by J. S. Wilder
Since the floor was completely empty, Ben had to follow the sounds of a TV humming gently from the other end of the wing. With every step he took closer to the River, the more nervous he got. He'd never felt this way about a woman in his life, and he didn't know how to convince her that he had nothing but good intentions when he kept her in his cabin.
Ben reached the end of the hallway, and saw a door open. He could just make out River's profile, asleep in her hospital bed, her hair in a long French braid, piled on top of her head. For a moment, Ben considered turning around and leaving, but then River opened her eyes, and spotted Ben herself. She gave him a soft smile and called out,
“Hey... Come in, Ben.”
Ben inched in to the room, still wary of what might happen. River smiled when she saw the tulips in his hand.
“I love tulips. Where did you even find them? They're not really a fall flower around here.”
Ben shrugged. “We have a greenhouse on the ranch. My mom really loved them too, so she had some bulbs growing in there before she died. We keep them growing for her.”
River saw a sadness in Ben's eyes that she hadn't before, and it softened her heart even more. With her good arm, she gestured to a pitcher of water on the table next to her bed.
“You can put them in the pitcher. I'll see if a nurse can bring me another later.”
“I can get it for you,” Ben whispered.
River shook her head, “No, no. Please, just sit. I'd like to talk to you for a minute, if that's okay.”
“It's more than okay. I'm really glad you called, though I have to be honest, I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me again.”
River inched up higher in the bed, to try and get comfortable, but it was hard to move with the fractures in her leg. Dr. Dreyfus told her she'd probably made things worse the several times she tried to run away from Ben, which made her feel like crap. If she'd just trusted him, she wouldn't be in such a bad way now.
“I really owe you an apology, Ben. It may not have been the most logical or obvious means of helping me, but I would have died without you. Did... Dr. Dreyfus tell your dad anything?”
Ben stopped a moment to think.
“Dr. Dreyfus... Do you mean Martin Dreyfus? Ha! That's interesting. My dad has been buddies with Martin Dreyfus for years and I didn't even know he was a doctor. I guess if he told dad anything about your case, dad didn't see fit to tell me. Why?”
River took a deep breath. Being contrite wasn't in her nature.
“I would have died if you hadn't found me and pulled me from that car, Ben. There was a rock slide a ways up the road, and I'd left my phone at the house. No one would have found me for days, if at all. I owe you my life.”
River's eyes welled up with tears. Ben had no idea what to say to her. He knew in his heart that day that River needed him, but he had no idea to what extent. He felt himself staring into her huge, sparkling eyes, and suddenly wanting to tell her the truth about everything.
“River, you don't owe me anything. I did what anyone would have done. I only wish I had been there sooner, helped you sooner, somehow.”
River used her good arm to wipe the tears away from her eyes, and summoned up the courage to ask the question that had only occurred to her once she was in the safety of the hospital. Once her pain was controlled, and she was settled, the moments after the accident began to come back to her in pieces. And a few them simply wouldn't form into a coherent whole.
“Ben... After the accident, when you found me, someone or, something, ripped the roof off of my car. I could swear I saw a bear or... I don't know. But then, I saw your eyes. It's all so confusing. I feel like I'm losing my mind sometimes, when the images float through my head. Did you see anything? Anyone, when you found me?”
Ben felt his shoulders slump. He wanted to tell River everything, he just wasn't ready to do it right that minute. But she was clearly torturing herself over the fact that she saw him in his bear form, and he didn't want her to be unhappy, even for a second. So with a long, slow breath, Ben made the decision to tell River the truth.
- - -
The sun was just starting to set when Ben finally finished his story, and River's face was a blank slate of shock. Ben knew he had been talking a mile-a-minute, but he had felt like if he didn't get everything out at once, he might not get it out at all.
“I know it's insane, River. It probably even sounds like some sort of crazy fairytale or legend that could never be true. But it is true, every word. Joe has it too, all the men in out family do. Caleb is the only one who hasn't shifted yet, because he's only nineteen, but his time will come. It's our heritage, and while Joe ran away from it, I've always embraced it. But until I saw you, I never really considered how it would look to someone on the outside. But I don't want you to be afraid of me, River.”
River had listened to everything Ben had said, and she was totally floored. She had grown up in Alaska, and knew plenty about the Haida Indians and their folklore. But she had never heard anything about bear shifters. Not real ones, anyway. But there was something so honest in Ben's eyes, so genuine, that she couldn't doubt him. What possible benefit would there be for him to lie about something like this?
“Ben, this is all insane. Of course, I can't imagine it being true, but just because I haven't seen it, doesn't mean it isn't true. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, until I ca see for myself. We all have secrets, I guess.”
Ben inched the chair he was sitting in closer to River's bed and took her hand in his own. He brought it to his lips and kissed it gently.
“Is there anything you want to tell me?” Ben whispered.
At first, River looked confused, but then recognition flashed across her face. “Those gossipy witches downstairs... It's not a huge deal, Ben. I have Type 1 Diabetes. I have since I was born. My insulin pump is so small, you didn't even notice it. I'm lucky it wasn't damaged in the crash, or we would have been in a very different situation.”
