by V. Vaughn
After I catch the fish in my mouth, I chomp down on it. A sweeter flavor than I expected fills my mouth. Being from the West Coast, I’ve never actually had Atlantic salmon. It’s not bad, even though it’s a milder taste than what I’m used to. It makes me want to catch fish in my hometown river and feed them to Audrey so she can taste the rich flavor of Chinook salmon in an effort to show her how great being my prima would be. I let out a sigh because my fantasies are a waste of time, and I suspect Audrey’s trying to hold on to me as long as she can in case I find Josie is the mate I should choose.
She faces reality before I do, and after a few more fish she swims away and back toward shore. I follow her and let my dreams for us wash away with the flow of the river. It’s time to stop acting like a lovesick teenager, and I race ahead of her to get out of the water first. I don’t bother looking back to see if she’s following me when I step onto to land to run back to the Le Roux house and Josie. It’s time to figure out what I’m here to do.
Five
Madison
Livy’s expression is full of concern as she gazes at me, and it reminds me of the look my mother had on her face when I broke my arm and we were going in for the x-ray. It warms my heart the way Trent’s mom is already treating me like I’m a daughter.
She glances around the bedroom in her home where I’ll be changing from a human to a werebear. She decorated it tastefully in pastel shades of yellow, green and blue. “Maddy, hon, I thought we’d do it in here because it’s the smaller of the two guest rooms. You’ll never have to stay in it again if…” Livy lets out a sigh and frowns at me. “I wish there was something I could do to make this whole process less painful. I hate thinking about what you have to go through.”
“It’s okay. I’m going to be fine.” I’m pretty sure I will be, even if I’ll want to die once Trent bites me and I begin to change. But when I spoke to Lucy Robichaux on the phone this morning, she assured me that even the wimpiest of girls she’s seen do this have managed to come out alive.
Not that there’s been a lot of women changing in the past few years. I’m told it was more of a thing about twenty years ago when the Le Roux were searching for fertile women so the curse that made all their females barren wouldn’t mean extinction for their clan. But people like me occasionally pop up as someone’s true mate.
Livy walks over to the handcuffs that have been chained to the metal bed Lucy had delivered. Metal rattles as she lifts up a restraint to inspect it. It’s leather with what appears to be a fleece lining. “Well, at least these look comfortable.” She shrugs, offering me a smile. “I mean, if you’re going to be restrained, there are worse ways to go. John and I tried rope ages ago and—” She winks at me. “Rope burns. I’m sure you can imagine.”
“Seriously, Mom? We don’t want to know.” I chuckle as Trent enters the room, and apparently since his mother went there, he thinks he can too. “Handcuffs,” he says as he pumps his eyebrows. “Your last minutes as a human are going to be fun.”
“Promise?” I tease back. It’s a little amazing how comfortable I’ve become with nudity and talking about sex in just a couple of days. But it’s a thing in the werebear world and a rather small one to get used to considering all the other differences I’m about to encounter. Besides, in less than an hour I’ll be lying naked, cuffed to a bed and thrashing about from my transformation into a werebear for numerous people to witness. All after an intense orgasm those same people are going to hear me experience.
“Darling.” Trent pulls me into an embrace. “I’m going to give you the best sex of your human life, and then once you’re a werebear I’ll blow your mind all over again. Just wait until you experience our acute senses.”
I am looking forward to that development. I love food, and I can imagine how great things like cake are going to taste when I’m finally a werebear. It’s going to be nice to see things more clearly and experience the nuances of sounds and scents I don’t get to enjoy now too.
“I’ll make you a breakfast full of all sorts of tasty things,” Livy says.
“Goodness, I’m going to get huge, aren’t I?”
“Probably not,” says a woman as she walks into the room. “Hi, I’m Lucy.” She holds out her hand to me. She has eyes that are an even more intense shade of cornflower blue than Trent’s family has. “Werebear metabolism is much faster than that of humans. You’re going to get to pig out.” Her smile is broad and warm, and I like her instantly.
