Bear in the Rough: Bear Shifter Romance (Broken Hill Bears Book 1)

by Ariana Hawkes

  “Yes!” Eloise said, with surprising firmness. The other two whipped their heads toward her. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being trapped here, it’s that life is short and you’ve got to make the best of it. I’m going to finish that damn trail if it’s the last thing I do. Are you coming with me?”

  “I guess so. I’ve got nothing better to do,” Marin said in a jokey tone, and they all laughed.

  “And you, Freya?” Eloise said, noticing that she’d stayed quiet.

  “Yup. Count me in,” she said after a pause. The other two whooped and they all high-fived each other.

  “We need to check in with everyone first though. Make sure no-one’s been looking for us,” Marin said.

  “Yeah. I could do with a couple of nights in civilization before we get going,” Freya agreed.

  Braxton, Ryker and another guy they didn’t know arrived and took their packs from them.

  “The van’s right over this way,” Braxton said, good naturedly, as he led the way. “I’ll sure be sorry to see you ladies go. It’s been great having you all here.”

  “I can’t say the same, but it’s been nice to meet you,” Marin said. He shrugged.

  “We’re all sorry for what happened to you all. I just wish we’d met in different circumstances,” Ryker said.

  When they reached the truck, the guys helped them in and gave them blankets.

  “I’m sorry to ask you this, but would you all mind putting the blankets over your heads until we tell you it’s okay to remove them?” Braxton said.

  “Nope,” they all said, ready to agree to anything that facilitated their departure from Broken Hill.

  As they were climbing into the back of the truck, Freya heard her name being yelled. She turned in the direction of the sound. Suddenly, there was a huge, muscular man hurtling toward her.

  “Xander!” she yelled.

  “Freya! I thought I’d missed you!” He lifted her right off her feet and hugged her tight. She bit back a sob, as waves of pleasure washed over her at being in his arms again. “Be safe. Be happy. You’ve changed my life in ways I could never have imagined. I’ll never forget you, Freya,” he said.

  “Same to you, everything you said,” she whispered, almost too choked up to speak.

  “Now go, get out of here.” As abruptly as he’d arrived, he disappeared again, leaving her standing dazed beside the truck. Somehow she clambered in, the doors were locked, and they drove off.

  *

  The drive took almost three hours, until they were let off at the town of Austin, five miles from the trail. They watched the three bears drive off in a cloud of dust and promptly burst into tears.

  “I was so scared that entire time,” Eloise said, in between sobs.

  “Me too. I thought we were never going to get out of there,” Marin said.

  “Come on, let’s check in and decompress,” Freya said, her head whirling with so many conflicted thoughts.

  The bears had returned their phones, all out of battery, and they plugged them in and trawled through messages. They’d all been missed, but by relatively unconcerned friends. Marin’s brother had hit her up twice, asking in the second message to ‘please call him asap to set his mind at rest.’ But they quickly discovered that, in the scheme of things, they hadn’t been away that long. People hadn’t expected to see them for five months or so, so a two-week absence was a mere blip in time.

  That afternoon, and all evening, they talked non-stop, sitting on their balcony with wine coolers, and discussing every moment of their ordeal.

  They argued over calling the cops. Marin was adamant that they should.

  “You can’t just kidnap people and tell them that they can’t ever leave. This is the land of the free, and they need to respect that,” she pointed out. Freya tried to dissuade her.

  “I know it was a harrowing experience, but nothing bad actually happened to us.” Marin snorted.

  “Except that we were shit-scared for two weeks straight. Well, Eloise and I were, anyway.” Freya chose to ignore the pointed comment.

  “How about if you try to look at it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see how shifters actually live their lives? It’s something that all those screaming girls at the shows would kill for. Shifter laws are different from human laws. If we call the cops, their whole existence will be over. People will find Broken Hill. The cops will go in, and that’ll be it.”

  “I agree,” Eloise said, taking them both by surprise.

