Bear Guards: A Paranormal Romance

by J. S. Striker

  In the end, practicality won out.

  “Yes, please. Tomorrow. Come to the town center with me to register. Everyone needs to know you’re here.”

  Chapter 4

  As it turned out, the rest of the town called Orville wasn’t the same as the great, isolated location Hazel lived in—something he was disappointed by but curious about at the same time. The favor she asked wasn’t really something he liked, but Adam wasn’t the type to back out once he already gave his word—and so here he found himself, standing in what Hazel called the town center and getting stared at by townspeople that really should just mind their own business.

  Apparently, because of the nature of the place and its residents and the rather easy way he got in her border, where almost no creature had ever ventured in, registering was a must—a perfect way to introduce new people in their home and to assure those who lived there that the newbies wouldn’t be a danger to the residents in the long run. He was asked to sign his name on a paper, as well as provide identification that he only had in the form of one ID. Then Adam found himself in an interrogation room, one that had a two-sided mirror and chairs that were cheap and uncomfortable.

  A few seconds later, someone walked in and sat in front of him—a shifter, recognizable by the aura he gave off and their general instinct in recognizing each other.

  This certain shifter was tall, fit and had a certain authority that told Adam he was no regular citizen. The quick introduction confirmed his thoughts as Adam found himself face-to-face with the town sheriff in civilian clothes, but with a gun on the holster of his belt.

  Not that he needed it.

  Nikolai Bastet eyed him with distrust, a brief flash before he banked it down and portrayed cool calmness. There was a paper in his hand, but he didn’t even glance at it before he started the questioning.

  “Where do you come from?”

  “Austin,” Adam responded, keeping his own voice calm.

  “Have you lived there all your life?”

  “No. I’ve stayed in California before that. Los Angeles.”

  He waited for the sheriff to ask him where he stayed before because Adam was ready to give out the answers. It was going to be a long list, considering his life as a nomad pretty much had him leaving a place within a few years—two years maximum. His stint at Austin had been three months, one of the shortest, but it would have been longer if those creatures hadn’t come after him.

  And if he hadn’t followed the beat of his body that called him here, telling him this was where he would find his mate.

  “And why have you come here?”

  “I’ve come looking for my mate. I can feel her here, though I don’t know who it is yet.”

  “You can feel her here? Most shifters do not just feel their mates and follow their instincts from Austin to Orville.”

  “I’m not most shifters.”

  “Then what are you?”

  “I can demonstrate, but I’d rather not. Hazel would know. She saw me naked and saw me shift right in front of her.”

  The statement had the sheriff’s eyes narrowing, a certain tension entering his shoulders as he frowned at Adam. It was professional and all, but something told Adam it was more, and he decided to tread lightly from this time on. Whatever calmness was in the sheriff earlier felt different now: a steady shift that turned the air and his demeanor cold.

  “Anything else that might have brought you here?”

  The answer was almost at the tip of Adam’s tongue. He banked it down, slowly shaking his head—keeping his gaze on the man named Nikolai steady.

  “Not that I know of.”

  He wouldn’t tell until those creatures were actually here, which he half-hoped wouldn’t happen at all, considering how this town’s borders somehow kept the energy in through magic—probably Hazel’s doing, along with other witches. That meant he was safe in the meantime. If he told right now, he had a feeling this guy would kick him out faster than the speed of light.

  And he refused to budge until he found his partner here.

  It was all business, really. His mate meant sharing his energy with her, which translated to two things: him not needing to be restless anymore and shifting all the time when he really needed to blend in, and someone to take on his line and prevent his kind from getting extinct. The former was really convenient because every shift meant the enemies sensed him, and he needed to be in control of that.

  Nikolai leaned forward, folding his arms. “You have to understand that registering in this town and living here comes with rules.”

  “I’m not a murderer if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  “I never said you were. But rules are rules.”

  “Tell me the rules, then.”

  The sheriff leaned back on his chair as if it was the most comfortable furniture in the world. Then he did as asked, stating all the things that Adam needed to adhere to if he was to continue to stay here. No funny business, no brawls with other kinds and his kind, no eating raw meat bigger than deer. A month’s stay in a bunkhouse in shifter territory, monitored by shifters and with absolutely no freedom until he was fully trusted. After all that, he’d be given the chance to be integrated into town life, including getting a job and paying for his own rent.

  Adam didn’t think it would take him a month to find his mate here, and he wasn’t really the type to get in trouble with others, anyway. Contrary to popular belief, dragons were a pretty peaceful bunch. But the idea of having shifters—bear shifters at that—monitor him didn’t sit well with him, considering they were a stubborn, bossy lot. He tilted his head and kept listening, politely waiting until the speaking man finished his so-called rules.

  “Any questions?”

  Adam smiled a small smile. “Have you ever had an incident where those rules were…adjusted a bit? Say, for example, if you had a very powerful creature that needed more than a shifter to babysit it and needed to ask the help of others…like a witch?”