Livy says. “I think I have everything we need. As you can see the bed is all set up. Maddy brought loose clothing to wear, and I have a ton of food and drink for the rest of us while we—” she gives me a pained look. “While we wait for the change to be completed.”
“I’m so excited to do this,” I say with exaggerated enthusiasm in an attempt to make Trent’s mother feel better.
Lucy pats the woman’s arm. “She’s going to get through it like a champ. Sometimes I think it’s harder for the folks watching it. Do you have lots of wine?”
Trent’s mother laughs nervously. “I do.”
Lucy chuckles. “You should go pour yourself a glass. I’d like to talk to Madison and Trent now.”
“Oh, of course.”
Livy leaves, and Lucy says to Trent and me, “Let me walk you both through exactly what’s going to happen so there’s no confusion.”
I nod as Trent grabs my hand and squeezes tight.
“To change you, a half, from being a dormant werebear, you need a full werebear to bite you. Technically, it can be any werebear, but our clan only allows it to happen between true mates. The moment Trent bites you the process will begin.”
“Okay,” I say as the fear of what’s about to happen begins to set in.
Lucy says, “Sex is not necessary for the transformation to be triggered. I’m sure Trent told you the benefit of making it part of this ritual, though.”
I grin and glance at my mate, who has been trying to convince me the orgasm I’ll experience when he bites me is what I should focus on. “He has.”
“I’m happy to inform you that it’s true, and I encourage it. Unfortunately, moments after your pleasurable out-of-body experience you’ll be thrust into a painful one. One so horrible you’ll wish you could die.” She chuckles. “Talk about a cruel joke. I like to think it’s Destiny’s way of making sure those who choose to change take it seriously.”
I smile at her attempt to make things light.
She says, “When the change begins it’ll feel as if you’re on fire, and then it becomes the kind of pain you imagine comes with your bones being broken and limbs ripped from your body.”
I grimace as Trent says, “Jeez. You don’t sugar coat things, do you?”
“It would be a disservice to Madison if I did.”
Even though my stomach is churning from the image she just presented and I’m considering what would happen if I back out, I say, “I appreciate your honesty.”
Lucy nods before continuing. “Your human body will try to reject what’s happening. You’ll want to tear out the animal forming inside you. Because you’ll have claws, you’d hurt yourself if we didn’t restrain you.”
Now I wonder if I’m going to scream until I’m hoarse, and stars begin to float before my eyes as all the blood drains from my head. I close my eyes for a moment and remember to breathe. Lucy pauses as Trent puts an arm around me. I lean into him for support before I gulp, ready to hear the rest. I say, “I’m good.”
“At some point you’ll black out from the pain,” Lucy says. “You may awaken a few times during the transformation, but it will be brief before you black out again. About twenty-four hours after Trent bites you, the process will be done.”
Twenty-four hours that I expect will seem like a lifetime. “How long does it take to recover?” I ask.
Lucy offers me a wry smile. “You’ll be able to move as soon as you wake up. Werebear healing is miraculous by human standards, and you’ll actually notice your aches and pains lessen
by the hour. About a day after the bite you’ll only be a little sore and ready to enjoy life as a shape-shifter.”
I take a deep breath and blow it out in a whoosh. “It could be worse.”
Trent shakes his head in disbelief. “How?”
I turn to my mate and imagine if I had to watch him experience what I’m about to go through. Lucy’s right. In a way, it’s going to be much harder for him than it is for me. I reach up and touch his cheek, wishing I could prevent the anguish he’s going to feel, and my love for him spills out of my heart. “Baby, what if we’d never met? Life without you would be so much worse.”
Tears fill his eyes as if he’s feeling the same swell of emotions and he sighs before taking my face in his hands. “You’re right, darling.” He leans in and kisses me with a fierceness that hurts.
I clutch at his shirt as desire fills me with a desperate need, and I kiss him back just as fiercely.
Somewhere in the distance I hear Lucy say, “And so it begins.”
