Alpha's Second Chance_Shifter Nation_Werebears Of The Everglades

by Meg Ripley

  “You don’t live near your clan?”

  I shook my head.

  “Addie, we’re not meant to be lone bears. We’re meant to live with our clans. In some areas, they live together in a big compound or a shared house, if it’s a smaller clan.”

  “I don’t know of any near me. And I like my clan. They were there for me when I needed them.”

  “I’m glad for that,” he said. “I really am, but you’re making things harder on yourself than they should be.”

  I shrugged. “It’s okay. I don’t go out when it’s a full moon and I don’t shift often. It’s better for me to just pretend like that part of me doesn’t exist. With the whole secret thing, it makes it easier, too. Sometimes, like tonight, it comes in handy. It did feel good to shift. I think it’s been about six months since I have.”

  “You haven’t shifted in six months?”

  “Nope.”

  He blinked at me in shock. “I didn’t even know that was possible.”

  “Really?”

  “The instinct is so strong.”

  “I guess mine isn’t.”

  “That might explain some things. Like why I didn’t pick on your shifter scent. Why you didn’t pick up on mine.”

  I covered my face with my hand. “I thought you changed colognes.”

  “You have a good excuse—you’re new and mostly alone. But I don’t. I thought it was just lust. The best I can come up with is that we’d already been together so long when I came of age that I was too accustomed to your scent. And if you didn’t know you were a shifter and had never shifted, I guess that’s why my parents didn’t pick up on it, either.”

  “We’re a lot less rare than I thought,” I joked.

  “You’re telling me.” He nuzzled his nose into my neck, taking in a long inhale. “How could I have missed it? I’m such an idiot. God! I’m such an idiot!”

  “It’s okay. I mean, yeah it would have been better if you’d been the one to tell me and had been there in the beginning, but it’s okay. I figured it out. I’m okay now. I know how to handle it better.”

  “No, Addie, you don’t get it.” He put his fist to his forehead and growled. “I can’t believe this!”

  “What’s wrong? It’s not that big of a deal, is it? I mean, I can see you being freaked out if I were a shifter and you knew nothing of this life, but you are, too. I don’t see how—”

  “Adeline.”

  I closed my mouth and looked at him expectantly.

  “Our clan believes that Alphas should only marry shifters. They want to keep the leadership pure to preserve our lineage. No second will be promoted if he’s married to a non-shifter and Alphas are forced to step down if they take a non-shifter wife.”

  I scrunched up my face in confusion.

  “Addie.” He put a hand on either side of my face. “My dad was the Alpha; that means I’ve always been in line to be Alpha. I took over for him when I finished college, and I’ve always believed that I had to fulfill my duty as his son. I hated the rule. I nearly left my family and my clan because of it. Addie, the only reason I ended things with you was because you weren’t a shifter, and I had to marry a shifter if I was going to fulfill my duty.”

  His words sunk into my mind slowly. I didn’t want to get excited. I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I’d just done that and it had ended terribly.

  “So… you’re saying…”

  He let out a laugh and kissed me hard. “I’m saying, I love you. Marry me?”

  “What?” I laughed, too. I clearly hadn’t heard him right.

  “Marry me. Please. Please marry me. Be my wife. I can’t live another day without you.”

  I shook my head. “No, you’re… this isn’t right.”

  “What?” His face fell. “What do you mean?”

  “You can’t be proposing to me. You just ended things again. You just broke my heart again.”

  “It was only because of the shifter thing. That was it. I’ve wanted you so badly this whole time. I’ve missed you. Ask my clan how much of a wreck I was after you came by to see me and I had to send you off. I thought about leaving again. I was ready to give up everything for you.”

  I spoke slowly to make sure I didn’t miss anything. “So, let me get this straight. You’re telling me that the only reason you broke up with me in high school is because you thought I wasn’t a shifter?”

  “No. It’s because I thought you weren’t a shifter, and I knew I had to marry a shifter. I could have kept dating you, I guess, but I could never marry you, and I didn’t want you to go through that. We talked about marriage. I even had a ring picked out. I knew how I was going to propose and everything.”

  “And the other day when I came to see you?”

  “Same thing. There was no way I could see you and never marry you. Or be with you for any length of time and not tell you my secret. I had no choice but to send you away again.”

  “That’s the only reason?”

  “That’s the only reason.” He stood and I was reminded of his nakedness. “Come for a run with me.”

  “I don’t have my sneakers or running—”

  “Not as a human.”

  “Oh.” I stood up and took off Hailey’s clothes, setting them in the center of the blanket.

  We both shifted and took a moment to rub against each other before taking off on the run. I followed him, partly because I had no idea where we were going, and also, because he was much faster than me. We ran until we came to a long, wooden bridge.

  He shifted back and took my hand, leading me to the center of the bridge. “This isn’t exactly how I pictured it. I mean, I thought we’d at least be wearing clothing. And I planned to have a ring.”

