by Sable Sylvan
She felt a breath against her clean hair. She looked up. Damien was up. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her up. “Having enough fun without me?” asked Damien, giving Crystal a kiss on the cheek.
“Not enough fun,” said Crystal, kissing Damien back on his cheek. “But I’m guessing you have more activities in store for today, given we could take baths and nap back up in Seattle.”
“Trust me, sugar, once I show you my Port Jameson, you won’t want to leave,” said Damien, stretching and pressing his hands behind his back as he stretched, moving his neck left and right before yawning and rubbing the last of his sleep out of his eyes. “So should we get ready?”
“Sure,” said Crystal, getting up and stretching too. “But Damien?”
“Yeah?” asked Damien, looking back at Crystal as he got up off the bed.
“I already don’t want to leave Port Jameson...ever,” said Crystal, pulling Damien close as he walked around the bed to their stuff before kissing him on the cheek and pulling him in for a big hug, pressing her cheek against his chest, even though she had to get on her tippy-toes to do so.
“I don’t either,” said Damien, running his hands through Crystal’s hair and smelling the top of her clean head. “I don’t either.”
Damien and Crystal got changed into fresh clothes before they headed into his SUV. The outside world was much brighter than it had been when they arrived in Port Jameson in the dead of night. It was nearly September and Port Jameson’s leaves were only just starting to turn. The air smelled fresher than the air of crowded Seattle, and their car was the only one they saw until they hit town, which had more people walking on foot than driving via cars.
“Tell me you’re in the mood for breakfast,” said Damien.
“Of course I am, we haven’t had anything to eat since last night,” said Crystal, clutching her empty stomach. “I’m famished!”
“Calm down, drama queen, I know just the place...but you have to promise you won’t leave a bite on your plate untouched,” said Damien.
“Of course I won’t,” said Crystal.
Damien drove them through the town, from one end to the other, where they pulled into an old-fashioned diner. “The...Bear Plate Diner?” said Crystal.
“They make the best marion berry pancakes in town,” promised Damien. “Trust me, after you have these, you won’t ever confuse marion berries and blackberries again.”
Twenty minutes later, Crystal and Damien had a stack of large, fluffy purple pancakes each, along with a healthy side of bacon and eggs, and two cups of coffee that, after last night’s fun, they definitely needed. “Why are the pancakes purple?” asked Crystal, as she buttered her pancakes.
“Well, you ever make blueberry pancakes?” asked Damien.
“Yeah, and they don’t turn out bright blue,” said Crystal.
“Exactly,” said Damien. “Because you just drop whole berries in the batter. Here, they actually blend a fruit purée into the batter, so you get this gorgeous purple color, and marion berry deliciousness in every bite.”
Crystal took a bite of the pancakes. Not only were they as berrylicious as Damien had promised, they were also hot and fluffy and melted in her mouth. “Oh, these are rich,” said Crystal. “Amazing. Trust me, I won’t leave a single bite untouched.”
“I knew you’d love this place,” said Damien. “Trust me, the day’s just beginning.”
Crystal and Damien, stuffed from a breakfast that was practically a brunch, headed down to Port Jameson’s main drag, where Damien parked the car, and the pair walked, hand in hand, window-shopping and dipping into small stores. Crystal looked at lots of things, from fluffy balls of specialty yarn to freshly-baked honey-buns, but didn’t buy anything, although Damien offered to get her things...but when he saw her take special notice in things, he took notes in his head to remind himself of these moments at a later date. By the time they’d visited every last store in Port Jameson, from fancy plus-size shops to a marion berry lemonade stand, the sun was near setting, and Damien had yet another surprise for Crystal.
They got back in the car and headed down to the town park, where there were a series of food trucks set up. Damien opened up the back of his car and pulled out a large duffle bag and two folding chairs, as well as a small folding table. He carried all the items and set them up on the park’s green, in front of what looked like a large inflatable castle, except it was just a single big grey monolith in the middle of the park, with two speakers flanking it.
