The snarl lowered to a rumbling purr and he rubbed his cheek over the top of her head.
A low cough was followed by someone clearing their voice, and finally Ty spoke. “Keen? We have things to discuss.” It was phrased as a statement yet sounded like a question.
Part of her was thrilled that her… something… was strong enough to make the Itan nervous. The other half of her didn’t want Keen as her anything.
Keen slowly slid his arms from around her, easing his touch as he stepped away and then presented her with his back. Once again she leaned into him, taking comfort in his strength and power. He was her concrete and steel wall against the world.
“I think I said enough not two minutes ago.” His voice vibrated through her, stroking her in a gentle wave.
Ty hesitated and unease filled his words. “I heard what you said, but I still think there are things to talk about.”
Trista rubbed her cheek along his shoulder, transferring her scent to his clothes. It seemed to soothe him and she knew they were in the middle of a delicate situation. She’d do just about anything to keep the peace and get them out alive.
Keen reached for her hand and she quickly grasped his while allowing him to pull her to his side as he turned around. His fur-speckled arm draped over her shoulders and she leaned into him.
Ty looked at her and amended his statement. “Alone.”
“Nope.”
“Keen,” Ty tried again, but this time he was silenced by the Itana.
“Ty, enough. I am so over this. I am five hundred months pregnant, Lauren is hardly showing in her fourth month, which
inhales rapidly
. I’d really like to say ‘it sucks’ but brilliant me decided the family shouldn’t use that word.” Mia harrumphed. “But that’s beside the point. It’s hot as huckleberry outside. I’m going in the house. I’m getting something cool to drink from Gigi, and then I’m going to try to not look like a beached whale while I collapse on the couch.” Mia glared at her mate and then let her furious stare travel to Van. “You can join me or you can pout about being outmaneuvered. Either way, Lauren, Keen, and Trista are coming with me.”
“Mia…”
Blatantly ignoring her mate, Mia stomped toward her and Keen and snatched Trista’s hand. “Both of you, let’s go.”
“Mia, you can’t do this. There are things to discuss. Her
family
caused the deaths of our own bears. Think about Isaac,” the Itan growled.
There was no disputing the truth. Trista didn’t know the details, but it sounded like something Heath and the pack would have done.
The Itana whirled on her mate. “Our bears? Isaac?” Mia shuddered and drew in a shaky breath. “I would like to think our clan was smarter, had more sense, than to rain the sins of others on an innocent’s head. I would like to think that Isaac could easily see the truth about Trista
and
Keen and he would welcome her into this family. Keen was
shot
in the
chest
by hyenas while protecting me. He has done nothing but fight to protect this clan, and has acted as the clan’s Keeper even though you men haven’t given a flying fig about it. So maybe you all should take a good, hard look at yourselves before you condemn Keen and his decision to mate Trista. Because, I’m telling you now, Trista is one of us. Period. Even if Keen were to sever their mating right this second, I
would not
let her walk away.”
Anger and hurt suffused Ty’s features and Trista wished she could curl into a small ball and hide like she did when a child. Arguments, yelling, always ended in pain. She’d like to think Ty wouldn’t harm his mate, but there was no telling.
“You can’t just—”
Mia snapped her fingers and whirled on them, pointing at Keen. “I’m allowed to make decisions about clan membership, right? I can do that as the Itana?”
Keen furrowed his brow and nodded.
“Good. Quote the appropriate law”—the Itana snatched Trista’s wrist and tugged her out of Keen’s embrace as she waved her hand toward Ty—“to this cornnut and tell him what’s what. I’ll be with my new sister-in-law.”
As she was dragged across the lawn behind the Itana, she wasn’t sure what the hell just happened. She’d stepped outside the house an outsider and suddenly she was a hyena in a clan of bears and being personally welcomed by the Itana even though the Itan looked like he was ready to blow a gasket.
Oh. And she was mated.
She followed Mia, allowing herself to be hauled away from Keen. The farther away they got, the less she could hear of Keen and Ty’s conversation.
“Just ignore them.” Mia tugged. “Ty, God love him, is an idiot sometimes. Especially when it comes to Keen. Hopefully they’ll work out a truce before one of them ends up bloodied.”
The Itana didn’t seem too broken up about the prospect.
