Alpha Bear Princes Box Set

by Lily Cahill

  Frankie wanted desperately to push him further, force him to tell her what was bothering him. She dreaded the afternoon ahead of her. It would only be full of unanswerable questions plaguing her mind. But he had asked her to wait, and she respected him enough to leave it at that.

  "I'll be here," she said.

  "Good. Thank you," he said. Then he kissed her. "I care about you a lot, Frankie. What I have to tell you, it doesn't change that, okay? Nothing could change that."

  "Okay," she said, but the tightness in her chest didn't leave.

  Chapter Eleven

  Samuel

  Sam and Vic ran through the forest together. As hard as it had been to leave Frankie, he knew he needed to do it. If he was going to show her his bear tonight, he needed to make sure he was in full control of himself, and that meant running himself out. There was no way he'd risk putting her in danger.

  As they ran, he cursed himself for how he'd left things with her this morning. He'd been an idiot to bring it up at all. Now he knew she'd spend the whole day worrying about what he had to tell her. It would be no help. There was nothing she was imagining right now that could be anywhere near as bad as the truth.

  He tried to take solace in his run, tried to comfort himself with the earth against his paws and the scent of pine and mountain snow drifting down from Mt. Hood. But it did little to ease his nerves. He might lose her tonight. The possibility was as real as the crunch of twigs beneath his paws.

  After they'd prowled together for over an hour, they shifted back to human form and headed toward a diner in town for lunch.

  "I've got a little surprise for you, man," Vic said with his hand on the door.

  "Oh?" Sam asked.

  "I didn't want to bombard you with it before, but two of my sisters are in town. I thought you might like to meet them."

  Sam's face lit up. Was he about to meet more shifters? "Are they--?"

  "Yep. My whole family is," Vic said. "Come on. They're dying to meet you."

  They went inside and Sam spotted two women who had to be Vic's sisters. They were tall and blond with coloring just like Vic, and each had a distinct smell that marked them as shifters.

  "This is Blanca," Vic said. "And this is Annika."

  Annika didn't look too pleased to be there, but Blanca held out her hand to him. "Great to meet you," she said with a wide smile.

  Was he crazy, or was she looking at him weird? Her eyes were opened wide and locked on him. It gave him an unsettled feeling, but maybe it was another weird shifter thing. He shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too."

  Blanca elbowed Annika. "Say hello, Annie."

  Annika met his eyes. "Hello, Annie," she said sarcastically.

  Blanca elbowed her again.

  "Ow!" she protested, glaring at Blanca.

  "Sorry," Blanca said. "Don't mind her, she's just shy."

  Sam and Vic sat down across from them, Sam feeling more uncomfortable than he had before the introductions.

  After they ordered food, they passed the time with smalltalk until it arrived. The whole time, Annika was silent. She crossed her arms and stared off into space like she was barely tolerating any of them. But Vic and Blanca barely seemed to notice. They chattered on like she wasn't even there, like her behavior was totally normal. Maybe she was just the moody type.

  "I gotta say, man," Vic said between giant bites of cheeseburger, "Your bear is strong. Big too. You should see it, B. Don't know if I've ever seen a black bear as big as you."

  Sam had shifted inside the house once by accident, and seen his bear form in a hall mirror. He knew he was big. Until he'd met Vic, he thought that perhaps the animal side of a shifter was always larger and more menacing than its true animal counterpart. He'd seen black bears in the wild, and they'd seemed puny compared to what he was. But Vic appeared to be the size of a regular polar bear. The fact of his own size still puzzled him.

  "I haven't seen one either," Sam said.

  "I wasn't sure if I should tell you this," Vic said, casting a sidelong glance at Blanca. "But we could use a guy as big as you. There's some trouble brewing back home."

  "Oh?"

  "It's a bizarre situation if you didn't grow up in it, but the gist is this: there's still a monarchy among bear shifters. It's outdated and useless, but very powerful. The Empress, well, she refuses to listen to reason. She's holding on to her power with an iron fist even though no one wants the monarchy anymore."

