Swat! He felt her claws on his back. The bear quickly jerked around and spotted her leaning against a low-hanging tree branch. He lunged at her, but for all his strength and bulk, she was quicker and she sprung to the next tree. His claws shredded bark as he jumped at the tree and began to climb after her. Her tail twitched with anticipation and, as soon as he was within paw’s reach, she jumped down from the tree, landing with all four paws on the ground. She swatted his hind leg, sinking her teeth into his paw, and then bounced back to the floor and raced off.
Jacob’s bear barked in frustration and dashed after her. Somewhere in the back of Jacob’s mind, the human part of him was screaming that this was a dangerous game of tag. It quickly became evident that she wasn’t trying to kill him; she was trying to rile him up. Miranda wanted him to lose himself to the Beast, past the point of no return.
But for all Jacob’s screaming logic, the bear had only one train of thought. Protect my clan. Claim my land. Don’t back down.
Kill the cat.
Chapter 40
The Buggy thu-thunked as it puttered under the hanging Red Moon Ranch sign and started its slow crawl up the hill. At the top of the hill, Holly could see her and Jacob’s house, all dark. She put her cellphone to her ear and tried to call him for the fifth time. The phone rang and then went to voicemail. Hey, this is Jacob Westmore. I’m probably out drinking. Leave your number and I’ll get back to you when I’m sober—
A loud whistle caught Holly’s attention. She spotted Brent standing on the side of the road and he waved her down. Holly slowed to a stop in front of him and rolled down her window.
“Hey, have you seen Jacob?” she asked. She kept her tone controlled, but a tremor of worry ran through it.
“Jacob? Uh…” He took off his Stetson and raked his fingers through his untamed hair as he glanced up at the dark house at the top of the hill. “Yeah…think he’s on a job up in the mountains.” Brent propped his elbows up on her open window and leaned over, almost too close for comfort as his eyes examined her expression. “Why, somethin’ got you worried?”
How to tell him it was just…instinct? Of all people, a man who shifted into a bear regularly should know about instinct. Still, Holly felt foolish mentioning it—maybe she was just being paranoid. She shook her head and rubbed the side of her neck, trying to ward off the sting there. “It’s…nothing. He just said he’d be back in time for dinner.”
Brent pulled a crooked smile. “Well, them mountains are awful twisty. I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
Right. Holly tried to ward off her old friend, Mr. Disappointment. She cleared her throat and then said, “Right. Of course.” A man had to earn a living, after all. She knew that. So why did something not feel right? Holly’s gaze fell behind Brent and landed on the work truck parked beside his house. It was filled with the heavy tools and supplies they needed to complete any job under the sun. “He went to work without the truck?” she asked.
Brent followed her gaze and seemed to spot the truck for the first time himself. A look flashed over his expression—guilt?—and then he cleared his throat and pulled another smile. “Small job. He didn’t need it.”
“Oh.” Holly’s unease tumbled around in her like a heavy belt caught in the spin cycle.
“Hey, city girl,” Brent said, giving her a tap on the arm and tugging her out of her worst-case-scenario thoughts. “You up for a little work? I could use a hand putting some fence posts in.”
“I…uh…” Holly didn’t have anything against getting her hands dirty, but with worry gnawing at her, all she wanted to do was go home and pace the living room until Jacob came back.
“Y’could kinda use the brownie points with the clan,” Brent added. He wasn’t wrong. Despite the fact that she’d been here for three months now, she still felt completely like an outsider.
It’s what Jacob would want you to do, she thought. Be a good Alpha-mate.
“Yes,” Holly said with a tight smile. “Of course.”
Chapter 41
When Jacob regained consciousness, he was flat on his back, staring up at the night sky between the tree branches. He could feel the warm spring breeze brush over his naked skin, blades of grass tickling. He felt sticky and tasted metal when he wet his lips. Dried blood. A horrific thought swept thought his mind.
Dear God. Please don’t let me have killed anyone.
He straightened up slowly. His bones cracked and his muscles ached as though he’d run ten marathons. He wiped his mouth and spat out tufts of cat fur.