Elaina’s face felt hot. “How can you tell?”
“We bears can smell it for miles,” Cullen said with a wink. “Not to worry. We won’t try to mate with you, will we, brother?”
Damon smiled widely. “Oh, no. It never even crossed my mind.”
Elaina felt almost faint. Was she really considering leaving with these two equally handsome werebears to parts unknown? “I hope that’s a promise,” Elaina said.
Cullen gazed into Elaina’s eyes. “That’s a promise, Miss whatever your name is.”
“I’m Elaina. Your brother is right. I am famished. I had hoped to catch some fish while I was here.”
“That can be arranged,” Cullen said.
Elaina and Damon wandered back to the same river bank that Elaina had crawled from after she was nearly swept away by the river. Cullen shifted and soon began batting trout to the shore. Elaina picked up the slippery fish and brought them further on shore. She loved how slippery they felt beneath her fingers. There are so many things she needed to learn. If only Samson had given her the opportunity to learn them. If only he wasn’t so concerned with keeping her hidden.
Damon thought she was from the clan? Strange. That must mean that they’re not from the clan, either. Perhaps Samson was right about how dangerous the clan really was. At least now she might be able to ask more questions about the clan when the time was right.
Elaina felt like she was burning up inside. It was nearly impossible to keep her eyes off Cullen, and it didn’t help that he was naked when in human form.
“It’s time to go,” Damon announced. “Carry the fish in your shirt.”
Elaina lifted the hem of her shirt and piled the fish on it. “What if we encounter a real bear on the way?”
“That’s what Cullen is for. He’ll stay in werebear form until we get home. We can’t very well have a naked man wandering around in the woods. It would be mighty hard to explain if we ran into a human.”
“Not half as hard as explaining why we’re traveling with a bear.”
Elaina brushed against Cullen’s bear form. His brown fur was so soft against her arms that she felt the urge to curl up with him.
Damon led the way with Elaina next to him, with Cullen pulling up the rear. Damon reminded Elaina to not step on any sticks or make any unnecessary noise. Elaina wondered what that was about. There was plenty of wildlife in the woods, although she had no idea what kind of wildlife would be a threat to them. Elaina looked over her shoulder to assure herself that Cullen was still following. He turned his head every time their eyes met. Elaina couldn’t help but wonder why. She was just curious as she’d never met any other werebears before.
The soft needle bed of the forest that they walked on became courser and filled with rocks and stones. The ground then sloped upward and they climbed a hill. Elaina followed Damon down a narrow pathway that was nearly invisible and covered with a blanket of leaves and tree limbs. When they surfaced from the trail, it opened up into a clearing with ten huts, covered with barn wood and peaked roofs.
In the center of the village was an open fire that had a boar roasting over it. The old women attending to it stopped as they walked by, while children appeared from inside the huts, pushed back by dark-haired beauties who were most likely their mothers.
Elaina turned as Cullen lumbered by, disappearing between huts. When he didn’t return until ten minutes later, Elaina was on edge. The people of the village gazed at her with interest, but one young woman strutted forward. “Who is this?” she demanded.
Damon handed her his rifle and Elaina wondered if that was such a great idea since she was quite upset.
“I don’t have to answer to you, Shauna, or anyone else,” Damon said.
“But, I’m your mate.”
“I have no mate. You’re one of my favorites, but don’t overstep your bounds with me.”
Shauna glared at Elaina and stomped away. “She’s not that happy with me being here.”
“Don’t worry. Some of the women here are just not used to us bringing home strays.”
“I’m not a stray, and you insisted I come, remember?”
“Yes, he did, but we should have warned you that some of the women are quite territorial,” Cullen said as he made his way to Elaina. “Some of the men were taken not long ago, and now, we have more women to mate with. If we quit producing offspring, our line will die off.”
“But I thought bears choose a mate.”
“They can, but right now Cullen and I have the responsibility to fulfill. It’s not like that where you’re from?”
