Page 24 of Bearly Yours
Both of them consented that it would only stay between us three.
I love Roarke,I said in a small, pained voice.
Both Mateo and my alpha moved closer to me and nudged me with their heads for comfort. The rest of the Clan, even though they didn’t understand why, also moved in and nudged me with their heads, and moved so they were fur on fur to my sides. I took comfort in my Clan as I rested my bear chin on Mateo’s side, Akeno’s whole body rested between my front paws, Mathan had a nose to my side, and Taco was leaning on me like he was the great tower of Pisa and I was the scaffolding holding him up.
I didn’t want to lose my family, ever, but I also really wanted a family of my own. And I wanted one with Roarke. But I couldn’t do that to him. He had a responsibility to his kind to continue his species. There were so few left that the loss of a single dragon shifter would be devastating.
Mateo and Alpha Riggs seemed to understand that, going by the emotional scents wafting from them. I was picking up scents of pain, compassion, and understanding, with bottom notes of determination and protectiveness from both of them.
We got backto the lodge and I changed in my outside changing room. Luckily, it had a shower for me to scrub the dirt of the forest off of me. I brushed my long hair out, and wound it on top of my head in a messy, wet bun, then brushed my teeth. When I was presentable, I waved goodbye to my Clan from the doorway and made my way back to my house, feeling a little better. Clan rambles were always good for my spirits.
When I pulled up to my driveway, Roarke’s black truck was there. He was leaning against the closed truck door with his arms crossed over his chest, and an expression on his face I’d never seen before. As I pulled up, he straightened, and came around to my side to open my door.
I stepped out. “Is everything okay?” I asked, looking up at him. I mean, I’d just seen him a few hours ago, and we’d said goodnight to each other.
His azure-opal eyes gazed at me with heavy intensity, and he was giving off a confusing mix of scents: frustration, sadness, anger, and an underlying scent of something I couldn’t quite pin down.
He ran a hand through his short hair and shook his head. “I didn’t like where we left things. I wondered...can I come in? So we can talk?”
I didn’t really want to talk about it. Not at all. But I knew that we probablyshouldtalk, soIsighed and went to unlock my door.
Only, my door was already unlocked.
It was opened a tiny crack, letting the scent of someoneotherandnot knownseep through. My heart thumped against my ribcage painfully, and my hands shook on the doorknob. Someone had been in my house! Someone was possiblystillin my house!
Roarke, picking up on my distress and the foreign scent at the same time, went completely rigid in fury and protectiveness.The alpha power started rolling off of him so intensely that my senses were singed by it.
We did the whole conversation with our eyes thing we sometimes did. He motioned for me to wait outside while he went in to take a look around, but I didn’t want to wait alone. Hadn’t he seen any scary movies? This was how the dumb girl always died! She was left alone! I mean, I knew I was a bear shifter, but come on! It was just common sense.
Roarke’s whole face softened for a moment at what I’m sure was a very terrified Emrie face looking back at him, and then he nodded for me to follow him. I latched onto the back of his tee shirt with a gorilla grip and followed him into my dark house.
When we stepped into the entryway, he used hand motions to ask me to wait by the front door while he checked the rooms on the ground floor. I reluctantly grimaced and agreed. I didn’t want to be left outside, but I could stay by the door and keep out of his way.
Roarke sniffed around using his alpha shifter senses. I could smell someone had been here, and recently, but I couldn’t tellhowrecently. A strong alpha’s senses were next level compared to the rest of us.
I contacted my own alpha with a trembling voice.Alpha, someone’s broken into my home.
We’ll be right there,he said, his voice taught with anger.Some of the sentries caught the scent and tracked it to your house. They just informed me and we’re already on our way.
Roarke’s here. He’s checking around. He’s, umm, in alpha dragon mode.I had to warm my alpha as a courtesy. Most of the time Alpha Riggs and Roarke rubbed along fine, but when Roarke butted in on what my alpha considered his job to care for his Clan, especially with an unmated female, things could get sticky.
Understood. I’ll be considerate.
Well, I could only hope Roarke would be as well. He could get a little protective...
Just as Roarke went into my mudroom, and just as I was starting to feel the edge of Alpha Riggs’ power on the periphery of my senses, something large dropped from the ceiling and toppled me, elbowing me sharply in the face. I cried out as my head smashed against the wood floor and the blur dressed in dark clothing took a vicious swipe at my neck and then bolted out my open front door.
Simultaneously I could hear Roarke and my alpha roar, while the rest of my Clan made angry roaring and growling bear noises. Roarke was just in the next room, but my Clan and alpha sounded really close by.
My ears were ringing, my head was pounding, and I felt so nauseous I almost threw up. I came up onto my elbows, groaning and gently feeling the back of my head for blood, when I saw Roarke stagger in the doorway of my mudroom. He clung to the doorpost, hunched over and breathing heavily.
For a moment I thought a second intruder had hit him from behind. But there was no one behind him. He lifted his head and his eyes blazed fire-red as he looked at me. And I would swear in a court of law that it was like his whole body turned into an Emrie seeking Roarke missile. His scent turned molten and smoky with a sweet bottom note that I’d never smelled before..
He took a huge breath in through both his nose and his mouth and made a broken sound, like the whine of an animal in exquisite pain. I was already freaking out about the intruder, but when Roarke released the wall and staggered toward me, still looking and moving like he was reeling, my level of panic reached new, soaring heights.
Had he been attacked while he’d been in the mudroom? I hadn’t heard anything because I’d been dealing with the intruder dropping in on me, so it was possible.
Even though my skull felt like it was splitting, I tried to sit up to help Roarke, but the world spun and I almost puked, so I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing through my nose until the nausea subsided.
