Marrying The Bear (Gray Bears 1)

by Natalie Kristen

  MARRYING THE BEAR

  By

  Natalie Kristen

  BEAR HEAT series

  Bear's Bride (Book 1)

  Bear's Kiss (Book 2)

  Bear's Claim (Book 3)

  Bear's Baby (Book 4)

  Bear's Heart (Book 5)

  GRAY BEARS series

  Marrying The Bear (Book 1)

  Loving The Bear (Book 2)

  Coming Soon!

  Copyright © 2015 Natalie Kristen

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the author's written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  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

  A wish unleashes magic, mayhem and the mating heat...

  After suffering heartbreak and betrayal, Alisa finds herself out of a job and running out of options. On a whim, she makes a wish. The wish is simple enough. She wishes to find her true love and live happily ever after.

  Tristan Gray, bear shifter and the boss of Gray's Domain, receives a call from his grandmother. Gramma Gray raised Tristan and his three brothers after their parents died, and Tristan would never deny his Gramma anything. He agrees to her odd request to drive out of Shadow Point to escort her new hire back to Broomstick Inn.

  When Alisa runs into danger, a big, growly man comes to her rescue. Tristan is sweet, sexy, tough and protective. He is everything a girl could wish for in a mate.

  But Alisa knows from experience that wishes don't come true.

  Or do they?

  As Alisa rolls up her sleeves and dives into her new job as a chef in Broomstick Inn, she realizes that she just might have discovered the recipe for her very own happily-ever-after.

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER ONE

  Alisa Perez pushed away from her small, wobbly dining table and rubbed her eyes. She threw her head back and stared at the stain on the ceiling. Slowly her tired eyes traveled from the stained ceiling to the cracks in the walls and around her tiny rented space. She looked at the peeling paint and heard the drip, drip, drip from the leaky tap in her bathroom.

  She sighed. This place wasn't much but the rent was cheap. Still, without a job, she might not be able to keep this flimsy roof over her head for much longer.

  Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, she winced and was about to spew out another vicious curse when she stopped herself in time.

  She wasn't going to waste her breath cursing and swearing at her ex-boyfriend. She had wasted years, and even more tears on that creep. Alisa clenched her teeth to stop herself from spitting out their names.

  Alisa pressed her palms to her forehead and sat down heavily on the plastic chair. Tears threatened to fall but she fought them back. She wouldn't cry. Not for them. She wouldn't cry for them, but she wanted to cry for herself. Was she really such a loser?

  Her ex-boyfriend had run off with her ex-best friend. God, she had been so blind! How could she not have known?

  And not only had the creep dumped her, he had emptied their joint account.

  Alisa stared numbly at the flickering light bulb overhead. She had no love, no friends, no money and no job. The eatery where she had worked as a fry cook had closed down unexpectedly three weeks ago. With the exploding population in the city, there were more people than jobs. She had tried to find another job, God knows she tried. But there just weren't any openings.

  With a sniff, Alisa sat up straight and stared at her battered, second-hand laptop. She had been looking through all the job sites, filling in countless e-applications. She tried not to lose hope but she knew that she would not hear back from any of those companies. She had been checking her inbox every ten minutes, but nothing arrived.

  Swallowing hard, Alisa stared at the torn calendar on the wall. The dates seemed to stretch out meaninglessly before her. Nothing was circled on the calendar. No interview dates, no important events and milestones worth celebrating, no happy holidays, nothing.

  Her adoptive parents had been kind and loving, but they had passed away. She had spent the first ten years of her life in an orphanage, and the next ten years in a loving home. Her adoptive parents weren't well off, but they loved her with all their hearts. But now she was all alone once again. She'd always been introverted and quiet, and didn't have many friends. She was so happy when she got to know Lucy, who was fun and loud and bold. And when she met Ben, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She imagined they would have a house with a white picket fence, two kids and a dog.

