Saved By The Bear (Silvertip Clan #3) Read online

  SAVED BY THE BEAR

  By

  Natalie Kristen

  Also by NATALIE KRISTEN

  Billionaire Bear Shifters Romance

  Taken By The Bear

  Owned By The Bear

  Saved By The Bear

  MISTY VALLEY SHIFTERS

  Growl For Me

  Fight For Me

  Purrfect For Me

  MATE series

  Alpha Mate

  Bear Mate

  Vampire Mate

  Wolf Mate

  Wild Mate

  Dark Mate

  Blood Mate

  NORTH WOLVES

  To Kill A Wolf

  ALPHA GAME

  Alpha Game

  Alpha Game 2

  Alpha Game 3

  DARK erotic romance

  Rapture In The Dark

  Release In The Dark

  One Night With Death

  Copyright © 2015 Natalie Kristen

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously or are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  About this book

  One billionaire alpha werebear and one BBW in hiding...and in heat.

  Tilly Raines is making her escape from the Nightshade pack. The werecoyotes have never truly accepted her into the pack, and she knows that they will throw her to the wolves, literally, at the first opportunity. She runs, like hell she does, straight into the path of a speeding Porsche...

  Jack Lawson is a billionaire and the third-in-command in the Silvertip Clan of powerful bear shifters. His car and his life spin to a screeching halt when a werecoyote hurtles out of nowhere and throws herself in his path.

  Jack never thought he'd find his true mate, and he definitely never expected his mate to be half human, half coyote, and all lush, perfect curves.

  He has found her, and he will never let anything happen to her.

  But with danger snapping and snarling at their heels, can Jack win Tilly's trust and save her from the dark forces threatening to destroy her and tear them apart?

  *****

  CHAPTER ONE

  Tilly Raines tested the silver handcuffs around her wrists again. Nope. They still wouldn't give. No amount of wishing and swearing would get these cuffs to fall off. But there had to be something she could do. How did this happen? She was handcuffed to the foot of her own bed and locked in her own apartment like a goddamn prisoner.

  Tilly couldn't believe that her Alpha would do this. She sucked in a long breath and closed her eyes. Who was she kidding? Of course Vaughn would do this. He had never really accepted her into the pack. She was after all only half coyote. She wasn't a full coyote shifter like her mom. Her dad was human, and her mom had brought her into the Nightshade pack with her after her dad died. She had been barely twelve when her mother brought her into the pack. Her mother had thought that the pack would always take care of their own.

  “Ah, Mom,” Tilly sighed sadly. “You couldn't see, could you? The pack never accepted me, never wanted me.”

  Tilly blinked away the sudden tears. She felt the loss acutely, and the pain was sharp, cruel, twisting.

  Her mother was never coming back. She had died fighting for her Alpha. The Nightshade pack had made many enemies under Vaughn's leadership, and Vaughn was always sending his coyotes out to fight the other packs and clans in Ursa Springs. The Nightshade pack was a large pack, and Vaughn used their strength and numbers ruthlessly. If he wanted another pack's territory or assets, he would send his coyotes in to take what he wanted. His soldiers fought for him, bled for him, died for him. Buy Vaughn never mourned them or remembered them. Dead coyotes were of no use to him.

  Her mother had been one of Vaughn's soldiers. Tilly had essentially grown up in an empty apartment. Every time her mother left the camp with the other soldiers, Tilly would fret and worry, her heart cold with dread and fear. Once she got home from her duties in the camp kitchen, she would huddle in bed, staring out the window into the darkness and listening to the ominous ticking of the clock. Would her mother make it home?

  Exactly seven nights ago, her mother had stepped out of the front door of their tiny apartment and never returned.

  Tilly replayed that last few minutes with her mother. Just before she left, her mom had stopped at the door and turned back. She'd cupped Tilly's face in her calloused hands and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. And she'd whispered, “I'm so proud of you, Tilly. You are my daughter, and you are more than I can ever be. I'm sorry that I can't be more for you. I love you, Tilly.” Before Tilly could respond, her mom had given her a smile, a smile full of love and meaning and walked out the door.

  Tilly cursed herself. She should have known by that gesture that her mother wasn't planning on coming home. She hadn't kissed Tilly since she was a little girl. After her dad died, her mom just stopped being a mom. She stopped listening, stopped feeling, and for all intents and purposes stopped living. Her mother simply went through the motions and provided for Tilly as best she could even though she was dead inside. The sweet, loving, laughing woman who had been Tilly's mom for twelve years became a distant, emotionless Nightshade soldier. She fought for her Alpha, and she assumed the pack would take care of her daughter. She thought that once she brought Tilly into the pack, Vaughn would look out for Tilly should anything happen to her.

  Roughly, Tilly wiped her tears on her sleeve. Her mother was gone. She had to accept that. Tilly only hoped that she was at peace at last.