  Blanca cut in. "Everyone wants new leadership," she said. "People are calling for her to resign, but she won't. Tensions have gotten pretty high."

  "There might be a fight coming," Vic said.

  "Really?" Sam asked. It was a surprising thing to learn. He hadn't considered that there might be any sort of governing body among shifters, but it made sense.

  "To be honest, though, people are scared," Blanca said.

  "Not many are willing to fight, even though they want her gone," Vic said. "We could really use you on our side."

  Something about the eagerness in his eyes and the way he and Blanca seemed to be playing off each other made Sam wary. He had a sudden, odd thought that perhaps Vic had befriended him for this very reason--to recruit him. But that was absurd. How could Vic have known he existed if he, himself, didn't know other shifters were alive and living among regular people? He set his paranoia aside.

  "Can you tell me more?" Sam asked.

  "What would you like to know?" Blanca asked.

  "You say this Empress is holding on to her power. What kind of power? What is it that your group wants to change?"

  "Well, there are some of us who believe we're being underrepresented in the shifter community as a whole," Vic said.

  "How so?"

  "We have equal voting rights in the shifter council, even though we're bigger and stronger than the other species," Vic said.

  "Okay?"

  "Some of us think that's not right," Vic continued. "Some of us think bears should have more say in how things go."

  "It's pretty unfair if you really think about it," Blanca said.

  Sam sat back in his chair. He was thankful he'd met Vic, but something about all this just hit him wrong. "I've got to be honest. I'm just glad to know there are other shifters. Who they are and what form they take don't really matter to me."

  Annika's eyes shot up to meet his, and he thought he could see a sparkle of hope inside them. Excitement too.

  "In fact, it strikes me as a little arrogant that it would matter to anyone," Sam said.

  "Hey, I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to push you," Vic said.

  "We shouldn't have even mentioned it," Blanca said. "I know this is a lot to process and you're only just figuring out how all this works."

  "I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but there's so much you just can't understand if you didn't grow up shifter," Vic added.

  Sam was sure that was true. He was also glad that he hadn't grown up wherever Vic and his sisters had. The more he thought about it, the more the idea of any shifter having supremacy over any other sounded absurd.

  "You know what?" Blanca said, seeming suddenly excited. "You should come meet the rest of our family!"

  Annika snorted, and Blanca elbowed her yet again. This time, Blanca gave her a glare that could cut glass.

  "That's a great idea," Vic said. "I'm heading home to visit them in a couple of days. You should tag along."

  "I'd love to," Sam said, lying. "But maybe another time."

  "Come on. I know they'd love to hear your story. I don't think any of them have ever met an orphan shifter. And I've got another sister you might like," Vic said with a smirk.

  "Zara would love him," Blanca said. "And everybody loves Zara."

  "Sorry," Sam said, annoyed. "But things are just starting to work out between me and Frankie. I don't want to leave her right now."

  "Who's Frankie?" Blanca asked. She had that overly-bright tone that some girls used to mask disappointment.

  Sam looked Blanca squar
e in the eye. "My mate."

  Blanca's smile faltered. "Vic, you didn't tell me he had bonded."

  Was that what all this was about? Had Blanca and Annika been hoping to meet their mate?

  "Have you told Frankie you're a shifter yet?" Vic asked, skeptical.

  "Not yet. But I'm going to. Tonight," Sam said. "Speaking of which, I better get going. There are still a few things I need to do before I meet her."

  "Well, good luck, man," Vic said, blowing out his cheeks. "I mean it."

  Chapter Twelve

  Francesca

  Francesca loaded the last of the grocery bags into the cab of her truck. It was overflowing, as usual, from her weekly grocery run. Feeding five people was always a monumental task. At least all she had to do was the shopping. Becky and Mikey usually did the cooking, and Eddie and Jamie kept things clean around the house. They kept everything equal in the house and in the business too. It was a good system.

