Rescued & Ravished: An Alpha's Conquest (A Paranormal Ménage Romance) (15 page)

“Not just that,” Hazel said easily. “It’s just more common when the clan’s blood is gettin’ lean. It can happen at any time, if a shifter’s
animal
enough. You see, child, a grizzly bear is a wild thing, full of appetites. A skinchanger close to their beast nature is full of appetites too, too many and too strong for one mate. Bears take many mates over the course of their lives, but being human, we want more meaningful bonds and fewer partners. So a shifter like that will fall in love with and take two mates.”

“That’s very… promiscuous… isn’t it?” Harper asked, frowning.

“We don’t see it that way,” said Gorse gently, coming back from the stove. “It’s natural, like Mother says. A bear with two mates is seen as faithful if they’re faithful to their triad, and they almost always are. We’re a faithful people, honey. The bonding goes deep.”

“I’m not a bear,” Harper said weakly.

“No,” agreed Hazel, “but you could be. You’re a seer in any case and you’ll live surrounded by bears. You’re preternatural and if you live our way you’ll be happier for it. You’re meant to be with those men. The clan needs it, and you need it, too.”

Maybe she did.

“You’ve been lost,” said Hazel lowly, seriously, “but now you’re home. Don’t resist this magic, girl. Or this love.”

Harper stared into Hazel’s milky, gold-shot eyes and she knew the elder was right. Suddenly, Hazel stood up. Her face was set and queer, her expression far away.

“Mother, what is it?” Gorse asked, hurrying to Hazel’s side. “Are you sensing something?”

“I’m alright, darling. Harper! Sweet child! Go up the mountain.”

“Up the mountain?” Harper repeated, surprised. “Now? Why?”

“Your men are done with their scrap. Go and find the winner—and the loser, too. Both of them need you now.”

Harper shot up.
Chance! Hud!
“Which trail do I follow? I’ll go right now!”

Gorse and Hazel gazed at her, approvingly.

“I’ll show her, Mother,” Gorse said after a moment. “I’ll show her the path.”

“Good,” the elder said, nodding. “Show her how to get to her men! She’s one of us now!”

It was a hard uphill trail to get to the Grounds. She took it at as much of a run as she could.
Who won? Who lost? Are they both alive? I need to go faster!

But as it turned out, she didn’t need to go all the way up to the Grounds. It was on one of the wood paths, far above the compound, that she saw Chance.

He was coming down the mountain, and he was filthy. Filthy with sweat, filthy with dirt, filthy with blood.

“Chance!”

She didn’t wait. She rushed him and threw her arms around his dirty neck.

“Harper?” he managed, hoarse and surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to find you.” She pressed her face into his damp, scruffy neck. The smell of him was bliss.

“Why?” he asked, his voice thickening. He put his arms around her and squeezed her close. She loved the hot firmness of his body, a body ribbed with muscle and as strong as a bear’s.

“Because I needed to see you. If I stayed here, in the mountains, would I be yours?” she whispered.

“Stayed? Would you stay?” His grip tightened.

“Hazel said I’m meant to. She came to me, Chance. She told me I could be yours if that was what I wanted.” She nuzzled his neck. “I do want that… if you want me.”

“Of course I want you, Harper. Of course I do. A dead blind man could see that I want you,” he said, half-chuckling with relief. “God girl, you really want to pair with me?”

“I’ve dreamed about you. Have you dreamed about me?”

He stared at her. “Yeah. I have.”

“Then you already know how I feel, and how we’re supposed to be.”

“ ‘Supposed’
to, huh?” he repeated, cupping her face. “We’ve still got a choice. Is this really what you want? To be with me?”

She held his gaze. “It is what I want. I didn’t want to believe that it was, because it’s crazy. But it is.” He was listening intently, so she went on. “I want to be here, Chance. Because I love the wilderness—the mountains and the meadows and the trees—and I don’t need the city anymore. Because I’m tired of being alone and I’m ready to be loved by a family. By this family, this clan. I really am.

“And because I’m ready to love a man… and that man is you. I want to be with you, Chance. Every inch of me knows that we belong to each other, and Lord, it makes me happy. Ever since I first saw you I knew it was true. I’ve loved you since before I met you and I’m sure you love me, too.”

He kissed her—a rough, possessive kiss, hot as warm wine. “I do. If I’m really what you want, then I’m the luckiest man alive. I’ll keep you safe, Harper. I’ll love you like you deserve.”

