Fearless Bond (Bears of Beauville #1)

Chapter 2

2

BARCLAY

It was like he’d dropped from the sky.

Since the wind was howling and he’d been coming from the west, I didn’t smell or hear him until I saw him. Probably a lost hiker.

And what in the name of the devil was he wearing? Wet and shivering, he wouldn’t make it in the forest for much longer. The guy was dressed like he’d been headed for a stroll around a mall. It was a miracle that humans didn’t go extinct thousands of years ago with all their inane entitlement.

I’d miss poker night again, but I couldn’t let the stupid tourist freeze to death. I got on all fours and ran home. After I’d shifted and put on my gear, I grabbed an extra parka and a helmet for the man. A snowmobile would have been faster, but the snow was fresh and too thin. Besides, I hadn’t yet used the thing this season, so it needed some maintenance. I hopped on the four-wheeler.

The snowfall was getting heavier. I circled around where I’d first spotted the human and found his footprints in the snow. He couldn’t have gone far. He was headed vaguely in the direction of the town, but I couldn’t track him exactly since the four-wheeler couldn’t pass through where the trees grew too close to each other. I zigzagged through the forest, catching up with him slower than I’d hoped. Yeah, poker night was shot.

Then I caught his scent. The trace was distorted in the wind, but it was definitely a human omega, and he smelled incredibly good. I couldn’t compare the fragrance to anything, but it felt familiar all the same. Like some fruit or flower I’d known as a kid and hadn’t smelled since. My mouth watered, and my chest felt warm.

Who was the sweet-smelling fool?

It took a few more minutes, but I found him.

His hair was wet, his jeans soaked, and his thin jacket covered with snow. He was staggering between the trees like a drunk.

I cut the engine.

“Hey! Wait!”

He paused and looked back. His little face was scrunched up with fear and exhaustion.

I waved, climbed off the four-wheeler, and walked toward him on the uneven ground… and he began to run away. What had happened to him that he was more scared of a human alpha than a grizzly bear?

“For fuck’s sake, stop! You’ll freeze to death.”

Stupid fucking humans. He tumbled into the snow but still tried to crawl away from me. In a few strides, I stood above him.

“Will you just stop it?”

Shivering, he gaped at me as I offered him my hand. His lips were almost white.

“You don’t want to die, do you? Up. C’mon.”

He opened his mouth and closed it, then he took my offered hand and let himself be pulled up. He was barely holding it together. A pang of pity hit me when I met his terrified gaze. I sighed. He couldn’t be more than twenty—a small omega, weak and alone. No wonder he was scared of me.

I tried to soften my tone. “Name’s Barclay Black. I live on the edge of Beauville, that way. I’ll get you to my place and call a doctor, yeah?”

That was when his knees gave out under him.

One more hour and he really could have died out here. Hopefully, he didn’t have any severe frostbite since it was just a few degrees below freezing.

I scooped him up and carried him to the four-wheeler, where I wrapped him in the parka. He reached only to my shoulders. His scent, even weak, was distracting, making me swallow compulsively.

“Here. Take these.” I pulled off my thick gloves and offered them to him, but he didn’t take them.

“Your… h-h-hands will f-f-freeze,” he stammered.

“I got extra, see?” I pulled my thin liners out of my jacket pocket and showed him.

Except I had to help him put the gloves on because he was shaking so much he nearly dropped them.

“What’s your name?”

“Ca-Calvin.”

“Okay, Calvin. Can you hold on to me while we ride?”

He eyed the four-wheeler and looked at me helplessly. His chin trembled.

“You know what…” I lifted him and put him in front of me instead of on the back. He was pocket-sized and light as a feather. I could easily manipulate the handlebars with him between my thighs and arms. Then I grabbed the straps I normally used to tie bags to the saddle and tied him to my chest.

“Not too tight?”

He shook his head. He had stopped trembling, but that wasn’t necessarily good.

“It’ll be five minutes tops.”

I knew this forest like the back of my hand. I drove fast but avoided the biggest bumps so I wouldn’t jostle him too much. By the time I got home, he seemed to be asleep, his head lolling on his shoulders.

That was definitely not a good sign.

I parked in front of my front door and carried him inside, kicking the door shut behind me. The living room was the warmest place in the house. I laid him on the lounge chair by the fireplace, pulled out my phone, and called Hunter. Speaker on, I set the phone on the coffee table. It let out three long ringing tones while I searched for the fluffiest blanket.

Pick up, dammit!

“Barclay? What now? Don’t tell me you’ll be late. Run here in fur with your undies in your muzzle, I don’t care. You promised…”

“No time for that now. You’re on speaker,” I warned before he got even more riled up. “I found a freezing human in the forest and got him home on the four-wheeler. He’s exhausted and cold as hell. What do I do?”

It took my cousin a couple of seconds to reply. “Shivering?”

“Not anymore. He’s pale and sleepy.”

“Get him out of any wet clothes. Remove shoes, socks, and gloves. Everything that’s damp must be off. I’ll be there in ten.”

I set the fleece blanket aside and crouched by Calvin. After removing his jacket, I took his shoes, jeans, and socks off. He looked like he was trying to help but moved slowly and clumsily.

