He roared at the little man with the gun, and Simon’s eyes widened in fright.
Behind me the front door opened and my dad appeared. “What’s going on?”
Knowing I couldn’t let him or Mom get involved in this, I screamed, “Go back inside! Keep Mom safe!”
Surprisingly my dad understood, nodded, and without another word, closed the door.
I turned back to the scene unfolding out in the front garden. Noah’s body shook, and the cotton shirt he’d been wearing split at the seams, revealing a hard wall of muscle beneath. I couldn’t look away; I was mesmerized by the sight.
I wasn’t seeing things. This was actually happening. I hadn’t lost my mind, not now and not before.
His muscles bulged, and a thick coating of dark fur seemed to appear as if by magic, covering every inch of him. He grew taller, larger; before I’d been able to see Simon over Noah’s shoulder, but now with Noah’s monstrous size, he’d been eclipsed.
A shot rang out and echoed around the mountains; it sounded as if a hundred firecrackers had been set off. Followed by a heart-wrenching roar.
I could only assume Simon had fired upon the bear, on Noah… I couldn’t believe I was actually thinking that. Noah was a bear, and he’d just been shot at. Fuck.
My brain finally managed to get through the needed communication to my legs, and I was sprinting off the porch, towards the two of them without any thought to my own safety. I just knew, instinctively, that I would do anything for Noah… The feeling had appeared out of nowhere, and I wouldn’t let him be harmed as a result of something I could’ve prevented.
I should’ve been firmer with Simon, made it even more clear… or maybe I should’ve done as he’d requested and gone with him. Then none of this would’ve happened.
A massive paw swiped at the air and made contact with Simon’s outstretched arm that held the gun. I heard a crunch of breaking bones and cringed when Simon started wailing. But he was far from done. If he was anything, he was persistent, I’d give him that.
With his uninjured hand, Simon grabbed for the fallen weapon and aimed it at Noah again.
“Simon! No!” I ran as fast as I could, but everything slowed down to a crawl. The snowflakes that drifted down from the sky seemed to float longer in the air. Noah turned his head slightly towards me. His green eyes pleaded with me to stop, to stay back.
CRACK. Another shot rang out. I’d managed to get in between them just in time to save Noah from a fatal bullet wound. I was ready to feel the pain when all of a sudden Noah’s whole furry body engulfed mine, shielding me from the oncoming shot.
Noah whimpered as the bullet hit him, but he didn’t let me go. I was in a literal bear hug, with no escape.
Breathless, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest with Noah’s soft, fuzzy muzzle next to my head. Time slowed again; I felt safe in his arms, like I belonged, but no sooner had I thought that than time sped up and Noah’s furry arms let me go, ready to wage war upon the puny human that threatened to hurt us.
I lifted my head and saw thick glob-like splashes of blood drip into the snow. A crimson trail led all the way to Noah’s back. It was hard to see, what with the dark color of his fur, but there was an even darker patch, wet with blood. He was hurt, and his movements were not as fast as they’d been before, but he was still faster than Simon, who’d started running down the trail. He was out of bullets—he’d fired the remaining ones wildly at the charging bear.
Noah chased after him on all fours, and I struggled to keep up in my ballet flats, which were totally unsuitable for running in the snow.
In the distance, I could hear Simon yelling for help. He was starting to slow; that’d teach him to not go to the gym with me, I thought bitterly. He’d always made excuses whenever I wanted to go work out, and he was paying for it dearly now.
Down the trail, a figure emerged from the tree-line, slowly but with determination. I saw the stranger approach. Simon was waving at him to help him. And then I saw it. The hunting rifle in the stranger’s hands.
Oh god, no.
“Stop!” I screamed. “Don’t shoot! Noah, stop!”
But Noah continued to lumber forward, hot steamy air escaping from his muzzle, determined to get his paws on Simon.
“Noah!”
I dug deep, kicked my shoes off and tried to summon the extra energy I would need to catch up to him. The snow turned the soles of my feet to ice, but I barely registered the cold… I couldn’t lose Noah. Not like this.
