Claiming His Human Read online

  Holly’s snort in answer made the other woman laugh.

  “All right, okay might be stretching it. But he needs to see you, and I think you need to see him, too. He’s still Darius, and besides, our head of security has some questions for you. So, come on, let’s go. I’ll be right with you, and don’t worry, they cleared most of the mess up.”

  Holly didn’t want to think too much about what mess her employer was referring to, but Lydia was right. She couldn’t hide away in the storeroom forever, so she might as well get this over with. Even so, she wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted her when she reentered the main area of the café. The smell of bleach hit her nostrils and turned her stomach almost as much as seeing Mandy lounging at one of the tables that had survived the earlier melee, her eyes on Darius’s broad back. His very naked broad back. Holly swallowed hard at the sight of him half dressed. Powerful muscles rippled as he brushed his shoulder length hair back. Normally secured in a low ponytail, it hung down freely, the tips of the silky brown mass brushing his wide shoulders. He should have looked ridiculous, standing there in low-slung joggers, which only came up to mid-calf on him, but her damn hormones weren’t listening. She stopped dead, dimly aware of Lydia’s smile, and then she stopped thinking altogether, because Darius raised his nose into the air, and spun round. His gaze sought hers, and the intensity burning in his eyes took her breath away. It held her spellbound, unable to move or react at all, as his eyes changed from their usual warm chestnut to golden yellow and back again. They might as well have been the only two people in the room until that deep, commanding voice she’d heard earlier broke their connection.

  “Ah, you must be Holly.” The man that voice belonged to put a hand on Darius’s shoulder. “Stay. Let me handle this.”

  Darius’s bear grumbled a warning, the vibrations of which traveled through the floor and seemed to settle right in her clit. What the hell was that about? How could she find that arousing, having seen what Darius was capable of in his bear form? She was sick in the head, she had to be.

  Belatedly she realized the mountain of a man was holding his hand out for her to shake, and common courtesy won over. She gasped when his large hand closed around hers because this guy seemed to be a walking furnace. Naturally, he inhaled, and her back stiffened in response. He frowned when she snatched her hand away and tried her best to glare up at him. Just as tall and impossibly broad-shouldered as Darius was, this man shared his hair and eye color, right down to the intensity in which he studied her. Only his brown hair was close cropped and the stubble covering his strong jaw more sleek designer than the full beard Darius sported.

  “Will you people stop sniffing me. It’s downright rude. I don’t freaking smell.”

  The man’s eyebrow rose in response, Lydia laughed, and Darius’s bear grumbled again. A different intonation altogether, which made her glance past the huge guy and toward Darius.

  “Forgive Holly’s bad manners, Cole. She’s new to this and—”

  “Human, I know.” Cole looked over his shoulder at Darius, and some sort of unspoken communication seemed to be taking place between the two men because Darius visibly relaxed. Well, good for him. As far as Holly was concerned she would never ever relax again, because if shifters were real, then who could say what other terrors might not be simply a myth, but terrifying reality. Yep, bye-bye, peace of mind.

  Her breathing sped up, and she jumped when this Cole stepped so close that his body heat scorched her through her clothes. Two large hands landed heavily on her shoulders, and his deep, commanding voice penetrated through the panicked haze which threatened to engulf her again.

  “Relax, little Holly, breathe. Slowly … in, out, there you go. You’re quite safe here. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

  ****

  It damn well nearly killed Darius to keep his distance from her, and seeing her this panicked and being talked back from the ledge by none other than Cole Jackson himself… Fuck it. Cousin or not, boss or not happily mated to his own human or not, Darius’s bear wanted to tear the other man’s arm off for touching his mate.

  Cole’s bear sounded a warning growl when Darius took an involuntary step toward them, and hands fisted by his side, Darius obeyed. Besides, if anyone knew how to handle a skittish human then it had to be Cole. Emmi and he had had a rather rough start, after all, and it had taken his cousin some time to convince her that she was indeed his mate and that he wanted her for more than simply the baby they’d created together.

