The Island Of Bears: A BBW Paranormal Romance (6 page)

As wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me, the sound coming out of my mouth was less of a cry and more of an outright yell, drowning out the sound of the crashing surf nearby. Holden was also making some rather loud noises, grunting and growling out his own release while he bounced me faster and faster on his hips, driving himself deeper and deeper inside of me.

Once our dizzying passion was finally spent, he just held me to his chest for a short while, breathing heavily, before lowering me to the ground, pulling himself out of me at the same time.

Nearly simultaneously, just as my toes touched the sand, a loud noise pierced the stillness of the evening yet again. But this time, the noise hadn’t come from Holden or me. This noise was like a blast of an air horn or something similar, seeming to be coming from far up the beach, toward the village. After a second or two, the blast repeated itself, then continued at regular intervals of the same amount of time. I couldn’t imagine what this noise meant. Though for some reason, it made a little chill dance along the back of my spine.  

CHAPTER FIVE

Holden had already put his jeans back on and was buttoning them by the fourth blast of the distant horn. He glanced up at me, and even in the dim light, I could see that his dark brows were drawn so closely together they were almost touching.

“That’s the alarm horn that’s sounded whenever an enemy breaches the village. I’m sure it’s the Forms. We had a hell of a time keeping them at bay today, though I thought they were contained. Guess I was wrong.” Pausing, he glanced back in the direction of the village before turning back to me. “We have to go immediately.”

Heart pounding, I glanced down at my body. “But... But I’m naked! I have to get dressed! Just go and deal with whatever you have to deal with. If the village really is being attacked by something, I’m probably safer here anyway.”

“All right. Stay put. And I mean that, Haley. Stay put, and I’ll come back for you as soon as I can.”

“Okay.”

He quickly pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

With that, he turned and began sprinting down the beach. When he was just about no longer visible, his body seemed to very abruptly turn into some sort of a massive black shape. The shape actually almost resembled a bear. I blinked, and the shape was already gone.

My mouth suddenly became dry, and I swallowed with difficulty, giving my head a little shake.

“No way. That’s insane. It’s not possible.”

Despite the night being warm, even for the island, I suddenly shivered, realizing that maybe Holden was right. Maybe I
was
a bit scared of admitting that supernatural things could be real. The words he’d written me in text flashed through my mind.
Being scared doesn’t mean a person isn’t strong; it just means they’re human.

But just as quickly as the possibility that I was simply scared crossed my mind, I dismissed the thought, shaking my head again. “No. Not a chance all that stuff is true. Holden is just into some seriously twisted delusions and mind games. And now you’ve slept with him. You’ve slept with a man who possibly kidnapped you.” Rolling my eyes, I paused for a second. “And now you’re talking to yourself, Haley. Brilliant. Maybe Holden’s right. Maybe you are ‘emotionally and mentally fragile.’”

Still muttering to myself, I gathered up my clothes, hastily dressed, and then began striding up from the beach to the jungle area bordering it, intending to find a log or a stump or something to sit on while I waited for Holden to return.

A short while later, I sat on a log, tracing designs in the sand with a stick, now finally quiet, out of things to say to myself, I supposed. The alarm siren had stopped, too, so now the only sound to be heard was the gentle crashing of the surf. I hoped Holden wasn’t going to be long doing whatever he was doing. I hoped he’d return right away. I was tired, and I was kind of mad at myself for sleeping with him, despite the fact that I’d very thoroughly enjoyed it, and I just wanted to go back to my cabin and go to bed.

Holden didn’t return right away. At least twenty minutes went by without any trace of him. After gazing up at the moon for a short while with my chin on my fists, I picked up my stick again and resumed tracing designs in the sand. And that was when I heard it. A low, faint growl, coming from somewhere very nearby behind me.

I froze, my breath seeming to catch in my throat. I didn’t want to turn. I didn’t want to do it with every fiber of my being. I was scared. Terrified, actually. But I knew I had to turn. I had to see what was behind me. Either that, or simply wait for some wild creature to attack me from behind. So, I gritted my teeth and simply forced myself to turn my head just far enough to look over my shoulder. And what I saw made me gasp.

