The Bear's Fated Mate

Delilah stared out the taxi window at Blue Hole, Wyoming like a kid in a candy store. She’d never seen mountains so tall. Or grass so green. Hell, she’d barely seen grass at all having spent her whole life in the city. This little ski town was adorable and not just because it had more space than people.

When the cabbie pulled to the curb, a quick glance at the Blue Bear Search & Rescue sign let her know she was in the right place. A thrill of excitement pulsed through her. Her first out-of-town job and it was for a crew of shifters. Hot damn. Talk about diversifying her portfolio.

She’d only ever met one shifter in the city, and ever since that job, she’d been fascinated with them. The idea of becoming something else. Something stronger. And their sense of family…the way they banded together for each other; humans could take a lesson or two from that. She’d been alone so long, she wondered if she just wasn’t built for relationships. Maybe she just wasn’t the type.

She shook off the mental echoes of her mother’s lies, still alive in her mind after all these years, determined to focus on the work. It’s what she was good and what she’d been called here to do. Lonely or not, Delilah was good at her job. Still, she had to wonder what had led the Blue Bear Search & Rescue to her doorstop so many miles and states away. Private Investigators weren’t exactly scarce and she was pretty sure they could have found one a lot closer than her. Not that she was complaining. This paycheck would do wonders for the eviction notice hanging on her apartment door back in the city.

She paid the cab fare and stepped out, her single duffel in hand. It was all that was left of her city apartment but she wasn’t about to let the client know how bad she needed this opportunity to work—and to last as long as possible since they were paying her housing expenses.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the lack of litter and people and horns honking. And smog. Absolutely no freaking smog. God, the air actually smelled like air. She sucked in a huge gulp of it for safekeeping. Someone really needed to bottle this stuff. She took one last deep breath and then, smiling like a loon, she walked inside.

The air changed immediately and not just because it was darker here than the cheerful sunlit day she’d left behind. Charged was her first thought. Not scary, just powerful. Despite the empty lobby and abandoned front desk, she knew there was something here.

She craned her neck around the corner and then jumped back again when a man appeared. His broad chest completely obscured anything else, his muscled shoulders and ripped torso straining against the thin cotton shirt he wore. Delilah backed away, more awed than startled. Strong jawline, wicked blue eyes, and a mop of tousled brown hair. Lord-y, he was gorgeous.

“Hi, I’m Jake River.” He grinned, his whole expression lighting up with the easy smile.

Delilah couldn’t help but smile back although hers felt shy for some crazy reason. She wasn’t normally bashful but something about the way he seemed to slip right inside her head with a single look made her avert her eyes. “I’m Delilah Henry.”

“Pleasure.”