Bear Bait (Hero Mine Book 1) Read online

  She was in trouble. Not the a-demon-is-chasing-you kind of trouble. That, for the moment, had passed. This was more of a-you-are-lost-in-the-woods-and-your-body-is-in-no-fit-state-to-go-on kind of trouble.

  Well, tough. I am not dying here.

  She searched for another branch, a long slender one that she could use as a walking stick. Or maybe two, one for each hand. Finding them, she wrapped her hands around them, and began to walk, following the fence. She no longer had any idea which direction she was headed, but any direction was better than giving up and giving in.

  Her resolve kept her going, although each step was painful. Her muscles screamed to be allowed to rest, and her feet throbbed, needing to be bandaged up.

  No bandages here. What about moss, could she bind her feet with soft moss?

  Octavia stopped beside an old oak tree and began to tear at the moss; it was soft and springy in her hands. It might do. If she could find something to bind around it to keep it in place, but it was so dark, and she was afraid of wandering too far away from the fence and not being able to find it again.

  As she pulled the moss from the tree, her teeth began to chatter. Soon her whole body was shivering, what was left of her thin dress was no defense against the cold air. She looked up, seeing the moon between the thick leaves of the trees. It was late and with several hours before morning, she was only going to get colder.

  Octavia slumped down on the ground, and for the first time in months cried for her mom. All she wanted was for her mom to be here, to wrap her arms around Octavia and tell her it was going to be all right. The sound of her voice at the end of the phone would be such a comfort.

  “My phone.” She dug into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “One bar. Nearly dead.”

  Who should she call? The police. And say what? I’m lost in the New Forest, no idea where, and oh yeah, I’m being chased by a thing with green eyes. One-way ticket to the looney bin right there.

  So who? She had an address, but no number for Natalie. Unless she could get on the internet and track down a telephone number.

  A noise in the forest broke her train of thought. The demon was back. Had he brought the men with him? Crap, she should have kept moving.

  Crawling to the nearest tree, she placed her hands on the rough bark, pulling her tired body up to a standing position. Turning so her back was against the trunk, she listened, her eyes scanning the forest, looking for the telltale green eyes, but all she saw was the silhouette of a creature, big, but lower to the ground, half hidden in the trees.

  It was just a pony or a deer. Although it looked bulkier than either of those.

  Holding her breath, she watched it move. It zig-zagged through the trees, getting closer. Octavia could hear it snuffling, twigs snapping under its feet as it moved. This creature was not trying to be stealthy. It didn’t seem to care if she heard it. What kind of new terror was this?

  Then it stopped. She stared at it, and she would swear it stared at her; it had its head up, sniffing the air. Then, before her eyes could make out exactly what it was, it retreated into the undergrowth and was gone.

  Octavia blew the air out of her cheeks, puffing as she got control of her nerves, which were in tatters. Time to move. She shoved the moss into her purse, deciding to get moving and look for some kind of twine as she walked. Ivy might do it: it was bendy and could be tied around her feet.

  Using her sticks, she walked, keeping to a rhythm, head down, forcing herself forward one step at a time.

  “Are you all right?” The voice came from the dark, and she nearly peed her pants in fright.

  “Who’s there?” Octavia asked, one stick held out in front of her in defense.

  “I’m here.” She looked in front of her, and to her right, and as she stared, a man appeared. No green eyes, she sighed in relief, but that didn’t mean this man wasn’t one of the ones who had followed her in the car. He might be one of them.

  “Where did you come from?” she asked.

  “I live a couple of miles that way.” She saw the movement of his hand as he pointed over his shoulder. “And you look as if you need help.”

  “Do I?” she asked, hostility in her voice.

  “You do.” He was close now, she could make out his features. Dark hair, dark eyes, and stubble across his chin. His body was big, not as big as the demon’s, but she could tell he worked out and took care of himself.

  “And what are you doing skulking about in the forest?” she asked.

  “Me, skulking?” he asked. “I could ask, why are you skulking?” He stepped closer and looked her up and down, a sharp intake of breath telling her how bad she looked. “What the hell happened to you?”

  “I got lost,” she said. Keep it simple, her brain fed her.

  “Lost? You look like a deer who has been hunted for hours.”

  “My car broke down. And I thought I’d walk.”

  “With no shoes?”

  “They weren’t practical for hiking through the forest.”

  He leaned forward and sniffed the air, and the memory of the bear came back to her. She shook off her next thought. Demons were one thing, this man and the bear being one and the same was another. This wasn’t a scene from The Hobbit.

  “Something is chasing you?”

  She stepped back, dropping the one stick she had been leaning on, and grasping the other in two hands. “How do you know that? Unless you are one of them.”

  “One of whom?” he asked, stepping forward. He wasn’t afraid of her.

  Of course he wasn’t afraid of her. She was a woman with a stick, against a giant of a man. “Just walk away.”

  “I can’t.”

  “So you are one of them?” she accused angrily. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I’m not the bad guy,” he answered, holding up his hands. “I want to help you.”

