Chapter 8
EIGHT
Jameson
I wake up on fire.
Not temperature-wise, this is something deeper, something inside my bones. My bear is already awake, pacing, restless, fully aware of what today is.
Mating heat, he growls. I can feel it already.
Yeah, I think. I feel it too. It’s stronger than I expected for so early in the morning.
Every nerve in my body is wired to one location. One person. Fern. I sense her the way I can sense a storm rolling in—inevitable, heavy, and impossible to ignore.
I climb off the couch and hover in the hallway outside my bedroom door. I can hear her moving around before she climbs back into bed. My bear licks his lips when we hear the mattress dip. I grit my teeth and force myself to back up instead of going to her.
I know she needs time, that she hasn’t made a decision about us yet, so I give her space.
Or at least, I try to.
Moving to the kitchen, I start breakfast. I burn my hand on the stove twice because I’m so distracted. Every time I hear Fern moving in the bedroom, I lose focus on what I’m doing.
My phone rings as I finish our pancakes, and I grab it, frowning when I see Abe’s name on the screen.
“Yeah?” I answer.
“Hey, man. Sorry to bother you on the full moon, but I think you should come in. There’s been movement along the northern border.”
“Movement?”
“A lot. We think they’re going to come onto our land. I’ve called the Alphas to let them know.”
“Shit. Okay, yeah, I’ll be there in a few.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
I hang up, and a second later, the bedroom door opens.
“Hey,” Fern says shyly.
“Morning. Are you hungry? I made pancakes.”
“Yeah. They look great. Thanks.”
I smile as I watch her grab a plate and add a few pancakes.
“Are you eating?” she asks me when she notices I haven’t grabbed a plate.
“I have to head into work for a bit.”
“Is everything okay?”
I lick my lips, trying to ignore the mating heat. “I’m not sure. I’m going to find out. Keep the phone on you, okay?”
She nods, and I give her what I hope is an optimistic smile. I step toward her, and she stares up at me. Her pupils are dilated, and when I take a deep breath, I can smell her desire.
She wants us, my bear roars.
Maybe, but she hasn’t said it yet, so we have to wait.
He growls, and I try to ignore him. I reach out, squeezing Fern’s shoulder, and force myself to move past her.
Hurrying through a shower, I pull on clean clothes and head for the door.
“I’ll be home as soon as I can. Keep the door locked,” I tell my mate.
Fern nods, her half-eaten plate of pancakes on the counter behind her. I know she’s anxious about what’s going on. “Call Abe if you need anything. I’ll be with him, okay?”
“Okay… be safe.”
“Always.”
Fern locks the door behind me as I leave, and I climb behind the wheel of my truck. I take one last look at my home before I pull out of the drive and head to the Midnight Haven cabin.
My bear is rattling against my ribs by the time I arrive for the meeting. We should be with our mate.
We need to make sure she’s safe, I remind him.
She’s safe with us. We shouldn’t have left her.
We’ll be back soon. Besides, she needs time to think about becoming our mate.
She can do that with us beside her, my bear challenges.
I ignore him and enter the cabin. The Alphas are already there, and I shake their hands before I take my seat.
“All right, what’s going on?” I ask the group.
I sit and listen, trying to focus on the update, but my mind keeps drifting to what Fern might be doing right now. Is she scared? Is she missing me?
Go home and find out, my bear rumbles.
“They’ve been creeping onto our land more and more,” Knox is saying, looking pissed.
The door opens, and I tense until I see it’s Christian.
“Sorry, I’m late. I had a patient,” he says as he sits. “What did I miss?”
“They’re still looking for my mate, Fern,” I explain. “And they’re trespassing on our land.”
“Do you think they’ll kidnap people again?” Abe asks. “Maybe we should warn tourists not to go hiking in that area.”
“That’s a good idea,” Rhodes, the Alpha of the North pack, says. “I’ll put out an alert. I’ll say there was a bear seen in the area or something.”
We all nod, and I make a note to tell the patrols to deter anyone from going up to the north territory.
“We should increase the patrols. No one should be out there alone now. We don’t know what they’ll do next,” I say.
Everyone nods.
“Okay, buddy system, increased patrols, keep everyone away from the north border. What else?” Alpha Cyrus asks.
I sigh. “We need to find a way to get intel from their side. If we know what they’re planning, we can keep more people safe. We’ll know if we have to escalate things.”
“How do we do that?” Abe asks.
I scrub a hand down my face. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe we can flip someone? Capture one of the guys when they come onto our land and interrogate them? Maybe we can get them to spy for us.”
“Okay, so capture anyone on our land,” Knox confirms.
I tense as Abe’s phone rings, wondering if it’s Fern calling for me.
