Bear My Heart (Moonhaven Cove #5)

Chapter 1

Riggs

Iwas enjoying a well-deserved bubble bath when I heard Alanna cry.

It wasn’t the sound of her crying that was unusual. It was how close she sounded to my bathroom. She and her aunt, my mate, were currently staying at the Bear Clan Lodge, but at the opposite end.

Alanna was barely four months old, and she had already lost her mom. Her mother had given Piper custody of her and then disappeared, hoping to lead her mate away from the baby. It had bought them some time, but Piper later found out her sister had been killed.

There was a visceral ache in my heart for my mate, for her grief and for how alone she must be feeling right now.

She was carrying more than anyone should have to at once.

She had been discharged from the military after receiving full custody of Alanna, and on top of that she was grieving her sister, constantly looking over her shoulder, and trying to process the fact that I was her mate.

It was a crushing amount for one person.

I wanted to help her shoulder it, but she kept me at arm’s length, so I did what I could without pushing.

At the very least, I was grateful I could give her and Alanna a safe place to rest for a while.

I was also quietly working to find Barrett and see him handled, though I hadn’t told Piper that yet.

I had only just found her. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her.

I had searched for my mate for years, and as time passed without finding her, I had slowly begun to lose hope. Then one evening, Everly, Alaric’s mate, returned to the Lodge with Piper and Alanna. They had simply appeared while Alaric and I were waiting up for Everly.

The moment I saw Piper, I felt it. The searing in my blood, the ringing in my bones, the bright, effervescent surge in my chest that every shifter knew when they found their mate.

And she was breathtaking.

She was also exhausted, haunted, hunted, and afraid, even if she did her best to conceal it.

But she was mine.

And I knew.

The baby’s wails grew louder, sharper now, and I frowned. She sounded thoroughly unhappy with life at the moment. She also sounded very close to my bedroom door.

Piper had been keeping to her side of the Lodge these last few weeks, and I knew it was in an effort to avoid running into me.

I tried not to let that sting, reminding myself that she was already drowning in responsibilities and grief, but sometimes the darker thoughts slipped through anyway.

The ones that whispered she didn’t want me.

That something in me was lacking. That she would never choose this bond, no matter what fate or a higher power had decided.

I pushed those thoughts down every time they surfaced, but my bear and I were both aching, and it was difficult to hide.

Uneasy now, I stepped out of the bath and shrugged into a blue cotton robe, cinching it closed before opening the bathroom door. I paused at my bedroom door, listening carefully.

It truly sounded as though Alanna was right outside.

Alarm shot through me, and I opened the door too quickly. Alanna, sitting directly beside it in her baby carrier, startled, blinking rapidly before launching into even louder cries.

I winced, guilt tightening in my chest at having frightened her.

I scanned the hallway, but Piper was nowhere in sight, and neither was anyone else. With no other choice, I crouched down and unbuckled her from the carrier, lifting her as carefully as if she were made of spun glass.

I had never held a baby before, and I was painfully aware of how large I was compared to her small, delicate frame. The thought of hurting her, even accidentally, made my hands feel clumsy and oversized.

Alanna stopped crying for a moment, blinking up at me with hiccuping breaths.

I looked at her, she looked at me, then she began wailing again.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame her, but panic surged through me all the same.

What was I supposed to do with her?

Still holding her awkwardly at arm’s length, as though she might detonate without warning, I made my way through the Lodge in search of help.

Preferably one of the women, since most of the Clan males would be just as useless as I was.

A father might suffice. Or Matteo. Matteo carried a wisdom beyond his years, and I clung to the hope that it extended to infants as well.

“Hello?” I called. “Is anyone home?”

Most of my Clan worked in Moonhaven. Some worked from Clan property or from home, but not many. A rare few didn’t need to work at all and kept themselves busy supporting the Clan. Still, someone should have been here. Mathan and Alistair, at the very least.

Receiving no answer, I made my way down the stairs, through the living room and kitchen, and out the front door, scanning the yard and the distant forest line.

It was late March, and spring was settling into Moonhaven.

Flowers were pushing up through thawed earth, the last of the snow was melting, and the trees were finally budding again.

Even the wildlife seemed more awake. Spring was beautiful here.

Fall was still my favorite, with its blaze of color and crisp air, but spring had its own kind of beauty.

It was also a season that stirred unrest in shifters, especially the ones without mates.

As their alpha, I had to remain particularly aware of those who struggled during this time of year and do my best to look after them.

Not that they couldn’t look after themselves, but some might need a little extra care.

Alanna’s cries pierced the air again, startling a bird from a nearby tree.

I had seen mothers gently bounce their babies while juggling plates and conversations during Clan dinners, and though I had no idea if I was doing it correctly, I attempted the same motion.

I jiggled her carefully, still holding her at arm’s length, but she was having none of it. Her tiny face flushed red as her cries sharpened.

Desperation creeping in, I cast one final glance around me for rescue before drawing her slowly against my chest. Sliding one arm beneath her small body, I curved my other hand securely along her back, holding her close despite my fear that I was doing it wrong.

She stopped crying instantly.

A small hiccup escaped her, and then her breathing began to steady.

