Bear-ly Yule Read online

  Guilt, a small sense of shame, and a whole heap of curiosity mixed inside of him as he stalked back to the phone and brought it back to life. He read the first message and grunted. It didn’t make much sense, but what he saw he didn’t like.

  He scrolled down the screen as far as the phone would let him and read what he could in order. He grumbled a low growl of annoyance deep within his chest, and strangely; he had the urge to plant his fist in the screen.

  Whoever the arsehole was that was messaging her — he’d sure like to meet the guy face-to-face.

  He’d been right, kind of, she was trouble — or in trouble. Either way, it shouldn’t have been his problem.

  But it sure did feel like his problem.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Malachi had tried to resist the urge to get involved in some strange human’s life, but he just couldn’t shake the thoughts that he kept on having about her. Some were dirty, damn dirty, and he was trying to bury those thoughts with varying degrees of success, but it was the other thoughts, about her being in trouble that just couldn’t be quashed.

  He’d pretty much made up his mind to go to her house — the only problem was that he didn’t have a damn clue where she was staying. Malachi liked to keep himself to himself, and he appreciated it when others did the same.

  But there was one guy that had his nose in everyone’s business. One guy that seemed to know where all the bodies were buried, so to speak, and with little wonder, considering he was a damn vampire.

  That meant Malachi needed to talk to the vampire. That also meant that he would need to do something that went against the grain — be sociable — because the one place that the vampire always hung out was the local bar.

  Malachi pushed open the door and remembered not to breathe through his nose. Alcohol, sweat, humans — and vampire didn’t make for the sweetest smell in the world.

  There he was — Mr tall, dark, dressed in black, and menacing — perched on a stool at the end of the bar with his eyes already locked and loaded on Malachi. Nothing got past that man.

  “For only the second time since you moved to town — remind me how long ago that was? Here you are in my bar,” Brook said.

  The only other person apart from Malachi to overhear him was the female bartender and owner of the place that was standing beside him. That didn’t mean that every head didn’t turn in Malachi’s direction. It was a small town.

  “My bar — and don’t forget it,” Sissy said. She arched her eyebrows in a playful challenge towards the vampire, and he gave her a small nod of respect in return.

  “Presumptuous of me, and wrong. Accept my apologies?” Brook offered her a winning smile, and she offered him a lopsided grin in return.

  “Maybe later,” she said with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows.

  They were something of an item. And on-off pairing that Malachi couldn’t quite understand.

  “I may take you up on that,” Brook offered back.

  “May?” She challenged him.

  “Now who’s being presumptuous?” He teased back.

  Malachi had ignored the looks that he was getting from the humans as he stalked towards the end of the bar. He’d lived with that kind of thing his whole life. Brook turned his attention towards the shifter when sissy walked away with the small chuckle.

  “Speaking of presumptuous,” Brook made eye contact with Malachi and held it. “You want something from me.”

  “Would I be here if I didn’t?” Malachi offered back.

  “You’re no fun. We’re supposed to do the whole – no I don’t – yes you do – dance.” Brook intentionally looked bored.

  “I don’t dance.”

  “Exactly, which makes it more fun. But, I don’t need to read your mind when your actions are so much more telling.”

  “I’m looking for someone,” Malachi said, he thought he’d just cut to the chase.

  “People – people everywhere, like water, but only a few to drink,” Brook grinned.

  “You know where everyone lives.” Malachi ignored the obvious attempt to rile him up.

  “Occupational hazard,” the vampire shrugged.

  “I’m looking for a woman…”

  “Well, it’s about time, Mr. Lonesome Dove.” And that time when the vampire grinned; there was a whole new meaning behind it.

  “It’s not like that,” Malachi gave a small shake of his head. At least, not entirely like that. Sure, he wanted to see her again, but that wasn’t that main reason.

  “I’m sure.” The vampire offered back, and Malachi had the urge to plant his fist in the man’s face.

  It wasn’t what the vampire said, but who the vampire had said it about. Malachi didn’t need the vampire’s crap — his bear was feeling protective after reading those text messages, and so was he.

  “Are you going to help me or not?” Malachi demanded.

  “What’s in it for me?”

  “I won’t kill you.”

  “Like you could,” Brook grinned again.

  Malachi had fallen for the dance without even realizing it. The give-and-take. The challenge and rebuttal. It was another reason why Malachi didn’t tend to seek the vampire’s company.

  “I can give it my best shot,” Malachi offered back.

  “Comes in here throwing his weight around…” The deep, loud voice emanated from somewhere over Malachi’s left shoulder. He’d seen the men that were sitting at the table when he’d walked in — trouble — always trouble, but he needed to be there.

  “I think you have a fan club,” Brook offered.

  “I think I need to leave before I end up putting my fist through his head,” Malachi offered back.

  The sound of the chair legs scraping against the floor told Malachi that there was going to be a bigger problem than just a drunk mouthing off.

  “Too late,” Brook offered a playful grimace.

