by Sky Winters
“Glady,” he said.
With that, he pulled off his shirt, revealing a lean, sculpted physique, smooth and hairless. He then stepped out of his track pants and underwear, his long cock dangling at his thigh.
Then, what he did next, Tessa could believe.
He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, his body shaking with tension. Black hair began to sprout from his skin, covering his body in smooth, lustrous fur. Next, his muscles began to bulge and expand, twisting his form, changing him into something not human. His head increased in size, his mouth lengthened, and razor-sharp claws began to sprout from his fingers as his hands turned into large, padded paws. Once the transformation was complete, Ian had changed into a massive, majestic black bear.
A black bear that Tessa soon realized was one of the bears that she had seen nights ago.
“What the hell did he just do?” asked Tessa, her voice shocked as she staggered backward from Ian, who now loomed over her.
“Roland?” said Atticus.
Roland nodded and stripped off his clothes, revealing a toned, bulky body and a thick cock that was just as long as both of his brothers’. He repeated the process and changed into a black bear. Though he and Ian looked alike in their new forms, Tessa saw that Ian’s physique was still leaner, even in his bear shape and Roland’s was stockier, more stout-chested.
“We’re shifters,” said Atticus. “We have the power to change into black bears. Me, my brothers, and all of these men.”
He swept his hand across the men who stood in front of him.
“We watch these woods, protecting them.”
“And…” said Tessa, realizing the truth of just who Atticus was. “You also protected me?”
He nodded.
“I and my clan are the bears that have been watching over you. And we’ll continue to watch over you, if you’d like us to.”
Tessa said nothing, still trying to come to terms with what she was seeing.
“I can see that you’re at a loss for words,” he said.
Tessa gave a quick nod.
“Then come with us, we’re about to patrol the woods.”
He turned to the crowd, Ian and Roland looming at his sides.
“Shift! And follow me!”
The men proceeded to spread apart from one another, giving one another room to change. They pulled off their clothes, folding them neatly and placing them on the ground. All of the men had beefy, muscular bodies and Tessa found herself looking over them without thinking.
Then the men all began their change, shifting into a fearsome pack of black bears.
Atticus was the last one to change, shifting into a bear, the largest and strongest-looking of the pack. When he was done, he swung his massive head towards Tessa, and as soon as she looked into his eyes, she realized that he was, in fact, the same bear that had come so close to her, that led his pack to her home, who made sure that she was safe.
He snorted, a puff of steam shooting from his glistening nose. Tessa knew that she should’ve felt fear, but as she looked into his eyes, the only emotion that passed through her was one of calm and safety, as if she knew on some level that she had nothing to fear from Atticus.
All four of his paws on the ground, he nodded backward, a gesture that Tessa recognized as an invitation to crawl onto his back. She was hesitant at first, but as he turned his massive body around, the feeling of safety only grew.
Looking upon the glistening fur of his body, she took a deep breath before walking towards it and grabbing a handful of smooth, almost silken fur. She grabbed another with her left hand, and with a hoist, pulled herself up onto Atticus’s body. Grunting, she reached the top of him and held on tight to the skin at his neck, her legs wrapped around him. Finally, she sat up upon him, looking over the pack of bears that Atticus commanded.
Then, with a mighty, thundering roar, Atticus took off across the compound, towards a large gate that opened mechanically as the pack approached it. Atticus picked up speed as he ran towards the gate and for a moment, Tessa found herself wondering if they would crash into it.
But Atticus timed things perfectly and they ran through the now-open gate, the pack stomping as they followed behind. They entered the open woods, the fresh, cool air whipping at Tessa’s face as the woods around them began to melt into a green and brown blur, the sun peeking through the canopy overhead.
Atticus’s paws pounded the ground as he ran and as Tessa rode on his back, her fears began to dissipate, and she gave herself over to Atticus’s control, letting him take her wherever he may. The pack ripped through the woods, covering massive stretches of ground, and Tessa closed her eyes, letting the feeling of the air rushing over her face rejuvenate her.
