Bearly Mated

by Natalie Kristen

  BEARLY MATED

  By

  Natalie Kristen

  Want more books set in the small town of Shadow Point?

  GRAY BEARS

  Marrying the Bear (Book 1)

  Loving the Bear (Book 2)

  Mating the Bear (Book 3)

  Tempting the Bear (Book 4)

  Taming the Lion (Book 5)

  Embracing the Lion (Book 6)

  BRIDES fur BEARS

  Bad Bear (Book 1)

  Brave Bear (Book 2)

  Brash Bear (Book 3)

  Big Bear (Book 4)

  Mail-Order Bear (Book 5)

  Dating Agency Bear (Book 6)

  Guardian Bear (Book 7)

  DRAGONS IN SHADOW POINT

  Skyfire Dragon (Book 1)

  Stormfire Dragon (Book 2)

  Seafire Dragon (Book 3)

  BEARly MATED

  Copyright © 2019 by Natalie Kristen

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

  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 the author’s written permission, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously or are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  About this Book

  Emma Renard isn’t going to let her walls down. She has trusted and loved the wrong people before, and being backstabbed and bled dry has taught her a harsh lesson she wasn’t going to forget anytime soon.

  No sirree, she would not be taken for a fool again.

  Rocco Jones has moved to the small town of Shadow Point to try and get his muse back. The quiet, remote town looks placid and unexciting, a place he can calm his beast and get his creative juices flowing.

  But one night changes everything.

  An orphaned lion cub and a gutsy human woman turn his world upside down, or rather, right side up.

  Emma finds herself thrown into a world she has never known before—one filled with heart-pounding adventure, loyal, devoted friends and family and unexpected danger.

  To survive, she would have to put everything on the line.

  Including her heart.

  * * * * *

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Epilogue

  Also by Natalie Kristen

  About the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  Emma Renard stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked as briskly as she could. It was past midnight and the streets were deserted. She had just finished her shift at the convenience store and she wanted to get home as soon as possible.

  Emma would have preferred not to work the evening shift but job openings in a small town were few and far between. She couldn’t afford to be fussy about her working hours. If she didn’t want the job, someone else would gladly take it.

  Emma had moved to the small town of Shadow Point three months ago. On the surface, Shadow Point looked rather quiet, unassuming and uninteresting. Imagine her shock when she found out that the inhabitants of Shadow Point were mostly paranormals.

  In her confusion and panic, Emma had almost grabbed her bags and hightailed it out of town. But once she got over her initial shock, she forced herself to analyze the situation calmly and rationally. Was there any reason for her to leave?

  Did she feel intimidated or threatened by the paranormal residents of Shadow Point? Did she have anything against paranormals?

  No, no and no.

  In fact, Emma saw that most of the townspeople were warm, decent, friendly folk. It didn’t matter if they were paranormal, human or hybrid. The townsfolk treated one another with mutual respect and kindness. There were vampires, shifters, witches, fae folk and all kinds of hybrids living and working side by side in Shadow Point.

  Everyone seemed to get along just fine. There were a few human families living in Shadow Point, and from what she observed, all of them were well-settled and happy. No one was ostracized or discriminated against.

  To be honest, Emma found the people of Shadow Point to be much gentler and kinder than the people from her hometown. Even though the shifters in Shadow Point could shift into various ferocious, deadly beasts like bears, lions, and even dragons, they dealt with one another with honesty and integrity. They weren’t underhanded and predatory in their dealings with one another.

  Unlike the humans in her hometown.

  Emma blew out a long breath. She was never going back to her hometown. Bridgewaters wasn’t her home.

  Emma’s hometown, Bridgewaters, was a small, remote town. Much like Shadow Point. But that was where the similarities ended.

  Everyone in Bridgewaters was human, but underneath the peaceful, placid surface swirled vile lies, rumors and gossip. People she had grown up with, people she thought were her friends and family, simply turned on her in a heartbeat.

  She had known these people for years, yet she never really knew them. They hid daggers in their smiles and malice in their hearts.

  The realization that humans could be way more vicious and dangerous than animals chilled Emma to the bone. The worst part was that these humans could hide their predatory nature and intent from their target for years. They could lie, steal, deceive and destroy another person, a person they professed to love and care about, without batting an eyelid. Underneath their human skins, these people were destructive predators. It was horrifying and heart-wrenching to see their true natures.

  Emma sorely regretted not moving away from these human predators earlier.

  Instead, she had used up so much of her time, energy and resources trying to help them. That was the biggest mistake of her life.

  Emma could have kicked herself for not guarding and protecting herself and her money better.

