“I can talk to you now, Buck,” Corey said, his eyes unreadable through his glasses.
“Thank you,” Buck said, walking towards the inventor of Mate.com. He stepped into Corey's office and sat on the other side of his desk. “Have you been able to figure out what happened to Maria the night of the incident?”
“We have investigated the situation thoroughly. I've even used my random probability generator to determine exactly what happened. We've now come to a satisfactory conclusion.”
“Random probability generator?”
“Yes. It’s proprietary software that we use on the Rescue Bears and the Bear Patrol. We did try to use it to locate her but have been unsuccessful so far. The random probability generator cannot determine the actions of a feral shifter due to lack of data. But we were able to piece together information about the night of the incident.”
“So, what happened?” Buck said, wanting Corey to get to the point.
“We've come to the conclusion that Maria Reyes was alone in her dorm room the night of the incident. She was then visited by a student named Alex Terry. Alex had been admitted to the Institute on a trial basis due to prior behavioral problems and time in jail. But since he was a veteran, we felt it was part of our mission to try to help him. He’d been performing fairly well in his classes and had gotten along with the staff and students. We couldn’t have anticipated he’d bite another student. That kind of behavior is unheard of in the shifter community.”
“Have you found him?” Buck asked, incredulous.
“We have some indication of where he might be.”
“Have you gotten the authorities involved?” Buck asked, growing more and more irritated with every word out of Corey’s mouth.
“I've contacted the Bear Patrol. There really is no legal penalty for changing a human against their will. Commander Morris informed me that what happened is considered nothing more than assault. There is a warrant out for his arrest. But they told us not to expect much to come of it.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Once someone is shifted, they become a shifter, and human laws don't cover shifter issues. The Bear Patrol can only enforce human laws. Shifters have always policed themselves. Since the Great Shifter Council outed shifters decades ago, the lines have been blurred.”
“This is ridiculous,” Buck growled. “That man must be brought to justice.”
“I don’t disagree with you, Buck, but at this point in time, my hands are tied. There is little I can do.”
“Maria Reyes was a student in your Institute and you failed to protect her,” Buck growled.
“That is true. And I feel responsible. I allowed that man into our community and he betrayed us. He betrayed all of us and Maria most of all. Her sister Rosa and her brother-in-law Heath are beside themselves with worry. We've had search and rescue teams out looking for her all over Fate Mountain for weeks. We need to search your property next.”
“I've already searched my property,” Buck said, not wanting anyone from Corey's crew to find Maria. He may want her to come down off the mountain, but he wasn't going to let anyone else try to force her to do it. Helping Maria was his job and his job alone. He would help her and he would be damned if he would let the people who'd failed her already force her out of her cave. “I'll search it again. You don't have to worry about that.”
“If you find her,” Corey said. “Let us know as soon as possible so we can inform her sister.”
Buck remembered what Maria had said about her sister. As much as he knew Maria was hurting and that her words were not exactly her own, he could sense that she felt inferior to Rosa. As far as he was concerned, he would be the one to take care of her needs from now on.
“I'll let you know if I find anything. You can be sure of that,” Buck lied.
Corey was not concerned enough for Maria in Buck's opinion. She was so hurt and broken by what had happened in her life, he didn't believe anyone there deserved to know what was going on with his mate.
Buck climbed in his truck and started down the road into town. Maria was alone on the mountain with what appeared to be scavenged and thrown together pieces of camping equipment. She was clearly cold and malnourished. Those were things that he could do something about, even if he couldn't help her heal her mind and heart just yet.
He drove up to the Fate Mountain outdoor store and parked outside. Hopping out of his truck, he let out a long sigh as his grizzly let out an irritated growl. His bear was a patient beast, but even he could only take so much. His inner grizzly wanted to go back up the mountain, growl the lion straight out of Maria, mate with her, claim her, and take her right back home.
But Buck knew he could never approach Maria with such barbaric tactics. The poor girl needed gentleness and kindness from him. That would require every ounce of character he had. He knew he could do it.
He walked through the door and smelled the scent of canvas and charcoal. He grabbed a cart and walked down the aisles, throwing things into the basket. He picked up cartons of camping food, a water filter, a lamp, flint, a new kettle, a bunch of dishes and different types of dehydrated camping foods.
He then went to the clothing section and picked up several outfits of warm, weather-proof clothing for Maria in what he hoped was her size. He even grabbed a few new pairs of hiking boots and an insulated sleeping bag. After he had everything, he unloaded his things on the checkout counter.
A man walked over and stood in front of the cash register, giving Buck a toothy grin in greeting.
“How are you today, sir?” the man asked.
Buck could tell the clerk was a shifter by the look in his eyes and the scent that clung to him. From what he knew about the different kinds of shifters on Fate Mountain, this man's scent was distinctly hyena. The man rang up his items, giving Buck a strange look when he started on the woman's clothing.
“It's for my sister-in-law,” Buck said.
“Of course,” the man said, putting everything into several bags.
Buck took the bags and carried them back out to his truck, feeling a sense of dread rising in his gut.