Ben felt his stomach drop out from under him. How could he have missed that? What if she'd...
“Could you have died, River?”
“No, no. I was fine. I'm used to taking care of myself. My pump was working, you gave me good, healthy food. If I had been in real trouble, I would have told you. But I'm not a China doll. I can work, I skydive, I can do whatever I damn well please. Even play in the woods with a bear.”
Ben couldn't help himself. He let out a loud, booming laugh, and River felt herself laughing too. She squeezed Ben's hand back softly.
“Will you come back and see me again tomorrow?”
Ben kissed her hand again with a smile.
“Every day until you get out of here.”
Chapter Seven
-Ben-
River stayed in the hospital for two weeks as she healed, but Ben was there every day, by her side, making sure she was taken care of. Each day he brought her a new bouquet of flowers, until her room looked like a garden. They would talk about their lives, and their childhoods, and everything that made them who they are.
Finally the day came when it was time for River to be released, and while she was walking much better, her arm and shoulder still ached pretty severely. But with her cat scan clear and her back and neck free of injury, Dr. Dreyfus thought that River would do better to recuperate the rest of the way at home. Yet, on the morning when it was time for River to go home, her parents never showed up.
Dr. Dreyfus stood next to River as she waited in a wheel chair in front of the hospital. “Maybe they're running late?”
River scoffed. “They're not running late. They're not coming. My dad probably isn't even in the state, and my mom couldn't care less about taking care of me. Maybe you can call me a cab? I can get a room at a hotel or something.”
Dr. Dreyfus was just about to say something when a truck rumbled to a stop in front of them; Ben's truck.
“I don't think you'll be needing a cab, River. Your chariot awaits,” Dr. Dreyfus said with a laugh.
Ben hopped down out of the truck and walked over to River. “I thought you might need a ride.”
River tilted her head with a smile. “You thought right, fella. Are you sure you want to take care of a pain in the ass like me?”
Ben bent down and picked River up out of the wheelchair, gently lifting her into the passenger side of the truck's cab.
“That sounds like heaven, Miss Wales.”
- - -
The truck had just pulled off the main highway and onto the wooded dirt road that lead up to Ben's cabin when he pulled off into a clearing. River curiously raised an eyebrow.
“And we're stopping here because...”
Ben didn't say a word; he just hopped out of the truck and crossed over to River, opening her door. She made a move to get out, but Ben stopped her.
“You just stay there. I want to show you something. But don't get out of the truck, okay?”
River had a feeling she knew what Ben wanted to show her, so she wordlessly nodded, and tried to stifle her excitement. She just watched as Ben stalked out into the clearing and stripped down until he was naked. River felt a catch in her throat at the sight of his perfect, muscular form. He was hulking, masculine, and beautiful. There was something almost animalistic about him, which made what happened next a little less surprising.
In a growl of pure power, Ben began to change and shift before her very eyes. His arms and legs became even more muscular, his back stretched and rolled, and the soft hair on his head sprouted all across his gorgeous skin. It only took moments, but Ben became a huge, beautiful grizzly bear, and River felt nothing but affection for the creature in front of her.
Ben came closer to her, his eyes still the same twinkling shade of crystal blue they had always been. River reached out with her good hand and ran her fingers through his silky fur. He nuzzled his head into her hand, and growled gently at the feel of her fingertips grazing his skin. River couldn't help but laugh.
“The perfect man and the perfect pet all rolled in to one... What more could a girl ask for?”
- - -
When they got back to Ben's cabin, River felt like she was still processing what she'd seen as Ben helped her inside.
“So you've been able to do that your whole life?”
Ben shook his head as he gently set River down in the chair by the fire. “No, just since I was twenty. It took a while to learn how to control it, but I find it almost comforting now. Before I met you... I was happier when I was a grizzly.”
River smiled and ran her hand softly down the curve of Ben's jaw, relishing the feel of his beard against her skin. “And now?”
Ben took a deep breath, and let the words pour out of him before he had a chance to stop himself.
“Will you be mine forever, River? I know it's a lot to give up, a lot to process. But I've never wanted anyone else. You're the only one for me.”
River reached up a hand and ran it through Ben's long, soft hair.
“You drive me crazy, Ben. But I do. I do want to be with you forever. I'll take a job at the hospital in Honey Point. We'll make it work.”
River couldn't believe what she was saying, but she didn't have long to mull it over. Ben slid his hands underneath River's sweater, gently letting his hands feel the womanly fullness of her breasts, pinching her pert nipples. River wrapped her good arm around Ben's strong neck, and whispered in his ear, “I love you, Ben. I do love you,” as Ben slid his hands down her stomach, around her back, and on to her full ass.
Ben softly bit at River's full lips, kissing her with a passion that told of his own true love her. She felt his hard cock against her thighs, pressing against her, pushing into her with the same panicked ecstasy his tongue was plying her mouth.
River moaned into Ben's mouth, “Yes, my darling. My beast. I love you so...”
