Once Upon a Shifter (99 page)

Still, it was enough to start.

Rafe knew that Jake’s family sent him money sometime for rent, but Jake hadn’t told him everything. There was a bank account in his name and his parents had been depositing money in it regularly. Jake had refused to touch it except in the direst of emergencies. This counted, as far as he was concerned. Besides, he hadn’t taken the money then because he knew he’d disappointed them. Now—well. Now he was what they’d wanted,
and
he was going after his mate.

There was enough in the account to get him wherever he wanted to go. On a hunch, he bought a plane ticket to Denver. Katie had family in Colorado. Flying out there would either get him closer to where she was, or help him triangulate, if she was somewhere in between Denver and Chicago.

As soon as he landed in Denver, he knew his hunch had been right. She wasn’t too far away now, just off to the west and south. It didn’t take him long to reach the foothills, and his rental car started to groan going up some of the winding forest roads. How long had it been since he was surrounded by trees, mountains? How long since he’d let his bear run free?

It was too much temptation. At the next turnoff, he abandoned the car—he’d come back for it later—and started walking into the forest. He hardly had to think to shift into his bear form, grunting with pleasure at the feel of the earth beneath his paws. Katie wasn’t far away now. He could feel her and taste her scent on the wind.

As he ran, he caught other wild scents on the wind: prey, other bears, other predators, but all of his focus was zeroed in on one thing. Her. He was so intent, he missed one other vital scent until he ran up on it. He burst into a small clearing, Katie’s scent overwhelming him, surrounding him now, and came snout to snout with a smaller, enraged black bear. Normally she would be no match for him, but the old girl roared at him and dropped to all fours. She slapped the ground with her forepaws, lowering her head with her ears back. It was a clear message:
Go away
. Her muzzle was silvered and her haunches a little thin, but Jake took a few steps back anyway. What was she protecting so fiercely?

Then he looked, really looked, at the clearing, and he knew. A cabin stood in the center of it, surrounded by a garden and a propane tank and all the other things a person would need to survive out here.
Katie
. She had to be inside. Was this bear her family? Carefully, Jake sat back on his haunches and looked away from her, stretching his massive jaws into a yawn. The old girl huffed out her breath, and he stretched out lower until he was lying on his belly in a sign of total submission and respect. For all he knew, this was Katie’s mother, or aunt.

The huffing sound gradually changed to a chuckle. “Katie, you can come out. I think you have a visitor.”

Jake stayed where he was, not wanting to show any sign of a threat. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that the other bear was now an old woman, much older than he’d originally thought. The door opened and Katie came out. His heart started to race, and he fought the urge to run and grab her. In this form, he’d only scare her, maybe even hurt her. He stayed where he was. She was even more beautiful than he remembered—or maybe it was just that she was here, in the woods where they belonged. He eyed the jeans and t-shirt clinging to her full, delicious curves. Even from here he could see she wore no bra, and he had to fight again against instinct, wanting nothing more than to claw the clothes off of her.
Mine, mine, mine
.

“Gran, what—oh my god!”

“It’s all right. I think he’s yours.”

Jake slowly turned his head until he was looking at both women, and kept close to the ground. Unthreatening.

“...Jake?” Katie took a cautious step forward. Although it went against every bear instinct he had for this form, Jake lifted his head enough to meet her eyes and bob his head, once.

“Oh my god,” Katie repeated, and crossed the small yard toward him. “How did you find me?” Her voice carried a hint of awe as she reached him. She did nothing at first, just stood in front of him and stared. He met her eyes and she started laughing. “It
is
you. It’s like I can see you in there.” She reached out and touched his muzzle and he leaned into it. His head was almost on a level with hers and she slowly, cautiously, leaned in until her forehead pressed against his.

Her scent overwhelmed him. He huffed out a breath.
Mine.
He let her pet his fur and move around him in a curious circle until she stood at eye-level with him again.

“Stop hiding behind that bear now,” Katie’s grandma said to him. “I think you two have some things to talk about.” She came up to Katie and gave her a squeeze. “I have to go into town, so you two stay here and talk as long as you need to. I won’t be back until late.”

