Authors: Anya Nowlan
“Yes. But I think we can talk about it when we get home. It’s going to be a long day.” He gave her a peck on the forehead and went back to tending the food. Tess frowned slightly but shrugged, letting the anxiety trickle out of her with each breath. She had no doubts that together they could tackle and solve whatever it was that he needed to tell her. She hadn’t been with him for very long, but the sense of camaraderie and oneness she felt with the man could not be denied, and after their night of passion, she knew that he felt it too. Letting petty insecurities ruin her wonderful day seemed like an entirely silly thing to do.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The day had gone past much too quickly. With Jackson’s help, Tess had put up most of the cameras she had lugged with her and her backpack had got a lot lighter thanks to it. The beautiful scenery that Yellowhead offered could take her breath away, but she didn’t have nearly enough time to truly enjoy the gentle babble of the combining streams and the lush flora that was green even in the midst of fall. The air was crisp and nipped at her nose and cheeks as she flitted around, finding good places for the cameras so they could actually capture something of use. It would be heartbreaking to return to such a treasure trove a year later only to find that there was no usable footage due to lack of foresight.
It was well past noon when they finally started their long trek downhill and towards home. As much as it was a struggle getting up to Yellowhead, it was almost as hard coming down. The treacherous dips and valleys between rocky ledges made for deceptively easy walking, until the climber became too cocky and forgot about safety. It was easy to trip and fall on the mountainous path, and a simple accident like that could have horrific consequences. Tess could feel Jackson’s eyes constantly on her as they descended slowly, the man constantly within arm’s reach to help her if anything went wrong. She hadn’t thought about it before, but she had certainly noticed the man becoming more protective of her as time went by. Since she diffused the tense situation between Jackson and Ryder, the dark-haired ranger had started keeping ever closer track of her and making sure that she was never in any danger. It didn’t surprise her that he didn’t even try to hide it anymore, now that they had both admitted their almost painful passion for each other.
I wonder what has made him so wary of things…
she pondered quietly, concentrating on not tripping all over herself.
Her bag was much easier to carry now. The descent definitely helped, but other than her sleeping bag, some emergency supplies and the tranquilizer gun with one single shot in it (which she doggedly refused to leave behind no matter where they went in the woods), there wasn’t much to weigh her down. Jackson hadn’t given her a chance to argue with him – he was carrying the tent and the cooking ware and that was that. Truth be told, her legs were still very sore and the full day of climbing up trees and clinging to ledges hadn’t made her very keen on asking for any additional weight to carry anyway. Jackson had estimated that they’d make it to the car at around midnight, because they had started off so late, but it was better than spending another night mere miles away from their own soft beds. Besides, Tess wanted to see what the ranger looked like without his shirt on when it wasn’t the dead of night, and she was going to be damned if she didn’t find out as soon as possible.
The thought brought a little smile to her face, which quickly got cut short as Jackson grabbed her by the shoulder and dragged her across a length of the rocky incline. He shoved her behind a large boulder, making her crouch down. Tess opened her mouth to protest, but he hushed her quickly. His eyes betrayed worry and his body was tense, ready to fight, ready to go.
“Someone’s here. Someone bad. Stay down, don’t come out. No matter what happens. Promise me?”
She stammered for a moment, confusion and worry hitting her at the same time.
“Promise me!” he pressed harder, his eyes darting back and forth as if searching for something or someone.
“I promise,” she whispered. It didn’t take much to trust the ranger and he had done nothing but protect her and look after her. If he said that there was trouble, well, she was sure as hell going to believe him. A slight tremble ran through her body as she tucked herself behind the large rock, Jackson turning his back to her and striding away from it with long steps.
She could just make out his retreating back from behind a corner of the rock, when she saw a shift in his posture. His shoulders went tense and hunched up just like they had when she had asked him about what he had wanted to talk about that morning. Tess bit her lip, waiting with bated breath to see what was going to happen next. Jackson stopped a few dozen feet away from the pile of boulders and Tess watched him slip his backpack off. He was eyeing something intently further down the mountain, and his big palms were rolled into tight fists. The sheer size of them would have made most men back away from a fight with him, but the foe he was going to face wasn’t an ordinary man.
