To Save A Bear Page 10

  The voice was low and familiar, sending a shiver up Addison’s spine.

  “We aren’t going to let you leave with our friend!” One woman spat, jutting her chin out. “We don’t know who you are.”

  “I think she’s going to be fine. I’m just taking her home, ladies.”

  The shiver of cold turned hot. Addison staggered off her stool and spun toward the source of the sound. “How dare you!” The alcohol slurred her words. “How dare you ignore my feelings!”

  Reid sighed at the sight of her. He moved to touch an errant lock of hair behind her ear, and one of her friends batted his hand away. The friend moved close to Addison, whispering in her ear to ask if this was the creep that had been bothering her. Addison didn’t stop to answer her friend. Her anger was boiling over, unbridled by the liquor.

  “You keep all these secrets and I still let you fuck me! Yet you can’t let me have one secret? How is that even fair?” Addison threw her hands in the air.

  Her friends pulled back, reaching for one another as they whispered and eyed Reid. Addison was about to tell them to keep their hands away from him when the world turned sideways. Her stomach rolled, and someone shouted after her.

  “I think you need to sleep this off. I thought you didn’t drink.” Reid cradled her in his arms. His grip was surprisingly soft for a man with such muscle-bound arms.

  “And I thought you weren’t a dick. It seems we’re both wrong.”

  She kicked her feet, trying to get away from Reid. She’d come to town to escape him and the things he’d said to her. Instead, he’d just followed her and scooped her off her feet to drag her home. An argument twisted on her tongue, all the words rushing to her at once and catching on one another as she tried to speak them.

  Reid said nothing as he carried her outside. The night air greeted her, cool and gentle, washing away a bit of the fog gripping her mind. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to find herself.

  ***

  Addison was a mess in his arms. She pouted and tried to squirm out of his grip before losing interest. This was his fault, and he knew it. If only he’d had a bit more patience that morning. If only he’d been a bit more understanding.

  Instead, he’d been bullheaded and acted as though he had a right to everything she was, to everything she made. That wasn’t how this was going to work. It wasn’t until he’d come home to an empty cabin that he realized he wanted this to work. In the morning, there was a conversation to be had.

  Perhaps not in the morning. Reid didn’t know how talking to someone with a hangover would work. They would likely repeat that morning all over again if she was in pain and cranky. He wanted Addison to have a clear mind when he asked her if she was willing to stay.

  If she could possibly love him after all this.

  He bent and tucked her into the passenger seat of his car when something cold touched the back of his neck. He paused. A familiar smell wafted over him, barely discernable over the stench of alcohol and vomit around the bar.

  “I hate to interrupt the moment, but I have a few questions for you,” the hunter said.

  Reid stood and turned, slowly because a gun aimed at his spinal cord would do far more damage than he could heal. He didn’t want to die in front of Addison. That was an image that would be burned into her mind forever, a scar she didn’t need.

  “Tell me, why you have such a fascination with me and not Boomer?” Reid’s voice was low, but Addison stirred, and he heard a small gasp behind him. Reid moved to stand between the hunter and Addison.

  “You weren’t as bright as the one you call Boomer. He set up a security system that made it difficult for me to watch him. You, on the other hand, left yourself open. It made you an easier target.”

  Reid growled. The sound filled the air until the man’s finger flicked and he heard a click on the gun. Reid paused. The metal barrel was aimed at his throat. Still just as dangerous. The hunter had watched them and learned. Reid realized that the hunter might have been behind the failed bank robbery, just another attempt to gather more information on Reid.

  “It’s my turn to ask the questions,” the hunter said. “Whatever you are, what are the perks?”

  Reid gritted his teeth, knowing where this was going. His stomach hit the pavement beneath him. He needed to figure out a version of this scenario where Addison escaped unscathed. The hunter would not hesitate to use her against him, as he’d shown before. People stumbled in and out of the bar nearby, leaving too many witnesses for Reid to kill the man now.

  “You know the perks. You’ve been watching for a while now. You aren’t a dumb man.” The beast inside Reid was not so patient. It slammed against Reid’s human form and demanded to be let out. Reid staggered from the impact and the Hunter startled.

  His blood rushed, cold and biting, but the shot never fired. The hunter knew there were too many witnesses, too. That wouldn’t stop him from using other means to threaten Reid, but the gun was all for show.

  “I’ve seen that you and your friends heal incredibly fast. You’re also inhumanly quick. Your bodies are stronger and faster than anything I’ve ever seen. The only thing I don’t understand is how. Government experiment? Supernatural means? I’m all for demon pacts if it means I get to be like you.”

  Addison hissed. Reid threw his hand behind him in an effort to silence her. Still, the hunter’s gaze flicked between them. Panic swelled inside Reid. His beast roared and snarled. Claws scraped against Reid’s mind. If it could escape, it would make sure the man never threatened anyone ever again.

  It would also cause more trouble than Reid could handle. He couldn’t shift in public. Not only would it risk Addison’s life, but his own. If the Den ever found out that he’d compromised their secrets, they would hunt him and charge the others for their inability to keep him under control.

