Primal Bear (Shadowlands Bear Shifters Book 1)

by Olivia Harp

  “I guess, um, maybe I should check on you first, right?” he said.

  Zoe smiled and nodded.

  “Right,” he said, “I’ll help you take this to the cabin afterwards.”

  “I’m okay with that.” she said, entering the lab.

  The lab was a little messier than yesterday, the steel tables weren't completely clean, a bunch of materials in them. Zoe sat on the bed, looking at the experiments in process.

  “Please raise your leg,” Enzo said, pulling over a small round bench, for her to put her foot on. She did and he started removing the bandages, murmuring “all right, all right” every five seconds or so.

  He touched the back of her shin and put a little bit of pressure on it, “Does this hurt?” she shook her head.

  He inspected every puncture, gently touching the ones that seemed bigger, asking if it hurt. Most of them didn’t, others were still sensitive, Enzo just nodded. Inspected the base of her foot, where a small gash was still healing.

  “May I see your hands, please?”

  She put them forward and he checked them. After he was done, he cleared his throat and went to the medicine racks, took out a bottle, shook it, and went and grabbed some pills out of another box.

  He placed the bottle and pills on the steel table beside the door, mashed the pills into dust, then mixed it with the bottle’s fluid, creating a light toned paste. He picked up the paste with a tongue depressor and started smearing it on the base of her foot. The whole thing seemed overly unscientific to her.

  “It’s not unscientific,” he said, “I mean, um... this paste will help speed up the healing, which by the way is almost finished, but I don’t want to risk it.”

  Zoe nodded calmly, then stopped.

  “Wait, how...—?”

  Enzo looked at her confused, then his eyes went wide.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, it wasn’t... it wasn’t on purpose, it’s just, you’re new...”

  “Did you just read my thoughts?”

  He looked at her, then sighed deeply.

  “Yes”, he said, then corrected himself immediately, “I mean, no, not really, I cannot actually read your thoughts. But I do pick up the general idea of what you’re thinking. Surface thoughts only,” he mumbled, fishing for words, then continued, “I don’t do that, not consciously, I block everyone, I don’t like reading people like that. Feels like an invasion of privacy, and I can’t read most shifters anyway—”

  “But I’m not a shifter.”

  “Yes, yes you’re right. I try to block everyone whenever I’m in public. It’s kind of a curse, you know, I can barely concentrate on my own thoughts, and people shooting ideas straight into my brain can mess me up sometimes.”

  “Are you serious? You know what everyone is thinking?”

  “No, I mean it, just surface thoughts, strong thoughts, emotions, I don’t know how to explain. I pick up the surface ideas only, like if you’re hungry, I can tell whether you’d like to have sushi or a burger or whatever you want. Or if you’re not very sure about this paste, I pick up a word or two, it’s not like your inner monologue infiltrates into my thoughts.”

  “You just said the word I was thinking.”

  “Yes, you were really worried about the whole process and that word came to my mind and I just spewed it, sorry I didn’t mean to pry.”

  She laughed

  “Don’t worry, I’m just glad you told me. I wasn’t aware shifters could do that.”

  Enzo smiled, softly touched the sole of her foot, and his other hand went to her right knee, putting a little pressure on it.

  “There are things that we do that either people don’t believe or we don’t make public. You know how the masses are, and the media, they just want to scare people off, we have to keep it low profile.”

  She understood. He stopped talking, concentrating on her leg. She felt it warming up, the paste tingling on her foot. Slowly, the pain faded, her body bathing in relaxation.

  “You’re doing great. I didn’t know humans could heal so fast from Rot poisoning.”

  Zoe’s face fell.

  “I mean, that’s how we call it, you know, it’s not bad, not bad at all, you’re doing great, nothing bad happened to you, don’t worry.”

  She breathed again, calmer now.

  ***

  They walked back to Damien’s cabin, Enzo had her case on his shoulder.

  “So how do you like it in here?” he asked.

  “It’s beautiful, really, it feels... it’s a great place, I never imagined I’d be deep in the woods like this and meet so many great people, you know?”

  He smiled. “I’m glad you’re liking it. Despite all that happened.”

  “Lucky me, I had Damien to save me.”

  “For real, it could’ve turned into a tragedy if he wasn’t around. He always knows what to do, he’s a good example to us all. I’m a bit more, I don’t know, I wouldn’t know how to deal with all the responsibility. He always keeps his cool.”

  She nodded in silence.

  “He really is your friend, right?”

  He straightened with that, and smiled.

  “He’s our leader, our alpha, we couldn’t have chosen a better one.”

  She remembered Damien by the creek, warning her about her surroundings, but not in a commanding, demeaning tone. He trusted her even back then. Her camp was close and if there hadn’t been otherworldly problems, everything would’ve been okay. He was funny and charming in a weird way, she couldn’t keep from smiling, remembering how she was flirting. It was just a dumb thing to do, she was never so in-your-face like that. Accountants like her weren’t known for being such extroverts, but it just flowed so naturally, she couldn’t believe it happened.

  “Well... we’re here,” Enzo said. Zoe was lost in thought and didn’t realize they were at the door.