“There’s still a lot I don’t know about this life,” she murmured against his mouth. “You’ll have to show me.”

“It’ll be my pleasure, truly it will. This life if full of joys, Harper. You’ll see.”

“I believe you,” she whispered before turning fully into their kiss. She didn’t know if they’d ever peel apart again, not with the taste of him, the hard, close strength of his body, the shushing of the pines and the cool sweetness of the wind. It was heavenly. It was perfect.

But eventually he broke it. “I’ll take you back down to my cabin. C’mon.”

“There’s somewhere I have to go first,” she said, pressing kisses along his jaw. He rumbled in pleasure. “Just one place.”

“Where’s that, honey?”

She leaned back, watching him carefully. “Don’t be mad.”

He frowned, confused. “Mad?”

“I’m not. I’m one of those people who…” She sighed. “I have to find Hud first.”

“
Hud
?” he asked, surprised, the gold flashing in his eyes. “Why?”

“Because I… I love him too,” she faltered, biting her bottom lip. “Can you… can you understand? Hazel said it’s not wrong. She said it’s something that happens in the clans—to bears—and now it’s happened to me too. Triads.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, his hands squeezing her shoulders; but then he opened them again, and there was no anger in his gaze. “Isn’t that an irony? After I fought him tooth an’ claw for you?”

“For
me
? Wasn’t it for—”

“It was for you, too, girl. Believe me. He adores you, same as me.” He kissed her forehead; her eyelashes fluttered closed. “I’m not mad, love. This
is
normal here, or at least, not unheard of. It’s alright. You can’t help it any more than you could help the rain and snow.”

“I’ve never felt this way before, I swear—”

“Don’t even try and explain. I understand. Truth be told, some part of me is glad, ‘cause it means maybe things between me and him can be salvaged. They’ll have to be, won’t they, if we’re gonna share you?”

“I love you just as much as I do him. I love both of you the same.”

“I know it. I know you do.” He kissed her forcefully on the mouth. “Don’t fear. This doesn’t make you any less mine, or me yours.”

“Where is Hud now, Chance?” she swallowed. “Is he hurt bad?”

“Not bad,” he said grimly. “Not in body. But he lost, love, and that’s a hard thing for any man to swallow.”

“Where is he?”

“Dunno. But I can take you down the trail again, back to the cabins. You wanna ride me?”

“
Now
?”

He laughed, and she got goosebumps. “Not like that, love! I’m gonna change. You can ride my back.”

“Really?” She linked her fingers behind his neck. “I won’t be too heavy?”

“Honey, nothing’s too heavy for a full-grown grizzly. Ready?”

She let go of him reluctantly and stepped back. Effortlessly, Chance shifted from a man into a huge, dark-furred bear. It dropped down onto its stomach. Gripping its fur, she climbed up onto its broad, high-humped back. The sheer power underneath her was dizzying.

The bear—Chance—snorted, pawed the earth with a massive claw, and then started barreling down the track. She held on as tight as she could, pressing herself low to his shoulders and starting to laugh. Ivy trees lanced with sunlight flashed by, and she thought to herself:
I’ve made the right choice. I’m never going back to Chicago.

“Hudson.”

He looked up from what he was doing, stuffing a weatherworn pack. It was clear he’d caught the worst of it in the fight. One eye was black, his lip was bleeding, and there was the angry welt of a thin, painful clawmark on his neck. He was dressed in a beat-to-hell shearling jacket and some old-looking clothes; clearly he’d dressed in a hurry.

“Harper,” he breathed, his voice dry. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m staying here.” She ran a hand over the untreated wall of his cabin.

“No. You’re not.” Fiercely, he went back to stuffing the bag. “And neither am I. No one is. I’m leaving.”

“Hud.”

“Go back to Chance, girl. When I came back… and you were gone.…” He looked up at her, the gold in his eyes as pale as white corn. “I knew where you were. Who you were with. And why the fuck not? He won the right to court you, and you like him, I know you do. Of course you snuck off to him. Everyone’s happy.”

“You don’t think I have feelings for you?” she asked, coming closer. “After last night?”

“Women can’t love a losing man,” he said
harshly, stopping to glare at her. “I can’t stand it, Harp. I can’t stand that he held me down and forced
me to yield or die. I told him to finish it, finish me, and he wouldn’t. He thought letting me live was mercy, he thought it was—”

“Hud…” She got her hands on his face, made him look at her. “What happened?”

