Shifter Nation- East Coast Bears Collection

by Meg Ripley

  “Addie,” he breathed in my ear.

  I wrapped a leg around him, trying to pull him closer to me. His hardness pressed against me, and I rubbed up and down his shaft. Each time, at the last moment just before he slid in, he pulled away, teasing me until I could scream.

  “Haven’t I waited long enough?” I whispered.

  “What’s another few minutes?”

  “You’re cruel.”

  He chuckled, but it didn’t last long. I reached down and grabbed his erection, and he moaned as I stroked him.

  “I think,” he breathed and closed his eyes, “I see your point.”

  He pushed my legs farther apart and positioned himself over me. He pressed in just the head of his dick, then sank into me.

  I shuddered at the feeling of him sliding in so deep. It felt both familiar and new. We’d done this so many times, but we’d both changed over the years. As he moved in and out of me, my heart sped and the pleasure rushed over me. When I felt myself begin to shift, I sucked in a breath.

  “Stop!”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I…” I breathed fast, trying to calm myself.

  “Addie?”

  “Hang on.” I closed my eyes and tried not to move. The shivering sensation slowed, but it was still right there.

  “Have you…had sex since you started shifting?”

  I shook my head, my eyes still squeezed shut. Sam had been my last and we’d broken up just before my first shift. I hadn’t thought anything of it until that moment.

  “Shh,” he whispered in my ear and stroked my hair. “It’s okay.”

  When I calmed enough to keep the bear at bay, I pressed my hips up into him again. He moved more slowly, taking his time. But it didn’t take long for the swell to rise again.

  This time, instead of feeling my bear take over, I kept control of my body. I let the feeling of him thrusting in and out of me take over. I pushed my hips into him faster, urging him to speed up. I grabbed his ass and pulled him in deeper.

  He pounded hard, but slow. I wanted him to speed up, but the slowness was sweet torture. The orgasm took its time to build, but when it flooded over me, it hit me so hard, I nearly passed out. My head spun, and I had to close my eyes and breathe slowly.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I didn’t know it would be so different.”

  He chuckled. “Do you remember the night we went to that school play and I wanted to leave early and we ended up having sex in the back seat of my car in the parking lot?”

  I thought for a moment. “I think so.”

  “That was my first time after. And it was so close to the full moon. I almost lost it a few times.”

  “That would have been…interesting.”

  “Right.” He laughed. “I’ve heard stories…”

  “I have a lot to learn about being a shifter.”

  “You have all the time in the world to learn it,” he said. “And, you’re hired.”

  “Whew,” I said. “If we had done that for nothing…” I sat up to kiss him. “I love you. I always have.”

  16

  Owen

  Epilogue

  “Hey there, Alpha man.”

  I glanced over at the walkie sitting on my desk and smiled. Some people questioned our ability to work together and be married, but Addie and I loved it. Being in the park with her, running things here and in the clan with her by my side. Things couldn’t be much better.

  “Hello there, darling wife,” I radioed back.

  “If you’re not too busy or anything, maybe you want to meet me in the clearing by our cabin?”

  “What! Are you sure?” I jumped up and grabbed my keys, dashing out of my office. “Gotta go!” I shouted to Rachel as I ran past her.

  “Let us know!” she called after me.

  “I’m already here,” Addie said.

  I could hear the distress in her voice. “You should have called sooner.”

  “Meh,” she said. “These things—take time.”

  “Are you okay? I’m halfway there.”

  “Don’t rush.”

  I laughed. “Seriously? My first cub is about to be born and you tell me not to rush?”

  “It’ll be—all day.”

  The pain in her voice made me push on the gas.

  I pulled up to the cabin. Hailey’s car was there, as were Noah’s and several others. I’d never really been part of a clan birth, being a male and all, but they’d told me all about it.

  This was how they did it, they said. The females all came together and helped the pregnant bear give birth. The father could be there, of course, but they didn’t want a bunch of males strutting around, getting in the way. Fine by me to let the ladies handle it all.

