Shifter Romance: BODHI (LOST CREEK SHIFTERS NOVELLAS Book 4)

  BODHI

  LOST CREEK SHIFTERS

  Novelette 4

  Samantha Leal

  Copyright © 2017 by Samantha Leal All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Introduction

  Thank you so much for purchasing my Novellete. All of my stories also contain bonus stories, so please take a look at the other stories I offer here. They are grouped by type in the Table of Contents for easy navigation. We have some Billionaire, Highlander, Shifter and Biker tales. Take a look! Don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter for updates and free books!

  The Lost Creek Shifters series is a collection of novelette length standalone Bad boy romances that fit together to tell the longer story of the ancient tale of the bear and wolf shifters in a small mountain town. Enjoy!

  The Lost Creek Shifters are:

  ARLO (Book 1)

  SCAR (Book 2)

  BLU (Book 3)

  BODHI (Book 4)

  Also be sure and check out my Novella length MC Romance series:

  The Forsaken Riders:

  King (Book 1)

  Lynx (Book 2)

  Steel (Book 3)

  Gunner (Book 4)

  Hawk (Book 5)

  Bull (Book 6)

  Stag (Book 7)

  Stick (Book 8)

  Decker (Book 9)

  Ax (Book 10)– Coming Soon

  And we would also love it if you would

  LIKE US on facebook!

  For a list of all of our books please visit our website:

  Table of Contents

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  BONUS STORIES

  My New Billionaire Stepbrother

  A Twist of Secrets

  Through the Viking Gateway

  Into The Duke’s Arms

  Into the Duke’s Arms Too

  In the Time of the Caveman

  Through the Gateway

  Wanted by Aliens

  Taken by Aliens

  Taken by the Alpha Alien

  My New Holiday Billionaire

  Billionaire Yes Please

  My Holiday Billionaire

  Another New Holiday Billionaire

  My Second Chance Billionaire

  KING

  LYNX

  What the Outlaw Demands

  What the Outlaw Claims

  What the Outlaw Craves

  What the Outlaw Needs

  What the Outlaw Takes

  Mated to the Highland Wolf

  Rescued by the Highland Wolf

  The Highland Locket

  The Highland’s Call

  The Highland Dream

  Beyond the Highland Gateway

  Into the Highlander’s Arms

  Into the Highlander’s Realm

  A Dragon to Watch over Me

  A Dragon to Save Me

  1.

  As she sat cuddled underneath her blanket, watching the snow fall across the screen in front of her, decorating the fictional world with a cascade of white, all that Natalie could think of was home. It had been calling to her subconsciously for weeks, and now, as she was beginning to get sucked into the story being played out on the TV screen, she couldn’t help but long for the town she had grown up in.

  “What are you thinking about?” Carly asked as she snapped the remote out of Natalie’s hand and paused the movie. Her eyes were wide and pressuring, and Natalie knew she wasn’t going to be able to lie.

  “Just home, actually,” she said with a sigh. “I’m starting to wonder whether I should be thinking about going back.”

  Carly’s face fell with such force that Natalie was pretty sure she heard the muscles in her face sag. She braced herself for the onslaught. But luckily for her, it never came. Carly sat in silence, twiddling her thumbs.

  “Well…” Natalie almost whispered. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

  Carly shrugged and sighed.

  “What is there to say?” she half laughed. “I can’t tell you I haven’t been thinking the same thing. I can tell you’re not happy here.”

  Natalie felt a swell of guilt rise into her throat.

  Her and Carly had been roommates for well over a year, but what was supposed to be a temporary arrangement had turned into a normal way of life. The girls had stuck to each other like glue, and whereas it had been awesome to have such a close friend in a strange place, it had also made Natalie less adventurous when it came to making her own life. Carly was like a security blanket, but Natalie was very aware that they couldn’t cling to each other forever. She had moved to the city to find her independence, and instead, she found herself shrinking back and feeling anxious.

  “City life doesn’t agree with you,” Carly said, almost as if she could read her thoughts. “I think you’ll be much happier at home, Nat.”

  Natalie bit her bottom lip and turned to look her friend straight in the eye.

  “I was dreading bringing it up,” she said. “And I wouldn’t have… if you hadn’t asked.”

  “Jeez, I could see the way your eyes were filling up with tears as soon as this mountain town appeared on the screen.” Carly laughed. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know…”

  Natalie was more than comforted by her words. When she thought back to when she had arrived in the city, with one bag and a head full of big ideas, it had been Carly who had taken her under her wing, offered her a roof over her head and helped her find her first job. But working in a bar six nights a week wasn’t what she had in mind for the rest of her life. Natalie had bigger aspirations, she wanted to work toward something and carve out a place for herself in the world. But what she was beginning to realize was maybe she had walked away from the perfect place, the place where she could make those dreams become a reality.