Chapter Seven

Katie should have been mad at Jake. She
wanted
to be mad at him. How dare he track her down and follow her here, to her most cherished refuge? But seeing him, the bear side of him... she couldn’t breathe. She looked into the eyes of that enormous bear and she saw him. When Gran left, Katie was hardly aware of it, too busy brushing her hands through Jake’s shaggy brown fur. Something Gran said did register with her though: “She’s right. We should talk.” Reluctantly, she stepped back from the bear. “So unless you can say something like that...”

She didn’t get to finish before there was a flicker in the air, a shimmer that surrounded him, then the bear was gone and Jake stood there smiling at her.

“Katie, I need to—” he said, at the same time she said, “How did you—”

“You first,” he said.

“No, no. You made the grand entrance, you first.” Her initial sense of awe was starting to wear off already. How
had
he found her? She folded her arms. Should she invite him inside? No, it was hard enough to see him standing there, beautiful as ever. Inviting him into a house where there was a bed was just inviting trouble.

“I tried to call,” Jake started, shoving his hands into his back pockets. “You didn’t answer and I—”

“I left my phone in Chicago.” Katie brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “I didn’t want to talk to anybody.”
I didn’t want to talk to
you,
specifically
.

“Sorry.” He ducked his head and she had to look away. He was too damned adorable. She should be furious with him, but the anger was slipping through her fingers. “I was worried about you,” he said. “And I—I realized some things.”

“Like what?”

Jake bit his lower lip and it took all of Katie’s willpower not to close the distance between them and pull his lip out from between his teeth. If she touched him though, it was over. There wouldn’t be any more talking. Just having him stand five feet away was doing things to her body, warm shivers of remembered touch. “I don’t want a Stepford anything. I think maybe... you and I have different ideas about who we’re supposed to be. And I’ve never met your mom, I swear.”

Was Gran right? Had she learned all the wrong lessons from her mother? “What do you want then?”

“You. Just you.”

Katie’s breath left her lungs. His deep brown eyes rested on hers and he stood like he’d wait forever to hear what she had to say. “What if I said I never wanted to have any kids at all?”

He shrugged. “Then we wouldn’t have any kids.”

“You—you never said how you found me.” It was getting harder and harder to remember why she’d fought so hard to keep him away.

Jake pulled his hands out of his pockets and stepped forward. He carefully pulled at her arms until they uncrossed, and took her hand. “I figured something out while you were gone. Rafe helped me. I have to be me, Katie. You might not like it, but I can’t be anything else. I found you because... I’m an alpha now. I was able to track you. You and any other kinfolk I’ve met, I can find you.”

“You’re an alpha and you don’t care if you have kids?” Katie had to say it out loud, to make sure she understood.

“We’re not all like what you think,” he said. “I... I’ve never met anybody like what you talk about, actually.”

Katie’s legs felt wobbly beneath her. “I think maybe—do you want to come inside?” she tilted her head back toward the door.

“Sure.” He followed her into the cabin and she led him to Gran’s kitchen.

The breakfast dishes were washed and sitting on the dish rack. Without thinking about it too much, Katie filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove. The old familiar routine was grounding, gave her something real to focus on. “Tea?”

“Um, okay?”

She pulled out the mugs and the tea and only then she was refocused enough to be able to sit down. She sat at the table and he sat in the closest chair. “Start from the beginning,” she ordered. “What is it like where you come from? What happens to the kinfolk?”

“Nothing happens to them.” Jake looked puzzled. “I mean, they’re—you’re—obviously attractive as mates, so everybody wants to be on their good side. They’re... respected. Cherished.”

Katie blinked back sudden tears from her eyes. Treated like a princess, Gran had said.

“Hey, hey,” Jake reached out and took her hand. “What’s wrong, did I say the wrong thing?”

“No.” She sniffled and gave her eyes an annoyed swipe. “I hadn’t heard that before today.”

He smiled and kissed her fingers. “I can tell you every day if you let me.” Their eyes met and she felt her lips curving in a return smile. “Katie, I love you. I don’t want to do anything except make you happy.”

