Maya felt a flicker of sadness when she thought back over the evening they'd spent together. Sure, it wasn't much, but it felt like the spark of something. Shame he had to go fuck it up like that. And yeah, Maya knew deep down that it wasn't his fault, and he wasn't exactly obliged to come out and announce the fact that he was a shifter to everyone he encountered just in case they got a crush on him, but still. Some part of her felt betrayed-although maybe it was more that she felt as if she'd betrayed herself and her family by actually liking a shifter.
Back when shifters had first come out, almost seventy-five years ago now, the entire world had basically tilted on it's axis. The line between fantasy and reality blurred, and people didn't like that. The existence of shifters, of people who could take on animal form at will-was too much for a lot of people to get their heads around. And Maya's grandfather had been one of those people. Maya rested her jaw in her hand, her mind drifting back to all the times her mother had told and retold this story to her.
Maya's grandfather, Joel, had been one of the first to take a stand against the shifters. He had never been particularly open to the idea of change, and this one was cataclysmic. Maybe it was because he was just back from the war, still functioning under the impression that it was his job to secure his country and that the way to do that was through violence. Either way, when he found out that a shifter wolf pack had been operating only a town over, he gathered a group of men, waited till the dead of night, and went to hunt them down.
The men who returned said the wolves were more than animal, but less than human. They fought with a deranged ferocity, protecting their own, fierce and feral and fearless. They couldn't have been surprised by the fact that somebody came to clear them out, even if they had been mostly benevolent, they represented danger, especially now that they didn't have to hide their wolf forms any more. Maya's grandfather and his men were just trying to secure the town, and who could blame them for that?
no one knew exactly what had happened to Maya's grandfather, all anyone could be certain off was that he went into that forest a healthy man, and came out practically torn to pieces. There were whisperings, what did he expect, leading an attack on a pack of half-human wolves? Didn't he know he would be leaving a wife and a daughter defenseless behind him? He was the only one not to make it out of the forest alive. Maya's mother often wondered to her if they had somehow known he was the ringleader, and targeted him for daring to upset their status quo. They'd never know-the wolf pack hurriedly moved on and was never seen again, and Maya's mother had raised with her a violent hatred of shifters ever since.
Maya was roused from her reverie by a knock at the door, pulling her robe around her and running a hand through her hair, she went to answer it, praying it wasn't Adam. She opened the door, and breathed a sigh of relief, it was just Lorne, the only other bridesmaid she'd actually spoken to that weekend.
"So, you heard that we're stuck here, right?" She asked, propping one hand on her doorframe and rolling her wide green eyes.
"Yeah, I guess," Maya shrugged, glancing back out her window. The storm looked pretty well set, the sky was inky black as far as the eye could see, and occasional claps of thunder rumbled across the horizon.
"We're getting the wedding party together for breakfast, we're gonna talk everything out and see how we can make this easier for Dina and Tom."
Maya fought the urge to slam the door in her face, and tried to keep her tone casual. She knew that spending time with the wedding party would bring her face-to-face with Adam once again, and she wasn't sure if she was entirely ready for that. It was an inevitability, but one that she hoped she could put off a little while longer at least.
"Um, that sounds-"
"I'll see you down there in an hour?" Lorne raised her eyebrows at her expectantly. Despite her brusque nature, Maya knew she was just trying to do what was best for Dina, so Maya shrugged.
"Yeah, sure."
"Great, till then."
Lorne ducked off down the corridor, and Maya closed the door and flopped down on to her bed. Shit. Part of her wanted to vault the balcony and try to swim back to the mainland, but part of her wanted to see Adam. She'd known for years that her mother's hatred of the shifters was pretty much unheard of nowadays, but she'd never had reason to question it before. This guy, this normal, cute, sweet, funny guy, he was a reason. And that both scared and thrilled her in the same breath.
She hopped in a shower, washing away the last remnants of last night's champagne and dancing, and got herself ready for breakfast. Until she figured out exactly what she wanted from this guy, she wanted to keep her options open-and that meant looking as fine as possible. As the water cascaded over her, her mind drifted back to the figure she'd seen on the beach before, where did she know him from? It was like having a name on the tip of her tongue that she couldn't quite remember. And then it hit her, Dina's ex. She'd seen photos, but never met him. He was the last person she'd seriously dated before her fiance, so what was he doing here?
