Catching the Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Callaghan Clan Book 3)

by Meredith Clarke

Then a branch snapped somewhere nearby. I stood, closing the tent and taking in my surroundings. In the full daylight, I realized how beautiful Calvin’s camp really was. In the distance I could hear the faint sounds of running water, and nearby, it seemed like a thousand different birds chirped their songs. The sun’s rays pushed through the dense trees, causing a kaleidoscope of dancing lights to surround us all. Another snap had me spinning on my heels and looking back toward Calvin’s den.

  The smoke of last night’s fire still lingered, and a tea kettle sat across the metal frame Calvin had built. But I still didn’t see the man, even though I heard another crunching sound come from that direction.

  “Hello?” I asked meekly. If it was a predator, I didn’t want to give away my location. Inching back against the tent, hand ready to unzip if needed, I asked again. “Is someone out here.”

  Off to my left, I heard a couple of animal footsteps a second before a large mountain lion stepped out of the trees. “Calvin?” I asked, hopeful that this was my shifter friend and not an actual mountain lion. “Is that you?”

  The big cat tilted its head to the side and flared its nostrils. Something large and brown hung from its jaws, no longer moving but still flapping back and forth from the momentum. We locked eyes, and I was pretty sure I recognized Calvin in there. Fairly sure.

  The mountain lion walked passed me toward the fire. He set down the kill, a marmot maybe, and then turned back to me. Strutting over to a large fallen log, he climbed on top and then arched his back. Moving into something like a downward dog position, the started scratching at the already shredded bark. His large claws dug into the wood, splinters falling to the ground each time he retracted them. I swear I saw a smile appear on his feline face and heard the purr coming from deep within his chest.

  Walking over to him, I stood close enough to pet his back. He arched it high in the air, balancing on the log like a professional. He nudged my arm with his cold nose, begging for more attention. I giggled and once again marveled at how similar Calvin’s behaviors in cat form were to Major’s. And how they both acted like tame housecats when they wanted attention.

  Calvin sniffed the air and then jumped off his log. He chuffed at me and disappeared into his den. The magic filled the air, that electricity that I knew and was starting to love. Who would have thought that a city girl like me was starting to enjoy being around shifters every waking minute? Perhaps I could contribute that to the present company around me, but still, I knew I would forever love the feel of that magic nearby.

  Calvin emerged, dressed in a pair of jeans and a black tank top, carrying a large plastic bin. Without saying anything, he plopped it down at the end of the log and then proceeded to tie his dreads up into another man bun directly on top of his head. “How did you sleep.”

  I was instantly embarrassed, remembering that even if Calvin didn’t have shifter hearing, he still would have known what Bo and I did last night. Clearing my throat, I averted my gaze so he wouldn’t see my blush. “Fine, thank you.”

  He huffed and gave me a quick glance. “So, does he know yet?”

  Surprised, I stood and walked toward him, almost tripping over the dead thing on the ground. Definitely some type of marmot. “Does he know what?” I whispered, hoping Bo was still sleeping soundly.

  Giving me yet another look, Calvin pulled out a cutting board and a large knife and picked up this morning’s kill. He cut the head off and drained the blood before speaking again. “That you’re a witch.”

  Fear gripped my heart. Shit. Did Bo hear that? Swallowing hard, I sat back down on the log and watched Calvin prepare another fresh meal. “No, he doesn’t. And I don’t think I’m going to tell him.”

  “Why not?” His deep voice didn’t sound surprised, just curious.

  “I guess I don’t know how to. Last time I confessed to a guy it didn’t end well.” I twisted the ring on my finger, the memory of Evan’s reaction forever etched in my heart and on my scarred body.

  Calvin glanced at my hand and then went back to pulling off the fur on the animal. “That was a long time ago,” he said. “You were too young then.”

  “What? How do you…how do you know about that?” I’d jumped to my feet again, surprised by his words.

  Using the back of his hand to brush at his nose, he shrugged. “Family gift, I guess.”

  “From your Haitian side?”