She glanced at Lauren trailing in their wake, smiling wide as she rested her hand atop the small baby bump. She looked as if she couldn’t care less about the unfolding drama.
“I’m sorry about all this. For Van getting hurt.” Trista frowned and Lauren waved away her apology.
“Don’t. I understand my mate and,” Lauren shook her head, “he just wants to protect the clan.”
They thumped up the front steps and Trista paused long enough to give Lauren her full focus. “And I’m a threat to that?”
“My mate seems to think so. He’s not a bad male, but as the Enforcer, he’s very, very devoted to the clan’s safety. Hyenas threatened that, he lost some of his guards in the battle, so there’s some animosity.” Lauren reached out and squeezed Trista’s hand. “But there’s none here with us. There won’t be with the clan. Powerful bears feel stronger than most and their emotions run hotter and deeper than anyone’s. Even after the attack and purge, no one gave you trouble in Grayslake. They didn’t even report your presence.”
Trista knew that but it was because of her mother, of the relationships they’d forged over the years with clan and pack members.
Lauren released her. “Give Keen, give the clan, a chance.”
Trista let her attention drift to Keen, to the massive werebear male who argued hotly with his eldest brother while his gaze was intent on her. Emotions tumbled across his face at an ever increasing pace. He still roared at Ty, but the warmth in his features heated her from inside out. Part of her wondered if his claim was due to more than just her salvation.
That same part stomped on the idea and reminded her that she didn’t need anyone, that attaching herself to a man and depending on him for anything was a mistake. Didn’t she remember what happened after her father died?
Lauren nudged her toward the front door and she followed the two women. The scent of blood crawled from the den, carried by the gently blowing air.
Van’s shout had them halting, had Lauren turning toward her mate. “I don’t think so.” His words were garbled by his bear’s snout. “She’s not stepping inside the house.”
Now it was Lauren’s turn to yell at her mate, her turn to defend Trista. “She can either safely go into the clan den, or our home, but as you heard your
Itana
she’s part of the clan.” The woman stepped up to her mate, grasped his hand, and brought it to her stomach, forcing the fierce male to splay his fingers over the mound. “You told me no one would ever talk bad about our child because it’s half human, that you wouldn’t tolerate prejudice in the Grayslake clan. Why can’t you see that it should apply to Trista as well?”
Van’s midnight gaze traveled from Lauren to Trista and back again. Indecision warred with hate-tinged anger and then, finally, he bent his head and rested his forehead against his mate’s.
“You’re asking too much.” The words were raw, hoarse, and she knew the scraping syllables weren’t due to his animal, but the emotion that shrouded him.
“Lauren,” Trista whispered and stepped forward, gently laying a hand on the woman’s arm. “It’s okay.” Being hated was nothing new for Trista. “Don’t fight with your mate over me.”
She wasn’t worth it. At all. Ever.
Lauren gave her a sad smile, tears filling her eyes, but it was Van who spoke. “We’re not fighting. My mate is simply showing me that I’m an ass.”
Mia coughed and then released a muffled “Language.”
*
Keen refused to listen to another word. Not a one. Period. Ty kept talking, kept arguing and snarling about Keen’s choice, while he focused on his mate—
mate
—and her conversation with Van.
Van, who only minutes ago, tried to gut Trista.
When a ripple traveled over Van’s skin, fur rising in its wake, Keen walked away. He didn’t say a word, there was no “by your leave.” He turned from Ty, his Itan, and strode toward the gathering within the entryway. His bear bristled at Van’s closeness, mere inches separating his new mate from his violent family member, and he increased his pace when Trista reached for Lauren.
Keen focused on Trista, speaking to her in low tones, and he pushed his way between the couple and his mate. A growl formed in his chest, vibrating his body with the weight of his bear’s anger. Van shouldn’t be near Trista. Ever.
That thought led him to another, to the realization that he needed to get away from his family as soon as possible. He had a new family now, one made up of him and Trista. One he hoped to expand just as soon as they turned their connection into something solid and real.
Everything in him craved that, his bear desired Trista above all else. He just hoped they could find their way.
The rumbling snarl continued as she glared at his brother. “Get away from her.”
