The Witness and the Bear: (Werebear Shifter Romance) (9 page)

Unable to stay at Jenny’s under her and Blaine’s pitied stares, Hannah had begged to go back to Riker’s house, so she could mentally prepare herself for when he came back. Things would be different and she needed some alone time to figure out her feelings.

Blaine, in true gentleman’s fashion, had offered to walk her back, and sh
e’d happily taken him up on the offer. Visions of Bralan’s murderous fury still haunted her whenever she blinked. Plus, it was full dark now and Jenny’s house had been hard enough to find during the daytime.

She thanked the powers that be for her
tennis shoes as she dodged roots and branches across the trail but when Blaine offered his arm, she accepted. The man acted like he could see in the dark, but likely he’d just walked every trail of this place so often, he knew them like the backs of his eyelids.

“What do your human friends think about you living in Bear Valley?” she asked, her voice sounding loud in the quiet of the night.

“They don’t think anything. I don’t talk about where I live,” he admitted. “I don’t invite people over and if people ask, I just tell them I live in the middle of nowhere and like my privacy. They’ve met Jenny, but she’s the outdoorsy type. It’s easy for people to assume she’s happy with a rural life rather than we live with a clan of bear shifters. You’ll have to do the same with human friends you make. To protect Riker and his people, you’ll have to completely separate those two parts of your life.”

She couldn’t imagine that
being a problem since Jeremy was the closest person to a friend she’d had in a while. Running for her life tended to limit the amount of friendship bracelets and BFF lanyards she received.

A roar filled the night, chilling her blood until she froze in place. A terror filled scream followed and Blaine was already running in the direction of the noise. No way did she want to see what caused such horrifying noises, but she was sure as sugar not getting left behind in the dark woods either.

By the time they reached the small house, yelling could be heard as clear as a bell and the short, sharp bellows of a bear rang against the building, loud enough that Hannah was surprised it hadn’t blown to the ground yet. From the way the walls rattled, total destruction was imminent.

Barreling
through the door, Blaine turned and tried to shove her back out into the night. “Hannah, you don’t want to see this.”

Confused, she peeked around his shoulder and wrenched
away from his iron grip. Merit stood mostly naked in black negligee, and Cameron and the other men were trying to calm a giant bear. Except he’d been tied to a bed post and had ripped the entire headboard off. One strap hung from his wrist, too tight, and the other connected the bear with the still attached headboard.

He. Was. Pissed.

The scene didn’t make sense. If Merit was here, then—.

“Riker?”

Merit spun and jabbed a finger at her. “You get out of my house. We aren’t finished yet.”

Stunned, Hannah stared at the manacle
s cutting off circulation from his paws. Cameron and the others had quieted and looked nothing short of ashamed and it hit her.

“Oh,” Hannah said dangerously calm. “You are so fucking finished with what you tried to do here.” The wily she-devil had tried to force Riker to choose her
, and in front of Cameron and the others so it couldn’t be taken back. She glared at Merit, shaking with fury. “Get out.”

“You can’t kick me out of my own house. Cameron, tell her I’m well within my rights—”

“Cameron,” Hannah warned, “if you utter a word about how she has the right to do this to Riker, I’ll slit your neck. Get. Out.”

“Merit,” Cameron sai
d. “Leave until we can get him Changed and out of here.”

“But that wasn’t my turn. We didn’t finish. I want my full turn!”

With a stout yank, Blaine pulled her kicking and screeching from the house, and the others followed until it was just Hannah and Riker the Bear in the small space.

“I have to untie you,” she said in a quivering voice. Fear and anger tended to make her sound like she was on a wooden roller coaster.

His lip pulled back in a snarl and she closed her eyes. He wouldn’t hurt her. He wouldn’t. “What she did was horrible, but it didn’t work. Come back to me, Riker. Let me untie you.”

Raging eyes, so dilated they were black, stared soullessly back at her.
His shoulders, scarred from fighting, flexed as he shifted his weight one step closer.

“Please, Riker.”

Heavily, he sat and stared at the ties like he hadn’t noticed them before. Slowly, he drew his sad gaze back to her and in an instant, Changed into the human Riker whose skin she thirsted to touch, just to reassure herself he was okay.

His chest heaved like he’d run a great distance, and his face looked nothing short of haunted, but
his eyes weren’t empty anymore, and right now, that was something worth focusing on.

“Hannah.” His voice sounded raspy, like he hadn’t used it in days.

She rushed to him. “I’m here.” With shaking fingers, she pulled and tugged at the impossibly tight knots until they loosened and he was able to slip his chafed wrists from them. She wanted to maim Merit in seven different ways for doing this.

“I did it.” His voice was hoarse and tortured. “I was with her. You’ll hate me.”

“No,” she said, pulling his face to meet the seriousness in her eyes. “No, I won’t. You did what you had to for your people. I...”

