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  Caleb retreated to the solitude of his office, shutting the door behind him. It was a Spartan room, with a cold metal desk, filing cabinet, and the folding chair he offered to visitors taking up most of the space. He sat down in the slightly more comfortable office chair and powered up his computer so that he could start writing up the report for today’s fire. He’d have an arson investigator out there first thing in the morning.

  As the Captain of the fire house, he didn’t really need to be going out on calls, but he made sure that he gave himself just as many shift hours as everyone else. He’d never been a paper pusher at the Blackwater Fire House, and even though he knew he had to be the one in charge, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be out there fighting fires with the rest of his bears.

  After all, that was what he’d been trained to do. He wasn’t ready to start riding a desk yet.

  He was only halfway through the report when his desk phone rang. “Sir.” It was Angela, the woman who ran Dispatch. “A 911 call just came in. A neighbor reported a bungalow on 412 Grove Street that’s on fire. We need a team there now.”

  “I’m on it.” He hung up the phone, then sounded the alarm and dashed up to the locker room to grab his gear.

  It never rained, but it poured, didn’t it?

  * * *

  “Stop fighting me,” Damien snarled, backhanding Sonya across the face.

  Sonya’s head snapped back, and before she could recover, Damien shoved her so that she toppled back onto the mattress. He climbed on top of the bed, pushing her legs apart, and she screamed and kicked him back.

  “I said stop it, you bitch!” He bared his fangs, his grey eyes turning pitch dark as the bear started coming to the forefront. “I’ve given you enough time to accept me, and I won’t wait any longer. We complete the mating ritual tonight."

  Tears smarted Sonya’s eyes, but she refused to let him see her cry. “I hate you, you bastard!” she screamed. “I hate—“

  Sonya choked as Damien shoved a wad of cloth into her mouth, cutting her off. She tried to spit it out, but he ripped off a piece of duct tape and slapped it over her lips, sealing them closed.

  “Now no one will be able to hear you.” Damien grinned, and Sonya trembled at the maniacal glint in his eyes. He pushed her legs open, and Sonya fought against him, struggling, trying to scream for help, but the gag was choking her, sliding down her throat like a thick fog so she couldn’t breathe—

  Coughing, Sonya jolted upright in the tub. The sun had gone down now, and it was pitch dark in the bathroom. Smelling smoke, she blinked her eyes a few times and realized that there was a thick cloud of it in the bathroom; part of the reason it was so dark in here.

  Her sensitive ears caught the crackle of flames, and her heart dropped into her stomach.

  “Oh shit.”

  Her house was on fire!

  Panicking, she lunged out of the tub, then slid on a puddle and crashed belly-fist onto the floor. The air was a bit fresher down here, and she took a deep breath, trying to clear the smoke from her lungs. Scrabbling for purchase, she managed to get some leverage on the slippery tile and hauled herself up again.

  She started coughing again almost immediately and had to drop back down to the floor. Army crawling, she managed to reach the door and placed her hand against it. It was hot, but not burning, so she decided to risk a chance and reach for the doorknob.

  The metal scalded her palm and she shrieked, letting go instantly.

  “Oh God,” she sobbed, laying her cheek down against the tile. “I’m going to die in here.” She’d completely forgotten about the cookies she’d put in the oven and had allowed herself to fall asleep in the tub, which was undoubtedly what had started the fire. Normally the fire alarms would have woken her, but the stupid things had been malfunctioning, and she hadn’t replaced them just yet.

  Oh, she’d been meaning to replace them for a while now, but there always seemed to be something more important to buy with her meager paycheck, and she hadn’t thought it important enough. Honestly, it was a relief not to have to deal with the alarms; she triggered her smoke alarms constantly when she was frying pancakes or bacon, and the noise was hell on her sensitive hearing.

  Well, she was definitely paying for that mistake now. She’d gladly listen to a thousand fire alarms going off at once if it meant she didn’t have to lose her house and her life today.

