My heart is pounding in my chest just thinking about what I’m going to do when I find her. I’m going to claim her on the spot. Yeah, she’ll find out real fast what it means to be my mate. What it means to be mated to a grizzly bear shifter.
I pass Mr. Miller’s ranch and am continuing down the road past the forest. Thinking about my one true love is getting me rock hard. My dick is pulsing in my pants and I step into the cover of the trees to get some relief.
My bear is growling and snarling at me—furious that I’m stopping. Livid that I’m not trying to find my mate as fast as possible.
But I have to stop. My blood is boiling. My body is on fire.
Thinking about claiming my mate always gets me all worked up to the point I can’t even think straight.
I lean against a tree and pull out my big hard dick. It’s already leaking out cum. I’m already a mess and I haven’t even seen her beautiful face yet. What’s going to happen to me when I find her?
A deep groan rips out of my throat as I start to stroke my hard cock. It’s barely four strokes before my body is shaking and thick streams of cum are shooting out all over the forest floor. I close my eyes and imagine them landing on her sweet body, marking her as my own.
I’m breathing heavily and leaning against the tree when I hear my bear urging me on.
Go. Find her.
Claim her.
“Fuck.” I run a hand through my hair and start to stroke myself some more. Cumming once didn’t get me any relief. It just seemed to make it worse. I’ll try a second time.
My bear is furious that I’m not leaving and lunges for the surface.
The intense orgasm is still swirling through me, making me slow and sluggish. The bear slips through and pulls me in.
“Fuck yo—”
The words are torn from my throat as the grizzly takes over. My blood turns to lava. It burns and sears through my veins like fire as my skin tightens over my swelling muscles. Everything grows as the beast takes over.
I squeeze my eyes shut and clench my jaw as bones break and reform, bigger, stronger. My jaw cracks and stretches out as flat teeth turn into sharp incisors and canines.
It’s fast but it feels like hours. I grunt in pain as the tight skin tears. My fingertips burn as they split and long black claws grow out. It hurts, but somehow I love the pain. It feels good.
Finally, I fall forward on big strong paws. My grizzly bear shakes his head and huffs out a breath.
He’s full of energy. The beast has been waiting for this all day.
But the energy feels different than it usually does. It’s more intense.
He’s always been a savage brutal creature, but whereas before it was a primal, feral energy, now it feels focused and directed.
At finding her.
He turns to the road and starts running on thunderous paws.
The dark clouds finally open up and sheets of rain pour down on us. The gravel road turns to mud and our paws sink into it as he races forward.
I can’t help but feel his excitement. It’s contagious.
We’re going to find our mate.
And claim her.
Chapter Three
Kinsley
I’m soaked by the time I walk onto my father’s street. My toes squish in my wet socks with every step I take as the warm rain pours down on my drenched head.
I’d rather be returning anywhere other than my father’s house, but I have nowhere else to go.
I’m coming back from the town where I applied for a job at the grocery store. The owner said he’ll talk to my dad. I told him not to bother.
I was about to apply at the diner when a blond man on a motorcycle started to creep me out. He was just sitting there, leering at me so I ran inside and left through the back door.
I never filled out an application. I just headed home. When I hit the halfway point it started to rain.
A thickness settles in my throat as the warm rain pours down my face. Or maybe it’s tears. I don’t know anymore. I miss my home. I miss my friends.
The isolated gravel road is all muddy and full of potholes that quickly fill up with deep puddles. I step in one and curse when the water goes up to my ankles.
With my hands in the pockets of my jean jacket, I keep moving until shivers start snaking up my spine. I feel eyes on me.
My head darts to the left and I spot it immediately. Standing in the trees watching me is a giant grizzly bear.
“Oh, shit.” My heart starts pounding. My pulse is racing.
I should be running, but my legs are weak and I’m getting dizzy. That’s a huge grizzly bear. And he has his brown eyes locked on me.
He slowly moves forward, stepping out of the tree-line on his massive paws that sink into the wet mud. My eyes drop down to his long black claws and my breath starts coming out all panicked and raspy.
I can feel my heartbeat thrashing in my ears as I watch his enormous shoulder muscles rippling under brown fur with every step. His head is lowered, eyes locked on me.
I’m helpless against him. He can do anything he wants to me.
With my eyes bulging, I turn away from him and start walking.
Please, please, please, please, please don’t follow me.
But I know he is. I can hear the slopping sound of his paws in the mud as he comes after me.
I pick up my pace, nearly hyperventilating as I walk faster. He follows.
Something just snaps in me and I start running. Full on ugly sprint. Sliding in the mud. Crying. Heart burning. Panicked run.
I’m almost home when I hit one of those deep puddles and fly forward. I land in the wet gravel, scratching up my hands and tearing the elbows of my jacket as I slide a few feet before coming to a stop.
“Oh no.” I quickly turn onto my bloody elbows and see the bear lumbering forward. The heavy rain hits his enormous back and ripples down his fur onto the mud.
I’m breathing so heavily. I can’t even think.
