“Some city slicker. He was in here last night bragging about how he’s going to hunt down a grizzly and hang the bear’s head up on his wall with the rest of his trophies. I warned him that you can’t hunt bears around here. He told me a crazy story about going out to your ranch. He said you turned into a bear and attacked him. I know you’re a shifter, but you don’t attack humans, or do I have thatwrong?”
Mack narrowed his eyes. “I don’t attack humans. That bastard came out here and insultedMadison.”
“The girl from the bar the othernight?”
Mack was surprised he rememberedher. “Yeah.”
“What’s she doing on theranch?”
“I hired her to run theB&B.”
Steve whistled. “Nice. I’d love to have a hot woman like her around allthetime.”
If Steve hadn’t been one of his oldest friends, he would have set him straight. But he let the comment go. He had far bigger issues toaddress.
“Did the guy say when he was going to comebackhere?”
“He said he was headed over to Wily Hut to get guns and ammo. I called Nate and warned him not to sell anything totheguy.”
“Good. If he shows up here again, I’ll have a hell of a time keeping my bear in check. I would have ripped the guy apart last night if it hadn’t been for Madison. Well, that and the fact the jackass was in a truck and couldoutrunme.”
“Be careful. I’ve seen some crazy people in the bar, but this guy had bloodlust in his eyes. He’ll shoot to kill if hefindsyou.”
“I’ll warn my brothers and make sure they’re ready. We have a hefty stockpile of guns. My dad was always worried about poachers, so he kept collecting more and more guns. If the guy steps foot on my property he gets one warning shot and then I’maiming.”
Steve said, “Just make sure to watch your back. I got the sense that the guy was planning on ambushing you and I don’t want your head to end up onhiswall.”
“Don’t worry. I will be. Thanks for calling towarnme.”
“Anytime,buddy.”
After he hung up the phone, Mack turned to find Madison standing in the doorway. She held a bag in each hand. A large luggage bag on rollers satbesideher.
“I decided that I need to leave,”shesaid.
He jumped out of bed, completely ignoring his nudity. “You can’t go. I was just headed over to help you withbreakfast.”
“It’s ready. The stove’s turned off, but I left the food covered so it should stillbehot.”
He walked over to her and took the bags from her hands. He set them on the floor. “I can’t let youleaveyet.”
“I overheard your conversation. As long as I’m here, Ben’s going to come looking for me. It’s not safe for you or your brothers if Istayhere.”
Mack grabbed her hands and gently tugged her forward. He dropped his gaze to her glistening eyes. “I don’t know how to explain this, but you havetostay.”
“Why?”
He grappled with how to tell her that his bear had chosen her as his mate. They were fated to be together. He had to find a way to makeherstay.
“I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I think you know that there’s something happening between us. We need time to explore it. If you leave now, we’ll never know what couldhavebeen.”
His stomach clenched at the thought of losing her now. His bear, on the other hand, pounded on his heart. If he let her leave, he’d lose the only woman his bear had ever wanted to claim ashismate.
She sighed. “If we’d met at some other time when my life was less complicated, then we might have had a chance. But right now, I’m just not ready for anotherrelationship.”
As he ran through all the possible things he could say to make her stay, his heart sank. The determination in her expression made him realize just how unreachable she was right now. He hated the thought of letting her go, but he wasn’t going to force hertostay.
She pulled her hands away from his. “We should getgoing.”
