Biker Bear Billionaire (Bear Creek Clan 5) (10 page)

***

Something was cold and unforgiving around her neck. She couldn’t move except to glance from side to side in the dim light. In the corner of the room, she could see a figure, hunched over. The whites of his eyes, reflected in the small lamp’s light, were fixed on her. Her insides chilled and her stomach lurched, the bump on her head making her feel nauseous. That paled in comparison to the sense of dread brought upon her from the man in front of her.

“What are you doing?” she croaked.

“I am making sure that my life is not the only one ruined.”

“Don’t do something you’ll regret. Let me go, Carson. Let me go and walk away from this with your life.”

“My life is all I have. Thanks to Will, all else is gone.”

“It is not Will’s fault you lied and cheated. I know he would have always looked after you once his father passed.”

“Oh, and I should be grateful to be once more looked after by my mother’s family. I should be grateful that they took me from her? Made me live a lie for so many years when I knew I didn’t fit in.”

He was up on his feet and pacing towards her. She shrank back, but the collar gave her nowhere to go. “Carson, think about what you are doing. Please let me go.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“No,” she croaked, her eyes working its way around the dim room.

“It’s where they kept my mom while she carried me. They chained her up like an animal.”

“I’m sorry, Carson, but what does that have to do with me or Will?”

“I want him to suffer.”

“He already has.”

“Not enough. Now he has his inheritance back, he is throwing a party in that house. Throwing it in my face, more like.”

“That is not true.”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Of course, you will take his side. So I thought, why not have a little party of my own. He won’t miss his mate; he’s too busy drinking with his biker friends. You do know he’s a drunk, don’t you?”

“Not anymore.”

“We’ll see, shall we? Will he be sober enough to miss his little princess before I have my very wicked way with her?” Carson bent down over Freyja and his hand cupped her breast. “So round, so ripe for the plucking. You know I wanted to take your virginity, preferably with Will watching. But now I’ll just settle for taking you any way I want.”

“Carson, you’re sick.”

“That’s what they said about my mom. That’s why they chained her up, so she couldn't turn into a bear. They wanted her to give birth to me in her human form, although she hated it. Why couldn't they have just left us alone? Damn Peter Frasier for keeping us apart.”

Freyja’s mind raced through all the ways she could get out of this. It mainly came down to her turning into a bear and fighting her way out. Yet it was beginning to dawn on her exactly why Carson had brought her here to this place. It wasn’t to relive past memories or the wrongs he thought had been done by Will’s family. It was because the chain around her neck would stop her changing, she understood now. It was too tight, and if she couldn’t slip out of it, when she returned to this world as a bear it would choke her. She leaned forward to pull against it, but it was securely fastened to the wall.

“That’s right. You are trapped in your human form too. You can’t struggle against the chains that hold you; they won’t budge. I tested them to make sure they weren’t rotted. They were just like new.” He ran his finger along the soft skin of her neck, following the curve of the metal choker. “You are going to submit to me, Freyja of Bear Bluff, and then he will never look at you the same way. If you carry his child, he will always wonder if it is his or his poor deranged cousin’s. It’s not quite what I had in mind when I set out to have you, but it will have to do, I suppose.”

The Beltane Rites had been something that he had avoided for years. Along with weddings, they were the one thing to make him feel melancholy. It was never much fun watching two people who had found their true mate being happy, when your heart was broken into a million pieces. Now his heart was whole and he wanted to celebrate that. Now he couldn't wait to see Freyja at the party, but first he wanted to say hello to his old friends.

“It’s so good to see you here, Hal,” Will said.

“I always come to these, Will. I believe it is you who has been missed.”

“I didn't know, I thought you stayed up in that cabin of yours, until you met Fiona, of course.” Will kissed Fiona on the back of the hand. “A wolf, very exotic.”

“Hands off, Will,” Hal joked.

“Nice to meet you finally, Will.” Fiona smiled at him, and he was stunned by the paleness of her hair and skin.

