“Fine,” she says with a shrug. “You can deal with him all yourselves.”
“No, no!” he quickly says as she turns to walk back to the car. “You can stay.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she says with a grin as she turns back. “He won’t be aggressive near me.”
“You’re sure about that?” Julian asks. “I once saw him snarling at a rainbow in the sky.”
“I’m sure,” Courtney says with a confident nod. “I’m his mate.”
“All right,” I say as we all stand in a wide circle.
“It’s going to be okay,” Logan says as he walks toward me and gives me a hug. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through this. It might be a process, even a long process, but we’ll get you and your bear where you need to be.”
“Thank you,” I say as I hug him back. “We’ll find you your girl too.”
He smiles sadly as he steps back. I know it must not be easy for him to see all three of his brothers mated. Being surrounded by all that love must be harder than he’s letting on.
I hope he finds his mate soon.
“Please don’t eat me,” Julian says as he hugs me next. “I really like being alive.”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Thanks, brother,” he says as he lightly slaps my cheek. “I’ve missed having you around.”
Cameron comes in next and swallows me in his big arms. For a big tough guy, he can be a real softy sometimes.
“Thanks for not giving up on me,” I whisper to him.
He squeezes me even tighter. “It’s good to have you back.”
I take a deep breath when he releases me and backs up.
“All right,” Julian says with a roll of his shoulders. “If this circle jerk is finished, let’s get this over with.”
The four of us start taking our clothes off and I glance at Courtney to make sure she’s not looking at any of the hard bodies. She’s looking up at the sky with her hands clasped together in front of her. Good girl.
Cameron phases into his bear first, then Logan.
“Please don’t eat me, dude,” Julian says one last time before phasing into his bear.
“Wow,” Courtney says with a gulp as she looks at the three grizzly bears standing near her. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.”
All three bears are watching me cautiously, not moving, their eyes alert, looking like they’re ready for anything.
I turn to Courtney and she smiles encouragingly. “You can do this, Adrian. I know you can. Whatever happens, it will be okay. Even if I have to live in the woods for the rest of my life, I’ll happily be the Jane to your Tarzan.”
“I love you,” I tell her. “More than you’ll ever know.”
“I know,” she says with a warm smile. “I love you too.”
After a deep breath, I pull my bear up and sink back down.
Please be cool.
My body shakes and my muscles swell up as he comes raging forward. It burns all over, but it’s over quickly as he explodes out of me.
I’m terrified to be back down here in the darkness, watching helplessly as he takes in the three bears in front of him.
I don’t feel the usual suffocating rage surging through him or the feral need to destroy everything in sight.
He looks at Courtney first and I feel a warm content flowing through him. It feels like love, appreciation, affection.
It’s almost as if she’s tamed his wild side. As if she’s civilized the crazy out of him.
He turns to the three bears with a huff. Cameron’s bear is on edge, pacing from side to side as he glares at my grizzly. Those two have the most violent history out of all of them. When they battle, they go at it hard.
My bear glances over at Julian’s bear and then at Logan’s. He’s not interested in any of them and casually walks over to Courtney to sniff her hand.
She smiles in relief as she runs her fingers through his fur, making him groan in pleasure.
I can’t believe it. I’m watching in shock as the bear who’s tormented me for the majority of my life acts like a lovestruck little kitten.
Cameron’s bear isn’t as forgiving. He hasn’t forgotten their past and lets out a low vicious growl.
My bear turns to him and I can feel the protectiveness he feels for our mate emanating through him.
Oh crap… This isn’t going to be good.
He walks right up to Cameron’s grizzly as the other two perk up, looking ready for a fight.
The lip of Cameron’s bear is up, showing his teeth as he snarls. My bear steps forward and I watch in horror as he… licks his cheek?! What the hell?
Cameron’s bear looks as confused as I feel. My bear licks his cheek again and then nuzzles the side of his head on Cameron’s grizzly’s neck.
