“Dad, I think we have a real problem. Can I get your help, please?” He told his dad what he had learned.
His dad’s reply: “Get you and your mate to the den now.” End of conversation.
Chapter 8
Lana was pulled outside and into her mother’s SUV before she could so much as breathe. Everything happened so fast, and no one stopped to explain anything. Her mother knew more than she did about the situation, and Lana was getting quite irritated. “Can someone please tell me why you are carting me around like a rag doll?”
“Not now, baby,” Conner replied tensely. He was usually so calm and relaxed that Lana bit her lip with worry. If he was this stressed, that meant it was bad. She sighed and left it alone, but she would get her answers. This was her life, and there was no way she was going to stand idly by and allow someone else take care of her problems. It was obviously bad, but that didn’t mean she was useless in the situation—whatever it was.
Her mother opened the door and pulled her into a hug with tears in her eyes. Now Lana knew there really was something horribly wrong. “Do what they tell you to do, sweetheart, and text me when you get there. When this is all over, we’re going to Hawaii on vacation.”
Lana leaned back. “Mom, what’s going on? You’re never scared, and you sure as hell never cry. You’re freakin’ me out.”
“Honey, this is bad, and Conner and his family will explain it to you—they’ll keep you safe. I know them personally. She looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact.
“How do you know so much about his family?”
She didn’t respond.
“Mom, tell me.”
He mother bristled. “Fine.” She stepped out of Lana’s embrace and threw her hands up in defeat. “You and your brother’s father was half werebear. He never shifted, but Graham’s family raised him, until he passed, after you were born.”
Lana sputtered. “You—you always refused to talk about our father, yet when one of the boys talked about a deadbeat dad, you ripped them a new one. I never understood why.”
“It’s because he was no deadbeat. He was an honorable man who died and was also part beast, because even though he never shifted, he still had the bear’s spirit inside, much like Conner does. The only difference between him and Conner is that his bear gets to come out whenever it wants. Your father’s couldn’t. He felt like he was half of a man who didn’t fit in anywhere. He was too human to be a bear, and too bear to be a human.”
“Oh, mom, why didn’t you ever tell us?”
“Because he wouldn’t have wanted you to know. But since you have found yourself a part of the same family, I figured it was time to tell you.”
“Does Conner know?”
“No, but Graham will as soon as he meets you. You look the most like him.”
Conner jumped in the car and started it, signaling he was ready to leave but not rushing her.
“Oh, well I guess we better get going. But when I get back, you and I will be talking.”
“Okay, I love you,” her mother said, wiping away tears. Lana was flabbergasted. Her mother never cried. She never got emotional, and she never let on that she knew people like Conner existed.
***
Conner shook Lana gently. It had been a long ride, but it was time to get her inside the safety of the den. The den was protected by magical wards, which meant Campbell wouldn’t be able to find her, and eventually he would die leaving them safe. Until then Lana would have to stay with him and his family. He had overheard her mother talking and couldn’t believe how small the world was. Lana’s father was like an uncle to him. His death had left a gap in his heart, and now to find out that Lana was his child was amazing. It made sense now why she fell into the heat and submitted to him so easily, without question. Although she did not have the spirit of one, she was still part bear and her instincts were strong.
“Baby, it’s time to wake up,” he said before kissing her brow.
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him until she realized why she was waking up in the car. She was running. The only good thing that came out of the whole situation was the fact that she wouldn’t be in trouble. Without Campbell’s body there was no crime, which mean his mate was free of any guilt.
“Hi,” she replied. “We’re here?”
“Yes, baby, it’s time to meet your new family.”
She glanced away as tears filled her eyes.
“Hey, sweetheart, this is good. Because here, your father was well loved and respected. No one thought any less of him because of his mixed heritage.”
“Really?”
“Of course. He was one of us.”
She nodded. He got out of the SUV and jogged to her side, opening the door before she was out of the car. She thanked him with a kiss on his cheek. He grabbed her hand and led her into the den. Finally, he was home.
His father greeted them as soon as they stepped into the main house.
“Conner,” he said and pulled his son into a hug. Then he looked at Lana and gasped. “No, it couldn’t be?”
“Yeah. She’s James’ daughter, dad.”
“Oh, my dear, come here.” He didn’t wait for an invitation before pulling Lana into a tight hug and squeezing her until she couldn’t breathe. But she didn’t complain. Her arms wrapped around him and hugged him back. Finally Conner was able to pull her from his father’s grasp. “You look so much like him, dear girl.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I do?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Dad, have you heard anything underground?”
He smiled. “It seems your rush to bring her here for protection was unnecessary. But I’m glad you’re here. It seems Mr. Mark’s body was found, in pieces and nearly unrecognizable early this morning.”
Lana gasped. “How is that possible?”
His dad glared at him. “Did you tell her anything?”
“No, she was sleeping, and I didn’t want to scare her.”