  His friends knew little about Reid’s control issues. They only saw the grounded and distant version of him, the one that allowed him to keep an image in place. No one knew the pain he bore to keep the beast locked inside himself. They didn’t hear the constant roar as the beast fought against Reid.

  “You can call it a demon, but that isn’t what it actually is.” Reid’s voice was strained because of the fight inside of him. The beast rumbled in his throat and tried to crawl its way out. “It feels like a demon, that’s for sure.”

  Addison touched his leg but said nothing. After a moment, her hand disappeared. Reid didn’t think anything of it at the time.

  “What did this pact cost you?” The hunter’s eyes narrowed. He was asking strangely precise questions.

  Did he want to become a shifter? Was he after the kind of power Reid and Boomer had displayed? While Reid wanted to deny it, the hunter was not being coy.

  “Every day, I struggle not only with the rules that bind me and those like me, but I struggle with the monster I’ve become. It warps everything I do. My anger is a hundred times sharper. My sanity is brittle after spending years being howled at by a monster I’m supposed to pretend isn’t there.”

  The hunter swallowed, his throat bobbing. Just as it looked like he might ask more, the engine turned over behind him. The hunter’s attention wavered. Brows furrowed, he looked to the driver’s seat. Reid didn’t waste a moment.

  He lunged into the back seat just as the car lurched away from the hunter. Unwilling to fire his gun in public, the hunter cursed and spun away from them. Reid turned his attention to Addison, who was now drunk driving.

  “Adrenaline does a lot to clear your system, but I can already feel it fading,” she muttered as she gripped the wheel.

  “Pull over now. We have to switch before you hit someone.”

  “What if he follows us?” her voice cracked. The night had been a strain on her, and he knew it was all his fault.

  “Forget about him. I can handle him. Pull over. There’s no way I’m letting my mate drive while intoxicated.” The word slipped from his lips. He prayed she had missed it, or that she would forget he’d
said it at all by morning.

  Thankfully, Addison said nothing before she pulled the car onto the side of the road. Her driving was jerky, and he hit the back of the seat in front of him, barely catching himself, when she put it into park. His stomach did flips, but they were alive.

  Her quick thinking had saved them from a fight that could have cost him everything. When she got out of the car, he pulled her close and laid a small kiss on her forehead. She trembled and wrapped her arms around him. Her grip was tight, barely hiding the fear still coursing through her small body.

  “Get back in the car. Let’s go home.” Carefully, he pulled away from her and turned her toward the passenger seat. Once she was safely buckled in, Reid jumped over the hood of his car and put himself behind the steering wheel.

  Addison twisted in her seat. “What if he follows us home?”

  “Then there is nothing stopping me from making sure he never hurts you again.” The beast slipped into his voice. It became raspy, a growl between each word.

  Addison nodded and reached for his hand.

  The drive home was quiet. There was too much hanging between them, from the sex to the fight and now this. Reid knew every bit of it needed to be addressed, but Addison’s hand in his slowly relaxed and he realized she’d fallen asleep.

  He’d become too comfortable with her. It meant he’d overstepped boundaries. He knew guilt for the fight sat on him. If he hadn’t presumed, if only he’d asked and gotten permission, it could have been avoided. She probably would have told him no, but then he never would have hurt her. He never would have driven her into town and to something she didn’t want to do.

  How badly had he hurt her to drive her to drinking? She’d made it clear that wasn’t something she wanted to do and yet, here she was. The alcohol burned through her system. It was foreign, and she would regret it in the morning.

  Reid owed her an apology.

  That wasn’t something he had to do often. He didn’t even know if he could do it without starting another fight. What he could do was treat her better. He could ask her things and try to understand where her boundaries were. This was not going to be easy. He wasn’t used to living with anyone. The bonds that tied them together had instilled a false sense of togetherness in him.

  He had to shrug it off, to put distance between them before he managed to hurt her anymore.

  Reid carried her inside and laid her in his bed. He knew he should have brought Addison to her own room, but the beast was still stomping inside of him. It didn’t want to let her out of its sight. She was everything, the only reason it hadn’t forced its way out of Reid back in the parking lot.

  While he was relieved to know that the beast wouldn’t risk Addison’s life by exposing himself as a shifter, he worried about himself. What if she hadn’t been there? What if he hadn’t met her yet? Would Reid have been able to control the monster inside him?

  While he worried about what could have been, he walked the perimeter of the cabin in the dark. If the hunter had followed them, it seemed he was not going to approach them tonight. Satisfied that the hunter was not an immediate threat, Reid retreated to his bed.

  He curled around Addison’s small body, ignoring the smell of alcohol that clung to her. It was his fault she’d turned to drinking. It was his fault she was in this mess at all. He knew he didn’t deserve her. In time, he would hurt her. It was his greatest fear. While he wanted her to stay with him, to be the mate he craved, he didn’t want to be the source of her pain.

  Was there a way he could be the man she needed?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Her head throbbed. Every small movement made it worse. She’d never felt anything like this. It had to be the worst pain she’d ever experienced. Groaning only made it worse, sending a ripple through her skull.

