Authors: Casey Elliot
*****
"I think I understand why you didn't text me back now," she said.
I nodded, my gaze lingering on her lips. "There's more, but it doesn't matter now."
"It doesn't?"
I shook my head, lowering it to hers as I said, "The only thing that matters now is you."
Juliana
My day had done a one-eighty real quick. I had woken up anxious and unsure of everything. Plagued by insecurity, I had called up the guy from my one night stand to tell him he was going to be a dad. And now, after everything was said and done, I had an enthusiastic partner in crime and the rejection I had felt from him before was swept away.
Any residual feelings of nervousness were instantly wiped away the moment his lips touched mine.
I was lost in the passion of the kiss; the longing it spoke of. I wound my arms around his hard body and pulled him in closer, feeling the muscles rippling beneath his skin as he did the same to me. There was no space between us, no room for air. There was only me and Nick, and it was us against the world.
As his tongue traced over my lips, and dipped into my mouth, I felt his erection grow against my thigh. The same need coursed through me as well and, as I was before with him, I was instantly wet.
His lips traveled down my jaw to my neck, sending sparks through me as he sucked at my skin and nibbled on my ear. A breathy moan escaped my lips.
We sunk to the forest floor, and he pulled astride me. I quickly stripped off my shirt, and he sat up to remove my bra and kiss my breasts. As he went from one nipple to the other, I shivered in delight. The woods were quiet, except for the sounds of our moans and sighs. It was freeing, being out in the fresh air. I felt so wild and animalistic, like I had gone back in time to simpler days.
His hands began to work on my jeans, and I propped myself up in order to pull them and my panties off. I didn't want to wait. I'd been waiting for him for weeks.
I came back down and immediately pressed him inside of me. He slipped in easily, and we each moaned in pleasure. I leaned over him and began to bounce up and down, rubbing my clit against his groin as I did. My breasts swung heavily against his chest, and his mouth sought mine for another passionate kiss.
Even with pine needles digging in to my knees, I was still in another world of pleasure. There was nothing in the world that could have brought me out of that haze, I was sure of it.
He held onto my hips and guided me along his shaft, pushing and pulling in time with my motions. I could see all over his face that he wasn't going to last much longer, but I was so close to my own orgasm that it barely registered. Having him grinding against both my clit and my g-spot was doing things for me, things that I knew were going to cause me to explode in only a matter of time.
When it happened, I was not prepared. I practically screamed as it hit me, shaking and falling forward against his chest. He gripped my hips harder and kept me moving, panting and grunting into my ear. I tried to keep up, but my legs were weak, and anyway, he didn't seem like he needed any help.
With a roar, he stilled, and I could feel him pulse inside of me. His arms came up to wrap around my back and pull me closer to him, and I smiled against his neck. I was so happy that I didn't even know what to do with myself.
"I need to take you to meet my family," he said.
I chuckled. "Already at the meeting the parents stage, huh?"
He sighed. "It's a bit more serious than that," he admitted. "I'm supposed to be marrying the daughter of a rival pack's leader."
I pulled back and fixed him with wide eyes. "You're engaged?"
Suddenly furious, I rolled away from him. He pulled me back.
"Don't go," he pleaded. "Just listen."
I allowed him to hold me against his chest.
"I've only met her one time," he said. "And, she doesn't want it either. It's going to be a problem that I'm pulling out of it, but I want to." He kissed the back of my neck. "I want to be with you."
I melted against him. "I want to be with you, too," I whispered. After a moment, I turned and kissed him on the lips. "Alright," I said. "Let's go meet the fam."
Nick
Parker had always had a great sense of smell, so I wasn't surprised to see him pop his head out of his door when I pulled up at my house. He was intrigued by the human woman on the back of my bike, but I knew he would also be irritated.
We dismounted and I turned to Juliana as he began to stride over. "That's my cousin," I said lowly. "Whatever happens, just trust that I've got this, okay?"
