Bearly Hanging On (A Werebear Shifter BBW Romance) (Laid Bear Book 3) (13 page)

The alcohol she drank before the ceremony must have caught up with her bear because it wasn’t long before she lay prone and panting beneath the black bear, surrendering to it completely. A weak whine escaped her snout as her bear retreated back inside, pushing a weeping Aunt Clea back to the surface to take any further punishment.

As soon as she was back in her human form, the bear that tackled her also underwent the transformation, shrinking down into the form of Uncle Max hovering over her. Breathing heavily, he rolled off his wife, gathered her into his shaking arms and pulled her cape closed to cover her exposed flesh. Werebears weren’t prudish about nudity under normal circumstances — it sort of came with the territory — but everything going on right now was far from normal, and his instinct was to protect his mate.
 

Which was exactly what Chet wanted to do,
needed
to do. It seemed to take an eternity to reach her on his human legs but he didn’t want to scare her again by shifting, especially when doing so wouldn’t have helped him reach her in time. When he finally did, he dragged her shaking body into his arms, his heart lurching in both gratitude that she hadn’t been torn into pieces and resignation that she would undoubtedly run screaming any second. The only thing left behind would be a Crystal-shaped hole in his soul.
 

“Shhh, you’re safe now,” he soothed, stroking her hair and holding her like he might never hold her again. “You’re safe, baby.”

Her small fingers clutched at his shirt, grabbing fistfuls of fabric to pull herself closer into his body. He let her scent wrap around him like a warm blanket, blocking out the cold reality that surrounded him. All he wanted was to disappear into her forever. For a brief moment, as she crushed herself to him, a flash of hope flared up inside him.

It was instantly extinguished when she pushed away from him. The distance was only a few inches but it seemed like miles to Chet. He reached for her to pull her back, but she slapped his hand away, a scowl replacing the look of fear she’d had a minute earlier.

“Just who do you think you are, Chet Pearce?”

“Um…” He wasn’t sure what the right answer was. He was…Chet. “Huh?”

“I said, who do you think you are?” Her volume increased with each word. Was she really yelling at him? In the middle of a pack of werebears? This girl had some serious
cojones
.

“I’m sorr—“

“You certainly are sorry! You’re a sorry excuse for a mate, that’s what you are. All this time, you go on and on about how we’re ‘fated mates’, that we’re meant for each other, that life without me would be a torment.”

“That’s all true, Cry—“

“I’m talking here!” she snapped.
 

His bear grumbled at being admonished in front of other bears but Chet shushed it. He’d take a tongue-lashing now if it meant getting another, more pleasant one later…and forever. Because if she was here, and she was calling him her mate, that could only mean she was ready to commit to him. And nothing would stop him from being with her.

Once she was satisfied that he was going to keep his lip zipped, she continued. “So you say all those pretty things but you were lying to me all along.”

He opened his mouth to object, to say he’d never
lied
, but one scathing glance from her and he shut his trap. She was right. It was a lie of omission.

“How am I supposed to trust you? Forget all this bear stuff, our relationship will never survive if you can’t trust that I will always love you no matter what.”

Chet blinked, not trusting that his ears had heard correctly. Did she just say… “W-what?”

The sweetest smile he’d ever seen slowly lit up her face. “I love you, Chet. I tried to talk myself out of it, but you were right. I felt our connection almost instantly. We’re fated mates, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you!”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Even his raging beast was choked up with emotion. She finally admitted it! They flew into each others’ arms, Chet peppering her face with desperate kisses as her joyful laugh echoed through the clearing.
 

“Heh hem.”
 

He’d been so wrapped up in Crystal’s well-being, and then her profession of love, that he completely forgot they were surrounded by a pack of werebears.
 

Not good.

Not only would they be irritated that the initiation ceremony had been interrupted but they’d be furious that a human had witnessed any part of it. There was no telling what they’d think about the whole ‘fated mates’ thing.

Chet pulled his face out from the delicious nook of Crystal’s neck and looked up to find his uncle and several angry clan elders standing before them. His heart started thumping, wondering what kind of punishment he’d receive. Shuffling to put himself between them and his mate, he squared his shoulders and waited.