His light-blue boxer briefs had wet patches on them.

“We need to take these off,” I said. “They’re wet from the snow.”

He blinked, confused.

So I covered his middle and hips with the blanket and reached underneath it.

“Not looking,” I said as I grabbed the waistband and dragged them off.

Calvin gawked at me, bleary-eyed and afraid.

“Hunter, you there?” I called in the direction of the phone.

“Yes.” I heard Hunter start his car.

“What next? Rubbing with dry towels?”

“No. Just cover him with a blanket. You have to warm his chest and neck. Don’t try to heat his limbs first. Got any heating pads?”

“No.”

“Barclay, how can you not have basic equipment? You’ve lived here for a decade!”

“I don’t get cold.” And it wasn’t like I got human guests or spent my days prowling the woods for lost omegas.

“Do you have an empty plastic bottle? A large one. Fill it with hot water and wrap it in a towel.”

“Ah. Clever.” I put a pillow under Calvin’s head and ran to the laundry room. I found an empty bottle of detergent and filled it from the tap.

When I got back, Calvin’s eyes were closed.

“Tingles,” he mumbled.

“What?” Hunter said loudly over the sound of his engine.

“Hands and feet,” Calvin murmured. He didn’t open his eyes, and his cheeks were still frighteningly pale.

“Barclay?” Hunter said. “I didn’t hear him. What did he say?”

“He said his hands and feet tingle.”

“Good. He’s warming up. Give him the bottle so it warms his chest.”

I looked at the tiny omega in my lounge chair and at the big bottle of warm water. Then I helped Calvin lie on his side and put the bottle in his lap so he spooned it. He hugged it with a sigh. I adjusted the fleece blanket over him.

“He’s got the bottle, and I wrapped him in a blanket. I’ll start the fire.”

“Give him something to drink. Tepid water with sugar or honey. I’ll be with you in ten minutes. Visibility is shit.”

“I got honey.”

“Is he allergic?”

“Calvin, are you allergic to honey?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Okay, ending the call now,” Hunter said. “I’ll be right with you.”

I found a straw, the proverbial last one, at the bottom of my cutlery drawer. I heated some water in the kettle and dissolved two spoonfuls of honey in it. When I came back into the living room with a mug in my hand, Calvin was asleep.

I shook his shoulder.

“Hey, wake up. You have to drink this. Then I’ll let you sleep.”

“Huh?”

“Drink. It’s just water with honey.”

I put the straw to his lips, and he drank without opening his eyes. He gulped down almost everything.

“I called a doctor. He’s on the way. You’ll be fine.”

He didn’t reply, but his breathing was normal, and it looked like some color was returning to his cheeks. He had a smooth, boyish face, freckles on his nose, and plush lips. He was pretty. Too young for you, you creep.

I let him be and sorted the wood for the fireplace.

By the time Hunter arrived, the fire was roaring, and Calvin was sleeping like a log. My cousin toed off his boots in the hall and rushed toward the living room.

“He’s in there?”

“Yeah. He’s asleep.”

Hunter dropped his messenger bag on the floor by the lounge chair and rooted inside until he found a thermometer. He checked Calvin’s temperature and pulse, then scrutinized his hands and the skin on his feet.

“You got to him in time. He’ll be fine tomorrow. What was he doing in the forest anyway?”

“No idea. I’ll have to ask him when he wakes up. I found him on the eastern side of Red Creek Valley. You know, where the pines grow all bent in the same direction? At first, I thought he was a hiker who’d gotten lost, but he was miles away from any trails.”

“That part of the forest looks like it’s been altered by aliens. Did he tell you anything?”

“Just his name. It’s Calvin. He was so drained he seemed barely conscious.”

“Well, he’s lucky to be alive.” Hunter pulled the blanket back up to Calvin’s neck and stood. “I guess you’re not coming tonight.”

I chuckled helplessly. “Not gonna leave him here alone.”

“Yeah. Keep an eye on him. If he develops any symptoms like nausea, dizziness, or confusion, call me immediately. Tiredness is to be expected.”

“Got it.”

“When he wakes up, get some food into him, but slowly. Loads of liquids.”

“Okay.”

The tiny pale omega under my blanket seemed almost translucent. So little and frail. Yep, he looked like he needed to be fed.

Hunter slapped my shoulder.

“I’m going.”

“Sure. Thanks, man.”

“Yeah. Yeah. You’ve ruined poker night yet again.” He was already zipping up his jacket.

“Technically, Calvin here ruined the poker night.”

Hunter just shot me a glare.

After I’d said goodbye to my cousin, I sat in my living room and stared at Calvin.

His scent slowly filled the room. It must have weakened when he was all frozen, but now it was gathering strength. I leaned closer and sniffed.

Fuck me.

He smelled like a damned candy store… where they made candy out of omega slick. That was fucking distracting.

His pale lashes were long and feathery, his dirty-blond hair tousled… I should stop staring at him. He wasn’t my type. The guys I usually hooked up with were older and much sturdier. What was I even doing thinking of hooking up? The poor omega could have died.

“What am I going to do with you, huh?”

The sleeping boy exhaled softly, and his eyelids quivered.

I tore myself away from him and went to put his clothes in the washer.