Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
The storm had left the world wrapped in white silence.
Eddie stood on the porch, her breath ghosting in the brittle morning air while the weight of the winter pressed against her lungs.
The snow had come heavy through the night.
She surveyed the bulky drifts clinging to the cabin’s eaves.
Snow had swallowed the narrow path she’d shoveled yesterday.
The trees bowed beneath the weight of it.
All of it was beautiful in a cruel Montana way. The landscape made her feel small, humbled even. She’d grown up in this kind of wild, but some mornings still left her in awe.
She tugged on her gloves, the leather creaking as she flexed her hands.
The generator still hummed behind the cabin.
It was half-buried under another fresh coat of snow.
She’d have to dig it out again, check the fuel line, and chop more wood before the next wave hit.
The scent in the air told her the storm wasn’t finished.
She stepped off the porch and sank nearly to her knees.
“Damn,” she muttered. The storm had packed the snow tight. It would take hours to clear the truck. Maybe days if Mother Nature continued to dump on them.
She should be frustrated. She’d come here for solitude, not survival mode. She trudged through the snow and tried to concentrate on everything she needed to do, but her thoughts were on a certain person who was inside underneath the blankets and warm.
Liana.
The name caused her heart to flutter.
Eddie had never met anyone like her. She was a city-born woman who was stubborn yet fragile.
She made Eddie want to wrap her up and never let her go.
Liana tested Eddie in a way that made her bear want to claim her.
She was brave, defiant, and curious, all traits that would make a great alpha mate.
Even after everything that had happened, she’d laughed that morning as she’d cleaned up the kitchen.
Her jovial humming had brought a smile to Eddie’s lips.
Mine, her bear grumbled.
She grabbed a shovel that rested against the house and stabbed it into a snowbank with more force than necessary.
“We haven’t claimed her yet,” Eddie muttered. The thought of marking Liana as hers, keeping her forever, presenting her to the world as her mate, gave her a warm rush of feelings.
Her bear growled low, unhappy with Eddie.
The beast couldn’t understand the wait. She didn’t care about logic, or timing, or anything other than the claiming.
There was a pull to be with Liana. Eddie felt it all the way to her soul.
Every time Liana looked at her, every time her scent hit the air, Eddie wanted to nuzzle her neck and breathe her in.
It had taken everything she had to untangle her limbs from Liana.
She had been warm, scented of wild honey and something that made Eddie’s pulse spike.
She tried to focus on the work at hand.
One shovel of snow.
Then another.
The rhythmic scrape of metal against the ice underneath the mountains of snow steadied her breathing.
Her muscles strained with the weight of the heavy mounds.
It felt good to do some physical labor while breathing in the crisp mountain air.
The clouds were already thickening again.
They were iron gray, pressing low over the tree line.
She could almost taste the next wave of snow in the air.
She should leave the snow where it was, but if she did, then it would only be taller and heavier come tomorrow. Plus she needed a distraction.
If she stayed in the cabin all day with Liana, there would only be one physical activity they would be engaged in. She paused and allowed the memory of her face buried between Liana’s legs come to the forefront.
The taste of her was addictive. She had been sweet, tangy, and hot. A low rumble from her bear sounded as Eddie’s breathing hitched.
Liana’s whimpers and cries had filled the cabin. Eddie’s tongue had been everywhere. She had wanted to consume all of Liana. She could have stayed there forever in her own little heaven between her woman’s thighs. If she closed her eyes, she could still taste a hint of Liana on her tongue.
The door opened behind her. Eddie blinked and turned to find Liana standing bundled up in one of Eddie’s thick hoodies and an oversized coat that probably belonged to one of Eddie’s cousins.
It was long enough that the hem went past Liana’s knees.
She must have done something to her hair while Eddie had been working.
Her curls were wild and free, creating a soft halo around her face, the wind blowing it gently.
Eddie’s heart stuttered as she took in Liana’s beauty.
“Hey,” Liana said. She gave a little wave. She stepped out onto the back porch. She wrapped a scarf around her neck. “You’ve been out here for a while. Thought you might like some company.”
“There’s a lot to do before the next storm blows in.” Eddie wiped her glove against her forehead.
Her gaze didn’t leave Liana who stepped farther onto the porch. The boards creaked under her boots.
“It’s stunning out here.”
Eddie followed her gaze. There was an endless sea of white. The only color came from the dark firs and the faint shimmer of the creek in the distance.
“Yeah. When it’s not trying to kill you.”
That made Liana laugh. “You don’t sugarcoat anything, do you?”
“No. I believe in being up front and honest.”
Liana glanced over at her. There was a hesitation in her expression that caused Eddie to be curious as to what was running through her head.
“Eddie, I was just thinking. My phone is still in my car, and my bag. I probably need to go and check in on my car. I’m sure it’s snowed in, but my sister’s probably losing her mind right now.”
Eddie’s gut tightened. She’d been expecting Liana to bring up her car. She blew out a deep breath. She should have thought of asking Liana if there was anything in the car that she needed, but she had been rushing and trying to get her to safety.
“That road is probably covered under a good three feet of snow. You’re not getting near that car without a snowmobile, and I don’t have one with me.”
“I know,” Liana breathed. “I’m not saying I’ll go alone. But maybe later today? Can we try? It’s just…I need to at least try. I don’t want Jorrie calling in a search party because she hasn’t heard from me. Or Terri for that matter. I was supposed to be at her home and I didn’t show up.”
She wouldn’t want Liana’s sister and friend becoming worried.
Liana was safe, but they wouldn’t know that.
She glanced in the direction of the road and knew the only possible way of making it to the car would be in her bear form.
Her beast would be much faster, and she would be able to handle the terrain.
