of course, and scaling a building always carried an element of risk. But those wrought iron railings were almost too good to be true. If they were replicated at the rear of the hotel, and if she waited until the early hours of the morning...
Allie was still outlining the reasons why attempting to get into the hotel would be a bad idea. Tearing her gaze away from the building, Lidi cut across Allie’s explanations with a final, very important, question.
“Will the band’s manager also have a room on the top floor?”
Ged couldn’t sleep. The gamble he’d taken on the documentary had paid off. If the initial reviews were anything to go by, it looked set to be a huge success. He’d made the most of the party, renewing old contacts and developing new acquaintances.
His hotel suite was comfortable, with every luxury at his fingertips, but it was 3:30 a.m. and slumber still eluded him. Even his online contacts had fallen silent. It was that strange, predawn time when it would be easy to believe he was the only person in the world left awake.
The familiar restlessness surged through him, the need to do something stronger than ever. He glared at his electronic tablet, searching through his contacts. When he drew a blank, he tossed it aside in annoyance. Nothing? He wanted action and his usual sources weren’t helping.
Stretching full-length on the bed, he willed his body into something that resembled a relaxed pose. Even if there had been a task for him, he was in no frame of mind to undertake it. Coiled tight as a spring, he needed to get his head straight before he went charging off on a rescue mission.
Ever since he had been driven out of his homeland by his enemies, the urge to help others had been Ged’s driving force. There were many ways he could have done that. Working with children, donating a percentage of his earnings, volunteering in a deprived country...the list went on.
He didn’t have to risk his life rescuing other shifters who were in danger, but that was what he had chosen to do. He knew what an analyst would say about his motives. Danger, excitement, risk...all of those were factors. But there was more to it. Ged had grown up knowing from an early age he was the heir to the throne of Callistoya.
Monarchy and immortality were strange partners. The werebears of Callistoya had eternal life, but they were not invincible. Like other shifters, they could be killed by silver, fire beheading and some illnesses. Since their magical kingdom had always been peaceful, Ged had expected his father’s reign to last forever. Then everything had changed. Ged had barely reached shifter maturity when his father had been murdered and he and his brother, Andrei, had been forced out of their homeland.
Driven into exile, his rightful place on the throne snatched from him, his reputation ruined, he had attempted to return and fight back. That was when he had discovered that his enemies had used magic, as well as villainy, against him. Though prepared to fight evil, he had been unable to combat the sorcery that barred him from entering Callistoya.
Although his old life had been snatched away, Ged had been raised to serve and protect. His duty to others came first. Even though he no longer had a country over which to reign, those feelings of service and honor hadn’t gone away. They had simply found a new direction.
Raised voices distracted him from his thoughts. Standards must be slipping if the tiniest sound was allowed to penetrate the luxurious corridors of the fifth floor of the Palais Hôtel. When the commotion continued, he paid closer attention, his finely tuned hearing distinguishing individual sounds. A woman’s cry of protest was followed by a scuffle and a grunt of pain.
Frowning, Ged got to his feet. Pulling sweatpants over his boxer briefs, he went through to the sitting room and opened the door to the corridor. The sight that met his eyes was unexpected.
One of Beast’s security guards was lying on the elegant rug, clutching his groin and groaning. At his side, a uniformed member of the hotel’s staff was slumped against the wall with both hands clasped over his nose. Blood was seeping through his fingers.
In the center of the corridor, Rick, Ged’s friend and trusted security manager, was grappling with a tall, slender woman. From where Ged was standing, it looked a lot like the woman was winning.
As if to confirm that judgment, Rick’s opponent chose that moment to break free of his grasp. Instead of escaping while she had the chance, she neatly spun around and delivered a back kick direct into Rick’s chest. Across a distance of several feet, Ged heard the air leave his friend’s lungs in a rush as he dropped to his knees.
Torn between admiration for the neatness of the move and concern for his friend, he stepped forward. “What the hell is going on here, Rick?”
Rick managed to gesture toward the woman and wheeze out a few words. “Climbed...the damn balconies.”
Over the years, there had been some daring attempts to get close to the band. Fans had hidden inside delivery trucks, tried to stow away on board the tour bus, even disguised themselves as journalists or caterers. But risking life and limb to scale a building followed by an assault on security staff? It was a unique approach.
Ged’s intention, as he stepped forward, was to take over where Rick had left off. Whoever this woman was, she was a formidable fighter. Even so, she wouldn’t stand a chance against him. As she swung around, it hit him. It was the same rush of arousal he had felt earlier, concentrated now because she was so close. The overload of pure sensation made him feel slightly dizzy.
Twin realizations, both equally potent. She was a bear shifter. And she was his mate.
Dark brown eyes, flecked with gold, regarded him for a moment or two; then she smiled. The expression had the same effect on him as the kick to the chest had on Rick. It drove the breath from his lungs. Unlike Rick, Ged managed to remain on his feet.
“I needed to see you.”
He gazed down at her, unable to speak. This couldn’t be happening. The fates couldn’t be this unfair. It was bad enough that his mate appeared to have come storming into his life in search of him—and he would have to turn her down—but why did she have to be so damn gorgeous?
He became aware that Rick, who was getting to his feet with difficulty, was talking.
“Shall I call the police?”
The woman took a step closer to Ged, placing one hand flat on his naked chest. “Please. I have to speak with you.”
He half expected to look down and see her palm print burning its way into his flesh. That was how her touch felt against his skin. She branded him in that instant, and it was the most perfect thrill he had ever felt. Oddly, it brought his senses back into clarity.
Yes, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen...but she was in trouble. Although that was apparent from the plea in those incredible eyes, there were other, more tangible clues. She wore flat, leather ankle boots that had taken such a beating they were almost useless. Her jeans were faded and stained and the long-sleeved T-shirt she wore over them had a tear that left one sleeve hanging half-off. The exposed flesh of her arm was a mass of scratches and cuts, some of them deep enough to appear serious. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but the sheen was long gone, as though it hadn’t been properly washed for some time.
In their human form, both male and
