by T. S. Joyce
BOARLANDER BOSS BEAR
(BOARLANDER BEARS, BOOK 1)
By T. S. JOYCE
For More of These Characters
The Boarlander Bears can absolutely be read as a standalone series, but if you would like more of these characters, check out T. S. Joyce’s bestselling Saw Bears, Fire Bears, and Gray Back Bears series, starting with Lumberjack Werebear (Saw Bears, 1).
Reading Order for Damon’s Mountains
Lumberjack Werebear (Saw Bears, 1), Woodcutter Werebear (Saw Bears, 2), Timberman Werebear (Saw Bears, 3), Sawman Werebear (Saw Bears, 4), Bear My Soul (Fire Bears, 1), Axman Werebear (Saw Bears, 5), Bear the Burn (Fire Bears, 2), Bear the Heat (Fire Bears, 3), Woodsman Werebear (Saw Bears, 6), Lumberman Werebear (Saw Bears, 7), Gray Back Bad Bear (Gray Back Bears, 1), Gray Back Alpha Bear (Gray Back Bears, 2), Gray Back Ghost Bear (Gray Back Bears, 3), Gray Back Broken Bear (Gray Back Bears, 4), Lowlander Silverback (Gray Back Bears, 5), Last Immortal Dragon (Gray Back Bears, 6), A Very Beastly Christmas (Gray Back Bears, 7), Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears, 1)
Boarlander Boss Bear
Copyright © 2016 by T. S. Joyce
Copyright © 2016, T. S. Joyce
First electronic publication: January 2016
T. S. Joyce
www.tsjoycewrites.wordpress.com
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The author does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
Published in the United States of America
Chapter One
Audrey Foster blew out a trembling breath and gripped the steering wheel of her old Jeep in a choke hold. She was panicking, sure, but she was about to meet the man she’d been talking to online for the last two months, and she really liked him.
There was a hundred percent chance she was going to screw this up.
A long snarl rattled her throat, and she gritted her teeth against the shameful sound. She couldn’t mess this up because she was out of options. Her last opportunity for happiness rested with the alpha of the Boarlander crew.
Shaking her leg in quick succession, Audrey withdrew the printed picture from her sun visor and clutched it in both hands. He was so handsome. Too handsome, which was why it didn’t make any sense for a badass, brawler bear shifter like Harrison Lang to ask her to come to Saratoga to meet him in person.
She couldn’t breathe. Desperately, she rolled down the window and pressed herself back against the seat. Eyes tightly closed, she blew out a puff of air and wished she was braver. She’d been given the wrong animal, and now she was going into a crew of growly grizzlies who had much more control over their inner monsters than she did.
He was going to be so disappointed.
No. She could do this. Little by little, her lungs relaxed enough to let her drag in a full breath. He’d been talking to her almost every day and seemed to genuinely like her. He’d asked her to come here, wanted her closer, wanted to see her face in person, wanted to hug her, and shifters weren’t supposed to lie. Or something.
Before she could change her mind, she yanked the handle of her Jeep and shoved the door open, then slid out. Her mini dress rode up her thighs, and she had to rush to smooth the tight material back down over her butt cheeks. At least no one in the long line that stretched around the corner of Sammy’s Bar seemed to have noticed her bout of public indecency.
For a small town, Saratoga’s only bar sure was busy. She was from a town so tiny it was practically deemed a village, and the bar in Buffalo Gap only hosted a maximum of three people at once. She knew because when the bartender wanted to take vacations, she’d filled in for him. But as a man stumbled out of the front door of Sammy’s, the inside of the Saratoga bar looked filled to the brim.
“’Scuse me,” she said softly to a nice looking lady with bouffant hair and smoky eye make-up who stood in the middle of the line. “Are they not letting people in?” Harrison was waiting for her inside, and she was going to be late meeting him.
“Oh, honey, are you a tourist, too? Girl, you should’ve Googled Sammy’s before you showed up. You have to get in line early on Shifter Night.”
