Chosen by the Bear

Chosen By The Bear

A BBW Shifter Romance

Imogen Taylor

© Copyright 2015 by Imogen Taylor. All rights reserved.

No part of this novel may be reproduced, duplicated, distributed or transmitted in either electronic or print form. Neither may it be stored in a retrieval system, database or in any form without prior written consent from the author. 

Table Of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:
Wandering Wilderness

Chapter 2:
From One Wreck to Another

Chapter 3:
Through the Eyes of a Beast

Chapter 4:
The Awakening

Chapter 5:
Time Flies

Chapter 6:
Giving into Temptation

Chapter 7:
Rest of Their Lives

The countryside is safer than the horrors of towns and cities
Niquisha’ thought as she spun out of control on the dark country road. There was no way she could escape the whirlwind of terror she had been sucked into. She was just returning home from work, the air moist and muggy and the road glistening with rain. Nikki had only taken her eyes off of the road for a second, but that was all it took for that deer to appear on the road and for her to lose control of her car.

Certain moments in her life flashed before her eyes, playing a movie in her final moments. She could not believe that her life was ending this way. She had not found everything she had always dreamt of. A one night stand here and there, a love affair that spanned a few years, but there was never anything--or anyone--that lasted in her life. She could not help but feel saddened that her life played out this way.

When she was younger, Nikki had always dreamt of finding that fairy-tale romance that would stop the world turning. It was every little girl’s dream to be a princess and to find her perfect prince, but as she grew older, Nikki understood just how unrealistic her dream really was. She found a new focus in life and had a great deal of fun along the way. It had all brought her here to this moment.

Her eyes closed as she watched her impending doom come closer. There was no way to stop the car, to save herself from what was happening. Her car struck a tree and she was assaulted with the harsh sound of crumpling, shredding metal. Her fragile body was thrown forward into the steering wheel, forcing her to face her own morality in that second.

It was all over so quickly. In the blink of an eye her entire world had been turned upside down. It was her last thought as darkness consumed her.

She woke a little while later, darkness surrounding her and the foul stench of her beaten car flooded the air. Damp earth clung to her body and she could feel her blood mixing with the rain as it trickled down her cheek. However, other than a few bumps, scratches and the utter destruction of her car, she seemed unharmed.

Nikki knew that she could not stay in the car; she had to seek out some sort of shelter and aid at least until morning.

It took all the courage she could muster to step out of that wreck. She could see the road off in the distance, but no one travelled along it this late at night. Other than her, it seemed. Her only hope was to wander through the woods and hope to find civilisation. With shaky legs, she stepped out of the car, feeling the ground squelch underfoot. The heel of her simple pumps sank into the ground, becoming nothing more than a muddy mess. She threw them aside and with a newfound determination, she wandered through the trees blinding heading to somewhere.

The rain pelted the trees’ leaves, bringing a deafening chorus to her ears as she pushed onward. She only hoped that she was not walking around in a circle. There was a prickle up her spine as she went deeper and deeper into the darkened words. She could feel eyes on her but she could not see them. Spinning around and around Nikki made herself dizzy trying to seek out what lingered in the darkness. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum; she could feel it throbbing in her ears. The ghost of her breath danced before her as she squinted into the darkened woods. She could not fight the feeling that she was about to be someone’s or something’s prey.

Nikki told herself it was just her mind playing tricks on her, that the crash and the darkened landscape were affecting her more than she knew. She pushed onwards, fingers crossed that she would find somewhere to shelter for the night. The cold and wet weather was seeping into her skin, making her shudder and tremble with every step.

It was only when she heard the howl of a wolf that she panicked. Nikki was frozen to the spot, her eyes darting around like a rabbit knowing it’s going to become a wolf’s dinner.

Through blurry eyes, she looked around at wilderness spread before her. She pressed her back became against the nearest tree as she saw golden eyes coming out of the dark, stalking close to her. One after another the pairs of eyes appeared, surrounding her, waiting for her to falter so they could take her down and feast. The wolves crouched low to the ground and bared their teeth. Nikki could see no way to escape the vicious attack that was coming her way.

Attempting to fake being dead, to play possum, she curled herself up in a ball at the base of the tree. She hoped they would find something more entertaining and delicious to eat. With her hands over her head and her eyes squeezed tightly closed she just waited for it all to be over, for better or for worse.

Silence hung in the air for the longest of moments before pain-filled whimpers fractured it. Every sound that echoed throughout the woods had Nikki trembling wondering what could be driving the wolves away and whether whatever it was would be content with the wolves or come after her next. She could smell the blood from the fight, the damp earth clutching and clinging to everyone and everything.

