Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Bear’s Arranged Mate Chapter 5

Jermaine

Right after Elva and I fell asleep, the storm mysteriously cleared up, likely heading south down the mountain to assault the towns below. Of course, they wouldn't have experienced the same biting chill as us. Cold, yes, but not sleet.

Outside, the paths melted under the sun's touch, water dripping from every soaked surface. Elva bumped my shoulder as she yanked her sweater over her head. She poked her head through the collar with a sigh, green eyes glittering with morning light. She looked different.

She looked beautiful.

Don't get me wrong. Elva had always been gorgeous. She was as hot as any runway model. Perfect legs. Perfect height. Perfect curves. Everything about her was appealing to me.

But she was glowing now as if something had happened to change her perspective.

I gulped. Was it the sex?

Who was I kidding? I was feeling the same way. It wasn't something to run from.

Not just yet, anyway.

I'd never had an afterglow last for an entire day. Hours? Plenty of times. But a whole day? That wasn't something I thought would be possible. All the hookups I'd had over the years could be described as sufficient-not mind-blowing. And Elva had blown my mind to pieces.

She touched my shoulder. "You alright? Ready to go?"

"Yeah, fine, sure."

She pulled her hand back. "Okay, then."

"What?"

She shrugged. "Nothing. You just seem off."

"Well, I can say the same about you."

She huffed as she hopped onto the path. "Let's go before we get stuck again."

Her tone was flat. Her body was stiff.

Did I say something wrong?I dropped onto the path after her, three long strides catching me up to her brisk trotting. "What's going on?"

"I'm hungry."

"Yeah, besides that. Did I say something? Do something?" I give her a playful smirk. "Did I not say or do something?"

She held up her hand. "Not now, Jermaine. We have to get back to the cabin."

"Why? What's the rush?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said, I'm hungry."

She raced ahead before I could say anything.

Well, so much for the afterglow lasting.

***

About a week after leaving the mountain, I stood at the perimeter of the community with one hand on a walkie and the other shoved deep into my pocket. Thirty seconds of silence since my phone had last buzzed. Thirty seconds of thinking about why Elva had gone from affectionate to annoyed in about the same amount of time. I sighed.

My shoulders bowed toward the trees with my arms hanging like tattered branches. The pocket had been too warm for my palm, anyway. The walkie felt heavy. Everything was weird.

Ever since that ritual, things with Elva had been strange. We'd started off hot and heavy only to end up somewhere in the left field. We weren't arguing, but we were definitely bickering about things that didn't require bickering.

The curtains are open too long. Now, they're letting in too much light. Why is all the deer jerky gone? Can't Uncle Irvin do some decorating in the spare room? Why the hell not?

My head ached. My jaw throbbed. It should have been a routine perimeter check, yet I found myself trying to extend it as long as possible. Anything to keep me out of view of Elva. If she found one more thing wrong, I wasn't sure I could keep my temper in check. According to her, things were wrong all the time. Nothing was in the right place. She had really flipped the script on me. Instead of picking fights, she just picked on the way things were in my house.

Well, I guess it was our house now.

To my dismay.

Someone slapped my back, practically sending me jumping right out of my skin. The walkie hit the ground and released a brief whine of static. I raised my fists, turning to my attacker-to find my best friend Neil holding his hands up. "At ease, soldier," he joked. "Just me."

"I wasn't expecting you for another hour."

He frowned. "Actually, it's been two hours. I'm late. Didn't you get my text?"

I blinked a few times. That was weird. Usually, I was on top of schedules, no matter how often they changed.

I plucked my phone from my pocket and stared at the messages I had missed. One from Elva. Two from Neil. Five from Alpha.

"Damn it," I muttered. I shoved my phone back into my pocket. "I'm losing my mind."

"You look worse for wear."

I glared at him. "Gee, thanks, buddy."

"I'm serious. You're like totally wrecked in the face." He waved a hand over my face far enough away not to make contact. It was a daring move, even for a lion like him. "You're worse than me. And I'm the grouchy one." "Pesky lion."

He grinned deviously. "At your service."

"What do you need? Something for a security check?"

"Jermaine, I'm here to relieve you. Don't you remember?"

Son of a jerk, no. I didn't remember that. When had we decided on a shift change? "I..." I ran my fingers through my curls. "Damn it."

"Again?"

"Again, what?"

His brows wove together. "You just seem like you're not all the way here."

"I don't know."

"I've never heard you say that." He shook his head. "Like ever."

"Well, I really don't know. I'm just..."

Just what? Too lost in my thoughts to pay attention to my job?

Elva was really screwing me up.

I sighed. For the fifth time. "I'm still adjusting to ground level."

