The Clawed Squad: Stetson (The Bear Shifters of Clawed Ranch Book 1)

by Kim Fox

  The amazing night flew by and before Kylee knew it she was alone with Stetson as the other shifters headed off to bed, one by one. It was late and she would be exhausted for work tomorrow but she didn’t care. She had a big sexy bear shifter next to her, rubbing her feet like a master masseuse, while she drank red wine and munched on chocolate. She wasn’t going anywhere without a fight.

  “Do you get bad dreams?” he asked, rubbing the arch of her foot with his thumb as the fire and wine kept her warm. “You were thrashing around in your sleep last night.”

  Kylee took a deep breath and turned her gaze to the fire. Only her parents and Aunt Shelly had known about her visions. She didn’t share that part of her life with anyone. But she wanted to share it with Stetson.

  “They’re not so much dreams,” she said, a bit nervous that he’d think she was crazy, “as much as visions.”

  “Visions?” he asked, tilting his head. “What do you mean?”

  She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. There was no going back now. “They come true. Always.”

  She explained how the visions came to her, always feeling more real than dreams. Most of the time they came while she was sleeping but every so often they came when she was awake. She would drop like a stone and pass out, oblivious to the world around her while glimpses of the future came to her for some unknown reason. These visions were always ominous when they came and she always lived in fear of getting them. They also made her very nervous to drive. One time she passed out while riding her bike and woke up with a gash on her arm that required four stitches. She still had the scar.

  “What was your vision about last night?” Stetson asked, rubbing the faint line of her scar as if he could make it go away.

  “I don’t remember,” she said. She had been so exhausted after her multiple orgasms that she wasn’t even aware that she had one. But if she did or not, she still wasn’t ready to tell him about it. She wasn’t ready to face it herself. Those brilliant green eyes in her vision looked a lot like Stetson’s and that was something she wasn’t willing to admit to herself.

  “Do you see any visions of us?” he asked with a curious smile.

  “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged as he grinned at her. “I don’t know. Kids, marriage?”

  She straightened up in her chair, pulling her foot out of his hands. “Is that something you’ve been thinking about? Something that you would consider?”

  Stetson ran his hand through his hair and nodded. “All of the time,” he answered, making Kylee’s heart flutter. “I mean, it’s only been a few days but there’s something here.”

  There was definitely something there. She had never been so fixated and attracted to another man in her entire life.

  “It’s weird, isn’t it?” she said, thinking about the amazing day and how well they seemed to connect. It felt like she had known Stetson her whole life and she was already heavily attached, never wanting to leave his side. “It’s only been a couple of days but…” She paused, unsure if her next words would scare him away. Were they too soon? Was she being too intense? Her mother had often told her she jumped into things too quickly with too much intensity. Maybe she was right.

  But Kylee didn’t care. The words felt right so she was going to say them. “It’s only been a couple of days,” she repeated with her eyes closed, “but I think that I love you.”

  Stetson’s lips were on hers, crashing into them with a passionate kiss before she could even open her eyes to see his reaction. That was the answer I needed. It was two sided. It was love.

  She whined as his lips pulled away and she slowly opened her eyes, hoping to hear an ‘I love you’ from him. What she saw instead was horrifying.

  eight

  Stetson was frozen in the chair. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. All that he could do was watch through a blur at the terrified face of Kylee as his bear bonded to her.

  The beautiful night sky, the wooden cabins in the distance, and even the campfire were all blackened out. Only Kylee was in full gorgeous view as his polar bear completed the bond that would affect him for the rest of his life.

  The darkness faded and their surroundings slowly came back into focus as Kylee grabbed his arms and shook him in a panic. “Are you okay?” she screamed. “Stetson! Talk to me!”

  “Hi,” he said with an unstoppable smile coming on. It was like he was seeing her for the first time. He had secretly hoped that Kylee was his mate but now he could see it with a stunning clarity. She was perfect for him. And now she would be a part of him forever.

