Page 8 of His Stubborn Mate

Rance hesitated, his eyes locked on hers, and for a moment, Amanda thought he might refuse or deny he’d been there. But then he stepped aside, opening the door wider. “Come in.”

The inside of the cabin was warm and cozy, with a fire crackling in the hearth. Amanda stepped inside, the smell of burning wood and pine needles filling her senses. Rance led her to a small kitchen table, where she set the plate of cookies down.

“Thank you,” Rance said, his voice still guarded. He didn’t sit, just stood there, watching her with those intense eyes that seemed to see right through her.

Amanda felt a wave of uncertainty wash over her, but she pushed it aside. She had come here for answers, and she wasn’t going to leave without at least trying to get them.

“Rance,” she began, her voice trembling slightly. “Something’s been happening to me since the accident. My senses are sharper, and my emotions are more intense. And the dreams… I keep dreaming about bears, about the forest. I don’t know what’s going on, but I have this feeling that it’s connected to you, to what happened that night.”

Rance’s expression tightened, his jaw clenching as he looked away. “You shouldn’t have come here, Amanda.”

His words were like a punch to the gut, but Amanda refused to back down. “I need to know the truth,” she insisted. “I need to understand what’s happening to me.”

Rance’s eyes snapped back to hers, and for a moment, she saw something in his gaze that she couldn’t quite decipher—fear, perhaps, or maybe regret. “The truth isn’t something you’re ready to hear,” he said quietly. “It’s better if you go back to your life, forget about what happened.”

“Forget?” Amanda repeated, incredulous. “How can I forget? My life hasn’t been the same since that night, Rance. I can’t just ignore it.”

Rance ran a hand through his hair, frustration etched on his face. “You don’t understand. If you keep digging, you’re only going to find more questions, more things that don’t make sense. And once you cross that line, there’s no going back.”

Amanda took a step closer to him, her voice steady despite the fear gnawing at her. “Then help me understand. Please, Rance. I need to know.”

Rance stared at her for a long moment, the silence between them stretching taut. Finally, he let out a long breath and nodded, though his expression remained tense. “All right. I’ll tell you. But not here.”

He turned back to his open computer and seemed to log out. He picked up the mic to the radio. “Frostbark Lookout signing off for a while. I’ll check in later.”

With that, he headed toward the door, grabbing his jacket from a hook by the wall. Amanda followed him, her heart racing. Whatever Rance was about to reveal, she knew it would change everything.

Chapter Five

Amanda

They walked in silence through the snow-covered woods, the trees towering above them like ancient guardians. The air was crisp and cold, but Amanda barely felt it. Her mind was too preoccupied with what Rance might say, with the mystery that had been consuming her since the accident.

After what felt like an eternity, they reached a clearing, the trees parting to reveal a frozen lake, its surface glistening under the pale winter sun. Rance stopped at the edge of the lake, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

“This place,” he began, his voice barely more than a whisper. “This place is where it all started for me. It’s where I first understood who I am.”

Amanda’s heart skipped a beat. “Who you are?”

Rance turned to face her, his expression shadowed. “I’m a shifter, Amanda.”

“A shifter?”

He nodded. “A being that can shift between two forms—human and something else entirely. I can shift between my human form and that of an arctotherium—a kind of prehistoric arctic bear, to be exact.”

Amanda’s breath caught in her throat. She had suspected that there was something different about Rance, something not entirely human. But hearing him say it out loud was an entirely different matter.

“A shifter?” she echoed, trying to wrap her mind around the concept. “Like… a werewolf?”

Rance shook his head, a faint smile touching his lips. “Not exactly. There’s no curse, no full moon required. It’s just who I am. My kind—and others like us—have been able to shift for millennia. We’re connected to the land, to the animals that inhabit it. It’s as natural to me as breathing.”

Amanda’s mind was spinning, the pieces of the puzzle slowly falling into place. The dreams, the heightened senses, the strange connection she felt to Rance—it all made sense now. But one question still burned in her mind.

“What does this have to do with me?” she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Rance looked away, his jaw tight. “You’re stubborn,” he said with a smile. “No matter what anyone said, you wouldn’t give up the idea that I had been there. You’re right, I was. I pulled you from the wreck. You were close to death from blood loss and internal injuries. Had it not been for the freezing cold slowing your metabolism, you would have died. When I gave you my blood that night, I didn’t just save your life. I passed on a part of my DNA to you. My blood carries the ability to shift, Amanda. And now, it’s inside you, too.”

Amanda’s knees buckled, and she would have fallen if Rance hadn’t caught her, his arms strong and steady around her. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, his voice filled with a sorrow that cut through her like a knife. “I didn’t have a choice. You were dying, and I couldn’t let that happen.”

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