Bear For Her (Lone Reach Shifters Book 1) Read online

  “Mommy!” Harper called from the other side of the arcade as she bashed at the buttons on a game. “This is awesome! Can we come here every day!?”

  Mason laughed, and Chloe buried her head in her hands, joking.

  “She’s a firecracker,” she said. “I never get a moment of peace, but I love it.”

  “I bet you do.” He smiled.

  There was a silence between them for a moment, and she could tell he wanted to ask her something but was holding back. She smiled and sat backward, as if welcoming the question.

  “What happened to her dad?” he asked as he looked at Harper.

  Chloe had been expecting the question, so it wasn’t a surprise.

  “He’s never been in the picture, really… we were childhood sweethearts and together for years, but when I found out I was pregnant, he suddenly decided he had too much living to do to be tied down. He left town and I’ve never seen him again. Harper hasn’t even met him.”

  There was a deep sadness behind Mason’s eyes.

  “That fucking sucks,” he said angrily. “I don’t know how these men live with themselves.”

  Chloe nodded in agreement.

  “I think the same most days, but the truth is, we’re happier without him. He’s not good enough for her if he wasn’t willing to give her the time. I mean, he’s the one missing out. And he’ll never find us now. I often wonder if she’ll want to go looking for him when she’s older, but I honestly don’t think she will. I’m honest with her about everything, while sparing her feelings as much as I can, but I think she’s doing okay. I think she’ll just accept it.”

  “Is he who you’re running from?” Mason asked, his eyes pinpointed on hers.

  This question, she hadn’t been expecting and it made her sit back and clear her throat. She didn’t know what to say.

  She wanted so badly to be honest with him, so that it was out in the open and she didn’t have to fear him finding out some other way, but she just couldn’t bring herself to go there. The thought of reliving it and telling someone what had happened to her in her old hometown was one that sent fear rocketing through her.

  “I…” She tried to say something, but nothing would form. Her mouth hung open a little and she shook her head. “No, I’m not running from him.” Was all she managed.

  And then, she looked away and willed him not to ask anything more.

  “Hey,” he said as he reached out and put his other hand on top of hers and held it there between both of his palms. The warmth from him was so different, and it made her feel safe… But she was so afraid.

  “It doesn’t matter, whatever it is,” he said. “I just want you to know that.”

  He had a strong sincerity about him, and Chloe nodded as she blinked back the tears threatening to spring from the corner of her eyes.

  “We all have a past,” he said. “And we all have secrets.”

  It was his turn to look at the table now, and he looked momentarily shaken, as if he didn’t know whether he was about to do the right thing or not.

  “I have a secret,” he whispered, checking that they weren’t surrounded, and that Harper was a good distance away so she couldn’t hear them.

  Chloe looked deep into his eyes and willed him to continue.

  “And I normally wouldn’t tell anyone this… but I feel like I have a duty to be fully open with you before we take this any further.”

  Chloe’s heart may as well have stopped beating, she couldn’t breathe, and her skin went cold.

  “But with you, this also feels different,” he said. “I feel like you may already suspect something about me… It’s to do with the look in your eyes when you catch me a certain way. Or the fact you were so amused I chose Salmon for dinner.”

  Chloe smirked and felt herself relax a little.

  “I think I might know…,” she said. “But only because of where I’m from… And I probably don’t know as much as you might expect.”

  Mason smiled.

  “I’m a shifter bear, Chloe,” he said it under his breath, but his eyes never left hers.

  “I thought as much.” She gave his hand another little squeeze.

  “What do you know about us? About my kind?” He asked.

  She could feel a rising tension within him, as if he was about to unload his darkest secret. The look in his eyes was intense, but this didn’t frighten her, she was happy to hear all about it. She wanted him to tell her and to know it all, she wanted to experience everything to do with his life.

  “Not a whole lot,” she said. “But I do know there were packs in my old town. Bridge Hollow was crawling with shifters… and other things…”

  Her stomach dropped again when she thought about those other things.

  About… him.

  Mason nodded.

  “It’s a big town for it,” he said. “Some may say it’s where it all began.”

  Chloe had heard something similar.

  “Have you ever been?” she asked.

  “No,” he said. “And I don’t intend on it… I have too much going on here, and rival packs are never a good thing. We have enough drama here to last us a lifetime, trust me.”

  “What do you mean?” She felt as if she was getting to the very core of her new town, and she loved to learn.

  “You know how I said earlier, I stay away from the nightclub?” he asked.

  Chloe nodded.

  “It’s because it’s owned and run by a rival pack, a pack who is feuding with another in our town.”

  “Jeez, how many packs are there?” she asked with a laugh.

  “Three,” he said with a proud smile. “One bear, one wolf and one dragon.”

  “Holy shit,” she said as she raised her eyebrows. “You have dragons here too?”

  Mason grinned and nodded.

  “So, none of this is blowing your mind then?” he laughed. “You’re just taking all of this in stride?”