  Her savings account was almost empty. Her mother and brother had manipulated, deceived, used and discarded her. It was an extremely painful, bitter pill to swallow. She had loved them as her family, but they had never, ever regarded her as a beloved daughter and sister.

  Emma’s face twisted as she thought of her mother and brother.

  Why hadn’t she been able to see the truth sooner?

  Why had she allowed herself to be emotionally and financially abused like that?

  But then again...how could she have known that her own mother and brother were out to swindle and destroy her?

  CHAPTER TWO

  As Emma walked down the quiet street, she let the painful memories churn in her mind. It was better than suppressing them.

  Her brother, David, was two years older than her, but at thirty years old, he was still living at home with their mother. David drifted from job to job, and he never seemed to be able to hold down a job for more than a few months. He spent his time complaining and gambling, and dream
ing of ways to get rich quick.

  Instead of talking some sense into him, their mother, Sophia, enabled, indulged and coddled her son. When David was out of work, Sophia would pay for all his expenses. She even gave him money to gamble.

  When David’s debts began to pile up, Sophia came to Emma and begged and pleaded with Emma to bail David out—again.

  This time, Emma expressed her reservations. She reasonably told her mother that she had bailed David out numerous times before. But when Emma said that maybe it was time for David to face the consequences of his choices and actions, Sophia started screaming and raging and even threatened to kill herself.

  “Oh, you heartless, selfish girl, Emma!” her mother had accused with tears and hysterics. “You would rather stand by and watch the creditors seize my property and snatch all my beautiful heirlooms away! Are you happy to witness my bankruptcy and humiliation? Oh, I would rather die! I’ll just go kill myself now! That will make you happy, won’t it?”

  Reluctantly, Emma used her savings to pay off her brother’s creditors. But instead of being grateful, her mother and brother began to smear her name to their friends and neighbors. They told everyone that Emma was demanding that David be cut out of Sophia’s will. Sophia tearfully told everyone that Emma was using threats and ultimatums to force her to name Emma as the sole beneficiary in her will and leave nothing to poor, dear David.

  Emma had been confused and hurt when she noticed that almost everyone in town was giving her the cold shoulder and withering looks of disgust. They lived in a very small, cloistered community, and news and gossip tended to spread like a contagious disease. No one wanted to have anything to do with her, and it was only when Emma finally confronted an old family friend that she realized what her mother and brother had been saying about her.

  By then, the damage to her reputation was irreversible. Sophia was such a convincing actress and liar that everyone believed her. After all, why would a mother lie about her own daughter?

  Emma had been terribly hurt and angered by her family’s betrayal. Why would her mother and brother do that to her?

  She finally realized the game her mother was playing. In fact, Sophia had been playing this game since Emma was a child. In order to make David look good, Sophia had to make Emma look bad. Sophia was smearing and blackening Emma’s name and reputation to whitewash David’s irresponsible and reckless behavior. David was Sophia’s firstborn, her only son, her golden child. Sophia was determined to excuse and cover up all her son’s mistakes so she could continue to sing his praises. Emma was the convenient scapegoat of the family.

  Emma finally saw her mother and brother’s true feelings and intentions towards her. They were the ones who wanted to cut her out of the will, so they projected their own thoughts and motivations onto her. Her mother and brother schemed to take as much as they could from her and not give her anything in return. Instead, they destroyed her name and reputation and turned friends and neighbors against her.

  Emma’s eyes were fully opened at last. She finally understood how her mother truly saw her. As a useful, controllable, gullible tool. She was just someone her mother could easily and readily manipulate and exploit.

  Emma knew that if she stayed and tried to get her money back from Sophia and David, she would just be wasting her time and energy. They would fight her every step of the way and she had no doubt that they would even stoop to fabricating evidence against her. False witnesses and documents would be produced and she would be embroiled in an ugly legal battle with her family.

  Emma didn’t want to waste any more time and money contending and grappling with her dysfunctional, poisonous family.

  It was better to just cut her losses and leave.

  With the little money she had left, Emma couldn’t afford to move to the big city. Rent was expensive in the city, and having lived in a small town all her life, Emma wasn’t sure she could adapt to the frenzied pace of city life.

  So she packed her bags and hopped on a bus. She just wanted to travel as far away as she could from Bridgewaters.

  Shadow Point was a quaint, quiet town surrounded by scenic hills and forest. It looked like a good place to start anew.

  Emma was lucky to find an affordable apartment right away. She was all alone in this new town, but it suited her fine.

