Furever Mated (BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance) (2 page)

“
I
told you
, Frank, I’m not interested.” Kurt let out of huff of air and set down his beer bottle. His grizzly growled inside of him, and he ran his hands through his slightly wavy brown hair. Kurt and the rest of the clan were sitting in the common room they shared in the manor. “Come on, man,” Frank said. “It is just a vacation. What is the worst that could happen?” Kurt let out a forced laugh.
Just a vacation,
he thought. More like a setup for gold-digging women to hook up with wealthy shifters.

Frank and the rest of the clan had signed up to participate in Furever Mate at Bear Ridge Resort, an all-expenses-paid vacation where wealthy shifters were paired up with willing human women in the hopes of finding their true mate. Kurt thought it was a pile of crap. Even the name sounded cheesy as hell. Hundreds of these types of things had started over the last few years now that shifters were out in the open. How his clan thought this would be a good idea he would never understand.

“You really think that you are going to find your mate at something like this, Frank?” Kurt asked. “I mean, come on, it looks like the set of the fucking Bachelor.”

Frank let out a laugh. “No, I don’t think I will actually find my mate. But I know I will probably find some great ass that is more than willing to get into my pants, and who can pass that up? Plus as an added bonus, it’s a fucking secluded island. How many times in your life do you get to say you stayed on an exclusive island?” The rest of the clan sitting around the room let out a roar of laughter, and a few of them high-fived Frank.

Kurt let out a small smile. He had once been as carefree when it came to love as the rest of them. Now, however, he had no interest in finding a piece of ass. He was content where he was. His shot at love was already destroyed, and he was fairly sure he couldn’t truly love again, so there was no sense in trying to fake it for some slut wanting cash.

“There is no way in hell I’m going,” Kurt said. “If you guys are that desperate for ass, which from the sounds in your room every night, Frank, I highly doubt you are, go on without me. You don’t want me there anyway, I would just bring you all down.”

Frank looked at the other clan mates and then back at Kurt and cleared his throat.

“Here’s the thing,” Frank said. “We can’t go unless you do.”

“What the hell do you mean, you can’t go unless I do?” Kurt asked.

“Well…” Frank hesitated. Kurt glared at him, and Frank awkwardly cleared his throat again. “You are the leader of our clan, and Bear Ridge Resort prides itself in connecting women with the most influential shifters. When we received the invite, it was addressed to only you, not the rest of the clan. Brendan called the owner, Ursula, and pretended to be you. He told Ursula that the only way he would come to the resort was if the rest of his clan was able to as well.”

Anger bubbled up inside Kurt and he shot a glare in Brendan’s direction. Brendan immediately looked down under Kurt’s hard-set eyes.

“What the hell, Brendan?” Kurt asked.

“Man, relax,” Frank said cutting in. “It was the only way for us to score on the free vacation as well. You of all people should know that we have all been going a bit stir-crazy lately.”

It was true. The clan had been experiencing some issues with control over their grizzlies lately. Several of the guys that had seemed to be in full control of their bear would suddenly shift when they got angry. Kurt had hoped it was just a phase, and deep down he agreed that a vacation or some form of relaxation would benefit the clan as a whole, but why the hell did they have to drag him into something like this?

While Kurt was not always the sharing type, most of the clan knew that he had lost Callie and was not the same since. Hell, Frank even knew that Callie’s death was the reason why Kurt was turned into a bear.

Kurt’s brown eyes shifted to an amber glow as he started to lose control of his bear. His hands gripped the edge of the couch he was sitting on and his strength snapped off a chunk of the armrest. Frank and the rest of the clan quickly backed away from the couch and lowered their eyes to give Kurt some space. Kurt let out a growl and stormed out of the common room and went straight to his room, almost pulling off the doorframe from its hinges.

He let out a loud growl and fell down onto the bed. He needed to get a grip on his anger and his bear. He knew his clan was just trying to help him and themselves, but he couldn’t stand the thought of having to interact with any of those idiotic girls. Not one of them would be able to hold a candle to Callie. Kurt dropped his head into his hands as memories of Callie rushed into his thoughts.

