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Published by The Hartwood Publishing Group, LLC,
Hartwood Publishing, Phoenix, Arizona
www.hartwoodpublishing.com
Grizzly Beginning
Copyright © 2017 by Becca Jameson
Digital Release: June 2017
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Grizzly Beginning by Becca Jameson
Nuria Orson has waited fifteen years to return to her hometown of Silvertip, Alberta, the place where she was molested at age fifteen by her boyfriend’s older brother. If she had her way, she would never return, but she needs to sell her childhood home so she can move on with her life. Her plan is to slip into town, sell the house, and relocate as far away as possible before anyone finds out. Not an easy task for a grizzly shifter easily scented by anyone who wanders close enough.
Austin Tarben has spent half his life silently pining for the girl he was certain was his mate before she left town with her parents in the middle of the night fifteen years ago. Believing she willingly dumped him for his brother before she disappeared, he has longed for answers for all these years.
When Austin learns his childhood sweetheart is in town, he forces himself to confront her if for no other reason than peace of mind. But Nuria doesn’t welcome him with open arms. In fact, she’s furious. As the true story of what happened in high school unfolds, the two mates must decide if they can put the past behind them and forge a future together.
But Austin isn’t the only shifter in town shocked by Nuria’s arrival. It would seem she has a pile of enemies. Before Austin and Nuria can possibly reconcile, they need to figure out who wants her dead and why.
There are some misunderstandings even mates can’t overcome, and it’s difficult to be certain the act of binding together for the rest of their lives will create a bond strong enough to heal the hurt.
Dedication
To all my shifter fans who followed me from the land of wolves to the land of grizzly bears! Love you all!
Chapter One
Austin Tarben sat on his back deck with his feet on the railing, sipping a cold beer. He knew it was fresh because he pulled it off the line that morning. Being born into a family who owned and operated a brewery had its perks.
As he stared at the horizon, watching the sun go down, he counted his many blessings. He owned the perfect ranch home on a corner of his parents’ rambling property. From his deck, he could see for miles in several directions, nothing but white-capped mountains and evergreens. He could sit there for hours. And he often did.
A rustling noise to his left had him turning his head. He smiled as he watched his best friend wander closer and then climb up the steps to the deck. Though the two of them had been friends for half their lives, fifteen years, they had only recently decided to completely ignore the deep-seated, century-old feud between their two families and meet up often in public. For years they kept their friendship a secret from everyone, meeting only in the mountains when they shifted into their grizzly form.
As Isaiah drew closer, he lifted his gaze. His expression was serious. His brow furrowed.
“I don’t like that look, and I’m enjoying a nice evening on a rare day when the temperature is high enough to keep me from freezing my ass off.” He shuddered when he spoke, as if the cold suddenly was getting to him, though he knew the reaction had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the vibe he got from Isaiah.
Isaiah pointed at the beer. “You got another one of those?”
Austin laughed as he reached down next to his chair and grabbed the second bottle he’d brought out with him so he wouldn’t have to get up. He handed it to Isaiah. “I won’t tell anyone you’re drinking the competition.”
“Good idea,” Isaiah said as he popped the top and took a long drink. Isaiah’s family owned the other brewery in Silvertip, Alberta. The competition between the two breweries constituted the majority of the feud.
“Do I want to know what’s got your face scrunched up like that?”
“Nope. But you need to hear it, and it will go down better coming from me than someone else.”
Austin knew Isaiah better than almost anyone. This was serious. He tipped his head back and took another long drink. “Give it to me.” He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees, letting the bottle dangle from his fingers between his legs.
“Nuria’s in town.”
The half-empty beer slipped through his fingers to hit the deck. He hardly noticed. In fact, he stopped breathing as he stared at Isaiah.
Isaiah swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
Seconds ticked by while Austin tried to form a complete thought. “You’re sure?”
“Yeah. I even shifted and ran to the edge of her family’s property to see for myself. She was alone. There’s a FOR SALE sign in the yard.”
“Fuck.” Austin glanced at the deck. If he hadn’t told Isaiah and his new mate, Heather, his deep personal secret, no one would have realized what this would mean to him. He might never have known she came through town or perhaps heard about it days later while standing in line at the coffee shop.
For fifteen years her family’s property had been leased to another family. Fifteen long years. And she was back. Why now?
The bottle rolled away from his feet, and Isaiah bent to pick it up. “Is there anything I can do? I don’t know what it might be, but you know I’m here.”
Austin shook his head. “No. Thanks.” He didn’t lift his gaze. The two-by-fours that made up his deck were suddenly very interesting. A line of beer now ran down the length of them.
“I can stay awhile. Have a few beers with you. Or I’ll go if you want privacy to think or throw things.” He chuckled slightly.
