by C. J. Ayers
He pulled out of the drive and made his way down the road toward the main town – there were a couple of bus stations along the way, and he hoped to find Heather at one of them.
The first station he came to looked deserted, but as he slowed down he could just make out a figure sitting at the far end of the shelter.
“Heather?” Tanner jumped out of the truck, leaving it idling by the side of the road. Her face turned toward his, startled. He could see that her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and she looked so small and lost.
“Jesus, Heather – what are you doing?” He walked swiftly towards her, taking her frame into his arms, just as he’d done a moment ago with Chloe. She didn’t hug him back, but he just held on, feeling her body shudder with sobs.
“Tanner – stop.” She broke away from his grasp, hastily wiping her tears away as she did so. “I can’t do this. I’m so sorry – I wish I could stay, but I can’t.”
Tanner looked down at her, confusion written clearly across his face. “Heather, help me to understand – what’s going on?” His voice was gentle, and Heather was too fraught to hear the pain that simmered below the surface.
“I just…I can’t do it again.” Heather mumbled. She had covered her face with her hands, so ashamed at the dramatic state of events. She hadn’t meant for him to chase her here, causing a scene, disrupting the beautiful peace of his life.
“Do what again? Heather, sit down.” Tanner commanded her. He wasn’t getting any sense out of her like this. He ushered her back onto the station bench and sat quietly beside her. “Breathe, and then start again – I want to know what’s going on.”
Heather took a breath and tried to calm herself. She looked into his eyes, seeing nothing there but reassurance and compassion. “I know that you want a companion, and when I came here – I was happy with that. Really, I was.” Heather hesitated, Tanner’s eyes had narrowed and his lips were pulled into a thin line of displeasure. She continued, “but now, now that I know…you, who you really are – I can’t. I just can’t.”
“Is this about the bear, about my past?”
“Yes.” Heather replied, “it’s about all of you. I’m completely in love with you, Tanner. Completely and utterly head over heels in love with you, and I can’t be your companion. It’s not fair to me, not the way I feel.”
Tanner smiled at her words, he couldn’t help it. His entire body had heated on hearing that she loved him, some of the tension he’d been carrying since seeing the envelopes on the table, left.
“Then I don’t understand. I feel exactly the same way about you, Heather.”
“But you’re bonded with someone else,” Heather cried out, exasperated, “you told me – once you bond, you bond for life.”
“What are you talking about? Who am I bonded with?” Tanner was utterly baffled by the exchange; he thought he’d made his feeling clear earlier that morning.
“Chloe’s mother.” Heather whispered. She was less sure of her theory now.
“No! How did you reach that conclusion? I’d only known Chloe’s mother for a week! We had sex, but it didn’t mean anything. She was a dancer – I was about twenty-five, young and reckless. She was just traveling through, and we hooked up – then she moved on. About seven months later she turns up at my door, saying that she’s pregnant I was about to send her off, knowing I’m sterile, but she collapsed on my front step. She wasn’t the one, it’s you Heather. I’ve bonded with you. I’m in love with you. We’re the forever, Heather – you and I.”
Heather was stunned. She’d made such a huge mistake. “Oh Tanner, I didn’t realize…I thought… I assumed…” She trailed off as a huge grin spread across her face; she blushed bright red and looked down at the ground. “I’ve been so stupid.”
Tanner barked out a laugh, “yeah, you have – you can’t leave me, Heather.” His tone turned somber and he covered her shoulders with his hands, “I get it. I get why, after Bertram, you would think that way, but Heather; you’re what I’ve wanted all my life, the missing piece of me. I promise you, if you come home with me now, I won’t ever let you doubt that again. I will spend the rest of my life showing you how loved you are.”
Tanner bent his head down, not waiting for a response. His lips sought hers, and the answering kiss was sweet and salty all at the same time. Heather wound her hands into his hair, flooded with lust and a warm, tranquil contentment. She was home.
