Bearly Christmas

by Becca Fanning

  “It looks like your face is starting to swell and you’re having a fairly serious reaction,” the nurse said. “We’re going to give you a shot of epinephrine to stop the allergic reaction.”

  The woman prepared a needle and gave her the shot. The swelling started to go down quickly.

  Another woman came in and took down all her information. Name, address, birth date, etc. She still had active insurance, luckily, and gave them the info for her policy.

  She and Knox sat in the exam room for a while. They wanted to watch her reaction and get her an Epipen, they said. She wouldn’t need to be admitted, which she was relieved to hear.

  After a while, the woman who had taken her information came back. “Okay, we have your insurance all set. We connected your next of kin listed, Darius Cruz, per the instructions on the account. He said he was on his way.” The woman smiled and left the room.

  Whatever panic Jasmine had felt at the sting was nothing compared to the panic she felt now. She looked at Knox with a wild expression.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “Why would they do that? Why would they call him?”

  “She said your account said to. Why? Is that a problem?”

  Tears already formed in her eyes. “I have to get out of here before he gets here.”

  Knox seemed shocked by her reaction. “Okay. I’ll find the nurse.”

  “No!” Jasmine looked around, making sure no one was near the door. “If they know I’m leaving, they might tell him.”

  “Okay, it’s okay.” He stood up and went to the door, looking out in both directions before saying, “Come on.”

  They hurried through hall, trying not to draw attention to themselves. He kept looking around, watching for anyone that might notice them or approach them. They got to his truck, and he pulled away quickly.

  Jasmine closed her eyes and couldn’t stop the tears from running down her cheeks. She felt the truck stop and opened her eyes to look at Knox. He had pulled over and was turned in his seat to face her.

  “What’s going on, Jasmine? Who is Darius, and why are you so afraid of him?”

  “He’s my ex-husband.” She wiped the tears away. “He can’t find me. He just can’t.”

  “Okay…”

  She didn’t want to tell him everything. Maybe he didn’t want an employee that had so many problems.

  “Jasmine.”

  She bit her lip and met his eyes.

  “Did he hurt you?”

  Her vision blurred with fresh tears. She heard her seatbelt click as he released it. Then felt his arms around her. He pulled her close and let her cry on his shoulder.

  “I’ll keep you safe,” he whispered.

  * * *

  * * *

  When she’d finished crying and making a complete fool of herself, Knox drove them back to his house.

  “Why don’t you just come inside and rest for a while?” he said. “Don’t worry about doing anything else today.”

  “Maybe you should just take me home.”

  “I will. Later. I want to make sure you’re okay.”

  He led her into the living room and brought a small blanket to her. She laid down and started to relax. Here, she felt safe. All these big men around and Knox who said he’d protect her.

  “Do you need anything?”

  “No, I’m okay, thanks,” she said.

  “Alright. I’m going to head back outside, but just yell if you need something. Amir is in the basement and Slade’s in the office, so you’re not alone.”

  “Thank you.”

  She managed to calm down enough to take a short nap. The chaos of the day had gotten to her and made her tired. But she hadn’t slept long, and she woke to shouting. She recognized Knox’s voice out front and went to the window to see what was happening.

  To her horror, Knox stood in the front lawn, yelling at Darius, who was flailing his arms and yelling back. She put her hand to her mouth. He had found her. She snuck to the door and peaked out the window in its center, listening carefully to what they were saying.

  “She is my wife! I have a right to see her. I know she’s in there,” Darius said.

  “I don’t care what you think you have a right to. This is my house and my property, and I said you need to go, now.” Knox poked his finger into Darius’s chest.

  Darius stepped back. He was nothing in size compared to Knox, and she thought that he looked somewhat scared.

  “I have a gun,” Darius said. “I will come in the middle of the night and shoot you in the head.”

  Knox threw back his head and laughed. Darius made a huge mistake then. He swung his fist and tried to hit Knox. Knox put his hand up and caught the punch effortlessly. He swung his other arm and punched Darius in the jaw. Darius started swinging wildly, his hands flying, not connecting, but just trying to hit something.

