Read Bear Shifters: Hunt Collection #1 Online
Authors: Ava Hunt
Between the time Shelby had left the house and the time that Ash finally made it home, Ember had a new plan. Crude, but still functional for what he needed. A few lies added and it would be even better than the one he had in the beginning. He'd tell Ash he was here and that she came on to him, even after telling her she had the wrong brother. With Shelby out of the picture, it'd be a double win; he'd have his strip club partner back and he'd have beaten Ash to her.
"Brother! I see you made it home finally." Ember said as soon as he came into the doorway.
"It was a serious bitch of a night. A no-show. Why do that and screw with a man's evening, right?" Ash was tired and frustrated but looking at Ember's beaming face he knew something was up.
"Ok spill it, Ember, what's up? Get one of Sally's new girls tonight?"
"No, not one of Sally's," he said to Ash. He smiled deviously at him.
"Tell me then quickly, okay? I'm really tired and I just want to lie down. Nothing has gone right today."
Ember stuck out his hand to a confused Ash. "Smell."
Ok
, he thought,
it's a childish plan, but a plan nonetheless
. Ash inhaled and smelled the unmistakable scent of a woman.
"Smell like anyone you know? Oh that's right; you haven't done anything with Shelby yet." Ember didn't even have the chance to say more before Ash's right hook hit him square in the jaw. Before he could even restrain himself, Ash's bear emerged, barely giving Ember time to shift himself. The two bears fought in the middle of their living room. The thickness of their bodies hurled into the furniture breaking lamps and tables while cutting in to the mass of fur. Soon, small trails of blood streaked the walls as they locked onto one another.
While it wasn't a fight to the death, the two wanted to make damn sure the other knew of their displeasure. After a few minutes of it, Ash shifted back to human and backed away from his brother. He had never felt such hatred for Ember, even after some of the things he had done in the past in the name of competition. This was too much and Ash was afraid he'd not be able to control his temper if he stayed.
"Pack your shit, get out, and don't come back. I'll send you your 50% of the company's worth, just get the hell out of this house now." Ash said and wiped an embedded claw out of his shoulder as he walked back to his room, slamming the door behind him. For the next hour he heard Ember throwing things in suitcases and noisily taking them out to his car. Finally, the door shut for the last time.
Sitting there in his chair, he didn't know what bothered him more. That Ember was so hell bent on beating him at something, or that Shelby would actually have sex with him. Something was wrong. Something was off but he couldn't put his finger on it or face either of them at the moment. He just needed some time.
****
Shelby stared at her cell phone that laid on the nightstand beside her. It had been painfully quiet all night. There hadn't been a message from Ash at all. Her tears still flowed down her cheek and she didn't understand how she could have misread him so badly. He was just like all the others in her life it seemed and she was heartbroken. She vowed not to text or call him until he either apologized to her or gave her some sort of an explanation.
Ember handed over the first and last month's rent on a two bedroom bungalow on the outskirts of town. After a week of hitting motels, he'd finally secured a place of his own. For the first time in his entire life, he was without his brother. His job was gone and although there was a small sense of freedom in being about to do whatever he wanted instead of what his brother thought was right, he was filled with apprehension. A piece of him was gone.
I won, but what did I lose in the process
. He went inside and started to drag boxes and suitcases into the bleak, stark rooms. For the fifth time, he texted his brother, hoping to apologize. For the fifth time, his brother didn't reply. Ember sighed, knowing that this time, he went too far.
"I can do this. I can live here on my own, make my own money, spend it how I choose. I can do this." he repeated, folding his clothes in to the dresser he'd hauled in earlier that day.
By the end of that day, he looked around at the rooms that had begun to look like a home.
Not bad, Ember, not bad.
****
Ember woke to his cell phone going off and he sprinted to reach it in time. "Ash?" he asked as he answered the phone, not having time to check the screen before answering.
"No, this is Jason Awning of SoftNet, you had applied yesterday for a position here?"
"Yes, sorry, this is Ember Reese."
Ember went through his qualifications again. Agreed to the horrible reduction in pay. Assured Jason his prior firm partner would not be available for a recommendation of hiring and then ended the call. He'd begin Monday at a firm on the opposite side of the city from his brother. He was still in the same area code yet couldn't feel further from him.