  I ran to the clearing. Addie was sitting up, her hands on either knee, breathing hard. Hailey was at her side, rubbing her back.

  “You need to shift,” Tori said.

  I saw Noah then and clapped him on the back. I guessed uncles were allowed, too.

  “She wants to be human,” I said, moving into place beside her.

  “But it’s much easier as a bear,” Hailey said.

  We’d talked about this. Many times, Addie had insisted on giving birth in human form. Something about wanting the woman’s experience. I didn’t really get it, and I didn’t try to. I heard what the females in my clan said, but I had to do what my wife wanted. She was the one who carried our baby, after all, and she was the one about to give birth.

  “Leave her be,” I said. I stroked her hair. “What do you need?”

  She shook her head. Sweat stuck her hair to her neck and face. I did my best to brush it back.

  “Maybe—I should,” she said, wincing as another contraction hit her.

  “Whatever you want to do, honey.”

  She nodded and tried to pull her clothes off.

  “Don’t worry about that.” I’d gotten over the amount of torn clothing we all went through shifting, long ago. It was why I owned so many cheap t-shirts. Didn’t matter when I ripped them if I didn’t have time to undress before shifting.

  She shifted, and, so I could speak to her, I shifted alongside her. I did have to undress, though. For all my thoughts on cheap clothing, I still wore my Ranger uniform, and they were certainly not cheap. Last time I’d had to replace one, it ran me more than $80. I took off my clothes quickly, shifted, and got into position behind her.

  You’re doing great, I said. I love you.

  This sucks. So bad.

  I know. But it’ll be over soon. I nuzzled my body against hers.

  I felt her sigh. This is better. They were right.

  We’ll tell them after. Who wants a bunch of bragging bear-wives?

  She started to laugh, but the next contraction stopped her. As things worsened, I felt less and less helpful. All I could do was be there. I couldn’t speed it up. I couldn’t take her pain. There was no way I could protect her or our baby from any part of this. I hated the feeling.

  Finally, after what did turn out to be all day, she was ready to push. I pressed myself against her as she pressed against me, pushing hard. It took many minutes, and then a tiny bear cub was sitting on the ground.

  She began licking it clean, and I watched in awe. When she had thoroughly groomed the baby, she looked up at me. Smiling in bear form was different than in human, but I knew her face so well, it didn’t matter. She beamed, and I beamed back. I nuzzled in closer, sweeping the baby into my arms along with her.

  I want to shift back now, she said.

  We shifted back and I wrapped her in one of the blankets. We stayed cuddled together for a long while, the baby now suckling at her bare breast.

  “Thank you, ladies,” I said. “And Noah.”

  He looked up from where he’d been sitting against a tree, reading, and waved. They’d all stepped back to give us space. Now they stepped closer to peek in on the newest member of our clan.

  “What is his name?” Tori asked. />
  This was my part. It was tradition to have the father announce a cub’s name after his or her birth. I said proudly, “His name is James, after Addie’s real father, who she never knew.”

  Everyone made the appropriate cooing and awwing sounds. They stayed for a little while, helping to get things cleaned up. We made our way inside the cabin and the local midwife came by to check on the baby and make sure everything was fine.

  When we were alone, the three of us sat in bed, and James slept in Addie’s arms. I rested my head on her shoulder to watch him sleep.

  “He’s so tiny,” I said.

  “Yeah. Didn’t feel that way, though,” she laughed.

  “You were perfect. Thank you for bringing our baby into the world.”

  “Thank you for giving him a family to come into.”

  I kissed her head, then kissed James. With the two of them in my arms, everything was finally right at last.

