by Leona Bones
Copyright © 2015 Leona Bones
All rights reserved
~ TEASER ~
As the moon rose high in the sky and beamed its cool radiance down into the cave, Harper found herself surrounded by not three men, but three bears.
Werebears, she corrected herself.
They approached her slowly, their warm muzzles rubbing against her goosebumped flesh. She looked into Bran’s eyes, seeing the same conviction, curiosity, and was that even…desire? Harper’s mind reeled as the bears closed in. She should have been scared. She should have been running for her life.
But doing what she was supposed to be damned.
Every cell in her body seemed to sing at the presence of the bears around her, skin pulling and tugging as she felt a gnawing in her chest. Something in there was trying to get out. It should have been crazy, and maybe it was, but she felt for the first time something inside of her telling her this was finally where she belonged.
But could these three bears – these three pack brothers – ever come to accept her? Even if they said she was one of them, surely there were others as well. Some kind of pack ordering, perhaps. They were being nice in memory of her father, but there was no way they’d actually want to be with her like that. Besides, there were three of them, and one of her. It would be unfair to choose…
Unless…
Harper held the keys in her hand, the metal jingling as it unlocked the old rusty lock. With a slow creak, the door swung open, and there it was. “It’s all yours,” her father’s voice rung in her head, giving her the keys to his old cabin in the woods in the last minutes before he died. She’d hardly known he had a cabin in the woods, much less that he’d give it to her. Sure, he went out on hunting trips sometimes, but hunting had never interested her much, so she stayed at home. Killing animals seemed repulsive, and she’d always had a penchant for animals in other ways.
Now she stood on the threshold of her father’s cabin, and he wasn’t at her side. Harper sighed, stepping into the house. Always thought he’d be with me if I ever came up here, she thought, looking around at the house. He hadn’t been here in months, as far as she knew, and yet the house seemed well maintained, as if someone had come through only yesterday.
Fingering a few books on the bookshelf lining the wall, she cocked her head trying to read the titles. “Bears of the Argus Valley”, “Bears and their Habitats”, even a strange looking pamphlet titled “Bear-ology”. Hmm, hadn’t known he was so into bears, Harper mused, moving on. She sunk down into a comfy chair on the side of the room, letting the sun filter in and warm her body. He’s gone, Harper. The thought repeated in her head like a drum, causing an unwelcome headache. This is yours now.
Leaning back, Harper stared at the ceiling, and then closed her eyes. It had been a long day, and the sun felt really nice…
Suddenly, Harper jolted awake by a knocking at the door. It sounded urgent. She flailed from the chair, rubbing her eyes. One moment she’d been sitting here thinking about her father and the next she’d fallen asleep! Well, that was one thing people had always said about her. She could sleep through anything. Remembering the books before, they struck a memory in her head: “you sleep like a bear!” It was all a joke when they’d said it, but with all the books she’d found on the shelf and the strange cabin in the woods, she began to wonder if it meant something else after all.
The knock came again, and Harper got up to answer it. No idea who it could be at this hour, she thought, but strode to the door anyway. As far as she knew, no one even knew she was here. But then again, she thought, looking around, maybe someone else had been sharing the house with her father.
Anxiety gripped her. Oh man. What if they didn’t know he had passed? What if they didn’t know about her? With a deep breath, and not much of an idea what she was going to say, she opened the door.
There was a completely nude man standing at her doorstep.
Harper shook her head a bit, wondering if she was still dreaming. He looked like the men in her dreams – tall, dark, and handsome. His skin was stretched taut over bulging muscles and the lines of his body were perfectly proportioned, like he was a statue. Given that he was nude, she couldn’t help looking down, and…oh my. This random naked man definitely didn’t disappoint in that department. Harper smiled a little to herself, putting a hand to her head. Okay, now I’m definitely dreaming.
If I’m dreaming, though, no shame in fantasizing a little. She could just imagine those strong arms holding her down, his massive frame hovering over her, his cock spearing her in two…her pussy clenched at the thought, and suddenly she felt too hot all over, the arousal making her flushed and a little breathless.
The smile on her face turned quickly to a gasp when she saw his cock hanging between his thighs twitch in response to her gaze, sending a shock of pleasure straight between her own legs. Bringing her eyes back up to his face with a rush of blood to her cheeks, she noticed the man’s face was stunningly handsome as well. He wore an unreadable expression – something between confusion and amusement. His body was covered in small black curls of hair, and his head was no exception. A bushy beard filled out his face, making him look exceptionally manly. His eyes were searching, hard, and a steely shade of grey. Harper narrowed her eyes, staring into the orbs for a moment. So fast she wasn’t sure if she imagined it, they flashed a brilliant shade of gold for only a second.
