by Jenika Snow
Between the Bear’s Sheets
Wylde Brothers, 2
Jenika Snow
BETWEEN THE BEAR’S SHEETS (WYLDE BROTHERS, 2)
By Jenika Snow
www.JenikaSnow.com
[email protected]
Copyright © September 2020 by Jenika Snow
First E-book Publication: 2015
Cover Designer: Designs by Dana
Editor: Kayla Robichaux
Proofreader: All Encompassing Books
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental. Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.
Contents
Synopsis
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
About the Author
Talia Landon, a red fox shifter, knew she was in trouble when she saw Ford Wylde for the first time. The alpha bear shifter was the type of male she should stay away from.
He had this darkness he wore like a second skin. It should’ve had Talia keeping her distance, but instead, she was drawn to him even more.
But what was supposed to be a one-night stand turned into a mating with a Wylde bear.
Ford had enough baggage from his past to drown him, but the moment he saw Talia, he felt something in him awaken for the first time in his life.
She was his mate.
But when someone from Ford’s past tried to insert themselves back into his life, Ford had to make it known Talia was his, and nothing and no one was going to get in the way of him claiming his female.
Reader note: This story was previously published as A Fox Between the Bear’s Sheets. It has been re-edited and revised.
Prologue
Ten years ago
Ford had been disconnected for far too long, his inner animal—his bear—knowing from the beginning she wasn’t his mate.
But loneliness had people seeking warmth and a connection.
Had they even had that together? Maybe not.
But he wanted a change. Ford didn’t feel things he should in a relationship. They were two separate people now, the connection gone… if it had even been there at all, if he were being honest.
“You heading out?” Ford asked, but he wasn’t even granted a response.
Silence. It was always silence. His thoughts drifted to better times, happier ones that didn’t have him questioning everything and having the gut feeling that Mina wasn’t honest with him.
They’d had that cliched, young relationship, and he always hoped he’d feel something more for her. But she’d been there to help ease his loneliness. He used her in that way, and he was a bastard for it.
It wasn’t unusual for a shifter to be with a human, and maybe he’d been so sick of feeling that hollowness that he’d just given over to the need to feel… something.
But if he were being honest, he questioned what they were doing together from the beginning.
Mina came out of the bathroom dressed and grabbed her purse off the floor. “I gotta run, Ford.” She said it without even looking at him. Her makeup was freshly applied, and he caught the scent of the perfume she just spritzed on.
It pissed him off even more, not because she was leaving, and not because she was apathetic. Hell, he was right there too. He was pissed because she couldn’t even look him in the eye.
He wasn’t a fool, not when his inner animal smelled her desire. And the fact that she knew he had those attuned senses and didn’t even try to hide it or act like she cared had him feel… nothing.
I feel nothing.
This needed to be done, a Band-Aid pulled off fast. “Mina, we need to talk.” This conversation was a long time coming. Without looking at him, she adjusted her skirt and made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat. When she finally glanced up at him, he saw clear indifference.
“About what? I kind of need to get out of here, Ford. Can we talk tomorrow?” Her tone was annoyed. She went back to straightening her outfit. “I mean, I came over so we could hang out, but I could tell you weren’t here, not in your mind. It was a waste of time.”
Yeah, it really had been. He’d been trying to see if there was something there, a spark, a hint of a flame. But there hadn’t been a damn thing.
He felt the urge to shift into his bear, to go outside and find something to fucking hit, preferably a big-ass male who could give as well as he could take. “I know you’re not here, Mina, not really.” She stared at him in the eyes then, maybe surprised he was calling her out. “I know you have other males. I can smell them on you.”
And I don’t even care. How fucked up is that?
She didn’t say anything for long moments, and his annoyance was growing, his patience waning. He felt his claws unsheathe as his emotions took control, as he hated himself for wasting his time on someone other than his mate.
“Ford.” She breathed out heavily, impatiently. The pained expression she gave him appeared sympathetic, but he could fucking smell how bored she really was.
“Mina, I can’t do this. I should have never done this with you.” He ran a hand over his face, feeling like a failure. He should have waited, should have held out hope that he’d find his mate, the one female meant to be his. He opened his eyes and stared at her. “I’m sorry I wasted both of our time. I want you to be happy, and I do care about you… just not like that. I’m sorry.” He was a bastard, and he’d live with this guilt for the rest of his life.
“Ford,” she said softly.
“I just don’t understand why you didn’t just end it if you weren’t feeling it either.”
She was silent for a minute then asked, “Why didn’t you?”
