Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Adaira) BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW online dating app romances Book 6)

by Ariana Hawkes

  “Really?”

  “Better than unearthly. But I can’t think of a bigger word than that. How was it for you?”

  “I had no idea it was possible to feel like that,” he said, his voice full of wonder. He lifted a hand and ran a finger along her jaw, over her lips. “Adaira, you opened a whole new world to me.”

  As she gazed at him, registering how unguarded and suddenly young he looked, a stab of guilt jolted her out of her reverie. She had pretty much engineered the whole thing, almost tricked him into it, after she’d made him agree that they shouldn’t mate less than a day earlier.

  “Do you regret what we did?” she said. He frowned.

  “How could I regret something like that?” he said. “It was beautiful, incredible.” He kissed her cheek tenderly. “You’re mine now, Adaira. You’re my mate. My beautiful mate.”

  “But – ” she broke off. She wanted to ask him more. Ask him why it was ok now, when it hadn’t been last night. But she didn’t trust herself. And she didn’t want to ruin this moment. “I guess we should go,” she said instead. They kissed again, lingeringly, then Leigh lifted her to her feet. He brought her clothes over and helped her to get dressed, then he shifted again and she climbed across his back, the muscles of her inner thighs protesting after being strained by their rough mating. Her pussy was still inflamed too, she discovered, as she leaned forward gingerly and clung on to the nape of his neck.

  Leigh had said that there was another hour of the journey remaining, and he moved at a fast pace, to make up for the time they’d just lost. Adaira’s mind was full of what they’d just done, her thoughts floating away on multicolored ribbons. Having Leigh inside her, taking her, mating with her was even better than she could’ve imagined. He was so masculine and rugged and dominant, and it made it even more special that he’d never done it with anyone else before. But it was something that probably wouldn’t be repeated. It felt like a bittersweet goodbye – they knew that they were perfect for each other, but logistical issues meant that it just couldn’t happen. She had to be philosophical about these things, as much as it was going to hurt.

  She wondered what Leigh was thinking, and burned with frustration that she couldn’t talk to him and discuss what had just happened. As much as she loved the fact that he was a shifter, it could make the communication thing more than a little difficult. She tried to quiet her mind and connect with him non-verbally. He seemed happy and purposeful. Am I picking that up telepathically or just from the way he’s moving? she wondered.

  Finally, in the distance she could make out the first signs of civilization – cars moving lazily along a road, like a column of ants. Leigh surprised her by stopping and crouching down low. Taking her cue, she clambered off his back. As he shifted, the sight of his naked body reignited her desire for him. He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply.

  “I was planning on staying in my bear form, but I just needed one more kiss before we part for a few days,” he said. She grinned.

  “You’re so romantic. And what, may I ask is happening in a few days? Do we have a date I haven’t yet heard about?”

  “You’re coming to live with me, of course!” She took a step back, wincing as she put too much weight on her ankle.

  “What? When did we agree that?” she said. He stroked her hair.

  “When we mated, of course. I know you were reluctant at first, but then I could see you’d changed your mind when you accepted me as your mate. I’m sure you’ll want to stay in the valley for another week until your ankle’s better, and then I’ll come and pick you up, and you’ll come and live with me up the mountain in my cabin, and we’ll be happy forever.” Adaira froze. What have I done? I’ve completely given him the wrong idea.

  “Leigh, no. I can’t. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but what I said yesterday still stands. I can’t give up my whole life and live in isolation with you. With no electricity.” He placed his huge hands on her shoulders.

  “I can get electricity. I told you that the guys have been offering to help me set up solar power for the longest time,” he said.

  “No. It’s not just electricity. I was just using that as an example. I mean that I can’t be so far from civilization. It just doesn’t suit me. I’m sorry, I really am.”

  “But – I thought – you know what mating means to me, to a shifter like me. I thought when you wrapped your body around me like that, it meant you’d changed your mind.”