  “What happened to us was freaky and scary and kind of awful, but it was an accident, and the perpetrators were punished by the clan. I kind of feel like justice has been done. Let’s take the good things we experienced – like Freya helping Xander become a good leader, which is what ultimately led to our release – and see it as a part of the trail. Albeit a very quirky one.”

  Marin nodded slowly.

  “If you’re both so strongly against it, then I don’t want to be the one to go against your wishes. I have a lot of anger toward the three morons who abducted us, but I guess you’re right – they have suffered for their actions. I just need a little more time to deal with it all.”

  “Thank you, Marin,” Freya said with feeling.

  They ended up staying two extra days in Austin. The bears had also given them a giant wad of cash, and they decided to treat themselves, eating lots of good food, replacing all of their clothes and visiting a spa.

  When they returned to the trail, it felt like a whole new world. It was almost summer, the snow had disappeared from the mountain tops, and they’d bypassed the worst of the high altitude.

  “Anybody sorry about that?” Marin asked.

  “Nope,” Eloise and Freya both said.

  Their packs felt heavier when they hoisted them, and they realized with dismay that their bodies would have to get accustomed to the weight once more.

  “I’m no longer scared of bears,” Eloise announced, practicing the call that Braxton had taught her, which would apparently scare off any bear in several miles’ radius.

  They made good progress that day, and the next and the next. Freya was as full of euphoria at regaining her freedom as the others, but her mind wouldn’t quit reminding her of Xander. He was in every thought. Everything made her think of him – the outdoors, the faraway mountains – she was sure that one of them was Broken Hill – the one with the jagged summit. The occasional patches of shade reminded her of the clearing where they’d made love twice. His scent seemed to be constantly in her nostrils, his deep, rumbling voice in her ear. Every time they spotted a male hiker in the distance, she convinced herself that it was him, coming to find her. She would’ve given a lot to kiss him again, to feel the impossible softness of that firm, masculine mouth on hers, his hardness pressing on her thigh, demonstrating just how much he wanted her. Eloise had taken to sleeping in her own tent, “because I’ve grown a pair recently,” she explained. So Freya had her tent to herself every night. She lay curled up, allowing thoughts of him to lull her to sleep, while her fingers eased away her insatiable need.

  After ten days of good, solid progress, they were surprised to find that they were approaching their next rest stop far quicker than scheduled. They’d given up obsessively checking for their next break, and somehow they’d lost track of it. They discussed bypassing it and pressing right on, but the stop after that was a lot further away.

  “I hardly feel like I’ve earned this rest break,” Eloise said, plopping herself down on the bed of the nice hotel they’d checked into using the bears’ cash.

  “Oh my god, this place has a pool!” Marin shrieked, leafing through the hotel brochure. “I know where I’ll be spending the evening.”

  “Me too,” “Same here,” Freya and Eloise said.

  Several hours later, after they’d spent a long while in the pool, hot tub and steam room, Freya lingered in the lobby as she waited for Marin and Eloise to finish getting ready for dinner. There was a rack of leaflets and flyers right by the door,
and she wandered over and began looking over them idly. There was an image on one of them that caught her eye. She picked it up, looked closely, and clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “No!” Marin yelled, loudly enough for several people in the lobby to turn around and stare at her. “How can you want to see them again?” Freya blew out a long breath.

  “I know that this doesn’t make sense to you, and that it probably seems fucked up, but I just want to see him again, one more time,” she said. “We left so abruptly that I didn’t say all the things I wanted to say.”

  “You don’t even know that Xander’s going to be there,” Marin snapped, clearly exasperated. “All it says is that the Broken Hill Bears and The Black Paw Ridge Bears are going head to head in one of the tensest matches of the year. I’m sure he won’t be fighting now that he’s Alpha.”

  “It’s worth a try,” she replied. “If he’s not there, fine. But I’d at least like to find out.”

  “Well I’m not coming,” Marin said. Eloise pursed her lips.

