Noah Pierce is home. He’s back and there’s no changing it. He never should have left. In the process of trying to fix one mistake with another, he made the worst one of all. He abandoned the only woman he loved. Sweet, loving and he couldn’t wait to get her out of her clothes, Becca.

Becca can’t believe Noah’s return at first. She’s angry. She’s frustrated. More than anything, though, she’s still in love with the annoying bear. She needs to stay away from his tempting ways. But how can she when he turns up everywhere? His romantic touches. The heated looks. The lust-filled kisses. It’s enough to make her strong resistance waver.

The threat of the opposing bear clan's desire for revenge comes to haunt them. Noah knows he has to stand and fight. Even if it means his life. But revenge isn’t their only problem. There’s more danger lurking than they imagined. It’s a fight for more than their love. It’s a fight for survival.

Chapter 1

Coming back home had been harder than Noah thought it would be.

Maybe you should have considered this before just blindly coming back. He shoved the errant thought to the back of his mind and adjusted the strap of his backpack. He stood on the outskirts of his old hometown. Roiling uncertainty bubbled inside him, and Noah ran a hand through his hair.

But then, he took a step across the border … and another … and another.  

The bear inside Noah lifted its head as they walked into town. The creature had been lonely for the past decade. Noah had made a point of staying away from other shifters, especially of the bear variety.

He knew now that had been a mistake. Remaining isolated had hurt him and his bear in more ways than one.

But now he was home. And the bear paced almost frantically inside him.

There was only one thing that Noah wanted to do now that he was back. And that was to see Becca.

An image of her rose into his mind. An image that was an amalgamated mess of every memory he had of her. He inhaled sharply as he continued walking more briskly.

The thought of Becca made the bear tremble, made Noah tremble, with emotions he couldn’t quite identify. The underlying emotion, the one he knew too much about, Noah thought, was grief.

He had been grieving for a long time. Grieving for what he had lost, for what he had let go. Grieving for Becca.

His phone buzzed then.

See you soon, brother. The entire family is waiting to welcome you back.

The text was from his brother, Mitch, and a smile spread across Noah’s face as he read the message.

Despite the grief he felt, the grief he hadn’t expected and didn’t know what to do with … Noah was happy to be back. The bear needed its clan again, and he needed to see his family.

Noah didn’t have anywhere to stay and had checked into a less-than-savory-looking motel where his truck was parked. He would probably move back onto clan property, but he needed a little space first.

Becca. Becca. Becca.

The bear didn’t care about a family reunion then. It didn’t care about kin or clan.

It wanted Becca.

“Don’t worry. You will see her soon enough.” Noah quieted the bear, and the creature gave a loud, rumbling sigh before turning several times and then plopping down to sleep.

Noah felt the heaviness of the grief fall away the further he walked into town. It still remained, but it was easier to carry. He would see Becca soon. And, hopefully, she would forgive him for leaving so abruptly.

It may mean that Noah would have to beg. But he was okay with that.

The clan’s property was on the outskirts of town. By the time Noah had arrived, the back of his shirt was damp with sweat, and the muscles in his legs felt strained. You should have driven here.

The sun was low in the sky, and when Noah looked down at his watch, he realized how late he actually was.

He had driven two days to get back home and had thought he would arrive closer to mid-afternoon. It was, however, closer to dusk, and the air was becoming thick as the nighttime bled into it.

A bunch of cars were parked around the entrance to the clan’s property. His heart rate picked up speed as he walked onto the land. He hitched his backpack up onto his shoulder again, and after taking several deep breaths, he rounded the corner.

Noah was heading to the back door … no one who really belonged to the family ever used the front door … and he heard raised, laughing voices as he approached that part of the house.

“NOAH!”

The screech came from Kiera, who was the first to spot him. She came flying around the corner and took him into her arms. “Oh, my God, you’re finally back!”

He allowed himself to sag into her arms as she jumped up and down.

Lev came around the corner then, following his mate, and the bear growled at the sight of another of its kind. Kiera pulled away, and the two men shook hands before Lev, surprisingly, pulled Noah into a rough hug.

Noah swallowed his gasp of shock before he pulled away.

“Your brother, his mate, and their baby just arrived,” Kiera gushed, seemingly blind to Noah’s emotions from the welcome by Lev.

“I’d like to see them.” His voice was rough, hoarse. God, coming back here is so difficult.

Noah’s return weighed heavily on him again for a few seconds. But then he shouldered it more easily and focused on how happy he felt that he was finally back … after all this time.

Walking into the main house behind Lev and Kiera, he realized how lonely he had been for the past decade. How did I manage ten years of this? How did I survive without my family around me?

They rounded another corner, and there he was. Mitch and his mate, who was cradling a warbling, wriggling bundle.

Mitch must have sensed his presence because he looked up as soon as Noah walked into the room. He sprang up from his seat, and in seconds, the two brothers were clinging onto one another.

