Releasing the Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Callaghan Clan Book 2) (5 page)

I waited at the end of the county road that would take me to Scarlett’s home for twenty minutes, not wanting to be too early. When Peter had demanded I take Scarlett to Anchorage with me, I couldn’t believe my luck. I knew I was asking for trouble by putting myself in close proximity to her, but damn it if my bear didn’t want her close by. To protect and to love.

Love.

Was I seriously in love with Scarlett? I hardly knew her. No, my human side hardly knew her but my animal had found his mate. And that meant that a human timeline didn’t matter. Finding a mate may take a while, but once one had been selected, there was no turning back. Was it the same for a wolf? I should ask Scarlett. Or should I? What if she wasn’t feeling the same way?

The alarm on my phone reminded me that I could go pick her up now. I’d told her an hour, but Bo had already had my bags packed and hotel reserved before I even got back to my cabin. It was a bit unusual for my little brother to be so prepared, and I suspected he was up to something. But it was a nice gesture and one I appreciated because I had too many thoughts swarming through my mind.

Sliding my truck into gear, I bounced along the dirt road trying to control my bear and my pounding heart. A part of me wished I would have been able to talk to my brothers about this. While Bo didn’t have a mate yet, he’d certainly been with his fair share of women. And Brandt had wanted Emma as a mate for years. I wondered what they would say to me. Would they support my choice in Scarlett? Or would they try to talk me out of it.

I had to stop my brain from swirling out of control once I passed the sign for the trailer park. It was still relatively early in the morning yet the Tik’a pack was up and about. Many of the young men were jumping into trucks and SUVs to head into to town for work. A lot of them were employed by our fish processing plants, another reason why this relationship between me and Scarlett could be an issue. Several of the older women were out in their small, manicured lawns digging through their gardens or hanging up clothes to dry.

As I passed Seth’s trailer, I waved at that large man watching me with a look I couldn’t interpret. He didn’t wave back. My bear bristled inside, wanting to challenge the weaker wolf. But I told him no. And then we saw Scarlett. In her typical black attire, she looked stunning. Black ankle high boots, shorts, and a loose tank top that showed her bra straps. My jeans pulled against my erection. One look at her and I knew I was finished. Her thick, dark hair had been braided quickly and hung over her left shoulder. The sunglasses hid her green eyes but I could feel her staring at me as I drove up in front of her.

At the trailer with the red door, her uncle stood on his porch. I tried not to make eye contact, but I could feel his dominance wafting through the air. He didn’t smile and Scarlett didn’t say anything to him as she climbed into my truck and threw her bag into the small back seat.

“Everything okay with you two?” I asked.

“Huh?” she said, and then followed my gaze toward her uncle. “Oh, yeah. Let’s just get out of here and I’ll tell you on the drive.”

She didn’t need to tell me twice. I sensed the tension rolling off of her and the only thing my bear wanted to do was protect her. Protect my mate. Touch my mate. I felt the bulge in my jeans move again and hoped that I could keep it under control.

Scarlett flashed me a look, nostrils flared, but then she resumed gazing out the side window. We drove in silence for thirty minutes. A very uncomfortable silence and I hated myself for not being able to find the words I needed to say to her. Scarlett had changed everything. I wasn’t looking for a mate, even though seeing Brandt finally have his made me jealous of what he’d found with Emma. But if were to have chosen a mate, I certainly wouldn’t have thought I’d pick a wolf.

We were on the highway and well on our way into the four-hour drive when Scarlett finally spoke. “My uncle knows.”

I almost lost control of the truck. “What?”

“He figured it out, and I can’t lie to him.” She continued to stare out the window.

My head spun and my bear growled deep within my skin.
You can claim her now
, he screamed in his own way.

Scarlett cleared her throat and tucked her legs under her. “You smell like bear,” she said.

“Can’t help it,” I growled.

“Will you please say something?”

I looked at her several times in confusion. “I am saying stuff.”

“No,” she sighed, “say something about this.” Waving her hands between us, she continued. “Say something about us.”

Swallowing down the bear and my nerves, I focused on the road. “What do you want me to say?”

“Do you think last night was a mistake?”

“Not at all.”

“Do you not want to be my mate?” her voice trembled with that question.

