Once Upon a Shifter (89 page)

“Wow, tough life you two,” Matt chimed in, “a sex maniac wife that stays out of your way and takes care of your child? That’s got to be rough. And you? Marrying just about the hottest girl in the camp and complaining? Seriously?”

“Shut up, you don’t understand,” Troy said. “I barely know her. Plus…”

“
Know
her?” Matt laughed. “What’s there to know? Killer body, easy-going, up for anything, gorgeous baby face. You are so messed up! Wait. Don’t tell me you are still hung up on that chubby girl from school,” Matt rolled his eyes. “Honestly, what did you even see in her—“

His words were interrupted as Troy jumped faster than the blink of an eye and in a moment he was straddling him on the couch, pinning his throat down with his large, rough hands. Matt’s eyes bulged out and his lips curled to reveal his snow-white shiny incisors. A loud growl rumbled out of his constricted throat. A vein was pulsing on Troy’s burning forehead as he clenched his fingers even more tightly around his brother’s muscular neck. Suddenly, something blew him out of the way and he landed on the floor underneath the window, his head thumping against the rough wood of the log wall.

“You two, cut the crap!” Chase scolded in a serious, authoritative voice. “You, cut these cigars already! And you,” he pointed at Troy who was picking himself up from the floor, panting and rubbing the back of his head, “stop whining! You know very well
why
you are doing this and if you are having second thoughts, you need to say so now before all the clan’s future is blown to shit!”

“Fine, you are right,” Troy said quietly, “but I don’t want to hear another word about Keyla. Is that clear?” he scowled at Matt, who was still rubbing the stinging red marks on his neck.

“Sure, whatever,” he said indignantly, “but, for the record, I’d love to shack up with Corin, if you really are having second thoughts.” Matt ducked down to avoid the beer bottle that flew through the air with a swishing sound and smashed against the wall above his head, spilling shards of glass and froth all over him. He opened his eyes and brushed off the glass pieces off his ruined white shirt. “Look at this,” he said, grinning like a happy child, “not a drop on these.” He waved the three cigars triumphantly in the air.

Ignoring him, Chase stood closely in front of Troy, taking his red, flaming face in his hands and steadying his trembling with rage jaw.

“Listen to me,” he said quietly, “what you are doing is noble. Just take a look outside. What do you see? A bloodbath? Cut-off limbs and scratched faces? Open wounds and yelling and blood-spattered claws? No. I see flowers and laughter and happiness. I see peace. And it’s all because of you. When our father chose you as the new leader and made you king of the clan, I have to admit, I was broken, but now I see why he did it. You have the right mind and the strength to turn our destiny around. Marrying Corin might not be what your heart
needs
right now, but this is bigger than you. If the wedding will sustain the peace between centuries-old enemies and help us grow and raise our children free from fear and hatred, you are doing the right thing.”

Troy swallowed with difficulty, his breath evening out and the bear inside him subsiding, his body regaining its composure. Chase was right. Their clan, the Shadow Bears, had lost its dignity, its territories and its strength with the sudden death of their father. They had lived a miserable existence of running and hiding, looking for a new domain for years. The Blackstone Bears had quickly taken advantage of the instability among the Shadow Bears’ ranks and found the perfect moment to attack, scattering Troy’s divided clan and claiming the lands they had roamed and hunted in for centuries. Now, after years of nomad existence setting up camps across the mountain ranges all over Montana, what was left of the Shadow Bears had finally settled in a small log cabin campsite in the hills of Snow Crest Range, right above the quiet, idyllic village of Bear Cove.

They had taken up carpentry, selling their craft in the famous furniture stores of Bear Cove, and finally resumed hunting, only very cautiously in order not to attract the eyes of the enemy. The children had started going to the local school and even Troy and Matt went to finish up their studies. They had befriended the locals and established business relationships with the furniture dealers, though they kept their distance and reduced all kinds of interaction with humans to the bare minimum, afraid that they would be chased away if anyone found out their real nature.

