What a Bear Needs (The Wild Side) (6 page)

Sniffing, the wolf folded his arms across his chest. “I’m very forgiving.”

Maddox snorted. “Your
Cree caused me head trauma today, excuse me if I’m not of the same mind.”

“Was it by her own hands?”

“No,” he answered.

“Then consider yourself lucky, you honey loving bastard.”

Frowning, he stated, “
That
is stereotyping. Just because I’m a grizzly, it does not mean I love honey.”

Anoki’s expression twisted into one of disbelief. “Sir, I watched you literally slap a cheetah unconscious this morning when he wouldn’t relinquish the last bottle.”

He shrugged. “This proves nothing.”

“If this is what Cree’s conversations with you consist of then I can understand her disinterest.”

Maddox gasped. “How dare you? I’m extremely
interesting!”

“Are you?” the wolf queried, cocking his head. “Because you bore me.”

“I am not here for your amusement!”

He laughed! Laughed!
“Then what, pray tell, do you exist for?”

“Are you trying to make me hurt you, Anoki?”

“No!” the other male bellowed. “I’m trying to make you get off your giant, disproportioned, fat ass and show Cree why she should feel safe with you! Nature didn’t give you much by way of charm, wit and general attractiveness but goddammit there is
something
beneath the low brow and dead eyes.”

“Is this…is this really
supposed to motivate me to do anything else aside from break your arms and legs then make you into a puppet?” Maddox questioned in all sincerity.

“The ‘fat ass’ comment made your eye twitch didn’t it?”

“Yes,” he responded. “That was just a bit too far.”

Anoki sighed. “If it’s any consolation, I think your brother’s fatter. Although, genetics will eventually lead you both down the same lonely, sad road of depression and cellulite.”

“No…that’s really no consolation at all.”

“Ah well,” the wolf shrugged. “I tried.”

“Did you? That was you
trying?”

“Look are you going to make yourself presentable and worthy of Cree or not?”

Maddox waved his hands. “I dunno! Perhaps my low brow, lack of charm, bad looks and dead eyes will get in the way!”

“Why are you being so sensitive?”

“Because you just insulted me! And you called me fat!
”

“That was at least five seconds ago. Why aren’t you over it yet?”

“Anoki,” he breathed. “You’re an asshole.”

“What I am is a man concerned about the well-being of someone I love. Cree isn’t like Fallon. She parades about hissing and doing physical harm but really she’s similar to a soufflé that hasn’t be prepared by the proper hands. One wrong move and she could deflate faster than the muscles in your thighs as you hit middle age and begin to lose your hair.” Anoki’s brows rose a bit as he looked Maddox over. “Too late.”

“That is
it
!” Maddox sat up and pushed past the screaming in his skull. Unfortunately, by the time he got to his feet Anoki was sweeping them from beneath him again. He hit the ground and bit back a roar.

“I really wanna see you succeed, Fozzie,” he announced mildly. “But you’re making it difficult.”

“Why do you even care?”

“Because
Cree
cares. No matter how much she may deny it, no matter how many times she may Sparta kick others for saying it, she needs love just like the rest of us and I’m trying to make that happen.” He sighed. “A bit of advice for you. Wanna catch her attention? Show her something aside from the grubby-handed, tit grabbing bastard that you are.”

“Insults…again.”

“You’re not
me,
Maddox,” Anoki continued. “Whereas I’m full of raw animalistic magnetism,” he waved a hand at his form.

“This is starting to make me uncomfortable.”

“You’re just raw and animalistic.”

“Urge to kill rising.”

“I’m a canine Lothario who can charm even the most stoic of people. The gods didn’t bless you with this particular talent but deep down—deep, deep,
deep
down—”

“That’s a lot
of fucking ‘deeps’, you overgrown malamute.”

“—there’s something
there,” the wolf went on, ignoring Maddox. “You just have to dig past the fat and disillusionment to find it.”

“Eventually I
will
regain the ability to stand. And when that happens, I’m going to make you cry; all three of you that I’m currently seeing due to my injuries.”