  She was still thinking of that lovely white house when Ben and Lucy's faces popped up in a curtained window of her fantasy house. Alisa shook her head so hard she almost fell out of her chair. What the hell! That was her dream house, her fantasy, her happily-ever-after! How the hell did they get in it! Shit, shit and shit!

  Alisa stumbled away from the table and went to splash some cold water on her face. She had to stop thinking about her loser ex-boyfriend. Ben had hurt her, but Lucy...Lucy was her best friend, and she had betrayed her.

  Alisa yanked the almost empty carton of milk out of her small fridge and gulped down the contents. She had to stop dwelling on the past and move on.

  When she'd finally stopped shaking, Alisa forced herself to sit down in front of her blinking laptop and curled her fingers over the keyboard. She had to find a job pronto. Any job.

  For just a moment, she wondered if she would be able to finally get a job she loved. She loved cooking, and she loved working in the kitchen. Being a fry cook in a modest fast food eatery was as close as she ever got to her dream job. But what if…

  Alisa's eyes drifted to the window. She could see the sharp edge of the crescent moon slicing through the clouds and the faint glimmer of stars. In her mind, she heard the lyrics of an old, beautiful song. It was from a cartoon she had watched with her parents so very long ago.

  Sighing, she rested her chin in her hands and murmured the lyrics, “When you wish upon a star…”

  With a dreamy smile, Alisa made a wish. She closed her eyes and wished with all her heart. She wished for what she wanted, more than anything else in the world.

  “...happily ever after,” she finished and opened her eyes.

  Alisa squinted at the night sky. The stars still looked the same. No star glowed brighter and no blue fairy appeared.

  Blowing out a breath, Alisa shrugged and turned back to her laptop.

  She blinked and stared at the screen, her eyes rounding.

  The stars didn't glow brighter, but her laptop screen certainly did.

  CHAPTER TWO

  There was a pop-up box at the corner of her screen that screamed, “New Job! Click here!”

  Alisa moved the cursor over to the flashing box and took a deep breath. With a loud gulp, she clicked.

  The pop-up box expanded to fill the whole screen. The screen flickered and the small white light came on at the top of her laptop which told her that her computer camera was on. Alisa scrapped her chair back and jumped up. What was this? Some sort of spyware?

  Before she could shut down her laptop, voices came over the speakers of her laptop.

  “Hello? Testing, testing...”

  “What are you doing, Neveah? Let me see!”

  “Get your hair out of my face, Glynda! Oof!”

  There were sounds of scuffling before two pairs of owlish eyes appeared on the screen. The eyes mov
ed back to reveal two excited, grinning faces.

  Alisa gasped. She watched the two smiling elderly ladies on the screen and slid slowly back into her chair.

  “Who are you?” she asked, staring at their kindly faces. They didn't look like crooks or voyeurs. They looked like sweet, little grandmothers with their silver hair and gentle eyes. They were elbowing each other as they peered into the screen.

  The two women chuckled and hi-fived each other.

  “I'm Glynda Gray,” one of the women replied. She had bright green eyes and curly white hair. “And this is my partner, Neveah Wright. My business partner. We run Broomstick Inn together.” The other woman, a blue-eyed, bespectacled woman who wore her silver hair in a bun, grinned and waved at her. Alisa waved back by raising her hand and bending her fingers stiffly. She still didn't know what this was about or if these two little old ladies were really there.

  Was this some sort of prank? Or a hunger-induced hallucination? Her last meal had been two slices of stale bread and an apple. Her fridge was empty and she didn't have enough money to go out and buy groceries. Her stomach growled to remind her of that fact.

  Glynda's green eyes flashed as if she'd heard the sound. “Oh, you poor dear,” Glynda mumbled.

  “What?” Alisa said. “What is this about? Did you click on something by mistake? What were you...”

  “Oh no, no, no. This is no mistake,” Neveah answered. “You made a wish...”