He slowly shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe hope? Maybe I hoped something could grow out of… nothing.” There was that word again.
“I didn’t mean for this to turn out to be nothing, Ford. I really didn’t. I guess I liked having you around, my big bear who would protect me and make me feel safe. I used you, and I’m sorry for that too.” Her tongue poked out as she wet her bottom lip, and even though the words sounded sincere, he could tell there was a lot more she was going to say. “I met Kevin at the office, and we hit it off, fell in love almost instantly.” She cleared her throat, acting like she was uncomfortable.
He could smell the fact that she wasn’t. It was like fucking paint drying.
“It wasn’t like I was trying to deceive you.”
So much time and energy wasted.
“Six months.”
He didn’t need to ask what she meant, because he knew. She’d been in love with the other man for six months.
He nodded slowly, not sure what to say. “Okay.”
“You’re not upset?” She seemed genuinely surprised by this, even… upset that he wasn’t freaking the fuck out.
&
nbsp; “No, I’m not upset.” And he really wasn’t. He watched the way her eyes narrowed at that. “I wish you would have told me before cheating on me, but it is what it is.”
Shit, who was he right now? Shouldn’t he be pissed? Shouldn’t he feel his bear acting out at the fact that the woman he’d been with was fucking another guy?
He should have, but he felt ice in his heart.
“I think it’s time you left, Mina. I think it’s time we both moved on to what will really make us happy.”
Her eyes went wide. “So it’s just like that?”
He shrugged. “I guess so.”
He needed to get out of the house, to run free and tear some shit up, not because of this or her, but because he hated himself.
I should have waited.
I should have waited until a woman sparked my cold, dead heart to life, lit my blood on fire, and made me feel like there was something worth living for.
He wanted to hurt something or someone as much as he was hurting, as much as he hated himself, but instead of letting his bear free at that moment to cause some serious destruction, he did something he’d never done in his twenty-five years of living.
He cried for what he might never have.
Honest-to-God love.
1
Present day
Ford slammed back another shot of bourbon and stared at the counter, his vision starting to blur. He was getting drunk—again—and welcomed it.
He slammed his hand on the counter and gestured for another shot. He was drunker than fuck, but that was how he liked it. Here he was, getting shit-faced once again over his fucking hang-ups. He groaned as he thought about his ex. She called him, almost gloating about her engagement and upcoming wedding. He wasn’t even pissed about it. That’s not what was fucking things up for him.
Her contacting him rehashed all the shit he felt about himself.
He hadn’t spoken to her in ten long years, so why the hell she thought she had the right—or that he’d even care—to call him up and tell him she was getting married was beyond him. But then again, look at what that call had done?
He knew his brothers thought he was upset because she was getting married. He’d never told them about the breakup or what happened. He’d never told them how he hated himself for not waiting for a mate.
He closed his eyes and breathed out slowly.
He hated to know what a shrink would say about how he was dealing with his inner issues and personal turmoil, that holding onto something for so long was because he probably had some deeper-rooted problems, but fuck it all.
He was a masochist and a sadist all rolled into one, a damn magician and expert at making people see something that wasn’t there. He didn’t let his brothers see this side of him, didn’t allow the ugliness that consumed him to seep out to the only two people he loved. He could fool the best of them, put on a fake-as-hell smile, laugh, and act like he enjoyed the life he was living. But in the end, when he was alone staring at the ceiling, it all came back like a powerful punch to his chest.
He finished off another drink, paid his tab, and called a cab. The best thing for him to do was get the fuck home.
It was a ten-minute cab ride to his place, and thankfully he didn’t pass out on the way there. After paying the man and forcing his feet to move to his front door, he all but fell inside. Sleep sounded perfect, but the stench of the bar clung to him, and he made his way into the bathroom for a shower.
After turning on the water and making sure it was hot enough to melt skin, Ford got undressed and stared at himself in the mirror. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and he ran his hand over the dark stubble that lined his jaw and cheeks. He was a fucking mess, with his blood shot eyes, dark circles, and pinched-ass expression.
Turning away from his reflection, he pulled the shower curtain aside and stepped into the steam-filled enclosure. The instant the hot droplets splashed against his skin, he clenched his teeth. Yeah, it was scalding and hurt like a motherfucker, but that was what he needed right now.
For an hour, he stayed in that shower, and it was only when the water turned icy and not at all satisfying that he finally allowed himself to get out.
Although he hated himself, he wouldn’t change how he felt. It kept him moving, and that self-loathing was a pretty good punishment, if he were being honest.