I snapped my head in her direction, only to see the pain on her face. It broke my heart. Reaching over, I grabbed her hand. “Of course I do.”

“My uncle wants to check the records to see if a wolf shifter has ever mated with another shifter species before.” She squeezed my fingers.

“Why?”

“To determine if he can give his approval or not.” She looked out over my shoulder at Kalgin Island on our left. “My culture doesn’t like to break tradition. I’m an alpha female and my pack leader is supposed to choose my mate for me. In fact,” she shifted in her seat again so that she could watch my reaction, “he’d wanted me to mate with Seth.”

Anger surged. My bear roared underneath my skin begging me to let him free. “The bouncer?”

“Yes.”

“Did Seth know that?” I tried to redirect the emotions by squeezing the steering wheel so hard it creaked under my grip.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter. My wolf chose you. She chose you weeks ago, it just took me a while to realize it.” Scarlett’s hand squeezed my thigh. “What will Brandt say?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

“Does he suspect?”

“He asked why I smelled like a wolf this morning.”

Scarlett laughed. “He knows.”

“Yeah, probably.”

She slid over into the middle seat next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. She smelled like fur and incense. A scent both my bear and I committed to memory. “What are we going to do?”

“Tell them to fuck off if they have a problem with us?”

She laughed again. “That sounds like something I would say.”

I nestled my cheek against the top of her head and smiled. “Yeah, it definitely sounds more like you.”

Scarlett slapped my thigh and made a huffing sound. “Thanks a lot.”

We’d just entered Chugach National Forest and that gave me an idea. “Feel like a detour?”

“Hmm?” she mumbled.

My bear needed to run, both to let off some steam and to see what his mate was made out of. I hoped Scarlett would be up for the challenge. “I know a spot. Hold on.”

A few hundred feet up the road, I turned off the highway and onto a dirt path used only for off-road vehicles. Switching my truck into four-wheel drive, we bounced along the road as it led us deeper into the thick woods.

Scarlett sat up in her seat and beamed with a wide grin plastered to her face. She reached over and let her window down, brining in the scent of pines and the smell of her excitement. The human in me wanted to pull the truck over right now and throw her into my lap, but the bear wanted to be free of this confined space.

Leaning out of the window, Scarlett closed her eyes and let the wind blow through her hair. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was a wolf thing and the realization that I knew so little about her shifter culture thrilled me. That meant we would have so much to talk about and learn from each other. We could converse for years. Something I’d never shared with anyone else.

Driving over bumps, puddles, and small logs in the way, we both enjoyed the wilderness just beyond the reach of our vehicle. Several miles in, I found the spot I’d been looking for. Pulling of the small road and driving through the meadow, I parked the truck underneath a circle of pines that looked as though they’d been planted that way. Blocking us from the road, we now had the privacy both the human and bear wanted.

Scarlett looked at me with mischief in her eyes. Reaching forward, while still watching me, she took off her boots and lifted her tank top over her head. When I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat to move my boner, her laugh tickled my skin with desire. She pushed her hips up into the air and shimmied out of her shorts. Left only in her bra and panties, her grin grew wider.

“Come on. Isn’t this what you wanted?” she teased.

I bent toward her, needing to kiss those lips and her tight stomach. She allowed me the kiss on the lips but then immediately slipped out of the seat and jumped outside. With the door open, and me hanging there like a lost puppy, she removed her bra and stepped out of her panties. “Let’s run.”

I didn’t need another invitation. Stepping out of my truck, I stripped out of my clothes as fast as I could, nearly crashing to the ground when my jeans got stuck on my foot. Scarlett giggled and I told her she better not let me catch her.

“You think you’re faster than me, grizzly?” She stood by the front of the truck, naked and beautiful with that braid covering one of her breasts—the challenge in her voice a total turn on for me.

I had to pull my erection out of my boxers before letting them fall to the ground. Scarlett’s eyes followed the movement and I got a scent of her arousal that only enticed me more. “Grizzlies are fast.”

“Only for short distances,” she teased, walking closer to me. She chose each step carefully, being sure to show me every part of her nakedness. When she got close enough, I gasped as her hand wrapped around my rock hard cock. I was putty under her fingers. “I tell you what, bear. If you can catch me, you can have me.” She pressed up on her toes so that our lips could meet.

