Mountain Bear

  “My name is Cyrus Kincaid,” he said.

  “Daisy Danes,” she said standing to offer him her hand.

  He shook it, looking her up and down. She was wearing form fitting blue jeans and a puffer parka. He could see her curves through her warm clothes and it made his grizzly growl with need.

  “Your stepdad is a drug dealer?” he asked.

  “He’s a criminal. I don’t think he narrows his business to drugs.”

  “I see. You got lost after fleeing a drug deal. Why were you even there?”

  “My stepdad wanted to sell me for a crate full of crystal. The hyenas tried to rip him off. There was a shootout and I ran.”

  “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  “Well, none of that matters now. We’ve found each other and you can save me from my stepfather and his goons.”

  “Are they still after you?” Cyrus asked.

  He wanted to protect his mate more than anything in the world, but the thought of her stepfather and his criminal flunkies coming to his cabin made his skin crawl. Cyrus had left society to avoid exactly this kind of thing. Now he was embroiled right back in the middle of this insane drama.

  “No. I saw his helicopter leave right after the Updikes left.”

  “The Updikes were the hyenas your stepdad wanted to sell you to?” Cyrus said, growing angry. “I should have known.”

  “Does that name mean anything to you?”

  “It sure does. Those guys have been making trouble on Fate Mountain for decades. They’re almost as bad as…”

  “Almost as bad as what?”

  “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

  Cyrus squeezed his eyes closed, trying to push aside the memories that jumped into the forefront of his mind. The betrayal he’d experienced during the war could never be healed.

  This was a different matter entirely and he had to keep it separate. He’d never been friends with an Updike. But he knew how they operated. They reminded him of a very bad man he’d once known who had been his friend, or at least had pretended to be.

  Cyrus had lost his faith in brotherhood after that. Coming home to find the ranch in bad shape, his brother as scattered and as broken as he was, he couldn’t face another day in civilization. He’d decided the only way to be happy was to live alone in the forest, away from the pressures that made men hate each other.

  But it had all caught up with him and found its way to his doorstep in the form of his beautiful blonde, curvy mate named Daisy. Her little dog yipped at him from its bag, and he growled back at it. The dog cried and Daisy looked up at him like he was a monster.

  “She started it,” Cyrus defended.

  Daisy pulled the dog out of her purse and a stream of high-pitched baby talk flooded from her mouth. Cyrus stood there in shock, listening to her coo at her annoying little pet.

  He couldn’t believe this was happening in his home. Usually, rodents that size were either dinner or quickly disposed of. He didn’t set them on his lap and baby them.

  “I think she’s hungry,” Daisy said, offering her dog a handful of dog food from her palm. “I’m starving myself, come to think of it. What are you cooking?”

  Cyrus looked over at his elk roast, cooking over the open flames in his fireplace. It was browning on the roasting spit. He walked over to his fireplace and cranked the metal bar to turn the roast to the other side.

  “This elk roast is almost done,” he said.

  “It smells amazing. My mouth is watering so much I have to keep swallowing it down,” she said with a giggle.

  He chuckled and found his carving knife.

  “Must have been hard on you out there,” he said, caving into the roast. “You don’t seem like the outdoorsy type.”

  “I don’t?” she said, laughing as her dog ate out of her hand. She went back into a stream of baby talk that made Cyrus’s grizzly growl in confusion. “In fact, I spend most of my spare time shopping and clubbing. Who am I kidding? I don’t even have a job or go to school, so pretty much all my time is spare time.”

  “Why don’t you do anything with your life?” Cyrus asked, too sharply.

  He could see her face fall at his words. He didn’t want to hurt her. But he was beginning to think that fate was playing some kind of cruel joke on him. How was a man like him supposed to connect with a girl like Daisy?

  She was clearly a princess. From her French tip manicure to the frosted highlights in her hair to the designer boots she worn on her feet. He didn’t believe he could ever make this woman happy, and that fear sank in his gut like a ton of bricks.

