by Hope Ford
Ronan
An Alpha Bear Shifter MC Romance
Hope Ford
Ronan © 2020 by Hope Ford
Editor: Kasi Alexander
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
www.authorhopeford.com
Contents
1. Bree
2. Ronan
3. Bree
4. Ronan
5. Bree
6. Bree
7. Ronan
8. Bree
9. Ronan
10. Bree
11. Ronan
12. Bree
13. Ronan
14. Bree
15. Bree
Epilogue
Epilogue 2
JOIN ME!
Free Books
About the Author
1
Bree
The wind flows over my body as I drive my motorcycle on the open freeway. The further north I get from Southern California, the better I feel. It’s not just the feel of flying, although that’s good too; no, it’s finally striking out on my own. No more dealing with my overprotective parents breathing down my neck and trying to micromanage my life.
I’m on my way to Eden. It’s at the base of the Klamath mountains in California. The cabin that I’m looking to buy is close enough to the protected forest land that I can feel my inner bear shiver in excitement just thinking about it. The idea that I will be able to shift into my bear without having to worry about getting caught, well, that’s reason enough to make this trek across the state. The town I come from is small and everyone knows everyone. I was taught growing up to never show my bear. I can hear my mom now, “No one will understand, Bree.” I heard it all my life.
So when my cousin Bruin told me about the freedom that he has in Eden, well, I knew I had to do it. I had to go there. Of course, Bruin was always the black sheep of the family. He’s a bad boy and “part of that motorcycle gang,” as my mother always said. But I always looked up to him. He lived life the way he wanted and didn’t care what anybody thought. That’s it. That’s what I want. If my parents knew I was planning to meet up with Bruin, they would have found a way to stop me. But I’m twenty-two now, well past the age of being an adult, and I’m ready to be free.
I passed the sign for Eden a few miles back and as soon as I see a gas station I pull in to fill up. Getting off the bike, I stretch the worn muscles of my back and legs. With my hand on the pump, I can’t take my eyes off the mountains. They are beautiful. Taking a deep breath, I go to lift the handle when my thoughts are interrupted.
“Do you smell that? She’s in heat.” I turn around and look behind me, but I’m not quick enough. Two men have me cornered between the bike and the pump. I was too caught up and distracted to catch the scent of the bear shifters. Both of them are big and tower over me.
One of them reaches out and grabs the tip of my black hair lying across my shoulder. He lifts the strands to his nose and inhales deeply. I freeze next to them, weighing my options and knowing that I’m no contest to them like this, not in my human form.
After he smells my hair, he smiles, showing me his yellow-stained teeth. “Yes, I smell it. She’s in heat.”
I stand up straight and look at the other man, knowing he’s the alpha, the one in charge. “Get lost.”
They both laugh, but I can tell that me standing up to them has angered them because their backs straighten and their laughs are controlled and menacing.
The one I’m staring at takes a step toward me, crowding me. “She hasn’t seen our colors. Anybody traveling through or living in Eater territory has to pay the toll.”
My body jerks at the name. I remember Bruin mentioning the Eater motorcycle club and I don’t think it was good, but damn, I wish I had paid better attention.
“This is New Law territory, isn’t it?” I ask them, mentioning Bruin’s club name.
He lifts his foot and kicks over my bike before wrapping his hand around my neck. He was so fast, I didn’t even have a chance to make a sound. He smells like blood and hunger. He’s a bear shifter, I’m sure of it, and judging by the size of him in human form, he will be a big bear.
The roaring I hear makes me think that it’s the sound of the men shifting right out in the open. He grips my neck tighter. With my air supply cut off, I know I’m going to lose consciousness if I don’t act soon. I can’t shift fully, not out here in the open; it would put all the shifters in danger.
Bending the rules, I flex my hand out beside me, releasing my bear claws and drawing them across the face of my attacker. Suddenly the chokehold on my neck is gone. I’m bent over gasping for breath as the man moans, holding his face. I look behind them and realize then that the roaring sound I heard is motorcycles.
“There’s four of them,” the other Eater says. “We can find this bitch later.”
The man who choked me looks at me with his open wound on his face pouring blood. He wants to stay. I can feel it in his stare. But instead he tells me, “I’ll find you… you’ll get yours.”
The two men run to their bikes, leaving me standing there, gasping for breath. If I was human the chokehold would have snapped my neck, it was so tight. My vision is blurred and I would scream if my throat wasn’t already laboring to heal from the chokehold. A pair of hands grips my shoulders, pulling me to my feet.
It’s my cousin Bruin and I’ve never been so happy to see someone in my life. He’s firing questions at me so fast, but I don’t have a prayer of answering half of them. “Eaters,” I tell him.
He lets go of me and his whole body flexes as he screams “fuck” at the top of his lungs. The muscles in his neck are strained and I can see the anger vibrating off of him. It’s like he’s pulsating and I know his bear is fighting to get out.