“Shifter Night?”
The woman adjusted her oversized purse to her other arm and smacked her gum. “Yeah, every Thursday night is Shifter Night. The single bear shifters get to drink free, so if you want to meet one of their fine asses, this is the best shot you’ll get. And the bears are drinking tonight,” she said with a wink. “Sometimes they don’t show up, and the tourists go without ever catching a glimpse of a real shifter, but tonight is your lucky night. Well, if you can get in, that is.”
“Oh,” Audrey said, frowning at the line that snaked around the corner. “Thank you.”
“Sure, sugar. Good luck,” she called as Audrey stepped carefully across the gravel toward the front of the line.
“No cuts!” a tall woman yelled as she passed.
Audrey hunched under the harshness of her voice but ignored her. There was a bouncer holding the pheromone-riddled, perfume-spritzed mob of women at bay.
“Good evening,” she said politely. Her dad had always said she could catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
The bouncer was a tall fellow with a chest so muscular his tits were probably bigger than hers. He dragged his gaze down her, pausing on her curves before he looked her in the eye. Gross. “You look fuckable enough, but back of the line.”
“I’m supposed to meet Harrison Lang here tonight.”
The bouncer, Ray, his nametag read, pointed to the long line of women. “So are they.”
“But Harrison and I are…dating. Online.” Geez, that sounded weird.
He turned his attention to a tall man who approached with a dark-haired pregnant woman on his arm. “Hey, go on in.”
The tall stranger turned an inhumanly bright green gaze on her. He definitely smelled dominant, and unable to help herself, Audrey took a healthy step backward.
“What are you?” Green Eyes asked.
“Beaston,” his woman admonished. “You can’t ask people that.”
Beaston angled his head and narrowed his eyes. “Don’t all that perfume shit give you a headache?”
“Y-yes.”
“Then why wear it?”
To hide what I am. She couldn’t drag the words out of her throat, so she stood there awkwardly, unable to think of a single good excuse. He would hear a lie anyway. She’d heard about Beaston. The dark-haired woman tugging at his hand must be Aviana, registered raven shifter and member of the Gray Back crew. Audrey’s nervousness jacked up to the sky. She was among beasts now.
“Harrison’s girl?” Beaston asked.
Failing to hold his gaze, she stared at his scuffed work boots and nodded. “Yes.”
“She’s with us,” Aviana told Ray.
Ray stepped closer to the dark-haired woman who cradled her stomach protectively. He lowered his voice when he argued, “But Ana—”
“She ain’t lyin
’,” Beaston said, flashing the bouncer a dangerous glare. He pointed to his temple. “I would’ve heard it.”
Beaston shocked Audrey to her glossy black heels when he wrapped his giant hand around hers and nearly ground her bones to dust as he dragged her into the bar behind him and Aviana. The second they were in the door, he released her, and she subtly shook her hand out. Mother fluffer, he was strong and none-to-gentle, and now she had even more respect for Aviana. If a raven could survive a bear shifter like Beaston, she had some mountainous inner strength.
“Just so you know,” Beaston said, lifting his chin. “You don’t make no sense.”
“Beaston,” Aviana admonished. She watched her mate walk away and then gave Audrey an apologetic look. “Manners aren’t his strong suit.”
“It’s okay.” Audrey rubbed her throbbing hand. “I don’t make sense to me, either.”
Aviana’s lips curved into a smile, and she cocked her head. The woman gave one deliberate blink, and Audrey smiled. Even if she hadn’t known Aviana was a raven shifter, she would’ve guessed she was some kind of bird from her mannerisms.
“I’m Aviana Novak.” She held her fine-boned hand out for a shake. Sometimes Audrey didn’t know her strength so she was deliberately gentle, but she didn’t need to be. Aviana gripped her in a surprisingly strong grasp before releasing her.
“I’m Audrey Foster.”