Why can’t I just let her go?
Kurt thought. It had been so many years since her death, he should have been able to move on, but his heart wouldn’t let him. Every girl he saw was compared to her, and none of them stood a chance. Kurt let out a long sigh. Callie would not have wanted him to be like this. He let out a small laugh at how she would have reacted if she saw him now. She would be dragging his ass to the plane and telling him to let someone else in. She would have wanted him to be happy. But how could he be without her?

A
loud banging
on Scarlett’s door jolted her awake.
What the hell?
Her eyes snapped open and she quickly looked around herself. She let out an audible sigh of relief when she realized she was just on her couch in her living room. She slowly sat up and pushed her tangled mess of hair away her face. The TV was still on, with the menu of the Blu-ray she had been watching frozen on the screen. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was ten in the morning.
Awesome
, she thought. The loud banging on her door started again, causing Scarlett to jump off the couch. She rushed to the door and looked through the peephole. She let out a sigh of relief when saw it was her best friend Blair.

Scarlett opened the door and Blair rushed at her with a big hug.

“Do you know that I have been trying to get ahold of you for the last hour?” Blair asked. “I must have called your cell like twenty times.”

Scarlett loosened her arms around Blair and looked at her friend’s face. She had beautiful blue eyes and long, wavy brown hair. She was absolutely beautiful, and Scarlett had always wished for once she could look as good as Blair did. Next to Blair, Scarlett was always seen as just the girl next door. Blair and Scarlett had become friends back in high school. Up until she had become friends with Blair, Scarlett had been extremely shy. Blair was a whirlwind that stormed into her life, and Scarlett was forever thankful for it. Blair had pulled Scarlett out of her shell.

“I’m sorry,” Scarlett said. “I must have fallen asleep on the couch and didn’t hear my phone.”

Scarlett could feel Blair’s eyes on her as she shuffled back towards her couch and wrapped herself up in a cozy blanket. Scarlett knew she looked like a pitiful mess, but she couldn’t truly bring herself to care.

“OK, Scars,” Blair said. “Intervention time. You need to get up and get out of the house. We are meeting the rest of the girls for brunch.” Blair walked over to the couch and started to pull Scarlett back up and shooed her into the bedroom.

Scarlett broke free of Blair’s grasp and rushed back to the couch and pulled up the blanket over her face. Blair let out an exasperated sigh, and Scarlett heard her heels click towards the kitchen. The last thing Scarlett wanted to do was to get out of her PJs, but the temptation of a good brunch was not something she ever turned away. The sound of the coffee maker and the delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee brought a smile to Scarlett’s face. Blair always seemed to know exactly what Scarlett needed before she asked. Scarlett reluctantly pushed herself off the couch, grabbed her hot cup of coffee, and followed Blair into the bedroom.

T
he sweet smell
of French toast wafted into Scarlett’s nose, and she couldn’t be happier that Blair had dragged her out of the house. Blair had taken Scarlett to their favorite brunch spot a few blocks away from her Charlestown apartment in Boston. Sitting around the table with them were her three best friends, Maggie, Amanda, and Rebecca.

“So Adam was a douchebag yet again?” Maggie asked. Maggie had been the first girl Blair and Scarlett met when they went to college in Boston. She had long, stick-straight blonde hair and flowing curves that she was always able to make look great in anything she wore. She had a spitfire personality, which was what made Blair and Scarlett quickly become friends with her.

Blair shot her a stare across the table. It was sweet of B to try and be protective of Scarlett, but she was fine talking about him. Scarlett gently touched Blair’s hand to let her know it was all right.

“Things with Adam are finished,” Scarlett said. “He stood me up for dinner, and when I called him he was obviously at a club with friends.”

Maggie scoffed.

“I am happy things with you and Adam are finished,” Rebecca said. “He was a tool, anyway.” Rebecca had been Maggie’s roommate in college. She had brown curly hair and light brown eyes. Where Maggie went, Rebecca came along, which was fine with Scarlett because she was the sweetest girl Scarlett had ever met.