  “You can’t help me,” she said. “The best thing you can do for both of us, is walk away.”

  “No.” He reached for the stick, and she threw it at him, before turning and running. “Don’t.”

  He was behind her, she could hear his footsteps on the ground as he ran. He was faster than her, his legs longer, and he wasn’t exhausted. There was no way she was going to get away from him. Unless she could hide in the forest. Ducking under a low branch, she ran deeper, into the trees, figuring he would have a hard time following her because of his size.

  She was wrong, he was right there behind her, his hand on her shoulder, dragging her back toward him possessively. Octavia whirled around, pushing the heels of her hands into his chest, trying to get him away from her.

  “Let me go.”

  “No,” he said, his hand catching her arm, but she darted to the left and slipped out of his grasp.

  “I want to help you.”

  “You can’t help me. All that will happen is you’ll get torn to pieces.” He faltered as her words hit him. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’ll protect you.”

  Octavia stepped away from him, a movement in the forest catching her eye. Was he there, the green-eyed demon? It was time to put some distance between her and this man. Flipping around, she pushed him with all her strength, knocking him to the ground. Her plan was to run, and run fast.

  Instead, as her would-be rescuer fell, he grabbed hold of her arm, and she fell too, landing on his broad chest, his large hands hot on her cold skin as he gripped her arms.

  As their eyes met, she understood he never intended to let her go again. Ever. Octavia hated herself for the sudden and utter relief that swept over her.

  Just like in a fairy tale, she was a damsel in distress, needing to be rescued by a knight in shining armor, instead of an independent twenty-first-century woman. She no longer cared; the fight left her and she sagged down onto his chest, big gulping sobs erupting from her body.

  She didn’t care if he turned out to be the bad guy, she simply wanted all of this to end. Just like her mom had wanted an end when all tr
eatments failed. She understood that now, and the anger she had stored away in her heart, the feelings that her mom had given in, not caring that she was leaving Octavia alone, disappeared.

  Chapter Five – Cade

  She lay on top of him, sobbing. The fight had left her. Cade loosened his grip on her arms and cradled her against his body, his strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close to him.

  There was no doubt, as they lay there on the forest floor, that the woman in his arms was his mate. No doubt at all. He’d meant it when he told her he couldn’t leave. Whatever hunted her, it was his duty, his responsibility, to make her safe.

  Slowly, he shifted his position and sat up, cradling her against his chest as her sobs subsided. “We need to get you out of here.”

  “You need to let me go. I mean it, there is this … thing … hunting me,” she said, and tried to stand. He heard the small whimper that escaped her as she put her feet to the ground. He could smell the faint metallic scent of her blood on the air.

  “I’ll carry you.” He stood up and, without asking her permission, picked her up and held her tight when she began to struggle.

  “You don’t understand, the thing that is out there is a monster. It’s hunting me.”

  “And I’ll protect you from it,” Cade said, turning around 360 degrees until he got his bearings and then struck off toward home. When he got closer he would phone the others and make sure they were ready for whatever lurked in the forest. He had scented it, just before she had pushed him to the ground. The other demon Kell had seen. But for now, it was gone.

  “You can’t, it’s too strong. I saw what it can do to human flesh, I can’t have that happen to anyone else.”

  “I can protect us.”

  Not if it’s a powerful degetty like Zinan, his bear said.

  You have any better ideas? Cade asked in return.

  No, his bear answered.

  “You can’t protect me. I told you, this is a monster.”

  “And I’m a monster too,” Cade said.

  She stiffened in his arms, and he hated to break it to her so bluntly, but he needed her to know he was not a human, he had strengths that a normal man did not. “What kind of monster?”

  “The kind that will protect you. And never hurt you,” Cade said.

  “You sound like a stalker.”

  “No, not a stalker,” he answered, but that was because it was what she needed to hear. If he told her he never wanted to let her out of his sight again, she might try to escape his arms, and he would not tolerate that, not when she was in danger.

  Cade took a moment to listen to his internal dialogue. The voice in his head sounded different, more primal, as if finding his mate had changed him instantly, making him more possessive. He looked down at the woman in his arms, and a wave of pure need swept over him. She was his, he was hers; if she left his life, either by death or by running away, a part of him would die also.

  So this was what his mom had felt every day of her life for the last five years, ever since his dad had left to find Liam, Cade’s uncle, who had been missing for over twenty years.

  “I just need to keep you safe,” Cade said by way of an explanation, and she didn’t argue anymore. She slumped against him, her body trembling, he hoped from the cold, rather than her fear of him. “My name is Cade, by the way. I’m taking you to my house. You will be safe there.”

  “Your house?” she asked.

  “Don’t worry, I still live with my mom.”

  “Great, is that supposed to make me feel better? What’s the place called, Bates Motel?”

  He gave a short laugh. “You still have a sense of humor, even after what you’ve been through. I like that.”

  “I don’t need you to like it,” she said defensively.

  “I know, but I like it all the same.” He glanced down at her. “Do you have a name?”

  “What do you think?”

