She didn’t smile. Just turned her laptop so I could see the screen. A heat map filled the display, colored zones spreading across a satellite image of Bear Cove and the surrounding mountains.
“This is a composite of my readings over the past three days,” she said. “Notice anything?”
Of course, I did. The blank spaces formed a ring around the town, the circle encompassing every area I’d steered her away from.
In my mind, my bear paced, a growl rumbling in its throat.
“These are the areas you refuse to take me,” Charlotte said quietly. “They’re all clustered in a specific pattern. Why?”
Excuses raced through my mind. Drawing on the calm I used when I mediated disputes between my brothers, I gave her what I hoped was a neutral expression. “It’s private property. I wish I had a more exciting explanation, but the reality is I don’t have permission to take you there.”
She arched a brow. “All of it?” She tapped the screen. “This is over a hundred square miles, Beck.”
My name on her lips slid straight to my dick. I gripped my mug, letting the heat seep into my fingers until it burned. “People around here are territorial. It’s not unusual for one family to own a large tract of land. We have plenty of it in Alaska.”
She studied me, her gaze unwavering. “You’re lying.”
My beast bristled, its ire putting a real growl in my throat. No one challenged me like this. No one dared. But Charlotte was different. She was human.
And a mate, a little voice murmured.
I gripped the mug more tightly. “Charlotte, listen?—”
“You’ve been lying to me for three days,” she said, a hard edge entering her tone. She swung the laptop around and shut it, thesnaploud in the quiet kitchen. “I don’t know why. I thought we were—” She clamped her jaw. “I thought you were helping me.”
The hurt in her tone tightened my throat. I leaned forward. “I am.”
“By sabotaging my research?”
Frustration built. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
From me. From a life you probably don’t want.
I couldn’t say those things, so I said nothing, helplessness like a tight fist around my heart.
Charlotte stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. “Fine. I’ll investigate those areas on my own.”
Alarm spiked, driving me to my feet. “Absolutely not.”
“You can’t stop me.”
My bear surged against its bonds, the beast clamoring to break loose.
“Charlotte, please. The terrain is treacherous?—”
“I’m not a child!” Her eyes flashed. “I’m a scientist with years of experience in the field. I don’t need protection.”
“You don’t understand?—”
“Then make me understand!” Charlotte pleaded. “Tell me the truth!”
We stared at each other across the kitchen table. Tension crackled in the air, along with something else I couldn’t ignore.My bear shoved harder against its bonds, urging me to take Charlotte outside and show her what she’d asked for. One shift, and she’d know the truth. But it might break her mind.
Or drive her away for good.
I dragged in a breath. “There are things about Bear Cove you don’t know. Things I can’t tell you.”
