Shift Out of Luck (Bear Bites Book 1)

by Dixon, Ruby

  “Have a good time in the woods?”

  “Um, yes?” Adelaide says.

  “Shut up, asshole,” I answer, and gently prod Adelaide up the stairs. I don’t think now is the time to tell her that while the pine trees might have provided plenty of visual cover, the sounds and smells of our mating wouldn’t have escaped any bear within a five-mile radius.

  “Just wanting to make sure you had a good time,” Leo lies cheerfully. He knows we had a good time. He’s just needling me, but I can’t get real angry because after three years of waiting, I finally have Adelaide. And now I was going to make sure I could keep her.

  “Better time than you’ve had with anyone but Rosy Palm,” I mutter as I pass him.

  “The right hand is a regular and reliable date,” Leo grins. “Plus she knows exactly how I like it.”

  “You need to get out more. Maybe go for a walk in the woods. Worked for me,” I offer magnanimously.

  “Maybe I do.”

  Inside the Lodge’s cool lobby, Adelaide raises her perfect eyebrows. “Rosy Palm? Did you just tell Leo that all he does is masturbate?”

  I flush a little, like a schoolboy caught passing dirty notes by the teacher. “Depends on if it makes you mad.”

  She laughs. “No. It reminds me of some friends back home. They are always joking with each other.”

  “Okay, then, yeah. But it was all in fun.”

  “I’m glad, because Leo seems like a nice guy.” Nice guy? I don’t like that. I frown at her and don’t even try to stop the unhappy growl that rumbles in the back of my throat.

  Adelaide pats me on the arm. “Don’t worry, big guy. I’m only hot after you. Leo came and told me not to give up on you when you were being a poopy head the other day.”

  Well, shit. Now I have to be nice to Leo. “That was decent of him,” I admit grudgingly.

  “It was, wasn’t it?” She smiles as if it doesn’t bother her at all that she’s asking me to be nice to Leo.

  I mumble something to myself about how being nice to Leo would ruin my day. She just pats my shoulder, and to tell the truth, as long as she’s handing out these little caresses, I’ll probably do whatever it is she wants.

  Her happy demeanor disappears when we reach the Lodge office. At my knock, Eli’s booming voice tells us to come in.

  “Don’t worry,” I whisper against her ear. “He doesn’t bite.”

  “Eli, I wanted you to meet Adelaide. I told you about her the other day. Adelaide owns the spa in town. You probably know each other.”

  Eli rounds his desk in about three giant strides. “Nice to see you again, Adelaide. We’re getting a lot more couples now that you’ve opened up your business.” He shakes his head at her outstretched hand. “I can’t touch you or this old man here will have my head.”

  I give Adelaide an ‘I’m sorry’ look, but Eli’s right. My need to make sure that it’s my scent all over her body, undiluted by any other males, will abate over time, but right now it’s pretty danged high. No need for an unnecessary domination fight.

  Eli waves his hand toward a chair, but I’m in a hurry to get home. Adelaide and I both have to open our stores in two hours, which barely gives us enough time to go home, have shower sex, and return to town.

  I throw an arm around Adelaide’s shoulders. “Adelaide is my mate now. I told her I’m a bear and that most of Pine Falls are shifters.”

  She squeaks at the rough embrace, but doesn’t move away. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I swear it!” She holds up her hand as if making an oath on a non-existent bible.

  Eli leans his ass against the front of his desk and crosses his arms. “It took you long enough,” he says to me.

  Adelaide coughs into her hand to disguise a laugh. His lips quirk up at her response. He likes her and will have no problem letting her in the clan. My heart swells with satisfaction.

  “Adelaide is worth the wait,” I tell them both. She sighs.

  Eli turns to her. “We aren't ashamed of our nature, Adelaide. But there are some out there who might not be as accepting as you. Which is why we’re careful about how and when and why we share this information.”

  “I understand.” She slips an arm around me, and I’m deeply touched by her show of support. “And I would never do anything that would jeopardize Cole or his family. And you are his family.”

  Eli nods. “We are. And we’re your family too. Violet made another batch of those honey cookies. You should get a few on your way out.”

  That’s Eli’s way of telling us that the meeting is over and he wants us to leave.

  Any other time I would've stopped and gotten a couple dozen of Violet’s cookies to shove in my mouth, but I am far more interested in getting Adelaide home. There isn’t anything in the kitchen, and nothing Violet could cook up, that would taste better than Adelaide.

  “I’ll open the store for you,” Leo calls out as I drag Adelaide out of the Lodge and into the truck.

  She looks at me with regret. “I should probably go and supervise the opening of my store. There’s someone there, but I still should be there…”

  I press a kiss to her forehead. “No worries. We have the rest of our life together.”

  And I mean it.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Dear Readers,

  I’m a big fan of Alexa Riley’s smutty novels and she loves shifters. Me too! We agreed that we would write a few shifter novellas for each other.

  This January, please enjoy the four Bear Bites novellas. After January, I'll be returning to the big blue aliens we all know and love. Stay tuned!

