I haven’t kissed someone I cared about in six fucking years, and I forgot how it can make you feel. How it’s more than just something physical, but instead, something that runs through your entire being. You feel it throughout every inch of your body, like connecting with them on a level that brings them into your soul.

  It was stupid, I know that, but I couldn’t help myself. Even after officially rejecting her, she calls to me. The bond is strong, and maybe it has something to do with not having my full heart in that rejection when I gave it.

  I’d thought about it for weeks, months even, afterwards. I was worried about what to do and going back and forth on whether it was the right decision, but my shit was too much. My own issues with my family, and that feeling of my skin crawling from being stuck... Skye didn’t deserve my bullshit, and neither did Jordy or Luka.

  If I’d stayed, I imagine all it would have done is add stress to their lives. Stress they didn’t need.

  Yet, here I am, scouting out their lands for a client to buy... as if that won’t cause the biggest amount of stress ever. This isn’t just land to them, this is their home. They’re whole fucking lives.

  What the fuck was I thinking?

  The phone rings, startling me. I turn my head to stare at it, hoping it’ll just stop. Whoever it is, I don’t want anything to do with them, but after the tenth ring, I know they aren’t going to stop, so I roll over and pick it up, bringing the old-school receiver to my ear.

  “Yeah?”

  “Got another visitor,” Redd says.

  “Do you ever go home?” I ask, sitting up.

  “This is my home, asshole. Now get down here.”

  The phone slams and I get the dead dial tone. I shake my head as I hang up, knowing exactly who is downstairs, and I have about three minutes to decide what I’m going to do with him.

  An idea pops into my head. It’s wicked, but it may work. If I can kiss enough ass, then I can definitely make it work. I just hope I can gain a little trust and not have to explain too much to make it happen.

  Finally feeling good about something, I get up, quickly change, and head downstairs to meet this douche with the plan to give him the tour of a lifetime.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jensen

  The guy looks even douchier than I thought he would.

  At first glance, Norwick looks like your typical business guy. He doesn’t dress in any way that would tell you how much money he’s worth, but the second he opens his mouth, letting the condescension leave his thin lips, the knowledge is instantaneous.

  This guy, on the other hand, this cliché, class act ass-kisser standing in front of me... Holy hell, this guy’s arrogance is so fucking potent, I smelled it before I came around the corner.

  His suit, yes suit, costs more money than the salary of anyone in this town, and the fact alone that he’s wearing a fucking suit, out here in the woods, speaks volumes.

  Douchey volumes.

  Well, I hope he brought more than one fancy suit cause we’re taking a trip into the woods, and there isn’t a dry cleaner in this town.

  “Hey, good morning,” I say as I walk towards him, holding out my hand, trying to sound as welcoming as possible. “You must be Norwick’s guy.”

  He gives a smug smile and holds his free hand out—the other is holding a fucking clipboard—a fucking clipboard. “Ridgway,” he states.

  “No relation to Gary, I hope.” I chuckle and let go of his hand.

  He gives me a confused look. “Not that I’m aware of...”

  I clear my throat, knowing the joke would go right over his head. He doesn’t look like someone who would be privy to the horrific history of the state we live in. “Probably for the best,” I say before turning to Redd who’s sitting at his desk. “Is his room all set?” Redd opens his mouth to respond but I cut him off. “No? Well, that’s okay. I’ve got plans to show him around anyway.” Redd raises a brow and I turn back to Ridgway and point to the door. “Shall we?” I don’t wait for a response, just go. He follows after me and calls out once I’m already starting up the road.

  “Uh, excuse me, but aren’t we going to take a car?” I turn around to respond, keeping up my pace by walking backwards.

  I put on the biggest grin I can muster. “Car? Have you ever been in the woods before?”

