His to Protect (8 page)

“I’ll just take my time,” she said. “I’m sure it will feel better if I get moving on it.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.” Nina jumped up off the bed and straightened her shirt. “I have a few things to check on with the article, too. So as much as I’ve enjoyed hearing all about your lover boy, I really should get going.”

Harper waited until Nina left before she tried to stand on her foot. She gingerly put a little weight on it.
Not too bad.
So she stood and immediately sat back on the bed with a grimace.
Well, it wasn’t as bad as before.
But a few more minutes of rest wouldn’t hurt.

She lay on the bed and contemplated her options for a moment. Her cell phone rang on the bedside table, making her decision for her. Harper reached for the phone, happy enough to stay propped up in the comfy bed for a few more moments instead of trying to navigate her way on a sore foot.

She glanced at the number on the screen.
John Kendrick.
A wave of unease washed through her. Hopefully he’d have good news for her, but somehow she wasn’t so sure.

“Hi, John.”

“I’m glad I caught you, Harper. I have some news.”

Right to the point. Harper could respect that. Especially in a lawyer she was paying by the hour. “What’s up?”

“Are you sitting down?”

Harper glanced around at the bed she hadn’t managed to leave yet. “Sure am. Now tell me you’ve found a hole in Trent’s case or something equally damning to shut him down.”

“I wish I could. I know there has to be something, but he’s obviously been planning this little stunt for some time, because he seems to have thought of every angle and covered all his tracks.” Harper shook his head and started to object, but John beat her to it. “But I know his type,” John continued. “And they always make mistakes. There will be something; we just need to find it.”

“There has to be.” Harper racked her brain for a hint of something, anything that she could think of that would incriminate Trent. They may have had a totally loveless marriage, but they’d still lived together. They’d been friends. At least she’d thought they were. Clearly, she’d been wrong. She’d been wrong about a lot of things. But surely she should have noticed something. “Clark.” The name popped into her head so suddenly she wasn’t even sure she’d spoken aloud.

“Who’s Clark?”

“Clark Rosswell. He was one of Trent’s…assistants. He was totally loyal to him. In all kinds of ways, if you know what I mean?” She shook her head just remembering how the young man had thrown himself at her husband. Never mind that even thinking the word
husband
made her cringe. In retrospect, Harper couldn’t believe how she’d let so many years go by living the status quo. In only a few days, Axel had taught her that she deserved better. Oh, she deserved so much better. She’d never go back to that life again. “Anyway,” she refocused her thoughts, “I don’t know it for sure, but I’m pretty sure they had an affair.”

“You mean, he cheated on you?”

“No.” She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “I mean, yes. But that was the norm. What I meant was, he cheated on Blake with this kid and I don’t know all the details or anything.” She shuddered at the thought. “But I’m pretty sure when Blake found out, he wasn’t very happy. Clark was ‘let go’ shortly after that, and he put up a fuss about it, too. I’m willing to bet he knows something about what was going on and if my suspicions are correct, he might be willing to talk about it.”

John chuckled and Harper could just imagine him shaking his head on the other end of the line. She’d never met the man, but she knew she’d like him when she finally did and she couldn’t wait to thank him in person for all his work on her behalf. “I can’t believe you put up with so much, for so long, Harper. This all sounds like a soap opera.”

She sighed and leaned her head back against the headboard. “Don’t I know it.”

“Well, not to worry, okay? I have a private investigator who I use, and if anyone can get the dirt we need to shut these guys down, it’ll be him. I just need you to lay low for a while, okay? Does anyone know where you are?”

Harper shook her head. “No,” she said, but quickly amended, “I mean, I’m with Nina and she’s writing an article about Grizzly Ridge, but there’s no reason anyone would think I’m with her.” She felt a twinge of uncertainty.
Would anyone suspect she was with Nina?
Trent might…
No.
She couldn’t worry about that.

“Good,” John was saying. “We don’t want to give Trent any ammunition to use against you. Either real or construed. And from what I’ve seen, your ex is an expert at twisting information to suit his needs.”