  “And you wonder why I turn down your offers to be sociable,” Malachi grumbled.

  “You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few heads.”

  “Eggs.”

  “Those too.” Brook shrugged his shoulders.

  Malachi was listening to the sound of the man’s footsteps as they closed the distance behind him. He had to remind himself that the man was human — one real punch and he would put his fist straight through the man’s head, not really, but as good as.

  That might have been satisfying — but it wouldn’t do anyone any good. Least of all the human.

  “You know what he is, Dane.” Someone from the vicinity of the man’s table reminded him.

  “I know that if he gets his bear on then, he’s going to be put in a cage for rest of his life where he belongs,” Dane said.

  Brook watched the anger settle in on Malachi’s face. He couldn’t blame the man — but he couldn’t allow him to kill the drunken asshole either.

  “Allow me,” Brook said as he stood up.

  “I don’t think so,” Malachi growled back.

  “Allow me,” Sissy said as she slammed down the baseball bat onto the top of the bar. The cracking thump of wood against wood hurt Malachi’s ears. “My bar – my rules.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ~

  “Oh, I wouldn’t get in her way,” Brook chuckled.

  Malachi heard the vampire’s words, and his bear bristled within him. The human had offered up something of a challenge — there was no way in hell that he could allow a human female to take on that challenge.

  “It’s not happening,” Malachi growled.

  “Oh trust me, you do not want to get between a pissed off Sissy, and her trusty baseball bat,” Brook warned him. “When she gets mad, she doesn’t care whose head she’s swinging that thing at.”

  “Now, Sissy, this isn’t your concern,” Dane said.

  “Wrong answer,” Sissy offered back.

  “There was a question?” Malachi said.

  “You didn’t hear the baseball bat ask a question? B
ecause it hurt my ears when it did it,” Brook said.

  “You people are weird,” Malachi growled.

  “Yeah,” Dane offered. “But at least we’re not shifters.”

  “I didn’t come here to break your head,” Malachi growled as he turned to face the man for the first time.

  “There’ll be no breaking of heads inside my bar unless I’m the one doing it,” Sissy warned them.

  “She’s feisty, no?” Brook offered from somewhere over Malachi’s left shoulder.

  “Brook, stop being an asshole,” Malachi growled.

  “Okay, well him you can hit at any time,” Brook informed Sissy as he nodded toward the shifter.

  “Why don’t we step outside?” Dane demanded.

  “That’s where you want to die?” Malachi growled back.

  “Why can life never be easy?” Brook sighed. “Why is it always left to the vampire to sort things out?”

  “You’d better do it soon — my bat is getting twitchy,” Sissy said.

  “A twitchy bat — there’s a whole other vampire story,” Brook offered her a grin. “So, Dane — you’re going to fight my friend, and if by some miracle you were to win — I’m next.”

  Dane looked decidedly nervous. The thought of taking on a shifter appealed to him, other humans had done it and won — but a vampire — that was a whole other thing.

  “Nobody said anything about fighting you,” Dane grumbled.

  “Well, why does he get to have all the fun?” Brook offered back with an over exaggerated amount of glee at the prospect.

  “Dane, just leave it,” someone from his table shouted, giving the man a reasonable out.

  The question had to be if the man was smart enough to take it.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Donna sat in the rocking chair in front of the open file. For the last two weeks, she’d found solace in the flames as they jumped and danced around the logs.

  She kind of like rocking out. It was probably the newest piece of furniture in the house, and even Stacey enjoyed rocking in it.

  She sought of missed her phone. Although, not the calls and texts that she’d received lately from it. It felt as if an appendage had been cut off, but she could live with that.

  There hadn’t been one so-called friend that had reached out to her since she’d left. That was okay too. She was going to have to learn to do it alone — life — but then she wasn’t really alone, she had Stacey.

  They say children are resilient and Stacey had taken to their new surroundings like a duck to water. Five years old and as precocious as the day was long — and some days could be very long — Stacey was amazing.

  She didn’t need to sell her soul to the devil to provide a good home, family, everything that Stacey needed in life, and she wouldn’t. That was how it was, and she could live with that too.

  They were both going to have live without city life. Who needed shops?

  They’d be happier where they were now. She’d make sure of it.

  Thoughts of the man that she’d met at the store crept into her mind. He’d been doing that all day, just like the thoughts doom that she couldn’t seem to shake either.

  Only he didn’t feel like doom. When she thought of his smile and the way his eyebrows danced and tried to meet in the middle; it made her smile.

  Stupid really, the man was a shifter, and a lot of people gave them a wide berth — some with good reason, they could be unpredictable and violent, but he didn’t feel like that either. She didn’t feel nervous around him — at least not the kind of nervous that had a person running for the hills.

  He seemed kind, thoughtful. He had taken the time to retrieve her phone after all. Even if she hadn’t wanted it back.

  She couldn’t remember if she’d thanked him or not. She felt a spark of guilt inside her and made a mental note to thank him the next time she saw him — if she saw him again.

