Alpha Bear Princes Box Set

by Lily Cahill

  Frankie wracked her brain, trying to remember what to do to scare bears away. Were you supposed to play dead? Or were you supposed to make noise and stretch yourself to look as large as possible? She thought it was the latter.

  Though it fought every instinct in her body, she unwrapped her trembling hands from around her torso and spread them high and wide above her head as she climbed high atop the nearest boulder, dangerously close to the water's edge.

  "Go!" she screamed. "Get away! Shoo!"

  She felt ridiculous and useless, but didn't know what else to do.

  "Get the fuck away from me!" she yelled.

  But it seemed to have no effect on them. If anything, they were getting closer, circling tighter, huffing and sniffing and shaking their heads almost like they were laughing. Were they laughing at her?

  Then there was a violent cracking of branches, a mighty roar.

  Her head snapped to the left just in time to see a giant black bear crash through the trees that stood opposite to the riverbank. He was huge, easily twice the size of the other two bears. She'd never heard of or seen a bear so large.

  And he was coming straight for her.

  This is it, Frankie thought. I'm done.

  But at the very last second, the enormous animal changed direction and pounced on one of the polar bears that had her trapped.

  The black bear slashed the white bear's meaty flank, exposing flesh and sending him toppling backwards.

  The black bear stood over the white bear and roared. The white bear struggled up, whimpering, and careened back into the forest.

  Then the black bear turned on the other polar bear and pounced.

  What. The. Hell. Was this bear trying to protect her?

  If so, he was doing a good job. No sooner had he struck than the second polar bear was rolled on its back too. With another giant slash and a fantastic roar, the black bear's claw ripped through the second polar bear's hind leg.

  Again, the black bear roared. And again, the second polar bear yelped as it frantically limped back under the cover of the trees.

  The black bear trundled toward her, and it suddenly hit Frankie that she hadn't run. Why the hell hadn't she run away when they'd been distracted? Even now, her feet felt frozen in fear. She couldn't have moved if she tried.

  The bear held her gaze as it closed in on her and she had the craziest thought--its eyes looked like Sam's. His eyes looked exactly like Sam's.

  But before the thought had time to register, another polar bear was tearing through the trees toward her. This one was bigger, not as big as the black bear, but still plenty big. The polar bear looked over over to where the others had run away and snarled. Then it reared up on its hind legs and roared.

  It was so loud Frankie had the instinct to cover her ears, though the action seemed completely futile. Any minute now, she'd be bear food.

  The giant polar bear crouched into a fighting stance. His sharp teeth were bared and snarling. His eyes were locked on her.

  He leapt forward--only fifteen feet away. He was coming straight for her.

  She watched him close in and everything seemed to slow down. Seconds stretched into minutes as her brain tried to process what the hell to do. His long limbs bounded forward, his giant claws tore at the earth, his eyes honed in on her, ready to strike.

  But just as he was within touching distance--just as his paw extended toward her to swipe--a black mass hurtled in front of her, getting between her and the polar bear. If she'd thought the polar bear's roar was loud, it was nothing compared to the colossal black bear's growl.

  The black bear surged toward the polar bear. Their claws locked in opposition. Their giant teeth snapped and snarled--each going for the other's throat. And they were close. Close enough to kill her with an errant paw.

  The polar bear lunged at her again, and the black bear barely shoved him back before he had a chance to bite her.

  The black bear roared--this time at her.

  Finally, her brain kicked in. Frankie stumbled backward, nearly falling from her perch. Then she ran along the riverbank--away from the waterfall, against its flow. She was trying to move out of their way, to put as much distance between her and those bears as possible.

  She didn't get far before her feet caught on a tree root. She tripped and fell, feeling a sharp pain in her ankle as it twisted beneath her.

  It was everything she could do not to scream--not to turn their attention back to her.

  She'd never be able to outrun them now. Weren't bears supposed to be faster than humans anyway? She had to be slow, careful. She scooted backward until she could duck behind a bush on the river's edge and get out of sight. She knew it would mean very little--they could probably smell her a mile away--but she needed to catch her breath. It was all she had.