Rolling out of the shower, Maya grabbed her phone and quickly scrolled through Facebook, past Dina's giddy posts about the rings and the dresses and the venue, and boom, there he was. He was tall and lanky but lithe, and had piercing gold eyes that seemed to glow, even on the small screen. Maya stared at him for a moment long, then shook her head, unless he came back, she was willing to write it off as a weird coincidence.
By the time she made it downstairs, everyone else had already filled up their plates from the buffet and found a seat at the enormous wooden tables. Maya grabbed some fruit and coffee, and slid in between a couple of the other bridesmaids, both of whom offered her a taut smile. Dina was there, and she looked beyond stressed at whatever was happening.
"Fuck, how long do you think this is going to go on for?" Dina demanded, as Frieda, the sister-bridesmaid, tried to coax her into actually eating something.
"Fuck if I know, but at least a day, maybe two," shrugged Dean, one of the groomsmen, with a mouth full of food.
"Oh, Christ almighty," Dina rolled her eyes dramatically, and took a sip of water. Maya was trying to pay attention to proceedings, but she kept getting distracted by Adam, he was freshly showered, with damp hair, and he looked even better in a black t-shirt and washed-out dark jeans. He glanced over at her across the table, fiddling with a glass of orange juice in front of him, and she quickly looked away. Her heart flipped in her chest, maybe it was fear, maybe it was excitement, maybe it was the beginnings of a crush. She took a sip of her coffee and tried to focus back in on what was going on.
Suddenly, and all at once, Adam and three of the groomsmen seemed to sit up taller in their chairs. They were glancing around, their brows furrowed, as if something had changed and they couldn't quite put their finger on what yet. Adam looked over at Maya again, his eyes narrow, and all at once she recognized his expression, it was the one he'd had last night, when they'd seen that figure on the beach. She blinked in acknowledgement, and turned to Dina, placing a hand on her wrist to try and get her attention. Dina stopped mid-rant, and cocked her head at Maya in curiosity.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" She mouthed, tilting her head away from the table. Dina squinted in confusion, but nodded, whispering in her new husband's ear and pushing her chair back from the table. Maya led her outside the dining room, where most of the guests had by then congregated, and into the quiet of reception.
"What's up?" Dina asked, her face painted with stress.
"Look, this is going sound like a weird question," Maya began, "But did you invite any of your exes to the wedding?"
"What?" Dina wrinkled her nose. "No, of course not. Why would I want to do that?"
"I don't know, it's just-"
"Shit. Freddy?" Dina interrupted, closing her eyes and tilting her head down. "Did you see him? Is he here?"
"Okay, I've got no idea what I saw, but Adam and I were down at the beach, and we saw someone standing there, and it looked kind of like him. I figured you should know, espe
cially if we're all stuck here for another day or so." Maya finished quickly. "I don't want to freak you out, but…yeah. Sorry."
"I told him so many times that if he came I would never fucking forgive him," Dina shook her head. "It's been four years, you'd think he was over it by now."
"So, he said he would come?"
"He threatened to. I thought he was just trying to freak me out, but…fuck, it is exactly the kind of shit he'd pull." Dina glanced over her shoulder, as if he might be standing right there waiting for her. "Did he say anything or do anything?"
"Nothing that I saw, no," Maya tried to reassure her. "It could have been anyone, really, I just-"
"Trust me, I know Freddy, and this is precisely the kind of crap he'd try and pull. Thank you for telling me, I'll get security on it right away." Dina nodded. "As if this couldn't turn into any more of a disaster."
"Oh, come on," Maya cajoled her. "It's going to be an amazing weekend. You're getting freaking married, Deen!"
She grinned, slapping the air as if to dismiss the notion.
"I know," she acknowledged. "Anyway, what's this about you and Adam on the beach?"
"Um, nothing," Maya broke eye contact. "We just hung out, that's all."
"He told me you guys kissed," Dina raised her eyebrows at her.
"Yeah, but he's…" Maya leaned in conspiratorially, "he's a shifter, and you know-"
"So?" Dina cut across her with a small shrug, before turning away to head back to breakfast. Maya was left staring at the space where her head had been, and found that single word echoing in her head. So? So what? So Adam was a shifter? Did it matter when she liked him as much as she thought she did?
"Maya?"
Maya swiveled on her heel, and found herself face to face with the man causing her all her turmoil.
"Adam, uh, hi," she tried to keep her tone casual, but she knew she was failing dismally.
"I think he's here again," Adam muttered urgently, closing the distance between the two of them and frowning. "Were you telling Dina about him just there?"
"Yeah, I just told her what we saw. I'm pretty sure he's one of her exes. She seemed really freaked out, he must be a real piece of work."