2
Talia Landon stared at her brother’s fiancée and had to grit her teeth or she would have made some nasty response. Why Luke had chosen some high-maintenance bitch of a female to marry was beyond her.
For the past two years, Talia had watched Luke dote on Mina Sheldon in a sickening display of affection. It wasn’t even about her being a human and them being red fox shifters, but more so that Mina was an uptight asshole.
At every turn, she bossed Luke around, made him run ridiculous errands, and just had this air about her that screamed high-priced whore. Talia hated her, had ever since Luke brought her to their parents’ house for their Sunday family dinner.
“I told you I wanted the white lace accents.” Mina tossed the fabric aside and turned to stare at herself in the full-length mirror before her. She opened up her tube of cherry-red lipstick and applied a generous amount to her overly plump lips. Ever since they announced they were getting married—a new level of hell for Talia to live through—Mina had been in Bridezilla mode. Nothing was ever right, and it was Talia’s brother who suffered her wrath.
It made no difference though, because even when Talia brought up her concerns to Luke, he had gotten so upset and offended that he shut her out until she had been the one who felt guilty for even bringing it up. It wasn’t that she wanted to hurt her brother, but how anyone in their right mind would want to be saddled with a woman who bitched nonstop was beyond her.
But whatever, if Luke wanted to subject himself to that kind of abuse, who was she to get in the way? Talia realized that if her older brother wanted to live his life with a banshee and didn’t want to see reason, then he could suffer in his own personal hell. And there was no doubt Mina would deliver on that.
He was an adult, knew his choices would affect him in the long run, and would have to deal with the consequences. At least Talia was pretty sure they wouldn’t have children, at least not for a good long while, because that would require Mina to actually gain some weight. God forbid her wraithlike appearance actually looked healthy, or that she went bigger than a size two.
Talia looked back at Mina, with her perfect hair, and her perfect body, and everything else that was just too damn perfect to be real. But what made this day even more of a nightmare was the four equally gorgeous and fake women who gathered around Mina.
Their catty laughter, hushed whispers behind their hand-covered mouths, and the aristocratic air around them made this day especially lovely, just like getting her teeth cut out with a rusty razorblade.
There was no doubt one of the main reasons Mina was with her brother was because he was a renowned surgeon, and she loved to spend his money, hence the Prada pumps and Tiffany earrings that dotted her earlobes. Mumbling more to herself than anyone else, Talia stepped outside the small boutique in Sweet Water, Colorado. The breeze was warm and smelled fresh. It wasn’t like the smog-filled air she was familiar with.
Originally from California, she had been excited to come to Colorado, even if the reason behind it was less than pleasant. When Luke told them the wedding would be held at Mina’s parents’ in Sweet Water, no one had showed their concern that their home and the rest of their family were in LA.
So, instead of voicing their opinions on how it made a hell of a lot more sense to have the wedding in California, since the majority of the guests lived there, everyone had packed up their shit and headed over to the boonies.
Talia wouldn’t lie and say Mina’s parents’ estate wasn’t gorgeous, because it was. But then there was the irritation that came when Talia usually thought about her brother’s fiancée.
She needed a stiff drink, but it was
only ten in the morning, so it seemed a cup of coffee would be her only option unless she wanted to look like some kind of lush. She certainly didn’t want to start some kind of small-town gossip about the new drunk stumbling around. Lord forbid Mina get mixed in by association.
Looking left then right, she finally remembered passing a bistro/coffee shop when they had come into town for Mina’s dress fitting. Heading down the sidewalk that was still cobblestone, she rounded the corner and came across the small café. The little bell above the door jangled when she opened the door, alerting everyone to her entrance.
The scent of coffee beans and fresh pastries filled her senses, and she couldn’t help but fall in love with the small town a little more, despite the fact that Mina was from here. It certainly wasn’t like LA with cars packed back-to-back, the overly tanned residents walking around, and the posh shops lining the streets.
For the hundredth time since she had come to Sweet Water, Talia wondered how a quaint and gorgeous little town could produce such a vile and obnoxious creature as Mina.
An upbeat song played overhead, and the sound of laughter and hushed voices filled the small interior. After ordering the biggest latte they made, she took a step back, and people-watched while she waited for her order. A human couple sat close together at a table. The man held both of the woman’s hands, and they stared lovingly at each other.
There was a coyote shifter sitting alone in the corner, his laptop in front of him, and his black-framed glasses perched high on his nose.
