by Kim Fox
Intended for adults only. Contains explicit love scenes and lots of dirty talk.
Adult only BBW bear shifter romance. 18+
Chapter 1 of Book 5:
one
Keene leaned forward in the pickup truck and squeezed the steering wheel. It creaked and groaned under his large, meaty fists. Beckett is going to kill me.
No.
He wasn’t just going to kill him. He was going to skin him alive.
“So what do you know about werebears?” she asked from the passenger seat. Chloe Sparks. She was some kind of big shot reporter for CMN, Cable Main News, the leading news channel in the country with the world’s second most popular magazine, and she was in his truck, asking him to tell her every secret that he knew about shifters. She was asking him to sell out his brothers, his family, his friends and his heritage.
And he was going to sing like a canary.
“Please don’t make me do this,” Keene muttered. His volleyball sized heart was pounding in his chest.
“What?” she asked, leaning in, placing the tip of her pen on her open notebook.
“I said you look beautiful.”
She rolled her eyes and turned her head towards her window. Keene glanced at himself in the rear view mirror and wiped his sweaty forehead. His face was pale.
This was bad. His bear had bonded to this woman half an hour ago in front of the cafe and Keene had promised to tell her everything that she wanted to know about werebears. This could get him excommunicated or worse, even killed.
“So there is such a thing as werebears?” she asked, looking back towards him.
Keene looked from side to side on the mountain highway, desperate for a distraction. There was nothing but tall, dense trees in the afternoon sun along the Flathead National Park highway in Montana.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. “There’s a diner up ahead that grills a delicious possum burger.”
Chloe slammed her pen down onto her notebook and exhaled.
“Why are you wasting my time?” she asked, staring at him with a stern look over her black rimmed glasses.
Keene gulped. She was as hot as a volcano. Her long blond hair was tied back in a bun that was as tight as her expression. She had plump, full lips that would probably slide into the nicest smile but he still hadn’t seen it yet. She was a serious one, this Chloe Sparks. Even her clothes told him that she was all business. She was in the middle of the mountains and wearing high heels. It was the middle of the summer and she was wearing a full gray, pants suit.
Half an hour and he still hadn’t made her laugh. That’s a new record. Keene was normally so funny that he could make a room full of Germans pee their pants laughing. Is she just that serious? Or has she thrown me off my game?
“I’m not wasting your time,” he said, wiping his palm on his jeans. “I’m just hungry. Look at the size of me. I have to eat all the time.” Keene patted his sensitive stomach. It felt like there were two armies of butterflies having a war in there.
“So what can you tell me about werebears?”
She was relentless. “Uhhmmmm.” Keene rubbed the back of his neck. Beckett was going to flay him alive. My bear’s ass is going to make a lot of juicy steaks for the boys.
“I know that they love honey and get stuck in holes,” he said, looking at her with a wide smile.
Chloe grabbed the handbrake and yanked it up. The pickup truck skidded and screeched as metal ground together and the tires locked on the pavement.
“Hey!” Keene yelled as he tried to control the swerving truck. He pulled over on the side of the road and the car behind him honked and gave them the finger as he passed.
Chloe threw the door open and stormed out of the truck.
“Shit,” Keene cursed as he unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of the truck after her. She was stomping down the highway in the opposite direction.
Keene ran up beside her. “I can tell you,” he said, desperate not to let her go. “I can tell you everything.”
She stopped and looked at him over her black rimmed glasses with her eyebrows raised and her hands on her wide hips.
Keene squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. You can’t let everyone down. But when he opened his eyes and saw her he knew that he had no choice. He couldn’t let her go.
“I know that werebears are fated to one mate. And when they bond it is magical.” He stared in her blue eyes wishing that he could tell her everything. “It is an intense experience and when it happens the werebear will do anything for his mate. He won’t let anything stop him from being with her. Even if he doesn’t know her. Even if they just met. He knows that he is in love.” I love you Chloe Sparks.
“Okay,” she said, rolling her eyes. “What about the basics? Do they look like humans?”
“You wouldn’t be able to tell if one was standing in front of you,” Keene said.
“What about when they change?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Does it have to be a full moon?”
Keene chuckled. “You watch too many movies.”
“Can they think like a human when they’re in their bear form?”
Keene thought about it for a second. “Kind of.” He furrowed his brow trying to find the best way to explain it. “It’s like driving a car. The bear is the driver and the human is like the passenger. The human can shout the bear instructions and tell him what to do but the driver has the final say. He can listen. Or not.”
“What about when the werebear is in his human form? Does the bear have any control?”
Keene glanced back at the truck parked at a reckless angle on the side of the road, with black tire tracks on the highway leading up to it. More than he should.
“It’s the same thing. The bear shouts commands from the passenger seat. The human can listen, or not.” That’s how it felt until he bonded. Now it felt like his bear had grabbed the steering wheel and he was sitting in the driver’s seat with his hands tied behind his back.
She looked at him, studying him as if she was wondering whether or not to believe him. Her blue eyes were piercing. Mesmerizing. They held Keene and pulled him in like a tractor beam. “Where can I find one?”
