Kuma (5 page)

Boris watched the door close behind his brother and met Myka’s gaze. “Well, Scar has certainly mellowed out.”

Myka nodded. “I’d say so.”

They looked at each other and laughed.

“Seriously, I said ten weeks so really, you need to step up the claiming. I could do a lot with that money.” Myka walked away from the table.

“Exactly how much is my love life worth?”

“I think it’s up to eight grand now.”

Boris chuckled as they entered the hall. “Sorry, little brother, that’s just not enough. Let me know when the pot reaches ten grand and I’ll want half.” He walked toward the front door.

“Where are you going?” Myka stopped and watched Boris.

“I told Nix to come back once she cleaned up. That was almost five hours ago. Apparently she wants me to come find her. I just hope she isn’t with that damn snake. Keep your cell close.”

“My phone is always close. Why…What are you up too?”

“Because if I find her with the principal, I may very well end up in the town jail. You know the sheriff doesn’t like me after that last prank.” Boris wrapped his fingers around the knob, tugged the door open, and walked out.

Chapter Five

Boris tracked Nix along the path, stopping to study his surrounding, when her scent abruptly ended. Maybe she was spending too much time with his men. It appeared she’d picked up some useful camouflage techniques and he hadn’t realized it. He slowly spun around in a circle looking for small changes in the foliage. The woman was small, but she wasn’t capable of completely disappearing. Boris turned on his heel and backtracked his steps, periodically checking the bushes. He stopped when he came across a dense thicket with a few freshly broken branches. With a grunt, he pushed through the thick brush. Leaves tickled his arms and hardy stems scratched at his neck. He raised his hand to keep the offshoot branches from slapping him in the face. The afternoon sun dappled his skin through the vegetation.

He broke through the shrubbery and stepped into a cold stream. Now he knew how she broke her scent—crossing water—the woman was too smart for her own good. A couple hundred feet before him lay a large lake that he knew was situated on the far side of the Blaidd property. It was a small inlet that was surrounded by large rocks on two sides and heavy greenery on the section he’d come through. Bright green grasses appeared in places while fragrant wildflowers were starting to shoot up in other areas, a sure sign of spring. He looked around and saw a small figure at the far side of the cove, huddled among the rocks. She’d have gone completely undetected if not for her colorful tresses whipping in the breeze coming off the water. He looked over the lake and noted how low the sun was hanging in the sky. Once the sun dipped behind the hills, it would be pitch-black. He turned toward Nix and watched her. She looked small, lost, and alone sitting atop the boulder with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms locked around them.

His heart pounded as anxiety rushed over him. He stuffed his hands in his jeans’ pockets and stood there staring at her. The voice in his head whispered to him
. Take her, Nix is your mate.
He argued with his subconscious.
She’s not ready to accept me.
Make her,
was the response. He snorted. Boris gripped his hair and furiously rubbed his scalp. He was born in the wrong era. He longed to live in the stories his dad use to tell him about how his mother was claimed.

Then there was the whole human-shifter issue. He would never truly be able to let loose and take her like he wanted to. She was fragile and had handled herself well in the occasional training, but they were wolves and he was a bear. A big bear. The idea that he could hurt her had occurred to him more than once. Then there was the matter of cubs. She was small. Even by human standards, there was no way she could carry his children. The logistics of any relationship between them was riddled with problems. Yet he couldn’t stay away from her and took every opportunity he could find to seek her out.

Nix was still an enigma to him, though. Other than what he gleaned from Fre, he still didn’t know much about her. The woman herself was persistently closemouthed, another one of her traits that drove him crazy. He glanced back at the shrubbery and pressed his lips together. He’d never run from anything in his life. Boris decided he wasn’t about to start. Squashing his knuckles against the seams of his pockets, he walked in her direction.

“I was wondering if you were going to come over.” Her voice carried on the wind. She turned to face him and brushed a pink lock away from her eyes.

“I have a hard time staying away from you.” Boris heaved himself up on the rocks.

She snorted. “That’s just your hormones talking.”

“Think what you like. Why are you so negative?” He settled on a spot just behind her and rested his arms on his bent knees.

