Complete Bear Creek and Bear Bluff Box Sets: Including brand new exclusive book Best Man Bear

by Harmony Raines

  She scanned the results. Nothing jumped out at her. Double-checking, she picked up the phone once more to speak to him.

  “I can’t see anything out of the ordinary. The only couple of raised levels are still within normal parameters for a mare who is so heavily pregnant.”

  “I see.” He sounded genuinely worried.

  “Listen, let me think about it tonight and I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

  “Thank you,” he said simply and then added, “Once more, I apologise for earlier.”

  “Already forgotten,” she said.

  Liar, the voice in her head screamed, but if Ryan thought the same, he kept it firmly to himself.

  Ciara placed the piece of paper with the results on down on the table. They showed nothing. Yet Ryan was genuinely concerned, and with his dual nature, he might be more attuned to the mare than a normal person would be.

  Damn, he was certainly more in tune with this mare, too. Now her other side had been awoken, it just wouldn’t shut up. She took the results, put them in her pocket, and then headed out for her next call, hoping to give herself some distraction from the sensations flooding her body every time she thought of him.

  Chapter Six – Ryan

  “Ryan,” Taylor said, coming into the kitchen. Ryan was making coffee, having heard his brother’s car driving up the track.

  “Yes,” Ryan said, handing a cup to his brother. It was nice to have company. His earlier encounter with Ciara was still ricocheting around his brain.

  “Thanks,” Taylor said, taking the coffee and wrapping his hands around it. ”I have a favour to ask.”

  “Yeah, Taylor.” Ryan sipped his coffee, watching his younger brother. Happier than he had ever been, Taylor glowed with contentment. He had found and married his mate. Now they were living in a converted barn next door to his mate, Melanie’s brother.

  “It’s Melanie’s birthday next week and I wanted two cows.”

  Ryan nearly sprayed his coffee all over the floor. Wiping his hand across his mouth, he said, “You want to give your new wife two cows for her birthday?”

  “Yes. You know that farm of theirs has no animals. So I thought I would give two cows to Melanie.” Taylor didn’t see the funny side at all; in fact, he looked quite serious about the whole thing.

  “OK. I’ll see what I can do. I have two that are pregnant. That would be a good start to a herd.”

  “Thanks, Ryan. Knew I could count on you. I just want to make her happy. You wait until it’s your turn, then you’ll understand.” Taylor drank his coffee, looking relieved that Melanie’s slightly strange birthday present was taken care of. However, when he looked at Ryan, he saw something different in his brother’s face and his mug left his mouth. “Oh.”

  “Oh, what?” Ryan asked, trying to cover up whatever feelings he had been displaying so openly.

  “You found her?”

  “What? Why would you think that?”

  “Because you have that look on your face. The one that says you have trouble. And unless it’s cattle rustlers, you never have trouble. So, spill.”

  Ryan finished his coffee and went to the sink to wash the cup. “It’s complicated.”

  “It always is. Come on, Ryan. I swear this will go no further. I won’t even tell Melanie. Although she’ll be so pleased that the number of females in the family is going up. She’s desperately hoping we are going to have a girl to break the family curse.”

  There were six brothers in the Munroe family. And Rob, the only other brother who had found his mate and settled down with a family, already had two sons. No daughters had been born for generations.

  Compelled to share his news, Ryan said, “She was here earlier. But she ran off.”

  Taylor opened his mouth to make a comment and then closed it again. This was too important to joke over. “I’m sorry. Did you speak to her? Does she know?”

  “Oh, yes, she knows. Yes, we spoke. But for some reason she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

  “Then go after her.”

  “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

  “Nothing is too complicated that it can’t be resolved.” Taylor thought for a moment. “So if she knows, does that mean she is one of us?”

  “Yes and no.” Ryan turned to look at Taylor, wishing that he could look as happy as his brother did. “She isn’t a bear. But she’s something; she felt the connection. She knows about the bond, but she ran away scared. And I don’t know why. All I know is, if I push her too hard too fast, I might just lose her forever.”