Rubbing his wrists, he growled, “Say it.”

“I just met you.”

“Say what you mean. You’re fearless, Hannah. Your strength is
tougher than iron or you wouldn’t be sitting here in front of me, offering salvation to a man who doesn’t deserve it. Say it.”

Lifting her chin, she whispered, “I love you,” through trembling lips. “Now, can we go home?”

He searched her face like he’d never seen it before, like he’d never get enough, and it tore at her. A whisper of hope swam in the gray ocean of his gaze and she stood.

She was going to break down if he didn’t move soon.
“I need to get you home, Riker. Please. I think you’ve had enough betrayal and abuse for one night and I’m thoroughly sick of everyone right now.”

She sat on the edge of the bed as he redressed and slipped her hand into his as they left the hell Merit had created. Once outside, the light from the heavy moon was enough to see the milling bystanders. The crowd had grown, and Riker
’s voice sounded much stronger when he said, “I’ve made my choice. Hannah is my mate.”

Pulling her hand in the air, she was overwhelmed as they surged forward and shook her hand, clapped Riker on the back, congratulated them.

“You still have until the summer solstice to choose,” Merit said. She looked unhinged, hair mussed and eyes wild.

“The choice is made,” he said, shoving past her.

He didn’t say a word as he led Hannah back to his house and she didn’t know how to feel. He’d just declared her his mate and intertwined their fates thoroughly. No matter who came after her now, her life would be here, with Riker and his people. Fear at how intensely she felt about him, confusion over how devoted she’d become, happiness that he’d chosen her, anger at Merit for her treachery. All of it churned up in her until she was full of silt and ash and unable to settle on an emotion.

He pulled her into his house and didn’t even turn on the light before he rounded on her. His arms crashed around her, lifting her
off the ground and clamping her tightly to his chest. She thought he’d push for more, to relieve himself of whatever memories Merit had forced onto him, but he didn’t. Instead, he just held her like he never wanted to let go.

“I’m sorry.” His voice was ragged. “I don’t deserve what you said back there. I don’t deserve for you to care about me.”

“You do,” she said, stroking the back of his hair.

“Come with me tomorrow. Come with me to all my meetings. See what I do. See who I really am and learn about our culture. I’ll make you happy here, Hannah. I know this isn’t where you imagined
your life, but you’re mine now.” He sank to his knees and pressed his face against her stomach. “I’m yours. You can have all of me. Just don’t let what I’ve done taint the way you feel about me.”

Staring at the blue moonlight streaming in through the window, tears fled her cheeks as she bit back her heartache. “I’m yours. You did what you were supposed to, and now it’s just you and I
. We’ll figure everything out together.”

He scooped her up so fast, she gasped. In the bathroom, he hit the hot faucet and perched on the side of the tub, waiting with his eyes downcast.

“Hey,” she said, lifting his chin. “Don’t hide from me.”

He stood, undressed them both
with care, and when the bath water was warm and full, he lowered her in and slid into the waves behind her. Careful of her injuries, he bathed her with such reverence, it was hard not to cry all over again. Her emotions were raw and confounding, but Riker was struggling with guilt over whatever had happened in Merit’s bedroom tonight, and his silent suffering was a deep and poignant pain in her chest.

As long as she lived, she w
ould loath Merit for what she’d done.

A tremendous crash woke
Hannah, shaking her from the remnants of a good dream. Tensing, she shot her hand out and found Riker’s. A deep chuckle filled the air and he tugged her fingers until they rested on his side.

Another strike of lightning lit up the room. He was propped up on an elbow, watching her.

“How long have you been awake?” she murmured.

“Since the storm started. I can’t sleep during bad weather. Instincts kick up too much.”

Turning, she mirrored his comfortable looking position. “I had a good dream.”

“Yeah? Tell me.”

Her eyes adjusted to the dark slowly and the relief at his returned confidence was almost tangible. Riker wasn’t a creature meant to be shaken. Part of that had been her fault, but the bulk of the blame lay with power hungry Merit.

“I dreamed Jenny and I went into a big city and shopped all day. Tried on all these ritzy clothes and came back to Bear Valley with fancy wardrobes. We ate giant pretzels and red
slushies and laughed all day.”

Pulling her with him, he rolled onto his back and settled her into the crook of his arm. His smile shone white in the lightning strike that lit the room. “Jenny could find some trouble in a shopping mall.”

His voice was still deep and sleepy and Hannah snuggled more tightly against his side, rested her cheek against the smooth planes of his chest. Twirling a fingernail gently around one of his puckered nipples, she watched the steady rise and fall of his abdomen, flexing slightly with the exhale.

“How often do you have to C
hange into a bear?”

