Timberman Werebear
Page 12
The alpha tipped his chin up and smiled. “Skyler set the precedence for change by joining us as a falcon shifter. It wouldn’t be fair to deny you because of what you are. Human, bear or pterodactyl, it doesn’t matter what you are to us, only that from this day on, you’ll be officially mated to Denison, which makes you one of my people.”
She bit her lip hard against the onslaught of happy tears that fell from her eyes. Denison was claiming her tonight in a way they could both live with, and the Ashe Crew was initiating her as one of their own. The scar on her shoulder didn’t matter. The years of insecurity and pain over the misunderstandings with Denison didn’t matter. All that mattered was right here, standing in front of the people who meant the most, and reciting vows that would bind her to them for always.
And as Skyler and Brooke stood for her, holding bouquets of wild flowers and wiping damp lashes with tissues, she knew she’d stumbled upon a place as close to paradise as existed in this world. And her bliss was a rundown old trailer park in the valley of wild mountains with a timberman werebear who made her feel stronger than she ever imagined she could be.
Denison’s nostrils flared, and he canted his head, ear to the woods. A slow smile crept across his face. Leaning forward, he whispered into her ear. “There’s one last thing.”
Danielle followed his gaze.
Brighton approached from the woods, back straight, chin up, eyes clear and looking much better than the last time she’d seen him at the battle on the landing. He made his way through the hugs and slaps on the back, then gripped the back of Danielle’s neck and pressed his forehead against hers. He moved onto Denison and did the same thing to his brother. Then, he took his place beside her mate to stand in as his best man, and the Ashe Crew was finally whole.
Her heart was overflowing as Tagan began the ceremony.
Denison gripped her hands, steadying her, and mouthed, I love you.
His face was half in shadow as the glowing light from the bonfire illuminated the other side. His eyes were steady on her, full of adoration as he drank her in. Her strong, unwavering mate who’d waited years for her to come back to him.
Her heart was tethered to him so completely she would never feel like an outsider again.
She adored him, needed him. She breathed for his smile and lived for the sound of his laughter.
She beamed as her heart brimmed with happiness.
I love you back.
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Next Up in the Saw Bears Series
Sawman Werebear (Book 4)
Coming April 2015
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Brighton Beck searched for Tagan in the hole-in-the-wall diner he was supposed to meet him. A cloud of smoke plumed from the kitchen as the cook there worked furiously on the lunch rush orders, and trios of hungry patrons talked over green Formica tabletops scattered willy-nilly around the restaurant. When he didn’t see Tagan anywhere, Brighton picked a table right in the middle so his alpha couldn’t bawl him out. Tagan was much better than the last leader of the Ashe Crew. Jed would’ve lost his composure right here in the middle of a bunch of humans if he was mad enough. Tagan wouldn’t do that though. He was wary around humans and didn’t like to draw attention to private shifter affairs.
He should probably man up and just take the verbal lickin’ in the corner booth, but he still didn’t have control over his animal, and he couldn’t let Tagan see how bad off he was. No need for the Crew to worry about him. It wasn’t like they could do anything to fix him, anyway. No one could.
The bell dinged over the front door, and Brighton stopped shredding the napkin in front of him. Tagan’s nostrils flared, and he frowned at a mousy-looking woman at a two-top table beside him, then swung his bright blue gaze to Brighton.
With a nodded greeting, he made his way to the counter and ordered a hamburger and sweet potato fries to go. Even over the noise of the murmured conversation around him, Brighton could make out his request from all the way across the room. He was more in tune to the Ashe Crew. Humans were easy to ignore.
“You look like shit,” Tagan said as he took the seat across from him.
Brighton snorted and leaned forward on his elbows, waiting.
Tagan cocked his head and stared at him for a long time, then mirrored Brighton and leaned toward him. “You know why I called you here?”
To yell at him and order him to come home. He shook his head. At least that was the upside to having a voice. No lies, no shaky words, no way for other shifters to tell when he wasn’t telling the truth.
