Bearly Theirs [The Bears of Greenspoint 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Maia Dylan

  “She still sleeping soundly?” Logan asked quietly from the end of the hallway. Cooper turned to see his brother holding out a steaming cup in his direction.

  “Yeah, she is.” Cooper walked back into the living area and took the cup of coffee. It was still very early in the morning, but he and Logan were apparently still on US time. Not to mention, sleeping on that ridiculously small bed had his back feeling like it was about to snap at any moment. “You get ahold of Seth?”

  Seth was the alpha of their sloth, and usually when bear shifters found their mate, they brought her to the alpha. He would then bind them together in a mating ceremony that connected them together like a marriage. Then they would be free to claim her. Logan and Cooper thought that, if it came to it, they would claim her as theirs before the time was up, hoping that there was indeed honor among thieves. Surely their alpha would respect something as sacred as marriage.

  Logan sat down on the couch. “Yeah. Seth thinks the situation is as fucked up as we do. He’s sending some of his guards on a flight to Tokyo this afternoon, in case we need backup.”

  Cooper nodded. That sounded like something Seth would do. The protection and welfare of his people were paramount to the alpha. “It’s good that there’ll be a couple of people on our side if this thing goes belly-up. This morning, we definitely need to talk to this woman who knows about the Ussuri. I want to have as much information about that group as possible.”

  Logan growled, frustration clear in his voice. “How is it that this Ken Shimoyama and his goons can hold a man hostage and the police do nothing about it? I know that Keiko thinks we don’t get the gravity of the situation or truly understand what and who the Yakuza are, but it still seems strange as all hell that a group of people can actually commit murder and kidnapping and there’s no one doing a damn thing about it.”

  Cooper nodded, sipping at his coffee. “I think it’s fucked up, too, but you’re basing that on the assumption that Keiko and her mother have made it known to the authorities that they’re holding her dad against his will. If Ken has told them he’ll kill her father if he gets wind of any sign that they have gone to the authorities, then they aren’t exactly going to call 911 or whatever the equivalent here is, now are they? Besides, if organized crime works the same way here as it does in the States, then Ken’s probably got some of the police force and city officials on his payroll. Either way, if you look at it from Keiko and her mom’s perspective, they haven’t got a lot of choices.”

  “Yeah, I know you’re right, but it’s going against my nature to just fucking sit here. Not to mention, my bear is pacing and clawing inside me, wanting to be set free to go hunt that fucker down and bring back our mate’s dad so she can be happy again.”

  “Mine, too, Logan,” Cooper acknowledged. “And once we have all of them back together, I say we take them all back to the States with us. Looking around this town, and how her parents live, it’s easy to see where our Keiko gets her work ethic, but I want our in-laws to live near us, help us raise their grandkids, and not have to work so hard. I think Keiko will love that.”

  “Agreed. It’s time we purchased a house and gave up the inner-city apartment living.” Logan leaned forward, placed his coffee cup on the table in front of them, and turned a serious expression in his brother’s direction. “You do know that, at some point today, we need to tell our and show our mate exactly what we are.”

  Cooper knew what Logan was saying was the right thing to do, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous as hell about how Keiko was going to react. “Yeah, so how do you think that’s going to go? Any ideas how to actually do that?”

  Logan sent him a wry grin. “I haven’t got a fucking clue. I figured you’re the softer and more romantic one of the two of us, so you’d have an idea how to tell her so that she doesn’t run for the hills.”

  “Oh, sure, leave it to me to come up with the plan. That is so like you!”

  “Oh, come on, Cooper. You know I have about as much subtlety as a semi-trailer to the face. My idea would be to simply say, ‘Baby, Cooper and I are shifters and can change into Kodiak bears with nothing more than a thought. You are our mate, and that means we are completely and utterly devoted to you for as long as we live. Now, stand back and let us show you what we are.’ Then, if she balks at it all, I would simply tie her to the nearest flat surface and make love to her until she accepts us.”