Epilogue
Chloe admired the gentle waves that the hairdresser was creating in Heather’s shiny chestnut hair. Her make-up had already been done, and she was chatting animatedly with the woman, occasionally glancing over at Chloe, a light, content smile resting on her lips.
Chloe looked down at her own dress, she was flower girl, maid of honor and chief bridesmaid, all in one. It was easily the happiest Chloe could ever remember being, including the day that Heather had returned. That night, she’d tucked Chloe into bed, the engagement ring glinting on her finger, and Chloe had known then that everything was going to be okay.
She made her way over to the window, watching as the band set up in the back yard. The ranch and its substantial grounds had been completely transformed, wisteria weaving its way around every bench, table and through the small pine pagoda where the ceremony would take place. Bouquets of Peonies, Calla Lily, Sweet Pea and Hydrangeas covered the table tops, and toppled out of the seat backs. Fairy lights, Chloe’s idea, were tacked everywhere, so come evening the place would look like something out of a magical kingdom, with Heather as it’s beautiful queen.
She searched for her father. He was talking to his brother, Uncle Wyatt, and looked incredibly handsome in his three-piece suit. She felt a rush of pride as she watched him. Not long after he and Heather had gotten engaged, they had told Chloe about his bear. She smiled to herself; she knew she’d seen a grizzly on the outskirts of the surrounding forest. She’d been sworn to secrecy, but that didn’t matter – she thought it was awesome, and it was enough just for her family to know. She was sad she’d never be a bear, but then, neither would Heather, so that was okay.
The guests were milling about, admiring the flowers, and she spied Wesley over by the stage, helping set up the sound system for Wyatt’s band to play later. Kellie Lane was hovering by, but Wesley was completely ignoring her. Chloe hoped he noticed her tonight; her dress was a lapis blue to match the flowers she’d be carrying, both she and Heather had roughly designed it together, before sending it off to New York to be made.
“Are you ready?” Heather had risen from the chair, her hair finished and tumbling down her shoulders perfectly. Chloe nodded, and took her arm. Together they made their way down the stairs.
Josiah was waiting for them in the kitchen; he was going to be giving Heather away today.
“Everyone’s ready for you. Chloe, you go in front.” He commanded. Josiah took Heather’s elbow and she smiled at him, nervously.
“Don’t be nervous. It’s going to be perfect.” He reassured her.
Chloe took one look at the pair behind her and made her way to the door. She signaled to Wyatt, and his band began the opening chords of the wedding march. Everyone turned to look. Practically the entire town of Jackson Hole had wanted to be here today, and it made Chloe extra proud at how her parents were so loved by everyone. Heather had opened a small patisserie on the town’s main road, the locals raved about it and already tourists were venturing from nearby cities to taste Heather’s divine creations.
She could see her best friend, Lucille, in one of the back rows. Lucille was practically green with envy as she surveyed her friend’s dress. That just made Chloe all the happier, and her smile just that bit wider as she made her way down the makeshift isle, walking on a soft bed of rose petals.
She looked up to see her father’s smiling face, grinning at her. Chloe watched as the grin faded, and was replaced with a look she couldn’t quite ascertain as he gazed past her at his soon-to-be wife. Chloe quickly checked over her shoulder to see if Heather wa
s okay, but whatever was in Tanner’s look made Heather blush bright red and smile, averting her gaze to the floor. Chloe shrugged and continued her slow march to the front.
Chloe stood to the side of the ceremony, gently wiping away tears that she repeatedly wished wouldn’t fall; but it couldn’t be helped. Watching her mother and father together, she gave a small smile of triumph. Her plan had worked, against all the odds. Chloe closed her eyes and sent up a small prayer of thanks to the God of bear shifters, amazing moms who could love, cook, and hug properly, and the families that got their happily ever afters.
