Releasing the Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Callaghan Clan Book 2)

by Meredith Clarke

  “Are you going?” Peter asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Good,” he said as he stood. His knees cracked several times. “Take Scarlett with you.”

  The color in Brennan’s cheeks paled faster than I thought possible for someone already so light-skinned. “It’s okay, sir. I can do this—”

  “It’s not a request,” Peter said, asserting his authority.

  “But…” I tried to think of a reason I shouldn’t be alone with Brennan despite my wolf purring inside for the chance to have him again.

  “Seth will watch over me,” Peter said.

  Seth stood and stepped to the side. “I won’t let anything happen.”

  “I know that, but what about our woods. Those humans trespassed and they—”

  “We’ll take care of it,” my uncle interrupted me again. “I need you to find this video before ISC gets any more involved.”

  I heard the fear in his voice simply because I knew him so well. Where I’d not had any interaction with the ISC, I’d heard stories. And when my uncle learned that they had sent a tiger, and Major Patel at that, he’d immediately clammed up and stopped asking questions. I promised myself I would find out more about his knowledge, ISC, and Major when I could. But for now, it looked like I was going to Anchorage.

  “When do we leave?” I asked Brennan.

  He looked at his phone and then mumbled something under his breath, like he was counting. “I could be back here in an hour.”

  “All right.”

  Addressing my uncle, he added, “I’ll take care of her, don’t worry.”

  Peter laughed. “Oh, I’m not worried about my Scarlett taking care of herself.”

  Brennan couldn’t help but smile as he left the trailer and waved his goodbyes. I started to head out myself, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

  “Scarlett, sit.” My uncle pointed to the couch again. “You, too, Seth.”

  Seth and I looked at each other in fear. My uncle had used his alpha voice and neither one of us could refuse his power. Plopping down side by side, we looked up at him like two children who’d just broken a window. Or killed a deer.

  “How long?” Peter asked.

  “Excuse me?” Seth replied.

  My uncle refocused on me. “How long have you been mated to that bear?”

  Oh shit.

  “I—”

  Peter interrupted me when he pointed a finger at Seth. “And how long have you known?”

  Seth looked at me with wide eyes and shook his head very fast. “I didn’t know they were mated, I swear.” His lips trembled with shock. “I had no idea,” he whispered.

  With a sigh, I figured it was time for me to confess. “It just happened.”

  “When?” Peter demanded.

  “Last night.”

  Seth sucked in a breath but then lowered his gaze when my uncle snapped a glare at him. “How could you let this happen? You were supposed to mate with Seth!”

  “What?” Seth and I shouted together.

  With hands flying through the air, Peter hobbled around the tiny living room floor. “He would have been a good choice for you, Scarlett. He’s large, protective, and has a job.”

  “Just like Brennan,” I said before I could stop myself. My uncle froze in his tracks and I knew I’d crossed the line. “Uncle, you know we can’t control who our animal chooses,” I whispered.

  “I do,” he grumbled.

  “And Brennan is a good mate. His clan is an ally we should have. A mating like this could solidify that bond.”

  “Or it could destroy it,” Peter huffed.

  Seth sat like a statue next to me, too afraid to move. I should have done the same, but now that I’d claimed my mate out loud to my pack leader, I felt like I needed to defend my choice. “They are good people,” I said.

  My uncle left the living room, went to the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge. He rarely drank, and Seth and I shared another worried look as we watched him take a swig. For several minutes, we observed our alpha as he chose his next words.

  “Find these humans, Scarlett. Or it will destroy everything we have.”

  “I will,” I told my uncle.

  “And while you’re gone, I’m going to study our records.”

  “For what?” I asked.

  “To see if an alpha female has ever mated outside of her species before.”

  “Oh.” I couldn’t say anything else as my heart clenched inside my chest. What if no one had done this before? What if he would force me to mate with Seth instead? I looked at my friend and wondered if I could do that. Seth was a beautiful wolf and a solid friend but we’d never been more. Ever. Our animals never wanted that. But as our alpha, my uncle could force that coupling and we would have nothing to say about it. My stomach plummeted at the thought.