  Lastly, if you enjoy the books, please, please leave a review. Tell me what you think and who you’re hoping to see in future books. Tell me if you want more books and what kind! I want to know your thoughts and leaving reviews helps me as an author in so many ways.

  — Roo

  DOES A BEAR SHIFT IN THE WOODS

  I’m a loner for a reason. I don’t have much in the way of social skills. I’d rather sit on my deck and watch the sunset than hit a tavern with coworkers. My idea of grooming is to trim my beard with a straight blade when it hits my collarbone. I can’t put two words together in the company of a pretty woman…and they don’t come much prettier than wolf-shifter Madison Thorne.

  She’s everything I’m not—outgoing, easy on the eyes, and sweet. There’s no way I’m convincing her to come home with me. Fortunately I don’t have to. Maddie seems to like my gruff, unpolished self. At least, she likes me enough for one night.

  The problem is getting her to stay forever.

  BUY NOW • FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

  GET YOUR SHIFT TOGETHER

  I’ve been looking for a mate in all the wrong places. When the right one shows up in Pine Falls with a man in tow, I almost miss her. Caroline Abbott is a sweetheart of a city girl who is making one last stab at keeping her (dead) relationship together. When her fool of an ex takes off and leaves her alone in the forest, I’m more than happy to step into his abandoned shoes.

  While I can make her shout with pleasure, I worry those screams will turn to fear when she realizes that my hidden half is a bear.

  I can’t keep the secret much longer, but telling her might scare her off for good.

  BUY NOW • FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

  SHIFT OUT OF LUCK

  There are few things that are off limits to the were-bears of Pine Falls, but humans are one of them. Which is a real pain, because I’ve had it bad for curvy Adelaide Laurent ever since she sashayed into town. The fact that she’s forbidden fruit just makes my fantasies all the sweeter.

  But when she signs up to go on a weekend camping trip with the town’s biggest player, it’s time for a bear to step in and claim his mate.

  I don’t care if it breaks the rules. She’s mine, and it’s time she knew it.

  BUY NOW • FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

  SHIFT JUST GOT REAL

  Life’s given me the short end of the stick on looks – I’m big, ugly
and brutish. Normally I wouldn’t care about the packaging except for the fact that the woman of my dreams is Ryann Brown, a human half my age and so lovely she makes my body ache. What’s a were-bear to do in this situation?

  Whatever he can to forget her, of course.

  Except Ryann’s not taking no for an answer. And when she catches me watching her one night, she gives me a show I’ll never forget. Did I think I’d be able to walk away and not touch her? Not claim what’s mine?

  Not a chance.

  BUY NOW • FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

  ICE PLANET BARBARIANS (Georgie’s Story)

  Book 1 – now available on KINDLE UNLIMITED! Click here to borrow.

  You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet.

  And the only native inhabitant I've met? He's big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me...

  * * *

  VEKTAL

  My mate, the resonance of my khui, my new reason for existing, has just planted her tiny, strange foot in my chest and kicked. It’s almost as if she does not want to mate.

  Her strange, dead eyes are wide with fear, no comforting glow in them. I want to tell her that she’ll be fine. That she’s mine now and I’ll take care of her. That we’ll take down one of the monstrous sa-kohtsk and pull a new khui from its depths so she will no longer suffer.

  But I’m puzzled as to why she would hurt herself. I rub my chest where her tiny foot landed. Without her leathers, her body seems even smaller, and she’s soft and ridge-less. She seems to have forgotten this, too, as she gives me an indignant look, then howls with pain and clings to her foot.

  I don’t understand her. Maybe her lack of khui is affecting her senses. “I will not harm you,” I say to her slowly, because she looks terrified. “You are my mate, now.”

  “Tht hrt dmmt!”

  “Let me see your foot,” I demand. If she has no khui, she probably does not heal as she should, either. When she continues to give me a frightened look, I reach forward and place my hand on her ankle.

  She bellows something and thrashes at me again. Her hand curls into a fist, and she smacks it into my face, knocking my lip against my teeth. A flash of pain shoots through my mouth, and I snarl.

  She immediately goes quiet, flinching backward, her hands raised to shield herself.

  I am sickened at her reaction.

  This woman, this small creature who has half the stature of a sa-khui is my mate. How can she possibly think I would harm her? But she is cringing back even now, as if expecting a blow to fall. Rage fills me, because this is not a normal response.

  Someone has hurt my mate in the past.

  I reach forward and turn her pale face toward me. She fights, but her eyes close again, and she begins to tremble. I gaze at her small, flat features. Her skin tone is regular, except for mottled bruising along one side. There is the evidence I suspected.

  “Who did this to you?” I ask.

  BARBARIAN ALIEN (Liz’s Story)

  Book 2 – Now Available in KINDLE UNLIMITED! Click here to borrow.

  Twelve humans are left stranded on a wintry alien planet. I’m one of them. Yay, me.

  In order to survive, we have to take on a symbiont that wants to rewire our bodies to live in this brutal place. I like to call it a cootie. And my cootie’s a jerk, because it also thinks I’m the mate to the biggest, surliest alien of the group.