“Hello?” he answers. “Oh, yeah, hold on.”
I snatch the phone from Abe’s hand as he passes it to me. “Fern? You okay?” I push to my feet and head for the door.
“I’m fine. I just wanted to see how things were going. Is everything okay there?”
“Yeah, I’ll be home soon. Is the door locked?”
“Yes. Nothing going on here.”
“Good. I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay.”
“Are you all right?” I ask quietly. “Do you need me to come home right now?”
“No, I’m okay. I was just… worried about you,” she admits.
“I’m fine. I promise.”
“Okay, see you soon,” she says quietly.
“See you soon.”
We hang up, and I return Abe’s phone.
“All good?” he asks.
“Yeah. Are we done here?” I ask the group.
“Yeah, I think so. Go home to your mate,” Rhodes says.
We all stand and move toward the door. I’m the first one out, jogging to my truck.
It’s a quick twenty-minute drive back to my place, and when I pull up out front, I see Fern peeking out the front window.
She looks anxious until she spots me, and then her face relaxes.
She smiles, and my heart thumps hard in my chest.
Claim her, my bear urges.
Not yet.
I skid to a stop inside when I see Fern standing in the living room in a pair of my sweatpants and one of my T-shirts. The sight of her nearly drops me to my knees.
“Hey,” she says.
I smile. “Hi. Everything good here?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you doing laundry?” I ask, closing and locking the door behind me.
“No. Why?”
“You’re wearing my clothes,” I point out.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t think you’d mind—”
“I don’t,” I interrupt. “I wasn’t sure if something was wrong with the ones we bought. Do you need more?”
“No, I just… wanted to wear this today.”
“Okay.”
She wanted our scent on her, my bear growls.
I toe off my boots. “Are you hungry?”
“Kind of. What happened at the meeting?” she asks as we enter the kitchen.
“The men who took you are still looking for you. They’ve been coming onto our land. Seems they’re getting desperate.”
“Roxie said my dad came by twice and asked if she knew where I was,” she says softly.
My jaw clenches. “They don’t want to let you go.”
“I don’t understand why,” Fern snaps, exasperated.
“I get it. I wouldn’t ever let you go either. You’re worth searching for.”
Fern’s mouth drops open, and she doesn’t seem to know what to say.
“I, uh, have you given any thought to what I said… about us?” I ask as I make us grilled cheese and soup.
It’s already late afternoon, and I’m starving, so I make us two grilled cheeses each.
“Yeah,” she whispers.
I tense as I wait for her answer. “And?”
“And it still seems so crazy. We barely know each other. How can I want you if I don’t know you?”
I stir the soup. “What do you want to know?”
Fern shifts on her feet. “I don’t know. Everything?”
“I was born and raised in Night Grove Falls. I’m a bear shifter.
My parents are both dead. I joined the Army when I was eighteen and went on three deployments.
I was injured on my last one and medically discharged.
Now, I live here and run Midnight Haven.
I help people who need it, and I love my job. ”
I flip the grilled cheese in the pan and turn to look at her.
“More,” she says.
I smile. “My favorite color is blue. I love steak and potatoes, and I’m a decent cook. I’m pretty handy, Like the cold more than the heat. My favorite season is winter, my favorite holiday is Christmas, and I’ve been looking for you all my life.”
Fern’s eyes soften.
I turn off the burner, add the grilled cheese to two plates, and pour the soup into two bowls.
“What about you?” I ask as we sit and eat.
“I like blue too. I hate the heat and humidity, so I like fall and winter. Christmas is my favorite. I have a shitty dad, and we lived in a shitty apartment. I love dogs, but we never had one. My best and only friend is Roxie. I’d be lost without her.”
“More,” I say.
She smiles. “I’ve never had a boyfriend or even a crush. I did well in school. I like cooking, and I’m good with computers. Uh, what else? I like reading and baking.”
“Did you go to college?”
“No, I couldn’t afford it.”
“What did you want to be when you grew up?”
“When I was younger, I wanted to be a dentist. Now, I think it would be boring. I’d like to design apps, I think. I’ve been teaching myself how to code in my free time.”
“That’s awesome,” I say, impressed. “What kind of apps do you want to make?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe something for travel? Or health? I haven’t narrowed it down yet.”
We finish eating quietly. The air between us is thick now. Charged. Alive.
“The mating heat, or whatever it’s called, is… intense today,” she says carefully as she finishes her soup.
I nod. “It will get stronger the closer we get to the full moon.”
“What happens then?”
“I keep my promise,” I say, but my voice is rough with need. “I won’t touch you unless you ask me to.”
She studies me for a long moment. Then she surprises me and stands.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
My bear stills.