Byron_Heartbreaker Bear

by Candace Ayers

  I kept walking down the ally, past the smelly trash and her scent became stronger. Eventually, I saw her leaning against a wall in the distance, she was entirely cast in shadow, but with my shifter sight, I saw it was her. Even from this distance, the waves of fury emanating off her viscerally crashed into me.

  If I approached, it would be at my peril.

  “Brianna,” I called once again, “Please hear me out? That’s all I’m asking.”

  She bristled, but I kept my pace steady. She might be mad, but she was my mate, and there wasn’t a thing on this planet that was going to stop me from doing everything I could to beg and plead for her forgiveness.

  “I’ve already made up a million excuses for your behavior, but none of them wash. None of them have a happy ending, so please just leave me alone.”

  Her voice was curt, and I could hear a faint wary undertone which was what I’d been dreading the most. It was the tone that Nathan used often with me. The tone that meant he’d forgiven me, but he was getting really sick and tired of me.

  The fact that Brianna was already at the sick and tired stage didn’t bode well. It made me feel ill, petrified that she wasn’t going to give me another chance. And honestly, if I thought about it, did I even deserve one?

  “Look, Brianna, I know I behaved like an idiot. I don’t do this type of thing well. Fuck, I’m a walking disaster, and I know it! But I swear to you, I’m trying and I will try harder. I want to get better at this. For you.”

  It was the closest I could get to telling her the truth. It was the closest I could get to a declaration of my feelings without sending her running for the hills.

  Her posture relaxed somewhat, and I edged closer to her, wishing that I could at least hold her, physically show her how much she meant to me if I couldn’t use words.

  8

  I should have walked away. His behavior in the restaurant had been barbaric. Sure, there was a part of me that absolutely relished seeing Derek get some payback, but that wasn’t the point.

  What did it say about a man who was so hot headed and possessive that he would take a swing at another guy just for hugging the woman he was out on a first date with? We weren’t even together. Even if we were, that behavior would not be okay.

  Now he was standing in front of me, tall and broad, his dark suit still immaculate and clinging to his frame like a second skin, his hair mussed-up and becoming more so as he ran his fingers through it in agitation.

  “I want to get better at this. I’m begging you to have some patience with me. I need you to show me how to do this.”

  He sounded sincere, his deep voice gravelly and sexy as the words caressed me and lit fires within. How could I still want him? But I did. My body did, anyway. I tingled with need and desire like an addict desperate for one more fix.

  “Byron, I don’t even know what you’re asking me. To show you how to behave like a rational human being? I mean, really?”

  He came closer. I thought my words would offend him, but what I read in his gaze was a deep sorrow, as if I’d hit the nail on the head exactly.

  “Yes,” he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, “Something like that.”

  I felt an acute surge of desire, when I should have been walking away. He shrugged off his jacket, wrapping it around me and I was submerged in his body heat and his spicy, masculine scent. Ugh, that didn’t help. It was damn potent, the heady scent, the closeness of his ripped, hard abs and broad frame.

  “This is so messed up,” I croaked out. I could feel my body surrendering. My chest was rising and falling with shaper breaths each passing second, already yearning for Byron’s touch.

  “I know, but can you feel how right we are for each other?”

  He was so close now that I could feel his warm breath dancing across my temples and it sent a lightning bolt of lust into my core. I trembled in response.

  “Physically,” I couldn’t deny it. My head could keep up the lie, but my body couldn’t, “But that doesn’t mean we should be together. It doesn’t mean anything at all except that you’re attractive and I want you.”

  “You’ve got me.”

  His lips closed over mine in a passionate and unyielding kiss sending molten pleasure racing through my veins. His tongue danced with mine, and I felt every nerve ending in my body respond with a needy urgency. I pressed against him, wanting to experience every inch of his hard, muscular strength.

  His hands grasped me firmly, clasping my waist and then slowly sliding down to my backside. He pulled me against his erection. I was breathtakingly aware of his heat and his rock-hard length for which my body instantly hungered.