  “Must be.” He looked up at me then dropped the bloody carcass and knife on the board. Lifting up the lid of his bin, he reached in and grabbed a handful of potatoes. He tossed them my way, which I barely caught, and then pulled another knife and cutting board out. Handing them to me, he pointed toward the fire. “Why don’t you cut some home fries? It will keep your mind busy.”

  “Why do I need to keep my mind busy?” I mumbled.

  “Not busy, I guess,” he said, chopping off the limbs of the marmot, “but focused. So we can talk.”

  Okay then. “Talk about what?” I started cutting the potatoes into small pieces.

  Calvin put two frying pans on his rack and had his meat chopped before I finished the potatoes. Finally, he answered my question. “You know, in my culture, being a witch is revered.”

  “Really?”

  He nodded. “Especially female witches.” Pointing the knife at me, he smiled. “My grandmother would have loved you.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Because you have some serious skills, Kenzie. I know you’re hiding it, but I can sense it.” He tapped the hilt of his knife against his chest. “I can feel it in here.”

  While Calvin added spices to his meat and then started forming patties, I thought about his words. “You know…I’ve been working on a shifting spell.”

  That caught his attention and bright yellow-green eyes looked at me with curiosity. “You have?”

  I lowered my gaze to the pan and added a slice of butter he’d passed over to me. After it started sizzling, I dropped the potato slices in. “It’s not perfected yet,” I confessed. “I actually only got it to work one time.”

  “What’s your animal of choice?”

  Animal of choice. What a weird way to say it. “You’re going to laugh.”

  “I won’t.”

  “A black cat.”

  He chuckled and then cleared his throat to try and hide it. “Like a panther?”

  “Nope,” I said softly, heat flushing my cheeks again. “Like a house cat.”

  He looked up into the sky in thought. Then he shrugged and threw his marmot patties into the other cast iron pan. They popped and sizzled while I waited for a response. “I guess that makes sense.” With a glance over at our tent, he leaned in closer to me and whispered, “Can I see it?”

  I followed his gaze to see if Bo was still in there. “Right now?”

  He shrugged again. “I have a feeling your grizzly will be sleeping for a while.”

  Oh my god. Another blush crept up my neck and worsened when Calvin laughed at me. “I can’t…. I can’t do it now. I’m too distracted.”

  Calvin stood, stirring the potatoes and flipping the meat patties he’d made. Taking the knife and cutting board away from me, he set everything to the side and held out his hands. “There. Now you have nothing else to think about.”

  “But what about Bo?”

  “What about him? Don’t you think he’ll realize what you are the moment you step onto the coyote territory? Hell, I’m surprised he hasn’t put two and two together as to why they sent you to talk to me.”

  It was the most Calvin had said in one breath since we’d arrived. And every single word was correct. “Fine. But just don’t let him kill me if it works.”

  Calvin’s eyebrows rose and his lips parted. “Why would he kill you?”

  “Because he’s a grizzly. And I get spooked easily.”

  Calvin stared at me with a blank look.

  “And he’ll want to chase a small cat if I run.”

  Calvin’s laugh was so loud I knew for sure he’d wake up B
o. “My goodness, ma soeur, you crack me up.” He opened his palms, gesturing for me to continue.

  Oh, what the hell. Perhaps Calvin could give me some tips as to how to make this an easier transition for me. “Please make sure I don’t run away,” I said.

  Again, he cleared his throat to stop the laugh. “I will do my best, mon petit chat.”

  With a warning glare in his direction, I stood and took ten slow, deep breaths. Closing my eyes, I drew in all of my thoughts into a single consciousness. With my mind only seeing the image of a black cat, I stretched my fingers out wide and lifted my chin to the sky. The magic inside of me churned, yearning to be released with a power I’d never felt before. I briefly wondered if Calvin had something to do with this but did my best to keep focused. At the point when I thought it might explode from my chest, I uttered a single word. “Alterno.”

  Pain.

  Darkness.

  Something heavy on my back.

  I blinked, looking around and trying to get my bearings. The one other time I’d shifted, it had hurt like hell for hours. But the pain I’d briefly felt was already gone, aside from the thing pressing down on me. And that was just uncomfortable.