It was only when the silence came once again that she dared to peek out between her fingers. Immediately she wished she had not. Just a small distance away stood a giant brown grizzly bear with wolf blood on his claws. She could not tear her gaze away from him; fear held her in place. The only sound was her heart beating a samba in her chest. Her mind begged for her to run and run far.

She couldn’t move even as he came closer, stalking toward her just as the wolves had, that same hungry look in its eyes. Her throat dried as she forced herself to swallow a scream, not that it would have done her any good in the middle of the woods.

But the bear did not swat at her with its gigantic paws.. It did not chomp down on her, splitting her in half with one easy bite. None of that happened, but it still shocked her all the same. The bear’s arms wrapped around her body, picking her up with ease, and simply carried her away.

Nikki didn’t understand what was going on; a beast like this that had driven away a pack of wolves was carrying their prey through the woods. Like a mother would a child, or a hero would his damsel, the bear carried her against its chest, seeming to know just where it was going.

Nikki felt as if she had been carried for hours, twisting through trees before they came across a small cabin in the middle of a little clearing. If it had been under any other circumstance Nikki would have thought this place a romantic getaway. The clearing was littered with the sweetest smelling flowers she had ever seen and the log cabin was beautifully decorated; it even had outdoor seating on the porch. It was a perfect, secluded place but now it filled her mind with horrors. In a place like this, no one would hear her scream.

The cabin door swung open easily, as if the bear lived in this cabin like a normal human. The thought was preposterous; after all, Nikki believed that bears lived in caves or wandered around the woods all day. She could never have dreamed of one living in a cabin as a human would.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, the bear laid her down on the wooden floor, making sure to block the door. The door clicked shut behind them and Nikki looked around the cabin, seeking an escape. Silence stretched between them, neither moving as they stared at each other for a long moment. Only a few hours ago she had been driving home, but now she stood face to face with a grizzly bear in a cabin that it appeared to live in.

Nikki tried to step around the bear, sure that he was in some kind of trace; he had not stopped staring at her. Yet every move she made was greeted with a warning growl and the bear shifting to protect the doorway. Swallowing hard, she wondered what was going on and how she could escape unharmed.

The silence remained unbroken, Nikki refusing to attempt to talk to a beast. That’s all he was to her, but the more she looked at him, the more the bear before her seemed to grow more human-like. Its eyes changed, little flecks of gold and human emotion finding their way into the animal depths. The bear’s gaze entranced Nikki, and she didn’t want to pull herself away. In fact, she only wanted to step closer.

As soon as Nikki opened her eyes, she saw that where there was once a bear, there was now a bare man. He still towered over her with his six-foot muscular frame, but he was no beast.

She rubbed her eyes, stepping back a little in surprise. She could not believe it. She looked around the cabin, trying to figure out where the bear had ran off to in a matter of seconds. The question bubbled up behind her lips; she couldn’t not ask.

“Where did the bear go?” Confusion laced her every word as she tried to figure out what had just happened. It was preposterous; the man before her could not be the bear, right?

The male went to step forward, hands outstretched in an attempt to be as calming as possible, but Nikki panicked, bolting away from him. So much had happened in such a short time that trying to process it all made her brain hurt. Her eyes kept wandering up and down the man before her. He was perfection. She could not stop staring at his body, every last inch of it.

“Please don’t scream,” he pleaded, an earthy gravel to his voice.

It was when she looked up into his eyes, those same eyes that the bear had, that it all sank in, the scary reality that everything she feared was true. Her scream vibrated throughout the cabin and the surrounding woods. It was only a split second before she was pounced upon.

Driven by an innate and territorial desire, he crossed the floor, closing the gap between them long before she could to run. Grabbing her firmly around her waist, he realised what he was doing and panicked, realizing that he could be hurting her. His eyes darted around the cabin, looking for something to calm her or somewhere to put her till she calmed. He could not have her escaping into the world now she knew what he was. He did not want the torches and pitchforks destroying his hidden sanctuary.

Nikki struggled valiantly, screams so constant that he had to hold her mouth so that they would not echo into the woods outside, but he held her firm against his naked body. She could feel the unnatural warmth radiating off of him, but her focus was on escape. Internally she screamed and screamed but she could do nothing more than wriggle within his arms.

"Shh Shh Shh nothing is going to happen to you if you keep quiet," He hissed, trying to keep the pleading out of his tone. He should have known she would react like that when she saw the truth, but he felt responsible for her.

