Burden Read online

  “She wears a shock collar around her neck. I’ve seen her with my own eyes try to cross onto my lands, probably to escape, but the shock usually causes her to pass out. When she’s bear, it stuns her back to human form. And when she’s human, she collapses, sometimes for hours at a time. She stopped trying years ago. But we do know why they’re keeping her. At least, we think we know.”

  We’d walked at least a half mile while he spoke. I thought it strange that a member of a wolf clan would be more forthcoming than a bear clan. How dare they.

  “What do you think you know?”

  He stopped and looked to the sky, his hands on his hips. “Every time she’s crossed and gotten stunned, she places her hands on the burn and the redness, the anger of it fades. It leaves a scar, but there’s some power in her hands. There are other things too, but we will leave those for you to discover.”

  As he spoke, I caught her scent again on the wind. She was near. Again, I tried to calm my bear, if she was to come with us freely, it would probably be in human form. I quaked visibly, my bear demanding to be brought forth, to seek out his mate. But a black bear pummeling towards her probably wasn’t the best way to approach my mate for the first time.

  “There,” the wolf pointed towards a span of land, open and flat except for one spit of a stream running through it.

  “We have tried to watch over her. We told her of your coming. But she looked shocked. I’m not sure what she expects of you. She may have been lied to.”

  “Do you know her name?”

  “Her name is Echo. She has become friends with my Beta, Blade. He is over there, watching her.”

  A tremor of jealousy and rage passed through me and then from my bear to me, demanding that I take heed of any male, of any species, getting close to her.

  “Alpha, how should we proceed?” River prompted.

  “I will talk to her. I believe she is my mate. I’ll try not to send her running.”

  River and Flint chuckled and nodded. They’d obviously caught the musk of mate-claim coming from me.

  I stepped lightly towards the borders, not wanting to cross them just yet.

  “Echo,” I called her name. It felt right, her name flowing from my mouth, like it had been burrowed into my vocal chords waiting for its cue.

  “Echo,” a little louder after no response.

  She sprung to a crouch searched for the owner of the voice that called her.

  “Echo, I am Hawke,” I began, revealing myself, “I am the Alpha of the Black Bears. I will cause you no harm. You are safe.”

  Why in the hell was I being so damned formal?

  She zoned in on my voice, and her eyes met mine. I stepped back, thrown off by the color. There was no bear I’d ever known to have turquoise eyes—none. And then I felt it, a click, a clock hand turn, a shift in my heart, the caring one and the beating one.

  And the rest of the world, the solar system itself, came to a firm and sudden halt.

  My heart completely stopped and caused me to clasp my chest, then began again, a new rhythm, a rhythm that matched that of my mate—my female. In one instant, my world, my priorities, my being had changed. It all revolved around her first. I’d give her anything she wanted before anything I needed. She was mine. And I was completely hers.

  She gasped in sync with me, clutching her chest and looking down, expecting to see something external to match what was happening to her internally.

  “What the hell?” She shouted.

  “Stay calm, Echo. It’s the mate-claim. We are mates. I’ve come to help you. I can get you out of here.”

  Wrapping her thin hand around the girth of the collar, we both realized a piece of metal could stand between my resolve and reality.

  “How? I’ve tried every tool in the shed trying to get this thing off me,” she defied me, clasping the collar in her hands.

  How dare they put a collar on my female like a common canine.

  I stepped onto their lands not caring about the consequences and inspected the collar. It had been welded onto her with iron. Only with heat could it be removed.

  “I won’t leave you. We have to remove this.”

  “She must cross the boundaries with it on, Hawke,” the wolf Alpha shouted to me.

  Not hurt her. Not harm her. No pain. No hurt. My bear spoke to me in broken sentences, his anger and sheer terror rendering him unable to form full sentences in his despair.

  “I can cross. It will sting, but I can cross. Can you or someone carry me after that? I will pass out. And as soon as I cross, it alerts them.”

