He knew he could never catch her, but he wasn’t going to let her go. Not ever, so he followed all the same. Maybe that bear stamina she had mentioned might be needed elsewhere than in the bedroom.
Chapter Nineteen – Ciara
The thrill of the chase. In any other place, she would be the prey trying to outrun a predator. Horse against bear. This was different; she didn’t want to lose him, she wanted to run with him, wild and free on the mountain.
The higher she climbed, the more alive she felt. The wind swept over the mountain, making her mane fly in the wind. She tossed her head and snorted, pausing for a moment while he caught up with her. Rearing up on her hind legs, she neighed her joy to the world before she took off again, the scents of the meadows filling her nostrils. How long it had been since her horse had munched on fresh grass and rolled in the mud!
Wild and free she ran, the weight of her human life so much less now she had found her mate. When she reached the high meadow she galloped headlong away, only to wheel around and charge back to where the big bear was entering the meadow. She stopped, only two feet in front of him, sliding, stones flicking up, only to turn on a dime and gallop away.
Back and away, she ran, until he eventually sat down and watched her. If a bear could smile, she was sure he was smiling, his short snout on the air, sniffing it, enjoying the mountain breeze. When at last her legs began to tire, she went to him. But before she sat down, she changed back to her human form, wanting to share this moment with him on another level.
Ryan changed too, pulling her into his arms as soon as they had changed from being bear legs. “You are something else to watch,” he said.
“You’re not so bad yourself. I should compliment you on your thick coat.”
“The secret is mud. Lots of it, worked down into the roots and then washed off in the river.”
“That I would like to see. And do.”
“Tomorrow. We’ll come up here when you finish work and I’ll show you all my favourite places.”
“I can’t wait,” she said, tilting her head and resting it on his shoulder.
They sat together, looking down over the twinkling lights of Bear Bluff, while above them the stars shone brightly. The moon moved across the sky, its mysterious glow lighting the meadow, giving them moonlight shadows. No words were needed. All that mattered was that they were here, the two of them together. Until at last he stood and offered her his hand.
“Come on, it’s late and I guess you have to work tomorrow. Let’s go and get some sleep.”
As he pulled her up, she went into his arms and he kissed her. Her insides turned to liquid fire. She wanted him, wanted to make love to him here in the meadow, but that would have to wait for another day. He was right; she had work, she had an early call in the morning. The practice would let her off being late one day, but two in a row might cause trouble she didn’t need, and that the practice didn’t deserve.
So they both changed, and made their way more sedately down the mountain, Ryan leading the way. Her exhilaration now passed, replaced by contentment and being here with him. The dark night was all around them, cocooning them in their own world. They worked their way down off the mountain, a light breeze ruffling her mane, whilst the occasional squawk of a startled bird broke the quiet night.
When at last they entered the trees where they were going to change, she took one last breath of the mountain air. This was to be her new home, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life exploring the mountain and the surrounding forests so that she knew it as well as she had known the meadows where her herd roamed. She would run here, with their children, whatever they were to be. Horse or bear, it didn’t matter.
“I think we could have one more glass of wine before bed, don’t you?” she asked as they walked down the rest of the way to the farm, hand in hand.
“Does that mean you aren’t driving home tonight?” he asked hopefully.
“No, Ryan, I’m not. This is my home now.”
He didn’t answer, just squeezed her hand and led her down to his house. But before they went inside she stopped.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, and the tone of his voice signalled he thought she had changed her mind.
“This way,” she said and led him to the barn. Opening the door quietly, she went inside. “Do you have a flashlight?”
“I can put the main light on.”
“No. We don’t want to disturb them.”
“Who?” he asked, grabbing the flashlight just as she had asked.
“You’ll see.”
They crept along the barn to the stall where Sapphire was. Across from her, Minty whinnied quietly. As they looked into Sapphire’s stall, they were just in time to see the newborn foal trying to climb to his wobbly feet.
“You knew?” he whispered.
“It’s a horse thing,” she said quietly.
Watching Sapphire with her foal, the attention she lavished on it as she encouraged it to stand and then drink her milk, Ciara began to understand the treasure that children were. She could feel the pride and love this mare had for the new life next to her. Ciara knew that one day she would feel that same love and pride. And by her side would be her man, her bear.
“I love you, Ryan,” she said for the first time. As she laid her head on his shoulder, she meant it. She might have started out running away from her mate, but now she would never run again. This was where she belonged, here with Ryan, her mate.
“Let’s go to bed,” he said after they made sure everything was OK.
“Whatever you say,” she answered. Because she knew he would never ask anything of her she didn’t want to do. They were bonded, true to one another. It wasn’t a one-sided deal. It might have taken her a long time to understand that, but now that she did, she would never forget.
The End
Lonely Bear
Curvy girl Chloe has just found her fiancé, Jerry, in bed with another woman. Worse, he only dated her and asked her to marry him, so that he could get a promotion from her father. Now he has a new job, Chloe is surplus to requirements. Her father seems more concerned about losing Jerry as a potential son-in-law, than he does about how upset Chloe is.
