Red's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tales)

by Hines, Yvette

  Snuggling closer to him, her mind couldn’t help but consider what life would be like with Cord. As she lay there thinking about them, she couldn’t get the vision of those bears on the dock out of her mind. Just wanting a few more moments of peace before she had to face the world and even her own questions, she took a deep breath and gathered her man’s natural musk. She truly did love how he smelled. However, this morning his scent was the same but different. More pungent, earthy and unrefined. But it didn’t deter her from snuggling closer to him and enjoying hearing the strong rhythm of his heartbeat.

  Something was tickling her nose. She moved her head, but the tickling was there too. Opening her eyes to discover, what it was, she saw nothing but fur. Thick light brown fur. She blinked, trying to clear her vision, but when she looked again it was still there.

  Had it been cold last night? Did Cord put a bear skin blanket on the bed?

  Leaning away, she was prepared to locate him under the mound of fur and awaken him, then the fur covered body shifted and the darkest pair of coal eyes were staring at her. A bear, not a man.

  Frozen, not wanting to make any sudden movements, she watched it stretch and yawn. The sight of over thirty teeth less than a foot away from her face, kept her still.

  Oh, shit? She reacted instantly as fear ran through her veins, chilling her core.

  Scrambling backwards off the bed, she tried to get as far away from it as possible without taking her eyes off the massive animal. When her back hit the wall, she sat there attempting to figure out her best chances of escape. There wasn’t a single weapon close at hand.

  Oh, my God where is Cord? Did it eat him?

  On the bed still, the bear sat up on his haunches and stared at her.

  She stared back.

  He advanced, not coming off the bed yet but moving to the edge.

  She pressed further into the wall, wishing the wall would just open up and swallow her, before she was swallowed by a ferocious beast.

  The big bear titled its head and eyed her, as if she was the strange one in the room.

  He’s probably trying to figure out what part of me he wants to start chewing first, Rena thought. Her chest felt tight, she tried to take a steady breath to keep her mind clear to plan an escape.

  When he leaned forward as if he was going to come over the side of the bed, she screamed. A sound that came out more as a broken whimper.

  Stopping, his gaze met hers again and she would have sworn there was something in his eyes that almost looked like concern.

  But that’s impossible. Why would this bear be concerned about his prey?

  Then before her eyes, something happened. There was a shimmering of his fur and the next thing she knew Cord was sitting on the bed in its place.

  What in the hell was happening? Oh, God, I must still be sleeping and I’m dreaming. That was the only explanation that made sense on why a bear was Cord/Cord was a bear. Feeling lightheaded, she closed her eyes and took in several breaths.

  Please let me wake up or open my eyes and see that I’m still snuggled in bed beside Cord.

  “Rena, it’s okay.”

  Hearing his voice, she sighed and lifted her lids. However, when she did nothing had changed. He was still on the edge of the bed staring at her like she was a skittish kitten. She shook her head, feeling another scream starting to well up.

  “Sweetheart, it’s not a dream.” His voice was low, cautious. “I’m a bear…a shifter.”

  Her head shook hard. No. He was either crazy or she was having a full blown meltdown brought on by her year-long illness. Hell maybe her mother was correct, she was allergic to honey and seafood, but it didn’t cause hives but insanity.

  Please someone direct me to the nearest mental institution.

  Leaning forward, he slipped his feet to the floor at the side of the bed. “I need you to listen to me. Calm down.”

  Oh, hell no, this was not a calm down moment, but a get the fuck out of dodge moment. Taking her own advice she started edging slowly toward the archway of his room.

  “Stop, Rena!” he commanded.

  Angry at his tone, she snapped her head in his direction and pinned him with a look.

  “I didn’t want you to find out this way…” Frustrated, he rubbed his hands back and forth over his hair. “It’s not uncommon after a night like we had that our bears take over while we sleep to help restore our strength. I need you to change so we can talk.” He rose, standing.

  He was speaking gibberish, nonsense. Change? Oh, don’t worry buddy, I plan to get my clothes on and leave. She scooted closer to the exit.

  “I didn’t want to do it this way but I’m not the only shifter in the room. Look at your hands.”

  My hands? What is he trying to pull—

  Her thoughts broke off as she glanced down. Before her eyes weren’t her hands as she had expected, but paws. Large brown paws covered in fur. As her gaze continued to travel along the strange form she seemed to be encased in, she saw a great girth.

  No, no, no, no… The sound ripped from her chest was a half cry/half whine.

  This wasn’t any kind of dream, this was a nightmare. She needed to get out of here. Turning, she bolted.

  “Rena!”

  She refused to stop. Instead of heading through the archway she raced to the patio doors still wide open from their lovemaking session there last night. Not concerned that she was on the second floor, she launched herself over the railing.

  Sailing through the air, her paws hit the ground with a thud. She felt a jolt in her muscles from the impact, but uninjured she kept moving. Sprinting into the woods she ran, no thought to where she was going she just needed to get far away from this bearman…from herself.

