“I’ve got both scents.” Alec eyed Kirk. “What about you?”
“Their scents are strong, and thankfully we’ve had no rain these past few days. I wish we could have begun a search from this point sooner, although now that we’re here, there’ll be no further delay.” Kirk handed the items back to Cherub. “Keep these somewhere safe. I’ll allow Alec to shift first, ensure all is well when his bear meets Annella for the first time, then shift afterward.”
“Let’s give them as much privacy as we can.” Cherub folded the items back in her bag and tugged Kirk toward the trees. She disappeared within the woods while Kirk waited patiently on guard at the very edge.
“Are you ready?” Alec glanced at her as he kicked off his boots and shoved them in his bag.
“Aye, I look forward to meeting your bear.”
“You shouldn’t.” He stripped off his weapons and slid them into slots on his satchel, removed his leather jerkin and tunic and bagged them, then standing in naught more than his dark green rawhide pants, he nodded. “Last chance to run away and never look back.”
“A warrior never runs. Shift.” Her pulse raced as the wind rushed up the cliff side and whisked over her, bringing with it the heady freshness of the woods and her mate’s delicious outdoorsy scent. She gripped his hips, rubbed her nose against his neck and licked the mark she’d given him. ’Twas important for shifters to ensure their mate held their scent. A bear thing she’d come to understand well from being around Gilleoin and his shifter sons, Kirk and Cherub too.
“The pants have to go. I detest shredding my clothes. Turn around if you need to.” He slid one hand down the long length of her braid.
“I’ve lived amongst warriors who care little for modesty and I’m no’ unaware of what a man looks like.” She wrapped her arms fully around his waist, drew his scent even deeper into her skin and embedded her own into his flesh. That should help calm his bear during their first meeting and now assured she’d done all she could, she stepped back. “Unclothe yourself, Alec.”
“If you feel uneasy at any time then yell out to Kirk. I’ll understand.” He loosened the ties of his dark green rawhide pants, grasped his waistband and shoved the leather to the forest floor.
She gulped as she took in his beautiful body, all hard and sculpted muscle, all man and all hers, that’s if he ever chose to accept their bond and join them together in all ways. Oh, how she wished he would, that just the two of them stood right here and alone in this very place.
“I’m ready,” Kirk called out from the far tree line. “Shift as soon as you’re ready.”
“Don’t take your eyes off me,” Alec called back then stepped away from her and shifted in a sizzling display of crackling energy and searing light. He was gone, in the blink of an eye, silky black fur sprouting where there’d been only golden skin. His big bear prowled toward her, teeth snapping together and claws digging into the pine-needle covered ground.
She stepped back and knocked her back against the wide trunk of the tree she’d been bound within. “Wait.”
Up on his hind legs, he rose then roared and slammed his paws down on the rough bark either side of her head.
She clapped her hands over her ears, his growl thundering all around, his bellow a clear warning, for others to stay far away, that he ruled this forest and no other ever would. “Alec?”
He shoved his muzzle into her neck and sniffed, suddenly rubbed his furry cheek against hers and she grasped the rough bark at her back to hold herself upright.
“I see even your bear likes to be as forceful as you are.” He heaved against her and she lost her grip on the trunk, toppled to the ground and hit her head on a protruding tree root. Black dots danced before her eyes. Nay, she wouldn’t allow a simple fall to make her lose awareness. She shoved the dark away, grasped the back of her head and gave Alec her fiercest frown. “Stop pushing me around.”
He howled, dropped down onto all fours and prodded her with one beefy paw. His strength was immense and he rolled her over onto her belly then sniffed the back of her head.
A trickle of blood oozed between her fingers and he growled again, a low and deadly rumble that had her rolling back over and facing him. She fisted her hands in his silky pelt and gave him a shake. “You didnae hurt me, no’ intentionally, you frustrating man.”
Nose to the air, he howled again and overwhelmed with a need to reassure him, she pulled him down beside her, only he thumped one heavy foreleg over her waist, shoved his upper body over hers and took a terrifyingly protective position, barely allowing her enough room to draw a decent breath from underneath him.
