Bears of Burden: HUTCH

by Candace Ayers

  Outside Bree's building, Jakob jumped through an open window in the basement and made his way up four flights of stairs to Bree's apartment. The door was open. Jakob entered, cautious. He didn't care if he was injured, but he did not want any more harm to come to Bree. He smelled her from the other room.

  "Come in Jakob," Blake's voice rang out.

  In the bedroom, on the bed where they'd made love for the first time, lay Bree. She was covered with so much blood Jakob barely recognized her. Her breaths were short and shallow. Her eyes opened and she looked at him. "Jakob," she whispered, before talking became too much.

  Jakob shifted out of his lion form and ran to her. He pressed two fingers to her neck and felt her pulse. It wasn't as bad as it looked. Her heart beat was still strong. She'd lost a lot of blood, but they could fix that at a hospital. He kissed her tenderly on the lips and she responded with a murmur. The ties around her wrists left deep purple bruises. Her arm was broken and Jakob quickly undid the ties that bound her to the bed. Her arms lay limp at her sides. At least Blake hadn't tried to mate with her. There was no scent of anything to indicate a sexual act had taken place.

  If Blake had been able to read Jakob's thoughts, he would have laughed. The idea of touching Bree disgusted him. Unless he was ripping part of her open with his claws, that is. He wanted her dead, but slowly, painfully.

  Jakob turned to Blake, pure hatred in his heart. "Why?"

  Blake laughed. Jakob saw red as his anger burned, a raging fire deep in his gut.

  "I should be King of the pride," Blake said. "Look what I've done." He gestured to Bree and disgust roiled Jakob's stomach, making him sick. Why hadn't he seen this coming? He'd let his pride down, but worse, he'd let his mate down.

  The blood boiled in Jakob's feet, burning him as it rose up his legs, continuing to rise. When the burn hit his chest, it was like hell burning inside him. Jakob shifted back to a lion and pounced upon Blake. Blake wasn't ready. He had wanted to tease Jakob more, make him feel the daggers as he scraped Bree's once smooth and creamy skin. She'd be plagued with scars forever now.

  Jakob's teeth sank into Blake's ankle. He snapped out of his reverie and shifted. The bedroom was small, but roomy enough. Jakob and Blake circled each other. The fur that matted itself to Blake's back suddenly rose into a Mohawk as Blake crouched down and cocked his tail, baring fangs to shame a vampire. His ears moved forward, and his eyes were savage. He leapt at Jakob and missed as Jakob quickly skirted his attack.

  This wasn't just about death. It was about taking ownership. A new alpha to replace the old. Jakob attacked with the strength of an alpha, the strength of a King, aided by the full moon which made his muscles thicker and the alpha in him stronger. Jakob's rage was primitive and ferocious, and Blake had no idea how to win against it. They danced around each other, snapping and baiting each other to attack.

  Blake was impatient. He tried again and again to get to Jakob's throat, only to be swatted aside like nothing more than a marshmallow. When he crouched again and tried for a snap attack to try to rip Jakob's head off, Jakob sliced Blake's front leg with his claws. Blake stepped back, injured, but not so much that he couldn't still win this.

  Jakob watched Blake try his stupid snap attacks again and again and fail miserably. It was like playing with a cub.

  Bree coughed from the bed and tried to suck in an impossible amount of air, wheezing like an asthma patient. When Jakob turned his head towards her, alarmed, Blake pounced. This time, his crouch and snap landed right on Jakob's hind leg, only Blake did not let go. He pulled on Jakob's leg until the skin began to shred and Jakob felt a 'pop.' He let out a howl and Bree stirred slightly from the bed.

  "Jakob?" she muttered. "I don't feel so good." She fell back onto the bed and before Jakob could react, Blake was on top of her. He ripped Bree's throat open and the last of her blood gushed forward.

  Jakob got up too late. He ran at Blake, his hind leg hanging on by sinews, and knocked Blake off her chest. Blake fell to the ground, shocked at the sudden outburst of energy from Jakob. He'd thought Jakob was too injured to do anything more than hobble. Jakob still had three strong working legs though, and he used them to pin Blake to the ground. Blake struggled under him, but he was weaker than Jakob, he always had been.

