Bear West: BBW Bear Shifter Mail Order Bride Romance

by Chant, Zoe

  Carla needs me, he thought. I don’t know how, or why, but if anyone has hurt my mate, I’m going to kill them.

  He was driving past an unremarkable hill, a sharp crest of gravel and sandy dust that looked exactly like every other hill outside of Pioche, when his bear roared, There! Mate!

  Diego slammed on the brakes and pulled his truck over to the shoulder of the road, leaving a streak of black rubber on the asphalt and raising a thick cloud of dust from the dirt. He launched himself out of the truck, not bothering to lock the door behind him, and raced up the hill.

  It was like his chest had a compass in it, one that pointed straight toward his mate, and all he had to do was follow it. It wasn’t a feeling a human would have been able to understand, but Diego was more than human: he was a bear. And right now, he was a pissed off bear, one who cared about nothing except for finding his mate and protecting her.

  He reached the top of the hill and there, on the other side, was Carla, surrounded by most of the Sullivan wolf pack. He’d barely registered the sight before his bear exploded out of him.

  Normally shifting was a long, slow process that required Diego to focus on the feeling of being a bear, but this change happened in seconds. His bones lengthened, his muscles extended, fur grew from his skin until he was entirely covered. He dropped from two legs down onto four, and by the time his hands hit the dirt, they’d become paws. Nearly a ton of grizzly bear landed, enough to shake the ground.

  Diego roared, his fury echoing off the hills. The people below simultaneously swung around to face him. Diego started for the one who was holding his mate; faced with an oncoming angry grizzly, the man immediately let go of Carla and took a few steps back, then transformed into a wolf.

  Carla screamed at the sight, but Diego had no time to reassure her. Two of the other Sullivans also changed, moving to either side of their brother to back him up. They snarled and snapped at the air, but none of them wanted to be the first to attack a bear, and so they stayed back, waiting for an opening.

  The one shifter still in human form lunged toward Diego’s mate. It was the alpha – Seth, the human part of Diego thought – and he caught Carla by the upper arm, yanking her toward him with a fierce grip. He pulled her around to shield himself, one arm across her throat. Diego roared again and clawed at the ground, but he didn’t dare do anything that might put his mate in danger.

  “Stay back!” the alpha wolf shouted. “Leave, and I’ll let her go – ” his threat broke off suddenly in a yowl, as Carla bit down hard on his hand. His grip must have loosened, because she broke away and managed to put a few feet between them.

  That was all the opportunity Diego needed. He sprang forward, slapping at the alpha wolf with a paw the size of a dinner plate, his claws fully extended. He put enough force behind the blow to send the alpha flying several feet before he hit the ground with a thump. He rolled over and over, and by the time he came to a stop, he had become a wolf. Diego had hoped he would knock him unconscious, but the wolf climbed back to his feet, shaking his head before crouching down in preparation for a leap.

  Diego had given too much of his attention to the alpha. Another one of the wolves lunged at him from behind, getting his fangs into Diego’s hind leg. Roaring with anger, Diego spun and knocked that one off, but then it seemed as though wolves were coming at him from every direction.

  Diego turned from one side to another as swiftly as he could, swatting at any wolf within reach and occasionally managing to catch one in his jaws. There were four wolves and only one bear, but wolves weren’t meant to take on grizzlies. He had them outclassed in every way: weight, reach, speed, and most definitely strength.

  Diego let his bear’s instincts take over, and stopped thinking like a human. In the animal world, there was only action and reaction; smells and sounds that told him more than eyes could. There was a flow to the battle, and he felt as though he could sense each attack before it actually came.

  Lost in that space where only the present moment existed, it was hard to tell how much time had passed, but Diego thought it had only been a minute or two before the fight was over. He had won.

  The wolves backed up out of range. Each one limped or favored one side, and blood showed through their fur where they’d been scratched or bitten. Diego reared back up onto his hind legs, all nine feet of grizzly bear towering above his enemies, and roared out his triumph.