He sat down, realizing his brother may never pick up the phone, and wrote him a letter. An hour later, he sealed it and put it on his desk, hoping for the chance to hand it to him in person.
Chapter Seven
Nearly a week had passed and Shelby had given up.
Ash was clearly like all the rest.
She hopped into the hot shower and tried to rinse all the bad memories away so that she could get started on her work day. No matter what was going on in her personal life, she needed that paycheck to keep her life afloat.
Ash had gone too long in his quest for more time alone and realized that it was now probably too late to call. He still had so many questions about that day.
What really happened? Was it even truly Shelby that Ember had?
So many things that continued to haunt him with no answers. He needed to talk to Shelby and kicked himself for not doing it sooner. He, in the midst of the turmoil, had blindly taken his brother's words to be true without even checking to see if they were.
He called the courier service and had a special request they assured him could be done that day, for the right fee.
Across town, the courier service handed over the day's manifest to Shelby, noting special items that went to Reese Systems that had to be there by noon, no later. A mild panic started in the pit of her stomach and worked its way to her chest. She hadn't bumped into him once since that day. She had finally found a place where she wasn't crying or missing him but wasn't ready to see him again. She wasn't ready to start that slippery slope back to wanting him.
"Couldn't one of the other couriers take it, Charlotte?" she said to the dispatcher, "I'm really overloaded today and unsure I'll even get there in time."
"No, it's yours. Good luck."
There was something in Charlotte's tone and the way she wouldn't look at Shelby that seemed odd, but she was already late and didn't have time to question her about it.
Damnit. Maybe I can just leave it with the receptionist. In and out, I don't even have to see Ash that way.
****
Shelby peddled through downtown, hitting the boutiques, law offices, and the city commissioner's office before getting back on her bike to speed back to where Reese Systems was located. She'd have to hurry, as the commissioner took longer than she anticipated.
She got there at the glass enclosed high rise that housed Ash's firm with five minutes to spare and noticed that there was a small sign on the receptionist's desk:
All packages need to go straight to the office assigned. Receptionist gone for the day
.
What the hell? Who sends their receptionist home this early?
Frustrated and already dreading what lay ahead, she made her way to Suite 307, the office of Ash Reese.
She stood there, staring at the door. Her hand lifted to knock but she couldn't will herself to go through with it and contemplated leaving the package by the door.
You can do this, Shelby
. With a deep breath, she knocked.
"Come in." She heard the voice that was smoother than farm fresh churned butter.
Seconds later, she was there standing in front of him again, taking in every beautiful line on his face and remembering the softness of his lips on hers the day at the luncheon.
"Hello, Shelby."
She was trembling but she willed herself steady, handing over his package.
"You'll need to sign for this, Sir." She said, not looking directly at him.
"Sir? We're at Sir again?" He sighed taking the clipboard from her hands and scrawled his name.
"I know I should have called you, but I was angry." He didn't know why he was saying it. He was still so hurt.
"Angry? Just because I said for you to stop and us not have sex? What are you, twelve years old?" She was flustered and didn't care about fake professionalism now.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, quieter and genuinely confused now.
"Don't play the idiot, Ash. We had that nice dinner, we made out on the couch, and then when I stopped us from going too far you told me to leave. No, let me correct that. You told me to go back to my cheap little apartment and my cheap little life."
"Oh my God. So that's what happened." Ash said, turning away from her, realizing where it all went wrong. "Shelby, sit down, we need to talk."
He told her everything, how a no-show client kept him at the office, how his twin brother was there at the house and not him, and even told her about Ember's crass display of having him smell his finger. Shelby blushed to her very core at hearing it.
"So, that wasn't you?" She asked, meekly.
Oh my God, my boyfriend's brother fingered me on his couch. How do I even look at Ash again after that?
"No. And I didn't call or text out of spite from you messing around with Ember, while you apparently had no idea it was him."
She half smiled and said, "I didn't call or text YOU because I wasn't about to be the one to apologize for the evening when it was your fault."
"Damn. So where does that even leave us now?" He asked, hoping that somehow the relationship may be salvaged and they could move on together.
