by Sky Winters
The six eyes of the wolves were on her now.
Emboldened by their attention, Jolene proceeded. “I know that all three of you care about my babies, but have you ever stopped to care a little about me? They aren’t just your werewolf twins. They’re my twins. My children. And I want my children to live in a happy family. I don’t know, I’ve always had the crazy notion that if I started a family it would be with someone as the father… I know that you all want to help. And I know that we don’t know if Luke is the dad or if it’s Zebe… But I love Zebe. I want to be with him. And I don’t want to be shamed for wanting that. It’s more stressful for me if you just make me sit in the bedroom and not have a life of my own.”
Anjelica was looking at her skeptically now, but Luke at last seemed to understand. It wasn’t easy for him to hear that the lovely redhead he had the hots for was more interested in dating his brother, but he was beginning to see where she was coming from. Now was not the time for bickering or trying to control her. The babies were her babies too, as she said… As a matter of fact, they were her babies first and foremost.
Once Luke looked past the jealousy, he realized that Jolene was right.
“She’s right,” he said then, turning to look at his sister. He still could not bring himself to admit his defeat to Zebe, but at least he could say it to Anjelica while his brother was right there in the room to hear it. “What’s done is done. I can’t keep being mad at them for wanting to be together, and we can’t keep treating Jolene like she’s the babies’ host. That’s not right.”
Then he turned and smiled at Jolene. “We’re wolves, but we don’t have to be animals.”
Jolene smiled back at him, gasping out a pleased and grateful breath. She reached over and took his hand, squeezing it in a show of thanks.
“I won’t lie and say this isn’t awkward,” he said, looking at Zebe then and giving him a slight smirk. “But I am happy for you two. Here’s hoping you name one of these babies something that is less stupid than The Lone Wolves.”
Zebe laughed a little. “Hey!”
Anjelica sighed, but she threw her hands up and gave Jolene a small smile. “Just… be careful. Maybe no more outdoor activities like that?”
Blushing, Jolene nodded. “Okay. That’s fair.”
Suddenly, her stomach growled. She brought a hand to her belly and felt a little kick along with the rumblings of her hungry stomach. Reaching over, she took Zebe’s and Luke’s hands and placed them onto her belly so they might be able to feel the movement of the twins too.
“Are you ready for some dinner?” Zebe asked her, more concerned about her than the babies, which she loved him even more for.
She smiled at him. “Yes, please.”
Luke pulled his hand away from her then, though he smiled at her. It was a slightly sad sort of smile, but it was not without kindness. “Come on, Anjie. Let’s leave these two love birds to it. I’ve got a Vermonster burger calling my name.”
He and Anjelica got up from the table.
Jolene smiled appreciatively at him. “Don’t drink too much,” she said with a soft chuckle.
“That’s impossible,” he said, giving her a wink.
Once he and his sister were gone from the house, Jolene looked over at Zebe and felt a little awkward for some reason. They were well past feeling shy now. The fact that they had essentially been given permission and Luke’s blessing made things feel official in a way that making love in an open field did not.
“I think there’s grass in my underwear,” she said.
They laughed together. At least that decreased the tension.
Zebe nodded towards the front door. “I’ll go get the food from the car,” he said. “Hopefully it’s okay.”
Jolene’s eyes went big when she remembered that she had put his casserole in the bag. “Oh god, I forgot. Your casserole!”
The likelihood of all of that cheese still being edible after sitting out in a car all day was not a very high one. She felt crushed. “I’m so sorry. I meant to eat it now that I was with you… I had saved it.”
Zebe’s smile only grew. “Aww,” he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving her head a kiss. “It’s okay. Let’s see if we can salvage it. Otherwise, I’ll make you another.”
With that, he got up from the table and went out to the car. Jolene put her head in her hands, her eyes filling with tears. She could not stop herself from crying. She knew it was irrational, but she was disappointed in herself for forgetting Zebe’s sweet gift to her in the car. There had been distractions galore, but she still felt stupid.
A few minutes later, Zebe came back inside with the bag of food. He brought it into the kitchen and placed it on the counter, pulling out the casserole container. Jolene stood up and joined him.
“It doesn’t look good,” he said. “But it’s okay. I’ll make you a fresh one.”
She leaned into him, sniffling but letting her tears subside. “I didn’t eat it when I had the chance because I didn’t want to lose the sweetest thing you had done for me,” she said. “You know? I didn’t want to ruin your gift to me by eating it.” She laughed then, realizing how silly it seemed. “But I’ve learned my lesson. I will eat whatever you give me now.”
Zebe raised his eyebrows at her, smirking a sideways smirk. “Don’t tempt me. I might start testing that promise.”
Jolene giggled. She sat at the small kitchen table, letting herself relax now that he had brought in the food and it had been decided that he would just make a new casserole for dinner. “Let me help you,” she said. “Don’t let me just sit here while you do everything.”
He looked at her skeptically, as if cooking a meal was too taxing for a pregnant woman. “You can read the recipe for me?” he suggested. “Look up tuna casserole on your phone and read off the first recipe you can find.”