His fingertips massaged her scalp and he stroked strands of her hair.
Hooking his other arm behind his head, he watched the weather out the window. “However often I want. We aren’t ruled by the moon like other shifters. It’s easier for us. The Change isn’t really painful, so there’s no point in not giving in to our animals. It hurts if we stay in one form too long, so we have to turn at least every couple of weeks to avoid the soreness.”

“I never saw Jeremy C
hange.”

“He’s a clever old shifter. He wouldn’t hav
e ever let you suspect anything. Probably slipped into the woods every week or so while you were sleeping. Did my bear scare you last night?”

The question lay thick and heavy between them. “Yes. You looked wild, like there was nothing human left of you. Your animal is huge
, Riker. What chance would I have against any of you in the wrong moment?”

“You brought me back,” he whispered over the drumming rain.
She lifted her chin, and his eyes shone down at her in that eerie color that matched Jeremy’s when he was getting ready to fight. “I remember the way you talked to Merit and the others. You’re no pushover. I can’t imagine much scares you. Do you want to know what happened last night?”

She traced the faint bruises on his wrist and shook her head. “I know enough. Merit is your past. I’m your future. I promise I won’t let her poison us.”

“Yesterday,” he murmured against her hair, “you said something important and didn’t give me a chance to answer your sentiments. Why?”

Why hadn’t she given him the chance to say
I love you
back? Because she’d been tired and angry, and terrified he didn’t feel the same and she was kindly giving him an out by not leaving a pregnant pause for him to fill with words he didn’t mean. “I don’t know.”

“You do. And you should see enough of me by now to know I feel it too.” He pulled her hand against his chest, just above the steady
thrumming of his heartbeat. “You can feel it, right?”

Her cheek rub
bed against his shoulder as she nodded. Feeling it was different than hearing it though. Words that heavy came hard for men like Riker.

She wasn’t Merit and she didn’t need his words as an end to some sick game of chase. Their days together would stretch on and
on because she was here, willing to work for the bond she knew they could have. And he was here working, too. Those three words could wait and he could offer them when he didn’t feel pressure. They would be more precious that way.

Tilting her face, she kissed his lips. Not suggestively, but just to taste him, to feel that connection with him. The pad of his thumb stro
ked her cheek and she felt it. He cared so deeply for her it scared him sometimes, and that was more than enough to hold her. Light fingertips brushed her hair, her jaw. They traced her collar bone and revered her body. Nudging a knee between her legs, he seemed content to just be. His kiss was languid, and he explored her mouth with quiet, rhythmic diligence. This was different from the other times he’d made love to her. It wasn’t because he needed her, or that her body was the only thing that could keep his demons at bay. His touch tonight said he just
wanted
her.

Fire trailed up her hips as he caressed her shirt up toward her ribs, but he didn’t work to remove it. Only to give him
self access to her breasts, which felt swollen and wanting. Cupping the weight of one, his lips tickled her neck, warming her against the stiff breeze that drifted in the open window on the storm. Further and further he dipped, until his lips pulled her taut nipple into his mouth, lapping it gently with his tongue. Groaning, she bowed against him but he wasn’t in the hurry that was building in her. By the time he moved to her other breast and gave it fair attention, she was on fire.

“Riker,” she pleaded.

He slid into her slowly. Excruciatingly slowly, and she hooked her leg over his hip, opened further to accept all of him.

His arms hardened around her, pulling her closer and banishing the space between them. Only then did he move, at a sensual pace that made her bite his shoulder against the pleading words caught in her throat.
Pulsing release crashed through her, tugging his panted name from her lips.

He eased back, a slow smile on his lips. “One.”

He collected her orgasms like hard earned trophies that night. Cared for her and catered to her until she lay exhausted, and only then did he allow himself to come inside her. Slick warmth spilled from between her legs as he finally pulled away in the early rays of dawn and she infused a smile into the kisses she brushed against his shoulders and lips. She loved him, and he loved her too. Feeling his adoration was more important than hearing it, and she drifted back to sleep happy and satisfied with the home she’d stumbled onto.

****

Alpha meetings were held in a building with two rooms. One was a small office where it seemed Riker spent time between meetings with the six council members who helped to run Bear Valley. The other room was much larger and held a sizable circular table where all of the important clan decisions seemed to be made.

Hannah
sat patiently against the wall as Riker discussed issues with the council for the bulk of the morning. Debates were quiet and most of the conclusions swift. Talk of purchasing new solar panels, budget, mineral rights, a sickness that had taken three calves in the last week, harvests, and a hunter who’d wandered onto the property a few days ago.

Riker shot her a glance over his shoulder.
Hannah couldn’t tell, because the bottom half of his face was hidden by his shoulder, but she was pretty sure he was smiling at her.

“Give me a minute,” he said to the council members. He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and murmured something against it. Scraps of whispers were all that reached her ears, but forty-five minutes later, Jenny poked her head through the front door and gave Riker a knowing nod. Flicking her fingers, she motioned Hannah to the door.