Nikki slowly started to calm within his arms; there was no way she could escape his grasp. He was grateful to feel her calm but he just could not risk it her escaping, not now. With a few strides, he carried her to a small room and placed her within another room. Without hesitation, he shut the door and locked the door.

There was no way of escaping. Nikki ran around checking all the windows; they were bolted shut. She even tried the door again, banging and pulling on it, begging to escape.

“My name is Kade and I’m sorry…” His voice came through the door, head resting against the wood. She could hear the sorrow and frustrated sigh in his voice, but she could not contain the venom that ran around her body. She felt like a caged animal. She struck the door one final time before sliding to the floor and letting her tears fall.

Kade sat with his back against the door, listening to Nikki cry and wondering what was going to happen to her now. He could not fight the thoughts that danced through his mind. He had never expected his night to end this way. It started as his nights always did: with a hunt.

He had transformed as always and went out stalking for some food. He had come across a heard of deer and that smelt so delicious that he could not contain himself. He must have chased one deer for miles before it found its way into the road.

He had seen the entire crash, but there had been nothing he could have done. It was all over in a second. By the time Kade made it to the road, Nikki’s car had already crashed into the tree. He did not know what to do in that moment, but he knew he had to do something. He felt responsible; he had chased the deer into the road and caused the crash. He kept himself hidden from her as she made her way through the woods, sure she would find her way out and to safety.

However, when the wolves began circling her like she was prime steak and they hadn’t been fed in years, Kade knew there and then he could not stand by and let her become their dinner. He had forced her into this hell and now he had to break her free.

That was what had brought them to this situation. He still could not understand why he let himself transform before her and could not bring himself to let her leave. There was something enticing about her, but he kept telling himself it was only to keep her safe from another attack.

Kade listened to her for a long time, before she fell silent, worn out from everything that had happened. He took a moment to listen through the door. He could hear her soft, deep breathing as if she had fallen asleep and he knew she was safe within the bedroom.

Practically forcing himself away from the door, he went around the cabin making sure that everything was perfect for the company he suddenly had. He threw on some clothes, just a pair of grey pajama bottoms to keep himself covered yet comfortable in his home. With no deer in his stomach, he needed to cook something to quell the hungry beast within him.

Though even as he stirred the large pot of stew, he could not pull his mind away from the woman he had pulled into his life. That same woman now lay in his bedroom exhausted from her tears. The way she looked at him and that scream replayed in his mind; he could not bear the thought of her thinking he was a monster.

With that thought in mind, he dished a plate up for her and soon found himself knocking lightly on his bedroom door. He knew that she would need food and he needed to explain himself and just what he was. He only hoped that she would understand.

Nikki made no sound as he knocked a second time. He toyed with the idea of leaving the plate outside the door, but something within him needed to see her. Quietly, he unlocked the door and slowly he pushed it open. Slipping into the room, he shut the door behind him.

He had not expected to see such a vision when he looked down at her. There she was curled up in a ball, head resting on her hands with her ebony locks spread out around her. She was the picture of perfect innocence, a soul he had not seen in years. She looked truly at peace, as if she could be lying in a luxury resort and not on the floor of a cabin in the woods. 

Kade hesitated for a moment. Walking softly around the room, he placed the food on the bedside table. He could have left it there and gone back to his nightly activities, but he could not tare his gaze from her fragile frame. His every movement was as quiet at possible, which was not easy for his gigantic frame, but he simply did not wish to wake the ebony angel. In one smooth, gentle motion, he scooped her up into his arms. Her body pressed against his for the second time in one night.

He just held her for a moment; she did not even stir from her sleep. He did not expect a soft murmur to escape her and she reached out, clinging to him ever so lightly. She unconsciously sought the comfort of his embrace; it warmed him, made him believe that perhaps there was hope. Perhaps she would understand him.

Kade carried her carefully to the bed, but her whole body tensed when he tried to place her under the covers. She clung tightly to him, not letting him go. Blinking, he looked down at the vision that lay within his arms. Her clothes had dried from the rain, but still they clung to her body. He could see her every curve and soon found himself lusting over a stranger that thought him a monster.

He did not understand it, but there was something about her that charmed the beast within him. He wanted to care for her and lusted over her like he did no other. She was a stranger to him, someone he had put in danger, but he could not fight the feeling that he had known her for years.

All these thoughts kept swirling around his mind as he tried once again to place her on the bed. She would not budge from his arms, clinging tighter than ever before. With a soft sigh and a small smile, he slipped into the bed with her, all thoughts of food forgotten as he simply cradled her in her sleep. Her body fitted perfectly against his, ass pressing tightly against his crotch as she slept, blissfully unaware of the effect she was having on him.