Laid Bear 2: The Kodiak Clan (12 page)

Fred lay motionless on the ground near the bear and the sight sent her into a fury. How
dare
this bear attack a defenseless pet!
Weres
knew better than that. Only brutes hurt pets like that and she wouldn’t stand for it.

The bigger male reared back onto his hind legs in a futile attempt to shake her but she was relentless. Her mouth was full of fur and she wasn’t about to let go, not even to scream her rage at him.
 

They rolled around on the ground, the male trying to bat her off his back and her digging her claws and teeth ever deeper into his flesh. Her senses were heightened and she realized that this was the same
were
she’d scented in the alley. He must have followed her. Now that
really
pissed her off!

She shook her massive head, tearing a chunk of flesh out of the bear. He howled in pain and anger, ripping free from her grasp, and backed away from her, hackles raised, a loud growl rumbling from his gut. Without a thought for her own safety, she let out a bellowing scream of rage and rushed at him. The crazed look in her eyes must have made an impression because he turned and galloped into woods, spattering blood as he ran.

Veronica scudded to a halt at the edge of the woods, unsure if she should continue chasing him. If he followed her from the alley, he undoubtedly knew — or could easily find out — who she was. But what good would it do to follow him? If he wanted to report her to the elders, he would do it either way. The only way to stop him would be to kill him, and that wasn’t going to happen. She’d have to let the chips fall where they may.

She turned back to go attend to Fred and stopped in her tracks. Jess was standing on the porch, naked, staring at her in horror. He’d seen her shift, seen her fight that other bear. He knew. A dread deeper than any she’d felt since Keith’s death filled her to the core. The fear she’d felt while fighting that
were
was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. The look on Jess’ face said it all.

There was nothing for it, so she swallowed hard and shifted back to her human form. Keeping one eye on him, she moved over to Fred, kneeling down next to him. Jess just watched, mouth gaping.

The dog’s pulse was strong, but there was a small scratch on his ribs. If he was lucky, the
were
had only knocked him aside, leaving him unconscious but otherwise fine. She whispered in his ear while she petted his head. “Fred. Hey, buddy. Wake up for me, okay? C’mon, Fred, wake up.”
 

His ears perked up at her voice and he started coming around. He whined a little, then turned his head to lick her face. She pressed her hands along his body, checking for injuries but he just continued to wag his tail and lick at her. A minute later he was up and nuzzling her, still a little dazed but clearly in good health.

“Get away from my dog.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, choking back the cry her soul made. She looked up at Jess, who had finally recovered from the shock of seeing her shift — twice — and had moved down the steps to face her.
 

“Jess—“

“You heard me. Get away from him. C’mere, Fred.” He patted his leg, never letting his eyes waver from her. Fred slowly obeyed, looking back at Veronica as he did his master’s bidding.

“Jess, I can explain.”

“What the
fuck
?! You can explain…what, exactly?”
 

 
He was trembling all over. She wanted to soothe him, wrap her arms around him and make him feel better. But she could see that wasn’t a very good idea at the moment. Her only hope was to make him understand.

“Jess, I understand what you’re feeling. I—“

He chuffed at her.

She took a deep breath, trying to find the words. “This isn’t how I wanted to you to find out. I was going to tell you but—“

“When?”

“What?”

“When, exactly, were you going to tell me? After we made love? After we moved in together? After we got married? When we were old and gray? When were you going to tell me?!”
 

His volume got louder and louder until he was yelling at her. She felt her inner bear grumbling but ignored her. Instead she nodded and replied calmly, her eyes pleading up at him.
 

“I was planning to tell you long before we made love but things just happened so fast. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t my intention to deceive you, Jess. You have to believe that.”

He chuffed again, crossing his arms and looking away. Fred’s sweet brown head was ping-ponging between them.

“I can’t make you believe me, but it’s true.” She took a deep breath and continued. “I’m a werebear, Jess. Kind of like a werewolf but, as you saw, I shift into bear form. I’m still me, Jess. I’m still Veronica.”