Standing, she offered a two-fingered wave to the council and squeezed Riker’s shoulder before she followed Jenny out.

“I brought lunch.” A brown sack of fragrant smelling food was clutched in her grasp. “Riker said you need to eat.”

Maybe she hadn’t hid her grumbling stomach as well as she thought. Gratefully, she sat at a picnic table near the meeting house. “I’m starving.”

“That’ll happen. Bears, especially dominant ones, tend to need more physical attention, if you know what I’m saying.”
Jenny unloaded Tupperware containers from the sack and set them neatly on the warped wood of the table. “You need to eat at regular intervals to keep up with him. If you’re hungry, let him know. He should be keeping you fed better anyway.”

“I want to work.” The thought had been niggling at her all morning. The pop of a plastic container lid filled the silence.

“I suppose you would. Alpha meetings will get tedious for you. You want me to get you a job assignment with me?”

“What do you do?”

“Work cattle. Sounds lame, but we get to ride four-wheelers and the work is rewarding. The beef provides the main source of protein for the entire clan. It’s important work.”

“I don’t know much about cattle, but that sounds good to me. I’m a quick learn
er.”

“I’ll ask Shane about it when I go back after lunch. He’s
head rancher.”

“What did you do this morning?” Hannah asked, scooping sliced strawberries onto a plate.

“Today is one of my days off, so I went into town with Blaine and ran some errands. Look.” Her nails were painted bright green, and she wiggled them so that the glitter in the polish caught the muted light. Dark clouds still dotted the sky, but enough still got through.

“Pretty.” And the color was so Jenny somehow. Bright, vibrant. Happy. She imagined the
black six inch claws of her bear and frowned. “Will the polish stay on if you Change?”

“No, but I don’t have to C
hange for a while so it’ll hold until they chip and I don’t care about them anymore.” Jenny handed her half of a ham sandwich, and plopped the other half on her own plate.

Studying her own naked fingernails, she wondered if Riker would like color on them. Polish hadn’t graced her fingers since befo
re she’d testified against Stone, which suddenly seemed like a long time ago. She’d detached from the fear over the past few days and something had settled in her. She gave a private smile and sank her teeth into the flavorful sandwich. Crisp lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and flavored mayo made it one of the most delicious bites of food she’d ever taken. That or she was even hungrier than she’d thought.

Spearing a strawberry with her plastic fork, Jenny asked, “What about you. What did you do this morning?”

The memory of Riker’s sensual touches to start out her day flashed across her mind, but she’d keep that little gem to herself. “I met a man named Banks.”

“For breakfast?”

“Yep. He enlightened me on the ins and outs of buying and registering stolen cell phones from crack heads.”

Jenny snorted. “That man is a con artist. He’s also one of Riker’s best friends and they’ve
met for breakfast every Tuesday for as long as I can remember. Did he hit on you?”

“Kind of. He called me
downright fuckable
.”

Jenny brayed a laugh and rocked back in her seat. “Did Riker explode?”

A giggle escaped her at the memory of his seething red face. “No, but it was close. His eye twitched a lot.”

“Banks, that idiot. He must have a death wish. Listen,” she said
hurriedly, snatching Hannah’s hand and squeezing it. “I’m glad you guys are okay after last night. I was worried you’d be done after all of that.”

Shaking her head at how big last night had really been, she asked, “Di
d Blaine tell you what happened?”

“He did. Makes me want to wring Merit’s scrawny little neck.
How was Riker afterward?”

“Haunted.” They both were.

One final squeeze of her fingers and Jenny focused on eating again.

The strawberries made red streaks against the white of the plate as Hannah pushed her food
around. “He picked me.” Her whisper was as quiet as the breeze.

Jenny stopped chewing. “He told everyone he picked you?”

The smile that beamed from her face was uncontrollable. “Yes. Right after we left Merit’s house. People had gathered and he announced his choice.”

“I bet Merit shit a pinecone.”

“She didn’t take it well,” Hannah admitted.

Jenny lifted her water bottle. “Fuck ’er.”

Plastic caps thunked as she toasted to that. “Fuck ’er.”

“Fuck who?” Riker asked, sliding into the bench seat beside her.

“Oh, you know who,” Jenny groused.

“Mmm,” he rumbled, pressing a warm kiss against Hannah’s forehead. Just the touch of him, his nearness
, brought relief from some tension she hadn’t known she harbored.

His sister waggled her eyebrows. “Congratulations.”

His chuckle was deep and happy and the sound filled her chest until an answering smile burst from her face. Despite last night and its potential to maim and destroy, Riker was back.

“Much appreciated. Never thought I’d be so proud of a mate,” he said with a wink.

Her thigh muscles jumped as he gripped her leg. The bag crinkled as she pulled a plate from its depths and started passing Riker the leftovers. Her mate would finish them off without any trouble.