  Her ankle was screaming, and she didn't have many options. The bears seemed to be locked into a fight to the death, but whether that black bear was fighting to protect her, or fighting to claim her as his dinner, she didn't know.

  The sound of the fight changed suddenly, and she looked back to where the bears were brawling. There was a mighty howl. The black bear was pinned under the polar bear, barely fending off an attack to his throat.

  She operated out of instinct more than thought. Her gut told her the polar bear definitely wanted to kill her. Maybe the other one did too, but her odds were better without the polar bear in play. If he won the fight, she was dinner for sure. But she might--might--have a chance with the other one.

  She grabbed the biggest rock within reach--about the size of a baseball--and hurled it straight at the polar bear's head. She'd been a pitcher on her high school softball team and hoped her arm still remembered how to throw.

  Her shot landed.

  It didn't seem to hurt him much, but it did distract him. The polar bear looked up at her, totally annoyed.

  She picked up another rock and did it again.

  The polar bear looked up at her when the rock hit, and this time it snarled, but it still had the black bear pinned.

  She picked up another rock. "Hey! You! Big dummy!" she shouted. "Over here!"

  This time, the polar bear roared. It jumped off the black bear and bounded straight toward her.

  Shit.

  But in an instant, the black bear was up again, running toward her too.

  It took a giant leap, sailed through the air, and landed on the polar bear's back jaws-first.

  There was a sickening crack, a horrifying tearing sound, and a pitiful yelp. The polar bear twisted and landed with an enormous splash in the wild rush of the river ... then hurtled over the edge of the falls.

  The black bear raced toward the cliff's edge, peering over. Then it howled. The sound was painful, heartbroken almost.

  The bear took a step backward and wiped its mouth on its paw. It stepped into a shallow pool at the river's edge and drank as it rinsed the blood from its fur. Its body heaved and calmed.

  Frankie huddled in the brush, praying the beast would forget her and move along.

  But it didn't.

  It started to walk toward her.

  Frankie trembled in fear.

  There was nowhere to go, no way to outrun him. The sight of his approach was unreal. The bear was so large it looked like a figure from a storybook, not something that would roam the woods. And it was about to end her.

  Then something even more unreal happened.

  The bear--the giant black bear--morphed ... into Sam.

  Naked Sam. Muscles rippling Sam. Jaw-set, blue-eyed, sexy-as-hell Sam.

  And he looked mad as hell.

  #

  "What the hell did you think you were doing throwing rocks at a goddamned bear?" Sam growled, his voice low and heated. "You could have gotten yourself killed."

  He was mad at her? He was actually mad? At her?

  "Saving your ass, from the looks of it," Frankie yelled.

  "I didn't need your help. I had it under control."

  "Oh, I'm sorry,"
Frankie said sarcastically, standing up and limping toward him. "That wasn't completely clear to me. From where I stood, it looked like the one who was trying to eat me was about to win."

  "What happened to your ankle?" Sam asked. His nostrils were still flared, but his voice had gone softer. "Are you hurt?"

  "What do you care?" she snipped.

  "I'm sorry," Sam said, taking a deep breath. "I didn't mean to yell. I just--when he pounced--I thought I might lose you. I thought--fuck, Francesca. Please never do that to me again."

  Frankie just shook her head. This guy was unbelievable.

  "Come on, let's get you home." He stepped forward and leaned in like he was going to pick her up.

  Frankie backed away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

  "You're ankle is a mess. And you're shaking. You're in shock," Sam said, trying to pick her up yet again. "I realize I disgust you, but I'm going to have to carry you out of here."

  Frankie darted backward. "Don't touch me."

  "Look, I know you hate me, and I know you're scared, but we need to get you home. I don't the other two are coming back, but there might be others."

  "Hold on. Do you mean more bears or do you mean more of whatever the hell you are?"

