"i could show it to you again."

"no!"

he grinned. "then you'll have to take my word for it. i'm a very handsome bear."

handsome howard. "you really don't mind being a were-bear?"

"no, i'm happy." he ripped open the square of chocolate, broke it in two, and held a piece up to her mouth.

she opened her mouth and let him set the chocolate on her tongue. he popped the other half in his mouth, then opened a plastic container of fresh pineapple chunks.

"try this." he placed a chunk in her mouth.

the pineapple juice mingled with the chocolate, filling her mouth with a delicious sweetness. "mmm." she chewed slowly, enjoying it.

he ate a pineapple chunk, watching her. "good?"

she nodded and licked her lips.

he moaned, his eyes growing a more intense blue.

there was hunger in his eyes. a fierce desire that made her quiver in response. she pulled her legs in, pressing her thighs together as heat gathered in her core.

his nostrils flared, and he suddenly jumped to his feet. "come." he grabbed her hands and pulled her up.

"what?" she stumbled after him as he strode deeper into the woods. "where - "

he pressed her back against a large tree trunk. "i don't want anyone in the house to see us." he lifted her arms over her head, pinning her wrists to the trunk.

she tugged at his grasp. "let me go."

"i will. after i kiss you."

she huffed. "beast."

"goldilocks." he kissed her forehead. "too hard." he kissed her cheek. "too soft." he hovered over her lips. "but this is just right."

he molded his lips against hers, tasting, nibbling, ravishing. meanwhile, his hands moved slowly down her arms, prickling her skin with goose bumps.

she leaned back against the tree, her knees weak, her heart pounding. his mouth was insistent. his hands, seductive. they skimmed over her shoulders, then rested lightly on her chest.

he broke the kiss. she gazed up at him, her breasts heaving beneath his hands. with his eyes gleaming an intense blue, he slowly unbuttoned her shirt. opened it.

she drew in a long, shaky breath.

with his right hand, he cupped her breast, stroking the cotton bra until her nipple pebbled. his thumb slipped underneath the material and pulled it down, exposing her.

"beautiful," he whispered.

she shivered, then gasped as he latched his mouth onto her nipple. oh god, he knew how to use his lips and tongue. of course he did. he had a heightened sense of taste.

her knees quivered, and she grabbed onto him to keep from falling. he started on her other breast, suckling the nipple till it was as red and hard as the other.

a movement in the woods caught her attention. she stiffened with a gasp.

howard looked up, then followed her gaze.

three large male deer were glaring at him. they lowered their heads to show off their impressive antlers.

"stay behind me." howard turned to face them.

"i'm not the one in danger. you are. they think you're attacking me."

he glanced back at her. "you know what they're thinking?"

with a small shock, she realized she did. "yes. they can sense you're a predator. they're afraid you're mauling me."

"i am." he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to his side as he glowered at the stags. "she's my mate. get lost."

"they're not going to follow orders from you." she quickly adjusted her bra. "and who says i'm your mate?"

"i do."

"i don't recall agreeing to that."

he growled softly, and the deer pawed at the ground with their hooves.

"you're making it worse." she stepped toward the three stags. "it's all right. he's not hurting me."

the deer tilted their heads, still glaring at him.

"they're really protective of you," howard murmured behind her.

a scene flashed through her mind - her grandmother's mauled body surrounded by a herd of deer that had died trying to protect her.

"thank you for watching over me," she told the deer. "but i don't need your help right now." an eerie feeling swept over her, and she suddenly knew what to do. she lifted her hands, palms facing the deer. "go in peace."

the deer slowly ambled away.

"wow," howard said softly behind her. "they do what you say."

she swallowed hard. the more time she spent in the forest, the more she became attuned to this strange power within her. it was growing inside her as surely and steadily as the forest grew. it was changing her, calling her home, making her the guardian.

as she watched the deer disappear into the woods, she was struck by their noble bearing. they were beautiful. and they possessed an instinctual wisdom as ancient as the forest. they knew who she was. and they were loyal.

did they sense something she was refusing to see? they clearly saw howard as a threat to her. what if they were right? shouldn't she respect their instincts with the same respect they gave to her?

she buttoned up her shirt. "i should get back to work now." she hurried back to the picnic blanket just in time to see two raccoons running off with the rest of the smoked salmon.

"those damned thieves," howard muttered. "see you tomorrow?"

"maybe." she stepped toward the house, then paused. "oh, i almost forgot. i need to see shanna again. i have a bunch of countertop samples to show her, and i need to know which stain she wants for the cabinets. stuff like that."

he nodded. "i'll tell her. you want her to come by after sunset?"

"yes." elsa wondered briefly why shanna draganesti could only come at night, but then she dismissed the thought. she had enough to worry about. after all, she was falling in love with a were-bear who might fulfill a curse and kill her. if she had any sense, she'd heed the warning from the deer. but she didn't have any sense. she wanted to love him. dear, sweet howard.

she shoved back a tendril of hair that had escaped her ponytail. "good-bye."

his eyes narrowed as if he suspected something was wrong. she turned to walk toward the house.

"elsa," he called after her, and she stopped. glanced back.

