Awakened by her Bear (Black Ridge Bears Shifter Romance Series Book 5) Read online

  Her thoughts drifted again, straying to Maverick.

  Bronwyn tensed when she felt eyes on her, flicked a glance at the male at the bar, one who was looking at her as he waited for his drink. Curiosity shone in his dark eyes as he adjusted his worn grey baseball cap and she hoped it was just because she was a new face in a small town and not born of any desire to try his luck with her.

  “Thanks, Jon.” The brunet male slid money across the bar and pushed away from it, coming to face her, his faded pale brown checked shirt falling open to reveal a grey T-shirt that hugged his slim frame. There were a few grease spots on the soft material and her sensitive nose said it was engine oil that had never quite washed out.

  She willed him away from her. He might look her age at pushing thirty, but she was far too old for him and really not interested.

  Apparently, he didn’t get her silent message to leave her alone.

  He strolled over to her, his heavy work boots making the wooden floor of the bar creak in places, and she tensed as he set his drink down on her table.

  “What’s a pretty girl like you doing drinking alone in the middle of the day?” he drawled.

  Loomed over her.

  Bronwyn fought the crush of her memories, told herself that he wasn’t a threat to her and she wasn’t back at the compound. He was just trying his luck and would leave her alone. He wouldn’t try to make her do something she didn’t want to do. He wouldn’t.

  But the way he towered over her had her fear rising despite her best efforts to tame it, had her bear side growing agitated, tearing her between running and lashing out at him. Both would be a bad choice. If she ran, she might miss Maverick. If she lashed out, she might accidentally kill the human.

  “Waiting for someone.” She forced the words out, put enough bite in them that he would hopefully get the message this time and leave her alone.

  He dropped into the seat opposite her. She glared at his chest, couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye, and drew her drink closer to her as panic mounted, as those memories she tried to push out of her head flowed into it faster, a stream of them that had her dangerously close to lashing out to drive him away from her.

  “Looks like you’ve been waiting a while.” The man tapped one of the several empty glasses she had pushed to one side. “Doesn’t look like this guy deserves your time.”

  It was quite the opposite.

  Maverick deserved every second of her time and she would wait for him forever if she had to.

  Plenty of shifters in the arena compound had thought they could do what they wanted with her from the moment she had arrived at a tender age of only seventy-six, two decades off maturing. She hadn’t known much about the sort of things the males had wanted to do with her. Some of them had openly touted that they liked the fact she hadn’t matured, that she was young and innocent, ripe for plucking.

  She had feared they were going to carry out their threats, that she wouldn’t be able to stop them.

  And then Maverick had laid the largest of them out cold on the ground with a single blow.

  She had thought he had wanted her to himself, had already heard about how violent he was and that he was one of the hunters’ prized fighters.

  So when he had grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him, she had been scared, and when he had pushed her into a cell where Rune had been waiting, she had been terrified.

  Only he had grunted to Rune that she needed protecting, had told the fearsome black bear about what had happened to her, and something incredible had happened—she had suddenly found herself with two of the biggest, baddest bears as her bodyguards.

  If it hadn’t been for Maverick and Rune, she wouldn’t have come out of the compound untouched and unscathed as she had. The two bears had taken care of her and most of the other shifter males had been sensible enough not to dare to try anything with her. The ones who had over the years had quickly learned that messing with her meant they were messing with Rune and Maverick.

  “Come on, one drink.” The male reached across the table for her hand.

  Panic lanced her. “I—I’m sorry. Please leave me alone. I really am waiting for someone.”

  It didn’t deter the human and panic turned to fear as he came closer to touching her.

  A strong hand clamped down on his left shoulder and he grunted as he leaned in that direction, his face reddening as he tensed and grimaced.

  “You deaf or just dumb?” The deep masculine voice that growled those words had her fear rapidly fading, flowing out of her as if a dam had burst. “The lady said to leave her alone.”

  The human was quick to make an exit when Maverick released him, left his drink behind in his haste to escape the grizzly who eased his six-six frame into the seat he had occupied.

  Gods.

  Bronwyn stared at him, unable to do anything else as her heart fluttered in her throat, as the sight of Maverick seared itself on her mind and lit her blood on fire. He was just as darkly handsome as she remembered, his clear grey eyes as sharp as a blade and his sculpted features making him look like he had just fallen out of Heaven. The only thing that was different about him was his black hair. No longer close-cropped, it was lush and thick, wild on top and long enough at the sides that she could run her fingers through it. The damp ribbons looked as if he had just stepped out of the shower, made her shiver as she imagined him naked and wet.

  His grey eyes narrowed slightly, no trace of emotion in them, and then they lowered to take her in and a hint of surprise broke through the barrier he locked his feelings behind.

  And Bronwyn swore there was a flicker of heat deep in the depths of his eyes.

  She shivered inside at the feel of his gaze on her, a primal part of her awakening in response, filling her with an urge to tease him by pretending to neaten her pixie cut, maybe twirl one of the chestnut strands around her finger, tempting him into wanting to touch her.