“Sure you will, Humphrey.” Anoki was clearly amused. His mouth twisted and he suddenly threw up his hands. “I’ve grown bored with your presence now! I’m off to talk to someone who has larger breasts than yours and knows how to use them to her advantage.”

Then he was gone. And yes, Maddox remained lying there, on the ground, contemplating what brand of torment he could inflict on the asshole when he finally caught up with him later.

***

“I feel like an idiot.”

“Would you just trust me?”

“Cree—”

“Trust!” she shouted, standing on her tiptoes.

Ransom looked seconds away from laughing as he leaned backwards but replied, “Alright, alright. Jesus…”

“This will work, Kissyfur and do you know why?”

“Er…no.”

“Because you’re recreating the most important moment in your and Fallon’s lives,” she answered, rather proud of herself. She’d come up with this little plan in lieu of a traditional proposal because Cree could remember the way her friend had been so completely shaken while describing what occurred in this very spot a year ago; Fallon and Ransom’s first kiss.

Despite her adoptive father’s gruff acceptance, he’d given his blessing and Helena seemed more than a bit happy that her
wonder pup
was finally going to take a walk down the aisle…even if she had to be dragged there. Meanwhile Lorna and Callum McKenna’s excitement was both loud
and vocal.
It seemed Ransom’s mother had been trying to get him locked into anything close to commitment for a long time.

If Ransom would just stop fidgeting and get himself together, they could make this thing sing. “Give me the towel,” Cree demanded.

He suddenly looked awfully nervous. “But—”

“Towel.
Now.”

“You really want me to do this while naked? All my important—and extremely praise worthy–parts left on display?”

“Are you someone who irritates me? Would I lead you astray on purpose?” she questioned.

“Seeing as how I’ve never required stitches or an E.R. visit after an encounter with you, I’m going to say no.”

“Then do what I tell you to and bare your ass!”

Ransom blinked. “At what point did our relationship take such a strange turn?”

Her mouth twisted. “I dunno, my friend. I’m simply trying to help and while my methods may be aggressive,” Cree suddenly reached down and snatched the towel from around his waist, making sure to keep her eyes on his face. “They’re necessary.”

He opened his mouth but she wound the towel and snapped it. “On the porch, grizzly!”

Groaning a little, the bear did as she bade while she put her gaze on the roof of his and Fallon’s cabin.

“I want you to do it just like we rehearsed, alright?”

Ransom grumbled.

“What was that?”

“Alright!” he bellowed.

“Don’t roar at me!”

“That wasn’t a roar! When I roar, you’ll fucking well know it!”

“
That
definitely sounded like roaring to me! Would you like that aforementioned visit to the E.R.?”

“Would it involve me being unconscious while the sound of your voice became a distant memory?”

“No but it would definitely involve snot bubbles and excruciating pain! Does that sound pleasant enough?!”

They both stopped, stared at each other for a bit then began to laugh.

Ransom nodded his head at Cree. “You’re treating me like family aren’t you?”

She gave him a soft smile. “Because you
are
family. If it weren’t for you, Fallon would be a lot more violent and a lot less happy. Don’t let your fears intimidate you. She loves you and even if she growled through the entire ceremony, she’d marry you tomorrow.” Cree backed away. “You’re
exactly
what she never even knew she needed.”

Turning to walk back to her own cabin, she stopped when Ransom quietly asked, “And you? Have you found out what it is you’ve always needed yet?”

Cree didn’t face him when she countered with, “You mean Maddox?”

“Yes.”

The snort of laughter left her before she could draw it back. It was hollow; hard. “Between the two of us Ransom, your brother could’ve been the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“Could’ve been?” he gently prodded.

She nodded. “Yeah. Could’ve been.”

“Any reason why it sounds like those particular cards have been swiped from the table?”

“Because,” she cast him a quick glance over her shoulder. “I would’ve been the worst thing to ever happen to
him.”
With that she walked away.

A few yards down the road, Fallon caught up with her. “And where have you been?”

Cree’s mouth curved. “Helping out a friend.”

“When you say helping…does it have a sexual connotation?”

She laughed. “No, you pervert.”

“Well the mischievous smile says otherwise. What else am I supposed to believe?”

Bumping her shoulder into her friend’s, Cree said, “Go home.”