  “I’d just assumed we would have a guide.” He’s starting to breathe heavily, and his steps are slow and heavy. This guy doesn’t look like someone who works out. He’s a little thinner than he should be and about average height for a guy—meaning he’s a decent amount shorter than me. I don’t want him to throw a fit, so I slow down a little, knowing I can’t push his buttons too much this early on, or I won’t be able to get through the rest of my plan, if I can, in fact, pull it off.

  I press my fingers on both hands to my chest. “I am your guide!”

  He huffs out a nervous chuckle as I turn again and keep moving up the road, smiling at his huffing and puffing behind me. By the time we reach the woods, he’s practically panting. We probably should have at least brought some water for the poor guy... oh well.

  “So what have you found so far?” he asks as we reach the tree line. He hesitates, looking up at the tall, black oak trees before glancing back at me.

  “Took a load of pictures, but then my phone fell into the lake. They should be on the cloud, but I won’t be able to get to them until I get back. I’ve got my laptop, but not many people have internet around here and I forgot my Hot Spot.”

  All a bunch of bullshit... sort of. I know damn well those photos didn’t make it to the cloud, and I easily could hook my laptop up to the Wi-Fi at the inn, but he doesn’t need to know that.

  “Can’t you just buy one?” he asks.

  “Buy one? Here? Ha! Have you seen this town? They probably don’t even know what a Hot Spot is.”

  “That’s... concerning,” he says as he winces, still staring at the large trees as if they may snap a branch at him.

  “Right? Come on then. Keep up.” I move through the trees and start up the trail. Once we get deeper, we’ll veer off a little, but, for now, I want him to feel safe enough to not turn back. I glance at him over my shoulder with a smirk. “You wouldn’t want the coyotes or bears to get you.”

  His face pales slightly and he picks up his speed, almost running into me. “You’re joking, right?”

  “What? No, of course not. I don’t ever joke about danger. We’re in the woods, Ridgway, do you not know what that means?”

  “I’m not entirely sure anymore,” he says as he glances around, as if waiting for something to jump out at him. He whispers something under his breath, something that sounds pretty close to cussing. I hide my amusement by scratching my cheek and keep moving. “Hold on... isn’t this shifter land?”

  “Uh, yeah, some of it. I think.” Shit. I didn’t think he would question that.

  “So is that the problem out here? Rabid shifters go—”

  “No,” I ground out, but quickly clear my throat and bring back the cheery tone. “People here know the difference between shifters and wild animals. They aren’t the same, and the shifters aren’t the problem.”

  “Can’t they just keep the wild ones away?”

  “Why in the world would they do that?” I ask, entirely confused over his question. When he doesn’t answer right away, it hits me. “Shifters don’t have problems with wild animals. They aren’t the ones who take over their land. They have a good relationship with them. It’s the humans that cause a problem.”

  “I see.” He pulls his clipboard from under his arm and makes a few notes. I swear I almost smack it right out of his hand, but know that would be stupid, so I just keep trudging on.

  “So, the area Norwick is looking at is pretty much where we walked into, straight ahead and to the right. Kierheart is located at the western point of the area he’s looking at, so it makes for an easy entrance.”

  “Being so close to town, the animals mustn’t be too much of a problem, then?” he says, though it most definitely is a question.

  “Ridgway, Ridgway...” I shake my head. “You need to get out more, my friend. You see, that’s not how animals work. Didn’t Redd warn you not to be out of the inn at night?” His footsteps stop, so I do too, and turn to face him.

  “No,” he grits out, clutching that stupid clipboard to his chest.

  “Well, you shouldn’t. People go missing often, thanks to the coyotes, bears, and some even say mountain lions, but I don’t think that’s true. They haven’t been around here in years, but...” I let my words trail off and shrug instead. “We should keep moving.” I give him a wink before continuing. “Don’t want to be a sitting duck, now do you? I’m not sure Norwick did much research on the place. I mean, it’s great real estate, but I don’t think it’ll look good if the resort folk are getting snatched up and torn to shreds by bears.”

