LA Shifters: Shifter Romance

by Sky Winters

  The concierge appeared uncomfortable. “Let me get my manager. She can probably give you more and better information than I can.” With that, she went into the back room.

  Ursula busied herself by picking up one of the inn’s business cards as well as a brochure. It would be a good idea to plan out some of the things she was interested in doing while at Lake Tahoe. Nothing was preventing her from enjoying herself there, apart from the feeling that something was not completely right about the place or her host.

  A few minutes later, the lady she had seen at the counter before came out of the back office. She beamed at Ursula. “Hello again,” she said. “I understand you have some questions about Mr. Asher?”

  Nodding, Ursula slipped the business card and brochure into the back pocket of her jeans. The inn’s manager gestured for Ursula to follow her and led her to the lounge area of the inn’s lobby. She sat on the large, green couch and Ursula sat beside her.

  “Mr. Asher is the son of Howard Asher, who founded this inn and the recreation activities that it offers,” the manager said. “The senior Mr. Asher died about ten years ago, leaving the inn and everything in the junior Mr. Asher’s hands. He lives in the cabin you’re in and makes sure that everything is going accordingly. He’s a… strange man, but from all the time I’ve spent around him, I know he is kind and a good person to know.”

  Ursula listened attentively, nodding a little when the lady mentioned that he was strange. That was for sure. “He told me not to go on the mountain in the morning or the evening… Any idea why?”

  A darkness seemed to pass over the manager’s face. She frowned slightly. Ursula got the feeling that she wasn’t supposed to notice that frown. “It is dangerous to go far into the forest when the sun is not up,” the manager said. “That is when the bear comes out.”

  Something about the way she said that made Ursula gulp. “The bear?” she asked.

  The manager nodded. “It’s best to stay indoors. He keeps to himself, most of the time, but if he sees you…”

  “I think I get the message.” Ursula could understand why a bear catching sight of a human could be bad. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Why did they allow a bear to hang out around their tourist inn? “Is it the bear the inn is named after?”

  The manager had to think about that for a second. “Yes and no,” she said. She got up from the couch and smoothed out her black business slacks. “I should be getting back to work now. Just please heed Mr. Asher’s advice. He is a good man. He just wants to keep you safe.”

  She went back to the room behind the counter, whispering something in the concierge’s ear as she went past. The concierge looked frightened and glanced over at Ursula.

  For her part, Ursula was starting to feel as though she was on one of those weird History Channel shows. Everyone at the Black Bear Inn was nice, but something about them was really starting to give her the creeps.

  Going back to her room took even longer than the stroll to the inn had taken, and when she arrived back in her cabin she was careful to close and lock the door again. Ursula went to the fireplace and, lighting a match, set the logs ablaze. The expansive living room warmed up in no time.

  She pulled the business card and brochure out of her back pocket. She set the card down on the table and opened up the brochure, flipping through the pages to see if there was anything that jumped out at her as a possible activity for her vacation. Apparently she could rent a fishing rod from the inn. She’d never been fishing before in her life.

  The wind started to howl outside and she wondered what kept John. He hadn’t explained what he had to go do, and the manager hadn’t really explained what sort of things he did there. As far as Ursula knew, he was just the owner who helped keep things up and running. Hadn’t he said something about his dad being a lumberjack? Maybe he was a lumberjack too…

  She could get used to the idea of hanging out with a sexy lumberjack. He just needed to get his ass back there and hang out with her. She’d be less worried about who he was if he’d stick around.

  Sure enough, as soon as she’d settled into the couch with her book, there was a knock at the door. Why on earth did John not carry a key? Ursula got up and went to the door.

  She pulled it open while debating in her mind about whether or not she should put on another layer. John lurched forward into the cabin and closed the door behind him. He looked disheveled, his shirt unbuttoned in odd places and his hair completely unkempt.

  “It must be windier than I thought,” she said. “Why don’t you have a key to your cabin?”

  He didn’t answer her but went straight to the kitchen. He turned the faucet and started drinking huge gulps of water from the sink. Ursula stood there with her arms folded in front of her chest.

  So far, this weekend had been completely weird.

  Suddenly, as quick as he’d gone to the sink, he was back in front of her, holding her in his arms. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her deeply. She dropped her arms to her sides, surprised, then brought them up to his back, gently rubbing and scratching at it as they kissed.

  “I see you lit a fire,” he said in his gruff, husky voice. She’d almost forgotten how he sounded and now that she’d heard him speak again, she melted a little. He was sexy and mysterious and she was starting to really like it.

  “I was getting chilly,” she explained. Her own voice came out quietly, almost as though she was timid.

  “Let me warm you up,” he replied. He kissed her deeply again and effortlessly lifted her into his arms. Sexy, mysterious and strong. John carried her to the rug in front of the fireplace and laid her down on it, leaning himself over her as they kissed and ran their hands all over each other.

  They went at the zippers of each other’s pants at the same time, which made Ursula giggle a little. He smirked back and pulled off her jeans, followed soon by her panties. She succeeded in removing his black jeans to discover that his cock was fully erect within his black boxers. Paying no mind to it for the moment, he lowered himself to her soft, wet spot between her legs and began to lick and kiss it.

