by C. L. Stone
A burning need was running through the house as Monday morning approached. The guys were dying to shift, and Ellie was chomping at the bit to see her bears. She was hurt that she hadn’t been able to see them, even if she was having a blast getting to know the guys. Still, she wouldn’t ask them to leave just to see her bears, until Monday morning, when a solution was offered.
Torben noticed how often Ellie would stare wistfully out the window, though it wasn’t hard to figure out why. “Ellie, the guys and I were thinking about going into town today to see some friends. Why don’t you go for a walk? I bet your bears are out there just waiting for you to go looking for them.”
“That’s a great idea! I’ll go get my walking shoes!”
Ellie popped up, but Torben held up a hand. “You may want to wait until we leave, if they see us, they’ll just run off. I’ll get the guys. I think they’re almost ready to head out.” Of course, the guys weren’t really going out to see friends.
“Dov, Mathin? It’s time, Ellie needs to see her bears. Just throw on some clothes, we’re going to make a show of leaving before heading into the woods to shift. Let’s go.” Picking the first t-shirt he found in his closet and a pair of semi-clean shorts, Torben dressed in his room. They all met in the living room when they were ready. Mathin made a point of holding onto his car keys. Clever bear.
“Okay, Ellie, we’re heading out. Give us ten minutes to get out of the area. I think Julia said they tend to hang out in the woods out back, I’d start in that direction.” Smiling, they waved and off they went. When they were out of sight of the house, they pulled off their clothes and shifted. It felt so good to slide into their other skins, they almost forgot to hurry around back before Ellie went out.
They met her a quarter mile from the house where there were lots of woods to play in, because there was a special spot they liked to visit as kids. There was a small creek that even had a tiny waterfall. As bears, they used to catch things in the water to amuse Ellie, like the little crawdads that lived in Missouri streams.
Ellie spotted her bears. “There you are.” She couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her lips. They were so much bigger than before, but still so familiar. Seeing them felt like coming home, she sat down on the bank beside the stream, letting them approach her. She trusted them, but it’d been so long she didn’t want them to be startled by her.
Mathin approached her first and nosed the side of her face, tickling her. “Oh Mathin.” Ellie turned her face into his side as tears sprouted from her eyes. “I missed you all so much!” Her words were barely audible through his fur. She sobbed and sobbed, not sure where all the tears were coming from. Torben and Dov shuffled closer. Torben wound up sitting behind her, pressing slightly into her, so she knew he was there. Dov rested his head ever so lightly on her leg. He hated seeing her cry, but it was great to finally have her treat them like friends.
A good half an hour Ellie cried, holding onto Mathin, before she pulled herself together enough to kiss the top of Dov’s head. It surprised them all, causing a rumble of approval to bellow from Dov’s chest. He liked the feel of her lips against him. His mate. He knew Mathin was right, he felt it under his skin whenever she was near; it was like a buzzing, but more pleasant. He felt a tug in his heart that could only mean one thing—she was his—it had been subtle as children, but as adults? He practically vibrated with it. His instincts pushed him to claim her, to make her his, but he pushed it down. He needed to be content with just touching her, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile.
Mathin moved away to give the others time to touch her and waded into the creek, jumping and splashing just like when they were cubs. Torben moved to sit in front of Ellie, licking her face just like they all did when they were kids. Her skin was smooth and soft, but his bear tongue was rough, so he was extra gentle.
“Torben, my lovely bear. Have you kept these two in line all these years?” He wished he could reply to her or nod his head, but he didn’t want to scare her. Instead, he titled his head in the way animals do when they don’t understand what you’re saying. “I bet you have, you always were such a good boy.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek—Mathin barreled out of the water and galloped to her dripping wet. “I’m not going to kiss you! You’re soaked!” She laughed.
Not to be left out, he licked her from chin to forehead. “Mathin!” Ellie screeched, wiping at her face and brushed off the water he’d dripped on her. “You’re very happy with yourself, aren’t you?” She laughed, even as she wiped her face. “I missed you too, but back into the water with you! You had your time.” Lightly shoving him, Mathin didn’t move an inch as Ellie tried to force him into the water. Torben came to her rescue, dragging his cousin into the water, before dunking him good.
