Page 8 of Goldie & the Bear

I go downstairs, making the wooden floors creak under my heavy steps. But the vast open-space is empty. I let out a long growl meant to call my mate. Still no response. What the fuck?

‘Where is she?’ my bear demands to know, as if I had any clue.

‘We were both out cold, buddy.’

I nudge at the door handle with a large paw, and step onto the porch. It’s cold but sunny, the storm is gone. And so is Marie’s car…

Dread curdles in my gut. She left. She fucking left me. After everything we shared last night, after I bared my soul to her, she ran.

‘No. No fucking way.’ Panic claws at my throat. This can’t be happening.

My bear is going apeshit, roaring and slamming against the confines of my mind. Demanding we go after our mate. Bring her back to our den where she belongs.

Why would she leave? I don’t understand. The way she responded to me, the way she cried out as I claimed her… I was so sure she wanted this as much as I did. That she felt the bond between us.

Was it all a lie? A figment of my hopeful imagination?

Anger surges hot and wild in my veins, battling with the despair that threatens to bring me to my knees. I refuse to believe what we have isn’t real. I’ve wasted too much time fighting this, fighting her. I won’t let her slip through my fingers now that I’ve finally gotten my head out of my ass.

I storm back inside, barely feeling the bite of the cold on my bare skin. I’m shifting before I hit the stairs, desperate to be in my human form, to go after my omega and demand answers.

She can’t just walk away. Not without hearing me out. Not without giving me a chance to convince her that this, us, is worth fighting for.

I threw on the first clothes I could find, not giving a damn about the cold. The only thing that mattered was reaching Marie.Making her see reason. I wouldn’t let her throw away what we had out of some misguided notion that she wasn’t good enough.

Fuck that noise. Marie Flores is everything. She’s the only woman I’ve ever wanted, ever loved. And I’ll be damned if I let her go without a fight.

I almost rip the door off the hinges in my haste to get to my truck. The tires spit gravel as I peel out of the driveway. I’ll scour the whole fucking state if I have to. Turn over every rock, knock down every door.

I’m coming for my girl. And when I find her, I’m gonna shake some fucking sense into her. Make her see that she’s it for me. My mate. My forever.

And this time, I’m not letting her walk away.

* * *

MARIE

I wipe away at my tears, vision blurred, as I drive through the magnificent Tahoe landscape on my way back home. Even the amazing scenery surrounding me can’t soothe my soul. And my bear? She’s barking her head off, pushing against the thin layer of resistance I have left, demanding I let her out so she can run back to our alpha. Our alpha. What a fucking joke. Like Maverick Ursinus could want me for the long haul.

‘He claimed us! Marked us!’ my she-bear growls at me.

Yeah, and I’m not exactly sure why he was cruel enough to do such a thing. Show the entire world that I’m called for when Iknow he has no intention of keeping me. My bear growls again, and this time she pushes hard enough that the hairs all over my skin grow by almost an inch.

‘Stop it! He doesn’t really want us!’

The man is a fucking billionaire. He’s smart, powerful, looks like a wet dream, and fucks like one. I saw the women he used to date.

‘Used to!’ she yells in my head. ‘Don’t you think it’s telling that Mav stopped being a fuck-boi after you started working for him?’

I shake my head, inhaling deeply, knuckling the steering wheel hard, and close my mind to my stubborn bear. I already lost my parents. There is no way I’m giving my heart to someone who’ll eventually tire of me and leave. I step on the accelerator, building distance between myself and my beautiful boss.

Every mile feels like a knife to the chest. The farther I get from Maverick, the more my soul screams in protest. Invisible bands squeeze my lungs, making it hard to breathe. It’s like my very cells are being ripped apart, rebelling against the separation from my…

No. I viciously cut off the thought. He’s not my anything. Last night was a mistake. A beautiful, devastating mistake. One I’ll regret for the rest of my life.

But I can’t dwell on it now. I have to keep moving forward. Put Maverick Ursinus and our night together behind me. Forget the way he touched me, the way he held me like I was something precious. The promises he whispered against my skin.

I have to forget it all. Bury it deep and soldier on. It’s the onlyway I’ll survive.

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