  Obviously, Nikolai didn’t like where Adam was headed, and the bear shifter made it known with a glare. “What the hell are you on about?”

  “I’d like to request to have Hazel here so I can explain better. She’ll understand.”

  There was an irritated growling sound, one that had Adam’s shoulders tensing before he slowly calmed down. He waited as the growling stopped, followed by Nikolai walking out of there with a stomp and leaving him alone. Seconds turned to minutes, and Adam could feel restlessness inside him again, raring to come out soon. He’d slept in Hazel’s living room last night, preferring the wooden floor to the couch, and had been out like a light until dawn when she woke him up and insisted on the registration. They had breakfast at the diner, where a dangerous creature—a vampire and the owner—served them heaps of bacon and pancakes and talked to Hazel about some herbal garden he was trying to grow.

  After breakfast, she steered him to the police station and ventured off to buy some clothes for him—something he knew he would need to pay for again. He wondered how she was faring with that when the interrogation room’s door opened again, and in came the sheriff with Hazel in tow.

  The look on the man was positively thunderous, while the look on hers was somewhere between curiosity and irritation. Adam could feel a certain tension between the two, telling him that they weren’t friends now…but might have been friends at some point.

  There were shopping bags in her hand, so many that it made him blink. He wanted to ask if they were all for him or if she also bought stuff for herself, but the impatient look on the sheriff’s face told him the man was about to be not nice.

  “She’s here. Explain,” Nikolai said shortly.

  Well.

  Adam decided to get to the point. “I’ve listened to all your rules and think they’re reasonable. But I do have one request: one that involves Hazel.”

  “What is it?” Nikolai asked.

  Adam turned to look at Hazel, whose suspicious eyes started to widen. The look of her distract
ed him for a bit, prettier than he’d seen her last night with her cheeks flushed and that dress that matched her name and her eyes.

  Then he got back on track and finally spoke.

  “I’m very powerful, and I don’t think any other shifter can handle me. As you said, Sheriff, you’ve had special cases. I’m telling you now that I’m a special case, and I think it would be beneficial for everyone if Hazel did the monitoring of me in her own home, where she’s most powerful.”

  Chapter 5

  The small, almost complacent smile on Adam’s mouth was supposed to be a pleasant touch—but there was nothing pleasant about the way his bronze eyes glinted. She heard the request, absorbed the words as steadily as she could as he told her what needed to be done.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Nikolai, too—watched the dislike glinting in his normally calm expression and demeanor. They hadn’t really been able to see each other eye to eye since they’d last…well, slept together, and she’d discovered she was just one of his many women. That had been months ago. She knew this was bound to be trouble now.

  Practicality and magic warred inside her as silence filled the room, indicating that they were actually waiting for her to say something. She wanted to be out of this certain situation’s hair, wash her hands and call it a day…but at the same time, her witch side was acting up again with too much curiosity for her own good.

  Protest. Tell Nikolai they can take care of this.

  Keep Adam. Make a bargain.

  Belatedly, she realized that he still owed her one favor, and maybe this could be her leverage for him to not say no to her next request.

  The decision came in a snap, one that had her meeting his eyes. They were observing her in that intense way of his, distracting her for a bit. Then she went into focus and nodded her head, sensing whatever tension was on Adam ease up. That tension transferred to Nikolai, who she then turned to in order to clarify things.

  “He’s right. You won’t be able to contain him, but I can. And I’m willing to.”

  Surprise flitted in Nikolai’s eyes, one that turned into disapproval really quickly. She knew how he would dangle his authority right under her nose if she let this dwell in this room, so Hazel acted as quickly as she could, turning on a cool smile in his direction.

  “Hazel, are you sure—”

  “Absolutely,” she said, stepping towards Adam and taking his arm in her hand—an action that had Nikolai’s eyes narrowing. “And I believe to make it all formal, I would need to take him to the council to explain this in detail. You can come if you want, or you can have the shifter representative come.”

  The shifter representative, usually the person assigned to babysit and monitor the newbies, was often the designated one to help arrange all this, and Nikolai wasn’t the type to play favorites—meaning if he volunteered to walk them to the council now, it would be the talk of the town. His lips flattened once he realized that, but he nodded his head right after.

  Hazel tried not to smirk very hard, and she steered a confused Adam out of there.

  Triumph flared when the town sheriff didn’t follow.

  *****

  “I owe you a favor again for that,” he said once they returned to the cabin, cleared and permitted by the council with just a few explanations and a revelation of Adam’s dragon heritage. It was afternoon by the time they were done, with Hazel deciding to file a leave from the hospital clinic as she decided to set her plan in motion. She’d been thinking on the long walk home, but his words brought her back to the present as she watched him place the groceries he helped her carry on the kitchen counter.

  “Actually, I wanted to bring that up with you,” she said, treading as lightly as she could. “How long do you think it would take for you to find your mate?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Fine. You said that you had to…be inside your mate to know.” Her face heated up at the words, and Hazel turned and pretended to be busy at the counter. “Does that mean you’re going to date around town and try to have sex with them?”

