The truth was, she had fallen in love with Gage the moment she looked into his intense hazel eyes when he opened the trunk and saved her from Ervin. He was a stranger then, yet she felt like she had known him for the longest time.
Marie began to pant in anticipation when Gage pushed his large hands under her knees and spread her wide for him.
She felt the head of his cock push against her wet pussy and she whimpered with need.
“Take me,” she pleaded. She needed to feel him deep inside her, and she was almost out of her mind with need and hunger. This was a hunger she had never felt before.
Her entire body felt so hot, almost feverish and every inch of her was screaming and begging for his touch.
She needed Gage. The intensity and ferocity of her need shocked and frightened her a little.
Marie knew that after tonight, she would never be the same again. This wasn’t just meaningless, mindless sex.
This was something so much deeper, more intense and powerful.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Gage saw the burning, intense, tormenting need in Marie’s beautiful brown eyes. She craved him and wanted him with a mate’s hunger.
And he would give his mate everything.
Gage would never deny his mate anything. Marie wanted him right now, and he was going to give her everything she needed. He would sate her hunger and satisfy her every need and want.
And he would be the only male who would touch her and pleasure her from now on.
She was his, his one and only, his forever.
With one forceful thrust, Gage buried himself fully inside her.
They both groaned at the immense, incredible pleasure. It felt so amazing to be joined to his mate. Gage growled as he gathered Marie into his arms and inhaled her scent deeply.
“Mine,” he growled and he could feel the tips of his fangs stabbing out as his bear rose.
Gage began to move and Marie wrapped her legs around his hips to take him deeper. Her luscious breasts bounced in rhythm to his thrusts and he began to pound faster and harder into her.
Marie raked her nails down his broad back as he fucked her hard, and her grip tightened around his biceps. He saw his own lust and hunger reflected back at him in his mate’s eyes.
They would always want and desire each other. Marie was his true mate. The one female who was fated to be his.
Gage felt her body tremble and her channel rippled and tightened around his cock. Marie threw back her head to bare her neck for him and Gage’s eyes glowed as his bear took over.
As Marie screamed her pleasure, his bear roared and sank his fangs into her shoulder.
Marie orgasmed again and again as Gage marked her with his bite.
With a roar, Gage released his seed into her hot, tight body, claiming and marking his mate.
Finally, they lay panting in each other’s arms, sated and exhausted.
“You’re mine,” Gage said, kissing her lovingly.
Marie smiled and arched a brow. “I was just about to say those exact words to you. Did you read my mind?”
Gage chuckled. “No. But I can sense your emotions. We...share a bond.”
To his surprise, she said, “A mate bond.”
“Yes. You...”
“I know,” she answered softly. “And I know that shifters mate for life.
Gage grinned at her. “Yes. I am yours forever.”
“Am I really your mate?” Marie asked, staring at him with wonder.
“Yes. You are my forever mate. I will cherish and protect you forever, Marie. I love you.”
Marie wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “I love you too, Gage.” She laughed happily. “I never thought that this would happen to me.”
When Gage raised a brow, she said, “I never thought I would find true love. I’ve been alone for so long...”
“You are so loved and cherished, Marie,” Gage said, hugging her. “You’re not alone. You have a family now.”
Marie’s eyes shone with love and joy as she gave him a kiss that went on forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Gage whistled to himself as he worked on Cherrie’s roof. For months, Cherrie had been complaining about a leak in her roof but whenever Gage offered to fix it for her, she would just wave him off and say, “Nah. It doesn’t rain that often here in Bear Ridge. I’ll just live with it. If it does rain, I can catch the rainwater in a bucket and use it to wash my kitchen floor!”
But there had been an unseasonably heavy downpour for the past two nights, and when Gage drove over to check on Cherrie in the morning, he found her surrounded by pails, rags and mops.
There was water all over her living room floor and the water had seeped into her bedroom. A piece of her ceiling had broken off and smashed onto her coffee table.
“I am fixing your roof right now,” Gage had told her firmly. “Let me get my tools and I’ll be right back.”
When Cherrie started to protest, Gage had pointed at the crumbs of her ceiling on the coffee table and growled, “That could have fallen on your head. I don’t want to find you concussed and bleeding, Cherrie. You live alone. I will get your roof fixed today.”
With that, Gage had sped off and returned with all his tools and equipment loaded into the back of his truck.
He had worked steadily through the morning. Cherrie had fixed him a huge, hearty sandwich for lunch. After lunch, Gage put the finishing touches to her roof and mopped his sweaty brow.
“Done!” he called out.
Cherrie was sitting on her porch with a pitcher of iced tea. She came down her front steps and squinted up at Gage, who was perched at the top of the tall ladder.
“Thank you, Gage.” She beamed. “I just made some iced tea. Now come down and have a drink with me, will you?”
“With pleasure.”
Gage was scrambling down the ladder when he saw the Sheriff’s cruiser rolling down the street.
Instead of driving by, the Sheriff parked his cruiser behind Gage’s truck and got out.
