Love to Bear: A Werebear Shifter Romance

by Mitchell, A. T.

  I laid her on my bed and blotted her head with cool water and lavender oil.

  With the potent liquid circling her brow, she looked refreshed, and smelled better than ever. I clenched my jaw, grasping her hand and kneeling at her side. I silently prayed she didn't have some unknown medical condition that would put her in real danger.

  Come on, beautiful girl. Wake up.

  A few minutes later, she stirred, but soon lapsed back into sleep. Unable to resist, I took her hand. I brought it to my face, and enjoyed her soft skin on my cheek.

  Her plush fingers sauntered over my stubble. The stranger had the softest, purest skin I'd ever felt – skin that wasn't toughened and scarred by raw nature.

  She was perfect.

  The bear inside me demanded much more than gentle caresses. But I couldn't satisfy him – not now. My human side kept full control, and I tried my best to act like a gentleman.

  Even so...one little kiss on the back of her hand wouldn't hurt, would it?

  My lips heated as I dragged her limp hand toward my lips. Just when I prepared to push my mouth to her ivory skin, her fingers twitched.

  I looked down. Her eyes opened, just barely, alive with weak confusion.

  I returned her hand to the bed and stood. Her eyes opened wider, the fright growing inside them as all her senses returned. She remembered what had happened, and began to scream.

  “Don't do that,” I said calmly, gently covering her mouth. “I know you're scared, and you're fully in your rights to be. I'd be terrified and ready to fight too. But you have to keep it down.”

  She relaxed, if only a little. I lifted my hand away, hoping I could trust her to keep the panic under control.

  “Why?” She murmured faintly.

  “Because the others might hear you. I'm the only one who knows you're here. And to be totally honest, you're not supposed to be.”

  She sat up and held her head with one hand. I gave her some space, guessing the traumatic transformation she'd seen had left her with one hell of a headache.

  I guessed right.

  “Gawd,” she moaned. “Sir, do you have any aspirin around here?”

  I blinked dumbly. I'd only heard the word a couple times...something the humans passed around in their offices and stores after a long day. Some kind of drug.

  “No. But maybe this will make you feel better.” I reached into the barrel of cool water at my feet and pulled out the silky wet compress.

  She grudgingly accepted it and held it to her forehead. I waited in silence, giving her some rest, trying my best not to let my eager eyes crawl up her body too much. Or too long.

  Fuck. Holding back these eyes on a body like that isn't easy.

  “Who the hell are you?” She finally said. “And where am I?”

  “Don Flood,” I said, reaching out my hand.

  Cautiously, the young woman slipped her fingers through mine. I squeezed them tight and smiled, happy to finally touch her. She returned my sly grin and my grip – and was she blushing just a little?

  “I'm Samantha Aarons. But all my friends call me 'Sam.'”

  “Sam.” I repeated her name. “Simple, yet pretty. It's nice to meet a woman whose name reflects her beauty.”

  She pulled her hand away from mine and stared at her lap. I guessed my boldness was making her uncomfortable. But damn it, I was ready to pay the price if that meant us getting closer.

  “You don't live here all alone?” She looked up, peering around my small, cozy cabin.

  I shook my head. “No. I mean, the cabin is all mine, but like I said before...it's part of a wider community. A clan.”

  “Clan?” Sam titled her head, struggling to understand like I'd spoken a foreign word. “You don't look like you belong to any of the tribes around here.”

  “No, you're right about that.” I stopped just short of spilling everything.

  No way around it. But how will she react when she knows about us? About me?

  “Don't worry. You're safe here with me.” I paused, choosing the easiest path to guide her into it. “What's the last thing you remember before you woke up?”

  Her face darkened. Only for a second. Next thing I knew, she was laughing, a light and airy sound that danced off the wooden walls.

  “It's crazy. I'm sure you'll laugh,” she whispered. “There was a bear coming after me, all teeth and claw. It was there, almost on top of me one minute. But suddenly the bear disappeared...and then there was a man. A naked man. And he looked a lot like you...”

