Coming Soon to BackerKit – Read It Months Before It Hits The Shelves
Ivy thought she’d found one of the good ones, a nice guy who respected her wishes, the guy all of her friends liked…and then they head to his family’s lake house for a night to watch for an expected meteor shower. But Neill had his own plans in mind and when Ivy said no, he didn’t like it.
Enter the bear.
Jonah, on a hiking trip with his best friend, Liam, after the unexpected death of the clan’s Alpha, and Jonah’s grandfather, is enjoying the last few hours of freedom he’ll know for some time. He’s known for a while he’ll be stepping into his grandfather’s shoes. With the countdown ticking away, he relishes the peace and quiet. But then it’s shattered by the shouts of an angry, frightened woman and both Liam and Jonah take off running to investigate.
Just as they reach the edge of the property, the woman shouts, “You’re the reason why women choose the bear, Neill.“
Now…Jonah abides by the laws governing supernaturals. He doesn’t reveal himself to be a shapeshifter and he plays nice with humans. But walking out there in his bear skin isn’t really revealing himself. And predators deserve to be frightened, don’t they?
His first look at Ivy upends his entire world.
Now isn’t the time for him to fall in love. He has a clan to care for, challenges to hold off. It doesn’t help that there’s something…different about Ivy. Very different.
And none of it matters. Love doesn’t believe in being convenient and Jonah and Ivy on are a collision course. Will she choose the bear…and will his bear choose her?
Chapter One
Ivy
Would you rather be stuck in the forest with a man or a bear?
It wasn’t until now, on this particular date, that I really understood just how right I’d been to answer, the bear.
Don’t get me wrong, I understood the debate on a philosophical level. Don’t most women?
But getting it on a philosophical level and having it really driven home by the so-called ‘nice guy’ you’ve been dating? Two vastly different things.
I’ll give Neill Brady credit where credit is due. He managed to fool me, my friends, my co-workers—hell, my brother and sisters had come up here for the 4th and they had liked him. My siblings don’t like anybody I date.
Almost everybody I knew liked him. The only person I knew that didn’t sing his praises was my roommate, Dallas. But Dallas was…different and openly admitted he hated just about everybody. Well, except me and his partner.
Neill opened doors for me. He often paid for our dates but when we’d first started going out, he’d understood my desire to pay for my own meals.
He worked at the same company where I did—he was the owner’s son. I’d had a knee-jerk response about dating him because of that and had turned him down the first couple of times he asked me out. He’d taken the rejections well so the third time he asked, I’d given in.
I wanted to go Dutch; he didn’t disagree. He never talked down to me and there was no mansplaining.
No red flags. Zero.
He must have been saving them for a special occasion because damn, all I saw now were red flags. Well, that and his suddenly punchable face.
We’d come out here to Mom’s cabin on Moosehead Lake to watch the Perseids meteor shower. We dated for weeks with no sign of him being a creep, otherwise, I wouldn’t have come.
A few minutes ago, everything changed. We were laying on the blanket we’d spread out on the grassy shore by the lake and he rolled toward me and grabbed my boob like he was seizing an orange from a stack of fruit in the produce section. After a frozen moment or two of shock, I’d shoved him away and jumped to my feet.
“Why are you playing so hard to get, Ivy?” His mouth twisted in what I thought might be an attempt at a sexy smolder. He only looked constipated as he prowled closer.
If I wasn’t so scared—and pissed—I might have laughed. But I was too busy focusing on keeping distance and his sports car between us.
“Neill,” I said, somehow managing to keep my voice level. “You need to back the hell off. Just get in your car and go for all I care. But leave me alone.”
“Just go?” He was still smiling. Was this a game to him? “We’re an hour and a half away from the home, Ivy. You really want me to leave you out here in the woods…alone?”
“I’m not afraid of the dark, Neill,” I said coolly. “But I am not getting in that car with you. Leave.”
“What are you so worked up about, babe?” Licking his lips, he lowered his eyes to stare at my tits. “It’s not like you didn’t know this was coming. We’ve been going out for almost two months.”
“Five weeks, Neill. Five weeks. And I don’t owe you sex.” I sidestepped to the right several paces. “I did not come out here with you planning on fucking you—or getting groped.”