  * * *

  Fated Attraction

  Shifter Nation: Werebears Of The Everglades

  1

  Britt

  The swampland of the Everglades National Park stretched out before me as I ran, enjoying the feeling of my long leg muscles contracting and expanding with the motion. Early morning was the best time for a run. Everything still quiet and sleepy, and no one was poking around. The sun hadn’t come up just yet, though I could tell it wanted to. The sky had that pinky-orange look about it just over the horizon, so I knew the sun would be peeking up before long.

  I paused for a moment to listen and sniff the morning air. I licked my thick paws, tasting the ground. I could sense there was an animal nearby; I would find it and kill it. My stomach growled and I wanted to let out a mighty roar, too, but that would scare away whatever lurked nearby. I crept through a patch of brush just tall enough to hide my crouching panther form, and the dim light helped hide me. That time of year, the end of summer, the grass had dried up, making it a perfect hiding spot for my tan coat. The critter would never know a panther was sneaking up on it, and I intended to keep it that way.

  A flash of movement caught my eye and I knew I had it: a deer, drinking from a stream, not paying attention to its surroundings whatsoever. Stupid animal, I snickered inwardly. You’re all mine.

  I moved in closer, slinking silently until I was in pouncing range. This was my favorite game. How close could I get before it smelled me, heard me, or saw me? Deer were so slow-witted, it wouldn’t matter. The instant I was spotted, I’d be on it and that bastard would be mine. I licked my lips in anticipation, thinking about my breakfast.

  I was close enough now. I stepped closer, almost laughing at how easy it was going to be. But a moment later, the deer jerked its head up. It didn’t look my way, though; it looked in the opposite direction, toward the east.

  I’d been so focused on my prey, I hadn’t been on guard. Dumb move, Britt. Something huge came bounding along, and as I saw a flash of black before my eyes, I smelled the bear, and rage tore through my thick chest.

  I leapt and the bear sailed under me, taking the deer down, sliding them both about three feet forward with the motion—just enough that I landed hard on the ground instead of on top of my target.

  The bear sank his teeth into the deer’s neck, and as the creature cried out, the bear sat back, pleased with itself.

  But this wasn’t just any bear. If it were any random black bear, I couldn’t have been too upset; it was just following its instincts, after all.

  Nope. This bear was a shifter, like me.

  And that meant a human was behind this.

  A human male.

  An asshole human male.

  I drew in a long breath of him; I wanted to remember this scent. If I ever came across this arrogant prick again, I’d get my payback. When his scent hit me, though, it sent shockwaves right to my core. The instinct stirred in me, and my hormones were screaming, “Mate! Mate!”

  But with this jerk face? No way. My body would just have to chill and deal with not getting any for right now. Business was more important.

  I narrowed my eyes and jumped again, this time landing on the bear. My front paws hit his chest with a hard thud and he fell back. The idiot wasn’t even paying attention to what was around him, so I bit him. Not hard enough to break skin or anything. Just hard enough to let him know I was pissed he stole my kill.

  He actually looked surprised by my presence. I rolled my golden eyes at him and whacked him hard with my tail.

  I heard him growl as he began to shift back to his human form and sat on my haunches to watch. Here we go… Admittedly, he wasn’t too bad to look at. Bears had their weight and height going for them, but they were usually wimps when it came down to it. Not a one of them could outrun me, but I loved to see them get cocky and try.

  This one, though… The scent of him still made me tingly, but I did my damnedest to ignore the sensation as much as I could. I wasn’t about to give in to him. He stole my kill, and I wouldn’t stand for it.

  He held up his hands, palms facing me, and made an apologetic face. “Hey, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even see you. I didn’t mean to. It’s yours. Totally.”

  He backed away, and I made it a point to not break eye contact, challenging him with my stare. I hoped it would make him uncomfortable. But if he was so obviously unobservant, maybe he didn’t even notice I was a female.

  “Okay?” he continued. “Are we cool?” He looked at me expectantly.

  If he thought I’d be shifting to talk to him, he needed to get over that idea real fast. I was hungry, and surely, there was another deer around. I just had to find it. He wasn’t doing anything interesting anyway, so I ran off.