  As I gasped for air, I clutched at fistfuls of his shirt, drawing him closer. My body betrayed me and sought a reckless abandon, to be seized, to lose control, to find a release that I knew this man would provide.

  The driving force of his kiss didn’t abate. His hands roamed my curves as if he needed to touch and feel every single contour and valley of my flesh. It felt heady and liberating, being wanted with an ardent desire that matched my own.

  I felt the head of his shaft nudging me, trying to gain access to the dampness between my thighs. He was methodically breaching my every defense, but he suddenly tore his mouth from mine, breathing deeply and raggedly.

  “Shit, Brianna—”

  He held me at arm’s length.

  “What are you doing to me?” He asked in wonderment. I could ask him the same question. If I could ever catch my breath. My body immediately felt the absence of his, but I was glad that he stopped when he did. It wasn’t the time. We needed to talk. I needed to understand what it was that we were doing, before we went any further. I needed to understand if this was just a physical thing, or if it was something more.

  I knew now that even if there was nothing between us except a physical connection, I would still allow that connection to be fulfilled. I wanted him, more than I’d ever wanted anyone else. Ever. But, I wanted to be prepared. Even though Byron certainly seemed to be the ‘disaster’ that he claimed to be, I was in serious danger of falling for him, and having my heart not just bruised, but completely broken.

  “Byron, I need some time to think. I’ll call tomorrow, okay?”

  “Take as much time as you need,” he replied, gently stroking my bare shoulder with his thumb and sending another surge of excitement through me, “I know I’m rough around the edges.”

  “Yeah.” There didn’t seem to be much more to say. Now that I was leaving, I felt despondent. His kisses might be pure ecstasy, but my evening had been ruined and I wasn’t sure if I completely forgave him for that yet.

  9

  I made my way up the winding dirt road to the old refurbished barn where the Bow Mar clan always held their meetings.

  I’d wondered time and time again why Nathan and I and the rest of our clan hadn’t demolished it yet. No doubt Nathan had a good, rational reason for not doing so, no matter how ludicrous I thought it was.

  I didn’t know who would be there to greet me, if anyone. But I figured they knew I’d want another bite of the dangling carrot they’d tempted me with a few nights ago. Fuck, I’m predictable. But there was no turning back now.

  After that kiss with Brianna, and my behavior in the restaurant last night, the decision was final. I wanted to be all man for that woman. No more fucked up bear.

  I knew that by losing my bear, the all-consuming mate bond would vanish between us, but it was a risk I was willing to take. Though Brianna would no longer feel the same pull toward me, a pull that I had no doubt was totally confusing the hell out of her right now, I hoped that if I became a more respectable and responsible man, we wouldn’t need it. We’d be good on our own. I sure as shit wasn’t any good for her like this.

  I parked the car a few miles away from my destination. They’d have heard me coming anyway, but I didn’t want to leave my vehicle in their yard. The Bow Mar cubs were a nightmare. I’d come out to a scratched paintjob or slashed tires. Parking
close was practically an invitation.

  Walking the dirt path, I wondered what I’d do once my bear was gone. Nathan was always offering me positions in his company, if I’d only get my shit together and control my bear. Well, I couldn’t get more together than losing the fucker completely. Maybe I’d go back to music, live performances and playing in a band. Maybe I’d only be qualified for stocking shelves at Kmart. Fuck. That was a depressing thought.

  “Well, look who came to his senses.”

  One of the Bow Mars drawled at me. He was sitting in an easy chair by the side of the road, a Bud in his hand and a cigarette hanging on his lip. I vaguely recognized him, but paid him little attention as I made my way up to the barn.

  When I arrived, three guys were waiting for me. One was the guy who’d come to my house a few nights earlier, but the other two I didn’t recognize.

  Shit this clan’s growing fast.