Chapter 6
Maria woke in the night, cold, shivering and naked. She looked up into the stars, panting. The light of the moon cast a pale glow over the branches of the trees above her. She couldn't remember what had happened. She could taste the tang of blood on her lips and she looked down to find the carcass of a deer lying beside her. Its stomach had been torn out, but it was largely intact. She shook her head and her stomach groaned from the meal of raw meat. She sobbed into the night and screamed.
“Why is this happening to me?!”
An owl hooted in the distance and ravens shrieked. The forest was active at night in the deep dark. She sniffed the air to give her an idea how far she was from her cave.
The scent marks told her it wasn't very far, so she pulled herself to standing and gripped the back legs of the dear she had killed. She dragged it with her shifter strength through the rocky forest, the sharp edges of stones and pine needles digging into the skin of her bare feet. She could smell the scent of her body, unwashed and ripe. Her matted hair fell down her back in thick dreadlocks.
She had spent the last two days in and out of feral form, only remembering a few hours here and there when the beast let her go. She knew if she was left in her human form for very long that she would be hungry soon. She'd need the meat from the kill. She hadn’t scavenged since before Buck had been at her cave, and there was no canned food left.
When she made it back to her cave, she went inside to grab the cracked hunting knife she'd found in the campground. It was missing a large chunk of the bottom of the blade, but it still had a good grip, a good point, and was sharp enough to slice off choice chunks of deer meat.
She didn't fear the other animals in the woods coming for the carcass of her kill. She was far more ferocious than anything that lived on Fate Mountain. Mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, black bears, none of th
em were even remotely as ferocious as her own beast. They could never touch her. She didn't know if she even cared if they tried.
When she was done cutting off the best cuts of meat from the deer, she laid it over the grill above her fire. As the meat cooked, she decided to wash up.
She had a large rubber bucket she’d found that she used for wash water. It sat in a rocky corner of her cave. She dunked a washcloth inside and then ran the wet cloth over her muddy skin. She dunked her hair into the bucket as she rubbed it with the last of the soap.
Once her hair was washed and rinsed, she wrapped it in a towel and dried herself off. She dressed in her warmest clothing and sat beside the fire to flip her venison steaks.
When they were done cooking, she sprinkled them with wild herbs and sliced off a bite. She chewed, enjoying the flavor of cooked meat. It filled her stomach and that helped it settle for now. The meat would go bad before she could eat it all, cooked or not. She would have to scavenge the campground or hunt again soon.
When she'd first come to live in her cave, there had been several days where the beast had left her without any food and she'd subsided on early raspberries and water.
After Maria was done eating her freshly cooked venison steak, she got into bed to sleep until morning.
When she awoke the next day, she turned to look out the mouth of her cave. The bright sunlight of midday shone down into the summer forest. The sound of birds chirping in the woods filled her ears and she yawned, stretching her arms and slowly waking up. She would spend yet another day surviving on the mountain.
She climbed out of her bed made of an old, torn sleeping bag laid over the wool blanket she’d used most of her soap to wash out. She stood to see a dark silhouetted figure step into the entrance of her cave. She shielded her eyes, trying to make out who it was. He took a step forward and his face came into view.
“Buck?” she asked, a mixture of relief and anger in her voice. “What are you doing here?”
“I told you I would be back to help you,” he said.
“Help me?” she muttered, kneeling by the fire pit.
Her fire had turned to ash so she added kindling to the dwindling embers. She poked the coals and flames caught on the kindling. She threw in some dried branches and soon the fire was blazing again. She grabbed her kettle and went to fill it with fresh water before sitting back down on her wool blanket by the fire.
“I didn't ask for your help,” she said flatly.
He sat beside her with his stuffed hiking backpack and bulging duffle bag. He unzipped the duffel bag to reveal brand new women's outdoor clothing. He unpacked a fleece sweater, long underwear, waterproof socks, insulated pants and a jacket. She sighed involuntarily at the thought of wearing such warm, dry clothing.
He opened the backpack and pulled out camping dishes, a clean grill, a brand-new hunting knife and kettle. He also had a water filter and boxes and boxes of camping food. She looked at the things on the ground next to the fire as she poked her cooked venison steaks with her broken knife.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
“Because you’re my mate. I must help you,” Buck said.
“You don't even know me, Buck Kincaid. I'm just some broken girl living in a cave. You should leave me alone.”
“Maria. You went to the Bright Institute for Shifters, you must understand something about what it means to be fated mates.”
“I do, Buck. And that's why I’m telling you that this can never be. I know exactly what my sister Rosa and her mate Heath are like and I can’t offer you that. I'm not like Rosa. I'm never going to be a good wife and mom. If I ever could have been, that chance has passed me by. It's never coming back. You have no idea what I'm capable of.”
“I've seen your animal. We both already know I can handle it.”
“You think that somehow your bear can help me because you can scare me out of my shift? That's not going help me. It only made it worse. She's so angry that you interfered with her, she’s kept me in a shift for days. If you want to help me, Buck, you’ll leave me alone. If you try to force me out, all I'm going to do is fall further into this feral animal. Is that what you want?”