  She cleared her throat, the gleam of unshed tears bright in her eyes. She smiled at him and put Fifi down on the ground. The dog ran over to him and began yipping. He glared at it and his grizzly growled.

  “It wasn’t because I didn’t want to. My stepdad wouldn’t let me. I’ve wanted to be an interior designer since I was a little girl. I should have just left home. I guess I was lazy and scared. But what can I do? I didn’t realize my stepdad would try to sell me for drugs. He paid my credit card bills. What would you do?”

  “I guess you have point. You’re just never going to have a life like that with me.”

  “We just met. I don’t expect to have any kind of life with you at all,” she said defensively. “It’s just weird that you’re my mate, and I found you today, of all days. They say fate works in mysterious ways.”

  “That they do, especially on Fate Mountain.”

  “So you don’t have to worry about giving me anything, Cyrus. I just need to rest tonight. Tomorrow you can point me in the direction of civilization.”

  “You can’t go.”

  “What do you mean I can’t go?” she said, her voice growing an edge he hadn’t heard up until then. “I’m sick and tired of people telling me what I can and can’t do. That goes for you too.”

  “I’d never presume to tell you what to do. You can stay in my cabin tonight and tomorrow I’ll take you back.”

  “Good. I’m glad we have an understanding.”

  “What are you going to do about your stepdad?” Cyrus asked, carving slices of meat from the roast and placing them on a plate for Daisy.

  He handed her the food and she dug in hungrily. She didn’t look at him until she was done eating, and took a deep breath as she leaned back in her chair.

  “I thought you would protect me, but you don’t want me,” she said bursting into tears.

  She sobbed into her hands. The food had given her the strength she needed to cry. Cyrus was more confused than ever. This little creature’s behavior was totally irrational.

  “I never said I didn’t want you, Daisy,” he said placing a hand on her shoulder.

  “You don’t have to say it. It’s written all over you. We aren’t right for each other. Fate made a mistake. What are we going to do?”

  Her crying began to take on a fevered pitch. That’s when he noticed how hot she felt.

  “You’re burning up,” he grumbled.

  “I’m fine,” she said, starting to shiver.

  “You are not, You’re sick as a dog. You need to get into bed right now.”

  “It’s okay,” she said, standing. “I’m strong.”

  She started to walk toward the door, but her knees buckled under her weight. Cyrus was there just in time to scoop her up in his arms. She collapsed into his embrace and he lifted her from the ground, carrying her across the cabin to lay her on his bed.

  “You don’t have to do this,” she said as he unzipped her boots and helped her into bed.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Will you come back to the city with me and take me clubbing?” she asked, her words slurred as she fell further into the fever.

  “Probably not,” he said.

  “I knew you didn’t want me,” she sobbed, turning over on her side.

  The little dog jumped on the bed and sat vigil over Daisy’s body, yapping at Cyrus in warning. He growled at the dog, but this time it did
n’t back down. It only emboldened the little beast to bark louder.

  “Quiet, Fifi,” Daisy demanded wearily.

  Her eyes were pressed closed and her face was flushed. Sweat had formed on her brow as the fever burned her from within. The dog settled beside her, baring its teeth at Cyrus.

  “Just rest,” Cyrus said, backing away from the strange scene on his bed.

  The princess and her dog falling into his world was not something he’d expected. He’d had his life well in hand for quite a long time and he wasn’t prepared to let go of that control. That didn’t mean that Daisy didn’t pull at his heartstrings. He, however, had no idea what to do with her.

  Chapter 5

  Daisy woke, finding herself under the thick furs on Cyrus’s bed. She scrambled up to a sitting position, and the events of the day before began to catch up with her. She shook her head, putting her palm to her brow.

  “How are you feeling?” Cyrus asked from the chair in front of the fireplace.

  “Better. I think.”

