Hunter's Mate Page 13

  “And you’re going to love every moment of my seduction.”

  Chapter 19

  One week later…

  * * *

  Layla leaned against the doorframe between the kitchen and living room in Aunt Marge’s house, a beer in one hand, her other arm crossed under her chest. She didn’t think she’d stopped smiling in a week.

  The room smelled of pizza sauce and garlic. All of the most important people in the world to her were leaning over the two large pizza boxes, snagging their slices.

  Her heart was full for the first time in years. Yes, she’d had a perfectly nice childhood, but it hadn’t included either parent, and it had been spent with a lonely grandmother and a quiet grandfather.

  She still couldn’t believe she’d found her father. Every day when she woke up, she had to pinch herself to make sure it was all true. The reminder always came quickly in the form of a heavy, warm arm draped over her body and a firm erection pressed against her.

  Elena lifted her face and met Layla’s gaze. The look on her face matched Layla’s emotions. Happiness. Satisfaction. Contentment. Excitement. The list was long. “You better grab a slice before these brutes polish it all off.”

  Layla chuckled. She didn’t need to shove her way into the fray. Hunter had two plates in his hand. He had her covered. Plus, Anders hadn’t reached an arm in yet either. In fact, she realized he was staring at her, a wry grin on his face.

  Even though she’d never known her father even existed, she easily surmised that he hadn’t smiled in years. Not until he found Layla and Elena. And even then, she was pretty sure he didn’t take a full breath or exhale all the way until Layla finally informed Elena she had no intention of returning to LA. That revelation was followed by Elena’s shoulders relaxing at her announcement that her return to Chicago would only be to move out of her apartment and get out of her lease. She and Caleb would do that next week.

  The week had gone by so quickly. Life had totally changed in that time. Layla’s outlook on the world had undergone a transformation. She knew Elena’s had too.

  Even though the two women had spent nearly every moment with their mates, including the nights, Layla and Elena had managed to sit down and really talk several times too. They finally professed to each other how badly they both had been struggling in their careers and aired out the fact that they’d been reluctant to admit defeat to the other.

  They had laughed and cried and hugged and just enjoyed being with each other. Layla’s life was currently so full she couldn’t remember what it had been like a week ago.

  Hunter rounded the table and held out a plate piled with more slices than she could possibly eat. He leaned down and kissed her as he handed it to her, and then he slid his fingers down her arm and guided her toward the table.

  “So, what’s the plan for the house?” Anders asked. “You girls have been working on it all week. Are you going to sell it or keep it?”

  Layla looked at Elena and smiled. Elena nodded, letting Layla know she should be the one to tell them. “We were thinking of keeping it. At least for now. We thought we might try using it as an office of sorts.”

  Elena giggled.

  Everyone else’s brows furrowed.

  “An office for what?” Anders asked.

  “More of a studio,” Elena added. “A creative and performing arts studio. A place where kids could come and take acting or creative writing classes. Maybe there are some other people in town who could add to our services with music or singing or dance.”

  Hunter slid his hand behind Layla’s back and rubbed. His smile was so warm. “I love that idea, babe.”

  “Me too,” Caleb said.

  “While Elena works on her award-winning novel of course,” Layla added.

  Elena flushed. “Let’s not get carried away. So far, it’s a pipe dream.”

  “How did I get so lucky as to have two of the most amazing daughters in the world?” Anders’s face beamed with pride. “I think that’s exactly what Canyon Springs needs.”

  There was a sizzle in the room. Something in the air. It wasn’t tangible. It was more of a feeling. It was love. An abundance of love. So much that it filled Layla to the brim and made her eyes water. She held back the tears, though, not wanting to change the mood into something sappy.

  Hunter knew. He always knew. He leaned in close, kissed her neck, and whispered in her ear. “You’re amazing, and I love you.”

  “I love you too,” she murmured in response.

  Life looked nothing like it did before; it looked a whole lot better.

  Epilogue

  One year later…

  * * *

  As Hunter came through the front door of Marge’s Place, he let in the sounds of dozens of people talking. Young and old. Shifters and non-shifters.

  Layla glanced up as he shut the door, temporarily blocking the noise. She chewed on her bottom lip, hopeful but trying to contain herself. When she met his gaze, she lifted a brow in question.

  “Half the town is out there,” he announced. The line is all the way around the block.”

  Elena groaned from her spot seated behind the table at Layla’s side. “Please don’t say that. You’re making me nervous.”

  Caleb stood at her other side, and he picked up one of the dozens of copies of her book and held it up. “No reason to be nervous. Marge’s Place is amazing. Everyone is going to love it. Not just in Canyon Springs, but all over the country.”

  “Whose idea was it to do a book signing?” Elena asked, her voice squeaking. “I don’t like attention. Why couldn’t we just put it in the book store and let people find it on their own.”

  The next time the door opened, they all glanced up to find Anders and his girlfriend sneaking into the house. His face was beaming. It nearly always was these days. He’d been elated for the entire year ever since meeting Layla and Elena, but his entire outlook on life had changed even more dramatically the day he finally asked out Annabelle Watson and started making a life for himself.