Two pairs of glowing green eyes stared at me from inside the jungle, maybe only ten or fifteen feet away. I heard another low growl, followed by a distinct howl.
Wolves
. In a jungle. I couldn’t believe it. However, I knew I didn’t exactly have time to sit around stewing in denial. What was happening was happening, and I knew I had to deal with it. I had to act or I might soon be dead.

Springing up from the log, I brandished my stick, which was about the size of a baseball bat, but with a fairly sharp end. “Get away! Get back!”

I’d heard that a human voice could frighten wolves away, but these didn’t seem like any ordinary wolves. They actually crept closer after I’d spoken. Their green eyes glinted in the moonlight, and one of them snarled.

I began backing up to the beach, still brandishing my stick. “I mean it! Get the hell away from me!”

With my words seeming to have zero effect on them, the wolves continued creeping closer, their large, silvery bodies visible in the dim light now. I considered running, but I just knew I wouldn’t get very far. I had to hold my ground and scare them off somehow, or I would die. But other than shouting, I wasn’t quite sure what I could do.

Thrusting the sharp end of my stick forward in what I hoped was a menacing gesture, I yelled again, but this time the loudest I had yet. “You hear me? Get! Back! I’ll stab you with the sharp part of this stick! I’ll kill you!”

Though my legs were trembling so badly I was beginning to fear they wouldn’t hold me up much longer, I was sure going to try.

“I’ll kill you both!”

My words sounded absurd to my own ears. I knew the chance of me killing two wolves with nothing more than a sharp stick was slim to none. But I had to at least try. As scared as I was, I knew I couldn’t just lay down and die. I realized I just didn’t want my life to end like that.

As I came to a stop, then fought to maintain my position, not wanting to make myself appear vulnerable by continuing to step back even further, the wolves crept out from the jungle and came to a stop as well, no more than seven or eight feet away from me. The biggest one of the two snarled, revealing his sharp fangs, which appeared a silvery blue in the moonlight. Then, suddenly, he pounced. With a yell, I thrust my stick out, hoping to stab him with it. As he flew through the air, I reflexively closed my eyes, cringing, expecting some kind of a massive impact, either from him being stabbed with my stick, or from him knocking the stick away and landing on me.

The next split-second was the longest of my life, by far. It felt like minutes. Hours. I pictured the wolf ripping my throat out. I pictured myself bleeding to death in the sand. I pictured Holden’s face for some reason, with a pang in my heart because I thought I’d never see him again.

After the split-second had passed, no great, jarring impact came. I did, however, hear some sort of loud thud, something maybe like the impact of a body falling, or two bodies colliding. Then came growling, snarling, and a single mighty roar. These sounds were mere feet away from me, and I dared to open my eyes, already scuttling away backward on my jelly-like legs.

I was maybe twenty feet away when I saw clearly what was happening and fully comprehended it, too. A massive black bear was fighting the two silver wolves at once, seemingly enraged. He was slashing at one with a large, sharp-clawed paw while closing his powerful jaws around the other wolf’s throat, instantly drawing blood. Because of the dim light, it appeared black against the wolf’s silvery fur.

I had a little feeling who the huge black bear was. Stunned, I fell on my butt in the sand, trembling from head to toe. I was far too shocked to even talk to myself anymore. I was truly speechless, feeling as if my brain had short-circuited.

The fight didn’t last long. Maybe a minute, if that. When both wolves lay motionless in the sand bordering the jungle, the black bear suddenly shifted into Holden within the blink of an eye. He was shirtless but wearing jeans, same as he’d been when he’d left me.

After rolling his head from side to side, as if to work out some kink in his neck, he looked in my direction. “You okay?”

My voice came out in a squeak. “Yes.”