So she escapes, for a few hours into the mountains around Bear Bluff. In the hope that the cool clear mountain air will give her the strength to take the engagement ring off her finger and let go of all her dreams of a family and happiness. But an accident leaves her injured, stuck on the side of a mountain as night draws in.
Just when things can't get any worse, she hears the lonely call of a bear. Problem is, that bear is getting closer.
Imagine going to an engagement party and realising that the happy bride to be is your bond mate. That's what happened to bear shifter Nate. Unable to endure the heartache of watching his mate get married, Nate had run away to his mountain cabin to escape. Now she is here, on his mountain, and she's hurt.
The bond means he can never hurt her, never cause her unhappiness. So he has to rescue her and then take her home, back down the mountain, even if that means she will walk down the aisle with another man and leave him alone for ever.
Only the engagement ring on her finger stops him from claiming what is rightfully his.
Chapter One – Chloe
Chloe pushed herself harder, trying to climb as high as she could, up into the mountain range above Bear Bluff. She hoped the clear mountain air would seep into her brain and evaporate all the muddled up thoughts going round and round in one continuous loop. It was as if a tornado had started spinning and was now out of control.
A breathless sob escaped her; she was not going to think about Jerry, her fiancé, any more. She looked down at the engagement ring on her finger. Ex-fiancé, but she couldn’t bear to take off the ring he had given her. Why? Because to do so would be to shrug off all the hopes and dreams of having a family that she had so carefully cultivated over the last six months.
She still remembered the day Jerry had proposed to her, dro
pping down on one knee, and asking those words she had so wanted to hear.
“Ugh!” she groaned in disgust. “Why do you keep thinking about it?”
But she couldn’t help it; she felt so stupid. So used. All he had been doing was trying to get on the good side of her father. Date the boss’s daughter to get a job, propose to the boss’s daughter to get a promotion. Then cheat on her when he got a new job and she was no use to him any more.
She kicked a loose stone and listened to it skittering down the mountainside behind her. Onwards she climbed; higher up, until everything below was a distant blur, just like her dreams. Tears filled her eyes, but refused to fall. She had cried so much, her face was now permanently red and blotchy. That was why she had come up here: to be alone and think of what lay before her, now her ideal future no longer existed.
Up ahead, she saw a small clump of trees; she decided to head for them, to gain some shelter and sit down and eat her picnic lunch. Not that she felt like eating, but the climb had taken a lot of energy, and she planned to rest, stay here for a couple of hours to let her head clear in the beautiful still air, and then climb back down.
She looked at her smart phone, only to check the time—there was no signal up here. No one could contact her; for a few hours she would be offline and not have to field all the questions and recriminations. In some way, she knew her father blamed her. Thought that if Chloe had kept Jerry happy, he would still want to marry her and still work for the firm.
Oh yes, if only Chloe was trophy wife material, everything would have turned out fine. Instead, Chloe was a woman with too many curves and too many opinions. If only her dad could see that wasn’t a bad thing. Instead of being annoyed with her over Jerry leaving, he might then give her a chance to show her worth. However, she doubted that would ever happen. After her mom died, he had taken a new wife, Charity, and Chloe had been shocked that all her new stepmom was expected to do was look good at parties.
A thing she doubted she would ever excel at, and it didn’t bother her. Not really.
Feeling like a failure all-round, she took the last few steps, which would take her onto a game track and then into the trees. Deep in thought, she didn’t see a deer grazing in the shade. Startled, it sprang forward, knocking her over. Her ankle twisted, and she rolled painfully down the steep slope she had just climbed. Small rocks slid before her, creating an avalanche of scree. There was nothing for her to grasp hold of to stop herself from falling. Everything was moving down with her.
Panic swept over her; she knew she had to stop herself, or she would just keep sliding down. Reaching out, she tried to grab a tree root that had become exposed. It slipped through her hand, tearing the skin, but she couldn’t give up. Then her hurt ankle snagged on a boulder. A searing pain coursed through her, but she kept her foot firmly on it, grabbing whatever she could to stop her fall.
With a mouth full of dust, and her eyes streaming as they tried to get rid of the dirt, she assessed the situation. Standing was not going to be an option; her ankle hurt too much, and there was a real danger the ground beneath her would start sliding again. No, the only real way she was going to get anywhere was if she crawled, steadily, and with great care, sideways.
One slow movement at a time, she made her way off the steep slope, which at every move seemed to slide from under her. She no longer fell down at great speed, but still she edged further down, a thing that didn’t worry her, until she realised how far across she had come. A hundred feet below her was a big rock face: sheer, deadly.
Chloe knew she had to stay calm. There was no one here to help her; she was on her own. Every move now would have to be careful and calculated. Her only problem was the fading light. Glancing back behind her, she could see the sun beginning to go lower in the sky; soon it would be too dangerous to move. But if she didn’t, there was a good chance hypothermia would set in as the temperature dropped.