  “What do you mean you change into Kodiak bears?” Keiko’s soft voice came from the doorway to the hall, and Cooper knew that the classic Oh, shit look on Logan’s face was definitely mirrored on his own. They turned in unison to look at their mate, who stood with her head tilted quizzically, staring at them. She certainly didn’t look like she was going to turn tail and run, but it was clear to Cooper that she had a shitload of questions. He only prayed that they were able to give her the right answers.

  Chapter 7

  “Hey, um…you’re awake.” Cooper leaped up from the couch and came to give her a hug. Keiko returned the hug, but if Cooper thought she was simply going to forget what he and Logan were just talking about, he was crazy. Cooper led her over to the couch so that she sat between him and Logan.

  “Morning, baby,” Logan murmured as he leaned in for a quick morning kiss.

  “Morning.” Keiko gave them both her best Don’t-give-me-any-of-your-bullshit look. “Now let’s get back to the part where you two were talking about shifters, Kodiak bears, and mates.” When the two of them simply shared a pointed look, as if both expected the other to continue the story, Keiko crossed her arms with a growl. Logan, the bastard, looked amused.

  “One of you needs to harden the hell up and tell me what the hell you were talking about.” Cooper placed his hand high on her thigh. Keiko refused to be swayed to think of other, more pleasurable pursuits. At least until she had some answers to her questions.

  “Have you ever heard of the term shifter before?” Logan asked quietly. Keiko searched her memory, but nothing really came to mind. “What about shape-shifting?” Again, nothing really came to mind. Thinking about what it could possibly be in Japanese, she translated it and considered other meanings of the words. Her eyes widened as she remembered a childhood story the children of her village were told about the mountain on which the Ussuri now lived.

  “Ah, so you have heard of that.”

  Keiko nodded, her gaze flicking between the brothers. “I have. But only as a fairy tale to scare children away from the forest. The story told of preternatural creatures called the Obake, who carried the spirits of animals within them. They could effectively shape-shift into that animal at will. The story went on to talk about children that went missing if they didn’t listen to their parents and stay out of the forest at night. Is that what you are telling me you are? That this was not a childhood story and that you have this shape-shifting ability?”

  Cooper nodded and grimaced at the same time. “Yeah, that is what we are telling you. For us, it’s not just a story or some kind of folklore. It’s just who we are.”

  Keiko couldn’t help but see the vulnerability shining in their eyes. Taking ahold of her courage, Keiko whispered, “Show me?”

  Logan took a deep breath, then nodded, getting swiftly to his feet and lowering his hand down to her. “Okay, my love, but neither Cooper or I can shift in the house. We’ll break something, and I, for one, am not prepared to face your mama and tell her I broke something in her house.”

  Grateful for the reprieve from all the serious talk, Keiko giggled and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. Still clad in her pajamas, she tugged them both in the direction of the backyard. Living where they did on the edge of the village, there were no houses that overlooked the back of her family’s house, and beyond that were the fields owned and farmed by her parents, so that afforded them a decent amount of privacy. Once they were outside, they left her standing at the bottom of the stairs that led to the house, and both moved to stand a few yards away from her.

  “The oth
er part of what you walked in on this morning was Logan and I thinking about how we were going to tell you that you’re our mate,” Cooper reminded her as he removed his clothes, Logan doing the exact same thing beside him. It was like Keiko’s own personal male revue show, sans music, but the effect was the same. Keiko’s arousal began to build within her. “And you heard a little about what that means to us from Logan, but let me remind you, being our mate means that our one and only job in life is to ensure that you are happy and safe. We will forever be devoted to you, and only you. There is only one mate for bears like us.” They were both now standing before her completely naked, but Keiko was enthralled by what they were saying.

  “And that also means,” Logan continued, “that when we take you together like we talked about last night, at the moment you completely lose control between us and simply give yourself to us, we will claim you.”