  She wondered what it would be like to add another cog to the family engine, but tried not to let herself think about it. The way Sam had left her this afternoon had her worried. Last night, she'd been ready to hand him her heart--to hand him anything he'd asked for. But now she wasn't so sure. She didn't like secrets, and she hated being lied to. If Sam had lied to her about something, she wasn't sure what she'd do.

  As she closed the passenger door of the truck, she heard heavy footsteps approach, then stop.

  "Are you Frankie Thompson?" a voice asked.

  "Yes," she said, turning to see a large man with blond hair and cool eyes.

  "And you're dating Samuel Ryan?"

  This, she wasn't sure how to answer. One date wasn't exactly dating, was it? And yet by the end of the night their bond had felt like so much more. "Yes," she said. "Do you know him?"

  "I'm afraid I do," the man said.

  What did that mean?

  "Look, there's no easy way to say this, but he's not who you think he is."

  "Excuse me?"

  "He's engaged. To my sister. They're expecting a baby next month."

  Frankie felt her heart drop into her stomach. "That can't be," she said.

  "I'm really sorry. But you're not the only one he's been messing around with on the side. I've been tailing him for my sister. He's got girls in New York, LA, and apparently now here."

  Frankie felt like the world was spinning in the wrong direction. What was this man saying to her? Had she really been so foolish? So blind?

  No. She couldn't have been.

  "I don't believe you," she said. "Sam isn't like that. I know him."

  Vic pulled a picture out of his wallet and handed it to her.

  Her heart nearly stopped. The woman in the picture was lovely--short and curvy with light brown skin. And standing next to her, his lips on her cheek, was Sam. She could only see him in profile, and his hair was different--longer and slicked back--but it had to be him. He had the same strong cheekbones, the same enormous build and the same strong hands.

  "Believe me now?" the man asked.

  Frankie couldn't answer. She was too busy staring at the photo.

  "I'm begging you to leave Sam alone so she can have a chance at having a family for her child. He doesn't deserve her, but the kid has a right to his a father."

  A family. A baby. Frankie's throat closed tight. This woman had a claim to him that she didn't have. Would never have now. As much as it twisted her heart to acknowledge it, it was true.

  Hadn't she always known, deep inside herself, that Sam was too good to be true? Hadn't he been planning to tell her all this tonight? Maybe he would have made love to her first, taken her one last time then left her forever. Frankie almost wished they'd had one more night together before she'd learned the truth.

  But it was better this way, actually. At least she wouldn't fall apart in front of him. At least she'd have that.

  She only had one more question. "Who are you?"

  "The name's Vic."

  "Vic, tell your sister I'm truly sorry. She won't have any more trouble from me."

  #

  Frankie was glad none of her family was at home when Sam knocked. They'd texted her earlier to ask if she wanted to see a movie, but she'd said Sam was coming over. Thank goodness they weren't here now. She couldn't handle the humiliation of them seeing both her total happiness and her absolute heartbreak in the course of a single day.

  "I missed you," Sam said to her when she opened the door, but she wasn't about to let him inside. She'd never let him close to anything she loved ever again.

  "I know the truth," Frankie said. "Vic told me everything."

  A heart-crushing look passed across his face. He looked absolutely devastated. "Vic? He didn't."

  "He did."

  "I wanted to tell you myself. I was going to tell you."

  "So it's true?" she asked. A part of her had been holding onto the hope that he would deny it--that he would have some sort of explanation that would make everything okay again.

  Sam nodded and Frankie felt her world truly shatter. She hadn't planned to let him see her cry, but she felt the words bubbling up before she had a chance to control them.

  "I trusted you," she said through tears. "I gave myself to you last night. Do you think I would have done that if I had known?"

  "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm so sorry. I should have told you sooner."

  Frankie shook her head. "Sooner? Did you actually think there could be something between us?"

  "I hoped so," Sam said softly.

  "You're unbelievable," Frankie said. "Don't come back here. I never want to see your face again. You disgust me."