“You’ve been gone for three months now. You haven’t been returning Denison’s texts, and he’s worried mad about you. Hell, I didn’t even know if you’d show up today. I know the battle at the landing was hard on you. I know seeing that asshole who tortured you was…” Tagan leaned back and ran his hands through his hair, then sighed. “I can’t pretend to understand what that was like, but at some point, we need you back. We’re down a man on the jobsite, Haydan is shite on the processor, Denison isn’t singing at nights anymore without you, and if I’m being honest, the trailer park ain’t the same without you. It’s just not.”
Brighton felt someone watching him and slid his gaze to the woman at the two-top table. She had medium brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, not a stitch of make-up on, and her eyes looked hollow, as if she were sick. She wore a sundress of thin, plum-colored material, and clunky black boots with the laces untied. Cornflower blue irises watched him intently, as if she could hear every word Tagan said. Which she couldn’t because she smelled human, which meant she had dulled senses just like the rest of her kind. Humans were practically deaf.
When he looked at Tagan again, his alpha was staring at him with raised eyebrows, waiting.
Brighton scribbled onto a small notepad, I’m not ready to come home yet.
Tagan crossed his arms and relaxed into his seat. “Brooke’s pregnant.”
Brighton jerked his head up and stared at his alpha in disbelief. Already? But it took shifters years to get pregnant. That’s what he’d been told his entire life, and now Tagan’s mate was going to have a cub. A smile took his face, the first in months, and the stretch of his lips felt good. The Ashe Crew was going to have a cub. He leaned back and looped his fingers behind his head.
Whatever Tagan saw on his face pleased him because the alpha laughed and shook his head. “You should see the shock on your face right now.”
Oh, he didn’t doubt it. Tagan could’ve knocked him over with a blade of wheat right now and he’d go right over. Holy shit. A cub.
“That’s not all. Danielle has chosen not to Turn. Denison is going to propose to her instead. We’re planning the wedding.” The smile slipped from Tagan’s lips. “You need to be there for him. He’s having a hard time, too. I think he’s getting some of those memories from the lab back, but he’s not talking about it to anyone. Apparently stubborn runs in your family.”
Hell, if Denison was getting those memories back, that was a shame. He was the lucky one, repressing what had happened when they were experimented on. Denison deserved to be happy with his mate. She was good for him—always had been.
When? he scribbled across the second line of the ruled notepad he always carried in his back pocket.
“Next Friday night.”
I’ll be there. Of course he would be there. It was Denison, his twin brother. He’d die for him, and he’d die for Danielle, too. They were the best part of his life.
The cashier called out Tagan’s name, and he stood, then clapped Brighton on the shoulder. “It’s good to see you, man. We’ve missed you.”
Emotion thickened in his throat as he watched Tagan grab the to-go bag of food and leave the restaurant.
Brighton went back to shredding the napkin as he thought about all that had happened
at the trailer park since he’d been on his bender. No, not him. His friggin’ bear. His inner monster had been on a rampage, forcing him to Change constantly. He couldn’t let the boys see how bad it was for him right now. Until he found some kind of compromise with the snarling animal inside of him, going back to the Ashe Crew for good was off the table.
“Can I eat beside you?” a timid female voice asked.
Brighton jerked his attention to the mousey woman, who was now standing beside his table, holding a basket with a half-eaten hamburger in it.
He scented the air again, but she still smelled like a human, and right now, he trusted them about as far as he could throw them. He shook his head and watched her face fall.
She made to go, but stopped. “If you don’t talk none, I don’t mind. I don’t talk much neither.” Her accent thickened the more she spoke.
He gave her a hard glare and gritted his teeth. Times like these made him wish he still had a voice just so he could tell her to piss off and bother someone else.
“It’s just, I feel better around you.”
