Drake frowned when Tulley's personal cell phone number came up on his caller ID. He wondered why the old man was calling him on a Sunday. What he heard over the line sent a cold chill down his spine.

"Drake," Tulley began, there was an anger in his voice Drake had never heard. "I hate to bother you, but I need your help. Tessa called and she's had quite the fright. I couldn't understand her through all the crying. I'm out of town, and I watch over that girl like she's one of my own. I need someone to check on her. I trust you to do that. Do you mind?"

"Where does she live?" he barked when his beast snarled in his head.

Tulley gave an address to a business in the center of town, telling him to go to the stairwell around the side of the building. Her apartment was above it. Drake hung up and rushed to his truck, yelling for his brother, Gunner, to go with him. Rex was away from their land for the day.

"What the hell is going on?" Gunner asked as he jumped into the truck.

"Something's wrong with Tessa," he snarled and pressed the pedal down to the floor of his truck, hoping he didn't get pulled over by the sheriff as he filled Gunner in on what Tulley had said. His brother cursed several times but sat back and waited for them to arrive at her apartment. Drake was worried what he would find, but the fear of knowing she was hysterical made him even more determined to reach her.

As soon as they arrived, Drake stepped out of his truck and recognized her car. He paused when he looked through the back windshield. Something was splattered on the front one. Gunner cursed as he approached Drake's back. "That's blood."

"Fuck," Drake hollered as he ran toward the car. On the hood was a domestic cat. "Someone slit this cat's throat."

"Who would do that?" Gunner asked.

"Let me get Tessa," he replied, looking up the stairwell behind a tall bush. It led to a top floor apartment, and there was a basket of clothes strewn all over the bottom few steps. Drake stepped over them and took the stairs two at a time. His heavy hand landed on the wooden frame. "Tessa! It's Drake!"

The door opened, and his blonde female fell into his arms. Her tears soaked into his shirt as he scooped her up and moved her over to the couch against the far wall. The apartment was the size of his bedroom. There was a small kitchenette to his left, and another door straight ahead that he assumed was her bathroom.

"Tell me what happened," he ordered, taking her chin with his forefinger.

"It's my ex-husband," she cried. "I had to leave my cat, Renegade, behind when I left him. Now, he's found me, and he's letting me know."

"Jesus," Gunner cursed and turned to walk out the door. "I'll take care of everything outside, Tessa."

"Thank you," she sniffled, then looked up into Drake's eyes. Her hands were still fisted in his shirt as she rested her face back on his chest.

"Tell me about this male," Drake ordered. He wanted to know everything about him so he could find him and kill him for making Tessa cry. Her tears ripped at his soul and this man would pay.

"Bradley Ward," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I divorced him three years ago. He threatened me, and I left town. He found me in Tulsa last Christmas and left me for dead behind the diner I worked at after closing one night."

"You are coming home with us," he decided instantly. "Grab your things."

"I can't do that," she gasped as he stood up and placed her on her feet. "That's asking way too much from you."

"Do as I ask of you, Tessa," he snarled, looking toward the front door. "This isn't an option. If you stay here, he could kill you this time, and I refuse to let that happen."

"Okay, fine," she relented. Drake could see the defeat she felt on her face. Her beautiful blue eyes were red from crying and her face wasn't as bright as it was the night she'd brought the parts to his home and he'd fed her.

His beast snarled in his head. They wanted to take her home and feed her again. It was in their nature to provide and protect, and Drake wanted nothing more than to hide her on his land until he could track down this male and kill him.

Gunner met them at the truck. The cat had been removed and most of the blood had been washed away. Drake turned Tessa's face into his chest as he walked her past the car. "You two go ahead. Rex is on his way to pick me up, and I'll finish cleaning this up while I wait on him. Tessa, your laundry basket is in Drake's truck."

Drake nodded and helped Tessa with the small bag she'd packed into his truck. He buckled her seatbelt and walked around the front of the vehicle, stopping to talk to his brother. "I want this guy found."

"He's yours once we do find him," Gunner promised. "Take your mate home. We will be there in about an hour."

Drake cranked the truck and pulled out of her small driveway. The laundry basket sat between them, and he wanted to toss it into the back of his truck so he could pull her to his side. His need to protect her was the only thing on his mind. The animal that lived inside him wanted the male's blood for the things he'd done to Tessa.

"We are going to talk more about this once I have you in a safe place," Drake stated as he turned for the highway leading toward his property south of town.

"I can talk to you now," she sighed, shaking her head. "I was an idiot and married this guy who promised me everything. It didn't take long before he showed his true colors. He was abusive, plain and simple. It took me some time before I could gather the money to divorce him. When I did, he came after me."

"How many times did he hurt you?" Drake asked, squeezing his hands around the steering wheel.

"Many," she admitted, turning her head to look out the window. She was silent for the longest time, and Drake was about to ask her to go into detail, but she sighed and continued without being prompted. "I'm not going to tell you everything was hearts and flowers. He abused me, and I let him for two years. He's tried to kill me more than just the incident in Tulsa."

"You are very brave for leaving," Drake said through gritted teeth. "But I promise you, if I find him, I will kill that human male."

"Why do I believe you?" she said with a soft chuckle. Drake took his gaze off the road for a second to glance at her face. She was smiling softly as she wiped away the tears. Those tears gutted him. The big, badass bear who could kill a human with just one swipe of his bear paw was affected by the little woman's pain more than he would admit.

"Because you know I'm capable." "I do."

"You do? How?" he asked, wondering where she had gotten her information. The paranoid side of him wondered if she was associated with the hate groups, but the rational side of him knew she wasn't.

"I looked up information on shifters." Drake saw her shrug out of the corner of his eye, and he was surprised she was so forthcoming with her explanation.

"You did, huh?" he asked, raising a brow and wondering exactly what she'd found.

He didn't know what information was out there on the human's internet. He hoped like hell none of his fellow brother grizzly bears had been found during the raids, and he hoped to keep his secret from the humans for as long as possible. His business and life depended on the secrecy.

"There were wolves, panthers, lions, and black and small brown bears reported in an article," she informed him, turning in her seat. "Are you a black bear?"

"Hah!" he laughed, the mood lightening inside the small space of his truck. "No, little one, I am not."

"Then what are you?" she begged.

"We can talk more after I get you home," he grunted, and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was his mate and trust was something he was going to have to give over to her at some point. But when? When would be the time to tell her?

Now, Drake. You need to trust her.

"Oh, okay," she said in defeat, but his mate was inquisitive and kept up with the questions. "Will you show me this time?"

"I will," he promised on a nod. "After I feed you and bathe you."

"Bathe me?" She narrowed her eyes when he flashed her a soft smile. "I can do that on my own."

"If you insist," he drawled as he passed the werepanther-owned bar. "I'll show you where everything is in our home."

The drive to his place was silent, and he wanted to reach over and touch her again. His bear insisted on it, but he refrained.