by T. S. Ryder
"What is it?"
"Painkiller. It's a superficial wound, but I bet it hurts."
Danita swallowed it down, choking a little as it scraped her throat.
"Stay here." He kissed her forehead. "I'm going to help Ryan. We'll be back shortly."
She didn't want him to leave her, but she also didn't want Ryan to get hurt, so she didn't protest as Killian left. He leaped from the porch, shifting mid-air into his huge gray Bear. Danita listened anxiously, straining her ears, but as soon as the sound of Killian moving through the brush was gone, all was silent.
***
Despite the situation she found herself in, Danita did end up falling asleep. The adrenaline sapping her energy, combined with the painkiller Killian had given her and the lack of sleep she had had the past few nights sent her unconscious quickly. When she woke, her mind was crisp, and she felt much stronger.
The sound of running water and a voice drew her attention. Fear grabbed her, flooding her with adrenaline yet again. She got to her feet and inched towards the bathroom door, which stood ajar. The water was too loud for her to make out the voice. What if McGrath had shaken off the boys and come back? Worse, what if he had hurt them?
She skirted the bathroom door and grabbed a knife before she hurried back to the couch and laid down again.
Right at that moment, the water turned off. A man grunted with pain.
"I can't believe you let him get the drop on you like that." Killian's voice. Danita jumped to her feet. "I told you to be careful."
"Yeah, yeah."
Danita ran to the bathroom, throwing the door open. Ryan was stiffly drying himself off, Killian half-supporting him. Neither had a scratch on them. With a cry of relief, she flung herself at her Bears. She was crying before she even realized what she was doing. They enfolded her in their embrace, holding her gently as she cried.
"How did you find me?" she eventually choked out.
"You left your slippers and Ryan found a torn note in the trash."
Her slippers. Danita actually laughed. She had considered bringing them but decided she didn't want her favorite slippers tainted by memories of what was going to happen here.
It was a good thing she hadn't brought them, or her boys may never have known to look for her. She began shaking as the weight of what might have happened crashed down on her.
"It's okay." Ryan kissed her. "McGrath is dead. And we're fine."
"Other than a couple broken ribs." Killian glared at his partner. "Because this one was an idiot."
"They'll be fine by the end of the day. Don't worry her."
"You're the one who worried—"
Danita laughed and covered their mouths. "None of this, now. No fighting. Take me home. I don't want to be here anymore."
The boys immediately turned to her. Both of them embraced her, Ryan getting her shirt damp. Danita wasn't about to complain. She was safe. She was well and truly safe.
Epilogue – Danita
The feeling of little feet kicking her ribs woke Danita before the alarm had even gone off. She groaned, rubbing her stomach. That only elicited more kicking and made her realize how much she needed to use the bathroom. Trying not to shift her Bears too much, she wiggled her way out from between then, going over the footboard rather than trying to climb over one of them.
They had gotten a king-sized bed to replace the air mattresses some time ago, but it was hardly enough room for her and one of the boys, let alone both right now. Despite it getting into winter and not having a reliable heat source for the house yet, they had to keep the bedroom window open at night, or it got just too hot, mashed between the two of them.
After she was finished in the bathroom, she kicked off her old slippers and dressed, trying to be quiet. Her boys were sound sleepers, but if they heard her moving, they'd be pulling her back into bed before she could wiggle into her overalls.
But she was not going back to bed. The alpacas needed to be fed, and the boys still spooked them from time to time if they smelled too strongly of Bear. Besides, she was still perfectly capable of working, even though the two shifters didn't like her doing it.
Now that she was seven months pregnant, they never let her do anything. It was starting to get annoying. But at the same time, it was sweet, and Danita tried to sneak away and do her own work as much to get them to stop her as to actually get the work done. It had become a bit of a game between them now, seeing how far she could get before they caught her.
The air was crisp outside, with the smell of snow that was always present at this time of year. A heavy frost covered everything, coating naked branches, the long, dead grass, the fences. There were even beautiful, delicate patterns of frost on the windows that looked like fairies had come and danced on them.
Danita loved winter. It was just so romantic.
As was usual at this time of day, the alpacas were all huddled together inside their section of the barn, wooly forms pressed together. They would get a good harvest next year. With McGrath gone, she had gotten that mortgage she wanted, enough to pay Amelia back and to survive the winter, along with buying supplies for the spring shearing.
"Hey, fellas," Danita trilled, patting Maria's head as the alpacas followed her from one end of the fence to the other. "How are you this morning? Hungry for some nice tasty hay and mineral supplements?"
The barn door opened just as she was cutting the twine off a hay bale. Her Bears came in, shaking their heads as they crossed the floor.
"You, Miss Valdez, are going to get yourself hurt." Killian jumped past her, grabbing the pitchfork before she could.
Danita put her hands on her hips. "You heard the doctor. A little work won't hurt me or the baby. It might actually help."
Ryan picked her up, cuddling her to his chest. She loved this, the ease with which they could pick her up and carry her around, even this far into her pregnancy. She wrapped her arms around Ryan’s neck and put her head on his shoulder as he began to pitch the hay to the alpacas.