“Yeah he was,” Amanda agreed between bites of her pancakes. Amanda and Scarlett worked together at the banking firm. They had instantly bonded over work stress, and Scarlett quickly brought her into their friend group. Amanda had shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes.

Scarlett smiled at her friends. It helped that they all lived so close to one another. Without them, Scarlett didn’t think she would have had the guts to move away from home in the first place.

“So we had an idea,” Blair quickly cleared her throat.

“What kind of idea?” Scarlett asked. Blair looked at the other girls and they smiled and nodded at her to continue.

“Well, we thought that since things are finished with Adam, that now would be a great time for all of us to go on a vacation together,” Blaire said.

A vacation?
Scarlett closed her eyes and thought about the spring break trip that they all had gone to, minus Amanda, on their senior year of college. It had been a mess of drinking, dancing, and eye candy on the warm beaches of the Bahamas. She smiled at the memory.
A vacation with just the girls would be amazing
, Scarlett thought. It would be the perfect way to get Adam out of her head.

“Just us girls, right?” Scarlett asked.

Blair looked at the other girls with a bit of hesitation that Scarlett only caught because she had known her for so long. Blair quickly recovered and smiled.

“Of course,” Blair said. “Just us girls.”

I must have read Blair wrong
, Scarlett thought. A girls-only vacation would be the best thing for her.

“I’m in!” Scarlett said.

K
urt’s stomach
lurched as the ferry rocked back and forth next to the dock. He couldn’t tell if it was the boat ride itself or his nerves about being trapped on this island for the next week. After an hour of calming his bear down, his clan had finally convinced him to go with them to Bear Ridge Resort. As the ferry was tied to the dock and Kurt and his clan waited to disembark, Kurt took in the sights. As much as he hated to admit it, the island was beautiful. Perfect white sand beaches lined the shoreline. The island itself was shaped into a private cove, creating a picturesque backdrop that Bear Ridge Resort was now famous for. Kurt smiled hesitantly. If he could avoid all of the relationship-building activities, and all of the women, he might actually like this place.

Kurt’s smile faltered when his eyes left the beautiful scenery of the cove and focused on the beach near the dock. Several towels were laid out, and what looked like hundreds of women in skimpy bathing suits were lying out in the sun. The ferry’s horn sounded, and all of the women had turned to see the clan arrive. Kurt looked at them and breathed in a heavy sigh. Callie’s face pushed its way into his thoughts. How could he open up to any of these women when all he could think about was her? His grizzly bristled underneath the surface.

With the ferry finally tied to the dock, Kurt and his clan walked off and into the beating sun. Kurt took a deep breath in and smelled the salty air.
Just concentrate on the little things
, he thought. The ocean breeze calmed his nerves slightly, and he followed his clan towards the resort. At the end of the dock stood a petite brunette with a pixie cut. She looked to be in her mid thirties, but her beaming smile helped mask her age. When Kurt reached her, she quickly extended her hand.

“You must be Kurt Donnelly,” the woman said. “I’m Ursula, the owner of Bear Ridge Resort. We are so excited to have your clan stay with us this week.”

Too bad you won’t be seeing me much this week
, Kurt thought. Maybe he could mysteriously come down with a horrible case of food poisoning and wouldn’t be able to attend any of the activities. That way he could hide in his room and his clan mates could let off some steam. Kurt gave her a forced smile that didn’t fully reach his eyes. Ursula gave him the once-over, and he could tell by the look on her face that she was trying to get a read on him.
Being an owner of a matchmaking resort must have made her very observant
, Kurt thought. Kurt held his breath, hoping she would not be able to see all of the emptiness inside him. An awkward silence fell between them. Frank nudged Kurt lightly in the ribs.

“Uh, yeah, we are happy to be here as well,” Kurt said gruffly. Ursula assessed him quickly and her smile faltered a bit.
Shit, she can tell
, Kurt thought. Frank cleared his throat behind Kurt. Kurt quickly stepped aside and let Frank take the reins.