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? I wouldn’t be leaving you in the lurch?” Natalie asked tentatively.

  “I’ll miss you,” Carly smiled. “But I can see that you’re wishing you were somewhere else, and it’s a big city… I’m pretty sure I can find another roommate. Not that any would be as great as you!” she beamed as she wrapped a protective arm around Natalie’s shoulder.

  Natalie laughed and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She would miss Carly too. The girls had become such good friends, and it would be hard to say goodbye.

  When Natalie had arrived in the city, she really had thought that she would be able to find happiness. But she had felt swallowed whole and out of her depth. After growing up in such a small, insular town, she had been nowhere near prepared for the hustle of the city. The people were aggressive, full of rage, powerful and to her, completely frightening. It had made her anxious to leave her and Carly’s apartment, and even after landing the job at the bar, it had only made her see more things she hadn’t been prepared for. Vicious fights, knife crime, late night robberies and cops on every corner.

  She still remembered the first time she saw a hit and run. It had happened right outside the bar where she and Carly worked, and it was engrained in her memory. The man and his buckled legs, the pool of blood beneath him, and the vacan
t stare in his cold, dead eyes. In Lost Creek, something like that would never happen. Sure, it had its dangers and its own secrets, but it was a town where people ultimately took care of each other. And now, that was all she craved.

  “I wish I was a city girl,” Natalie sighed. “But deep down, I’m just a simple girl from a mountain town. And I miss my family.”

  Carly nodded and squeezed her shoulder again.

  “It’s okay,” Carly smiled. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.” She got to her feet and stretched her arms up high over her head as she yawned. “I grew up walking streets like these. So I know how to handle city life… But you, I could always tell you were different.”

  “I guess,” Natalie nodded.

  “You’re a home bird,” Carly nodded with authority. “And you gave it your best shot, but you know it’s time to fly back to where you belong.”

  Natalie couldn’t have put it better herself. She got to her feet too and pulled Carly into a hug. She had been one of the best of friends she had ever made, and she was sure she would never forget her or lose touch.

  “You better come and visit me,” Natalie smiled.

  “Of course I will,” Carly laughed. “As long as you know the door is always open for you here too.”

  Natalie nodded and sighed. It was like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. Finally, she had admitted what she had wanted to admit for at least six months.

  She was going home.

  “Are you bothered about the rest of the movie?” Natalie asked as she turned back to the screen. The snow was heavy and thick across the mountains and even though it looked nothing like Lost Creek, it was the essence that was pulling at her heartstrings.

  “Not really,” Carly yawned again. “I’m working back to back shifts for the next ten days. An early night would do me good.”

  Natalie was relieved. Now all she could concentrate on was packing and making plans for her big return home.

  “Well, neither am I,” Natalie grabbed the remote from the couch and switched off the TV.

  She and Carly tidied up their glasses and magazines and both headed off to bed. When Natalie closed the door behind her, she headed straight over to her closet and opened the doors wide. She stretched up high onto her tip toes, reached up and raked around on the top shelf, behind all of her old sweaters and forgotten items of clothing. When her fingertips brushed against it, she felt a rush deep inside her heart. She hadn’t felt excited or inspired for a long time. But the moment she felt the hard leather of the notebook and pulled it down from her hiding spot on the top shelf and into view, all of her hopes and dreams came flooding back to her.

  She sat down on the bed and held the journal in her hands. She flicked the cover and the pages open, and leafed through them until she stopped on the last page where she had written. There, in black and white, were her long lost plans.

  Her pulse quickened.

  She had left Lost Creek thinking she would be able to find some premises and set up on her own with no problem. But she had been more than a little naïve. City rental prices for commercial space were high, and Natalie simply didn’t have enough savings. It was all so overwhelming, she hadn’t even gotten past two viewings before she realized she was out of her depth. The dreams of opening her own Nail Bar were quickly put on ice, she took up work at the bar and hadn’t had the nerve to go back to her life plan since.

  Until now.

  Because now she knew the time was right. And even just admitting to herself that she wanted to go home was bringing back her confidence with each passing minute. She closed the journal and sighed as she held it against her chest. She had a lot left to give, and plenty of time. She was only twenty-five, but she knew what she wanted to find and now she had the guts to do it. She wanted to start building her empire, and maybe, if she was lucky, she would find herself a good man too.

  Suddenly, the world had opened up in front of her again and seemed full of possibilities.

  Natalie wasn’t a city girl. But now, she realized that that was okay. Because she was pretty damn sure Lost Creek would have missed her too.

  2.