She nodded, suddenly looking very nervous.
"Who's that?" Parker said when he got to the end of my driveway.
I bristled. If he was going to be rude about it right off the bat, then that meant this wasn't going to be an easy fix.
I turned casually, helmet in my hand, and fixed him with a stern expression. "I'm not marrying Heather."
Parker stopped, and the ire in his eyes shot through me. He was an intimidating guy. At six-three, all bulging muscles, and tattoos, it was easy to understand why so many people cowered in his presence. But, I was taller, more muscular, and had a harder face. Not to mention, I didn't take crap from anybody. I was not affected in the same way by his glare.
"I'll call her pack tomorrow and talk to her dad about it," I said. "But, I'm not marrying her."
Parker snarled. "That's not your decision to make. We have a deal with them."
I stalked toward him, allowing my anger to roll off of me in waves. "That's too bad." I tossed the helmet onto the grass of my front lawn. "But, it is my decision to make, and I'm not marrying her."
"Does it have anything to do with her?" he spat, pointing over at Juliana. My rage grew.
"Whether it does or not doesn't matter," I said. "I'm the leader of this pack, and I will not bow to your will just because you think it's the right thing to do."
"It is the right thing to do," he retorted.
I shook my head. "We'll find another way."
I could feel Juliana's concern from behind me. I heard her shift uncomfortably between her two feet.
Parker and I were standing close now, and I glared down at him. "I never wanted to marry her, you know that. Believe me when I say I'll do whatever it takes to do right by my pack, but marrying Heather isn't the way."
His lips were a hard line. "What, you're in love with this girl now?" he goaded. "You're going to marry her instead? How do you even know her?"
I wanted to smack him for his insolence, but I tried to rein in my fury. I knew that I couldn't just attack someone every time they offended me. Still, he was on thin ice.
"If you must know," I said, "she's having my child."
Parker reeled back. "You've got to be kidding me," he said. He looked over at Juliana, but I immediately stood in front of him to block his view. This was between us.
"She's not one of us!" he cried. "You're choosing one of them over one of us!"
Curious people from the surrounding houses who heard the escalating fight peeked out to come see what was happening. A small crowd gathered on the asphalt around us.
"No!" I boomed back at him. "I'm choosing my happiness over a stupid arrangement that was unlikely to solve the problems we have with that pack." I took a deep breath. "Heather doesn't want the marriage either. I won't be winning over anyone from her pack by forcing her to become my wife."
Parker sneered at me. "You have no idea what you're doing."
My glare could have burrowed a hole through his face. "I know exactly what I'm doing."
My anger sent sparks of activity under my skin. My bear clawed at me to let him out, to let him eliminate this threat, but I wouldn't let it come to that unless it was necessary. Parker wouldn't stand a chance against me, especially not when I had so much to lose.
"Accept it, Parker," I warned. "Accept it or we're going to have a problem."
"We already have a problem. You're not thinking straight."
He took a few steps back from me and began stripping down. Juliana rushed to my side, holding onto my arm.
"Don't do this," she said. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I'll go."
I looked down at her and gently held her face in my hands. "I'm not going to get hurt," I said. "This is just our way."
That was true, but it was our way if things got really bad. Only the most serious conflicts would end in a fight. Sometimes things would go too far, and one of the combatants would wind up more than just hurt.
I pulled away from Juliana and strode out into the street, pulling off my shirt and dropping my pants. Nobody ever batted an eye at nakedness in my community. It was just a way of life. It was a common thing to be walking down the street and to come across a pile of clothing. Depending on the day, sometimes you'd pick the discarded vestments up and drop them off at the person's door. Other times, you'd leave them and make a note of where they were in case anybody asked. We never got human traffic, since it was a gated community, so we roamed in whatever form we felt most comfortable in at the time.