Tessa felt something as she held on to Atticus, a feeling that she’d hadn’t experienced in a long time, a feeling that was so foreign that she almost thought she’d forgotten what it was like- she felt alive.
The pack continued on, stomping up Bear Mountain, the creatures of the woods scattering as they thundered on, the thuds of dozens of paws pounding across the forest floor an almost deafening sound. They went up until they approached the peak of the mountain and once they arrived, Tessa gasped at the sight that was before her- it was the entire stretch of the surrounding land, the smaller mountains around them rolling on for miles, the blue sky endless and beautiful above.
Tessa leaned back, letting the warm sunlight hit her face, her hands gripping Atticus’s fur tightly, her heart warm with the feelings inspired by the man…this man, or beast, she quickly corrected herself.
CHAPTER 16
One week later…
Tessa sat on the crest of Bear Mountain, looking out at the swirling mist around the base of the nearby mountains. Her feet were bare and she took exquisite pleasure in feeling the cool grass between her toes. She looked over at Atticus, still nude from his shifting, his body glorious in the evening sun.
“Nice ride?” he asked.
“Wonderful as always,” she said, a wide smile on her face.
The last week had been one of the most amazing of her life. She spent the days with Atticus in the woods, exploring nature, taking occasional breaks to admire the scenery or to make love. And while she was back at the compound, she got to know the brothers better, who, despite the differences in their personalities, all seemed to take a shine to her. She was beginning to feel like she had a place to belong.
She learned more about the pack, how they’d been charged with protecting Bear Mountain, a task their people had been entrusted with for generations. The men of the pack who weren’t members of the Swift family were drifters, mostly. They were men who couldn’t seem to find a place in the world, burdened with their strange power, lost until drawn by a strange compulsion to come to Bear Mountain, where they found the compound.
And what’s more, Tessa, learned from Ian after sharing a bottle of wine one night when Atticus was outperforming an emergency electrician call, that Atticus was shirking his responsibility to the pack. As the Alpha, he needed to take a bride first, choosing the best woman available to pass on the line of the tribe. And once he chose, the rest of the tribe, brothers first, could select wives of their own. But Atticus found that he had grown accustomed to the single life. Tessa learned that it was fast approaching the point when the brothers were growing intolerably frustrated with his inability to settle.
But despite all of this, the problems with Lucas and the meth gang were getting to the point where she and Atticus could no longer ignore them. The incident at Hannigan’s was only the beginning. From the compound, the pack received news daily that the meth gang had robbed one store or another, or attacked a police officer, or raided a nearby property. The gang seemed to be based in the house in the woods where Tessa found Lucas that night almost two weeks ago.
Thoughts of Lucas troubled her as well. Though she hadn’t been there when the house was ransacked, the message was loud and clear: Lucas wasn’t to stand by and let Tessa walk out on him. She
knew that the only reason she hadn’t seen him was because she’d been secreted away at the compound, and she couldn’t stay there forever…as much as she might want to.
But for now, she was content to enjoy the day with Atticus. Looking over at him, her eyes fell onto his arms as he supported himself with them, observing how the muscles flexed and tensed; she couldn’t imagine ever getting tired of his body.
And as if reading her mind, Atticus moved closer to her, slipping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in. Tessa leaned her head against him, taking in the strange, animal smell that hung on his body after a long run through the woods.
“I’ve been up here for as long as I can remember, but this view never stops being amazing,” he said, looking out over the vista beyond.
“It’s incredible,” said Tessa.
Then, taking her chin into the crook of his finger, he pressed his lips to hers. Tessa let herself fall quickly and deeply into his kiss, the soft breeze of the wind rising up the gentle slope of the mountain as soft and sweet on her skin as Atticus’s touch. She turned herself to face him, her eyes searching down at his hard, muscular body, watching his cock grow harder by the second. Reaching down, she wrapped her hand around his prick, feeling a shudder of pleasure run through her body at the joy of holding him so intimately.
