Fealty Of The Bear by T.S. Joyce Page A

must’ve been sad going through life wanting to connect as Logan seemed to, just to get rejected time after time. How long would she last before she quit trying at all?
    “Do you live in a small town?” she asked, just to take the focus off of whatever inner dialogue was going on in Logan’s head.
    “A big town, actually. I rent a house in Portland.”
    “Oh, I think Samantha is from there.”
    “Who is Samantha?” he asked, swinging his gaze to hers. His amber colored eyes were lined with the strange gold color of his animal, but just around the edges. The sun reflected off of them as his eyebrows furrowed.
    Dominant or no, the man could stun her with a look. He probably had no shortage of females vying for his attention, and something about that sent a pang of burning regret through her.
    “You okay?” he asked.
    Clearing her throat, she pulled her attention back to the road. “She’s the mate of the new alpha. She’s hurt and I’m going to make sure she’s healing all right. We almost lost her a couple of days ago when alpha turned over from Dodger to Bron. Dodger tried to kill her.”
    “Why?”
    “Because she was human, and now she’s not.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, Muriel could see him watching her with a dumbfounded expression. “What do you mean human ? You’re saying she wasn’t born a shifter?”
    “Nope. Up until Monday, she was completely and utterly human.”
    Logan’s voice dipped to a disbelieving whisper. “How?”
    “I turned her.”
    “Does your clan approve of you bringing back the old magic?”
    “I don’t have a clan.” She turned onto Bron’s gravel drive and downshifted up a hill.
    “Muriel,” Logan said as she pulled around a meadow in front of Bron’s cabin. “Why are you rogue and living alone without the protection of a clan?”
    Disapproval laced his tone and she jerked her head sharply toward him.
    “Why are you a rogue, Logan? Everyone one of us on the outside has our reasons. It’s not a life I chose on a whim. Shit happened and I’m trying to pick up the pieces after some really bad years. Maybe I’ll pick a clan soon. Maybe I won’t. But the beautiful thing about it is, it’s my decision. And I haven’t been allowed to make my own decisions in a long time. I’ll be damned if I make the wrong one.”
    Logan’s eyes blazed and he leaned toward her. “Why weren’t you allowed to make decisions? Did someone hurt you?”
    “No. It wasn’t anything like that.” And it definitely wasn’t any of Logan’s business.
    Muriel parked the car, shouldered her medical bag and escaped as soon as she had the keys pulled from the ignition. Logan followed close on her heels and grabbed her elbow in a steely grip. “You said you were mated before. Was it forced?” Desperation edged his tone, and when she looked into his eyes, they weren’t lined in gold anymore, but shining with the color like a damned star.
    As she drew air into her lungs, the scent of animal almost overwhelmed her. He was angry, but for the life of her, she couldn’t fathom why.
    “I can’t do this right now.” A stronger woman would’ve yanked her arm away and stomped on his boot. But she liked the warmth that seeped from his body to hers where their skin was only separated by the thin material of her sweater. He seemed angry for her, and it had been so long since anyone tried to understand where she’d fit into the awful situation that was her and Bron’s marriage.
    His fiery gaze dipped to her lips and he took a step toward her. “You can tell me,” he breathed.
    Right now, she wanted to. His chest heaving like he was controlling a great grizzly within himself, his grip on her arm tightening like he couldn’t let her go, and his eyes—those beautifully inhuman eyes were looking at her lips like he actually wanted her. Like he couldn’t help himself. And dammit, she’d wanted this feeling for so long. She wanted to tell him everything and hope he didn’t see her as a