  “Calvin?” I tried to ask, but it simply came out as a meow.

  The ground vibrated below my feet and suddenly it was light. I looked up toward the sky to see Calvin, with an amused smile stretching across his face, holding up my clothes and shaking his head. “Impressive,” he said proudly. “I knew you were special.”

  “Special?” I asked, which sounded like another cat cry. And then it hit me. I’d done it. I shifted into my cat without any trouble. Squinting from the sun, I looked around the site, taking it all in from a much different perspective. The scent of the meat rushed through my blood, fire burning, blood and skin. The animal senses taking over, I took a few steps toward Calvin’s den. Then I had an idea.

  With the swish of my tail, I jumped up onto the log, which seemed much higher now, and repeated Calvin’s morning routine. And while I didn’t shred as much bark as he did with his cougar claws, I managed to get an amused chuckle out of him.

  I was too busy mimicking the amazing shifter I really wanted to be to notice the sound. But Calvin did and he quickly jumped forward and scooped me up into his arms. Rubbing my head, he tried to comfort me while holding me tighter than I liked. I mewed, asking him what was going on. But then I heard it.

  “Calvin,” Bo said, voice groggy from sleep, “Where’s Kenzie?”

  Calvin had his back to me and I immediately sensed that something was wrong. His scent was off and another smell, aside from breakfast, ignited my bear.

  “Calvin, where is she?” I demanded.

  His shoulders stiffened and he whispered something in French. Then he turned. Very slowly, as though he might spook me. Or perhaps scare that black cat he was holding in his hands. I stared at them both, irritated that he wasn’t answering my question and concerned that he was acting strange.

  “Calvin, don’t make me ask you again, please.” I looked down over the hill toward the Jeep but didn’t hear anything. Then I spun around, observing the woods surrounding us and listening for her. But my attention got pulled back to that cat and my bear forced me to walk closer. He knew…something.

  “Where is Kenzie?” I whispered to Calvin, eyes still glued to the bright blue ones taking up most of the space on the cat’s face.

  It meowed and bowed its head.

  Calvin raised a brow at me and then dropped his gaze to the animal in his arms.

  I bent forward and sniffed the air around the cat. And then it all clicked. “Kenzie?” Jumping back, I almost stepped in the fire. “What the hell is going on?”

  Calvin sat on a log off to the side, cat still firmly resting in his lap. “There’s a reason the ISC sent Kenzie,” he said. The cat nipped at his hand and he frowned. “Fine. She’ll tell you.”

  “Tell me what?” I shouted. I wasn’t mad. At least I didn’t think I was. I was just confused. And wondering how in the hell Kenzie had shifted. And why did she pick a tiny cat?

  Calvin rubbed the bottom of her chin like she’d done to him yesterday. I didn’t like that and neither did my bear. So I lunged forward, grabbed Kenzie, and held her out in front of me. With my hands under her front legs, she hung there without putting up a fight. Those blue eyes, the color of faraway oceans, bored into my soul. “Are you really Kenzie?” I asked her.

  When she opened her mouth, a tiny squeak came out.

  So damn cute.

  I smiled and brushed my nose against hers. She pressed her face next to mine, trying to rub my skin and bristling beard that hadn’t been shaved in two days. So I repositioned her in my arms and stroked the back of her neck. Looking at Calvin, I asked, “Are you going to explain?”

  He started to say something but then Kenzie bit my arm. “Ouch,” I said and accidently dropped her. Of course she landed on all fours, shaking her head when she did. Then she strutted a few steps away, tail raised, showing me her back. A glance over her shoulder told me to stand still and several seconds later, she let out a howl that pierced my sensitive ears. I closed my eyes in pain for just a moment, and when I opened them, a naked and totally human Kenzie stood where the cat had just been.

  She crossed one arm over her breasts and the other over her perfectly waxed female area that I’d enjoyed so much last night. “Hi,” she whispered.

  I turned my head to look at Calvin and growled at him when he hadn’t averted his eyes from her yet. Then, jumping forward, I grabbed her clothes and handed them to her.