  Jakob bared his fangs and lunged at Blake's neck. Blake felt Jakob's teeth sink into him and tried to push him away, but it was no use. The pain wasn't bad; it was the failure that was excruciating. He'd lost. Jakob had proven his rightful place as ruler and that Blake was no alpha. The puncture wounds were deep and pierced an artery, for that Blake was grateful. Death came faster than he deserved, leaving him little time to drown in the anguish that came with knowing he would die as second best.

  Chapter 19

  Jakob shook Bree like a scared little boy. She didn't respond. Her heart still beat, but her eyes wouldn't open.

  "Bree! Oh, god, no!" Something inside him was slipping away. It was their connection. He clutched her to him, refusing to let her go. Jakob was not a crying man, but the salt of his own tears ran into his mouth and mixed with Bree's blood. His heart felt like daggers were poking at him a hundred times over.

  There wasn't time for a doctor. Even if he'd gotten her to one, her throat was ripped apart, shredded, she'd be on machines for the rest of her life. The pain was too much. If he lost Bree now, he might as well have let Blake kill him.

  The moon was still out, still full. It was the best time for induction. It was the only way to save her. He had no time to ask her permission, even if she'd been conscious. Another few seconds and she'd be gone. His own blood ran from the wound Blake had inflicted upon his leg, which was already beginning to heal, due to the incredible healing powers of shifters. Jakob took one large finger and ran it over his flowing blood, and brought it to Bree's lips. She did not suckle it, but she did not have to. He put his finger inside her mouth, it was still warm. When his blood was on her tongue he pulled it out. Jakob transformed back into a lion and nuzzled her wrist before biting it as gently as he could with his fangs. Then he began to lap her wounds with his tongue.

  Her blood stained the pink of his tongue a dark berry as he worked first at her neck, where the largest wound was. She tasted sweet and he was cognizant of the fact he was basically drinking her blood, but in a strange way he felt closer to her because of it. Blood was something pure. It could never be tainted by insecurities or the silly façades people placed on themselves in their daily lives. Rich men and poor men alike all bled red. Tasting of the blood was the surest way to know someone.

  Bree stirred under him as he lapped at her chest. Her nipples, once a rosy pink, were now a darkened cherry. She was breathing normally again. He had stopped the majority of her blood loss. Now he watched as her body shook. Her limbs convulsed and she looked like she was in great pain, then her eyes opened wide and she let out a roar, the sweetest sound Jakob had ever heard.

  Skin grew over the cuts and scratches where Blake had penetrated her. The broken limbs righted themselves. The whole process would take the night to complete. Jakob sat by the window and waited.

  ***

  Bree felt great, which was strange. She'd pretty much died last night. Jakob watched her, afraid she'd be angry, but she was excited.

  "So, I'm a wereli… I mean, a lion shifter now?" she sniffed the air and was surprised to find her sense of smell increased three times over.

  "Yes."

  "But I look the same."

  "You are the same, just a slightly different version," Jakob said and relaxed.

  "Like an upgrade?" she teased.

  Jakob smiled. "I'd say so." She was alive. She was happy. Her scent had increased in his nostrils since her change, sending charges of electricity through his nerves. He wanted her more now than he'd ever thought possible.

  She moved through her apartment, testing out her new shifter abilities. Jakob talked her through most of it. She was surprised to find how naturally it came to her. Jakob's mind was linked to
hers so that they didn't even need to speak, unless they wanted to. They could literally read each other's thoughts. But if she'd never again heard the deep resonance of Jakob's voice as he crooned her name, she'd have been one sad lioness.

  "Let's go running," she said.

  Chapter 20

  The stadium cheered as Jakob made his way across the baseball diamond. He stood at home plate, William beside him. Special bleachers had been brought out for their guests, and Bree's mom sat in the closest one, bawling. Jacob's hands were sweaty. I'm not nervous. How can I be nervous? This was my idea. That just made his hands sweat even more. Bree had insisted they have no contact the week before their wedding. She had to do "girl things." He had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but it was important to her, so he'd relented.