  “This stays between the three of us,” Peter demanded. “Understand.”

  “Yes,” we replied together.

  “Now, go.”

  His command washed over us and without saying another word, we left our alpha behind. The walk off the deck and onto the road was riddled with tense silence and I felt Seth’s eyes boring into my back. As soon as my boot crunched on the gravel, I spun on my friend.

  “What?” I asked a little too harsh.

  Seth raised his arms and dropped his gaze. “Relax, Scarlett. I’m not your enemy.”

  With a sigh, I apologized. “I know. I’m sorry. My wolf is so close, and I’m having a hard time keeping her in check lately.”

  “Because of Brennan?” Seth asked quietly. Was that a hint of disappointment I sensed in his voice?

  “That and now all of this human stuff. She’s been very aggressive.” Thinking back to last night and the way I’d acted with Brennan, I realized my wolf was having much more of an influence than I’d ever allowed her before.

  “Will you be okay with him?”

  I looked up into Seth’s light green eyes and saw how honest his concern was. Seth had always been a good friend and I wondered if he’d wanted us to mate like my uncle did. But then I squashed that thought because it would never happen. Especially not now. “I’ll be fine,” I replied with a smile. “I can take care of myself.”

  Seth reached forward and gave me a quick hug—an unusual move for him. He wasn’t one to show affection. “I know you can, but be careful anyway.” With that said, he jogged away and disappeared into his trailer at the end of our property.

  I could take care of myself, right? Danger didn’t scare me. Those humans that snuck onto our property and filmed something sacred didn’t worry me. But could I handle time alone with Brennan again, knowing that my alpha did not approve of this relationship? Was I truly strong enough to go against him?

  As I opened the door to my home and pondered the thousand thoughts swimming through my head, I let my wolf calm me down. She didn’t need to think about all of these extra things. She had her mate and that would solve everything else.

  I waited at the end of the county road that would take me to Scarlett’s home for twenty minutes, not wanting to be too early. When Peter had demanded I take Scarlett to Anchorage with me, I couldn’t believe my luck. I knew I was asking for trouble by putting myself in close proximity to her, but damn it if my bear didn’t want her close by. To protect and to love.

  Love.

  Was I seriously in love with Scarlett? I hardly knew her. No, my human side hardly knew her but my animal had found his mate. And that meant that a human timeline didn’t matter. Finding a mate may take a while, but once one had been selected, there was no turning back. Was it the same for a wolf? I should ask Scarlett. Or should I? What if she wasn’t feeling the same way?

  The alarm on my phone reminded me that I could go pick her up now. I’d told her an hour, but Bo had already had my bags packed and hotel reserved before I even got back to my cabin. It was a bit unusual for my little brother to be so prepared, and I suspected he was up to something. But it was a nice gesture and one I appreci
ated because I had too many thoughts swarming through my mind.

  Sliding my truck into gear, I bounced along the dirt road trying to control my bear and my pounding heart. A part of me wished I would have been able to talk to my brothers about this. While Bo didn’t have a mate yet, he’d certainly been with his fair share of women. And Brandt had wanted Emma as a mate for years. I wondered what they would say to me. Would they support my choice in Scarlett? Or would they try to talk me out of it.

  I had to stop my brain from swirling out of control once I passed the sign for the trailer park. It was still relatively early in the morning yet the Tik’a pack was up and about. Many of the young men were jumping into trucks and SUVs to head into to town for work. A lot of them were employed by our fish processing plants, another reason why this relationship between me and Scarlett could be an issue. Several of the older women were out in their small, manicured lawns digging through their gardens or hanging up clothes to dry.

