Bear King's Curves: A BBW Werebear Shifter Romance (16 page)

“
I'd kill to take a look.” The history geek
inside me hopped up and down on her chubby legs. “Wait, you
mean they're actually thinking about letting that lunatic keep his
power?”

The cramps were back, painful and intense. I went to sit
on the couch for relief.

“
It's his right. It isn't bullshit. Usurpers or
not, the Elders have filled in for kings for a solid century. The old
law says a king could be challenged at any time by royal blood, and
would have to defend his rule.”

“
That's crap! There isn't an ounce of royal blood
in that creep's veins!”

Nick shrugged. “The law's the law. It's how Beamer
and the other guys are interpreting it, and I'm not gonna stop them
when we're this close. Hector, Judy, they're too old and weak to put
up a fight. If Branson wants to go down the hard way, then putting
him out of his misery is the least I can do.”

My lover put his hands together. He cracked his knuckles
loudly.

“
Holy shit,” I whimpered. “You're sure
you can beat him? I can't stand to see you hurt – especially in
some crazy death match!”

“
Damn, Lyla. You really must be upset to think I'd
let him hurt me. That old bastard only has one eye and a lot of
venom. I'll have him flattened in no time.”

I swallowed hard. Something about this didn't seem
right. Then again, maybe Branson thought he had nothing else to lose.
Maybe he'd chosen to kill himself while doing one last round of
damage.

“
I hope you're right,” I said, squeezing his
big hand.

“
Today, the Klamath Bear Clan is gathered to
witness a historic event. This is destiny in the making, folks, a
compromise we've cut to make sure our people aren't torn apart. This
is the will of the Gods and –“

“
Come on! Get on with it, dude!”

Up on the podium beneath the statue, tall Beamer wiped
his brow. It was funny to see how public speaking put such a big,
goofy guy through the wringer.

“
Alright, for all you impatient folks out there,
I've said my piece. Both you guys ready?” He looked to the two
men in all their hateful, life-or-death splendor, separated only by
several feet between them.

In the makeshift ring the bears had set up beneath the
grizzly statue's watchful eyes, Branson and Nick glared at each
other, stripped to the waist down. The Elder had his hands in his
trunk pockets, twitching his fingers beneath the fabric every so
often.

Both men nodded to the referee outside their circle of
death.

This is insane. They'll probably shift and tear into
each other before anyone even throws the first punch. How the hell
are those little ropes supposed to hold back two grizzlies locked in
battle?

I fought the urge to move backward in the crowd.

No, this was too important. I had to be close to Nick.
Had to see him throw his teeth and claws into the demon bear before
him. This was going to be the end.

“
Alright, alright. Just remember, this doesn't
have to end in anyone's death. If either of you throws up his paws
and forfeits, the action stops. The loser can walk away with his
life. He just won't have power in this village ever again.”

Beamer stopped, knowing both of them would rather die
than surrender. He lifted the handgun at his side, pointed to the
high noon sun peeking between the thick clouds, and fired.

The shot hadn't finished echoing when Nick fell to the
ground, split his pants, and turned into a bear right before my eyes.

Cheers and shrieks ran through the crowd. Branson
dropped to the ground and turned right before Nick was on top of him.
The Elder's huge head snapped his eye patch clean off, leaving one
empty socket to twitch with rage as he watched the hulking bear
closing in on him.

Come
on,
I thought.
Finish
this asshole quick so we can celebrate and get on with our lives.

My stomach throbbed knowingly. It was a dull cramp,
totally psychological.

I shook my head, hating myself for taking the pregnancy
test that morning. I'd picked it up from the nearest drugstore before
we left Idaho, as soon as I had my suspicions.

God! What if he doesn't make it? What if I never have
a chance to tell him?

I hesitated before we left the cabin that morning for
the big fight. Regret curled my blood, heavy and dark.

Telling him about the baby would've taken the fight out
of him, I'd told myself. Just now, he needed every little bit of
primal strength aimed at his foe.

The grizzly bears crashed together, two big boulders the
size of cars colliding. I watched in horror as their jaws snapped,
each bear trying to get a sharp hold on the other's face. Both sets
of claws darted out, wrapped around their opponent's body in a
hellish embrace.

The strangers around me were eating it up, especially
the males. Scruffy guys growled their bearish approval, doubling in
volume and pitch when Branson's claws sank deep into Nick's hide.

His head tipped back in a terrible screaming roar.

“
No!” I cried, loud but silent beneath the
crowd's tremendous noise.

Then I saw the metal ring around one of the Elder's
paws. The cheating bastard, the monster, the devil had something
strapped to his furry paws.

No, both sets of paws.

I wanted to run up to Beamer and let him know. Fear kept
me frozen in place, glued to the solid ground.

Branson's teeth went for Nick's shoulder. More vicious,
forest blasting screams. The Elder's enhanced claws raked his sides,
tearing wounds in his fur. Hair and dark red blood flew to the
ground.

My lips opened in one long scream like a shrieking steam
engine snaking through a tunnel. Something snapped in my brain, the
evil recognition that I was watching the love of my life getting
killed in front of me.

My eyes didn't want to work anymore, but I couldn't
force them to close. I watched Nick's powerful neck bulge and twist
as he gnawed Branson off his shoulder.

More snarls. Endless bloody gashes. More giant rows of
teeth, snapping and tearing, emissaries of life and death from
almighty Nature.

The faded murmur in the crowd swallowed up all the other
sounds. Or maybe it was because they'd grown so muffled now, with
Branson's muzzle locked between Nick's jaws.

