Hunted Mate Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Hunted Mate

  Book Three: Shifters of Bear’s Den

  Cecilia Lane

  A Shifted Destinies Novel

  Copyright © 2018 by Cecilia Lane

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Hunted Mate: Shifters of Bear’s Den #3 by Cecilia Lane March 2018

  Contents

  Hunted Mate

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Next in Series

  Also by Cecilia Lane

  About the Author

  Hunted Mate: Shifters of Bear’s Den Book Three

  A wounded fox shifter hiding from her past.

  No one could call fox shifter Becca Holden fragile. She's been to hell and back and got the t-shirt, thank you very much. Years ago, she found herself pregnant with her mate's baby. When she miscarried, Nolan turned away, leaving her to grieve on her own. She left Bearden, vowing never to return.

  She's been alone ever since.

  Drifting from job to job, her life takes on a new level of misery and danger when she falls prey to hunters. Men who want to use her for their depraved version of fox-hunting. Becca manages to survive. Barely. She escapes her nightmare, but with nowhere left to go, she's forced to return to Bearden.

  Heartache isn't done with Becca just yet…

  A second chance with the mate he lost.

  If Nolan Byers could have one do-over, it would be Becca. He and Becca were too young when she got pregnant, and when she lost the baby, they drifted apart. Becca left town, taking Nolan's heart with her.

  Time hasn't healed this wound. If anything, the pain is worse. Ten long and lonely years pass until, one day, she returns to Bearden. Becca… his Becca. She's as beautiful as ever. The moment he sees her, he knows why he never wanted another woman. Because of Becca.

  His one. His only. His mate for life.

  Now he just needs to convince Becca to forgive him. But the feisty fox shifter wants nothing to do with him. He sees her around town and she either shuts him down, brushes him off, or flat-out ignores him.

  Her sass infuriates Nolan's bear. His self-control unravels a little more each time he sees his beautiful, aggravating and smart-mouthed little mate. When a fire burns through Becca's home, a fire that starts under suspicious circumstances, Nolan makes his move.

  Becca's in danger and his possessive and angry bear will no longer be denied.

  Step into the world of Shifting Destinies, where the men and women you meet might just be a little more than human. Their towns are protected by magic, and their hearts are open and ready for love. But watch your step - more than darkness lurks in the shadows.

  Want updates on new paranormal/fantasy romance releases and special sales? Want to receive a FREE full-length ebook with a sexy shifter and curvy witch?

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  http://cecilialane.com/cecilianews

  Chapter 1

  Becca Holden mounted the stairs of Hogshead Joint and prepared for battle.

  Not really, but her pulse tripped in her chest with the same rush she’d felt during the handful of times her life had truly been in danger. Once, ten years ago and strapped to a hospital bed. The second time, last winter. The final time, only a month ago. Each one left hidden scars and memories she’d rather forget.

  The scent of the best barbecue in town did nothing to calm her trepidation as she paused at the top step and scanned the crowd. The restaurant was busy, and she used the passing of a server to collect herself. Most of the early birds had already retired, leaving those with mates, dates, or simply looking for an escape. She knew which she identified as, and how unlikely an escape would be.

  Her fox rose up in interest when she caught sight of the Strathorn brothers. Callum, the alpha of the bear clan, and Cole, his younger brother, were helping their mates into seats. Becca waved a greeting to Leah and Rylee and hoped the rest of the clan had gone elsewhere for the evening. She already had one unwanted interaction planned. She didn’t need a second.

  The ghost of murmurings caught her ear. Some of the lion pride cast dark glances toward the bar where a group of human scientists were ordering drinks. They were three weeks off planes and trains and settling into their places to study Bearden in the aftermath of an attack on the enclave itself.

  Distrust was still palpable whenever a human that wasn’t Rylee entered a room. Even Rylee, mated to Cole, still got thrown some sideways glances. Becca thought Cole taking a few of the loudest complainers to a back alley for a quick chat and punch to the gut kept her out of the thick of it.

  Everyone else, though, they were ripe for rumors and distrust.

  Luckily, it only came down to words. Most folks, after sitting through an illegal military operation, couldn’t imagine anything worse. So they slipped back into their quiet lives and shot the outsiders dirty looks.

  Most folks were idiots. There was always something worse.

