were part of me too now. The closer I was to Jax, the
stronger our bond. Getting me far away would weaken Jax.

“I’ll take care of it,” Cullen said. His touch on my shoulder was heavy
enough to make my spine buckle. My gut clenched as the other bears took Jax and
hauled him away from me. Before I could even protest, they disappeared into the
trees with him. My heart hurt from even that short distance separating us.
Cullen slid his hand to the small of my back and whispered in my ear.

“It’s going to be all right. Just try to stay calm.” His voice
skittered across my flesh and warmed me. “We’ll find a way.”

We moved quickly then. Simon’s flashing eyes drew me like a beacon.
Pure hatred hardened his features as they took my Jax away.

Despite my fears, Cullen was a steadying presence at my side as we made
our way down through the valley. The path would have been slow and treacherous,
but Cullen guided me the whole way. He took a protective stance, keeping
between me and the others. I had so many questions for him. I wanted to plead
my case, tell him that the others were wrong about me and wrong about Jax too. The
thought of leaving these lands and Jax behind tore at me. There was no one more
loyal to the clan and the preservation of the ridge than he was. He would die
to protect it and he would die for me. With each step I took, I searched for a
sign from Jax. I felt him. That invisible rubber band still bound me to him. My
heart eased knowing that where he went, I went. I just hoped whatever drug Simon
had shot into him would wear off soon.

“He’s going to be all right,” Cullen muttered as if he could read my
thoughts. Though, I suppose they were written clearly on my face and through
each desperate step I took, struggling to get closer to the man I loved.

“What’s going to happen?” I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
“Simon wants to banish us. I need to know how great the risk is.”

Cullen paused mid-step. His sharp intake of air told me everything I
needed to know.

“This is just a formality, isn’t it?” I asked, my voice rising higher
than I wanted. I ducked my head to avoid a low branch. “Cullen?”

“Shh,” he cautioned. “It’s not over until it’s over.”

“No!” I dug my heels in. “I need answers right now.”

A few of the others paused and looked back. Cullen shot them a look and
made a gesture with his hand. Simon’s scowling threat made my blood boil, but I
had an unlikely ally. Trevor put a hand on Simon’s shoulder and nodded. Simon
let out a gruff noise, but turned and headed down to the end of the trail. I
could see the lights of a large wooden building. It reminded me of a Native
American longhouse. It must be the company store. Each of the clansmen filed
in. My heart lurched when I saw them drag Jax in, his feet scraping along the
steps. But, even from this distance, I could see he was starting to come
around. He grunted as they heaved him up the last step and into the building.

Cullen pulled me back and behind a large oak tree. His eyes glinted
through the shade.

“He’s already been tried and convicted, hasn’t he?” I asked, crossing
my arms in front of me. “I need the truth. I need to know how desperate this
really is, Cullen. You owe me that.”

Cullen’s shoulders dropped. “Okay. It’s bad. Jax hasn’t done himself
any favors being so secretive and refusing to come down off the ridge. He
should have brought you down to meet the rest of us the minute he sensed what
you were. For some of them, that’s just another beef they have with him. But,
Jax has the right to have his say. But you have to do what Simon said for now.
You need to leave this place. Quickly.”

“How could he do that? Jax is part of this land too. He’s one of you.
Is that how you treat each other? God. He
shot
him, Cullen.”

“It’s a tranquilizer dart. He’ll be awake in an hour. And I swear I had
no idea that was what he was planning. Simon’s going to have to answer for that
too. Now, I’m not saying I agree with his methods, but Jax should have come
down to meet with us on his own. He refused.”

“He was trying to protect me.” My heart lurched knowing this was just
one more reason my presence in his life had complicated things for Jax.

“Maybe so, and he’ll have the chance to speak for himself.”

Guilt made a sour taste in my mouth. Jax hadn’t wanted to leave his
lands because of me. He’d drawn the suspicion of the rest of the clans because
of me. The biggest threat to the Wild Ridge bears came at my hand. Those stupid
pictures I took. Damon had them right now and there was no telling what kind of
damage he could do with them.

In that instant, I knew I had to do the one thing Jax tried to swear me
not to do. It killed me to even think it, but the instant the thought slammed
into my brain, I knew it was true. I also knew this might be the one chance I
had to execute my plan. It felt like a betrayal, but with Jax out of
commission, he wasn’t in a position to stop me.

“I’ll go,” I said, the words forming a bitter taste in my mouth. I’d go
back to the Vista Foundation. I could fix this. It would be dangerous, but I
could get access to Damon’s files. I could get the SIM card with the pictures
on it. There was a good chance he hadn’t yet sent them to anyone else. I could
find that out too. Those pictures were what Simon was looking for when he
trashed my apartment. I could try and get them away from Damon. That’s the main
thing he was holding over Jax’s head. So, what if I could take that out of the
equation? It ought to put to bed any doubts the others had about
my
loyalties
to Jax and the ridge.

A muscle jumped in Cullen’s jaw. For an instant, he looked just like
Jax, all bear testosterone and defiance. A tiny flicker of dark desire went
through me, and Cullen’s eyes widened. He at least had the decency to look
ashamed. No matter what happened, I didn’t think it was a good idea for me to
hang around a group of virile bears looking for a mate.

“Nora, maybe you should wait. You can hole up at my place until a
decision is made about Jax.”