  “I don’t want you in any pain,” I said, reaching out to touch her hand for the first time. My bear was pleased at the contact, calmed by the beginnings of a physical claim.

  “But it’s just once, and then you can take me away, right?”

  I’d expected rebellion, revolt out of this female. She trusted me already. It warmed my heart. Maybe she was just desperate for any way out.

  “Yes, I promise. I will take you from here, and you’ll never return. You’re mine.”

  “Yours?” Her eyebrows furrowed in her question.

  “Yes, mine. I will explain more later. That feeling in your heart. You are my mate.”

  “I don’t care what I am as long as you get me away from here,” she said popping a fist onto her hip.

  Not the answer I wanted, but I’d take it.

  Before I could stop her, she’d leapt across the boundary and in midair, her body seized and slumped to the ground, lifeless.

  I grabbed her bag and scooped her up before anyone else could touch her and began to run.

  My nose smelled male bear, and it shocked me awake and into action. I clawed at anything in my reach.

  “Stop the truck, she’s freaking out,” I knew that voice but couldn’t place it.

  “Echo, Echo, darlin’, you’re safe.”

  His voice stopped me dead in my tracks and hands on my face brought me back down to Earth. “Easy, girl,” he cooed, smiling at me. “Deep breaths. We’re far away from that place now.”

  A stinging sensation on my neck tumbled me out of the depths of his eyes and back to reality. I touched my neck here and there until I found the spot that burned.

  “The collar’s gone.”

  “Yes,” he hugged me to him, and I had no desire to pull away. “The wolves helped us get it off. But your neck is badly burned. We tried to put some burn cream but it hasn’t healed you much.”

  Hawke, I think his name is Hawke.

  Mine.

  “I can fix it.” Closing my eyes, I called upon the spirit that often helped me in times of need. There was no need to touch the wound. The warmth would filter through my body, finding the pain and healing it. I had to touch the wound or the diseased area on another person, but on myself, it wasn’t necessary.

  “Woah,” someone said from behind me.

  “You’re a healer and a shifter. How is that possible?”

  I shrugged, “How should I know? I’ve never even seen a bear that looks like me, much less, one that could do whatever I do.”

  The male who held me in his lap; covered by a blanket, laughed, “You’ve never seen a black bear? Well then you’re in luck.”

  “How’s that?”

  “In about an hour, you’re going to meet an entire clan of them.”

  Fear froze my insides, “Don’t be afraid. I feel your fear, mate. Our clan is loving, and we don’t keep slaves. You will be completely safe and unharmed. I hope one day you find yourself happy even.”

  “I wouldn’t know happy if it slapped me in the ass.”

  “Ok, ok. Can we talk for a minute, outside?”

  “Yes?”

  I’d never experienced a male ask for permission. Usually, I was jerked by the arm to another room and told what to do. But this male—he was kind. It was familiar, yet off-putting. Confusion didn’t begin to define my state of mind.

  We stepped outside the truck, me hopping down from his lap. He climbed o
ut after me and the other two males got out on the other side and purposefully walked in the other direction. The fresh air helped, though it carried with it a mugginess, almost like walking into a curtain of rain.

  “Echo,” he hesitated, “Wait, I don’t even know your last name.”

  “Echo Valley,” I replied. My bear almost whined inside me, pleading, begging me to reach out and touch him again. She was desperate to be near him.

  He smiled and stepped towards me and took my hand. “It’s ok. Don’t ever hesitate to touch me when you need to. I am Hawke Turnclaw.”

  I crunched my eyebrows together, “How?”

  “How did I know? You’re my mate. I can feel your needs before my own. It’s more my bear than me. It will always be like this.”

  “You didn’t even know me before. How can we be mates? How can I be anyone’s mate?”

  He sombered, “We will get to know each other, don’t worry. I just wanted to warn you about some things. We are going back to my clan. I am the Alpha of my clan, all black bears, and all bears in general. You are the Alpha female. We will give you as much time as you need to get used to our clan and our ways, but the Alpha female position is a great responsibility.”