  The outsiders themselves tried to stay oblivious to the tension. Rylee’s doing, Becca thought. The humans were a living reminder of the enclave’s shared damage. They’d been given instructions to make themselves visible and approachable.

  The more reasoned residents didn’t see them as a threat or wish payback on them. But the less rational citizens... those were the ones necessitating the protectors. She found them easily enough, mingling in the group of humans but still holding themselves apart and always watching the hard, dangerous looks from the angry shifters on the chance words turned into action.

  Becca didn’t know what to call them. Not quite police, not quite security, but all volunteers. They patrolled the enclave border almost constantly when not pulling off to watch over the fragile humans.

  Which explained the Strathorn presence. And increased her chances of seeing more of the bears. Her fox yippe
d in the back of her head before she could clamp down on the little beast. The entire clan had a ridiculous need to stick their snouts in business that wasn’t theirs.

  Knowing she’d already lingered too long, Becca took a cleansing breath, pasted on a smile, and found her target.

  Jacob sat in a corner on the packed deck. Not surprising. He didn’t like anyone sneaking up on him. They had that in common. Hell, it stemmed from the same trauma.

  Becca stomped around laughing clumps of shifters and practically threw her wallet and phone on the table in front of Jacob. “Well?” she snapped. “What was so important that we meet?”

  Jacob’s eyebrows shot together, and he mouthed her words. Quicker than she could track, he reached out and grabbed her wrist. “You owe me.”

  A flicker of true emotion slumped her shoulders, and she sat down. “I thought you were dead,” she mumbled.

  “I should be,” he answered.

  The wolf was an unwelcome blast from the past. He was the culmination of an entire, shitty decade she wanted to forget. He was a reminder of the lengths she went to escape the wicked plans of hunters and the guilt of leaving someone behind.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, softer than before. “I really did think you were dead. I saw my chance to run before they killed me, too.”

  “I know.” Jacob nodded. “I don’t blame you.”

  Such simple words and they cut her deeper than she imagined possible. She blamed herself the moment she recognized Jacob. She should have checked for him. She should have gone back for him. She shouldn’t have trusted the repeated ringing of gunfire in the night.

  They’d both been unwilling guests of the lowest of the low. Hunters. Assholes who wanted nothing more than eradicate shifters and anything different from them. Their particular hosts were happy to make money off their kind before putting them down.

  Jacob was their prize fighter in the ring, both in shifted fights and handicap matches. He was a beast when riled up and they made sure he stayed riled.

  They would have used her in the ring, too. But a quick jolt of a cattle prod brought her fox to the surface and her days as bait for the fighters were over before they began. They never had a fox before. They wanted to hunt her like the good ol’ days, with dogs to track her and bullets to take her down. Disgusting fuckers.

  Becca shook herself before the remembered stench of blood curdled her stomach. “Why did you want to meet me, then?”

  “I wanted to hear it. All of it. Cole says it helps to talk these things out and gain closure. And you know what it was like. Who did you tell? Did it help?” A tiny crack entered Jacob’s voice on the last word.

  Becca stiffened. “No one knows. No one needs to know.”

  “But—”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want anyone to know what I did. I put it all behind me. I don’t want to think or talk about it. I don’t want pity. I want to move on and forget everything that happened in the camp.”

  The horror of those cold days and that final, wintry night forced her to crawl back to Bearden. Her twin thought it was simply another spontaneous decision. She preferred being the irresponsible sister than the killer.

  A clean slate. That was what she needed. It drove her out of Bearden in the first place. Eighteen, freshly graduated, and riding high on the pain of her mate abandoning her when she needed him most, she kissed Bearden goodbye with a raised middle finger and a foot on the gas.

  She tried to make it on her own. By the Broken, she tried. College, first. Where she flunked out because she couldn’t focus. She bounced from job to job after that. Restlessness kept her from staying anywhere too long. Restlessness, and her stupid fox always, always, always urging her back home to Nolan.

  Nolan. Even thinking his name tightened her stomach and other places. She hated him. No, hated was too kind a word. Loathed. Ten years and the wounds still felt fresh.

  As if summoned, Nolan crossed her line of sight and helped one of Rylee’s scientists into a seat next to the other Strathorns.