  "They were all like me," he said irritably. "And I don't know for sure if there are more. But I think so."

  "What do you mean you don't know for sure?" Frankie screeched. She could hear the shrew in her voice, but she couldn't control it. "That seems like something you should know."

  "I only just found out there were more, okay?" Sam barked. "All I know is that there were at least seven of us. But not anymore."

  "Seven?" Frankie shrieked again. "I counted four."

  "I can't smell the other ones. I think we're alone. For now."

  "Because those other guys are gone, right? They're definitely gone?"

  A sad look seemed to pass over Sam's face. He grew quiet. "They won't hurt you anymore, Frankie. Especially not Vic."

  "Vic? That was Vic?"

  "You knew him?" Sam asked.

  Frankie didn't answer. She had a sinking feeling in her gut. She hobbled over to the edge of the cliff, and saw Vic's lifeless body on the rocks below. His human body.

  "Oh, Jesus," she said, her hand flying to her mouth. She thought she might be sick. She turned around to Sam with horror in her eyes.

  "I tried to get him to back off," Sam said, his voice stretched thin, his face pained and pleading. "But he wouldn't. He just didn't stop. He kept going after you and after you and I ... I couldn't let him hurt you, Frankie. I couldn't. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

  "Except you, you mean?" This was all too much and Frankie couldn't separate the two events in her mind. They bled together, became one color instead of two, blue and black into indigo.

  "I wanted to tell you myself. I swear. But it's not easy. You can at least see that, can't you?" Sam said. "How hard it would have been to explain?"

  "You lied to me about everything," Frankie cried. "Everything! First I find out you're engaged to some sweet girl who's pregnant with your baby, and now this? Now you're some animal slash human slash what-the-fuck?"

  "Wait," Sam said, looking totally baffled. "What are you talking about?"

  "Don't do that. Don't try to make me believe that I didn't just see what I saw. You changed from a bear ... into a man. I know what I saw, Sam. It freaked me the fuck out, but it happened."

  "Not that," Sam growled. "I'm not denying that. But why did you say I was engaged? That I had a baby?"

  Frankie looked at him. He looked genuinely confused. Was it possible that Vic had been lying?

  "You don't--you're not?"

  "Of course I'm not goddamned engaged, Francesca. What kind of person do you think I am?"

  "But Vic said you were. He showed me a picture."

  "I don't know what he showed you, but it was a lie. There's no one else in my life. There will never be anyone else for me ever again. Only you."

  "I don't understand," Frankie said. She felt nervous and scared and so damned overwhelmed. Could he be telling the truth?

  Sam continued, "Does that mean you didn't know what I could do when I came to see you earlier today? You didn't know I was part bear?"

  Frankie looked up at him like he was trying to mess with her. "How the hell would I know that?"

  "Vic. I thought that's what Vic told you. Not some bullshit about having a fiancé."

  Frankie stood there, completely dumbfounded. The pieces started fitting together--sort of. The bear thing was still a little hard to swallow, but she knew one thing. Vic/Vic-bear had tried to kill Sam/Sam-bear. She'd seen it with her own eyes. And Vic and his friends had tried to hurt her too--maybe in order to hurt Sam. So Vic clearly couldn't be trusted. But did that mean Sam could be trusted?

  "Please, Princess. You have to believe me," Sam said, using the familiar, irritating nickname.

  "You have to stop calling me that," she said, but she could hear the fight leaving her voice.

  He stepped forward and took her hand in his. She let him. She wanted to believe him. God, she wanted it to be true so badly that it made her scared to trust her own judgement.

  "Cheating on you would have been despicable," Sam said. "But I'm standing here owning up to something so much worse. Why would I lie about one, but not the other?"

  "Not to me," she said, her voice so quiet she could barely hear herself.

  "What?" Sam asked, his voice scratchy and rough.

  "It's not worse to me. The bear thing is ... it's so fucking bizarre, Sam. I don't understand how or why it's even possible. But I can handle that. If it's who you are, I can handle it."