  The air around her seemed to change as soon as she left the city behind. The roads stretched out ahead and she pressed her forehead against the cold glass of the window as she looked at the cars flashing by. The bus was empty and chilly, and she wrapped her arms around herself and pulled her scarf tight to keep in the heat. It was almost as if she was going into another world. She had gotten so used to the cramped streets and the constant buzz of people around her, it felt strange to finally be on public transport without having a stranger pressed right up against her. She hated the subway, and that was certainly one thing she would never, ever miss. She thought about the heat on a morning, the stale smell of sweat, and the crazy people slumped throughout the carriages. It had been a novelty for her when she first arrived, but it quickly had turned into her worst nightmare. Now all she wanted was to be back in the safe little cocoon of Lost Creek, where there wasn’t a subway for miles around.

  She yawned and closed her eyes for a moment. Even though she was beyond excited, she still felt exhausted from everything she had done in the past few days. After she had decided to leave for sure, she had packed up what had been her entire life for the past fourteen months and said goodbye. Carly had been emotional, but she had also still been supportive, which meant the world to Natalie.

  She had phoned home not long after she had booked her coach tickets. Her mother had answered with the same tired drawl she seemed to have adopted ever since Natalie had left, but when she heard the news that her beloved daughter was coming home, Natalie was sure she heard her sparkle come right back.

  “I’ve missed you,” she said.

  “I’ve missed you so much, Natalie,” her mom beamed.

  There was a warmth inside of her she knew wouldn’t fade. She thought back to all the years she had spent in Lost Creek, and how much she had loved it. It was such a wonderful place to grow up, she was almost angry at herself for ever deciding to leave. She wondered how much it would have changed since she last set foot there. With it being a popular tourist destination, she was sure many of the shops and restaurants would have adapted to keep up with new, growing demands, but she was also certain there would be particular hot spots that would never change. They had been that way since she was a kid, and they were part of the town’s history. As she tried to map out Main Street in her mind, she couldn’t help but smile. She thought of how beautiful it looked in the winter and how the snow drifted down from the mountains. She longed to see the icy peaks that encircled Lost Creek, they were like high walls that kept them safe from harm. The town was its own little society, a bubble contained and kept safe and separate from the outside world. There was a certain type of magic about her hometown, and she couldn’t wait to feel it once more. A year really had been too long.

  She leaned back and sighed. It would be another couple of hours before they even got anywhere close and she would begin to recognize the familiar roads, but she let her mind wander and she couldn’t help but think about what may have changed. She thought of her family, her mother and father, and how hard they worked. They were a long standing family in the town and they had run their logging business for many generations. With winter fast approaching, this would be a busy time of year, and Natalie thought of her father working hard, and just hoped her brother was also considering putting in more hours and helping to ease the load. Her parents weren’t getting any younger, and one of Natalie’s biggest fears was something bad happening to them, especially her dad when he was out working in the forests around the town. His job was inbuilt with serious risks, and it terrified her to think of what could happen one day if he cut too deep, not deep enough, or the wind was against him. The only way Natalie could keep her sanity was to continually remind herself that he was an expert at felling trees. And he had been doing it for longer than she had lived.

  Her eyes began
to feel heavy and she rubbed her temples. The dull hum of the bus engine was making her even more tired and she allowed herself to relax into the seat and try to switch off for a moment. She knew there was little chance of her sleeping whilst she was so excited, but at least she could try and clear her mind and stop all of her anxieties and fears about her family overwhelming her.

  You’re heading home now, there’s no need to worry, she told herself. You’re going to be on hand for them, no matter what.

  She dozed on and off, until she finally sighed and opened her eyes. The light from the winter sun was blazing through the window and shining right across her face. She covered her eyes with her hand and smiled as she saw the roads give way from town to country. They widened out ahead of her and in the distance, she could make out the shadow of the mountains, miles and miles away.

  Before I know it, we’ll be there… she thought.

  Behind her, a man coughed loudly and she instinctively covered her mouth with her scarf. Yep, she wasn’t going to miss buses and trains. The next time she was pressed up against a strange man in hot, cramped conditions, she hoped it would be late at night, when neither of them were wearing any clothes… and he would have to have a body to die for.

  She laughed to herself and shook her head.

  You’re terrible, Natalie, she said to herself. But it wouldn’t be so bad to meet someone after all of this time being single.

  She had never been the settling kind, and had never had a really serious relationship, but since she had moved to the city, all she had craved was a partner in crime. She had longed to find someone out there in the hustle and bustle who would sweep her off her feet and make her feel whole. But all she had found was disappointment and uncertainty. Not many men ever caught her eye with her being so picky, and she had only gone on one date in the entire fourteen months she had been out there. She cringed as she remembered the guy. He had thought he was so smooth. Picking her up, waving around a single red rose, slicking his hair back thickly behind his ears, and wiggling his eyebrows at her across the table as his foot rubbed against hers, no matter how far she tried to pull it away. He had been a sleaze, and even though she had managed to deter his advances eventually, she had certainly been put off from trying again.