  He wore his dirty blond hair longer than when they were just two high school rebels refusing to acknowledge the importance of labels. She didn’t imagine his father was pleased with his total rejection of all things police. The Byers men buzzed their hair short and served as police. The women married police. The children played dress up as cops and robbers and always chose the side of police. Nolan instead became a firefighter with hair long enough to be brushed out of his eyes, which he did with great frequency.

  Blood pounded in Becca’s ears when he flashed a quick smile that showed a single dimple. She used to melt for the smile and dimple. Her fox whined and growled and ached to tear into some flesh. Not Nolan’s. Oh, no. Her idiot beast never wanted to harm him. The little human he tucked into the table was the target of her anger.

  It wasn’t her place. She had no right to jealousy. She didn’t want to feel it, not after everything.

  Nolan Byers was no one to her.

  Jacob twisted and followed where she looked. He nodded once, decisively. “Cole is good. Cole is helping me learn how to be a person again.”

  Becca bathed in relief. She didn’t want to talk about Nolan. She didn’t want anyone to link them together more than the entire damn town already did.

  Jacob turned back to her. “But he can’t talk with me about my pack. You’re the last person alive that knew them.”

  They didn’t survive long after she made her escape, she’d learned. Jacob lost everyone in his pack when he refused to help militarized hunters track down more shifters for more depraved acts of violence.

  Becca thawed under the weight of her guilt. She left them all behind. She thought they were dead, but that didn’t soothe her one bit. She should have made sure instead of running terrified into the night.

  “We’re going to need drinks for this. Lots of drinks.”

  Chapter 2

  Nolan scowled in Becca’s direction. She’d been making his life miserable since she returned to Bearden last Christmas and he could already tell this night would be the same. She toyed with her pint of beer, then brushed her curly hair behind her ears. He imagined he could smell her shampoo and body wash and her over the thick smokiness of food. He wanted to wrap those strands around his hand and pull her head to the side, giving him access to her throat.

  Darcy snapped her fingers in his face. “Nolan. Did you hear me?”

  No. He hadn’t.

  Nolan winced at the laughter from Leah and Rylee at nearby tables. He was supposed to be showing Darcy around Bearden. Instead, he acted like a sulky teen all through dinner.

  Darcy was part of the team of scientists crawling all over the enclave. Too many residents didn’t want the humans there. Understandable, considering they were still settling with the fact they were almost wiped out by a rogue military commander. Expected, too, since they were just coming to terms that their existence was no longer hidden from the human world. Change was always slow to be accepted in small towns, and Bearden was no different.

  He’d been enlisted to keep the delicate humans safe from the claws and fangs that might mean them harm. His alpha’s orders. In Callum’s words, he needed a distraction.

  But his distraction led him to a front row seat of Becca out with someone else. His bear rumbled in his middle, hate and frustration fueling the noise.

  He ducked his eyes and tried to fold his bear back into the dark part of his mind. He needed quiet. Peace. No brawls. Alpha’s orders.

  “Look, I know you asked me out to acclimate your people. I appreciate that. But you don’t need to hide whatever is happening here from me.” A sympathetic smile on her face, Darcy’s eyes trailed over to where Becca laughed loudly, her cheeks flushed with her drink. “Have you tried talking to her?”

  Talking. Yelling. Flowers left at her home and at the coffee shop. Messages passed through her sister and his clan. Hell, he’d even followed his mother’s age-old advice for men in the proverbial dog house and simply to
ld her “I’m sorry.”

  That one worked out well. She turned to him and asked, sweet as could be, “Sorry for what?”

  When he couldn’t give an answer—because he had no idea where to start or what she expected to hear—she planted her fists on her hips and gave him a tongue lashing about leaving her well enough alone when she’d made it damn clear they weren’t involved. In the middle of the street. For the entire fucking town to see.

  “She doesn’t want to talk,” he growled.

  She acted like she was the only one who experienced loss. He was there with her, he felt the same pain over the loss of their baby. Okay, maybe that wasn’t strictly true. He felt the same pain, but he acted like a dick over it. He’d been seventeen! He didn’t know how to act like a real person, much less a grieving father. They were too young for mates, too young for kids, and fate handed them both and took everything away just as quickly. He pulled back, thinking she needed space when she’d really needed him to hold her. He realized his mistake too late.

  He fucked it all up before they had a chance to get started. One do-over, that was what he prayed for day and night. He couldn’t fall asleep without wishing for time to reverse.