"I didn't mean to scare you," he mutters. He spares me a quick glance. His eyes are a mix of brown and gold, his bear making his presence known.
"You don't scare me," I assure him, my heart light and free when I realize it's true.
"Here." The bear hands me a bottle of water. "You need to drink something."
I recognize the bottle as one of Augustine's fancy imported waters. My vampire master wouldn't waste something so fancy on me. I don't know if I can tell the bear that.
With a grunt, the bear pushes the water on me, and I don't protest. I'm parched. The water is cool, almost sweet, and I drain the whole bottle.
"He shouldn't have left you," the big man mutters. I gnaw my lip, studying him out of the corner of my eye so he won't notice. He's a big guy with a battered face and scars like I've never seen on a shifter before. His scent is large and in charge-a sign his bear is close to the surface, and super dominant.
Despite the tension in his giant body, he smells…safe. My fox leans into the smell, savors it. Either she's clueless, or she's reading him as someone who will protect us. I really, really hope it's the latter.
"Is that why you took me?" I venture. "Because I was in the cage?"
He glares at the road. Yellow eyes, glowing with his bear. "I'm taking you somewhere to clean you up and let you heal and rest."
I swallow. Not sanctioned then. Augustine won't be pleased. I'll be lucky if he doesn't blame me, or take out his displeasure on my ass.
My captor gives me a sharp look as if he knows my thoughts. "You know Frangelico?"
"Yes," I whisper, shrinking in my seat at the name of the vampire king.
"I work with him. He wants me to look into your master."
This doesn't reassure me a bit, but I know better than to ask about the affairs of vampires. "Don't you mean for him? You work for the vampire king?"
"That's what I said."
"You said with." Implying they were equals.
"For, with, what the fuck difference does it make?" He shrugs. I should be frightened out of my mind that I've annoyed him, but instead I want to giggle. I duck my head to hide my grin behind the thin fall of my hair.
If he notices my amusement, he doesn't comment on it. Instead he brushes a big hand over my hair. I still, letting him pet me.
"Red," he says.
"What?" I never question dominants, but I can't help it. His tone was deep and growly, with a touch of something more. Reverence. Or longing.
He doesn't explain the 'red' comment. Instead he says, "I watched you last night."
"Oh." I scan my memory of the past night's events. My fox helpfully supplies what she noticed-a dark, brown gold shape just outside of the spotlight, waiting in the shadows. A big, strong presence. Safe. "I remember you. Or at least, my fox does. She likes you."
Something in his shoulders relaxes. "Good. I'm glad."
I want to ask where we're going, but instead I yawn.
"Sleep, kit," he says. I love that he calls me by the name for a baby fox. It makes me feel babied. Protected. There's a dominant push in his voice that's impossible to disobey, even if I wanted to.
"Okay." I snuggle against the seat. The last thing I see is his big hand checking to make sure the heat vents are on and directing them toward me, then dropping to tug the blanket tighter around me.
"Thank you," I murmur. "Feels nice."
His bear rumbles again. Go to sleep. It says. I'm going to take care of you. Just relax and let go.
So I do.
Grizz
STUPID. So fucking stupid.
I'm not in the business of collecting liabilities. I'm a hunter. I learned my lessons young. A hunter never leaves tracks. Not if he's hunting a predator, and I hunt the most dangerous predators in existence.
But the second she dragged herself from the cage into my arms, she became too important to leave behind.
Besides, she's my best link to Augustine. At least, that's what I'm telling myself, although how the hell I'm going to hunt a vampire when I have to babysit his pet fox, I have no idea. I wasn't thinking when I stole her from the vampire's home. Not with my head at least.
The blanket slips off her shoulder and I can't concentrate. I wonder how that creamy skin would feel under my lips. I'll bet it's so damn soft. I brush the back of my knuckles over it.
Fuck-she's chilly! I tug the blanket back over her. The heat is on full force in the cab, but the poor female's body is small and frail. Damn vampire locking her up like that. She's too fragile to handle that sort of neglect. Too pale, too thin.
While I fiddle with the blanket like a girl with her dolly, the truck drifts outta its lane into the path of an eighteen wheeler. The driver honks and I bite back a roar. Don't wanna wake my sleeping beauty. Instead, I glare at the driver with mad bear eyes.
Fates, the kit isn't even awake and the bear is fighting to protect her. Keep it up and she's gonna think I'm her knight in shining armor. That'll be a mistake. I'm no one's hero.
I don't sit easy until I pull into my hidden drive. My den is tucked into the side of a mountain. Nothing fancy, one of those nuclear bunker type places, except the side sticking outta the hill has a few windows. I don't sleep exposed. Too dangerous. I learned that the hard way a couple hunts ago.