  “And that would be a disaster,” said Taylor.

  “Exactly,” said Ryan.

  Chapter Seven – Ciara

  Ciara finished her calls, went back to the practice to finish her paperwork, and then headed home. A hot bath would be the answer, then a movie, sitting on the sofa with some junk food. She’d earned it. Although she conveniently forgot about the large piece of chocolate cake, she had earned earlier.

  Undressing, she grabbed her robe and headed to the shower, her mind filled with thoughts of how Ryan’s hands had felt on her body, and how much better they would feel on her naked body. The hot water had to wash those thoughts away, or else she would go insane. All day she had been unable to get him out of her head. And she needed to be able to concentrate on her work, or an animal’s life might be at risk.

  Washing her hair, she let the tangy lemon scent awake her senses and she tried to steer her thoughts towards Sapphire. If she had to keep reliving this morning, then at least she could make use of it by trying to figure out what was wrong with the pregnant mare.

  As far as she could tell, the foal was in no danger. Its heartbeat had been strong and healthy, so what was wrong with Sapphire? It was like a puzzle she couldn’t put together. Over and over, she went through the results and the physical examination, but still came up with nothing.

  After she had washed and dried her hair, she put the movie on. However, as she sat and watched it, her mind zoned out. Had she missed something? Had the presence of Ryan made her miss something obvious? Something that might cost Sapphire or her foal its life? But she couldn’t go back and face Ryan tomorrow for a re-examination.

  Because if she did, she knew that Sapphire wouldn’t be the only thing having a re-examination. Her feelings towards Ryan would be amplified and she would be even more likely to give in to the feelings he evoked in her.

  What was she supposed to do? She would never forgive herself if she let the mare or foal die. That left one choice.

  Going to her bedroom, she pulled on some warm clothes. The only way she could deal with this was to go back, but not in the day. No, she would go tonight. Sneak into the barn and speak to Sapphire. Ask her what was wrong. It was the only way to know for sure.

  She ran down to her car. Sliding in, she started the engine and drove over to Bear Bluff. Instead of going to the farm, she parked her car at the bottom of the mountain, and began to climb the path, which was worn into the dirt. It was used a lot, and she didn’t think by hikers. No, she was sure that the inhabitants of Bear Bluff used this path to walk out of sight of the town before they changed.

  Which was exactly what Ciara intended to do.

  Wishing she had brought a flashlight with her, she slowly climbed up the steep path to the small copse of trees. There she ducked under a branch and found herself in a clearing. Trying to calm herself down, she tried not to panic about changing. It had been so many years since she had let her other side run free. The excitement she could feel at the prospect was threatening to make her concentration slip.

  Ciara placed her hand on the cool tree trunk. Letting her mind concentrate on the bark under her hands, the rough ridges hard and unmoving against her fingers. Trees, old and wise, how many times had they watched someone like her come to this spot and change into something else, something completely different? How many horses had they seen? She might very well be the first. The rest of her kind herded together, mixing and mating in a la
rge expanse of meadows and forests. Beautiful and quiet, with no prying eyes. A place she had left. A life she had shunned.

  Feeling confident, she allowed herself to move away from the tree. Ciara pictured her horse in her mind. Pictured the long limbs and flowing mane of her other self. She imagined her horse, with its jet-black coat, which would keep her hidden, as she galloped over the mountain meadows. A thrill of excitement coursed through her, but she pushed it aside, needing to keep calm and concentrate.

  There! She fixed the image in her head and then let her body flow into it. A tremor of sheer power passed through her as she shimmered out of this world for an instant, only to come back to herself with hooves, a mane, and a tail. Tossing her head, she pawed the ground, feeling the need for speed.