  And then he tossed a bucket of ice on the fire he had ignited.

  “Little Winnie the Pooh.” He shook his head, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, stopping before they became a smile. “Was sure I’d never see you again.”

  She scowled at him and was tempted to pick him up on the fact she wasn’t little anymore. She wasn’t that girl he had taken care of in the compound. She had grown up, was mature now, her body awakening. Although, she had never felt fire the likes of which burned through her as Maverick gave her another slow once-over. Just a look from him had an inferno blazing in her blood, had her restless and unbolted the door on feelings she had never experienced before.

  Like a wicked urge to growl and bare fangs at him, to provoke him.

  Bronwyn shut down that urge.

  Maverick leaned back in his chair and brought his arms up, locking his hands behind his head, causing his thick black fleece shirt to stretch tight around his biceps and forearms. Something was wrong. He might look relaxed to the casual observer, but she knew him better. He was on edge.

  Her heart thundered for a different reason, racing as her mind screamed that she knew why he was on edge around her.

  It was as she feared.

  He knew she was up to no good.

  He was expecting trouble, waiting for her to betray him. Gods, she couldn’t do this. Just the thought of luring Maverick and Rune into a trap had her sick to her stomach again, made her want to rush to the ladies’ room to vomit.

  Maverick dropped his hands and sat up, the black slashes of his eyebrows knitting hard above intense grey eyes. “What’s wrong, Winnie? What’s this trouble you’re in?”

  Her hands shook as she toyed with her glass, as she debated spilling her guts and telling him everything, or maybe running for the door and not looking back. An image of Andrew with that male hunter looming over him, his blade poised to slit her brother’s throat, flashed across her eyes and her fingers tensed against the glass.

  It broke and she flinched as one of the pieces bit into her palm.

  “Christ, Winnie.
” Maverick grabbed her hand, his eyes wide and wild as he pulled it to him. “Be more careful.”

  She could only stare at him as he grabbed one of the paper napkins from the dispenser and cleaned the blood from her palm, his expression growing tender as he dabbed at the shallow cut. He plucked another napkin, pressed it to her palm and held it there, applying gentle pressure to the wound.

  His grey eyes lifted and locked with hers. “It’s time you tell me what this is about.”

  She swallowed hard. Cursed herself. Hated herself. She had to do this though.

  Maverick was strong. He could survive the cage. Her face crumpled, tears threatening to come at just the thought of him having to fight again. He would hate her for it. Never again would he look at her the way he was now, as if she meant something to him, was precious to him.

  A thought crossed her mind. Maverick and Rune were strong. Strong enough to help her save her brother? She wasn’t sure how many hunters were in the compound, wasn’t sure if they were tracking her or somehow watching her. She wasn’t sure of anything. No. She was sure of something.

  If she asked Maverick to help her save her brother, he would do it. He wouldn’t care how many hunters he had to go through. He wouldn’t care that he might get himself killed. He would do it for her.

  She had sworn she wouldn’t tell Maverick and Rune what was happening, and she wouldn’t, but she wasn’t going to lie to him either. She was going to bend the truth a little.

  “I saw some hunters in Whistler and I got spooked.” She stared at her hand, at his strong fingers pressed against it, and focused on it, shutting everything else out. “My brother… he’s gone missing. I know hunters have him.”

  “They might not.” He stroked his fingers over hers, tensed and seemed to catch himself, and released her as he sat back. “Your brother in the habit of leaving you alone?”

  She shrugged. “He visits Vancouver every month. Has been going for longer recently. Life at the pride isn’t exciting enough for him.”

  Maverick rubbed the thin layer of stubble that coated his square jaw. “Hmm. Doesn’t sound good.”

  “Will you come with me to see if we can find him?” She ached to ask him to come with her to help her save him, but she didn’t know where she was supposed to take Maverick.

  She glanced at her phone, hoping the hunters didn’t call her right now, while she was with him. Maybe they were giving her time to make contact with Maverick and Rune. It was clear they didn’t know where Maverick and Rune were, because they would have cut out the middleman and come to grab them instead.

  Gods, what if that was their plan? What if they were tracking her via her phone or her laptop and were planning a raid? For all she knew, they could be using her as bait and had zero intention of releasing her brother.

  She had been such an idiot.

  “Come with me to Black Ridge. You’ll be safe there, Winnie. Me and Rune will take care of you. It’ll be like old times.” Maverick’s silver-grey eyes were cold again, the barrier back in place, concealing his emotions from her.

  Did he really want things to be as they had been between them? With him acting like her big brother? She didn’t want that. She wanted him to see her as she was now—a mature female who was on fire for him. She wanted to make him forget how things had been and want something different with her, something she felt would be fierce and powerful, as wicked as her dreams of him.

  She considered pushing him to come with her, but she needed Rune too, knew in her heart that the hunters wouldn’t be satisfied if she didn’t bring both bears to them. Going with him would give her time to convince him and Rune to come with her, and would give the hunters time to call her with her next step.