  Her mom had descended from a long line of coyote warriors. They were a fine breed, powerful, strong, formidable. But for twelve years, Tilly had seen her only as a loving, caring wife and mother. It was only after the death of her human mate that her mom embraced the warrior blood in her and became a brutal, unfeeling Nightshade soldier. Her transformation was heartbreaking to watch, but Tilly couldn't reach out to her. No one could. Her mother had hardened her heart and locked all her emotions away. She simply threw herself into her work to try to numb her pain and grief. She served Vaughn blindly and fought fearlessly and recklessly for him so that she wouldn't have to think and feel. Even as a confused, hurt, angry teenager, Tilly knew that the only thing preventing her mom from joining her dad in death—was her. Her mother remained alive simply for Tilly's sake.

  But now that Tilly was twenty-one years old, an adult, her mother had decided that her job here was done. She could finally exit this life and join her beloved husband in the next.

  Tilly squeezed her eyes tightly shut at the image of her mother walking out the front door for the last time. She should have stopped her. She should have stopped her mom from leaving. She should have told her that she loved her, and needed her, and missed her. There were so many things left unsaid, so many hugs and kisses to give.

  Tilly dragged a painful breath into her lungs and opened her eyes. “I hope you're at peace, Mom. I miss you, and I will always love you,” she whispered.

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Tilly stared round the small bedroom she shared with her mom. Her mother didn't have many belongings. There was almost no trace of her in the room, no fancy clothes, no makeup, no photographs. Tilly didn't even get to bury her mother. The pack hadn't brought her mother's body back. Soldiers were forgotten as soon as they fell. The dead coyotes were simply left behind, their bodies kicked aside and trampled over by their own retr
eating pack members.

  Tilly gritted her teeth and swore as she struggled furiously against her cuffs. Yes, she was devastated and heartbroken at losing her mother, but she was her mother's daughter after all. She was a fighter, and she wasn't about to just lie down and die. She might not have a warrior's body, but she had a warrior's blood.

  Her mother was gone and no amount of crying and raging would bring her back. Her mother might be willing to die for the pack, but Tilly wasn't. She wasn't ready to quit this life, and she wouldn't let Vaughn and his cronies get rid of her so easily.

  Tilly might not be a soldier like her mother, but her mother had taught her a thing or two. Her mother had taught her how to fight and how to survive.

  She tried to twist her hand through the cuffs again. “Shit!” Tilly cursed, and kicked the bed in frustration. Shame and rage burned through her. She was still in bed this morning when her bedroom door was kicked in and two of Vaughn's lieutenants stormed into her room and dragged her out of bed. Ignoring her questions and shrieks, they'd cuffed her to the foot of her own bed and filed out of her tiny apartment, locking the front door behind them. What the heck? What had she done? What heinous crime had she committed to be rendered a prisoner in her own home?

  Tilly snorted a bitter laugh. No, this wasn't her home.

  This was just a rathole in a crumbling tenement building that was owned by the Nightshade pack. Most of the Nightshade pack members were given small units in this dilapidated building. Vaughn, and some of the senior members in the pack, lived in another building, a much nicer, newer building.

  This sad, empty apartment was never her home. And the Nightshade pack wasn't her family.

  She was an outcast. She wasn't a true coyote shifter. The Alpha didn't see her as one of the pack. The other coyotes didn't dare acknowledge her as a Nightshade member either. They had to take their cue from their Alpha, or face his wrath.

  Tilly jerked forcefully at her cuffs. The silver didn't burn her, since she was half human, but it prevented her from shifting into her animal form. But shifting was difficult for her. Always had been. And she couldn't maintain her coyote form for long, unlike the other coyote shifters in the pack. And if you couldn't hold on to your animal, you were useless in a fight. Fighting in human form was suicidal.

  Tilly huffed out a sigh. She couldn't maintain her shift, and she couldn't control her shift either. Strong, sharp emotions sometimes triggered an involuntarily shift. When she was frightened, or angry, or in pain, she would sometimes find herself in coyote form, whimpering and flattened against the ground in a trembling heap.

  Tilly stared down her soft, curvy body, still clad in her thin nightdress and shivered. She knew why Vaughn had sent his lieutenants to cuff her and imprison her in her own apartment. He wanted to get rid of her, but he didn't want her to escape.

  But she had to escape. The fate that Vaughn had planned for her was...far worse than death.

  Tilly had heard snatches of murmured conversation while she worked in the big kitchen in the Nightshade training camp. She had started as a lowly kitchen assistant, cleaning, chopping, carrying this and that for the cooks in the kitchen. But when one of the cooks discovered Tilly's talent for creating tantalizing new dishes, she had been redeployed as a cook. Her present job as one of the cooks in the camp kitchen enabled her to hear bits of juicy gossip as the soldiers trooped in and out of the dining hall. She would report for work at dawn and by the time she finished scrubbing and mopping after everyone had left, it would be full dark outside. She would huddle against the cold and cut through the woods to get home. The apartment would usually be empty when she got home. But no matter how exhausted she was, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep until she heard her mother step through the front door.

