Wild Mate: BBW Bear Shifter Romance (2 page)

Levi nodded, his eyes never
leaving Rebecca.

“
Go to her,” Scott
urged. “Let her know you're here.”

As Levi took a step towards
the bed, he heard Scott and Bryn exit the room discreetly, leaving
him alone with Rebecca. Scarcely able to breathe, Levi kept walking
stiffly towards the bed, his fingers trembling as he stretched them
out towards her.

He reached her at last, and
gingerly caressed her fingertips. “Rebecca,” he
whispered. “Rebecca, please, wake up. You're going to be
fine, just fine, you hear me. You're so strong and brave, and you're
going to have a beautiful life.”
With me
.

He stroked her hand gently.
“Will you open your eyes for me, Rebecca? Will you look at me?
Let me see those bright, brilliant eyes, and that beautiful smile of
yours. Will you do that, Rebecca?” he continued speaking to
her softly, beseechingly.

He held her hand and pressed
her palm to his lips. He inhaled a deep, painful breath, breathing
in the scent of her pain, her hurt, her blood. “Please wake
up,” he whispered. “Please, Rebecca.”

Levi touched her face lightly,
and she let out a moan. He drew back with a hiss, cursing himself
for causing her pain. Another sound escaped her lips and her throat
moved.

Levi gripped her hand,
watching her eyelids flutter as she struggled to open her eyes.

“
Rebecca! Can you hear
me?” Levi's voice was filled with hope and joy. “Can
you see me, Rebecca? I'm here! I'm right here with you.”

Rebecca made more incoherent
sounds, and finally her eyes opened a crack. She blinked slowly,
turning her head in the direction of Levi's voice. But her eyes were
still unfocused. Levi swallowed, watching her anxiously. Should he
call for a nurse, or the doctor? Did she need anything? Was she in
pain?

Rebecca raised a shaking hand
to her parched lips. She pointed to her dry lips as she opened and
closed her mouth.

“
Water?” Levi
asked, rushing over to the side table. He grabbed the glass and
poured some water from the pitcher.

Rebecca was trying to push
herself up, and he hurried to prop some pillows up behind her. When
she was finally sitting up, he held the glass of water to her lips.
“Here. Drink. Be careful.”

He held the glass carefully,
watching her take small sips. Her eyes were still half closed, and
she looked dazed and tired. After a few more sips, she shook her
head and he put the glass away.

“
How do you feel,
Rebecca? Any pain? Do you need anything? Do you need the
doctor...?”

She raised a hand weakly to
stop his torrent of worried questions. A frown was forming on her
face. Levi sat down at the side of her bed and smiled encouragingly
at her. But she didn't smile back. Instead, her frown deepened.

“
You're still in the
hospital, but you'll be out soon. You're getting better every day,
and in no time, you'll have recovered fully,” he said gently.
“Then...I'll take you home.”
My home, where you
belong, and where you'll be safe.

She was staring at him. Her
dark eyes were focused on his face, but there was no relief or
happiness in her eyes. In fact, there was no recognition at all in
her eyes. She shook her head as she stared at him in confusion.

“
Rebecca...” he
began, trying to take her hand. But she gasped and pulled away from
him.

Her eyes continued searching
his face, her puzzlement and apprehension evident in her troubled
expression.

“
I'm sorry,” she
said at last. “But...do I know you?”

Rebecca stared into those blue
eyes, and saw them flash with pain. That big, strong, mountain of a
man seemed to crumble inside, even though he remained standing. She
saw his huge hands shake as he withdrew them from her.

“
I'm really sorry,”
she repeated. “But I don't know you. And...what are you doing
in my hospital room? Who let you in? Who are you?”

He gaped at her for a long
time. “You...you don't remember me?” He managed at last
in a strangled voice.

She shook her head.

“
You don't know me?”
he asked again.

“
No. No, I don't.
I...”
I don't know you from Adam.
“Who are you?”