  Glynda clamped her hand over her friend's mouth and interrupted, “You're looking for something, yes?”

  “Yes,” Alisa said, still staring unblinkingly at the screen in disbelief. “I'm looking for a job. That was what I was doing when I clicked on this...”

  “A job!” Glynda clapped her hands. “Perfect!”

  “We need a chef,” Neveah said. “What's your name, dear?”

  “Alisa. Alisa Perez.”

  “Alisa, would you like to work as a chef here? In Broomstick Inn?” Glynda and Neveah asked together. They stared at her, looking so eager, anxious and hopeful. In fact, the two of them seemed to be holding their breaths.

  Alisa's eyes and mouth rounded. A chef! Did she hear correctly?

  “I...I would love to!” she spluttered at last.

  Glynda and Neveah clapped in delight. “Wonderful! Oh, this is simply wonderful!”

  Alisa watched the two women hug and congratulate each other. She should be the one doing the happy dance, but it seemed Glynda and Neveah were doing enough celebrating for the three of them. Which was a little strange. Why were they so happy to have her as a chef? They didn't even ask for her resume or anything.

  “I've only worked as a fry cook in a small eatery.” Alisa felt she should be honest with them. “And I've been out of a job for almost a month now. I don't have much...”

  Neveah waved a hand. “You'll love it here. We promise.”

  “No, I wasn't...”

  “Oh, of course!” Glynda slapped a hand to her forehead. “She thinks we're scammers!”

  Alisa gasped. “No, no, that's not...”

  “Tell you what,” Glynda said, peering intently into the screen. “We'll deposit your first month's salary into your back account right now. You don't believe you got the job? We'll prove it!”

  “Yeah.” Neveah rustled up a piece of paper and grabbed a pen. “What's your account number?”

  Alisa hesitated for half a minute. She had fifty dollars left in her account and she was hoping she didn't have to touch that last fifty. But what the heck. What harm could it do, giving these ladies her account number? What could they do, scam her out of fifty bucks?

  She told them her account number.

  “Okay, just give me a minute, Alisa,” Neveah said, pushing her glasses up her nose. “I'll transfer the money right now, and you can go check your account.” Neveah got up and disappeared from the screen.

  Glynda remained in front of the computer, smiling happily at her. She nodded at Alisa and murmured, “Really pretty. Ahh, I can't wait!” She began to giggle to herself.

  Can't wait for what?

  Alisa squirmed but decided not to ask.

  “Where is Broomstick Inn?” she asked instead.

  “Oh. Right here in Shadow Point,” Glynda said. “Neveah and I have been running Broomstick Inn for years. Neveah is my best friend, but she can be a pain in the ass sometimes.”

  Alisa smiled. She could see that the two ladies were as close as sisters. They squabbled like siblings but they were tight. Even on a computer screen she could see that. It made her feel all the more alone in the world, and she was glad that tonight she was actually talking to someone in her silent, empty apartment.

  “Have you ever been to Shadow Point?” Glynda chatted as she sipped a big mug of tea.

  “No. But I know where it is. It's a little town about eight hours' drive from where I am now. It's, um...” One of the few towns that has more paranormal than human inhabitants.

  Glynda inclined her head. “Would you feel comfortable living and working in Shadow Point? You're human, and you'll be surrounded by paranormals...”

  “No!” Alisa said immediately. “I mean, no, I don't have a problem with paranormals.” She thought briefly of Ben and Lucy. They were both human like her, yet she hadn't understood or known them at all. “I think I'll like it at Shadow Point.” A new place, a fresh start. And hopefully, a real shot at a happy life.

  Glynda smiled. “Do you drive, Alisa?” Her smile faded and she began to look worried. “It's a long drive. Maybe I should get Tristan to fetch you...”

  “No, no, I can drive there. I have a car.” She didn't tell Glynda that her car was a rattling, rickety tin can that was running on borrowed time. She had tried to sell her car, but no one would buy it.