Right here. Keene looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. “Uhmmm.”
She turned and stormed away down the side of the highway.
“Wait,” he called out in full panic mode.
She stopped and turned. “This better be good.” The purse in her arms was open. Keene saw a flash of metal inside. Was that a gun? Man this woman has some serious trust issues. That’s not good for me. Keene pictured himself in couples’ therapy and shook his head. Those wooden chairs never held his weight too good.
“Well what?” she yelled.
He squeezed his eyes shut. “I can take you to them.” And you can watch them kill me.
She stood there hesitating. “You better not be lying.”
Keene rubbed his sweaty palms onto his jeans. “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.”
She shook her head and walked back towards the truck. “You lie to me and I’ll do worse than stick a needle in your eye.”
Keene exhaled hard as he pulled into the camp. The sun was shinning and the Crew was spread out around the campfire, hanging out and enjoying the summer day. Sander was in the kitchen preparing dinner over a huge pot, Ellis was doing chin ups on a tree and Quint was lounging beside the fire with a jug of wine in his hand. Finch and Amanda had the plane on the runway and were tucked under its belly clunking away at the plane’s organs. Alexi and Jessica were in the vegetable garden picking some crops and Beckett was nowhere to be seen.
“Who are these people?” Chloe asked. “What is this place?”
“These are my friends,” Keene said proudly. “This is where I live and work.”
Chloe glanced around the camp. “Where you work? What is this some kind of hippie commune?”
“We’re Smokejumpers,” he said. “We parachute into forest fires
and put them out.”
“Her too?” she asked, pointing to Alexi. Her pregnant belly was already showing. She rubbed it as she watched Jessica pick some tomatoes from the garden.
“She’s working on the next generation of Smokejumpers,” Keene said. An idea popped into his head. “Maybe you should do a story on Smokejumpers.”
“Are any of these people werebears?” she asked, ignoring his suggestion.
Keene turned off the truck and stepped out. He squeezed his fist around his keys until they dug into his palm. How could you bring her here?
Chloe stepped out of the truck and came around to meet him. “Are any of these people werebears?” she asked again. She was relentless.
He couldn’t betray his brothers’ trust so he just ignored her. “Come I’ll introduce you.”
“But-”
He walked towards the campfire with an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. She eventually followed. Quint opened his eyes and looked past Keene at the new blond walking into the camp.
“Who is that?” he asked.
“Where’s Beckett?” Keene asked, ignoring his question.
Quint sat up in his chair. “He’s out jogging. Who is that?”
Keene turned and let her catch up. “This is Chloe Sparks. She’s a reporter that is going to be doing a story on us. She is writing an article on Smokejumpers.”
Chloe gave him a sideways look and then extended her hand to Quint. “Nice to meet you.”
Quint looked at her funny as he shook her hand. “Does Beckett know about this?” he asked.
“Who is Beckett?” she asked Keene.
“Our…boss,” he said. Sander and Ellis walked over as they caught a glimpse of the stranger in camp.
“Can I have a word with you?” Ellis asked after Keene introduced her.
They walked back to the trucks. “Are you crazy?” Ellis asked, glaring at him. Keene was thankful that Ellis only had one eye since his stare was melting him. Ellis had lost the other one in a fight with a werelion. It was covered with an eye patch.
“I thought it would be good exposure for the Crew,” Keene said. “Maybe we could get more government funding.”
Ellis stepped towards him. Keene was double his size but there was something ferocious in Ellis’ look that reminded him of his big brother. It was best not to mess with the Jacoby boys when they had that glare in their eyes, or eye, in Ellis’ case.
“I can’t believe you brought her here without your alpha’s permission.” Ellis squeezed his hands into fists. “Are you trying to get kicked out of the Crew?”
“Beckett is going to be cool with it,” Keene said, knowing that he wouldn’t. “Look she’s already fitting in.”
He pointed to the campfire. Chloe was sitting in an Adirondack chair as Quint filled a wine glass for her. Sander was running back from the kitchen with a plate of freshly cut strawberries and a chocolate brownie. He handed her the plate as she took a sip of wine. She coughed and spat it back out.
Keene’s heart raced. His bear urged him to go over there. But he couldn’t. Not with the Crew’s second chewing him out.
“She’s a reporter,” Ellis said, knocking him out of his daze. “What if she sees one of us phase?”
Keene looked at the ground. He was right.
“Do I really have to explain to you the consequences if the secret gets out?” Ellis’ words cut through him. But how could he get rid of her now?
“You told Alexi,” Keene said, “and that worked out okay.”
Ellis shook his head. “That was different. She was in trouble. And she wouldn’t be broadcasting it to the whole country.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Keene said, touching his hand to his chest. “Everyone can phase in the woods for two days. It will be fine.”
Ellis glared at him with his arms crossed.
“How about we just let her stay for the night?”
“Wait a minute,” Ellis said, grabbing Keene’s arm. “You didn’t?”
“Tee hee hee,” Keene said in a high pitch.
“Oh Keene,” Ellis muttered shaking his head. He looked past Keene towards the entrance to the camp. “There’s Beckett now. You can tell him all about it.”