“Is there a movie showing tonight?” asked Crystal.
“How’d you guess?” asked Damien sarcastically. “Can you watch our stuff? I’ll get the food.”
“Alright, that works for me,” said Crystal. “You know what I like.”
“Everything,” said Damien, with a wink, before he headed off to the food trucks.
Crystal went through the bags. First, she undid the chairs, and set them up on the grass. Then, she figured out which blanket should go on the ground (the one with a thick plasticky backing, of course), and she set up plaid flannel blankets on their chairs. The entire day had been great, and now, ending it with a movie was picture perfect.
Crystal sat in the chair and covered herself with a blanket. She looked over at the food trucks. There was a truck selling marion berries and lemonade, just like the stand on the main street, and there was a sushi truck, a Mexican food truck, a truck selling American fast food, and one selling carnival food. There was also a relatively large crowd, and it was hard for her to find Damien, because although he stood out in Seattle, he looked like a lot of people down in Port Jameson, especially from behind, given that all he was wearing that day was a plain white shirt and navy shorts.
“Hey,” said a voice. Crystal turned. In front of her were two men, tall, with matching brown and gray hair, although they looked to be around her age. They were tall, muscular, and had tattoos on their necks. Lean, with devilish grins, they were wolf shifters, no doubt. One of Tangie’s exes had been a wolf shifter, and she knew the look.
“Hey,” said Crystal. “Can I help you?”
“I’m sure you can,” said the other wolf shifter. “Or maybe, we could help you. After all, you look like you could use some friends.”
“Yeah, some friends,” said the first wolf. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing sitting here, alone? You know, you don’t look like you’re from around here...what’d you say your name was?”
“I didn’t,” said Crystal, turning back to look for Damien. Where the frikkin’ heck was he? The crowd was thickening by the minute, and the last thing she thought was that she’d run into this kind of trouble in Port Frikkin’ Jameson.
“Hey, pretty girl,” said the first wolf, walking closer and blocking her view. “Come on. Let’s play. If you’re nice, you can pet us...wherever you want.” The wolf grabbed at his crotch.
Crystal got up to leave. Damien would understand why she had to leave the spot. But, before she could walk away, the second wolf was in her face.
“Move,” ordered Crystal.
“Make me,” said the wolf.
Crystal turned, but the wolves circled her, refusing to let her pass. “Hey, move it! What’s the big idea?” asked Crystal.
“Come on, pretty human, just play with us,” said one of the wolves, licking his lips. All the spinning was making Crystal dizzy, and she couldn’t tell them apart.
“Stop it!” shouted Crystal. “Help! Somebody help me!”
Before anyone could answer Crystal’s cries, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Damien. He was holding armfuls of food and searching and looking for Crystal.
“Damien!” shouted Crystal, hoping he could hear her, even though the park was loud and noisy with people hustling and bustling. “Damien!”
Crystal saw Damien’s head move as he angled his ears to hear her, and she then saw him turn to face their spot...and then, she saw Damien drop the items in his arms, and start running, not walking, not briskly walking, but running,
over to the wolves...
...And mid run, she saw Damien do something amazing.
Damien got down on all fours and rolled, and mid roll, his clothes all came off. No, they didn’t come off...they exploded off of his body, turning into tattered scraps of fabric, as what burst forth was not a man, but a bear, and not just a bear, but a half-ton war machine covered in a layer of thick brown fur, sporting a set of eyes that weren’t warm and caring like the eyes of Damien the lover, but which were filled with fire and brimstone like a bear out of Hell, as this was Damien the protector, and he was pissed.
The two wolves backed away from Crystal, but not to let Damien get to her...but to shift into their forms. As soon as they stepped back from her, they shifted, into their wolf forms, the forms twice the size of a normal wolf, but still half the size of the bear. What they lacked in size they more than made up for in agility...and they technically had the numbers benefit.
