What a Bear Wants (2 page)

          With a grin he hit the send button, ready to get up and find someone to bring him food. Ransom stopped when his Macbook dinged with one new email.

          from:  
Fallon Wilder
<
[email protected]
>

               to:  
Ransom McKenna
<
[email protected]
>

          date:   Wed, June 13, 2012 at 5:25 PM

     subject:    Re: Re: STOP YOU PUSHY BASTARD

         
Fuck. You.

         
Ransom had to be honest, it was the first genuine laugh he’d had in months.
Months!
He was so entertained! Good for Fallon! She’d accomplished something big here. And no that thought did
not
make him a narcissistic bastard!

***

          “Arrogant son of a bitch!” Fallon Wilder roared storming through the lobby of Wilder Lodge, ignoring the stares of several guests as she reached the front desk.

          Anoki Redwolf jerked up from under said desk, where he most likely had been reaching for new keycards for arriving vacationers. “It wasn’t me!” he screamed, backing away and waving his hands. Her employee then proceeded to grab Fallon’s assistant, Cade Adrien, and use him as a body shield. “Take him!”

          “No, no, no.” Cade shoved Anoki away, managing to put distance between himself and Fallon. “Don’t take me. Take someone much less attractive, who has nothing to live for.” With those words, he ran.

          She swung her gaze back to Anoki who was standing very, very still. “About those naked pictures I left in your room—” He started.

          Fallon looked up to the ceiling then back to the floor. “Wait...what?”

          “—I simply thought—”

          “Anoki,” She cut in. “I’m not talking about
you
being an arrogant son of a bitch.” His tension seemed to fade. Until she added, “Although I did sell those pictures to the highest bidder via shifter ebay. You’ll be getting a call from some lovely older she-wolf by the name of Babs sometime this week.”

          He looked slightly outraged before he shrugged and replied, “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

          Fallon rubbed her eyes. “Please tell me you’re not a whore.”

          “Are we talking about the societal standard, biblical standard or legal standard because—”

          “Forget I asked.” She shook her head slowly. “Just forget I asked.” Looking around, she questioned, “Where’s Cree?” She hadn’t seen her best friend all day which wasn’t very beneficial considering she needed someone to bellow all her problems to.

          “Finishing up the five o'clock ride on Forest Hollow.”

          Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

          Anoki blinked innocently. “Because it’s on her activity sheet this week.”

          “And precisely how did it get there,” Fallon walked closer to her pack member and manager. “When I know I put it on
yours?”

          Fallon generally had her employees split tasks amongst themselves. Being that Cree was better at the water sports such as kayaking, rafting, and fishing, mountain biking, hiking and rock climbing was generally left to Anoki to manage along with a handful of her other pack members. Summer in Glenwood Springs was their busiest time at the lodge. That was generally when they were hit with a multitude of prides, packs, and bear sleuths, all ready to experience the great outdoors with the convenience of five-star meals and enough electricity and hot water to power New York. The activities at Wilder Lodge ranged from onsite hunting to golf and plenty of day camps for cubs and pups to enjoy while their parents got some down time.

          He shrugged casually. “Perhaps she wanted to try something different.”

          “Perhaps I want to use my jaws to clamp down on your throat until you stop whimpering.” She replied just as casually. “Don’t bullshit me Anoki.”

          He tried to give her one of his classically charming smiles. “Fallon—”

          She simply gripped him by the crotch and walked him backwards until they were in the privacy of his older brother Makya’s office before she kicked the door closed with her foot.

          The head of security and her beta calmly looked up from the multitude of screens he watched on a daily basis, glanced at the pair and went, “Heh.” Then just as calm, he went back to studying those screens.

          “Are you not going to question why this vicious female is gripping my important bits, clearly intent of twisting them off like a bottle cap?!” Anoki cried.

          “Nope.” Makya answered.

          “Inconsiderate bastard!”

          “Mak,” Fallon said over Anoki’s incessant screams. “You wouldn’t happen to know why Cree took Anoki’s place on the bike trails today would you?”

          The large wolf smirked and retorted, “She wanted to have an excuse to escape should your homicidal rage unleash itself when you find out that the Jericho brothers have been sniffing around on the property again.” He nodded towards Anoki. “Dumbass over there thought he could lie to you better than our little Cree can because he generally doesn’t get as flustered as she does while trying to keep you distracted.”

          “Unh-hunh.” Fallon stated slowly. She released Anoki. “I completely understand.” Then she started for the door, not making it even five steps.

          “Fallon no!” Anoki, the bastard, literally
sat
on her after Makya put her in a nearby chair. “You can
not
go around using Gladys on neighboring wolf packs.”

          In the rational part of her mind, she could understand his concern since they all knew
Gladys
was her prized Remington hunting rifle that she occasionally used to bring down a deer but she still jerked around beneath his weight. “I can when I’ve told them
repeatedly
to stop crossing my goddamn territorial lines!” Two of the bastards clearly did
not
get the message. Brody Jericho needed to knock his siblings together until they developed the same common sense that he, himself, had. He left his brothers to their bullshit, never participating and it was a deadly move. Especially when Fallon’s patience was beginning to wane. They had an amicable relationship but that could change if she killed his siblings.

          Fallon highly doubted things would be this way if their father was still alive but the pack elder had passed some time ago due to an infection that had set in after sustaining serious injuries during a dominance battle with a younger wolf. In the end Victor Jericho had walked away with that wolf’s throat in his maw but just weeks later his win seemed to be pointless when his sons had to takeover.

         
“We already dealt with it!” Anoki grabbed her wrists. “Mak tell her we already dealt with it!”

          Makya stood before her, arms folded across his chest. “We already dealt with it.”