“Happened?” he repeated hopelessly. “Hell, Harper, I don’t know.”

“Tell me.” She pressed her soft, warm body to his.

“Ah… damn. I don’t know. I really don’t, girl. I wouldn’t have guessed it, but I guess he’s stronger than me. I guess he wanted it more.” His voice was colorless. “I have to go.”

“Go where?”

“Dunno. But a man can’t abide losing a fight like this one.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“Women,” he repeated stubbornly, “don’t love a losing man.”

“Tell me what
happened
.”

“IAlright. Let me think.” His brow furrowed. “It was like this: we got to the Grounds. We shifted shapes. You’ve seen me turn, but you’ve never seen Chance, have you? You have? Then you know we’re matched for size.”

He gripped her arm. “He charged me. I… I swiped him hard and he dodged, took it on the shoulder. After that… I’m not sure. It’s a blur, fighting’s like that. I remember lotsa growling, and biting, and wrestling. I remember rolling around in the grass. I remember that nasty bear-blood taste. But mostly I remember… I remember.
Fuck!
” He slammed a fist on the table suddenly. “He pinned me. I was on the ground, finished. I said kill me. He said no. So here we are.”

She put her arms around his waist, under his jacket.

“Don’t pity me,” he said gruffly.

“I don’t.”

“Why are you here, Harp? Let me leave.” He put his hands on her elbows, and broke her hold on him. “Now.”

“I’ve been dreaming about you. Did you know that?”

That stopped him.

“Dreaming about me?” he looked surprised. “What d’you…”

“Hazel said she foresaw me coming. Did you know that?”

He frowned. Crickets chorused outside. “So that was you. You’re the girl she saw.”

“She said I’m a seer. Like she is.” She held his brown-and-gold eyes. “I’ve been seeing you for months, Hud. In dreams.”

“Have you?” he asked slowly. She could tell she’d really gotten his attention.

“Yes. You… and Chance. And everyone. Do you understand?”

“No. Do you?”

She nodded, clasping her arms around him again. “I do. I’m supposed to stay here. Hazel says I’m meant to join the clan, and I’m meant to succeed her, too. As your seer.”

“No shit?” he asked quietly. The gold rose briefly in his eyes. “Well, I’ll be damned. I thought you were special, baby.”

“There’s more. Chance has been dreaming of the future, too. He’s been dreaming of me.”

Hud’s expression darkened. “Oh yeah? I see. You’re supposed to mate him, huh, since both of you are gifted alike? Sure. That lines up nicely, seeing as he won the—”

“No! Listen, Hud, it just means…” she hesitated. One of her arms was hot from the blood soaking through his shirt. “It just means. He’s got
some
foresight. A little bit. It’s not that he’s stronger than you, it’s just that… he’s
supposed
to be Alpha. He was chosen and he’s got the powers to prove it. He’s got the perspective. The vision. I dreamed him as our leader and he will be.”

“Guess I wasted my time up there at the Grounds then,” Hud grunted. “Let me go.”

“Just because I dreamed about him doesn’t mean I didn’t dream about us,” she said sharply. “You and me.”

“Us?” His voice softened.

“We’re supposed to pair. Don’t pretend you’re surprised, Hud. You feel what it’s like when we’re together. It’s undeniable.”

He stared at her long and hard. “So is it me or Chance you’re mating with, girl? ‘Cause I’m confused now.”

“It’s both.”

There was a blank silence.

“I won’t share you with him,” he said finally, gruffly. “I don’t care if it’s the shifter way to triad. Be mine. Just mine.”

“Hud, I can’t. I love him.”

“Come to Montana with me.”

“There’s nothing for you in Montana,” she said as gently as she could. “This is your home.”

“No. Not anymore. I lost the contest for Alpha, girl. I’m done.”

“Montana isn’t—”

“What do you know what Montana is?” he cut in, in a surprisingly soft voice. “Try it. Come back and make a life with me. Live in the Salish Mountains with me. It’s all fir and ponderosa pine, it smells like heaven. Hollyhock an’ iris everywhere. Elk and deer and fish to eat, along with buckwheat pancakes an’ huckleberry macaroons. Summers prettier than you could dream, Harper. Summers like angels have.”

It tempted her. But she knew where they belonged.

“This is our
home
. Right here. Stay with me
.
” She gripped him hard around the waist, her sleeve completely wet now. “I want you.”

He grimaced. “He bested me. I ain’t worth shit.”