  One wolf whined pitifully, his ears low and his tail between his legs. They all moved away cautiously, afraid to turn their backs on him, and then turned and ran over the crest of the hill.

  Diego thudded back onto his feet and slowly began to take stock of his injuries. He was winded, he’d been nipped in at least a dozen places, and his head hurt. Nothing too bad, but before he could take care of himself, he needed to make sure that his mate was okay.

  Unlike the wolves, she hadn’t run away. She stood halfway up the hill, well out of range of the fight. Her hands were up by her face, covering her mouth in shock. He could smell fear coming off of her, but at least she was still there.

  Diego took a slow, careful step in her direction. His mate lowered her hands, staring at him. “Diego?” she whispered.

  He couldn’t speak while he was in bear form. All he could do was walk slowly forward, trusting that his mate would recognize him. She stood strong, making him proud. She even took a few steps toward him. She reached out one hand – she was shaking slightly, but she set it on his broad shoulder without flinching. When he stayed still, she began to stroke him, running her fingers through his fur.

  “Oh my God,” she said, speaking more to herself than to him. “You’re real. This is really happening.”

  Her touch was so soothing, it felt like it alone could heal him from the fight. Diego tossed his head, pressing his muzzle against her hand. Carla startled back, but only for a moment, and then she reached out again. This time she laughed as she stroked him.

  “I can’t believe this,” she said. “I saw it with my own eyes, and I still – I never knew that magic was real!” Diego recognized the wonder and the wariness in her voice; it was the same way he had felt the first time he shifted. A whole new world had opened itself up to him.

  He’d experienced that same miracle again more recently: the first time he saw Carla. He had never really thought that he would meet his mate, but here she was. And with her, it felt like everything had changed – that possibilities he had never imagined had appeared, that there were new colors in the sky and new scents in the air.

  When he was in human shape, Diego had doubts about how to make a relationship work between two people who hardly knew each other, worries about how a shifter and a regular human might misunderstand one another. But as a bear, he felt only love.

  9. Carla

  Carla knew it was dangerous to be anywhere near a wild grizzly bear, but she felt no fear. Everything she knew about the world had been turned upside down today.

  It sounded ridiculous, but when she looked at the bear’s face, it was Diego’s eyes that she saw. Those gorgeous brown eyes, flecked with amber, which had always looked at her with such concern and desire and love, that looked at her like she was something precious. It had to be Diego. No one else looked at her that way.

  “My knight in shining armor,” she murmured, not quite sure why she was talking out loud. Could Diego even understand her, in bear shape? “Or maybe I should say knight in brown fur. You showed up just when I needed you.”

  Tears stung her eyes, and Carla leaned forward and embraced the bear. It was crazy – who hugged a grizzly bear? – but it felt right. This was where she belonged.

  The bear was so big that her hands didn’t meet, and his shoulder was just the right height to bury her face, even though she was standing up and he was on all fours. He was warm, and his fur was much softer than it looked. She could feel the immense muscles ripple beneath her touch when the bear shifted slightly to better accommodate her.

  It was intoxicating, being this clos
e to a grizzly bear: beneath her hands was all the power and wilderness and strength she could ever need. When she had pressed as close to him as she could, she took a deep breath, and was rewarded with the smell she had already come to recognize as Diego’s personal scent: leather and cedar and juniper. She realized that other element, the one she hadn’t been able to identify before, was the earthy scent of bear.

  This was the secret Diego had been keeping. No wonder he'd been reluctant to tell her. But, strange as it seemed, Carla had no problems with it. Diego Ramirez, her handsome mail-order husband, was also a bear. So what? She still wanted to marry him.

  There was a strange sensation, a rushing, shimmering sound, and a shock like static electricity, and suddenly Carla was no longer holding a bear, but instead her arms were around a very human – and very naked – Diego. He smiled at her, his own arms coming up to embrace her.