  “You’re okay?” she asked, throwing her hands around his shoulders and digging her cute little nose into his neck. “You scared me to death!”

  “I’m okay,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her onto his lap. “I’m better than okay.”

  “What was that?” she asked, still shaking. “Was that a vision?”

  “No,” he whispered. “It was a bond.”

  “Like a mate bond?” she asked, pulling her head back and studying his face with wondering eyes.

  Stetson nodded his head. How could he tell her that she would be the only one for him? It had only been a couple of days. Was it too fast to tell her that he would be thinking about her every second of every day for the rest of his life? Would he scare her off if he told her that she would ruin his life, turning him into a bitter old bear if she ever left him?

  “Yes,” he said, going with his heart. “My bear just bonded to you. You’re my mate.”

  “Wow,” she whispered, staring into his eyes with a look of shock on her face. “Does that mean what I think it does?”

  Stetson nodded. “Do you feel it?”

  Kylee licked her lips and swallowed hard. “I do.” She caressed his cheek with the back of her hand, giving him warm shivers. “I feel…pulled to you.”

  “That’s the bond,” he answered. Humans could feel the connection on a muted level but it was nothing to what a shifter felt. Stetson was feeling what she was feeling only magnified by a thousand percent.

  “I like it,” she whispered with a shy smile.

  He slid his arms under her and stood up, cradling her to his chest. “I love it,” he said, kissing her forehead softly. “And I love you.”

  They kissed as he carried her to his cabin, stepped inside, and placed her on the bed. “Show me,” she whispered. “Show me how much you love me.”

  Stetson was already rock hard at the sight of her in front of him. Her thick auburn hair was feathered over his pillow as she licked her lips and gazed up at him with glossy eyes. His breaths became quicker and more fierce as he traced his eyes over her round breasts that were pressed up against her tight t-shirt. He remembered her topless at the lake that afternoon and groaned as he pictured how her beautiful pink nipples stood at attention in reaction to the chill of the water. He cupped her large breasts as he leaned down to claim her lips with a soft, wet kiss.

  This was where she belonged. On his bed. In his arms.

  His inner bear grumbled, making his chest vibrate as he slid his hands under her shirt, bringing it up as he reached for her breasts.

  “If I had a bear,” she said, gasping as he climbed over her. “You’d be my mate.” He pressed his hard erection onto her pussy and she threw her head back as a convulsion ripped through her. “I’m glad I’m your mate,” she whispered.

  Stetson’s heart pounded, drumming in his chest at her words. It was exactly what he needed to hear. A snarl rumbled low in his throat, his bear ready to claim his mate.

  “Sounds like I’m in for a wild ride,” Kylee said with a grin.

  Stetson stepped off the bed and yanked off his shirt. “You have no idea.”

  “Lucky me,” she said, rushing to unbutton her jeans. “Let’s get to it.”

  The clothes flew off and Stetson climbed back onto the bed with his throbbing cock in his hand. “Turn around,” he ordered in a low voice.

  Kylee hopped
onto her knees and shoved her soft ass into the air, biting her bottom lip as she watched him over her shoulder with a challenging look on her face.

  She was already sopping wet for him. “You’re all nice and wet for your bear,” he growled, cupping her sex with his strong hand. He slid a finger inside her silky channel and she gasped.

  “I can’t wait to feel your big cock inside me,” she moaned. “I’ve been wanting it all night.”

  Stetson didn’t want to deny her any longer. He inched forward and slid his dick in, gripping her ass cheeks as he thrust all the way in.

  “Fuck that’s good,” she moaned through a tight jaw. She gasped as he slowly pulled back out. He paused with just the tip of his cock inside of her at the end, teasing her. “Fuck me,” she begged with her head hung low. “Please!”