  “Thank you for everything Enzo, you were right, I do feel much better now,” she said, shaking hands with him.

  “Told you, it’s science,” he said.

  “Science...” she teased.

  “Well you know, science does the trick, but if a shifter can channel nature and help it a little bit, well... you know he’s going to.”

  She gave him a friendly hug, “It was great meeting you.”

  “You too! I should go back now, talk to you later!” And with that, the awkward, strong, tall bear shifter walked back to the headquarters.

  It wasn’t so late yet, there were some hours left before Damien was back, she bit her lower lip. She already missed him —just a little bit, though.

  “Just little bit”, she said out loud, “nothing to worry about, Zoe Fox, nothing to worry about.”

  Chapter 8

  Afternoon came, Damien had taken his time regarding his clan’s security matters. He had traveled far south, deep in the heart of the woods, passing through untamed lands, places that hadn’t been touched by man since the dawn of time.

  He had not come in contact with either the sight, smell or the gut feeling of the Rot. He hadn’t found trouble, and his crew members hadn’t either. It was a good day.

  His bear form let him move much faster without tiring. He could cover many more miles than any human ever could in a week. Especially in this terrain. His senses were heightened too, he could catch the rotten stench of a Shadowlands puncture for many miles around.

  His mind was focused, his bear not giving him any distraction. But here and there, when he was sure he could take a rest for a second, he would think of Zoe.

  He couldn’t stop thinking of her, he wanted to think the previous night was not as important as his bear’s behavior implied. It had been a marvelous evening shared between two people who really really liked each other. Only that.

  After he was done, he couldn’t stop his mind from going back to her. It was a bad idea, getting attached to her knowing that she would leave, but at least he knew that he belonged in this world, that he wasn’t forsaken to the very idea of having a mate. It gave him peace to
know that even if it wasn’t possible to carry on with his desires, there had been someone for him after all.

  But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make her happy for the few hours they’d be together. He was going to make her forget the horrible experience she’d been through.

  The sun was still a few hours away from setting when he reached his cabin.

  “Zoe?” he called, then he picked a faint hum coming from the backyard.

  He smiled, left his tools on the entrance hall and walked straight there. She was watering some plants with her back to him, looking damn hot in a white summer dress with red flowers on it. She finished watering a pot on the outer edge of his garden, turned around and gasped.

  “Damien! How long have you been there?” she said, taking off her small headphones.

  “I just got here,” he replied, “I see you’re busy.”

  “Well... yes, very busy, some of the plants here needed watering, you see?”

  She pointed at a pot to his side, up on the deck. It did look yellowish, about to dry out.

  “Thanks, sometimes I forget to do the work here. I don’t really know how often I should water them. Trees and shrubs usually take care of themselves, I’m not the one doing the hard work myself.”

  “I see, and this is serious, serious hard work!” she teased him, “but you’re right, it must be hard to remember to take care of delicate flowers when you’re used to, I don’t know, fighting monsters?”

  He laughed and walked to her.

  “We don’t fight monsters, most of the time.”

  “You know I’m just teasing, right? I really admire what you do, keeping watch over the White Paw's forest. Hiking around these parts is hard for me without having to think about an evil rotting place trying to sneak into the world.”

  “We’re shifters. It comes with the territory, but it’s much more than that,” he said, touching her hand, “you’re ready for dinner?”

  “Yes, sure, you must be starving.”

  “I am, but I was thinking on showing you something...”

  She narrowed her eyes, “Oh really? I wonder what that could be...”

  Damien laughed, “No, I mean, for real, I want to take you somewhere away from here, somewhere no one else gets to see.”

  “A picnic?” she said clapping her hands.

  “If it doesn’t bother you—”

  “I’d love to go on a picnic! The sun’s down and the weather is magnificent!”

  “My truck is parked outside, let me go get the food and the cooler.”

  “Should I change? Are we hiking?”

  “No, you’re good, just don’t bring your bear spray, we don’t want any accidents with that.”

  “I don’t know sir, maybe I’ll just bring it in case I have to use it on a certain bear...”

  He laughed and spanked her

  “You see? You see? Don’t give me any more reasons to use it!” she said laughing.

  Seeing her laugh like that made Damien feel like the Grinch at the end of the story: his heart growing many times its size. He’d say he hated it if he didn’t love it.

  ***

  It took Damien around ten minutes to get everything he needed, Zoe told him to bring simple dinner stuff, so they wouldn’t have to worry about preparing anything and could just enjoy themselves.

  His pickup truck was a white on blue Ford that looked like a small tank, covered in mud. She had seen it parked with some other ones near the headquarters, but couldn’t say which one belonged to whom.

  He put the cooler on the bed, opened the passenger’s door and helped her inside.

  They went up and down a small trail, north of the camp. The dirt road had some over growth here and there, a sign that it wasn’t frequently used. After a while, she could see the edge of the forest getting closer and closer to the dirt path, until they reached a small clearing where Damien parked his truck.

  She had her hiking boots on, she was sure they looked real silly contrasting with her flowery dress, but she wasn’t going to put on sandals and risk looking good but being unable to walk or do anything useful.