“Hi Lincoln, would you like a glass of iced tea? I just made some,” Cherrie called out. Her tone was light and cheerful but her eyes were alert and wary.
Lincoln tipped his hat at her and smiled tightly. “Thanks, but I’d just like a word with Gage.”
Cherrie shrugged but kept her keen eyes on the Sheriff. “He’s just fixing my roof,” she said loudly.
“It’s not about your roof,” the Sheriff deadpanned and turned to Gage.
“Some of the townspeople have come to talk to me,” Lincoln said to Gage in a low voice. “They are concerned.”
Gage continued putting away his tools as he struggled to keep his temper in check.
“They’re not comfortable with a human living in Bear Ridge,” Lincoln went on.
Gage snapped his toolbox shut and looked the Sheriff straight in the eye.
“They have nothing to worry about. Marie isn’t a threat to them. Why are they so worried about one human woman in town? Marie isn’t going around stirring up trouble. So why are they so dead set against her?”
“It’s nothing personal. Bear Ridge has always been a shifter town, a bear shifter town,” Lincoln emphasized. “No human has ever...”
“Well, I guess there’s a time for everything. And it’s time that things change around here.” Gage threw his toolbox into the back of his truck and opened the door on the driver’s side.
“They want her gone.”
Gage froze and slammed the truck door shut with more force than was necessary.
He felt the tips of his claws dig into his palms. “Marie is staying. Is that clear? She isn’t leaving.”
“I can make her leave.”
“Is that...a threat?” Gage’s claws and fangs were fully out now and his eyes blazed feral.
“Consider it a warning,” Lincoln answered. His tone remained calm and reasonable but he let his bear glare out through his eyes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Marie i
s my mate,” Gage snarled. “She is staying here in Bear Ridge. And if anyone harasses or bothers her...”
A rock whizzed through the air and Gage reached out and snatched the rock out of the air.
He growled and spun round. The rock would have smashed right into his face if he hadn’t caught it.
Huck and Ray Smith were standing in their front yards with rocks in their hands. The Smith brothers lived across the street from Cherrie, and their houses were just side by side.
“Do you have rocks for brains, Gage?” Ray yelled. “Why are you bringing a human into our midst? Get that woman out of our town!”
“Yeah, we don’t want her here! Get her out, or we’ll run her out of town ourselves!” Huck shouted.
Gage dropped the rock in his hand and faced the Smith brothers. “If you give Marie any trouble...” he snarled.
“We’re not the ones creating trouble in town. You are! You know how sly and cunning humans can be. Don’t you remember what happened to Johnson?” Ray shook a rock at Gage.
A muscle worked in Gage’s jaw. Everyone remembered Johnson.
The townspeople would always regret not putting up a bigger fight to protect one of their own.
“Johnson got involved with a human woman, and she moved in with him. She came to Bear Ridge and for a while, she appeared to be a sweet, harmless little thing. But out of the blue, she accused Johnson of attacking her and we all knew that Johnson wouldn’t hurt a fly. She ran off and came back with men in tactical vests who were armed to the teeth. They took Johnson away. Turned out that the little bitch was working for a government research facility,” Ray spat.
“They’ve been trying to experiment on shifters but the law states that only shifters who are a danger to humans can be taken away. And once they’re taken, they’re the property of the government. We never found out what happened to Johnson. We can only hope that he didn’t suffer too much,” Huck finished, breathing hard.
“Marie isn’t a secret agent,” Gage said through clenched teeth.
“Appearances can be deceptive. I think we’ve all learned that the hard way,” Ray sneered.
“Marie is my mate,” Gage said firmly. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“And we won’t let anything happen to our neighbors and our town!” Huck retorted.
Without warning, Ray shifted into bear form and his brother followed suit. The two brown bears snarled and came charging at Gage.
Gage stood his ground and faced the two raging bears head on.
In a heartbeat, his bear tore out of his skin and the huge grizzly bear reared up and roared.
Nobody threatened his mate.
No one!
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Gage charged as the Smith brothers came at him together.
The three angry bears clashed in the middle of the street and claws and fangs glinted as they ripped into one another.
Gage bit down on Ray’s shoulder and snarled at the taste of blood. He was in full predator mode, and he wasn’t going to back off.
Huck crashed into him from the side, forcing him to release Ray.
Whirling round, Gage went after Huck. He slammed Huck to the ground and slashed his claws across the other bear’s face.
Huck roared in pain and ran to his brother. Together Huck and Ray attacked Gage and tackled him to the ground.
Snarling, Gage twisted free of Ray’s jaws and pushed his claws into Huck’s side. Huck collapsed and Gage grabbed Ray and threw him forcefully on top of his brother.
Clumsily, the two brown bears managed to roll away. They got back on their feet and faced Gage.
They weren’t giving up. Not yet.
Gage snarled as his claws and fangs became even longer. He was an alpha bear, and it was never a good idea to challenge an alpha shifter.
An alpha would defeat his challengers with as much blood and gore as was necessary. A clear message had to be sent.