“Chet, we talked about this,” Uncle Max said, his voice cracking with strain. “You can’t mate with a human and be a member of this clan. You have to make a decision. Her or us.”

There it was, the threat of banishment. He shouldn’t have been surprised but it still twisted him up inside now that he was face-to-face with it. His beast wasn’t paying attention. All it wanted to do was go back to nuzzling Crystal’s neck. And quite honestly, so did he.
 

All of this was a farce. It was put on for show, to reinforce clan loyalty. He didn’t have a problem with that but he did have a problem with them telling him who he could love. It wasn’t like he’d simply
decided
to fall head over heels for Crystal. They were meant to be together and nothing he did or they threatened could change that.

Nodding curtly, he stepped forward and extended his hand to his uncle. “I understand. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Uncle Max. I know it was all done with love. Please tell Sandy goodbye for me, will you?”

Tears welled in his uncle’s eyes as he took Chat’s hand in his own. “Are you sure?” he whispered, desperate to not lose his nephew. Aunt Clea moaned in drunken grief.

Looking back at Crystal, Chet’s resolve strengthened. Here was a girl — no, this
woman
— who had pushed through her fears to track him down tonight. The courage it took for her to not only approach a werebear gathering but to interrupt it was staggering. Then she faced certain maiming, if not death, and came out the other side stronger than before. She was the bravest person he’d ever known.

And she was his.

He tipped her a quick wink before turning back to his uncle. “I’m so sorry that it’s come to this, but yes. I’m more sure of this than anything in my life. Crystal and I are destined to be together for the rest of our lives, and that starts tonight. Do what you have to do.”

Tears spilled down Uncle Max’s cheeks and he pulled Chet into a tight hug, his chest hitching with bottled up sobs. Werebear males rarely cried, and usually only when a loved one died. And that’s what was happening, as far as his uncle was concerned. Chet was now dead to him.
 

He released Chet and turned his back. Gathering up Clea in his arms, he walked out of the clearing, never once looking back. Chet nearly cried himself, but then Crystal’s hand slipped into his and gave him strength.

“Wanna get out of here?” she murmured up at him.

“Fuckin’ A.”

“Where are you taking me, Crystal?”

After they ran out of the clearing, hoping the rest of the clan wouldn’t chase after them, she’d led him to her grandfather’s truck. They were on a deeply rutted logging road that hadn’t seen any use in recent years, if the craggy weeds lining the tracks were any indication.

“It’s a surprise,” is all she would say, even after he tickled her. “Watch it, dork. I’m driving!” she giggled.

This was a dream, it had to be. He’d spent an eternity — okay, a week — thinking he’d never see her again, yet here she was. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, the sweep of her neck, the curve of her breasts, the swell of her hips. It took a tremendous amount of effort to not rip her clothes off right there in the front of Pete’s truck. Instead, he scooted over next to her lush body and buried his face in her neck again, breathing her in.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he mumbled into that little spot right behind her ear. A shudder rippled through her and he could smell her arousal.

She had to swallow hard to get any words out, and that made his pants uncomfortably tight in one particular spot. “What, you think I’m dumb enough to let my one true love get away over a silly little thing like shapeshifting? As if!”

“How did you get your grandpa’s truck, anyway?” His hands skimmed along her silky arms, caressing her hands, dropping to her thighs and trailing up to where they joined. Her breathing was growing heavier, faster, but she swallowed again and managed to answer.

“He gave me the keys. Duh. Whatever I was back in Seattle, I was never a thief.”

Chet pulled back in concern. “No, I just meant…I mean to say…Um, well…I guess you haven’t told them about us yet then?” A tiny part of him was sad that she hadn’t told her grandparents, especially knowing how close she was to them.

Taking her eyes off the barely-there road for a second, she gave him a sad smile. “I told them.”

“And they still gave you the keys? I thought they didn’t want us to be together any more than my family.”

“They don’t. But they love me more than their stupid prejudice and saw that I meant business.” She shrugged indifferently but it couldn’t have been an easy conversation. What an amazing and strong woman!