  “Haven’t we gone far enough?” he asks. The guy is probably on the verge of pissing his pants. “You said you took photos, so—”

  “What? Of course not. You haven’t seen anything yet. Besides, if my photos didn’t make it to the cloud, because the service here sucks”—I motion the area around us—“then I’ll need you to let Norwick know the beauty of this place. Second set of eyes and all. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

  “Something like that,” he mumbles harshly, hugging that clipboard so tightly to his chest it’s bound to make an indent.

  It’s a beautiful day today, and I feel exceptionally well right now considering I woke up contemplating my entire existence. I also didn’t sleep for shit. I tossed and turned all night, and before I decided to force myself to sleep, I’d walked towards the door a handful of times with the intention of going to the bar and getting wasted. Every time I thought about it though, I realized I didn’t want to get drunk around any of these people, and unfortunately, the liquor store around here keeps shit hours. So bed it was and my anxiety kept me up. The fact it was still light out may have had something to do with it too, but that’s neither here nor there.

  I made a decision today; a decision to do the right thing.

  For once in my fucking life, I need to do the right thing, and not only for me but for the people I’ve hurt. Yes, I need the peace of mind, need a clear conscience, but that isn’t the only reason I’m doing this. There’s actually a few...

  I hear them before I see them, and know who it is the second I catch the pattern of their footsteps. My bear perks up, knowing they’re near. He needs to not get too excited though because I have no idea if this is going to play out how I want it to.

  There’s a lot of room to mess this up, and I’m pretty sure I’ve only got one good chance to do this the right way. I can’t believe I’ve even run into them…

  I move with heavier footsteps, hoping to catch their attention and I’m thankful when it works.

  Jordy and Luka emerge from a group of trees just a little ways down the trail. Ridgway comes to a complete stop, but I keep moving, hoping to get a few words in without him hearing, but as I move closer to the guys, I realize this isn’t going to go over as easily as I thought it would.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Jordy

  The plan is to talk to Jensen. Even though Jase admitted what we needed to know, we have to do something to stop this. Jensen can’t be trusted to do this alone if he’s even trying to save it at all. He very well could be doing his job and trying to sell this land right from under our feet. Making Jase think otherwise would be something he did.

  I assumed we’d have this conversation at the inn, but it turns out the universe had other plans, because the moment we walk onto the trail, there he is.

  Now, Luka and I hadn’t talked about what we were going to say to him. We barely talked at all. Luka’s pissed, and when he gets like this he doesn’t like to talk. Mostly because he struggles to control his emotions and keep his temper in check. Anything he says would probably be rude as hell, and he knows that. So instead, he chooses to not speak at all, which is completely fine. I’m used to it by now. However, he may not care about being rude to Jensen, so he could let loose...

  I feel the air thicken around us, feel the anger inside Luka growing astronomically. He’s not in a good place right now and that worries me.

  For some reason, when Jensen first spots us, he looks relieved, and I don’t understand why he would feel that way to see us, but as we move closer, that misunderstanding turns into concern.

  I’m so focused on him, I don’t notice the guy behind him until Jensen stops and I still hear footsteps. I hold my arm out in front of Luka, and his chest hits my arm as he comes to a stop too. “Just breathe, and let me talk for a minute,” I say quietly.

  He doesn’t respond, but that’s a good sign. It’s better than him flipping out. As we come up on Jensen, he’s the first to talk.

  “I know I’m the last person you want anything to do with, but I need your help.” His words are rushed, and that, mixed with the concern and relief on his face, has me more worried.

  The faintest of growls comes from Luka, so I take a small step closer to him, hoping my presence will help to calm him. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.

  “You’re right,” I say cautiously just as the other guy stops beside him. I glance at him, and can instantly sense he’s a human.

  “Friends of yours?” the little guy asks. In all honestly, he isn’t that little. Not according to normal standards, but when you grow up in a pack of bears where everyone is huge, then even average humans seem small.