  He brought her a cup of water and she drank it greedily, thanked him and asked for more. He handed her another cupful of water and she drank that down just as fast.

  She sighed and relaxed. Finding Cyrus in the woods had been such a surprise to her that she still wasn’t quite sure if she wasn’t dreaming. As relieved as she was to find him, she had the sinking feeling that he just didn’t like her.

  They were so different. She’d lived a totally different life than him. He was all raw buckskin and facial hair. She was all about designer bags and manicures. How could they ever be happy together?

  And it wasn’t just that. She had the feeling that Cyrus thought she was a silly person. And maybe she was. But that didn’t mean he shouldn’t take her seriously.

  Fifi sat beside her on the bed and nuzzled into Daisy’s neck. She petted her little friend and smiled. She knew Fifi would always accept her just as she was.

  Cyrus returned to his seat near the fire, and continued frying mushrooms in a cast iron pan. She looked around his cabin and really took it in for the first time.

  It wasn’t a very big space. Maybe twelve by twelve. Not even as big as her bedroom at home. She was on the double bed, across from the fireplace, at one end of the room. At the other end sat a table and chairs beside what looked like a work bench.

  “Why do you live out here like this?” she asked.

  “I thought I explained that on my profile,” he said.

  “I didn’t get a chance to read the whole thing.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her.

  “I was being kidnapped by my stepfather at the time,” she said, snuggling her dog.

  “Right. Well. I came out here after the war, when I realized that the world is damaged beyond repair. You should know that better than anyone else.”

  “And how does this help?” she asked.

  He growled at her and she smirked. “I mean, just look at this place. I get the whole rustic look, but come on. You’re just taking it too far. And what are you cooking anyway? Second rate wild mushrooms in deer fat? What makes you want to eat like that? Don’t you care about yourself?”

  “Huh?” he asked.

  Daisy giggled inside. She knew she was putting him on his toes. She didn’t even really care why he lived out here. That was his business. She just had to find a way to get through this whole mess without losing her cool. And she refused to let him look down on her. She refused to ever let anyone do that again after yesterday.

  She climbed out of bed, finding herself barefoot. Daisy spotted her boots beside a chair and went to sit down so she could put them on.

  “You need to learn to take care of yourself if you want to take care of anyone else,” she said, having read that on an inspirational poster somewhere. “If you want to do anything about all the damage in the world, you should first trim your beard. And, I don’t know, maybe add some curtains?”

  “Curtains?”

  “Yes. Curtains. I think you could do a shabby chic look in this place. Maybe antique lace? What do you think, Fifi? Antique lace in eggshell white?”

  Fifi barked in agreement from the bed.

  “You want to hang curtains in my cabin?”

  “Well, yes. Of course. You need to brighten this place up if you want to get over whatever happened to you out in the big scary world.”

  “You are insufferable,” he growled.

  “I…” she said, putting her hand to her chest. “I’m only trying to help.”

  “What do you know about anything?” he grumbled.

  “If you haven’t forgotten, I was raised by a man who just tried to sell me for drugs. So, I’d guess I know plenty.”

  He raised his eyebrow at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “You’ve seen some stuff, that I’ll grant you. But no curtains.”

  “Fine. No curtains. But I think you’d be much happier if you upgraded your flatware. How on earth are you getting by, using this aluminum stuff? It’s chipped! You know that’s not good for your health, right?”

  “I get by just fine. We need to figure out how to get you off the mountain and to safety. We can figure out our mate situation later,” he grumbled.

  She sat opposite from him, her booted legs crossed. She wished she was home right now with her credit card in one hand and a latte in the other. But right now, pressing Cyrus’s buttons was almost as fun. Even if that meant being trapped in his drafty, old cabin.

  “You want to get rid of me?” she asked in mock shock.

  As much as she liked the idea of having a shifter to protect her, Cyrus had been disappointing so far. She’d always thought shifters were supposed to be super possessive and into their mates. So far, she’d felt like she was on a bad date with a guy who would have rather stayed home.