"The doctor may have said that, but I'm not convinced that you didn't pay him to say that." Ryan's voice vibrated through her. "You need your rest, and you need to save your energy."
"I have plenty of energy. For chores, for other things." She nuzzled into his neck, kissing him.
Ryan groaned. "You're going to kill us, woman. You'd have us going all night every night if you could."
"What, can't handle little ol' me?" Danita laughed.
Killian laughed as he started adding the mineral supplement pellets to the alpaca feed. "We haven't been able to keep up with you since we first joined you here. You have more fire and passion than a thousand women. Give her here, I need some of that. It's freezing!"
"We can go back inside as soon as you're done feeding the animals. The rest of the chores can wait." Danita gladly moved from Ryan to Killian's arms and started kissing him instead. "Or we could stay out here."
Her boys exchanged exasperated looks. "It's too cold."
"We can make our own heat." Danita gave them both a sultry look. "The blanket's still out here."
The boys glanced at one another, and Danita could see their defenses break down. Ryan hurried to finish feeding the alpacas while Killian set her down and went in search of the blanket. She grinned as she watched them.
Less than a year ago, it was just her on a broken-down farm with dreams of the future but not much else. Now she had her farm–still not pristine, but workable and being improved little by little–she had her herd of alpacas, she had her boys, she had a baby on the way.
"Got the blanket," Killian shouted in glee, waving it over his head.
Ryan grabbed her by the waist and pulled her towards the loose pile of hay. Danita laughed in delight. Yes, this was better than all her dreams come true.
*****
THE END
Did you like what you read?
”Her Two Bears“ is a stand-alone story in a series of shifter menage romance novels. Other parts of the series (more co
ming soon!):
- Her Two Wolves
- Her Two Alphas
The books each have a guaranteed HEA and contain plenty of action, lust and steamy menage scenes with two hot shifters.
The Vampire Prince's Bride
Description
A BBW with a secret PLUS a vampire general who needs human blood PLUS a shifter army out to kill!
Vampire general Darius isn’t looking for love or romance. He’s looking for a promotion. And for that, he needs a human wife and a baby. Just one look at Cleo’s curves and he knows she can give him what he needs. The thought of another man touching her makes him want to kill.
Cleo has always been strong, always in charge of her own destiny. But what Darius doesn’t know is that she isn’t as invulnerable as she seems. She keeps her secrets just as he keeps his. They made a deal. Why should they be concerned with each other's intimate lives?
But Darius and Cleo are forced to confront their worst fears when Darius is sent to fight a group of rebel shifters that may just get him killed. Violence is a vampire’s domain. But can he survive this?
As feelings deepen and danger grows ever closer, Cleo and Darius will have to face hard truths–and decide if ambition is really worth their lives, or if love is worthy of sacrifice.
Chapter One – Darius
A picture of Iosif hung over the mantle in Darius's study. The king had ruled all the lands from the Black Sea to the Carpathian Mountain range to the Danube River for almost two thousand years now and was a vampire of great strength and pride. This study had once belonged to his father and Darius had sat on the floor and stared at wonder at the king's picture ever since he was a young boy.
Hearing about the king's great feats against the shifters, who used to run rampant and murder recklessly, had always made his heart swell with pride. He had determined from a young age that he would be as great as the king, one day wearing the crown on his own head. As he grew up, he realized that his goals required a lot of hard work, but Darius was nothing if not determined.
"There have been reports of wolves here and here," he said, pointing to the map spread out on his desk. "Three dozen sheep were killed and a shepherdess has disappeared only a dozen leagues from here."
His best friend and second-in-command, Gordon, frowned. "You think it's the Rebeluna?"
Darius grimaced as he considered. The Rebeluna was a self-proclaimed rebel group that resisted the vampire king in any way possible. Shifters of various clans gathered and were responsible for more vampire deaths than any other group in the past decade. Since they assassinated the last colonel charged with finding them, the king had turned the investigation over to Darius.
"No," he decided. "The Rebeluna are organized, efficient. These are minor inconveniences, more likely wolves who consider themselves rebels but don't have the courage to actually commit to open rebellion."
"Then why bring them up?"
Darius straightened and grinned. "They're exactly the type that the Rebeluna will recruit for cannon fodder. Send a couple of men to investigate. If humans think that we're allowing shifters to steal them away with no consequences, it might stir up unrest. Find the shepherdess, if nothing else."
"Am I interrupting?"
The cool, confident voice made him turn to the door. His twenty-year-old human wife of four months, Cleo, stood in the doorway. Darius smiled at her. Iosif and his own human mate had had no children of their own and had made it clear that the vampire they chose to replace Iosif had to prove he had good relations with humans. The best way to do that was to marry one, and so he had.
"Darius. Gordon." Cleo strode in, her shoulders back, her head held high, exuding an air of confidence about her.
She had been Darius' choice wife for two reasons. One, she was beautiful. Bronzed skin, long curly hair, stunning black eyes. When Darius first chose her, Gordon had questioned whether he really wanted somebody as 'robust' as her. She was all curves and softness, nothing angular or sharp about her–except her piercing gaze.