“I choose to see it as being realistic. Life is not always posies and bluebirds.”

“No, it isn’t. But it is not always doom and gloom either.”

Nix glanced behind her and briefly met his gaze. He saw conflict in the warm depths of her chocolate irises. He scooted closer, lining himself up with her body and then slipped his hands around her shoulders to pull her back against him. Nix resisted his tugs the first few times before acquiescing and sliding back. She fit perfectly in the V of his legs. His cock instantly came to attention, and he closed his eyes reveling in the way their two scents melded seamlessly together. There was no denying it. She was meant for him. Boris rested his chin on the top of her head and he wrapped his arms around her. She was cool to his touch.

“You’re cold,” he murmured against her hair.

“It’s not the first time and I’m sure it won’t be the last.” She rubbed her back against his chest.

“Mind if I ask you a question?”

“Like I could stop you. But after I answer you, I get to ask one of my own.”

“Deal.”

“Shoot.”

“Why didn’t you kill Seri?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” Nix leaned forward, breaking his hold on her, and hugged her knees.

Blue and purple locks of her hair danced in the breeze. Water lapped against the bottom of the boulders. Boris formed fists on the stone’s surface. She wouldn’t respond to rough and tumble. He stared at her form. No, she needed to be charmed and persuaded. Not an easy thing for him to do when all he wanted to do was grab her by her hair, swing her around, and pound into her until the end of time.

He ran a finger up her spine and felt her shiver. “Your turn. I’m an open book. What would you like to know?”

“How did a bear end up with a pack of wolves?”

He chuckled. “They happen to be a very progressive pack. There are quite a few of us that aren’t wolf and belong to the pack.”

She didn’t turn around, instead speaking into the wind. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“My mother was Alutiiq Indian. She was part of the people that lived on Kodiak Island and was accidentally killed by a careless hunter while in her bear form. I don’t remember my father and no one came looking for us, so I stayed with her. I don’t think I was more than two. As a cub I had nowhere else to go. The Blaidds came across us while on vacation. By then I was starving and scared since I couldn’t get my mother to move. They gave me food and coaxed me out of my form. Then they buried my mother and took me back to my tribe.” Boris’s chuckle lacked mirth. “No one wanted me. So the Blaidds became my family. Mira, my new mom, refused to leave me. I think she got Dad to change his mind rather quickly. Even after she had Rhys and Myka, not once did she ever differentiate between us. You did know they were twins right? Funny, for the longest time I thought I was a wolf.” He stared at the calm water. “I think it was the easiest way for me to fit in.”

Nix did twist her body to stare at him then. “Get out of here. I mean they look alike, kinda, but they are so different…stop changing the subject and dropping minibombs like that. Wonder if Fre knows?” She pulled herself around and straightened her legs, laying them across his thighs. “At least you had a mother. Hell you had two.” Nix hung her head. “I was left at the fire station. According to my social worker, I was so tiny I was nicknamed Pixie by the firemen. As a toddler I guess I couldn’t say that, so I told people my name was Nixie and it stuck. Eventually it just got easier to say Nix.” She lifted her chin to stare at him.

“So what’s your real name?” he whispered. Her body seemed to glow amber and her hair appeared to blaze as the sun dipped into the mountains behind her.

She arched a thin brow. “No one knows my real name. Not even Fre.”

He leaned forward and cupped her cheeks with his hands, gently tracing her lips with his thumb. “But I’m not just anyone, I’m your mate.”

“I hear the words.” She pulled away from his caress. “I’m just not believing them.”

“What’s so hard to understand? We were designed to come together and act as one unit.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay, how about a bet?”

“What’s your wager?” Her eyes brightened with interest.

“Whoever can make it back home first wins. You win, I’ll be your slave for a week, at your beck and call for absolutely anything. I win, you tell me your name,
the real one
.” He eased to his feet.

“I need to warn you I have great night vision. It wouldn’t be fair. It’s growing dark and you wouldn’t be able to see well.” She took his hand and rose to her feet.

“It’s a handicap I’m willing to accept.” He shrugged.