  Frankie slammed the door and ran toward the back of the house. She needed fresh air. She yanked her coat off its place on the peg and flew out the back door. She dashed through her back yard, out the gate, and into the gathering darkness of the woods.

  She found the river and followed it until she reached the point where it hit the edge of a cliff and tumbled into a waterfall far below. Diamond Falls, that's what they called the place. Frankie slumped onto a nearby boulder in tears. She'd come here so many times--to think or to relax or simply to enjoy the beauty and majesty of the thundering water. But she'd never come here with a broken heart.

  Off in the distance, she thought she heard the desperate growl of an animal in pain.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Samuel

  Sam raced into the forest, shifting into his bear too fast to care about clothes. They shredded around him and he left them behind in tatters at his paws. His worst fears had come true. Frankie had learned about what he really was and it disgusted her. He couldn't blame her. Hadn't he always thought the same himself?

  He charged into the woods near Frankie's house with a mighty growl. Nothing would ever be the same again. Nothing would ever be good again without her. If only he'd been able to tell her himself, break it to her gently. Maybe then he would have had a chance. But he didn't. Vic had taken away his only opportunity.

  He wanted to kill Vic. He wanted to shred the man in his teeth.

  As though in answer to his instinct to kill, Sam suddenly smelled Vic's scent in the air. He bolted toward the scent and came upon Vic standing in a patch of light between trees, fully human. As much as he wanted to destroy him, it wouldn't be satisfying unless it was a fair fight. Sam lunged at him as a bear, shifting mid-air into his human form and tackling him.

  "What the fuck, man?" Vic yelled as Sam pummeled him.

  "You had no right to talk to her," Sam howled. "No right."

  "It was for your own good. She would have never accepted you. She's human."

  Sam's fist sailed through the air again. "It wasn't your place. Why'd you have to interfere?"

  "I was trying to help you," Vic said, raising his arms in defense. "I was trying to make it easier."

  Sam pulled back. Vic wasn't fighting him and he didn't like that. He wanted to defeat him fairly. He wanted Vic to punch back, to feel the pain of it, and he wanted to level
him in response.

  There was only one way to make sure Vic would fight. He'd turn back into his bear. Then Vic would have no choice. He stepped away and was about to do it when Vic shouted.

  "Wait! Listen to me for one second, shithead." Vic's tone had completely changed--darker and angry.

  Sam was confused. Had Vic just been playing possum?

  Vic shoved two fingers in his mouth and whistled, loud.

  There was an echoing whistle in return.

  It was only then that Sam realized he'd missed something. There wasn't just one bear scent in the air. There were three.

  His first instinct was that it must be Blanca and Annika. But sniffing, Sam realized they were new bears--bears he hadn't met before.

  That's when he heard Frankie scream.

  His heart nearly stopped beating. What the hell was going on?

  "They have her now," Vic said. "And if you want to keep her alive, you'll come with me."

  Come with him? No fucking way. In a flash, Sam was back in his bear and tearing toward the sound of her voice.

  Frankie. He had to get to Frankie.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Francesca

  Frankie trembled in fear. Two giant polar bears were circling her, snarling.

  She'd been careless, too upset to watch her surroundings. By the time she'd seen them, they were practically on top of her. She'd tried backing away, but there was only the river at her back, and the steep drop off to the sharp rocks below. There was nowhere to go.

  It didn't make sense. Polar bears weren't native to this area. They belonged in the Arctic--Alaska or Canada or Russia. Not in the middle of Oregon.

  But here they were, circling her and snapping their jaws like she was going to be their next meal. Frankie had a fleeting thought that she wished they'd gotten to her before she knew the truth about Sam. At least then she would have died happy. Now she would die both angry and heartbroken.

  The bears circled tighter with every step. She could smell the musk of them--hot and sour as trash left out in the summer sun. She could see their stiff, white fur prickled high on their backs. Close up, it looked stained and yellowed rather than pure white. They were so close that if she reached out a hand, she could touch them.