Part of him doubted it. She would probably call him on the fact he hadn’t had the balls to face her. Gods, she would be right about that. Every time he had come close to finding an excuse to head into town so he could see her again, he had lost his nerve at the last second, and in his heart, he knew it wasn’t because she was human and he had felt they couldn’t be together because of that fact.
He had been soul-deep afraid that she would lash out at him.
Or worse.
That she would be with another male, would be happy with him and maybe even married.
He dropped his gaze to her hands and cursed her gloves. If she took them off, would he find a gold band on her finger? He idly rubbed his chest through his black jacket, trying to soothe the ache building there. A woman as beautiful as Skye was bound to have had a few suitors over the last two years, might have even settled down as he feared. If she had moved on, he could hardly blame her for it.
Things between them amounted to one wild night.
Followed by him running out on her before dawn.
Hardly a reason for her to wait for him.
He was man enough to admit that what he had done had been wrong and that she had every right to move on with her life and find happiness with someone else. The bear in him roared in agony at the thought she might have though, paced restlessly and battered the cage of his human form, wanting out, needing to lash out at everything that stood between him and his beautiful fated female.
The compulsion to go to her crashed over him again, trying to tear down his strength, attempting to push him into action. Resisting it became close to impossible as she dozed off, slumping forwards, and Wade slid a look at her. She jerked awake when someone spoke.
Patrick stood and Knox’s senses sharpened, fatigue pushed to the back of his mind as he tracked the male’s movements. He pulled his socks and boots on and headed to Knox’s right.
Towards the trees.
Knox eased backwards, deeper into the woods, and stripped his clothes off, leaving them behind a tree a good forty feet from the clearing. He focused and let the change come over him, wanted to growl in pleasure as fur rippled over his skin and he dropped to all fours, his bear side coming to the fore. Five-inch-long claws burst from his heavy paws as his face morphed, his ears rounding and moving upwards as his nose elongated into a snout and his teeth sharpened. His more animal instincts seized control, the urge to go to his mate almost overpowering him as they dampened his ability to think about actions and consequences and about his plan. It was hard to control himself and stop himself from bursting from the trees as he glanced in Skye’s direction.
He shook out his fur to get more comfortable and lumbered through the trees in the direction Patrick had taken instead, trying to move with stealth, something which was easier said than done when he was a six-hundred-pound bear. He carefully placed each paw, hoping the snow would cushion his weight enough that any branches hidden beneath it wouldn’t snap and alert the males to his presence.
Knox growled low as he caught Patrick’s scent and spied him ahead, still walking into the trees. He glanced at the camp, ensuring no one was looking his way. They were talking again, Karl saying something he tuned out as he fixed all of his senses on the overweight male he was stalking.
Patrick stopped, unzipped his pants, and grumbled something about the cold.
The cold was about to be the least of his worries.
Knox’s upper lip curled back off his fangs as he eased up behind the male, the hunger to strike him down seething inside him, born of a need to not only protect Skye but to protect his brother and Cameo too. This male was a threat to them all.
A threat to everyone at the Ridge and the Creek.
On a low, moaning growl, Knox closed the distance between him and the male.
The acrid scent of fear swamped the air as Patrick locked up tight and started trembling.
The male’s breath stuttered as he slowly turned his head to his right, his brow furrowed and his eyes wide as they edged towards Knox.
He screamed.
Knox rose up onto his back paws, coming to tower at least two feet taller than the male, and roared as he swung with his right front paw. He smashed it into Patrick’s head, delivering a crushing blow that cut his scream off and sent him to the ground on a pained grunt. He struck again, savagely clawing at the male’s grey jacket, raking deep grooves in the material and his flesh to ensure it looked like the animal attack it was. He needed it to look like a regular bear attack to keep Skye safe.
The male unleashed an agonised yell as he desperately tried to fight Knox off.
Instinct seized control, had him slamming his paw into the male’s head again, shattering his skull.
Killing him.
His primal instincts didn’t release him as the male went still.
They had him turning towards the camp as the voices grew louder, as he scented Skye’s fear. His female feared. His female was in danger. It wreaked havoc on him, had his instincts bellowing at him to save her.
On a vicious roar, Knox turned and charged towards the camp.
He thundered towards her, drawn to her, filled with a need to save her. Wade appeared from the gloom and Knox growled as he ran at him, as the male fumbled with his weapon and tried to raise it. He slammed into the bastard, knocking him back into a tree, relishing his muffled grunt as he hit it and dropped to the ground. The urge to finish him off was strong, but the need to reach Skye was even stronger, had him running harder in her direction, determined to save her.
Karl dodged to his right as Knox closed in on him, swift to place trees between him and Knox.
Ahead of him, the clearing came into view.
He growled as Skye kicked off only to be collared by Cooper, the one male Knox had been sure would be on her side. Cooper pulled her back to him, his green eyes wide, his face ashen as he stared into the woods in Knox’s direction and reached for his rifle. She struggled, desperately trying to break free of him, fear written in every line of her beautiful face as she clawed and kicked at Cooper.
Knox roared at the bastard for holding her against her will.
And charged at him.
Chapter 9
Sheer terror ripped through Skye as a deep growl echoed through the night followed by an agonised yell. She shot to her feet, suddenly very awake, her heart pounding at a sickening pace in her throat and her legs trembling beneath her as she stared in the direction Patrick had gone.
“What the fuck is that?” Wade whipped towards her, his eyes wide. “A wolf?”
She shook her head and tried to find her voice, but the words wouldn’t come as a shiver bolted down her spine and another bellow of pain tore through the forest. Oh God. Her breaths came faster as she dropped and fumbled with her pack, her hands shaking so badly that she struggled to get the top open.
“What is it!?” Wade took a hard step towards her and her head snapped up.
“Bear.” That word burst from her lips. “A bear. It’s a really fucking angry bear.”
Just as those trembling words rushed from her, another vicious growl sliced through the darkness, making the hairs on her nape stand on end and her heart miss a beat.
“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.” Cooper wasn’t helping her nerves.
“Shut up!” she snapped at him, fear getting the better of her, and cursed when she fumbled with the canister of bear spray she had found and it tumbled from her grip to roll across the dirt to the snow. “Damn it.”