Six
Josie
I groan as I stretch my arms over my head before climbing off my bed to answer the door. The book I was trying to read thuds on the floor when I accidentally nudge it off the bed. Pride and Prejudice, which I couldn’t get into even though it was one of my favorite books when I was in high school. But I was a whole different person back then, in a time before I was an Eradicator and believed the world was mostly sunshine and puppies. And I cared about romance. Something I can’t afford these days.
“Josie!” Reese calls out before knocking again.
“I’m coming!” I yell back as if I’m a petulant teenager. It’s too early for dinner, and I wonder what he wants. I’ll be up for almost anything because being cooped up is making me cranky and really bored. I already worked out for a good two hours with the hope I could burn off some steam, but apparently it didn’t help.
When I yank the door open Reese’s nose crinkles before his eyes flash with what I guess is angry bear, because they actually change to a deeper shade of blue. It’s kind of sexy, like the way his angry bear musk has a metallic odor that’s pure male. He drops a pile of clothes on my bed and barks out. “Shower. You’ve got a date.”
I lift my arm to smell myself as if I don’t know how bad I stink. I didn’t see a need to bathe if I’m just going to do more bodyweight exercises before trying to sleep later. I’m so not cut out for prison cell living. “Yeah? You taking me out for drinks and a quick—”
“Save it.” Reese scowls at me for a moment and then shakes his head as if he’s annoyed with me. I’m sure he is, but the way he scans my body makes me think he’s kind of into me, too. I return the favor with a perusal of his fine form as well. “You’re going out with Max,” he says.
My insides flutter at the mention of my mate’s name, but I ignore the sensation. I have a job to do, and I’d be a fool to get too attached to a man I have to kill. I cock my hip. “What if I don’t want to go?”
He lets out a snort of disbelief, and I step closer to him. “What if you’re who I’d like to go out with?” I lift my hand to touch his chest, and he latches onto my wrist with a grip that makes me wince in pain. I immediately flex in preparation to fight, even though I know resisting anything he wants to do to me is just a fantasy.
He drops my hand and steps back into the open doorway. “Jeans, T-shirt and a flannel. Bring the sweatshirt to keep your human blood warm. It gets cool at night here.” And then he turns to leave, back-kicking my door shut before he’s gone.
I laugh as I strip out of my clothes, pleased with my effect on the imposing warrior. My enjoyment fades quickly when reality hits me, though. I’m about to spend time with a man my body and bear genetics crave the way my lungs crave oxygen. I won’t be able to taunt Max like I can Reese. No, I’ll need a much different approach with the man I need to bond with so I can complete my mission.
I take a quick shower in an oversized stall that makes me really glad my six feet of height is actually on the short side here. I employ the lotion and deodorant supplied before checking out what Reese brought me for clothes. I step into a pair of cotton underwear with teddy bears on them. Someone’s idea of a joke, I guess. The bra Reese brought me isn’t though, because it’s underwire and padded to make the most of my small breasts. Something I would never choose to wear, although I imagine Madison would encourage it.
The pants, however, are loose, so I roll up the legs and work the boyfriend jean angle. I tie off the bottom of my t-shirt to flash abs since my ass is non-existent in this outfit. After I’m dressed, I comb through my wet locks and stare at myself in the mirror, wondering how I should style my hair. Does Max like it down and wavy? I eye the round brush next to the blow dryer.
I chuckle at myself. I’m acting like a goddamn girl who—damn it. Of course, I should style my hair and act like a true mate would. I need to react based on my feelings but not let myself believe them. I take a deep breath and pretend I’m getting ready to go out to a frat party with Madison.
The next knock I hear on my door is sharp and authoritative. But I sense it’s tentative too, and I know it’s Max. I inhale sharply with my excitement as I grab the flannel shirt and sweatshirt off my bed, and I walk over to open the door.