I drove my tongue between her teeth, wanting to taste every part of her. She continued to stroke me, the early signs of moisture helping to lubricate the skin. When she dropped her head and looked down at my length between her fingers, she got that look in her eyes again. The look that told me I was in a world full of trouble with this one.

Her soft lips brushed against the head of my cock, kissing me gently. I gripped the back of my truck, trying to stay upright even though my legs were weak. I had to be strong. Always strong for my mate.

Scarlett kissed my stomach and raised her head back up to my chest. She nipped it lightly, a tease and a challenge all the same. “You ready?” she asked with a wicked grin.

Thinking she was talking about sex, I laughed. “Do I look ready?”

Stepping away from me, she shook her head. “Not that.” She walked backward. “This.” A second later, a large, jet black wolf burst from her skin and landed in front of me.

Her emerald eyes, a color I’d never seen before, focused on my own. She whined and wagged her tail. Bending down on her front legs, she yipped again and lifted her butt up into the air. I know I was a grizzly but holy hell was this wolf in front of me an amazing specimen of nature. Her long, black hair shimmered every place the sunlight hit it. Her white canines looked almost too perfect to be real. And her playful movements pulled out the young cub in me. She jumped in the air and turned around, waving that ass in my face again. Then, with one more bark, she took off into the woods.

I didn’t need another signal. I let the bear rip out of my chest and grunted when my four paws hit the ground running. I’d been pretty sure that I could outrun her, but watching Scarlett’s wolf dash in and out of tree branches hovering close to the ground, I feared she might just best me.

I let out a roar and somewhere over a small hill in front of me, Scarlett howled.
Chase. Must chase. Must catch
. My bear loved this, and from the sounds Scarlett was making, she loved playing the prey.

Perhaps this relationship could work after all.

Brennan couldn’t catch me. Grizzlies were fast and powerful, but wolves were quick and cunning. I heard him crashing through the woods behind me, knowing exactly where he’d be stepping next. I scrambled up a steep embankment and jumped onto a large boulder overlooking the animal path I knew he’d follow. When I saw his golden bear rip through the trees, I crouched low and watched. He skidded to a top, nose in the air, sniffing. Then he focused on the ground and quickly caught my trail.

From the top of the boulder, I barked at him.
Still too slow
, she said, egging him on. Brennan huffed and tried to climb up the hill. But his large paws kept slipping in the leaves and moss littering the ground. I laughed, even though it sounded more like a grunt. Brennan looked up at me and showed his teeth. His golden-yellow eyes almost glowed in the darker part of this forest, and it surprised me to feel how much he affected me. Shivers ran through my body, my wolf shaking her ass as a tease. And when Brennan roared again, I pushed off my feet and jumped over his head.

He didn’t swipe at me. Instead he watched in awe. Probably shocked by my boldness considering most wolves would avoid getting that close to a grizzly when alone. Brennan continued chasing me, the hot air from his breath teasing the tip of my tail. I could smell his bear filling the air around me. He was more dominant than I knew, and my wolf loved it. She was always up for a challenge, and releasing Brennan’s inner grizzly to its fullest potential seemed like the perfect task for her mate.

I smelled the lake before I saw it. Rushing through another meadow and dodging under a downed pine, I got to the edge before Brennan did. But when he reached my side, he continued pouncing along until his whole body was splashing around in the water. I barked at him from the shore and he swatted water in my direction. Bobbing his head underneath the surface, he looked so happy playing in the shallows and rolling around like a cub. Having never seen him act so carefree, my human heart and my wolf instincts melted for him. My mate could let go, and my equal could relax every once in a while.

Brennan shook the water from his massive neck and huffed in my direction. I replied with a bark, asking him what he wanted. But instead of a reply, he turned back toward the center of the lake and watched. Frozen and on the hunt, I admired his technique. His eyes moved back and forth, following something, but his muscles didn’t even twitch. Then, with impressive speed, he jumped forward, dove his jaws into the water, and emerged with a large fish hanging from his teeth. He blew out water from his nose and trotted over to me on the shoreline. Stopping in front of my face, he wiggled his catch proudly.