  What were the odds of that?

  Donna smiled to herself. She had to remember that she didn’t live in the big city anymore. She lived in nowhere-ville, and the odds that everybody knew everybody else’s business and saw each other on a regular basis were pretty good.

  That thought sparked something entirely different to life within her. The thought of seeing him again was…appealing.

  It wasn’t as if she was going to camp out at the store in the hopes of running into him. Hell, she had his phone number — if she really wanted to see him again, then she could come up with a reason, a job for him to do, even if she had to break something around the cabin in the process.

  Donna scowled at the fire. She had to wonder why her chain of thought had even gone in that direction.

  She was done with men. There was no point in walking away from your problems only to make new ones.

  It was a small town. It was a small community. And you didn’t poop on your own doorstep.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  “So, let me get this straight,” Brook frowned at Malachi as the pair sat on stools at the end of the bar. The human had retreated, and that meant he lived to fight another day, and probably would fight, just not Malachi. “You have her phone.”

  “Yes,” Malachi would have sighed if it hadn’t held up getting the information that he needed.

  “The one she threw away?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you want to give it back to her?”

  “In a way.” There was a moment of hesitation on Malachi’s part. He frowned.

  “What way, it’s either a yes or no?”

  “Let’s say yes and go from there,” Malachi grumbled a growl low in his chest to show the vampire that he was close to breaking his face.

  “But, she doesn’t want it back.”

  “That’s not the point…”

  “I think it is. She’ll think it is. Only you think it’s not.”

  “Malachi…” He did sigh then.

  “You sighed.” Brook pitched a curious look at him. His eyes narrowed, and Malachi shifted in his seat.

  “Do not read my mind,” Malachi growled.

  “Wouldn’t dream of it — much.”

  “There’s nothing in there…”

  “Tell me about it,” Brook grinned.

  “That will interest you,” Malachi finished his sentence and offered the man a death glare.

  “Did you ever consider the fact that you just want to see her again?” The vampire asked.

  “No,” Malachi lied.

  “Let’s try that one again with the truth,” Brook said as he twisted his head to the right to offer the shifter a knowing look, and demanded an answer.

  “Possibly,” Malachi growled again.

  “I know where the fresh blood supply lives,” Brook said, and he got the response that he wanted immediately from the shifter. The hard warning growl caught in the back of Malachi’s throat. “Interesting.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ~

  “I’d say share, but I don’t give damn.” Malachi just wanted the damn address, not psyche 101.

  “Oh, I think you will,” Brook said as he folded his arms across his chest and eyed Malachi with interest.

  “Can I just get the damned address?” Malachi growled again.

  “Far be it from me to keep you from your destiny.”

  “I’m warning you, vampire.”

  “No need to thank me — I believe in true love.” Brook grinned from ear to ear.

  “She’s not my mate.” He growled long and hard that time.

  “Says you.”

  “Says me.”

  “Did you sniff?” The vampire demanded as he placed his elbows down on the top of the bar and rested his chin in his upturned hands like a dreamy schoolgirl.

  “Are you insane?” Malachi looked at the man as if he’d just fed on a human right there in front of him.

  “I’ll take that as a no.”

  “She’s not my mate.”

  “Are you sure?”r />
  “Yes.”

  Brook watched as Malachi’s eyes narrowed and he considered his answer.

  “Ah-ha!” The vampire announced with glee.

  “I can’t be sure without scenting her,” Malachi admitted.

  “And that’s what you’re going to do?”

  “No.”

  “Then why are you going there?”

  “I told you — the phone.”

  “That’s your excuse, and you’re sticking to it.”

  “Are you going to give me the damn address?” Malachi slapped his hand down on top of the bar and growled long and hard as he waited for the answer.

  The vampire kept him waiting a moment or two longer than was entirely necessary.

  “Yes.” Brook noticed that Malachi actually sighed in relief. “On one condition…”

  “Damn it, vampire!” Malachy growled.

  “I’m coming with you…”

  “The hell you are.” Malachi scowled a death glare at the vampire.

  “I can come with you — or – I can follow you. The endgame is the same.” Brook shrugged his shoulders.

  “This is not bloody happening.” The shifter growled.

  “No, it’s a dream — wake-up and smell the roses — she’s your mate.”

  “The hell she is.”

  “Sounds like she could be to me,” Sissy said with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. As all good bartenders should, she’d been eavesdropping as she polished up the glasses that didn’t need another polish.

  “That’s…” Malachi couldn’t think past that one word. His mind was reeling.

  Could she be his mate?

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Malachi had left his truck back on the road. He’d stalked towards the cabin with the intention of doing what he’d come to do.

  But as he stood there staring at the cabin, nestled against the backdrop of the woods behind, the flickering light from an open fire in the downstairs window, and the sense of peace that sight should have provided within him; he realized that it had the opposite effect.

  He was tempted to scent the air. Boy, was he?