Anyone who attacked and challenged an alpha had to be put in his place. He would maim and mutilate them, tear them from limb to limb and utterly destroy them!
Gage locked his eyes on the two brown bears. Ray and Huck circled him slowly, looking for an opening.
With one accord, the brothers charged. Gage spun round and clamped his jaws around Ray’s hind leg. He yanked hard and dragged the growling bear to the ground.
Huck leaped on him and tried to bite into his shoulder but Gage flung him away violently.
Huck slammed into a nearby tree and a huge crack appeared in the trunk of the tree.
Shaking himself, Huck scrambled to his feet and came at Gage again. With a vicious swipe Gage raked his claws across Huck’s side. As Huck fell, Ray came rushing to the aid of his brother.
Gage flew at Ray and clamped his deadly teeth around Ray’s neck. He forced Ray down to the ground beside Huck and roared.
Raising his massive paws, Gage brought his claws arcing down towards their throats.
At the last instant, he pulled back and dug his claws into the sides of their necks.
If he pushed deeper, he would sever their jugular veins and they knew that.
The Smith brothers stared up at him and stopped struggling. Gage could kill them right there and then. They’d lost and they knew that he had a right to take their lives. They were the ones who attacked first.
Gage shifted back to human form and withdrew his claws slowly from their necks. He stood up and snarled, “Get up.”
The Smith brothers shifted and scrambled to their feet. They pressed their hands to their bleeding necks and looked down.
“He sure wiped the floor with you two,” Cherrie said, sipping her iced tea. She had been calmly watching the fight from her porch.
The Sheriff narrowed his eyes as he stared at the retreating backs of Ray and Huck.
No law had been broken, so he hadn’t interfered in the fight. Every shifter had a right to defend a challenge and protect his mate.
Gage clenched and unclenched his fists. His bear was still furious, but violence wouldn’t solve anything in this case. Ray and Huck were dickheads but they were residents of Bear Ridge, which meant they were his neighbors. He wasn’t going to take their lives just because they were being asshats.
And in a way, he understood the Sheriff’s position. Lincoln had to balance the welfare and safety of the townspeople and juggle their various fears and concerns. It wasn’t an easy job, but somebody’s got to do it.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Gage said to Lincoln. “I’m not going to go after them. And Marie isn’t going to run around blabbing all our shifter secrets to anyone and everyone. She’s my mate. This is her home now, so she will protect Bear Ridge, like the rest of us.”
“She’s human,” was all Lincoln said as he walked back to his cruiser.
The Sheriff drove off and Huck and Ray went back to their houses.
Cherrie walked down her front steps and stood beside Gage. “Huck and Ray aren’t the only ones,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve heard a few other people talking. They don’t like the idea of having a human live in Bear Ridge.”
“They’d better get used to it,” Gage said, but he knew that they could make life unpleasant for Marie. They could ignore her and make her feel like an outcast.
“You’re right. Times are changing,” Cherrie said patting his arm. “But change takes time. Give them some time. They’re basically good people. All of them. It’s just...”
“I know.” Gage gave a tight smile. “I know.”
Blowing out a rough breath, he said, “I’ll do anything for Marie. I’ll keep my bear and temper in check, and I’ll give everyone all the time they need. But there is a limit to everything. If anyone oversteps that limit and causes any harm to Marie, I swear that they will pay with their blood.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Marie sighed as she walked past the shopping mall. She remembered her last shopping trip with Jana fondly. Jana had just left Bear Ridge less than three hours ago
to go back to the city, and Marie missed her already.
Jana had hugged her brothers and Marie before boarding the express bus. “Be good while I’m gone,” Jana had waggled her brows at them over her shoulder. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
Steve had snorted in reply and Gage and Marie had laughed. Jana waved at them until her bus turned the corner.
After seeing Jana off, they had gone for lunch together. Both Steve and Gage had to go back to their shops after lunch.
“I’d like to stay in town,” Marie told Gage. “You can come pick me up after work.”
He had kissed her and told her to call him when she had finished shopping.
She let Gage assume that she wanted to stay in town to shop. But what she really wanted to do was look for a job.
She wanted to ask around to see if anyone was hiring.
She still had quite a bit of savings, and Gage had told her not to worry about money. He promised that he would take care of her, and Marie knew that she could always depend on Gage. But she really wanted to find some useful and meaningful work to do and contribute to the community in any way she could.
As she inquired about job openings from the local shops and small businesses, she was met with some hostile and unfriendly looks.
Most of the residents were kind and helpful but some were unwelcoming and aloof. Marie understood their caution. They were right to be wary of strangers. Just look at the horror that Ervin had unleashed on the sleepy town of Sweet Hollow. The big bad wolf had stalked into the quiet little town and mercilessly destroyed a young, defenseless female.
Marie was a newcomer, a stranger in Bear Ridge. It would take time to earn the trust of the townspeople.
Marie continued walking as she considered her options. Maybe she could start by doing some volunteer work around the community. There were some fund-raising activities coming up, and she had seen the notices around town calling for volunteers.
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