The bear roared at the wolves, and locked eyes with Crystal and motioned for her to walk over to its side, but as soon as she moved, the wolves snapped at her and showed their fangs before growling.
Threatening the woman he wanted. That was all it took for Damien to snap. He lunged forward and swiped at the wolves, who turned and snapped at him. Crystal walked into the ring of people that had formed, a group that was oddly quiet. She looked: there was a shirtless man with a symbol on his chest. She carefully walked up to him and got his attention. “What do we do? We’ve got to stop them!” she said.
The man looked down and shook his head before chuckling. “You must really not be from around here.”
“They’re going to kill each other!” said Crystal.
“Kill each other? Heck, I’d be surprised if anyone even broke a bone,” said the man. “Wolves, they’re all bark, no bite, and bears...well, let me tell you. We can take wolves. Easily.”
“Even two at a time?” asked Crystal.
“Your man’s gonna be fine,” said the shifter. “Just watch.”
Crystal turned and watched the scene that was going on.
The wolves circled back and forth, walking back and forth around Damien, who was tense, on all fours, and waiting, watching, a land mine made of fur, ready to explode at any second. To the wolves, it was obvious this was a game, but to Damien, it was a war, but he kept his head together.
The bear inside roared. If only Damien had claimed Crystal, protected her, then she wouldn’t’ve had to deal with these assholes, the men who could barely be called more than the animals they shifted into, who were more dogs than wolves, although to call them dogs would be an insult to man’s furry friends. No, these men were just scumbags, who were going after the most gorgeous girl they’d ever seen because she was alone and vulnerable, but they had no idea that, in front of a beast like Damien, they were more vulnerable than they’d been in their entire lives, even if they weren’t alone.
One of the wolves looked at the other and barked something, and that was Damien’s in. He lunged forward, smacking the wolf in the face, before rolling over the wolf, pinning the wolf down while the other, lunging at Damien instinctively, was easily swiped away. Damien had waited for the wolves to lose their concentration and then, lose their cool, and of course, it had happened, because these pea-brained scumbags had no idea what they were messing with.
Damien roared, and kept smacking the wolves in the face with his big paws, before finally, the wolves wriggled free and shifted out of their wolf forms, their musculature and skeletal structure changing and their fur receding until they were just meek humans, with a few scratches on their body and marks that would surely turn to bruises. “Alright, alright, we got it!” said the now-human wolf shifters.
Damien didn’t hit them after they’d started to turn human. He just watched as they gathered their wallets and keys, and the scraps of their clothes, and walked, naked, out of the circle. Damien stayed in his bear form and walked over to Crystal, looking her over, sniffing for any blood, which made Crystal laugh, as the crowd dispersed.
“Gee whiz, you’re more like a dog than they were,” said Crystal. “But...now, you don’t have any clothes.”
Damien got on his hind legs and pointed, towards the parking lot. “Oh, okay,” said Crystal. “But let’s get your keys first.” Crystal walked over to the place where Damien had shifted. His wallet and keys were in the pile previously known as ‘his pants’, and she took them and they walked, big beautiful woman and big damn bear, over to the parking lot. As Crystal opened the car, Damien shifted out, so he was nude and standing by the trunk of the car.
Crystal looked over Damien. “Jeeze, Damien, you look awful,” she said.
“Really?” asked Damien, looking over his body.
“Well, not awful, but not great,” said Crystal, walking around Damien. “They left looking awful, but you, well...you better get those wounds cleaned up.”
“I’m fine, really,” said Damien with a laugh. “They’re just scratches. I promise.”
“Come on, there’s a med tent at the park...go there for me?” asked Crystal.
“Fine, fine,” said Damien. “But let’s get me a spare change of clothes first.” He opened the back of the car and went through yet another one of his duffle bags, pulling out a pair of underwear, shorts, and another white shirt, as well as a pair of flip flops, as the sandals he’d worn before shifting had burst into smithereens.