  “That it’s not going to hurt you to tell me what it is,” he said, stopping at the edge of a clearing. The trees were thinning; soon they would have to travel across open moorland, or take a long detour. Cade wanted to get back to the house as quickly as possible, but not at any risk.

  “Octavia,” she said quietly.

  “Good to meet you, Octavia. Not so happy about the circumstances, but I’m sure glad you ran into my life,” he murmured absently, then he realized how that must sound. “So I could help you…”

  “Sure.”

  “I mean it. You could have died out here.”

  “I know,” she said, her voice catching as the enormity of the situation settled on her, and she huddled into him, as if trying to melt away.

  “I will protect you.” He took a step out into the open, and then another, looking all around as he moved. “Why did the monster want to kill you?”

  “I don’t know if it did,” she answered.

  “I thought you said it was chasing you.”

  “It was. But when it had the chance to get me, it ran off. We were face to face.” She took a deep breath. “It was as if it was herding me.”

  Cade’s heart beat rapidly in his chest, but he kept moving forward. “Herding you where?”

  “Here. I don’t know. It sounds ridiculous, but it didn’t try to attack me, or stop me. It was as if it was watching me.” She shrugged. “I have the name of a witch who can help me. That’s where I’m going.”

  “You know about witches?” Cade asked. At least he wouldn’t have to explain everything to her from the beginning. “You know about magic?” They were back underneath the trees. In another fifty feet he would break cover to cross the moors, before they reached the trail leading through the forest to his house. Their sanctuary. They were so close, but Cade was scared of an ambush.

  “Some.” She paused. “It’s hard to deny what you see with your own eyes. I was skeptical, until that thing came into my life.”

  They were over halfway across the moor, Cade was jogging, trying not to jostle Octavia too much in his arms, but they needed to pick up speed. A prickling along his neck told him they were being watched, but when he sent his senses roaming across the open space, there was nothing, no sound, or movement, no misplaced smell of brimstone. They were alone. Although he wasn’t sure he believed it.

  “We’re nearly there,” Cade told Octavia. He was tempted to pull out his cell phone and call the others. He would easily get a signal on his phone this close to the enclave, and his brothers would be there within minutes to help ensure Cade got Octavia to safety. Yet there was something to be said about stealth.

  Deciding to go it alone, he jogged on.

  “I could walk,” Octavia said.

  “You could, but I doubt you can run.”

  “I’m not that much of a wimp,” she replied.

  “You haven’t seen the condition you are in,” Cade answered. “I don’t want you shredding your feet any more, unless you have to.” He grinned. “Don’t worry, if we come under attack, I’ll put you down.”

  “I’ve never been carried so much in my life,” Octavia commented.

  “Bet you did when you were a baby,” Cade answered, liking the sound of her voice.

  “Obviously,” she replied as if he were an imbecile.

  “I promise to let you walk once you are healed.”

  “Great, I’m so pleased to know you don’t make a habit of carrying women around.”

  “I could make an exception for you.”

  “What are you, some kind of caveman?”

  He chuckled as he ran. “You’ve given me an idea. Next time I need to throw you over my shoulder and carry you off to my den.”

  “Just you try it!”

  She wasn’t sure if he was joking. That thought would have made him laugh, if she hadn’t had such a hard time being chased by a degetty. As it was, it made him kind of sad that she wasn’t sure his words were a joke. Just like his mom, all those years ago, Octavia had been thrust headfirst into a world she had no idea of.

&n
bsp; And just like his mom, she was being tracked by a degetty. He was going to need to talk this over with Tally. Which was going to be an interesting conversation, since the arrival of his mate would be like the final nail in the coffin of the crush the young witch had had on him for as long as Cade could remember.

  He only hoped Tally could put her disappointment aside and help him protect the woman who was now the center of his world.

  Yeah. If Cade knew women at all, especially teens, that was not going to happen without some kind of a fight.

  But he would rather fight Tally than a degetty. Wouldn’t he?

  Chapter Six – Octavia

  They entered the trees on the other side of a stretch of moorland. As the darkness become more absolute, thanks to the canopy of leaves above their heads, the tension in Cade’s arms dissipated. They were safe, at least that was what her savior believed, and she was willing to go along with that, for now.

  He slowed to a walk, weaving in and out of the trees, as he followed what looked like a game path. It was narrow, just wide enough for Cade, the trees either side crowding in on them. Octavia peered into the darkness, still expecting to see those green eyes watching her. If he was there, would he make a move? Or was this where she was supposed to be?

  That thought had filled her mind as Cade carried her back to his house. If the demon had been herding her somewhere, would it intercept them and make her continue her journey? If not, this left Octavia with one very big, troubling thought. Who, or where, exactly, was it herding her to?

  The words the fortuneteller had uttered came back to her. Something about meeting your one true mate. She had thought he meant Matthew, and when she met him, she had hung on to that. But now there was Cade. Cade who promised to protect her, and never hurt her. Cade who hinted at something deeper, something stronger, something that would complete her.

  The way he looked at her was more intense than Matthew had ever looked at her.