A low growl emitted from Jackson’s throat seconds before Tess heard a familiar voice, her stomach dropping at the realization. It was Ryder.
This is not good… fuck,
she thought, quietly slipping her backpack off as well. It would just slow her down if she needed to get on the move, fast.
“Fancy seeing you here, Jackson. Out for a little stroll on my lands?” Ryder asked, his taunting tone echoed by laughter. Tess gnawed on her lower lip, peeking out just a tiny bit to see the tall blonde man facing off against Jackson. There was just a few feet of space between them and the blue-eyed demon had two men with him, standing to either side. Tess’s worry was quickly growing into full-on anxiety, knowing full well that things couldn’t end well when men as determined and straightforward as those two decided to hash it out. Jackson was a reasonable man through and through, but Ryder seemed to have some peculiar hold on him. It was like watching two Alphas buck against one another, but this time one of them had backup, and Tess couldn’t exactly work her girlish magic on them.
Jackson chuckled and the sound scraped at Tess’s ears. He was wound up tight; she could hear it in his voice.
“I think you’re confusing my lands for yours again, Ryder. I don’t remember your kin having any more claim to this land now than you did before. You’re only welcome here thanks to my generosity, I remind you,” he said, and the growl in his throat was almost palpable in the air. Tess’s heart beat wildly as she listened in, eyeing their body language and the tension that was racking up much too fast for her liking. Her heart ached with worry for Jackson. She’d never been particularly sentimental, unless it was about bears, but that man was as if bound to her, and whatever hurt him, hurt her as well. Tess could sense his reluctance to be in that confrontation from a mile away, but there was little either of them could do about it. Ryder shrugged good-naturedly, tossing a glance over his shoulders at both of the men with him.
They were big and broad just like Ryder and Jackson, maybe a little shorter, but most certainly well aware of the gravity of the moment.
They must have known we were here… there’s nothing for miles and miles, they couldn’t have just happened upon us,
Tess thought, the possibilities endlessly bad. She couldn’t see any way for diffusing the situation without a lot of hurt feelings and split lips, but she had no idea just how bad it was going to get.
“I think you’ll find that whoever is the strongest will claim the land, just as it has always been, Jackson. Don’t you remember how our forefathers did it? If I’m not mistaken, it was your grandfather who tossed mine off of this very hill, claiming the lands for your clan. Now, I’m a reasonable man, but I can’t find it in my heart to forget all the misdeeds anymore, especially in the light of such hateful reception,” Ryder said, his slithery tone sweet as honey, licking at Tess’s ears. Her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of it all, but each spoken word just spun the web of confusion tighter.
“You and I both know that our clans are long due for a rematch and I think there’s no better time than now. Especially with that tasty morsel of a redhead you have milling around here.” Ryder’s voice dropped for a moment as he said the last words, Tess recoiling at the implications. Her lips curled back in a snarl almost in time with the aggravated growl she heard emitted from Jackson’s throat.
The sound was so pure, so full of rage that she had no issues with placing it. She knew that sound well – the sound an angered bear makes when he has been threatened or wounded. It cut right through the bone and Tess was frozen in place, her eyes going wide with surprise.
“I am more than ready for a fair fight, Ryder. But you should know that you will never get Tess. She is far too good for the likes of you and your kin,” Jackson said, inciting both affection and mortal terror in Tess.
He’s not actually going to fight, is he? Not for me, at least…
she thought.
Ryder sighed loudly, attempting to seem nonchalant but coming off as anything but. His body was as tense as Jackson’s, though his tone was still sing-songy and full of mockery.
“Come on now, Jackson. I think we’re far past playing fair. I need these lands. My clan needs these lands. You don’t want to give them to me. I’m not going to be stuck on some forgotten mountainside while you rule the roost. I’ve been driven from my home, and I’m going to have to drive you from yours. . I don’t mind if I have to ask Drake and Troy for a bit of help. I don’t want to spend too much time here. And I’ll delight in taking and tasting your woman in every imaginable way. She seemed like a feisty one. I bet she will scream nicely for me. Way of the wild, my friend,” Ryder said, making Tess’s blood curl with rage. The sun was setting slowly, starting to cast shadows across the grounds. The sky was tinted red.