Within seconds, she melted against me, tiny fingers curling into the fabric of my robe as she settled against me and drifted to sleep.

I frowned, glancing down at her more carefully.

She had been tired. Goosebumps prickled along her tiny arms. Alarmed, I brushed my thumb lightly against her skin, and it felt cool to the touch.

Alanna wasn’t a shifter, so she didn’t have the internal heat most of us did.

Piper had mentioned she was fairly certain Alanna hadn’t inherited her father’s magic either, and she most definitely had not inherited her mother’s shifter genes. As an alpha, I would have known.

Concern tightening in my chest, I carried her back into the Lodge in search of a blanket. Once I found one, I wrapped it carefully around her, tucking it securely against my chest and around her small body, her legs and arms cocooned while leaving her face free.

I looked down at her in quiet consternation when I realized I wasn’t entirely sure what to do next.

Did I put her down?

I gave a decisive nod to myself. I would find Piper, and Alanna could finish her nap in their room. I headed back up the stairs toward the east side of the Lodge, where Piper and Alanna had set up their in-Lodge apartment.

With the Lodge now silent around me, my thoughts drifted to the situation my mate and Alanna were in.

My First, Matteo, was the one I had sent to track Barrett. He had left the same night Piper and Alanna arrived. His check-ins were few and far between, and so far his hunt had borne no fruit, but I trusted him. Matteo was brilliant. Very little escaped his notice.

I wanted to deal with Barrett myself, but my place was here.

Protecting Alanna. Protecting Piper. Since their arrival, I had increased security around the Lodge and across the acres of land we controlled.

Our manpower was stretched thin, but I had no doubt my Clan would defend our land, and my mate and her niece, with their last breath.

When I reached Piper’s bedroom, I knocked softly, not wanting to wake Alanna, who had not so much as stirred during the climb upstairs. She shifted slightly at the sound but stayed asleep, and I exhaled in relief.

I knocked again when there was no answer.

“Piper?” I called through the door. “Are you in there?”

Silence.

A flicker of unease slid through me, and I turned the knob, stepping into her rooms.

“Piper?”

The space was empty.

And there was a note on the kitchen table.

Dread pooling low in my gut, I crossed the room and picked it up.

Riggs—

I received word from some of my shifter military contacts that Barrett has been seen in a town close to Moonhaven.

I’m sorry, Riggs. I have to lead him away from Alanna.

After being on the run for so long, I realize I can’t take him down myself. Not while caring for a baby and trying to keep her safe.

I need your help.

I know this is unfair, but please take care of Alanna until I return.

I’m going to Dragonspire Keep to plead for help from Everly and the Prime.

If that fails, I will seek an audience with Asharien, the Elemental King.

Barrett falls under Asharien’s rule, as he is a fire elemental.

Thankfully he is only a quarter elemental, so he is not particularly strong, but he has deep pockets and no shortage of those willing to sell themselves for the right price.

Whether I succeed or not, I will come back soon.

Tell Alanna I love her.

If, for some reason, he does not take the bait and tracks her here…

Please protect her.

She’s all I have left in this world.

Piper

Raw emotion tightened my throat, and I closed my eyes, letting my head fall back.

It wasn’t that she had left Alanna with me. Of course she could. It was that she was running toward danger. She was deliberately drawing Barrett away from Moonhaven, away from Alanna, and she was doing it alone.

Well, alone save for her military contacts.

What branch of the military had my mate served in? I had spent time in the Army, but I didn’t have shadowy contacts scattered across the country, ready to mobilize at a moment’s notice.

Had she been military intelligence? Those in INSCOM were sharp, methodical, and lethal when necessary. It was not outside the realm of possibility, because Piper seemed to be all of those things.

I tried to reassure myself that she was not entirely alone, but my bear was not listening. He clawed at my insides, demanding release, convinced our mate was marching toward her death.

We can’t, I told him firmly. She entrusted us with the cub. We protect the cub.

My bear snarled in protest. We leave cub with Clan. Mate needs us.

He surged harder, panic bleeding through him, certainty driving him. When I forced him back, his voice cracked.

Our mate, Riggs. She needs us.

Breathing heavily from the effort of containing him, I braced a hand on the table.

She does. But she is going for help. She is not charging blindly into this alone. And she trusted us with the most precious thing in her world. We do not betray that trust. We do not hand the cub to someone else and chase our instincts. She asked for our help, and this is what she meant.

Slowly, reluctantly, my bear receded, curling inward in wounded resignation.

I moved unsteadily to the living area and sat hard on the arm of the couch.

That had been a difficult battle. I didn’t often clash with my bear, but at times his instincts ran headlong into my human judgment. He was present, aware, and intelligent in his own way, but he was not a dragon. And he knew it.

Dragons, he muttered darkly.

Despite everything, I huffed a quiet laugh.

He considered dragons insufferable show-offs. He tolerated Roarke because he was Clan through marriage, but beyond that he preferred to keep his distance. Fortunately for him, there were only a handful of dragon shifters in existence.

I glanced down at the sleeping baby curled against my chest and exhaled slowly.

What exactly was I going to do with her?

Well.

First things first.

We needed an emergency Clan meeting.