Which brought him to his second reason for choosing her. She made no pretenses about what she wanted – a husband who could give her all the luxury and power she desired. She wanted to be queen as much as he wanted to be king, and she would do anything necessary to ensure that happened.
Having a woman like that by his side only heightened his possibilities. She was clever, level-headed, and he had never seen her act based solely on emotion – exactly what he was looking for in a wife.
"You didn't come to bed last night, Darius." Cleo walked into the room, her black eyes never leaving his face. "I bought a new… dress that I wanted to show you."
The colonel could imagine what she would look like in the 'dress' and swallowed hard. Heat curled in his lower belly.
Gordon cleared his throat. "My lord, if you want some privacy—"
Darius waved his hand at his friend, an annoyed expression on his face. "As much as I would like to ravish my wife on every surface available in this room, I don't have the time."
"More news on the Rebeluna?"
"A small envoy of vampires were attacked yesterday evening. It's the Rebeluna's style, but there are many other reports of shifters that I have to have investigated."
Cleo nodded. "What envoy did they attack yesterday?"
"Lord Virgil's taxes. He still insists on delivering them in gold every year. Claims it's safer."
Cleo snorted. "Maybe he'll start using a check or e-transfer now."
"Maybe. And maybe I should have seen it coming. Virgil's so stuck in the past that he's an easy target for the shifters. They pretended to be a roadblock and shot the tires of his Hummer. They took the gold but didn't stick around to kill anybody."
Gordon coughed, drawing attention to himself. "We think they are gathering funds for a larger-scale attack."
The vampire didn't look at Cleo. But then, Gordon had never liked the human. He always thought that Darius deserved someone 'better'. The problem was he thought 'better' meant thinner and more emotional, worshiping the ground Darius walked on. He didn't want that.
He didn't want love.
"They could be collecting funds to bribe the lower-ranked vampires," Cleo suggested. "Or to donate money to the outlying human settlements. Turn them to the shifter cause."
"It wouldn't be the first time," Darius agreed.
"I'm having tea with a few of the other wives today. I'll discuss an outreach program to bolster vampire relations with the outliers. I know that the recent earthquakes have caused some flooding. I'll be sure to increase aid to the areas affected."
Darius nodded, smiling at his wife. She didn't think in terms of battles and conquest, but rather how kindness could change the tide of wars. A valuable ally. In this seemingly unending war between vampires and shifters, humans were the key figures. They were vital to vampire survival, and not just because vampires required human blood to sustain themselves.
The common assumption that humans could turn into vampires was wrong. It was true that the humans who lived among vampires and were regularly fed from took on vampiric traits: their aging slowed to the point where they hardly aged at all. They also grew stronger, faster, and developed a taste for blood. But they remained human. Vampires were born vampires – and usually males at that. Without human wives like Cleo, they would be extinct within three generations.
"What are you grinning at?" Cleo narrowed her eyes at him.
"I was just remembering how we met." His voice turned low and husky. "And how I knew instantly that you were the woman to be my bride."
Cleo smirked back at him. Both of them ignored Gordon rolling his eyes.
Their first meeting was indicative of their whole relationship. There had been no romance. He had been patrolling his lands with Gordon and half a dozen sergeants. They stopped at a station in the closest city to refuel their motorcycles. Normally humans looked at them with awe, but Darius had noticed Cleo leaning against the building, gazing at the vampires as though she was
measuring them up and finding them lacking.
He hadn't been able to help himself. He walked over to her. Her expression had changed slightly, and when she looked at him, her gaze lingered on the insignia on his jacket.
"You're a colonel," she had said.
"Yes, I am. If you come back to my estate with me, I'll marry you."
She had given him that cool, sharp gaze and shrugged. "I could hold out for a general, but you'll be one soon enough if I have any say in the matter. Let's go."
The wicked grin on Cleo's face showed that she was remembering as well. Darius circled the table and caught his wife in his arms.
"You took a big risk on me."
"Hardly." Cleo rolled her eyes. "I did my research. I already knew everything about you. I knew you took weekly patrols, and I knew you always stopped at that station for gas. I had everything planned. If you hadn't approached me, I would have gone to you."
With a light chuckle, Darius gave her a quick peck on the lips. She moaned, indicating her wish for more, but the vampire pulled away. It was difficult. He had been so busy lately that he hadn't actually drunk from her in almost two months. Blood bags didn't taste as good as the real deal, but drinking usually led to other things… and when he only had a few minutes to spare, he couldn’t indulge in anything.
Her scent was driving him crazy, though. She was wearing an essential oil fragrance, which most vampires didn't like. He loved it. Rose and lavender with a hint of peppermint. Delicious. Her natural scent was only enhanced by the oils.
"Gordon." Darius turned to his second-in-command. "Tell the fourth squad to prepare for departure. We're going to scour the settlements surrounding Virgil's attack. The Rebeluna is probably long gone, but we might catch something about which way they headed."
Gordon saluted and left, leaving Darius and his wife alone. Cleo gave him a coy smile and pulled her dark curls off her shoulder and stretched out her neck, offering it to him.
