“Cindy,”Drew muttered as he stomped down the stairs. “NotSharon.”
The rage in his belly reached a boiling point the second he stepped onto the front porch. His bear huffed. He wanted out, and Drew was ready tounleashhim.
After sprinting into the woods, he let his bear take over. The cracking, ripping tear of muscle and bone echoed through the forest. His hands stretched and grew sharp claws. His feet morphed into furry paws. He dropped to all fours as his back elongated. His nose stretched to become a snout. When the transformation was complete, he let out a roar loud enough to shake globs of snow from nearby treebranches.
He padded over to the nearest tree and stood on his hind legs. With both paws, he shook the trunk in an attempt to release his frustration. He’d made the mistake of getting his hopes up. A suitable wife wasn’t going to magically appear. He should have suspected there was more to her story. Now he didn’t know what tobelieve.
Was she really a battered woman running from her ex-husband? Did she actually have a daughter that she was trying to protect? Or was everything she’d just told him alietoo?
He hated liars more than anything in the world. But what if she wasn’t lying? What if her storywastrue?
As he lumbered through the forest, he crawled over fallen logs and across thick snowdrifts. He headed toward his special place, where a thick group of pine trees formed a windbreak. From the other side of the trees, he could look out over the river valley. No one else knew about this spot. Unlike everything else at the ranch, this was all his. He didn’t have toshareit.
He plunked down on his butt. Sunlight glinted off the frozen river. A flock of birds flew low before rising up over a nearby hill. This is what he wanted—peace.
He wasn’t the kind of man who needed much in life, and he preferred to be alone. A loner at heart, he enjoyed the solitude. But over the last few months, he’d started to doubt his need for seclusion. His brothers were all so happy with their mates. Hell, even Logan, the perpetual ladies’ man, had tied the knot. If he could settle down, then anyonecould.
As the wind picked up, a veil of snowflakes obscured his visibility. He couldn’t see through it clearly. He couldn’t see through Sharon either...or Cindy. If she really was on the run, a part of him wanted to help her. His protective instinctrearedup.
She’s not our problem, Drewgrumbled.
She’sourmate.
Ugh, why was his bear such a pain intheass?
If she’s our mate, then why did she lie?heasked.
Scared.
Maybe. He tried to think of what he’d do in her situation, but he didn’t have a point of reference. He could easily protect himself and his family. But he was a bear shifter, she wasn’t. What would it feel like to bedefenseless?
Scary for sure. His bearwasright about that much. But was it enough to justify running away and lying to people along the way? What if he hadn’t found out her secret? What if he’d fallenforher?
His heart kicked in his chest. After going to bed by himself for so many years, he’d enjoyed having Shar—no—Cindyby his side. God, he didn’t even know if that much was true. How could he think about having something real with someone who didn’t even exist? How much of their time together had been lies and how much had beengenuine?
Behind him, the approach of another bear caught his attention. He turned to find Mack striding toward him. Apparently his secret spot wasn’t as secret as he’dthought.
Mack shifted. He sat on a log just inside thetreeline.
“Everything okay?” Mackasked.
Drew chuffed. He didn’t feel like talking, so he didn’tshift.
“Did you stay in Sharon’s room last night?” Mackasked.
Great. He was here to lecture him on proper guest protocol. But since he wasn’t a liar, he shook hishead,yes.
“I ran into Sharon. She seemedupset.”
Drew huffed andshifted.
“She should be upset,” Drew said as soon as his mouth returned to its human shape. “She’saliar.”
“In what way?” Mackasked.
As he recounted Sharon’s story, he realized how much detail she’d put into it. If she was lying about it, then she’d done a damngoodjob.
“…after I left her, I came up here to think,” Drewfinished.