  He thrust into her with one hard drive of his hips and she cried out into the pillow. There was no more teasing. He fucked her with a ruthless rhythm, bucking his powerful hips against her until she was losing her mind and screaming like a banshee. She grabbed onto the wooden headboard with white knuckles as he pounded into her relentlessly, never easing up on the pace, never easing up on the tension.

  Kylee was his mate and she was going to come. Hard.

  “I’m yours,” she moaned as he reached around her and rubbed her clit furiously. “Claim me!”

  He couldn’t hold out any longer and hit her with one last hard thrust that sent them both flying over the edge. She dropped her head onto the pillow and screamed as Stetson’s orgasm consumed him in a fiery rush.

  Sex with Kylee had been amazing but sex with Kylee his mate was beyond words. He never wanted to be inside another woman again. He never wanted to touch, kiss, or even see another naked woman for the rest of his days. She was it for him and she was more than enough.

  He dropped onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling while he caught his breath. He wasn’t done yet. He wasn’t even close to being done. They had all night and Stetson had planned to use every second of it to pleasure his new mate.

  “That was…” she said, trailing off breathlessly, “fucking incredible.”

  “Good,” he said, rolling on top of her and pressing his forehead to hers. “Consider yourself claimed.”

  She smiled as she wrapped her legs around him, hooking her ankles together and pulling him in. He was already hard again. “Now claim me again.”

  The vision was back. Stronger this time. Clearer. More intense.

  Kylee gasped as the beast’s vivid eyes bore down on her in a blur of emerald green. The beast was a polar bear. She could see that now.

  She screamed out as its terrible jaws snapped open above her, the heat from its breath assaulting her, the spit from its mouth raining down on her. She threw up her arms in a desperate attempt to protect her face but what protection could two measly arms do against an attacking polar bear?

  It was hopeless. She knew how this was going to end.

  She had lived through this a half dozen times but never had the feeling of betrayal been so intense, so biting, so heartbreaking.

  It was the eyes.

  She knew those eyes. They were Stetson’s.

  The bear’s teeth, Stetson’s teeth, sank into her shoulder with a crushing force that ripped out a scream from deep within her.

  She could see every detail this time. Every inch of the bear’s scarred face; the pink gash along his nose, the soft white fur, the sad green eyes.

  Why? I love you.

  The pain had seized up her chest and she couldn’t speak. She just thought the same word over and over again. Why?

  The green eyes were on her, looking like they were asking the same thing; why?

  He bit down harder with the full crushing power of his savage jaws and everything began to fade.

  Why? She asked one more time.

  And then the blackness took over.

  Kylee sprung up from the pillow with her heart pounding. She clutched her burning chest with her hand as tears streamed down her cheeks onto her naked breasts. That was Stetson’s bear. It was so clear; the green eyes, the scarred polar bear. There was no denying it.

  “Why would he hurt me?” she whispered to herself. He was outside cooking breakfast with the boys. She could hear them talking and laughing. It was a stark contrast to her grisly murder that just happened in her vision.

  She stepped off the bed with a weakness in her legs and stumbled to the bathroom to throw some cold water onto her pale face. “It was him,” she said, staring at her wet reflection in the mirror. The stark reality of that statement was too much to bear. “Maybe it won’t come true.”

  But she knew that wouldn’t be the case. Kylee’s visions had always come true, no matter how disturbing they were.

  She filled up her trembling hands with cold water and splashed her face again as her mind searched for an explanation of the unexplainable. Maybe it wasn’t him. She hadn’t actually seen his polar bear. Maybe his bear had brown eyes or blue? It wasn’t likely but it was possible. Don’t make any rash decisions until you have all of the facts.

  She took a deep breath and walked around the cabin trying to slow her heart rate and get the color to come back to her white face. That was the last vision. It was too clear. The last vision was always the clearest. It meant that it would happen soon.

  Kylee slipped on her underwear and then the huge t-shirt that Stetson laid out for her. It fell to her knees and looked more like a dress than a shirt, even with the faded Nirvana logo on it. Her shoulder popped out of the wide neck hole and she shuddered as she felt the pain of the fangs from her vision sinking into it. Am I going to survive this? It was the first time that she allowed herself to think about it but the answer was terrifying. She had died in the vision. Was she going to die in real life?