  “No – I’m sorry.” She looked up and met his eyes – eyes that were currently full of pain and confusion. “Mating with you was a bad thing to do. I shouldn’t have done it. I know that. I just got so carried away. Those things you were doing to me were driving me crazy, blowing my mind. I just kind of lost control of myself.”

  “How could you?” he demanded.

  “Well, it wasn’t all my fault. You were naked, and so ready for me. How could I have said no in that situation?”

  “Adaira, I’m usually naked. It’s natural for me. I’m naked right now, for example!”

  “But the difference is, right now, you don’t have an erection!” she spat, pain and guilt translating into aggression.

  “That could change in about five seconds if I kissed you,” he said, with the ghost of a smile. She took another, painful step back.

  “No. No more. I shouldn’t have let things get out of control the way they did last night. We might be perfect for each other, but I can’t live up the mountain, and you can’t live in the valley. There’s no getting around that.”

  “That’s your final word?” Adaira took his hand.

  “It is. I’m an adult, Leigh. I know myself well enough to know the basic things I need to be happy. I’m so, so sorry if I’ve given you the wrong impression, but that’s the way things have to be.” Leigh stared down at the ground for a moment longer, then he stepped away and shifted back into his bear form. It seemed to happen more slowly than usual, as if his bear wasn’t in any hurry to come out. Adaira climbed on his back again and they completed the rest of the journey.

  When they arrived at the meeting point, Tamika’s driver was already there, and he didn’t bat an eyelid at the sight of a girl riding on the back of a huge brown bear. Leigh brought her right up to the car and the driver helped her to climb in. Leigh picked up his backpack in his teeth and he raised a paw to her, before turning around and disappearing into the undergrowth.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Leigh plodded along the mountain track, his stomach tight with grief. He gave voice to his pain, letting out long, yowling howls that rolled all the way to the mountain and came back again in pitiful echoes. Women. He didn’t understand them. Never had. That’s why he’d always been happiest by himself, where he knew he was safe. He shook his head in disgust. Fifteen minutes ago, he’d thought he was the luckiest bear in the world. He hadn’t wanted the journey to end. His lovely mate was on his back, her soft thighs holding on to his sides and her dainty fingers in his fur. His mate. They’d done that thing that bonded them together forever. And now Adaira was saying that it meant nothing. He stopped and turned around and looked at the town glittering beneath him, and his heartbeat speeded up as anxiety shot through his veins. He’d do anything for Adaira, he’d protect her to the death. But he couldn’t live in her world of noise and cars and pollution. It would kill him. But why can’t she live with me? She was happy up at the top of the mountain yesterday. She said she loved nature, and she’d enjoyed the food he’d hunted and cooked for her. Why does she need more in her life than that?

  He trudged along, his mind full of Adaira – how beautiful she was, how incredible it had been to mate with her, to push himself into her soft, warm insides. How lovely she’d looked when she was lying on her back in the water, all spread out to his gaze, and later, when she was in the throes of passion. He loved her warm, funny, feisty personality. But then, he reminded himself that he couldn’t have her, and his thoughts darkened again. Most of all, he blamed his clan, for pus
hing him into dating, and showing him how great things could be, and all it had done was cause him more pain.

  He went straight past the pool without looking at it. It would’ve been a sensible option to sleep at the cave, as he was tired from the long walk down the mountain, but it would’ve been too painful to be there. He walked for four more hours, until he was too exhausted to walk any more. He found a tree with a hollow at its roots and curled up in there.

  When Leigh woke up again, it was still dark. Although he’d only slept for four hours or so, he felt refreshed. But at the same time, a sense of uneasiness tugged at the edges of his mind, for a reason he couldn’t pin down. He continued on the track, moving fast, unable to shake the feeling that his uneasiness had something to do with home.

  For an hour or so, he ran at a lope, making good progress. And then the unmistakable smell of fire hit his nostrils. He stopped, stood up on his hind legs and took a good look around. Where is it? His nose wrinkled. It was wood smoke, and it was faint. It could be a forest fire, but it smelled more like dead wood. And then he saw a tiny orange wisp, far away, right at the top of the mountain. My cabin! his brain screamed. His body reacted instantly, and he sprinted off, racing up the track as fast as he could go.

