by Jenna Payne
“Shit!” Jake said, pulling Elizabeth to her feet, “Get dressed.”
Elizabeth obeyed, looking around. She could not see anything, but the longer she sniffed, the more she smelled something familiar: spices.
“Is that who I think it is?” Elizabeth asked.
Neither man answered, they just collapsed on all fours. Chris was back to being a massive, yellow-eyed grizzly and Jake a snarling Louisiana black bear. Chris growled something to Jake, and Jake nodded as Chris took off full-speed into the woods. Before Elizabeth could speak, Jake had her under his arm, heaving her onto his neck. Elizabeth held on tight as Jake bolted after Chris. She looked over her shoulder seeing search lights dance across the trees. Elizabeth saw no faces as she looked back, but she could sense them. It was Ursula and from the ominous feeling gripping Elizabeth’s chest, she was not alone. Elizabeth tightened her hold on Jake’s neck as he closed in on Chris. Chris was tearing through trees like he had supernatural strength. Large oaks came tumbling down as Chris beat a path for Jake to follow. Elizabeth shrieked as she looked ahead and saw Ursula standing at the top of a grassy knoll, smirking down at them.
Chris saw her, skidded to a halt and ran towards a clearing at an even faster velocity. He jumped over a stream and ambled up a tree with Jake right behind him.
*****
“Guy’s we’re totally fucked,” Jake said, tightening his grasp on the tree. Ursula and her gang of voodoo priestess were roaming below the tall tree with flashlights and muttering prayers.
“What do we do?” Elizabeth whispered, feeling her legs shaking.
Chris put a finger to her lips, and Elizabeth pinched her lips closed as tears fell down her face. This was all her fault. She doubted the possibility of anything outside of her biology textbook. Her goal was to save the bears and now here she was hiding in a tall tree with two werebears who might die because she mouthed off to a powerful witch.
“No way,” Jake said, sitting up.
A smile was spreading across Chris’ face too. Elizabeth wiped the tears from her face, and squinted to see the forest floor. Ursula and her gang were screaming and running away. They were being chased by the black mama bear from the day before. Elizabeth almost laughed.
“I told you to leave her alone,” Jake said, patting Chris on his back.
Chris smiled and nodded. Ursula and her friends were vanishing into the wood, screaming loudly.
“Well, well, this is an argument to save the bears if I ever heard one,” Jake said, lowering himself down the tree.
“Climb on my back,” Chris said, extending his hand.
Elizabeth obeyed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her stomach lurched as Chris jumped down three branches at a time. She closed her eyes, trying to think of a happy place. Her eyes popped open when an idea hit her. Chris put her down on the ground and rolled his shoulders.
“Jake, what did you say up there?” Elizabeth asked, picking leaves out of her hair.
“We’re fucked?” Jake asked.
“No after that. Something about argument and bears or something?” Elizabeth said.
“I just said this mess is an argument to save the bears,” Jake said, shrugging his shoulders.
Elizabeth leaned against the tree as her brain exploded like fireworks. That could be her thesis. It was not for magic or against magic. It would be about the wonder created by magic. The wonder she felt when she saw the cubs, the wonder she felt when she watched Chris and Jake turn into bears. She could never do anything to harm them because she was in awe of them and locked in a sense of wonder. Children believe in magic without second guessing it because they have a sense of wonder. However, as children get older they lose that sense of wonder. If humans, those illegally hunting bears and those destroying the habitats, had a sense of wonder, they would not harm the world around them. Elizabeth clapped her hands together, shocked at the beautiful simplicity of her thesis.
“You okay?” Jake asked, staring at Elizabeth.
“I’m better than okay. You just got me my job after college. I would need a lot of sources. You know, citing the cultural changes in group thought regarding nature, Native Americans versus industrialization and stuff like that,” Elizabeth said, pacing the forest floor.
“I’m not following. Are you, Chris?” Jake asked.
Chris shook his head.