“Quit playing.” He finally stopped circling the car and planted his hands on the hood, leaning closer. “The chasing thing is cute but I’ve had enough of your cock-teasing. Come on, baby. Let’s go inside…I’ve got a nice, big soft bed…and a big, hard cock waiting for you.”
Revulsion coursed through me. My foot scraped over a rock. Nervously, I circled it with my foot, trying to gauge its size. “I’m not going inside with you. I’m not sleeping with you. And I’m not playing games—I want you to get in your car and go.”
He lunged at me over the car. I stooped and grabbed the rock and dashed around the vehicle. We looked ridiculous—we had to. He ended up in a sprawl and clambered to his feet, cursing and jerking at his shirt while I eyed the house and wondered if I could get inside and lock myself in—preferably somewhere with a phone.
But he was already trying to move on me again. Damn it.
I pulled my arm back, preparing to hurl the rock right at his pretty face. “Take one more step and I’ll brain you with this,” I warned him.
That made him draw up short. “You’re taking this game too far.”
“That’s because I’m not playing,” I told him. “I said no and that means no. Leave me alone.”
Something finally clicked. His jaw fell open. The blindingly bright motion-activated light by the garage highlighted his expression. Blood surged to his cheeks, turning them a dull, ruddy shade and his eyes narrowed. Fury tightened every line of his face.
“What the fuck is your problem?” he shouted.
“You!” Flinging an arm at him, I said, “Just get in the damn car and leave me alone. I’ll find my own way home.”
He stalked toward me and I sidestepped yet again, keeping up that crazy little evasive dance so the car stayed between us. Now my back was to the thick stand of trees at my back. Maybe I should run into them. Neill wouldn’t dare follow me. The closest he got to nature was stretching out on a blanket by the lake on the nice, neatly manicured lawn between the shore and the urbane, professionally decorated cabin. But I was wearing sandals—I didn’t mind dealing with the woods at night. I did mind dealing with a broken ankle.
“Get in the fucking car, Ivy. If you’re going to be that uptight, I’ll fucking take you home. Damn bitch. But I’m not leaving you alone at my family cabin because you turned out to an ice-cold prude.” He curled his lip at me.
A prude. I might have laughed. I even opened my laugh to comment, but the very moment I did, a strange, eerie quiet swept over us. The birds went silent. The dog-day cicadas went silent. Even the loud, busy bullfrogs shut up. It was so quiet, I heard the water lapping on the shore. I heard Neill’s short, aggressive breaths…and nothing else.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and awareness shivered down my spine.
If I’d dared, I would have looked over my shoulder into the forest, but I couldn’t look away from Neill. Every instinct screamed that he was the real threat.
Yet something watched me from the woods. I knew it in my gut. There was something there watching both me and Neill.
Neill…hot anger surged inside. My right boob actually hurt from how hard he’d grabbed me. I had the insane urge to lunge at him and tear my nails down his face, drive my knee into his balls so hard he choked on them. He had the nerve to call me a prude? I wanted to hurt him, badly, but I didn’t dare risk getting so close to him. I’d gotten away once. I couldn’t count on doing it again.
“See this?” I held up my phone and checked the screen, doing it in a flash. I had bars. Only three, but there was a small town just a couple miles away and the terrain around here was mostly flat, just covered in a dense thicket of trees. A few miles north and it was a wholly different story. Flicking a look back at Neill, I edged sideways as he sidled my way. Hitting the icon for the safety app, I darted another look at him while nerves chittered loudly in the back of my head. Still, I kept up a nonchalant smile. “I’ve got bars. And I’m calling my roommate right now.”
“I told you I’d take you home. Stop with the bullshit,” he snapped, face twisting. “Get in the fucking car, Ivy!”“
“Are you nuts? Guys like you are why women choose the damn bear, Neill! I’d rather walk home than get in that fucking car!”
A low, menacing growl came from the trees.
We both froze.
The sound of a branch breaking echoed like the sound of gunfire and I flinched.
A ripple of alarm raced up my spine as Neill’s gaze shot past my shoulder and his face paled, going moon-white in the harsh light coming from overheads.