  “Here we are,” Damien said, “Come, you’re gonna like this.”

  He got out of the truck and put the heavy cooler on his shoulder. He had brought ham, bread, cheese, beers and even a bottle of wine.

  “Maverick gave it to me, he told me you might prefer something more refined,” he told her back home. She wasn’t picky at all, but it was a nice gesture, so she only said “sure, thanks”.

  The thing was super heavy, she couldn’t lift it at all, but to Damien it seemed to weightless.

  They went into the forest, Damien found a small trail beneath the trees. It was a tunnel-like path, the canopy tight above them, sunlight broken in a multitude of rays falling through the branches, its beams coloring the place like a fairy tale.

  “Follow me,” Damien said, turning his head to her, a smile on his lips, “you’re gonna love this.”

  “This place is incredible already,” she said as they passed beneath two great rocks, leaning on each other. She could hear water, a stream apparently.

  Then her jaw dropped.

  She saw not a stream but a waterfall dropping into a lake, surrounded by pines, oaks and a thousand different kinds of trees. Their green, yellow and red leaves reflected on the water’s surface.

  The forest danced a serene tune, moving like tall guardians of that secret place. It was indeed magical, like the stories her grandmother used to read to her when she was little.

  To her left, the lake gave way to another, smaller waterfall, which turned into a small stream that continued through the mountain into the valley in the distance. Her eyes welled, she never saw such beauty, she never thought she would.

  “Oh my God,” she finally said, Damien on her side, the sun an hour or two away from fading in the horizon.

  “Let’s go,” he said and walked to the edge of the lake, placing the cooler on the ground. He unfolded a picnic blanket, dropped two pillows on it, sat down and took a slow, deep breath.

  Zoe was still standing, admiring the place, then looked at him.

  “This is the best gift someone has ever given me.”

  “What is?”

  “Bringing me here, it’s something out of a dream.”

  “You are something out of a dream, Zoe,” he replied.

  ***

  Damien made sandwiches, using all kinds of ingredients: whole wheat bread, mayo, mustard, avocados, several slices of ham, white cheese, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and a host of other things. By the time he finished, they looked like advertisements on fast food commercials, only these ones were real.

  He wrapped them in a big napkin and gave Zoe hers. She grinned, looking at him.

  “What, I missed something?” Damien said.

  “No, it’s just that, you really are a romantic, Mr. Black.”

  “I know I said romantic dinner but heating up some other food would have been—”

  “No dummy! I mean it, I love this, all of it. This is the most romantic date I’ve ever been on, thank you.”

  “Really, you like it?”

  “I don’t know how anything could be better.”

  “I do,” he said, leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips. She closed her eyes, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering wildly. His lips parted from hers and they both stared at each other in silence and started eating.

  “How did you find this place?” she finally said.

  He looked around, obviously proud of it.

  “We’re trail blazers, one of our jobs is to find what’s out here, carve paths so travel is easy.”

  “But there are no hikers around.”

  “You need paths for all kinds of things. For romantic dinners, for example.”

  “Good example,” she giggled.

  “And emergencies, in case of a forest fire or just to make sure you have your territory well mapped. We do it, the government needs it, so it’s a win-win
situation.”

  “I see.”

  “You’re the first human to see this place.”

  She felt goose bumps.

  “None of the other guys have brought—?”

  “Nope, it’s just a place we come from time to time, just ours, you know. None of us had ever felt the need to bring anyone here. Not that we bring anyone to the base camp anyway.”

  “I’m flattered.”

  “Don’t be,” he said smiling, “this place is nothing compared to you. You are the most beautiful, toughest person I’ve ever met, thank you for coming up here with me, I’m the one who’s flattered.”

  She couldn’t resist kissing him again, and they held in each others arms for a while, kissing and breathing the summer afternoon air.

  “Is it cold?” she said in the middle of a kiss.

  “Is what cold?”

  She looked at him, “the water, we should get in, is it very cold?”

  He grinned, she was wild.

  “Only one way to find out.”

  “That’s it then! Let’s go swimming!” she said standing up.

  “Wait, let’s go up there,” he said pointing to the crest of the waterfall.

  “You are in-sane! It’s too far!”

  “We could watch the sunset from there, best place in all the mountain, it’s not really that far.”

  “You told me we wouldn’t be hiking! I’m wearing a dress!”

  “I told you, little miss, that you wouldn’t be hiking” he said smugly, “I didn’t say anything about myself.”

  “What? I don’t understand.”

  “What’s the last time you hopped on a bears back to see the sunset?”

  She opened her mouth, not believing what she heard.

  “Are you saying...?”

  He stood up, stripped naked, a sight she was much too happy to see, and instantly turned into the huge grizzly she had seen before.

  She hadn’t been as close as she was now. The fur, the smell, the eyes. It was a wild animal, Damien was. His bear was a perfect fit for him, or maybe it was the other way around. The man was a perfect reflection of the bear. It was an astounding sight.

  She caressed his fur, held his head in her arms and a ragged breath came from Damien. She understood.