Beckett jogged into the camp with a layer of sweat glistening over his shirtless body. He froze and stared at the stranger sitting in his camp. Ellis whistled and waved him over.
“Who is that?” Beckett asked when he arrived.
Ellis looked at Keene and waited.
“That’s Chloe Sparks,” Keene said, rubbing the back of his neck. “She’s a reporter.”
“What?” Beckett exploded.
“She wants to do a story on us as Smokejumpers,” Keene said, quickly recovering.
“Get her out of here,” he ordered.
“But what if-”
Beckett’s glare snapped all the words out of Keene’s mouth. His thick jaw was gritted and his eyes meant business.
“He bonded to her,” Ellis explained.
“Crap,” Beckett cursed. He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. He rubbed his chin and finally looked back at Keene. “She has to go,” he said. “It’s been harder than ever for shifters lately. We can’t go and invite a reporter into our camp. Imagine what the SEA would do?”
Keene felt nauseous. He forgot about the Shifter Enforcement Agency and their strict rules.
“I know I’m asking you to do the impossible,” Beckett said, “but she has to leave. She can’t know about us. A reporter?” He shook his head. “They are inquisitive by nature. She’s bound to find out.”
Keene exhaled. His stomach felt like it was going to empty onto his shoes. She had to leave. And he was the one who had to ask her to go.
“Let’s go,” Beckett said, placing his hand on Keene’s shoulder and guiding him to the campfire, “before she gets even more comfortable than she already is.”
Keene stumbled over with heavy feet that stuck to the ground. His vision went blurry. How can I ask her to go?
But he had no choice. He knew it. If the SEA saw his Crew on the cover of a magazine they would take quick and immediate action. And it wouldn’t be pretty.
Chloe turned and stood up when she saw Beckett approach. She looked annoyed.
“Keene has something that he would like to say to you,” Beckett said.
A million thoughts raced through Keene’s head making him dizzy. “We’d like you to stay with us.”
Beckett grunted and shook his head.
“Actually I was just leaving,” Chloe said. “Can you please drive me back into town?” She grabbed his arm and Keene’s bear grumbled. Loud.
His whole chest vibrated, sending shocks down his arm onto her fingers. She snapped her hand back as if she just touched a hot pan and stared at him with wide blue eyes.
His bear was still grumbling. Keene looked around nervously. Beckett was watching Chloe closely.
“On second thought,” she said, “it will make a great story. Men heroically jumping into a fire and risking their lives to put it out.”
“Great!” Keene said. “You can stay in my cabin.” He placed his hand on her lower back and guided her away.
Beckett snatched Keene’s arm and yanked him back. He leaned into his ear. “She can come on one Smokejump and then she’s out of here.”
Keene’s face broke out into a smile.
Beckett yanked him back again. “Don’t fuck this up.”
He released his arm and Keene walked her to his cabin feeling like he was walking on air.
He could hear Ellis arguing with Beckett in a low voice. Much too low for a regular human to hear.
“Why are you taking a risk like that?” Ellis hissed. “If the Agency finds out…”
“Don’t worry,” Beckett said. “I trust Keene. He wouldn’t do anything to put the Crew in danger.”
Keene gulped.
Chloe searched through the drawers of the night table looking for any clues of who these people really were
. She pulled out a stack of worn out Mad magazines and tossed them on the bed. There was a whoopee cushion and a sling shot underneath. Who is this guy? Dennis the Menace?
She sat on the bed and slid off her high-heeled shoes. She rubbed her feet as Keene flashed in her mind. That rumbling had come from him. Chloe had heard rumbling like that before. Right before her life got flipped upside down.
There was more to Keene than he was letting on. And it wasn’t just the rumbling. His size was unnatural. He was enormous. His shoulders were round and muscular, his chest was massive. Her pulse sped up as she pictured the way his tight sleeves were digging into his beefy arms. And he was cute too; a heart warming smile on his big head.
Chloe let out a smile as she massaged her heel. She had her reporter face on all morning; refusing to laugh at his jokes, taking a stern, hard approach with him. She always got better results with the bad cop persona. People always gave out more info when they were intimidated.
But she kind of liked him. She was intrigued.
You’re here for a story. That’s it.
She stretched her feet out on the bed and laid down on the pillow. It smelled like him. Like musky campfire. She breathed in the scent and closed her eyes.
She was tired. She had been through the mountains of Montana asking questions for weeks. She couldn’t count how many doors got slammed in her face, how many people cursed her and ran away. Her boss was getting impatient. She kept lying and telling him that she was on the verge of breaking the story. The past few days he hadn’t even bothered to check in with her. Her journalist career was on the line with this article, and the line was as thin as dental floss.
But it wasn’t just her career. This was important to her. It had always been important to her. To prove to everyone that she wasn’t crazy. But mostly to prove to herself that she wasn’t crazy. That thing that she had seen all of those years ago was not in her mind like everyone had told her.
They had told her that her mind was sick and was making things up. They sent her away to that dreaded place and locked her up with all of those crazies. But she knew what she saw.