He opened his mouth, closed it. Slowly, I shifted position, not daring to turn because I didn’t trust Neill enough to give him my back.
The motion-activated light in the driveway didn’t extend too far in the darkness.
It was a moonless night, perfect for the meteor shower I’d thought I’d be enjoying with my almost-perfect boyfriend.
But the motion-activated light provided enough light for me to see a huge, shaggy shape as it shambled it out of the dark treeline, stopping just a few yards shy of true visibility.
My mouth went dry.
We lived in Maine.
Sure, we saw bears around here. But they usually didn’t approach humans…and that shape looked massive. Black bears around here rarely got bigger than three or four hundred pounds and this one…
As I watched, it rose onto its hind legs and craned its head before taking one step, then another forward, boldly walking into the circle of light where the car was parked—and where we waited.
“You wanted the fucking bear!” Neill said in a hiss. “You got the fucking bear.”
I swallowed and a dry clicking sound came from my throat. Slowly, I lifted my hands and backed up a step.
“Easy,” I told the bear. “Easy…”
Its big head swung toward me, cocked curiously. The ears flickered and then it was looking back up at the car.
The car door slammed and the bear growled again, dropping down on all fours. It took several lumbering steps forward. Every instinct screamed I had to run.
“Easy,” I said again, voice still somehow calm. My knees shook as I backed up. “Easy, big guy. I’ll stay out of your way. You stay out of mine.”
The bear kept plodding forward, but as I backed away, moving as quick as I could without rushing it, its attention seemed locked on the car.
Something pounded next to me, and I jumped, yelping.
“Keys!”
Neill was staring at me through the window with wide, panicked eyes.
Not comprehending, I just gaped at him.
The bear roared.
It was a sound I felt all the way done to my bones.
Shaking, I backed up so fast, I fell on my ass and that was when the bear lunged.
Neill screamed—and kept his ass in the car.
Chapter 2
Jonas
She smells sweeter than honey.
There was nothing better, in my opinion, than spending a cool summer night out under the night sky, waiting for a meteor shower after a long day of hiking. We’d hunted for our dinner—in our human skins instead of in bear form—then cooked our food over a campfire and banked so it would die down well before the meteors were expected to start streaking across the sky.
We’d taken a week to go hiking and tomorrow, we had to head home. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
As a rule, I didn’t like people. My friends and family were the exceptions and even them, I preferred to handle in limited doses. But once we got back home, I’d be dealing with people on a regular basis. There was no help for it.
Pops was gone and he’d named me as his successor.
My grandfather, my Alpha, was dead. And he wanted me to lead the Den now that he had passed on.
I would have thought the old man was out of his mind, except I knew the old goat had been sharper than steel right up until the day he was taken from us.
I knew my den mates. None of them would have a chance of stepping into Pops’s size thirteen shoes. I’d feel like a fraud for trying but at least he’d been training me to take his place. And I had the strength to hold the den together.
Your father doesn’t think so. Now that the mourning period is over, he’s going to make an issue of it. That annoying voice had been getting louder all day but I ignored it. I still wasn’t back home and my asshole father still hadn’t challenged me. Until he did, there was nothing I could do about it so why worry about things I couldn’t change?
The turmoil would start within hours of me arriving home. We were bears. We liked our traditions. Mom would have smacked my father around and knocked him down a peg if he tried to step out of line while I was gone, but I didn’t want to put any more stress on her than I had to. She missed Pops as much as I did, even if they weren’t related by blood.
Pops, the larger-than-life figure who’d ruled the Mahoosuc Bear Den for nearly seven decades, had been more of a father to Mom than her own had been, and she, likewise, had been more of a child to him than my own miserable dad had even tried to be.
And that prick wondered why in the hell he hadn’t been named the Alpha’s successor.
“Brooding about your asshole of a father?”
Looking up, I found Liam watching me with sympathetic eyes. We were cousins on my mom’s side, two or three times removed, and he was as Irish as he looked, red-haired, green eyes and so pale, I was surprised he didn’t glow in the dark. Sometimes, I teased him that he had three animal forms—human, bear and human-lobster, because ten minutes in the sun turned him a glorious shade of red. He never actually burned—at least, not to the point that it pained him, because as bear-shifters, we just healed too fast. But he sure as hell turned as red as a cooked lobster.
