by Kara Jones
When it happened, I was not prepared. I practically screamed as it hit me, shaking and falling forward against his chest. He gripped my hips harder and kept me moving, panting and grunting into my ear. I tried to keep up, but my legs were weak, and anyway, he didn't seem like he needed any help.
With a roar, he stilled, and I could feel him pulse inside of me. His arms came up to wrap around my back and pull me closer to him, and I smiled against his neck. I was so happy that I didn't even know what to do with myself.
"I need to take you to meet my family," he said.
I chuckled. "Already at the meeting the parents stage, huh?"
He sighed. "It's a bit more serious than that," he admitted. "I'm supposed to be marrying the daughter of a rival pack's leader."
I pulled back and fixed him with wide eyes. "You're engaged?"
Suddenly furious, I rolled away from him. He pulled me back.
"Don't go," he pleaded. "Just listen."
I allowed him to hold me against his chest.
"I've only met her one time," he said. "And, she doesn't want it either. It's going to be a problem that I'm pulling out of it, but I want to." He kissed the back of my neck. "I want to be with you."
I melted against him. "I want to be with you, too," I whispered. After a moment, I turned and kissed him on the lips. "Alright," I said. "Let's go meet the fam."
Nick
Parker had always had a great sense of smell, so I wasn't surprised to see him pop his head out of his door when I pulled up at my house. He was intrigued by the human woman on the back of my bike, but I knew he would also be irritated.
We dismounted and I turned to Juliana as he began to stride over. "That's my cousin," I said lowly. "Whatever happens, just trust that I've got this, okay?"
She nodded, suddenly looking very nervous.
"Who's that?" Parker said when he got to the end of my driveway.
I bristled. If he was going to be rude about it right off the bat, then that meant this wasn't going to be an easy fix.
I turned casually, helmet in my hand, and fixed him with a stern expression. "I'm not marrying Heather."
Parker stopped, and the ire in his eyes shot through me. He was an intimidating guy. At six-three, all bulging muscles, and tattoos, it was easy to understand why so many people cowered in his presence. But, I was taller, more muscular, and had a harder face. Not to mention, I didn't take crap from anybody. I was not affected in the same way by his glare.
"I'll call her pack tomorrow and talk to her dad about it," I said. "But, I'm not marrying her."
Parker snarled. "That's not your decision to make. We have a deal with them."
I stalked toward him, allowing my anger to roll off of me in waves. "That's too bad." I tossed the helmet onto the grass of my front lawn. "But, it is my decision to make, and I'm not marrying her."
"Does it have anything to do with her?" he spat, pointing over at Juliana. My rage grew.
"Whether it does or not doesn't matter," I said. "I'm the leader of this pack, and I will not bow to your will just because you think it's the right thing to do."
"It is the right thing to do," he retorted.
I shook my head. "We'll find another way."
I could feel Juliana's concern from behind me. I heard her shift uncomfortably between her two feet.
Parker and I were standing close now, and I glared down at him. "I never wanted to marry her, you know that. Believe me when I say I'll do whatever it takes to do right by my pack, but marrying Heather isn't the way."
His lips were a hard line. "What, you're in love with this girl now?" he goaded. "You're going to marry her instead? How do you even know her?"
I wanted to smack him for his insolence, but I tried to rein in my fury. I knew that I couldn't just attack someone every time they offended me. Still, he was on thin ice.
"If you must know," I said, "she's having my child."
Parker reeled back. "You've got to be kidding me," he said. He looked over at Juliana, but I immediately stood in front of him to block his view. This was between us.
"She's not one of us!" he cried. "You're choosing one of them over one of us!"
Curious people from the surrounding houses who heard the escalating fight peeked out to come see what was happening. A small crowd gathered on the asphalt around us.
"No!" I boomed back at him. "I'm choosing my happiness over a stupid arrangement that was unlikely to solve the problems we have with that pack." I took a deep breath. "Heather doesn't want the marriage either. I won't be winning over anyone from her pack by forcing her to become my wife."
Parker sneered at me. "You have no idea what you're doing."
My glare could have burrowed a hole through his face. "I know exactly what I'm doing."
My anger sent sparks of activity under my skin. My bear clawed at me to let him out, to let him eliminate this threat, but I wouldn't let it come to that unless it was necessary. Parker wouldn't stand a chance against me, especially not when I had so much to lose.
"Accept it, Parker," I warned. "Accept it or we're going to have a problem."
"We already have a problem. You're not thinking straight."
He took a few steps back from me and began stripping down. Juliana rushed to my side, holding onto my arm.
"Don't do this," she said. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I'll go."
I looked down at her and gently held her face in my hands. "I'm not going to get hurt," I said. "This is just our way."
That was true, but it was our way if things got really bad. Only the most serious conflicts would end in a fight. Sometimes things would go too far, and one of the combatants would wind up more than just hurt.