“Are you all right, Annella?” A yell from Kirk.
“I’m fine. Dinnae come any closer.” If Kirk tried to take one step toward Alec and her, her mate might very well attack him. “He’s protecting me, ensuring no other can harm me.” That she knew to the depths of her soul.
She curled onto her side so she could still breathe under the heavy weight of his body, closed her eyes, calmed her mind and allowed her thoughts to settle. The dark encroached and she glided toward the dream realm, her spiritual body separating from her physical body as she soared free, her physical body underneath Alec’s slumping and her heartbeat slowing. With her ethereal form free, she wisped away on the breeze then swept through the canopy and back down and around Alec’s bear and her trapped body. She needed him to know she trusted him, fully and completely, that she would never be afraid of either him or his bear. With her spiritual body solidified, she knelt next to him and touched his back before sinking her fingers into his furry pelt. “I’m right here, Alec.”
He turned and snapped his teeth at her, his golden shifter gaze narrowing.
“Let me pet you.” She stroked him, from his neck to his rump then leaned closer, rubbed her cheek against his cheek and scratched between his ears. “Your bear is big and beautiful and all mine, Alec, just as the man is.”
He bumped his muzzle into her belly.
“You wish for another pat?” Heart lifting, her need the same as his, she rubbed his sides, her very soul’s desire to be this close to his bear, the same as her desire to be this close to her man as well. They were one and the same, both him and his bear, and hers to care for. She wished to embrace their bond and ensure he never left her, although if she ever wished to make that happen, she’d first need to convince him his beast was never a threat to her, that they would be strongest together rather than they’d ever be apart.
She sat down, crossed her legs and caught his head in her hands and urged him to settle his cheek in her lap. He grizzled but allowed her to tuck him closer then he rolled over and exposed his belly, her physical body no longer cocooned and trapped underneath his. With his paws up, he offered her an expectant look. Aye, he too wanted this moment, to know his bear could be calmed by her, that he’d never harm her as he feared so greatly he would.
“Do you remember the first time I visited you in your dreams?” She caressed his belly, her fingers sliding through his decadently soft fur. With one hearty stretch, he purred, actually purred and she couldn’t halt her smile. She spread her hand over his heart, its steady and powerful beat a rhythm she wished to never cease hearing. “We were both completely shocked. Me, because I’d never visited anyone who wasnae direct kin, and you, because no one had ever snuck up on you, even in your sleep. You tried to heave me away from you that very first night, only you couldn’t send me away when ’twas I who controlled my very own presence within your mind.”
One deeply satisfied rumble vibrated from his chest, the heavenly sound of his content bringing tears to her eyes.
“We are mated, and whether your bear is aggressive or no’, I wouldnae wish to be anywhere else than right here with you. Dinnae send me away again. Accept me and all that I am, just as I wish to accept you.”
Lights shimmered in a bright blaze and she toppled onto her back, shoulder to shoulder with her physical body as Alec loomed over both her and her prone form, all man an
d hard and hot flesh.
“You’re my mate, the only woman I’ve ever been called to protect, the only woman my very soul hungers for.” He touched his fingers to the blood at the back of her true body’s head. “You bleed right now because of me. How many times should I allow that? Once, twice, three times, or a hundred and three times?”
“You are being unreasonable.” She hooked her legs around his waist and unable to keep her gaze from lowering, almost lost her breath as she took in the smattering of dark hair on his chest, which thinned into a teasing line as it trailed down between his defined abs before thickening into dark curls at the apex of his groin. Nestled within those curls his manhood rose thick and strong.
“Cease looking at me like that.” He lowered his body down on top of hers, his shaft brushing against her belly, his gaze on hers as he sniffed the air. “Kirk’s joined Cherub deeper in the forest. He left when I shifted.”
“Even Kirk knows you’d never harm me. So does Cherub. Want me, Alec, the same way that I desperately want you.” She stroked down his muscled arms and over his trim hips, lifted up a little and pressed her nose into his neck. His warm and fresh pine scent intoxicated her, sent her senses swirling with desire. Denying the completion of their mated bond was akin to cutting off a piece of herself. “I want the merged link of the mind your shifter kind form with your chosen one when you join together in all ways. I want to be able to speak to you at will, to always be in your thoughts and you in mine.”