He sighed. “Come sit.” He patted the seat next to him on the couch, and she sat down, waiting for him to explain. “You see, Mr. Marks was possessed by a demon. When Conner killed him—and he did in fact kill him— a more powerful demon, one we will not name, couldn’t have them exposed so he cleaned up the mess. But since Mr. Marks was wanted by the police, he couldn’t just disappear. So he was ripped apart and only recognizable by his DNA. The demons win by shedding his blood and by knowing the humans aren’t any closer to finding out the truth. You’re lucky, though. Some demons wouldn’t have let you go, but since Conner was caught on the tape killing him, they knew there would be no reason to worry about you telling the world about its darker side.”
Lana paled. Conner moved to her side and put his hand on her shoulder. She calmed a little beneath his touch but was still worried. “So I’m safe. No one is after me?”
“No, you are good to go, luckily. Sometimes it doesn’t end this well, for anyone. I’m glad you’re here and I was able to give you good news. Now we must celebrate your mating!” He clapped his hands and stood. “The clan will be thrilled. There hasn’t been a new mating in far too long.” Then he strode out of the room, leaving behind a happy peace.
Conner loved his father, but he had just driven for two days straight. He was tired and hungry. And most of all, he wanted his mate so badly it hurt. They hadn’t stopped long enough to do anything other than get cheap food and have a bathroom break. Now he wanted more. He pulled Lana to her feet and kissed her lightly. “See, baby, I told you everything would work out. But my dad was right, we got very lucky in this situation.”
She nodded and kissed him back forcefully. It seemed she was in the mood, and he had no intention of turning her down. They both wanted to forget the stress of the past week. He lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the house. Cheers surrounded him, and he could feel Lana’s body heat with embarrassment.
He chuckled. “You can meet her later,” he told the crowd of gathered bears. All of them wanted to m
eet her and welcome her to the family. It was the bear’s way.
THE END
Here is a sample from another extra steamy story that you may enjoy, from another writer in my circle:
I put on my work uniform, tied my hair in a ponytail, and looked myself in the mirror. Every day, I had to make sure I looked as non-threatening as possible to all the kiddies. My uniform, which had cartoony animals on it, such as a giraffe, elephant, and monkey, made me feel not so intimidating, but I still had to work on my “resting bitchy face”. When I relaxed myself, I realized just how snarly I looked, like I was going to bite someone’s head off if they even looked at me. I practiced smiling, and when I decided that I didn’t look like a homicidal killer, it was time to work.
As I left the changing station, a fellow zookeeper past me by. “Morning, Stacy,” he greeted, a twinkle in his eyes. Yeah, in your dreams, I thought. No wonder I had a bitch face.
I started checking each cage to make sure the animals had an adequate supply of food. The monkeys still had plenty of fruit in their cages, the elephant was busy munching on some oranges, the giraffes were eating from the trees behind their fences, and I saw another zookeeper throwing fish into the mouth of a walrus, so it looked like all the cages were accounted for. Except for one.
Behind the cage, I saw the bear. It was a large grizzly, and it always gave the onlookers a stare that sort of freaked some people out. It was a very odd bear. I’d heard it hadn’t been with the zoo that long actually. He’d arrived just before my time apparently. This was supposedly a temporary place for him before they found a more permanent home. I wasn’t really sure. I wasn’t privy to that kind of information. But, what I was aware of what that its trough wasn’t filled, so I grabbed his special slop from the prep room. It looked like someone had been getting ready for work, or ready to feed him or something, because someone had left their uniform and a bag just outside the cage. I typed in the keypad combo that gave me access to the trough. It was easy to remember because they used the same combo for all the pads, even the ones on the inside of the cages. When I started dumping an amalgam of fish, raw steak, and other meat byproducts into its trough, it came up to me and nuzzled my hand with its nose.
“Who’s a good boy?” I asked him. To me, this bear was like a big puppy. Everyone thought that he was scary and many zookeepers neglected him attention wise. I was the only one who seemed to care. In fact, we were getting so close that it felt ok to give him a little pat on the head as I left the cage. Thankfully my instincts were on, and he didn’t bite my hand off.
“Bye, Barry,” I said as I left, making sure to lock the door. That was my cliché name for the bear. I had named him that, but I still made an inner eye roll every time I said it. As I left, I had to sigh. That bear was the highlight of my day, and I didn’t know why. Before coming to work here, I’d thought I’d be starry-eyed over the more exotic animals, such as the tigers, gorillas, and the manatees, but instead I found myself relating to an animal that you could find in the local woods if you were lucky, or unlucky, enough.
I spent the rest of my day cleaning out the cages, keeping the food and water in check, and giving the sickly animals their medication. Being at the peak of summer, I was sweating and wished I could take this uniform off already, but I was determined to finish my rounds. It was my job, after all.
It may not pay much, but it’s just a summer job. Besides, it will look great on your qualifications when you finally decide to get your dream job, I kept thinking.
As I tried reassuring myself, I looked at my phone. Just an hour and a half left and I could return to my apartment. I began making last minute checks of every single cage out there until finally I arrived at Barry’s cage. I expected to see him sitting all by his lonesome, and was shocked to see his cage was empty.