I pulled away from Juliana and strode out into the street, pulling off my shirt and dropping my pants. Nobody ever batted an eye at nakedness in my community. It was just a way of life. It was a common thing to be walking down the street and to come across a pile of clothing. Depending on the day, sometimes you'd pick the discarded vestments up and drop them off at the person's door. Other times, you'd leave them and make a note of where they were in case anybody asked. We never got human traffic, since it was a gated community, so we roamed in whatever form we felt most comfortable in at the time.
When the shift happened, I think Juliana must have been startled with just how quickly it took over. I had shifted much faster than Parker, and I was tempted to use that to my advantage and take him down mid-shift—but I wanted it to be a fair fight.
My bear circled Parker's. I hadn't fought him in a few years. Every once in awhile, we'd butt heads to the point where it would descend into a fight, but I usually won. I was determined to win this time.
He snarled at me and charged, bellowing his rage. I easily sidestepped him and swiped out with my paw, knocking him on the side of the head. I growled and lunged, tackling him to the side and sinking my teeth into his neck. He cried out, shaking me off and slamming a paw into my neck. The force of it sent me reeling, and I saw Juliana at the side of the circle that had formed; a horrified expression on her face.
The fact that she had to go through this kind of anxiety right now because of Parker's arrogance only made me angrier. I immediately sprung back to my feet and charged at him, managing to duck under at the last second to get under his chest and knock him over that way. I spun when he was down, pressing my paws against his chest and jumping, slamming back down against him with the force of a car. His head hit the pavement with a crack, but I knew that he was fine.
He tried to get up, but I cracked him again, roaring into his face to assert my dominance. He stared up at me, panting, and then slowly dropped his head to the side. That was the shifter equivalent of calling uncle. I got off of him and backed away, shifting all the while. I had won.
What remained to be seen was if he was going to man-up and accept his loss and my will.
He shifted back slowly until he was lying on the ground in his human form, clutching his neck where
I’d bitten him. I could see that it was already starting to heal.
Juliana rushed up to me and flung her arms around me, holding me close and burying her face into my chest. “I was so worried,” she murmured against me. “God, I was so scared.”
*****
I smiled and patted her back, letting the smell of her fill my nostrils. “I’m fine. He’s fine. Everybody is fine.”
She looked up and smiled at me weakly. “That was incredible though,” she said. “You’re really something else.”
I laughed, smoothing her hair away from her face. “Now you know how I feel when I see you naked,” I said, chuckling. She turned bright red, but leaned up to kiss me.
A noise from off to my left caused me to break the kiss and look over. I’d completely forgotten that we weren’t alone. My pack was staring at me, and Parker had managed to rise from the ground.
His brow was furrowed. “You’re really serious about her, huh?” he said.
I nodded, “really.”
He sighed, pulling his hand away from his neck, as the skin finally stitched closed. He walked toward me, his face impossible to read. I held Juliana tightly to me as he inspected her. When he looked up at me, his face was resigned.
“I know when I’ve been beat,” he said. “I’ll help you however I can with Heather’s pack.”
I gave him an appreciative nod.
He looked back down at Juliana. “Welcome to the pack.”
Juliana
There were certain benefits I discovered to being the pack leader’s wife. While we weren’t actually married, people certainly treated us like we were. I was showered with flowers and presents for the baby, and people always stopped to ask me how I was doing when they saw me around the community. It had been startling at first, given the initial hostility Nick and I had faced. Still, it was every bit appreciated. I felt like I actually had a home.
Nick and Parker appeared to have gone back to usual, though I didn’t really know what their usual was. It was odd for me, but one of the other wives that I’d made friends with told me that’s just how the bears were. If it had been solved in a fight, then it had been solved. It was a good thing for me then, that my pseudo-husband was apparently the best fighter in the pack.
The solution they devised to make up for the breaking of the marriage pact was hardly necessary. Apparently, Heather had been complaining to her family too, and it had caused just as much internal pack strife as it had hoped to fix between packs. Parker acted as a liaison for the two groups, and he ended up spending more and more time away from home. I think he had started seeing one of the other pack’s women, and damn if it didn’t make him nicer to be around.
Looking back, it was hard to believe that a single, hot, one night stand would have led me to living in a community of bear shifters, practically married to their leader, and having his child. It was something I thought about sometimes, a bemused expression on my face, but as my belly grew, along with the feelings that Nick and I shared, I knew one thing.
I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
The End
Bonus - Taken - Biker
Chapter One
Damn, fresh air had never smelled so good. Even with the acrid fog that lay low over the area due to the nearby highway, I still had never smelled anything sweeter. The New Mexico air was too hot and too dry, but I barely felt it. Outside of my jumpsuit, I was a different man.
I spotted Sergei in the parking lot waiting for me. He looked exactly the same as when I last saw him; half his face taken up by a gap-toothed smile. He was a slender, but tall man who was often underestimated. Underestimating Sergei Blotnikov was a mistake that I had never made, but one that I highly enjoyed watching other people make.
“Khristos, did you get bigger?” he greeted, clapping me on the back in a hug. He smacked my bicep when we pulled apart. “You’re making me look bad.”
I ruffled his hair; something that only I was allowed to do, and fixed him with a jovial grin. “Either that or you got skinnier.”