“You’ve met my bear.” His claws sliced out and back in.
“Aye, and he’s a stroppy beast, just as you are. All pushy and determined to get his way, except I’m no’ a biddable lass. My father raised me to be a strong woman, to fight alongside him and Ronan without any issue. So too I wish to fight right alongside you, that is if you’ll but allow it.”
“I understand what you’re asking, but you’re also bleeding right now and that’s my fault.” He glanced at her physical body lying next to her, his need to tend to her flaring strongly in his gaze. “Return, immediately. That’s an order.”
“Aye, Captain.” She dissolved her form, took a deep breath and settled herself back inside her body. Her heartbeat thumped and she gasped, pushed up until she sat, her fingertips tingling and her head aching where she’d hit it.
Alec crouched in behind her, separated her hair at the back of her head and gently touched the area. “The bleeding has stopped and there’s only a small puncture wound. It’s fairly shallow and doesn’t need stitches, but there’ll be a bruise.”
“Mayhap you could kiss the bruise better for me?” She pulled her braid to one side and offered her neck to him. “Your bite would be even more soothing. I’m sure that will ease any lingering pain that bothers me.”
“I can scent Cherub and Kirk again. They’re back.” In a burst of bright lights, he shifted once more, his big bear standing guard at her back then he growled, nudged her with his muzzle and pushed harder into her back when she didn’t move.
“All right, all right.” She shoved to her feet, dusted her hands against her tan breeches and flicked his ear with one finger. “I’m moving, you big oaf.”
Cherub emerged from the thick tree line with a large, black-pelted bear plodding around the bushes beside her. The two joined them, Cherub’s gaze on her. “Is all well?”
“As well as things can be.” She flicked Alec’s ear again and he snapped his teeth at her. “It appears I like tussling with a bear, intend to forever aggravate and annoy my chosen one.”
“There is naught wrong with a little annoyance.” Cherub giggled as she folded Kirk’s plaid, white tunic, and fur-lined jacket into his bag. “’Tis time to find Niall and Ronan. Are we all ready?”
“I’m more than ready.” She scooped up Alec’s discarded pants and stuffed them inside his satchel. “What of you, my mighty bear?”
He grunted, padded to his bag, snatched it between his front paws and with an intriguing flip of it over his back that he’d clearly mastered at some point in time, hooked his bag into place with absolute precision via the magnetized straps he’d spoken of earlier.
Kirk did the same with his bag then the two of them sniffed around the small clearing until Alec snarled and shook his head like a dog when it tussled with a rabbit after it caught it. He lumbered into the forest, sniffing and growling as he led the way and Kirk plodded in beside him.
She grabbed her bag and followed as each of them tracked along one side of the thin trail weaving deeper into the forest and the wilds of MacKenzie land.
Along the leaf-strewn trail edged with low brush, she negotiated trailing tree roots and thick ivy vines draping low over the branches. She moved ahead when needed and slashed at thick foliage with her sword when it clogged the pathway, while all around her the small critters of the forest scurried though the undergrowth as they sensed the presence of the predators within.
Alec prowled and sniffed, the hours slowly passing and the sun crossing from one horizon to the other. The light began to lesson through the thick canopy overhead as evening approached. A whole day of tracking had nearly passed and she’d yet to rest for even a few minutes to see if she could find Father and Ronan within the dream realm. Hopefully, they’d stop soon and she’d have the chance to—
With a menacing growl, Alec halted then veered off the trail and Kirk followed in fast pursuit. She dashed after them, Cherub right beside her.
“What have they found?” she asked Cherub.
“Let me check along my link.” Cherub went quiet as she spoke mind to mind with Kirk, then nodded at her. “The scents in this area just doubled. No’ only can they make out your father and brother’s scents, but now also another party of MacKenzie warriors have joined theirs.”