“I’ll go. Once I’ve checked the rest of the property. You stay here where it’s warm.”
Liana’s mouth pressed into a stubborn line.
A gust of wind blew, causing her hair to cover her face.
She brushed it aside and shook her head.
“I just hate sitting around not doing anything. I’ve cleaned the kitchen, straightened up the cabin, and I’m one step away from reorganizing your pantry.
Let me help with something. I’ll go with you. ”
“You can’t. Not with that ankle. You’d slow me down.”
“It’s fine. The wrap is holding. See?” Liana raised her leg to show off the wrap that Eddie had redone before she’d come outside.
“Liana.” Eddie stepped closer, her voice dropping low. This woman needed to understand that she was trying to keep her safe. Why didn’t she get it? “You nearly froze to death. Twice. I’m not about to risk that again.”
Liana’s expression softened. She nodded after a moment.
“Okay, but only because you look like you’re about to throw me over your shoulder if I argue.”
“Don’t temp me.”
That earned a laugh from Liana. Eddie gripped the handle of the shovel tight. The fantasy of tossing her woman over her shoulder and carrying her into the house almost had her moving, but she fought to remain where she stood.
“Now go back inside where it is warm. I promise I won’t be out here much longer.”
Liana studied her before she gave a small smile. “Okay.”
She went back into the cabin. The door shut gently behind her.
The porch felt emptier without her there.
Eddie turned back to the yard. The snow glittered under the weak sunlight that peeked through the clouds.
Every sound was magnified—the distant groan of tree limbs shifting under the burden of snow, the drip of melting water from the eaves.
And then beneath it all, a whisper.
Eddie’s entire body went still. She listened, and there it was again. She tilted her head back slightly and inhaled deep.
A scent.
Wolf.
It was faint but distinct. A muskiness threaded with something off, something feral. Eddie’s jaw clenched tight. That was the same scent she had caught when she’d rescued Liana from the creek. She set the shovel aside and scanned the edge of the woods.
Eddie stalked her way through the thick snow back to the creek in the woods. The scent grew stronger. She bit back a growl as her gaze landed on a set of tracks near the creek. They were fresh and half-buried but unmistakable. Wide paws, too large for a regular wolf.
She released that pent-up growl. It was low and carried through the air. This was her territory. Her family’s land. And no rogue wolf had any business stalking this close to her cabin or her mate.
She followed the trail a few steps into the trees. She allowed her bear to rise to the surface. Her breath was slow and steady. The prints weaved along the creek’s edge, leading deeper into the forest. It had been a least a few hours since the animal had come this way.
The idea that the feral beast had been watching them while they had slept set Eddie’s bear on edge. She knelt and pressed her fingers to one of the prints. It was deep and heavy. A male.
“You’ve made a mistake, wolf,” she murmured. Her bear surged forward, demanding to be released. Her animal promised violence if they ever came across the wolf. This was too close to their domain. Too close to their mate.
Her bear was in protective mode, as was Eddie. She would be ready to defend Liana at all costs.
She lingered in the area to scan and scent…but ultimately waiting. Would the wolf come back? She tried to inhale again to see if she could catch its scent, but the wind shifted, blowing down the mountain and carrying any trace of the wolf away.
She trudged back to the cabin. Tension was still coiled in every muscle.
She needed to remain calm. She didn’t want to go inside and have Liana see her like this.
By the time she’d made her way back to the yard again, the snow had started to fall.
Big, fat lazy flakes at first, then thicker and faster.
She would have to work quickly to get everything she needed done.
She hurried over to the generator and cleared away the snow.
Everything looked to be working as it should.
She breathed a sigh of relief that it was holding up.
There was still the matter of the wood that needed to be split.
She wasn’t in danger of running out yet, but she had wanted to split more so it could dry out on the porch with the rest.
She had lost track of time chopping the wood. Once she was done, she breathed a sigh of relief. She stacked the last of it on the porch and felt like she’d really accomplished something today. She glanced at the sky and saw those dark clouds were moving in fast.
What do you think about it?
Liana’s words echoed in her mind. She hadn’t known how to answer at first. So she’d kept it safe and brought up fate.
But she didn’t go into how she believed fate had brought the two of them together, or how she believed that Liana was her fated life companion.
She’d remained silent on that and kept her answer generic.
What she felt for Liana would probably scare her. She was human, and Eddie didn’t know if she truly understood how mating worked. Yes, she was friends with Terri, a member of her clan, but that didn’t mean she truly understood what it would mean to be the fated partner of a bear.
Or an alpha bear’s consort.
Everything about Liana screamed mate. From the way she smiled at Eddie, to the way she’d made the cabin feel less like a refuge and more like a home.
Eddie sighed and pushed her damp hair from her face. She needed to get back inside before the snowfall got worse. She had made Liana a promise and she’d honor that. She’d ensured Liana was safe in the cabin and then shift and go to her car to gather her items.
Eddie reached for the door handle and froze.
The cabin was quiet.
Too damn quiet.
She snatched the door open and stalked inside. The fire still burned in the hearth; the blankets were folded neatly on the couch. The air was colder now, and the faint scent of Liana was still fresh—near the front door.
Her boots were gone, as was the coat she’d been wearing.
“Liana?” she called out, but she already knew there would be no answer.
Eddie’s pulse stumbled, then kicked into overdrive. She raced out the front door and paused. Her gaze swept over the yard. The snow was falling harder now and covering everything. No sound but the wind and her own breath.
A single set of footprints led away from the cabin.
Small, light, and headed in the direction of the road.
Eddie’s heart dropped.
“Dammit, Liana!”
Eddie’s bear roared. They would need to go after their mate.