His blue eyes lit up with mock outrage. “I came all the way here and you say these things?” He clutched his chest. “My heart breaks.”
We both laughed with the ease that we’d always felt in each other’s company. Sergei was the most cold-blooded, ruthless man I knew, but when it came to friends and family, he was a big sopping pile of mush. I’d always liked that about him.
“Your chariot awaits, my friend,” he said, gesturing to the silver Camaro off to our left.
I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Not really your style, Sergei.”
As we walked toward the car, he let out a bark of laughter, a grin enveloping his face once more. “Of course not,” he said. “But, I know it’s yours… a gift from the family… one of many.”
I grinned wryly, halting at the passenger side. “So, I can drive then?”
Sergei waggled a finger at me. “Absolutely not,” he chastised. “Your license is expired. It would be illegal!”
I laughed and slid into the leather seat. I had missed Sergei. I had missed freedom. But, had it been worth it? Absolutely.
“Did you keep my bike for me?” I asked. The car was nice, but it was a poor substitute for the feel of a thrumming engine between my legs and the wind on my face.
“Of course,” he said. “But, I wasn’t going to come and pick you up on it. I’ve got some dignity.” He flashed me a wink and I laughed.
“What’s new then, Serg?” I asked.
He turned the key and the engine revved to life. Oh yes, I was going to enjoy driving this car.
“Many, many things,” he said. “I’ve got lots of work for you if you’re available.”
I tensed. “I just got out,” I said. “You know that I’ve got things to deal with first.”
He nodded as he pulled out of the parking lot, fumbling in the console for his sunglasses. I smiled when he put them on; they were the same damn pair he was wearing three years ago.
“I know, I know,” he said. “It’s just so hard to get good help these days.” He tensed his jaw. “And fuck, we’ve been through a few bad ones recently.” His voice was ice. It might have sent a shiver through a weaker man. I’d seen him make men cry with that voice before.
But, I knew it wasn’t directed at me. “I’ll think about it,” I told him.
His jaw relaxed. “That’s all I ask.” He turned and gave me a wink. “How about some food, huh? Get you something better than meatloaf and mushy vegetables.”
My stomach rumbled. “Let’s just grab something quick on the way.”
Sergei turned onto the highway and gunned it, the engine purring as we sped along.
“On the way where?”
“Home,” I said. “To Mel.”
A strained look passed over Sergei’s face. “She moved, man.”
“Moved where?” I asked, trying not to let my irritation show in my voice.
“We’re not sure,” he said. “She stopped taking our money about a year ago. We can find her for you though, no problem.”
I nodded, trying to relax back into my seat. Why the hell would she stop taking their money? What kind of game was that girl playing out?
“We should take care of a few things first,” Sergei said. “Then, I’ll get you to your girl.”
Melanie
“She’s fine, Melanie,” Joan assured me. “It was just a scrape.”
I sighed and leaned back against the tree, letting its shade envelope me and shield me from the hot, midday sun. “I just worry.”
“I know,” she said, chuckling. “Like all first-time moms. I remember when Jonah first got a fever, I practically ran him to the emergency room. It’s okay though. Just try to relax so you can do your exam.”
“You’re right.” I ran my fingers against the rough bark of the tree, grounding myself. “You’re right. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.”
I hung up the phone and tilted my head against the tree trunk, closing my eyes.
I supposed that if my daughter having an owie was my biggest concern these days, then I wasn’t doing so bad. Things could be worse. Things had been worse.
“Yo, Christopher!” a shrill voice called.
I opened my eyes to see Alexa bounding toward me, and I donned the customary mock scowl at her using my last name. She thought it was funny to call me Christopher or Chris in public. She thought most things were funny. The girl was the human embodiment of a ray of sunshine.
I pushed off from the tree and grabbed my backpack from the ground, swinging it onto my shoulders. “Hey you,” I greeted. “You’re early.”
“Mhm,” she hummed, nodding her blond head. “I wanted to hear about your date, see how you enjoyed that college meat.” She playfully elbowed me in the arm and I wrinkled my nose.
“Not so great,” I replied. At twenty-five, I often felt too old to hang out with the normal-aged college kids, but too young to hang out with the old people that audited the classes. I’d been asked out by a guy in the same kind of situation, only a year older than me, and Alexa had urged me to get out there and try it.
“In what way?”
“Well, as it turns out, I couldn’t get over the height difference,” I said. Then, I sighed. “And, I just don’t think I’m ready to date yet.”
Alexa, twenty years old, having never been in love, looked horrified. “Still? How longs it been now? Like three years?”
I grimaced. “On the dot, almost. It’s going to take me awhile, though.” I shrugged. “It’s not that I still pine after him daily, it’s just that I don’t have any desire to see anyone else.”
“Fair enough, I guess.” She smiled wickedly. “What did you say to Ryan?”
Another grimace from me. “I haven’t actually said anything yet,” I admitted. “Yesterday, I decided it was a later problem.”
She laughed, tipping back her head so that her curls shone in the light. “Oh, Chris,” she said. “You’re a charmer. I just don’t get you.”