“Harrison’s over at the bar, but Clinton is a mega-cock-blocker so…good luck with that one.”
Audrey huffed a nervous laugh. “Thanks.”
Ana gave her a little wave, cradled the swell of her belly in her hands, and made her way gracefully through the crowd toward a table in the back.
One look around, and it was apparent Audrey was smack-dab in the middle of the all-stars of Damon’s mountains. Cora Keller of the Breck Crew had an entire page on her pro-shifter website dedicated to the bears, falcons, ravens, gorillas, and dragons of Saratoga.
Kong, a dark-headed, barrel-chested titan gorilla shifter was working behind the bar with his mate, Layla. A few of the Ashe Crew were playing darts and pool against the back wall, and the Beck brothers were playing a country song on the stage. They were damn good. And as Aviana had said, Harrison and his Boarlanders seemed to be taking up space at the bar.
Her heart pounded faster as she saw him in person for the first time. Harrison’s powerful legs were splayed and locked as he stood talking to one of Kong’s Lowlanders, Kirk, another gorilla shifter. She was going to have to build up some major courage to approach her man while he was in the middle of a conversation with a big, dominant silverback.
Maybe she should take a shot before she talked to Harrison. Beaston was glaring at her from the corner with the calculating look of a predator judging how fast he would need to run to cut her off at the legs. Eeek. Audrey ducked his unsettling gaze and strode for the bar. Harrison was waiting for her, and stalling wouldn’t fix her nerves. She was growing more cowardly with every second of hesitation.
Her high heels felt sticky on the wood floors with each step, and as a tipsy woman turned and sloshed her cranberry drink right next to Audrey, she understood why. This place was probably next to impossible to keep clean until after hours.
Harrison wore a dark blue T-shirt that was thin enough to show every ripple of muscle in his back as he reached for a drink Kong set in front of him. His shoulders were as wide as a barn, and his back was shaped like a V, the sexiest damned letter of the alphabet.
Audrey wiped her clammy palms on her dress, inching it down toward her knees with the motion. This was the most scandalous thing she’d ever worn. What if Harrison didn’t like short dresses?
Stop it. Everything will be fine.
She waited politely behind him as Kirk asked, “And you’re sure you need help this badly?” His dark eyebrows arched high. “It seems extreme.”
“Yeah, well, I have an asshole bear who has chased off half my damned crew, and you don’t seem intimidated by Clinton, so yeah, I need your help. If Kong can spare you, I’d really appreciate it. Just until logging season is over, then I’ll look for more cutters.” He cast a blond-haired man sitting a few seats away a pissed-off glance. “I can’t just bring anyone in. He’ll bleed ’em.” He lowered his voice and muttered, “Fuckin’ Beaston junior.”
She wouldn’t have heard him without her oversensitive hearing, and apparently she wasn’t the only one listening because the Clinton in question twirled his wrist and gave Harrison his middle finger and then an empty smile.
Audrey worked hard to swallow the growl in her throat. She didn’t know Clinton, but from the way he looked at Harrison, she didn’t much care for him. She’d clenched her fists unintentionally, so she relaxed them, took a steadying breath, and poked Harrison on the shoulder. She jammed her finger on his rock hard muscles and flinched back. Between him and Beaston, her hand was going to be mangled by the morning.
Harrison gave her a look over his shoulder, locked eyes with her, and froze. God, he was a beautiful man. If she saw him on the street, she would think he was some model instead of the alpha of a notoriously rough-and-tumble grizzly crew. His strong jaw was shaved smooth, so she could glide her attention over every appealing curve of his face. He turned slowly, lifting his chin and trapping her completely with his gaze. She’d thought from the pictures that his eye color was dark, a soft brown maybe, but in person, they were a stormy blue color. Straightening his spine, he stood to his full height as he squared up to her, and Audrey arched her neck back to hold his enchanting gaze. Holy heaven, he was a mountain. His nostrils flared slightly, and whatever he smelled caused a frown to mar his dark brows. His T-shirt hugged his muscular arms as he crossed them over his chest, and tonight, he’d worn his hair different than his pictures. It was shorter on the sides and styled longer on top.