  Exiting the trees carefully, nearly forgetting she was much wider and taller now, she took off up the steep path, strong muscles working to propel her higher. The rocks bruised her feet, but she didn’t worry; she was heading for the soft green meadows of the mountain where she could gallop, her mane flying in the breeze.

  Her heartbeat quickened as she reached the meadow and galloped across the wide expanse of springy grass. The darkness should have scared her, but she was lost to the exhilaration of being a horse once more. The joy of powering over the ground at breakneck speed, with night all around her, cloaking her. Above her head, the stars twinkled, glittering in the sky as they watched the creature who had been shut away for so long take its long, deep breath of freedom.

  Ciara was filled with wonder, having forgotten how good it felt to be like this. It was an immense feeling of liberty she had never encountered anywhere else in her life. She had forgotten this and shut it away, hoping to be able to control the other facets of this gift by ignoring the one she loved the most. Being a horse, with four feet that propelled her along so fast, the air made her eyes stream.

  A sadness crept in; she had shunned her horse for nothing. Because she had still found her mate. The thing she had hoped to avoid by moving away from her family and her herd.

  With laboured breathing, she dropped back to a canter and then slowed to a trot. It was time to go down the mountain towards the ranch. She had it all planned in her head. She would follow the track down to the ranch, stopping before she came into earshot. Her hooves would make a louder noise than her human feet, and she needed to factor this in. Changing would be quick and then she could sneak down to the barn, go inside, and then change once more into her horse and talk to Sapphire.

  When she reached the spot where she knew she had to change, she encountered a problem. Her horse didn’t want to let go. She had to assure it she would never shut it away again, never deprive either of them of the freedom they had just experienced. Only then, was she able to change back into her human form. A scary moment, for sure. What if she had been unable to change back? She needed to get in as much practice as possible, until she could change in a split second, as she used to be able to when she was younger.

  With no time to lose, she jogged down the track. The night was at its darkest, she imagined it must be around midnight and only hoped Ryan would be asleep by now. He was a rancher; he must get up early, so he must go to bed early. Mustn’t he?

  Too late now, she was committed to her plan. The only worry she had was the light tingling sensation down her neck. As if she were being watched. Stopping, she listened to the darkness; it was silent, and nothing stirred except the leaves in the wood behind the barn. It must be her imagination, or perhaps it was just the closeness of Ryan, all snuggled up unsuspecting in his bed.

  She sighed inwardly at that thought. She longed to knock on the door of the ranch and be invited in. Taken by the hand and led to his bedroom, where she would lie on the bed while he undressed her.

  “Sapphire,” she reminded herself and headed out across the open area that stood between her and the barn. She would be safe. No one would see her. Unless they happened to be looking out of the window at that exact same time.

  Which, of course, Ryan was...

  Chapter Eight – Ryan

  Usually he slept soundly through the night, but not tonight. He had tossed and turned for more than an hour. First hot and then cold. The only thing he could blame it on was his encounter with Ciara earlier in the day. If he was honest, it had upset him more than he thought. All day he had been consumed with a need to track her down. Tonight he had been forced to mentally chain his bear up, because it wanted to go out there and find her.

  He knew he couldn’t force her to do anything. No matter how much the bear wanted to bend her to his will, that would never work with a woman like Ciara. But he did want to get to know her, find out why she ran from him. Most females embraced the mating bond. Usually they had been searching for it their whole lives, in the same way he had. But for some reason, not Ciara.

  With his temper rising, his anger directed at himself, not Ciara, he got up out of bed. If it was anyone’s fault, it must be his. Maybe she didn’t like the thought of living on a ranch like this. It was a hard life, especially in the winter. As he splashed water on his face, he wondered if he would give it up for her. Could he live any other kind of life?

  The more he thought about it, the more he perhaps understood why she might have run. If his way of life didn’t appeal top her, she would no doubt be angry about having to move here with him. So the question again had to be, would he give up the farm and all of his animals for her?