  Darius shook his head at that thought. Chance would be a fine thing. He highly doubted that Holly would ever let him touch her again, let alone consent to be his mate. And he wanted and needed her consent. As a shifter male, it was his right to simply take her, and once bitten there was no way to reverse that bond, but Darius had never liked that method. It was outdated and downright barbaric, and Cole would have him up for court martial if he even knew the direction Darius’s thoughts were traveling down.

  Fuck it all, this delicious, human bundle of curves had him all tied up in knots without even trying to.

  Cole at long last lifted his hands off Holly. Her breathing restored to normal, he guided her toward one of the stools at the counter. Lydia passed her a steaming mug of hot chocolate, and Holly wrapped her trembling hands around it with a murmured thanks. She bent her head, closed her eyes and inhaled the steam before she lifted the cup to her lips and drank.

  Darius swallowed a groan and willed his instant erection to subside. That was not what she needed from him right now, but his mate made the simple act of swallowing look sexy. Darius, too, sat down, and adjusted himself, much to his cousin’s silent amusement. Laughter lit up Cole’s brown eyes, as he looked between them. He sobered when Holly opened her eyes and frowned at him.

  “Let’s try that again.” He held out his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, Holly took it.

  “Cole Jackson at your service, Miss Trent. I wish we’d have met under less drastic circumstances, but that can’t be helped.” He released Holly’s hand and smirked at Darius. “My cousin has always been a hothead, I’m afraid, though I have to say he’s surpassed himself today.”

  “Your cousin?” Color rose in Holly’s cheeks as it seemed to dawn on her what that meant, and Cole’s smile deepened.

  “Yes, indeed, and as you have no doubt just surmised I shift into a grizzly, too.”

  “Of course you do.” Holly pulled her shoulders back, rolled her eyes and took another sip of her hot beverage. “Trust me to go and work in the one café in London where you all seem to congregate. I should have taken the job at Costa, damn it.”

  She threw a glance toward Lydia, and her endearing blush deepened.

  “Not that I’m not grateful for the job, Lydia, I really am, but I clearly can’t work here anymore. You do understand that, right, and with that in mind, I really ought to get going, I…”

  Her nervous babble ceased when two of the other bears on Cole’s team stepped up behind her. Arms crossed over their chest they formed a silent wall of muscle, and Holly sat back down again. Her white-knuckled grip on her cup spoke of her unease, and Darius couldn’t stand it any longer. He shoved Hamilton and Patrick out of the way and stood next to her instead. Holly’s eyes widened at his action, but she didn’t flinch away either like he’d half thought she might. The need to touch her, to reassure her that all would be well, was like a physical ache in his gut, a knife slicing into his chest to carve out his heart, but he resisted. This close to his mate, her sweet scent calmed his agitated beast. A deep inhale filled his nostrils and when he looked across at Cole, he saw the silent approval he needed.

  “I’m afraid it’s not that simple, sweetheart.”

  Holly jerked away from him.

  “I’m not your sweetheart, and yes, it is that simple. You can’t stop me, or are you going to kill me, too?”

  His bear roared in answer not least because he’d spotted the ugly bruising on his mate’s wrist, and Holly blanched. No
t thinking of the consequences he grasped hold of her injured hand. Her immediate wince made him want to kill that fucker all over again, but he automatically gentled his hold, while he bent to drop a kiss on the discolored flesh. Even marred by the stench of the wolf’s touch, her sweet essence filled his being and calmed his murderous instincts. Still holding her wrist, his lips hovering over the bruising he looked up at her. He knew she would see his bear in his gaze, read the animal’s sincerity in his reply.

  “I would never harm you, and I’ll kill anyone who hurts you.”

  A sharp intake of breath was her only response, far too loud in the quiet room.

  “Then we do have a problem, cuz.”

  Cole’s calm tone made that statement seem even more ominous. Holly must have thought so, too, because she started to tremble. Lydia, as ever on top of any situation life threw at her, passed a blanket over the counter, and Holly put up no resistance when he wrapped the warm fabric around her shoulders. An icepack for her injured wrist followed, and when Lydia offered her two tiny white pills with a glass of water, his girl took them without hesitation.