Elizabeth explained her train of thought. She wanted to argue for humans to make nature a personal experience and have a personal connection. Because of land reclamation and the plethora of cityscapes and suburbia, nature was pushed far away. Out of sight and out of heart and mind.
Chris nodded and rubbed his scruffy chin.
“Nice job,” Jake said, giving her a high-five.
“Thanks,” Elizabeth said, smiling broadly.
“So—so you’re leaving then?” Jake asked.
Elizabeth’s face fell, looking from Chris to Jake. They both looked like what she was feeling: disappointment.
“I’ll be living in Washington D.C. if this all works out. I mean, I would like to see you guys again. Maybe we can keep in touch? I can’t believe I just said that,” Elizabeth said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“I—I would kind of be into that,” Chris said.
“Yea, I mean it’s not like we have real roots anywhere,” Jake said.
“You guys would want to—share me?” Elizabeth asked, feeling a glint of excitement.
“I mean, yeah, if that means we can see each other again. My only rule is you have to go to Mardi Gras every year with us,” Jake said, cupping Elizabeth’s chin, “And I mean come and be focused. No notebooks. No tape recorders. And by focused, I mean wasted, tits out and lots of beads.”
Elizabeth shoved him playfully and nodded.
“Fine, deal,” Elizabeth said, looking over at Chris.
“I’m down too,” Chris said, smiling at her.
“What if it doesn’t work though?” Elizabeth asked, looking from Chris to Jake.
“Then we’ll all be friends. I don’t think the potential for failure means we don’t try. We all clearly have a connection,” Chris said.
Elizabeth stepped backward, pulled her shirt over her head, and wriggled free of her jeans. In the rush to get away from the vindictive Ursula she did not get to grab her bra and panties. She was naked, leaning against a tree.
“I think we should get started making this connection stronger. Besides Jake was starting something when we were rudely interrupted. Chris, you interested in switching positions?’’ Elizabeth asked, feeling bolder.
“Yes, ma’am,” Chris said, walking towards her. Jake followed, pulling off his shirt.
Elizabeth closed her eyes, savoring her new relationship and her absolute oneness with the forest. She would have insight she never could find in any book and both men would have her absolute devotion. In hoping she would save the bears, in would seem the bears turned the tables on her and saved her.
THE END
Bonus Story 29 of 40
Lion’s Pride
“Bye Miss N! See you next year! I’ll be taller again!” Nora chuckled as she hugged little Bo Reynolds. She’d miss him over the summer vacation. He was the funniest second grader she’d ever had and that was mostly because he didn’t even know he was being funny.
After she saw all her kids out she went about cleaning up her classroom for the summer, taking down decorations and leaving the room pretty much bare. Even though she definitely needed the break of summer, she always felt sad at the end of the year to see them go.
“School’s out already?” his voice rumbled through her, comforting, enticing, and exciting her all at once. Nora turned around and smiled at Safir, who was leaning against the wall just inside the classroom’s back door. He was a tall, sturdy man, with not one ounce of fat on him, and was as sharp and protective as a guy could get. But he wasn’t just any ‘guy.’ He was a lion shifter, the local pride’s leader and he was all Nora’s.
“I think it is a
ctually… but maybe I just lost my kids again,” she joked, causing him to chuckle. He walked over to her. He was wearing his characteristic blue jeans and flannel shirt, rolled up at the sleeves. His curly blonde hair was always shoulder length and framed his GQ-worthy face beautifully. Nora often couldn’t believe she lucked out with such a perfect guy.
“You’re the worst teacher ever,” he said and instead of embracing him when he reached her, Nora punched him in the arm. Of course it was like hitting a rock and he didn’t even flinch. Laughing, he pulled her in for a kiss and encircled her waist with his arms. “So I was thinking that this summer we can spend more time together. As in…you have no excuses to be with me night and day. No ‘grading spelling tests’ and ‘picking up Suzan Lancaster from home because her mother’s car broke down.’” Safir was being sarcastic only because Nora did have a tendency to run away from him a little and make excuses to put some distance between them. They’d only been together for a few months and she had trouble believing Safir was real, that he really wanted her and her alone.