"Nah, it's definitely your mate."

"She's my partner."

He squinted at me. "Right, she's your partner. And I'm the second coming."

"I'll be giving you something to-" I snapped my jaw shut. "Whatever. It's all clear here."

"Do you want to talk? You look like you could use it."

I shrugged him off, marching along the perimeter already to get to the post at the mouth of the property. Without my head screwed on correctly, I would miss something. I had to get back into gear. I had to remind myself that my job, first and foremost, was to protect this pack. What else was I supposed to do?

***

Once the door to the security hut was shut, I dropped into the nearest chair.

Home sweet home.

My eyes drifted shut. The wind whipped around the small structure, reminding me of the shack where I had given Elva the time of her life. She had told me herself that it was the best thing she'd had in a while.

I frowned while lifting my head. Unless she was referring to the most recent spring.

What did I care how recent it was that she had hooked up with someone? I knew she got tested regularly. I had seen her walk to the women's clinic in town a dozen times. While she typically had company, her most recent visit had been alone.

And that was another thing that was ridiculous. The amount of surveillance I had done on Elva throughout the time she had been with the Beaufort Creek Pack could have counted as stalking if it were anyone else. Whenever an argument struck, she typically trudged off to a coffee shop and then she sifted through the sale bins at the discount store.

Weekends were for self-defense. Weekdays were for her side gigs. She was waitressing these days at a diner, though sometimes I caught her teaching an aerobics class. No wonder the woman was in such phenomenal shape. She never stopped moving. I scrubbed my face. I tousled my thick curls. I groaned while planting my head between my legs.

It was impossible to get the woman out of my head. No matter what I did or where I went, I couldn't escape her. And sometimes, I didn't want to escape her which made the least amount of sense. Especially with how much she was nagging me. What am I supposed to do?I thought, to no avail. Do I have to f**k the attitude out of her again?

Like that had worked so well the first time we'd done it.

It had only taken twenty hours or so for it to come right back.

My eyebrows shot up. Unless we do it every day.

I grunted while scooting toward the desk. The wheels squeaked under me. It made me wonder if it was time for a new chair again.

As soon as I shook the mouse for the computer, the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. A hot wave crashed into me. My face tingled with thousands of tiny pinprick stings that washed into my chest, my stomach, and then my legs. Something was wrong. I could feel it.

I clicked through a few screens, rummaging through various digital files to check our perimeter cameras. Each click enhanced that weird feeling. Every routine check produced nothing out of the ordinary.

So, what the hell was going on?

I pulled up a few cameras on the monitors above the desk. This wasn't nearly as sweet of a setup as the one I had in the basement of the mansion, but it was good enough to give me a clear view of what was going on.

They were just regular cameras, one pointed at the entrance behind me and two observing the main road that led into the community. One more camera revealed a vast field in which workers were collecting this season's harvest. A few kids darted in front of the

camera.

Nothing was wrong.

Still, it felt like something was wrong.

Which meant my instincts were picking up on something I couldn't see with my naked eye.

I radioed Tanner. "Come in, silver wolf. Over."

"Silver wolf here. What can I do for you, gummy bear? Over."

I groaned. "I told you not to call me that. Over."

"Loud and clear. How's the perimeter? Over."

I sighed while clicking through a few screens again. "Something feels wrong." I frowned, concentrating so hard that it felt like I might lose my mind. "Can you come to the security post at the entrance? We should run a scan. Over."

"Be there soon. Silver wolf over and out."

I rolled my eyes.

Great, now I had to deal with Tanner and his happy mated ass in my space. Again. After dealing with-or not dealing with-Elva.

It wasn't like I had too much to worry about. Tanner would probably get here within a few minutes and help me run virus scans. Though it was unlikely anything was lurking in the system with how squeaky clean we kept the thing, it didn't hurt to check. And that was when I saw it.

Something that glitched in the upper right-hand corner of the entrance camera.

It was more of a cigarette burn than anything, something that used to signal to people to change the film reel way back when. It was such a distinctly subtle occurrence that I almost ignored it.

That hot feeling returned. "There's no way."

A few clicks and a rapid tap of the keys had me slumped in the chair once Tanner arrived. He slid into the chair next to and shot me his dashing grin, then did a double take when he noticed the monitor. "No way."

I didn't look at him. I didn't even sit up. "Yes way."

"I put the software on the computer myself, Jermaine."

"I know."

He rubbed his forehead profusely. "There's just no-"

"Well, apparently, there is a way, Tan. And it's been done." I held my chin firmly in my hand while staring at the monitor. "Somebody hacked the cameras-and they're recording everything that they can see."