  "You can?" Sam asked. His eyes looked full and raw and hopeful. "You could accept that?"

  Frankie took a deep breath. "Yes. But I can't accept not being able to trust you."

  "Then let me prove it to you. I'll let you into any part of my life--email, financial records, phone calls, travel history, web accounts--anything. I'll take you with me everywhere for a year, ten years--hell, the rest of my life, Francesca. Just give me a chance to prove that Vic was lying."

  Frankie looked into his eyes, the earnestness there, the love. She felt like his words were true. Her gut was screaming at her to believe him. He had offered to let her scrutinize his entire life. But she still felt so shaken up. There was so much to process. She couldn't take any chances.

  "Don't try to bluff you're way out of this, Sam," she said. "If I give you another chance, I will check those things. So please don't string me along now hoping I'll just take your word for it. I won't."

  She wasn't that stupid. And she couldn't trust her feelings right now--especially with him standing in front of her naked like that. That was very, very distracting. As much as she wanted to believe him--did believe him--she knew she'd never feel completely safe if she didn't verify what her heart was telling her.

  "I don't want you to take my word for it, Princess. I don't want to hide anything from you. I want you to be certain."

  "Then ... okay," Frankie said. "You've got one more chance. But I'm warning you. If I find even a hint of some other girl, or feel like you're hiding anything from me. That's it. I can't take another heartbreak like that."

  "Come on then," Sam said, swooping her off the ground and into his arms. "Let's go to my hotel and I'll show you my computer."

  "Um, Sam?" Frankie asked as he lugged her toward a trail that led straight back into town.

  "Yeah?"

  "Maybe we should get you some clothes first."

  Sam looked down at himself, seeming to remember for the first time that he was in the buff. "Right," he said, seeming genuinely surprised she'd even noticed. "Good call."

  "Yeah. I'm a regular genius."

  At least she hadn't lost her sarcasm.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Samuel

  At Frankie's suggestion, Sam changed direction and carried her back to her house.

  "Put me down
so I can go in first," she said. "They're probably back from the movies by now."

  "You're in no condition to walk."

  "There's a fresh load in the dryer. It's two steps inside the back door."

  "Then it'll be fast to change."

  "No, Sam. I'm not explaining to my brothers why you're naked in our house--again. Especially not with a dead body at the bottom of Diamond Falls for anyone to discover any minute. It'll probably just look like an accident or an animal, but I don't want them involved in this."

  Sam hadn't considered that. The thought of Vic lying alone out there sickened him. He'd hated having to hurt Vic. Life was so precious, and shifters were rare. Why hadn't Vic just heeded his warnings? He'd given him so many chances. It didn't make any sense.

  But Frankie was right--her family shouldn't be involved in any way. Frankie shouldn't either. He was the only one who had anything to answer for, and he would own up to his actions if it came to that.

  "Fine," he said. "I'll wait."

  He set her down, then he watched as she limped into the house. She was back in less than a minute with basketball pants, a T-shirt, a hoodie, and some flip-flops.

  "Are they home?" Sam asked as he dressed.

  "Yeah, but they didn't see me. I've got my keys. My truck's parked out front."

  Frankie's truck was a manual transmission, which meant she'd have to use both feet to drive. Sam drove instead, taking them straight to his hotel--a small B&B in the heart of downtown. He got a spare key from the front desk while Frankie waited in the truck. Then he raced upstairs to grab his computer.

  He didn't know if there was still a threat--hell, he didn't know why Vic had really attacked him in the first place--but he wasn't taking any chances until he figured it out. He wanted to get Frankie out of town safely as fast as possible, and to a hospital to have her ankle checked.

  But as he opened his door, he realized someone was waiting inside.

  "Agatha? What are you doing here?"

  His one-time legal guardian was sitting on the edge of his bed. Her gray hair was pulled into a clean bun, and she was dressed impeccably in a tailored, tan skirt-suit. He'd seen her in some form of this ensemble every day of his young life.