But then, the chatter in the room suddenly died down. Someone had spotted her, and they had apparently spread the word quickly to those around them. The silence fell with alarming speed as everyone turned to look in Caroline’s direction. She had never felt so on display before in her life, and the warm fuzzy feelings she’d been experiencing just moments before faded away. If it hadn’t been for Scott’s hand gripping her hand so tightly, she might have turned around and fled. But Scott still seemed completely at ease, despite the sudden silence.
“Hey, everyone,” he said in a strong, deep voice. Even in the midst of the uncomfortable moment, Caroline couldn’t help but notice how sexy he sounded. Her heart did a little flip-flop, and she told herself to stand tall and smile. If Scott was on her side, why should she worry what anyone in this room thought?
“This is Caroline,” Scott was saying. “She’s my lifemate, so I know you’ll all make her welcome here.”
Apparently, everyone in the room knew exactly what a lifemate was. It must have been something everyone in Bear Mountain believed in and knew about, even though Caroline had thought it was a foreign concept when Scott told her about it.
For a few more moments, you could’ve heard a pin drop in the room. Poppy’s mouth dropped open in surprise, and a few others around the room also gaped. But after a few beats, a tall, dark-haired man sitting on a barstool at the counter let out a loud whoop.
“Well, what do you know? No wonder it’s been so hard to get a hold of you lately, Scott. You’ve been gallivanting around Pine Springs with your lifemate, and you didn’t even bother to tell your best friend about it.”
Scott shrugged and laughed, and then the whole room burst out into noise again. Everyone started teasing Scott good-naturedly about the fact that he’d found a girl, and Caroline found herself swept up into giant hugs from people she hadn’t even been introduced to. She wasn’t used to this kind of small town. The small town she’d come from had been full of hateful, spiteful people. But here, everyone seemed to be truly happy for Scott’s happiness. Caroline was being dragged to the counter before she knew it. As she sat in one of the barstools, Poppy came over and asked her what she wanted to eat.
“Anything you want, dear. Anything at all,” Poppy said. “On the house! Although, I should make Scott pay for it and charge him double as payback for the fact that he’s been keeping you a secret from all of us.”
Scott only laughed at this, then turned to Caroline and planted a kiss on her forehead. She felt a thrum of electricity pass through her at his kiss, and she realized that in the span of a few minutes, she had started to feel like there was no way she could possibly leave Scott and Bear Mountain behind. Something about seeing him in the midst of his own neighborhood made her fall in love with him in a completely new way.
Caroline was introduced to so many people that she completely forgot the names within a matter of minutes, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was instantly part of this group. Whatever initial hesitation people might have felt was gone as they asked her question after question about how she and Scott had met, and how long they had known each other. At some point, Caroline managed to order some food, and Poppy brought her a large coffee without even being asked. Caroline sipped the coffee gratefully and wondered how this was suddenly her life.
Finally, things settled down enough that Caroline was able to take a few bites of her food when it came. As she turned to Scott, she shook her head in wonder. “This is insanity. Are these people always this happy?”
Scott laughed. “More or less. Maybe that’s why the people from Pine Springs don’t like us. They can’t stand that we’re so happy and they’re not.”
Beside Scott, the large man who had initially identified himself as Scott’s best friend laughed loudly. “Ain’t that the truth.” Then, he leaned over and held his hand out to shake Caroline’s. “I’m Joel, by the way. Scott’s number one partner in crime. I’m afraid to say that if you’re sticking with Scott, then you’ll be seeing quite a bit of me.”
The woman sitting beside Joel leaned over and held out her hand as well. “I’m Anna, Joel’s lifemate. These two boys are going to drive you crazy, but don’t worry. I’ve got some experience in handling them, and I’ll share my secrets with you.”
Caroline gratefully shook Anna’s hand. Part of her wanted to clarify to everyone that she wasn’t sure how long she’d be staying. After all, before she’d come in here she’d been planning to leave Pine Springs at the end of the summer. But somehow, every time she started to say something to that effect, the words stuck in her throat. Now she understood why Scott had brought her in here. In the midst of all this friendly happiness, it was nearly impossible to consider leaving.
And so, Caroline started to consider staying. Could she really do this? Could she really make a life here on Bear Mountain with Scott? She’d been on the mountain less than an hour, and it already felt like home. That ought to tell her something.
Anna was looking at Scott now with a strangely curious expression. “Does Caroline know about the mountain’s secrets yet?”
Scott shook his head, suddenly looking nervous. “Not yet. I was planning to show her this afternoon.”
Anna nodded, then reached over and squeezed Caroline’s hand. “You’re in for a big treat. I promise.”
Caroline smiled back, but turned to look at Scott with questions in her eyes. What secrets were they talking about? And why had Scott’s face suddenly become so anxious? Were the mountain’s “secrets” the reason for the feud between Pine Springs and Bear Mountain?
But whatever questions Caroline had would have to wait. Another group of Bear Mountain villagers were approaching them and demanding an introduction. Caroline smiled and shook their hands, but she couldn’t ignore the gnawing nervousness that had started in the pit of her stomach.
Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to be a part of this community. But the mention of secrets had her worried. In her experience, secrets had always been bad, and had always destroyed everything she cared about. Anna had seemed to think Caroline would like whatever it was that Scott had to show, but Caroline wasn’t so sure. She found herself growing more and more anxious to leave the diner and discover whether the mountain’s secrets would change everything for her.
Something deep inside of her told her that they would.
Chapter Twelve
Scott laced his fingers tightly through Caroline’s as he led her down a rough forest path. To those who didn’t know better, this might not even look like a path. But Scott had these woods memorized like the back of his hand. He knew exactly where they were going, and he could see the slightest depressions in the plants on the forest floor that indicated where the path was.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this nervous. Maybe he’d never been quite this nervous. After all, he’d never before told a human that he was a shifter. He kept telling himself that Caroline would understand, since she was his lifemate. Surely, destiny wouldn’t have paired her with him if she wouldn’t understand his bear side.
But despite giving himself constant pep talks, he couldn’t stop the anxiety from coursing through his veins. How Caroline reacted to this could change the entire course of his life. In fact, it could change the entire course of the lives of everyone on Bear Mountain. Telling a full human that shifters existed brought great risk. Scott had heard plenty of stories from other clans about how humans had reacted in terror when they learned that shifters existed. Some humans thought that the only acceptable response to discovering that shifters were nearby was to attempt to eliminate those shifters. Those humans thought of shifters as monsters to be killed off.
Scott’s blood boiled just thinking about it. He was no monster, and neither were any of the other Bear Mountain residents. Yes, bears were strong and fierce. But the only time Scott would ever use that strength to hurt anyone was if they first tried to hurt someone he cared about. He lived by the philosophy of live and let live.
Most of the time, the only occasion he had to use his strength was to enforce order at Club Euphoria, and no one could blame him for that. Any security guard had a responsibility to keep things secure.
Nevertheless, many humans couldn’t accept the fact that shifters were dangerous. Because of that, the shifters on Bear Mountain did everything they could to hide their shifter sides from the people in Pine Springs. As far as Scott knew, Joel’s lifemate, Anna, was the only human who knew about the shifters on the mountain. She had reacted well enough when Joel told her that he was a shifter, and all Scott could do was hope that Caroline would react the same. If she didn’t, it might cause all sorts of trouble for Bear Mountain—and that trouble would all be Scott’s fault.
“Wow, this forest is beautiful. The people of Pine Springs are really missing out by not being friends with you guys and coming up here.”
Scott smiled as the sound of Caroline’s voice pulled him out of his musings. She was right. The people of Pine Springs were definitely missing out. But would she still feel that way once she knew his secret? It was time to find out.
Scott stood to his full height, took a deep breath, and squeezed Caroline’s hand. He’d been letting his nerves get the best of him, but now it was time for him to step up and be the alpha bear that he was. He was a good man, a loyal bear, and a lover unlike any other Caroline could ever know. These thoughts gave him strength, and filled him with pride. He had no reason to be ashamed of who he was. It was time for him to man up and show Caroline his bear.
“The people of Pine Springs are missing out,” he said. “This is the most beautiful forest in the world as far as I’m concerned. But, as you know, the people of Pine Springs don’t like us. The reason for that is that we do have our secrets here on Bear Mountain. The people of Pine Springs don’t know what the secrets are—they just know that we’re different.”
“How different could you possibly be?” Caroline asked with a twinge of annoyance in her voice. “The only big difference I see is that people are much friendlier and much more laid back here on the mountain. My guess is that the people in Pine Springs know that they’ll never be as good as you all, and they’re embarrassed by that so they try to keep you at a distance.”
Caroline crossed her arms defiantly and stared at Scott as if daring him to disagree.
Scott couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t have to convince me that the people of Bear Mountain are great. But I do have to tell you that there is one other big difference between us and the people in Pine Springs. There’s more that separates us from the valley than just the fact that we’re friendlier than they are down there.”
Caroline shrugged as if to ask what could possibly be that big of a deal. Scott resisted the urge to wince. She had no idea just how big of a deal this difference was, but she was going to learn. He reminded himself once more that he was an alpha, and then he reached out to take Caroline’s hand again.
“Listen, Caroline. I’ve made no secret of the fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I know you have your doubts, but I hope that seeing this mountain and seeing where I live has helped to alleviate some of those doubts.”
“Oh, it has!” Caroline interrupted. “After seeing this place, I can’t believe I ever considered leaving. I’m truly astounded that more people haven’t moved to Bear Mountain. It seems like an almost magical place. Maybe that’s a weird thing to say, but I don’t know how else to describe it. Things are different up here, just like the people in Pine Springs say. But it’s a good different, not a bad different.”
“You’re right. Things are different. But they’re even more different than you think. As I’ve been telling you, this mountain holds secrets. Before you agree to move here, it’s only fair that I tell you what those secrets are.”
