Home > Wild Warrior

Wild Warrior
Author: Jocelynn Drake

Chapter 1

 

 

The cool early morning air ruffled Baer’s red hair as he drove along the empty road. Bits of orange, red, and yellow were starting to peek out among the dense green leaves. At this point in early October, fall would be much further along in Colorado. Summer would be a distant memory, and the mountain towns would be planning for their first snow and the start of ski season.

But here in southern Georgia, they were just escaping the brutal grip of summer’s bone-melting heat.

And by some evil twist of fate, he was out at the crack of dawn, getting doughnuts for himself and his “brothers.”

He blamed Jo.

The goddess appeared right after dinner in a pair of bright-blue linen slacks and a floral blouse. They were sitting around on the patio, sipping beers and lazily chatting about nothing at all. Earlier in the day, they’d finished moving his Weaver brother Grey to the apartments over the garage now that Dane was fully settled in the master suite with his mate, Clay. The Soul Weaver needed the added distance to give himself a mental break. His powers blessed him with the ability to hear thoughts and emotions far too clearly and naturally, so he needed a respite from the added noise in his brain.

Flopping down on one of the spare seats, Jo gave her usual warm, loving smile that made her blue eyes twinkle as she brought up that “pumpkin spice everything” was starting to show up in all the local stores. Baer wasn’t an enormous fan of the flavor, but then she started in on these special artisan pumpkin doughnuts that could only be found at this one special bakery in the middle of nowhere.

When she was done waxing poetic on those damn doughnuts, they were all craving them, but none of them were exactly excited about getting up at the crack of dawn to fetch them before they sold out.

Straws were drawn, and Baer was the “lucky” winner.

He should have brought Ruby.

The German shepherd usually liked car rides and she was great company, particularly now that he could understand her thoughts—a gift of being the Animal Weaver. But after letting her out for her morning bathroom break while he made coffee, his faithful companion found a patch of early sun to stretch out in and refused to budge as it warmed her brown and black coat. He was running this errand solo.

Following Jo’s directions, he reached the tiny strip mall in the middle of nowhere without a problem. Along with a gas station possessing just four pumps, there was a beauty salon, a liquor store, and a bakery. As he pulled into the parking lot filled with about a half dozen cars, he was hit with the wonderful scent of sugar and cinnamon.

Okay, so getting up early and the drive were pains in the ass, but he had a feeling it would all be worth it when he bit into that sweet, cake-y goodness. Would two dozen doughnuts even be enough between the four of them?

Climbing out of the Jeep, Baer sucked in a deep breath and stretched his arms above his head. Birds were chirping in the nearby trees, and there was a low buzz from the insects. Cars were few on the road, allowing the peace of nature around him to sink in. After several months, he was getting better with his powers. He could easily dial down the constant chatter from the closest animals to white noise. The only ones he was clearly picking up were a cluster of pigeons sitting on wires nearby, anxiously waiting to see if anyone was going to drop something yummy for their breakfast.

As he rested his arms at his sides, a black-and-white Mini Cooper pulled into an open spot two down from his Jeep. The morning took an immediate positive turn as the most adorable guy stepped out of it. Short and slender with spiky blond hair, the man looked sweet with his dark-rimmed glasses and slightly crooked grin. He was wearing cargo shorts and a T-shirt with Captain America’s shield on the front. Definitely rocking the nerdy-chic vibe hard, and it worked for the stranger.

Those beautiful eyes widened when they looked at Baer, and his pale pink lips parted in a silent O. That was a nice ego boost. Baer was pretty sure his shoulder-length red hair was thoroughly windblown, and he’d just grabbed a plain gray T-shirt and jeans this morning before stumbling down the stairs for coffee. He ran a hand over his jaw to find his whiskers were thicker than he’d preferred, but the charming twink didn’t seem to mind.

Blinking once, the stranger flashed Baer an awkward smile before looking away, a blush of embarrassment painting his cheeks. The guy wasn’t the usual type he fooled around with. Oh, Baer definitely liked all types, but recently he’d been going for the bigger, burlier bears who liked to growl and manhandle.

Yet, this adorable guy with the dark eyes and cute blush had his libido sitting up and taking notice.

Baer paused near the rear of his Jeep, watching the guy walk into the bakery. There was something…familiar about him. Comfortable. Baer mentally prodded at the errant feeling in his chest, trying to get it to cough up more details, but nothing was forthcoming. It wasn’t quite the same feeling he’d gotten when he first met Clay or Grey. Then it had been like he’d known them his whole life.

Of course, he’d met Clay and Grey when all hell was breaking loose around them.

This guy…well, Baer just wasn’t sure. But it was simply odd that he’d gotten a feeling at all.

With a shake of his head, he brushed it aside. It could be that he hadn’t gotten laid in a long time, and those plush lips were a sinful invitation for so many fun and naughty visions.

Not that he’d pursue Blondie.

The guy was cute enough, but random hookups had largely lost their appeal since Clay had found Dane. His soul mate. They’d been sweet together before the bonding ceremony, but now that they were permanently linked, their cuteness had reached nauseating levels.

And Baer was jealous.

He wanted that. He wanted someone who knew him, accepted him, loved him—flaws and all—as completely as Dane loved Clay.

It made thoughts of a fun and dirty quickie seem cheap when he could have so much more.

Grunting at his bleak thoughts, Baer resumed his trek toward the bakery. Brooding wasn’t getting him any closer to pumpkin doughnuts and a fresh cup of coffee. He’d obviously not had enough caffeine that morning. It was time to remedy that.

Of course, putting aside thoughts of Blondie wasn’t gonna happen.

Stepping into the bakery, Baer quickly glanced around the place with its white walls and framed pictures of fancy wedding cakes. There were about a dozen tables and chairs spread on either side of the aisle along with a few booths. Some of the customers probably liked hanging out with their coffee and sweets.

There were about five people ahead of Baer in line—all of them staring at their phones or the shiny glass case protecting a tantalizing rainbow of doughnuts and pastries. Including the sexy blond Mini Cooper owner who was right in front of Baer in line. While Baer was a relatively average height of five ten, the blond was at least a delicate five seven or maybe five eight. The guy looked up from his phone as Baer stepped up behind him, and he flashed a nervous smile.

“Hey,” he greeted in a slightly husky voice and then flushed some more.

Yeah, this guy was all kinds of adorable.

“Mornin’,” Baer replied. “You ever been here before?”

The man shook his head, shoving his phone into his pocket. “No. It was recommended to me recently. When I woke up this morning, I just had to have doughnuts.” He gave a nervous little laugh. “I guess that’s the result of nonstop marketing at its best. It’s fall, so we’ve all gotta eat pumpkin-flavored everything for the next month.”

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