by Kim Fox
Contents
Copyright
About
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
The Vega Brothers:
Khan
The Bear Shifters of Vega Ranch Book Two
By KIM FOX
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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Contains explicit love scenes and adult language.
18+
www.AuthorKimFox.com
Copyright © 2016 by Kim Fox
Kodiak bear shifter, Khan Vega, is being forced to take on a mate and get married. He has lots of options but there’s only one true option for him: a curvy woman from his past that he just can’t let go of. It’s too bad that she wants nothing to do with him.
BBW, Bailey Lewis, hasn’t spoken to her ex in five years since the day he just vanished from her life without a word of explanation. He had left her with more than just a broken heart, though, he had left her with a little cub growing in her stomach.
When the two former lovers get thrust back into each other’s lives will Bailey be able to reveal the stunning secret that she’s been hiding for five years? And with a larger threat looming over Vega Ranch will Khan and Bailey ever get the happily ever after they desperately want?
This is the second book in the paranormal bear shifter romance series: Vega Brothers (The Bear Shifters of Vega Ranch). This can be read as a standalone book but will be much more enjoyable after reading book one.
No Cliffhangers. HEA. 18+
one
Khan tossed Julius aside like a teddy bear, slamming him into the wall and making the whole room shake. “I said no,” Khan barked.
“Oh, that’s it,” Julius said, climbing to his feet and dropping into a karate stance. “You’re going to make me release Winnie the Kung Fu?”
Khan rolled his eyes and ignored him. It was always best not to engage with Julius. Khan found that if he ignored his younger brother he would usually just get bored and go bug someone else.
“You drew the burnt match,” Hannibal said as he sat in front of the computer in the office. “Stop putting it off. You’re up next.”
Khan grumbled. His two brothers, Julius and Hannibal, had been on his ass for the past two weeks, ever since Julius and Ava’s wedding. He had drawn the burnt match which meant that he was the next one in line to find a mate and get married. Their dad, in his infinite fucking wisdom, required the four Vega brothers to each find a mate within one year of his death or the gorgeous family ranch, Vega Ranch, would be turned over to the state of Montana and they would be out on the streets with nothing but empty pockets and their dicks in their hands.
Khan felt his body tense up and his heart start to pound as he looked at the website on the computer screen; The Bride Guide: You’ve tried, you’ve been denied, now order a bride!
Julius had found his new mate and wife, Ava, on the website and everything worked out great for them, but Khan was different. He really didn’t want to get married. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He just didn’t want to get married to anyone on that site.
“I told you guys,” Khan grunted. “It’s not going to happen.”
“Come on, Khan,” Julius said, dropping his karate stance and walking over. “What’s the worst that can happen? You get a little ass?”
“It’s been a while,” Hannibal said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
Julius laughed. “The last time you got a piece of ass was when your finger ripped through the toilet paper.”
“I haven’t kicked an ass lately either,” Khan answered, glaring at his younger brother Julius. He cracked his knuckles and ground his teeth together. “I think I’m due.”
Julius walked over and slid his hand over Khan’s shoulder as if he wasn’t just threatened by a vicious Kodiak bear shifter. “Getting laid might release some of that pent-up aggression,” he said, turning Khan towards the computer. “Plus, it would be really fun.”
“Not as fun as knocking you out,” he grunted.
“Look at all of these women,” Hannibal said, scrolling up the screen. Little boxes of women in their best photos raced up the monitor. It looked like a little vending machine of wannabe brides. “What do you like?” Hannibal asked. “Small, big, blonde, brunette, curvy, flat?”
“Man, woman?” Julius added.
There was only one woman who interested Khan: Bailey Lewis. The curvy girl with the chestnut hair who smelled like vanilla and laughed with a high pitched squeal that she was always embarrassed of and tried to hide. He had spent a magical summer with her almost five years ago, back before the Vega brothers had been ripped from the Vega Ranch and forced into the Special Shifter Forces of the United States military.
Bailey’s family had rented Mr. Miller’s house for the summer and Khan and her had quickly hit it off. It had been the best weeks of his life until it got all fucked up and things fell apart.
He hadn’t seen her since but he thought about her every day. His Kodiak bear had bonded to her that summer and he was never able to get over her. He didn’t want to get over her. Living with Bailey’s unrequited love was still better than nothing and it was still better than having a loving relationship with someone else. She was the only one for him.
Even if his brothers thought otherwise.
“Don’t make me smash the computer against the wall,” Khan warned. “I said no.”
Hannibal dropped his head back and sighed. “You said you would.”
“I lied.”