  As I passed Seth’s trailer, I waved at that large man watching me with a look I couldn’t interpret. He didn’t wave back. My bear bristled inside, wanting to challenge the weaker wolf. But I told him no. And then we saw Scarlett. In her typical black attire, she looked stunning. Black ankle high boots, shorts, and a loose tank top that showed her bra straps. My jeans pulled against my erection. One look at her and I knew I was finished. Her thick, dark hair had been braided quickly and hung over her left shoulder. The sunglasses hid her green eyes but I could feel her staring at me as I drove up in front of her.

  At the trailer with the red door, her uncle stood on his porch. I tried not to make eye contact, but I could feel his dominance wafting through the air. He didn’t smile and Scarlett didn’t say anything to him as she climbed into my truck and threw her bag into the small back seat.

  “Everything okay with you two?” I asked.

  “Huh?” she said, and then followed my gaze toward her uncle. “Oh, yeah. Let’s just get out of here and I’ll tell you on the drive.”

  She didn’t need to tell me twice. I sensed the tension rolling off of her and the only thing my bear wanted to do was protect her. Protect my mate. Touch my mate. I felt the bulge in my jeans move again and hoped that I could keep it under control.

  Scarlett flashed me a look, nostrils flared, but then she resumed gazing out the side window. We drove in silence for thirty minutes. A very uncomfortable silence and I hated myself for not being able to find the words I needed to say to her. Scarlett had changed everything. I wasn’t looking for a mate, even though seeing Brandt finally have his made me jealous of what he’d found with Emma. But if were to have chosen a mate, I certainly wouldn’t have thought I’d pick a wolf.

  We were on the highway and well on our way into the four-hour drive when Scarlett finally spoke. “My uncle knows.”

  I almost lost control of the truck. “What?”

  “He figured it out, and I can’t lie to him.” She continued to stare out the window.

  My head spun and my bear growled deep within my skin. You can claim her now, he screamed in his own way.

  Scarlett cleared her throat and tucked her legs under her. “You smell like bear,” she said.

  “Can’t help it,” I growled.

  “Will you please say something?”

  I looked at her several times in confusion. “I am saying stuff.”

  “No,” she sighed, “say something about this.” Waving her hands between us, she continued. “Say something about us.”

  Swallowing down the bear and my nerves, I focused on the road. “What do you want me to say?”

  “Do you think last night was a mistake?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Do you not want to be my mate?” her voice trembled with that question.

  I snapped my head in her direction, only to see the pain on her face. It broke my heart. Reaching over, I grabbed her hand. “Of course I do.”

  “My uncle wants to check the records to see if a wolf shifter has ever mated with another shifter species before.” She squeezed my fingers.

  “Why?”

  “To determine if he can give his approval or not.” She looked out over my shoulder at Kalgin Island on our left. “My culture doesn’t like to break tradition. I’m an alpha female and my pack leader is supposed to choose my mate for me. In fact,” she shifted in her seat again so that she could watch my reaction, “he’d wanted me to mate with Seth.”

  Anger surged. My bear roared underneath my skin begging me to let him free. “The bouncer?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did Seth know that?” I tried to redirect the emotions by squeezing the steering wheel so hard it creaked under my grip.

  “I don’t think so,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter. My wolf chose you. She chose you weeks ago, it just took me a while to realize it.” Scarlett’s hand squeezed my thigh. “What will Brandt say?”

  I shook my head. “I have no idea.”

  “Does he suspect?”

  “He asked why I smelled like a wolf this morning.”

  Scarlett laughed. “He knows.”

  “Yeah, probably.”

  She slid over into the middle seat next to me and rested her head on my shoulder. She smelled like fur and incense. A scent both my bear and I committed to memory. “What are we going to do?”

  “Tell them to fuck off if they have a problem with us?”

  She laughed again. “That sounds like something I would say.”

  I nestled my cheek against the top of her head and smiled. “Yeah, it definitely sounds more like you.”

  Scarlett slapped my thigh and made a huffing sound. “Thanks a lot.”

  We’d just entered Chugach National Forest and that gave me an idea. “Feel like a detour?”

  “Hmm?” she mumbled.