Simon made it to the stranger holding the rifle and pointed desperately at the huge black bear that was coming towards them, desperately trying to the make the man fire upon Noah.
The man looked amused, and a broad smirk crossed his face an instant before he swung the gun around and planted the butt of it in Simon’s face, knocking him out cold.
What the hell was going on? I’d been convinced the stranger was about to kill Noah and do what Simon had asked, but then the absolute unexpected occurred.
Noah continued to leave a trail of blood behind him, and he’d slowed to a brisk walk, still making his way to the man with the rifle. But before he reached the stranger and Simon, lying cold on the ground, his body convulsed again as he returned to his human form.
“What the hell is going on!?” I screamed at the both of them as a naked Noah embraced the fully clothed man in a jovial hug.
* * *
The man holding the rifle barked a laugh.
“This isn’t fucking funny! Noah?” I demanded.
He turned, unashamed in his nakedness, and I had to consciously look away from his magnificent form. But not before I saw him in all his glory. Jesus Christ! My mouth turned to ash as I witnessed the biggest cock I’d ever seen. Concentrate, Katie!
“Everything is OK,” Noah said.
“Everything is not fucking OK. You’re shot—Jesus, you’re bleeding. And you turned into a bear! I thought I’d hallucinated it the first time, but fuck me… AND YOU’RE FUCKING NAKED!”
“She’s got a bit of a mouth of her, that one,” the clothed man replied with a smile.
“You’re not helping,” Noah said quietly.
Noah placed a hand over his enormous junk, though it did little to hide it, and cautiously stepped forward.
“Katie, you’re in shock. But everything will be OK now. The man behind me is Jake. He’s the guy I was telling you about. The one who’s purchased the mountain.”
Jake raised a hand in greeting. Jesus, he was huge, too… his hand was almost the same size as a—
“Does he turn into a bear, too?” I asked angrily, though I wasn’t too sure why I was so angry. Perhaps it was the thought of losing Noah, combined with the adrenaline that no longer had an outlet and was still surging around my body; it had to go somewhere, and shouting at that moment felt like the best thing I could do.
Noah and Jake exchanged uneasy glances. “I’ll explain everything later, I promise. But let’s get you back home. Your feet must be freezing,” he said as he nodded down to my bare feet.
“What about him?” I replied and pointed to my unconscious ex-fiancé.
“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him,” Jake said. And I couldn’t help but believe him. “You need patching up, too, Noah… those bullets won’t come out by themselves.”
“Well, I have a perfectly good doctor here who can sort me out. Don’t I?” Noah said with a wink.
“Fine,” I muttered, “but you better starting giving me answers…”
Chapter 7
We made it back to Noah’s cabin, and luckily he’d managed to make it inside without my parents seeing his predicament. I ducked into our cabin, reassured my parents that everything was OK and that I would explain everything later. I grabbed my doctor’s travel kit to patch up Noah’s wounds.
By the time I made the short journey back to his cabin, I started shaking. Adrenaline was slowly seeping away, and my brain was trying to come to terms with all that had happened in such a short time,
but my medical instincts kicked in. There was work to do and a patient who needed looking after, so I pushed my nerves to the side, took a deep breath and let myself into old Mr. Jenkins’ cabin.
“Noah?” I called out. He wasn’t in the small front room or the kitchen.
“In here,” he replied.
I padded down the hallway towards his voice and found him searching within a large oak chest of drawers. While I was away he’d managed to find and put on a pair of jogging pants, though his broad chest still remained unclothed… the little tuft of hair just beneath his belly button caught my eye and was threatening to drive me crazy.
Down, girl!
“You shouldn’t be standing,” I said. “Sit on the bed.”
He nodded and obeyed my instruction without any fuss. He held out his hand and passed me a wad of thick material. “For your feet. Put them on—they’re thermal socks.”
