Furever Mated (BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance) (3 page)

T
he ferry arrived
at the dock and Scarlett felt all of the pent up tension melt away in her shoulders.
This is exactly what I needed
, Scarlett thought. A week-long getaway with her best friends and no other distractions.

Scarlett stepped off the ferry onto the dock and took in her surroundings. The cove was absolutely gorgeous. The sun setting over the water reflected beautiful orange and red colors. It looked like something off a postcard. Scarlett took in a deep breath and let the salty air of the ocean course through her lungs.
This is going to be an amazing week
, she thought.

Scarlett had not realized until after brunch the other day how much she needed a break from men and dating in general. Her relationship with Adam had been toxic on her wellbeing, and it had taken her the weekend to work through how she felt about everything. Adam’s complete disregard for her had made all of her insecurities rise to the surface, and instead of the amazing twenty-five-year-old woman that she was, she felt like she was the shy, hesitant freshman girl that didn’t quite fit into her own skin.

Scarlett looked over to the amazing group of girls that she called friends.
They will help me get back to myself
, she thought. And this vacation was the beginning of that healing process.

Scarlett pulled out her phone to snap a few pictures of the amazing sunset that had formed in the lagoon. She moved her phone over towards the shoreline to get a few images of the water and was surprised to see that there were only women on the beach.
Strange
, she thought. Not that she was looking for a new guy, but some eye candy might have been nice to look at. Maybe this place just attracted a lot of groups of friends.

Blair walked up behind Scarlett and snaked her arm around Scarlett’s waist and squeezed her into a side hug. Scarlett dropped her head on Blair’s shoulder and let out a long sigh.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Blair asked.

Scarlett nodded into Blair’s shoulder. “Thanks for suggesting this vacation, B,” Scarlett said. “I needed to get away for awhile.”

“I know you did,” Blair said. A comfortable silence fell between them. After a minute, Blair cleared her throat. “I just want you to relax this week, Scars. It’s good to go to a new place and experience new things. Just promise me something.” Scarlett picked her head up from Blair’s shoulder and looked at her.

“What is it, B?” she asked.

“That you will keep an open mind about things this week, and take each thing as it comes.”

Scarlett nodded. She knew Blair was looking out for her like she always had, and if anyone would be able to pull her out of the horrible funk she felt after Adam, it would be Blair.

Amanda, Maggie and Rebecca were already at the end of the dock and calling out to them. Blair squeezed Scarlett again and walked with her to the end of the dock, where a petite woman stood. “I am Ursula,” she said. “Welcome to Bear Ridge Resort!”

The blood drained from Scarlett’s face.
Bear Ridge Resort
, Scarlett thought. That was the new all-inclusive resort to hook up women with wealthy shifters. Just last week Scarlett had heard her favorite morning radio show hosts discussing the new resort and how it was quickly becoming the next big thing in dating.

Blair’s arm tightened around Scarlett’s waist. Scarlett snapped her head towards Blair, who looked down at her feet. She looked at the other girls, who were conveniently occupied with either their luggage or on their cell phones. This had to be some kind of joke.

Scarlett stepped away from Blair. “Why would you bring me here?” Scarlett asked. “You of all people should know how uninterested I am in finding someone else to date right now. Let alone a wealthy genetically mutated shifter that needs to come to an exclusive resort to get one!” Heat rushed to Scarlett’s cheeks as she tried to contain the anger building up inside of her.

“We knew you wouldn’t come if you actually knew where we were going,” Blair said. “That is why I took care of booking everything for you. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you, but we thought it might be the best distraction for you.”

“Yeah,” Amanda chimed in. “We thought being on a secluded tropical island with a bunch of swoon-worthy eye candy might be exactly what you needed to get Adam out of your head.”

Scarlett crossed her arms and felt her body slightly start to shake. The tight control over her anger was starting to lessen. Blair tentatively walked up to her and placed her hands on her shoulders.

“Look, Scars,” Blair said. “You don’t need to get with anyone. All you need to focus on is having a good time. No pressure, okay?”

Scarlett sucked in a calming breath. The shaking of her body subsided and she felt the color of her face slowly turn back to normal. Scarlett knew she couldn’t really blame her friends for trying to make her have some fun. This was not a malicious prank on her; it was just a misguided attempt at forcing her into having some much-needed fun.

The problem was Scarlett’s heart was just not in it. Her insecurities had taken a stronghold over her mind, and she could not seem to feel sexy or attractive enough to want to be around men, let alone ones that could shift. Scarlett would play along with her friends, but she was determined to find a way to sneak out of the mixer activities that the resort was famous for. She would not be put on display for some stupid grizzlies, no matter how hot they were.