          Fallon stilled at his tone. “How?”

          A smile curved his mouth as he stared down at her. “Slapped them around a bit.”

          “Just a bit?”

          He shrugged. “Maybe more than a bit.”

          “Enough to make Aaron cry.” Anoki added mentioning the youngest Jericho brother and staring off as if he were reliving it. “And boy did he cry...”

          Relaxing back into the chair, Fallon calmed considerably. “Why not just inform me of this? Why hide these things from me?”

          Anoki’s brows winged. “It may or may not have to do with the fact that the last time we
informed you
of something
,
you nearly blinded one of the elderly.”

          “One time. One
fucking
time and you never let me forget it! The bitch was in my way!” Fallon growled.

          “She was seventy!” Anoki argued.

          “And had a mean right cross! What was I supposed to do? Get pummeled by the geriatric? Do you not believe I have pride?” Fallon gritted out.

          Rolling his eyes, he finally stood, releasing her. “The point is, that the brute,” Anoki pointed to Makya. “Handles these things.
Continue
to let him handle these things.”

          She snarled a bit. “Keep them away from me. Keep them off my territory. Or someone is losing their head!” The Jericho brothers had been sniffing around Wilder land for
years;
continually testing Fallon’s tolerance for their bullshit; insistent that the land had once belonged to their pack and that they deserved to have it back. Like
that
shit was ever going to happen. Between them and that goddamn pushy bear, Fallon was going to start shooting or clawing people!

          “And now we have bellowing,” Makya murmured, once again staring at the screens. “I do so love the bellowing.”

          With an angry bark, Fallon left the office, once again storming through the lobby and out the double doors. She made her way past families with pups and cubs, eyes scanning until they landed on...

          “Cree!”

          The woman in question visibly cringed as she climbed off of one of the mountain bikes, breaking away from the group of riders she’d been with for the last hour or so. Then ever so slowly, Cree Chayton, a woman who was known to latch herself to the heads of men four times her size at the slightest provocation, turned and ran.

          “Goddammit don’t you run from me!” Fallon yelled, taking off after her.

          “Leave me alone crazy woman!”

          “No! You come back here and you talk to me!”

          “Never!”

          “
Cree!”

         
“Don’t snarl and snap at me!”

          “I’ll do what I please!”

          Fallon’s friend brought up one hand as they ran through crowds of people, flipping her the bird.

          Growling now, Fallon leapt atop one of the wooden fences and launched herself at Cree’s back, knocking them both to the ground. The other woman rolled over and a lovely slap fight commenced.

          “Get off of me!” Cree shouted, swinging wildly.

          “Stop trying to run from me!”

          “Why? Because it makes it easier for you to harass me?”

          “I don’t harass you! I cajole you!”

          “Cajoling insinuates that you have charm and finesse which you do
not!”

         
Fallon gasped. “How dare you?! I’m plenty charming, you bitch?”

          “No! You’re plenty insane!” Cree jerked upwards, dislodging Fallon and managing to stumble into a standing position. “And if you wanted to know something, all you had to do was ask me!”

          “How am I supposed to do that when you hide from me!”

          Cree paused, took a deep breath and honestly answered, “Well...I don’t really know but I’m not exactly ready to release my righteous indignation just yet...Wait! Where are you going?! I thought we weren’t done making a scene yet!”

          Some days, Fallon wanted to shift, run into the surrounding Colorado woods, and never look back. Just never
ever
look back...

Chapter 2

         
“Do you have a death wish? If so can I have all your stuff? And that little black book that you keep?”

          Ransom slowly looked up from the blueprints on his desk and towards his office door where his brother stood. “No, no, and no.”

          Maddox McKenna stepped fully into the room, taking a seat across from Ransom’s desk. “I knew asking for the black book would be pushing too far.” He watched his older brother carefully. “Would you like to tell me why you’re harassing she-wolves?”

          “I’m not harassing anybody.”

          Drumming his fingers against the hardwood in front of him, Maddox said, “Really? Then why did Hannah just skirt past me with a list of things to send to Fallon Wilder?” His brows rose ever so slightly. “Flowers and candy? Are you trying to date her or do business with her?”

          “I’m trying to entice her into meeting with me.” Ransom sat back in his chair. “Women sometimes like to be convinced in a completely non-threatening, unskeevey way.” It had been about two weeks since his last interaction with the she-wolf and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t miss the bantering. It was the first time in a long time he’d been able to have an exchange of words with a woman that didn’t involve him expressing his opinion on Ronnie and Sammie’s relationship on the Jersey Shore.

          His brother smirked. “The only thing you’re going to entice that she-wolf into doing is using you as a lovely bear skin rug for the foyer of her lodge.” His smirk turned into a grin. “And I’ll miss you...the women in your black book? Not so much.”

          “You’re not getting my black book.” Something that he hadn’t used in months. Which would probably explain his fixation on Fallon.

          “Why not?!”

          “Because you’re a whore!”

          Maddox sat back. “That’s hurtful.”

          “Which is exactly why I said it. Is there a reason you’re in my space right now? Breathing my air? Igniting my desire to kill?”

          “Other than the fact that I know it makes your life miserable?” The other man shrugged. “Not really.”

          “Then get out.”

          “Not until you explain to me precisely why you just can’t seem to let Wilder Lodge go.” Maddox pointed at him. “I know you. This isn’t lust over a new property. It’s just
lust.”

         
Ransom shook his head. “Completely inaccurate. I don’t
know
her to lust over her. We’ve exchanged emails and I’ve tried to bribe her—”

          “Do you know what she looks like?” His brother interrupted.

          He shrugged. “Mebbe...”