“Ugh, so I do have to get up,” she joked, standing and going out to the living room to fetch her phone from her purse. She brought it back and sat down, searching the internet for the perfect tuna casserole recipe.
Meanwhile, Zebe dumped the old one into the trash and carefully put away all of the other items that she had so meticulously packed away in the bag. He laughed and held up the box of Pop Tarts.
“That’s my signature breakfast,” Jolene joked. “Get used to it. You can back out now if you want.”
He shook his head, beaming down at his casserole pan. “Read me the recipe.”
As Jolene told him what ingredients to use and the order to put them into the pan, Zebe made her a tuna casserole. When it went into the oven, she could smell it and her mouth watered as though she was now a werewolf too.
Her tummy growled and her baby wolves growled along with it, ready to eat the delicious meal their father was making for them. She was eating for three now, after all. That was the perfect excuse. She hoped that there would be many surprise casseroles in their future. Forget cakes or pies. This was somehow even sweeter.
Watching him, she knew she had made the right choice. There was no question in her mind. Zebe’s kind of love was special. It was relaxed and filled her up with happiness, and didn’t make her worry if he would come back to her again. She knew he would.
It was the kind of love she had been hoping to find. It was the best kind of love.
Bear Shifter Romance Bonus
Goldie & the Two Bears
Chapter One
“I’m done with men. I just have no luck with them at all,” Goldie Dawson confided to her friend Greta over drinks at The Pavilion, a local watering hole that they frequented.
“You’re just a bit jaded for now. You’ll come around,” Greta laughed, sipping her martini and eyeing a hunky guy at a table across the room. No matter where they went, Greta was always on the lookout for someone to fill her bed. She never wanted them to hang around, never seemed to need them for more than getting laid. It was a trait that Goldie envied in some ways.
“No. I don’t think so. Maybe I’ll just beco
me a lesbian or perhaps a nun,” she said dryly.
“First of all, you aren’t into women and secondly, you love sex way too much to become a nun. Unless you find a wayward priest to fool around with in the convent, you’d never survive a vow of chastity,” Greta told her, her attention returning to the table as a woman joined the brief object of her affection at his table.
“That’s probably true. I’m just so tired of getting screwed over,” she groaned. “I’m either too big or not big enough. When did everyone become a size zero or concave, if there is such a thing?”
“Blame fucking Twiggy. She started all this skinny bitch nonsense. It’s insane for men to expect women to be so thin. I’m a size eight and you’d think I were a whale according to some folks. Fuck them. I like to eat.”
“Me too. Of course, I’m a bit thicker than you, but still, a size sixteen isn’t a crime. Wasn’t Marilyn Monroe this size and she fucked a president!”
“You’re beautiful. I don’t know how anyone could look at you and not think so. You have curves in all the right places. There was a time when women would kill for your hourglass figure.”
“You’d be surprised. Of course, there are some out there that find it a huge turn on that I have some curves. I had one guy that wanted to coat me in butter and lick me from head to toe. They take it too far. It’s more of a fetish than a preference. Quite disturbing is what it is.”
“You are fucking kidding me?! Butter? Sounds like a real nut-job, if you ask me. What happened to the Roberts guy, the producer you were seeing?”
“He was a climber. When we met, he seemed to be really into me, but then I caught him with someone else, someone who could do more for his career.”
“What? No way? Who?”
“Well, you know he is a producer and script writer, but he hasn’t really had anything big. Even though I just do costume design for City in Siege, I know a lot of people. I introduced him to some of them, sort of got him in the loop and off the ground. He repaid me by hooking up with one of the producers on my TV series.”
“You’re kidding me! When did that happen?”
“Last weekend. I invited him to a wrap party we were having at the end of shooting. It’s a pretty popular show, so I knew there would be a lot of people there who could help him out and sort of get his foot in the door. I introduced him to Amelda Harmon, one of the primary producers of the show and they were chatting for a bit. Perhaps I should have seen what was happening between them but I didn’t. I stepped away to speak to someone and those two disappeared. I found them in a back room, making out pretty hot and heavy like two horny teens.”
“Oh, my fucking God! What did you do?”
“I shut the door and left him there with her. I wanted to throw things at him and call him names, but instead, I just felt horrified and ran.”
“That’s it? You didn’t say anything to him? No confrontation?”
“Nope. Nothing. He hasn’t even bothered to call and I haven’t bothered to try to contact him. I guess he got what he wanted. She will be able to introduce him to people I can’t and, at some point, he will probably meet someone with even more pull in the industry and abandon her for them. All I know is it isn’t my problem. Whatever he wanted, it wasn’t me, it was just what I could do to help him.”
“That sucks. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s disappointing, but I wasn’t that hung up on him. I mean, I thought we had a good thing. He’s gorgeous, hot as fuck in bed, motivated . . . you know, the total package. Turns out it was all for show though. He didn’t mean any of it. People like him know how to play the game to get what they want. I should have known better.”
“Men are pigs.”
“I know, right? I swear there is something wrong with all of them. They are too pushy or too wimpy. Great to look at, but shit in bed. Gorgeous, but unemployed or live with their mom. It’s always something. Then, there is Greg Roberts, who seems to have it all, but is only after what he can get from you. He’ll do the same to her and then be on to the next one that can help his career. Fuck him.”