  Annabelle worked at Morton’s Grocery. Apparently she’d had the hots for Anders for years. Years that Anders had wasted moping. But those days were gone. According to everyone in town, he was a new man.

  He held Annabelle’s hand as he approached. “Let me see this book of yours.”

  The boxes had arrived just a few hours ago. Layla hoped there were enough for everyone who was waiting for them to open the doors to the public. She also hoped Elena didn’t vomit. Her sister was looking a little green in advance of all this attention.

  Anders stared at the cover, a picture of Marge’s house, and then flattened the book to his chest. He looked on the verge of tears. “I love what you two have done to this house and what you’ve brought to this town. Everyone is enriched by your studio. But most of all, I love that you named the house and the book Marge’s Place. It’s so fitting. Perfect.”

  Layla wiped away a tear. She’d spent a lot of hours digging through this house with Elena, helping her research and learning more every day about the aunt they never knew. The two of them had interviewed half the town also. Elena did so for the purposes of research, but Layla almost always went along because she found the stories so fascinating.

  This home had been filled with love for over half a century. Marge had led an amazingly rich life with her husband and mate, his extended family, and the entire town. Once Layla and Elena started to get to know their aunt, they were even more determined to turn the house into a studio.

  Apparently Marge had taught nearly everyone in town something or another in this home throughout her life. Sewing, embroidery, cross-stitch, and cooking. But she would also tutor anyone who needed help in just about any subject after school and on weekends.

  She may not have had kids of her own, but hundreds of children, many of whom were now grown adults, had called her Aunt Marge. She was a beloved nurturer. And she was dearly missed.

  “Should we open the door?” Hunter asked, his hand sliding up to squeez
e Layla’s neck.

  “Wait…” Anders’s expression changed, and he glanced back and forth between Layla and Elena.

  Layla had no idea what he was thinking, but she had a suspicion when he inhaled long and slow, his confusion morphing into the biggest smile ever.

  Hunter groaned.

  So did Caleb.

  “When were you crazy kids planning to tell me I’m going to be a grandfather?”

  Layla laughed. Leave it to Anders to notice the subtle change. Hell, she’d only figured out she was pregnant last week, and she’d been stunned to find out Elena was too.

  Annabelle clapped her hands together and brought them to her lips while Anders rushed forward and pulled Layla into a hug. He released her just as fast to lean down and hug Elena. Tears were running down his face as he shook Hunter’s and then Caleb’s hands.

  Elena handed their father a tissue. “You’re such a softy, Dad.”

  He cried harder. He always got emotional when they called him Dad.

  Layla laughed. “We’re like five minutes pregnant. Please tell me the entire town isn’t going to notice and turn this into the focus of the evening. This day is supposed to be all about Elena and her book release. Not a blip of a baby or two.”

  “Or four,” Anders pointed out with far too much enthusiasm.

  Hunter and Caleb laughed.

  Layla didn’t personally think their joke was funny, and she knew Elena didn’t either. Sure, twins ran in their family, but the thought of taking care of two babies at once made Layla more nauseous than the pregnancy itself. She wouldn’t breathe properly until a doctor looked her in the eye and told her he or she heard only one heartbeat.

  Hunter shook his head. “No one else will notice. Anders is overly perceptive in general, but he’s also your father. It’s too subtle for the average person to notice yet.”

  “You’re sure?” Layla asked.

  He nodded. “Positive.” He leaned in to kiss her. “Relax. Let’s sell some books.”

  “I’ll get the door,” Anders said, jogging toward the entrance with a pep in his step.

  Sure, it was possible most people wouldn’t scent the change in Layla and Elena just yet, but their father’s level of excitement would probably cause him to tell the entire town within the next few days.

  Layla didn’t mind. She was used to the small-town gossip. Everyone knew everyone’s business. Everyone was family. And everyone had taken in Layla and Elena without a blink, making them part of the family.

  Layla lifted her face to meet her mate’s loving gaze.

  Life didn’t get better than this.

  Please enjoy the following excerpt from Grizzly Mountain, the first book in my Arcadian Bears series.

  Isaiah Arthur leaned against the side of the brand new, dark blue Honda Accord, holding a woman’s jacket to his nose. He didn’t need the proximity to her clothing to catch and memorize her scent. The open car door was sufficient.

  He breathed in deeply again, letting his eyes close briefly as he inhaled her essence. Clean. Feminine. A hint of vanilla, probably from her shampoo. “When did she go missing?” He tried unsuccessfully to shake the lure of her pheromones from his head.

  The woman was lost. He had a job to do. Find her. She might not even be alive, and his cock was stiff from leaning into her car to grab her jacket in the first place. One whiff of Heather Simmons and his knees buckled.

  “The last time anyone heard from her was yesterday morning. I think she has a room at Bear Lodge in Silvertip. She emailed her hiking route to her mother but never checked back in last night. Mrs. Simmons called us about an hour ago.” Glen Montrose, of the Parks Canada Warden Service, ran a hand through his thick dark hair, his face grim.