  * * *

  RAAHOSH

  My khui is an idiot.

  It must be. Why else would it ignore the women of my clan and the moment we enter the den of the dirty, ragged humans, it begins to bleat in my chest like a quill beast? Or that it chose the frailest of the sick humans to select as my mate?

  A mate that glares at me with knowing, angry eyes and refuses to eat the medicinal broth that I bring her? That pushes aside my hands when I try to help her to her feet? Who scowls when I bring her water?

  It's clear that my khui is full of foolishness.

  "Did you resonate for anyone?" Aehako asks at my side. He stuffs a fur into a traveling bag. We are preparing the humans' cave for travel, since they are too weak to do so. Everything must come with us, Vektal says. It does not matter that it is stained and filthy, or useless. The humans have so little that he is sure they will treasure whatever they have, so it must come. Two of the hunters that resonated for females have been sent off to get furs from the nearest hunter caves, because the humans are poorly equipped to face the harsh snows, and they have no khui to keep them warm.

  This will be remedied shortly, however.

  A sa-kohtsk is near. The large creatures carry many khui, and we will hunt one for its meat and ensure that the humans will not die of khui-sickness.

  I think of the hollow eyes of my new mate and how miserable she looks. Most of the human hides are a pale color, but my human is paler than most. That must mean she is sicker. I will insist she be one of the first to get a khui.

  Aehako repeats his question. "Raahosh? Did you resonate?"

  I don't like to lie, but i also don't want anyone to know, not when my mate is glaring at me as if she is furious.

  Raahosh is scarier than most.

  Her words cut. She is smooth and pale and weak, and yet I am the one lacking? I shrug and shoulder the pack. "It matters not. We will see what happens when the khui are in the humans."

  "I didn't resonate." Aehako looks glum, his broad features downcast. "Do you think more will resonate when they come into season? Perhaps they're not in season." He gives me a hopeful glance.

  "Do I look as if I know human seasons?" I snap. "Finish your bag. We need to hurry if we are to get the humans close enough to the sa-kohtsk to hunt it."

  Aehako sighs and returns to work. I tell myself he is young. In fact, he might be the youngest hunter in our clan. He will get over his disappointment, or another human will resonate for him later. Or even a sa-khui woman, perhaps one not yet born.

  All I know is that I am resonating for one of the dying humans, and if she dies, she takes all my hopes and dreams with her.

  BARBARIAN LOVER (Kira’s Story)

  Book 3 – Now Available on Kindle Unlimited! Click here to borrow.

  As one of the few humans stranded on the ice planet, I should be happy that I have a new home. Human women are treasured here, and one alien in particular has made it clear that he wants me. It's hard to push away the sexy, flirtatious Aehako, when all I want to do is grab him by his horns and insist he take me to his furs.

  But I've got a terrible secret - the aliens who abducted me are back, and thanks to the translator in my ear, they can find me. My presence here endangers everyone...but can I give up my new life and the man I want more than anything?

  * * *

  AEHAKO

  There are tracks in the snow, and I follow them out of the caves and onto the nearby ridge, where Maylak's healing plants grow in abundance. They are wedged into a small valley, buffered from the worst of the winds. Kira is here, grabbing leaves off of a plant angrily, a scowl on her face.

  She turns and glares at me as I approach. Am I the recipient of some of her anger? I grin to myself. Her cheeks are flushed with that unusual pink color that some find ugly in humans. I find it charmingly adorable. She's so many interesting colors - pink and brown, and her eyes are the vivid khui blue courtesy of the symbiont. "Hello, my small friend," I call out in greeting.

  "Not your friend," she mutters. "And I'm not small."

  I chuckle at that. "You should pull a few of the intisar plant there," I tell her. "It's good for eyesight."

  She shoots me another glare.

  I don't mind. I prefer her angry expressions to the sadness in her eyes that is so often there.

  "I don't need herbs for my eyesight," she tells me.

  "No?" I tease and move to her side, then point at another bush.
"That one is for potency."

  She gives me a shocked look, and the pink returns to her cheeks.

  "I do not need it, of course," I tell her. "My cock can stay erect for many hours without flagging. It is mostly for the elders or men that have been ill for a long time and wish to couple with their mates."

  The noise she makes is strangled. "I don't want to hear about your...penis." She shoots me another vicious look. "Maybe you should go and talk to your friend about it more. She seems interested."

  "Are you jealous?" I ask, pleased. I've tried to make it clear to Kira that I am interested in courting her, but she's rebuffed me at every turn. Has she changed her mind? I admire her fine brown hair as it blows in the wind and imagine it spilling over my chest.

  And then I have to adjust my breeches again.

  "Jealous? Ha! Why should I be jealous? I'm ugly, remember?" She taps the shiny metal shell attached to her ear. "I heard every word of your conversation!"

  I cannot keep the delighted grin from my face. She did hear me speaking to Asha. And she is jealous. This pleases me greatly.

  Perhaps Kira is not so aloof after all. It's time to present her with my courting gift.