  After ten minutes of hunting, I couldn’t sense other deer in the immediate area, so I circled around and came back to check on my original target. Hot anger flared once more as I realized that asshole hadn’t even eaten it! Instead, there was a collection of small flowers. Tiny, white elderberry flowers arranged in a way that spelled out a word.

  “Sorry.”

  What the hell?

  Well, whatever. It was there, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let it go to waste. I sank my teeth into its neck, but the taste of my loss made it bitter. I ate until my belly was full, then swiped my back paws over the flowers, scattering the bear’s apology into the deer’s remains. I hope he’d come back and see what I thought of his “sorry” ass.

  2

  Ezra

  Man. I yawned and it bled into my thoughts as I mentally reached out to my clan. This is why I don’t get up early. Not worth it.

  Mason picked up on my signal and shot back, What’s going on, Ez?

  Panther.

  Yeah? What about it?

  I was just hunting, minding my own business. I found a deer. Score, right? So, I did my thing and took it down. Only there was a panther standing there. She jumped on me, dude! Bit my neck. I guess she was there first, but I don’t know. I didn’t see her.

  You didn’t smell her, man?

  Nah, I was too busy chasing after the deer. So, I shifted back to be like, hey, sorry, I didn’t know. But she just sat there all prissy and watched me.

  Mason laughed. Fuck, man. So, what did you do?

  She ran off. I spelled out “sorry” in some flowers right by the carcass hoping she might see it if she came back.

  Aww, aren’t you sweet?

  I huffed in my mind. Well, hey. I really didn’t see her. I wouldn’t have done that. I’m not that much of a dick.

  Mason chuckled. Sure, sure.

  I officially vow never to wake before noon again. Too much competition.

  Ez, I was shocked to hear from you this early, to be honest. Or haven’t you been to bed yet?

  No, I did. Just woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. My stomach rumbled, so I got up and hunted. Next time, I’ll chew on a leftover slice of pizza. What are you up to anyway? I’m still running. Guess I need to find a new kill.

  Almost home. Heading to work.

&nb
sp; Bummer. A minute or two passed, but I could sense him still there, running. Hey Mas?

  Yeah?

  You ever… get a thing for a panther?

  Uh, not that I recall. Why? She hot?

  She didn’t shift. But man, her scent. I whistled in my head and brought the scent to my mind so he could sample the essence of it.

  Maybe you should go find her.

  Meh. I’m too tired right now. Think I need a nap before I do anything crazy like that.

  Alright, man…well, I’m home now, so I’m gonna let you go.

  Kay. Oh hey, wait. Want to meet up tonight? Owen is coming out and we can probably drag Conner along.

  Sure, sounds good. See you later, Sunshine Boy.

  Yeah. Catch you around.

  I yawned again. Five hours of sleep was definitely not enough. Who in their right mind would get up that early to hunt? Too much competition, with shifters or otherwise. Next time, I’d wait until it was later and hotter. Most shifters didn’t run then, so the kills would be all mine. Just one more advantage of my California upbringing: I didn’t mind the heat one bit. The Everglades were cool and breezy compared to Death Valley.

  If we’d be going out that night, I’d definitely need a few more hours to snooze. It was my day off; I’d been nuts to drag my ass out of my warm bed.

  I bounded up to the forest patch outside my apartment building and shifted back as I ran. My stash of clothing was well hidden in a large tree stump hole. I pulled out shorts and a shirt and yanked them on before heading up to my apartment, where I flopped down onto my bed face first.

  At any other time, I’d fall asleep instantly. My mother had always complained because I’d be sitting at dinner, and then boom! I’d be asleep in my Cheerios. I could sleep like the dead, she’d say. But in that moment, all I could smell was that panther. The scent of her massive paws lingered on my chest, so I bent my neck forward, closing my eyes as I drew in a long, deep whiff.