  “So you took me from one form of slavery to another, great. Why not just leave me?”

  He cringed at my accusation, “I’m not making myself clear. You won’t be a slave. You will be revered by our clan and mostly by me. I think you’ve been so far removed from our ways—the instinct hasn’t kicked in yet. Females in the other clan weren’t treated well, were they?”

  I shook my head, “Not very much better than me, the only difference was, they didn’t have the collar.”

  “I see. I will take care of that when I can. Right now we need to get you onto our lands and secure. You will stay in my home. One day, I hope you can accept me as your mate.”

  “Fine, but I’m not spending another minute on your lap. I’ll ride in the back.”

  “Coeur, I will sit in the back, as will River. It wouldn’t be right.” My Betas chimed in, their keen hearing made it impossible to ignore us.

  “What the hell did you just call me?”

  Hawke folded his lips between his teeth, his aggravation with me obvious, “Coeur, it means heart. You are the heart of the Alpha pair, the female always is. It’s meant as a term of endearment and submission. I can tell them not to call you that if it offends you.”

  “No, I guess it’s fine. I don’t really know.”

  “You’re exhausted, you’re hungry, and you’re confused. I know, and I’m sorry. About one more hour and I swear, I will take care of your physical needs and answer any questions you have.”

  “I can’t think straight,” I moaned rubbing my forehead with my hand.

  He pulled me against his firm frame, and I melted into his warmth. It covered me like melted chocolate over a strawberry. My head still pounded, but at least it was better.

  “Let me help you, ease you. Just one more hour.”

  I nodded, “I don’t want them to have to ride in the back. What if they get sick?”

  “They won’t get sick. Do you want them to get back in the cab? You’d have to sit in my lap again.”

  Suddenly, it didn’t sound so bad, “Yeah, that’s fine. You calm me.”

  “I do,” he confirmed with a smugness.

  “Flint, River, your Alpha female is concerned for your safety and your health, back in the cab.”

  They both came around the side and bared their neck to me. “Thank you, Coeur.” Flint took the wheel and River smashed in beside him. Hawke was next and dragged my weary body on top of his and I quickly slipped back into sleep.

  “Echo, we’re home. We just went through the gate.”

  I dragged in a breath through my nose and instantly smelled the difference between where I’d been and where I was. Instead of snow and ice, I smelled sunshine and rich earth. I could feel the humidity in the air, the difference in atmosphere. Not to mention, there was no longer the rank muskiness always around me.

  “I knew I didn’t stink.”

  The cab broke out in laughter, “Who told you that you stink?”

  “Horace, all the time. I swear, I spent more hours in the shower than in bed. But the grizzlies were the ones with the funk.”

  That brought out a whole new round of masculine chuckles.

  “You definitely don’t stink, and please, stop talking about being in the shower in front of others,” Hawke whispered in my ear, but from the snickers behind me, I knew they’d all heard.

  I turned to meet his eyes with mine and gasped at the pure want I found there. It was intriguing and terrifying at the same time. I’d never seen a male like him. There was something in his features that demanded respect. A certain air of command and regality resounded in his presence. It contrasted like black to white in comparison to Horace. His presence was volatile—menacing.

  He winked at me and again whispered, “This is it. I’m going to carry you in, is that okay?”

  “Is that protocol?”

  He bit the corner of his lip, “No, I just want to.”

  The other two males got out on the other side and I nodded once, giving my savior permission to carry me. He set me beside him, got out, said something to the crowd who’d gathered and then grabbed me in a hold I’d always seen saved for people who were hurt and didn’t falter until we were inside the house, with the door shut behind us.

  I looked around the place, a smaller house than the log cabin I’d lived in but cozier, not anything like the prison I remembered. The couches were nice, but worn. The rest of the furniture was more of the same, expensive, but older. It seemed like a house for an older man instead of a young Alpha.

  “You’re more tired than hungry. Do you want to take a bath while I cook and then you can go straight to bed?”