The color he’d picked up over the day had already faded from his skin, leaving him all but glowing in the faint light as he watched me.
“I’m fine, Lob,” I told him.
He flipped me off with a sour smile. “Fuck you.”
“Sorry, you need Max for that. He’s the brother that goes both ways, not me.”
Liam sighed and flopped back on his back, braiding his fingers under his head for a pillow. “You’re not half as funny as you think you are, old man.”
We resumed our study of the sky, although it was probably another two hours before prime viewing. We’d found a place in the forest where a forest giant had fallen, leaving a cleared swath in the canopy. The lake was close by and I could smell the clean, fresh scent of water as well as the tantalizing aroma of fresh fish. Hmmm…fish. Even though we’d eaten recently, a bear always had room for fish.
“You made your decision on being my beta?” I asked quietly.
“If you sure that’s what you want.”
“You’re the only one I trust enough.” He ought to know that by now. “Max is too young—and he’s too hot-headed. Fuck, Magnus would try to provoke him into a challenge just to hurt me.” Maximus Anderrson—named such because he was a grandson of Erik Anderrson and deserved that honor, not because of his genetic connection to Magnus. Magnus, my father, had only sired the one kid—me, and then his territorial instincts had come out in a bad way, turning him into an abusive prick who thought being alpha meant deriding and tearing everybody around him down.
The den, as a whole, had united against him even before Pops had stepped up and officially cast him out of the line of succession, claiming poor temperament.
Magnus wasn’t allowed in den territory, not even to hunt.
He could hunt and shift in the land outside what belonged to the den but there were other predators in the area. A bear alone wasn’t going to do well if he trespassed on the established territory of other shifters. Magnus had ended up boxing himself into a small speck of land that amounted to a few square miles, most of it land his mother had left him before she died. He wasn’t happy with the situation. None of us gave a shit.
He’d made his bed and he was going to lie in it until he died for all I cared.
In the small town of Bear Creek, where Pops had lived, the heart of our den, Magnus was persona non-grata. He wasn’t welcome in more than half the businesses—they were all owned by den mates or those friendly to the den and nobody wanted to do business with him.
I didn’t even want to look at the man who’d fathered me.
It took special skill to alienate a bear clan of over four hundred shapeshifters and the three-hundred some odd humans and other supernaturals who were bonded into the pack by marriage or kinship, but Magnus had done it.
“I need somebody my old man can’t shake.”
“If he pushes me too far, I just might shake him,” Liam said, voice roughening in irritation.
My response was cut short by a faint noise—one that had both of us sitting up and looking at each other.
Not even thirty seconds later, we were both running east toward that faint sound.
“Gotta be the cabin of that Brady prick,” I told Liam, my bare feet flying easily over the hard-packed earth, the skin toughed from years spent outdoors with nothing between me and the land, in both human and bear form.
Liam didn’t wear shoes, either. Shifters, as a rule, don’t like them. We wore them in public, sure, because we’d attract attention otherwise and we’d been wearing them on the hike because sometimes, it was smart to do—hiking the Appalachian barefoot is stupid, even if you’re a shifter. But we’d taken them off when we settled for the night and after that cry of distress, we hadn’t lingered to put them on.
There was another, louder sound from the woman—this one both scared and angry as it split the air. We ran faster, abandoning any attempt to seem normal, both more concerned about whatever the fuck was going on than appearances.
A scent came to my nose as we drew nearer. The bear inside took notice, sitting up to take it in at first, then taking a deeper sniff. Hmmm … nice …
But then, she screamed—this time a sound of pain and fury. The bear roused to full-alertness inside and I threw iron chains of control around that part of myself to keep from shifting right there.
We reached the treeline just in time to see a woman lunge away from the male—and yes, it was that prick, Neill Brady. He stank of lust, humiliation and anger—a bad combination. Her scent, warm and sweet, had soured just slightly with the acrid scent of fear and a hot lick of fury. She had the vehicle between them and every time he moved, she moved with him, almost synchronous and despite her evident fear, she had a fluid, lithe grace about her.
He tried to make a leap for her but she shimmied away, still using the car as a barrier.