Brighton narrowed his eyes. What a strange thing to say to someone she didn’t know from Adam. He could see she was sick from the way her bones stuck out and from the way the dress she wore swallowed her up. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days, and deep, dark circles marred what would’ve been a pretty face. Whatever was wrong with her, he couldn’t help her. He couldn’t even help himself right now.
Brighton shook his head again in denial, and her shoulders slumped.
“Thanks, anyway,” she murmured, then made her way back to her table, clutching the plastic red basket with her lunch in it.
He needed to leave, but something about that girl made him sit glued to his chair. There was something strange about her. Not her, but in the air around her. He could sense these tiny vibrations wafting from her skin, but she didn’t look uncomfortable or overly stressed. Just sad.
But the more he stared, the harder the air that hovered just above her skin shook. Suddenly, she looked up at him, wide-eyed, then went rigid and collapsed onto the floor.
He was to her in moments but hell if he knew what to do. Her hands were clenched, her back arched back, and her face was a mask of fear as her body seized. She couldn’t go on like this forever, could she?
“Oh my God, what’s happening to her?” a man with an oversize paunch and a serious case of body odor asked from above them. “Someone call 911!”
The woman’s eyes were closed tightly now as her body convulsed. Panicked, he lifted her head off the tile floor and yanked his belt off in one smooth motion, then shoved the leather between her teeth. Seconds dragged on as he covered her with his body, stroking her hair out of her face and wishing he had a voice to murmur nonsensical things to her.
Her body drew in on itself, finally relaxing from the seizure, and she gasped. As Brighton leaned over her, cradling her head, she opened her eyes, and he froze. They churned silver, like mercury, and now he smelled it. Fur.
He didn’t know how she was doing it, but she’d been repressing an animal inside of her, and now her inner beast was clawing to get out.
This woman wasn’t human at all.
She was a damned grizzly in disguise.
Other Books by T. S. Joyce
Bear Valley Shifters
The Witness and the Bear (Book 1)
Devoted to the Bear (Book 2)
Return to the Bear (Book 3)
Betray the Bear (Book 4)
Redeem the Bear (Book 5)
Bear Valley Valentine (Valentine’s Day Novella)
Hells Canyon Shifters
Call of the Bear (Book 1)
Fealty of the Bear (Book 2)
Avenge the Bear (Book 3)
Claim the Bear (Book 4)
Heart of the Bear (Book 5)
Wolf Brides
Wolf Bride (Book 1)
Red Snow Bride (Book 2)
Dawson Bride (Book 3)
Standalone Shifter Romance
Coveted by the Bear
Amazon
Standalone Contemporary Romance
Shelter Me Home
Amazon
About the Author
T. S. Joyce
T.S. Joyce is devoted to bringing hot shifter romances to readers. Hungry alpha males are her calling card, and the wilder the men, the more she'll make them pour their hearts out. Experienced at handling an alpha male of her own, she lives in a tiny town, outside of a tiny city, and devotes her life to writing big stories. Foodie, bear whisperer, ninja, thief of tiny bottles of awesome smelling hotel shampoo, nap connoisseur, movie fanatic, and zombie slayer, and most of this bio is true.
Bear Shifters? Check
Smoldering Alpha Hotness? Double Check
Sexy Scenes? Fasten up your girdles, ladies and gents, it’s gonna to be a wild ride.
For more information about T. S. Joyce and her work, visit her website here.
Contents
Other Books in the Saw Bears Series
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Newsletter Sign-Up
Next Up in the Saw Bears Series
Other Books by T. S. Joyce
Hells Canyon Shifters
Wolf Brides
Standalone Shifter Romance
Standalone Contemporary Romance
About the Author
Table of Contents
Other Books in the Saw Bears Series
Copyright
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Epilogue
Newsletter Sign-Up
Next Up in the Saw Bears Series
Other Books by T. S. Joyce
Hells Canyon Shifters
Wolf Brides
Standalone Shifter Romance
Standalone Contemporary Romance
About the Author