Bride For the Bear (Paranormal Shifter Romance) (Haven Book 1)

by Stella Night

  I wasn’t sure what I was thinking either. I wasn’t the type to open doors for women. I always thought it was stupid and something people only did in the movies. But with Rachel, the gesture just felt right.

  “I need to run by the hardware store real quick,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. “You gonna be alright on your own?”

  She nodded and smiled at me. “Just don’t take too long,” she said.

  A seductive glimmer lit her eyes. There was a promise in that look, and I couldn’t wait to find out what that promise was. She headed towards the store, and I watched her leave. The sway of her ass was hypnotic. I lost myself in some seriously dirty thoughts.

  The breeze shifted and an unpleasant scent filled my nostrils. A growl sounded in my throat before I could place the smell. Then it clicked.

  Maddox.

  I looked in the direction of his scent and saw him just down the street. He sat at a table outside Bear Haven’s only coffee shop. Our eyes locked and he waved me over. I frowned and gestured for him to come to me.

  The last thing I wanted to do was talk to him, but if he had something to say, he could damn well walk over to me. He made a face and approached.

  “Make it quick, Maddox. I have shit to do.”

  His features darkened at my tone. He pulled his shoulders back and puffed his chest out. I could feel his bear aching to come out. He was smaller than me, but the size of the man had nothing to do with the size of the bear.

  When we shift, our inner strength manifests itself in our bear form. The size and strength of our bear is determined by how strong we are on the inside. Maddox’s bear was bigger than a person might expect. He might be a shriveled old man, but his bear was still tough.

  Still, he couldn’t take me in a straight up confrontation. He preferred to work behind the scenes as Elder, getting his way through manipulation and politics. It’s why he and I never got along. I was a blunt and straightforward kind of guy, and he was the opposite.

  “Have you given any thought to my proposal?” he asked.

  “I’m mulling it over.”

  He nodded. “That’s good. A union between you and Gillian would really be the best thing for the clan.”

  The son of a bitch said it so smoothly I could almost believe it. As if he wasn’t just angling to give his daughter the influential position she’d always lusted after.

  “I said I’ll think about it.”

  “That’s all I ask. For a moment there, I thought you’d decided to go a different way.”

  “I’ll go whatever fucking way I want,” I growled, losing my patience.

  “Like trying to take a human mate?”

  “If you have something to say, Maddox, just say it.”

  “I couldn’t help but notice the woman you showed up with this morning. You two seem… close.”

  “She’s none of your business,” I said, clenching my fists.

  “Who you choose as mate is my business. It’s the business of every member of the clan. Especially if you try to choose a human.”

  “Let me say this in no uncertain terms. You stay the fuck away from her. If I find out you’ve said even one word to her, I’ll rip your fucking tongue out and shove it up your ass. Elder or not.”

  Maddox shook his head. “Eloquent as ever.”

  “Do you think I’m in the mood for jokes?” I asked, grabbing him by the shirt and shaking him like a rag doll. “Stop sticking your snout where it doesn’t belong.”

  His face twisted with rage and his eyes flashed gold. For a second, I thought he might shift in the middle of town. Then he growled and averted his gaze from mine.

  “No need for violence, Noah,” he said. “I’ll stay away from her.”

  “Good,” I said.

  “Of course, I cannot say the same for my hot-tempered daughter.”

  “Speak plainly, dammit.”

  He shrugged. “I wasn’t the only one who noticed your new companion. Gillian wanted to introduce herself.”

  “What, right now?”

  “Indeed. You know Gillian. She’s still rather fond of you after all these years, and she’s very territorial.”

  “Dammit.”

  I turned back towards the grocery store. Who knows what Gillian was telling Rachel? I needed to stop her before she ruined everything.

  ***

  Rachel

  I walked through the aisles of the store feeling like I was floating on air. I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed since yesterday. Before coming out here, I’d had my doubts, but so far, Bear Haven had been better than I could have ever imagined.

  I’d never been the girl who needed a man to make her life better, but I couldn’t deny that meeting Noah had been a blessing. I was excited about life again, and I knew a lot of that was thanks to him.

  I wanted to get to know him more. He was definitely holding some things back from me. I couldn’t blame him. I mean, we’d only just met. Besides, I was certainly keeping my cards close to the vest. If Noah knew how fucked up and broken I was, he’d stay far away from me.

  That was why I hadn’t told him the full story about coming out here. I hadn’t told him about my ex.

  This was a chance at a fresh start. A chance to find myself. Maybe Noah could help me with that. If something else were to happen between us, that could be fun, too. I’d come out here to get away from distractions, but it was entirely possible that Noah was exactly the kind of distraction my life had been missing.

  I picked up a piece of steak. Noah looked like a steak guy.

  “Who the fuck are you?” a woman’s voice sounded behind me.

  I spun around, dropping the meat in my surprise. It fell to the linoleum floor with a splat.

  The woman in front of me was big. Not fat, but big. She was a least a foot taller than me and she had an athletic build. Her hair was dirty blond, and her face had a broad, blunt look to it. She seemed to radiate power, like an Amazon warrior or a Valkyrie from Norse mythology. I felt tiny and weak standing before her.