"Well you could start with why I didn't even know you had a twin brother. Seems like all this could have been nipped in the bud had I known that little tidbit of information." She said, trying not to make it seem like Ash was to blame.
He exhaled and tried to find the right words.
Because I wanted you to love me and not my playboy womanizer brother. Because of Annabeth, who dated us both and preferred him
.
Because
, he thought,
I didn't want you to know about anything unsavory in my life.
"Ember has always had a bit of a competitive streak that can turn....well, mean, as you can see. I guess I wanted to shield you from that and I'm sorry, I should have told you about him," he said softly.
"I suppose we can start again. Slowly. No lies, no omissions. We'll still need to talk this out more and anything else that may be holding us back." She was hopeful for the first time in over a month, but something clearly was troubling Ash now that she had spoken. "Ash? Something wrong?"
"How about Saturday? Come over, we'll talk. There are... things you should know." Ash looked crestfallen as he spoke.
How do you tell someone you're a werebear? Am I getting her back just to lose her again?
Shelby's mind raced with the ominous tone in his voice and yet wouldn't know what he wanted to discuss for days.
Oh god, he's dying. He's married. Something bad. I can just tell by the way he looks this isn't going to be good.
"Okay. I'll be there. Noon?" Her voice wavered just slightly while a small tear started to form in the corner of her eye.
"Noon is good. And Shelby? You look stunning today, truly." The hint of a smile on his face as he spoke to her told her it may work out, but she was petrified of what he would have to tell her.
The day couldn't get there soon enough for Shelby. She and Ash had texted some throughout the days prior, but didn't touch upon anything too serious. Saturday seemed like it would be serious enough for the both of them.
She arrived at the house with trepidation, but greeted him happily.
It IS good to see him, still, no matter what he's about to say to me.
"Shelby, right on time. Come on in and have a seat. I promise you, I'm probably more nervous than you are at the moment." He motioned to the chair in the corner; probably a conscious effort to avoid whatever couch was the star attraction in Ember's ploy the other evening.
"I just want to ask you before I start, are you truly wanting to get back together, even after that horrible play by my brother and my awkward miscommunication?" He asked her as he waited for her response to guide him into the hardest discussion he'd ever had.
"Yes, I truly do. There's something here, I don't know what yet, but there is a promise of something wonderful and I don't want to give that up."
"Okay then. First of all, my brother is gone. I sent him packing. I should have told you about the twin and honestly I don't know why I didn't. I wasn't keeping that a secret or anything. And I want you to know that I hold myself to blame for what happened; well, Ember mostly --my brother-- but not you, not you at all." He paused and inhaled deeply while his eyes darted around the room looking for a focal point.
What if she screams and leaves? What if I lose her because of this? Should I just try to keep it to myself and not tell her?
So many choices, but only one was right.
"Secondly, there is something you don't know about me. I don't know of many people outside of my family that do know. Certainly no one I've ever dated has known." He rambled on a bit, trying to find the words.
"It's okay Ash, whatever it is, we'll be fine, I promise." She said as hopeful as she could muster.
"Shelby. I'm part bear. Werebear, I suppose you'd call it. I can shift between a human and a bear. It mostly comes in time of extremes, whether it's extreme sadness, anger, or even sexual need." He paused and gauged her reaction so far. She didn't smile, she didn't laugh, and she just looked like she was very far away. "Are you okay?"
"I thought I was just overly tired that day, but it was you at the train station. The race. There were two guys but for a moment I could have swore there was a wild animal instead of one of the guys. It was gone when I blinked, so I thought it was just my tiredness." She remembered.
"Yes and no. Yes that was us at the train station. I can't believe you were there and saw the race. The bear you saw was Ember though. I try never to shift anywhere near where people will be."
"I want to see." She stated as she looked up at him determined. "I want to see you shift."
"Are you sure? I'm terrified of scaring you and losing you when I just now have you back."
"Yes. I want to see it."
Against his better judgment, Ash started to shift. He tried to do it as slow as possible so that it would hopefully be less traumatic for her. His skin cracked and revealed the soft brown fur underneath. The sound of bones readjusting and morphing filled the room. She saw his teeth lengthen and his claws come out. She sat, not in horror but mesmerized. When he was completely transformed, he curled around her as tenderly as he could.