  “You could say that,” Jensen responds quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. He meets my eyes, widening them as if he’s trying to tell me something, and I have no idea what the hell is happening here, and my skin is starting to crawl. The anger from Luka, and now whatever the hell is going on with Jensen and this human... it’s a lot. “This is Luka and Jordy.” He points to us as he says our names.

  “Ridgway,” the human says, holding out his hand. I glare at it but don’t take it. He turns his gaze to Luka, and hurriedly pulls his hand back, wrapping it around a... Is that a fucking clipboard?

  Wait a minute...

  I start to put the pieces together and it must show on my face because when I look back at Jensen, with a what-the-fuck-are-you-thinking look, his eyes are pleading with me. Another thing that adds to my confusion.

  “So, I was just telling Ridgway about the wildlife out here. You know, the coyotes and the bears,” he emphasizes the word, raising a brow as he does.

  “You guys live out in these parts? You ever see any?” Ridgway asks, glancing from me to Luka in hopes of an answer. “I need to make sure it’s actual wild animals out here that’s a problem and not just shifters.”

  I narrow my eyes at Jensen, and he mouths the word please.

  I glance at Luka, who actually seems to be a little more calm. His body is less tense, and I don’t feel the intensity of his emotions as I did a little bit ago. Though it could be due to my own emotions taking over, but I doubt it. Something has shifted inside him and he’s calmed down a lot.

  “Yeah, uh... we live in town actually. Met this guy when he came in a few days ago.” I point to Jensen. “We walk the trails a lot, know how to handle the animals when we see them, and—”

  “So you do see them?” Ridgway asks, holding his pen to the paper on the clipboard about to make some kind of note. He sounds like he wants to come across as confident, but I hear his voice waver.

  “All the time,” Luka growls, and I look over at him to see his eyes locked on Jensen. “Foul beasts, you know. They should probably be shot.”

  I know damn well he isn’t talking about actual wild animals and is just taking his anger out on Jensen. Luka would never hurt an animal. Not one who didn’t deserve it anyway.

  “Great... great,” Ridgway mumbles as he writes down a few notes I can’t make out before glancing at Jensen. “If we can get more townspeople on board, then I’m sure there is a way to handle the animal problem. If the area is prime, we can’t let some big dogs scare us away.”

  Jensen’s jaw clenches, and I can tell he doesn’t like this guy. Something is going on with him, and I have no idea what it is. We know he’s here to sell this land to the humans, to give up our home, so why is he trying to get this guy to not want the land? Is this guy here from a rival company or something? I don’t really know how any of that works, but I can’t imagine another reason for this.

  “I think you’re underestimating how big the bears are,” Jensen says impatiently.

  “I’m sure they make traps big enough,” Ridgway responds, and that has me shifting on my feet. We have never had problems with traps out here before, thankfully, but we’ve heard many stories over the years from traveling shifters of getting caught in them, and it’s horrendous. “Anywho, should we continue on our way? I believe there is more to see?”

  “You sure you want to go deeper?” Jensen asks. “We could run into a—”

  “I’m sure it’s fine. These trails are clearly busy. I doubt anything will be roaming around this time a day.”

  Jensen is hinting at something here, pushing this guy to change his mind, yet...

  I look between the two of them, studying them and trying to figure this whole thing out, but nothing makes sense.

  Jensen looks up and meets my eyes, and for a moment, I’m stuck. I can’t move and can barely breathe. For just a few seconds, I swear I’m looking into the eyes of the old Jensen, and not the person he’s been replaced with.

  “Come on then, Stone. Show me whatever you need.” Ridgway steps around me and continues down the trail, waving over his shoulder and calling out, “Thanks for the information, gentlemen. It’s been helpful.”

  I raise a brow at Jensen and mouth Stone? but he says nothing, just holds my stare for a moment longer before pulling his eyes away, ducking his head, and moving after the human with slouched shoulders.