  Slowly, she became aware of the male presence pressed against her back. Reid’s arm was slung over her waist. It pinned her to the bed in a way that was almost protective. She felt secure despite all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

  If she was going to be honest with herself, much of the night before was a blur. She remembered it in snapshots, from the drinks she’d so carelessly imbibed to the run-in with the creepy man from the café. She’d driven Reid’s car while nearly black-out drunk. There was no small amount of shame that followed.

  She’d done so many things that she’d vowed never to do, like drink. Drunk driving was a problem she’d never thought she would have to face.

  Reid stirred. His low groans jostled her hangover and made her wince. She wanted to turn to face him but couldn’t find the will to move and endure more pain.

  “We need to talk,” Reid began.

  Addison could do nothing but moan. Her head exploded in pain. Sharp pins burst in every direction while her stomach churned. Before he could say more, she grabbed a pillow and covered her head. She, too, wanted to talk. She wanted the truth, but this wasn’t the time.

  The bed moved. His warmth left her. “Alright,” he began, whispering for her benefit. “I have to go to work, but when I get back we have to talk.”

  Addison gave him a thumbs up.

  Reid left, and she listened to him rummage around the cabin for a while. She was surprised when he returned, followed by a faint clink and rattle of a bottle.

  “Drink as much water as you can stomach and take some pain killers. I’m not sure how old these are, but they should do the trick.”

  Addison’s heart swelled. Were relationships always this fraught with trouble? Certainly, they weren’t as dangerous as this. Reid was something inhuman. That much she knew. It seemed to come with a level of threat. Addison found that she was less bothered by the danger and more bothered by the argument that still hung between them.

  She wanted to believe that he would apologize, but he might expect an apology from her. She hadn’t exactly handled the fight all that well, if her hangover was any indication. Perhaps they both owed one another an apology.

  It took her several hours before she felt well enough to roll out of bed. The glass of water and aspirin Reid left for her had helped tremendously. Once she showered away the smell of alcohol and filled her stomach with carbs, she set out to find someone.

  Addison didn’t really know where she was headed, but she followed the road Reid took when he left for work and hoped it would lead her to the right place. It seemed to take a long while, much longer than Addison expected, but she reached an expanse of land that had been cleared of trees.

  Machinery sat on nearly every level of the steep hill. There were cranes and saws and all sorts of things she didn’t even know how to describe. No one noticed her as she approached, the familiar faces of the other men busy with the tasks they’d been given.

  Addison was alright with that. She’d come to see someone else.

  The first aid station was a trailer stationed at the top of the slope, on a part that had been leveled. The curtains were closed, but Emmy sat outside. She lounged in a chair, a book open in her lap.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “You know what they are, don’t you?” Addison pressed Emmy. She let the curtain in her hands fall, blocking out the men working on the hill below.

  They were surrounded by medical supplies, all sterile and white. Emmy was their nurse. She treated them when things went bad. Knowing how Reid healed, Emmy must know, too. She suspected the woman was like them. It was in the way she moved among them. Even though Emmy was small and lithe, she didn’t act as though she were any smaller than the men.

  When she looked to Emmy, the woman’s lips were pressed together. Almost out of instinct, she raised her hand to the scar that sat on her shoulder, rubbing it absentmindedly. That was what Addison needed. Emmy knew everything.

  “I get the idea that there’s some reason no one wants to tell me. Do they think I’ll betray them? If that’s it, then I promise I won’t tell anyone. I certainly won’t write about it.”

  Emmy turned away, buying herself time. Addison’s
frustration tightened her lungs. She wanted to shout and scream and demand that someone tell her what was going on. Even though Reid had done a fine job of distracting her that day, the man from town was still out there. She knew he was not a friend. His presence meant nothing good for anyone.

  If Addison could help, then she wanted to. She didn’t want to be on the outside of things anymore. There was a life she wanted to live with Reid, but it would never happen if no one brought her into the fold. It would never happen if that man from town came and stole it from her.

  “It’s not that they don’t trust you. I’m sure Reid would trust you with his life—”

  “Then why won’t he tell me what’s going on? Am I the only one who is supposed to live in the dark? I don’t know what that is, but it’s not trust.”

  Emmy sighed. Her shoulders fell, not in defeat but in exasperation. “This isn’t easy. Reid keeps his secrets to protect you. I’m new to all this. I can’t say I understand it all that much myself.”

  “What’s your excuse then? Why are you a part of this and I’m not?” Addison knew she was becoming bitter. She couldn’t help it. Before her was a life she wanted, one she ached to have, but it seemed no one wanted to help her get it. Not even Reid.

  Was she meant to live alone for the rest of her life? What had she done to deserve that kind of fate? Addison knew she wasn’t the nicest person, but she also wasn’t a bad person. She helped animals out of the road, donated to charities, and gave coworkers rides home in her embarrassing car.

  If there was a short stick in life, Addison was the one that’d drawn it. She was tempted to go back to the cabin and pack her stuff. Maybe then, the perfect life she wanted wouldn’t be dangling just out of reach. If Reid didn’t want her the way she wanted him, then she would have to move on.