Click here to continue this compelling short story
Other Quality Romance Books from Love You First Publishing
Kindle Unlimited subscribers read this entire catalog for FREE!
MC Romance
What the Outlaw Wants by Samantha Leal
What the Outlaw Needs by Samantha Leal
What the Outlaw Craves by Samantha Leal
What the Outlaw Demands by Samantha Leal
What the Outlaw Takes by Samantha Leal
Post-Apocalyptic Steamy Romance
Finding Love in a Dark World: A Post-Apocalyptic Romance, Book 1
Finding Love in a Dark World: A Steamy Post-Apocalyptic Romance, Book 2 by Cynthia Wilde
Welcome to Zombie Island by Natalie Nixon
For the Love of Zombies by Sadie Simms
Paranormal Books
Chased by the Bear by Cynthia Wilde
Saved by a Werewolf Billionaire by Samantha Leal
The Bear Wants Babies by Cynthia Wilde
His Darkness Revealed (Vampire Romance) by Samantha Leal
Saved by the Billionbear by Stephani Sykes
Desired by the Billionbear Pamela Avery
Babies for the Bear by Cynthia Wilde
Contemporary Romance
The Billionaire’s Rumpus Room by Natalie Nixon
My New Billionaire Stepbrother by Cynthia Wilde
My Holiday Billionaire (BBW) by Pamela Avery
Badass Billionaire (BBW) by Leela Ash
Time Travel/Fantasy Romance
Through the Highland Gateway by Leela Ash
Through the Gateway by Iona Savage
Touched Through Time by Samantha Leal
Into the Highlander’s World by Samantha Leal
Alien Romance
Taken by Aliens by Cynthia Wilde
Taken by Alien Lords by Samantha Leal
And one more thing…
Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this book and if so, please leave a review here. Either way have a fantastic day and may all your dreams come true.
FREE Bonus Book
This is a story by another author from the Totally Romance Reader’s Club circle. It’s another Werebear Romance and I hope you like it! I include it here as a thank you.
Desired by the Billionbear
Pamela Avery
Copyright ©2015 by Pamela Avery. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review
PROLOGUE
2012
Lisa Fuller jogged, her strides lengthening along the path in time to the music blaring over her earphones. She had decided to take the scenic route today, jogging down the forest path that was least popular among most joggers in Fidelity, Philadelphia.
It was quite early in the morning and the air was dewy, fresh, and invigorating. The smell of fresh pines tantalized her nostrils and she inhaled deeply as her feet pounded along the path. Her red hair was done up in a simple bun atop her head and she was clad in a skin-fitting exercise outfit that accentuated the generous curves of her waist and hips.
A noise like thunder rumbled overhead and she almost lost her footing as she looked around in amazement. It was still a bit too dark to tell but the skies didn’t seem to be cloudy. With a shrug, she resumed her jogging, humming in time to the music as a slight wind began to rustle the leaves of the trees lining the forest path. Lisa picked up her pace a little, almost running now.
She had gone almost a half mile along the forest path when she suddenly got the unmistakable feeling of being watched. Her eyes widened with irrepressible panic as she scanned the tall pine trees on either side of the path, extending in every direction as far as the eye could see. She saw no one. Fear coursed through her veins and almost automatically she started running, her breath burning in her lungs as she ran faster than she had ever run before.
Then she saw him. A huge, brown, absolutely beautiful, and deadly, bear with chestnut brown fur with flecks of gold. Its teeth were bared as it
raced towards her. She almost froze in her terror. She couldn’t remember … are you supposed to freeze when you see a bear, or play dead, or run? While she tried to figure it out, he kept coming right at her in long lopping strides.
Raw fear clotted her blood in her veins and adrenaline burst through her in a rush as her terror took over and she faced forward and chose the “run away” option. He caught up to her effortlessly, his large paws closing about her waist as he lifted her in his great big paws and roared loud enough to wake the dead. She didn’t have to speak bear to recognize a roar of triumph when she heard it. His scent assailed her nostrils, surprisingly clean and nice. There was something strange about this bear. Why wasn’t she dead already? Her eyes fastened in fascinated horror on the pink inside of his mouth as he roared anew. The sound so loud she was almost afraid it would break her ear drums. Goosebumps erupted all over her hands and sweat poured down her body in rivulets. His paw encircled her entire waist effortlessly as he held her closer to his face and studied her.
Then things got even stranger as some deep survival instinct took over. This was a wild animal, but there was something different about it. There was an intelligence behind its eyes. Rather than scream she chose to speak.
“Please, please,” she panted, barely breathing through her fear. “Please don’t. I have little kids depending on me! Please don’t kill me!”
She was talking to a bear, her subconscious screamed. But even knowing that it couldn’t understand a word of what she was saying – or at least shouldn’t be able to, didn’t deter her as she continued to cry and plead for her life. Every nerve in Lisa’s body strained to breaking point as the beast kept her on level with its shiny white teeth, the size of small tusks.
Saved by the Billionbear Page 4