  She raised her eyes. I gave a shallow nod.

  “It was me.” My words rang firm and direct. “That's how we travel. Clothes don't last too long when you change like that. And some of us just go into the forest naked.”

  Her eyes turned into wide dark saucers. I saw her swallow something hard, a lump passing down her sleek, too-kissable throat.

  “We?” She asked in a mousy whisper.

  “We're the Grizzly Bone Clan, Sam. And yes, what you saw yesterday afternoon was completely real. I met you in my bear form. You tried to spray me, and I turned back into a man. A naked man.”

  She fell back toward the pillows in a faint. I reached out, caught her, and saw her lips loop out in a terrified O.

  Not again. Sorry, pretty lady, but you aren't giving me any choice.

  I covered her mouth before she could release the earsplitting scream. I held my hand on her plush lips gently, smothering her shrill cries, letting her howl into my calloused palm again and again.

  When she finally stopped, I lifted my fingers away, gingerly stroking her shoulder as she trembled and sobbed erratically.

  “I'm not going to hurt you. Nobody else here will either, Sam. I swear it on my life.” I looked into her watery eyes. Adrenaline circulated around my heart in a halo and oozed into my veins.

  I was serious. Dead serious. More serious about this than anything I'd ever been serious about in my life.

  “I need to make a call,” she muttered. Her hand darted beneath the bed, toward the leather bag.

  I gave her the space she needed. I wasn't going to hold her up, though I doubted she'd get reception way out here.

  Sam rifled through the bag for over a minute. When her hands stopped moving, she looked up, twisted her face bitterly, and cursed.

  “Fucking great! I must have left it with Jenn.” She shook her head, furious at herself.

  “Don't worry. There'll be plenty of time to get you home, safe and sound. I'm not going to jump your bones or make you a snack. You can trust me, Sam.” I reached out and clasped her hand.

  She laughed uneasily. But I'd gotten her attention, and basked in the heavenly warmth of her bright eyes.

  “Your clan...you're all like this?” She asked quietly, sniffing away tears one last time.

  “Yes. Some humans who've dealt with our kind call us shifters. It's a messy term, but it works. Here, in Horseshoe Creek, everybody is a bear shifter.”

  “And you can control it?” She asked, nervous and excited at once.

  “Right. The animal only comes out when there's good reason. It's just a skill. A talent. And sometimes, a very powerful weapon. We embrace our bears to guard, to fight, to explore...it's who we really are.” I trailed off.

  I'd covered the litany of reasons why I shifted – the same reasons everybody else I knew did it too.

  “I can't believe this. Really, this is way too fucking much.” She held her hands, covering her ears like she was blotting out some terrible noise.

  “You can believe it, Sam. You're not crazy.” Slowly, I changed my angle, and kneeled deeper into her. “I only brought you here to make sure you were okay.”

  Well, that's not the whole truth. But maybe we'll get to that in time...

  I couldn't resist. I lifted up on one knee and wrapped my arms around her, flexing my muscles. Anything to make her feel supported and protected. I had to make her believe she was safe.

  “I just want to go home,” she moaned.

  De
spite the fiery confusion I sensed racing through her, she nuzzled into my chest, breathing deeply. I fought to contain my arousal. Deep in my embrace, I vowed to protect this fragile women, a spiritual oath unlike anything I'd experienced except on Harvest Night.

  And if home was the safest place for her, then so be it. I'd take her there. Just one problem with that...

  “I'll get you back where you belong in good time. As soon as I can,” I promised. “But we can't leave now.”

  “Why?” She looked up and stared at me intently.

  “The others don't know you're here. We don't normally allow humans into our territory. There are times when we visit your world...but not the other way around. We can't let the outside world know we exist, or you can guess what will happen.”

  I stared into her eyes. I saw the possibilities rippling in her gaze – the very same that ran through every Grizzly Bone shifters' worst nightmares.

  Military helicopters swooping in. Darkly dressed ninjas in night vision goggles creeping through the mountains. A man screaming behind glass in a sterile lab, rearing up and becoming a roaring bear before the electric prods stabbed into his sides.