“Come on,” Blair said. “Why don’t we put our things in our rooms and go get a drink?”

Scarlett smiled. A drink was exactly what she needed right now.

K
urt walked
up to his secluded bungalow at the end of the path. He looked over to the right and saw the long path in between the rooms. His clan mates were already on the prowl, which meant there would be a lot noises coming from their rooms later on that evening. Kurt’s room, however, would be dead silent.

Kurt pushed open the door and was surprised at how big the bungalow actually was from the inside. To the right of the door was a small kitchenette complete with a mini fridge and a small stove. There was a cutout in the wall of the kitchen so he could look through and see the living room. Kurt walked further into the suite, and saw a small dining table and an open living room space with a large, fluffy couch and flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. Kurt turned to the right and walked into the bedroom, which had a large king-size bed and another flat-screen TV. In the bedroom there was a large window that opened up to a private balcony. Kurt walked over and opened up the door and stepped outside. The bungalow suites weren’t high up off the water, so there was a small ladder attached that Kurt could see that led him right to the ocean.

Kurt walked back inside the room and smiled.
This place isn’t half bad
, he thought. Now if he could just figure out how to relax on his own, without having to participate in anything, he would be golden. Kurt flopped down on the bed and pulled his arms up underneath his head. He closed his eyes and took in the sounds of the ocean breeze outside. He started to drift off to sleep when a loud knock on his door jolted him up.

“Come on, Kurt,” Frank said as he banged on the door again. “We are all going to head down to the lobby to get some drinks.” Kurt reluctantly pulled his body off the comfortable bed and opened the door.

“I don’t know, man,” Kurt said. “I think I might just stay here and take a nap. That was a hell of a long trip to get here.”

Frank gave Kurt a pointed look, and Kurt knew Frank wasn’t going to just let him stay in his room the whole week. Frank grabbed Kurt’s arm and pulled him outside.

“No excuses,” Frank said. “You are coming along. Plus you have to show up to some of the events. Call this one of them and you might be able to get a few days to yourself.” Kurt rolled his eyes and followed Frank down the path.

Kurt and the rest of his clan mates walked into the lobby. As they did, Kurt could feel all eyes on them, and he hated it. He felt as though their eyes could read into his soul and see how truly broken he was. Kurt straightened his body and threw his walls up around his heart tighter. A small voice inside his head told him to not shut everyone out, but he swiftly ignored it.

The clan made their way to the bar in the back of the restaurant that overlooked the ocean, and walked up to the long marble bar top. The bar, like the rest of the hotel, had Polynesian décor. The wood embellishments around the bar had intricate designs carved out of dark wood, and beautiful tropical flowers were set on every table. Kurt sat down on the bar stool and started to look at the liquor on the shelf. Frank sat down next to Kurt and leaned over to him.

“Not as bad as you thought, right?” Frank asked.

“We’ll see about that,” Kurt said. He turned around from the bar and noticed all of the women sitting at the tables near them. Some were trying to be coy as they checked them out, while others were blatantly staring, hoping to get their attention.

“I feel like a piece of meat sitting up here with all of them staring at us like that,” Kurt said as he turned back around. Frank let out a loud laugh.

“Don’t mind them,” Frank said as he put his arm around Kurt’s broad shoulders. “Like I told you, man, you don’t need to do anything. Just try and enjoy things.” Kurt let out a loud laugh.

“I’m not sure how much of these,” Kurt motioned around the bar, “‘things’ I will enjoy, but I will be happy to get some drinks and relax.”

Frank smiled and patted his back. “Baby steps, man. We will get you back in the saddle one of these days.”

The bartender approached Kurt and Frank. She was a very petite brunette. She had big brown eyes and full lips. Kurt laughed lightly to himself.
Frank is going to love this girl
, he thought. Sure enough, when Kurt turned towards Frank, he had on his thousand-megawatt smile.

“What can I get you guys?” the bartender smiled.

“I’ll take whatever beer you have on draft,” Frank said. The bartender smiled and looked over at Kurt.

“I’ll take Maker’s Mark, neat.” She nodded and went to get their drinks. Kurt turned to face the open area of the bar and saw that his entire clan was there. Kurt slowly shook his head when he saw women already surrounded a few of them.
Well
, he thought,
at least they are happy
. This vacation would hopefully remove some of the mounting tension that the clan had been having lately.

“Here you go,” the bartender said as she placed their drinks in front of them. Kurt passed Frank’s beer to him, but two women already distracted him.
Of course
, Kurt thought. He grabbed his glass and took a slow sip of his drink. Whiskey and Scotch had always been his liquors of choice. They always had a warm bite going down.