THE END
BONUS SHORTS
MY VALENTINE WOLF
STORY DESCRIPTION
When Kelsey Owens finds herself alone at a bar on Valentine’s Day – stood up by her blind date, she stomps out of the place in a huff. But outside in the darkened ally, she sees something she shouldn’t and lands herself in deep hot water.
Lucky for her, a handsome, stoic stranger appoints himself as her guardian.
But is she lucky?
Is she safe in the hands of her self-appointed, oh-so-sexy protector?
When he is forced to make a revelation while the two are on the run, she isn’t so sure.
The thing is, she’s never been so unbelievably attracted to any man before… EVER.
…And what is lycanthropy anyway?
CHAPTER 1
I sucked the last of my fruity, pink drink through the straw, making a hideous slurping noise that drew attention from several others at the bar. I gave the fake blond closest to me the stink eye, and reached into my purse for some money. Tossing the crumpled up bills onto the shiny bar top, I sighed. I knew that Mitch, or Mike, or whatever his name was, had stood me up, but I kept glancing at the door in vain, hoping that I wasn’t the pathetic loser who got stood up on Valentine’s Day. And yet, that’s exactly what I was as I left the bar.
“You, Kelsey Owens, need to woman up. You don’t need a man to have fun on Valentine’s Day,” I whispered to myself, even though I knew it was a lie.
The sharp cold of the February night in the Black Hills of South Dakota stole the breath from my lungs momentarily, at least until I got my scarf wound around my neck and mouth. I looked up and down the main street of Rapid City, trying to decide what my next move should be. There were plenty of places to go, and I wasn’t ready to go home just yet.
I had only had one drink while I’d waited, but I suddenly felt woozy. Pausing beside the edge of the building, I pressed my hand against the cool brick as I waited for the feeling to pass. I leaned forward, concentrating only on the swirling of my stomach. Several people left the bar, and continued on down the street, couples arm in arm, delighting in the romantic ambiance of the day, or night, or whatever. I couldn’t clear my head long enough to think straight. What had been in that drink?
There was a sharp curse followed by sounds of a scuffle in the alley next to the bar. The sound set my heart racing. I couldn’t have been thinking clearly because instead of getting as far away from the fight as I could, I straightened up, and wandered closer.
Two large men, broad shouldered, barrel chested, and hairy with wild hair and full, bushy beards had cornered another man, smaller, but still with the same characteristics. I must have been drunker than I’d realized because it sounded to me like they were growling at the other man. The self-preservation part of my brain screamed at me to run, to get away from there as fast as I could, to forget that I had ever seen anything. But my feet stayed rooted to the ground, and I continued to stare at the fight in progress.
One of the men advanced, flexing his hands as if he had claws attached to the ends of each finger instead of fingernails. He made a slashing motion in the air, and the other man howled in pain. I let out a shriek before clapping a hand over my mouth, as if I could hold the sound inside. The two men turned, momentarily distracted from the original object of their rage. When they turned their eyes on me, I could see them flash yellow under the streetlight. I began to back away as they moved toward me. Surely I could make it back to the bar before they caught up with me.
But for some reason I couldn’t move fast enough, I felt like I was slogging through wet cement. As I frantically scrambled to get out of the alley, to get onto the light of the main street, near buildings, near people, near safety, I could practically feel the heat of the first man’s breath on the back of my neck. Dog breath. The change in thinking jolted me out of slow motion movement, and I felt a burst of energy.
Still, I knew that it wasn’t going to be enough. My heart sank, and horror spread through me as I realized that I was going to be beaten or worse. There was nothing I could do. Just when I thought that I was going to give up, strong arms grabbed me from the side, and rolled me out of the way. My right shoulder hit the pavement hard, but the rest of my body was cushioned against the body of the unknown man, my savior.
“Stay here, and keep down,” the man said, in a low, gravelly voice. There was just a moment when their eyes met before he ran back into the fray, but I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my veins. I could see something in the depths of his eyes that I recognized, something that was mirrored back at me from my own heart.