  My bear needed to run, both to let off some steam and to see what his mate was made out of. I hoped Scarlett would be up for the challenge. “I know a spot. Hold on.”

  A few hundred feet up the road, I turned off the highway and onto a dirt path used only for off-road vehicles. Switching my truck into four-wheel drive, we bounced along the road as it led us deeper into the thick woods.

  Scarlett sat up in her seat and beamed with a wide grin plastered to her face. She reached over and let her window down, brining in the scent of pines and the smell of her excitement. The human in me wanted to pull the truck over right now and throw her into my lap, but the bear wanted to be free of this confined space.

  Leaning out of the window, Scarlett closed her eyes and let the wind blow through her hair. I couldn’t help but wonder if that was a wolf thing and the realization that I knew so little about her shifter culture thrilled me. That meant we would have so much to talk about and learn from each other. We could converse for years. Something I’d never shared with anyone else.

  Driving over bumps, puddles, and small logs in the way, we both enjoyed the wilderness just beyond the reach of our vehicle. Several miles in, I found the spot I’d been looking for. Pulling of the small road and driving through the meadow, I parked the truck underneath a circle of pines that looked as though they’d been planted that way. Blocking us from the road, we now had the privacy both the human and bear wanted.

  Scarlett looked at me with mischief in her eyes. Reaching forward, while still watching me, she took off her boots and lifted her tank top over her head. When I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat to move my boner, her laugh tickled my skin with desire. She pushed her hips up into the air and shimmied out of her shorts. Left only in her bra and panties, her grin grew wider.

  “Come on. Isn’t this what you wanted?” she teased.

  I bent toward her, needing to kiss those lips and her tight stomach. She allowed me the kiss on the lips but then immediately slipped out of the seat and jumped outside. With the door open, and me hanging there like a lost puppy, she removed her bra and stepped out of her panties. “Let’s run.”

  I didn’t need another invitation. Stepping out o
f my truck, I stripped out of my clothes as fast as I could, nearly crashing to the ground when my jeans got stuck on my foot. Scarlett giggled and I told her she better not let me catch her.

  “You think you’re faster than me, grizzly?” She stood by the front of the truck, naked and beautiful with that braid covering one of her breasts—the challenge in her voice a total turn on for me.

  I had to pull my erection out of my boxers before letting them fall to the ground. Scarlett’s eyes followed the movement and I got a scent of her arousal that only enticed me more. “Grizzlies are fast.”

  “Only for short distances,” she teased, walking closer to me. She chose each step carefully, being sure to show me every part of her nakedness. When she got close enough, I gasped as her hand wrapped around my rock hard cock. I was putty under her fingers. “I tell you what, bear. If you can catch me, you can have me.” She pressed up on her toes so that our lips could meet.

  I drove my tongue between her teeth, wanting to taste every part of her. She continued to stroke me, the early signs of moisture helping to lubricate the skin. When she dropped her head and looked down at my length between her fingers, she got that look in her eyes again. The look that told me I was in a world full of trouble with this one.

  Her soft lips brushed against the head of my cock, kissing me gently. I gripped the back of my truck, trying to stay upright even though my legs were weak. I had to be strong. Always strong for my mate.

  Scarlett kissed my stomach and raised her head back up to my chest. She nipped it lightly, a tease and a challenge all the same. “You ready?” she asked with a wicked grin.

  Thinking she was talking about sex, I laughed. “Do I look ready?”

  Stepping away from me, she shook her head. “Not that.” She walked backward. “This.” A second later, a large, jet black wolf burst from her skin and landed in front of me.

  Her emerald eyes, a color I’d never seen before, focused on my own. She whined and wagged her tail. Bending down on her front legs, she yipped again and lifted her butt up into the air. I know I was a grizzly but holy hell was this wolf in front of me an amazing specimen of nature. Her long, black hair shimmered every place the sunlight hit it. Her white canines looked almost too perfect to be real. And her playful movements pulled out the young cub in me. She jumped in the air and turned around, waving that ass in my face again. Then, with one more bark, she took off into the woods.