Bear and Bear Alike: A Blackwood Brothers Book Read online

  BEAR AND BEAR ALIKE

  Copyright 2014 by

  MARIE MASON

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  ABOUT THIS BOOK

  THE BLACKWOOD BROTHERS ARE BACK…

  Ryland and Ryker Blackwood were twins. Identical, thigh clenching bear shifter twins who had no trouble getting women into their beds. Or bed. They’d shared just about everything in life, even women.

  The scent of the cat shifter they found on their construction site was driving both Blackwood brothers crazy with lust. Or was it? Every time they thought they were getting closer to finding the woman who would be their mate, one of their bears backed away. The hot and cold feeling they were getting from their animals was confusing the shit out of them.

  Was the cat shifter meant for one of them or both of them?

  CHAPTER ONE

  Two black jaguars prowled through the thick foliage behind a partially completed office complex on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. Lifting their noses, they scented the air, always aware of the danger that surrounded them. They smelled nothing but the red Georgia Clay. If the security guard followed the same routine he had for the past several weeks, he would be inside the office trailer eating his supper.

  With a shimmer of light, the jaguars standing beside a giant oak disappeared and two black haired women appeared in their place. They quickly donned the clothing they’d carried around their necks while in animal form.

  “He’s not coming.” The woman nearest the tree, Abigail Sorenson, wadded up the plastic bag she’d used to transport her clothing and stuffed it into the back pocket of her jeans. She and her sister, Emma, were once again on the Blackwood brothers’ property.

  For the last time.

  “He’s not dead, Abby.”

  Conviction filled her sister’s voice, and Abigail knew Emma wanted to believe that. She wanted to believe that. But they’d left their father beaten and bleeding in the last city over two months ago. According to their plan, they should have already moved onto the next town. They should have packed up and kept running and prayed their father would catch up with them.

  They’d barely escaped discovery when the Blackwoods had caught the jackal causing havoc on the construction site. The shifter and his cronies had sabotaged equipment and stolen supplies.

  No doubt the bears had turned them over to the Council, the ruling body of all shifters. Every shifter species had a representative on the Council to protect them.

  Abigail snorted. There was no caring Council member for the cats. The hyena who represented them was in the back pocket of Henry Jacobson, the Panthera, who ruled the prides in the southern part of the United States. Anyone who opposed him met a swift and untimely demise.

  Like their mother.

  And, now, possibly their father. She pushed those thoughts away. Her father had to still be alive. If he wasn’t…she couldn’t go there. Not yet.

  They still lingered in Atlanta for one, well, two other reasons—Ryland and Ryker Blackwood, Abby’s mates. Finding her mates had given them a glimmer of hope they had never had before. Not that she planned on acknowledging her mates. Having a mate, or even mates, would not keep Emma safe.

  She tugged at the hem of her lightweight shirt. It was early fall and the temperature was still pleasant. Thanks to her chunky figure, she’d never be a beach bunny, but she loved the feel of the hot rays against her skin and preferred the warmer climates further south. Instead of enjoying herself on a warm sandy beach, she’d find a large rock in some out-of-the-way place and sun herself—in both human and cat form. She hadn’t done that in ages.

  After they changed clothes, the women jogged to the nearly completed building. Emma watched as her sister lifted the large metal gate on the service elevator and glanced nervously at the office trailer. She didn’t think the guard could hear them. The buds to his iPod were practically glued to his ears. Not the smartest behavior considering the trouble the Blackwoods had experienced the last few months. She stepped inside the elevator behind her sister and pushed the big red button to take them to the third floor.

  Their floor, she thought fondly. It was here that Abigail’s mates had discovered her sister’s scent and she had discovered theirs. Emma felt a sharp pang of jealousy and envy blossom in her heart. Her sister had not one, but two, great big bear shifters to love and protect her. Oh, not that she begrudged her sister her mates. But because she would never have one. Genetics and circumstances had conspired together to ensure that would never happen.

  The rattle of the metal cage rang loudly through the night air and she cringed. Too bad they couldn’t jump up in their cat form. They were stronger and faster as cats. Unfortunately, Emna’s human form was not as sleek and elegant as her cat.

  Once on the third floor, the sisters gravitated to the side with the best view of the city. She grinned at Abigail and sat down to dangle her feet over the edge. Hesitating only a few moments, her sister joined her. Just a few years ago, heck, just a few months ago, her sister would have scolded her and pulled her away from the edge. Emma was the daredevil, the risk taker. Almost the complete opposite of Abigail. Her sister wasn’t exactly a stick-in-the mud, but she did need to lighten up a bit. She weighed the pros and cons of everything she did. Of everything they did.

  The concrete floor was cool beneath Emma’s legs and a breeze blew across her face. Except for the light breeze, the night was still. She watched the lights from the Atlanta skyline waver and twinkle in the distance. She was a jaguar shifter and being up high made her feel comfortable. Secure. Safe. That was almost laughable. She and her sister might never be safe again.

  Emma knew her sister was right. Their father wasn’t coming and they needed to leave Atlanta. But, Emma believed something her sister didn’t. The Blackwood brothers could help them. Fate had sent the sisters to this city for a reason.