“I’ve been more than fair with you, Ryder,” Jackson growled, barely maintaining control. “You don’t want war with me. I might not have my clan with me, but you know that they will come for you, with or without me. And Tess would never submit to the likes of you, Kodiak scum.” Jackson’s teeth were bared in a snarl, matched quickly by Ryder. In a flash, things went from bad to worse. One of Ryder’s henchmen, Troy, suddenly lunged for Jackson. He was a man with dull gray eyes and a mocking smirk, the kind of face that was asking for a punch. Jackson sidestepped him, but the strong man clung to Jackson and tore him down with him. That was all it took to break loose mayhem.
The other henchman, Drake, drove forth as well, Jackson shoving him off and scooting up. As soon as they were all back on their feet, the two cronies jumped at Jackson at the same time, Ryder taking a leisurely step back to watch the fun. Jackson’s fist connected with Troy’s jaw and Tess could hear it crack painfully, making her cringe. Tears were welling in her eyes, fear and worry for Jackson clouding her thoughts. But she wouldn’t budge. If she got up now, she would just make it worse. He didn’t need the distraction, and frankly, she doubted she’d be of any help.
Come on, Jackson!
Tess cringed as Jackson’s legs were taken out from under him. But the man got up as fast as he went down. He tackled Drake and blow after blow collided with the man’s face and chest, before Jackson was dragged off of him. The duo of henchmen were on him, pummeling him mercilessly, but Jackson wouldn’t give in. He defended himself the best he could until an opportunity provided itself to him. His attackers were spread apart, and Tess watched in amazement as Jackson seemed to fly at Drake, his movements so fast he seemed more of a blur than a quarter ton of seething, angry muscle. She heard a sickening thud and then the sound of loose pebbles as Drake tumbled down the side of the mountain, his yelps quickly quieting and the man stopping at the base as a crumpled heap.
The shift in Ryder’s mood was physically evident. The blonde man’s brows furrowed and the color drained from his face as Jackson matched against the remaining man. Tess kept holding her breath each time one of them went for the other, every hit and contact of fist and flesh making her insides twist in worry. The tears were barely being held at bay as she watched her man show more and more bruises on his body. At least he had taken out one of them, which gave her a little bit of faith that things could work out their way.
“You always were a sore loser,” Ryder growled. What happened next swept the ground from under Tess’s feet.
A pained roar echoed through the mountains as Ryder took a step forward and his whole body started twisting and changing before Tess’s eyes. She stared in stunned silence, as the blonde man grew taller and wider, his muscles bulging through his shirt and shifting into something so incredibly familiar and terrifying at the same time. Jackson noticed the sudden transformation and followed suit. The dark-haired ranger changed in the blink of an eye, much faster than his enemy. His legs grew thick as tree trunks and his body became broader and stronger. Long hair coated his body, and his clothes disappeared from sight. His determined chin became longer and took the shape of a bear’s maw, complete with powerful teeth. Only his eyes remained the same, and the color of his coat was dark like his hair. The quiet, contemplative ranger had become a mighty werebear, bigger than any grizzly Tess had ever seen.
Her vision blurred at the edges as she watched Jackson fling the remaining crony to the ground with one motion of his wide paw. The man backed away just as Ryder’s transformation was complete. The lighter-colored werebear charged into Jackson, slamming against his side. The sound of the two gigantic, powerful bodies hitting the rocky mountainside sounded like a small explosion, and Tess couldn’t help but let out a small scream. A tear trickled down her cheek, fear and confusion taking hold of her for a passing second. She watched in wide-eyed horror as Jackson and Ryder battled against one another, white teeth flashing and long claws rapping at each other. Ryder drew blood quickly, slashing across Jackson’s chest. The bear answered in turn, managing to sink his teeth into the side of Ryder’s neck and ripping at it, though he slipped off too quickly to cause much damage.