Nix pursed her lips then smiled so wide her eyes crinkled at the corners. “Deal. But what week will I get?” She held out her hand.

“Any week of your choosing.” He gripped her palm and pumped his arm. “Go!”

***

Nix jumped from the rock and took off running without a second glance back. She knew he could move quickly when he wanted to and she couldn’t take the chance of him getting a lead on her. She ran along the perimeter of the bushes until she located the break where one shrub ended and another started. Turning sideways, she squeezed through the brush. Darkness was falling quickly. She glanced around her and jogged in the direction of the house. He might know the lay of the land, but it should take him longer to traverse the terrain if he couldn’t see—somewhere she’d heard that bears had bad eyesight, which gave her the advantage. She pumped her legs to pick up speed. He couldn’t say she didn’t warn him.

Drops of sweat rolled between her breasts. She finally cleared the trees and trotted over the open lawn. The residence was lit up bright and if she wasn’t mistaken, there were additional guards walking around. Nix stopped and started walking, looking around for any sign of Boris. A patrolling pair of wolves nodded in her direction as she slipped through the back door and into the huge kitchen. Kitchen staff were preparing for dinner. She glanced at the clock on the wall. She’d made good time even in the dark and yet something felt off. With a quick nod of her head to the people she knew, she passed them and entered the hallway. Keen looked up from his spot on the floor outside his father’s office.

“What are you doing here, little man?” She squatted to look at him.

“Waiting for you,” Keen answered, gracing her with one of his gape tooth smiles.

“Okay, whatcha need?”

He stood and placed a hand on her shoulder in a solemn manner and sighed. “I coulda told you…never race Uncle Boris. He cheats.”

“Huh?” Nix reared back and tilted her head up.

“Uncle Boris told me to give you a message.”

“And what’s that, Keen?”

“He said to say, ‘I won. Now pay up.’” Keen shook his little head. “Uncle Boris also said you can find him in the game room.”

“Why that SOB!” She rose to her feet.

Keen dropped his head back and looked up at her. “SOB?” He rolled the initials on his tongue. “What’s that?”

Nix checked herself and grinned. “A very nice person. It’s something you say about someone you love.”

Keens eyes widened, then he scratched his head. “Really? That couldn’t be right. Uncle Boris isn’t always nice and Daddy calls him that all the time when he’s yelling.”

“Scout’s honor. What it means is it’s our secret, so don’t repeat me and keep it to yourself who you heard it from. Now come on, kid, you have better things to do than sit in a hallway.” She turned him around and urged him toward the stairwell.

Once she got Keen out of the way. Nix scratched her head, she thought she’d been in almost every part of the house and she’d never been to any game room. The only places she never stepped foot in, for very good reason, was Boris’s wing. She snagged the next guard she passed. “Hey ya. Can you tell me where to find the game room?”

“Sure. It’s in the east wing, on the first floor at the end of the hall.”

“Great. Thanks.” That answered that question. It was in Boris’s area. Nix headed for her room first. She’d show Boris, cheating was not an option and bait the bear on his own turf. Sliding her hands into her back pockets, she formulated the plan in her head.

Chapter Six

Nix took one last look at her body and ran her hands over the slick, patent leather trench coat. The shiny black coat didn’t quite come together, but had three silver buckles that allowed her to pull the two pieces closed and push up her bust to make her breasts look huge. The jacket cut away, leaving her stomach exposed while covering her back and ass to mid-calf. She adjusted her shorts of the same material to cover most of her ass cheeks. The fabric shimmered with every move she made. Her thigh-high, six-inch-heeled, suede boots completed the outfit. She adjusted the top of one bootleg to line up with the material and smoothed out the wrinkles.

It’s a good thing she traveled with her stripper costumes. Unlike Fre, she preferred to work at various clubs as a freelance dancer. That way, if need be, she could fall back on the profession should her other sources of income suddenly dry up. Lately, she’d had to resort to stripping more than she cared to but the money was good and right now the outfit was coming in handy. She snatched the utility belt from her suitcase and buckled it on her hips, wiggling the heavy accessory to settle it.