He stops a few yards from me and I watch with wide eyes as his body starts to tremble. It’s subtle at first but then the trembles turn into large quakes that shake his massive frame. His head drops and his face twists in pain as bones snap and he begins to shrink.
I’m staring in amazement as his brown fur retracts and turns into human skin. His claws disappear as his whole frame sinks in on itself. It all happens so fast and in the blink of an eye, there’s a naked man on his hands and knees where the bear was a second ago.
His head raises and those same brown eyes lock on me as he slowly stands up on his two feet. There’s something in his heated eyes that I haven’t seen before. Ownership. Possessiveness. He’s looking at me like he owns me.
My heart is still pounding, but this time it’s different.
He’s a giant man with a large hairy chest. An image of me curled up against it flashes into my head and I quickly swat it away. He doesn’t look like he’s in the mood for cuddling right now.
His face is hard. He’s got a thick jaw and harsh eyes. He’s gorgeous, but not in a leading man kind of way in a Hollywood movie. He looks more like the villain.
He runs a hand through his wet hair as he stares at me and I gulp at the size of his arms. I could wrap both my hands around them and my fingertips wouldn’t even come close to touching. Shit. Just the thought of wrapping my hands around them is getting me all tingly.
I slowly lower my eyes down his hard frame past his giant chest and shredded abs. He’s completely naked and not hiding a thing.
My mouth waters as I slide my eyes down his sculpted pelvis to his long semi-hard cock that’s hanging between his muscular thighs. Once my eyes are on it, I can’t look away.
It’s so thick and beautiful with a long pulsing vein snaking along the shaft. My heart stops in my chest as I watch it start to harden before my very eyes. It becomes even thicker, even harder, as it slowly raises up to his abs. It’s all wet from the rain and has my body reacting in a strong way. My core tightens as little wa
rm trembles start taking over my body. The rain has soaked me to the bone but I feel all warm inside as I watch him. The heat starts to swirl through me and settle between my legs. I’m so wet.
He raises his nose and sniffs the air. His eyes close and he lets out a deep moan like he’s savoring the smell.
I swallow hard as I watch his big hand wrap around his cock. Sticky beads of pre-cum start leaking out of his swollen head and they spill all over his hand as he starts to stroke himself.
I’m watching, completely transfixed as he jerks off in front of me.
My mouth opens softly and my pussy starts to throb as I wonder what he has planned for me.
There’s a charge in the wet air. Electricity. Heat. I don’t know, but it’s there. The strong sensation is undeniable. There’s something between us. I feel it pulling me toward him. Whispering in my ears. Go to him. You’re his. The connection just amplifies with every second that we stare at each other in shock.
Everything about this man, this grizzly bear shifter, gives me goosebumps. I want to talk to him, but I have no idea what to say.
The metal cocking sound of my father’s shotgun does the talking for us. I hear it behind me right before my father’s deep voice booms through the air like thunder.
“Are you trying to get shot in the dick, Damon?”
Damon. A beautiful name for a beautiful man.
He peels his eyes away from me to glance at my father. When he looks back to me there’s a territorial edge in his eyes.
He thinks I’m his.
I think he’s right.
He takes a step forward and my father fires into the air. I flinch as my ears ring and my eyes widen.
My father cocks the shotgun again and points it right at Damon’s chest.
“That was a warning shot,” my father growls. “The only warning you’re going to get. If I ever see you sniffing around my girl again, I’m going to rip your bear’s throat out and then I’m going to blast one of these into your temple. Understand?”
Damon’s eyes are still locked on me. It’s like he can’t even hear my father’s words.
“It’s okay,” I mouth to him. I don’t want to see him get shot and I know my father is capable of that, and so much worse.
My father steps in front of me as he starts walking toward Damon.
“Get in the house, Kinsley.”
My heart is pounding. I don’t want to leave him, but I don’t think he’s going to move while I’m here.
I give him one last look and then scurry to my feet and run to the house. I stop behind a tree and watch as my father has some rough words with him. I can’t hear a thing over the heavy rain.
My father still has the shotgun pointed at him as Damon starts walking back down the road away from him. Away from me.
I’m not prepared for the sense of loss that hits me and it’s like my core clenches in need.
When he’s finally gone, my father turns back and spots me. His jaw is clenched and there’s an uneasy look in his eyes as the rain pours down on him.
I’m worried he’s going to turn the shotgun on me, so I run into the house, knowing that everything has changed.
But still not understanding any of it.
Chapter Four
Kinsley
“I don’t want you seeing that guy again,” my dad shouts as he slams the door closed so hard that the hinge breaks.
“I don’t even know who he is,” I say, swallowing hard. “I was just walking home from town and he started following me.”
He’s huffing and snarling as he paces around the motor home. I sink into the couch and watch him with my heart pounding. I’ve never seen him all amped up like this before.
“You won’t see him again if he knows what’s good for him,” he grunts under his breath. The beer bottles clink as he yanks the fridge open and grabs one.