Normally, bears weren’t the type to set up camps or live together in any organized manner. They were loners, hunters, predators at heart, but for the Shadows it was a necessity. Their shared history had forced them to come together for protection. It had been quite hard at first to learn to share and mind each other’s interests. Fights were not uncommon even among the clan’s members, but little by little they had managed to settle into the new routine and pay their respects to their leader from up close.

The peace hadn’t lasted for too long. They had soon been discovered by the Blackstone informers and shortly afterwards the rival alphas paid them a visit. Troy had managed to convince them not to tear their settlement to pieces but only at the price of merging the two clans through a union between him and the daughter of a prominent local Blackstone alpha, Corin. He had seen her in school, but that was all. They didn’t move in the same circles and had never even been alone together. Now he was tying his destiny and future to hers until the end of times and his entire self rebelled against it. His bear was fuming and raging inside him, threatening to burst out and fight and every day it took more and more strength and energy to contain him, keep him at bay. He knew the time for a fight hadn’t come yet. The clan was sparse and weak and they were still dozens of Shadow Bear brothers and sisters lost in the woods, making their slow way towards them, if they ever made it at all. What they needed now was peace.

A startling noise pulled him back to the present and he turned to see Matt doubled up on the couch, surrounded by a thick cloud of smoke, retching and coughing, his face swollen and red from the exertion. Troy hurried over to him and stroke his back a few times with his open palm.

“Who the hell thought this was a good gentlemanly pastime?” Matt managed to spit out between spasms. He was still holding the cigar, which gave out a filmy ribbon of smoke that stung their eyes. “My insides are burning! Get this thing away from me. I’m done and once again I’ve convinced myself humans are weird.”

Chase was laughing at the miserable face of his brother who was still coughing when a beautiful blond head peeked in from the crack in the massive wood door. It was Shona.

“Sorry to interrupt bachelors… and husband,” she giggled, her eyes exaggeratedly closed, “hide the strippers, I’m coming in.”

“Ha-ha, funny,” Matt groaned, “with these two, it’s a wonder you didn’t find us raking leaves or cutting wood
for fun
. You sure scored there with a hilarious husband, Shona.”

“Hey, no bashing the husband in front of me, remember? I get…umm, irritable.”

Everyone laughed, knowing Shona wasn’t even joking. On more than a few occasions she had been known to jump straight into a fight to defend her husband, despite her slight figure. She was much smaller than the tall, magnificent-figured Shadows, but then again, she was the only human accepted into the family. With her fiery temperament and her natural inclination to boss others around, it wasn’t her who was scared by the family of gigantic bear shifters. More often than not, it was the other way around.

“And what exactly is going on with
you
?” she indicated Matt’s wet shirt front and tousled, dripping hair. “Anyway, no time for explanations. You better fix yourself quickly. I think the show is about to start… I mean, the wedding. How are you feeling, Troy?”

“As excited as I’m ever going to get,” Troy mumbled gloomily.

“Oh, come on now, there is nothing wrong with Corin. I’m sure she is nice, or at least not so bad. We owe you everything, you know that, right?”

The bear inside him scratched at his insides, giving him yet another warning that he was making a mistake.

Chapter 3

Corin

Corin twirled in front of the full-length mirror and stopped breathless and dizzy, the cloud of satin and lace settling about her with a sigh. Her long veil had caught on a gem in the intricate handmade embroidery of the wide green sash wrapped around her waist and a girl quickly dove forward to untangle it. Corin smiled, more at her own breathtaking beauty than at what lied ahead for her. Her delicate features were lightly accentuated with discreet makeup and sprays of baby’s breath were woven into her flowing, glistening blond hair.

“But he doesn’t even speak!” she whined without tearing her gaze from her sparkling white reflection. “I can’t believe dad would make me go through with this! What am I supposed to do? Sure, he is good looking, but a marriage is more than just mating…”

“You really are short-sighted, Corin,” an older woman with regal features and a soft, motherly voice said and came to stand next to Corin, “this marriage will make you a queen, can’t you see this? You think a queen’s job is to walk around, happily skipping, hand in hand with her perfect king? You’ll have your own clan to rule over and protect, remember that.”