“The Veronica I knew would never have kept something like this from me. Especially if it could put me in danger. Am I going to turn into a mutant now, too?”

His words cut her like a knife. It took all her self-control not to snap at him, but he’d just had a major shock. He was entitled to be angry. She on the other hand…

“I’m not a mutant, Jess, and I’m not
infected
. I’m just…a werebear. Nothing I do could turn you into one of my kind.”

He glared at her for a moment, then stormed into the cabin. She moved to follow but he was back on the porch a moment later, his arms full of her clothes. He dumped them onto the ground at her feet, holding his hand up at her.
 

“Don’t come a step closer. I want you to leave. Now.”

“Jess, can’t we just talk about this?”

“No. You’re not even
human
! I don’t know
what
you are, and I don’t want to know. I just want you to leave.”

“But—“
 

“Leave and never contact me again!”
 

The tears streamed down her face unchecked. He was really kicking her out. Her worst fears had come true, and now not only had she lost him but it was only a matter of time before her whole clan knew about what she’d done.
 

She’d be ostracized. She’d have no one and nowhere to go. She could have handled a shunning if she’d had Jess’ quiet strength to help her through it but she’d screwed that up royally. Bethany had even told her to tell him right away, but did she listen? Her world was crumbling around her and it was all her fault.

Breath hitching in her chest with each piece of clothing she picked up off the ground, Veronica walked to her truck. Jess remained on the porch, arms crossed, monitoring her every move. Was he afraid she’d shift and attack him or something? Maybe so, but there was nothing she could do to change his mind at this point.
 

Rather than humiliating herself by taking the time to get dressed — it could wait until she was out of sight of his cabin — she just climbed in and started the engine. She backed and filled until the nose of her truck was facing out the way she’d come in, then stopped even with Jess and rolled down the window.
 

The sobs that wracked her body nearly robbed her of the breath to speak, but she finally caught a deep lungful of air, enough to say what she needed to get off her chest.

“I know you’re not going to believe me, Jess, and I honestly can’t blame you, but everything I told you was true.” She caught his gaze, knowing he wouldn’t be able to look away until she released him. “Every. Single. Thing.”
 

She nodded once, then turned and did her best to drive home through a blur of tears.

“H
ow’d it go today, babe?” Max had been waiting for her outside the hotel when Veronica dropped her off, escorting her up to their room. He opened the room door, pausing to sniff before entering.
 

It was hard not to roll her eyes at how overprotective he was but it also warmed her more than a little. As unfeminist as it sounded, having a big, strong, alpha male watching over her made her feel safe. Not that she would ever admit that to him!

“Really great! They met up at the diner, made out in the alley and then went back to his place.”
 

The scandalized look on his face made her laugh. “Chill out, gramps. They’re in love.”

He pulled her into his arms and nuzzled her neck, sending tingles across the sensitive skin there.
 

“I know how that goes,” he mumbled.
 

“Only trouble was that she apparently smelled another
were
while they were making out,” breathed Bethany, barely able to form the words from the delightful sensations he was supplying. But as soon as they left her lips, Max froze.

“What?” He pulled back to search her face. “Tell me everything.”

“It was no biggie, Max,” she said, glancing at the bed longingly. As soon as they’d walked into the room, Bethany realized she was bone tired. Until that moment, she’d been running on the excitement of helping Veronica, but now that she was home, she crashed.
 

Max must have sensed her exhaustion and helped her onto the bed, pulled her bright green Crocs from her swollen feet and started rubbing. The ugly shoes were about all she could fit into these days.
 

“Now tell me what happened.”

“Oh God, Max,” she breathed in ecstasy, ignoring his request. He chuckled at her response, his fingers working magic on her soles.
 

“Spill, Mills.”

Bethany cracked open one eye and saw he was serious. Sighing, she tried to remember exactly what Veronica had said, which wasn’t easy with Max’s fingers taking her feet to previously unknown heights of pleasure.

