Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Jessica) BBW Bear Shifter Menage Romance (Hope Valley BBW Dating App Romance Book 8) (18 page)

“I should be the one going with the bears,” Karen said.

“No, it’s better if you stay here with the phone, in case she manages to call, and look after the other two.”

“Okay,” Karen agreed, unusually compliantly.

The bears went over to Sophia’s nightshirt, which was lying on the tumble dryer, and took a deep sniff of it. It struck Madison that they’d waited to do that until they were in their bear forms.
They must get more benefit from their bear sense of smell
, she thought to herself. Madison stepped towards Brock and paused, still unable to believe that she should ride on his back. He crouched down, so his body was low to the ground, and she awkwardly lifted a leg and straddled his back. Trying not to kick him in the sides, she shuffled until her weight was dead center.
Wow, it feels really comfortable to sit like this
, she thought. And she did actually feel small in comparison to him. Her hands fluttered above his fur, before she dared to allow them to sink in and get a grip. His fur was so thick and luxuriant
.
He gave another purr, which she instinctively knew meant, “are you ready?”
She fastened up all the buttons on her coat and pulled her hood over her head, tucking it in as best she could.

“Ready,” she murmured. Karen opened the garage door.

“Be careful!” she called, and they went out into the night.

The wind was howling, blowing the snow back and forth. It was freezing, bitterly cold, and there wasn’t another living soul on the streets. At least there was no chance of the bears being seen. Trying to protect her face from the cold, she leaned forward until the bear’s soft fur tickled her nostrils.
What the heck,
she thought, and pushed her nose right into it. It was wonderfully warming, and suddenly she couldn’t feel the cold at all.

The bears ran through the small town and headed straight for the mountain, running in single file with Grayson and Riley at the front, and Brock bringing up the rear, moving more cautiously with Madison on his back.

Brock was confident they’d find Sophia if she was there, but he urged the other two on with calls, worried that she might catch hypothermia before they got to her. He wished that the situation wasn’t so urgent, so he could enjoy the experience of having Madison on his back. She felt so light, her sweet limbs wrapped around him and her soft breath tickling his neck. He wanted to be in his human form so he could flip around and pull her into his arms.
Maybe I’ll have another chance to speak to her later
, he thought. Although, he still had no idea whether she liked him or not, whether she was available. Things had been so chaotic since he’d plucked up the courage to walk across the road and speak to her. But at least getting over his bearish bashfulness had given him the opportunity to help find her niece.

Grayson and Riley reached the foot of the mountain and passed onto a narrow footpath that led right up to the summit. Brock didn’t know this part of the mountain too well, never having needed to ascend it from this side before. Grayson and Riley began to sniff now, trying hard to pick up Sophia’s scent. The snow made things very difficult, but it wasn’t long before they found it, and Grayson gave a loud call.

“They’ve picked up the scent, right?” Madison said, speaking right into his ear. He purred as reassuringly as he could.

Brock followed the other two as they galloped up the mountain. They came to a small plateau and then they veered off the path, turning onto an even narrower side track. Brock picked up the sound of running water from far off. It must be a waterfall in the ravine. And then he picked up a much stronger smell. It wasn’t just Sophia’s trail, it was the actual scent of her, along with three other humans. He followed Grayson and Riley around a bend, and they all came to a halt in front of a beat-up wooden cabin. There were two windows at the front and it looked to be almost dark inside.

Grayson walked right up to it and sniffed. Then he purred. Brock crouched down low, and he felt Madison’s weight shifting as she figured out that she could get off his back. She climbed off and started towards the door, and he jumped towards her and tugged on the backpack.

“Oops, sorry. Shall I wait for you to shift?” she said. The three bears looked at each other. They had no idea what was going on behind that door. If there was any danger, it would be much better for them to be in their bear forms. But, otherwise, it would be more convenient for them to be in their human forms. He nodded to the other two. Having no way of telling Madison to avert her eyes, he just began to shift. As his muscles contracted and his bones snapped, she took the hint, rummaging in the backpack and pulling out some clothes. By the time he stood naked before her, she was handing him the items that she’d correctly identified as his. He dressed quickly, shivering in his human form.

“Madison, can you stay back, behind that tree, until we know what’s going on?” he said.