  “It’s not that,” Cyrus said, standing and turning his back to her. “But you can’t stay here and I can’t leave.”

  She let out a sigh and crossed her arms. That was the problem, wasn’t it? She had no idea how to get around it or what to do about it. Daisy Danes was not spending the rest of her life in this cabin, no matter how hot and sexy Cyrus might be. He turned back to her, his eyes blazing with animal heat.

  “I don’t want to get rid of you, Daisy. On the contrary. But this isn’t going to work. We both know that.”

  “That’s why you need to let me put up curtains. It will solve everything,” she said standing from her chair.

  She passed Cyrus on her way to the front door, pulling her parka around her shoulders. She gripped the door and looked outside.

  The cold air hit her with a blast that stung her face. The day was dark and gray as the snowflakes flurried in thick clumps outside his door.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” she said just as Fifi went running out the door. “Fifi!” she screamed.

  Daisy ran after her dog, scrambling over the slick fresh snow toward the forest.

  “Fifi, stop!”

  “Daisy, wait,” Cyrus said coming up behind her faster than she could comprehend.

  His speed made her feel like a little kid walking through water in comparison. He grabbed her arm to stop her.

  “She’ll get hurt,” Daisy screamed.

  “Hold on. You can’t go out there.”

  “I spent all yesterday out there!”

  “Just go back to the cabin and let me find her. I’ll bring her right back. I promise you.”

  “But she doesn’t like you,” Daisy objected, growing more frantic.

  “I’ll make friends with her. Now you go back inside.”

  “Promise me you’ll find her,” Daisy begged.

  “I promise. Go on now.”

  Daisy started back to the cabin, leaving Cyrus in the falling snow. She turned back just in time to see him pull his buckskin pants down over his perfect behind. Daisy had never seen a man’s butt in person. Not to mention one so squeezable. Her mouth dropped open and Cyrus looked over his shoulder at her.

  ?
??Go on,” he insisted.

  “Okay, okay,” she said, turning back.

  She glanced back one last time just as Cyrus jumped from his human form into a shift, falling on his grizzly paws in the snow. He hurled himself into the forest, growling and grunting as he went.

  Daisy was left stunned. She’d seen her first butt and her first shift all in the same moment. It was a lot for a girl to take in all at once. She hurried into the cabin, praying that he would find Fifi before her little darling got into any trouble.

  Alone in the cabin, she had all the time in the world to contemplate her life. That only lasted a few minutes before she got bored. She had too much nervous energy to just sit there so she decided to do something about Cyrus’s cabin.

  She looked around for materials. There just wasn’t anything to work with to beautify the place. When Cyrus didn’t come back after an hour, she began to worry so much she couldn’t sit still. She started rifling through Cyrus’s things, just to pass the time. She knew it wasn’t exactly good guest behavior, but she really didn’t know what else to do.

  She found a trunk under his bed and pulled the heavy wooden case out into the light. She pried open the rusted latch and looked inside. To her surprise, she found everything she needed to decorate Cyrus’s place. There were long swaths of fabric and lace, jewelry, lamps, even women’s clothing. She pulled a burgundy colored velvet dress from the trunk, shocked at the size. It was old fashioned, but it looked like it would fit her.

  She draped the dress across the bed and dug into the rest of the things. She couldn’t believe her luck. She pulled a swath of lace from the trunk. The color was more of an antique white than an eggshell white, but it would still work for her interior design plan.

  She started by draping the lace over the windows. Then she threw a cloth over the table and set it with the china she found in the crate. She threw the knit throw over the back of a chair. When she was done decorating, she finally donned the velvet dress.

  It was slightly long for her taste but she imagined it looked good. Cyrus didn’t have any mirrors but she could see from looking down at herself that the shape was quite lovely. Not her typical taste, but definitely pretty.