  Knox took a step back, away from him. He dropped to the ground, putting his hands down like he was doing a push up. Jasmine thought this was odd, but her confusion turned to shock when Knox’s clothing burst and split, revealing thick black hair. He stood up and the man that had been Knox was now a huge black bear.

  She gasped. Darius reacted much the same way. His jaw hung open and his eyes were huge as he backed away. Knox growled and leapt at him. Darius turned and ran, and Knox chased after him.

  Jasmine watched them run into the woods. Minutes later, Darius reappeared and ran to his car. He got the door open, whipping his head around frantically. He climbed in and didn’t even have the door closed fully before he sped off, kicking a dust storm up behind him. She kept watching for Knox. She didn’t know if he’d come out as a bear or a man, but she kept her eyes on the place where he’d disappeared into the woods.

  “Everything okay?”

  Jasmine jumped and let out a startled scream. She turned to face Slade.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  She pointed to the door, her speech failing her. “Knox… Darius…” She shook her head. “He turned into a bear.”

  “Ah.” Slade nodded in understanding. “I guess you didn’t know he could do that?”

  She blinked at him. So, this was something people knew about? So, it had actually happened then and she hadn’t imagined it.

  “Don’t be afraid,” Slade said. “I know it might seem a little strange at first. You’ve probably heard horrible stories about shifters.”

  She nodded slowly, thinking back to her childhood and the stories people told. That they were terrifying beasts capable of horrific things. She could see why people believed that. Knox as a bear had been quite scary.

  The front door opened and Knox walked in, wearing only shorts. “Hey. Everything okay?”

  Jasmine just stared at him, at his muscular bare chest. He had a collection of thick black curls in the center, and she could see the veins popping from his arms.

  Slade said, “She saw.”

  “Oh.” Knox gave her a concerned look. “Let’s just sit down and talk, okay?”

  She walked numbly to the couch and sat. He sat across from her on the chair.

  “Please don’t be afraid. Are you afraid?”

  “I—I—”

  He let out a breath in a hard sigh, then reached out slowly to take her hand. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a shifter. I can change into a bear, but it’s something that I control completely. It doesn’t happen by accident or if I get mad or anything like that. I’m not like the Hulk. And even when I am a bear, I’m still me. I know what I’m doing and who I am and who you are.”

  She stared into his gold eyes, listening carefully.

  “Did you see that Darius showed up?”

  She nodded.

  “I chased him off. I doubt he’ll come back. Usually people get pretty scared when I shift. Do you have any questions?”

  She thought about how all five of them were so huge and had the same gold eyes. “Are you all bear shifters?”

  “Yes. That’s p
rimarily why we live together. We’re actually a clan. Slade is the alpha. That’s also why we deal in honey.” He quirked his mouth into a crooked grin and shrugged. “Bears like honey.”

  She chuckled a little at that.

  “How’s your hand?”

  She looked down at the place she’d been stung. It was now just pink, and the swelling had gone. She held it up to show him.

  “Good.”

  They sat in silence for a while, staring at each other, or at the floor, or at the wall.

  Finally, he said, “Are you okay? Are you totally freaked out? Say something.”

  “It’s surprising,” she said. “But I think… I think I’m not afraid.”

  Knox moved to sit beside her. He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I will do whatever I have to to keep you safe.”

  He tilted her chin up, then leaned forward and kissed her. It caught her off guard and she almost pulled back. But then she realized, he was kissing her. Kissing her.

  She relaxed and kissed him back, enjoying the feel of their lips sliding together and pressing against each other. He ended the kiss and pulled back to look at her.

  She broke into a grin and looked down, suddenly feeling shy. He pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, “I really like you.”

  She hugged him back, letting the feeling of warmth take over her. In that moment, she had never felt so safe or cared for. She never wanted it to end.

  * * *

  * * *

  “I’m starving after the day we’ve had,” Knox said. “Will you go to dinner with me? Do you have plans or anything?”

  “No plans.”