  “Arnica, it will help with the bruising. Humans are so fragile in that regard.” Lydia offered the explanation, apparently having interpreted his frown correctly. “With that in mind, you really need to get her home. Poor girl is in shock, and being here is not helping her with that.”

  His cousin sighed, scrubbed his hand over his face and shook his head.

  “Like I said therein lies the problem. She’s human, and she’s seen too much. Council rules dictate that we bring her in and keep her at the mansion.” Cole put out his hand to stave off Darius’s immediate denial. “Relax, cuz, I get it. I have no intention of putting her through that. She’s your mate. You caused this mess, so I’m making her your responsibility.”

  Holly shook her head, and she tried to get away, but Darius simply pulled her up close to him. She held herself stiffly, but she didn’t struggle either, and he’d take that small victory for now.

  “You can’t do that. I’m not going to tell anyone.” Her voice was far too breathless and fragile, a testament to the strain she must be under, and his heart broke all over again for her. This was his fault. If he’d made a move weeks ago, all this could have been avoided.

  “As if we’d believe that.” Mandy’s shrill voice carried across the room. “Humans can’t be trusted, we all know that. If you ask me this whole place needs shutting down. That trollop should never have been employed here in the first place. I—”

  “Shut your damn beak, goose.” Darius’s bear wanted out, to shut up the flighty bird once and for all, but the need to stay with his mate was stronger.

  Besides, this was his cousin’s problem now, and sure enough, Cole rose to his full height and strolled over to Mandy.

  “On the contrary, I’m most interested in what this little goose has to say. Especially, as she smells of wolf.” He smiled down at her, and Mandy’s bravado fled. Eyes wild she craned her neck this way and that, her flight instinct kicking in. “I wouldn’t try it, little bird. You wouldn’t get very far, and my men and I have skipped lunch. Been a while since we had goose, right, boys?”

  He looked across at Hamilton and Patrick, and the two bears grinned.

  “Not enough of her for a meal, but she’d make a good snack, I’d guess.”

  Holly sagged against Darius at Hamilton’s grumbled reply, her fear an almost palpable entity.

  “Do you mind, this is not helping Holly,” Darius said and offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile to his girl. “She doesn’t know you’re only joking.”

  Holly’s startled gaze connected with his, before she looked across to Mandy and the men. Patrick grasped the goose shifter’s elbow and winked at Holly.

  “Well, maybe we are, or maybe we’re not. I reckon a man would get food poisoning sampling the likes of this one. We’re taking her in for questioning, right, boss?” The latter part of his statement was directed at Cole, and at his nod, he dragged the woman to her feet.

  “You can’t do this. I haven’t done anything.”

  Cole gave a short laugh.

  “It is against the rules to come between a shifter and his mate, let alone incite someone else to harm another shifter’s mate, so—”

  “But they’re not fucking mated. Look at her. She’s a terrified mouse, a human, not fit to be mated to a bear shifter, she…”

  His cousin’s bear responded to that insult with predictable efficiency. Cole grew several inches. Eyes glowing in anger he approached the trembling goose. Yeah, don’t rouse the sleeping bear, you stupid bird. Especially not when said bear is mated to a human.

  “Outdated opinions like that have no place in the new society we are building. Human or not, Holly is Darius’s mate, which makes her off limits to anyone else. Whether they’ve consummated their mating or not is irrelevant. She might not know the rules, but you damn well do. Take her to the mansion, boys. There will be an investigation into what happened here today, and if my suspicions are correct … well.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes, and Mandy squeaked in terror. She didn’t try to resist, however, when Patrick and Hamilton dragged her out back, to presumably take her out through the back entrance.

  Cole took a deep breath in, and once he was back in control of his bear, he turned toward Holly. “Again, my apologies for meeting like this. You’re seeing the community at their worst today, I’m afraid. I’m sure this is not the introduction my cousin had envisaged for you, but it is done now. I have to go. For your own sake, please stay with Darius. If you’re not willing to do that, I will have to take you in, too, and that’s the last thing I want to do. I know my cousin will do his bit, but I need your promise that you’ll let him do that. Will you?”