Yes, I see you, mate
. I sat on my hunches, acknowledging the gift he’d just given me.

Brennan set the fish down, a trout I think, and in two seconds flat, he’d skinned his prey and pushed the carcass over to me. The bears liked the skin. Wolves liked to scavenge. So a red-muscled fish killed by another was certainly all right with me. I dig in, pulling off the muscle fist before chomping down on the head. Brennan simply watched me enjoy the meal. It had been a while since I’d hunted as a wolf and the burst of energy I got from the raw meat only excited her more.

When finished, I rolled the side of my face against the fish. Back and forth. Back and forth. And then I walked over to my mate. He dwarfed my height when standing, but Brennan had relaxed onto the ground while I feasted. So I could put my face right into his. As an alpha female, I expected those in my pack to expose their necks when I did this. And even now, I wondered what Brennan would do. Had he ever dealt with pack laws before? Did the bears follow similar dominance rules?

My questions were answered when a rough, long bear tongue licked the side of my face. My wolf growled while my human laughed. Brennan continued to surprise me. I stayed still in front of him as he cleaned the fur around my mouth, an almost purr-like sounds escaping my lips. Brennan’s giant bear paw swiped at me from the side, knocking me down beside him. He licked my jawline and then moved down to my stomach. His nose nestled against my chest and then he rolled onto his back. Snout to snout we still touched each other as we played around along the grassy shoreline. Should a human see us now, we would certainly have some explaining to do.

As if on cue, a branch snapped in the distance and a flock of geese took off into the air from a swampy area we hadn’t seen. We both jumped to our feet and searched for unwelcomed intruders. But there was nothing there. Just me, and Brennan, and the little bubble of a world we’d created around us.

I looked up into the sky and noticed that the sun was directly above us. Somewhere in my hazy human mind, I knew that we needed to keep moving so that we could get settled in Anchorage. But my wolf wasn’t finished teasing yet. She wasn’t going to be satisfied until this bonding moment ended in a mating. And if I was being honest with myself, the human side wanted to feel the human Brennan inside of me again.

So, with a flirty bark and a tail lift, I signaled to Brennan that it was time to play again…if he could catch me. I took off full speed and raced back toward his truck. It was easy to follow our scent trail to the original meadow but this time, Brennan stayed close on my heels. I wondered if he liked the view and a surge of hormones raced through me at the thought.

He is your mate.

Yes, he was. And mates should enjoy all of their time together.

I spotted the truck parked along the side of the meadow, and when I got within twenty feet, I quickly shifted back into human form. It was a talent only me and my uncle had within our pack and we’d been told it’s because we were the alphas. Shifting on the fly, so to speak. Still running forward, I sprinted back to the truck knowing Brennan wasn’t too far behind.

I turned just in time to see him shift back. He’d had to stop but he was closer to me than I realized. His beautiful, naked body put everyone else to shame. Large and wonderful, his biceps alone could kill. Then the defined abs caught my eyes as I followed those long muscles that accentuated the path to his dick. His thighs twitched when he walked, highlighting every working muscle. Leaning up against the back of the truck, I sucked in a deep breath.

“Holy hell,” I mumbled, taking him in and feeling like a lovesick teenager.

Brennan laughed and sauntered my way. When he got close enough, he lifted his arm but then reached past me to the handle on the tailgate. Lowering the piece of metal covered with a bed liner, he continued to bore his gaze into mine. Then he scooped me up into his arm and set me on the back. Stepping away from me, he gazed at my naked body.

“You are so fucking hot,” he growled.

I slid back a few inches and spread my legs a little wider. When Brennan’s erection grew, I reveled in that power.

“Lean back,” he demanded. I did. “Now,” he continued, “show me more.”

Arching my back, I lifted my hips and showed him all that I was made out of. I loved watching his reaction, but when he jumped forward and pressed his lips against my clit, I let my head hang back in pleasure. His tongue darted back and forth as his hands pushed my thighs further apart. Each flick of his soft, yet warm skin against me sent shivers all over. He sucked and pulled and moaned against my sex. I called out his name and pushed the back of his head deeper into my folds. Brennan certainly knew what he was doing and I certainly intended on letting him finish.