“Um, she said they were going at it pretty good, uhhh, ooh, yeah, right there, babe.”
 

She collapsed back at the exquisite release he was providing. As each day of her pregnancy passed, her feet grew more and more weary. This was heaven.

“B? Keep going or I’ll stop.”

She mustered enough energy to prop her head up and glared at him before falling back against the covers again.
 

“Fine. Um, she said she smelled a male bear walk past the alley they were in. She hid herself against Jess, but assumed the bear could smell her, too. As soon as his scent faded, they left to go back to his place. Well, she dropped me off first, of course.”

“Did she recognize this bear?”

She shook her head slightly; it was all she could muster. “Uh uh. She was relieved about that.”

“Yeah, no doubt.” Max kneaded her foot for a moment, then switched to the other.
 

“Mmm, gooood…soooo goooood,” she moaned. How had he never given her a real footrub before? She made a mental note to request one every night from now until the baby was born. Seemed like it was the least he could do, especially when he did it so well.

After a few minutes in heaven, she realized she hadn’t asked about his day.

“It was pretty good,” he responded when she could form enough words to ask the question. “I met with the local clan elders and reviewed my subject’s file. Even had a short interview with him.”

“Mmm? What’s he like?” It was becoming increasingly difficult to form coherent thoughts, much less complete sentences. She felt, rather than saw, him shrug because her eyes were rolled back in her head in bliss.
 

“He’s a good prospect. A little arrogant. Reading between the lines, I think he’s been a bit of a player but he’s ready to settle down. He’s good looking and does quite well with the cannery he owns, so I don’t see any issues with finding him a mate.”

“If…he’s…so…great—“ She had to pause to catch her breath to finish the question between grunts. “Why…can’t…he find…his own…mate?” She finished with a loud sigh as Max dug his thumb into her instep.

“I never knew you liked footrubs so much,” he laughed. “I think I’ll have to incorporate this a little more often.”

“Yes, oh God yes!”

Laughing, he continued rubbing.
 

“Seems our guy has a bit of a reputation and has pretty much burned through most of the eligible females in town. I’m reviewing files from neighboring communities to see if I can find a suitable match.”

When he laid the foot he’d been working on down to the bed, Bethany cracked open an eye to see what he was up to. By the swell in his pants, he was clearly up to no good. Or rather,
really
good. A smile tweaked her tired mouth in encouragement.

“I’m just gonna go take a quick shower and then I’ll give you one of my patented full-body massages, how does that sound?” The twinkle in his eye was adorable.

“Mmmmm,” she managed as he padded to the bathroom.
 

She was asleep before the door closed.

~ * ~ * ~

Max strutted out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped low on his narrow hips, upper body glistening from the shower. He nearly barked out a laugh when he saw Bethany passed out on the bed where he’d left her. Poor thing was exhausted.
 

It wasn’t easy maneuvering her up the bed and under the covers without waking her but her sweet, light snore was worth the effort. His heart swelled as he looked down on her. He’d never thought he could love someone like this, much less a human. But fate was a funny thing.
 

He tucked the covers up around her neck and grazed his lips across her cheek. Whatever she mumbled in response was garbled nonsense but it made him smile anyway.
 

“Good night, my love,” he whispered.

Just then his phone chirped. He snatched it off the nightstand before it could wake Bethany and moved into the bathroom, closing the door gently behind him.

“Max Pearce,” he murmured into the phone, trying his best to be quiet.

“Hello? Is someone there?!” He held the phone away from his ear as the caller yelled. It was Elder Watkins, the leader of the Kodiak clan’s council who was also nearly deaf.

“Elder Watkins, this is Max,” he said, raising is voice to a normal level. “What can I do for you?”

Max opened the bathroom door and peeked out at Bethany’s motionless form. This volume didn’t seem to be disturbing her, so he closed the door again.