"whom are you going to believe - a few deer or the man who loves you?"

her heart lurched. he loved her? oh god, it was her dream come true. in a normal world, this would be the moment she confessed her love to him and they would run into each other's arms. music would come out of nowhere, swelling dramatically as they fell into a long, passionate kiss. and they would live happily ever after.

a pang shot through her chest. the world was no longer normal. and she wasn't absolutely sure she could trust him. even though he loved her. even though she loved him.

tears gathered in her eyes, blurring her vision of him. she ran into the house.

dammit, he was losing her again. howard paced around his office. a new strategy, that was what he needed. time to call in the troops.

he sat at his desk and wrote a note to shanna, explaining that elsa was having trouble adjusting to his being a were-bear, especially when there was a curse that made it seem like he would kill her. so, when shanna met with elsa this evening, could she please put in a good word for him? convince elsa he was safe?

howard glared at the note. he hated having to ask for help. his inner bear took it as a sign of weakness.

"dammit." he turned to his computer to think about something else for a while. there was an e-mail from harry, sent late last night.

howard, i found an old were-bear who lives along the yukon river. he recalls smelling werewolves in the woods the day the fire started. he remembers because his cabin burned down, and he blames it on the werewolves.

i did some searching on the company that bought the land from our mothers. it's a front for a company that's a front for another. finally found out who actually bought the land. old man bleddyn, rhett's father.

howard stiffened. he'd always believed the hatred between him and rhett had started with them during high school. but did the hatred go back even further? were the two fathers involved in a battle that had ended with his father's murder?

he finished reading harry's e-mail.

i'll see what else i can find out. take it easy, buddy.

harry

another e-mail popped into his inbox from his cousin jimmy.

howard,

grandpa asked me to send you this link. and he says you should come home right away. i'm really sorry, dude.

howard's chest tightened as he opened the link. it was an online article from a major newspaper in anchorage.

"journalist killed in car bombing incident"

his heart clenched in his chest. his eyes darted around the article, unable to focus. morning blast. apparent murder. victim identified as harry yutu. memorial service.

harry was dead?

howard jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair.

harry was dead?

it was obvious who had killed him.

howard leaned his head back and roared.

chapter nineteen

after the last glow of the sun disappeared over the horizon, shanna draganesti came back to life with a powerful jolt to her chest. she sucked in a breath and pressed a hand to her now wildly beating heart. her vision adjusted to the dark basement bedroom at the dragon nest academy.

another night. she'd been given another night with her husband and children. a hundred years from now, would she still feel like she was living on borrowed time?

roman stirred next to her. "sweetness," he mumbled as he wrapped an arm around her and snuggled close.

she shivered at the coolness of his long, naked body. she could hardly blame him. her body was cool, too, after lying around dead all day long. they'd both fallen into their death-sleep a few minutes after making love.

she was always terribly hungry when she first awoke, but with her husband gently caressing her breasts, the last thing she wanted to think about was blood. she wanted to thank god for another night and enjoy roman's sweet and loving touch.

he was pressed against her back, nuzzling her neck and exploring her body. over the centuries, he'd acquired the strength to delay his first meal for about ten minutes. and he was putting that time to good use. already, they were growing much warmer. he nudged her bottom with his rapidly swelling groin, and she wiggled, rubbing against him.

with a groan, he squeezed her breast. "i can never get enough of you." his hand slid down her belly.

anticipation was so sweet. she would be wet before he reached her core. and hot with need.

"aagh!" her fangs popped out, and a hunger pain hit her hard in the gut. "damn!"

roman patted her on the rump. "let's feed you first."

she scrambled out of bed and rushed toward the small kitchen area of their suite, where she removed two bottles of synthetic blood from the refrigerator. "i really know how to destroy the mood." she winced. when her fangs were out, her voice sounded lisping and spitty, like sylvester the cat.

she stuffed the bottles into the microwave and mumbled, "shouldn't i be able to control my fangs by now?" sometimes she felt like she was failing vampire 101.

roman joined her in the kitchen and set two glasses on the counter. "i think you look adorable with your fangs."

"i can't control them. i get excited, and they pop out."

"i have a similar problem." with a wry smile, he motioned to his erection.

she gave him a clinically assessing look. "that's a rather large problem, but fortunately, i know exactly how to solve it."

"do you?" he kissed her brow.

"oh yeah." she was just about to get a handle on the problem when another hunger pain struck. "aagh." she rubbed her stomach.

"sorry. i shouldn't have kept you from your meal." he pulled a warm bottle from the microwave and poured the contents into a glass. "here." he added a straw, then handed it to her.

it was embarrassing to need a straw, but she found it difficult to drink from a glass with extended fangs. at least she was getting used to the taste. roman claimed that eventually she would enjoy it. she was still waiting for that to happen. after a few sips, the hunger pangs in her belly lessened and her fangs receded.

"better?" roman asked as he poured his own glass.

she nodded, still sipping on the straw.

a knock pounded on their door. "mom! dad!"

she whirled toward the door, her heart lurching. "constantine?"

"what's wrong?" roman called out. he'd already dashed to the dresser, and he was pulling on some underwear at vampire speed.

"see, grandma?" constantine whispered, although shanna could still hear. "i knew they'd be awake."

"yes," darlene responded on the other side of the door. "but you have to give them time to have their breakfast and get dressed."

"i need them now!" tino insisted.

"i want my mommy," sofia whimpered.

"we'll be right there!" shanna hurried to the restroom, then threw on an old t-shirt and pair of sweatpants. roman had finished dressing and was shoving his feet into shoes while he downed his glass of blood.

he dashed to the door, unlocked it, and flung it open. "what's wrong?" he knelt in front of tino and sofia, looking them over. "are you hurt?"

"they're fine," darlene assured them. "but they're upset."

"why?" shanna's heart squeezed at the sight of tino's tear-stained cheeks and the forlorn look in her daughter's eyes. "what happened?"

tino's chin wobbled. "he left. again."