Van’s growl countered Keen’s as Van shoved his pregnant mate behind him. “Back off, Keen.”
The sounds battled, his beast determined to dominate Van’s. His animal pushed against him from the inside, stretching his muscles and pressing his bones almost to the point of breaking. It ached to shift, to destroy all threats to Trista.
She was his now—
his
—and he wouldn’t allow any harm to come to her.
“Keen.” Trista’s hand fluttered over his back, fingertips stroking his ever expanding body. “I’m fine.”
His beast calmed the tiniest bit, allowing him to speak more clearly. “Get back.”
Van was too close to what the bear considered his. Deep inside himself, he recognized that his human half felt the same. From the moment he’d seen her, he wanted her. Hyena or not, he wanted Trista Scott.
He calmed even further when Van shuffled back. Anger still filled his brother’s features, but he imagined Lauren’s grip on Van’s arm had something to do with the minor retreat.
Ty approached and he scented another bear nearing from inside the clan den.
Too many people, werebears, for his comfort. Threats surrounded them and his animal urged him to drag Trista from the hostile environment.
Keen was in full agreement.
Without another word, he took Van’s slight opening and dragged Trista back down the steps and past Ty. He made sure his body blocked hers as they strode across the gravel. He paused long enough to gather his bag once again, and drew her to his truck.
“
Keen!
” His eldest brother called after him, but he refused to slow or halt his progress.
The rapid crunch of his brother’s jog over the small rocks announced Ty’s approach and Keen stood guard beside the passenger door. “We’re leaving, Ty. You knew this was coming. I don’t understand why this is so difficult to accept.”
“Over her?”
Keen shook his head. “Over it all.” He noted Ty’s confusion and hurt, but couldn’t do a damned thing about it. “I’m not your brother, I’m just another bear to you and that’s fine. But I want to be more and I can’t do that here. I definitely can’t do that with Trista under your roof while you and Van are intent on destroying the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Shocking to his mind, yet his bear assured him it was true. Less than twenty-four hours in her company and he couldn’t deny that Trista was now a necessity.
“But you’re the Kee—”
“No.” He shook his head. “Just another bear.” He sighed. “I’ll send someone for my stuff. Otherwise, I’ll see you at the next run.”
Ty looked torn, the anguish on his face plain to see, but it was beyond time for Keen to grow the fuck up and get the hell out. It was time for him to build a life of his own, one that didn’t hinge on his brother’s generosity and station.
The Itan stepped back, slowly retreating to where the rest of the family gathered twenty feet away. The moment Ty was far enough away for his bear to calm, Keen rounded his truck and climbed behind the wheel.
Trista didn’t speak as he turned the key and got the engine rumbling. Nor did she say a word as they drove down the long driveway that led to the main road.
No, all she did was reach across the space separating them and stroke the hand resting loosely on his thigh. She ran her fingers along his fingers and then gathered them in hers, giving him a gentle squeeze.
He rolled to a stop when he reached the end of the drive and checked for traffic, resting for a moment as several cars sped past.
“You can go back to them, Keen. I won’t hold you to your claim and you can—”
“No.”
“I’m not worth destroying your life.”
Without hesitation, he turned to her, giving her his full attention, and spoke from deep in his heart. “Unless you tell me you don’t want me, I’m keeping you. Can you say that? Even if it’s just a spark. Can you tell me you don’t feel anything for me?”
She swallowed hard, tears filling her eyes. “No, I can’t.”
That’s all he needed to hear.
Keen took her to the bed-and-breakfast on the other side of the lake, almost directly opposite the clan den. The Grayslake lake separated them by over ten miles, but they were still there, still close.
Trista stood on their room’s balcony, staring across the water at the small dot that was the den. It looked so tiny now, so inconsequential, and yet the happenings in that home forged her future.
Keen moved around in the room they’d rented for the next week. She recommended the small hotel—it was cheaper—but he refused to listen. He wasn’t having his mate stay in some rundown place. His words, not hers.
She’d become used to rundown. In some ways, it suited her more than the fine furnishings the bed-and-breakfast sported. The bed frame was intricately carved hardwood. The surface gleamed in the soft lighting, the evidence of recent polishing easily visible. The comforter was down with an honest to goodness duvet cover, silky and smooth to the touch.