The Bear's Reluctant Wolf (5 page)

“Oh shit,” said, Melissa, and Candace
couldn’t have put it any better. “Candace, he’s your fucking—” Before Melissa
could finish there was a fierce roar that surrounded them, and then she was
being hauled away from the grungy human. The scent of her mate filled her nose.
He wrapped one arm around her middle and pressed her right up against his chest.

The human widened his eyes, and although
she couldn’t see the bear’s face, she could imagine the fierce look on his
face. “You don’t fucking touch what’s mine.” His voice was low, and the smell
of urine immediately filled her nose as the human pissed himself. His fear was
tangible, but then again if she had a six-foot-three, and over two hundred and
fifty pound polar bear shifter standing
 
a foot from her, snarling and snapping, and
letting off all kinds of territorial and possessive scents, then she would have
pissed herself, too.

“Shit, man, I didn’t know she was
yours.” The human held his hands up, and Candace noticed the way they shook. He
scurried back, but he didn’t get very far when her mate moved her so she was
now behind him, reached out, and gripped the human by the neck. The human was
lifted easily off the ground, and it was like he weighed nothing as the bear dangled
him from his grasp. The scent of his bear right below the surface and the fact
she could see his muscles swell right under his skin, had warning bells going
off in her head. If she didn’t stop this there was no doubt in her mind that he
would shift and kill the human. She didn’t want that one her conscience, since it
was because of her he was in this feral state. She had run, setting off his
instincts to come after her, and now she had put this human, creepy and dirty
as he was, in harm’s way.

Just as the man’s face began to turn red
and his lips a frightening shade of blue, Candace placed her hand on the center
of her mate’s hard, muscular back. “Wait.”

Her mate instantly tensed, and slowly
turned his head and looked down at her. Their eyes held, and she swallowed.

“Please, just let him go.” She didn’t
miss the fact his jaw clenched, or that she could hear his teeth grinding.

“You expect me to let this motherfucker live
after he put his hands on you?” The human started gasping, and she knew her
mate was tightening his hold on his throat. “You’re my mate.
My
goddamn mate, and there is no else
that is to touch you. In fact,” he turned his head slowly back toward the
human. “I should kill you on the principle that you even had the fucking balls
to talk to her.” The human clawed at the hand on his throat, gasping and
gurgling for air.

“Please.” Not above begging, she prayed
he reined in his animal, which was clearly taking control right now. She
smelled the wild scent of polar bear, could see his pupils continue to dilate
and contract, and even saw the way the tips of his canines touched his bottom
lip. He was so close to shifting, and if he did, there would be no way she
could stop the destruction and carnage that would be the outcome.

He turned back and looked down at her. “Will
you run from me again?” He still hadn’t let go of the guy, and in fact kept his
hold tight and unyielding. It was clear by the blue tint starting to cover the
biker’s face. “If you tell me you won’t run and make me chase after you,” he
leaned his face close to hers, “even though I fucking love it, I’ll let him
live.” The sound of more gurgling had Candace saying and giving him whatever in
the hell he wanted, even though she didn’t want or need him as a mate.

“Okay, I promise not to run. Just
please, let him go.” He held her gaze with his, and slowly she saw his pupils
start to go back to a more normal size. The smell of his human coming forward
and his bear receding slammed into her, and she let out a relieved breath. He
let go of the human, who promptly fell to the ground. He gasped and wheezed for
air. Her mate stared down at him with disinterest in his struggles, but there
was still that anger inside of him that simmered right below the surface.

“If you were smart you’d get the fuck
out of here before I change my mind.” The guy picked himself off the ground and
hauled ass out of there.

Smart
human.

The bear turned around to face her and
crossed his arms over his chest. His muscles bulged out, but even if he hadn’t
shifted, his animal was still right there, ready and willing to come out.
Because of that his body was bigger, primed for a fight, and the wolf inside of
her grew relaxed and willing.

Damn
the bitch
.

“Give me your name.” Candace didn’t fear
him, because she knew he wouldn’t and couldn’t hurt her since she was his mate,
but he was still a frightening man.

“I did.” Even if she hadn’t seen what he
was capable of, there was no denying he was quite possibly the most powerful male
she had even been in the presence of.

“Don’t be coy,
mate
.” The way he called her mate, like he wanted her to know
exactly what she was to him, and that there was no mistaking it, had her
clenching her thighs together as a tingling settled between them.
Like I could forget.
“You’re stubborn, and although I admire that, I am not a patient male…” He left
that an open sentence, as if he meant to say more but thought better of it.
“Just tell me what I want to know,
Candace
.”
This time when he said her actual name it was more like a caress, like he had
just taken her, bent her over, and fucked her. Yeah, he had just fucked her by
saying her name. She felt every possessive stroke from that one word.

“
Jace
.
Candace
Jace
.” Something in his expression shifted,
maybe male satisfaction? Yeah, he was pretty damn satisfied that he got what he
wanted, even if it was something as simple as her name.

He took a step closer to her. Their
chests were just an inch apart, and if she inhaled deeply they would have
touched. “Just so you know, I would have caught you, and when that happened,
you would have told me anything and everything I wanted to know.” He had moved
his face closer to hers while he spoke, and now she smelled the wintergreen
flavor of his breath. “You would have given me
anything
I wanted, Candace.”

Ugh, he was the most arrogant male she
had ever met. His confidence in seemingly everything pissed her off, and she
found that willpower inside of her, the one that wouldn’t be mesmerized by his
harsh attractiveness, or the fact there was this pull between them. They stared
at each other, as if each one was fighting for supremacy. Damn
him
and the way the corner of his mouth kicked up. This
situation was far from funny.