“Cutting right to the chase, huh?” said Atticus through their kiss, a sly smile on his sensual lips.
“Why wait?” asked Tessa.
She began stroking him, softly at first, letting her fingertips drag against his skin. And as she touched him, Tessa felt Atticus’s own hand slide down her body until it reached the hem of her dress. Atticus slipped his hand under it, placing his fingertips on Tessa’s sex through her silk panties.
Tessa let out a gasp as he touched her, his hand slipping under the fabric and grazing her, the feeling of his skin on her lighting up her body with pleasure. Then, as Tessa continued to stroke him, he slid a finger inside of her, Tessa’s pussy already slick with anticipation. They stimulated each other for a time, Tessa jerking Atticus’s cock at an increasing pace, and Atticus working her sex with his fingers, fingering her with expert precision.
Then, a smirk crossed Atticus’s face. He removed his fingers from Tessa, the pleasure running through her body replaced with a wave of disappointment. But that soon faded when Atticus lunged over, grabbed Tessa by the hips, and moved her onto her hands and knees, manhandling her in a way that aroused her for reasons that she couldn’t quite explain. Atticus was strong, very strong, and Tessa loved nothing more than when he tossed her around during lovemaking, feeling dominated by him in just the right way.
Tessa looked out onto the rolling mountains as Atticus flipped her dress up, exposing her ass to him. He slapped one cheek, squeezing a handful of Tessa’s ripe flesh, the anticipation of him being inside of her building by the moment. Then he moved her panties to the side, exposing her pussy to him. Tessa smiled as she awaited him being deep, deep inside of her.
She didn’t have to wait long. One hand on the supple curve of her hips, the other on his cock, Atticus slide into her easily. Once his cock was fully sheathed in her, he moved his other hand to her hips, holding her in place as he began to fuck her. He pounded her hard, her dark hair whipping back and forth at the rhythm of his thrusts, the pleasure filling her body within seconds.
Just like every other time she and Atticus made love, Tessa felt orgasm quickly approach; sometimes she wondered if his cock had been made specifically for her body. A silly idea, but it was the only way she could explain how perfectly he felt buried into her.
Atticus fucked her hard, his hips slapping against her ass, the striking of his hand against the flesh of her cheeks crackling through her body like a lightning bolt.
Soon after, Tessa’s body exploded with orgasm. Her arms went limp as the pleasure ran through her, and she pressed her face against the grass under her, wrapping her arms around her head as she tried to contend with the sensual pleasure that hit her. It was such intensity that she felt her body might be ripped to pieces. She let out long, passionate moans as she came, taking advantage of their secluded position, not feeling the need to keep quiet in the slightest.
Atticus came soon after, grunting as she fucked her, spraying his cum deep into her pussy, filling her with himself in every imaginable way, Tessa taking sensual pleasure from him draining himself into her.
Atticus slowed down and with one final slap of Tessa’s ass, finished, sliding out of her. He moved back to her side as she sat down, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in close for one more kiss.
“I think we need to be getting back,” said Atticus, noting that the sun was inching closer and closer to the horizon, the sky slowly shifting from blue to a smoky lavender mixed with a creamy orange.
“As much as I think I could stay up here forever, you’re probably right,” said Tessa.
Atticus stood, and after a moment of focus, shifted into his bear form. Tessa climbed onto his back, savoring the feeling of safety and warmth that she always experienced when holding him in this way. His shifting was strange, easily the strangest thing that Tessa had ever seen, but as she began to understand it as just another trait of the man who she was falling for more and more by the day, she found herself being less startled by it each time he shifted.
Atticus started off down the woods, stomping back to the compound. Tessa, as always, closed her eyes and hung on tight, letting wind whip through her hair.
Soon, they arrived back at the compound and after passing through the gate, Atticus shifted back.
He put on his track pants and t-shirt that he had left behind, and as the two of them made their way across the compound grounds they were struck by a realization: There was no one else there.
“Where is everyone?” asked Tessa, looking around.