  The look in his eyes was that of a child picking which treat he’d indulge in first. Like he actually enjoyed taking care of my needs.

  A knock at the door interrupted my questioning.

  “It’s ok, it’s just Martha,” he consoled me while opening the door.

  “Alpha, here are the clothes you requested. I also included some other toiletries. If you need anything else, please let me know.” She flickered to me and I tried to smile at her—she was obviously a kind soul.

  “We are grateful you have joined our clan.”

  I looked to Hawke, who nodded, prompting me to respond, “Thank you. I am thankful to be here. I appreciate the clothes and other things. I’m afraid I didn’t have many belongings before.”

  “Anything for our Coeur. Please call me or come to my home anytime if you need another female ear. The Alpha has my number and can point you in my direction. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Hawke was chuckling at her.

  “Thank you, Martha. I’m sure she will get tired of my overbearing ways soon. I will send her your way.”

  She bared her neck once more and quietly shut the door.

  “Come, Echo, let’s get you into a bath while I make you something to eat.”

  He took my hand and led me into a bathroom, a small one, but pristine and clean as a pin. I watched him move, and felt another emotion beside my own, partnering with it, making itself known. Pride—he was taking pride in something. I also let myself study him. He was tall, he had a good six inches on me, and I was five foot nine. He was muscled, like works out every day built, and something stirred my bear from her dormancy when he reached for the faucet, and his back muscles stretched and pulled.

  “What are you proud of?” I let myself ask, the curiosity getting the better of me.

  “You can feel it?”

  “Yes,” I whispered in response.

  “I’m glad. I was worried you may not ever be in tune with me. To answer your question,” He straightened up from bending over the tub, “I am proud to have you in our home, finally. And to be able to serve my mate will always be my honor. I never knew this
feeling before. It’s all new to me too.”

  Mate—it was more than a term, I knew that. There were acts known as mating, and from what I’d heard, the noises that came from the bedrooms at night, there was nothing about it I wanted to experience. Sometimes, I debated with myself over calling the paramedics.

  “What are you thinking? Your emotions are all over the place. I will not hurt you, Echo. I’d rather hurt myself before harming a hair on your head. I swear it.”

  “I know. I don’t know how, but I know.”

  “Good,” he stepped towards me and kissed the top of my head, “Take your time. There’s no rush. We’ll talk more over food.”

  “Ok, thank you.”

  He turned before shutting the door behind him, “You’re welcome.” He paused, almost saying something else but then seemed to stopped himself, “Enjoy.”

  I pulled my clothes off and stepped into the hot water, which had been laced with some kind of cinnamon, and vanilla smelling bubble bath. It was heaven to my nose. I looked around the small bathroom noting the absence of any female possessions except my own on the floor, and those brought in earlier by Martha. If I made myself process what had happened in the last twenty four hours, I would probably have thousands of questions, either that or I’d be shifted and running as fast as I could. But sitting in the scalding water, letting my muscles and my stress unravel, inhaling the scent of a male who said we belonged together, I couldn’t think of a damned one.

  I nearly killed the wolves as they began to pry the collar from her neck. First, they were touching my mate, and second, they were touching my mate. Finally free of her bondage, I swept her out of there before the grizzlies could find us. I did not go up there for a war. I promised the wolves if they ever needed us, we owed their pack a favor—and a big one. River and Flint filed into the truck and I sat on the edge of the seat, hefting her into my lap. I covered her with a blanket. It was far too cold for any creature, even a bear, to be running around in the thirty degree weather with only a small shirt and shorts on. Wasn’t it bad enough she was bone thin and wearing a collar?

  Finally on the road, I took the time to replay the moment I first saw her laying in the grass, her jet black hair seemed like it went on for miles and miles, breaking free of its hairband as soon as she woke. She pounced like a feral cat when she heard us, and that’s when I knew that my mate was probably the bravest, fiercest bear I’d ever laid eyes on.