  “Oh, trust me,” Chloe said seriously. “I’ve had my mind blown many times already and seen some truly crazy and terrible things. I know how dangerous this world can be… So, I’m not so much taking it in stride, just processing it and relating it to what I already know.”

  “You’re so smart,” he said. “It’s refreshing.”

  “And you’re… grizzly…” she said. “Also, rather refreshing compared to the guys I’ve dated in the past.”

  Mason let his right hand move from hers up to her cheek. He cupped her face and stared at her so powerfully, she felt as if their bond was strengthening without them even having to say a word. Chloe and he cast a nervous glance out of the corner of their eye to check that Harper was nowhere in sight, and then he moved closer, over the table, and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

  Sparks seemed to fire off all around them. It may have been the light and noise from the video games, but it felt intensely real in that moment. Mason opened her mouth with his and slid his tongue against hers, kissing her passionately and deeply. Chloe’s breath was taken away, and she felt like putty in his arms, never wanting the kiss to end.

  When their lips broke apart and she looked up at him, he smiled down at her and she could see the bear in his eyes. The beast she had awakened. Her pussy throbbed and she bit her lip. This man was everything she never knew she needed, and now that she had tasted him, she never wanted to stop.

  She leaned back and Mason sat on the bench on the other side of the table. He grinned at her and laughed.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that since I saw you standing in the snow in the middle of the night.”

  “Me too,” she admitted. “I think I just tried to convince myself I wasn’t bothered.”

  They stared at each other for a few more moments, just enjoying the aftermath and the knowledge that they were both on the same page.

  It had been another wonderful day together, and they were only just getting started.

  Magic was in the air, and they were both breathing it in as deep as they could.


  12.

  The chilly air on the mountain was perfect for the night run the bear pack was going for. Mason had rounded them all up after they had closed The Bear Brewhouse, and they decided to roam the mountains and forest land around Lone Reach in bear form, heading over to The Brewery site to check on it and make sure no one was trying to steal the copper piping or construction materials.

  He may have trusted the bikers but that didn’t mean he didn’t have slight suspicions. There was something about them that made him wary. He may have been on good terms with the majority but there were still a few of the charter members he hadn’t met yet, and he was going to play it safe until he knew them all like brothers.

  His bear was hulking and heaving, they had undressed and he shifted behind the bar and they had all scattered toward the forests in a flash of gnashing jaws, wiry fur and big, bear paws. Now, they were chasing each other up the mountain, roaring, rolling each other, playing, and burning off as much energy as they could, so once they arrived home as their human selves, they would be able to sleep.

  Being a bear wasn’t always such hard work, but when it had been days since he had last turned, his energy levels seemed to peak and he needed a release.

  Hudson stomped along beside Mason and the pair growled at each other in their own special language. The moon was full overhead and it illuminated the path in front of them with silvery light. This was always the most perfect time of night, when the rest of the town was fast asleep, when the sky was as dark as it would ever be, and the stars and heavens shone down on them and made them feel as if they ruled the world.

  They broke into a fast run, all the [TM1]bears together, bouncing and galloping up and down the rocks and mountain paths as they headed to the other side of town, over the mountain trails, to find the site of their latest venture. It would be the first time they had visited it as bears together, and Mason had been looking forward to arriving and seeing it from their animal eyes.

  The Brewery was going to be such a huge thing for their pack, and it was going to do so much for their town, he was incredibly proud.

  He sniffed the night air and somewhere on the tip of it, he was sure he caught scent of Chloe. He lusted after her even when he was in his most animalistic state, and he yearned to hold her again.

  Now that he had told her his truth, he felt better for it, and for the first time since he had met her, he was enjoying being the bear again. He no longer feared she would think him a monster.

  She truly was the perfect girl for him.

  They came to the top of the mountain ridge and ran down the other side, their huge weight and frames powering them forward as they approached the construction site. Most of the work had been finished, but there was still a bit to do before they opened the following month.

  A lot of the roles had been filled and the bears were ready to take turns nightly to protect, from the forested sidelines, and make sure that no harm came to their biggest investment yet.

  They had a lot riding on it, so it would be worth it.

  Mason sniffed the air, and he was pleased that nothing seemed untoward. He turned on his heel and began to pad backward, grunting to the rest of his pack to signal that he, their alpha, was leaving.

  It had been a successful night run. He had enjoyed taking charge and being with his pack again, after so many weeks and months of feeling inadequate and as if he had done something wrong.

  But thanks to Chloe, he had realized he was doing just fine and had much to offer.

  Mason, both as a bear and a man, was one in a million. And he had to have faith in himself to stay true.

  13.

  After over a week of calm and peaceful dreams, that very same night, Chloe began to have nightmares again.

  She rolled around the hotel bed, sweating and gripping the sheets and pillows, begging for relief.

  In her nightmare, she was being chased; it was just like all the rest, but this time, it felt different.

  More real.