  “Ohhh,” she moaned. “Oh, my god…” Her back bucked off the floor as he made her cum. It didn’t take her long to do so, and she marveled at him as he pulled off his shirt then her turtleneck. He fondled her breasts for a moment, and then she grabbed the top of his boxers and yanked them down.

  As if she had commanded him to do so, John got on top of her and thrust his big, lengthy cock into her. “Ahh!” she gasped as she felt him stretch her open. “Ffffuck yeah.” She licked her lips, looking into his haunting brown eyes.

  John stared intently back at her as he moved within her, speeding up and slowing down, making her dizzy with anticipation and feelings she had never felt before. He made love to her like an animal, leaning down and biting her neck as he sped up his thrusting. She could feel him grunting against her skin. Gently, she ran her fingers over the scars on his torso. They were raised somewhat. She wondered, again, how he had gotten them. Maybe from rough sex…

  Grabbing the clasp of her bra as he moved, he pulled it off of her and sucked at her left breast. Ursula ran her fingers through his black, messy hair. He smelled like fish and pine trees and the wild outdoors. He thrust himself deep inside of her and she screamed. “John! John, yes!!!”

  Ursula wrapped her legs around him and John clamped his eyes shut, letting out a roar-like sound as he came inside her.

  As soon as he had calmed down and got his breath and heartbeat back to normal, he pulled his penis out of her and walked into the kitchen.

  She rolled over on the floor and watched him go. Her head was swimming. She couldn’t believe this was happening. As he stood there, naked and looking through the fridge, she admired the view of his ass. He even had a great, muscular butt. She wondered what the hell he did in his spare time. Surely he went to the gym or something…

  Remembering that he’d just came inside of her, she went into the bathroom and cleaned
herself up. “I hope you don’t have anything I need to worry about now,” she said loud enough for him to hear.

  John smirked into the refrigerator, pulling out a beer for himself and one for her. She came back out and gasped a little, surprised to find him standing there waiting for her, holding the two bottles of beer.

  “I’m not really a fan of beer,” she said. Thinking it over, she took a bottle anyway. “Oh, what the hell.”

  They went back to the living room and collected their clothes. She was somewhat sad to see him put clothes back on, but it was chilly and she didn’t want either of them to end up with a cold. Once they were dressed again, they sat on the couch, cuddling and looking at the fire.

  “Where do you go during the evening?” she asked. “The manager at the inn warned me about a bear that wanders around here. Be careful, okay?”

  Something flickered in John’s eyes. Ursula didn’t know what to make of that. “I always do my best to be careful around here,” he said in his soft, growly voice. “But I’m not really the one that people think is going to get hurt.”

  “Am I crazy or do all of you people talk in riddles?” she asked, smiling at him even though she was seriously getting frustrated and annoyed at the way no one seemed to really answer her questions.

  John just chuckled. “Let’s go to bed now,” he said. “Tomorrow is when the fun starts.”

  The following morning, Ursula woke up with a phenomenal headache. And, even worse, she felt nauseous. She looked at the clock and realized it was four thirty in the morning. But that didn’t stop her stomach from wanting to release its contents. Quickly, she got out of the bed and ran into the bathroom, throwing up into the toilet and feeling all kinds of confused and worried. When she was finished, she flushed and washed her hands, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked like a wreck. Is this what she always looked like early in the morning?

  She turned away and started to leave, but then she caught her reflection again as she went to turn the bathroom light off.

  No, no, no, this can’t be right! Her reflection made her appear as though she’d gained at least twenty pounds! That couldn’t happen overnight. She had been watching herself out there so far. She hadn’t been snacking or going overboard with desserts. Nothing like that. She knew she was obese and she was actually trying to use this vacation in the outdoors to fix that.

  She went back into the bathroom and checked to see if there was any aspirin or anything. Thankfully, there was. She took some of it and then went back to the bedroom to question John about her appearance.

  Only John wasn’t there. Had he been there when she woke up? She couldn’t remember… He hadn’t made a sound when she moved out of the bed, though.

  As quickly as she could without feeling sick again, Ursula made her way to the front door of the cabin. Sure enough, it wasn’t locked. John had gone out without telling her. He was gone.

  “Shit,” she said under her breath. “Will that boy ever take the key with him?”

  Well, it was four forty-five in the morning, but because of her sudden illness and appearance, she definitely did not feel like sleeping. Instead, she bundled herself up in sweaters and coats and waddled out to the inn. She locked the door behind herself.

  John could come and find her if he wanted to go back inside.

  It was so dark that she had to be careful to stay on the winding path to the Black Bear Inn. When she finally got to it, she went in and warmed up by the concierge desk. No one was around. It was too early in the morning for breakfast. The sane people, who didn’t have to be awake there, weren’t.

  Suddenly, the concierge came out of the back room. It was a different girl from the one she had seen there before, but this one seemed to know who Ursula was. The concierge shook her head at her. “Miss Blake, you really should not be here right now. You should not be out of bed.”

  Then she noticed the extra bump of (Ursula’s presumed) fat around Miss Blake’s middle. Her eyes widened.