Scott took one more deep, steadying breath. “You see, almost everyone on this mountain is a bear shifter.”
Scott held his breath as he waited for Caroline to react. She furrowed her brow at him, as though waiting for him to say something further. Finally, she shook her head in confusion.
“Bear shifters? I don’t know what you mean by that.”
Scott let out his breath. He’d been afraid of that. Joel had warned him that many humans didn’t even know what shifters were. Scott was going to have to explain things to Caroline, and he hoped that he could do so without confusing her even more, or making her run away in terror.
“Yes, bear shifters. A shifter is a human who can change into an animal and then back again at will. Most of us here on Bear Mountain are bear shifters, which means that we can change into bears and then back to humans. The only one who’s not a shifter is Anna, Joel’s lifemate that you met. She’s a full human, so she can’t change. But the rest of us all have a bear hiding within us.”
Caroline’s brow did not unfurrow. If anything, she furrowed it even deeper.
“I don’t understand,” she finally said. “Is this some sort of joke?”
Scott shook his head. “No, it’s not a joke. Shifters are real, and I’m one of them. I can show you, if you want. That’s probably the easiest and fastest way for me to prove it to you.”
Caroline shook her head as though she didn’t know how else to respond. She was looking at him like he was crazy, and he supposed he couldn’t really blame her. For someone who had lived her whole life not knowing that shifters existed, this must be quite a strange idea to process.
“Just let me show you,” Scott said gently. “If you see what I mean with your own eyes, it will be easier for you to understand.”
Caroline shook her head in confusion again. Clearly, she still thought he was crazy. But then she shrugged and nodded. “Okay, fine. Let’s see this bear you’re hiding under your skin.”
She crossed her arms as though annoyed with this joke. But this was no joke, and her life was about to change forever. Hopefully she would think the change was for the better.
Scott took a step back and started to undress. “I’m going to take my clothes off before I shift,” he explained. “My bear is much larger than my human form, so if I shift while wearing my clothes, the clothes will be torn up and ruined.”
“Okay,” Caroline said in a slightly bemused voice, still just humoring him.
“One last thing,” Scott said as he finished undressing. “My inner bear is a grizzly. He looks quite large and quite fierce, but don’t be afraid. It’s still me, and I won’t hurt you. I won’t be able to talk to reassure you while I’m in bear form, so I just wanted to tell you that before I shift.”
“Alright,” Caroline said, looking like she was on the verge of rolling her eyes. Scott tried not to let it get to him. She would see in just a moment what he was talking about.
He took a step back, took one more deep breath, and then threw his head back and let out a mighty roar. Within seconds, he began to shift. His inner bear quickly took over, and his human form faded away. His human head morphed into the head of a fearsome grizzly. His ears grew into the rounded, fur-covered ears of a bear, and his teeth grew long and sharp. His legs and arms became the strong legs and arms of a bear, and his human skin thickened and quickly disappeared underneath dense grizzly fur. Where once there had been fingernails, now there were pointed, dagger-like claws. As the transformation completed, Scott stood still and looked to see how Caroline was reacting.
She stood several feet away from him, her jaw dropped in an expression of shock. For a moment, Scott thought she was going to turn around and run. His heart sank as he saw fear flicker in her eyes.
What had he been thinking? Joel had gotten lucky when Anna accepted him as a bear. Humans just weren’t cut out for life with a shifter, and he should have known that. Destiny had made a mistake when it had paired him with Caroline for his lifemate.
But then, Caroline took a step forward. She reached out a tentative hand, moving ever so slowly to place it on top of his fur-covered bear head. She stood there, her expression a mixture of terror and amazement. Scott gently n
uzzled her arm with his bear nose, trying to communicate to her that he wasn’t going to hurt her. That nuzzle seemed to encourage her, and she slowly took a few more steps to run her hand down the entire length of his back. She walked in a slow circle around him, looking at him from every angle and shaking her head in wonder.
“This should be impossible,” she finally said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “But it’s not. You’re standing right here as a bear, when a moment ago you were human. Incredible.”
She walked around him a few more times, and then stood in front of him. To Scott’s great relief and joy, she slowly bent down and kissed the top of his head. That’s when he knew that she had accepted him. That’s when he knew that destiny had not made a mistake.
Caroline was his lifemate, and he was going to claim her right here in the middle of this forest. He wanted her so badly that he knew he wouldn’t be able to wait even the short time it would take to walk from here to his cabin. He’d never seen anything as beautiful as Caroline’s face when she looked at his bear with acceptance.
With a mighty roar, he began to shift back into human form. When his human form had once again taken over, he didn’t waste any time in stepping toward Caroline, reaching for her as though reaching for a lifeline. He needed her. He wanted her.
And he was going to have her.
Chapter Thirteen
Caroline fell willingly into Scott’s arms as he reached out to embrace her. She felt dazed by what she had just learned, but not in a bad way. She wouldn’t have believed that a human could actually turn into a bear unless she’d seen it with her own eyes. But she had seen it with her own eyes, and it was incredible.
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