  The last week had been excruciating. It was the first time he’d slept without her since the night Blake had attacked her and left her for dead. Heat stirred in him, deep and primal. There was something else they'd done every night since Blake's attack. Going without Bree's touch for the past week had left him feeling empty. If he'd had to endure it past today, he didn't think he would have survived.

  His eyes strayed again and again to the clubhouse opening where Bree was supposed to make her entrance. When she still wasn't there after five minutes, he began to get scared something was wrong. She can take care of herself. He knew that was true, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

  When "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" finally started, the crowd stood and Jakob expelled a giant sigh of relief. Bree entered the field. Jakob's jaw dropped. His breath hammered out of his chest, and it was like the first time they'd met all over again.

  Bree's dress was far from traditional. She'd shunned Jakob's money while they were dating, but when it came to the wedding, she figured you only live once. Or twice, in Bree's case.

  Bree's mom had wanted white, but Bree had wanted something to match the golden flecks she saw in Jakob's eyes whenever he shifted. Her dress dazzled under the lights of the field. The stars overhead—she had insisted on a night game—added their own luster. Her dress was glitter and gold and more Vegas show girl than royal wedding. The train was three feet long and dotted with crystal gems. Her full figure was glued to the glistening satin corset that laced up her back with pearl string. Diamonds hung around her neck. Cameras flashed from every angle. Something in her stomach kicked and she pulled her father's arm, pausing for a moment before they continued down the field.

  Jakob looked amazing in his specially tailored suit. He muscles loomed as thick as ever, and when Bree sniffed him her heart began the steady jackhammer that always accompanied his scent. The reverend was dressed as an umpire, and when he started their vows her stomach kicked again. She stooped over slightly and pinched Jakob's arm. He gave her a quizzical look but turned back to the umpire. She had no idea how she'd managed to keep the baby from him. She thought it had something to do with her shifting hormones as the baby grew. She was only two months in, the doctor had told her just days before. She had no idea how to tell Jakob, or what he would think.

  They knew each other inside and out now, you'd think it would be easy to find the words. "Jakob, I’m pregnant." But she guessed it was never easy. Her mother cried from the bleachers, and the rest of Jakob's pride let out a giant roar as Jakob placed the ring on her finger. Jakob's lips tantalized her. He put his arms around her and drew her close. When they touched, an avalanche of heat fell between them. They had to hold each other up or risk falling to the ground and shifting in front of two baseball teams, a crowd of onlookers, and their guests.

  "May I present Mr. and Mrs. Moore. Yooouu'rre ooouuutaaa heeere!"

  The crowd cheered. Between Jakob and Bree's guests, and the actual game that was going on, not a seat was left open. The ball players ran onto the field to finish the seventh inning as Jakob gathered Bree's hand in his massive one and the silent hum of electricity surged between them as it always would.

  "So how does it feel to be married?" he asked. "Are you gonna go all psycho on me now? Huh, lioness?"

  Bree grinned.

  "Maybe." She took a gulp of air. "I hear pregnancy hormones can do that to a woman. Not sure what they'll do to a lioness."

  Jakob stopped in his tracks and Bree's heart fluttered. Her breath caught in her chest.

  "Bree..." Jakob gasped. "Are you pregnant?"

  She nodded, needing air but unable to tell her lungs how to draw it in. Jakob broke into a wide grin and picked her up, spinning her around.

  "I love you," he roared.

  "I love you back," she roared.

  He touched her face with his massive hand that still brought warmth to her skin, and she saw stars as his lips drew close and she inhaled his scent.

  THE END

  HOME IS WERE MY BEAR IS

  STORY DESCRIPTION

  Curvy Elie Barner left Hemford, Colorado the moment she graduated high school and hasn’t looked back. Until now. After ten years away, she’s returned to find that Hemford isn’t any bigger than it used to be, and not much has changed…

  Not much, that is, except her childhood best friend, Jake Framer.

