begging for his life while the bears watched him with bored expressions on their faces. A few of them even rolled their eyes, and she couldn’t help but smile at Tyler and Travis.
The red flashing lights of a squad car lit up the night and the bears cleared a path so the sheriff could get through.
“Charles,” Trent yelled. “We’re not going to press charges, I think you’ve been punished enough for one night, but you need to get into your car right now and leave. The sheriff will follow you until you hit the main road, and then you can never return. You must stay away from Olive and stay away from Bear Canyon. If you ever lay a hand on her again or come back to this town for any reason, I’ll kill you, and I’ll get my friends to help.”
Angry bear roars filled the night as the bears sounded off in agreement to Trent’s words. Charles crawled to his car and sped out of the parking lot with the sheriff on his tail. The bears shifted back into their human forms and one of the men pulled a pair of plastic gloves out of his back pocket and retrieved the weapon. She recognized him as one of the deputies she’d met earlier, and watched as he dropped the weapon into a plastic bag.
“Thanks guys,” Trent said to each man as they filed back into the bar.
“No problem.”
“Anytime.”
“Bears rule!”
Salutations filled the air, and some of the men nodded once, or slapped Trent on the back as they walked passed.
“Well, that went well,” Travis said when he approached. “Are you okay, Olive?”
“I’m fine, Travis, thank you,” she said.
“Great job, bro,” Tyler said. “Don’t be too hard on him, sis. It killed him to leave you in the hallway with that asshole.”
“I won’t,” she promised, and tightened her arms around Trent.
“Ready to go home?” Trent asked when they stood completely alone in the lot.
“Yes,” she said simply.
They walked to his truck hand in hand, and Travis drove them home.
***
Trent cut through the water with ease and when he reached the edge of the pool, he turned around and repeated the aggressive strokes that carried him to the other side. He punished the water as he moved swiftly through the waves with only the light of the moon to guide him.
The events of the evening flashed before his mind, and the onslaught of emotions he’d felt in that hallway threatened to drive him insane. Anger, possession, fear and revenge had topped the list, but he’d been forced to walk away. It didn’t help that he had been feeling sorry for himself before Olive had enticed him with lingerie.
If it had just been the man, Trent could have taken him down easily, but the fact that he had a gun posed a more serious problem. He couldn’t risk Olive’s safety with an unplanned attack.
He’d remained calm, sought out his brothers and friends for help, and then followed the couple out the back door. The look on Olive’s face had pained him. Even if it were only for an instant, she’d believed he’d left her. The realization felt as if someone reached inside his chest and yanked out his heart.
The drive home from the bar had been quiet, and Olive had insisted on showering, alone, to remove any trace of the other man. He didn’t let her go until she relayed all the details of the encounter he’d missed and showed him her injuries. She had a bump on the back of her head, and her palms had several cuts from her fall.
He hated that she’d been hurt, and once again questioned his actions.
Did I do the right thing?
He stopped in the middle of the pool and wondered if this was this what having a mate was like, and if so, how did his brothers survive. What the hell would happen if she got pregnant? Would he make a good dad? A good mate?
Lord, he was going insane.
He took a deep breath, held it, and allowed himself to sink to the bottom of the pool. When he couldn’t hold it any longer, he pushed up to the surface and saw Olive standing by stairs wearing his
The red flashing lights of a squad car lit up the night and the bears cleared a path so the sheriff could get through.
“Charles,” Trent yelled. “We’re not going to press charges, I think you’ve been punished enough for one night, but you need to get into your car right now and leave. The sheriff will follow you until you hit the main road, and then you can never return. You must stay away from Olive and stay away from Bear Canyon. If you ever lay a hand on her again or come back to this town for any reason, I’ll kill you, and I’ll get my friends to help.”
Angry bear roars filled the night as the bears sounded off in agreement to Trent’s words. Charles crawled to his car and sped out of the parking lot with the sheriff on his tail. The bears shifted back into their human forms and one of the men pulled a pair of plastic gloves out of his back pocket and retrieved the weapon. She recognized him as one of the deputies she’d met earlier, and watched as he dropped the weapon into a plastic bag.
“Thanks guys,” Trent said to each man as they filed back into the bar.
“No problem.”
“Anytime.”
“Bears rule!”
Salutations filled the air, and some of the men nodded once, or slapped Trent on the back as they walked passed.
“Well, that went well,” Travis said when he approached. “Are you okay, Olive?”
“I’m fine, Travis, thank you,” she said.
“Great job, bro,” Tyler said. “Don’t be too hard on him, sis. It killed him to leave you in the hallway with that asshole.”
“I won’t,” she promised, and tightened her arms around Trent.
“Ready to go home?” Trent asked when they stood completely alone in the lot.
“Yes,” she said simply.
They walked to his truck hand in hand, and Travis drove them home.
***
Trent cut through the water with ease and when he reached the edge of the pool, he turned around and repeated the aggressive strokes that carried him to the other side. He punished the water as he moved swiftly through the waves with only the light of the moon to guide him.
The events of the evening flashed before his mind, and the onslaught of emotions he’d felt in that hallway threatened to drive him insane. Anger, possession, fear and revenge had topped the list, but he’d been forced to walk away. It didn’t help that he had been feeling sorry for himself before Olive had enticed him with lingerie.
If it had just been the man, Trent could have taken him down easily, but the fact that he had a gun posed a more serious problem. He couldn’t risk Olive’s safety with an unplanned attack.
He’d remained calm, sought out his brothers and friends for help, and then followed the couple out the back door. The look on Olive’s face had pained him. Even if it were only for an instant, she’d believed he’d left her. The realization felt as if someone reached inside his chest and yanked out his heart.
The drive home from the bar had been quiet, and Olive had insisted on showering, alone, to remove any trace of the other man. He didn’t let her go until she relayed all the details of the encounter he’d missed and showed him her injuries. She had a bump on the back of her head, and her palms had several cuts from her fall.
He hated that she’d been hurt, and once again questioned his actions.
Did I do the right thing?
He stopped in the middle of the pool and wondered if this was this what having a mate was like, and if so, how did his brothers survive. What the hell would happen if she got pregnant? Would he make a good dad? A good mate?
Lord, he was going insane.
He took a deep breath, held it, and allowed himself to sink to the bottom of the pool. When he couldn’t hold it any longer, he pushed up to the surface and saw Olive standing by stairs wearing his
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