“Hey,” Max says as he gazes at me with warm brown eyes. I notice how his T-shirt and jeans are not too big, and my stomach flutters. The desire to touch his fit body is strong. I’m not a fan of these intense emotions, even if they feel good. I tamp my urges for Max down. I need to stay in control.
“Hi,” I say. As we step into the hall, I remember to breathe again. “Ready for this?”
Max chuckles. “I’m not sure. But I think the sooner we find out who I belong with the better it will be for all of us.”
I nod and walk beside him as we move down the hallway. I’m aware of how his presence makes my insides hum. It’s a sensation I’m not sure how to handle because it’s making it hard to focus on anything but Max.
He glances at me. “Do you like beer?”
“I do. I actually prefer it to wine. I’ll probably lose my girl card admitting that.”
Max smiles at me as we move through the common area toward the outdoors. I don’t see anyone, but I have no doubt we’ll be accompanied on our date by at least one warrior. He says, “There’s a craft brewery I want to try. We can play a round or two of bean bag toss there. All the hipsters are doing it these days.”
I chuckle. “So, you’re saying you’re a hipster? Because don’t they call it cornhole?”
“Nah,” He flashes me a grin as he pushes the door open, and it makes my heart skip a beat. “Don’t let the flannel shirt I brought fool you. I shave regularly. Hair on my face makes me itchy.”
I smile as we walk toward a truck. The pickup is dark green and has a logo on it for a company called Bear Mountain Lumber. “Ah, you’re a lumberjack. You sure you don’t wear a beard? Maybe in the winter?”
“Borrowed it from the Le Roux. My truck is back in California.”
“California?” It occurs to me that if he hasn’t bonded with Audrey yet they must have just met. “You don’t live here?”
“No. Well, maybe I do now, but currently I’m a guest of the Le Roux the same as you are.”
One who probably has the ability to roam freely. “You’re locked in a dorm room too?”
He frowns at me as he opens the truck door on the passenger side, and I regret making the snide comment. He asks, “You’re locked in a room?”
While I want his sympathy so I can get a little freedom, I know I need to be careful about what I say considering he’s in love with a Le Roux as well as me. “It’s a nice room with my own bathroom. They feed me well and I’ve got books, but it’s pretty boring.”
“Then let me entertain you tonight.” He slams my door shut, and once we’re on the road, he asks me questions about what I’m studying at school and where I’m from. Every time I try to pump him for information, he asks more about me. I’m not sure if
he’s being evasive or if he’s just the kind of guy who doesn’t like to talk about himself.
Max doesn’t take me into town where the university is. Instead we head north and down a dirt road to a little place that seems to pop up out of nowhere in the middle of thick woodlands. The Whitewater Brewery building’s shingles are still the pale yellow of fresh wood, and I notice a grassy area beyond the brewery where I guess the cornhole boards are set up.
We step into a small space with a bar that can seat six, and there are four low tables with comfortable looking couches and chairs. Max and I walk up to the bar, and as we gaze up at the blackboard that describes the available beers, he asks, “What kind of beer do you like?”
“I’m not sure.” I peruse the names. “Mellow Eddy? Class 2? What do the names even mean?”
The bartender smiles at me through his perfectly shaped beard, and I notice he’s wearing a flannel open over a T-shirt for White Water Brewery. “White water boating terms. We’re a bunch of kayakers.”
“You own the place?” Max asks.
The guy nods. “I’m Larry, and I co-own the place with my wife Renee and her brother, Bob. Are you familiar with microbrews?”
“This is a whole new world for me,” I say. “I usually buy the cheapest beer I can find.”
“I suggest you try a flight,” the bartender says.
A few minutes later, Max and I each have five small glasses of beer, ranging in shades from amber to rich brown, sitting before us. Larry explains each flavor profile to us, and after sampling them all, I settle on a pale ale and Max gets a porter.
We take our beers out back to where the cornhole game is set up. I slipped my flannel shirt on in the truck before we got here since the air was cooler outside than I’d expected, and after I set my beer down on a table, I roll up my sleeves.