“Right, a clan of poor, degenerate Shadow Bears, that’s just great, mom,” Corin exhaled heavily and turned around to inspect her hair.

“You are wrong about that, my little cub,” Aria, Corin’s mother whispered confidentially, “The Shadows are anything but degenerate. Don’t look at them now with their thin lines and broken spirit. They are an ancient clan with a glorious past and deeply rooted traditions. There was a time when all other clans bowed their respects to the Shadows and didn’t even think about trespassing their territories.”

Corin rolled her eyes and leaned in closer to the mirror to check her sharp teeth. She didn’t care much about history. She was a young, reckless bear that was just as interested in blood and power, as she was in grooming and clothing. A warrior at birth, she was an even match for the strongest bear maidens across all clans. Also, there was hardly a bear vainer than Corin, who derived great pleasure from playing with the hearts and heads of humans, making them lose their minds about her and then walking away. Her games were over now. The bear bonds were much stronger and a lot more highly respected than those of humans. A bear bond was forever, and she was still fighting her overwhelming animal instinct that was warning her against the marriage.

The door to the small room opened with a bang and an enormous man walked in, bending his head forward, so as not to hit the doorframe.

“Out,” he growled and the women and girls who had gathered to help Corin get ready for the altar all sprung up and scurried out in a single file. The man slammed the door shut after the last one of them and in two long strides loomed over Corin. He leaned in and wrapped his arm around her small waist, pulling her back towards him. Corin just gasped at the sudden movement, but didn’t fight him. Her bear was quiet and pliant in his arms. He rammed one of his giant hands inside her cleavage and dug his steel fingers around her soft, heavy breast. She sighed delightedly and closed her eyes as he pressed her slender figure against his hard, muscular body. She could feel his massive erection swelling in his pants, poking at her through the layers upon layers of her wedding dress skirts. He bent down and snatched the hem of her dress, pulling it up roughly until his hand rested on the inside of her delicate, smooth thigh. Between the slow, circular strokes of her stiffened nipple and the gentle rubbing of her moistened wedding underwear, along the fold just above her most sensitive spot, she moaned lustfully and slumped into his embrace, her legs suddenly weakened with the spreading warmth of her arousal. The man leaned his shoulders down and his rough stubble grazed against the milky, almost luminous skin of her cheek.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered weakly, twisting her body to give him better access to her burning parts and to increase the sweet friction that was muddling her head and making her forget where she was and what she was preparing for.

“So you like that?” He whispered back into her ear, his hot, tingling breath making the tiny hairs on the back of her neck rise and a shudder wash all over her body. He started rubbing his hard erection steadily and rhythmically against her tight, childlike ass, and she whimpered, helplessly bucking back to meet him through the thick laces and satins. She longed for him to slip a finger inside her, or even better, throw her on the floor and climb on top of her, ripping her apart with the huge, throbbing cock she knew only too well. Sensing that she was so wet and turned on, her entire body was trembling in anticipation in his arms, he suddenly retreated, leaving her to gasp for air, her insides flaming with desire.

“What are you doing, Damien?” Corin managed to utter between her heavy with lust breaths. She smoothed down her skirts and looked up at him in the mirror. “You can’t just come in here and do this to me. You know we need to be careful now. In a few hours, I’ll be the Shadows’ queen and you’ll get everything you want.”

“Everything I want?” he grumbled, “I want
you
, Corin. Our bears are made for each other. I can’t just stand there and watch you promise yourself to a Shadow. I don’t think I’ll be able to control my grizzly. It’s already thrashing about, waiting. I don’t think I’ll even make it through the wedding.”

“Sure you are, you can’t back out now, I’m doing this for us.” Corin fixed the stray locks that had fallen out of order and tucked in the flowers securely among the sleek waves of her hair. “I can get the
job
done on the first wedding night even. No bear lost in the heat of a shattering orgasm can fight my claws. Now, you just need to be patient. If you wait to climb the ranks of the Blackstones, you’ll never get there. But soon I’ll give you your own clan. You’ll be the king of the Shadows, and I, your queen.”