“Sure,” she said, doing as he asked. Then he ran towards the door. There was some light coming from underneath it, but it was very weak. His nostrils told him that a fire had been lit in there. Grayson and Riley came up behind him, and he twisted the door handle and eased the door open.

The door swung wide open on rotten hinges, revealing a very dilapidated room with a small stove in the center, and four terrified children sitting around it, huddled into tiny balls. He gave a laugh of relief.

“Madison! They’re here!” he yelled. She rushed in and let out a cry when she saw Sophia.

“Sophia, honey!” she yelled, and one of the two girls stood up and threw herself into Madison’s arms. Madison squeezed her tight, then held her at arms’ length.

“Are you hurt? Has anything happened to you?” she demanded.

“No,” Sophia said, in between sobs. “We just came up here, as we often do, and then it started to snow a lot and we couldn’t get back. It’s so cold up here and we all got really scared.”

“Why would you think it was a good idea to hang out in a crappy old shack when the forecast was saying there was going to be a blizzard?” Madison said.

“I didn’t realize. We just wanted to hang out. Marshall said it would be okay.” Madison swung around to face the two boys.

“Which one of you is Marshall?” she yelled. One of them raised a trembling hand. “You! You could have got these girls – and yourself – killed. Do you realize that?” Brock stared at her, in awe of the passion that raged inside her; at her protective instincts towards her niece. “You’ve been so irresponsible!” she continued, stepping towards the boy, fists clenched. But then she stopped herself and took a long, deep breath. “We can talk about this later, and I’ll be speaking to each of your parents, you can guarantee that. But for now, let’s figure out how we’re going to get you home.”

Brock stepped forward.

“Are you cold?” he asked the kids. They all nodded. “Let me feel your hands,” he said to Sophia, and she held them out. “They’re like ice. Do you feel faint? Sleepy? Confused?” she shook her head. “And the rest of you?” He felt all of their hands. “You’ll be lucky if you don’t have hypothermia. First, I think we’ll need to build the fire up to help you raise your core temperature, and then we’ll get you down the mountain.”

Madison looked at the stove. There were only a few small pieces of timber burning, giving out very little heat.

“We just found the wood lying around here,” Sophia said.

“I can see that,” Madison said grimly.

“I’ll get some more. Hold on a moment.” Brock stepped outside and was pleased to see that Grayson and Riley had found a load of wood and piled it up by the door.

“Thank you,” he said, his heart warming with gratitude for his uncle and cousin. They were the best relatives a bear could hope to have. The two of them were lying down under the overhanging eaves of the cabin, waiting to see what would happen next. “The kids are all fine. We just need to warm them up a little before we take them down the mountain.” They both nodded calmly.

He went back inside the cabin with an armful of tree branches.

“The guys just gathered them for me,” he explained in response to Madison’s questioning expression. “And they’re dry enough. They must have been protected from the worst of the wet.”

“Great!” Madison said, flashing him a beautiful smile, and he felt his heart heating again, but in a completely different way.

Brock broke up the wood with his hands and pushed it inside the stove. Then he found a metal cauldron and filled it with wood as well, working at it patiently until a flame caught. He put it in the doorway of the cabin and left the door open a little.

“It may get smoky in here, so if it’s bothering you, let me know.” The kids nodded vigorously. They all looked like terrified children, far younger than their years.

Within ten minutes, the cabin was warm. Madison stood by the door, doing her best to waft the smoke out. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best they could do. He kept glancing at her, impressed by her practicality and strength of spirit. Her jaw was set tight, as he imagined his own was. They were both bursting to yell at the kids, but he could tell that Madison recognized as well as he did that they needed to keep their spirits up, as that was an important part of avoiding hypothermia.

Half an hour later, Brock asked each of the kids how they were feeling.

“About 20 percent warmer,” Sophia said, and the others said the same. “Ok, that should be enough. It’s not a long journey back.”

“But we can’t walk down there. There’s a blizzard!” Marshall exclaimed.

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed,” Brock said drily. “Shame you didn’t consider that possibility before you dragged everyone up here.” The boy hung his head, looking like he was trying to make himself as small as possible. Brock looked from the girls to the boys, thinking. At last, he made an executive decision. He figured that Madison might just kill the two boys if she was left alone with them, and the girls would benefit from the extra time in front of the fire.