The sound of Courtney giggling in relief is music to my ears as my bear makes amends for all of the fights, mayhem, and general shit he’s put these bears through over the years.
It doesn’t take long for all of them to let their guards down and become the brothers they are. Maybe they sensed something has changed in him or maybe they’re tired of the fighting, but one thing is for certain—they seem genuinely happy to have him back to normal.
And so am I.
Epilogue
Courtney
Three months later…
“What do you think?” Adrian asks as I walk into the room. I look around at the freshly painted walls and my cheeks hurt from the huge smile I give him.
“It’s incredible!”
“Really?”
I nod my head up and down. “I can’t believe this is the same cabin.”
“I can’t believe that we managed to get the raccoons out of here,” Julian says with a laugh.
The four boys have been working their asses off to renovate Adrian’s cabin. Pretty much everything has been changed except for the foundation. I look around at our new living room and our large new kitchen, and it already feels like home. The paint was the last thing to go up before we could start to move my stuff in.
The lease to my apartment finishes at the end of the week and I did not renew. When Adrian asked me to move in, I couldn’t say no.
“All the painting is done?” I ask. It looks done. The walls are a nice warm beige and they even painted the baseboards white.
“We’re done,” Cameron says as he dumps his paintbrush onto the painting tray. “Come on boys, beers at my place. Let’s let the lovebirds enjoy their new nest.”
“Wait a second,” Adrian says as the three of them head to the door. “Aren’t you going to help me clean up?”
“I paint, I don’t clean,” Cameron says before disappearing out the door.
“There’s like twelve brushes here!” Adrian shouts after him.
“If he’s not cleaning, I’m not cleaning,” Julian says as he drops the roller he was using next to Cameron’s brush and walks out. “Sorry, bro. I just really don’t want to.”
“I’ll help,” Logan says as he heads for the sink.
“You’re the only nice brother,” Adrian says with a shake of his head. “How is the only nice brother the only one who’s still single?”
Logan sighs. “I don’t get it either.”
“You’ll find someone soon,” I tell him. “I can feel it.”
“I hope you’re right,” he says, looking a little depressed.
“Why don’t you go join your brothers for a beer?” I tell him as I walk over and take the paint covered brush from his big hands. “I’ll help Adrian clean up.” Plus, I wouldn’t mind being alone with my mate in our new place.
“I hope my mate is half the woman you are,” he says with a smile as he gives the brush up. “Enjoy your new place. It looks beautiful.”
I walk him to the door and then turn after he leaves, leaning on the closed door as I give my man a sexy smirk. “Oh, shit!” I say, jumping forward and spinning around when it hits me. “Is there wet paint on this door?”
“Y
ou’re fine,” Adrian says with a laugh. “It’s dry.”
“Good,” I say in a raspy voice as I give him a seductive look. “I wouldn’t want to be all dripping wet for you.”
“Wouldn’t want that,” he answers, his own voice becoming raspy.
“Nope,” I say as I strut forward, swaying my big hips with every step. His hungry eyes fall to them and he sucks in a breath. I walk right up to his rigid body, stand on my toes, and hover my lips right over his. “Not until we’ve cleaned up at least.”
I pull away, teasing and tormenting him with a grin on my lips as I grab some dirty paintbrushes. “You can get started with these.”
He grins as I shove them into his chest, splattering his old painting shirt full of fresh beige paint.
“You’re such a tease.”
I shoot him a wink. “I know. Now get cleaning, big boy.”
A few minutes later, I’m rinsing the brushes in the sink in the laundry room when my big man comes up behind me. My breath quickens when I feel his large frame towering over me. His hard chest presses against my upper back as he reaches around me and starts helping me clean the brushes. The warm water pours over our hands as we rub the soft bristles, somehow making cleaning paintbrushes seductive.
I turn around in his arms and look up at him as he turns off the water and holds me.
“Do you want to know why I wanted the guest room painted baby blue?”
His eyes widen as he looks down at me. “Are you going to tell me what I think you’re going to tell me?”
“How would you feel if I did?”