  Chapter Three

  Everything was getting a bit hazy, and Holly had a hard time following what was going on. The barely still functioning logical side of her brain registered that her body was shutting down. Self-preservation at its best, right there.

  “Holly, we need your answer. Come on, sweetheart, you’re scaring me here. Say something.”

  Over the roaring in her ears, the deep, gravelly, familiar cadence registered, and she forced her eyes open. She hadn’t even realized she shut them, but she was so damn tired all of a sudden. Darius’s amber eyes darkened the longer she stared at them, and she knew he was saying something to her, but for the life of her she couldn’t make out what it was. Nodding seemed to be the right thing to do because he smiled at her and a sharp exhale ghosted across her face. It brought more of his intoxicating scent with him, and Holly sighed, closed her eyes and simply snuggled into his embrace. He was so warm, and he smelled so good.

  Somewhere in the recesses of her brain, something stirred, urging her to move away, but in her half-awake state, she ignored it. Nothing that felt so right could be wrong. She would worry over that insistent niggle when she wasn’t so damn exhausted.

  The deep rumble of male voices registered, a pain in her wrist when something cold was taken away, movement, which freaked her out for a bit until she realized that Darius must be carrying her. Her heart gave a little lurch at the sheer strength that took. Holly was no lightweight, yet the heartbeat under her ear was sure and strong, the chest she was snuggled into fell and rose in even breaths. Who knew a man’s chest could make such a perfect pillow, the fine hair covering it, surprisingly soft like a giant teddy bear.

  That errant thought gave her the giggles. Really, he was a bear after all. Certainly no cuddly teddy, but she refused to think about that more. It was too nice here in this semi-comatose state. She didn’t have to deal with the harsh and terrifying realities she’d witnessed.

  That’s if they were realities. Surely she was dreaming, caught up in some form of nightmare and any minute now she would wake up to the annoying beep of her alarm. That errant thought brought immense comfort. It was certainly the only thing that made any sense, and she allowed herself to sink further into the deep oblivion
her mind and body craved.

  Holly slept fitfully, terrifying images of people changing into monsters in front of her eyes making her toss and turn. She was pretty sure she woke up screaming at some point, only to have a strong pair of arms comfort her back to sleep. Since when did her teddy speak to her, let alone smell so wonderful? Something wasn’t quite right here, but Holly couldn’t get a grasp on it, and simply went back to sleep.

  When she eventually woke up fully, the room was in semi-darkness. Holly stretched and frowned at the feel of luxurious cotton sheets against her bare skin. She didn’t sleep in the buff, so, why on earth was she lying here in just her knickers?

  Her heart gave a sudden, painful lurch against her breastbone when she looked around. This wasn’t her bed, or her room and the teddy she thought she’d been clutching turned out be none other than a sleeping Darius.

  Holly’s hand flew to her mouth to stop the emerging scream, while the other made a grab for the sheet to cover her naked self.

  Oh my God, it wasn’t a dream.

  Of course, it wasn’t. Even she didn’t have fucked up dreams like this. Darius stirred in his sleep, and Holly froze. The fact that he was lying on top of the sheets, fully clothed, while she was almost naked underneath them, did little to reassure her.

  What the hell am I doing here?

  She thought she’d only thought that, but she must have uttered it out loud because Darius opened his eyes. He looked wary, as well he might. How dare he abduct her and undress her, and…

  Holy shit, he’s seen me naked.

  Heat flamed her cheeks at that thought, which she—fortunately—would appear to have just thought because Darius didn’t react. To mask her confusion and her far too visceral reaction to being this close to him, Holly went on the offensive. Really, the man was devastating in the three-piece suits she was used to seeing him in at the shop, but dressed in just a t-shirt and worn denim, feet bare … well, her hormones were screaming at her. It didn’t help one iota either, that she remembered only too well what he looked like without his shirt on.