“That’s what makes him such a good public relations manager.” She squeezed her eyes shut. In all of her years putting up with Trent’s choices, she never would have thought he’d hurt her so badly. His betrayal stung. Deeply.

A
xel tried twice
to get out of the main lodge and back up to his cabin to Harper, but both times his efforts were thwarted by management tasks that needed his immediate attention. He’d considered putting them off, and returning the calls and making the reservations later, after he spoke with Harper. But he couldn’t. Not when his brothers were both so clearly threatened by the idea of Harper in his life and what that might mean for Grizzly Ridge. He needed to prove to them that having a mate was only going to make him a better man. Not the other way around.

Taking care of his work hadn’t taken long, but it had taken long enough and by the time he’d finished in his office, he was more than a little anxious to get to Harper and make sure she was okay. He tried to sneak out the side door of the Den but the moment he opened the door, he regretted his decision.

“Hey,” the man he vaguely remembered as Kevin called to him. They were sitting by the fire pit; the other man stared intently at his camera. “Can I ask you a few questions?”

Axel shook his head reflexively. “You know, I don’t really have a minute right now. Maybe you could find my brother Luke? He can answer any of your questions.” He tried to keep walking, but then Kevin stood there in his path.

Axel clenched his hands into fists at his side and tried to swallow the growl that threatened to escape. These jokers were keeping him from his mate, and whether Luke thought his instincts were clouded or not, he didn’t like them. Not at all.

“Really, it will only take a minute, man. I just want to know about your guests?”

Something in the man’s voice set Axel on alert. He stood tall, towering over the smaller man. “Guests?” Alarm bells went off in his head, but he kept his composure. “What makes you think we have any yet?”

“Just a hunch,” Bruce said. “And the truckload of businessmen who showed up when we did. Are they the only guests you have? Or are there others?”

Kevin elbowed his buddy and regained control over the situation. “Anyway, we’d like to talk to them,” Kevin said. “Some of them anyway.” If he’d noticed Axel’s animosity, he didn’t show it. “It would be good for the piece to see what kind of guests the Ridge is attracting and what they think of their experience here. More of a real-life perspective, ya know?”

He didn’t. “I don’t think so.”

“It would be good to get their photographs, too.”

Axel turned slowly toward the photographer who’d continued to chime into the conversation. He shot him a glare and the man looked back down at his camera.

“Definitely not.” Axel wanted to grab both men by the back of their necks and drag them off the mountain and far away from his mate, but on some level he was cognizant that he still had a business to run and he couldn’t risk them writing anything negative about Grizzly Ridge.

But he also couldn’t risk them around his mate. Not yet. Not until he figured out whether they could be trusted or not.

Damn. Was that what it was going to be like from now on?
Now that he’d found her, was he going to be suspicious of everyone she came into contact with? Not because he didn’t trust her, but because he was protecting her?

He shook off the thought. Surely this would pass. It was just a phase. Especially because it was all new. So new he hadn’t even had a chance to check in with Harper to make sure she felt the same way. First things first, though. “Look.” He refocused on the man in front of him. “I’m not trying to be difficult, but our guests’ privacy is of the utmost importance to us. We have a few new arrivals, as you saw. We had a group from New York who came in. Maybe they’d be willing to be interviewed. In the meantime, I’ll go find Luke for you, and he’ll be sure to run you through all the activities Grizzly Ridge has to offer.”

Kevin opened his mouth, likely to object, but Axel was already walking away. “Wait right here—I’ll go get him.”

He tried to swallow his impatience when all he really wanted to do was get to Harper. Fortunately, he ran into Luke and Nina as soon as he stepped back into the Den.

“I thought you were going to find Harper?”

“I was,” he answered her. “I am. But those damn reporters got in my way.” He turned to Luke and started to explain what he needed from him, but Nina interrupted.

“Reporters? What reporters?”

“The new arrivals who showed up unexpectedly,” Luke explained. “We didn’t know they were coming, but we can’t afford to turn away any press.”

“Press?” Nina looked confused. “I’m
press.
I wrote a piece for
Lifestyle.
I can’t imagine better press than that.
And
I posted a teaser online already. Why do you need more coverage?”