“Alright, alright. I give, so what do you have planned for us this summer, pray tell?” she asked. He smirked and pushed a lock of her mahogany-colored hair behind her ear.
“So much romantic stuff that you’ll have no choice but to marry me come August.” He gave her a charming grin and pressed another kiss to her lips.
“Romantic ‘stuff?’” she giggled.
“Yup, absolutely. You like watching hockey right?” she rolled her eyes as he laughed, a fond smile on her face.
“So are you staying to help me pack up the classroom or what?” she asked him, stepping out of his embrace to fetch a nearby box.
“No I’m just here to look pretty and watch you do all the work. You know…sit back, watch you bend over and…put stuff away,” he said slowly in some trying-to-be-sexy voice. Nora couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re such an idiot,” she said, still laughing. He simply flashed her a toothy grin and walked over to the pile of boxes, grabbing one for himself.
“Of course I’m here to help you baby, then we can go grab some lunch,” he kissed her on the temple before they got to work. They pulled down decorations, emptied out desks, and pushed them out into the hallway. Of course Safir was the main one doing the heavy lifting and Nora was the one to sit back and watch. It was dusk by the time they were done and Nora felt as though she could use a bath and a glass of wine.
“So where are you taking me to eat?” she asked him, knowing he’d most likely had their entire evening planned out.
“To my place,” he smirked and slid an arm around her waist as they walked to Nora’s truck out in the school’s lot.
“You own a kitchen?” she teased, making him laugh out loud.
“Yes, I do own a kitchen and I cook sometimes,” he admitted. All the time she’d known Safir, she’d always been the one to cook dinner at her place. In fact, the only parts of Safir’s unnecessarily large house she’s seen were his bedroom and the family room.
“Will you finally give me a tour of your house? Or are you actually hiding dead bodies in every room?” he simply smiled and held his hand out for her keys.
“Well I was a private guy before, but now I’ve decided to share things with you,” he admitted. His sudden honesty took Nora a bit by surprise.
“Okay then…” was her only reply.
“Like I said, married by the end of the summer,” he winked at her and held the passenger door open for her to get in.
“So what’s the rush to marry me all of a sudden?” she asked him as he started up the truck and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Well I’m one hundred percent sure that you’re my mate so…why wait to marry you?” he glanced at her briefly, flashing a smile. She reached over to slip her hand in his. Honestly she couldn’t have dreamed up a better future husband.
*****
“Safir, are you sure you know how to cook?” Nora was watching him with amusement. She was sitting at the breakfast bar while Safir was about to cook steaks for them both in a cast iron pan.
“You laugh now, but just watch. When you eat this you’ll be doing more than kissing the chef.” He glanced at her with a wink, and she giggled before taking a sip of wine. Safir glanced over at the kitchen door before Nora even heard a knock. He opened the door and his second, Rafael, walked in.
“Hey Nora, how you doin’?” he asked, not even greeting his alpha yet. Safir growled and Nora hid her laugh.
“I’m good Rafael, what’s up?” she asked.
“Yeah why are you here? We’re on a date,” Safir practically growled, Rafael simply grinned at his closest friend.
“There’s a bonfire party out on the beach. I wanted to see if you guys would stop by,” he glanced over at the stove, smelling food, but Safir got in his way before he could steal a bite of anything.
“Fine, we’ll come later. Now leave,” Safir said, pushing Rafael back out.
“You look great by the way Nora, I’ll see you at the party,” he grinned and she winked at him, which Safir saw. With a growl he shoved a laughing Rafael out and shut the door soundly behind him.
“Don’t flirt with my lions,” he said in that dominant tone he sometimes used with her.