“What are you doing here?” The voice brought her out of her fantasies.
“W-what do you mean? This is my house.” Be cool, Harper, be cool.
“You sure about that?”
“Of course I’m sure!”
“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
Harper put her hands on her ample hips, indignant. Just who did he think he was? “Excuse me?” She asked, tilting her head in challenge. “As far as I can tell, you’re the intruder here.”
The man looked annoyed, running a hand through his curls. “Ah, woman. You don’t know. You don’t belong here. Now go before I say anything about it to my clan.”
Clan? Dude had a clan? Oh, come on now. What could possibly happen—
Suddenly, two large grizzly bears appeared behind the naked man.
Harper stopped in her tracks, fear tracing a web of adrenaline through her cells as she pointed a shaking finger at the bears behind him. No one had said there’d be bears! Her heart beat at the prospect, and at how close they were. She’d never known bears would get so close to a human, and if they did…Harper gulped. She was going to get mauled by a bear, wasn’t she?
“B-bear…” she croaked, staring at the two hulking frames behind him.
“That’s right woman, these are my people.”
Bears? Just what was he talking about? Dude had to be crazy. He was a human, not a bear.
“Just leave me alone!” Harper yelled, backing away slowly. “I own this house now! Take your…bears and go!”
“I can’t do that. This belongs to my people too, you know.”
“My father gave this to me! It’s in his will! Look!” She shoved the paperwork at him frantically. As if showing legal paperwork would sway a man who thought he was a bear.
He took the paper, holding it gingerly in his large hands. Suddenly, something changed. His eyes grew wide, and Harper could almost see a flash of gold within them again. The man spoke slowly, carefully.
“Your father is Evan Stone?”
“Of course he is. Now see, its legal paperwork, and I’m sorry to tell you, but he’s dead now. Saw it myself. He handed this to me as he died, so unless you want to disrespect a dying man’s wishes, go now an
d leave me be.” Harper felt on the brink of tears. She was trying to deal with the death of her father and this strange new place, and some naked guy had to come and insult her over it? What did it matter if he was extremely sexy…
The man looked back to the bears behind him, nodding to them. He exhaled a long breath. “Well, this changes everything. Come along.”
“Come along? Where? I’m staying here, thank you very much.”
“Listen, woman. It may not be…” he looked around warily. “…safe if you’re here alone. And besides, there’s some things you need to know.”
Harper gazed up at him, part of her wishing that he was right. She was curious – she wanted to go with him, but who knew what would happen if she did. Her mind flitted back to the books about bears again. What if my father had known these…men?
“I knew your father,” said the man in the doorway, almost in response to her thoughts. “He was a good man, and we worked closely with him. It is a tragedy to hear of his death. But I sense, Harper, that there were things he was not telling you. Come with us, and find out.”
Chills like ice water ran down her spine. I hadn’t told him my name… Was it all really true then? Did he know my father?
“He talked about you a lot, you know. I’m sure he would have wanted you to trust me. Even if you didn’t know about it, we were great friends.”
“Why didn’t he ever tell me about you, then?”
“It’s…complicated, Harper. But please, you have to understand that he wanted nothing more than to protect you.”
“I can protect myself, thank you very much.”
“Listen...do you want to find out the truth, or not? You can stay here if you wish, I won’t make you come along. But know that you made that choice.”
Harper gulped. If this man was actually right…this could change so much. I could finally see the other side of my father that I’d never been able to figure out. I could finally see what all of this…hunting…was actually about. Taking a deep breath, she gazed up at him again. “All right, then. Let’s go.”
“Good choice,” said the men, smiling broadly. “And by the way, you can call me Bran.”
“Bran,” Harper repeated, tasting the way his name fluttered across her tongue. And with that, he took her hand, and they were off.
The area Harper found herself was about as un-house-like as she could have imagined. She’d gone from a cozy hunting cabin in the woods to a full-on cave, neatly tucked away behind a rushing waterfall. She’d marveled at the greenness of the trees, stood staring at the shimmering rainbow refraction of the water in the moonlight, and gaped at the way the area seemed so alive in a way she’d never noticed before. But all along, an old fear tumbled around in her head: what if they just brought you out all this way to kill you, rape you, or worse? What if they only delved this far into the forest so no one would hear your screams?
Swallowing the scream in her throat, she pressed on. As they neared the cave, the bears disappeared, sulking off into the woods out of sight. In their place came two men, at a timing too coincidental to be chance. Did they really just…? Harper pushed back the thoughts for now. She had to focus on staying alive.
The cave had a strange, homey feel to it, which was something she was not used to feeling about caves. Sure, it was a bit cool and sounds of nature and the roaring waterfall echoed outside, but a fire crackled merrily and Harper could make out the outlines of stars through a chimney in the ceiling. Putting aside that she’d run off with not one but three handsome men that may or may not be able to turn into bears, it was a welcome respite from the recent chaos.