Moving to cuddle Dov’s head back in her lap, she said, “Dov, my sweet bear, I may have missed you the most…” She sniffled, once again holding back tears. “You never did play quite like the others. I’ve been so worried about you.” Dov didn’t know what to do, as a bear he was even more limited when it came to communication. He and his cousins could speak to people without words, but he didn’t dare do it with Ellie—maybe someday, but for now he needed to comfort her in silence. Careful to keep his claws away from her skin, he lifted his head from her lap and pulled her onto his belly. “Oh, Dov!” Ellie looked around surprised. They’d never done this before, and he was so much bigger now. She slowed her breathing and looked around, it was almost like sitting on top of a horse, except she was lying flat on his belly.
Ellie laid her head down on his chest, her face turned to the side, content to listen to his heart beating steadily beneath her. She felt like purring and it was hard not to fall asleep even as her tears dried on her cheeks. She didn’t need words with her bears, she could feel their emotions, and she knew they felt hers. The day grew older and Ellie drifted off to sleep, Dov held still, feeling his mate dozing upon his chest. Her sweet scent calling to him, he wanted to tell her what they were, who they were.
“Guys?” He spoke to their thoughts.
“You got the prize today, huh Dov?” Mathin was a bit green with envy.
“I want to keep her. Everything inside me screams to make her mine.” Dov squeezed his eyes shut.
“You’re not the only one. It’s hard to keep my paws to myself,” Mathin said.
“Be serious guys, she doesn’t even know who we are.” Torben said what they all needed to hear.
“Why? Why can’t we tell her? She plays with bears! She’s asleep on the chest of a grown male bear! Make me understand, Torben, because I don’t see it.” Dov fidgeted, even as he maintained Ellie’s perch on his stomach. “I want her so much, it hurts.”
“We all do. I’ll admit it, she’s our mate, there’s no other explanation. Look, even if she would understand us being werebears…do you really think she’d let us share her? Don’t forget she still has a boyfriend.” Torben growled out loud, and the others echoed it in their minds.
“He can be taken care of…”
“Think before you speak Mathin, the only way he’s gone from her life, is if she says so.” Torben turned his body to glare at him.
“Sorry, you know I wasn’t meaning that.” Mathin hung his massive head.
Torben sighed, as best as a bear could. “I know, but we have to be careful. The human boy is no match for us, we can’t be making threats for no reason. That’s not who we were raised to be, it’s not the bear way.”
Dov echoed the sigh heavily. “This is going to make me sound like a dick, but I really have to piss.”
Mathin laughed hysterically in his head. “That’s what you get for stealing all her attention.”
“Me? Who’s the one who got her wet? Shit. I didn’t mean it like that, I’d like to…no—we’re not going there. We’re going to have to wake her up. This line of conversation, and my need to pee is going to be evident to her real soon if I don’t roll over.” Torben raced up and nudged Ellie with his nose several times.
&nbs
p; “What? Oh! Sorry, Dov, I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.” Kissing his nose gently, she climbed down, landing softly on her feet. “Thanks Sweetie, I needed that.” Dov nudged her side affectionately before heading off into the woods to take care of business, then he decided he needed a dip in the stream when he got back. She didn’t need to see her bear aroused, better to keep that for his human form…or rather, not.
“Mathin, Torben, do you think I should move here? I haven’t told anyone, but I’d like to live here when I graduate college. Sooner, if I thought I could convince my dad.” She sighed. “I wish you could speak to me, there’s something I’d love to ask you. Why don’t you like men? The guys living with Maw-Maw are really nice. Don’t be jealous, but they’re really hot too. I saw Ryder in the bathroom with only a towel on…I thought I was going to melt.” Mathin gave a snort. “I said not to be jealous, you know you three will always be my favorite men…even if you are bears.”