  Without a word, they kissed, a deep, passionate kiss. Carla’s hands searched out Diego’s shoulders – his broad, muscled shoulders, like rock under her palms – and she held onto him as hard as she could. He pulled her closer to him in response, forcing her head to tilt back to continue the kiss. Carla closed her eyes, overwhelmed by feelings of happiness. It was a long, long time before they finally broke apart.

  She let her eyes slowly open, and then suddenly gasped. Diego was covered with marks from the fight – red spots that would surely turn into bruises, scrapes and scratches, even a few punctures deep enough that blood was trickling down his limbs.

  “You’re hurt!” she said.

  Duh, Carla, of course he’s hurt! You watched him fight off an entire wolf pack.

  Diego just smiled and shook his head. “I’m feeling better already.”

  Part of her melted, but she refused to be distracted. “Do you need to go to the hospital? Or a doctor?”

  “No, no, I’ll be fine. We shifters heal fast.”

  “If you’re sure....” she said uncertainly. “It looks pretty bad.”

  “I’m sure. Besides, I really don’t want to explain how I happened to be attacked by wolves. Then animal control will get involved, or maybe even the police – it’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

  “If you say so. But we need to get you cleaned up and bandaged, at least. Let’s go back to my hotel. It’s closer than your house.”

  Diego let Carla drive his truck. She glanced worriedly at him while she found the keys and started the engine; he had practically collapsed into the passenger seat, and now was slumped against the door, his eyes closed. Exhaustion and pain had put extra lines on his face, and made his lips look pale and thin. She swallowed down her worry and concentrated on driving back to Pioche.

  Once they arrived, they had to smuggle Diego into her room without anyone seeing; he was still naked, after all. They managed not to get caught, or at least Carla hoped they had.

  With my luck, she thought, I’ll probably come down to breakfast tomorrow and Susie at the front desk will have some smart-aleck comment to make about cowboys without their boots.

  Even as she had the thought, Carla smiled. She wouldn’t really mind if Susie teased her. Carla was growing to love Pioche and all of its people. When she pictured the future, she saw herself here, complete with friends and inside jokes and a whole community.

  She pushed aside that daydream and focused on the present. Diego was sprawled across the hotel bed, half-sitting and half-lying. He’d put his head back, exposing his throat, and Carla stood still for a moment, watching him.

  She was touched by how vulnerable he looked, despite his size and strength. She knew what he was capable of, had seen the bear that lurked beneath his skin, but she didn’t feel a single drop of fear. He was... what was the word? Her soulmate? She’d never believed in such things before, but then, she’d never felt such a quick connection with anyone either. Somehow Diego had become part of her, as important as her own skin and bones.

  Carla shook her head and stepped into the bathroom. She pulled a towel off the rack and soaked it in lukewarm water, checking to be sure it was neither too hot nor too cold. She carried it back to Diego, holding it carefully to keep it from dripping on the carpet.

  A few drops fell on him nonetheless, and he opened his eyes. As soon as their gazes met, an expression of warmth and contentment spread across his face, and her heart thumped hard just to see it.

  She looked down to stop herself from saying something too emotional, and gently began to clean off the dried blood and dirt from Diego’s arm. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

  “Hey, it’s the least I can do. You saved my life, remember?”

  Diego frowned. “It was my fault that you were in danger in the first place. They only wanted you to get at me.”

  “You shouldn’t blame yourself. They’re the bad guys.” As Carla wiped away the blood, it looked like Diego’s wounds were less serious than they had seemed earlier. Or maybe they’d healed already. What did she know about how shifters worked? “We do need to talk, though. The Sullivans – they changed into wolves. That did happen, right? I wasn’t hallucinating?”

  Diego put his hand over hers, stopping her motions. “You weren’t hallucinating. Shifters are real. The Sullivans have lived in this territory for generations. They consider it theirs, even though they haven’t been taking care of it. They prefer to rely on the land their ancestors won instead of doing any work themselves.”