  He turned toward the water and stretched out his arm. “This bridge looks out over two bodies of water. If you look to one side, it’s like our past, stretched out long behind us. But on the other side is our future. Wide open. Full of possibilities. Going on and on forever, into eternity.”

  He got down on one knee and took my hands.

  “I should have said this to you long ago, Addie. I love you. I’ve had to live without you for too many years now, and I don’t want to spend another day without you. Will you marry me? Be my mate in every way, for the rest of our lives?”

  I blinked in shock, then sputtered, “Yes!”

  15

  Addie

  Owen laid me down on the blanket and slid into place beside me. He’d carried me for what had to be over a mile, back to this place. He said he didn’t want to waste one moment in bear form not seeing my face.

  I didn’t care if he was a bear or human, it just felt good to be close to him. As the hour grew later and the adrenaline faded, I felt tired. I curled into him, enjoying his warmth. Now that things had settled, another thought plagued my mind.

  I hadn’t let myself really think much about it, but now it’s all I could think of. “What will happen to me?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “I killed someone. I killed Aiden. Won’t I go to jail?”

  “Don’t worry about that.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and rubbed my arm.

  “How can I not worry about it?”

  “The rules are different for us. I don’t know how it is in your clan’s area, but here, animal on animal violence is a way of life. If you’d killed him as a human, you’d have to face the police. But you were in bear form. You’ll talk to the conclave. They’ll investigate, but with so many witnesses, not one of them would say you were in the wrong. You defended yourself. You defended a fellow bear. If we were in the same clan, it would be even more explainable. I think our history, though, will accomplish the same thing when it comes down to it.”

  “Accomplish what?”

  “We have the conclave for a reason. It’s a group of shifters who understand what it’s like to be a shifter. When we’re in animal form, our instincts are different. The instinct to protect and defend rises higher than when we’re
in human form. We’re still responsible for our actions, but even if we’d all been human in that situation, you still acted in self defense. You’ll be fine, I promise. And if the police come knocking, we’ll bear up and never change back.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, but that won’t happen. Besides, we have shifters on the police force and in other government agencies who make sure shifter law is carried out in questionable situations.”

  “We do?” I asked.

  “If you lived close enough to be with your clan all the time, you’d know these things.”

  “I never thought it was that big of a deal.”

  “So, changing clans won’t be difficult, Addie?”

  “Changing clans?”

  “When we get married, your human form will take my last name, but your bear form will take my clan.”

  “Oh.” There was so much of this world I still didn’t understand.

  “Sometimes it’s a very difficult transition for females. Clan loyalty is very intense, and when someone grows up in one clan, it can be very difficult to leave them.”

  “I’m not happy to be leaving them. They were there for me when no one else was. But I’m happy to be joining your clan, if that how it works. They helped us. They fought with us and protected me and my friends. I don’t take that lightly. And if this is part of shifter life, then my clan will understand.”

  “Good.” He kissed my forehead. “I don’t want anything else to come between us or get in our way.”

  “There’s really only one thing standing between us now.”

  “What?” He pulled back, looking worried.

  “This blanket.”

  He’d covered me up to keep me warm, but now the blanket acted as a barrier between our naked bodies. He gave me a seductive smile and slid the blanket out of the way, his hot body pressing down on mine.

  “That’s much better,” I smiled.

  “Care to pick up where we left off the other night, fiancée?”

  “As long as this time doesn’t end with you sending me away.”

  He shook his head slowly. “Never again. You are mine. My mate and true love, who is soon to be my wife. I will never let you out of my sight again.”

  “Unless I’m going to work or something,” I laughed.

  “Oh no. Not even then.” He planted kisses all over my face, making me giggle. “You’ll just have to get a job here in the park so I can have you by my side all day.”

  “Actually, I would love that.”

  He pulled back to look in my eyes. “Really?”

  “I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do with my life and my degree. You’re here; I want to be with you. I want to protect the land and its animals and do the things you do. I think I want to train to be a park ranger.”

  He gave me a half smile. “Well, there’s one way you’ll be guaranteed to get that job.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Sleep with the manager.”

  “Hmm.” My words became a moan as he kissed down my jaw to my breasts.

  He moved his hand between my legs. I was wet just from kissing him and he slid his fingers around and inside me. I dragged my nails along his back, barely able to take the sensation.

  “Owen,” I begged. It’d been far too long since I felt him.

  “Addie,” he breathed in my ear.

  I wrapped a leg around him, trying to pull him closer to me. His hardness pressed against me, and I rubbed up and down his shaft. Each time, at the last moment just before he slid in, he pulled away, teasing me until I could scream.

  “Haven’t I waited long enough?” I whispered.

  “What’s another few minutes?”

  “You’re cruel.”

  He chuckled, but it didn’t last long. I reached down and grabbed his erection, and he moaned as I stroked him.

  “I think,” he breathed and closed his eyes, “I see your point.”