  “If it has to come to that, then yes.” The way he said it made it seem like he didn’t like it at all. “If the connection is really strong beforehand, a kiss might determine it right away. But I’d have to mate with her to make sure.”

  She started taking out the contents of the bags and felt Adam stand beside her—a silent offer to help. Hazel nodded and let him take over.

  Then she dove in for the kill.

  “So. I’d like to ask for my favor now.”

  “Okay. What did you want?”

  “I’d like to experiment on you in exchange for you staying here. Find out what you’re made of with my potions. Nothing dangerous. It won’t change anything about you, and I’m willing to keep whatever I discover a secret from everyone else, so long as it doesn’t harm this town.”

  “Okay.”

  The way he easily said yes had her blinking, then staring. He frowned over a can of mushrooms and shook his head, then placed it down on the counter.

  “And can I also touch your scales if you shift again?”

  “Sure.”

  “And can I find out what attacked you to get you almost dying like that?”

  “No.”

  The no came off as easy as the yes, which had her narrowing her eyes. “What if it comes here and endangers the others?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge if it happens. For now, there’s nothing, and your town keeps energy inside.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Meaning whatever’s after me can usually detect me once I shift, but it didn’t detected me last night. I think your town is trying to unconsciously hide all the energy inside, so outside forces won’t know. Is that your doing?”

  Surprise filled her. “I don’t know. The witches have protected the border with spells, yes, but it’s mostly the shifters and vampires who patrol the area.”

  “It’s not them. I’m talking magic.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s probably us.” At least, it was minor of her, as she was one of the latest witches to arrive in town about six to seven years ago, and those borders were already there. “Do you promise to tell us if it comes?”

  “Yes. It’s dangerous to talk about it, Hazel. Just know that I’ll let you know right away if danger comes for this town.”

  Hazel decided to just take that and live with it…for now. She could always look into it later. Another thought entered her mind, and she blurted it out before she could stop.

  “A kiss? So what exactly are you supposed to feel in the kiss?”

  “Sparks.”

  “Anyone can feel sparks if they’re attracted to each other.”

  “It’s not that kind of sparks. It’s more like burning electricity. Did you want to try it out?”

  The question almost had her dropping the box of cereal she had in hand. Her head whipped in his direction to ask if he was crazy—but before she could, he was already right there in front of her, making her speechless as he cornered her against the counter and eyed her seriously.

  Two sets of hard, muscled arms settled beside hers, and the look he gave her lips had her heart skipping a beat.

  The protest slid into her brain and into her hands, which reached up to touch his chest and push him off. The heat of his body stopped her as confusion seeped in wondering if he had a fever. Then she realized that he was just as hot last night and this was his normal temperature.

  Then his energy seeped into her, so potent that it made her fingers curl instead.

  “So if I’m not your mate…you probably won’t feel anything?” she asked.

  “Probably.”

  He was still looking at her lips in intense concentration, and a challenge rose up in her.

  There was no harm in trying, right?

  It would make him owe her another favor.

  “Adam?”

  “Yes?”

  “Okay.”

  Surprise flitted in his eyes before they
met hers, and she watched as they darkened considerably. She was just starting to think that this was a bad idea, but he stepped even closer and breathed near her ear—the move intimate, even while his words were polite.

  “I won’t touch you. I promise.”

  And then he was leaning down to cover her mouth with his.

  It was a straight-on press of lips, one that had Hazel stilling. Relief warred with disappointment, one she hadn’t expected, when she felt nothing. Her hands stayed on his chest, feeling his steadily beating heart and getting comfort in that and the odd safety his presence provided.

  Then his head moved, angling in a certain way so that he could deepen the kiss. His kiss turned intimate as he tasted her.

  And all thoughts of this being safe left Hazel’s head, as well as every other thought there was.

  Sparks flew. She tasted experimentation, followed by hunger, as he devoured her on the spot, turning slow to fast and making her lose her breath as he kissed her as if he wanted her badly. Something jolted in her stomach, shooting from her spine and down, until her legs were trembling and what was between them was throbbing madly. A soft sound came out of her throat, one he swallowed before he moved even closer. True to his word, he didn’t touch her.

  But the groan he made, followed by his tongue sliding inside her, made her realize that he didn’t need to touch her. Hazel forgot all about the test.

  She kissed him back.

  Chapter 6

  There were sparks.

  There were plenty of sparks, and Adam felt it rush in his head and spread down his blood, tingles after tingles that had his body craving for more. So he kissed her hard, reveling in the way her mouth opened for him as she kissed him back and made him feel things he wasn’t supposed to be feeling on a first kiss.

  She tasted like her energy—warm, vibrant, with a touch of sweet that was just too addictive for her own good. He slid his tongue in and kissed her some more, tasting the milkshake she had earlier and wanting to devour her whole. A soft sound came out of her throat as her body softened against his, and before he knew it, he was hard as a rock and roaring like a madman as he desperately wanted to have more of her.