“Why?”

“Because Ransom’s waiting for you.”

“And?”

Cree stopped. “And he has something to talk to you about.”

Fallon’s expression turned anxious. “Is it more wedding bullshit?”

“Would you just go?!”

The she-wolf drew back. “The yelling is a bit excessive.”

Lowering her brows, Cree pointed back towards Fallon’s cabin. “Go.”

Her brave, strong, capable alpha stomped her feet and pouted. “I don’t wanna!”

“Fallon. Wilder.”

The other woman threw up her hands. “Fine!
Fine!”
She then proceeded to march all the way to her home, fists balled at her side, head held high.

Cree grinned just a little when in the distance she heard Fallon query, “Why, by all that is holy, do you have your naked bear ass on my beautiful, hand crafted, porch? What did I tell you about naked bear ass on the porch?!”

There was most assuredly a roar in response, more yelling and then the slamming of a door. Since Cree couldn’t hear begging or bellowing she assumed that the pair had both been
inside
the cabin when said door slammed, which meant her plan worked.

Her lips lifted into a faint grin. Mission accomplished.

But how long will you be around to watch all your pretty little strategies succeed?

Cree’s amusement melted as quickly as it manifested. She didn’t have an answer for that. There were days where she felt like she had a say, a voice among the many inside but when she became too comfortable, too complacent, they proved that she didn’t. This morning had shown her that she couldn’t fight it forever.

Blood will tell…

She’d grown up hearing that very phrase over and over again. It seemed to be more true than she’d wanted to admit at one point but as of now, she realized that it had always been a fact and not a nonsensical statement made by her tribe to frighten her. Constant analysis of everything she did aside, they’d been right. She should’ve believed it after seeing what her mother had done to her father. The gentlest woman she’d ever known was someone who she suddenly couldn’t recognize. There were days that she could still remember the feral stare Nuna had cast her while hovering over her mate’s body; her eyes like that of something that had crawled from the bowels of hell.

Maddox had taken it as a joke the first day they’d crossed paths and she’d informed him that she was the very thing his mother had warned him about. Cree hadn’t been kidding; she
was.
And with time, if she didn’t leave, he’d see it for himself. They all would.

Cree’s steps slowed as she reached her cabin. There was a large hunched over figure resting against her porch. Said large, hunched over figure smelled a lot like lemongrass and looked entirely too much like a male she’d been trying to avoid all day.

“You’re trespassing,” she announced.

Maddox looked up, an ice pack pressed to his head. “You gonna shoot me?”

“I don’t have a gun that fires angry bees on steroids so…no.”

“Then quiet down, wily female,” he grumbled. “I’m here to apologize for being a dick earlier. Although I consider myself the largest and prettiest dick you will ever encounter, I was still a dick.” 

Her lips twitched. Why couldn’t he just be annoying all the time? Like a rash that just wouldn’t go away?! Instead she enjoyed having him around—which just made things much more complicated.

She shrugged. “Why deviate from the normal routine?”

“Because the normal routine has been getting me nowhere,”
he answered, standing straight. “And it’s frustrating. Do you know
why
it’s frustrating?”

Cree folded her arms across her chest and stared up at him. “Can’t say that I do.”

He leaned down until they were nose to nose. “I am not
just a horny, grubby handed, tit-grabbing bastard.”

“Wow…really?” Her brows had to be touching her hairline.

Maddox nodded. “Yes, really. Could I kiss you and leave you singing my praises to the gods in a slight A3 mezzo-soprano? Most assuredly. Could I make you curl into a little ball and weep in pleasure? Of course. Could I convince you that you should be pregnant with my offspring as of right now? Definitely. But what’s the issue there?”

“Um…I’d claw your eyes out of your head then hang them on the rear-view of my jeep like fuzzy dice, watching them jiggle every time I hit a pothole?”

He swiped a finger down her nose. “Cute but wrong, beautiful. The issue is that I don’t want to have to convince you that this,”—he waved a hand between the two of them—“makes sense. It’s something you’ll have to see on your own and then
we can spend many pleasurable hours with you tearing up a duvet, or four, in worship of the power that my pelvic muscles wield.”