  With a groan, she rolled to the side, moving away from the door—the smoke seeping in through the opening beneath the door was making her cough, and she wanted to avoid inhaling it as much as possible. The roar of the flames was getting louder, and she knew the house was probably beyond saving. Just like the house she’d walked by earlier today. Oh, the irony…

  She heard sirens blaring over the roar of the flames, soon followed by the shouts of men and the spray of fire hoses. A small flower of hope bloomed in her, but exhaustion was overtaking her, making her brain fuzzy and her vision blur. She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the floor, seeking the cold tile, but it was just so hot, everything was so hot…

  The door flew open with a bang, and Sonya cracked open her eyes to see a firefighter barge into the room. “Is anyone in here?” he shouted, his voice tinny through the mask he wore.

  “Here,” Sonya croaked, her voice hoarse from smoke inhalation. She reached out, feeling like a feeble old woman, and grasped at the firefighter’s pant leg. “I’m here.”

  The next few moments were a blur as the firefighter scooped her up into his arms. Part of her was vaguely aware that she was completely naked and wished for a towel, but the rest of her was too far gone. She closed her eyes, pressing her face into his shoulder as she tried to block out the searing heat, the crackle of flame, the creaking and popping of wood as it was burned away. She wanted to go back to sleep and pretend this was all just a bad dream…

  “She’s still alive!” Fresh air touched Sonya’s face as they burst through the building, and she lolled her head to the side, wanting to feel more of the wind on her face. “There’s no sign of anyone in the house, and the neighbors said no one else lives there. Was there anyone else inside, sweetheart?” He lowered his voice a bit, and Sonya knew he was talking to her.

  “No one else,” she rasped, blinking up at him. It was dark outside, and she could hardly see anything of his face behind the mask, but she thought his eyes were blue.

  He simply nodded, then returned his attention to his men. “All clear!” he shouted.

  The next thing she knew, Sonya was being placed on a pallet in the back of an ambulance. “Get her a blanket,” her rescuer ordered. The paramedic handed him one, and he covered Sonya in it, tucking the edges in around her snugly. “You’re going to be alright,” he told her.

  “Alright,” Sonya echoed, soothed by his tone. She closed her eyes and let the darkness take her.

  Chapter Three

  Caleb watched Sonya’s chest rise and fall in a slow, even pattern that reassured him. He’d accompanied her to the hospital, refusing to leave her side even though the doctors had tried to kick him out numerous times. He’d been worried that she’d inhaled too much smoke, but after a long night, the doctors had declared her out of danger and put her in the recovery ward, where Caleb had sat watching over her ever since.

  His eyes trailed over her face, taking in her long lashes, her sharp cheekbones, her full lips. Her hair was as red as the flames that had destroyed her house tonight and contrasted nicely against her milky skin, even if that skin was probably paler than normal. When he’d scooped her up into his arms last night, he’d gotten the shock of his life at the sensation of her wet, naked body against him, even through the layers of clothing and gear he wore.

  He’d rescued many people in his life, but this was the first time he’d had to carry a naked, beautiful woman out of a burning house.

  Of course, he hadn’t allowed himself to get distracted by her state of undress; it was hardly the time or place, with her house in flames and her life in da
nger. But looking back at the moment now, in his mind’s eye, when he’d placed her naked body on the pallet, the glimpses he recalled had been highly appealing.

  It was hard to reconcile that image with the one of her now, covered by that frumpy hospital gown and tucked securely between the sheets.

  Are you insane? How can you be thinking about her like this now, when she’d nearly lost her life? You must be seriously sleep-deprived.

  Or just a normal male, with hormones and desires like everyone else.

  That wasn’t the truth though, and he knew it. The reason he’d abandoned his men and followed her to the hospital – something he never did – wasn’t because she had a pretty face or because he was horny.

  No, the reason he was by her side was because of her scent. There was no mistaking it; she was a were-bear. One he didn’t know and who wasn’t a member of the Blackwater clan.