“You put something online already?” Axel’s mind spun. “You didn’t mention Harper, did you?”

“Of course not. I always mention a traveling companion, but that’s it.” Nina waved his concern away. “Who are these guys, anyway?”

“Kevin something and Bruce something,” Luke said. “I don’t remember. I don’t suppose you know them?”

“Well, based on that information...” She rolled her eyes. “No.” Nina laughed. “But maybe I’d recognize them if I saw them. Let’s go find them.”

“That’s a good idea,” Axel said. “There’s something I don’t like about these guys.”

“You don’t like anyone right now,” Luke said pointedly as he shot Axel a look. “Not since you and—”

“Don’t say another word.” Axel pulled his shoulders back and stepped up to Luke. He didn’t want to, but if his brother was going to provoke him, he’d do what was needed to remind Luke who the alpha was. And his little brother clearly had something he needed to say. Something Axel didn’t want to hear.

Luke stood his ground for a moment, but finally shook his head and looked away. “You know what,” he said. “I won’t say anything. Not yet, anyway. But if you don’t pull it together soon,
big brother
, then we
are
going to have a conversation.”

Nina looked between the two brothers, concern on her face. He didn’t want to scare Nina. Not only because she was a guest, but because she was Harper’s best friend and he was pretty sure he’d already done enough scaring of her earlier. Which he needed to go fix. Now.

“So…are we going to go find this Bruce and Kevin or what? Because I can also do a little digging into it and see who they work for, what kind of reputation they have…that kind of thing.”

“Yes,” Axel answered quickly. “That’s a good idea. The more information we have about them, the better. I’d like to think they’re legitimate.” He made a point to look at Luke when he said that. “But we need to be careful. In the meantime, Luke, I need you to set them up with enough activities to keep them busy until they can get their asses back down to Blackwood Ranch,” he ordered his brother, more to make his point about who was in charge than anything else.

Luke bristled, but nodded.

“Good.” Axel turned to make his exit. “I have some business to take care of.”

“Sure you do.”

His hands clenched into fists and he growled as he turned to face his brother again. “Watch it, Luke.”

“I mean it.” Luke spoke through gritted teeth. “Sort it out, Axel. Quickly.”

Axel heard what his brother didn’t say. Grizzly Ridge and all of their futures depended on Axel’s focus. Focus that was completely consumed by his mate. Luke might be reining himself in for the time being, but he could only tolerate so much before he hit his limit. And he was almost there.

A
sharp rap
followed by the door to the cabin flying open and banging against the wall jolted Harper awake. Instantly, she was on edge but when she saw Axel in the door, looking rugged, and wild, and so damn sexy, she relaxed a little. But just a little. She still had a lot of unanswered questions.

A lot.

She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, hugging herself.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” He stepped into the room. “I didn’t realize you were sleeping.”

“I must have dozed off.” She smiled a little. “I was talking to John and it was all so…never mind. I guess I just needed a little rest. It’s been kind of a crazy day.”

Axel’s handsome face was instantly lined with concern. He sat on the edge of the bed. Far enough away to give her space, but close enough that she felt calmed by his presence. Despite everything that happened in the woods—things she still couldn’t begin to wrap her head around—just being close to him calmed her in a way that felt almost instinctual.

“Harper, about what happened earlier. I need you to understand…” He looked down at the quilt for a moment, but she waited and when he looked up again, he looked her directly in the eyes. “I love you, Harper.”

She felt as if she’d been slapped backward.
Love?
After only a few days? It was ridiculous. And…as the shock of the words faded, a different feeling replaced it. But she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She opened her mouth, but closed it again.

“Don’t say anything.”

She couldn’t even if she wanted to.

“I need you to just listen for a minute, okay?”

She nodded.

“I’ll explain everything.”

“Everything?”

He nodded and scooted closer to her on the bed. The mattress shifted under his weight and Harper’s leg pressed up against the hard length of his thigh. The heat of him burned through the layers of their clothes and warmed her. “I know this sounds crazy,” he began. “But I’m not an ordinary man.”