  “I'm glad you understand. The few humans our clan interacted with in the past kept our secret. But when we come across others, more recently, it's rarely this easy.”

  Sam gave me an uneasy smile and pressed her face deep into my chest. She sighed deep, reached out, and returned my hug.

  “We'll leave this evening after I've made the rounds. Most of us turn in at night, leaving nothing but a skeletal patrol to keep away outsiders. Good thing I'm one of the guards.” I grinned, setting her at ease.

  “I know the route,” I continued. “Right through the mountain pass. Straight through the ether. Then into the park, and another hour or so down to Kalispell.”

  “There's one thing I don't understand. How do you stay hidden away like this? Seems like someone would've discovered your cabins by now. A surveyor. Or at least a plane or a satellite.”

  “Like I said, we'll be passing through the ether to get you home. That's the barrier between worlds.” I mentally chewed on her question, drawing on what little I knew. “This place is...slightly out of phase with your world. There are only special moons and seasons when you can see it from the air at all.”

  She cocked her head. Starry amazement filled her eyes.

  “That's incredible. Now, I'm not so sure I want to go home. I was looking for something special. Is this what I was meant to find?” Sam's last sentence faded below a whisper.

  I understood. The question was aimed more at herself than me. I didn't have an answer.

  In fact, I couldn't think about anything at all. Without warning, she leaned up, positioning her lips painfully close to mine, just a few inches apart.

  The shock and awe in her eyes simmered down. The beautiful bright orbs narrowed into slits, focusing on me, releasing an unmistakable arousal from her pores.

  I gently inhaled her natural perfume. It smelled as lovely as she looked.

  Human women, I mused. If only they understood how easy they are for a bear to read.

  I was glad she was easy picking. I leaned in and touched my lips to hers, kissing her deep, kissing her long.

  Our tongues met and began to twine and stroke. Sam moaned into my mouth. Her hot breath tasted like exquisite cream, sweet and addictive, forcing me to cover her lips completely with mine and lap deep between her teeth for more.

  More.

  More!

  Along my neck, her hands turned into needles. Her nails pivoted up and raked at my flesh. Attractively sharp.

  I pushed into it, giving her something to grab onto, relishing the sharp imprint of pure lust against my skin. My hands swept down, following the curve of her spine, dangerously close to the place where her soft, ample ass began.

  I was ready to rip her out of bed, straight into my arms. Or maybe dive beneath the covers myself, pinning her to the mattress, covering her body with mine and wrapping her divine legs around me.

  If only it hadn't ended so abruptly.

  Her breath formed a heavy ball and stuck in her throat. She tore away from me and coughed once, and then I saw tears rolling down her gorgeous cheeks.

  Fuck. Tell me I haven't made some strange mistake?

  My mind ran through the possibilities. I hadn't been too forward. Just as bold and predatory as human women liked. Even so, none of the few I'd enjoyed during my scouting missions into their towns had ever reacted like this...

  “What's wrong, Sam? I don't understand why you're crying.”

  She forced herself to meet my eyes. Her sobs increased another pitch when she saw the rigid crease in my forehead.

  Yeah, I was in human form, but I'm sure it looked a lot like a wild bear studying a machine or some human activity he couldn't hope to understand. Others in the clan had told me as much.

  “It's nothing,” she whimpered, wiping her nose. “You look good. So good. I just...can't. I can't bring myself to do anything like this right now. It's nothing personal. I left a bad relationship not so long ago. I'm still getting over it.”

  My heart sank a little. I gave her one last friendly squeeze and backed away.

  The human world was confounding. Shifters had all sorts of relations. Hell, we came from humans in the first place, but I'd lived long enough to understand relationships had changed a lot in the last few decades.

  Most humans didn't mate for life. They lived their lives in constant search of love, and many never found it.

  “Forget it. You need your rest. I'll get us both something good to drink. You should replenish your fluids after what you've suffered the last day.”