“I like that you want to challenge me,
and I really fucking like that you think you’ll have me submitting.” The sound
of Melissa clearing her throat snapped her out of this stare-down they seemed
to be in. Candace took a step back when he moved another inch forward. “The
only one submitting will be
you
,
little wolf.” He grinned, all straight, white teeth, and purely predatory. The
scar on his cheek was stretched from the force of his smile, and made him seem
almost sinister, but in a totally dark and attractive way.
“Trace.”

She blinked, dragging herself out of the
mesmerized daze she was in. “What?” Candace cleared her throat because her voice
hadn’t sounded at all strong.

“My name.
Don’t you want to know the name of the male—
your
mate
—that is going to claim the fuck out of you?”

“Holy shit.”
Melissa’s low voice was low and filled with shock. Candace straightened her
spine and glared at him.

“Apparently I don’t have a choice.” She
meant for it to come out as a snarky comment, because it was clear this male
was just too … male for her. She was really getting sick of that damn grin he
wore.

“You always have a choice.” He lowered
his gaze to her mouth, and she forced herself not to lick her lips. She sure as
hell didn’t need to draw any more attention to them. “My name is Trace Dakota.”
He cocked his head to the side and lifted his chin toward the bar. “You were
just shaking that sweet ass in my bar.” Of course her mate would be the cockiest
damn male on the planet. “I like that you look like you want to kick me in the
balls right now.” He chuckled deeply.
“Didn’t know I’d get a
mate that had such a temper.”
He winked, and dammit, it turned it her
on.
“Turns me the fuck on.
I like the fact you want to
give me such a challenge, makes my cock so fucking hard.”

Heat raced up her neck and covered her
face. “God, what in the hell is wrong with you? Do you talk so crudely to
random women like this all the time?” He chuckled again, but for some reason
she didn’t think he was laughing because he found what she said amusing.

“Baby, you
ain’t
a random female. You’re
my
female.” A
beat of silence passed between them, because shit, she had nothing to say to
that.

Melissa again cleared her throat from
behind her, and Candace took several steps back, needing to put some distance
between them because he was just too much for her. The uncomfortable sensation
that came from Melissa was strong, and Candace also caught a hint of
uncertainty. Melissa’s normally “take charge and grab life by the nuts”
attitude faltered in front of Trace.

“Uh.”
Candace looked at Melissa and was stunned that for once in her friend’s life
she was speechless.

“I think I’d just like to go home,” Candace
said, but didn’t miss how Melissa glanced at Trace with just her eyes. She
looked at Trace again and saw that all amusement on his face was gone. In its
place was that deep rooted desire to see her bared, and that didn’t sit well
with her. She just wanted to go back to her perfectly placed home, with her
spotless carpets, and her neatly folded clothes, and of course her fresh flowers
she kept on her coffee table. Everything was right where it needed to be, but
having this shifter right in front of her was fucking it all up because he was
demanding things she wasn’t ready to give him. Mate or not, they had just met.

She reached out blindly and took
Melissa’s hand. When she looked at her friend it was to see her mouth opening
and closing, and her eyes were wide. The look reminded Candace of a fish out of
water, gasping for air because she didn’t know what the hell was going on
either. Candace didn’t bother looking at Trace again and instead started moving
past him and toward the car. Right before she was in the clear he gripped her
free arm in a loose, but unyielding, hold, bringing her to a halt.

“What?” Her voice was a lot stronger
than she thought it would be, especially with his hand on her, his skin
touching hers, as if branding her.

“Don’t run, Candace.”
He bared his teeth, and for a moment she was looking right at his polar bear. His
pupils dilated to the point there was no longer the striking green, but only
black, dark and commanding, and dangerous. “But if you decide to break your
promise, know that I’ll come after you, and I won’t stop until I have you right
where I want you.”

“Right where you want me?”
The hitch in her voice obviously didn’t go unnoticed by him, not when he let
his grin spread slowly across his face.

“Yeah, baby. You beneath me, my cock
buried deep inside of you, your nails curled into my skin, and my name falling
from your lips.”

She was so wet. God, she was so wet. And
by the way he looked at her, so possessively, like he fully intended to deliver
on that promise, told Candace that she was playing with fire, and most likely
would get burned.

She opened her mouth, but before she
could respond Melissa was tugging her along.

“Come on, Candace. It is
really
time for us to go.” Once she was
in Melissa’s car she looked over at where Trace was still standing. What kind
of name was Trace anyway?

One
that is linked to a big ass male that makes you
feel
all kinds of warm goodness.

He hadn’t moved, and just continued to
stare at her until she couldn’t see him in the side view mirror any longer.

The silence stretched between them, but
she knew Melissa could only last so long before she said anything about what in
the hell had just happened.
“Holy shit.
What was that?”
Melissa asked in a high pitched voice.

Candace rested her head on the seat and
closed her eyes. “My
mate,
and he seems to be a pretty
big asshole.”

Chapter Four

Candace had thought Trace would have
followed her home, or at the very least come to her house the next day,
demanding that she submit to him, but it had been three days already, and she
hadn’t heard or seen from him. She wasn’t naive enough to think he had just
given up on this whole mating thing, not when he had all but pounded on his
chest like He-Man, and all but beat her over the head with his club and dragged
her back to his cave. At first Melissa hadn’t delved too much into all of that
when she drove her home from the bar, or the days following the incident, but
then again for the first time since Candace had known her, Melissa had been too
shocked to have a witty, smart assed comment. Maybe it was because the Hulk of
a man was her mate, or maybe Melissa had never been that close to restrained
violence before? Candace sure as hell hadn’t, but it had been like she was in
some kind of survival mode as she tried to talk Trace down from killing that
human. Of course Melissa being quiet hadn’t lasted long, because eventually she
had come over, demanding to know what in the hell had gone on between her and
Trace. Honestly, Candace had no idea, and told Melissa exactly that.