“Thanks,” I replied and tried to hide the smile that involuntarily appeared on my face. “So, shall we talk about the bear in the room, or what?”
Noah rolled his eyes. “That’s actually a pretty good one. I haven’t heard that one before.”
“Don’t change the subject,” I said as I moved closer to him to investigate his injuries and stood in between his legs. Both wounds had surprisingly stopped bleeding, and upon closer inspection the one on his back looked to be healing over. No, it couldn’t be. But then I reminded myself that anything, especially after tonight, was possible.
His shoulder looked the worst, though, and I concentrated on that. I cleaned the wound and began to dig out the embedded bullet.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” I asked. It felt like I was pulling and prodding him every which way, but he wasn’t even flinching. His hands landed on my hips and he looked up at me.
“Nope, not while I have you in my arms.”
“You’re not helping. I need to get this out of you…”
He pulled me closer, his fingers kneading the tops of my ass cheeks. “Noah,” I whispered. I shook my head; I couldn’t get distracted.
Finally I managed to remove the hunk of metal from his shoulder. As soon as I did, I watched, mesmerized, as his skin knitted back together almost instantly.
“But… how?” I muttered. “It’s not possible.”
He ran his hands up my back, but I was determined to get answers. Although I was pretty sure I knew what was he was, I just needed him to say it out loud, to confirm that I wasn’t indeed going crazy.
As if he read my mind he responded. “Please don’t be scared.”
“I’m not,” I replied instantly. “I just want to know.”
“I’m a shifter.”
“Part human… part bear?”
“Essentially, yes.”
I think he expected me to bolt. His green eyes searched mine, watching me carefully for any sort of reaction.
I tilted my head to the side, my hands still on his chest, palms down. “Can you change at will?”
“Sometimes… depends on my mood and my emotions. Sometimes I can’t help it, and he, my bear, demands to be let loose.”
I nodded. I could understand that, or at least I tried to.
“And this Jake guy, he obviously knows about all this—the bear thing. And he’s a friend?” I continued, trying to work it out in my head. Noah nodded.
“The mountain, the sale… he’s like your leader, right?”
“God, you’re quick. You probably should’ve been a detective instead.”
But I wasn’t listening. My eyes widened as I stumbled upon a realization. “Was Mr. Jenkins like you, too?”
Noah nodded again and pulled me even closer into his arms. My brain wanted to push back and play everything over in my head again, to study the possibilities and the outcome of such a discovery, but Noah’s hands had other plans in mind. And so did my body.
Noah rose to his feet and lifted me up effortlessly with him. I wrapped my legs around him almost without thinking. He was so strong, and I probably should’ve felt scared, but it was the complete opposite. I was safe. He would never lay his hands on me the way Simon had.
“You can’t tell anyone,” he whispered as spun us around and gently laid me on his bed. His lips found my neck; my pulsed raced as they made contact.
“I won’t,” I said, moaning. His hands were everywhere, stroking my sides, cupping my breasts. My body was on fire under his touch.
“Feeling warmer now?”
“Oh, god, yes!” I wrapped my arms around his thick neck and pulled him down towards me.
Our lips met, and his tongue searched for mine. The sensation of his day-old stubble against my delicate skin sent shivers sparking all around my body.
I never wanted to stop kissing him; I needed more. And he obviously felt the same as he started to find the edges of my clothing and attempted to slowly peel them away.
“Rip them off,” I gasped.
A second later I felt the tug of material against my skin, and then just like that, my goofy Christmas sweater and silky vest were shredded, lying in a heap on the floor. Next came my bra, and I watched his eyes light up as my breasts tumbled into view.
He pulled on my jeans, tugging them over my soft behind, and dropped them beside their counterparts.
“Your turn,” I said, suppressing a giggle. I’d seen it once already, and now I was desperate to see his cock again. He arched his eyebrow at me, slipped his fingers in-between his waistband and slowly, agonizingly slowly, pulled his joggers down. I watched as more and more of his pubic hair became visible; his happy trail starting from his belly button, going down to the promised land.
