Ma Comes as a Shock
Leif closed his bedroom door behind him with a soft click, but he doubted Fiona would stir. He’d woken her earlier this morning to make love again, and now with every muscle in his body relaxed and limber, he couldn’t stop smiling. He’d never expected to find the one, not in Churchill, and to have her delivered to his door. Life didn’t get much better.
Ma, though, she might be a problem.
She abhorred humans.
She put up with them, used them for her own ends, but she’d never welcome a human woman into the pack.
Leif’s smile faded as his mind drifted to ways he could conquer Ma’s objections. Of course, if things got too bad, he could walk away from family. It would be like ripping off a limb, but he’d do it for a life with Fiona.
Ms. McDonald was worth every bit of aggravation.
Her wealth meant nothing to him. He could do without money if he embraced his polar bear heritage. Instead, he kept a foot in both worlds because he loved the town of Churchill and wanted to see it prosper. He enjoyed going his own way and working alongside his brothers instead of remaining under his mother’s total rule.
He strolled into the den, following the coffee aroma coming from the kitchen area. Runt and Kirk must be down in the warehouse, sorting out the fruit and vegetables to take to their temporary market.
After grabbing a mug of coffee,he jogged down the spiral staircase, a real spring in his step and his mind blazing with joy and happiness.
Kirk and Runt had loaded the produce on the sled they used around town, towing it behind the SUV. It stood outside, ready to go.
“You fucked her,” Runt snarled, his voice gravelly and his bear close to the surface.
Leif stilled, every sense going on hyper-alert. He’d never heard that sort of fury coming from his youngest brother.
Kirk’s hands bunched and unclenched at his sides. “Runt and I found her and brought her here. You have no right to waltz in and kidnap her from us.”
“Why didn’t you say so last night?” Leif asked, not taking his gaze off either of his brothers. Their bears lurked just below the surface, ready to explode with violence.
“What part ofour womandidn’t you get?” Runt snapped.
“I wanted her.” Leif kept it simple and to the point. He’d taken one look and hadn’t thought beyond the fact his bear wanted her for his mate. As the oldest in the family, he’d seized her and set about staking a claim. “You should’ve told me last night.”
Runt snarled, baring teeth of a predator instead of those of a human. “And scare Fiona half to death?”
Okay, Runt had a point. They’d suppressed their bears and done the right thing. They’d behaved better than he had.
“Arve kept growling ‘mine’ when he met her,” Kirk snapped. “Josef wanted her too. Do you intend to fight for the right to keep her?”
Runt stepped closer, and Leif’s bear growled in agitation. “You can’t fight the four of us.”
Leif shook his head as reality struck. They had to sort this out before Ma stuck her nose into the argument and none of them won Fiona.
“Damn it,” Runt roared, and he flew at him, lips pulled back to reveal an almost full shift of teeth. His fist shot out and clipped Leif’s jaw before Leif’s brain caught up.
He got in another punch before Leif took two big steps back and raised his hands in surrender.
“What’s going on here?” a stern voice demanded.
Ma. Bloody perfect.That was all he needed to add to this clusterfuck.
If he hadn’t been so caught up in their argument, he would’ve heard her arrival. Now they’d need to cover up Fiona’s presence. Impossible with her scent lingering on all of them.
“Some friendly sparring,” Leif said, shooting a silent warning at Runt and Kirk.
They visibly reined in their bears, though an idiot could see that things were not right in their world.
Ma shook the snow off her jacket and finger-combed her long white-blonde hair. In her forties, she didn’t look old enough to have five adult sons. Her piercing blue eyes sliced and dissected as she toted the facts. “Trouble in your business already. This scheme won’t work. Polar bears should follow tradition and go out on the ice every winter, not pursue human ways and enter trade.”
