My Hero Bear (7 page)

Still, it felt good to know she had waited. Like all the years he spent pining over her had been worth it. Like the connection they had was real.

It took a great effort to deny her, but he had no choice. It wouldn’t be fair to her, taking that final gift from her, unless she knew the truth. And now was not the time to tell her.

“I don’t want to rush things,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Rush things? We’ve waited forever for this moment. If anything, we’re taking things too slow.”

Dylan clenched his fists at his sides. The desire he felt for her was overpowering. It screamed in his brain to forget morality, to forget right and wrong. It told him to take the woman he loved, hard and fast. To take her and make her his mate.

He grabbed her hands in his, trying hard to ignore her naked, quivering body in front of him. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on her skin, making her glow in the dim light through the blinds. She looked radiant. Sexy. Inviting.

He wanted to devour her body and make her his. It was like she was made for him. And she was waiting for him, begging him to do it.

“Aurora, I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in this life. I need you so bad it’s burning me up inside.”

“Then take me,” she urged.

“I can’t. I need to be sure everything is right. I want to be sure you don’t regret it.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, like she thought he was lying to her. He tried to keep his expression neutral, or as neutral as possible considering the girl of his dreams was standing naked in front of him.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

He nodded. “I’m sure. When the right time comes, we’ll know it.”

She bit her lip and looked away, like she was trying to figure out what had just happened. Dylan was still trying to figure that out himself. But deep down he knew. He wasn’t being honest with her. He didn’t know if he could ever be completely honest with her.

And until that day came, he couldn’t be with her. Not like this.

Aurora grabbed his t-shirt off the floor and shrugged it over her head. Then she rushed from his room without another word.

Dylan sank onto his bed, exhausted and frustrated. It took all of his willpower not to go after her.

Instead, he sank down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Dylan couldn’t give Aurora what she wanted, but maybe he could give her something she needed. Her father’s killer was still out there. If Bishop was involved, Dylan couldn’t just stand by while he walked around free. Justice needed to be served.

He grabbed his phone and punched in a number. After a couple of rings, his younger brother Xander picked up.

“Yo, Dylan,” Xander answered, sounding cheerful as usual. “It’s only been two days. You missing me already?”

“I need a favor. You remember Aurora Hendrix?”

“Mm hmm. How could I forget an ass like that?”

Dylan growled into the phone. “Not now, Xander.”

His brother laughed. “Sorry, I know how protective you’ve always been about her. What’s up?”

“Well, she’s here.”

“At your house?”

“Yeah.”

Xander whistled through his teeth. “You tapped that yet?”

“Can you stop fucking around for two seconds? This is serious.”

“Sorry,” Xander replied, actually sounding like he meant it for once.

“She’s in trouble, man. I need to you find out what’s going on over at the Stone Bear Clan.”

“I can make some calls. No problem.”

“Good. And Xander, I need you to keep this quiet. Keep the Society out of it.”

“Sure thing. Can I ask why?”

“I’m not too sure myself. Hit me up if you hear anything.”

“Will do.”

“Thanks, brother.”

“Hey man, are you okay? You sound kind of fucked up.”

Dylan exhaled a heavy breath. “I don’t know what I am right now. Maybe a bastard. Maybe a saint.”

“I don’t know what that means, but if you need me to come by, just say the word.”

“I’ll let you know. Just get me that info.”

Dylan ended the call and laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Aurora had asked him not to get the Society involved for some reason. He didn’t like going behind her back like this, but there was something she wasn’t telling him.

Dylan needed to find out what. And he had to be prepared for anything, which meant making another phone call he didn’t want to make.

He slid open the bottom drawer of his night stand and pulled out a different cell phone. This phone only had one phone number saved in it. Dylan tapped the screen and the phone began to ring. Someone picked up on the other end but didn’t speak.

Dylan took the initiative. “Gideon, it’s Dylan. I need your help.”

Chapter 5

Rory stayed in the guest bedroom for the rest of the day. She couldn’t stop thinking about what happened between her and Dylan. She needed to process things in her head before she could face him again.

Things had started so passionately. So perfectly. Then he’d pulled away from her. She couldn’t help but be reminded of four years ago. Dylan had pulled away from her then, too, and she’d hated him for it.

But now she knew why. She couldn’t totally blame him for acting the way he did. Hunter telling him to stay away from her was a big deal. Dylan and Hunter had been close. She could understand why Dylan would try to honor her brother’s last words to him.

What she couldn’t understand was why Hunter had said those words. Why would her brother have disapproved of them getting together? Was it because Dylan was a soldier? All those things Dylan had told her about being the villain, was all of it true? Had Hunter seen those same demons in Dylan and wanted to protect her from him?

She didn’t think so. It just didn’t feel right. It was all so confusing.

She had the feeling there was more to the story. Like there was something Dylan wasn’t telling her. Or maybe she was just projecting her own issues on Dylan. Rory was keeping a big secret herself so maybe it made her think that Dylan was keeping secrets, too.

These thoughts raced through her head for the rest of the day. Around sunset, she went looking for Dylan, but he was sound asleep in his bedroom. He hadn’t slept the night before so Rory decided not to bother him.