Torben sat beside her, leaning slightly toward her, but not giving her any of his weight. “Am I pretty, Torben?” He licked her face. “I’ll take that as a yes, I wonder if the guys think so, I’ve never been with a guy…my boyfriend keeps pushing, but I just don’t feel like he’s the one. Those guys though…” Ellie threw her head back, leaning her weight on her hands behind her. Torben growled softly at the thought of her boyfriend pushing her to have sex, Ellie patted his head.
Torben bit his tongue, Mathin slipped under the water to avoid speaking to her, and Dov was singing songs in his head to drown out their thoughts. They wanted her and she wanted them, maybe not as much as they wanted her, but she felt it too. They needed to convince her to ditch the boyfriend. He sounded like a creep who only wanted to take advantage of her. Sure they wanted her body too, but they wanted to worship her, to protect her. Mates were cherished by bears; they were loyal for life. The guys longed to share their secret with her, if only they could be sure she’d understand, if they knew she’d accept them all.
It would tear them apart if she chose just one of them. A bear couldn’t live without their mate, and they had a few years to win her. After that, they’d slowly sink into a depression so deep, few ever climbed out. Dov remembered seeing it when they were young. A man had lost his mate to another while their community had believed him to be dead, he’d challenged her new husband and lost. Still, he couldn’t leave her, so he remained in their community slowly slipping into madness, just to catch a glimpse of her every day.
Humans mating bears wasn’t something that happened often, then again, they’d never heard of a human woman being mated to three bears either. They were in unchartered territory without a map. Mathin had considered trying to track down the werebear colony in the north, but Torben had reined him in since they didn’t even know if the other bears were friendly. Dov’s mother had been desperate when she’d headed out to find them, they weren’t desperate now, there was still hope. No sense in bringing bigger problems down on their heads. They didn’t remember all the laws of their people, they were probably breaking plenty just living with Julia. The other bears might seek to punish them, or harm Ellie, they couldn’t take that chance.
I wish I were like them. “I wonder what it would be like if I were a bear…you guys would take me in, right? I’m sure you would, you always treated me like one of your own. I don’t know the responsibilities of a female bear, but I’m sure I could do it.” Ellie grinned. Mathin bit his tongue harder, and Dov moved from mentally singing ballads to rock songs trying to drown out his dirty thoughts. They shouldn’t tell her; they really couldn’t tell her—she would make a phenomenal bear. She was very protective of the ones she loved, for starters; they were dying to mate with her, for another, and as for what she could do as a bear…she’d be kept very busy if they had anything to say about it.
“It’s getting hot, Mathin make room! I’m coming in.” Ellie started pulling off her top and jeans before jumping in the water. Three bears were left deciding whether they’d just died and gone to heaven or been sentenced to their own personal hell—she was a goddess half naked. Mathin didn’t even blink as she splashed him with muddy water. A little dirt in his eye was worth it. He wanted to remember this moment clearly, forever. Dov picked up her shirt gently in his teeth before taking it with him, he held it carefully above him so it didn’t get wet. Ever so slowly he walked it over to Ellie, he didn’t want to, but he couldn’t let her bare herself to them without knowing what she was doing. That didn’t mean he didn’t look his fill, his eyes would be sore later from staring so hard, but he couldn’t in good conscious let her continue. He thanked his maker she didn’t decide to go skinny dipping; he might have had a heart attack.
“Are you trying to get me to be modest, Dov? That’s sweet. I don’t feel the need around you, I almost took it all off, but I wouldn’t want anyone to come up on us like that.” Ellie was joking as she didn’t really think Dov knew what he was doing, but he had brought her the shirt. She reluctantly took her top and slipped it over her head. Rejected by a bear.
They all played in the stream to cool off, splashing and diving. Ellie was having a blast, but the fabric of her shirt was thin. The more she splashed and played with the guys, the more transparent it became. Instead of covering her, it began to reveal more than it concealed. Only now, with the relative safety of her shirt covering her, she was less concerned when her bra straps started sliding down her arms. Cleavage was all Dov could see, but he couldn’t take it anymore. Shaking out his coat, he hopped onto the bank. He turned his back to them before calling to the other guys.