  “Freya, I wish you wouldn’t go. Just the thought of seeing them again makes me feel like I can’t breathe right. In any other situation, I’d come and support you, but I just can’t.”

  “That’s okay, I understand,” Freya said.

  Freya left the girls to their dinner, grabbed some takeout from a nearby store, and called a taxi to take her to the local stadium where the town was hosting its first-ever shifter wrestling match. What if he’s there? she thought, nerves prickling in her belly. How will I find him if he’s not wrestling? Will he even be glad to see me?

  As the taxi pulled up to the venue her insides started doing somersaults, and when she paid for her ticket and walked to her seat, which was a few rows back from the stage, her legs were trembling so much that they could hardly carry her.

  The music and the screams from the crowd were familiar from last time, and she joined in clapping and cheering. The compère came on and made his opening announcement:

  “All you guys here tonight are very lucky, because it’s going to be a triple bill: The Broken Hill Bears are going head to head with The Black Paw Ridge bears, not once, but three times! All for your entertainment!” The audience clapped and whooped, while Freya chuckled, knowing that ‘entertainment’ was the least of their motivations for fighting one another.

  She gasped to see that Braxton was first on, and that he was fighting Mikal. In the ring, the good-natured guy was transformed into a ruthless fighting machine, and it only took five rounds for him to knock his ex-clan mate out. Next up was was Ryker, fighting Gunner. He also won, in almost eleven, hard-fighting rounds.

  “And now for the headlining match. The one you’ve all been waiting for!” The compère screamed. “From the Black Paws, comes Deacon!” Freya watched him strut onto the stage. He seemed more confident than the nervous man who’d snatched her from the trail and carried her all the way to Broken Hill. There was a swagger in his walk, and she found that she still hated him.

  “And from the Broken Hill Bears, please welcome, the amazing, the incredible, the undefeated champion, Xander the Great!” The crowd went crazy, their screams deafening, but Freya was so overwhelmed that she could only watch in silence as he approached through the tunnel. He looked incredible – so huge, burnished and muscular. The sight of him made her lightheaded. As he raised his fists and turned around slowly, displaying himself to the crowds, she could have sworn that he looked directly at her. It’s too far away for him to see me, she told herself, and she wished again that she’d managed to get a better seat. Maybe at the end, when everyone’s celebrating, I’ll be able to sneak down and try to get his attention.

  Xander came out fast after the opening bell, and the audience watched in awed silence as he reduced Deacon to a cowering heap inside 90 seconds, with a series of slow, measured blows. The referee counted Deacon out while he lay flat on his back. He was either unconscious, or realized that he was completely outclassed by his ex-Alpha. Xander stood over him and said something that was inaudible to the audience.

  “Xander the Great, what have you got to say?” The compère demanded. Xander snatched the mike that was being handed to him.

  “I’ve only got one thing to say,” Xander said in his normal voice, that was so different from his stage-voice. “And that’s, Freya, I can’t believe you’re here. Please come and join me in the ring?” He was looking directly at her, and her throat suddenly constricted so much that she could barely breathe. Yes, of course she would go to him. But how? People turned in their seats and stared at her.

  “There’s a crane over there!” a man yelled to her. She looked where he was pointing, got out of her seat and rushed down the steps toward it. It looked like the cranes used on building sites – a tiny cage on a long, articulated arm. A man stood beside it, guarding the way.

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do this. It’s very irregular and highly dangerous,” he said.

  “Let her go if she wants to!” Xander boomed from the ring. The man quaked and a bunch of people rushed over to him and started debating something. She waited. At last there was some nodding of heads, and a man in a business suit turned up with a piece of paper. It was a waiver, saying that she was responsible for any damage to her person that resulted from her actions. She signed it with a flourish and climbed into the cage. Her legs were still trembling, but she ignored them. Xander wanted her to join him, and that was all that mattered.