Elaina couldn’t stop herself from asking, “What if a female wants to mate with more than one bear?”
“They can, but we all have to be in agreement.”
“That’s just disgusting. So you have your own bear harem here?”
“Oh?” Cullen asked as he moved toward them. “How is it you know what a harem is and not what a mermaid is?”
“I-I read it in a book, I guess. Where I’m from, a werebear is only allowed to mate with one female. He’s responsible for her happiness and protection.”
“All the males protect the females of the village. It matters not if they’re their mate or not. What is this happiness you speak of? It’s all about mating, child bearing, and surviving through the winter.”
That rattled Elaina’s chain. “You sound like a barbaric group of werebears to me. I should have stayed by the river.”
“Yes, and you could fight off the other males who would come to mate with you, too, I suppose?”
Elaina strutted away a few feet. “I’ll stay until this fever is gone, and then I’ll leave.”
Cullen whirled Elaina to face him, taking her face between his hands. “You’ll have to decide who you want to mate with, me or my brother.”
Elaina swung her hand toward Cullen’s face, but he gently twisted her arm behind her back. “Be nice now. It’s the only way this fever will pass.” When he released her, she fell to the ground in a heap.
Elaina jumped back up and said, “I’d rather mate with your brother.” She strutted away to the sound of Cullen’s laughter. She wandered toward the old ones who were roasting the boar. They gazed at her with sullen eyes, but didn’t speak with her until the eldest of them said, “You’ve got the fever bad. Before long you’ll have to mate with one of our men. Cullen is a strong man and will give you hours worth of pleasure.”
“So will Damon,” another said.
Elaina felt sick to her stomach now. “Have you all mated with them?”
The women cackled. “We’re too old for all that rough stuff, but at least with you here now, some of the females with get a break.”
Elaina pressed her fists against her cheeks. “I-I can’t do that. I was hoping to find a mate who only desires me, not every other female in the village … or wherever it is I decide to live.”
Elaina cleaned the fish and filleted them according to how the old ones told her. She then cooked them in a pan that was placed over the rack that sat over the open fire. She enjoyed the fragrance of fish cooking, ignoring Cullen and Damon who were near one of the huts. When the fish was cooked, Elaina greedily wolfed it down. She loved the taste of fish, but if truth be known, she hadn’t eaten any raw fish before. Samson really did shelter her too much, but when she left here, she might go back home. She just wasn’t cut out for living off the land in the wilderness. It was apparent that she wouldn’t find what she was looking for in this village.
Chapter Seven
Sometime after she ate, Elaina was led to a hut. Inside was a large pool of water with steam rising from it. “This is a hot spring,” the old one by the name of Hannah said. “Relax, you’re safe here.”
When she had left, Elaina wiggled out of her clothing and carefully stepped into the water. It felt so good as the water rippled against her swollen breasts that ached. It’s not fair to have the mating fever when she was not near any werebear she’d want to mate with. Since they weren’t all th
at particular who they mated with, Elaina was resolved to not mate with any of them. But what if the fever wouldn’t go away? Would she be able to mate with Cullen or Damon when it would only be for the moment? And what would happen to her if she got with child? Would she and the cub be taken care of by the village, or cast out? So far, most of the females had stayed away from her, but she couldn’t blame them, really. They had to have considered her a threat already. Would it be safe to sleep here, or would one of them murder her in her sleep? They might have resigned themselves to sharing Cullen and Damon with the other women of the village, but what about a stranger like her?
So lost in thought was Elaina that she barely realized when someone else entered the pool with a splash. Elaina turned, half expecting that it was one of the women, but she stared into Cullen’s dark eyes as he ogled her engorged breasts. As if he knew what she was thinking, he reached over and cupped a breast, tormenting her nipple until it hardened beneath his finger and thumb as he rolled and squeezed it.
Elaina pushed him away, but he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up against him. She felt his hardness pressing against her, and in shock, clawed at his face. “Stop!”