  I ambled over to the stove to start some tea. I felt old. As I watched the steam rise, I thought of our wiliest Elder, Emmerick, and began to understand how he must feel after a full century.

  Bad relationship, huh? What does that mean? And what kind of human idiot would throw her away?

  My inner bear bristled at the idea of someone hurting her, physically or emotionally. I spread my hands out on the thick wooden counter top in my kitchen and suppressed a growl.

  “She's probably right. It was crazy to think we'd end up...like that. Crazy to bring her back here at all.” I shook my head harshly, calming the bear with my reasonable words.

  Except just now, I wasn't feeling like I wanted to be reasonable at all.

  A sound behind me made me prick up my ears. I whirled, aggression on edge, and saw her standing shyly at the edge of my kitchen.

  The inner bear covered its teeth and landed on all fours. False alarm.

  “Yes?”

  “Sorry to barge in like this, Don. I was just wondering, uh, do you have anything to eat?”

  Finally. A request I could fulfill.

  “Hell yeah. If you like steaks.” I took several steps and popped the freezer door.

  Sam nodded enthusiastically. I grinned. My kind of girl.

  I dug into the freezer and drew out the stakes I'd carved off an elk and stored last week. I laid them out to thaw, waved her over to my tiny kitchen table, and plucked a few onions and potatoes from the pantry to go with our meat.

  Simple, but delicious. Halfway through cooking dinner, Sam made a sound like a wildcat in heat.

  “Mmmm. You didn't tell me shifters could cook. Smells delicious!” She moaned again.

  The bestial part of me – or was it just the manly one? – wondered if she was drowning her earlier desires in a different pleasure.

  “You'll love it. We only eat from nature when we can help it. Most of what we need is out here for foraging. There's just a few things we get from your world like cheese. Well, that and your technology.” I waved at the old refrigerator, humming like a trusty friend in the corner.

  She laughed. Though I'd lost my chance to strip her bare just now, hearing her happy was the best runner up prize I could imagine.

  Steaks finished, we sat together. After all this, I was pretty hungry. I dug
into the lightly salted meat and potatoes, casting the occasional glance across the table at my guest.

  Looking away from her wasn't easy. Especially when she shared my hunger, moving her succulent lips with enjoyment, bobbing slightly in place during her first few bites as the pleasure traveled through her.

  At least I was able to give you some enjoyment, beautiful. I only wish I could show you a whole lot more.

  “I came to Glacier to get away and clear my head,” she said, just a few bites away from finishing her steak. “This wasn't exactly what I had in mind. But damn if it isn't at least a little enjoyable and relaxing.”

  I winked. She laughed and reached across the table, running her fingers over my hand. I almost grabbed her again and began stroking her fingers, but she caught herself and withdrew her arm.

  “Sorry. You're the first person I've really connected to since I moved, except for my friend Jenn.” She said the word 'person' slowly, as if she wasn't sure it applied.

  I raised one eyebrow. “You were right the first time, Sam. Shifters are people.”

  “Oh! Of course. I didn't mean any offense.” That familiar, lively red shame dotted her cheeks.

  “None taken. Where did you come from?”

  “Sioux Falls. Lived in South Dakota all my life, but never went any further West than Bozeman until last summer. I had to get out of there after things fell apart with Mister Wrong.” She took a big sip of the tea.

  I shrugged and nodded. I'd heard of the places she mentioned, but I was far less traveled than her. Bozeman and Sioux Falls might as well have been on the Moon.

  “I like it here, even if it's been a bumpy transition. I'm sure this won't be my last trip to Glacier. I'll be back in the Spring.”

  My ears pricked up. Was there hope in her voice, or was it just my imagination?

  “I'd like that. If we ever meet again, I can show you parts of the park no human knows. The canyons, valleys, and streams between worlds. They're all beautiful.”

  “Definitely. But right now, I have to –“

  “I know,” I said, gently raising my hand. “We have to get you home and let the dust settle. Will you be good to go tonight?” I asked the question reluctantly.