  “Reennnaa!”

  There was an agony in his voice that squeezed at her hurt, but she kept up the fast pace through the woods.

  ~YH~

  Seeing his life mate jump from his porch and run away from him, Cord vaulted into the air and shifted mid-flight. He was running the instant his four large paws hit the ground.

  Shit. This was not how he had seen this day going. He’d wanted to awaken Rena with slow loving then hold her and slowly explain about their kind. Yesterday, she’d started exhibiting all of her Were traits, but he never anticipated that they would shift during the night. That she would shift. He’d told her right about why they’d taken on their bear form, but now he had to get her to calm down and listen to him so that he could guide her into shifting back.

  Keeping his mate in sight, he raced through the woods for miles, following her lead. She ran in an odd pattern, going first in one direction only to zigzag around and head the opposite way. He knew she was confused. She didn’t know these woods and had no clue where she was going. Finally, she arrived at the river. He saw her look from left to right, then lift her snout in the air deciding on a direction.

  He figured she’d picked up a familiar scent, her grandmother’s cabin. He kept the distance between them wide so that she was far enough away that she wouldn’t spook and end up doing something that may get her hurt, like running into the road. Even that thought caused his gut to ache. He needed to have faith in them. They’d work this all out.

  They had to.

  When he finally arrived at Genma’s home, Rena was standing by the front door whining and pawing the handle. It broke his heart to see her struggle to get inside the only place that was a safe haven for her.

  Approaching slowly, he waited until she saw him and then he shifted. Letting her see the simplicity of the action.

  Her crying grew louder and her scratching at the door more urgent.

  “Rena, I need you to listen to me.” He moved in closer.

  The door opened with Genma standing in the opening. “Rena...?”

  Unsure, he saw Rena edge back from her grandmother.

  Genma was joined by his grandmother. Octavia looked past the bear on the porch to him. “Cord, what’s going on? What happened?”

  How was
he supposed to explain the last two days to his grandmother and her best friend? With all of his concentration and focus centered on Rena he had missed his grandmother’s dark green SUV parked in the driveway. Exhaling he knew this was not the time to be concerned with anyone but Rena.

  “Red, come inside—” Genma began.

  “No!” he barked, he needed to see this through. When Genma and his grandmother eyed him, both women with their hands on their hips looking like they were ready to issue out lectures, he said, “Give me a moment.”

  Moving to the steps, he gazed up into the scared eyes of his life mate. He had to do this. She may not want to be anywhere around him, but if he walked away now, there may never be a chance for him to win her trust.

  “Red, sweetheart, I know you’re confused and afraid.” He spoke low, keeping all the tension he felt coiled along his spine out of his voice.

  She glanced toward the woods. He thought she would bolt again, but she slowly returned her gaze back to him.

  “You can retake your human form, the first time you do it…it will feel odd, strange and your bear may try to fight the shifting, but you can do it. I know you can.” It broke his heart to know that Rena had been so unprepared for this moment. Why her family hadn’t told her who she was, what she was, he didn’t understand.

  Her multicolored eyes still locked on him, he continued. “I need you to imagine yourself. Your human form. See your long thick ebony curls and your beautiful limbs and sienna-brown skin that’s smooth, supple and lovely.”

  He noticed the slight shimmer around her. It started and stopped, but he could tell she was trying hard to follow his words.

  He was thankful the two older women stood in silence, allowing him this time to help his mate alone.

  Continuing to guide her through her first shift, he went on. “See your oval face with its perfect nose and wide, full mouth. Your high breasts and the sensuous curve of your hips that flow beguilingly into the thick thighs that a man could find solace between.”

  One final quiver of her fur and his Rena was sitting on the porch before him. Tears were running down her face. Those eyes that had been hazel were still. Not the trademark onyx. He wanted to reach out and pull her in his arms.

  Before he could, Genma squatted down beside her and helped her to her feet then wrapped her supportive arms around her. “It will be okay, Rena. Grandmother is here.”

  Burying her face in her grandmother’s shoulder, Rena’s cries became louder.

  The sound racked his soul. He wished he’d been the one she’d turned to.

  When she was led into the cabin out of his sight, Cord moved his gaze to his grandmother. So many questions rolled around in his head.

  Octavia moved to the top step. “Cord, you should come in. We all need to talk.”

  He shook his head. “Not now, Nana. I’m the last person she wants to see. You all take care of her.” Turning, he headed back toward the lake path then stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “Nana, I’m not sure what the story is here. Why Rena was sequestered away from her Were identity, but she should have some answers. The truth.”

  With a slow nod, his grandmother held his gaze. “She’ll have it.”

  Inhaling, he shifted and took off. He dragged his bear away from the one place he wanted to be, with his life mate. However, Cord knew this was not the right time. He just hoped that this wasn’t the last time he saw Rena like when they were younger and she’d been ripped from him.

  That thought shot an arrow of pain into his heart causing his paws to stumble. Even as apprehension gripped his heart, he had to believe in them.