  She clung to the sides of the cage as it was lifted up high, high above the audience, the bullet-proof glass and the electric fencing, and into the ring. The whole way, she kept her eyes on Xander’s, his deep brown stare similarly unwavering. The second the cage landed on the mat, he bounded over and lifted her out. And then he dipped his head and pulled her into the most tender kiss imaginable. She was barely aware of the roar of the crowd all around her.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this woman here is the most incredible person I’ve ever met in my life; and the one who’s made me stronger and more powerful than I’ve ever been. I owe her a lot. Please join me in giving her a massive round of applause.”

  The audience exploded with a wild ecstasy of cheering, singing and clapping, shouting both hers and Xander’s name. She felt dizzy with the overwhelming emotion inside her chest. Everything was happening so fast. Xander helped her climb over the ropes, held her hand and started walking toward the exit, waving at the audience at the same time. He led her through the glass tunnel and into a sizeable room, which seemed to be his private changing room, gently closing the door behind her.

  “You came back for me?” he murmured, drawing her into his arms. She grinned at him and nodded.

  “I did.” She touched his cheek, just below the spot where it was a little bruised, then ran her hand along his jawline.

  “Why?”

  “Maybe because I missed you.” Crinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes.

  “You did? I missed you too, Freya. So much. I’ve been thinking about you non-stop since you left. It’s been driving me crazy.” Her heart fluttered. “Freya –” He broke off.

  She looked deeply into his eyes, calmly holding his gaze, although her heart was beating triple time.

  “Freya. You’re my mate. I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. I want to spend every living second with you, to share my bed with you every night, and listen to your wise opinions every day. Will you do me the honor of becoming my mate?”

  “And live in Broken Hill with you?” He nodded, the furrows in his forehead deepening. She bit her lip.

  “Yes, Xander, I will!” she said. He gasped, swept her up high, and kissed her again, to the sound of whoops and cheers.

  “You’ll come?”

  “Yes. When I’ve finished the hike.”

  “I’ll be waiting. Right at the end.”

  The rest of the night was a blissful blur. She left the venue with the clan, who greeted her warmly. Th
en she sat in the back of the bus, snuggled up with Xander, and all the way he entwined his fingers with hers, whispering sweet nothings to her, telling her how much he missed her, how he hadn’t been able to eat or sleep. How the thought that he’d never see her again cut him to the core. Her heart melted a little more at every single word. But when he told her that he’d been out looking for her on the trail, tracking the girls, making sure that they were okay, she thought she was going to faint.

  “Are you serious?” she whispered. He described what she’d been wearing two days earlier – an outfit that she’d bought in Austin, and her eyes filled with tears.

  “Of course I wanted to go up to you, speak to you. But I felt like I didn’t have the right. To be honest, I thought that once we were parted, you’d forget that you liked me, and only remember me as the one who held you captive.”

  “Oh, Xander.” Freya stroked his face. “I could never forget how much I liked you,” she whispered. He peppered her face with kisses.

  “Can you stay with me tonight?” he said.

  “Sure. If it’s not too far away?”

  “Of course. As soon as we’re outside the city limits, and the cops aren’t training their guns on us any longer, we can get a hotel for the night.”

  “Okay, I’ll just let the girls know what’s happening,” she said, her heart fluttering with excitement. She texted them and then watched out of the window as they passed the city limits, and the police convoy fell away, and police on foot trained submachine guns at them until they were out of sight.

  “So funny,” she said.

  “I know,” he replied with a grin.

  *

  The sex was different this time. As soon as the hotel door was closed, he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

  “You’re my mate,” he growled, his voice husky and rough in her ear. He began to strip her clothes off, but she tore away from him, spun around and did the same to him. In seconds, they were naked, his, big, thick cock pressing against her soft stomach. He bent and kissed her hard on the mouth. “Which means that we don’t make love any more. We mate.” Her eyes sparkled and her clit throbbed. She was already soaking wet, her muscles fluttering in anticipation of him taking her.