Austin knew he was doing his best to say the right things. There were no right things in this case. “I’ll be fine. You don’t have to babysit me.”
“’K then. Call if you need me.” Isaiah backed up until he reached the edge of the deck. He took a long drink of his beer, set it and the empty on the railing, and then turned and walked away.
Sometimes no words were the best ones. Now was one of those times.
For long, excruciating moments, Austin sat in the cold, his breath visible in front of him as the sun dipped.
Nuria Orson. His childhood sweetheart. The girl who slept with his asshole of a brother when they were fifteen years old and then disappeared the next day from the face of the Earth.
Her entire family had left town. Austin had met Isaiah, and the two became life-long friends that day. Though he’d never discussed with his friend what transpired to send him pissed as fuck to the mountains until a few months ago.
Austin knew at an incredibly young age that Nuria was his mate. Or at least he’d thought he knew. She was the most beautiful girl in the world when he met her and
befriended her in grade school. As they hit puberty, he began to see her as more than a cute girl.
By the time they were fourteen, he was certain. And he thought she was too. They’d discussed a future together on many occasions, always assuming they would mate when they were older.
But a few months before she disappeared, she got cold on him. Stopped seeing him as often. Refused invitations to come to his house, giving a litany of excuses. Sometimes he saw her at her house. And he always saw her at school. But the light had gone out in her eyes toward him. She wouldn’t meet his gaze. She cowered from his touch.
A few weeks before that fateful day, he’d started to think she was seeing someone else. And it tore him to shreds. When he learned the someone else was his fucking brother, Antoine, he nearly died.
Not only did Austin never confront his brother, he also never told his parents. When anyone asked him what was wrong, he blew them off. The next few years were a living hell. He didn’t date. He didn’t sleep well.
He remained tight-lipped for fifteen years until his brother attempted to abduct Isaiah’s mate a few months ago and claim her for his own. Now Antoine was behind bars in the Northwest Territories under suicide watch from the Arcadian Council.
Most days, if Austin were silently honest, he wished his brother would go ahead and hang himself and save his people the effort and resources. It wasn’t a kind thought, but the more time went by, the more Austin wondered how many women Antoine had molested in his life and if Nuria had been one of them.
For years he’d assumed she’d been with Antoine of her own volition, but lately, he doubted himself. Anger with her betrayal had fueled him all this time, never permitting him to consider her betrayal might not have been consensual.
Guilt ate a hole in Austin that would follow him to his grave. What if the scene he’d witnessed that day in the barn hadn’t been what met the eye? What if Antoine had forced Nuria, and instead of Austin rushing forward to her aid, he’d turned and stomped from the barn never to see her again?
It was shocking to admit after all these years that just because Austin assumed she was seeing someone else didn’t mean she was fucking his brother behind his back.
Realizing his hands were freezing, Austin pushed on his knees to rise from the deck chair and head inside. He needed another beer, and he needed to figure out what to do next.
»»•««
Nuria Orson sighed as she stared at the pile of childhood memories, exhausted from packing all day and wishing she could go to bed and sleep for twelve hours. But she needed to keep working. The sooner she boxed everything and got it in the moving truck, the sooner she could get out of town and never return.
She had come straight to her parents’ property yesterday, driving the van loaded with empty boxes herself. Except for the neighbors about a half mile down the road, she had seen no one. Even that encounter had been by accident. Her childhood home was the last on a dead-end street. Each property was more than three acres, and it wasn’t possible to see any of the neighboring houses.
But the Clarksons had coincidentally been out running in their bear form behind the houses and spotted her van.
Begrudgingly she welcomed them with a smile and a few words when they came to the back door. She had no doubt in a matter of hours they spread the gossip of her arrival to the entire town. Including the Tarbens.
It was no coincidence she’d come at this time. As soon as she heard Antoine Tarben had been put in jail for attacking a woman, she’d started preparing herself mentally for this trip.
Several cars had driven to the end of the street yesterday, probably to verify there was indeed a vehicle in the driveway. She also knew lurkers had come in bear form to spy on her from the wooded area behind her home. She could sense them every once in a while throughout the day.
She forced herself to ignore everyone and concentrate on packing. Get it done, Nuria. Get the hell out of this town before he finds you.
As she unfolded another box and then tore off a long row of packing tape to seal the bottom of it, a knock sounded at the front door, startling her. How the hell had someone snuck up on her without her noticing?
She was rusty. Totally out of sync with her bear side after years of living in human communities. If she were paying closer attention, she would have scented or felt the mental connection with anyone approaching.