He turns back to me. “You have to be seen with the New Law. That is the only thing that will protect you from the Eaters.”
I nod my head at him. I would agree to anything at this point. What was so momentous only minutes ago now fills me with dread. I’ve only been here such a short time and already I’ve made enemies. And bad ones, it seems.
“We can go to the clubhouse, introduce you, and I’ll have Ronan call a vote.”
I raise up then, testing my voice, quietly at first and then finding that I’m able to talk normally again. “I’m signing my lease on the cabin”—I look down at my watch—“in ten minutes.”
Bruin runs his hand through his hair. “Fine. Sayer, you’re with me. Koda and Johnny, head back. Let Ronan and Deator know we need church tonight.”
The shorter one, the one he called Koda, speaks up. “There’s a party tonight. No one is going to want church…”
Bruin shakes his head. “They’ll do it. Now go.”
Bruin doesn’t even wait to see if Koda and Johnny listen to him. He turns back and looks at me expectantly. “Where’s the cabin?”
I give him the address and I go to lift my bike up, but the other man with Bruin stops me. “Leave it.”
I look at him with surprise. “I can’t leave my bike.”
“One of the brothers is on his way to take it back to the shop. You’ve come a long way and it won’t hurt to have it checked.”
I want to argue with him. I hate to be without my ride, but what he’s saying makes sense. I nod and follow Bruin to his bike.
I mount it behind him and hold tight to the vest he’s wearing
as he takes off flying down the road.
When we get to the cabin, the woman is already waiting on me. She shows us around, but she keeps eyeing my two companions. I can see the interest in her face, but also probably a little bit of fear. I sign the papers, ready to be done and relax a little bit.
Bruin tries to reassure me, but I can sense his hesitancy. He tells me to relax, promising me that he and Sayer will check the area around the cabin and put fresh markings down to remind the Eaters whose territory this is.
Only when I shut the door after promising them that I’ll be ready when they come to pick me up for the party and this thing called church do I finally take a deep breath and think about everything that’s happened in the hour I’ve been in town.
2
Ronan
Lola, one of the club sluts or Twinkies, as they like to be called, is toying with the tie of her string bikini top. She’s doing her best to tempt me. Her small hips gyrate, causing her fake breasts to bounce up and down. Any minute now, I’m waiting on one of them to fall out of her barely-there top. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t partially interested. I need something to relieve my frustrations. Being the VP of the club is hard work.
I look over at my younger brother, Klaus, and just shake my head. He throws back the bottle of Heineken and takes a big swallow before laughing at something someone in his group says. He’s different then he used to be. He used to be right up here with me, but not anymore. He fucked up five years ago and is lucky he didn’t get booted out on his ass by Deator, our dad and also the president of the club.
Instead, Dad relieved him of his title, and he’s only a patched member now. In my opinion, he’s got it made. While he hangs out, parties, and drinks, I have to take care of our club and its future. I have all the headache and he has all the fun.
Since I’m not pushing her away, Lola straddles my leg, pressing her pussy into me, waving her body over top of me. I adjust my hardening cock in my jeans. I could probably go a round or two with her. She’s skinny and I prefer a woman with more meat on her bones, but it’s been a while for me. I haven’t buried my dick in any sweet heat for a while now and he’s begging to get wet. My hands go to her hips just as the front door swings open. Instantly, I’m on alert. Koda and Johnny walk in and just looking at them, I can tell that something is wrong. They look around the room and once they spot Deator, they go straight over to him. I stand up, lifting Lola off me and setting her to the side.
“But Ronan, I thought we could go to your room,” she whines.
I don’t even answer her. I walk over to Deator and stand next to him, crossing my arms across my chest.
Koda and Johnny both start talking a mile a minute, but before I can stop them, my dad does. Holding his hands up, he tells them, “Stop. What happened? And one at a time.”
Johnny tells us about the Eaters being in New Law territory and how they threatened Bruin’s cousin. “She stopped to gas up her ride and they jumped her, probably would have killed her if we hadn’t showed up. As soon as they saw us, they got out of there.”
Koda jumps in and says, “It was Solos. But I didn’t recognize the patch that was with him.”
The Eaters. They are our biggest rivals and our biggest headache. “Fuck. They know to stay out of our territory. We need to stop this and we need to stop it now.” I feel my heart racing just thinking about it. We’ve had plenty of run-ins with the Eaters before. They’re a crazy crew and any fight with them usually ends in blood shed and lives lost. It’s about time we took care of them and ended this.
We sit down at the nearest table. “Where’s Bruin?” I ask Johnny.
Lola sets a beer down in front of each of us. Johnny takes a drink and sets it down. “Bruin and Sayer went with Bruin’s cousin to her new cabin. She just moved here. Actually was rolling into town when she got jumped. He asked me to come tell you that we need to have church tonight.”