I wet my lips, anxious and hungry for him. When the material finally pushed over his large member and fell to the ground, his mammoth cock juddered free, and I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed him inside me.
“You need to take me right now,” I demanded and opened my legs wider, presenting him with a good view. My panties were slick with my excitement, and I knew he could see the damp patch at my crotch.
“Take them off,” he growled as he pumped a fist over his cock.
With deft fingers, I eased my panties over my hips, arching and lifting my butt, and slipped them off, pushing them down towards my ankles, then pressed my knees together.
“Let me see you,” he said and placed a free hand upon my knees, gently trying to persuade me to open up.
I bit my lip and found his eyes, and slowly I parted my legs for him.
He continued to stare at me, and then when he couldn’t take it any longer, he glanced downward towards my wet center.
A guttural, primal moan escaped his lips. “Perfect, you’re so fucking perfect. And so wet for me.”
His hand trailed down my inner thigh, stroking ever closer to my pussy, teasing me. God, how I need him to touch me there, and yet with every stroke, his fingers would dart away at the last second.
“Noah,” I moaned as my hands found my breasts. I needed him on me, in me and every which fucking way.
“Let me just look at you for a moment…” he whispered, his closed fist moving slowly up and down his shaft.
His fingertips reached out, and I saw sparks as they made contact with my most intimate area. After that moment, there was no turning back, no turning off the passion that we felt for each other. We were like animals.
Noah climbed onto the bed, forcing my legs wide apart, his fingers caressing my slit.
“Please, Noah. Take me… Claim me.”
He positioned the head of his cock at my entrance, then bent over me, and he braced himself with his arm by my head.
“I’m going to do more than that. I’m going to make you mine forever.”
His hips thrust forward and he speared his cock within me; I almost passed out from the pleasure that burst inside me.
He filled me completely, then drew back only to do it all over again.
Noah’s hand scooted under my arched back and lifted me up so I was sitting on top of him with his knees
bent underneath himself. I draped my arms over his shoulders, but found out pretty quickly that I needed to hang on for dear life as his thrusts were becoming more and more aggressive.
“Yes, fuck me,” I heard myself saying. I hadn’t been taken like this in, well, forever. It was thrilling and empowering to demand more, and god, was he giving it to me.
I felt his muscles tense up beneath me, just as I became aware of the thunderous vortex that was spinning itself into a frenzy within me.
“Come for me, baby,” Noah demanded. “I want to feel you come on my cock.”
I stared into those beautiful emerald eyes and felt my world come undone as ripples of ecstasy shook my body. Moments later, Noah followed suit and slammed his cock into my pulsing channel once more, unleashing himself within me.
* * *
“We probably should get up,” Noah said as I snuggled into his protective arms. “Your parents will be wondering where the hell you are.”
“Can’t we just stay like this for a bit longer, and not worry about anything else?” I groaned. “And if they haven’t figured out where I’ve been sneaking off to these past few days, well, then I’m disappointed in them.”
We were fast approaching New Years Eve, and I was not ready to let go of this little slice of happiness on the side of Scarfell Mountain. I didn’t want to face up to the fact that what I’d found with Noah was going to end. Eventually, I would have to pack up my stuff and go back to the city, to my well-paying job and my rent-controlled apartment.
I shut my eyes tight and willed all my adult responsibilities to disappear into the thin air, to melt away like the snow would come spring.
Noah stroked my hair out of face. “Nothing is stopping us from staying like this forever, you know?”
I lifted my head to gaze at him. “What do you mean?”
“Stay here. Stay here, in this cabin… with me.”
“I couldn’t—”
“Why not?”
I blinked, trying to comprehend those two little words. Why couldn’t I stay? What exactly was stopping me? My parents loved Noah, and although they would probably say that we were moving a bit too fast, they wouldn’t begrudge my happiness. And they both knew how much I loved coming here to Scarfell. It was probably one of the main reasons they moved heaven and earth to make it back here each year, to make me happy…
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