One of his large hands reached forward and he pinched my swollen nipple between his fingertips. I grabbed his hair even harder in response. With his other hand, he slipped first one, then two fingers inside of me. Moving in a slow and steady rhythm, he matched the speed of his tongue on my clit with the pulsing of his fingers. When he looked up at my face and used the heel of his hand to rub me, I almost lost control.

“Don’t hold back,” he whispered, biting down on my inner thigh before returning his mouth to my moistened folds.

“I want you,” I begged.

“Not yet,” he teased.

Another pinch and another flick of the tongue was all it took before the powerful waves of my orgasm had me screaming his name into the air. I pressed his face against my sex again, enjoying each pulse that radiated to my toes. Brennan let out a deep rumble from his chest and grabbed my hips. He continued to use his tongue in the most masterful way, eliciting an orgasm from me that must have lasted minutes.

When the pulses slowed, I pushed myself up to sitting. Brennan stood on the ground, his erection pushing firmly against me. I could feel the moisture between us and I wanted all of him. Now. With one tiny movement, I lifted my hips just high enough to slide onto his impressive cock. Brennan sighed and pulled me close enough that he filled me completely and so that our pelvic bones touched.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he groaned.

Arching back, my breasts bounced in the air as he pounded into me. Brennan buried his face in them and that gave me the opportunity I was looking for. With my wolf strength, I wrapped my legs around his back and used my arms to push us away from the tailgate. Brennan stumbled back, his dick still firmly deep inside and as he began to fall, I set my legs down and controlled our momentum. With grace, I lowered both us to the ground—Brennan on his back and me straddling his hips.

He laughed below me. “Well, then.”

I bent forward and kissed him hard. Lips smashed against each other, I could seem to think straight anymore. Until he lifted his hips. Letting go of his face, I planted my arms on either side of his head and started to ride him. Slowly at first, resisting his motions that tried to speed things up. My wolf let out a growl, telling him I was in charge and the smile on his face let me know he understood. With each thrust, I allowed him deeper inside, digging my fingers into the grass and enjoying each hit as it pressed against my already swollen clit over and over.

“I can’t hold on,” Brennan moaned. “Fuck, woman.”

I loved having this kind of power over a man and I wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Picking up speed, I slammed my hips into him and ground my pelvis against his. The sign of another pending orgasm began again, heat pooling between my legs and moister lubricating his cock.

“You’re so tight. So wet,” he whispered.

“I know,” I breathed and he chuckled.

“I want to fuck you all day,” he responded as I felt him growing harder inside. “All day,” he repeated.

And then he tensed as the first wave of his orgasm filled me up inside. I let go as well, feeling my own pleasure escalate at the sound of his. Digging his hands into my hips, Brennan slammed me into him several more times with each release. He moaned and growled and ground his teeth together. I watched him, hair surrounded by green blades of grass and wildflowers and felt something tear inside of me. The thought of losing him broke me. We were mates. And no matter what, we had to make this work.

I collapsed on top of him once we were finished. “You can’t leave me,” I whispered.

He kissed my head and rubbed his hands slowly over my back. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Even if our alphas say otherwise?”

“Yes.” Brennan shifted slightly beneath me so that he could pull out. “They can’t deny us.”

I didn’t want to look at him since the tears were already leaving my eyes. “I hope they won’t. I love you, Brennan.”

I expected those words to scare him away. I didn’t know why, but most men wouldn’t have been receptive of that kind of commitment so soon after meeting. Thankfully, Brennan wasn’t most men. “I love you, too.”

We lay in that meadow for another hour, laughing, napping, and talking. It felt so comfortable being with him. I wished we could stay here forever and forget about everything else. I loved seeing Brennan relaxed and talkative. He wasn’t like this around others. And I loved how he made me feel inside…like I was the only person who mattered and not because I was the alpha female or the pack’s enforcer. I was simply Scarlett right now.

As the mid-afternoon sun began to move closer to the horizon, Brennan made us sit up. “We should go.”

“I don’t want to.”

He chuckled. “Neither do I but we can get our business finished early and enjoy our night in Anchorage.”

I thought about that and smiled. “I haven’t been there in a while.”

“Perfect.” He jumped to his feet and pulled me up off the ground. We were both still naked but that didn’t bother either of us. “I know where I want to take you, then.”