“Good.” After a quick look at the wolf carcasses, he began heading over to me. “Two Forms down, including the one who’s been causing us the most trouble recently, several more to go. I guess I just needed to get really pissed off to finally take those two out for good. Well, pissed off as a direct result of being absolutely terrified. Which is how I felt when I saw them about to hurt you.” Holden reached me, knelt down, and took me in his arms. “Please tell me that you’re really, really okay.”

I nodded with my face against his chest. “I really am. Quite a bit shaken up, and I’m sure I won’t be able to stand up on my shaky legs for a half-hour or more, but I’m fine. Thanks to you. And right now I just want you to hold me, Holden. Just hold me tight and don’t let go for a while.”

He did just that, sitting down himself, pulling me onto his lap, and then rocking me in his arms ever-so-gently while the waves crashed against the surf just a few feet away from us. I closed my eyes, reveling in the feeling of being completely safe.

At least ten minutes went by before Holden spoke, the sound a low, quiet rumble in his chest.

“Well, what’s the verdict? Are you going to tell yourself that you just hallucinated because I’ve drugged you or something, or are you finally ready to accept the truth, that this is a supernatural island, and I’m a shifter?”

I opened my eyes and lifted my face. “I believe you now. Finally. And I’m sorry I didn’t earlier. But I guess you were right... Maybe I
was
just a little scared.”

Holden’s eyes twinkled in the pale light. “A little?”

I gave him a playful punch to the ribs. “Fine. A lot. And I was even a thousand times more afraid when I was facing down those wolves, but somehow I think that actually helped me. I was petrified, but I realized I couldn’t just turn tail and run. I had to accept what was happening and face it head-on as best I could, because the alternative was a cowardly death, and I guess that just didn’t sit well with me. So, I faced them. And maybe that fear kind of helped to conquer my fear and denial in other areas as well.

Because when I saw you... When I saw you in bear form... I just knew it was you, and I believed completely. And now that I do... Well, even when you’re able to take me through the portal, I’m not so sure I want to go back right away. I think I want to stay on the island for a while. I want to stay here with you. If you want that, too, that is.”

Holden furrowed his dark brows, sighing. “I
do
want that. I want that more than anything. But before we can continue our new relationship in peace, I think we’re going to have some trouble first.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, there are still several Forms left. They escaped the village and began heading back to the lake before my men and I could catch them.”

“And you think they’re going to be back?”

“Most definitely. And angrier and more bloodthirsty than ever, since one of the wolves I killed tonight was their leader. They’ll want revenge. They’ll want to kill anyone and everyone in the village, especially you if they’re somehow able to determine that I care about you. Which is why....”

Holden paused, drawing his dark brows together even further still, seeming like he might not continue.

“Which is why what, Holden?”

Frowning hard, he took a deep breath before responding. “Which is why I’m going to take you back through the portal to Ellis Island the very first moment it’s possible. And you’ll stay in New York, safe and secure, for however long it takes me to kill the remaining Forms.”

Horrified, I just stared at him for a long moment. “But... From what I’ve heard, they’re very hard to kill, and it usually takes months for you and your men to kill just one. Meaning, unless you have several back-to-back banner nights like tonight, which, no offense, but that seems somewhat unlikely, it could be many months before you’ve killed every single one of the remaining Forms. It could be years, even.”

Holden spoke through clenched teeth. “Then so be it.”

“But—”

“I care about you, Haley, and I’ll do anything to keep you safe. Including being parted from you for a while. Tonight was just far too close a call for me to stomach, and the danger will only increase over the next several weeks. I’m sure there will be many more attacks before this is all over, and I just can’t take the chance that you could be hurt.”

“But—”

“My mind is absolutely made up about this. I’m taking you back to Ellis Island as soon as possible.”

With a whimper, I buried my face in his chest, feeling an actual ache in my own chest, as if my heart were breaking. I wouldn’t leave the island; I couldn’t. Not now that I knew Holden cared about me and I cared about him. Not now that he and I were on the brink of what I thought might be a very happy and fulfilling relationship.

I knew what I had to do. I had to find some way to help take out the remaining Forms, even if I had to do it alone, and behind his back. Now I just had to figure out a way to do that without getting myself killed.