“Did you get a haircut?” she asked lamely.
His steel blue eyes narrowed. “Not lately.”
“Oh. Well, I like it.” She tried to smile, but it fell off her face immediately with a nervous twitch.
“Did you need something?”
Confused, she said, “It’s me. Audrey.”
His eyebrows lifted, and he shot Kirk a quick glance, then held out his hand to her. “Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, finally, right?”
Harrison froze mid-handshake and pursed his lips into a thin line. “Okay then.”
“That’s bear-speak for ‘vamoose,’” Clinton offered helpfully from down the bar.
“Shut the fuck up,” Harrison growled, apparently good and done with Clinton for some reason.
“Uh, can I buy you a drink?” she asked Clinton, who was slurping loudly on his straw.
“It’s Shifter Night. I drink for free,” he said in a tone that said he thought she was the stupidest breathing organism on the planet.
Audrey curled her lips over her teeth before she could stop her inner animal and choked back yet another growl. She would be forced to Change soon.
Harrison took a step back and sat on the stool, looked at her dress and heels, then rubbed his hand on his smooth jaw. “Do you want a drink, Audrey?”
Clinton slapped his hand on the countertop. “Harrison, as Second—”
A ferocious snarl came from Harrison’s chest as he offered Clinton a death glare. “Not Second yet. You and Bash haven’t worked that out, and even if you were, you’re still not alpha. You reached for the crown and missed. Go ahead and piss me off some more tonight, Clinton. I’ll send you back to the Gray Backs so fast your fuckin’ head will spin.”
“You wouldn’t—”
“Don’t test me.” Harrison’s eyes were a much brighter blue now, and Audrey hadn’t been able to draw a breath since Clinton had first spoken. The air was simply unbreathable. It filled her lungs like tar and froze her in place. Beaston had been dominant, but Harrison…Harrison was a monster.
Clinton dropped his gaze like a smart bear since Harrison looked like he was about to commit murder.
“Sit. Please.” Harrison gestured to the bar stool between him and Kirk.
She was going to pass out if she didn’t get more oxygen to her body, and soon.
“You’re suffocating me, man,” Kirk said low.
Harrison cut off his growl, and the heaviness lifted. With one last fiery glance at Clinton, Harrison lifted a finger to the pretty blond bartender. “Layla, can I get a beer for the lady? Put it on a tab for me, will you?” His voice was way too gravelly, but at least his words were polite.
“Hallelujah, Harrison’s buying a lady a drink,” Layla muttered as she reached into the fridge for a beer. “Jake is going to crap his pants with happiness.”
She shouldn’t have heard that last part because of the noisy bar patrons around her, but for the first time in her life, Audrey was glad she had heightened senses. Apparently, Harrison didn’t buy many women drinks. Good.
“Hare-Bear,” a dolled up woman Audrey’s age whined from her group of buxom beauty friends. “I’ve been asking you to buy me a drink for a month straight. What makes her so special?”
Harrison’s profile was rigid as he rolled his eyes heavenward and strangled his half-full beer bottle.
“You’ll break it and cut your hand,” Audrey murmured, gently prying the glass from his grip.
He shot her a wary glare, but let it go easily enough. “Why do you care?”
“Because I like you.” Silly man, she’d told him that a dozen times already. Or rather, typed it to him.
“I would heal. Shifters do that, you know.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but Layla set the beer in front of her and gave a polite smile. The bartender shoved a laminated flyer over the counter to Audrey. Shifter Facts was typed in big neon letters across the top of a long list. “Jake takes Shifter Night super seriously.” Layla pointed to a bullet point explaining how fast shifters can heal from injuries, a fact Audrey knew first-hand.