“When we get back to the house, I want you all to meet Freyja. Next year she will be here. I plan to marry her as soon as I can.”

“She could have come here tonight,” Hal said.

“I didn’t want to push the whole Clan thing too much. She is a rival, until she wears my ring and bears my cubs.”

“No one would have minded.”

“I hope not. I have invited Freyja and her father to the party afterwards.”

“Then let’s get going,” Jamie said.

“Hello, Jamie. Kayleigh and the lovely Antonia.”

The group around him grew as Sam came over with Brad and Abi. Here they all were, mated, with the Ritual over, meaning they would all experience the long life of their mate. It all felt so good, so right. But there was a part of him that was uneasy. He wanted to feel Freyja in his arms, to dance with her, to laugh with her. Surrounded by the other happy faces, he felt alone again and he didn’t like it.

“Let’s go, they’ll be here soon.”

No one was driving tonight, so they all made their way along the lanes festooned with flowers to his house. Behind them, the Beltane Fires burned as they would until morning. When they were dying embers, the ash would be collected and spread on the fields and in the forest as a sign of rebirth and renewal. It was all part of an ancient ceremony.

Scents filled his nose. The aromas of wood smoke and Jasmine mingled with cooking meat, which grew stronger, making his mouth water. He was starving, but he wouldn’t eat until she was here.

“Help yourself. I will meet up with you later.”

He walked around to the front of the house; Joel, Ethan and the rest of his men were leaning against the wall, drinking. “Here he is, the next man to be tied down.”

“You might laugh, but it will come to you all soon enough.”

“Never,” shouted Kris.

“You cannot outrun fate my friend, even on that bike of yours.” He laughed along with them until he saw Eirik’s truck approaching. “Excuse me.”

“Henpecked already,” Joel laughed.

“No need to keep my lady waiting,” Will said and waved to them as he moved off to greet his mate. It would be all he could do to keep his hands off her this evening. They had spent so many hours apart while he arranged everything, but he knew it was worth it and he wanted to share this night with her.

“Will?”

The look on her father’s face sent an ice-cold dagger into his heart. Something was wrong. She wasn’t here; he couldn’t feel her presence. “Where is Freyja?” His voice sounded from far away, the bear was already clawing to be set free. He had to hold himself together, there were too many people here. People who had come for a party, not to be introduced to a bear. Not everyone in Bear Creek knew their secret.

“She went to meet you.”

“Will,” Eirik said, stepping out of his truck. “She got a note; it said you were going to meet her in the meadow.”

Will knew exactly what meadow, and in a heartbeat, he was running, behind the house and out of view. There he let the bear have his way. It was only after a mile of frantic running did he slow down and pace himself and realise he was not alone.

Five bears, bears he knew so well, were with him. His crew, the men he had forged a new life with, were there with him. Then two strange bears: he could only guess they were Stuart and Eirik. Willing to do anything in their power to rescue their clan member. And yes, this was going to be a rescue. Carson was about to try one last time to ruin their lives. For only he would do something like this on a night like tonight, when everyone else would be preoccupied with drink and dance.

The air burned in his lungs as he climbed higher and higher through dense forest. The meadow wasn’t too far, but something bothered him. He couldn’t feel her presence. If she was that close, he should have been able to sense her, to smell her. But he couldn’t. So when he burst out of the forest onto the wide-open plateau, he was not surprised to find it empty.

He stood for a few seconds while, one by one, the others burst out of the trees. Eirik was the first to transform back to his human form. He stood looking around, a look of anger on his face. “Can anyone scent her?”

Will changed next. “I know where he will take her. It's not far.”

Head down, he turned and followed a track, soon picking up their trail. Carson was still in human form, carrying Freyja by the look of how much his footprints sunk into the dirt. The bears followed.

The path grew harder to follow and Will began to despair, his head filled with terrible thoughts of what Carson might be doing to Freyja. Then, when he had nearly given up hope, he felt her presence. Stopping, he took a moment to locate her, shifting his big bear body one way and the other until he knew exactly where she was. Then he took off at a run, covering the ground quickly, needing to find her to make sure she was safe. And to kill Carson.