  “Oh, you can explain this??” Ursula asked, her voice high-pitched and irritated. She did not want to be awake at this early hour. She did not want to be feeling sick and alone. She didn’t want to suddenly have a bump…

  Her eyes became the size of saucers. She hadn’t gained weight from overeating. She had gained weight from…

  No, it was impossible!

  As quickly as she had come into the place, Ursula turned around and waddled back out into the cold dawn. She had to find a convenience store. A drug store. Anything that would sell pregnancy tests.

  “Miss Blake!” she could hear the concierge screaming at her through the front door windows of the inn. “Please come back inside!”

  Ursula ignored her advice and attempted to walk along a different trail. This one must lead to civilization. This whole area certainly couldn’t just be woods.

  All of a sudden, up ahead, she heard a weird, moan-like noise. She looked up and saw the famous and apparently infamous black bear. He was a little too close for comfort, and he slowly came closer and closer. Knowing that making a lot of noise or running would excite the bear and make him try and chase her, she kept still and quiet, hoping he would just go away.

  But he didn’t. He kept coming towards her. And the most bizarre thing was that, as he moved, he appeared to become progressively smaller and smaller. His face took on the characteristics of a human face, becoming more and more human as he walked. His claws turned into human fingers. His black fur melted away and soon he was a naked man walking towards her.

  A tall, dark haired man. With light brown eyes.

  John Asher.

  “Oh, Jesus Christ,” Ursula said just before fainting.

  When she awoke, the sun was shining brightly through the bedroom skylight. She was in bed again. At first, she wondered if it had all just been a crazy nightmare.

  But then, when she sat up, she could feel the extra weight on her middle.

  John was standing before her as well. He was dressed in black boxers. She could see some cuts and scrapes on his arms and chest to go along with the scars he already wore.

  She let out a scream at the sight of him there, no longer a bear but somehow much more frightening.

  He knelt beside her. “Shh, it’s okay.” He petted her long, auburn curls. “It’s okay. It’s just me.”

  “It is not just you,” she said. “You—you were a bear! You were a bear out there!”

  Sighing, John didn’t even try to lie about it. He just nodded. “What you saw is true, Ursula. I become a bear at dawn and dusk. Like my father before me.”

  Ursula gasped and shrunk away from him. “And when were you going to tell me this??”

  “As soon as the sun was in the sky.” He looked up at the skylight, then smiled at her. “Now.”

  She scowled at him. “And can you explain this?” She lowered the sheets so he could see her swollen abdomen. “And don’t try to play games with me and tell me that ‘there’s just more to love’ or any of that bullshit. I was not this huge last night. I did not have this belly.” She brought her hands down to it and felt a sudden movement under her skin. “ARGH!!”

  John’s smile ran away from his face. “Oh…” He sat on the bed and brought his hand to her belly as well. “Yeah, this was a possibility. Are you on the pill?”

  She nodded, feeling tears fill her eyes.

  “That won’t help when you mate with me,” he said by way of explanation. “The seed is strong. I should have told you that before, but then you wouldn’t have…”

  “Oh, you think?!” Ursula started to cry. “I didn’t want any of this! What made you think that I would want any of this? I didn’t want to have a baby!”

  John looked like he wanted to correct her and tell her it was technically a cub, but she glared at him, so he didn’t actually say anything.

  Instead, he hugged her in his arms and petted her hair. “It’s going to be okay,” he told her. “I should have told you, but I was afraid that you would run away from m
e like all of the other women in my life. When I saw you at the club that night, I thought you would be different. I knew you were special.”

  She wiped at the tears on her face, even though they were still falling. “Because I’m fat?” she asked. Something about the way she said it made John aware that this was something she had more or less felt her entire life, at least ever since she was old enough to feel as though ‘fat’ was a reason to not be loved by people…

  “No, darling,” he said, rocking her a little in his arms. “Not because you’re fat. Because you are strong and confident. You are beautiful in all of the ways that matter, and you don’t see it. You are perfect, to me. I know this sounds sappy, especially after what you have witnessed and what you must be feeling right now. But it is the truth. I love you, Ursula Blake.”

  How could she believe this man? Was he even a man? She didn’t know what he was, but she was drawn to him inexplicably and unavoidably. She didn’t know if he had some kind of black bear magic voodoo over her or what, but she was not running from him. In fact, when she saw the black bear coming towards her, the first person she thought of trying to run and find was him.

  But the bear was him.

  “Are you yourself, when you…?” She looked into his eyes. They were so calm and gentle looking. Had the bear had those same eyes, or had that been some trick of the early morning light?

  John shook his head, then nodded slightly. “I am and I’m not,” he said. “It is best to not be around me when I’ve shifted. I can get very dangerous very fast. But I am myself in here.” He pointed at his head. “It’s just mixed up with all of these instincts and confusions.”

  Ursula began to feel sorry for him and he sensed it.

  “Please don’t pity me,” he said. “I am what I am.”

  She brought her hand up and caressed his scruffy cheek. “You are,” she said. She brought her face close to his and kissed him softly on the lips. “I think I love you, too,” she whispered. “But I am also so frightened.”