“Ok, boys, let’s go,” he said, clapping his hands. They got to their feet quickly. “Who’s ridden on the back of a bear before?” he said, just before he opened the door to the cabin. They shook their heads in deep confusion. “Well, it’s your lucky day. Just climb on, hold tight, and they’ll do the rest. Do you live near the town square?” They nodded. “Ok, that’s where they’ll drop you. Now, don’t be scared; they’re gentle souls.” He opened the door and led them outside. Grayson and Riley were waiting, their lips drawn back in broad bear-grins. The other boy, the one who hadn’t yet spoken, squeaked in fear. “Come on.” Brock guided him with a hand in the small of his back, while giving the bears a wink. He helped him to climb onto Grayson’s back. “Grab tight onto his fur to help you hold on. Don’t worry about hurting him – he’s a tough old bear. Yeah, that’s it.” The boy clung onto Grayson’s fur with trembling hands. “Ok, off you go,” Brock landed a playful slap on Grayson’s haunch, as if he was a donkey, and he was treated to a growl, which made the boy whimper.

“Ok, Marshall, come here. As much as I’d like to make you walk all the way, here’s your trusty steed.” Riley snorted and pawed the ground.

“Is he going to kill me?” Marshall screamed, his voice breaking.

“Not unless you make him mad,” Brock replied with a smirk. “Climb on, like this.” He helped him on. “You’re good to go.” He watched as the bears trotted off with the terrified boys on their backs. He’d decided that telling the kids as little as possible about shifters was the way to go. And maybe they’d be so disoriented that they’d think they had hallucinated the whole thing.

Back inside the cabin, Madison was chatting to the two girls, and they seemed more relaxed.

“I’m never speaking to Marshall ever again,” he heard Sophia say.

“Me neither! He made us feel like we were being immature from not coming up here with him and Jaiden,” her friend Marina said. Brock sat down next to them.

“If you put yourself in a position where you’re relying on someone else for your safety, you need to make sure that person is worthy of your trust,” he said. Madison threw him a glance, her expression full of gratitude. She looked so beautiful in the firelight – strong and glowing, with big soft eyes.

“And we missed the parade,” Sophia said.

“He said it was for losers,” Marina added.

“But the parade is something very special. I don’t know of another town in the state – or in the whole of America – that has something like that. It’s really important to keep these old traditions alive,” Madison said.

“The world is getting full of corporations, the same chain stores are filling all of our towns, and everything is starting to look the same. When you find something that’s different, you have to protect and enjoy it,” Brock said, and he couldn’t resist glancing at Madison. Was she thinking the same thing as him? Or was he just imagining an ember of desire in her eyes?

At last there was a scrabbling sound at the door. Brock went out.

“All ok?” he asked the two bears. They made a grunting sound that meant yes. “Ok, we’ll be out in a moment.” He brought the cauldron outside and extinguished the flames with a handful of snow, and he examined the stove, before deciding that it was safe to leave it to burn itself out.

“Ok, girls, we’re good to go,” he said. “This is going to come as a bit of a shock to you, but your rides down the mountain are in the form of two large bears. They’re very gentle and stable, so please don’t be scared. Just sit tight, and you’ll be home before you know it.” The girls both nodded, full of trust for the person who’d just saved their lives. He helped them onto Riley and Grayson’s backs and he showed them where to hang on, before tucking their hoods tightly around their faces.

“I’ll see you girls at home,” Madison called as the bears trotted off down the mountain again. “I think I owe those guys a few beers for their efforts,” she said to Brock. He laughed.

“Don’t worry about it. The fact that we were able to help is enough for us.”

They walked back inside the cabin together. It was now toasty warm. He had a wild urge to kiss Madison, to strip her and himself and mate on the floor for hours, in the light of the fire. Their eyes met and they held each other’s gaze for a long moment.

“Oh, sorry, I should go outside while you shift,” she said with a nervous laugh, breaking through the silence.

“Uh, I guess so.” She stepped outside, moving slowly –
unwillingly?
he wondered. He took his clothes off and put them back in the backpack, then he shifted quickly.

Outside, he handed the backpack to her, using his teeth, and she put it on, before climbing onto his back, more confidently than before.

She lay down flat and clung on tight, enabling him to move quickly. The snow was heavy, making visibility poor, and the vicious wind stung his sensitive nose. The journey only took 20 minutes or so, but it couldn’t be over fast enough. He was eager to get back and make sure that everyone was ok.