  Chapter Ten

  Opening her eyes, the first thing Rena did was glance at her hands. Relief showered down on her mind. Still human. Unsure of how long she’d been asleep, she pushed her body into a sitting position. She was in her room at her grandmother’s house. Waking up without Cord caused her heart to ache, but there were too many questions that lay between them for her to seek him out. She needed to discover who she was. Get truth were there had been an abundance of lies.

  Not wanting to play the convalescent any further, she tossed the covers away and got up. In the bathroom she washed her face and paused as she saw that there was a different set of eyes that stared back at her. All her life she’d seen her own reflection and had seen hazel eyes, the same color as her father’s looking back at her, but no longer. Her irises were still hazel, but there were flecks of red in them. A color that had not been there before she’d taken a bear’s form. She noted it wasn’t the same coal black as her mother’s, her grandmother’s, Cords or everyone else’s in Den County. She wondered if they would become golden like Cord’s did when he desired her. One clue, their eyes, had been staring back at her this whole time and she’d missed it. What else have I missed?

  Brushing her teeth, she opened her mouth wide and checked them. Everything seemed to be the same. Then she recalled the situation in the truck with Cord, the cut on his finger and how she’d had the instinct to place it in her mouth to heal it.

  Just the thought of what happened made her gums tingle and a small burn started around her teeth. When she opened her mouth again she saw them, six of her teeth had extended in length.

  Incisors. Canines. Confirmed the voice that had been speaking to her since she’d arrived in Den.

  She knew what that voice was now, her bear. An animal that was a part of her, but held its own identity at the same time.

  Seeing her bear’s teeth and thinking of the cut on Cord’s finger, her mind flashed an image of her and him making love. Recalling his strong arms around her as he thrust deep inside her sex while his teeth sank into her shoulder, her body shuddered. She’d thought he was giving her a deep hickey. Twisting to the side, she looked at her right shoulder and sure enough there was a bite mark there. Healed but very visible.

  Unsure how to get her teeth to retract at first, she stood there then recalled Cord’s calm voice telling her to imagine how she wanted to change. Trying it again, she pictured her human teeth and was impressed with herself when the sharp points were gone.

  She needed answers. Quickly, she showered and dressed in a blouse and jeans. Leaving the room, she went in search of her grandmother. She located her and Octavia in the living room sipping tea.

  “Good morning, Rena.” Turning to gaze at her as she approached, her grandmother greeted her, softly.

  “Hello, Rena.” Octavia nodded, a kind smile on her face.

  Rena didn’t care for the look either woman was giving her, as if they thought she was fragile and may fall apart at any moment. It was how her mother had always treated her.

  “I want to talk, and when I’m finished with my questions I need to go into town,” she explained.

  “Okay, please sit.” Her grandmother pointed to the vacant seat on the couch that was closest to her.

  Octavia had been curled up on the far end, but she rose. Walking over to Rena, she took hold of her shoulders. “You look wonderful. I’m so glad you’re better. Now, I can leave.”

  Frowning, Rena asked, “How long have I been asleep?”

  Cord’s grandmother cupped her face. “Just since yesterday morning. But, I’m sure you and your bear needed that time to align.”

  Having to take her word for it, Rena just stared at the sympathetic woman. “You don’t have to leave. I don’t think any of my questions would come as a shock to you.”

  “Probably not. However, I have some business of my own to take care of at the moment.” Kissing her on the cheek, Octavia walked over to Genma and hugged her best friend.

  Genma rose and escorted Octavia to the door, her arm around her friend’s waist as they walked. “I appreciate you staying until she woke.”

  “Of course, I promised I would help care for her. We both have some explaining to do. I’ll talk to you soon.” Octavia pulled the door open.

  Genma waved her friend away, then closed the door.

  Rena felt too agitated to sit, but sh
e did it anyway. She needed to show her control over her emotions. Even though inside she felt like a cherry bomb had been let off inside of her and was spinning around waiting to explode.

  “Seeing the color of her eyes, I think it goes without saying that Octavia is the same thing as you are.”

  “As we are.” Her grandmother emphasized.

  Rena understood the message loud and clear. Shaking her head she sighed. This was something she had to come to terms with. She was no longer the same. Hell, she had never been who she thought she was, anyway.

  Tilting her head, her grandmother gazed at her, sharply assessing Rena’s eye color. “Unique coloring, but fitting. I believe your birthmark, a bear paw, was a deeper marking, probably because you’re a half-blood.”

  A bear paw. Rena had never even considered that’s what the odd red shape on her hip was. Another clue on her own body she had missed. Staring into the empty fireplace, Rena asked, “Where do Weres come from? How did we start this transition?”

  “We’ve always been a part of the world, since the Great Spirit created the Earth. Just like there are different races, size and shapes of people and species and animals in the world, there are shifters. Of all kinds.”

  “What?” Rena turned to face her grandmother. “There are Weres that aren’t bears?”