  He took a deep breath before going on, and Carla sensed that his injuries were still bothering him. “They weren’t very pleased when I moved in. They’ve been trying to scare me away, but when that didn’t work, they moved on to you.” He squeezed his eyes shut in a grimace of regret. “I should have warned you. I never expected them to sink this low – ”

  “Hey, hey,” Carla said. She turned her hand over and let the towel slip from her grasp so that she could thread her fingers through Diego’s. “It’s okay. Why did they come after me, anyway? I’m not a shifter.”

  Diego’s fingers tightened on hers. “No, but....”

  “What is it?”

  “You’re my mate. Or, well, you could be. If you wanted.”

  Carla looked up at him. Diego’s eyes were focused somewhere over her right shoulder, almost as though he was afraid of how she might react.

  “What does that mean, ‘mate’?” She picked the towel back up as she asked the question, and started to clean Diego again. She’d finished with his left arm, so she moved to his other side.

  “It’s a shifter thing,” he said, speaking quietly and slowly, as though he was considering each word before he said it. “Every shifter has a destined mate out there, somewhere in the world. Lots of shifters never meet their mates – it’s a matter of chance. Your mate might live on another continent, or speak a different language, or maybe even....”

  He swallowed before finishing. “Maybe even die before you ever meet.”

  Carla nodded as she listened. What if Diego had died before they’d met? The thought seemed devastating, but of course she wouldn’t have known what she was missing. Still, when she thought back on her life before meeting him, just a few short days ago, it seemed so empty, so lonely, so much less than what she had now.

  “I’d pretty much given up on finding my mate. I wouldn’t have signed up for Ranch Romeos if I hadn’t. But when I saw you in that airport – I knew from the first instant our eyes met.” A flush crept up Diego’s chest to his cheeks.

  He’s actually blushing!, Carla thought. It was adorable.

  “I know it sounds cheesy,” he continued, “but love at first sight is real. At least for shifters. As soon as we see our mates, we know. And once we’ve seen them, there will never be anyone else for us.”

  “That’s... that’s amazing,” Carla said. “But why does that mean the Sullivans wanted me?”

  Diego reached out and pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear. His fingers lingered on her cheek, and she leaned her face into his touch.

  “For shifters, mating isn’t
just about love. Once we find our mate, and once we’ve bonded with her, we can sense one another: their feelings, their location, if they’re in danger. And we become much stronger. If you and I had bonded, the Sullivans would never be able to push me off my territory. They’d do anything to prevent that.”

  “Well then, let’s do it,” Carla said recklessly. After all, what did they have to wait for? She knew Diego's secret, and this seemed like the solution to all of her problems; if she could sense Diego, she’d never have to worry that he would abandon her.

  Diego blinked at her in shock. “I – this is a really big decision. You don’t know what you’re agreeing to. Bonding is for life. You should take some time to think about it.”

  Carla clenched her fist around the towel. “I’m sure. I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I was ready to marry you even before the Sullivans attacked. I feel it too, Diego; ever since I saw you, I’ve had this feeling that we belonged together. I didn’t have words for what I sensed, but now I do. You and I – we’re mates. I believe that. Don’t you?”

  He nodded, his eyes blazing. “I do. I absolutely do, with my whole heart.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?”

  Diego caught the back of her head and tugged her forward into a fierce kiss. Carla kissed him back just as hard, pouring all of her love and desire and want into the spot where their mouths met. When she finally pulled back, she was panting. “So, how do we do this? What makes the bonding happen?”

  Diego was staring at her like he couldn’t tear his gaze away. He took her by the arms and pulled her up so that she was kneeling over him on the bed, then took hold of the hem of her shirt and pulled it off over her head. He kissed her neck, her shoulders, the upper curves of her breasts, as his hands trailed down her back and took a firm grip on her ass.

  He lifted his head to kiss her mouth again, then said, “All you have to do is say yes.”