Julius stepped back and started unbuttoning his shirt. “I think he needs a little grizzly persuasion.”
Khan’s lips curled up into a smile as he watched his brother yank off his shirt. Khan hadn’t been in a fight in weeks. His bear was already pacing inside him, excited for a go.
“What’s going on in here?” Ava asked, poking her head into the office. “Honey, why do you have your shirt off again?”
Julius just shrugged. “I’m showing my brothers what real abs look like.”
“They’re very nice, dear,” she said, rolling her eyes as he flexed his stomach.
“We’re trying to set up Khan on the dating website,” Hannibal said.
Khan clenched and then unclenched his hands as his mind raced to think of an excuse to leave.
“That’s great, Khan,” Ava said with a smile as she walked into the room. Not another one.
<
br /> He was way too outnumbered. All of this talk about wives and mates lately was starting to get on his nerves. He wasn’t going to have anyone if he couldn’t have Bailey, which he couldn’t. He burned that bridge a long time ago.
“What do you have so far?” Ava asked, leaning over Hannibal’s shoulder.
“I’m trying to find a picture of Khan that won’t scare off every potential lady in Montana,” he said. “Not having any luck.”
“Oh, be nice,” she said, swatting Hannibal away. “This one from our wedding is nice. You look hot in your suit, Khan.”
Julius grumbled with jealousy. Khan smirked at him, making sure to rub it in nice and good to piss him off.
“He looks like a caveman in a suit,” Hannibal said with a chuckle.
“No,” Julius said, leaning in to look at the picture. “He looks like a gorilla who found a clip-on tie.”
“Put your shirt on, honey,” Ava said, ignoring their comments. She grabbed the mouse from Hannibal and clicked on the picture, making it his profile pic. “Well, I think it looks sexy and my opinion as a woman is the only one that matters.”
“Hear that?” Khan asked, turning to Julius. “Your mate thinks I’m sexy.”
Julius clenched his jaw and raised a fist. “Let’s see how sexy she thinks you look with a broken nose.”
“Alright,” Ava said, spinning around and grabbing Julius’ flexed arm. “You’ve been very helpful Mr. Vega but I think I can take it from here.”
Khan waved and grinned at Julius as his mate pushed him out of the office.
“What should we put under interests?” Hannibal asked. “How about drinking, gambling and giving people dirty looks?”
Ava grabbed Hannibal by the ear and pulled him up out of the chair. “Thank you, Mr. Vega,” she said, pulling him to the door as he yelped and whined, “but we no longer require your assistance either.”
Khan laughed as she booted him into the hallway and closed the door. He was starting to like his new sister-in-law.
“Let’s get you set up properly,” she said, plopping down in the seat.
“Hhhm,” he grunted.
“What’s the matter,” she asked, spinning around in the chair. “Why don’t you want to meet anyone?”
He exhaled long and slow. He wasn’t about to tell her about Bailey and how much he had suffered over the past five years. That was his burden to bear. He didn’t share that with anyone.
“Is it because of your mother?” Ava asked. “Because not all women are like that.”
Khan’s mother had been mentally unstable when the boys were growing up and the awful way that she treated their father had really stuck with the four Vega brothers and turned them off of having mates. That seemed to be it for Julius and Hannibal, he had no idea what was going on in Alexander’s head, but that wasn’t the issue for Khan. He already had a mate and he would have gladly married Bailey but it wasn’t an option. And he wasn’t willing to settle for anyone else. There couldn’t ever be anyone else.
“Let’s just get started,” he said, rolling his eyes. Khan decided to set up a profile to get everyone off his back. He wasn’t planning on going on any dates or meeting up with any women, though. He could lie and say he was going on a date and then just hang out with Jack at The Call of the Wild bar and have a few beers.
“Great!” Ava said. Khan sat on the bed as she turned back to the computer. “We have to write a little bit about yourself. What are some of your interests?”
Khan sighed. “I like to drink whiskey and shoot guns in the forest.”
Ava tapped her finger to her chin as she looked up at the ceiling. “I’m going to write that you have a thirst for life and love being in the great outdoors.”
Khan scrunched his nose up. Whatever. I’m not dating anyone anyway so what does it matter?
“What do you look for in a girl?” she asked next.
That her name be Bailey Lewis. That was about it.
“This isn’t going to work,” Khan said with a sigh.
“Don’t be such a crabby Kodiak,” she said. “It’s going to be great. Look how lucky Julius was,” she said with a smirk. “He found me!”
“Fine,” he said, anxious to get this over with. “Big breasts.”
Ava frowned at him. “I meant personality wise.”
“Someone that won’t nag me.”