  A soft moan pulled him away from his thoughts, and he looked up to see the were-bear’s eyes flutter open. Sonya Dinsworth; that was the name her house had been registered under. Her eyes were a golden brown, the color of raw honey, and they were clouded with confusion as she sat up and looked at him.

  “Where am I?”

  Sonya felt extremely disoriented as she stared at the man sitting in the hospital chair. She had no idea who he was, though she had to admit she felt a certain pull of magnetism as she looked at him. And not without reason; he was good looking, with jet-black hair and cornflower blue eyes that contrasted wonderfully against his tanned skin. His bad-boy good looks and muscular physique certainly didn’t hurt anything, either.

  Wondering what he smelled like, she took a deep breath in through her nostrils… and scented were-bear.

  “Who are you?” Sonya shot straight up in bed, heart palpitating. “Did Damien send you here? Did he put you up to this?” The memories were starting to come back; the letter, falling asleep in the bathtub, her house burning down. “What kind of sick fuck is he, attacking me this way?”

  “Shh, shh.” The man held up a finger to his lips, looking around hastily. “I’m not a member of Damien’s clan. I’m the Captain of the Silver Grove Fire Station. I’m the one who saved you last night.”

  “Oh.” Sonya shrank back down against her pillows, embarrassed by her outburst. More memories came back, and she recalled the blue eyes of the firefighter who’d rescued her. “Sorry about that. I’m just not really sure what’s going on.”

  “I understand. It’s only natural for you to be confused. I haven’t heard back from the arson investigator yet on what caused the fire. Do you have any idea how it might have started? You mentioned Damien.”

  “I don’t…” Sonya started to shake her head, then paused. “Actually, I think the fire was my fault.” Her cheeks turned scarlet, and she looked away.

  “Your fault?” Caleb scooted closer. “Sonya, it’s alright. You can tell me what happened.”

  She scrubbed her face hard with the heels of her hands. “I remember putting some chocolate chip cookies in the oven before I went upstairs. I wanted a bath so badly, and I was just so stressed out that I completely forgot about them.”

  Caleb winced. “And then you fell asleep, huh?”

  Sonya nodded, and Caleb groaned inwardly. The firefighter in him wanted to launch into a diatribe; his department spent hours every month educating the townspeople about fire and safety to avoid just this sort of situation. But Sonya looked so guilty and ashamed that he didn’t have the heart to lecture her. She needed to be helped and reassured, not pounded into the dirt.

  Even more importantly, he needed to find out more about who she was and what her connection to Damien was.

  “Is there anything I can do to help you, then? Anyone I can call for you?”

  Sonya shook her head, her eyes bleak. If she was a normal person, she would call her parents. But she knew if she did that they would call Damien, and he would just bring her in to live with him now since she had no place to go. Even though she knew their mating was inevitable, she didn’t want to have to go to him a moment sooner than was necessary.

  “I think I’d just like a drink of water.”

  Caleb nodded. “I’ll tell the nurse you’re awake while I’m at it. She’ll want to check on you.”

  “Okay.”

  Caleb soon returned, a glass of water in hand and a smiling nurse in tow. “It’s wonderful to see you’re awake,” she said warmly, bustling over to check her vitals.

  Sonya smiled and endured the clucking and fussing. Once the nurse was assured that all seemed well, she left them alone in the room. “I don’t need to stay here any longer,” Sonya said quietly. She already wasn’t going to be able to afford the bill as it was; staying longer would only make things worse, and Damien would give her hell once it came to him. Plus, she was a were-bear and healed fast. “I’m going to get released today.”

  Caleb didn’t argue; likely he’d come to the same conclusions she had. “Where are you going to go?”

  “I’m not sure yet.” Her parents lived too far away, and she didn’t have any friends here that she felt close enough with to ask them if she could crash on their couch. She could probably scrape together enough money to stay a few nights at a motel, though. After all, she only had a few more nights until she’d be forced to go to Damien anyway.

