“Lucky isn’t the word I’d use.”My glare locked on Cody.“Do you have any idea how bad you’ve fucked up, Little Bear?”
Cody hated when I called him that—which was why I was calling him that.
"I can't believe you went behind our backs and brought a Fresh Bite back to our den,"I growled at the slightly shorter Kodiak.
“Calm down, Mak,”Ash said as he rebagged the stethoscope.“He probably saved her life.”
“By turning some random human into a bear?”I shot back.
“You think I had a choice?”Cody’s voice cracked as he stepped closer, his hands clenched at his sides.“Smell her, Mak. You know what she is.”
I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help myself. My bears growled low inside me, pushing me to do just that.Smell her. I took a deep breath—and immediately regretted it. The rich, dark chocolate scent hit me like a punch to the gut, thick and sweet, curling around my senses and setting my bears alight.
My cock swelled against the zipper of my jeans, the reaction so fast it was painful. So fierce it made my bears snarl inside me.Ours. Mate. Ours.
I clenched my fists, fighting the instinct to claim her. My voice was rough when I finally managed to speak.“You think this justifies it? You think this is okay?”
Cody’s shoulders slumped, but his voice was steady when he answered.“I couldn’t stop myself, Mak. And if you’d been walking your polar bear instead of me walking my Kodiak, you wouldn’t have been able to, either. You’d have put your bite on her, too.”
My fists tightened further, and I took a step forward, closing the distance between Cody and me. That was a mistake. The scent of her hit me again, mingling with the faint trace of Cody’s bond bite, and it took everything I had not to place my own mark on her. My bears roared, but I shoved the need down hard.
“She’s a human outsider,”I said, my voice sharp and clipped.“She was probably just passing through on her way to Vancouver. What makes you think she’d want to spend the winter with us, much lessmateus? Not everyone’s down with the Four-Direction Spirit.”
Cody flinched, but I wasn’t done.“We need to get her back to her car and on the road before any of us get too connected to her. Especially you.”
“Would that be so bad?”Cody’s voice was soft, but there was an edge of defiance as he stood up straighter, raising himself to his full Kodiak 6'5”. His amber eyes flashed with hope as he glanced toward the woman.“We could finally have a mate to den with for the winter. Someone to spend Christmas with.”
“Are you fucking kidding me with this Christmas shit?”I growled. My hand tightened over my nose to block the scent of her, but my voice still came out pained—not to mention muffled and weak.“She doesn’t belong here. We don’t even know her name.”
But even as the words left my mouth, my bears growled in protest.Ours. Mate. Ours.
“You need to get back to your room before you do something we’re all made to regret. Again.” I glared at Cody, masking how close I was to losing control as I fell back into command mode. “And, Doc, you need to take her back to her car, and?—”
“No,no, Mak,”Ash insisted.“She had a concussion, and bear healing isn’t an exact science. We can’t put a newly bitten bear with a recent head injury back behind the wheel a few days before the next full moon.”
My chest tightened at his words, and my bears roared with the primal instinct to protect, clawing at my insides.She needs us. She’s ours to guide, ours to keep safe.
But then I reminded myself and my bears—she wasn’t ours. Not really. Which made my voice even sharper when I turned back to Ash.“Well, she sure as hell can’t stay here!”
“Why not?”Cody demanded, sounding every bit the whiny kid he still was, despite co-owning a bar and having turned twenty-seven a few months ago.
“Why the fuck do you think not?”I snapped, heat rising in my chest.
“What’s going on?”a soft voice asked, cutting through our argument.
I froze, my gaze snapping down to the Fresh Bite stirring in her makeshift nest. Her dark eyes blinked open, a mixture of confusion and wariness flitting across her face. She struggled to sit up, but then bolted upright when she noticed Ash crouched beside her.
Her head smacked into the edge of the nearby couch, and she winced.
“Careful,”Ash said quickly, his tone gentle but steady.“One concussion’s enough for the day.”
“Who are you?”she demanded, her eyes narrowing on him suspiciously.“Where am I?”
“You’re in a village above a town called Bear Mountain,”Ash explained, his calm professionalism kicking in.“We believe you were in a car accident. Let me just check your?—”
“No, don’t touch me!”she cried, shoving his hands away.
"Who are you people?" Her voice wavered between fear and anger as her gaze darted around the room before dropping to herself.“And why am I naked?”