  All she wanted was to be left alone in peace.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Emma turned the corner and slowed her pace as she walked past a row of shops. The shops were closed now, but she enjoyed looking at all the beautiful clothes and accessories in the display windows.

  She didn’t earn much and most of her salary was spent on rent and food. She hadn’t bought herself any new clothes for a long time. With a regretful sigh, Emma gazed at her reflection in the dark glass window.

  She didn’t wear any makeup and her wavy brown hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail. Her wardrobe consisted of jeans, t-shirts and hoodies. Most women in their twenties would be out clubbing and having fun on a Friday night. They would be dressing up and going on dates.

  Not Emma.

  She wasn’t interested in dating anyone. She just wanted to save as much money as she could, and live a peaceful life without drama and lies.

  The trouble was, she was slowly but surely morphing into a hermit.

  Emma refused to open up and let anyone into her life. She didn’t bother getting to know any of the residents in Shadow Point. She was polite and helpful to the customers at the convenience store, but she wasn’t interested in making friends and getting to know her neighbors.

  She simply kept to herself and remained aloof and reserved. She didn’t want anybody becoming too friendly and familiar with her.

  She had been a fool to trust the wrong people, people she had known almost all her life. She would not allow herself to be bullied and betrayed again.

  The realization that people she’d regarded as her family, friends and neighbors turned out to be backbiters and hypocrites was shocking, sobering and heartbreaking. It had shattered her trust and faith in people.

  Some of the townsfolk in Shadow Point had tried to reach out to her by inviting her to join their clubs and activities. But Emma always rejected their warm invitations. The townspeople finally got the message and respected her wish to be left alone.

  Emma sighed again.

  This wasn’t what she wanted. Not really. She used to be so outgoing and sociable. She was open and trusting, and she never hesitated to lend a helping hand. But what had she gotten in return for her trouble? She was bitten and bled by the very people she tried to help.

  Emma grimaced and turned away from her reflection. Maybe someday she would get her old self back. She didn’t like becoming a suspicious, unsympathetic, cynical old hag. But it was better to be safe than sorry for now.

  Emma was about to cross the road when she heard a whimper. Startled, she froze and strained her ears. It sounded like a child.

  She heard the soft cry again. Emma walked backwards until she reached the mouth of the alleyway.

  The sound seemed to be coming from this dark, narrow alley

  Emma held her breath and took a tentative step forward. She gasped when she heard sobs.

  It sounded like a small child crying.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Emma gulped as she peered into the gloomy alley. Was there a child huddling behind one of the dumpsters in the alley? Was he lost? Hurt?

  “Hello?” Emma called out, walking deeper into the alley.

  The sobs stopped abruptly, and she heard some scrabbling and shuffling sounds.

  “Don’t be afraid,” she said gently. “I won’t hurt you. Where are you? Are you lost?”

  “Mommy...” a tiny voice choked out.

  Emma hurried towards the voice. She skidded to a halt when she found a shivering child crouching beside an overflowing dumpster.

  The little boy’s clothes were dirty and torn, and his arms were covered with deep scratches.

  As Emma approache
d, the child hissed and claws shot out from his fingertips. His eyes glowed as he turned his tear-streaked face up to her.

  Emma’s mouth and eyes rounded as she stared at the shifter child in shock. The boy looked to be around four or five years old.

  His face was caked with dirt, and his small body was shaking as he tried hard not to cry.

  “Hey,” she said softly, stooping down. “I won’t hurt you. I want to help you. My name is Emma. What’s your name?”

  After a moment’s hesitation, the child whispered, “Caden.”

  “Do you know where you live, Caden?” Emma said, holding out her hand. “I’ll take you home...”

  Caden shrank back and shook his head vigorously. “No, no! I don’t want to go home! No...Mommy...” Caden sobbed.

  “I’ll take you home to your Mommy,” Emma said, trying to coax him out of his hiding place. “Come on. It’s not safe here.”

  “Not safe,” Caden repeated as he started hyperventilating. “Not safe...Lucas told me to run...”

  “Who is Lucas?” Emma asked warily.

  “My eldest brother.” The child bit into his arm to stifle a wrenching sob. “He killed Lucas! He’ll kill me too.”

  “Who will kill you?” Emma asked, frowning. She didn’t know what to make of his words. They didn’t make any sense to her. “Where is your Mommy, Caden?”

  “Mommy’s dead.”

  Emma gasped. “What?”

  Caden turned away and hugged himself tightly. “Daddy’s dead too. Mommy, Daddy, Lucas, the twins...all dead. He killed them all. He killed my family!”

  “Who killed your family, Caden?” Emma said slowly. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  The boy shook his head and whimpered.