“I’d feel like the luckiest man in the world,” he says. “Even more than I do now.”
I lick my lips and smile as I draw out the moment, torturing him.
“You’re killing me here, Courtney…”
“We’re having a baby,” I tell him. “I don’t know if it’s a boy, but I know it’s a boy. I can tell.”
The look on his face is pure joy as it sinks in.
“We’re having a baby?”
I bite my lip and nod. I was nervous to tell him since we’ve only been together for three months, but now I’m realizing I was worried for nothing. Of course Adrian is being great about this. He’s been great about everything.
He drops down to a knee and grabs my hips as he stares at my stomach.
“Hey, little buddy,” he says before kissing it.
He looks up at me and there are tears in his eyes. “I never thought… I never knew my life was going to end up like this. Thank you. For everything.”
I cup his rough cheeks and guide him back up. “You saved me as much as I saved you.”
He kisses me hard on the mouth, scoops me up in his big arms, and plants me down on the edge of the sink.
There’s a frenzy of clothes ripping and tearing until our lower halves are both bare and he sinks his big hard cock inside me. Right where he belongs.
Epilogue
Adrian
Twelve Years Later…
Courtney laughs as she spins around with her hands in the air, looking up at the falling snow. It’s the first snowfall of the winter and it started last night. The ranch is covered in a gorgeous white powder that my four bear cubs are playing in.
Our youngest, Nathan, lowers his head and charges into the snowman that our oldest, Mark, was building.
“You stupid bear!” Mark shouts as he begins to shake.
“Hey!” Courtney shouts, getting his attention before he phases. “I just bought that snowsuit! Take it off first.”
He grumbles to himself as he quickly takes it off and phases into his eleven-year-old grizzly bear. Nathan’s little grizzly is halfway across the valley, running away as Mark starts to chase him.
Our two girls, Alicia and Rowan, are in their adorable human forms, making snow angels in front of the cabin.
My bear is out, happier than ever. He’s done a complete one-eighty from complete psycho to complete teddy bear and all it took was the touch of his mate.
Life has been amazing since Courtney first stepped foot into my bear’s forest and I haven’t looked back since. Those years lost inside my grizzly seem like a bad dreaming fading away with every new memory I share with my mate and our four amazing children.
“Don’t you just love the first snowfall of the year?” she asks as my bear lumbers toward her. She looks so cute and lovable with her cheeks all pink from the cold. She’s bundled up in her white scarf and hat, looking as fine as the day I met her.
My bear drops to the ground at her boots and rolls onto his back. He’s like a big puppy dog next to her. Sometimes, I still can’t believe the transition he’s made. I guess some bears need their mates more than others. It was driving him crazy being apart from her.
I’m not angry at him anymore. I feel bad for him when I think back to those dark days. It was his way of showing the world how much he needed her. It wasn’t really his fault. He was as tormented as I was.
“Is this what you want?” Courtney asks with a laugh as she takes off her mittens and buries her fingers into my bear’s fur. She scratches his belly as my grizzly closes his eyes and groans. It wouldn’t be possible to be in more peace than he is in this moment.
A snowball smacks our furry thigh and my bear jumps up in shock. Cameron and his family are out of their cabin, throwing snowballs at us.
“Oh, it’s on!” Courtney says as she hides behind me, using my bear as a shield, and throws snowballs back at them. My kids holler and scream as they gather beside her and start launching snowballs at the invading force. My body is taking almost all of the hits from Cameron’s crew, but I don’t mind. As long as they’re safe, I’m happy.
Julian’s family comes pouring out of the cabin when they see all the fun we’re having and then pretty soon, it’s a full out snowball war on the ranch. Everyone is laughing and having a great time with the gorgeous snow.
My bear’s eyes never leave Courtney. Without her, none of this would have happened. I would still be a vicious recluse living in those trees over there. I’ll never forget that.
I owe it all to my amazing mate.
The End!
Don’t be shy. Come Follow Me…
I won’t bite unless you ask me to
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