“I’ll toast to that. Fuck him. Fuck them all!” Greta laughed raising her glass in salute.
“You know, I honestly think that is the answer.”
“What is the answer?” Greta asked, looking both amused and confused.
“To just fuck them all. Do what I want and have fun. If men can run around and just fuck indiscriminately, why can’t I?”
“Very true. Men do that and they are playboys. We do it and we are sluts. Here’s another toast to being a common whore!” Greta laughed, raising her glass once more.
“To whores! Fuck yeah!” Goldie cheered.
The two women giggled playfully and continued their drinking, chatting until it was closing time and things began to wind down around them. Catching a cab back to Goldie’s place, they sat in her living room and talked some more. It was one of those rare nights that they hadn’t had in a while. Goldie had missed their girl time.
“Maybe you just need a break. Why not get out of LA and take it easy for a bit while the show is on hiatus for the season? You could go up to Big Bear Lake. Ian and Randy still have a cabin up there. They have plenty of room and they love visitors.”
“Hmm. I don’t know. I don’t want to intrude.”
“Oh, please. You know how those two are. They live to entertain. Call them up and ask them if you can come up for a week or even a couple of weeks. You deserve a little down time.”
“It’s three a.m.,” Goldie laughed.
“Okay, perhaps wait until tomorrow, but you knew that I didn’t mean right this second,” she replied, rolling her eyes playfully.
“I’ll think about it.”
“You do that. In the meantime, I’m going to crash in your spare bedroom. I’m wiped!”
“Make yourself at home. I think I’m going to call it a day, as well.”
The two women hugged one another and headed to bed, where they fell fast asleep. When Goldie woke up the next morning, Greta was already gone, having an early call at the magazine where she worked as a photographer. Sitting at the kitchen table with a bit of a hangover, Goldie waited for her coffee and aspirin to kick in. An hour later, she found herself feeling more human, showered and wondering what she should do now that she was free for at least six weeks. She sighed and picked up the phone. Ian answered on the first ring with an inviting hello that instantly put her at ease.
Chapter Two
“You have no idea how much I appreciate you letting me stay on such short notice,” she told Ian and Randy over breakfast the following morning. It had been a long drive, but after talking to Ian, she had headed out as soon as she could pack, arriving late in the afternoon. They already had plans and were heading out upon her arrival, leaving her to her own devices for the evening.
Deciding to take Greta’s advice, she had taken the rest of the day to make arrangements for a house sitter and get packed for an extended visit to Big Bear Lake. The fresh air would hopefully be enough to clear her head and give her a fresh perspective on things. She had told Ian and Randy all about Greg Roberts over bacon, eggs, and toast.
“No problem, honey. We’re glad to have you. Now, listen, we’re having a party later and there will be loads of straight men there for you to meet. You just shake that piece of shit Greg Roberts off your mind and we’ll find you someone way better! We are geniuses at matching up like minds!”
“Oh, no, no, no. The last thing I want is a new man. I’m in for some “me” time. Let’s just let things be, shall we?” she said.
“Fair enough. You’re beautiful. They’ll flock to you anyway. It’s up to you whether you give them the time of day or send them away.”
Getting dressed for the party later, Goldie considered her options. Why not play this game the same way men did? Fuck relationships. She could stage her own sexual revolution. No games, no expectations, no disappointments. There had already been too many men that she had found herself se
ttling for. From now on, she’d just do what she wanted and walk away like so many of them did with her. That was the key to future happiness, as far as she was concerned. It was time to just have fun and the rest of it be damned.
“Wow. That dress is stunning,” Ian told her as she stepped out of her room and into the kitchen where he and Randy were preparing food and drink for the masses they were expecting.
“You like it?” she asked, doing a mock twirl. The summer dress did suit her quite nicely. It clung in all the right places and flowed in a way that flattered the less flattering. A simple pair of wedges and a loose ponytail that hung in long curls down her back finished off what she felt was a casual but sexy look.
“Absolutely! And that color brings out the fantastic hazel specks in your eyes. Perfection!” Randy added.
“What can I help you with?”
“Oh, no, darling. You just go right over there and man the door. Guests will be arriving in a bit and we’re behind on the party dishes. We know you are just as charming as you are beautiful, so you just got nominated as the party greeter.”
“But it isn’t my party,” Goldie laughed.
“It is now. You are our guest, so it is your party too. Welcome to our world,” Ian joked.
“Help yourself to the wet bar. There is plenty of everything to be had over there,” Randy told her.
Goldie wandered to the living room and poured herself a glass of Merlot, flipping through a fashion magazine while she waited. Ian and Randy chatted brightly in the kitchen, sometimes feeding one another bites of the food they were making. It must be nice to find such a love, she marveled with a sigh. Too bad it just wasn’t in the cards for her. A few moments later, the doorbell rang and she went to answer it. After that, it began to get really crowded with people from all over the lakefront village where her friends lived.
Chapter Three
“What do you say we skip out on this party for a while and go down to my lake house? I’m only a little way down,” an attractive guy named Joshua asked her as he leaned into her on the sofa.