  The smell became stronger and stronger, and, as he left the track and sprinted through the trees, his cabin came into view, illuminated with bright orange flames. What the fuck? He gave an almighty roar as his heart thudded in his chest, and his strides lengthened, eating up the ground.

  Fifteen long minutes later, he was there, yards from the cabin and breathing heavily from his exertions. The flames were everywhere, rapidly turning his precious home to embers. As he prepared to shift and run for a bucket of water to extinguish the flames, he checked himself. Fire wasn’t the only thing that was singeing his nostrils. There was also the unmistakable stink of werewolf. He took a deep snort of air. It was from the pack of the alpha that he’d just killed! This was revenge: he knew it without any doubt. There wasn’t any sign of them, but he knew that shifting right now would be suicide. He gazed at his burning home, and let out a bellow of sorrow. Then he shook himself. Those bastards are going to pay! If he couldn’t save his home, he was going to get hold of them and make them sorry for what they’d done at least. The smoke was getting thicker, and it was hard to get a clear view of the land behind the cabin. Are they hiding out there? He walked around the cabin in a wide circle, moving cautiously. There was no saying how many of them there were. Wolves tended to run in large packs. The fire had distorted his sense of smell, and he couldn’t even tell if they were still there, or if they’d lit the fire and run, like the cowards they were. There. There was a shape moving just to the right of the cabin. He moved towards it, and at the same moment there was an almighty boom, and a blast from the cabin knocked him off his feet and threw him on the ground, hard.

  His head spun and his ears rang. The gas from the stove must’ve caught light, he realized, just before a huge dark shape leapt out of nowhere and landed on top of him, its razor-sharp teeth sinking into his face. He gave a bellow of pain and fury and flipped over, pinning whatever it was to the ground. It was a wolf, of course, with nasty, yellow fangs and wild eyes. He opened his jaws wide, preparing to bite through its windpipe, but a painful bite on each shoulder checked him. He shook two sets of jaws loose, but as he did, the first one snapped at him again, catching at a fold of skin and tugging at it until he felt it rip. He stood up on his back legs and shook that one off too, but then another three wolves appeared in front of him, preparing to pounce. They were nervy, but their fangs were bared and ready to do him harm. Adrenaline flooded his veins. He’d have to be very quick on his feet to kill all six of them. But if there are more than that? He couldn’t even think about that possibility right now. As one of the wolves darted forward and sunk its teeth into his ankle, he gave a roar of battle, dropped onto two legs and raked the flesh off its back with his sharp claws. It relinquished its grasp on him, screaming in pain, and he finished it off, slicing its jugular open with a sideways swipe. The other wolves hung back, staring at the body of their pack mate. Apart from his far superior size, his claws gave him a huge advantage over the wolves, who could only use their teeth, and they knew it. He watched them communicating, saying things to each other that he couldn’t understand. They backed away, their expressions becoming blank.

  Too late he realized that they weren’t surrendering – they were waiting. For something that was right behind him. There was a snarl, and as he turned around, an agonizing pain shot through his shoulder as a huge black wolf leapt onto his back and bit deep into his flesh. Almost instantly, he smelled the metallic tang of his own blood. The wolves that were in front of him leapt forward as one, all fastening their teeth into his flesh. The pain was maddening, and he roared and swiped with his claws, killing or injuring several of them. But more and more came, an endless line of sharp-toothed monsters. Christ, they’re everywhere! he thought, as his teeth closed around the throat of a small, vicious one that had given him a nasty wound on his face. None of them was strong enough to kill him by itself, but he was tiring and his blood was flowing. Abruptly, they changed tactics, holding back then rushing him all at the same time. Four of them snatched a leg each in their jaws. He snapped at the one on his near right, crushing its skull, but then he lost his footing as the other three tugged him in different directions. As he tumbled onto his side, another one dived for the softer flesh of his belly. This is how he could die, he realized – having his belly slit open. With his one free paw, he managed to claw at its face, and it withdrew, yelping. His other legs were burning from nasty bites that seemed to go right down to the bone. He kicked hard, but he couldn’t shake them. He was pinned to the ground. And then another two pounced on his belly. His heart pounded and his ears buzzed with his thumping pulse. He couldn’t take the pain for much longer. Is this it? he wondered. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t get up again. Blood from cuts on his face spilled into his eyes, and it was becoming harder to see, as more and more of the pack piled in.