  “Claim me how?” Keiko’s voice was almost hoarse and her heart was pounding in excitement. She was scared, yet excited at the same time, about what was soon to take place. She had no idea what it would look like, but she knew that it would be utterly life changing.

  Logan grinned wickedly, and she got the feeling that it was something he was very much looking forward to. “We’ll bite you, baby, where your shoulder sweeps into the gentle slope of your beautiful neck. It will be a mark that will tell the world that you belong to us and that you are under our protection, for life.”

  Keiko definitely liked the sound of that, but there was one thought that caused her to hesitate. “Do I get to bite you both back? I mean, if I have to wear a mark that tells all other shifters that I’m taken, I want you both wearing my mark, as well.”

  “Love,” Cooper said dryly, “Logan and I would proudly wear your claiming bite, and, hell, if that wasn’t enough for you, both of us would be willing to get your name tattooed over our heart so that everyone would know.”

  “Oh, I like the sound of that.” Keiko grinned. “But because I would be the only woman allowed to see you both with your shirts off, only I would see that beautiful tattoo.”

  “But everyone would see the rings on our fingers, and they sure as shit would see the rock we plan to put on yours,” Logan argued reasonably and Keiko lost the ability to breathe for a moment.

  “Rings?” she all but croaked.

  Logan looked at her as if she were slightly slow off the mark. “Well, yeah. Of course we’ll put a ring on your finger. How the hell do you think we’re going to marry you without a ring? We want everyone to know you’re taken.”

  “But it’s not just about ownership and staking a claim. We want to marry you more than anything in this world because we love you,” Cooper quickly added, shooting Logan a quick glare. “We want to bond ourselves to you in every way possible, Keiko.”

  Keiko smiled gently and nodded at them. Again, she definitely liked the sound of that. The brothers shared a look. Then they looked directly at her, and Keiko could feel their stares like a physical weight. Then the air around them both seemed to shimmer, much like it did in on the highways back in Houston in the heat of the day when the road and scenery seemed to waver. Then, from within that shimmer burst two fully grown adult brown Kodiak bears.

  “A bikkurishita!” In her surprise, Keiko reverted to her first language and her hand flew to cover her mouth. She breathed heavily through her nose as she fought the urge to run and scream at the same time. Despite her mind telling her that the two bears in front of her were, in fact, Logan and Cooper, the wary side of her, the one who never opened her door without checking the peephole first, wanted to run screaming from the yard, lock herself inside, and hide beneath her bed.

  But the problem was, the part of her that cried for flight over fight, was drastically overruled by every cell in her body that loved them, and knew that they loved her. Both bears were standing as still as they could, from the looks of things. Keiko looked at them both hard, desperately trying to find a piece of Logan or Cooper that would help her to make the connection, in her own mind, that what she was seeing was real. “Can you understand me?” she asked softly.

  The bear that stood where Logan had been rolled his eyes and Keiko could almost hear him muttering about stupid questions. From the open expression on the other bear, and how readily he nodded his head and seemed to grin at her in a truly ursine way, Keiko had her answer. They were still her men, still Logan and Cooper—just a whole lot bigger, covered with fur, and possessing the ability to rip her in half. But her men, nonetheless.

  Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she closed the gap between them and reached up to run her hands through the fur on their faces. Both closed their eyes, enjoying the touch and making a cute but funny chuffing noise in their chest that had Keiko laughing. “You like that, huh?” She scratched harder and almost fell over as both pushed their heads closer to her. Up close, she got a true understanding of how big they were. Their heads were huge, and even on all fours, they were still taller than her diminutive five-foot-five frame.

  “Okay, I can handle your bears,” Keiko whispered softly and felt both bears seem to shudder, and Keiko knew it was in relief. They had been scared she would turn them away.

  “K-Keiko?” Keiko spun at the sound of her mother’s voice, and she could hear surprise and no small amount of fear in her mother’s tone.

