Page 3 of Gold & Shadow

“Oh no you don’t,” growled the bear, which I realized wastalkingto me. It said I was initsbed.

A heavy weight landed on me, pinning my arms to the floor with large, warm hands.

Wait. Hands?

I was so surprised by the sight of the man above me—male, I supposed, based on the pointed ears—that I dropped the shadows and stared wide-eyed into his face.

“You were a bear,” I squeaked out stupidly, glancing down and blushing bright red as I realized that the male was completelynakedon top of me.

Bearded and tattooed and naked.

His powerful arms pinned mine down, and his knees bracketed my thighs against the floor.

“And you are a thief,” the male growled, still sounding bear-like even without the fur and teeth and claws. His voice was deep, his hair and short cropped beard the same color of brown that his fur had been, but his eyes were a warm golden brown, not the black of the bear’s as he narrowed them at me. “Why are you in my house?”

My momentary panic at being called a thief and thinking I’d been discovered dissolved at this last question. Victor had left out that my target was a gods-damnedbear-shifter, but he didn’t seem to know what I was looking for.

“I got lost,” I said timidly, trying to play the part of a lost and frightened girl, rather than a seasoned criminal. “And I was cold and I didn’t think anyone was home.”

“You were wrong,” the male said, the golden chain around his neck catching the light and drawing my attention. It looked to be a round, golden pendant, and with a lurch of my stomach, I realized what it was. A bear paw was engraved in its center, surrounded by symbols that matched the male’s tattoos.

Here was the item that Victor Gold had paid me to steal, clasped around the neck of an angry bear-shifter.

Fuck.

“Get out,” he rumbled, rising from the floor and releasing me as he backed away, still fully naked before me. I fixed my eyes on the ceiling, determined not to look at whatever was between his legs as I scrambled to my feet. When I risked a glance down, he was blessedly wearing trousers, although his feet and chest were still bare, aside from the golden amulet around his neck. Intricate tattoos crawled up his arms and across his chest, but I didn’t have time to study them as he barked out, “Now.”

“Please,” I pleaded, panicking as I was about to lose this job and the heavy payday that came with it. I mentally scrambled for a reason to stay. A way to remain long enough to try to steal the amulet.

The male growled again, looking frustrated and angry as he grabbed me around the waist and hauled me up over his shoulder.

I yelped as he carried me bodily down the narrow stairs and opened the front door. A blast of freezing air greeted me, and then icy wet as he threw me into the freshly fallen snow.

It was still dark out, the sky the bruised purple of very early dawn. A wolf howled in the distance, and I felt the cold seeping into my bones as I sat in the snow.

“Don’t come back,” the male thundered, slamming the door and leaving me alone in the dark.

“Hey!” I shouted, scrambling to my feet and banging on the wooden door. “You can’t leave me out here in the dark! There are wolves!”

The door opened a crack, and the male flashed his teeth with a cold grin. “Better scamper home, Little Thief.” He threw Father’s cloak at me and slammed the door again. I didn’t even have time to protest the nickname before the window went dark.

I thought about several colorful swear words I could use, but it wasn’t worth it. I was already going numb from the cold, and more snow was landing in my hair and seeping into my clothes as I stood at the bear’s door.

I could leave, cut my losses, and tell Victor the job was a no-go. He’d be furious, but it would be the safest choice. Or I could find a place to take shelter and sneak back in after the bear had let down his guard. He had seen my shadow magic, but he didn’t know what I was after. At least, I hoped he didn’t.

What I couldn’t do was stay in the snow. I would freeze. Or be eaten. Or both. I had no desire to become a meat popsicle, and I was already losing feeling in my toes, so I decided to head off in search of some kind of shelter. Caves littered these woods, and there couldn’t be one too far from the cabin if the bear-shifter hunted out here. I pulled on the cloak, thankful that I at least hadn’t lost the heirloom.

Another howl sounded, closer this time, and I briefly considered climbing a tree before deciding that I reallywouldbecome a meat popsicle if I climbed a giant wooden stick.

I trudged off, heading in the opposite direction from the way I had come and, consequently, the howls of the wolves. I would hunt for some kind of shelter, maybe build a fire, nap, and try to steal the amulet again when night fell. Izzy would be going mad with worry for me, but she knew that sometimes jobs took longer than I anticipated.

I was maybe an hour into my plan when it went completely to hell.

The growling came out of nowhere, and I whirled to see three wolves stalking toward me in the gray light, their teeth glinting white in the darkness.

Oh gods. Never mind the popsicle. I was going to bebreakfast.

I quickly weighed my options, standing completely still in case the wolves gave chase. Should I make myself look big, or was that for bears? Did I take to the nearest tree? I was not a great climber,but maybe adrenaline would help. My heart was thumping so hard in my chest, I felt sure the wolves could hear it, and the sound of my blood pumping through me seemed to make them salivate.