“Who’s your friend?” one of the women seductively asked Frank. Frank turned to Kurt and put his arm lightly around his shoulder.

“This is Kurt, the leader of our clan,” Frank said. Kurt caught both women sharing an excited glance between them while he fought the urge to roll his eyes. Frank shook Kurt’s shoulder lightly as a signal for him to respond. Kurt forced a smile on his face.

“Nice to meet you,” Kurt said.

“So what is it like to be the leader of a clan?” the brunette asked. Kurt took another long sip of his whiskey, finishing off the glass sooner than he had wished. He looked down the bar and motioned for the bartender.

“It’s a lot of responsibility keeping these guys in line, but I’m happy to do it,” Kurt said. The brunette smiled and batted her eyelashes at him. Kurt turned back to the bar and tried to occupy himself with getting the bartender’s attention. Luckily, the bar was packed, which meant she was running back and forth behind the bar, so Kurt was able to ignore the rest of the questions.

“Need another one?” the bartender asked as she walked up to him.

“Make it a double,” Kurt said. The woman behind him tried to place her hand on his shoulder as she tried to get his attention back on her. Kurt’s reaction was instant. He squeezed his fingers into a fist as anger surged through his body. He stifled a growl in his chest and pushed down the urge to shift. He didn’t want to scare the girl and shift in the bar, but he sure as hell didn’t want her touching him, either. Frank luckily noticed his reaction and quickly distracted her while Kurt tried to gain his composure. This is why Frank was his beta. He knew Kurt well enough to react when he needed to. The bartender placed a glass in front of him. Kurt gave her a tight nod and took another sip of his whiskey as he regained his composure.
Fuck
, he thought. It was going to be a long night.

The women attempted bringing Kurt back into the conversation. However, despite getting a hold of his temper, he couldn’t keep himself interested in what they had to say. They seemed like your typical full-of-themselves ex-sorority girls. The kind that Kurt always saw taking selfies of themselves with that stupid duck face that wasn’t attractive on anyone. After Kurt ignored several of their questions, Frank led them away to meet some of their clan.

Kurt was finally left alone, and he finished off his drink and ordered another.

S
carlett
and her friends followed Ursula down from the dock. When they reached the hotel’s entrance, Scarlett’s mouth dropped open, surprised by the sheer size of the hotel.

“Whoa,” Scarlett said as they walked inside. Blair linked her arm with Scarlett’s.

“This make up for not telling you all about the resort?” Blair asked tentatively. Scarlett smiled.

“You guys aren’t fully off the hook yet,” Scarlett said. “But this does certainly help.”

Ursula led them up to the reception desk, where they were given their keys. Scarlett was surprised to find that they each had their own rooms.

“Ladies,” Ursula said. “We are very happy that you all have chosen to stay with us for this week. We have the Charlestown clan here staying with us, and we hope that you each find someone you would like to be with.”

Heat rushed to Scarlett’s face.
I’m not ready to find anyone I want to be with
, she thought. Blair wrapped her arm around Scarlett’s shoulder and hugged her lightly. Scarlett smiled at her comforting gesture.

“There are even numbers of clan members to women,” Ursula said, “however, we cannot always predict what the heart wants, so there may be some of you that do not match.”

Scarlett let out a small sigh of relief. She could easily avoid getting close to anyone and instead spend her vacation relaxing on the beach. Ursula handed out their individual keys to their rooms and they made their way to their bungalows.

“It’s about dinner time,” Blair said. “So why don’t we all go get ready and meet in the lobby in about an hour?” Everyone nodded in unison. Scarlett watched her friends walk to their individual bungalows. Luckily they were all right next to each other; the only thing separating them was that they were each on different small docks.
They all seem so happy to be here,
she thought. Scarlett didn’t want to ruin the vacation for them, but she certainly did not feel like leaving her private bungalow.

Scarlett walked down her individual dock to her door and turned the key. She let out an audible gasp once inside. The room was practically the size of her apartment. There was a small kitchenette that opened up to a large living room with a big-screen TV and an extremely comfortable-looking couch. To the right of the living room was the bedroom, complete with a large king-size bed and connecting bathroom. Scarlett placed her bag down on the bench near the bed and fell into the fluffy comforter. She closed her eyes and let the sound of the ocean through the open balcony start to drift her off to sleep.

Scarlett was startled awake by the loud sound of the phone on the nightstand ringing. Scarlett rolled her eyes and reached for the phone.

“Hello?” she said groggily.

“I knew you just collapsed on the bed,” Blair said. “Come on, get your ass up and start to get ready. Don’t you want dinner?” Scarlett’s stomach started to grumble at the mention of food.

