He pulls me into his arms and gives me a kiss that makes my toes curl inside my shoes. When we finally break apart, I’m breathless.
“I’m ready to go home so you can hover and pamper me,” I tell him, only half-joking. “My feet hurt.”
A grin spreads across his face, and before I know it, he’s scooped me up into his arms. He carries me to the truck, opening the back passenger door and placing me inside with a tenderness that contradicts his massive strength. I scoot over to make room, my mind already replaying the private girl talk with Ebony and Jewel.
Maybe I need to run from my bear.
But the real question is: can I survive that kind of sex?
I’m about to find out.
22
JABARI
Ijolt awake in the middle of the night, my bear’s panic flooding through me. His frantic energy crashes against my consciousness with a single, terrifying realization:
Jackie is gone. Our mate is gone.
“Alright, calm down,” I mutter, running a hand over my forehead as I try to quiet the roaring in my mind.
I climb out of bed, scanning the empty space beside me. Her scent lingers on the sheets, but it’s fading. She’s been gone for at least twenty minutes. No wonder I didn’t notice her leave; she always makes it easy for me to fall into a deep sleep.
I start tracking her scent, following it out of the bedroom and down the stairs. The trail leads to the porch. What the hell is she doing outside at this hour? The winter season is nearly upon us, and the night air is crisp and bitterly cold—welcoming to me but dangerous to my human mate.
My bear claws frantically at my insides, demanding to shift while I struggle to hold him back.
“Please calm down,” I plead silently with him. “I am searching for her.”
I swing the cabin door open and step outside. My sharp vision finally catches movement at the edge of the tree line—Jackie, running into the forest.
I don’t waste time trying to figure out her reasoning or calling after her. I leap off the porch, my bare feet barely touching the ice-cold ground before I take off in a sprint, running as fast as I can to catch up with her. I’m wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants, but none of that matters right now. All that matters is Jackie. I need to get to her, to figure out what’s wrong.
When I reach the clearing, I stop. She hasn’t gotten far. I can hear her racing heartbeat from here. My bear pushes against my control, ferocious and demanding. I can feel myself losing the battle. Kade warned her not to run from my bear. So why is she doing it now? Did I do something wrong? Is this about the secret I’ve been keeping from her, the retail space?
Panic rises in my chest, squeezing my lungs until I feel like I might break apart. I press my hand against a nearby tree for support, fighting to maintain control.
“Calm down, please calm down,” I beg my bear. “You’ll hurt her if I let you take over. Jackie is delicate—we can’t be rough with her.”
I push my bear down with all my mental strength and start searching for her, moving slowly and carefully through the trees.
“Jackie, baby,” I call out, my voice strained with the effort of maintaining control. “Please stop running. You don’t understand what you’re doing to my bear.”
She remains quiet, though I can hear her heavy breathing. She’s hiding.
“I can explain my behavior,” I continue, desperation edging into my voice. “Yes, I’ve been keeping secrets from you, but it’s because I wanted the moment to be special.”
Finally, Jackie steps out from behind a large oak tree. She’s wearing a small jacket, leggings, a shirt, and sneakers. Therealization hits me—she changed out of her pajamas to get away from me. My mate is trying to run from me.
Take her home.
My bear’s command repeats in my head, over and over, drowning out rational thought. I’m starting to lose any sense of reasoning I have left. My mate wants to leave me, and I can’t let her go. Is it my hovering? Have I been too protective, too overbearing?
The panic overwhelms me, and I feel myself beginning to hyperventilate. My vision blurs, my knees weakening as a sickening dread washes over me. I collapse to the forest floor, my knees hitting the cold earth.
Jackie’s scent shifts suddenly, giving way to concern. She rushes toward me.
“Oh shit, oh no—this isn’t how this was supposed to go,” she says, dropping to her knees in front of me.