“Stay calm,” she told herself again. To keep her mind active she started counting each step, knowing that each time she lifted her foot and slid it across, she was getting one step closer to safety. With these slow, controlled movements, she no longer slipped down towards the rock face, but she knew she was not moving fast enough.
Tired, her muscles beginning to cramp with the cold, she knew she was in danger. Real danger. However, giving up was not an option, so she kept moving. Inch by inch, she moved herself towards the safety of the grassy bank, which she would be able to crawl along to safety.
When the prickle of mountain grass, short and tough, tickled her fingertips, she could have cried. Slowly, not allowing the euphoria of safety to make her risk a wrong move, she pulled herself onto the springy grass. There she collapsed, her whole body trembling.
Pushing herself up, she crawled on her hands and knees, finding a path that led downwards, but there was no way she would have the strength to get herself out of this mess before dark covered the mountain completely. Her best bet would be to find a place to rest for the night, maybe a dip in the ground she could crawl into. Then she could cover herself with leaves: anything to keep herself warm. Cold was now her biggest danger, and the first bone-shaking shiver passed through her body, confirming her fear.
Resting for a moment, she sat on the grass, feeling the dew start to seep into her jeans. She couldn’t stop here for long, but she wanted to check if she was far enough down the mountain to pick up a signal on her phone. If she was, she could call the police and they would get mountain rescue up here to find her.
It all seemed ridiculous really, the thought of a rescue party coming up the mountain to find her. It was not as if the mountain was that difficult a climb, at this level. It was more that her luck had gone against her once more. As she swallowed a strangled sob, knowing she didn’t have the strength left in her to cry and to crawl, she began the slow descent.
She could hear her father now, telling her how stupid she was. This stunt, coming up the mountain alone, was just like her. Chloe knew her father thought she should have done whatever it took to keep hold of Jerry. This kind of behaviour was the reason he had gone off with another woman, and got himself another job. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she just stayed here; it meant she wouldn’t have to face the world. Wouldn’t have to listen to her father, or go through the embarrassment of cancelling the wedding reception and the caterers.
“Damn it,” she shouted, pulling herself along, there was no way she was just going to give up. If anything, this was her chance to shine, to take back control of her life. Yes, she wanted to settle down and have kids. But if that wasn’t how things were going to work out, then she would find something else to do. Perhaps move away from the area and start again on her own terms.
Slowly, painfully, she made her way down the mountain, as the light gradually faded from the sky. The temperature dropped, but all she could think was how beautiful the sunset was. While her hands became more cut up and more bruises appeared on her knees, she kept her eyes resolutely on the ground in front of her and crawled on.
Chapter Two – Nate
Nate finished chopping the stack of wood he had been methodically working his way through all day. A tree had come down in the forest two days ago; he had hauled it here—well, with a little help from his bear. Now it was split into manageable pieces, ready for the cold winter nights. And the nights did get cold up here. The mountain slopes became impassable, and civilisation went its way without him for three months of the year.
Thinking about it, civilisation went on without him for twelve months of the year. Ever since he had seen his mate, and realised she was going to get married to another man. Maybe it was cowardice, he wasn’t sure. But there was no way he was going to go up to her and tell her she was the woman for him. The only woman for him. Not when she had another man’s ring on her finger. So he had taken to a life of solitude, high up in the mountains. Bears were, after all, solitary creatures.
Yet the yearning to be with his mate, to make love to her under the stars and hav
e cubs running around at his feet, was sometimes too much.
He sighed, picking up his axe and taking it to the tool shed, where he cleaned it and sharpened the blade, before storing it in its place. Glancing around the shed, he felt some satisfaction at the life he had built for himself here. It might not be what he wanted; it certainly wasn’t perfect. But what other choice did he have?
Going back outside, he took in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the sweet, clear mountain air. Tonight he would run. His bear would have the freedom it craved. Maybe it would get rid of some of the kinks in his shoulders caused by all the work he had put in over the last couple of days to get his wood store filled. Or maybe it would just stop him thinking of his mate.
Nope. It wouldn’t, because he was certain his bear craved his mate even more. There were times when he went all-animal, when he would find himself just sitting on a log pile somewhere, watching the sunrise, on another morning after a night of no sleep. He would just be dreaming of her and the life they should have together.
That life was getting further and further away from him. In one month’s time, she would be walking down the aisle with her fiancé, completely unaware of his breaking heart. In fact, he was fairly certain she didn’t know he existed at all. He was there with a friend, Olivia, at the engagement party. The shock of seeing his woman with another man, a man she intended to marry, was too much, and he had bailed.
Whenever he went back to civilisation, he always found himself having to check up on how the marriage arrangements were going. His friend, the delectable Olivia, whom he knew had a crush on him but was not his mate, was one of the bridesmaids. But his visits were getting less frequent as the wedding date drew near, and once his mate was married, he knew he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to go into Bear Bluff at all.
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