  She was running through the forest, bears all around her, and she was one of them. She was part of the pack and she knew she was safe. She felt safety all around her, and she kept running with them, keeping up as to not lose her security.

  When they reached the top of a mountain and looked down on Lone Reach − much like she and Mason had the night they had their first date − this time, she saw something different.

  Instead of the lights and happiness she had seen as the sun set over her new town, in her nightmare, all she saw was darkness.

  The spread of death that had destroyed the woodland around Bridge Hollow had followed her.

  She saw the cold, and the destruction, the dead animals that had fallen from the sky and trees in the hundreds. Whole families wiped out.

  No lights were shining in the homes and buildings. Main Street was black and silent, and the ground was rotten and oozing.

  Something terrible had infected them.

  Something terrible had found her.

  She tried to scream but nothing came out. She had lost her voice and all she could do was silently cry.

  She felt him before she saw him, like she always had.

  She felt the cold, the ice cold, the way it penetrated her heart first and then took her over, piece by piece. Her bones seemed to freeze from the inside, the ice working its way through her flesh and organs, right out of her skin and eyes, a little wisp of frozen air escaping through her lips.

  “Help…,” she tried to say, but she couldn’t speak.

  He had seized her tongue. Frozen it solid. Made her mute.

  She cried and a tear froze on its way down her face. This was bad. She knew it was very, very bad.

  “Help… me…,” she was trying to call out.

  But she was just moving her lips, no words were being spoken and she couldn’t breathe. Her lungs felt frozen.

  When she was stuck in the same spot and couldn’t move her feet, she realized that the bears had gone. She was still looking down over the town, she was seeing the decay that had taken over the last place she called home, and she heard his footsteps approaching from behind.

  It was him.

  She thought she had gotten away from him. But she must have been wrong.

  Him.

  The reason so many people had died, so many animals had perished, so many lives had been ruined.

  It was all because of him… and she had been connected to him in the worst possible way.

  He had loved her.

  And for that reason, she had run.

  “No, please…,” she managed to croak as a cold hand closed around her neck from behind.

  She could feel his icy breath; she had felt it so many times when she was awake, she knew the feeling by heart. She cried silently, willing herself to wake up, but this was all very real.

  Far too real.

  She shivered as he opened his mouth wide and used his other hand, with its ice-cold blood and sharp nails, to dig into her cheek as he held her there, ready to bite.

  “No, please…,” she whispered.

  The terror in her heart rocketed through her, and somehow, she screamed and woke herself up.

  She flew to the floor and tumbled around in the bedsheets, Harper screaming in the place next to where she had been laying and quickly turning on the light.

  “Mommy, are you okay?” she asked with wide eyes as Chloe lay on the floor by the side of the bed, shaking and looking at her hands as she held them out in front of her.

  She could see the outline of an ice-cold handprint on her wrist, slick and wet, and she quickly jumped to her feet and looked in the mirror to see a scratch and puncture marks on her cheek.

  She reached up and touched it, and could still feel his hand there.

  His sharp nails had made the marks.

  She thought it had been a bad dream… but this was all too real.

  Somehow, against all the odds…

  He had found her…

  She hammered on the door of Mason’s
cabin, holding Harper tightly in her arms as she brayed repeatedly, calling his name.

  “Mason!” she shouted. “Mason, are you there?”

  The sun was rising and it cast a pink and gold glow over the world around her. She hadn’t been able to get back to sleep after the nightmare, but since she had gotten out of bed, she knew she had to get herself and Harper to Mason and tell him everything. He was the only one who could protect them, and now, it was time she told him the truth about her past.

  She saw a light flick on somewhere inside and she hammered on the door again. She hadn’t been to his cabin before, but both he and Mary had told her where to find it, should she need to.

  Now that she needed to see him so very badly, she couldn’t wait until it was proper morning and well into the next day to find him.

  She had to see him now.

  A key turned in the lock and the door slowly opened, showing Mason’s bleary eyes and his mussed-up bed hair. She could see that he wasn’t clothed, at least on the top half, and when he managed to focus on what was happening, he blinked and quickly unlatched the door and opened it wide.

  “Chloe, Harper, are you all right?” he said as he took hold of Chloe’s arm.

  When his skin touched hers, he flinched and stepped back as if he had been burned or given an electric shock, and he eyed her suspiciously.

  “Something happened,” she said, trying not to let on too much in case she scared Harper. “And we’re both exhausted, can we come in?”

  Mason nodded slowly and stepped back. His eyes were still focused on her and he was looking her up and down in a way he never had before. It was as if he were disgusted by her. As if he could see something evil in her and it was making him want to stay away.

  She felt the tears prick her eyes and she reached up and rubbed them quickly.

  “Can Harper please lay on your couch or something? She’s so tired, I don’t know what to do.”

  Mason nodded, not saying a word and still staring at Chloe as if, suddenly, she was a stranger.

  Harper cuddled into her mom and yawned, and Mason beckoned them to follow him as he walked down the hallway and into the main body of the house.