  Despite the grueling hours, Tilly enjoyed her work in the kitchen. She loved cooking and creating exciting, unexpected dishes. The other cooks didn't talk much to her, but they gave her free reign. She could create and taste and eat as much as she wanted. Her passion for food showed in her full, fleshy figure. Unlike many weight-conscious, awkward young women, Tilly was comfortable with her curves and her body. But ever since she turned twenty-one, she'd become keenly aware of the growing, gnawing heat in her body. Her body seemed to be humming, aching, gasping for something. She'd heard the older female coyotes talk about the mating heat, rumored to be at its most intense when a werecoyote first reached maturity. But surely that wouldn't happen to her. She was half human. She couldn't go into heat.

  Right?

  Tilly felt the first spike of panic. A female in heat drew males to her, unwanted, unwelcome males. And she wouldn't be able to stop them. She wouldn't even be in control of her own body.

  Tilly started to shudder violently.

  She knew what her Alpha was going to do to her. Vaughn was planning to make a gift of her.

  She had heard that a gift would be given to the Black Arrow wolves. A gift! She had no idea at that time that the gift they were whispering about was actually a person.

  She had heard all about the Black wolves' mating habits. The Black wolves could mate multiple times with multiple mates, for multiple days.

  Oh God!

  The room seemed to list and tilt to the side. Her whole world was crashing down over her head. She should have seen it coming. Vaughn's violent, lawless marauding ways had earned the Nightshade pack many enemies. The other coyote packs in Ursa Springs had finally decided to gang up against the Nightshade pack, and they would be coming for blood and vengeance. Vaughn was being forced into a corner, but he refused to go down. The wily coyote had quickly formed an alliance with a wolf pack from a neighboring town. The alliance with the Black Arrow pack would be sealed with a gift. A virgin, never mind that she was half human, half coyote.

  She would be offered to the Black Arrow wolves as a gift, a rare, precious gift. And for her sacrifice, the Nightshade pack would gain a powerful ally.

  Tilly could hear Vaughn triumphantly proclaiming to the rest of the pack: It had to be done. It's for the good of the pack.

  She spat the foul taste out of her mouth. It wasn't her fault that she was a virgin. She worked from dawn to dusk every day, and she didn't have any time to go out and have fun. She didn't interact with anyone, not even with the werecoyotes in the Nightshade pack. The only time anyone talked to her was to give her an order. She only had her mom, and her mom was lost to her a long time ago. She had just been living with the ghost of her mother these past nine years.

  Tilly choked out a bitter laugh. Her virginity would be the death of her, literally.

  She had to run away and get laid. Now that sounded like fun. But what did she know about fun?

  Tilly jerked at the sound of the lock turning in the front door. She tensed immediately.

  Someone was coming in.

  She tried to remember everything her mother had taught her about defending herself and disarming her attacker.

  Aim for the eyes. And the nuts.

  A pair of combat boots crossed the floor briskly to her. Tilly looked up at Lihua, one of Vaughn's lieutenants. Tilly gulped. Just her luck. No nuts. That left just the eyes.

  The female werecoyote crouched and spoke in a very low, quiet voice. “You know what they're going to do to you.”

  “T-they?”

  “The wolves,” Lihua said without inflection.

  “Kill me.”

  Lihua chuffed out a mirthless laugh. “You'd be lucky if they did. No, Tilly. Your virginity will be taken by the Black Arrow alpha, and your body will be used by his wolves. Again and again. You'll be their sex slave.”

  Tilly winced but tried to keep her voice steady. “Tell me something I don't know, Lihua.”

  To her surprise, Lihua unhooked a key from her belt and glanced quickly over her shoulder. With swift, deft movements, Lihua uncuffed her and hauled her to her feet.

  “Go.”

  Tilly stumbled forward, rubbing her wrists.

  “Now.”

  Reeling,
Tilly staggered blindly to the door and looked back. “T-thank you,” she whispered.

  Lihua nodded, her face grim. “Shift, and cut through the woods. It'd be harder to track you.”

  “Thank you,” she repeated and swallowed. “Why...”

  A flicker of emotion crossed Lihua's dark features. “Your mother saved my life once. She pushed me out of the way just in time. A second later and the silver bullet would have found my heart.”

  Tilly nodded, grateful for this small, precious nugget about her mother. Trembling, she slipped out the door and ran down the dim, dusty stairwell.

  Lihua was right. To have any real chance of escaping, she had to shift into coyote form. She could run faster in animal form, and the mingled animal scents in the woods would help cover her tracks.

  If she ran as human, the Nightshade pack would find her in a heartbeat. That is, if she still had one.

  Tilly glanced up and shielded her eyes from the late morning sun. The entire tenement building was empty at this time of day. All the coyotes were at the training camp, and Vaughn hadn't thought to leave anyone behind to guard her.

  She was only a weak, worthless half human mongrel. She wasn't smart enough or strong enough to escape. He would just leave her in her cuffs until it was time to deliver her to the Black Arrow wolves.

  Tilly slipped into an alleyway and tried to keep to the shadows as she darted behind buildings and scurried across quiet streets. The first line of trees was in sight, and she stifled a cry of desperation, relief and terror.

  She had to keep going. She didn't know where she was going, but she wouldn't look back.

  Tilly knew she had to shift, but she didn't dare stop now. She would try to shift when she was alone in the woods. Hopefully the scent of her fear wouldn't attract any predators.