  And she was not about to let Abigail screw that up.

  After a lifetime of pretense, the girls were masters at camouflaging their scent. The bears couldn’t track them past the woods in the back of the building, and Abigail refused to seek them out. She wanted nothing to do with her mates.

  With a casual air, she rose and strolled around the floor. As she walked, she rubbed herself against the walls, along the iron girders, anywhere she could leave her sister’s scent. She always wore Abigail’s clothing. While most sisters loved to swap jeans and sweaters, Emma wore her sister’s clothing to hide a secret.

  Tonight, she’d deliberately worn clothes saturated with Abigail’s scent. She prayed the bears would find the scent and follow the trail.

  Tonight, Emma had decided to provide fate with a helping hand. This was the last time she could help the lug-headed animals. She’d be lucky if she could convince Abigail to stay a few more days. Her sister was stubborn, determined to protect Emma no matter what.

  Her sister should have learned by now, Emma was just as stubborn. She would not be the reason her sister didn’t get her happily-ever-after. She just hoped her efforts tonight would be enough.

  Ryland and Ryker Blackwood stood on the third floor of the office complex on the outskirts of downtown Atlanta. All twelve floors were in various stages of completion. The project had fallen behind thanks to the recent trouble on the site.

  Another construction firm owned by a jackal shifter had set out to destroy the reputation of Blackwood Brothers’ Construction. All because they had won a governme
nt contract.

  Granted, the contract was worth a couple of million dollars, but it wasn’t worth the potential loss of life that would have occurred if the jackal had been successful. The jackal and his followers had damaged iron girders and sabotaged the concrete mix being used in the hopes that the building would collapse once it was occupied. If that had happened, the Blackwood brothers would have been ruined.

  Of course, the jackal had made a terrible mistake. He’d taken their brother Quinn’s mate, Paige, hostage and held her at gunpoint for all of ten seconds before Quinn had taken him out. Unfortunately, he’d only taken him as far as the Shifter Council.

  Ryland wondered if the man knew his life had only been spared because Paige had gotten through the killer rage that had consumed Quinn when she’d been endangered.

  Ryland would never admit something good had come from the jackal’s attack. But they’d also discovered the scent of a cat shifter mixed in with those of the jackals. A scent that had been driving their bears insane for the past month or so. A scent that had all but disappeared.

  After the brothers had turned the jackal over to the Council, the building had gone up swiftly. Framing, electrical, and plumbing was already in place. Tomorrow the drywall crew would start and then it would be up to the decorators to step in and do their magic with paint and fabric.

  On this floor, the work hadn’t progressed so far or so fast. He and Ryker were to blame. Quinn had delayed work on the floor as long as he could. Tomorrow, workers, both human and shifter, would overrun the area. The twins were grateful for the delay. They didn’t want the slightly spicy scent of the cat overwhelmed until absolutely necessary.

  Neither wanted another male scenting their mate.

  Yeah, the elusive cat shifter was their mate.

  Knowing his brother could stand there forever without moving a muscle or saying a word, Ryland took a step forward, then another. He felt rather than heard Ryker finally move, going to the other side of the floor. Grabbing a tool belt, he fastened it around his waist and got to work. The sooner they were done, they quicker they could go hunting. He clenched his hands as unfamiliar surges of bitterness rose inside him.

  How the hell was he going to share his mate with his brother?

  It wasn’t unheard of in the shifter world for two males to share a true-mate. Since they were bear shifters—and twins—the odds had been pretty damn good they would wind up sharing a mate.

  Hell, they’d shared women before. In fact, they’d lost their virginity to the same woman—at the same time. A college girl they’d met at a high school rave. A blond whose name he didn’t even remember.

  But now his bear roared at the thought of sharing the woman whose scent intoxicated him. Even sharing her with his brother.

  He knew if these feelings of jealousy and rage were running rampant in him, Ryker had to be suffering twice as much.

  Ryker had discovered the scent while patrolling the site at night while the jackals were on the loose. And he’d immediately recognized the cat as his mate. It was only after Ryland had joined the search for the jackals that they’d discovered they were both drawn to the cat. He knew his twin felt the draw harder and deeper. Where Ryland’s bear immediately came to life anytime he smelled the luscious scent, once he was away from it, the bear calmed. Not Ryker. It was as if the scent had permeated his pores, becoming a part of the big bear shifter. Leaving the man restless and dangerous.

  The way a true-mate should.

  If they were not meant to share this female—if she was intended only for Ryker—then why the hell was he drawn to her?

  It took all of Ryker’s control not to throw his brother through a wall. Not because his twin had ticked him off—again—but because his bear knew fate intended for him to share his mate.

  His mate, his bear roared inside. His.

  He watched his brother, seeing the same tortured expression on his features he’d seen every morning in the mirror for the last few weeks, and knew his bear was wrong. The woman whose scent filled the air was his true-mate, but she was also his brother’s.

  Ryker hated that he no longer felt as deep of a connection as he once had with his twin. The silent communication that drove their family wild was missing. Had been missing since he’d discovered the scent of that damn cat. How they hell could they share a mate, if they couldn’t read each other anymore?