  Isaiah lowered the jacket, tossing it back into the car reluctantly. “At least we’re dealing with a smart hiker this time.” It was a good sign that she’d informed someone of her intentions and arranged a check-in time. From that little information, he had hope she also had hiked away from her car prepared for the elements.

  He glanced at his watch. Eight o’clock. Heather spent the entire night in the mountains somewhere. He had no doubt he would find her, but had she brought enough clothes with her to survive a night in the cold? The temperatures had dipped below freezing last night.

  Isaiah closed his eyes and breathed in. The only scents in the area, besides Heather’s and Glen’s, were wild animals and pine. The only noise was the rustling of the trees and the scamper of small animals.

  He glanced around the small gravel parking lot. No other cars had been left overnight in this secluded area where hikers sometimes parked before trekking up the mountain. The gravel area was surrounded by a thick grove of trees, and when Isaiah lifted his head, he had the most glorious view of the mountains to the north. Alberta, Canada, was one of the most beautiful places on earth.

  Heather Simmons was up this mountain somewhere.

  Isaiah was restless to get moving. The sooner he found the missing hiker, the better her chances of survival. And he prayed she was indeed alive.

  This was the thirteenth rescue he’d done for Banff National Park, and it never got any easier. Nine of the hikers he was asked to locate had been found alive, either lost or injured. Three had not been as fortunate. He said a silent prayer that today would turn his saved tally to a double digit.

  Shoving off the side of the car, he rubbed his hands together and faced Glen. “I better get going. It’s cold out here.” He stated the obvious, but he didn’t need any further details. He had what he needed—her scent and the last known time of contact. Nothing else mattered.

  It wouldn’t take him long to track her. As a bear shifter, his sense of smell was superior to nearly every other shifter known to exist. He could shift quickly, run fast, and track in minutes.

  Montrose knew that. It was the reason he’d called Isaiah an hour ago to request his help. They had an arrangement. It worked. Although only a select few people working for the National Parks Service were shifters, they managed to connect with Isaiah’s extended family whenever their assistance was needed. It wasn’t feasible for a park warden to shift and take off looking for a hiker in the middle of the workday. Eyebrows would rise.

  Isaiah’s only concern was the location of Heather’s intended hike—way too close to the divide between his family, the Arthurs, and the neighboring pack of bear shifters, the Tarbens. The feud between the two packs went back more than a century, and crossing into the other pack’s territory was forbidden.

  Isaiah personally thought the entire feud was shit, but he wasn’t a member of the ruling body, and frankly, he didn’t want any part of it. If the two packs wanted to battle over a fucking imaginary line in the mountains, let them duke it out for all he cared, as long as no one asked him to get involved.

  The truth was, he had friends in the Tarben family. He knew for a fact several others in his generation did, too. They kept their relationships private to avoid pissing off the elders from either pack, but secret meetings had occurred between members of the two families for decades.

  Isaiah had known one of his best friends, Austin Tarben, for half his life. The two of them had met up secretly for fifteen years. They bitched often about the absurdity of their families’ feuds.

  Shaking the errant thoughts from his head, Isaiah stepped away from the car, closed his eyes to settle his mind, and shifted. In moments he shook off his human form and allowed the transformation to take place. He leaned forward as his hands became paws and his body took on all the qualities of his other half—the grizzly bear. Fur replaced skin, bones lengthened and shortened, his face elongated.

  The few humans aware of the existence of the bear species often referred to the process as magic, but Isaiah didn’t see it that way. Shifting was simply a trait he possessed, no different from being able to roll his tongue, wiggle his ears, or lift one eyebrow while lowering the other. The members of his pack could transform into bears.

  Isaiah glanced back at Gle
n before bounding away. He could have spoken to the other shifter telepathically, but there was no need. He already knew which direction to head. His ability to scent was as fine-tuned in human form as it was in his grizzly, but he could cover more ground faster with a more direct route as a bear. And he was instantly warmer.

  His temperature ran high even in human form, but racing through the trees and climbing over rocks and foliage was far easier and more expedient in his bear form.

  How far had Heather managed to get before she got lost or injured yesterday?

  Please, God, let me find her alive.

  Finding a victim no longer living was never pleasant, but something about this particular woman had his fur standing up. Her scent called to him. Lured him.

  He hadn’t even seen a picture of her. It wasn’t necessary. He would know her by her scent the moment he got close.

  Please click here to continue reading Grizzly Mountain.

  Also by Becca Jameson

  Open Skies:

  Layover

  Redeye

  Nonstop

  Standby

  * * *

  Canyon Springs:

  Caleb’s Mate

  Hunter’s Mate

  * * *

  Corked and Tapped:

  Volume One: Friday Night

  Volume Two: Company Party

  Volume Three: The Holidays

  * * *

  Surrender:

  Raising Lucy

  Teaching Abby

  Leaving Roman

  Choosing Kellen

  Pleasing Josie

  * * *

  Project DEEP:

  Reviving Emily

  Reviving Trish

  Reviving Dade

  Reviving Zeke