by Haley Weir
“I’m... I’m fine. You shouldn’t be here. What are you doing here?” she whispered back to him, then she spoke in a normal tone. “Thank you for coming, we can finally end this. Jared coming back to me made me realize that we’re not meant to be.” Pain filled her words. He could smell the lie. She didn’t mean what she was saying.
“I knew something wasn’t right. I’m here because I care about you. You don’t need to go through this. You’re safe now,” he whispered. “Not meant to be? You seemed content with me last night.” The latter words were louder, more for Jared than her. If they were going to have a double conversation, he needed to do his part.
“It’s not safe here. He has a... a gun,” she said, her voice low, then she raised her voice again. “I changed my mind today. Jared helped me see what I was missing.”
“I know he has a gun. I’m not going to run away and leave you alone, not when I know you’re in danger. I care about you. I’m going to protect you.” He stood up straighter and glanced over his shoulder at Jared, who was watching them. “And what exactly were you missing?” He turned his gaze back to Olivia.
“You could be killed. You have to leave. I don’t want anything to happen to you. He knows where you live...he threatened your family, too. He had a private investigator following me last night. He had pictures of us from your yacht,” she whispered. She started to tremble, and he saw just how frightened she was.
It made him want to snap and shift right then and there, damn the consequences. But he wouldn’t do it. He was better than that. Threatening him? That was one thing, but threatening his family and the woman who he wanted as his mate? He wouldn’t stand by and let that happen. Jared dug his own grave.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m stronger than I look,” he whispered back to her. He turned on his heel to look at Jared. “You know, I think she didn’t have that bruise when I left. If you know what’s good for you, you’re going to leave.” Provoking a man with a gun might not be the smartest idea, but he was not about to leave Olivia open for more abuse.
* * *
Liam knew Jared had a gun, what was he doing? Olivia could not stand back and just watch him do this. He was going to get himself shot—or worse! She moved to sandwich herself between the two of them, but Liam held her back.
“Maybe you should go change clothes, Olivia,” Liam said, his voice cooler than it had been moments before. “We had a date, and I’m not going to be denied.”
Her mouth dropped open at his intimidating tone. For a split second, she couldn’t believe her ears. But then it all made sense. He was trying to get her out of the way and to safety. She glanced between the two of them, but it would make her feel better to get into something other than her robe. With a few tentative steps back, she waited for some kind of reaction from either man. They kept their eyes on one another as if her presence wasn’t significant.
Jared finally waved his hand in dismissal, and she hurried up the stairs. “She’s not going anywhere with you. I’m not going anywhere either. I’ve given you plenty of warnings. You’re obviously not a smart man,” he snapped.
Olivia peeked over the railing to see Jared pull the gun from his waistband. He aimed it at Liam and fired. His body jerked, but that was the only sign that he’d been shot. It didn’t slow Liam down. She slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle her scream. Her heart pounded in her chest with fear. Her worst fears were coming true.
As she watched, Liam slammed his fist into the side of Jared’s head with the skill of a martial artist. His body staggered back before crumpling to the floor with a thud. Her heart continued to beat wildly as she watched Liam, expecting him to collapse at any moment, but to her surprise, he turned around and stared up at her immediately.
“Olivia, he won’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let him. Do you understand?” His voice was deadly serious, but it possessed a sincere warmth that made her chest tighten with emotion.
“I do. Is he… Is Jared dead?” She glanced back at him. She wasn’t sure which answer she wanted to hear.
Liam glanced back at Jared for a moment as if double checking for himself. “No, he’s alive. He’s just unconscious right now. Get changed and call the police. They can sort him out.”
Olivia’s gaze slid back over to where Liam was shot. “You need an ambulance too! You’ve been shot.” She couldn’t believe he was so calm. “How are you still standing?” She quickly put on some clothes before heading back down the steps.
“I don’t need an ambulance. In fact, I’d prefer if the police didn’t know I was injured. The bullet didn’t hit anything critical, and I’m... different.” His gaze followed her, but something about his expression shifted as if he needed to tell her something, but he wasn’t sure how.
“Different? What do you mean?”
* * *
Liam wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. He was told never to let anyone in on the secret that werebears and the supernatural in general existed. Now he was on the verge of telling Olivia. He hadn’t planned on revealing his secret so soon in their relationship, but now he didn’t have much choice.
She needed to know why he didn’t want an ambulance to come. If they treated him, they would want to take him to a hospital. Any doctor would realize something was different about him, and then would run tests. He would become a lab experiment, and the centuries of secrecy of their kind would be destroyed.
Instead of going through all of that, he needed to shift forms. It might be painful, but his body was resilient. The bullet struck him near the shoulder. While it stung, he wasn’t afraid of it doing lasting damage. Even a head shot wouldn’t have killed him. His gaze lifted to Olivia’s again as he sighed when she asked the inevitable question. He took one more deep breath before letting it out slowly.
“I’m a werebear. A shapeshifter.” Olivia came up short. Her mouth dropped open before she closed it and tried again, but no words came from her. Her eyebrows bunched together. “I know it’s a lot to take in.” Right about now he could use that phone call to his brother. How had he told his mate about what he was? This felt so strange.