  A few wees ago, he’d discovered the remnants of a fire on this floor. At first they’d thought the jackals had tried their hand at arson, but they’d discovered a stash of clothing and food that indicated someone had been making the unfinished floor their home.

  That someone had been the cat.

  Their mate.

  Both men had immediately tried to protect the cat, hiding its existence from their brother in case she was involved with the jackals. A mate’s first priority was to protect.

  When Quinn had rescued his mate from the jackal leader, he’d turned the piece of shit over to the Shifter Council. The Council chair, a wolf shifter named Liam Hart, had believed the animal when he’d sworn no cat had been working for him. Ryker trusted the wolf’s instincts. He appeared to be an honest man, even if he had some deep, dark secrets of his own.

  Stepping around a stack of drywall, he decided to work on the opposite side of the floor from Ryland. His bear was still agitated and needed a little space. Neither man wanted to complete the job. To wipe out the last of their mate’s scent. For weeks, they’d been scouring the city, trying to find a hint of the elusive smell. For all they knew, she could have already left the area. But Ryker didn’t—couldn’t—believe that. The one thing that gave them hope was the fresh scent they’d discovered two days ago. The trail had ended abruptly right past the highway. On a city block in a not-so-good area of town. It was the furthest they’d ever been able to track her.

  He did not believe it was a coincidence the woman had found her way to the construction site. In the shifter world, there was no such thing. Their very existence ruled out the happenstance most humans believed controlled their destiny.

  But worry ate at the Ryker. Was she in danger? Did she need their help? Why hadn’t she tried to approach them? It wasn’t like they were hiding.

  The day dragged on with the brothers preparing the floor for tomorrow. The sun was high in the sky when Ryland’s phone vibrated letting him know he’d received a text. Putting down his hammer, he pulled the phone from his front pocket. “Hey, Ryker,” he called to his twin. “Paige brought lunch.”

  Paige was their soon-to-be sister-in-law, their brother Quinn’s mate. Besides being pretty and plump, she was also a hell of a good cook. Ryker continued hammering, but Ryland knew he had heard. As the day had passed, he had grown more and more sullen. Ryland knew it was because they were erasing all trace of their mate. Their hope of finding her was slowly, but surely, vanishing.

  Finally, Ryker stopped and turned toward him. “You go on. I’ll finish.”

  Ryland nodded and headed to the elevator. He knew it would do no good to argue with the stubborn bear shifter.

  Ryland walked into the construction office glad to be away from the third floor of the building. Even though it soothed the bear when he was close to the scent of his mate, it also agitated the bear, knowing he couldn’t find her, have her. Their nightly searches had been useless and Ryland was getting a little tired of the game fate was playing with their mate. Was she alone? Did she need protecting? Something told Ryland they needed to find her sooner rather than later. But, he knew fate would take her own sweet fucking time. Just like a woman.

  “Hello, beautiful.” He greeted his brother’s mate with a kiss on the cheek. Anything else and he knew his brother would lunge from the chair and rip his head off. Especially now that Paige was pregnant with the man’s cub. Or cubs. The damn lucky bear was having twins. Envy, sharp and bittersweet, rushed through him. “Are you tired of this bastard yet? Ready to go for some double pleasure?”

  Paige laughed, missing the bleak exp
ression that fell across his tight feature. Why did he have to mention double pleasure now of all times? He and Ryker had been baiting Quinn’s bear since the couple’s blind date and it was almost automatic to flirt with the woman.

  Ryland had never been on a blind date. More often than not, he and Ryker club hopped and chased tail together. Now he knew way. Fate had apparently been preparing them to share their mate. He’d never had any qualms about sharing a woman with his brother. Until now. Now he had a huge I’m-gonna-tear-my-brother’s-fucking-throat-out issue sharing his mate. Was it because he didn’t feel the pull as strongly as Ryker? That he was afraid their mate would have a deeper connection with his twin than with him?

  Yeah, that might have played a part in the feelings of possessiveness that rose at the mere thought of Ryker’s hands on his—their—mate. He knew his brother felt the same way. This was not some toy from their childhood they didn’t want to share. This was the woman who would complete each of them. Or tear them the fuck apart. Fuck a duck. What the hell were they going to do?

  Paige laughed until she saw that he was alone. “Where’s Ryker?”

  Ryland couldn’t help but smooth a stray strand of hair behind her ear, even if it did earn him a glare from Quinn. She’d invited both bears to lunch and looked upset that Ryker hadn’t shown up. “He’s finishing up some stuff.”

  “Oh.” Paige’s smile weakened as she handed him a container of food. He bent to kiss her once more. This time on the lips. He grinned at Quinn’s warning chuff. He couldn’t fault the guy, however. He knew he would be just as possessive of his mate.

  “Don’t fret, Paige. It isn’t good for the babies.”

  The look she threw her mate almost made Ryland laugh. Almost.

  “Am I going to hear that for the next seven months, Quinn? Every time I do something you don’t want me to do, you’re going to scold me because it might not be good for the babies’ health? Cause if I am, we’re gonna have trouble, big boy.” She reached for the food she’d put down when Ryland had entered.