Fearless Bond (Bears of Beauville #1)

Chapter 3

3

CALVIN

I must have died. It was the only explanation.

A glimmering white forest spread out in front of me, sprinkled with rainbow diamonds. A fairytale land. It looked freezing, but I was cozy and warm, cuddled on a soft bed under a fluffy blanket. My eyes watered from the crystalline beauty. I blinked, then refocused. The magical landscape was behind glass.

That makes sense.

The air smelled of fresh wood and something I couldn’t identify, a complex scent that made me breathe deeply to get more of it. It warmed me on the inside. I glanced around. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls and pale wooden paneling. A glowing fireplace with a neat pile of birch logs next to it. A cream-colored shag carpet.

A bottle of laundry detergent? It lay on the floor right in front of me. And I wasn’t lying on a bed but on some sort of chaise.

Maybe I wasn’t dead after all.

I inhaled more of the strange scent. God, it smelled good. What was it? It made me feel all warm and cozy. A pleasant sensation bloomed in my stomach. Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply, savoring the serene moment.

I didn’t know where I was. Shouldn’t I be more concerned?

Footsteps sounded from somewhere in the house, and I sat up.

Oh.

I had my hoodie on, but I was naked from the waist down underneath the blanket. My heartbeat picked up as I raked my brain for memories from last night.

The frozen ground had been slippery under my sneakers. I’d tried to look for stars to determine direction, but the night had been overcast. It had started snowing. Trees, trees, trees everywhere. Strange, crooked trees, all bent in the same direction as if some invisible force leaned on them.

I’d seen a bear. It had stood on its hind legs, a ten-foot-tall beast. I’d fallen on my butt into the snow, convinced I’d die. But the bear hadn’t attacked me. It had simply run off. Then I’d been so damned tired and sleepy. I’d kept telling myself I had to keep going. Just keep going. Keep going. Keep going.

The alpha on the four-wheeler had turned up.

I remembered him .

He had looked terrifying. I’d been more afraid of him than of that damned bear. A hulking figure, four times my size, in chunky boots and an orange ski jacket. But then he’d given me gloves, dry and warm from his big hands. My fingers had prickled in them.

Why was I naked? Did the man do something to me?

Was I sore? Any dry smears of bodily fluids? Bruising?

I peeked under the blanket.

Nothing.

I felt fine.

Then he walked into the room, and I almost fell off the chaise.

“You’re awake.” The alpha’s whiskey voice reverberated through my bones. His dark beard was thick and short, his eyes were a rich brown color, and his eyebrows were bushy with harsh creases between them. A tuft of curly hair peeked out from the V of his flannel shirt. The red-checkered fabric looked like it would rip as it strained to contain his arms and shoulders. He was massive—built like a tank—with bulging pecs, a rounded but firm belly, and thick thighs in faded jeans.

I scrambled backward, clutching the blanket to my body.

He was holding my clothes, with my socks and underwear neatly folded on top of my pants. Eyeing me warily, he sighed.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Calvin,” he said, looking annoyed. “I washed and dried your things. I figured you’d want to get dressed when you woke up.”

He placed the pile on the coffee table and took a step back.

“How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” I managed through the lump in my throat.

Wrinkling his nose as if he smelled something bad, he glanced around the room. Then he glared at me, shuffling backward. Was he angry at me? I expected some reprimand, an accusation, but instead he said, “Do you eat eggs?”

I was hungry. Still stunned, I nodded.

“The bathroom’s over there, down the hall to the left.” He pointed to a dark hallway behind him. “There are clean towels on the vanity.”

Wow. That was one formidable scowl. I shuddered. And he had a body like those alphas who competed in throwing boulders and pulling trucks up hills—he could snap me between two fingers.

But he’d also brought my clothes, clean and folded, and offered me breakfast. He seemed hesitant to come anywhere near me, which was a good thing.

“Okay, then.” He gave a stiff nod and was about to turn away.

“What’s your name?” I piped up, surprised my voice worked.

He frowned, but his brown eyes flashed with a hint of warmth. “Barclay Black. I told you last night, but I guess you were busy staying alive.”

I let out a startled half-laugh. My memories from yesterday were muddled.

With an awkward nod, he walked out of the room.

I’m alone with a giant, scary alpha mountain man.

I eyed my clothes, then the tidy living room. It was spatial but cozy, with colorful pillows on the sprawling sofa flanked by a couple of comfy-looking armchairs. Bookshelves covered one entire wall all the way to the ceiling. A wooden step stool stood nearby.

The scary mountain man read books. It was irrational, but the presence of books calmed me—as if a guy who read couldn’t be a murderous psychopath. I should check what kind of books he had. What if they were all thrillers and gore?

The nice scent I’d noticed earlier intensified, making me feel all warm. I realized I wasn’t afraid. Not really. A part of my brain insisted I should be, but the rest of me was calm.

I shook my head at myself and reached for my clothes. First and foremost, I needed to pee. Then I’d deal with the next problem. I slipped into my underwear and went to find the bathroom.

“Sit,” the alpha said when I walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later. He didn’t seem happy with my impromptu visit, and I couldn’t blame him.

I lowered myself into a chair, and he dumped a mug in front of me.

“You do drink coffee, don’t you?”

“I do. Thank you.” I shouldn’t because it made my anxiety worse, but one cup a day was fine. Besides, strange as it was, I didn’t feel anxious at all. My head was clear. Actually, I had felt pretty stable ever since I decided to break up with Damian. Well, aside from almost perishing in the snowfall last night—but that had been an objective crisis, not a meaningless freakout.

The man grunted and turned to the stove, where he was heating a pan. I eyed the black drink. It smelled like it could be used as rocket fuel.

“Um. Do you have milk?”

Without answering, he opened the fridge and placed a carton on the table.