"He is, trust me. And I don't think he's here alone."
"Huh?" Maya squinted at him in confusion.
"I don't think he just wanted to crash this wedding. I think he wanted to make damn sure that Dina knew she'd never be rid of him." Adam shook his head. "Me and the guys are going to split up and take a look round the island, hopefully shake out whoever's here so we don't have to worry."
"I'll come with you," She suggested without thinking. "I mean, it's safer for you to have somebody with you."
Adam flashed her a hint of that lopsided smile, and held out his hand.
"What are we waiting for?"
The storm had calmed down a little by the time they set off, the wind was still whipping the trees, but the rain had eased off. Adam and Maya took on the beach, hurrying down from the hotel and onto the sand once again.
"Got any champagne for me this time?" Adam asked playfully as they took their first few steps along the waterfront.
"Ugh, don't speak to me about champagne," Maya shook her head. "If I never see another bottle again, it'll be too soon."
"Really? I thought you seemed pretty okay last night," he commented, peering around to look for any lurking shadows or unwanted company.
"I tend to do shit that I normally wouldn't when I drink champagne," Maya explained. "Like make out with-"
"Shifters?" Adam finished her sentence for her. "Yeah, I thought you seemed pretty put out when you figured it out."
Maya glanced away, feeling awkward. How the hell was she meant to explain to Adam how and why kissing him had been one of the worst and best things she'd ever done?
"I…my family. They really don't like…your kind." She managed, refusing to make eye contact. The only sound between them for a second was the crunching of sand beneath their feet as Adam contemplated what she'd just said.
"I get that it's pretty unusual, but does it bother you that much?" He asked quietly. Maya could barely hear him over the wind, but his face was etched with annoyance and confusion.
"It's nothing to do with you, specifically. My grandfather, he was killed by a shifter. He went to purge them from a forest near the town he lived in and he never came back. Shifters have always been this bad, scary, terrible bedtime story that my mom told me growing up. I never thought-" Maya cut herself off, knowing she was about to come out with something she'd regret.
"So, he went to try and hunt them and he ended up getting killed?" Adam sounded incredulous. "Look, I'm sorry that happened to you, and him, and your family. But he went after them first. You can't really blame them for the reaction they had."
"They killed him, Adam! There was basically nothing left of him when they were done!" Maya snapped, pulling her coat tight around her shoulders in an attempt to keep out the cold.
"And what would you have done if you'd been living peacefully and someone came along and tried to oust you?" He parried, turning to look at her again. His gold-green eyes were narrowed, and he looked furious.
"I don't know! But they were animals, Adam, they weren't like you," Maya tried to rationalize.
"But they were. They were just people, like me, who happened to be in their animal forms when your grandfather came by and tried to destroy whatever life they'd built for themselves." Adam shook his head. "I knew there was a backlash when we first came out, but I never thought I'd meet someone who tried to defend it."
Maya found herself momentarily lost for words. All her life, she'd prided herself on being open-minded, liberal, decent, and here was someone pointing out the big, ugly block of bigotry at the centre of that. The wind whistled even louder, as if trying to fill the awkward pause in the conversation.
"You have to understand, I like you, but I could never be with someone who had…that. How could I ever trust you not to hurt me?" Maya replied tersely, her brain whirring as she tried to put the pieces together in her head.
"You're here with me right now, aren't you?" Adam pointed out. "Do you feel like you're in danger? Do you think I'm going to hurt you?"
"No, but you're not like the rest of them," she snapped back, exasperated.
"Oh, so I'm one of the good ones, am I?" He almost laughed. "You do realize how fucking ridiculous you're sounding right now."
"How do I know you've never hurt anyone before?" Maya shot back. Because she knew he was right, from the moment she'd met Adam, she'd felt safe in his presence, comforted, even. And she couldn't connect the two parts of her brain in a way that made sense.
"How do I know you haven't?" He looked at her, eyebrows raised.
"Because I'm not-"
"You're still a person, though. You're just as capable of hurting someone as I am. It's just that I might be a bear when it happens, or I might not. I don't lose control when I'm shifted. Do you know anything about our kind at all?" He cut across her, and Maya stopped walking, taken aback.
"You're a bear?" She asked with incredulity. She had never really given much thought to exactly what kind of animals people could shift into, the only ones she knew about for sure were wolves. But a bear? That sounded particularly scary, especially threatening.
Adam (BBW Bear Shifter Wedding Romance) (Grizzly Groomsmen Book 1) Page 2