  Suddenly, an incredibly loud, droning sound burst from the heavens, splitting the sky in two. With it came a vicious wind that flattened everything in sight. Leigh went slack, his body giving up in the knowledge that not only his life, but the whole world was coming to an end.

  And then there was another sound – barely audible beneath the terrible droning – but it was a roar of another bear, a bear that he knew. He opened the eyes that he hadn’t been aware he’d squeezed shut and shook the wolves off. Their bodies felt limp, paralyzed by the cataclysmic event as well. Then he heaved himself to his feet and let out a roar of relief as he saw a giant bird hovering in the sky and members of his clan leaping out of it. They raced towards him and finished the wolves off in no time, dispatching them efficiently with their teeth or claws, and leaving them in a lifeless heap. The helicopter moved over the cabin and dumped a load of water over it. The fire went out quickly, leaving the cabin blackened and sizzling. Then the helicopter hovered directly overhead and Leigh figured out that he needed to move out of the way so it could land. At last the engines stopped, the propeller slowed and he could hear again. Bruno climbed out of the cockpit in his human form and all the other bears shifted. Leigh shifted too, a little unwillingly, knowing that the pain from his injuries would be worse for his human body to cope with. His body burned and stung, all over, and a quick glance at it revealed multiple cuts and gashes on every limb and all over his torso. He shuddered at the thought of how close he’d come to being killed – which would undoubtedly have happened if his clan hadn’t come to save him. All the bears ran over and pulled him into rough hugs, giving him slaps on the back.

  “That was a close one. They almost had me there,” he exclaimed. Niall slung an arm over his shoulder.

  “No way, dude. A big bear like you?”

  “Uh, I was a little outnumbered,” he said, looking around at the bodies of the wolves strewn on the ground. The cl
an followed his gaze.

  “Those gutless assholes!” Dalton said, screwing his face up in disgust. “That was a low thing to do, even for a mangy bunch of werewolves.”

  “What happened?” Connor said. “That’s the pack that lived a few miles from you, right? And they’ve never given you any trouble before?” Leigh nodded.

  “Yeah, I’d never even laid eyes on any of them before. They’ve always kept well away. That is, until their alpha decided to kidnap Adaira when she was coming up the mountain to meet me for a date.” A collection of jaws dropped.

  “That audacious, dirty bastard!” Niall spat. “He must’ve known that you weren’t going to let that lie.” Leigh shrugged.

  “To be honest, I almost did.”

  “What?” the clan said in unison.

  “I saw her going off with him, and I thought she’d changed her mind and decided to date him instead,” he said in a small voice, kicking at the earth.

  “That would give a whole new meaning to the word ‘fickle’,” Connor said with a smirk.

  “I know. It was pretty dumb, in retrospect. I guess I just don’t know how women think.”

  “Not that differently from us. Truly,” Connor said. “But, anyway – how did you find out that she’d been kidnapped?”

  “I thought I heard her scream.”

  “But she was far away, so it was a sub-audible sound, right? And you could only hear it because she was your mate?”

  “Yep.” Leigh’s cheeks warmed. He’d already realized his reasoning had been ridiculous, but explaining out loud to his clan emphasized just how ridiculous it was. “So I ran over and killed the alpha. I thought that’d be the end of it, but those wolves were braver than I thought. I guess it took them a couple of days to find themselves a new alpha, and then they came over here, set my place on fire and lay in wait for me.” Everyone looked at his cabin. It was beyond salvageable. He walked over to it and peered through the door. His bed was ruined and his books were burned to a crisp. A lump came to his throat. He didn’t have many material possessions in the world, and now they were all gone.