  “Excuse me?” I stammered.

  She took a step closer to me, getting right up in my personal space. I backed away from her until my knees bumped against the edge of the meat cooler behind me.

  “I asked who the fuck you are,” she said, her voice low and menacing.

  Her eyes burned with a fury I didn’t understand. She hated me. I didn’t even know this chick and she hated me.

  “I’m Rachel,” I said, struggling to gain my composure. The woman had surprised me, throwing me off balance. But I wasn’t going to let some local bitch hassle me just because I was from out of town. “And who the fuck are you?”

  Her mouth dropped open in surprise, like she wasn’t used to other people talking to her this way. It was a satisfying reaction, but she recovered quickly.

  “I’m asking the questions, bitch. What are you doing with Noah Sinclair?”

  I stood up straighter, refusing to be intimidated. “That’s none of your goddamn business,” I snapped.

  “Oh, it’s definitely my business,” she said, leaning her face closer to mine. “I saw you get out of Noah’s truck. He’s my man.”

  “That’s not what I heard,” I said, forcing a confident smile that I didn’t feel. No way would I let her see me afraid.

  “Oh yeah, what have you heard?” she asked.

  I hadn’t heard a damn thing, but I wasn’t about to let this psycho know that. “I heard he’s not interested in dating crazy bitches.”

  It was a shot in the dark. I was just bullshitting her, but judging from her expression, I’d guessed right.

  “You better watch that pretty little mouth of yours,” she said. “It’s bound to get you in trouble.”

  “Bitch, you better back the fuck up,” I said, jabbing my finger inches from her face. I could hardly believe the words coming out of my mouth, but damn if it didn’t feel good to say them.

  She turned an ugly shade of red. Her lips pulled back from her teeth i
n a snarl. For a second, I thought she might bite the finger I pointed at her.

  “You have no idea who you’re messing with,” she said. “I will end you.”

  She cocked her fist back. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth, readying myself for the hit.

  It never came.

  I opened my eyes and saw Noah gripping her wrist. Her whole arm trembled, but his hand never wavered. I could see his biceps straining against the sleeves of his button shirt.

  “Enough, Gillian,” he growled.

  “Yeah, enough Gillian,” I said, mocking her.

  She tried to grab me with her free hand, but this time I ducked away nimbly. I was giddy with relief. I really wasn’t ready to get punched today.

  “Rachel, don’t,” Noah said.

  I threw my hands up, as if to say it was over.

  “She started it,” I said.

  “And I’ll end it, too,” she growled. “Let me go, Noah.”

  She struggled in Noah’s grip, but he held her like steel. I extended my middle finger towards her. The rage in her face was one of the most gratifying things I’d ever experienced.

  “The both of you, stop right now.”

  The command in Noah’s voice was impossible to ignore. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked down. Gillian relaxed in his grip. Noah let her go. She rubbed her wrist where he’d held her.

  “What the hell are you thinking, Gillian?” He spoke in a low menacing tone in her ear, so soft I could barely hear it.

  She actually looked sorry. “Noah, honey, don’t be mad.” She cupped his cheek with her hand. “I was just thinking about us and our future together.”

  A pang of jealousy stabbed through me. Maybe she wasn’t lying to me when she said Noah was her man. Why the hell did I care so much? I’d only just met the guy. All this incident did was reinforce my conviction that I should stay away from men right now. Nothing was ever simple with them.

  Noah took her hand in his and firmly removed it from his face. “I’m not mad. I’m furious. You can’t be starting trouble in the middle of town like this.”

  “I can’t believe you’re taking her side over mine,” Gillian said. “She’s not one of us.”

  I snorted. “Like being from Bear Haven makes you so fucking special.”

  Noah ignored me, but fury flared in Gillian’s eyes. The reaction was more satisfying that I cared to admit. God, she was so fun to mess with. I had a feeling I would pay for it later, but right at this moment, it was totally worth it.

  “No, she’s not one of us. She’s a guest in this town, and we don’t attack guests. And I’m not taking sides. You know the rules.”

  “I didn’t break any rules,” she said sullenly.

  “You were about to before I stopped you.”

  “I wasn’t really going to hit her. Probably. I just get territorial. It’s in my nature when someone gets between me and my mate.”

  “Gillian, we’ve been over this. There is no you and me.”

  A look anger passed over her face. “We’ll see about that.”

  “It’s not happening,” Noah said.

  Gillian looked at me. “Why, because of her? She doesn’t know you. She doesn’t know anything about who you are.”

  What an odd thing to say, I thought. The mysteries surrounding Noah seemed to keep piling up. Alarm bells should have been going off in my head, telling me to stay the hell away from him, but I had to admit it only made me more interested in getting to know him. Curiosity might kill the cat, but I bet that was one satisfied pussy cat right before the end.

  “She has nothing to do with this,” Noah said. Gillian looked like she was about to say something else, but Noah cut her off. “That’s enough. It’s time for you to leave.”

  The look on Noah’s face scared me. There was a savage anger there, something fierce and primal. I could only hope he never looked at me that way.

  Gillian’s eyes dropped to her feet. “I’m sorry.”