She shook her head and cleared her throat after a few moments. “A werebear? Really? That’s...” He waited for her to finish the sentence, wondering what she could possibly be thinking. Would she no longer want anything to do with him? His bear roared internally at the possibility. They wanted Olivia too much for that to happen. “That’s incredible...and kind of intimidating.”
It was his turn to be surprised. He could understanding the intimidating aspect, but she thought him being a werebear was incredible? He wanted to pull her into his arms and hug her tightly, but he needed to focus. The longer he waited, the better the chances of the police arriving and finding him injured.
“I want to see you later. Let me know when and where, no matter what time it is.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “We’ll talk more then. I promise.”
Olivia leaned up into the kiss, and nodded. “I’ll call you. Thank you for coming back, even if it was dangerous. I was so scared that I’d ruined my chances with you because of him. Take care of yourself. Please.”
Liam flashed a grin at her. “You’re welcome. I have to admit, I was angry at first, but something didn’t feel right. You didn’t seem to be acting like yourself. It set off silent alarms. See you later.”
He grabbed the blanket from the couch and wrapped it around his shoulders to hide the fact he was bleeding in case any of the neighbors saw him. As he was pulling out of the apartment complex, two cop cars with their lights on zipped by in the direction of Olivia’s.
Good. The sooner they were able to get Jared into custody, the better. He hated leaving her to deal with all of that on her own, but he didn’t have any other choice. He needed to protect his kind. When they were together again, he’d do whatever he could to make his absence up to her.
Chapter Thirteen
Hours passed as the police learned about what happened to Olivia, or at least the ma
jority of the story. She left out parts in order to keep Liam safe. Jared came to his senses as the officers locked him in the back of a patrol car. He was coldly silent, and kept glaring at her. The whole process unnerved her. When everything was over, she slumped onto her couch. She reached for the blanket but remembered that Liam took it.
With her cell phone back in her possession, she called him. He answered on the second ring, “hey. Are you okay?”
“Exhausted after all the questions, but yeah. I feel better, especially now that I’m talking to you. Are you doing better? Did you get patched up?” she asked. She looked around her apartment. Before today, it was her safe space. Jared robbed her of that peace.
“I’m doing fine. Maybe not as good as new, but I’m well on my way.” His voice had that playful, mischievous tone that melted away the tension coursing through her. “Have you eaten?”
The pizza delivery man arrived during the police questioning. The box sat on her kitchen counter, but it didn’t appeal to her in the least. Her stomach growled. “No, I haven’t yet.”
“Let’s go somewhere together so you can get away from your place, at least for a little while.” She leaned her head against the arm of the couch, feeling a warm spark in her chest. He really cared about her.
“Okay, I’ll be ready. I… I don’t think I can be here tonight. I could ask one of my friends if I could crash with them…” her voice sounded hesitant and unsure, even to her own ears. She loved her friends, and they were super supportive. But right now, she didn’t have the energy to explain everything that happened.
“Would you like to stay with me? We could stay at a hotel or even the yacht. I live with my parents, not because I need to, but it’s a tradition for unmated werebears,” he explained. The slight nervousness in his tone brought a smile to her face.
“Yes, I’d love to stay with you. Maybe we could go to a hotel? Jared knows about the yacht, and I’d feel uncomfortable staying somewhere he knows about, even if it might sound silly...”
“Olivia, it doesn’t sound silly,” he assured her softly. “You’re right. It’s better to be safe. Go ahead and pack a few things. I’ll text you when I’m there.” He sounded calm and sure, and it made her feel less like her world was spinning out of control.
“Thank you. I mean it. I’ll see you soon.” It didn’t take long for her to throw a few things into a tote bag. As she finished packing, she received the text message from Liam and headed outside to meet him.
Liam drove them to a beachside hotel. Their large suite was on the top floor of the building. She blinked, freezing in the doorway for a moment. The hotel room looked sharp and luxurious, with a balcony and a breath-taking view of the ocean. Liam watched her react to the grandeur of the room. He nudged her forward gently so he could close the door behind them.
“This is incredible. You didn’t have to go out of your way for something like this. I didn’t expect...” she trailed off.
“I’m not doing this to impress you, Olivia. It’s a great room, but it’s also a distraction from what happened today. You deserve this.” His gaze slid down her body, and for a brief moment, she thought about what would be the perfect distraction: Liam.
“Okay. Tell me more about you. About being a werebear?” she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Liam ran a hand through his hair as he sat beside her on the king-sized bed. “I was born a werebear. My father, mother, brothers are all werebears, too. It has run in my family since the very beginning.” He glanced toward the flat screen TV, deep in thought. “Remember when I told you about my brother? We are fated to have specific mates... and I think you’re mine. My bear really likes you. He reacted to you when we were in the waiting room, but it became more evident to me on the yacht. Being at your place and helping you solidified things for me.”