  The boys all turned and smiled as she stepped out of the cabin. It was cloudy and colder than yesterday with a chill in the air, or maybe it was the feel of the fangs slicing into her that was giving her the shivers.

  Stetson rushed over with an apron wrapped around his huge body. He was so large that it barely covered anything. “I’ve been waiting all morning for you,” he said with a wide smile. “What would you like to eat?”

  Kylee held her stomach and tried to smile back. She was too nervous to eat. “I’ll just take a coffee,” she said with a dry mouth.

  He grabbed her arms gently and studied her face. “Are you okay?” he asked with concern. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

  A ghost would be an improvement to what she saw. “I’m fine,” she lied, dropping her eyes to the ground. “I think it’s just…feminine problems.”

  That made him drop it fast. “Okay,” he said, dropping his arms. “Take a seat. I’ll bring you a coffee and if you change your mind, I’ll make you whatever you want.”

  Kylee thanked him and went to sit alone on a chair by the fire. She watched Stetson move around, looking back at her every few seconds with concern in his shining eyes. How could it be him? She could sense that he would never hurt her. Sure he seemed a tad possessive and ultra protective but violent towards her? She couldn’t understand it.

  “We like having you here,” Tyler said as he walked by her. “It was my turn to cook breakfast but the big guy insisted. He said, and I quote, ‘my mate deserves the best and you’re a shitty ass cook.’”

  Kylee laughed. That sounded like Stetson.

  “I’m sure you’re not that bad,” she said. “I usually eat soggy cereal.”

  Tyler’s handsome face lit up with a smile. “That’s my specialty!”

  Stetson brought over her coffee and sat down beside her. The hair on the back of her neck lifted up when he touched her. “I can’t do this,” she snapped, putting down her coffee mug.

  “What is it?” he asked, sitting up in concern. “Did I do something?”

  You have no idea.

  “Come with me,” she said, standing up and marching to the forest. She didn’t look back but she could hear his heavy foo
tsteps following her.

  “Where are you going?” he asked as she hurried past a pair of tall Redwood trees. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

  She stopped in a clearing when they were far enough away from the camp. “Show me your bear,” she said, spinning on her heels.

  “Why?” he asked, jerking his head back with a frown.

  She took a deep breath and held her ground. “You just have to trust me,” she said firmly. “I need to see it. Now.”

  He watched her for a minute but she didn’t break, didn’t explain. “Okay,” he finally said, stepping back from her.

  She crossed her arms over her chest and watched with butterflies in her stomach as he pulled off the apron and then his shirt. She wasn’t worried about his bear attacking her now. The vision took place at night. She’d be safe during the day.

  Stetson kicked off his shoes and pulled down his shorts and underwear until he was standing naked in front of her. He was an impressive specimen with his massive bare chest, hard toned arms, shredded abs, and long wide cock hanging down between his thick muscular legs. She pushed away the lustful thoughts creeping into her mind and focused on what was about to happen and not on what she wished was about to happen.

  “Ready?” he asked, still looking unsure.

  She nodded her head. She wasn’t ready but she needed to know. She had to know if Stetson’s bear was the one from her vision.

  “Okay,” he whispered, taking a step back. He clenched his hands into fists as the muscles in his neck tightened like taut strings. She gasped as his back swelled and sharp black claws ripped from his fingertips. The popping and tearing sounds had her covering her ears as he fell forward with long white fur growing out of his skin. It was all happening so fast and was way more violent than she had expected.

  His eyes flared a bright green and then an enormous polar bear exploded from his skin with a horrible rip.

  “No,” she gasped when she saw him. She recognized him immediately. The green eyes, the long pink scar on his nose, the dreadful white teeth. It was him. He was going to kill her.