I rolled over onto my stomach, my shoulder throbbing as I moved, but I lifted my head enough to see the man who had saved me charge the two men who had threatened to attack me. I could hardly believe my eyes as I watched him flip, twist, and kick the two men into submission. The two turned and ran up the block with their proverbial tails tucked between their legs.
When he seemed satisfied that the men weren’t coming back, he walked back over to me. He reached down, and helped me to my feet. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I…I’m, um, my shoulder hurts,” I stammered.
“We need to get out of here,” he said.
I stared at him in disbelief. “I don’t know you,” I said even though there were so many other things that I wanted to say. I wanted to tell him that I would be fine, that I’d just go back to the bar, that I’d go home, but I had a feeling, deep in the pit of my stomach that answer wasn’t going to be good enough.
“My name is Chase Volka. You saw something that you shouldn’t have seen, and there are plenty of people that will want to make sure that you don’t stay alive to tell anyone about it. Now, please, come with me. I can get you to safety, and then we can come up with a plan to keep you safe,” he said.
From the look on the man’s handsome face, I decided to follow my instincts, and trust him. “I’m Kelsey. Okay, let’s go.”
CHAPTER 2
When I was settled in the front seat of a large, black SUV with tinted windows, I began to wonder if I had made the right decision. Chase had his eyes on the road, and one hand tapped the wheel while he rubbed his beard with the other hand. Even though I had just met him, I trusted him, whether or not that was a stupid idea. I felt like I had known him for years. That didn’t stop me from wondering where we were headed or what was going on.
Chase steered the SUV south out of Rapid City, glancing in the rear view mirror every few seconds. Suddenly he hunched forward over the steering wheel, and made a sharp right down a side street that barely had any lights. Being thrust into sudden shadow made my stomach twist. I swallowed hard as I gave him a sideways glance. Most of his face was hidden in darkness as he killed the headlights and turned off the car. He kept his eyes trained on the mirror. I had to fight every urge within me not to turn around to look.
Finally, I couldn’t take the tension any longer. “What’s going on?” I asked in a whisper.
“Shhh,” Chase hissed.
Fear lanced through my belly, and I hunched myself down in the seat as far as I could go, holding my breath until Chase leaned back in his seat. Slowly he restarted the car, did a U-turn, and pulled the car back out of the side street. Only once we were back on the busy main road did he flip on his lights.
My stomach was still churning with anxiety as he headed out of town. Once we were on
the curving roads, flying past tourist attractions closed for the season, did I dare to ask, “What is going on?”
Chase ran a hand along his scruffy beard again, and sighed. “I had to make sure we weren’t being followed. Those two men that you encountered will want to find me…and you as well. You saw far more than you should have seen. That means you are in danger. Probably more danger than I’m in.”
I shifted uneasily in the passenger seat. Every instinct inside of me told me that he was telling me the truth, and that made me more nervous than if I’d realized that he was lying to me. Looking at him sitting beside me now, I could see the weariness lining his face. There were so many questions running through my mind, I felt at a loss as to what to ask first.
Thankfully, Chase seemed to relax the further out of Rapid City we drove. A few minutes later he veered off the main road onto an exit that as far as I knew led to an abandoned town. He killed the lights a moment later.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
Chase looked over at me, appraisingly. He seemed to be trying to decide whether or not he wanted to tell me something. Finally, he sighed. “The less you know about everything the better. They might go easier on you if they think you’re just a pawn. Besides, that way if they catch us and question you, then at least you won’t have to lie.”
“Lie about what?” I asked, unable to keep the exasperation out of my voice. “I don’t care what kind of weird connection we seem to have or the fact that I’m indebted to you for saving me, I deserve to know what’s going on. Besides I really don’t have any idea what I saw back there in Rapid City. There were just two guys ready to attack some other guy, and you kicked their butts.”