“You keep a spare change of clothes in your car?” asked Crystal.
“Not just one, at least five,” said Damien. “You never know when you might run into trouble.”
“Or when trouble might run into you,” said Crystal.
“Crystal...those guys, they didn’t do anything to you, did they?” asked Damien. He hadn’t smelled blood on Crystal, but that didn’t mean she was okay.
“No, I’m fine, they didn’t touch me,” said Crystal.
“That’s not what I mean,” said Damien. “Are you feeling okay? Are you shaken up?”
“No, Damien, I’m fine, they were just jerks, that’s all,” said Crystal. “I was really more worried about you.”
“About me? But, I’m a big, bad bear,” said Damien. “I can handle anything.”
“Well, I can’t handle anything,” said Crystal.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Damien.
“It’s just...if anything had happened to you, I’d have blamed myself,” said Crystal. “And now, with those scratches and bruises, I just...I feel like it’s all my fault.” Her eyes were welling with tears that she’d held back, and she couldn’t hold them back anymore. She started crying, at first, quietly, but then, she felt her lips quiver, and she had to sit with Damien in the back of the car, as he held her.
“Shh, it’s gonna be fine,” said Damien. “Crystal...do you wanna just go back home?”
“We had a date planned though,” said Crystal, wiping her eyes.
“Screw the date, any evening with you, anywhere, is special,” said Damien. “Let’s go home. We can order a pizza, watch something on the television. And, bonus, I’ll let you clean me up.”
“Really?” asked Crystal. “You’ll even let me use antibiotic cream?”
“A gallon full,” promised Damien.
Damien and Crystal went back to the park. Damien cleaned up the mess left from when he had burst into his shift, and Crystal packed up their chairs and blankets, leaving the spot open for a tall bear shifter couple and their den of kids. The pair got back in the SUV and drove up to the house. While Crystal got changed into her pajama tank top and shorts, Damien ordered them a pizza and set up the TV. Crystal looked through movies and by the time she’d selected a rom-com and cleaned and bandaged up Damien properly, their order had arrived.
Damien held Crystal close during the movie, reminding her he was there keeping her safe during the entire movie, holding her hands, her curves, her everything, in his arms. She was so tense in his arms, and remembering what those wolves had dared to do to his beautiful lover made his
heart race, but he tried to keep it together for Crystal. As long as she had no idea how angry he’d been, she’d be fine. By the time they polished off the pizza and finished off the movie, he could feel that Crystal had relaxed. He rubbed her shoulders and felt the stress of the day melt away from her body, and just taking care of Crystal made his own anxiety disperse too.
The movie ended, but Crystal didn’t bother selecting another movie. She turned, to look at the man who had been holding her on the couch for the whole movie, and ran her fingers over his face. There was a slight scratch on his cheek, but it was already healing over nicely. “I hope you don’t scar,” said Crystal softly, biting her lower lip.
“I’ll be fine, I promise,” said Damien.
“Well, try not to get in any more fights this weekend,” said Crystal.
“I’ll try not to,” said Damien. “And trust me. You’re a girl that’s worth fighting for, Crystal.” He pulled her close so that she was lying over him, and he kissed her deeply, their lips locking, tongues touching, and heat melding them together.
Damien rolled, pressing Crystal beneath him as he kissed her even more deeply. He pulled away and pushed her hair out of her face. Crystal was so gorgeous, a woman who was beautiful inside and out, who was fun and adventurous but also grateful and caring, really the complete package, and defending her honor...well, he’d have fought those wolves ten thousand times over just to make sure she didn’t stop smiling.
Chapter Six
Damien looked over Crystal. In her thin pajamas, underneath him, lips waiting for more kisses, everything was perfect...everything, except the setting. Damien got up off the couch.
Crystal got on her elbows. “Damien?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