Groaning, she climbed over the latest box and made her way to the front door. Just as she should have scented the guest, they had picked up on her presence without a doubt. Bear shifters were not easily capable of pretending they weren’t home. She almost laughed at how preposterous that would seem to humans.
The door had a large glass window that indicated there was someone standing outside, but the glass was tempered and distorted, not permitting her to identify the guest.
She did know the unwanted visitor was a shifter, however. And as soon as she opened the door, she froze in her spot.
Yep. Her worst nightmare. “Austin,” she breathed.
Holy shit. There he was. Right in front of her. Taller. Darker. Broader. More handsome than she remembered at fifteen. But she would know him anywhere. He was built as if he worked hard as a mountain man when she knew he worked in his family’s brewery. His hair was cut shorter than he’d worn it as a teenager. But his eyes. Damn. His eyes were the same penetrating dark brown.
He had his fingertips tucked in his pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Nuria. I heard you were in town.”
“Yes. Just for a few days.”
He peered around her. “Packing up? I didn’t realize your family still had belongings in Silvertip.”
“Yeah. Mostly junk. My parents rented the place out for years, but the renters moved out a month ago. I’m putting it on the market, so I need to clear everything out.”
“I see.” He glanced at her and then back inside. “May I come in?”
“I’m kinda busy. Trying to get things done as soon as possible. I can’t take too many days.” That was a bold-faced lie. She had all the time in the world. But he didn’t need to know that.
He stared at her. “Surely you can spare a few minutes for an old friend.” His voice sounded strained. Angry? She deserved that.
With a small nod, she opened the door wider and stepped back. “It’s a mess. And I don’t have any beverages to offer you.”
He shot her a quick glare that spoke volumes. He hadn’t come looking for a glass of lemonade.
She was so totally screwed. How had she thought she might be able to sneak into town and back out without facing Austin Tarben?
Austin roamed into the living room and around the perimeter before speaking again in a soft tone. “It’s like nothing changed. Like time stood still.” He picked up a drawing she’d done as a child from the pile she had been about to put in a box and fingered it with the hint of a smile. “You were always so good at art. Did you go into something in that area?”
She shivered at his memory, hoping he didn’t notice her reaction. “I’m not sure you would be able to tell that from a coloring I did in about third grade.”
He set the picture back down on its pile and lifted his gaze. “Where are your parents?”
“Dead. My mother passed of a rare blood disease about ten years ago, and my father…I’d say he died of a broken heart. It took about five more years, but eventually, he didn’t have the will to live. He suffered a heart attack.” She shuddered for real this time, rubbing her arms as she crossed them.
“I’m so sorry.”
She shrugged. “It’s been a while.”
“Why did you wait so long to come clear out the house? For that matter, why didn’t you take your belongings with you when you snuck out in the night the first time?” His voice was accusatory. Again, not shocking.
She blew out a long breath. “I’m not really in the mood for the third degree, Austin. Could we skip that part? I left with my parents. I was fifteen. I didn’t exactly have a choice.”
He started to nod, and then seemed to think better of it and tapped his lips with a finger. “No. That’s not really a good enough answer, Nuria. You left me. I don’t give a fuck how old we were, we knew. We knew. First you pulled back from me, and then you disappeared in the middle of the night like a thief. Poof. Gone.” It seemed he was trying to control his anger. In fact, he had undoubtedly practiced being calm before he showed up, but he was furious underneath the façade.
She licked her lips, finally shutting the front door and stepping farther into the room. “I’m sorry. It was a long time ago. Half a lifetime. I don’t remember the specifics, Austin. Can we just let it go?”
“That’s absolute bullshit, Nuria. So no. We can’t let it go.”
She jumped in her spot at his harsh words and then whispered, “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
He sighed heavily and rubbed his temple. “So let me get this straight. In the middle of the night, your family packed up only what they could take with them, left everything else behind—for fifteen fucking years, I might add—and fled the province. And you can’t remember the details of that night?” He pointed around at all the memorabilia she’d been going through for over a day. Things that had been boxed up in the attic most of that time.
“I remember every detail, Austin,” she shouted. “Every. Damn. Detail.” She stiffened, dropping her crossed arms to position them at her sides. “Like it was fucking yesterday. So don’t you dare lecture me about fleeing in the night. I was there. I lived it.”
He snarled. “And did your leaving town coincide specifically with you fucking my brother in my family’s barn earlier that day? Or was it just a coincidence?”
She felt the blood drain out of her face and almost fainted. He knew? How did he know? Did Antoine brag about it?
But more importantly, fuck him. She spun around, grabbed the front door, yanked it open, and pointed toward the porch. “Get out.”
Austin ignored her and stood right where he was.
Grizzly Beginning (Arcadian Bears Book 2) Page 1