“Fuck,” the girl exclaimed when she spotted the candle display had caught fire. “We need to leave before we’re asked to pay for a hundred fucking scented candles.”
Tyler tried once more to grab me, but I fell to the ground, scraping my knees and hands on the gravel.
“Raven!” Willow’s yell caught my attention as I lay sprawled in the dirt. “We have to go! Now!”
When I looked up, a wall of fire raged at my back. The humans nearby had finally noticed and were screaming in panic, rushing away in every direction like sheep. I wiped my eyes and tried to stand as Willow headed for me.
Only before she got within ten feet of me, a massive male in a lumberjack shirt and jeans appeared from behind an adjacent tent andpulled me into his arms. I squeaked in shock, but to my surprise, the fear and misery churning inside me immediately settled. The flames behind us sputtered out, leaving a charred, smoking pile of canvas and melted glass.
A deep rumble of satisfaction vibrated through me as the man mountain clutched me so tight I could barely breathe.
Instead of protesting at being squished like a ripe tomato, I snuggled closer, burying my nose in his soft cotton shirt. Stars above, he smelled good. Like pine and ozone after a storm. Far better than the acrid stench of burned canvas. His forest-green aura lightened to gold sage above us.
“Mine,” the man grunted. My eyes widened.
Then four armed mages in combat vests blinked into view out of nowhere and all hell broke loose.
2
Maverick
Having spent the last fifteen years traveling the length and breadth of the country, searching for the other piece of my soul, I’d long since assumed my mate was dead.
It happened. Not every shifter found their mate. Especially not bear shifters, who, unlike the wolves and other pack animals, were not social creatures by nature.
I’d been passing through this small town when my bear kicked off. Seeing the stalls and realizing it was market day would normally have me making a wide detour to avoid the crowds, but my bear refused to listen.
The moment I pulled into a small parking area, I felt the magical tether tugging in my chest.
The call of my mate and the acrid taste of her fear.
People scrambled out of my path as I ran full tilt through the rows of tightly packed stalls, not caring when I knocked over some of them. Nothing mattered but protecting my mate.
I saw the fire and smoke first, billowing up into the cloudless sky above the rows of tents. Then I spotted her – my mate – kneeling in the dirt, oblivious to the flames crawling behind her.
By the goddess, she was beautiful. Long raven hair, so dark it swallowed the light, threaded through with streaks of silver. Curves I wanted to explore, and the sweetest heart-shaped face with rosebud lips. My cock swelled in my jeans as my bear roared in approval, but I ignored both of them.
Now wasn’t the time to get swept up in a primal desire to mark our mate. I needed to rescue her from the fire before it burned her.
The female squeaked in surprise when I swept her up and into my arms. She smelled like chocolate with an undertone of smoke. Trembles racked her small body and my bear rumbled, unhappy our mate was upset.
Behind us, the fire sputtered out, leaving nothing but a charred mess.
“Mine,” I said, speaking for the both of us. My bear preened in satisfaction, happy now that the danger had passed.
Just as I was about to carry the female back to my truck, four assholes from the Magical Community Security Taskforce appeared, all armed.
I growled threateningly, tightening my grip on my mate. Why had these dickheads arrived? They had no jurisdiction; the Shifter Council, not the Mage Council, governed us.
Fucking arrogant pieces of shit. I hated all mages. Just because they had magic, they thought they were superior to the shifters. If they tried casting spells at me, I’d lose my shit.
My bear was not averse to killing them when they tried to hurt us.
“Put the female down, bear,” the security team leader said with an eye roll. “I need to scan her.”
A female with long brown hair approached from my left, her eyes wide in panic. Did she know my mate? Like my mate, she wore a simple cotton dress, but this female was older by at least ten years.
“Willow!” The sound of my mate’s voice hit me right in the balls. Small hands tried to shove me away, which upset my bear. “Willow, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…” She choked on a sob. My bear growled in my chest at her distress.