  “Oka-san!” Keiko stepped away from Logan and Cooper and held her hand out in a calming manner toward her mother. “Daijoubu, sinpai nai yo.” Despite telling her mother that everything was okay and not to worry, she didn’t think her mother heard her. Her mother’s eyes were locked on the bears behind her.

  “Logan and Cooper,” her mother said in English, “they have the gift and carry a spirit? They are Obake?”

  There was a shift in the air pressure that Keiko had missed before, due to not being so close to them, but she knew immediately that it was Logan and Cooper shifting back into their human forms behind her. Her mother squeaked in surprise, then spun to face the house. In confusion, Keiko turned around, then groaned and rolled her eyes at the sight of her men standing there, hands held over their groins. “For God’s sake, put some clothes on. That’s my mother!”

  “A fact we are all too aware of, baby,” Logan shot back. He pulled his jeans on as Cooper struggled as fast as he could into his. “But neither of us wanted to leave you alone to have to explain everything to our future mother-in-law without our assistance.”

  “Mother-in-law!” her mother yelped as she spun back around. “You have proposed to my daughter?” The joy on her mom’s face was a little surprising, considering she had just witnessed her future sons-in-law standing in her backyard as bears, and then buck naked, desperately covering their dicks with their hands.

  “Yes, we did, ma’am,” Logan admitted as he pulled his T-shirt over his head and threw her a huge grin. “And she said yes.”

  “I did not!” she denied as her face flooded with heat. Having this very weird conversation in the presence of her mother was one of the most surreal moments of her life. And, considering she just watched her lovers shape-shift into huge, furry bears, that was truly saying something.

  Cooper walked right up to her, his face filled with an emotion that very much looked like anger. “You damn well did, too, Keiko. There is no taking that shit back. We told you about our intentions and you nodded. After we shifted you said you could handle our bears, and now that your mother knows about us, you have regrets and want to say it never happened? Fuck no.”

  Keiko blinked in surprise. She had never seen Cooper this upset before. He had misinterpreted what she had said, and if she’d had any doubt that he and Logan were talking long-term with her, it would have been shot out of the water in that moment. But she was an independent, strong woman, more than capable of handling Logan and Cooper as men or as bears, so there were a few things she needed to point out before she put his mind at ease.

  “Firstly,” Keiko said in a low voice, allowing her own anger to bleed into her to
ne, “if you are confused or concerned about anything that I have said, you ask me calmly first before you get up in my face and act all domineering. I love your dominating nature in the bedroom, but in all other aspects of our lives, we are a team. Don’t ever forget that. Secondly, never, and I do mean never, swear in front of my mother. I don’t like it.” Cooper grimaced as all anger fled from his face and regret filled his expression, but Keiko powered on, not giving him time to make the apology she knew he now desperately wanted to give.

  “And thirdly, I was not regretting giving myself to you, and agreeing to a future with you, nor was I saying that it never happened. I am not like that and you damn well know that, Cooper Anderson. What I was saying, was that I was never asked. We simply talked about it as a given, but I’m just like every other woman on the face of the earth and I have dreamed of a romantic setting and being asked on bended knee with a ring that takes my breath away being held in my direction as a certain question is asked. Now, I expect and demand that. More than that, I know I deserve it, so, Cooper and Logan, you had better get your damn thinking hats on, because as soon as all of this is behind us, and we head back to the States, I am not moving in with you until I have been appropriately romanced, I have been asked properly, and I am wearing a goddamn ring on my finger.”

  Not waiting for any reaction, Keiko stormed off in her mother’s direction, but she only made it three steps before Cooper was kneeling in front of her, his arms wrapped around her waist. “I’m sorry, love, I’m so sorry. My reaction was the result of the fear of losing you and, to be fair, it has been a rather emotional morning for us. Forgive me, please?”

  Keiko wound her hands into his hair and took a deep breath. She looked up and noticed that her mother had gone back to stand in the door to the house, and she felt Logan step up to stand closely behind her. “Of course I forgive you. I understand where it came from.”