She sat on the dirt-packed ground near the fire and leaned back, taking in the scene around her. It was beautiful, in its own way. As her thoughts drifted back to her father, the man that had approached her at the cabin spoke.
“It’s time you learned the truth about your heritage, Harper.”
“My…heritage?” She started, still not paying much attention. The flickering of the flames and the cool silence of the night sky above had lured her into an almost hypnotic sense of safety and calm, even in the presence of three bear-men.
“Your father, Evan Stone, was one of us once. He was a great leader to us all. He was, Harper…a werebear.”
Harper’s eyes widened as the pieces clicked together in her head. All the strange behaviors she’d seen in him throughout the years…the disappearances…the “hunting trips”…they hadn’t been hunting trips at all. He’d lived a secret double life, right under her nose, and she’d never even known it. Part of her riled in anger, wondering why he’d never shared that part of himself with her, his own daughter.
“He wanted to tell you, you know.” Bran came nearer, putting a large hand on her shoulder and sending shivers up her spine. She was sitting right next to the fire, but she suddenly felt tingly to his touch, and if the clenching between her thighs was any indication, she wanted more than just a comforting hand.
“People don’t readily accept…people like us,” Bran continued, kneeling down next to Harper so their eyes met. “We have to be safe.”
“Does that mean you are…”
“A werebear, Harper, that is correct. So are my brothers. So was your father. Able to shift into a bear at will. But the Bear inside us all has needs, too, you know. We live a double life, as your father often did, balancing the needs of man and bear.”
Harper shook her head, looking up at Bran and the men gathering around her. A strained chuckle crossed her lips, echoing off the cave walls. “This is all crazy…people can’t just turn into bears. Do you, like, eat fish and stuff too? Is that why the whole cave setup?”
“We are bears,” said Bran solemnly, motioning to his brothers on either side of them. They were coming nearer to Harper now, flanking her, and if the flames were already hot enough, the presence of two more devilishly handsome (and by the way, nude) men were not doing anything to help. “But we are also men.”
Bran reached out, putting a gentle hand to Harper’s chin. She looked up at him wide-eyed, transfixed by his golden stare. “You’re a werebear, too, Harper. I smell it in your blood.”
“W-what…?” Harper mouthed, gaping at him. “But I’ve never…”
“Had the urge to run wild and free? Wanted to take down a running animal with your teeth and claws? Felt that there simply had to be more to life? Here it is, Harper.”
Oxygen was coming in short gasps through Harper’s windpipe, and she doubled over as she struggled to take in the new information. She’d always felt a little different, a little big boned, a little too rebellious – but this?
“Show me,” she said finally, her eyes streaked with fresh tears. “How will I know you’re telling the truth?”
In unison, the three men surrounding her backed away, giving her and themselves each a wide berth. What happened next was almost more than her eyes could believe. With a throaty growl that sent shocks straight to her clit, the men began to change. Hair sprouted over their normally built bodies, limbs morphed and grew, and backs bent under the weight of the transformation. It looked almost painful, but there was a bold kind of reverence as she watched them, as well.
Harper thought she would have been scared, watching three men turn into bears right in front of her. But it was something much more powerful than that, almost spiritual, as their bodies morphed and changed into their true forms. Something within her, a tiny voice she’d never noticed or acknowledged before, told her that this was what she was meant to do, too. This was right. This was her people.
As the moon rose high in the sky and beamed its cool radiance down into the cave, Harper found herself surrounded by not three men, but three bears.
Werebears, she corrected herself.
They approached her slowly, their warm muzzles rubbing against her goosebumped flesh. She looked into Bran’s eyes, seeing the same conviction, curiosity, and was that even…desire? Harper’s mind reeled as the bears closed in. She should have been scared. She should have
been running for her life.
But doing what she was supposed to be damned.
Every cell in her body seemed to sing at the presence of the bears around her, skin pulling and tugging as she felt a gnawing in her chest. Something in there was trying to get out. It should have been crazy, and maybe it was, but she felt for the first time something inside of her telling her this was finally where she belonged.
But could these three bears – these three brothers – ever come to accept her? Even if they said she was one of them, surely there were others as well. Some kind of pack ordering, perhaps. They were being nice in memory of her father, but there was no way they’d actually want to be with her like that. Besides, there were three of them, and one of her. It would be unfair to choose…
Unless…
“We like you, Harper,” started Bran, slowly morphing back to human as he did so. Fur and teeth retracted, he straightened, and he was a rock solid mass of man all over again. His statement was backed up by something else rock solid, too: his cock stood at attention, pointing toward the sky as he stared into her eyes.
