Shifters of Grrr 2 (12 page)

Sign up for Wednesday Raven's hottest new releases and book promotions at:

http://eepurl.com/bjDqHv

See all Wednesday Raven's Kindle Unlimited work at:

http://www.amazon.com/author/wednesdayraven

Bear in Mind - Alannah Blacke and Terra Wolf

COPYRIGHT

©2015 Terra Wolf

 
Bear In Mind

All Rights Reserved worldwide.

No part of this book may be reproduced, uploaded to the Internet, or copied without permission from the author. The author respectfully asks that you please support artistic expression and help promote anti-piracy efforts by purchasing a copy of this book at the authorized online outlets.

This is a work of fiction intended for mature audiences only. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Some may be used for parody purposes. Any resemblance to events, locales, business establishments, or actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is purely coincidental.

All sexual activities depicted occur between consenting characters 18 years or older who are not blood related.

Please Sign Up For My Newsletter for new release updates!

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Bear In Mind

The massive bear ambled up the hillside slowly, unconcerned with the activities in the surrounding woods. It was king of its domain, nothing to threaten it, nor anywhere to be in a hurry.
 
The trees provided just enough shade from the intense sunlight
 
to keep it comfortable during its trek. For what seemed like hours it slowly climbed the gentle slope of the mountain, drawing ever nearer to its destination.
 

Pausing outside of a clearing, the bear sniffed the air and listened intently, obviously expecting something else. Then, during a lull in the wind, noises could be heard in the distance. Letting out a little growl, the bear reared up on its legs, listening for a few more seconds, before moving. What started off as a slow fall forward from its upright position, turned swiftly into a long, powerful run. As it built up speed, the bear let loose with a battle cry, the noise roaring across the meadow, alerting the others there that they were trespassing.

Within sight of its targets now, the massive grizzly bear poured on the speed, surging forward in a display of power that should have awed the two humans sitting on a log in the middle of the field. Looking up in surprise, but showing little concern, they jumped off the log and quickly split up. The grizzly picked the nearer of the two and roared again,
 
bearing down on its intended victim.

The human in front of him crouched down and opened its mouth, a deep, powerful cry erupting from its throat, a noise no human could make. As it did so, the man's body began to grow, doubling in size, then doubling again. In its place, a large black bear rose up and lunged forward, building up speed as it charged the attacker.

The two titans met in a thunderous collision, rolling to the ground, paws slapping heavily at each other's sides. The dust rose up around them, obscuring them for a moment. Sounds began to echo from within the cloud of dirt, that slowly resolved into a pair of humans laughing wildly, as they playfully kicked each other while laying on the ground.

"Derek you rascal, I didn't know we'd see you this weekend!" The man who had changed into the bear sat up, wiping sweat and dirt off his face as he looked over at his friend.

"Last minute change of plans meant I could make it. Figured you two could use a wakeup call since you were probably sitting around doing nothing but drink, if I know you!" The hard-charging grizzly bear had resolved itself into a large, bare-chested man. He was tall, easily a handful of inches over six feet, with broad, muscular shoulders to match his large frame.

As he spoke he pushed a shock of jet black hair away from his face, revealing tanned skin that helped highlight the ice-blue of his eyes even in the dazzling sunlight. The well-trimmed beard that clung to his chiseled jaw gave him a distinguished look that would fit perfectly in a boardroom, but wouldn't look out of place in a bar.

"Well, you certainly surprised us, that's for sure!" The other man who had spoke walked over to the two of them. Extending a hand to each, he easily hauled them both to their feet. They exchanged a round of handshakes and hugs in a slightly more human style of greeting this time.

"So, Edward," Derek said, addressing the newcomer to the conversation, a somewhat smaller blonde-haired man, "how did that last investment go?" The original pair of men burst out laughing at this, the howls of which redoubled when they saw the look come across Edward's face.

"Oh ha-ha, very funny, Derek," he snapped, though the hint of a smile on his face indicated that he wasn't really that mad. "I'll get along just fine thank you, especially if I don't come to you for airline advice."
 

That stopped Derek's laughter in his tracks, but Philip, the large, bald-headed man who had wrestled with him continued to laugh. After a moment of surprise, Derek joined the other two in laughing as they made light of some of the mistakes that had been made lately.

Just recently, Edward had decided to invest heavily in a new technology company that seemed poised for big things. Unfortunately for him, the owner of the company had lost his composure when the company made it big time, and within three days during the last week, it had gone from a value of almost five hundred million dollars, down to less than fifty. Edward had been busy following Derek's last challenge and hadn't gotten his money out in time. He had lost almost thirty million dollars.

"By the way, how did that Peter fellow handle the news?" That was Philip speaking now, addressing Edward's fake protégé that he had been forced to deal with thanks to Derek. The three friends had a long-standing challenge circle between them. It was simply a way to amuse themselves at the expense of others.

Just this past week, Edward had spent most of his time training some fresh college graduate, pretending that he was going to hand over the reins to most of his empire to him. He had had no idea the entire thing was just a plot to humiliate him.

