A Bear For Christmas

by Kassandra Cross

  “I can’t,” he said, and then he let his hand fall from her face.

  Her heart began to sink to the bottom of her stomach and she started to feel dizzy. She had built up her hopes over the past twenty-four hours, and then he had come to find her and was denying her.

  She felt humiliated and confused and she stood up quickly, grabbing at her towel on the side of the tub.

  “No,” he said as he reached out and took hold of her. “No, don’t go.”

  He looked into her eyes and she could tell that his pleas were genuine, but she was so confused, she didn’t know which way to turn.

  “There are things about me that you may not like,” he said as he moved closer to her, but she instinctively backed away. “I want to tell you, but I don’t even know how to begin to explain…”

  He was being genuine, she could tell. She wanted to let him continue, but part of her also wanted to just bury her head and not have to listen.

  Couldn’t this have just been a normal impromptu date night?

  How were they suddenly in conversations this deep?

  She felt connected to him and she felt like she had known him forever, so much so that the fact that they were talking this way seemed completely natural, but she was still so scared to open up and let someone in, she didn’t know whether she could go through with it.

  “Do you remember last night when I first spoke to you in the bar?” he reached out for her hand and they dipped back into the water, letting it submerge them to their shoulders. “When you were talking to the bartender about the dangerous bears up here on the mountain?”

  “Yes,” she said curiously. “I do.”

  “He wasn’t lying,” Mason squeezed her hand. “There are dangerous, wild bears up there, and sometimes they do wander down here into the center of the resort.”

  He looked so serious and troubled that Megan honestly had no idea where he was going with this.

  “Okay…” Megan said, thinking this was the start of some elaborate silly story. “And what exactly does this have to do with you?”

  “Everything,” Mason said with a frown, as he looked down and away from her eyes.

  From inside the house Megan heard the slam of a door, and she knew that Alyssa had taken herself to bed. And she was starting to wonder whether she should do the same.

  “Everything?” she asked, unable to stop herself.

  Mason suddenly looked hurt and shy, which didn’t suit his demeanor. He had been so strong and explosive when he had stepped into her life, and even though she could still see that side of him lurking somewhere, it was as if he were trying to subdue it.

  “I can’t say anymore,” he said as he hunched in his shoulders.

  Megan looked into his eyes and she smiled. Even though she had no idea what he was talking about, or what he was trying to secretly tell her, she couldn’t help but still be drawn to him.

  Mason reached up and cupped her face in his hands. Being in the water with him, there under the stars, in such a magical setting, with the music from the town drifting up to meet them, it was near impossible not to fall in love.

  Mason moved closer and his lips skimmed against hers before he kissed her so tenderly and deeply that it made her go weak at the knees all over again. Above them clouds moved from around the moon and its silvery light beat down on them and illuminated the world around them even more. The snow on the trees glistened, and the paths down to the town sparkled as the moonlight caught the frost.

  When their lips broke apart and they looked into each other’s eyes, Megan already knew something big was happening. Whoever this man was, he was going to be important to her.

  He was already stirring things inside of her that she had never even dared to dream.

  “I better go,” he said with his gruff, deep, sexy voice.

  Before he rose to his feet and swept up his clothes.

  Megan watched as the heat and steam from the water rolled off his impeccable body, off his sculpted and perfect muscles, and at how he didn’t even flinch in the cold.

  He smiled at her as he pulled on his shirt and his jeans. And as he buckled up his pants he reached out and stroked her face again.

  “It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow,” she said. “Where are you spending it?”

  “With my brothers,” Mason smiled. “We get together every year at our family house, deep within the mountains.”

  Megan smiled and wrapped her towel around herself as she too began to climb out of the water.

  “I’ll be stopping by though,” he smiled with a raised brow. “Christmas Eve is always a pretty big deal around here.”

  She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, unable to tear herself away from him. She didn’t want him to leave her, but she knew she couldn’t ask him to stay.

  “Goodnight Mason,” she smiled before he kissed her strongly on the lips and pushed himself up against her.

  She felt so tiny in his arms, she never wanted the moment to end.

  She knew that he was a natural born protector.

  An alpha male.

  He was someone who would travel to the ends of the earth to protect the woman he loved.

  And it made her go warm and fuzzy inside.

  As he began to walk away she could feel his heat inside of her. They had been so wrapped up in each other that neither Megan nor Mason had noticed the silhouette and the pair of eyes fixed on them from the trees.

  Someone had stood watching them the entire time, from the second Mason had set foot on the terrace. The stranger had seen them and their intensity, the way they had looked into each other’s eyes, the way they had held each other. They had watched as they kissed and frolicked in the water, and they had no doubt heard their entire conversation.

  They had even watched as Mason had left, and as Megan had blown out all the candles and turned out the lights before she had slinked back into the lodge to take her weary self to bed.

  As all the lights slowly went off inside the cabin, the silhouette kicked the ground before they turned and disappeared into the snow-capped forest.

  Their eyes full of rage, and their need for revenge growing stronger.