  The thought made me uneasy. The Bow Mars becoming the most powerful clan in Denver wasn’t a pleasant thought. Not just for our clan, but for the human citizens of Denver too. The Bow Mar clan liked to hunt. A lot.

  “Nice to see you come begging for a favor,” smirked the familiar face, “I figured you’d be back.”

  “You’re a smart one, snookums,” I retorted pleasantly, “Now, run along and fetch me your boss.”

  He scowled, and jerked his thumb toward the entrance of the barn.

  “He’s waiting for you inside. Find him yourself.”

  I smiled at him broadly, throwing him once again. I loved playing mind-games with the Bow Mars. They were such a bunch of bona-fide morons.

  I found the Alpha sitting in the gloom of the barn, playing a game of Solitaire and puffing away on a pipe. A little skimp of a girl was sitting on his lap, she must have been about nineteen to his fifty years. It was fucking gross.

  “Hey Abacus. Playing with yourself again?” I asked in way of greeting.

  He leered at me, showing a set of off-white teeth that could have made a perfect before pic for a tooth whitening system.

  “You’re such a fucking juvenile,” Abacus retorted.

  I winked at the girl on his knee. She blushed, but made a hasty exit when Abacus glared at her.

  “And you’re fucking juveniles,” I quipped.

  He sighed and slammed his pipe down on the table. The chair beneath him creaked, and the sound echoed throughout the empty room.

  “You’re here because you want the cure. Let’s get down to business.”

  “Sure,” I agreed amicably, “I want the cure, you want my brother. That’s the deal. All I want to know is when and where.”

  Abacus laughed heartily, causing his belly to shake. He reminded me of a drunk and dirty dime store Santa, and I couldn’t help but shudder.

  “I never know why we worry about you Vargas. Brother willing to sell out brother, just to get out of the clan.”

  He shook his head in disbelief, and his Tobacco-yellow eyes gleamed with feverish excitement.

  “Yeah, judge all you want. I came for information, not a moral discussion.”

  I wanted to get out of there. The fumes from his pipe were getting to me, and I hated this creaky old barn. Ever since I could remember, it had always smelled like rotten meat, and the potential reasons why made my stomach turn.

  “As you like. Bring him to Firare Place near the old mill. Just you and him, no clan. Otherwise, no cure.”

  “And how do I know this cure works? Got any proof?” I retorted.

  “Look up James T. Miller from a clan on the east coast. He took the cure. Talk to him. Then meet us at the location on Friday, high noon.”

  I nodded. Trust the Bow Mars to make the entire procedure like something straight out of a spaghetti western.

  “Well,” I turned to leave, “It was a damn pleasure, Abacus. As always. So pleased you continue to be in great health.”

  He rolled his eyes at me, “Just fuck off, Byron.”

  Charming.

  I strode out happily. I had a plan already forming, and potentially the key to a long and happy future with Brianna. All I had to do now was persuade Nathan to play along and not to get in the way.

  The rest of the clan were gone when I got outside. When I reached my car, there was a giant key-scrape down the side of my paintjob.

  Little shits.

  10

  I hadn’t seen Byron for a few days. It had been a few days of trying desperately to remove him from my thoughts. I buried myself in my work, grateful for a demanding client and a big project. In addition to that, I took extra shifts at the bear sanctuary, which was the only time I seemed truly able to get some respite from my thoughts about Byron.

  “Still looking peaked, sweetness,” Cory called from the reception desk as I entered work at Barefoot PR on Friday morning.

  I held up my vat of black coffee in salute, grimacing at his unflattering comment. Cory, because he was Cory and should probably have been working for the secret service and not at a reception desk at a public relations firm, knew all about my deliberation with ‘sexy disaster’ – a name Cory himself had coined. He disapproved of my reluctance to see him again. But then, Cory’s dating history was worse than mine.

  I made my way through to the sanctuary of an empty meeting room. I wanted to spend a few moments alone to go through my inbox and get some peace before the day began.

  As soon as I sat down, my phone rang. Jason’s name flashed on the screen and I cringed. I had completely forgotten all about him.