  Jake Framer has obviously changed significantly. He's no longer the rail-thin, scrawny boy Elie remembers. In fact, Jake has developed into a strikingly handsome, heavily-muscled, hulking giant of a man.

  But, even though they were inseparable throughout grade school and high school, things between Elie and Jake ended on a rocky note.

  That very last hour together, right before Emily was to leave town, Jake asked her to marry him.

  And Elie shot him down cold.

  Now, 10 years later, Elie thinks she may be ready to settle down. But does Jake still harbor any feelings for his once best friend who so harshly rejected his heart?

  And what will happen to Elie’s feelings for Jake once she discovers that he isn’t quite the man he used to be—he’s not even the human that he used to be?

  Hint: There’s nothing a small mountain town loves quite like a bear hunt

  Chapter One

  Elie’s old Outback rocked to a stop at the curb. Her parent’s house was just as she recalled. It sat there, at the end of the lane, waiting like a dinner plate left out for one lonely straggler. She’d always been that straggler. How many plates had been wrapped in Saran-wrap and lovingly set aside for her while she ran around town? How many nights had she wandered in still smelling like “Mr. Jock” or “Motorcycle Boy’s” cologne in high school?

  The engine clucked gently as she rolled forward again towards her driveway.

  Hemford was the same as she remembered, if a little dirtier. The mountain air felt glorious, though, after the smog of Denver, and she’d tugged her long hair loose and rolled down the window an hour after the hills started rising underneath her wheels. Her curvy frame had gotten a few appreciative stares when she stopped for gas at the Texaco, dressed in clean jeans, a low-cut top, and her aviators. She couldn’t blame the small-town loggers and good ol’ boys for staring at a fresh face—and everything attached to it—when Hemford was so isolated, so… untouchable.

  Everything was green. The Rockies were lovely this time of year, early summer, when life came roaring back in rivers and new things flourished. Elie wondered if she was one of those new things as she joggled open the car door. It creaked so loudly, Grandma Earline in the city cemetery twelve blocks away probably heard it.

  There was a minor vortex of motion in the thick bushes to the left of the neat little clapboard house, and Elie nearly had a heart attack when a big running form on four legs came shooting like a ski-ball toward her car.

  “Jasper!” she laughed. The big German shepherd was gyrating with delight. It turns out, dogs really don’t ever forget. He whuffed and whined, licking her hands and trying to get his tongue to her face. Elie crouched down and hugged him, burying her face in his fur. His muzzle had grown speckled and gray. Guiltily, she wondered what he thought of her long absence.

  “O
h, Elie! I thought I heard a car.”

  She looked up, and her heart twisted.

  “Hi, Mom,” Elie stood up and met her mother halfway across the lawn. They hugged. Like Hemford’s stagnation, mom was the same, and that felt right.

  Alison Barner beamed at her daughter; Elie always hoped she’d look like her mother, when the time came. Strong and sprightly, and a little taller than Elie herself, Alison was in fine health. She was dressed in casual denim and a button-front shirt with the sleeves rolled up. She’d tried to brush them off, but bits of dirt still clung here and there where she’d clearly been digging in the garden. Nothing could have been lovelier. Even the lines of silver threading through her dark hair were glorious, under the hail of spring sunlight.

  “Well, let’s get you inside.” Alison—Alie—opened the back door of the Outback and helped her daughter truck in her big duffel bag. Elie let her, knowing she’d lose if she tried to argue, picking up her smaller bag and her school bag. If there was one thing Elie and Alison shared in eerie communion, it was a need to feel capable—a need to feel needed.

  “How’s school?”

  Elie gulped.

  “I passed my finals,” Elie replied. Of course she did. She knew how the school rituals went, how to pass the tests. Most of her classmates were nineteen-year-olds. She was pushing thirty.

  “When do you pick classes for next semester?” Alison was asking these questions cheerfully over her shoulder as she and Elie eased through the narrow entry hall. Her parents had bantered about widening the entry into a full foyer for as long as Elie could remember—so far, it was still just barely three feet across, a perpetual reminder to eat your greens and sometimes skip dessert.

  “I’d be a returning student, so I can pick them out in a couple weeks.”