“
I...” He swayed
on his feet, the pain and hurt so stark on his face.

“
Look...” She bit
her lip. Her words seemed to hurt him a lot, and she really didn't
want to cause him any more pain.

He seemed...nice. He was
ruggedly handsome, with short blond hair and intense blue eyes. He
was also very tall, and she could make out hard, toned muscles under
his t-shirt. He was big and muscled, but he didn't intimidate her.
She didn't feel scared at all in his presence, even though he was a
complete stranger to her. And she had woken up to him holding her
hand and calling her name.

“
Um, how do you know my
name?” she asked.

The big man reeled, as if she
had just stabbed a knife through his heart. “I...I'm sorry,”
she said quickly. She really didn't want to cause him any hurt. He
really did seem like a genuinely nice guy.

He swallowed and his lips
moved, but he appeared to be struggling to get the words out.
Rebecca winced, and tried to think of something to say to ease his
discomfort.
I'm sorry
sounded lame and inadequate. But what
else could she say?

“
What's your name?”
she asked gently. That was a simple enough question, and he would
have no trouble answering it. It would break the awkwardness and let
him find his voice and his composure, hopefully.

But instead of calming the man
down, her innocent question brought him to his knees. Literally.

He dropped to his knees at her
bedside, his head dropping to his chest. He forced ragged breaths
into his lungs, and it was a long while before he could look at her
again.

“
My name is Levi
Madden,” he answered her in a monotone, but she heard the
anguish in his voice. “I'm a werebear and I'm a PAC senior
Enforcer.” He pulled out his Enforcer's Badge to show her. “I
saw you at Club Mate. I...”

“
Wait, wait, wait!”
She held up a hand frantically. “You met me at Club Mate?
So...” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How do you know
my name, my real name? I don't tell anyone my real name at the club.
Everyone knows me as Raven Rose at Club Mate.”

Rebecca gulped and her hand
fumbled for the buzzer to call the nurse in. How did this stranger
know her real name? Did he stalk her? Follow her home secretly?
Search through her things?

Her finger hovered over the
buzzer but she didn't press the button. Somehow she had a feeling he
had done none of those things. She just felt that he was a good guy.
And he did say he was an Enforcer. He did look like one. Big,
burly, hunky. She was sure he had no problem taking down all those
big, bad rogues.

“
I don't mean to be rude
or anything, Levi,” she said, hoping to soften the blow. She
seemed to be sucker-punching him with her words. But her questions
were legitimate, right? No one at the club knew her real name.

After what she had gone
through, she had to be careful. She had ended up in this sorry state
because she hadn't been careful. She trusted the wrong guy, married
him, and ended up in hell.

Her palms became cold and
clammy at the memory of her ex-husband. She remembered him coming at
her, chasing her, smashing a rock into her face. She remembered
running and screaming, and trying to fight him off. Someone had
tried to help her. She had the impression that someone had run with
her, and tried to fight Phin. Rebecca blinked hard. Had there been
someone else with her when Phin attacked her? Who was it? None of
the girls at the club knew she was married. Her only family, her
step-sister, lived in another city and they weren't close. She lived
in a sleepy little neighborhood, and most of her neighbors were
elderly folk. None of them would dare take Phin on in a fight.

She pressed her hand to her
forehead. Had she imagined someone protecting her? Why couldn't she
remember more? Her head was starting to hurt, and she let out a cry
of frustration.

Levi was at her side in a
heartbeat.

“
Are you in pain,
Rebecca? Do you want to lie down?” He looked worriedly down
at her. “Shall I call the doctor? I'll just...”

“
No, I'm okay.”
She held on to his arm. “I'll just lie down and rest for a
while.”

He adjusted the pillows for
her and made sure she was comfortable. She smiled up at him. “Thank
you, Levi. You've been so helpful. Thank you for...watching over
me.”