  “Hey Jason, how are you?”

  “Great! Yourself?” His voice sounded cheery, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I’m good. Work’s been pretty hectic, but nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Well, if you’re not too busy, I was thinking we could grab dinner at OJ Sheeks on Saturday night?”

  I hesitated. Part of me wanted to go, to try and pretend that Byron was just a blip on my dating horizon and continue as normal. But I knew it wasn’t fair to string Jason along when in reality, I was completely obsessed with Byron. Whether or not I decided to give my sexy disaster another shot, Jason wasn’t the one for me.

  “Thanks for asking Jason, it’s really sweet of you but to tell you the truth, I just don’t see this working on a longer term basis, you know?” I fumbled around, wincing at the empty meeting room, “You’re a great guy, though. I had a great time. I hope we can still hang out as friends.”

  “Sure…whatever,” his voice was cold, but that was understandable.

  “I’m really sorry.”

  “Well, you know what they say about plenty of fish in the sea!” His jovial tone was forced, but I smiled into the phone.

  “Yeah, well, have a nice day and hopefully I’ll see you around,” I replied brightly.

  “Yeah, you too.”

  The line went dead. I heaved a sigh of relief and returned to my laptop screen. It had been the right thing to do.

  I was just getting started on my emails again, when another interruption came bursting through the door.

  “There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Chloe’s tone was accusatory, as if I’d been deliberately trying to avoid her.

  “What’s up?”

  “I have a load of stuff to tell you that you’re not going to want to hear, but I need you to. Trust me.”

  I took a long look at my friend. Beneath the Aruba tan she was as pale as a ghost, and from the sneakers, shorts and baggy t-shirt ensemble, she’d obviously dressed in a hurry.

  “Of course I trust you, but what the hell is going on?”

  “I can tell you in the car. It’s out front. We need to get going.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at her strange request. I had meetings booked today and a plethora of work to get through.

  “Umm… it’ll have to wait.” I said, confused.

  “No! This can’t wait. You need to come with me. Now. Please, Bri.”

  Her tone was firm, and I had to reluctantly accept that whatever w
as going on was urgent enough for me to leave work only an hour after I’d arrived.

  “Okay. Lead the way.”

  I shoved my laptop back in my bag and followed Chloe out of the building. We got a few strange looks, mainly because Chloe was moving at a rapid pace with grim determination, while I meekly trailed, avoiding all eye contact with our colleagues.

  We sped out of the parking lot, and only when we were on the freeway did Chloe calm down enough to give me more than a wary glance.

  “Okay, spill,” I demanded, “What’s the hell’s up and where are we going?”

  We appeared to be heading out of town.

  “Well, we’re going to Firare Place. It’s about a two-hour drive from here, so you’ve got time to scream at me all you want before we arrive.”

  “Chloe, why would I need to scream at you?”

  Now I was definitely uneasy, and had a vague sense that this had something to do with Byron. I couldn’t say for sure why, but I could just feel it coming.

  “Okay, well, I’m just going to blurt it out, and then if you have any questions, fire away,” Chloe stated nervously.

  She paused and I groaned in frustration, “Chloe, you’re killing me here.”

  “Nathan and Byron are shape shifters. They both have the ability to transform. Into bears. It’s amazing, or terrifying, depending on how you want to look at it, and we’re their mates,” Chloe spoke rapidly, exhaling the unbelievable news in one breath.

  What. The. Fuck?

  “Okay…You mean metaphorical bears… Right?” I asked slowly.

  “Nope. Real bears. The injured bear we saw in the woods when we went hiking? That was Byron after a fight with a shifter from another clan.”

  Chloe fixed her eyes steadily on the road, and I sat in silence.

  “Right,” I fought down the overwhelming hysteria, “I get that you think they’re bears, and we can discuss that later and look into therapy options, but I don’t really understand why we’re going Firare Place.”

  Chloe smiled faintly, and looked over at me.