Where was that small voice Gran told her about? Shouldn’t she be hearing it right now? Maybe it wasn’t destiny, but that didn’t make what she felt any less real.

“Katie?” Jake looked at her with worried, hopeful eyes.

“I—I think I love you too.” She laughed a little. “I mean, I do. I do love you too.” He leaned in and kissed her before she could say anything else. The moment their lips touched, nothing else mattered to her. She didn’t resist when he pulled her by the hand and into his lap; he was strong enough to hold her. He cradled her in his arms and kissed her, slow and deep like he was never going to stop. His mouth was like honey filling her with sweetness, and she opened to it, wrapping her arms around his neck. When he finally stopped to breathe, he rested his forehead against hers and they breathed together.

“So... your gran said she’d be gone all afternoon.” Jake pressed kisses to her cheeks.

“Are you hinting at something?” Katie teased him, fighting to keep from grinning and losing. “I should warn you, Gran’s got the only double bed in the house, and we are
not
going in there.”

“I don’t mind somewhere small.” His eyes twinkled wickedly. “I’m going to be on top of you anyway.”

“What if I want to be on top?” She straddled him in the chair, kissing him and trying not to laugh at the same time.

“I thought you expected alphas to be bossy and in charge.” His hands slipped up her sides and he started tickling her, fingers wriggling mercilessly. She yelped and squirmed to get away. “Oh no,” he said, laughing. “You’re mine now.”

Katie broke free and ran, and he chased after her. Her heart was racing, heat flooding her body. She could flee into the woods, let him catch her there.

Catch her and mate. Yes.

The ancient urge was too strong to ignore. In the city, it was easy to forget where she came from, the wildness that was part of her blood. And back home, she feared the wild part of herself. Here she was safe, and her mate would never hurt her.

Katie ran out the front door, glancing back to make sure Jake was following. She knew the paths around Gran’s house almost as well as Gran. Behind her Jake’s feet crackled in the undergrowth. He wasn’t far behind. She just needed to stay in front a little while longer...

With her heart thudding in her ears, she skidded to a stop beside a small, fast-running stream. And like that, Jake caught her and tackled her to the soft ground, turning them so he caught the force of the impact. He rolled again, and pinned her hands to the ground, swooping in for another devastating kiss.

Each touch tingled through her entire body, and she couldn’t help moaning against his mouth as he settled between her thighs. He left a delicate trail of kisses along her jawline, nipping at her neck until she was writhing beneath him, struggling at his hands pinning her for the sheer pleasure of feeling his strength holding her in place. Each tug that failed to free her spiked another bolt of arousal through her body.
Now
she felt it, the sense of overwhelming rightness, like a small voice in fact, telling her that he was hers. Him and only him as long as she lived.

“Jake,” she gasped, and he let go of her hands to cradle her face. “It’s you, it really is you.” He kissed her again as she reached up to unbutton his shirt, needing desperately to feel his skin against hers. Between the two of them, they managed to wrestle out of their shirts, and he stared down at her body. He stroked the curve of her belly with a reverent look in his eyes, his hands slowly trailing up to cup her breasts.

“I have never seen anything as beautiful as you,” he breathed, and leaned down to lick one of her nipples before taking it into his hot, wet mouth. Katie groaned and arched toward him. He already had her quivering with need. She curled her fingers against his chest, reveling in the firm muscles, then dragged one hand lower, wanting to feel more, wanting to have his enormous cock hard against her hand.

“Mm-mm,” he murmured against her skin and caught her hand. “Not yet.” He smiled up at her. “Did I hear you say earlier you wanted to be on top?” Before she could answer, he raised up and pulled her to her feet, kneeling in front of her. “I don’t want to be the sort of alpha who doesn’t give his mate what she wants...” Keeping his eyes on her face, he unfastened her jeans and pulled them down along with her panties, then held on her as she stepped out of them. He sat back, still holding her hand. “Come on, you can be on top.”

“What about your pants?” Katie barely recognized her own voice in the breathy, shaky whisper she managed.