“Not sure,” said Atticus. “But they should’ve been back by now. And there should be a few of the pack still here.”
The two of them approached the main house, entering through the basement door and traveling up to the main floor. And as Tessa ascended the stairs, a strange, medical scent struck her.
“You smell that?” she asked.
“Yeah,” said Atticus, his face tense. “Stay close.”
They entered the main floor, and to their horror, saw that the kitchen was trashed. Tessa gasped when she saw the scene. Pots and pans were thrown everywhere, glasses were broken, and plates were shattered on the floor. The strange smell grew more intense, and Atticus and Tessa could now hear a commotion coming from the other room.
Atticus and Tessa approached the living room, and as they entered they saw that it was occupied by a dozen or so grungy-looking men and women, all in various stages of meth use, from lighting up to running around the compound, smashing whatever they could get their hands on.
And seated on the couch, calm and steely-eyed among them all, was Lucas.
“Long time, no see, Tess,” he said, a sinister smile forming on his lips as the rest of the gang members formed up around him.
“Take a seat,” he said, his eyes cold, and his tone murderous.
CHAPTER 17
Atticus closed his eyes, preparing to shift, his anger nearly boiling over.
“Ah, ah, ah,” said Lucas, still pointing his gun.
Atticus and Tessa felt the touch of cold, sweaty hands upon their arms.
“I know all about your powers, my friend,” said Lucas. “And I want you to make a quick estimate about your odds. There’re about twenty of us, and two of you. Now, you might be able to get a few of us with those big bear claws of yours, but can you do it before we kill her?”
Her pointed the gun at Tessa.
Atticus’s jaw clenched as he stared Lucas down. Realizing that Lucas was right, Atticus stopped his shifting process.
“What is this?” Atticus demanded.
“Why, this is me taking back what’s mine, of course,” said Lucas, flicking his red-lined eyes towards Tess
a.
“Fuck you,” said Tessa, spitting her words. “I’m not yours.”
Lucas shrugged, as if considering the point.
“Well, they say ‘might makes right,’ and this is definitely one of those cases where I think that’s true.”
As Lucas spoke, Tessa couldn’t help but notice the drastic change that Lucas had gone through since the time that she saw him last. His face was gaunt, his skin looked sickly, and his eyes were red and bloodshot. It looked to her as if he were on day ten of a non-stop drug binge, a shadow of his former handsome self.
“Where are my men?” demanded Atticus.
“They’re out,” said Lucas. “We created a little distraction to keep them busy; probably won’t be back for a while…if they come back.”
Rage boiled in Atticus. The idea that this man would simply storm into his home, threaten Tessa, put his men in danger- it was something he couldn’t abide. But he knew Lucas was right, making a move wouldn’t work out well for him or Tessa, not with every one of the scuzzy meth-heads armed and with an itchy trigger finger.
“And you might want to take a look at your security,” said Lucas, his voice both anxious and cocky. “Impressive set-up, but nothing a few highly-motivated tweakers couldn’t figure out.”
“If you don’t leave right now, I swear I’ll kill you and every last worthless member of your pathetic gang,” said Atticus, his voice a growl.
“That’s…not what’s going to happen,” said Lucas, rising from his seat and walking around the room with a cocky stride. “Here is what is going to happen. I’m going to take my girl back from you- my wife, I should point out- then I’m going to leave you here with some men of mine. They’re going to, well, work you over until you give up the access codes to the little fortune you Swift boys have stored away. Then they’re going to kill you.”
Atticus didn’t want to hear another word. He burst from the grips of the meth heads who were holding him in place and rushed towards Lucas, ready to shift his hands into claws and carve open his stomach.
But Lucas didn’t seem fazed by this. He simply gestured to the men holding Tessa and gave a quick nod. Atticus heard the cocking of two pistols sound from behind him as he closed the distance across the living room, the sound stopping him in his tracks. Turning, he saw that the two men were holding guns to Tessa, her face red as she wept in fear. As he looked at her, Atticus realized that he couldn’t remember the last time he felt such anger.