“I’m so glad you’re back.” Mitch’s whispered words were enough to make Noah double over with pain, but instead, he held onto Mitch for dear life.

“I’m glad to be back, bro.”

Lev and Kiera disappeared for a while, and Noah knew they were attending to their other guests. Nothing much had changed. The clan house was always full of people. It seemed that Lev and Kiera were taking on the responsibility easily enough.

Mitch introduced Noah to his mate, Cate, and their son Evan. Evan couldn’t be more than five months old. And though his father was a bear shifter, he looked tiny, even for five months.

Lev and Kiera had floated back into the room. Kiera carried plates of snacks and Lev balanced jugs of drinks in both hands.

“Do you want to hold him?” Cate lifted Evan, who had just woken up and was staring around him furiously, to Noah.

Noah took an immediate step back and shook his head vehemently. “Definitely not. I’m not really great with babies.”

He thought back to the waitress he had dated five years ago. She had just given birth when they met, and the kid had hated him on sight. Noah hadn’t been serious about the waitress to start with … Becca’s presence still lingered wherever he went … but the fact that her daughter hated being held by Noah had been enough to put the kibosh on the relationship.

“Oh, Noah, you’ll be fine. Just hold him!” Mitch looked lovingly at Evan.

“Maybe he’s afraid that if he holds the baby, he’ll have one on the way soon,” Kiera said jokingly.

“I wish he would,” Cate said suddenly. Her voice was dramatic. “Evan needs friends.”

“I’m sure you and Mitch will be popping out many brothers and sisters for Evan. But I’m still not holding him,” Noah said jokingly and took the drink that Lev handed him.

“Trust me, we’re working on giving Evan some siblings,” Mitch said while sending a sly look in Cate’s direction. Cate didn’t say anything, but Noah didn’t miss the way she blushed happily.

A lump had risen in his throat as he watched the interaction between the two mates. He turned away with his drink still in hand and headed for the porch. Not long after, Lev joined him.

“It’s good to have you back.” There was no hiding the sincerity in Lev’s voice. The lump in Noah’s throat threatened to swell.

They’re happy to have me back, even after all this time.

“How is she?” The question slipped from Noah unbidden, but he had a feeling that Lev had been waiting for it.

“She’s good. She has flourished over the last ten years. She owns her own business now, and she’s very successful.”

“And I’m sure she’s settled down by now.” There was no hiding the bitterness in Noah’s voice.

“Not at all.” Lev’s answer rocked Noah to his core. “As far as I know, she’s been single this entire time.”

“Someone like Becca Gibson doesn’t need to stay single. She’s a bombshell,” Noah murmured the words.

“She is,” Lev agreed heartily. “But she’s become quite isolated. She stays with us, of course, but she doesn’t have many friends outside of us.”

“So she never mated?” Noah had to ask Lev again. He had to be sure.

“Never. And maybe, now that you’re back, you can go see her again. Clear things up.”

“I doubt she wants to see me.”

“She wants to see you. You can trust me on that.”

“Have you spoken to her about this?” Noah turned to Lev. The drink had been stronger than what he was used to, and the liquid burned on the way down his throat.

“I don’t need to speak to her about it. I’ve never had to. I just know.”

There was a sense of finality in Lev’s voice. But for some reason, Noah couldn’t believe that Becca would actually want to see him.

“She owns the ice cream shop in town. And since it is still the busy season, she’ll be there right now.”

He shouldn’t have told me where she is. I’ll never be able to resist now.

The bear was pacing again, having woken up at the sound of Becca’s name. It growled, and Lev smiled at the low rumble that sounded from Noah’s chest.

He downed the rest of his drink and then went inside. Lev didn’t follow him.

No one seemed to notice that Noah had set down his backpack and walked out the door. Or maybe Lev and Kiera had warned everyone to be quiet about the subject of Becca. He wouldn’t put it past them.

You really should have driven, Noah thought as he started walking down the long driveway. He broke into a brisk pace as he left the clan’s property and was practically running to get into town.

A dark, sparkly evening had fallen across the sky, and Noah had no doubt that Becca would be closing up shop soon. He had to see her. She was a major part of the reason he had come back. He couldn’t resist.

Becca. Becca. Becca. Her name pounded in his ears, falling in time with his feet against the ground. He probably wouldn’t approach her tonight. He’d just get a glimpse of her, and hopefully, that would be enough.

Until he got up the courage to actually speak to her, of course.

Noah had arrived in the middle of the town before he knew it. No one batted an eye at the large man just running down the street. When would he find the courage to speak to her?

He would have to. Becca would be furious with him. She had been furious with him just after he left. He could still remember the dozens of angry and heartbroken messages and voicemails she had left him.

He couldn’t tell her then that he had left town to keep everyone safe. He went away to ensure a war didn’t break out.

But that wouldn’t matter to her. All Becca knew was that he had left her.