A Date For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 2) (8 page)

Finally, Tony chuffed out a
command to his clan members and they stopped their rowdy, boisterous
play. One by one, they came up to Terri and touched her, with their
paws, noses, shoulders.

Good job. See ya.

Terri rubbed noses with them
and watched them leave. Tony stood behind her, watching her quietly.

She turned to smirk at him.
Am I a good bear or what?

He shook his head at her.
Without warning, he came charging at her and knocked her flat on her
back. His jaws closed around her throat. Terri's eyes widened, and
she snarled but none of the other bears looked back. They all
continued ambling across the field, making their way home.

Tony released her and stepped
back. He jerked his head at her.
Your move
.

What?

Terri scrambled up.

Fight!

Terri shook her head. She
didn't want to fight Tony.

You have to learn to fight
in bear form.

Terri made a complaining
sound at the back of her throat.

Do you want to be knocked
on your ass again?

Terri growled. Tony stared
at her, and raised his paw. She reacted instinctively. She blocked
him as his claws slashed down.

Tony nodded in approval. But
he didn't let up. He attacked again, and again. Terri moved and
learned quickly. She read his body language and anticipated his
moves. And she copied him.

Tony showed her how to lunge
and strike, and deliver a killing blow. He showed her the vulnerable
spots on a bear's body, and how to tear out an enemy's throat. Terri
didn't flinch. She had to learn all this. It was important.

She had survived the Turning.
She wouldn't be a dead werebear just because she was too stupid and
squeamish to fight like a bear.

She had weapons. She would
use them. Claws, fangs, brute strength, and a massive, intimidating
furry body. She could kill a person just by sitting on him. Ha!

It was good to be big.

Terri trained with Tony for
hours, not stopping until the sky began to glow with the first light
of dawn. As the sun rose, Terri stood up and let her bear recede.
Her bear was exhausted, and the beast would lie dormant and sleep for
the next few hours. Terri straightened up to see Cole, Dalton and
Brad standing at the edge of the field, watching her and Tony. Abby
was running towards them, laughing and shouting.

“You're fantastic,
Terri!” Abby jumped on her and gave her the biggest bear hug
ever. “You're so awesome!”

Terri chuckled when Abby
handed her a tracksuit. “Thanks, Abby. I thought I was going
to have to trudge back to town in my birthday suit.”

Abby giggled and looked over
her shoulder. “I don't think Tony would allow that.”

“He's a slave driver,”
Terri huffed, zipping herself up.

“That's why we're
punishing him,” Brad said, coming up to them. “We
prepared a hearty breakfast for you back at my place, but we didn't
cook his share.”

Terri was aware of every inch
of Tony's sweaty, powerful, human body stomping up behind her.

“I'll eat your share
then,” Tony glowered at his cousin.

“No you won't.”

Tony sprinted off and yelled,
“Yes I will! Because I'll reach your house first.”

Brad swore loudly and
thundered after Tony.

Terri smiled shyly as her
Alpha and Beta walked up to her and clapped her on the shoulder.
“Well done, Terri. You're a great bear. Strong, fast,
clever.”

“I have a good
teacher,” she admitted.

Cole and Dalton exchanged a
knowing smile. “Yes.”

“Let's get back to
Brad's house before those boys eat up everything,” Abby said,
linking her arm through Terri's.

“You didn't really
leave Tony out, did you? I mean, you guys did include his share,
right?” Terri asked.

Abby laughed. “I think
there's enough food to feed the whole clan!”

“Is the whole clan
coming for breakfast?” Terri's eyes widened.

“No. They've got their
own families.” Abby smiled. “But we know you'll be very
hungry after your first shift. And you've been training so hard. We
saw you. You'll need a beary big breakfast, Terri. Eat up, then off
to bed you go.”

Terri saluted. “Yes,
Alpha Mam! Or is it Mrs Alpha?” Abby squealed and came at
her. “Or Alpha Boss Lady?” Terri called out, dancing
away as Abby gave chase.

Terri whooped and ran, her
arms and legs pumping. She had to get away from Abby. She knew that
look. Alpha Boss Lady was going to tickle her to death when she
caught her.

Tony stepped out of his house
and glanced down the street. He had gone straight home to shower and
change after having breakfast at Brad's house. To everyone's
amusement, Terri had challenged him to a hot dog and pancake eating
contest. Both of them had shoveled food onto their plates and into
their mouths, loading up on protein and carbs after that bout of
shifting and intensive training, and trying to best each other.

He had to admit Terri was a
lot of fun. She loved to play and joke around, and she took teasing
and pranks in her stride. She wasn't afraid to eat like a bear, and
her face was thoroughly smeared with peanut butter, honey and ketchup
by the time she finished.

Tony glanced towards Cole's
house which was situated on an incline at the end of his street.
Terri was there right now, resting and regaining her strength. It
was a business day and they had quite a few landscaping projects on
their hands. They had deadlines to meet, and it had to be all hands
on deck. Cole, Dalton and Brad had already rushed off after
breakfast, and Abby had insisted Terri go home with her. Tony had
agreed to the plan. He had to rush to the work site as well, and
Terri needed to have someone with her to watch over her.

Tony jogged down the street.
Nightfire Landscaping had won the lucrative contract to do the
landscaping work for the local park. The park was just two streets
away, and he could already hear and scent his clan members. There
was the sound of shovels and out-of-tune singing, together with some
laughter. The guys always joked while they worked. Unfortunately,
some of them liked to sing as well, despite being hopelessly tone
deaf.

A sharp scent on the breeze
brought Tony to a screeching halt. He froze and took another whiff.

His claws stabbed out as he
spun round and charged back towards Cole's house.