When the shift happened, I think Juliana must have been startled with just how quickly it took over. I had shifted much faster than Parker, and I was tempted to use that to my advantage and take him down mid-shift—but I wanted it to be a fair fight.
My bear circled Parker's. I hadn't fought him in a few years. Every once in awhile, we'd butt heads to the point where it would descend into a fight, but I usually won. I was determined to win this time.
He snarled at me and charged, bellowing his rage. I easily sidestepped him and swiped out with my paw, knocking him on the side of the head. I growled and lunged, tackling him to the side and sinking my teeth into his neck. He cried out, shaking me off and slamming a paw into my neck. The force of it sent me reeling, and I saw Juliana at the side of the circle that had formed; a horrified expression on her face.
The fact that she had to go through this kind of anxiety right now because of Parker's arrogance only made me angrier. I immediately sprung back to my feet and charged at him, managing to duck under at the last second to get under his chest and knock him over that way. I spun when he was down, pressing my paws against his chest and jumping, slamming back down against him with the force of a car. His head hit the pavement with a crack, but I knew that he was fine.
He tried to get up, but I cracked him again, roaring into his face to assert my dominance. He stared up at me, panting, and then slowly dropped his head to the side. That was the shifter equivalent of calling uncle. I got off of him and backed away, shifting all the while. I had won.
What remained to be seen was if he was going to man-up and accept his loss and my will.
He shifted back slowly until he was lying on the ground in his human form, clutching his neck where I’d bitten him. I could see that it was already starting to heal.
Juliana rushed up to me and flung her arms around me, holding me close and burying her face into my chest. “I was so worried,” she murmured against me. “God, I was so scared.”
*****
I smiled and patted her back, letting the smell of her fill my nostrils. “I’m fine. He’s fine. Everybody is fine.”
She looked up and smiled at me weakly. “That was incredible though,” she said. “You’re really something else.”
I laughed, smoothing her hair away from her face. “Now you know how I feel when I see you naked,” I said, chuckling. She turned bright red, but leaned up to kiss me.
A noise from off to my left caused me to break the kiss and look over. I’d completely forgotten that we weren’t alone. My pack was staring at me, and Parker had managed to rise from the ground.
His brow was furrowed. “You’re really serious about her, huh?” he said.
I nodded, “really.”
He sighed, pulling his hand away from his neck, as the skin finally stitched closed. He walked toward me, his face impossible to read. I held Juliana tightly to me as he inspected her. When he looked up at me, his face was resigned.
“I know when I’ve been beat,” he said. “I’ll help you however I can with Heather’s pack.”
I gave him an appreciative nod.
He looked back down at Juliana. “Welcome to the pack.”
Juliana
There were certain benefits I discovered to being the pack leader’s wife. While we weren’t actually married, people certainly treated us like we were. I was showered with flowers and presents for the baby, and people always stopped to ask me how I was doing when they saw me around the community. It had been startling at first, given the initial hostility Nick and I had faced. Still, it was every bit appreciated. I felt like I actually had a home.
Nick and Parker appeared to have gone back to usual, though I didn’t really know what their usual was. It was odd for me, but one of the other wives that I’d made friends with told me that’s just how the bears were. If it had been solved in a fight, then it had been solved. It was a good thing for me then, that my pseudo-husband was apparently the best fighter in the pack.
The solution they devised to make up for the breaking of the marriage pact was hardly necessary. Apparently, Heather had been complaining to her family too, and it had caused just as much internal pack strife as it had hoped to fix between packs. Parker acted as a liaison for the two groups, and he ended up spending more and more time away from home. I think he had started seeing one of the other pack’s women, and damn if it didn’t make him nicer to be around.
Looking back, it was hard to believe that a single, hot, one night stand would have led me to living in a community of bear shifters, practically married to their leader, and having his child. It was something I thought about sometimes, a bemused expression on my face, but as my belly grew, along with the feelings that Nick and I shared, I knew one thing.
I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
The End