  Chapter Eight

  When Megan woke the next morning, she could still feel his arms around her. She stretched up in bed and sighed, letting the heat from the bed warm through her, as she imagined that he was there right beside her. Spooning, and cuddling her, and taking away all her past pain.

  She yawned and reluctantly swung her feet down onto the floor, before she reached out and grabbed her robe, slipped it on over her shoulders and tied it at the waist. The lodge felt lovely and warm, and she was sure that she could smell the scent of a real fire and logs burning from the main room at the bottom of the hall.

  She shuffled along slowly and couldn’t help but let the grin spread wide across her face as she saw Alyssa in the huge, open atrium that doubled as the kitchen and main living area. She was wearing a Santa’s hat, listening to carols, and baking cookies.

  “Wow,” Megan smiled as she made her way to the island in the middle of the kitchen. “They smell incredible.”

  “I’ve made two batches already,” Alyssa said proudly as she handed Megan the spoon to lick off some of the batter. “But I’m not interested in talking about cookies… What the hell happened last night!?”

  Megan smiled again, as she wrapped her arms around herself and sighed with immense pleasure.

  “I honestly don’t know where to begin,” she said dreamily. “He’s just incredible. He’s so different… He’s just… just…”

  “Perfect?” Alyssa offered with a hint of amusement.

  “Cliché, but yes, he is,” Megan grinned.

  “Well I’m glad I didn’t have to listen to any late-night romping. I found some earplugs and managed to stick them in, so I wasn’t subjected to the sounds of moans and groans, and the splashing of water.”

  “Oh, come on,” she laughed. “We didn’t do anything, we just had a littl
e kiss.”

  “Well then, you’re insane, because I know I wouldn’t have been able to keep my hands off him.”

  Megan bit her lip and shrugged.

  “It wasn’t easy, I have to admit.”

  Alyssa passed her a steaming hot mug of cocoa, and nodded to the pile of presents that were scattered around the base of the tree.

  “I dragged them all out this morning and decided to display them, I hope you don’t mind?” she said nervously.

  “Of course not,” Megan grinned. “Thank you. You really are well into the Christmas spirit this year, aren’t you?”

  “Well you know, we’re away from home… and our family sent us away with gifts so… I just thought I’d get us started.”

  “It’s lovely, thank you,” Megan grinned.

  “Well, why don’t we have a little bit of ski time, then we can head back here to get ready and go down into town for some of the festive parties? I’m sure there must be a lot going on tonight.”

  “Sounds like a plan!” Megan smiled as she sipped the delicious and thick hot chocolate and slipped down from the stool she had been sitting on. “Let’s do it.”

  As they sat on the ski lift being taken up the side of the mountain Megan relayed all the details from the night’s events back to Alyssa. Alyssa pouted and exclaimed how jealous she was, but also congratulated her friend on finally taking the plunge with someone else and deciding to trust again.

  Megan didn’t tell Alyssa about Mason’s hinted secret, or about the confusion that he had left her with.

  She had slept well, but it had haunted her dreams. She had wondered what it could be that he was hiding. And if he even intended to truly tell her.

  She felt her anxiety returning as they reached the top of the mountain, and she knew that she didn’t want to be out there for long.

  “One quick time down,” she said as she pointed to one of the easier runs that was direct and less steep.

  “Sure,” Alyssa said as she called back over her shoulder.

  She had been looking forward to this all day, and it was just what she needed to blow the cobwebs away, whether Megan was keen on it or not.

  Alyssa pushed off and began to ski down. She had gone almost half way, by the time she turned around, and realized that Megan wasn’t coming down behind her.

  Although Megan had improved after her first day on the slopes, she was still slow and needed reassurance, and now her mind was wandering elsewhere with thoughts of sexy Mason.

  Alyssa turned to look, and could just make out the pink flash of Megan’s ski suit still at the top of the run. Alyssa slid to a halt and held her hand up to her eyes to shield them from the sun, she could see that Megan was talking to someone, but she couldn’t make out who the other figure was. Alyssa knew if she called up to them they wouldn’t be able to hear her, as she was already too far down to start taking her skis off to hike back up.

  She waited for a moment, but quickly realized that Megan was still not coming. She was going to have to ski down and take the lift back to the top or wait for her down at the bottom. A group of angry skiers swooshed past her, nearly knocking into her and cursing her on their way down. Alyssa looked back up but now Megan had disappeared.

  “Oh, what the hell,” she said to herself.

  And then she turned and started to continue her way to the bottom.

  At the top of the mountain Megan stood frozen, unable to believe what was before her eyes. She shook on the spot, willing herself to have the nerve to just push off and be down the slope before he had chance to come any closer.

  But she knew she wouldn’t make it.

  About ten feet away from her, Cody stood with a gun pointing at her chest.

  He had come looking for her, and he had found her.

  Her worst fears were becoming a reality.

  Megan felt the tears well up behind her eyes.

  This isn’t happening, she kept repeating over in her mind. This isn’t real.

  But it was real. It was very real indeed. The danger had followed her, and now she knew even after putting him behind bars he was never going to let her go.