Ava exhaled a frustrated breath as she turned back around to the computer. “Someone with a great sense of humor, smart and nice.”
“What’s next?” Khan asked, tapping his foot on the floor.
“Just relax,” she said, typing away at the keyboard. “I’ll finish it for you.”
Khan plopped down on the leather sofa. He stared at the ceiling as he wondered what Bailey was doing at this exact moment. Was she married? Did she have a boyfriend? She must. A woman that amazing wouldn’t stay single for long.
She probably had a long line-up of men waiting to ask her out once Khan had been shipped overseas. The thought made his bear growl inside him and made the vein in his temple twitch.
“All done,” she said, hitting the enter key.
“Now what?”
“Now we wait to see if you have any matches.” Khan stepped off the bed and stood beside her as the website went through the possible matches.
It binged and six women popped up on the screen. Khan’s eyes flew open and locked on the fourth one down. He would recognize that chestnut hair and those sparkling brown eyes from anywhere. It was Bailey.
“Oooh,” Ava said. “Look at this blond one. She’s pretty.”
Khan didn’t look up. He didn’t even so much as glance at the other women. His eyes were glued to Bailey’s picture.
How is she still single?
This was a website for women looking to get married. I can’t believe that she’s still single.
What difference did it make? Really. He still didn’t have a shot with her and now he had to deal with this glimmer of false hope. It would have been easier if he found out that she was married with a dozen kids.
“What about her?” Ava asked, hovering the mouse cursor over Bailey’s forehead.
“No!” Khan snapped, causing Ava to jerk her head around and look at him in shock.
“Sorry,” he said, composing himself. He didn’t want Bailey to see his profile. “Let me just look at them in private. Please.”
Ava nodded and headed for the door. “Having a mate is a good thing, Khan. Your father may have gone about this whole thing wrong but he was right. You’ll see.”
“Thanks for your help, Ava.”
She nodded and closed the door, giving him some alone time.
Khan spent a whole five minutes just staring at her picture. His Kodiak bear purred and was content for the first time in five years. I know. I miss her too, buddy.
His fingers flew over the keyboard and before he knew it, he was changing his whole profile. He changed his name from Khan Vega to Chip Edwards. Chip was an investment banker with a weekend home in the vineyards of Northern California. He liked biking, cooking and giving foot massages.
He uploaded a picture of a good looking guy who he found off of Google images and swapped his photo for Chip’s. When all signs of Khan Vega were erased from the profile he clicked on Bailey’s image.
She lives in Davenfield now? That was a town that was only about half an hour away. She moved. Her family had lived in Portland when they had dated but Bailey always loved Montana. She loved the mountains and the vast outdoors and all it had to offer. She had been amazed when he showed her around the Vega Ranch. They spent the summer hiking over the hills, swimming in the lake and river, and making love everywhere they could.
Khan’s heart pounded as he stared at the big green message button at the bottom of the page. His hand had a mind of its own and moved the cursor over the large button. He closed his eyes and clicked it.
An army of butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he typed five measly letters that could chang
e his life:
Chip: Hello.
He gulped as he hit send.
Shit!
There was no take-back button. He jumped up off the chair and paced around the room while the little cloud bubble popped up in the chat window, signaling that she was typing something back.
The computer dinged and he lunged at it.
Bailey: Hi.
Khan wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and tried to figure out what to say back. He was in over his head here. This was a bad idea.
The little cloud bubble appeared again and he watched in an excited panic.
Bailey: You’re hot. Want to go out some time?
A tinge of rage flew through him at Bailey finding Chip Edwards hot but he was excited to talk to her nonetheless. He had dreamed of talking to Bailey again for years. This wasn’t exactly what he had in mind but he would take what he could get. His hands flew to the keyboard.
Chip: Definitely.
two
“Not again!” Bailey hissed as she grabbed the burning ginger chicken breast off the stove. The pan was smoking and she turned the fan over the stove on before the fire alarm went off again.
Bailey tried to make an effort to cook healthy for her growing boy but she wasn’t the most able cook. Her ginger chicken breast already tasted like newspaper but it was even worse when it was overcooked. Now it would taste like burnt newspaper.
“Oh no,” Jodi said, scrunching her nose up. “Is it supposed to be black like that?”
“What do you think?” Bailey asked, scratching it off the bottom of the pan.
“I think we should do take out,” Jodi said.
Bailey sighed. Her sister was always offering up clever commentary but she was never any help.
Jodi was sitting beside Bailey’s son, Liam, who was playing with his LEGOs and talking non-stop in incoherent sentences that only loosely flowed together. He was almost four-years-old and he never shut up.