  Only it sounded as if Black Ridge was a place where more than only Maverick and Rune lived, brought to mind the big grizzly bear who had taken part in the raid that had freed them all, a bear who had given Maverick and Rune a place in his pride and had extended the same offer to her and her brother.

  She didn’t want to place even more people in danger.

  “What if the hunters are tracking me? Maverick—” She dropped her gaze to the damp table and stared at his reflection in her spilled soda, unable to look him in the eye as fear got the better of her, as she struggled to tamp down the urge to tell him everything.

  Maverick reached over the table and caught her hand, his look deadly serious as he growled.

  “I’ll protect you. If hunters come, I’ll kill them all. I’ll keep you safe. There isn’t anyone in this world strong enough to take you from me, Bronwyn.”

  Chapter 4

  Maverick was finding it hard to keep his eyes on the track as his black Ford F150 rumbled along it, every bump he hit jostling the female sitting next to him, making him even more aware of her than he already was.

  If that was possible.

  He couldn’t stop looking at her, his gaze gravitating towards her despite his best efforts to keep it on the road so they didn’t plummet into the bushes and trees that lined the drop to his right.

  Bronwyn leaned against the open window there, her arm resting along the door and her head propped up on her hand. The sultry breeze that swept into the cab, carrying the scent of cedar and sunshine, tousled her short chestnut hair, brushing it from her face, and made the loose material on the lower half of her burgundy top flutter around her stomach and her jeans.

  He did his best not to look at the top half of it, where it hugged her breasts, pressing them together to form cleavage.

  She was right.

  He flicked a glance at her when they hit a straight, lingered as the sunlight caught her face, revealing the light smattering of freckles across her cheeks and making her honey-coloured eyes shimmer with gold.

  She wasn’t a cub anymore.

  She was all curves and temptation.

  Had grown up far more beautiful than he had thought possible.

  When he had stepped into The Spirit Moose and spotted her, he had been convinced he had to be imagining it was her, that he was mistaken and little Winnie hadn’t shown up yet.

  But then he had caught her scent.

  Caught was an understatement.

  It had hit him like a wrecking ball.

  Like honey and cream, with a faint note of cinnamon. Delicious. Tempting. Had his mouth watering even now, and his mind racing along a dangerous track.

  She had been silent since they had reached the road up to the trailhead, had taken to staring out of the window, and he had taken to staring at her. She had to be aware of how often he was looking at her. The thought that she might be had his gaze zipping back to the track and locking on it, because he had no right to gaze at her the way he was.

  He glanced at her again.

  Cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say.

  “Sorry the radio is busted.” Gods, did that sound as lame to her as it had to him?

  She looked at him, those honey eyes tempting him into demanding she move a little closer to him. There was an ocean of space between them and he didn’t like how she was pressed against the door, as if she wanted to be as far from him as she could get. Was he scaring her? She didn’t have the best experience with males, had always been jittery whenever they got too close to her.

  But she had never shied away from him.

  “I like the sounds of the world. I don’t think the birds have stopped singing for a second.” She hit him with a dazzling smile and then stole it away from him, turning it on the valley instead. He had never been jealous of a valley before, but he wanted to growl as she beamed at it. “It’s nice up here. The breeze is cooler and the view is beautiful, and I think I saw a mountain bluebird a while back.”

  “It’s possible. We get a few of them breeding up here.” He huffed as he had to slow the truck. “Got a few more annoying neighbours too.”

  The big male elk stopped to look right at him, as if it had understood him, and then proudly, and damned slowly, continued to cross the track. Bronwyn
watched it with fascination in her bright eyes, tracking it until it had disappeared down the slope into the scrub.

  Maverick pulled the truck away again and kept his focus on the road, just in case any other large ungulates wanted to jump out and wreck his vehicle and kill him and Winnie.

  “You mentioned Whistler. Did you go back there after we escaped?” He wanted to glance at her but resisted.

  She sighed. “Andrew wanted us to go back there, to our pride. We went straight there. Everyone was so pleased to see us.”

  Maverick remembered her brother. Not the strongest bear. The male had been easily swayed by the hunters, had done whatever they had wanted, even leaving his little sister undefended.

  Bronwyn loved him though. Maverick recalled that clearly enough. She had always defended her brother, and for a small black bear, she had been quite ferocious at times. Rune had thought it was their bad influence. Maverick had figured it was just the depth of her love for her brother shining through.

  He did glance at her now.

  She had a little more spark these days, but she was still the same gentle female he had known back then. Twenty years hadn’t changed that. He could see it in her eyes whenever she looked at him.

  He pulled the truck up beside another one at the trailhead and put it into park. “We’ll have to walk from here.”

  She was quick to slip from the cab and close the door. She raised her arms above her head and stretched, making her cleavage even more pronounced. Maverick pulled back on the reins before he growled at the sight of her and opened his door and dropped to the ground. He gave himself a moment, taking his time about shutting the door and locking up, needing it to regain control of himself.

  Bronwyn seemed determined to wreck him, came around the back of the truck to his side and looked around her at the trees that enclosed the small parking area. “It really is beautiful up here.”