"Well, the look on his face when he showed up on Friday, fancy suit and all, clearly ready to go out and get a lady, was too much to pass up. So I told him in the lobby in front of everyone that he was fired. I laughed so hard at the stunned look that I almost pissed myself." The three of them chuckled heartily over the image as they wandered back to the logs that Edward and Philip had been sitting on when Derek had interrupted them.

Sitting down, Derek snagged a cold beer from one of the coolers there and cracked the top expertly. When they were in the city, the three were extremely wealthy businessmen who had to look and act the part. That meant fine dining, formal business attire, and impeccable manners all the time. When they took a weekend off, however, the three were far more likely to enjoy a beer than a several thousand dollar bottle of Sauvignon Blanc or scotch.
 

With a clink of glass, the three of them raised a toast to their friends and took a nice swig of ice cold beer. Letting out a sigh of relief, Derek closed his eyes momentarily, looking up at the sun and letting it beat down on his face, the warmth contrasting wonderfully with the slow cool breeze drifting through the clearing.

The three of them were high up on a mountainside on property owned by one of the many corporations Derek operated. He was the most successful of the group, and this particular piece of property had been out of range of his friends wallets at the time it was available, so he had picked it up instead.

It was their preferred escape from normal human life, located in sunny climes where they seldom had to worry about the cold unless they climbed high enough, which they frequently did. The landscape was beautiful, home to forests and large fields full of vegetation and slow moving rivers that were a delight to bath in. Whether as bears or humans, the three of them lived for the weekends they could escape away here.

"So," Philip began, "what bit of trouble shall we get into next, hmm?" The two of them looked over at Edward. After being the one to execute a prank last, it was his turn to decide the next one and who had to do it.

"Oh, I've been giving this one some thought actually. I took home this sexy little thing last week, and at one point she mentioned an event that I think would be thoroughly entertaining to see our dear Derek participate in." He grinned evilly over at his compatriot, obviously hinting at something challenging. Never one to back down, Derek smiled broadly to indicate his interest in whatever it was Edward was cooking up.

"Well, don't leave us hanging my friend, ante up with the plot here!" Philip crowed, eager to see what would come up next.

"We both know it's been a little while since Derek here bedded a woman," he looked knowingly over at Philip, and the two of them shared a laugh. "This young lady, who if I may add was actually not very ladylike, told me how she had signed up for some dating help." The grin he shot Derek now was so wide it threatened to split his face. He was thoroughly enjoying dragging this out.

"So my dear friend, here's what you have to do. There's a little coffee shop back in town, over on 47th, that runs this once a week."

"Oh just spit it out already!" Derek was getting impatient now, wondering just what his friend had in store for him. It sounded like it was going to be a big challenge, which made him rather eager for it. The last time around, all he had had to do was buy a small company up and then fire the founder. It had been a nothing prank really, he had to do that for business reasons every few months at least. This one though, this was beginning to sound like fun.

"Okay, my friend. You're going to go speed dating with the regular townies, find a woman there, and for the next few days, pretend like you've fallen head over heels. The goal is to get her to sleep with you through emotional desire. You aren't looking for a one-night stand this time. Then drop her immediately after." As Derek sat there absorbing the challenge, his two pals exchanged high fives over laughter at the situation Derek now found himself in. This was going to be interesting, having to put up with the 99% for that long, pretending he actually liked one.

"Not bad Edward, not bad at all," he commented slowly, taking a long sip of beer while thinking it over. It was doable obviously, with his manly good looks, there were few women out there that could resist him when he turned on his charm. The money helped, but he was suave enough to be able to do without most times.

"I can't wait to see this go down," said Philip, raising his beer to clink against Derek's, as he cheered him on.

"Speed dating, what a novel concept. It always amuses me how they come up with new ways to interact," Derek drawled. "So, when is this due to take place?"

"Tuesday, three days from now. Gives us plenty of time to enjoy ourselves up here, and then good sir, you will have to mingle with
them.
" It was said with such disgust, that even Derek flinched a little internally, though not enough to prevent him from raising his bottle yet again, as the three sat back and began to regale each other with the goings on over the past few weeks.
 

It had been a long time, and it was good to relax. Derek drank well into the night, enjoying the company of his friends. When they finally tired and decided to call it a night, they moved away from the campfire slightly, before shifting once more into their bears. It was far easier to go camping when you didn't need to bring a tent, so they slept in the open, uncaring, for nothing out there would challenge the three of them together.

***

When Tuesday evening arrived, Derek and his buddies were back in the city, drinking at their preferred establishment, which happened to be within a few short blocks of his evening's entertainment. With a few glasses of wine under his belt to help fortify him, Derek had his driver drop him off at the coffee shop. He sized the place up for a moment, before ambling inside to begin his quest.

Keri

"Are you serious? What the hell am I supposed to do now?" Keri's landlord shrugged unapologetically and moved on down the hallway to the next door. Standing there for a moment, she had no idea what to do next. Finally, she turned and went back into her apartment, closing the door behind her.