  Cody’s arm shook as he snarled and took a step closer to her. And Megan felt rooted to the spot, unable to speak or move. He looked different to how she had last seen him. His skin was loose and seemed to be hanging from his bones, as if he hadn’t eaten a thing since he had been sent to jail.

  She held up her hands and placed her palms open, so he could see that she was surrendering, but this didn’t seem to deter him.

  “You fucked up, Babe,” Cody spat, before he started manically laughing. “I bet you weren’t expecting this in the middle of your romantic little getaway.”

  Megan’s heart hit the floor. Somehow, he knew about Mason.

  “Cody,” she began. “I don’t know what you think you know, but I can assure you that it isn’t…”

  “Whatever I think? I don’t think anything, I saw you with my own eyes! I only deal with facts Megan! Cold hard truths! I saw you and that fucking guy in the hot tub…” his eyes were cold and menacing, and a shiver rolled down her spine.

  He looked deranged.

  Completely and utterly insane.

  The last time she had seem him angry didn’t even have a patch on this, and all she could do was close her eyes and wish that he would disappear.

  “You know, when I think back to our relationship I never thought it would end like this,” he laughed hysterically. “We met, we fell oh so in love, you moved in… and then the next thing I know I’m getting arrested and put in jail for three months… What the fuck is that about? Who the fuck do you think you are?” he took a breath before he spat on the floor and cocked the gun.

  Megan’s heart raced, and her knees trembled, as he took another step closer to her, the wild look in his eyes getting even more ferocious.

  “That’s not what happened, Cody, and you know it…” she backed away from him slightly, getting closer to the edge of the slope.

  “Don’t move,” he said angrily. “If you move, I’ll shoot.”

  As he said the words, Megan saw a flash in the trees behind him. They seemed to bend and move, and she could feel a thunder under foot.

  In a split second, a huge hulking bear came darting out of the forest, spraying snow and hot air as it crashed towards Cody, wielding its claws and baring its teeth. It was the biggest bear she had ever seen, and the look in its eyes was pure murder and revenge.

  This bear was out for blood.

  It was on Cody before he had a chance to register what was happening, and it dragged him to the ground, throwing all its weight on him, as it crushed him into the snow.

  The bear opened its mouth wide, and brought its huge jaws gnashing down around Cody’s head and neck. The guttural sound of a man’s demise rang out around the forest. And Megan screamed, unable to hide her horror.

  Megan closed her eyes. No matter how much she hated him, she didn’t want to see Cody die.

  The bear ripped and clawed at his body, tearing him to shreds, and blood splattered the snow as the gun was tossed out of sight. Megan didn’t dare look, and she curled into a ball, covering her face.

  When the noise subsided, she peeked through her fingers to see nothing but blood splatter on the snow. The bear and Cody had gone. She was alone in the clearing, and all she could hear was the soft sound of falling snow and her own heart beating.

  She got to her feet and spun around, looking for them but they were nowhere to be seen. She shook with shock, trying not to cry.

  What had just happened?

  She spun around again and saw movement in the woods behind her. She backed up, ready to push off and ski as fast as she could down the mountain, but then she saw it again and she was stopped in her tracks.

  The bear wandered slowly out of the forest, gently, and not at all threatening. There was a calmness to it that stilled her, which made her completely unafraid and made her not want to move.

  She stayed w
here she was, and she held out her hand. The bear stopped in front of her, about five feet away, and it stared into her eyes.

  The moment she locked in on them. She knew she had seen those eyes before.

  And she knew without a doubt, however crazy it must sound, that it was Mason.

  He had saved her.

  The bear stepped closer to her, and even the smell was the same as him. She shook her head in disbelief and clutched a hand to her heart.

  “Mason?” she gasped. “What did you do?”

  She felt the tears rising behind her eyes and the bear growled lightly. It rubbed its head against her hand and looked up at her in the eyes and groaned quietly.

  “I don’t…” she stammered. “How did you… I…”

  She was so confused.

  She had never seen anything so insane in her entire life, and yet as she looked at this animal, she knew that it was the man she was falling for.

  There was no doubt about it.

  The bear backed up slightly and started to growl, as if it was in pain. And Megan stepped backwards, before she half hid herself behind the trunk of the nearest tree.

  She watched with her mouth agape, and her heart hammering, as in a flash of hair, skin and muscle, the bear changed right in front of her eyes into the man she knew.

  His claws turned into the big man hands that had been all over her only hours before, and the fur to the hair she had so lovingly run her hands through. Her grizzly man was right there before her, completely naked, and with blood running down his neck.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out… but I lost control, he was going to hurt you.”

  Mason lowered his head as Megan ran towards him. She didn’t know what the fuck was happening, but she knew that she had to be close to him. She wrapped her arms around him, shielding his red-hot skin from the icy cold air.

  “Thank you,” she cried, as she held him tight. “Thank you so much.”

  Her whole body was quivering, and the terror of watching Mason turn from a bear into a man, was nothing compared to that of having Cody back in her life, pointing a gun at her and telling her he was about to kill her.