He let her go. “What in the hell did you do that for?” he asked as he massaged his cheek.
“I-I...” Elaina was so overcome with fear that she couldn’t say anything more. She wanted to finally find out firsthand what all the mating was about, but her innocence made her too scared to see it through.
“Surely you’ve done this before?”
“I’ve not bathed in a hot spring before, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“No, I mean mated before. A beautiful woman like you would have had to be kept under lock and key to keep the other werebears from mounting you.”
Elaina pressed her hands against her cheeks that felt hotter by the minute. Her womanhood throbbed for Cullen’s touch, but she was too afraid to allow him to touch her. “I-I was kept locked up. I’ve never been with a werebear before, or a human either.”
Cullen massaged his chin. “That explains a lot. So you’re a virgin, then. That certainly puts a damper on things.”
Elaina gazed at him now, and as one lone tear trickled down her face, she hoped he just thought it was sweat. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not in the habit of deflowering virgins. I like my women more experienced.”
Elaina felt a stab deep in her heart that she couldn’t explain, since it made no sense. So far today, nothing this man said had pleased her. “Okay, but I never said I wanted to mate with you anyway. Damon is more of my liking,” Elaina lied, half hoping to hurt his feelings like he had hurt hers.”
“Fine,” he snapped as he rose from the water. “I’ll go get him for you.” Cullen threw on his pants and stomped from the hut.
“What have I gotten myself into?” Elaina said out loud.
She felt weak now, but the last thing she wanted to do was remain naked in this pool when Damon came in. She knew she shouldn’t have said she preferred Damon, but she couldn’t stop herself, and now it was way too late to take it back. Elaina had no idea what she should do as she dressed. When she walked out from the hut, she ran straight into Damon.
Elaina jumped back as if scorched.
“What’s going on?” Damon asked. “Cullen told me you preferred to mate with me tonight. Is that true? Did you really say that?”
Elaina trembled under Damon’s intense gaze. “No. Yes. I mean…” She hung her head, unable to explain what had just happened between her and Cullen.
“Come, let’s take a walk where we can speak privately,” Damon said.
Elaina allowed Damon to lead her away and knew why Damon had insisted that they go somewhere private. Most of the village was looking at them with interest, including Shauna, Damon’s favorite. Shauna’s eyes narrowed into slits and her lips rippled, her muscles twitching like she was about to shift.
“Shauna!” Damon bellowed. “If you harm the newcomer, you’ll be banned from the village.”
“You can’t make that decision, brother. It’s a mutual decision of the villagers,” Cullen said, his arm around a fiery redhead.
“Oh, so how are we to prevent the newcomer from harm, then?”
“Look after the cubs, Shauna. I’m sure Damon will join you later.”
Elaina sighed. “I don’t understand any of this. Why did you bring me here, Cullen?”
“For protection. I can’t allow another werebear to become a victim of the werewolves who lurk not far away.”
“Since when does a werewolf kill a werebear? They can’t. Bears are much more powerful, and bigger.”
“Because they’re pack hunters. It wasn’t so long ago that the silver-haired wolf murdered one of our own, once the rest of the pack had knocked her down a ledge.”
Elaina shook her head. “There’s no way a werewolf would ever do that.”
Hannah, the old one, crept forward. “And how would you know? Are you one of them?”
“She’s all bear,” Cullen said. “I’ve seen her shift.”
Elaina bit her tongue. She wanted to tell them that they had it all wrong about the werewolves. The pack she had spent a few days with showed no signs of being murderers. They only had shown aggression when she had shifted and were trying to protect their pups. No. Elaina just couldn’t believe that story, unless it was another pack, although the notion seemed wrong since there could only be one wolf pack nearby.