Olivia wasn’t sure how to react, but she knew that she had feelings of him from the moment they met too. The idea of being mated with Liam made her feel safe...and happy. “Is your bear dangerous? Can I see him?”
His lips quirked in a grin. “He can be dangerous, especially in situations like at your apartment, but I have really good control. For you? It’s safe. He wouldn’t hurt you.” He looked around them and stood, heading to the doors leading to the balcony to pull the curtains closed. “I guess there’s enough space here. He’s not small by any means.”
She couldn’t help but giggle at the unintended double entendre. Her giggle quickly faded when he stripped off his shirt and his hands went to his pants. She watched as his fingers moved to unfasten his belt. When he unzipped his jeans and she realized he didn’t have underwear on, her gaze jumped to his face.
A blush warmed her neck and her cheeks. “Wha... What are you doing?”
“I can’t show you my bear if I’m fully clothed. Like I said, he’s not small. He’d rip my clothes, and I’d have nothing to wear later.” The explanation made sense, but it didn’t stop the moisture from pooling between her legs when he tugged his jeans down.
“Right, that makes sense.” She couldn’t stop herself from looking at him. She saw him in his bathing suit, but this felt different. More intimate. He was revealing all of himself to her.
Her breath caught in her throat when he went down on his hands and knees. His body started moving and changing before her eyes. The sound of cracking and tearing and groans filled the room as his body reshaped itself. After a few long moments, a bear crouched before her in the hotel room.
“Oh my god. You really are a werebear.”
The bear huffed, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as if he were laughing at her realization. He stalked toward her, looking like a protector, rather than a predator, like Jared. That realization struck her with a fierceness. She slid her tongue over her bottom lip, feeling her mouth go dry as he moved toward her. Her thighs quivered a little, and she could not stop herself from squeezing them together. Now, more than ever, she wanted him.
The large bear’s nose lifted a little, and he scented the air. His warm honey brown eyes met hers and darkened with desire. He continued stalking toward her, and his muzzle brushed against her knee, rubbing his cheek against her leg.
She steadily lowered her hand over his massive head. Despite everything, she wasn’t afraid of him. The intelligence in his eyes reminded her that underneath it all, this was Liam. He protected her and kept her safe when Jared threatened their lives. She trusted Liam and his bear.
He arched into her hand as she ran it over his large head and down the back of his neck toward his shoulders. She buried her fingers into his thick fur, savoring the feeling of it. Without thinking, she used her other hand too, enjoying the sensation and the heat of his breath on her legs through the thin yoga pants.
After a few moments, he pulled away from her. His gaze lifted toward hers, and he began his change back into a man, not bothering to move away. It didn’t disturb her as much this time, especially with her gaze locked with his. The cracking and popping were like distant tunes on a radio. The only thing that mattered was her connection to.
He pushed to his feet when he regained his human form. “Your hands feel so good. I’ve never been touched like that before in my bear form.”
Her gaze drifted down his naked body, and she paused at his protruding erection. Without thinking, she trailed her fingers over his shaft, stroking him. “Your bear is so majestic. I’m honored you showed me.” She glanced back up to look him in the eyes, but he was focused on her hand.
“Are you sure you want to do this? I want you to be my mate. This is serious for me.” He placed his hand on her wrist to make her pause, but his soft touch didn’t restrict her movements. He did not want it to stop any more than she did.
“I’m sure. I don’t know exactly what being a werebear’s mate entails, but I know how I feel, especially now.” She pulled her hand away to lift off her t-shirt.
He hungrily drank in her breasts, and he took that action as the permission he needed. He pulled her to her feet an
d slid down her yoga pants and panties in one swoop, then set her in the center of the huge bed.
She had never felt so vulnerable. He looked at her intently as he remained at the foot of the bed. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to stay there forever. But he slowly crawled up the bed, nudging her knees aside for him to move between her thighs.
He kissed her from her ankle up to her knee and then he slid his tongue up her thigh toward her moist core. Her body burned for him, and she spread her legs even farther apart, wanting desperately to feel his mouth on her. His tongue trailed over her lower lips and separated them. He stroked her clit before encircling it with his lips and sucking on the bud. A gasp fled her lips as she dug her fingers into the comforter. Liam pressed a finger against her entrance, and she arched into him, craving the sense of fullness he could provide.
He kept flicking his tongue over her clit as he slowly pushed his finger inside her. Her walls clenched around his finger, and his hungry eyes met hers. His eyes glowed with that same honey brown of his bear rather than the green she saw before. Seeing him like that made her eyes widen, but he didn’t scare her. She felt safer than she ever had with him this close. She couldn’t stop staring at him as his mouth caressed her most intimate parts.
“Liam, I want you inside me,” she said, her voice husky with desire.
His tongue swept lower when she spoke, and he removed his finger from her. Instead, he speared her with his tongue. His eyes darkened with desire even more than they had before.
A moan escaped her lips as he caressed her with his tongue. When he pulled back, he swiped it over her slit from her entrance to her clit before crawling up her body. He leaned forward, kissing her neck and breasts before brushing his lips against hers. His hips tilted forward, and she felt the press of his erection against her entrance.