Kodak interrupts, smiling. “Yeah, but I reminded him about the party…”
The three of us look at him like he’s crazy. Surely he knows that anything with the Eaters is more important than him getting his dick wet.
Johnny rolls his eyes. “Boss, Bruin is pissed and liable to do something stupid on his own if the club doesn’t back him up and protect his cousin.”
Deator has been quiet through the whole conversation. He’s always been that way, but I’ve learned that he just takes it all in. He’s quiet but when he talks, people listen. It hits me that he’s starting to show his age. His white hair is thinning and his blue eyes are tired. He founded this club. He and Mom both put their heart and soul into it. They always said they wanted to build something for Klaus and me. I look over at Klaus and he’s staring at us. When I catch him looking, he turns his head away and takes another drink. “We’ll meet tonight and the members will vote on what stance we’ll take where Bruin’s cousin is concerned. We’ll wait on Bruin and Sayer. Let the boys know.” He gestures around the room with his hand.
Johnny and Koda get up, but something makes me stop them. “The cousin? Is she okay?”
Johnny nods his head. “Yeah, she’s okay. I think Bruin was more torn up then she was.”
Koda interrupts him. He runs his hands in a curvy motion in front of him. “The sexy cousin took a piece of Solos. She cut into him so hard it probably chipped a piece of bone. The Eater may not scar but even with his fast-healing blood, it will take him months to recover.”
The she-bear already seems to have a fan in Koda.
I nod my head, dismissing them. My heart’s pounding, knowing that a fight is about to happen. I can feel it in my bones. But in the same thought I think, A she-bear taking a piece out of an Eater? That’s a woman I’d like to meet.
3
Bree
As soon as my cousin left, I took another tour of the small cabin. It’s prefurnished and while it’s not exactly my style, I can’t argue with how comfortable and sturdy the pieces of furniture are.
After taking a hot shower, I’d taken a nap in the buff. It’s something I had always told myself I would do when I was out on my own. I don’t know how much time has passed before I jolt awake and stretch against the sheets, loving the feel of the soft material against my skin. I jump up when I realize that the sound of motorcycles is what had wakened me. I pad over to the window and pull the blind to the side to see who’s coming up the driveway. When I spot Bruin, I release the breath that I didn’t know I was holding. For a second, I thought the Eaters had found me.
I step away from the window, unlock the front door and reluctantly start pulling out my v-neck top and cutoff jean shorts I planned to wear tonight. I am unhappy that I have to put clothes on and even more upset that I haven’t had time to let my bear run. She’s itching to get out.
There’s a pounding on the door just as I’m sweeping mascara on my eyes. I holler, “Come in” as I step out of the bathroom and go in search of my boots. Sayer, Bruin and a woman that is hanging on him walks into the cabin. Bruin starts in on me right away, “You don’t tell people just to come in. And your door was unlocked.”
I just laugh and joke with him, “And I thought I left my parents back in So Cal!”
After sliding my shoes on, I stand up and walk over to the woman. “Since he’s not going to introduce us, I will. I’m Bree, Bruin’s cousin.”
“Hey, honey. I’m Lisa,” she says with her hands glued to Bruin. She smiles at me, but it rubs me the wrong way. I’ll have to make sure I stay away from this one, I tell myself.
Sayer runs his hand across the back of the couch. “So you feeling better since earlier?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” I tell them. Even if I wasn’t I would still go. I know it’s important for me to meet the New Law MC and to make a decent impression. If I plan on staying here in Eden, I definitely want to be on their good side. “Any word on my bike?”
Sayer just shakes his head and smiles. “It’s all checked out. They ordered a part for the broken mirror and some new tires.
It will be ready soon.”
Bruin’s walking around, checking all the windows and making sure they’re locked, then turns back to us. “Let’s roll.”
Since Lisa is with Bruin on his bike, I agree to ride with Sayer. He’s nice enough and I can tell he’s interested by the way he slides his hand across my upper thigh. He could be fun, but he’s not really my type of guy. He’s no alpha.
The ride to the clubhouse is short. I roll my eyes when Sayer speeds up to make me tighten my hold on him. When we do arrive, it’s dark and there’s a fire and a cookout going on. I can smell the food from here and my stomach rumbles. I follow them to the party. I’m hungry, but more than that, I’m interested to see what these bad boys are like.
Ronan
I hear the motorcycles pull in over the music and all the commotion. I stand apart from the crowd, watching Bruin, Lisa, Sayer and the cousin roll in. When she gets off the back of Sayer’s bike, I feel an uncontrollable jolt of anger toward my patched brother. He’s acting too familiar with Bruin’s cousin and the only thing that saves him is when she walks over to the other side of Bruin, distancing herself from Sayer.
I watch her walk into the party and she’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. She’s beautiful. Somehow, her black hair is shimmering in the moonlight. Her curves make my mouth water. She’s curvier than most of the chicks here and the first thing I think of is wanting to grab on to her wide hips and hold her against me.