Bears always went for the face, and so did skinwalkers,
disabling another bear's fiercest weapon.

Two crazed grizzlies were joined at the face. There was
a sound just past Nick's mouth like a tree splintering, and then a
sickening gurgle.

Those massive claws stopped scraping his sides and went
limp. Nick pushed with his whole body, sending the one eyed demon
back.

Branson fell with his broken skull, stumbled, and then
lay flat on the ground. The crowd erupted, jeering at the bleeding,
twitching mess. Their excited roars became a complete deluge when
Nick fell a second later, collapsing to the ground.

“
Oh my God! No. No. This isn't really happening,
isn't really in front of me, isn't real...” I sputtered like a
baby.

Anybody who heard me just then should've forced me away
from the ring and hauled me in to treat a bad case of shell shock.
Instead, I stood unmoving, letting Klamath people wander past in the
commotion.

Several men near the front grew so excited they shifted
and tore out of their clothes. The lean grizzlies stood on their hind
legs, straining to see, sniffing at the air and whining when they
caught the scent of their Alphas' blood.

Gerald ran up, just in time to join Beamer, who'd
already jumped in through the ring.

“
Dead! He's gone.”

My heart pounded. There were too many people in front me
now, I couldn't see what the hell was happening.

I exploded, screaming like a mad woman and pushing my
way through the crowd, through the ropes forming the makeshift arena.

I ran past Branson's corpse and almost tripped. Beamer
saw me as I approached, held his hand up, but I wasn't listening.

My knees landed in the mud. I was at his side, cradling
Nick's huge, furry head, stroking him from his eyes to his ears.

“
Wake up. It's over! You've won. You can't go
now...you can't!”

Overhead, the high sun beamed bright through a break in
the clouds. It looked like a nice sunny day, but the pale light
couldn't bring its cool autumn breeze. The chill current swept around
us, occasionally blowing at Nick's hair.

“
You can't be out here, human. He needs some
serious assistance. It isn't good to move him.” Beamer was
getting more angry with every sentence. Still, he was too exhausted
to do anything except plead with me to leave.

We both jumped when there was a large, guttural rumble
shaking Nick's body. The head in my hand twisted, groaning as it
smacked its lips.

He opened his eyes and saw me. Despite all the horror, I
smiled, overwhelmed to see those bright eyes again, even in a bear.

There was a snap, and then about ten more in quick
succession. I drew back, along with Beamer, and we watched the
wounded bear beneath us quickly rearranging itself into an injured
naked man.

Nick lay on the ground coughing. The wounds on both
sides were deep, like he'd been mauled by a bear in human form.

“
Valia! Valia! Get your ass over here! He needs
help!” Beamer kept screaming the same thing over and over
again.

I watched a skinny, middle aged woman arrive with two
teenage boys at her side.

“
It's okay, Nick. They'll help you. I'll be right
at your side. I'm not leaving you.”

The woman, who must've been the clan's doctor, gave me
the evil eye. I glared back. I was in no mood to take more shit from
anyone.

If Beamer, the doc, or anyone else wanted to tangle with
this old girl, then I'd send my fists into their face – even
their snouts if I had to. Big girls have a funny way of losing their
fear when a loved one's life is on the line.

“
Careful! Easy, boys. You need to move him very
gently,” Valia said. “Let's go.”

The boys carefully propped him up on a stretcher and
carried it through a gap they made in the arena's ropes. I followed.

“
Gods! Fucking Branson...these things are like
brass knuckles for grizzles. Cheater to the end, eh?”

I overheard Gerald as I followed the team with Nick.
Then Beamer spoke up, the last voice I heard before passing out of
range.

“
Whatever. I'm just glad the right man won.”

So am I.

It was the morning after the fight, and Nick was up.

I'd been at his side the whole time, only turning my
eyes away when the doctor dressed his wounds. She shot him up with
some sedative that let him sleep through the night.

“
Ugh. Gods. I feel like complete shit.” He
rubbed his eyes.

For the life of me, I laughed, pushing my chair closer
to his bed.

“
Welcome back. I was scared you weren't going to
make it through that fight.”

He looked at me, his eyes flashing with coherency for
the first time. Joy quickly followed. Nick stretched out his arms to
embrace me, but stopped in the middle of his bear hug, wincing with
pain.

“
Don't try to move too much. Here, my love, let me
do the heavy lifting.” I leaned into him, squeezing his huge
biceps softly.

Those harsh bear muscles never felt so good. His skin
glowed beneath my palms, sweet and warm, a beautiful reminder that
the danger had really blown over – for now.

“
When can I walk?” He asked.

“
Valia said about a week.” He groaned, and I
smiled softly. “Don't worry. I'll be right at your side. It's
not like there's much to go back to.”

“
Yeah. So much for sprucing up that cabin. Maybe
somebody will help a King out.”

We locked eyes. He said it like a joke at first, but
there was nothing funny about it.

Too much had happened the last twenty-four hours to
think about what victory might mean. Nobody else seemed to know
either. Or, rather, their heads were still spinning as much as ours.

“
You did it,” I whispered softly, pushing my
fingers through his and squeezing. “You overthrew him. You took
back what's always been yours.”

“
I'm gonna take a lot more than that as soon as I
get out of here.” His hand clenched on mine harder, an
unmistakable hunger in his veins.

“
None of this would've happened without you. You,
Lyla, and that damned rock.”

Heat pulsed through me. Nick had an amazing way with
moving my heart. Whenever we were together like this, steeped in his
love, he made me glow hot and bright and red.

No different than the destiny stone.

“
I won't take any credit. I've fucked up too much.
This was you, Nick. All you.”