He swallowed those thoughts. He could not be reckless in this; he wanted a happy life with Freyja, and being a wanted man would not be conducive to that.

They came across the cave mouth almost by accident. It was well concealed, but there were scuff marks where Carson had dragged his feet with fatigue. He must be exhausted, too exhausted to hurt Freyja, Will prayed.

Stopping, he indicated for the others to wait while he entered the cave to assess the situation. What he would do if Freyja was harmed he didn’t know, but he needed to be the one to do this. It was his mate and his cousin. But just as he entered the cave, something big and clumsy ran into him.

“Carson,” he roared, his breath hot and angry.

Carson roared at Will and then took in all the other bears. He hadn’t been expecting that. Will took advantage and rammed into Carson, hitting him squarely on the shoulder. Carson hit the floor but was up on his feet in no time.

The two bears faced each other, while his biker bears made a ring around them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eirik and Stuart change back to their human form and creep into the cave. All he had to do was keep Carson busy, or knock him unconscious.

He also wanted to make him suffer for this final betrayal. And it would be final. Carson would live, but he would think twice about ever returning to Bear Creek.

Will flicked his paw across Carson’s face the next time he charged, slicing his skin. Blood seeped out of the wound and Carson grunted in pain. They faced each other again, circling each other slowly. This time Will attacked and managed to feign a strike and then bite Carson on the leg, making him limp.

Carson had become soft over the years, whereas Will often sparred with his friends. This edge soon became apparent as Will slowly wore Carson down until a mixture of tiredness and small injuries took their toll. So that when Eirik appeared, carrying Freyja, Will was ready to inflict his finishing blow.

A head shot. One strong, curled up, paw straight under Carson’s chin. As he flailed around, Will bit his shoulder, making him bleed profusely. Carson roared with pain, and Will shattered the air with his cry of victory.

His bikers got between the two warring bears, separating them, as Carson lay unconscious on the ground. He knew the look in their eyes. They would take care of this business; he didn’t ask and he didn't want to know what they would do with him. He only knew that they were not murderers, but Carson would be left in no uncertainty. He would never return to Bear Creek.

In Eirik’s arms a tearful Freyja watched as Will turned from bear to man. She reached out her arms and went to him, his strong arms encircling her and holding her close. Eirik relinquished her and stood next to Stuart, watching Carson being taken away.

Will could not read Eirik's thoughts but his expression spoke of revenge. That would one day be served cold, if Carson ever came within his sight. But Will turned his thoughts from that; he only wanted to be near Freyja and to comfort her.

But Freyja was a bear and bears don’t stay down for long.

“I am going to rip his head off,” she said.

Will held her close to him. “No, you are not. He is no longer our concern.”

“Until I know he will never come near us again, he is my concern.”

“Freyja. Let someone else deal with it.” He turned to her father. “I will take care of her.”

“I know, Will.” Stuart turned away, leaving them alone.

“Come with me. Back to the meadow.”

Freyja fought the need to turn into her bear and scratch her claws down Carson’s face. “OK,” she answered sullenly.

He carried her there, even though she could have walked. She let him have this feeling that he was protecting her, keeping her safe. Yet she hated feeling useless and in need of protection.

Will set her down on a stone, she knew it well; they had carved their names in it with a sharp twig. The names were now worn away, but their love was engraved on this meadow, deep into the earth and in the surrounding trees.

“My timing is terrible. I know.” Here he bent down on one knee and produced a ring. “But will you marry me, Freyja?”

She hadn’t expected this. Not now. “Will. I … yes.”

His face broke into the widest grin she had ever seen. “Here.” He placed the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly. Because he knew every curve of her body, every expression on her face. As she knew him. The ten years apart disappeared; their days would be filled with happiness and laughter. And bear cubs. His cubs. Carson had not had time to spoil her, and she knew no other man would ever try to take her from her biker bear.