“Thanks.”

“Hmpf” was his reply.

He wasn’t the least bit pleased with me, but curiously, Barclay’s consistent grumpiness made me relax around him. People had been nice to me before and then turned out to be abusive psychos. At least this guy was honest.

An alpha who didn’t want me here was unlikely to take advantage, right?

“I’m sorry to be such an inconvenience. You didn’t have to…”

“Sure. Should have left you to freeze to death, huh?” he muttered. “The eggs will be over-easy.”

“That’s great. Thanks.”

He cracked a few eggs into the pan and popped four pieces of bread into a toaster.

Over the coffee and food, I could still smell the other scent. Was it him? It was what I’d been smelling all over the house—pine, wood, smoke, only a hint of alpha musk, and something else I had no words for. It was pleasant, distracting, and it made me… Huh. I straightened in my chair, pulling in more of the perfume. Ooh. A little more. Mm-hmm, that was nice .

Barclay smelled lovely. Like a blanket by a fireplace, cuddles, and…

“Next time you go for a hike, wear proper shoes.” He stood with his back to me, poking at the eggs with a spatula. “And charging your phone is considered smart.”

For some reason, his reprimands made me smile. I poured milk into my mug and took a gulp. Lord, that was strong.

“I wasn’t hiking. I had an argument with my ex, so he kicked me out of the car and left me by the roadside.”

Barclay’s shoulders stiffened. “He did what?”

“I didn’t want him to come back for me. I found Beauville on the map before my phone died and went through the forest.”

He turned slowly, eyeing me up and down. “This ex. Was he violent?”

“Not physically.” I hated the shame that came with my admission. He’d never been violent, so why had I let him have so much power over me? Why had I always been afraid of him? What if it had just been in my head? A few times, I’d wished Damian would hit me. It was stupid, but I imagined that if he had, everyone would know he was the bad guy. Including me.

“He left you in the mountains in a snowstorm,” Barclay said slowly as if making sure he’d heard me correctly. “That’s fucking heinous.”

“I think he was trying to teach me a lesson.”

“What kind of lesson? That he’s a dick and you should stay away from him?”

It wasn’t funny, not in the least, but I laughed anyway. To hear someone else say that, yes, Damian was a jerk, and maybe everything wasn’t my fault… it made me nearly giddy with relief.

I had every reason to be freaking out right now. And still nothing. Heart rate normal, breathing easy—the scent! No headache, no tension in my back and neck, my hands steady. Had I finally figured out a cure for my anxiety issues? The near-death experience could be difficult to replicate. But staying away from Damian? That seemed to help immensely.

Barclay put a plate with two eggs and toast in front of me. He laid a tray with butter and cheese in the middle of the table and sat down opposite. I watched him spread butter over his toast and lay a thick slice of cheese on top. He didn’t seem scary anymore. Just really really big. And hairy. His forearms were covered with fur.

Then my stomach growled, so I focused on my food. Hunger without constant underlying nausea was a welcome novelty. It had been a while since I’d been just plain hungry and felt like I could eat more than a few nibbles at a time. Toast had never tasted this good.

After polishing off his plate, Barclay laid his fork aside. “Do you have someone who could pick you up?”

I wasn’t even halfway through my portion. I chewed quickly so I could answer.

“Your parents? Other family?” he pressed.

“I… no.”

“No?”

“If I tell my father, he will only send my ex for me. He was very much in favor of my relationship with Damian.”

“The asshole endangered your life. That should be enough to convince any reasonable parent that you’re better off without him.”

How to explain years of family toxicity to a stranger? “My father won’t believe me.”

Barclay straightened in his chair. “That’s fucked up.”

I snickered. Yeah, that explanation would do nicely. “I guess. I have a friend I can call, but he’s on the West Coast now and works late. He usually sleeps until lunch. I should wait a few hours before I call him. Is there a hotel in Beauville?” Not that I had any money on me, but my friend Laure would help me with that.

“There’s a B&B. The guy who runs it is a friend of mine, but I think they’re full this week. A wedding or something.”

“Oh. Um. And someplace else? In a neighboring town perhaps?”

Barclay let out a snort. Did he ever smile? “What neighboring town? It would take me at least two hours to drive you to Green Peaks in this weather. That is, if they don’t close the pass. You’re staying here.”

“I would hate to be a bother.”

“As long as I don’t have to run around the forest looking for your frozen ass, we’re good.”

“I’ll talk to Laure, my friend, and I’ll be out of your hair as soon as possible.”

For some reason, his eyes got sad. “You’ve had it rough. No rush.” He cleared his throat and gestured to my plate. “You done eating?”

“Yes. Thank you so much.”

He collected the plates and growled at me when I offered to help with the cleanup. An honest-to-goodness, beastly growl as if he were a cranky old dog and I’d tugged on his tail. I sat down and nursed my coffee, trying to purge any tail-tugging thoughts from my mind.

Barclay closed the dishwasher and glanced at me. “I’m going out. Make yourself at home. Have more coffee. You can take a shower or whatever…” He waved his arm awkwardly. “If you steal anything, I’ll hunt you down.”

Was he joking? I couldn’t tell. I let out a weak chuckle. “Okay. I’ll try to resist then.”

He smiled a little bit. Or… his beard moved. I wasn’t sure if it had been a real smile. One last grunt, and he was gone. After some rustling from the hallway, the door clicked shut.

I exhaled. The empty kitchen looked vaguely ominous in the silence, but the scents in Barclay’s home calmed me. Was it really him who smelled like this? So nice. He’d been kind to me and respectful—not with his words but with his actions. He’d opened his home to me and hadn’t pushed me to reveal more than I had. He just took me at my word, which was something I wasn’t used to from the alphas in my life.

Pity he was such a grouch.