She smiled warmly. She was
sure she got it right this time. Levi was an Enforcer. The PAC must
have sent him to watch over her, after she was attacked by Phin
Lester. Maybe the PAC saw Phin as a rogue, and since she was the
victim of a rogue attack, they sent a senior Enforcer to guard her
and take care of her. That was how he knew so much about her, and
was so concerned.

She was his responsibility,
his job.

And she had been so rude. The
minute she opened her eyes, she had uttered words to the effect that
he was basically an unwelcome stranger in her hospital room.

“
When does your shift
end?” She yawned and asked pleasantly. “Maybe when I
fall back asleep, you can go grab a cup of coffee or something.
You've probably been just standing around in my room, watching over
me, for hours. I...I appreciate it, Levi. I do. Thank you. I want
to thank the PAC too...” Her voice trailed off, as her eyelids
drooped.

She blinked to see him
standing still by her bedside, staring at her with so much sadness in
his eyes.

Why so sad?

She wanted to reach out and
comfort him, take his big hand in hers and just hold it. She could
sense that there was a lot he wanted to say, but couldn't. Maybe he
was the strong, silent type, the big, tough male who wasn't
comfortable talking and sharing. Well, maybe if she got to know him
better, he wouldn't mind talking to her. Many of the customers of
Club Mate talked to her about their problems. She was a good
listener, and she wasn't just trying to get them to part with their
hard-earned money. She listened, she understood, and she gave them
some friendly words of advice. If she could get those leering,
half-drunk customers to talk to her, she could definitely get an
honest, hunky Enforcer to confide in her.

Hunky?

Rebecca smiled almost
sheepishly as her eyes closed. Even with her body and brain drugged
senseless with painkillers and antibiotics, she could see that Levi
Madden was a very handsome man. He had a boyish charm about him, his
blue eyes bright and intelligent, and his face tanned and rugged. He
was very tall, more than six and a half foot, and he was built like a
seasoned soldier, a fighter. Every inch of him was hard, honed
muscle. His body was big and hard, but his hands and his eyes were
gentle. The training for Enforcers was tough, and Levi definitely
trained hard and used his powers and strength to protect the civilian
population of New Moon City. He was the exact opposite of Phin
Lester, her ex-husband. Phin was stocky and bulky. Phin was strong,
and he used his brute strength for his own ends, to torture and
threaten her into silence and submission. His hands and eyes were
hard, cold and cruel.

Rebecca's face twitched. Why
was she even comparing Levi to her ex-husband? One was a monster, a
terrible mistake on her part. The other was a protector, a kindly
stranger to her.

A stranger who would do his
job, and then leave.

She sucked in a sharp breath
at the thought of Levi leaving. “Don't go,” she
whispered.

Her eyes remained closed, but
she felt a big, warm hand cover hers. “I'm not going
anywhere,” came the soft reply.

Levi held Rebecca's hand and
watched her as she drifted off to sleep. From the way she looked at
him and her careful, polite words, he knew that she saw him as a
stranger, a harmless, helpful stranger, but still a stranger
nevertheless. She didn't even see him as a friend.

Once he was sure that she was
fast asleep, he released her hand and stepped back. He closed his
eyes for a brief moment, hoping that when he opened them again, she
would wake up and remember him.

With a shuddering breath, he
opened his eyes. She was sleeping soundly, her fingers twitching a
little as she mumbled in her sleep. Was she murmuring his name?
Levi leaned in, but he couldn't make out her words. It sounded like
she was just muttering nonsense.

He gazed at her bruised face,
his heart breaking into a million fragments. He knew that even if
she opened her eyes now, she still wouldn't remember him. In his
work as an Enforcer, he had come across many trauma victims. Some of
these victims experienced temporary or permanent memory loss
following a violent attack. It was a way for their minds to heal and
deal with the ordeal. Some memories were just too painful to
remember. It was better for the person to forget them and just move
on with their lives.