But now? Now she’d found out that creatures like werewolves and werebears really existed. What were they called in books? Shifters?
She closed the back door behind her as quietly as she could. She couldn’t take the chance that they’d have supersensitive hearing like the shifters in books and movies did. Glancing over her shoulder every few moments, she ran into the pasture, intent on taking the roundabout way back to the main road. Once she was there, she’d call Kid.
What would she tell him? He’d guessed early on that she loved them. Kid would dig and dig until he found out why she’d left. And then promptly take her to a psychiatrist.
She pushed across the pasture and dug out her cell phone as she walked. Checking back toward the house yet again, she punched in the speed dial number for her friend. Her heart sank as it went straight to voice mail.
Fuck. Why now?
Kid had a habit of not charging his cell phone. She’d cautioned him about it often, but none of her warnings had worked. The only thing left to do was to leave a message and hope he’d get back to her soon.
“Kid, it’s me. Please call me as soon as you can.”
She’d just ended the call when it hit her that she should’ve gone ahead and asked him to come and get her. And to tell him that it was urgent.
A noise behind her had her wheeling around. When she did so, she tripped over a large rock and went down on her butt.
“Ugh.”
But she didn’t have enough time to get to her feet before she lifted her gaze to the huge man. He was as tall as Rick and Gunner and even bigger. His muscles bulged from the sleeves of his black T-shirt and his legs strained at the denim of his jeans. He was undoubtedly strong. Yet although his bulk was massive, his blond hair, blue eyes, and rounded face gave him the appearance of the boy next door. She had an awful feeling that he was anything but that.
“Crap, that was a hell of a fall. Are you okay?” He smiled, the teeth larger than normal.
Was she imagining it? Or had her eyes finally been opened?
He held out his hand, offering to help her get up. Her gut instinct, on full alert, told her not to take his offer. She ignored his hand, got to her feet, then put distance between them.
She squinted at him. Had she seen his eyes glow with bits of amber? And yet, they were blue now. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
“What are you doing out in the middle of a pasture?”
She swallowed, then clutched her phone. The urge to dial the house itched at her fingertips, but she couldn’t call the men. Not now that she knew what they were. “I could ask you the same thing.”
He laughed, a mirthless sound. “You sure could.”
His bright blue eyes suddenly filled with amber, glowing in a way that whipped fear into her.
He’s one of them.
“What’s the matter? You act like you saw a ghost.”
Why was he taking off his shirt? She stared, entranced even as panic blared warning signals to run.
“What are you doing?” Her voice came out as a whisper.
“You’re the woman who’s staying at the Northman place, aren’t you?” His hungry gaze took its time running down her body then back up.
Could he be a friend of theirs? Or an enemy? She decided to go with the truth. “I am.”
He glanced around, putting on the pretense of looking for them. “Are the guys around? I’d like to say hello.”
It was time to lie. “Um, yes. They’re within earshot.”
“Well, now, that could put them at quite a distance. Werebears have really good hearing.”
She backed up two more steps when he dropped his jeans to the ground. “Leave me alone.”
“Aw, sweet thang, where’s the fun in that?”
She took off running, dropping her phone as she did. But like with Rick and Gunner, she didn’t get very far.
She fell face-first as he tackled her. Holding her wrists, he put his body on top of hers, pinning her to the ground. A whine escaped her as she sucked in air as best she could with his enormous weight on top of her.
He sniffed, then drew in a long, slow breath. “Fucking A, but you smell good. I can see why those beasts want you.”
She had no chance of struggling against him. He was too heavy, too strong. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the feeling of his hand pushing beneath her shirt to fondle her breast.
“You’re going to give me a treat. Cows are fun to kill, but the mate of two werebears? Now there’s the real fun.”
She screamed, the sound bursting from her lungs. “Rick! Gunner!”
Amazing her and surprising the man, an answer to her cry rang out.
“Mallory! We see you!”
Gunner. Thank God.
“You fuckin’ bitch.”