Well, she knew that. From the moment she’d laid eyes on him, she’d known there was not one little thing that was
normal
about Axel Jackson.

“The bear you saw in the woods,” he continued, his eyes holding hers with their deep gaze. “That was me.” She shook her head as a reflex, although deep down she already know he spoke the truth. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m a shifter. It’s not like in the movies or anything. I’m not evil or dangerous or anything.” He spoke quickly, obviously nervous about what he was telling her. His nervousness endeared him to her a little more and she reached for his hand. The relief in his face at her small gesture was clear and when he continued speaking, he calmed down. “The bear inside of me is an important part of who I am. It’s as much a part of me as…well, anything. I know all of this sounds crazy, but—”

“It doesn’t.” She couldn’t explain it, but it didn’t sound crazy at all. In fact, it all made perfect sense to her.
Axel was a bear.
Just thinking those words and not wanting to run screaming for the hills was insane. But at the same time, it wasn’t.

“Do you have any questions about it? Anything you want to know?”

She laughed and pulled herself down the bed to be closer to him. “Questions? Oh, I have questions. Lots of them, but…” One question did pop into her head above all others. “You said you loved me.” He nodded. “How? I mean,
love
…so quickly…it doesn’t make sense.”

“It does make sense.” He smiled and cupped her face in his large hands. “You’re my mate. We’re meant to be together.”

She would have shaken her head if he hadn’t been holding her firmly in his gentle grip. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Everything I just told you, and
that
doesn’t make sense?” His thumbs stroked gentle circles on her cheek, calming her with their movement. “I never believed in it myself, but my little sister sure did.” His eyes took on a faraway look for a moment before refocusing on her. “In the bear world, there’s a legend about fated mates and how there’s only one bear out there for each of us. The perfect match. And when we meet him or her, we’ll know it instinctively.”

Instinctively.
The word resonated.

“Wait?” Another word resonated. “What did you say?”

“Instinct?”

“No.” She shook her head, releasing herself from his hands. “About a bear. There only being one
bear
for each of you. How can it be that you think I’m your mate?”

“I
know
you’re my mate.”

“But I’m not a bear.”

Axel didn’t say anything right away, but just looked at her. His intense eyes fixed on her with a gaze so full of love and need and…knowledge.

“Axel?” Harper’s mind spun with everything he hadn’t said. A
bear?
That didn’t make any sense. Axel being a bear…okay. But
her?
No. That wasn’t possible. Not that any of it was possible, not really, but… “I can’t be,” she said, finally. “I’d know. I would have known.”

“I wasn’t sure at first either, but…” He nodded and his hand squeezed her thigh, stilling her. “Did you feel an instant attraction to me?”

She nodded.

“When we made love, did it feel…
different
?”

“Well, yes. But that’s only because I’ve never had…” She was going to say that she’d never felt the way she felt about Axel with anyone else. But wasn’t that the point of what he was saying? “When I’m with you…” she started. The thoughts formulated in her head. “I feel at peace. Like I’m where I’m supposed to be. With you, I feel like I’m right where I should be.”

He couldn’t contain the smile that lit up his face. “That’s because you’re my mate.” Before she could say anything else, he continued to explain. “There are more of us than you might think. In fact, many of us don’t even know that we have shifter blood in us.” He stopped and squeezed her hand.

“So, you think…”

“I think you have some shifter in you, Harper. Maybe not a full-blooded shifter. But somewhere along the line…there is definitely bear blood in you.”

Harper shook her head, but even as she did, what Axel was saying made perfect sense. Well, maybe not
perfect
sense. But something told her that she couldn’t just dismiss what he was saying out of hand. Something deep inside her knew what he was saying was true. “I never knew my father,” she said. “When I was old enough, my mom told me she’d met him on a trip to Canada with her girlfriends. She fell hard for him, but after she returned home and found out she was pregnant, she couldn’t get in touch with him again. Do you think…”

Axel nodded and Harper laughed. “That’s ridiculous,” she said.

“Is it?”

He reached for her and pulled her easily into his arms. With him, she felt so tiny, so protected, and so completely…
animal.
The word popped into her head, but it fit the situation perfectly.