  A lump formed in her throat as a rare wave of self-pity washed over her. How had her life come to this? To being given only the option of choosing between bad and worse? She didn’t understand what she could have possibly done to deserve this.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Caleb interrupted her thoughts, and she looked back up at him, her vision a little blurry.

  “I don’t see that I have much choice,” she said bitterly, blinking back the tears that had gathered in her eyes. This man had already seen her stark naked; she didn’t want to let him see her cry, too. “What else would you have me do?”

  “You could come and stay with me.”

  Caleb wasn’t sure what had made him blurt out the offer. It might have been the tears swimming in her big, brown eyes. Maybe it was because she was a damsel in distress. Or it could just be that he’d flat out gone crazy.

  “There’s no way I can do that.” Sonya was shaking her head, eyes wide. “We don’t even know each other. Why would you make such an offer?”

  “Because you’re a fellow were-bear in distress.” As soon as Caleb said the words, he knew they felt right. Sonya was certainly no friend of Damien’s, and she was one of his kind. “All of us at the Silver Grove Fire Station are were-bears that have banded together to look out for each other. As far as I’m concerned, you’re under our protection for as long as you’re here.”

  Sonya simply stared at him, as though she couldn’t grasp that concept. Caleb frowned, wondering what kind of clan she could have been raised in that she wouldn’t have a concept of clan loyalty. For that matter, how was it that a female were-bear had been living in this town for so long and he’d never run across her? He’d had one of his contacts look up her records and found that she’d been living here for three years, so she’d definitely been around when he’d started the Silver Grove Fire Station.

  “If you’re uncomfortable about the idea of staying with me, you can always stay at the fire station. We’ve got some cots, and then men—”

  “No!” Sonya shot straight up in bed again. She then bit her lip and averted her eyes, her shoulders relaxing a bit. “No,” she repeated softly. “I’d rather stay with you.”

  “Alright.” Caleb wasn’t sure what that was all about, but he wasn’t about to press, not when she’d been so reluctant to accept his help in the first place. “I’ll arrange it.”

  Chapter Four

  Sonya leaned her head back against the passenger seat of Caleb’s Ford pickup truck and closed her eyes. He’d left her at the hospital while she was being released to go get his car, and those moments she’d spent sitting in the lobby waiting for him to come back had been some of the most nerv
e-wracking she’d ever experienced. Her eyes had continuously darted around the room, looking for any sign that someone affiliated with the Blackwater clan was watching her, or worse, that one of Damien’s bears would come walking through the door to grab her.

  When Caleb finally returned for her, relief had hit her so hard she’d barely been able to hold herself back from launching straight into his arms. Instead, she’d allowed him to take her by the elbow and lead her out to the truck, where she was now.

  It had been such a long time since she’d felt safe in the presence of a were-bear. She was having a hard time believing this man could have such a calming effect on her, but her instincts didn’t lie. She knew she was safe with him.

  “Do you want to pick up any supplies?” Caleb asked. He turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. “I imagine you’ll want a toothbrush and some clothes at the very least.”

  Sonya’s cheeks burned as she looked down at herself. She was wearing a pair of baggy sweats and a t-shirt loaned to her by one of the hospital staff, who had taken pity on her. They were all she had to her name right now; she didn’t even have a bra on. “I think that would be good.”

  “Alright.” Caleb put the truck into gear and pulled out of the parking spot. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you taken care of.”

  * * *

  A few hours later, Caleb pulled into the driveway of his small, two-story shingle cottage. The late afternoon sun glinted off the red rooftop shingles that contrasted nicely against the gray shingles covering the outer walls of the house. He’d been living here since he moved to Silver Grove, renting it for a whole year before deciding to buy it outright from the owner. Though it wasn’t exactly a bachelor pad, it was comfortable, and even better were the several acres of property in the back where he could roam freely during his changes when the bear needed space.