She found her clothes folded and laundered in the bathroom. Apparently, Dylan had done laundry while she hid away in the guest room. It was a sweet gesture. She made a mental note to thank him later.

She slipped out of Dylan’s t-shirt and into her clothes. Then she grabbed something to eat from the kitchen and settled down in the living room.

She decided to stand watch at the window and make sure none of Bishop’s men showed up to surprise her and Dylan. Whatever had knocked down all the trees around Dylan’s house had done her a favor on guard duty. Things were pretty clear from the house to the tree line a few hundred meters away. The back of the house was protected by the cliff face so no one was coming from that direction.

Defensively, it was perfect. Rory wondered if Dylan had cut the trees down on purpose for that very reason. If so, it made a sort of practical sense, sacrificing beauty for safety. It was ugly out there but any intruders would have trouble keeping themselves hidden.

She settled down into the same chair Dylan sat in the night before. She looked out the same window he looked out of. At some point, she drifted off.

She awoke to a roar. Dylan came storming into the living room shirtless and raging. Rory called out to him but he didn’t seem to hear her. His eyes were crazy and far away. Before she could react, he rushed out of the house and shifted into bear form.

Rory watched him from the window, her heart racing. Had Dylan sensed someone out there? Had Bishop and his boys come back?

Dylan ran straight towards the tree line, crashing through fallen trees and splintering them into toothpicks. Rory couldn’t believe the raw power that Dylan displayed. He moved like a freight train, brutal and unstoppable.

Then what she saw confused her.

Dylan disappeared into the trees, but she noticed the tree tops shaking, like a great wind was blowing. But it was only in one particular spot.

Then she saw a tree fall from the forest into the clearing. All she could think of was that Dylan was knocking the trees down. It was entirely possible for a bear to uproot a tree, but the trees in this forest were ancient and strong.

Dylan would have to be stronger than she’d ever imagined if he was able to bring these trees down. And if that’s what he was doing, Rory’s question was why? Dylan had stormed from the house like a man possessed. What the hell was going on?

She decided to find out.

Rory scrambled over the splintered debris, following the path of destruction left in Dylan’s wake. A sick feeling of panic twisted in her gut. She’d never seen Dylan like this.

He had the wild look of a crazy man. There was no recognition in his eyes. No trace of the man she knew or the man she loved. Those eyes had been empty of everything except rage.

Was this the side of Dylan he’d tried warning her about? The devil, the boogie man, the grim reaper? Was this the killing machine everyone in the world seemed to fear?

But Rory wasn’t afraid of him. She was afraid
for
him. Dylan was out there hurting and in pain. It wasn’t something she could live with.

Dylan had always been there to protect her and to keep her safe. Even now, after all these years, he was more than willing to help her, even if he was too afraid to let her get close to him. If there was any way for Rory to repay the kindness, she would do whatever it took to help Dylan.

The trees were still shaking in front of her. Sharp cracks erupted from the forest. It was the sound of full-grown trees being broken and uprooted. It was hard to believe that Dylan possessed this kind of strength. She would’ve thought it was a monster or some giant machine out there in the darkness. But she knew that wasn’t the case.

Another tree tilted out of the woods, falling to the ground in a cloud of dust and leaves. The sound of it was brutal and violent. It shook her to the core. Her instincts told her to run in the opposite direction. Away from the monster wreaking havoc just ahead.

But she couldn’t. No matter how scared she was, she had to try and see what Dylan was doing.

She made it to the tree line. Branches scraped at her skin as she pushed through the underbrush. Shadows pooled around her, broken only here and there by the light of the moon. It was enough light for her enhanced bear vision to see, but when she found Dylan, she wished it was too dark to see.

The scene before her rattled her very bones.

Dylan was raging. His giant bear form lashed out blindly. Six inch claws like sharpened steel slashed away at thick layers of bark, sending chunks of tree flying like shrapnel. Then Dylan threw himself bodily against the base of an aspen tree, making the whole thing shudder and crack from the force.

Any thoughts that Dylan did this for any rational reason flew out of her head. Dylan had no idea what he was doing. This was the inner beast inside him raging, attacking everything around him without direction.

Dylan shifted back to human form. Rory thought that whatever fit of violent anger had seized Dylan was about to end. But Dylan didn’t stop, even in human form. He lashed out with his fists and with his feet, striking wood with such force that she couldn’t tell whether the cracking noises she heard was the sound of the trees breaking or the sound of Dylan’s bones fracturing with every blow.

Blood trailed down Dylan’s glistening muscles. The result of countless wounds caused by his wild and vicious assault. Clearly, he didn’t know he was hurting himself or he didn’t care.

The wounds themselves would heal. Broken bones would mend and the deep cuts would seal themselves. But just because Dylan wouldn’t suffer permanent damage didn’t mean he didn’t feel the agony of every cut and every broken bone.

The pain must have been intense. Any other man, even a shifter, would’ve collapsed under the weight of so much suffering. Not Dylan. Dylan soldiered on, trapped in the grip of some terrible frenzy.