“Don’t take advantage, get your sorry asses up here.” Dov grumbled in their minds.
“Alright, alright, but wow! Her breasts are like—”
Dov growled. “Enough!”
“We get it, really, let’s go back, I need a cold shower.” Dov grumbled as he shook out his fur.
Torben swung to face him. “The stream not cold enough for you?”
“Not with her lovely body so close.” He sighed.
“Ha, me too, I just wanted to hear you admit it.” Pulling himself free of the water, Torben ambled up the bank and sat beside Dov. “Alright, your turn, Mathin.”
He stood slowly. “Mathin? You too?” Ellie stuck out her bottom lip. Why?
“You guys owe me.” He almost walked backwards up the land. “She’s resplendent, watching her is better than cliff diving.”
“Better than cars.” Dov grunted.
“Better than everything.” Torben itched to return to Ellie.
“Don’t turn around, Torben, be strong.” Dov nudged Torben as he leaned over to get one last look.
Mathin sat beside them. “We need to claim her.”
“Agreed,” they said.
3
The next couple weeks were wonderful for Ellie, because she played with her bears on days the guys went into the city, and hung out with the guys when they were home. Julia taught her more about being a veterinarian in the sticks on her days off. Things only went south when the boyfriend called a couple of times. Dov wanted to break her phone, but Torben convinced him not to. They were sitting down for dinner when Josh called again.
“Hey, Baby, how’s my girl?”
Please not now. “I’m having a good time, but now’s not really—”
“I’ve got a surprise for you.” His tone was so cocky, Ellie rolled her eyes.
“Oh? What’s that?” This can’t be good.
“I’m planning a trip to come see you. I was thinking a romantic night in the woods isn’t such a bad idea. I can bring some booze…maybe we can finally seal the deal.” Josh thought he was smooth. Dov thought he was going to be a dead man. Bear hearing meant everyone at the table—with the exception of Julia—knew exactly what was being said on both sides of the line. Dov clinched his fists and looked at Mathin, who was tapping his leg in a nervous tick, even Torben was gritting his teeth. This kid didn’t know what he’d be walking in to.
“I don’t think that’s a
good idea, Josh…” My bears would rip your ass to shreds.
“Babe, when are you gonna get over this thing of yours? We’re good together and I can make you feel so—”
The phone was ripped out of Ellie’s hands and shut off. Dov’s face was red, but he gently handed the phone back to Ellie. Sitting back down, he took a drink from his glass.
“Okay, not that I wasn’t thinking of hanging up on him, but what the hell?” Ellie pushed Dov’s shoulder, not that he budged an inch.
Dov signed wildly.
“I can’t understand all that.” Ellie stomped out of the room, grabbed the erase board, and put it in front of Dov. “Write.”
The pen flew across the board. “You deserve better than him. We can all tell what’s going on. Why don’t you break up with him?”
“I should! I know that! But that’s for me to decide.” Ellie collapsed onto her chair. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”
“I’m sorry,” he signed.
“Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes looking away. “I know you were only trying to help.”
“Are you going to break up with him?” Mathin watched her phone light up again.
Torben grabbed the phone, placing it in her hand. “Do it now.”
“Ya think? Geeze guys just let me make up my own mind.” Ellie sighed. When a few minutes passed and no one said a word, she tossed the phone on the table.
Julia stared into Ellie’s eyes. “Honey, I think you know what you want to do, don’t let him pressure you anymore.” Ellie sat staring at the phone till it stopped ringing. No one moved an inch. The phone lit up again, and Ellie stood up.
I know, I know. “You guys are right. I should have done this months ago. I’ll be in the living room, don’t bother waiting on me to finish eating.” She looked at her phone with a sneer, like the device was Josh, but picked it up and left quietly.
“I’ve never seen her like this.” Julia smacked the table. “I don’t know what that boy’s done to her, but I know you boys will set it right.” She eyed them knowingly.