The asshole’s voice broke through the buzz of adrenaline and anger that had clouded my head and I set my jaw, clamping down on the fury as Liam and I closed more of the distance between us, moving silently.
“…But I am not getting in that car with you. Leave.” Her voice was pure magic and the bear inside almost forgot his protective rage, lulled by that silken drawl.
“What are you so worked up about, babe? It’s not like you didn’t know this was coming. We’ve been going out for almost two months.” He leered as he looked her up and down, the scent of his lust getting sharper.
Touch her, I thought. And it will be the last thing you do.
My bear growled in approval.
“Five weeks, Neill. Five weeks. And I don’t owe you sex. I did not come out here with you planning on fucking you—or getting groped.” Harsh flags of color rode her cheeks and her eyes burned with anger. I could practically hear the wheels turning in her head. She wasn’t panicking. She wasn’t reacting blindly.
“Quit playing. The chasing thing is cute but I’ve had enough of your cock-teasing. Come on, baby. Let’s go inside…I’ve got a nice, big soft bed…and a big, hard cock waiting for you.”
I swallowed the growl before it could escape while the woman went rigid, her shoulders jerking as if she had to stifle an involuntary gag. She was still shifting restlessly on her feet—didn’t trust the prick, wanted to stay loose and ready to move. Smart woman, I thought. Very smart. She moved her foot around on the ground in an odd little pattern and I squinted, then smiled. A rock. Not just smart. Resourceful. She’d grab that rock and use it if she had to.
You won’t have to, I promised silently.
“I’m not going inside with you. I’m not sleeping with you. And I’m not playing games—I want you to get in your car and go.” She sneered at him, the derision on her face so coolly refined, it was a surprise he didn’t develop frostbite. But maybe he was too stupid to pick up on the ice she was directing his way.
My claws punched out through my skin as he lunged at her over the car. She swooped down and grabbed the rock in a movement so fluid and swift, it was hard to believe she was human. But my nose didn’t lie—she was fast and graceful and smelled like honeyed vanilla and sin, but she was human.
That made her off-limits.
But I sure as hell wasn’t letting this fucker near her. Brady ended up sliding off the vehicle and sprawling on his ass. She darted a look at the house—don’t, I thought. I didn’t trust him not to run for her. Her mouth tightened and I knew she’d decided she didn’t like her odds. He clambered to his feet while she circled the car yet again, drawing her arm back as he moved in her direction.
“Take one more step and I’ll brain you with this,” she said, voice flat and hard. The rock in her hand was round and smooth, nearly as wide as a tennis ball. She held it like she knew exactly how to throw it.
His brows came together. “You’re taking this game too far.”
“That’s because I’m not playing. I said no and that means no. Leave me alone.”
His face turned an ugly shade of red as the dumbass finally realized she wasn’t playing some weird game.
“Stupid dickhead,” Liam muttered, voice too low for either of them to hear.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Brady glared at her.
“You!” She pointed at the car. “Just get in the damn car and leave me alone. I’ll find my own way home.”
He made another move in her direction and she evaded him again, this time moving so that her back was to the trees. I started to strip. Liam glanced at me, brows raised. I shook my head. I’d handle the asshole.
“Get in the fucking car, Ivy. If you’re going to be that uptight, I’ll fucking take you home. Damn bitch. But I’m not leaving you alone at my family cabin because you turned out to an ice-cold prude.”
No. He wasn’t getting her in a car—I didn’t trust that temper of his. Cracking my neck, I let the shift was over me. The night went preternaturally quiet.
And Ivy sensed it. Her breath caught. Her heart sped up.
I felt her awareness of me as keenly as if she’d been standing two feet away.
A harsh breath exploded out of her just as I gave my altered body a shake. Craning my head, I watched as she held her phone up.
The bear was puzzled and irritated. He wanted to out there and put a stop to this—he didn’t like the smell of her fear. I made him wait.
“See this? I’ve got bars. And I’m calling my roommate right now.” She flashed a sharp-edged smile.
“I told you I’d take you home. Stop with the bullshit. Get in the fucking car, Ivy!”
“Are you nuts? Guys like you are why women choose the damn bear, Neill! I’d rather walk home than get in that fucking car!”