He would recognize the scent
of that polar bear anywhere. The scent of that bastard had been all
over Terri when he first brought her back to Moonstone Creek. And
now Silas was here, closing in on Terri while she slept.

Tony saw him, strolling up
the slope towards Cole's house. He sauntered right up to the gate
and even had the audacity to raise his hand to the buzzer. He was
acting like he had every right to be here.

Tony caught his wrist and
wrenched his arm back.

Silas winced and yanked his
hand away. “It's you again.” Silas rolled his eyes as
he straightened his shirt. “Just mind your own business, brown
bear. I've come to claim the bear I've Turned.”

“Stay. Away. From.
Her.”

Silas smirked. “She
belongs to me. I Turned her. I tracked her down and I'm going to
claim her.”

“She didn't ask to be
Turned. You tried to Turn her against her will.” Tony's claws
gleamed as he advanced towards Silas. “Do you know what she
went through? She was scared and in pain. I will kill you for
hurting her!”

Silas backed away with a
shrug. “I had to do it. I had to Turn her, to breed her.”

“What the fuck!”

“Female polar bears are
scarce. Our bloodline must remain pure. I need to mate with a polar
bear shifter.”

Tony's face twisted in
disgust. “So since you can't find a born shifter, you decided
to Turn her into a polar bear shifter.” Tony's voice was
dangerously low, but Silas didn't seem to hear the menace in his
voice.

“Yeah. I've been
looking for so long. Not all humans can be Turned. Terri was a good
candidate. She's strong and robust, and fertile. I can breed her
immediately.”

“You will never touch
her again, Silas.” Tony's bear was rising, rearing up for the
kill.

Loud footsteps stomped down
the driveway towards them. “How nice of you to come looking
for me, Silas.”

Tony swung round at Terri's
strident voice. She was marching down the driveway towards the gate,
her gray eyes stormy with hate and fury.

“Out of my way, Tony.
I will kill this piece of shit myself,” she snarled, rolling up
her sleeves as she stepped up to Silas. “And for your
information, you didn't Turn me, Silas. He did.” She jerked
her thumb at Tony. “I am a brown bear, not a polar bear.”

“You...

“Yeah. Don't believe
me?” Terri smiled slowly. “I'd show you my bear. But
then I'll have to kill you.”

Silas was snarling at her.
“You are mine, Terri. How dare you...”

“How dare I Turn into a
brown bear?” Terri jabbed a finger into Silas's chest. “I
didn't want to Turn into any bear, Silas. You bit me, tried to Turn
me, and failed. Tony had to complete my Turning to save my life. I
would have died if not for him!”

Terri was breathing hard, her
gray eyes turning feral. Her pain and rage was pulling her bear to
the surface. Her bear had scented its enemy and was baying for
blood.

She stepped back and cracked
her knuckles. “I will show you my bear, Silas.” Her
voice lowered to a growl. “My fangs will be the last thing you
see and feel.”

Abby ran out of the house,
shaking her head and calling out to Terri. Tony reached out and
grabbed Abby's elbow to stop her from going near Terri and Silas.
Abby's eyes rounded and she let out a horrified cry as Terri and
Silas started circling each other with murder in their eyes. Deadly
claws sprouted from their fingertips as they prepared to tear into
each other.

“Stop them,” Abby
pleaded. “He'll kill her!”

Tony shook his head and spoke
quietly, keeping his eyes on Terri all the time, “No. She
needs to do this, or her bear won't rest. Her bear is angry and
resentful. If she doesn't end this herself, the rage and resentment
will fester in her beast, a beast which has been forcibly Turned.
She will become bloodthirsty and brutal, and the risk of her turning
rogue will be very high.”

“But...”

“She is a shifter now.
Shifters never run from a fight. She has to establish her power, her
dominance. If word of her weakness gets round, she'll be targeted by
other predatory shifters. I won't let her come to any harm. I'm
watching her. Every step of the way,” Tony assured his Alpha's
mate.

Abby gave a shaky nod and
clung to him. Her hands were icy as she fretted, worried and feared
for her friend.

Tony watched Terri shift into
her bear form confidently. Silas growled in anger and frustration
and let his bear out. His polar bear was larger and bulkier than
Terri's brown bear, but Tony knew that Terri could hold her own
against Silas.

His girl had fight. She was
smart and fast, and she would use Silas's size against him. He had
shown her how to use her smaller, feminine size to advantage and she
had been an excellent student.

Terri circled the polar bear,
wiggling her rump a little to show off every blade of dark brown fur
on her body. She chuffed out a mocking laugh when Silas roared and
charged at her.

She danced nimbly out of the
way and managed to rake her claws down his side. A splash of red
appeared on Silas's white fur, and Terri rammed into his injured side
to try to topple him. Silas twisted round and bit Terri on the leg.
She roared in pain, and managed to wrench her leg out of his jaws.

Limping away, she licked her
wound and glanced at Tony. Tony gave her a quick, encouraging nod,
and flicked his eyes back to Silas. Terri crouched and rolled away
as Silas snapped his teeth inches from her neck.

She ducked and dodged,
escaping with minor injuries while waiting for the opportunity to
deliver the killing blow.
Clever girl.
Tony smiled grimly.
If she attacked him ceaselessly, she would just be wasting precious
energy. Silas was bigger and stronger than her. She would be
risking serious injury if she clashed head-on with him.

Watch and wait.

There would be an opening, a
chance. One chance to kill.

Silas huffed and panted,
blood coursing down his face. Terri had stabbed a claw right between
his eyes and gouged out a piece of his face. The girl was fast, and
sharp. She struck where it hurt most, scoring maximum damage with
minimal movement.

Silas reared up and Terri
skidded in and swept his legs out from under him. As Silas tumbled
with a roar, Tony clenched his teeth and hissed, “Now.”