  “Thanks.”

  I couldn’t speak while she got dressed. But I did block her view from Calvin, the bear so close to the surface I worried what he might do next. When she finished dressing, her turquoise eyes looked up into mine, filled with unanswered questions and fear for what I might say. “So…surprise.”

  With another glance at Calvin, who seemed to be unusually busy with our breakfast, I could do nothing but shrug. “What are you?” I asked Kenzie.

  “Why don’t we talk while we eat,” Calvin suggested.

  Kenzie darted past me and grabbed the plate Calvin held out to her. Then she sat on the log and waited for me to join. Once we all had food in front of us, I raised my brows at both of them.

  Kenzie sighed. “I’m a witch.”

  “Who can shift?” I asked.

  “I’m not like you,” she said, disappointment flooding her words. My bear didn’t like hearing that tone. She wasn’t happy.

  I reached out and squeezed her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She shook her head. “I just didn’t…I don’t know.” Leaning her head against my shoulder she said, “I’m sorry.”

  I didn’t need an apology from her. I really didn’t. But I still had questions. “Does Major know?”

  She nodded.

  “Does the ISC know?”

  Her head bobbed again.

  “That’s why they sent her,” Calvin added. I shot him a glare and he continued. “They knew that she’d be able to connect better with me and with the coyotes.”

  “Huh?” I sounded ignorant but I was at a loss here.

  “Calvin comes from a family of voodoo priestesses and the coyotes have a…a certain kind of respect for witches,” Kenzie clarified.

  I sat still, stewing over this information. And then I thought about what I just saw. “Wait! You can become a cat? Like I can become a grizzly?”

  Kenzie reached up and brushed her fingers over my lips. “I could only wish to be a shifter like you,” she said. “It’s just a spell I’ve been working on.”

  “It’s a very complicated spell,” Calvin said and when I gave him another glare, he raised his hands. “All I’m saying is that your mate is very powerful.”

  Mate?

  “Mate?” Kenzie asked, sitting up straight and dropping her jaw.

  “Calvin,” I groaned. “Now is not the time for that.”

  “For what?” she as
ked.

  Shaking my head, I pulled her under my arm again. “We’ll talk about that later. But for now,” I kissed the top of her crazy red hair, “tell me about being a witch.”

  She giggled and took a bite of her meat patty. “Oh my gosh, Calvin. This is actually really good.”

  I let the fact that she hadn’t answered my question slide and started in on my breakfast as well. Calvin enjoyed watching us and I secretly wondered if he loved entertaining people—the few times in his life that he’d had visitors.

  Once Kenzie finished eating a couple more bites, she set the plate in her lap and looked up at me. “I was born into it.”

  “Being a witch?”

  “Yeah. It’s in both my mother and father’s family line. The Parker name goes all the way back to the Salem witch trails.”

  “Really?” Calvin asked through a full mouth.

  She nodded. “My parents and grandparents all worked with the ISC and other organizations. I guess I never really had much of a choice as to what my career would be.”

  “Wait a minute,” I said, “did you have anything to do with the…” I looked at Calvin and chose my words carefully, “the uprising in New York a few months ago.”

  With a big sigh, she smiled as though thankful she could share that information. “The cleanup only. I had nothing to do with actual events.”

  “What events?” Calvin asked in his deep voice.

  “Stuff you wouldn’t want to know about,” she said. “Trust me.” Then she glanced up at me. “How do you know about that?”

  I cleared my throat and debated what to say. The truth sounded about right. “Brandt had us help Viktor and his people.”

  “Oh,” she said with a gasp.

  “But we left as soon as we could.”

  With another nod, she took a bite of potatoes. “It was a mess.”

  “I know.”

  “Well, I don’t but I guess that doesn’t matter,” Calvin said. He stood quickly and stomped into his den. I thought he was simply throwing a tantrum until he returned with something rectangular in his hand. As large as a classroom book, the brown leather cover had faded but hadn’t lost its distinctive smell. “I want you to have this,” he said to Kenzie. “It belonged to my grandmother.”