“Why are you being so stubborn?”
“Look Buck, I'm sure you're a great guy. But my problems are my problems. Just because we were matched up on Mate.com doesn't mean that we have to live happily ever after.”
“Maria, I know you want to leave this place.”
“I do, Buck,” she said, feeling the weight of her emotions finally catch up with her.
The look in his eyes and the waves of care rolling off him radiated through her and she couldn't help but be moved by it. The scent of his skin and the tone of his voice said he truly cared for her, no matter what.
“Would you join me for breakfast?” she asked, feeling her stomach grumble. “I can make some of the stuff you brought.”
“That’s a good compromise for now,” he said.
Maria went about fixing dehydrated chili and slicing up her venison steaks with the new knife he’d brought. She dished a helping of food onto one of the new plates and handed it to Buck. She fixed herself a plate and they ate in silence. She looked out of the cave into the green forest, the light twinkling through the branches.
She took a sip of water and let out a long, contented sigh. She felt good and she knew, deep down, that it was because Buck was here, trying the help her. She couldn’t let herself get used to it.
Buck finished eating his own food and inched closer to her. She could feel the heat radiating off him as he drew near. She wanted to sink into his embrace, feel his arms around her, and hear him tell her everything was going to be okay. She wanted to hear him say he would take care of her, forever. She wanted to believe it.
As if reading her mind, Buck slid his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He caressed her cheek softly with the tips of his fingers and tilted her face up to look at him. He gazed down with the most loving look in his eyes she had ever seen.
“Please, come with me, Maria,” he cooed. “Let me take care of you, sweet girl.”
“Oh Buck,” she said, so ready to give in.
She wanted to go with him. She wanted to believe in the dream. She could be Maria Kincaid. She could live in his house and be his wife and have his children. She wanted to believe she could live happily ever after on Timber Bear Ranch. And be loved unconditionally by this good, honorable man.
She didn't deserve it. She knew in her heart she didn't deserve it. Everything that had ever happened in her life had reaffirmed that she was damaged and broken and could never be loved or happy. But the feeling of Buck's arms around her, the heat of his skin, the smell of his body, it all made her want to believe that she could have something good in her life.
Maybe she could be loved. Maybe she could finally be seen for who she was. If anyone could do it, she knew that it was Buck. He leaned closer, his lips so close to hers. They brushed over her mouth so lightly. She gasped and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer. She kissed him with ferocious need. Even her lioness woke up and affirmed that deep well of desire.
She kissed him hard and he held her gently, letting her take what she needed. She pulled back with a gasp, shattering under the intensity of her own pounding desire.
“I don't know what I'm doing,” she said.
And she didn't. She'd never kissed a boy before. The kidnappers had taken her on her way home from school in Los Angeles and had meant to sell her into sex slavery. They’d said so many horrible and demeaning things in those weeks, that the words still played over and over inside her mind. Those voices never left her head. Even as she kissed Buck, the man who promised her so much, she still heard their words deep inside. Her lioness hissed. She wanted to believe she was the sweet girl that Buck wanted to see.
“I talked to Corey Bright. Your sister and brother-in-law are very worried about you,” he said.
She snapped out of the heat of the mome
nt.
“What?” she growled. “You talked to them about me? Did you tell them where I am?”
“I didn't tell anyone. I kept your secret. They won't come here.”
“Did they tell you what happened to me? Did they tell you it was my fault?”
“Maria? This isn’t your fault.”
“You don't know anything, Buck. Go away. Go away and never come back. Leave me alone.”
“Maria, what's wrong? I thought we were connecting.”
“That was before you told me you talked to my sister.”
“I talked to Corey Bright. I just wanted to find out what happened to you.”
“You know about Alex, don't you? You know what he wanted from me.”
“I don't know. I don't know anything. I only know that you were changed by a bad shifter named Alex Terry.”
“You need to go now. If you care for me at all, you’ll leave me alone.”
“I'll go, Maria. Because I can see how upset you are. Just know, I did not betray your trust. I own this cave that you're sleeping in, and I will protect your secrets. No one will come here looking for you, but I will always come back to take care of you. Do you understand?” His voice was demanding and firm.
He stood above her and she sat on the wool blanket, crying, desperate for him to leave. She looked up at him with shuddering breaths.
“I understand,” she said softly.
She looked away and she heard the crunch of his boots on the gravel. When she looked back, he was gone. He’d left her alone again, just as she’d asked.
Chapter 7
Buck walked away from Maria's cave, growling at himself and unable to believe that he was leaving her again. He’d brought her supplies from the camping store, but he knew she was in bad shape. She looked thin and pale. There were dark circles under her eyes, and he could tell she hadn't had a proper bath in weeks.
Not being able to help her was killing him and his bear was losing patience. The inner grizzly grumbled that they should just carry her back to Timber Bear Ranch. Everything would be settled later. If her lion got out of control, he’d just put her in a cage in a horse stall until she settled down.