“I’m Frank, the beta of the Charlestown clan,” Frank said as he turned up his characteristic charm. Ursula’s beaming smile returned to her face and she shook his hand.

“I have to be honest,” Frank said. “I have been following your story as you created this place, and I have to say that I am very impressed with this whole operation you have created.” Frank placed his hand on Ursula’s shoulder, and she beamed with happiness.

Thank God for Frank
, Kurt thought. He always had a way of getting Kurt out of his fumbles when it came to women.

The women on the beach had slowly started to move closer to the dock to scope out the clan. A petite blonde caught Kurt’s eye and smiled and waved at him seductively. A small voice in Kurt’s head told him to smile back at her, but his body wouldn’t allow him. Even though she was pretty, he would just hurt her in the end like all the rest. Kurt stared back at her and her smile quickly faltered. She looked away, hoping to get away from Kurt’s depressing gaze.

“Why don’t I show you all to your rooms?” Ursula said, and she motioned for the clan to follow her to the resort.

The clan followed Ursula from the dock up a sandy path that led to the resort. Moving away from the shoreline, the path turned and palm trees covered them. When they reached the entrance of the resort, Kurt let out a low whistle. The main building was massive. It had a red Polynesian-style roof, and there was a small waterfall that rushed over rocks, leading into a small pond. A bridge led them to the entrance, and Kurt slightly smiled when he saw the koi fish swimming through the pond.
Callie would have loved this place
, he thought.

Kurt walked inside through a set of large double swinging doors that led into a large lobby with several comfortable-looking chairs and couches. All the décor of the resort had a Polynesian theme that fit perfectly with the resort’s surroundings. The lobby area turned into a restaurant and bar at the back of the building, which overlooked the water. To the right was the registration desk, and down a hallway Kurt could see what looked like a secluded library.

“All of the rooms are private bungalows,” Ursula said. “They can be accessed by walking out those large doors near the back of the restaurant. They each have their own dock with ladders that take you directly into the water.”

Frank hit Kurt on the shoulder and wiggled his eyebrows. He leaned in and whispered into his ear, “The place isn’t half bad, huh?”

“It is paradise, I will give you that. But I’m not too sure how much I will be participating in the activities.” Frank gave Kurt a look, but Kurt just rolled his eyes and followed Ursula to the reception desk.

“We have several amenities at the resort for you to choose from as well,” Ursula said. “We have nightly mixers for our guests, and several water sports and excursion options for you to choose from. We do require that you partake in at least one excursion or mixer while you are here, because during those activities you will have a chance to meet several of the women who have come to our resort because you are here.”

Kurt looked around him and noticed that he did not see any other men in the lobby. “Are we the only clan on site this week?” he asked.

“Yes, you are,” Ursula said. “We try to not overlap clans because we know that there can sometimes be tension, especially over competition for the women. There is another clan scheduled to arrive at the end of the week. However, you should not run into them. When we do have overbookings like this week, we make sure to keep the clans on separate areas of the island.” Kurt let out a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn’t have to babysit his clan to make sure they didn’t get into a massive brawl with another clan. Hopefully they wouldn’t fight with each other over the girls, either. There seemed to be enough of them around for each of them to have a few if they wanted.
Well, the clan won’t have any competition out of me,
Kurt thought. He planned to stay out of the way as much as he could.

Ursula handed them each a room key. “Here are the keys to your bungalows,” she said. “If you have any problems, please don’t hesitate to ask one of our staff or find me personally.” Ursula looked directly at Kurt, “ I want you all to find happiness here.” Kurt winced under her stare. It wasn’t a seductive stare, like she wanted him, but more of a motherly one filled with pity. In the few minutes since they had arrived at the resort, he could tell that Ursula could already see his demons. He hated people feeling pity for him. He quickly snatched the key from her hand and growled as he stalked to find his bungalow, which he planned to remain in the entire time that they were at the resort.