I turn the TV on, pretending like my whole world wasn’t just flipped upside down. It’s some singing show, but I can’t pay attention to any of it. The only images going through my head are hard muscle, intense brown eyes. The only sound making its way to my ears is my heart thrashing, my father’s heavy breathing.
I’m wet from the rain so I grab some dry clothes off the Lazy-boy and gulp as I head to the bathroom. My father has already finished his beer and is on a second one.
He pushes himself up against the counter so I can pass, but even then I have to squeeze through. It’s hard living in such a small place with a giant polar bear shifter.
His big hand wraps around my arm just as I’m about to escape into the tiny bathroom.
“Kinsley,” he says in a low growly voice. “I mean it. I don’t want you seeing that guy again.”
“Who is he?” I ask. I have to know his name.
My father’s face furrows into an ugly snarl. “Damon Ridge.” It’s like his name causes a bad taste in my father’s mouth as he says it.
“Why do you hate him?”
His icy blue eyes narrow on me and then he turns away with a growl. I watch as he takes an angry sip of his beer, nearly downing half of it. His forearm is flexed as he squeezes the bottle.
“Just stay away from him and his brothers. They’re no good.”
Brothers?
I’m intensely curious about him, but I know better than to pry when my father is like this. If anything, it’s just going to get him even more amped up. I glance at the shotgun that’s leaning against the wall and then slip into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
Damon Ridge.
The name keeps repeating in my head like a mantra.
There’s definitely something there. Something between us. I can feel it pulling me, begging me to step into the rain and find him.
I look into the mirror and wonder if he’s feeling the same.
My wet blonde hair is plastered to my head. My skin is pale. My blue eyes look like I haven’t slept in weeks. I look horrible.
My heart sinks when I realize that this is how he saw me. He was looking so goddamn perfect, and I looked like I fell into a puddle.
But deep down, I know it doesn’t matter. I saw the possessive look in his eyes. He was watching me like I was territory he was about to claim.
That territorial look brings warm shivers rippling through me and I smile at the reflection in the mirror.
Damon Ridge.
The need to find him, see him, know everything about him, grows stronger with every second that passes.
My dad can warn me all he wants. He can make me promise not to see him or lock me in this place, but I already know that it’s not going to do a damn bit of good.
The connection is already too strong.
Fate or, whatever it is, is trying to bring us together and I want to let it.
I’ll be seeing Damon again no matter what my father says.
I’ll be seeing him again real soon.
* * *
My eyes pop wide open when the door closes.
I barely slept at all last night. I’ve been waiting for this moment.
It’s 5:23 in the morning and my father just left for work.
My heart is pounding as I listen to him open the door of his truck. It closes and the engine starts.
I creep to the window and watch as he drives onto the road and disappears down the wooded street.
After waiting a couple of minutes by the window, I rush into his bedroom with my pulse racing.
His laptop is on his dresser and my fingers are tingling as I open it up and type in his password.
I head straight for the criminal database and search for Damon Ridge.
I gasp when his picture pops up on the screen. My heart pounds at all of the new information.
Damon Ridge. Age thirty-two.
His address. 52 Sweetgrass. Blackcloud Point. Montana.
I stare at his stoic-looking picture for a long time before I move onto the written information.
He was arrested two years ago after a public brawl at the pub in town. Arr
ested by my father.
I wince as I read the description.
The assailant struck the arresting officer and resisted arrest.
He hit my father. No wonder my dad doesn’t like him.
I want the rest of the story. What happened. Why. But there’s nothing else written here.
There’s a fluttering in my chest as I scroll back up to his picture and stare at it. He doesn’t look nearly as good looking as in the flesh, but it’s all I have.
God, I feel like a fourteen-year-old with a crush. I feel like a stalker.
Why am I unable to stop thinking about him?
I pry my eyes away from the photo and look at his address once again.
52 Sweetgrass.
My body burns with excitement.
Maybe I’ll go check it out. What harm could it be?
Chapter Five
Damon
I slam a piece of wood onto the chopping block and take a few heavy breaths as I squeeze the handle of the ax.
It’s taking everything I have to stay rooted to this spot. To stay on this fucking ranch.
My mate is nearby. I know it now. I even know where she is.
…at least I hope I know where she is.
What if she’s left her father’s property? What if she’s in town where any creep can look at her? Talk to her? Brush up against her? Take her?
I yank the ax up and slam it down onto the wood with a furious grunt. The log splits in two and flies apart.
“You’re going to chop the chopping block in two if you’re not careful,” my brother Cash says with a laugh as he walks by. He’s got a point. My ax is dug so deep into the thick oak that I have to wrench it free.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asks as he looks at me funny. “You haven’t said a word since yesterday.”
I grunt as I slap another big log onto the chopping block.
I haven’t told anyone that I’ve found her. It doesn’t seem real.
One second, my bear was lumbering down the road, and the next, well, the next everything changed.
Bare for the Alpha: The Ridge Brothers Bear Shifters #1 Page 2