  Noah let out a long breath. “Go home, Gillian.”

  “I’ll go. But this isn’t over.” She shot me a look that sent a shiver up my spine. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Chapter 8

  Rachel

  “Are you alright?” Noah asked, placing his hand on my arm.

  He looked worried. Most of the time, his face was a neutral mask, impossible to read. So seeing this look on his face made me feel like he was legitimately worried about me. Unfortunately, I was too angry to care.

  I shook his hand off my arm. “No, I’m not alright. What the hell was that all about?”

  “Nothing. Just a big mistake from my past.”

  “That didn’t look like the past to me,” I said loudly. I noticed other shoppers glancing at me and Noah curiously. I lowered my voice. “That looked pretty goddamned present. Why the hell did you lie to me?”

  “I didn’t lie to you,” he insisted.

  “She said you were her man.”

  “Gillian is full of shit.”

  “So you two aren’t together?”

  Maybe I shouldn’t be so direct in asking about his love life, but I did want to know. I wasn’t sure what my intentions were with Noah, but I needed to know where he stood before I let myself do something stupid like fall in love with an unavailable man.

  He looked me square in the eye. “Absolutely not. We used to date a long time ago. But it was never serious, and there is nothing at all going between us right now.”

  “You swear?”

  “Yes,” he said. “She thinks she and I are going to get married someday, but she’s fucking crazy. I swear.”

  “Why would she think that?”

  “It’s complicated. Arranged marriages are still kind of a thing out here. I know it’s weird. Chalk it up as a strange, small town tradition. Her father wants to set us up, and I keep telling him no.”

  “That is weird.”

  “I know, but I promise there’s nothing going on between Gillian and me.”

  He looked sincere and I believed him. Still, there was something off, like there was something else he wasn’t telling me. I couldn’t be sure, though. It was possible my hangups and issues were clouding my judgment. Bad things from my past could have me jumping at shadows. I needed to be sure.

  I nodded. “I just want to make this clear right now. Don’t ever lie to me. It’s the one thing I can’t forgive.”

  “Fair enough,” he said.

  “I mean it,” I said, planting my hands on my hips. “If there’s something you’re not telling me, now’s the time.”

  He paused. It was only for a split second. Less than the span of a heartbeat. But it was just long enough for doubt to wedge itself between us.

  “I didn’t lie to you,” he said.

  Maybe not, I thought. But that doesn’t mean you’re not hiding something. Chiseled muscles and smoldering looks weren’t enough to make me ignore the suspicion gnawing at me. In past relationships, I’d buried my head in the sand when I had doubts like this. It never ended well.

  I shook my head. “Maybe it’s best if you and I stay away from each other.”

  A look of disappointment flashed on his face, so quickly I wasn’t sure if I’d really seen it at all. Then his face took on the neutral expression that seemed to be his default look. There he went, shutting himself away from the world.

  “If that’s what you think is best,” he said.

  “Look, I like you. It’s just, I came out here to avoid complications. And all of this seems very complicated.”

  “It’s really not,” Noah said.

  “A psycho ex-girlfriend that wants to kick my ass is a definite complication.”

  His eyes burned into me. “I’d never let her hurt you. If you believe nothing else I say, believe that.”

  A shiver marched up my spine at the conviction in his voice. He meant every word. Even I couldn’t doubt that. Still, it wasn’t enough.

  “Thank you, Noah.
But I think it’s easier if I don’t get involved. I have to focus on my career right now. Not all this craziness.”

  “This is exactly what Gillian wanted. She wanted to scare you away.”

  “Well, it’s working.”

  Noah ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “So you run away at the first sign of trouble?”

  My eyes narrowed in anger. “Maybe I do. What’s wrong with that?”

  “It’s no way to live.”

  “I don’t want to get hurt again,” I said.

  “How will you ever find love if you’re too scared of getting hurt?”

  “The men I love are exactly the ones who always hurt me.”

  My gaze dropped to my feet. I wrung my hands in front of me, embarrassed by what I’d said. I hadn’t meant for it to slip out. I didn’t want him to know I was damaged goods.

  Now that he knew, it was his turn to run away.

  He gently took my hands in his. His hands were so much bigger than mine. So much stronger.

  “Look at me, Rachel,” he said softly. “Please look at me.”

  I forced myself to look up into his sky blue eyes.

  “I’m sorry bad things have happened to you,” he said. “But I need you to believe that I will never hurt you. I don’t expect you to believe me right away, but you should give me the chance to prove it to you.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “Ever since you arrived, it’s been one bad thing after another. You haven’t had a chance to see the good side of this place. Give me a chance to show you.”

  “Noah, I don’t know. I need some time to think.”

  “You spend too much time thinking. Spend some time feeling for a change.”

  “Oh yeah? How am I supposed to do that?”

  “Simple. What’s your gut telling you to do? What are your feelings telling you?”

  My feelings told me I loved the way Noah’s hands felt holding mine. I loved the way he looked at me with intense passion. I loved the way my name sounded on his lips.

  “They’re telling me to give you a chance.”

  He smiled. It was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. “That’s good,” he said. “Your feelings are looking out for you.”