Elaina gazed sadly at Hannah. “I’m a werebear and I’ve never met a wolf I liked,” she lied with a hint of a smile. She gave Cullen one last look and walked away from him before her face or eyes betrayed her. It bothered her that it was so easy for him to cast her aside in favor of that skinny redhead. She must be one small bear when she shifted, Elaina thought.
Damon showed her the way to a stream nearby. He motioned to a large boulder for her to sit, and Elaina sat down. A line of maples concealed the stream from the pathway. Directly above her head on a tree limb, a squirrel chattered and a woodpecker hammered away on another tree not far away. The ground was carpeted with fallen leaves from the previous year and grass jutted from between rocks.
“Why does he hate me?” Elaina asked Damon.
“Who, Cullen?”
“Yes, one minute he was—you know—touching me, and then he rejected me.”
Damon stepped back with a shocked expression on his handsome face. “Rejected you? That doesn’t sound like Cullen at all. He’s never been one to have self control, especially with someone that looks like you.”
Elaina glanced down at her curvy body. “I know I’m too big, but Sa ... I mean, I’ve been told bears are supposed to be big boned.”
“Some are, and I hardly think your body has anything to do with Cullen’s decision not to mate with you.”
“That redhead is very skinny.”
“She’s a human. We found her wandering the forest last year and took her in. She’s produced two cubs, one for me and one for Cullen.”
“So you share her?”
“We have, but during different seasons. Our bloodline is important.”
“Important how?”
“Well, most of the men in our line have been taken this last year. We lost ten werebears in all. Cullen and I have royal blood that can be traced back to our ancestors in Russia. It’s been said that our ancestors escaped across the ice in the winter, fearing to be massacred as most of our other ancestors were.”
This was making sense. The ice between Russia and Alaska would be easily crossed during winter when it would be frozen over.
“Surely you and Cullen can’t be expected to populate the earth with your cubs.”
“I told you as much,” Cullen said as he approached us. “What’s so hard to understand?”
“What happened to the other men in the village? Who took them?”
Cullen’s face tightened. “That’s not something I want to dwell on. We don’t know you well enough to speak to you about
these matters.”
That took Elaina aback. “I just don’t understand. How can you expect to keep the village safe with just the two of you? Certainly there have to be more men here?”
Damon’s mouth tightened. “The other men are—”
Cullen interjected with, “None of your business. I won’t have you asking us any more prying questions.”
“Is that right, Damon? Am I asking too many questions?”
“Yes, you are. We live a simple life here and don’t need any more upheaval right now. Choose which one of us you want to mate with first and be about your way.”
Elaina stood there with a surprised look on her face. “First? You can’t expect that I’ll be mating with both of you.” She backed up a few paces. “Won’t that be confusing if I become pregnant?”
“You’ll be gone, most likely, before you realize you’re with child, so it matters not,” Cullen said, moving closer.
Damon caressed Elaina’s back. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”
Elaina pushed away. “No? You’d impregnate me and leave me to my own defenses without a mate to protect me?”
Cullen smiled. “There’s a way we could mate with you without spilling our seed inside of you, if you insist, insuring that you don’t get with child. I personally don’t like to waste my seed that way, but since you’re unknown to us, it might be for the best.”
Elaina wasn’t ready for this conversation. “I thought you didn’t want me. You said as much earlier.”
Cullen lifted a tendril of Elaina’s dark hair that curled around his finger. “I was reluctant to be your first, but it can’t be helped now.”
“First,” Damon said. “As in untouched by man or beast?”
Elaina’s heart beat so hard now. She didn’t think being innocent of the matters of the flesh would matter.
“I’d be happy to volunteer to be first,” Damon said with a wink. “I’ll be gentle, unlike that brute of a brother of mine.”
“That’s not going to happen, brother. I saw her first.”
Both men faced each other, their faces equally taut with clenched fists, their fangs exposed enough that Elaina could see them. Were these fools serious? They continued to argue amongst themselves, ignoring Elaina completely like she had no say in the matter.
Hidden, Clan of the Werebear Page 4