“Rafael’s harmless,” she said with a small smile. He quirked an eyebrow at her and walked over to pull her chair out from the bar a little, closer to him. She bit her lip to hide her smile.
“Don’t flirt with the lions…” he reiterated, his mouth only a breath away from hers. She nodded without comment. Safir kissed her, softly brushing his lips over hers before he set her chair back to normal and went to focus on the steaks.
“What if…what if the only way you could have me was if you had to share with someone else?” she asked him, half testing, half teasing. Nora knew she ran the risk of really upsetting him though with her question.
“And you’d be happy with being shared?” he asked her with a quirk of his brow.
“Yeah, like say for instance the only way I could be happy was if I had you and someone else in my life…” she posed the question with a hypothetical tone.
“Come again? You’re joking right?” he said, pointing a fork at her. She shrugged, instantly regretting posing that question in the first place. Safir stared at her for a moment with an intent stare before he sighed, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t share you with anyone Nora, you’re mine and I’m yours.”
“It was just a…hypothetical question,” she said, trying to appease him.
Safir took a deep breath and she saw him relax, though only a little. “Yeah well…you know if you want a threesome all you have to do is ask,” he said, giving her a wink. Nora’s jaw dropped and she threw a cube of cheese at him, which he dodged even with his back turned.
“Can’t you be normal for just five seconds so I can hit you?” she asked which made him laugh of course.
“No darling, I can’t,” he answered blithely. “These steaks will be ready soon,” he added.
Nora hopped down from the breakfast bar to go wash her hands, fix her hair a little and make sure she still looked presentable. Safir never seemed to care if she had bedhead or if she was having a bad hair day. Nora never really put much stock into her looks, normally. She knew she was attractive; her classically feminine features were what one would often see in any fashion magazine. Her big eyes were a bit cat-like, especially with their almost yellow tint. She had curves in all the right places and wasn’t too short or too tall. But since she chose to work with small kids she tended to wear practical clothes and have practical hair. That was until she met Safir. These days, Nora put more care into looking nice, as he often popped up unexpectedly throughout her day.
It was strange when they first met, Nora had forgotten that stuff like having the radio on and making phone calls bothered lion shifters since her grandfather passed. Each shifter had their own sort of weakness. Strangely enough the lions had such sensitive hearing that they were able to pick
up on the actual sound of radio waves. It wasn’t harmful, per se, but enough of an annoyance that the lions never even carried cell phones around. Safir had made sure she knew very early on to have her phone turned off around him because, ‘those things are always making that metallic static noise even when you’re not talking to anyone.’ Hell even Safir had deconstructed the radio in his truck to simply include a CD player and that’s it.
“Are you pooping in there?” Nora almost laughed as he called through the door and she rolled her eyes.
“I was washing my hands, sheesh,” she said as she stepped out to find him leaning against the wall.
“Washing your hands and being a girl?” he quirked an eyebrow at her and she smirked. Safir could be seen as an ass to others or annoying. But Nora always found his sharp wit to be endearing, that and she had an extremely tolerant sense of humor.
“Would you rather I was washing my hands and being a boy?” she stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled.
“You know I love you right?” he said as they walked back to the kitchen. The food smelled amazing as they got nearer to the breakfast bar.
“Yes I know, you’d be a fool if you didn’t,” she said cheekily and he growled under his breath before catching her around the waist and pinning her to the wall. His mouth was on hers before she could laugh or give another sarcastic remark. As soon as she started to squirm against him he let her go abruptly and walked casually over to his plate of food.
“Tease,” she muttered under her breath, Safir laughed out loud and simply winked at her. When she took a bite into her steak Nora closed her eyes. It was tasty, tender and perfect. “Safir…why don’t you own a restaurant?” she asked him, making him laugh again.
“It’s good right? See, your man can cook,” he grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “So that’s incredibly handsome, well off, leader of the pride, can cook, dependable, good sense of humor, and great in bed…ready to get married?” Nora cracked up.
“Safir you’re too much,” she chuckled.