The road petered out into the barest hint of a trail before opening up into a gravel-choked landing next to Hardy Channel. Crystal stopped just above the high tide line, which was marked with a haphazard band of bleached driftwood. A small, battered rowboat was pulled almost out of the water, the rope tied to its bow made fast to a mossy, half-rotted tree stump, its transom bobbing slightly in the lapping wavelets.

“We’re almost there,” she chirped, flashing a mischievous grin before hopping out of the truck.
 

It was a scene from a postcard or watercolor painting, all blues and greys and greens. When he first arrived on-island, he’d been overwhelmed by all the lush growth, but now he loved it as much as he loved the woman skipping down to the little rowboat.

Scrambling out after her, he called, “What the—“

“C’mon, Tubbs. Don’t be afraid to get your fancy loafers wet!”

Crystal slipped off her Keds and tugged on a pair of brown rubber boots she pulled from the bow of the dinghy. Seriously, what the…?
 

But then he was distracted by the sight of her round rump thrust high up in the air as she shoved the dinghy into deeper water. Her Guess jeans hugged her ripe curves, leaving very little to the imagination and that was just fine by him. His brain — not to mention his nether regions — went into overdrive at her bent over and wiggling like that. When she looked back at him over her shoulder, he could see by the sly smirk twitching her lips that she was teasing him on purpose.
 

“You’re gonna pay for that, sweetheart!” he growled, taking her in his arms and spinning her around. He pulled her tight to him with no resistance, their bodies molding together as if they were one. Heat pulsed between them, and the scent of her arousal nearly bowled him over.

This was the first time they’d truly embraced since she announced her love for him, and it was made all the sweeter because of it. All those make-out sessions from before were always tainted by his deception. Now that she knew about his beast, and accepted him fully, there were no barriers to their love.

Tracing her eyebrow, her cheekbone, her jawline with his finger, he memorized every curve, every angle. His lips followed suit, her breath hitching in her chest at every flick of his tongue. Nuzzling into her ear, he whispered, “You’re amazing.”

She practically melted in his arms at his words, pressing into him and clutching at his back. A tiny, tormented moan vibrated through her and into him, drawing out his own moan of need.
 

“Why don’t we find a nice soft spot around here—“

“No,” she breathed, pushing weakly at his chest. “I-I have a plan.”

He tried to draw her back into him but her resistance was strengthening, damn it. Reluctantly, he let her escape his embrace, but not before planting one last kiss on the curve of her sweet neck. It was delightful to watch her nipples eagerly respond.

“Fine,” he relented, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m all yours. Forever.”

Crystal made Chet row, giggling as he got used to using oars and trying to navigate facing the wrong direction. She’d call out “Port!” and “Starboard!” when he needed to alter course, but he kept forgetting that port meant the boat’s left and not his left. They nearly rowed in a full circle a couple of times before he got comfortable.

The normally raging waters of Hardy Channel were eerily still as they rowed out to Tremble Rock. Their timing couldn’t have been any more perfect — in fact, if it had been off by another ten minutes, they wouldn’t have been able to make the trip. As it was, the supposedly ‘slack’ current kept nudging them sideways.

“Hurry, Chet, or we’ll get swept out to sea! Mush! Mush!”

He grinned back at her, even as sweat popped out on his brow. “I’m not a workhorse, woman. I’m a
bear!”

“Then harness your inner grizzly and get a move on. We have about…” she checked her watch and a did a quick calculation, “three minutes to land and pull the dinghy ashore before we get a wild ride to Japan, or sucked down a whirlpool to China.”

His squint was full of teasing humor. “You really do have a flair for the dramatic, don’t you?”

“No joke,” she laughed, “but I’m also not kidding. Move!”

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, with the exception of her occasional direction, as Chet hauled ass to a tiny beach on the island. It wasn’t so much an island as a huge rock with some trees and greenery growing on it, and not many people wanted to risk the trip out to it. Miss the window by a few minutes and you really would get swept away, though she might have been exaggerating about Japan and China.