“Yeah…I do,” Scarlett said as she fought to keep her eyes from closing. Blair chuckled into the phone.

“Good,” Blair said. “I’ll swing by to pick you up in fifteen minutes.” Scarlett’s eyes snapped open.
Holy shit
, she thought.
Fifteen minutes?

“Gotta go,” Scarlett quickly said and hung up the phone. She jumped off the comfortable bed and stripped out of her clothes from the plane and walked into the bathroom. There was a Jacuzzi-style bathtub with a separate shower that looked big enough to fit three people in. Scarlett snorted out a laugh when she thought about how many couples of three had found their way into one of these showers.

Scarlett let the hot water cascade down her body, and with it she hoped her anxiety. Remembering she was under a time crunch, she sped up her shower routine and quickly hopped out. To save time, she ran the towel through her auburn hair and quickly twisted it up into a bun, and let a few strands fall down, framing her semi-round face. She lightly rubbed her tinted moisturizer on her skin, and used her liquid eyeliner to draw thin lines that accentuated her green eyes, making them look bigger. She completed her makeup with bronzer, a quick brush of eye shadow, and mascara.

Scarlett looked down at her watch and realized she had about five more minutes before Blair pounded on her door. She ran to her suitcase and pulled out a short black dress that fit her body like a glove. She called it her magic dress because, despite how form-fitting it was, it was able to hide all of her problem areas but accentuated her curves in all the right places, making her feel hot as hell. She needed a confidence booster, and this dress was it.

As soon as she zipped herself up and put on her strappy heels, Blair knocked on her door.

“Coming!” Scarlett called. She rushed to her bathroom and applied her red lipstick. She pressed her lips together and took a moment to look at herself in the mirror.
Not bad
, she thought. She smiled and quickly ran to the door.

S
carlett followed
her friends into the large open restaurant that led into the bar area. They were led to a table in the center of the room, and as she sat down she took a moment to take in her surroundings. Every table in the restaurant was full, and the bar was getting more packed by the minute.

“Did you guys hear anything yet about the Charlestown clan?” Amanda asked. Maggie quickly nodded.

“I heard that they are from Boston,” Maggie said.

“Really?” Amanda said. “Well, that could be a good thing for us.”

Scarlett looked down and pretended to be very interested in the cocktail menu. Of course they had to be from Boston. That meant the likelihood of Scarlett running into one of them again was higher.
Why couldn’t this just have been a girls’ vacation?
Scarlett thought.

The waitress came to their table. “What can I get you ladies this evening?” the waitress asked.

“I’ll take a margarita,” Scarlett responded quickly.

“Oh, that sounds good,” Blair chimed in. “I will take one too.”

“If you all plan on drinking margaritas, we can get you a pitcher,” the waitress smiled.

“Yeah, let’s get two pitchers,” Scarlett answered. Blair stifled a laugh next to her and Scarlett kicked her under the table. The waitress nodded and walked away.

“Two pitchers, huh, Scars?” Blair teased.

“With the amount of sexual tension in this room all around us, I think two pitchers might not be enough,” Scarlett said. Blair and the rest of her friends burst out laughing.

S
carlett leaned back
in her chair. The food at the resort was absolutely delicious. She had gotten Mahi Mahi, and it was possibly the best meal she had ever had. She was finishing up her fourth margarita when her table was interrupted. A tall, dark-haired burly guy walked up confidently to their table.

“Hi ladies,” he said. “I’m Frank, the beta of the Charlestown clan. A few of us were wondering if you would like to join us over at the bar.” Blair looked over to Scarlett and smiled. Scarlett knew that Blair would start pleading with her eyes if she said no. She quickly nodded and downed the rest of her drink and poured another glass. As she stood up from the table she wobbled a bit. A warm rush filled her body as she quickly caught herself, hoping that none of her friends noticed. She pressed her lips together, realizing that they were slightly numb. She followed her friends to the bar and realized she was surrounded by a group of guys. Scarlett took another long swig of her margarita, hoping to calm her nerves, and claimed an empty seat a bit outside of all the commotion.

Blair, Maggie, Rebecca and Amanda pushed themselves into the center of the crowd. Scarlett was used to being the odd man out in situations like this. Blair had always loved being the center of attention, while Scarlett much preferred standing on the sidelines and participating when necessary. Blair searched for Scarlett, and when their eyes met, Scarlett smiled at her to let her know that she was all right where she was. Blair smiled back and turned her full attention to Frank.

Scarlett turned away from the crowd and continued to sip her margarita. She looked to the right of the bar and noticed a long hallway. Curiosity got the best of her. She looked back to her friends, who were completely occupied and she quietly slipped off the bar stool and made her way down the hall.