I drew my head back, surprised. The bear inside me preened, ridiculously pleased with her comment. Next to me, Liam shook with suppressed laughter. I glared in his direction and he looked away, but he wasn’t trying too hard to hide his amusement. Fucker.
I tried again, willing him to pay attention. In a blink, he went rigid and came to one knee in front of me. He put a hand on my neck and I focused, pushing my thoughts out to him. This, as much as anything else, was why my father would never be Alpha. Not all Alphas could do this with their inner circle but the Alpha of the Mahoosuc Den had always been able to commune with his—or her—lieutenants like this.
Go. I pictured a cabin close by, owned by den mates. After pushing it into his mind, I pictured their truck.
Liam nodded to let me know he understood and then he took off.
Brady had called her Ivy. Swinging my head around, I peered at her through the underbrush that separated us. Her phone screen was still lit up. Her heart was beating faster. She’d done something—maybe called somebody. But whatever she’d done made her nervous.
I drew in a breath. In my bear form, everything was sharper, clearer. I stood two feet taller than my normal six two feet and I could run faster than natural bears and easily four or five times faster than humans. When I want to, I can move silently through the trees.
But I didn’t want to be silent now. I could smell her…she smelled sweet than honey. There was another layer to her scent, though, the slightly sour scent of fear and it left a bite on my tongue. The bear’s snout wrinkled in discontent. Yeah, we’ll deal with him now.
With a guttural growl, I turned my attention back to the asshole as he tried to make another lunge for Ivy. I dropped to all fours and shambled out of the trees, close enough to the light that even they’d pick up on my shadow. As I drew close, I growled again—louder.
Both of them froze.
Neill’s gaze shot toward me, more instinct than anything else. Ivy’s spine stiffened.
I padded closer, eyes locked on Neill. He couldn’t tell, not really, but some part of his lizard brain probably felt it. All the blood drained out of his face and his mouth fell open. A second later, he snapped it closed. Ivy moved, shifting slowly and moving to the side so she didn’t fully turn her back on Neill.
Smart…I thought again. And the bear growled in agreement, taking another deep sniff of the air so he could appreciate her scent.
Moving closer to them, I pinned Neill with my eyes and rose onto my hind legs. Ivy’s eyes went round as saucers and her mouth fell open. I noticed from the corner of my eye and I wanted to do something to reassure her, but it wasn’t like I could talk in this particular shape. And if I waved at her…well, that might freak her out. So, I acted like I didn’t notice her and let another growl loose for Neill’s benefit. After all, I had a point to make.
Ivy’s heart fluttered in her chest, rapid, but steady and she stayed exactly where she was.
Neill squeaked as I moved closer. The motion-activated light shone down on all of us, highlighting my size without mercy and Neill made a strangled groan in his throat.
I bared my teeth at him. He dove for the car and shouted, “You wanted the fucking bear! You got the fucking bear.”
He yanked the driver’s side door open and hurled himself inside.
Ivy lifted her hands, voice shaky slightly as she faced me. “Easy…easy…”
I didn’t look at her. That chickenshit had hidden his ass in the car. Dropping onto all fours, I circled the vehicle. Ivy kept talking.
Her voice was soft, surprisingly steady and I paused to look at her. Her pulse beat rapidly in her throat, but she didn’t take off running, didn’t do anything but keep her hands in front of her and talk in a reassuring voice, like she met random bears all the time. “Easy, big guy. I’ll stay out of your way. You stay of mine.”
The urge to smile at her was almost overwhelming—the bear wanted to go closer and investigate her scent. I throttled both compulsions and swung my attention back to Neill.
He hit the window closest to her and bellowed at her.
She didn’t notice, too busy focusing on me.
“Keys!” Neill shouted, hitting the window again.
She jumped, yelping, the first trace of fear breaking through. When she stumbled backward, she tripped over her feet and fell, a sound of panic and pain escaping her.
That was it. I’d had it.
Lunging forward, I rose up onto my hind legs, then rose, bringing my front paws down on the hood of the car.
Neill squawked and stared at me, mouth dropping open. Even through the windows, I caught the familiar scent of urine—he’d pissed himself. Nice.
Then he fainted.
A Bear-Shifter Paranormal Romance