Ben slid his large hand between River's legs, pressing his fingers up underneath her skirt, thrilling at the feel of her warmth against his palm. River wasn't used to feeling so much passion for another person, feeling so bared and exposed. Her soul and body went wild with the need for Ben, and she was overcome with the desire to claw at Ben's skin, bite at him like the wild animal he was drawing out of her own being.
Ben whispered into her ear, “You're my mate, River. I'll never let anything bad happen to you again.”
River smiled as she kissed Ben on the forehead. “Same goes, Grizzly Carlton,” she said with a laugh.
In a flash of blinding lust, with one hand still gently playing with River's aching pussy, Ben lifted River off the ground, spun her in a circle, and lay her down gently on the bed where she had spent so many unwilling days only a month ago.
River felt a swell of affection for Ben that she never imagined possible: he was her savior, her lover, and in an instant, her one true love. She never wanted to sever their connection, never again, no matter what.
As River was lost in her own passion, Ben pulled off the rest of her clothes , throwing them into the corner of the cabin, growling as he softly bent down to gnaw and nibble at River's soft, pale flesh. River felt the fire ignited inside of her; her body was burning with it now. River wrapped her legs around Ben's muscled torso, ignoring the pain in her hips, grinding her body against Ben's strong waist, soaked in the sweat of their passion. River dragged her nails down Ben's sinewy back, alighting at the sensation of his flesh under her fingers, both of them giving in to the pull of their unbridled desire as they wrapped around each other.
Ben bit gently on River's curved shoulders, licking and nibbling his way down her chest. “Mine. Forever.”
River leaned in to each of his bites, relishing the feel of Ben marking her. “Only yours, Ben. Only yours.”
As Ben continued to suck on each of River's erect nipples, River knew she wanted to at last feel Ben's thick cock in her hand. River moved as fast as she was able, sliding one hand down his snug jeans, tracing her palm up and down the length of his throbbing hardness. As she let her fingers play with his cock, tempting and teasing the tip, she'd pause at the base and let her pinky graze his perfect balls. After a while, River was no longer happy with just touching, and she used her feet to slide away Ben's jeans.
Ben groaned with pleasure. “I want you, River. Every part of you.”
“I'm all yours, Ben.”
River inched carefully off the bed and set down on the floor in front of Ben on her knees. Ben's swollen member was only a flash away from River's smiling lips, and Ben's eyes glistened with carnal desire. River had never felt so insatiably desperate to taste someone in her life, and she loved the feeling of need that Ben was rousing in her.
River filled her eager mouth with Ben's thick cock, loving the feel of it as it made its way deeper into her throat. She was flush with desire as it grazed the back of her throat, and River was barely aware of her actions as her hand travelled between her legs to play with herself. Ben watched on in ravenous need, overwhelmed by his love and passion for her.
River felt like a woman chasing a specter of sexual madness, and the sight of Ben's beautiful blue eyes watching her only made her want more. River felt her inner she-wolf rising from deep inside the depths of her belly, and she suddenly understood what it was that fueled Ben's fiery personality. To be split between human and animal, it was wonderful and exhausting at the same time.
“I get it, Ben. I understand now. You aren't angry... You're an animal, in the most amazing way possible.”
Ben lifted River from the floor and kissed her with every bit of power he had, the man and the bear, at last one in the presence of someone who understood him.
In a fluid motion, Ben lay backwards on the bed, and set River down on to him, lowering her onto his ready cock. River felt as if her body had been made only for Ben; she felt as if every inch of his thick rigid member was meant solely for her own sex. With each thrust, River felt another wave of orgasm over take her, and she wanted to feel this way forever.
Ben slid in and out of River, fucking her with p
assionate fervor, as he ran his hands through her long, curly hair. He couldn't get enough of looking at her, feeling himself inside of her, and he wanted to stay there forever.
“I love you, River. So much,” he cried out.
River down at Ben, her own heart swelling love. They were surrounded in a gossamer flurry of passion, relishing the divine pleasure their bodies brought to one another. At last utterly exhausted from their need, River collapsed down one last time on to Ben, his throbbing cock pushing forth one final time, as he filled her with his cum. River felt as if her head were spinning, her skin on fire with the warmth of Ben's own body. The warmth of a bear, wrapped around her, keeping her safe in a way she had never known.
Everything was different. And River never wanted it to change.
“I'll never leave you, Ben. Never.”
Ben snuggled his head into the space between her jaw and her soft shoulder. He let out a soft growl of happiness as River ran her hands up and down his sinewy chest.
“You'll never want to, my perfect girl.”
Epilogue
It was a quiet night at the hospital as River sat at the front desk, chatting with the nurses. She'd been working nights since she started her internship at Honey Point General, and she thought it would drive her crazy, but she had found that she preferred the peace of evenings at the usually-busy emergency room. Most of the people who came into the ER were either victims of small household incidents, or suffered accidents at the mine. Anything else was rare, and River liked taking care of kids having asthma attacks or the occasional broken bone.
It also meant that she could sleep in with Ben every day, and spend some time at the ranch with him before her shift, riding and helping with the animals. It wasn't the life she had imagined for herself, but ever since she met Ben, she had been happier than she thought possible.
The sliding doors of the ER opened, and one of the nurses poked River in her ribs.