“We must continue on, no matter how many enemy warriors we might encounter.”
“I agree.”
They picked up their pace as they weaved in and around the scraggly undergrowth until the trees gave way to a small clearing dotted with tiny white flowers and lavender bushes. A wide stream wound through the meadow, water flowing fast past wide gray boulders and sweeping around the bend before disappearing.
Alec plodded along the riverbank, dunked one paw into the water then splashed through the shallows to the other side. Nose buried to the ground, he trod in and around thick clumps of grasses and bushes.
Kirk scoured their side of the river then rose up and slapped his paws down on a large boulder protruding from the river’s edge near a set of stepping stones leading from one side to the other. He grunted, over and over and Alec lifted his head, eyed Kirk and grunted in the same manner right back.
“Are they talking to each other?” She grasped Cherub’s arm as they waited for their men’s next move.
“Aye, bear talk, which I’ve yet to learn and understand.” Cherub went quiet as she conversed mind to mind with Kirk then said, “Niall’s scent continues along the bank on our side of the stream here, while Ronan’s scent remains strong on the other side. It appears your kin were separated at this point of their journey, both having been taken in different directions.”
“Why would Duncan separate them?”
“Kirk and Alec have no idea, although since it’ll be dark soon, they’d rather rest here for the night then choose which path we should take in the morning. In the dark, they could so easily miss something of vital importance. We’re to make camp here.”
“Mayhap I’ll be able to find them in the dream realm this eve.” Making camp here suited her too. Duncan couldn’t keep her loved ones from their sleep forever, and she needed time to search for them. “Did the MacKenzies rest here for the night as well?”
“Nay, they passed straight through, their tracks leading directly on. Kirk and Alec both feel secure in making this the place where we stop for the night.”
With a series of grunts, Kirk spoke to Alec again then pushed off the boulder and lumbered into the woods while across the other side of the stream, Alec ambled beyond the tree li
ne. A burst of lights blazed in both directions then both of them reemerged, once again dressed and their satchels looped over their shoulders.
Alec, with his black tunic hanging loose over his dark green pants, his sword belted at his side, halted on the stream bank and nodded at Kirk. “I’ll go and set a trap while you start a fire.”
“Will do, and by the way, I’m hungry. Bring back plenty of meat.” Kirk crossed to Cherub in his belted kilt and fur jacket, pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. Against her lips, he murmured, “I’ll go fetch us some wood. If you need to wander off, then don’t go too far. Stay within calling distance of both Alec and I.”
“Be quick and dinnae get lost.” Cherub tapped his nose. “I’ve missed you today, even though we’ve been together.”
“Me too, although I think it’s impossible for me to get lost.” He pinched her bottom then with a chuckle, disappeared into the brush.
’Twas so wonderful to see the Fae Angel of Love now mated. For over a thousand years she’d tended to her duty, caring for her fae-blooded kind who walked this Earth and now she’d finally found her soul bound mate, even spelled Kirk’s very essence to hers so he too had become an immortal as she was. The two would stand at each other’s sides for the rest of their lives. ’Twas such a gift to be given a mate and she wished too for what Cherub and Kirk had, a bond so deep that she’d never consider being anywhere but right at her chosen one’s side, that he too would desire the same with her.
“Are you all right, Annella?” On the other side of the stream, Alec still stood, hands on his hips and his gaze on her. His beautiful golden shifter eyes blazed with a multitude of emotions. Need. Want. Desire. Untold frustration. ’Twas all there, as if he couldn’t get enough of looking at her yet also wished he could look away. The wind tossed his silky black locks about, plastered his tunic to his heavily muscled chest and his rawhide pants to his legs. Her mate would always stand by his clansmen and never allow them to falter. He was a tracker of huge ability and a warrior of immense strength. He’d always be here for her too if she needed him, unable to turn away from her even if he wished to, only she wanted him to want her the same way she wanted him, with all his heart, body, and soul. She wanted far more than he was yet willing to offer, but she’d never halt her drive to secure all she desired.
Highlander's Sword: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Clan Matheson Book 3) Page 9