  “Okay then.” He stood and took her hand and led her to his truck.

  They drove to a small restaurant that she’d never seen before.

  “I know this might not be the nicest looking place, but the food is amazing,” he said.

  They sat at the table across from each other and placed their order.

  “Thank you for everything today,” Jasmine said. “I feel like I’ve brought so much trouble into your life.”

  “No,” he said. “Are you kidding? You’ve made things interesting. Though, I do wish you would have told me sooner about your ex. That way I would have known to tell the nurse at the hospital. But oh well, at least I knew before he showed up at the house looking for you.”

  “But that’s the problem. He might come back. He does have a gun. You don’t need my problems on you. I should find another job.”

  “What! No, don’t do that. You’re an amazing housekeeper, and we need you desperately. And don’t worry about him. One thing that comes with being a shifter is that if people find out, they like to come after you. We’ve been hunted before and we’ll be hunted again. There are guns and knives all over the house and on the grounds, but we’re all the deadliest weapons.”

  She nodded. “You’re not bulletproof, though.”

  “No, but in bear form, I’m much stronger. Bullets don’t do near as much damage as they would to a human.”

  “I feel like… I don’t deserve you. To go through all this for me. We barely know each other.”

  He reached across the table and covered her hand in his. “I want to know you more. You deserve to be safe. You deserve to be happy. Does working for me and spending time with me make you happy?”

  “Yes. Very.”

  “Okay then.”

  “I like you, too.” It came out as almost a whisper, and she felt self-conscious saying it. A man like him shouldn’t like a woman like her.

  “Do you?” He pulled his mouth into a glowing smile.

  She nodded and giggled. “I have never felt this way. I didn’t like my husband very much when I married him.”

  “Then why did you marry him?”

  “My parents. They brought me here from Iran when I was very little. They wanted to go back, but I didn’t. I was almost 18, so they agreed to let me stay if I married a Persian man. That they chose.”

  “Oh wow. Must be horrible having to be married to someone you don’t like. Did he treat you good at all?”

  Tears flooded to her eyes again, making her even more self-conscious. She swiped at them quickly. “Not really.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now. I’m not perfect, but I’ll treat you right. I’ll protect you.”

  “I’ve never felt so safe in my life.”

  After dinner, they returned to Knox’s house. “I want you to stay here tonight. Just to make sure you’re safe and the bee sting is okay. You can sleep in my room and I’ll take the couch.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine at home.”

  “No way. My bedroom is clean and everything. I have this really amazing housekeeper who does a fabulous job.”

  “Thank you, but really. I’ll be okay.”

  He shook his head. “I’m insisting on this. Do you live alone?”

  “No, not really. I’m… staying at a women’s shelter.”

  He looked over at her, surprised. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then there is no way I’m sending you back there tonight.”

  They pulled into the driveway and found the other men outside, gathered around the hive of dead bees. She and Knox entered the house, and she put her leftover food in the refrigerator.

  “I’m going to go outside for a minute to see what’s going on. Why don’t you go upstairs and get settled? Grab one of my shirts or something to sleep in, okay?”

  He hugged her and kissed her forehead before walking outside. She walked slowly up the stairs, the weight of the day crashing down on her.

  The bed had been made by her earlier in the day and now she turned down the sheets. She took a t-shirt from his closet and changed into it, then stretched out on the bed to wait.

  Several minutes later, the door opened. She sat up and froze. She’d expected Knox. Even one of the other guys. Instead, staring down at her with a triumphant grin on his face, was Darius.

  * * *

  * * *

  Jasmine’s first reaction was to scream. She let out a yell so loud, it hurt her throat.

  Darius laughed. “All your friends are outside. No one can hear you.”

  He came toward her and she backed away, off the bed.

  “You are going to come with me.”

  “No, I’m not. Get out of here. Get away from me!”

  “You can’t escape me. I’m your husband.” He took another step toward her. He was at the foot of the bed, ten feet away. “What would your parents say if they knew you had left your husband and were screwing another man? You would bring nothing but shame on them!”