  “But driving eight hours...” Glynda shook her head. “No, I think I'd better send Tristan over and...”

  Before she could finish, Neveah came back and announced, “The money is in your account! Go check. Now, Alisa!”

  “Um...”

  “Now,” Glynda and Neveah urged in earnest.

  “Okay, I'll just check online then.” Alisa opened another window and typed in her banking details. Her eyes bugged when she saw her bank balance. Instead of the measly fifty bucks, there was a four-figure sum in her account.

  “This...this is too much,” she whispered.

  She closed the banking window and saw that Glynda and Neveah were still huddled in front of their computer, anxiously waiting for her response.

  “So, when can you start?” Glynda asked hopefully.

  “How soon can you come to Shadow Point?” Neveah said, her eyes feverishly bright behind her glasses.

  “I...” Alisa stared at their expectant faces and sucked in a breath. She couldn't let them down. They trusted her and they were waiting for her.

  She wouldn't keep these sweet ladies waiting. She didn't want them to think that she was scamming them.

  “I'll be in Shadow Point tomorrow evening. See you at Broomstick Inn! And...thank you.” Her voice quivered as she blinked back tears. “Thank you so much, Glynda and Neveah, thank you!”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Tristan Gray was perched on the roof of a half-finished house when his phone rang. He fished the phone out of his back pocket and answered.

  “Hi, Gramma,” he said as Glynda's voice chirped exuberantly into his ear.

  “Tristan!” His grandmother always spoke rapidly, but this time she was speaking so fast he could hardly catch her words. She sounded breathless and excited, but then, Gramma got excited about a lot of things. And lately, she and Ne-ma seemed to have hatched some sort of secret plot concerning him and his three younger brothers. Neveah Wright was Gramma's best friend. They used to call her Grandma Neveah, but soon shortened it to Ne-ma.

  Gramma and Ne-ma had raised Tristan and his three brothers since their parents died when they were cubs. The Gray boys were bear shifters, but Gramma and Ne-ma w
ere witches. When their Grampa was around, he used to joke that Gramma used a love spell to snare herself a big, sexy bear.

  “...and she's driving in today! You have to make sure she's all right,” Glynda said, her voice rising over the phone.

  Tristan frowned. He couldn't catch all her words with all the hammering and drilling going on around him. They were rushing to finish this house on time, and his crew was working at a frenzied pace. Tristan owned Gray's Domain, a construction company that prided itself on building quality homes at affordable prices. They would work with the owners to understand their budget and they would design and build lovely, lasting homes for their clients.

  Jackson, his youngest brother, helped him in the business. Aidan and Mason, his middle brothers, had gone off to work and live in the city. But it seemed that Gramma had just given Aidan and Mason the order to return home.

  Tristan suspected it had something to do with that nefarious secret plan that Gramma and Ne-ma were hatching behind their backs. But for the life of him, he couldn't imagine what it was.

  “Wait, hold on, Gramma. I can't hear you,” Tristan said, scrambling down a ladder. “Hey, watch it, Jackson!” he barked at his brother as the guy almost swung a plank into his face.

  “Sorry,” Jackson said, and threw the plank up to one of the boys on the roof. Tristan's lips quirked up at a corner. His baby brother was incredibly strong. They all were. His crew weren't all bear shifters, but they were all strong and hardworking. Some of his men were human, half-fae and other shifters. None were vampires because vamps couldn't work in the sun. But the efficient, meticulous architect they worked with was a vampire.

  “Okay, what were you saying, Gramma?” Tristan said, leaning against a tree.

  “I said that Alisa is driving in from the city and she'll probably reach Shadow Point only in the late evening. I want you to drive out to the highway and wait for her car. It gets dark pretty early and I don't like her driving alone on that lonely stretch of highway in the dark. I want you to make sure she gets to Shadow Point safely,” Glynda repeated with studied patience.