  He pushed my legs farther apart and positioned himself over me. He pressed in just the head of his dick, then sank into me.

  I shuddered at the feeling of him sliding in so deep. It felt both familiar and new. We’d done this so many times, but we’d both changed over the years. As he moved in and out of me, my heart sped and the pleasure rushed over me. When I felt myself begin to shift, I sucked in a breath.

  “Stop!”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I…” I breathed fast, trying to calm myself.

  “Addie?”

  “Hang on.” I closed my eyes and tried not to move. The shivering sensation slowed, but it was still right there.

  “Have you…had sex since you started shifting?”

  I shook my head, my eyes still squeezed shut. Sam had been my last and we’d broken up just before my first shift. I hadn’t thought anything of it until that moment.

  “Shh,” he whispered in my ear and stroked my hair. “It’s okay.”

  When I calmed enough to keep the bear at bay, I pressed my hips up into him again. He moved more slowly, taking his time. But it didn’t take long for the swell to rise again.

  This time, instead of feeling my bear take over, I kept control of my body. I let the feeling of him thrusting in and out of me take over. I pushed my hips into him faster, urging him to speed up. I grabbed his ass and pulled him in deeper.

  He pounded hard, but slow. I wanted him to speed up, but the slowness was sweet torture. The orgasm took its time to build, but when it flooded over me, it hit me so hard, I nearly passed out. My head spun, and I had to close my eyes and breathe slowly.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I didn’t know it would be so different.”

  He chuckled. “Do you remember the night we went to that school play and I wanted to leave early and we ended up having sex in the back seat of my car in the parking lot?”

  I thought for a moment. “I think so.”

  “That was my first time after. And it was so close to the full moon. I almost lost it a few times.”

  “That would have been…interesting.”

  “Right.” He laughed. “I’ve heard stories…”

  “I have a lot to learn about being a shifter.”

  “You have all the time in the world to learn it,” he said. “And, you’re hired.”

  “Whew,” I said. “If we had done that for nothing…” I sat up to kiss him. “I love you. I always have.”

  16

  Owen

  Epilogue

  “Hey there, Alpha man.”

  I glanced over at the walkie sitting on my desk and smiled. Some people questioned our ability to work together and be married, but Addie and I loved it. Being in the park with her, running things here and in the clan with her by my side. Things couldn’t be much better.

  “Hello there, darling wife,” I radioed back.

  “If you’re not too busy or anything, maybe you want to meet me in the clearing by our cabin?”

  “What! Are you sure?” I jumped up and grabbed my keys, dashing out of my office. “Gotta go!” I shouted to Rachel as I ran past her.

  “Let us know!” she called after me.

  “I’m already here,” Addie said.

  I could hear the distress in her voice. “You should have called sooner.”

  “Meh,” she said. “These things—take time.”

  “Are you okay? I’m halfway there.”

  “Don’t rush.”

  I laughed. “Seriously? My first cub is about to be born and you tell me not to rush?”

  “It’ll be—all day.”

  The pain in her voice made me push on the gas.

  I pulled up to the cabin. Hailey’s car was there, as were Noah’s and several others. I’d never really been part of a clan birth, being a male and all, but they’d told me all about it.

  This was how they did it, they said. The females all came together and helped the pregnant bear give birth. The father could be there, of course, but they didn’t want a bunch of males st
rutting around, getting in the way. Fine by me to let the ladies handle it all.

  I ran to the clearing. Addie was sitting up, her hands on either knee, breathing hard. Hailey was at her side, rubbing her back.

  “You need to shift,” Tori said.

  I saw Noah then and clapped him on the back. I guessed uncles were allowed, too.

  “She wants to be human,” I said, moving into place beside her.

  “But it’s much easier as a bear,” Hailey said.

  We’d talked about this. Many times, Addie had insisted on giving birth in human form. Something about wanting the woman’s experience. I didn’t really get it, and I didn’t try to. I heard what the females in my clan said, but I had to do what my wife wanted. She was the one who carried our baby, after all, and she was the one about to give birth.

  “Leave her be,” I said. I stroked her hair. “What do you need?”

  She shook her head. Sweat stuck her hair to her neck and face. I did my best to brush it back.

  “Maybe—I should,” she said, wincing as another contraction hit her.

  “Whatever you want to do, honey.”

  She nodded and tried to pull her clothes off.

  “Don’t worry about that.” I’d gotten over the amount of torn clothing we all went through shifting, long ago. It was why I owned so many cheap t-shirts. Didn’t matter when I ripped them if I didn’t have time to undress before shifting.

  She shifted, and, so I could speak to her, I shifted alongside her. I did have to undress, though. For all my thoughts on cheap clothing, I still wore my ranger uniform, and they were certainly not cheap. Last time I’d had to replace one, it ran me more than $80. I took off my clothes quickly, shifted, and got into position behind her.

  You’re doing great, I said. I love you.

  This sucks. So bad.

  I know. But it’ll be over soon. I nuzzled my body against hers.