  The more he thought of her, the stronger the sense of her invaded his mind. He could feel her, as if she was close by. His thoughts turned to the moment this afternoon when he had watched her come, climaxing with pleasure as he rubbed her clit. Damn, he wanted to fill her sex with his cock and make her come around him.

  There was nothing better in this world. The bear agreed, roaring and pawing the ground. Testing its boundaries once more. Maybe that was the thing to do. If he couldn’t sleep, he could go out onto the mountain and release some of the pent-up tension in his body.

  Not quite in the way he would have liked. But exercise had a way of clearing his head. Going to the window, he looked out to see what the night was like and once more was struck by the thought of her.

  Rubbing his neck, he was just about to let the drape fall back across the window when a movement caught his eye. There was someone out there. His first instinct was to go outside and chase them off; maybe his bear would get some exercise. It must be rustlers, and he would be damned if they were going to get away with his cattle.

  Yet then he let his eyes adjust and his other sense kick in. No, not rustlers, this was something else. Someone else. She was here. His mate had come back. But what the hell was she doing, sneaking over to his barn?

  Sapphire. He grabbed his clothes, dressing on the way down the stairs. Pulling on his boots, he was outside and across the short distance to the barn before he had given any thought as to what he was going to say to her.

  But when he pulled open the barn door, he was surprised to see a horse, black as night, in the barn, its head over the stall wall, talking to Sapphire.

  Chapter Nine – Ciara

  It had all gone so easily. The barn door had swung open quietly and she had slipped in, closing it behind her. Standing with her back to the wooden door, looking into the murky, dim light of the barn, she had given herself a moment to adjust to her new surroundings, trying to picture where everything was from when she was here earlier.

  Slowly, the shapes emerged from the gloom, and she felt more confident in being able to walk to Sapphire’s stall without bumping into anything. With hands outstretched, she made her way forward, edging very slowly towards the sound of horses munching hay. It was such a quiet soothing sound, so rhythmical and calming.

  When she reached Sapphire’s stall, she talked quietly, soothing her. The mare turned and whickered in answer, and turned her head to smell Ciara’s hand.

  “That’s right, girl. I’m here to help you. Shh, good girl. Now this might freak you out a little, but I am a f
riend.”

  Ciara stood back, hoping she had given herself enough room. Then she pictured her horse and calmly walked into it. The air shimmered, and everything blinked out of existence for a moment before she came back to the world. Everything looked so different from her horse’s perspective, but she was glad to know she was safely in one piece. Sapphire was just gazing at her in something akin to shock.

  Ciara put her head over the stall door and blew down her nose to Sapphire. The mare leaned forward, sticking her head out but not moving. Ciara inched further forward, reaching out as far as she could, her chest pressed against the door.

  Carefully, she tried to read what was going on in Sapphire’s head. Not easy when they could only talk by body language and soft snorts and neighs. But from this, she got everything she needed to gain an accurate assessment of what was wrong with Sapphire.

  The black horse turned to look at Sapphire’s old field companion and felt a surge of sadness. Now it was easy to empathise with Sapphire, she was only glad there was nothing wrong with the mare herself, or the foal.

  A noise made her start. The barn door opened and a man, Ryan, stood in the doorway. She had been found. There was no way to run past him, not without knocking him over. And she didn’t want to hurt him. All she could do was stand her ground and see if she could make a getaway when he moved away from the door.

  Ryan stretched out his hand; he started to walk towards her, crooning as he had earlier when he had tried to comfort Sapphire.

  “Shh, girl, easy, Ciara, I won’t hurt you.” He came closer, his eyes looking away from her face so as not to spook her.

  All she could think was that there was no escape; he knew it was her, he knew what she was. The simplest thing would be to change back into her human form and talk to him. But she didn’t always do simple, and her horse wanted to feel the touch of his hand on her hide. Wanted him to stroke her soft horsehair and run his hand along her flank.