Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2)

by Terry Bolryder

  Bronson nodded. “I’ve been thinking of expanding. Bringing in a couple of new guys from the unit to help out with bodyguard details as well.”

  “Hercules would be great,” Limes said.

  “Yeah,” Bronson said. “If we could get him.”

  “Anyway, you’ve got the help you need,” Limes said. “I have a date with Hawaii.”

  Bronson groaned. “Fine, fine. Go enjoy a couple of weeks of sunshine with your girl. You two deserve it, after what you’ve been through.”

  “Thanks,” Limes said, reaching out a hand for the other man to shake. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Bronson just waved him away, but Limes could tell from the faint smile on his face that Bronson was happy for him in finding Jamie. And happy for the two of them that they finally had more than just work in their lives.

  He walked out into the waiting room and saw her leaning over the counter, talking to Carrie. The two girls were already becoming fast friends.

  “You ready to go?” he asked.

  “Hawaii,” Carrie said, turning to Cage, who was sitting behind the desk, watching his mate. “Why don’t you take me there?”

  “I will,” he said, standing and wrapping his arms around her. “Or anywhere else you want to go. You just name it.”

  “Gross,” Limes said, eyeing them narrowly. Jamie laughed and walked over to him and he slung an arm around her waist. “You ready to go?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Did you get Bronson to agree to hire a replacement?”

  “I think so,” Limes said. “He didn’t seem very keen on the idea of a female Limes.”

  “Oh, I would pay to see that,” Carrie said, folding her arms. She tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face. “Actually, that might be kind of a good match.” She looked at Cage. “Let’s not go on vacation yet after all. I want to watch that.”

  “Me too,” Cage said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “Plus, every day with you is like a vacation to me.”

  She grinned and cuddled closer. “That’s nice, but we’re still going,” she said.

  “Sounds good to me,” Cage said in a low voice.

  Limes wrinkled his nose. “And we’re going now, before things get more disgusting in here.”

  Cage just laughed at his grumpiness and cuddled his mate closer. Limes figured it wouldn’t be too long before the two of them had a bear cub, considering how all over each other they were.

  He took a look at Jamie, her curvy ass swaying as she walked ahead of him to the elevator. The thought of her, round with his cub, lit his heart with a kind of warm hope.

  Another person to care about. The start of their family.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked, as she leaned against his chest as the elevator went down.

  “Oh, just our vacation,” Limes said, his hand finding her waist and giving it a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be nice to just be carefree for a couple weeks. Though I do wish I could see the fireworks here.”

  “I’m sure you can check in with Cage. Or I can with Carrie. They’ll keep us updated.”

  “Nah, as fun as that would be, I think spending time with you is infinitely more interesting,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

  “Hey, you said that was mushy when Cage did it,” Jamie teased.

  “It’s not mushy when we do it,” he said. “Double standard.”

  Jamie giggled and Limes held the elevator doors so she could walk out. As they walked out into the bright sunlight, Limes handed Jamie his sunglasses and shielded his eyes from the sun.

  With her at his side, everything looked different now. All he thought about was how to make her happy, how to keep her safe, how to make sure she was doing well.

  He knew that when she was pregnant, he’d be even worse about it. More overprotective, more worried.

  And yet, looking at his cute, curvy mate, he still looked forward to it. He looked forward to everything with her.

  He took her hand in his as they walked down the street. He couldn’t wait to expand their family. And Hawaii would be just the place to start working on it.

  * * *

  * * *

  Thank you so much for reading Limes and Jamie’s story! I had a blast writing about this grumpy bear and his mate. If you enjoyed it, please help me out by leaving a review. And if you want to read Bronson next, let me know in your review!

  If you haven’t read Cage’s story, you can get it here:

  Bear to the Bone

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  A Dragon’s Heart

  Do you love sexy cat shifters? If so, my latest series about Tigers might be right up your alley. These sexy werecats have dangerous careers (bounty hunter, bodyguard, detective) and all of them need curvy, sexy mates. You can find the first one here:

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  Mountain Bear

  All of the above are in KU. And for those who want to see, here is a complete listing of my books that are available.

  Books by Terry

  Tiger Protector Series

  Three tiger brothers trained by dragon shifters work to bring evil shifters to justice while finding the perfect curvy mates.

  A Tiger’s Bounty

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  Bear Haven Ranch Series

  These rancher bear brothers need to find mates to keep the family land. Luckily, three curvy city girls are about to arrive just in time.

  Mountain Bear

  Rancher Bear

  Wild Bear

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  Soldier Bear Series

  These ex special-forces fighting bears are about to find curvy mates in beautiful, remote Bearstone Village.

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  Double Dragons

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  A matchmaking papa bear sets his three bear shifter sons up with women on a Caribbean island.

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  A billionaire tech mogul, a movie star, and an Olympic snowboarder come back to Bearstone Park and find unexpected but wonderful mates.

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  The Alpha Series (Wolves)

  Alpha Games Serial (Novellas with cliffhangers between volumes)

  An alpha female returns home to the pack mates she left and finds herself choosing between three alpha males in this paranormal romance serial from Terry Bolryder

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  An MMA fighting shifter meets his match in his exciting paranormal romance serial from Terry Bolryder.

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  A average human woman finds out she’s a desirable female alpha and ends up in a mansion with ten possible suitors in this paranormal romance serial from Terry Bolryder.

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  Sample of Bear to the Bone

  The little brown bear howled, its leg caught in a trap so old, so rusted it was probably put in the woods long ago, back before bear traps were banned.

  It had been dumb to go into the forest, especially this late.

  But every time he felt the shift coming, all he could do was go tearing out into the woods, running blindly as he felt the animal in him take over.

  The pounding stress inside him would only stop when he heard the reassuring press of his paws over soft dirt and leaves, as he darted in and out of the shadows of the forest, cool mountain air blowing down over his face, which was now sheltered by fur.

  Being in his bear form was both terrifying and electrifying.

  His mother had been a shifter, too, but she’d left earlier that year, so he’d had make the transformation on his own.

  He was angry at her, but right now, he was angrier at himself. No matter how frustrated his father made him, he knew better than to run in the woods. It was dangerous and wild out here, but he hadn’t been able to resist the animal inside him. The one begging to be free.

  Now he was stuck, and the sun was beginning to set. He let out another plaintive whine as he pulled at the trap, but the sharp bite of pain on his leg stopped him. The chain was attached to a large tree, so he had no hope of felling it to get away.

  His leg was starting to feel numb, so he curled up in a little ball and whined, waiting for it to get dark and cold.

  No one would come looking for him. And if they did, no one would know he was a person. And who would approach a bear, even one in a trap? Wouldn’t they think the bear would eat them if they let him go? That’s what he would have thought.

  Maybe if someone came by, he could shift back. He was no good at shifting on purpose. It all came like a whirlwind and left him in a heap when it was over.

  He tried to think back to what his mom had said. Not much.

  Cage, when it comes, don’t fight it. She had touched his head, and thinking of that kindness now made tears bite the corners of his eyes. He burrowed his face in his paws, hiding from the world and the waning light.

  No one was coming. No one could help him. He’d die out here in this forest, chained to this tree, and no one would even care.

  Not the bikers raising him, if you could call it that. Not the mother who’d walked out without looking back.

  Not that he blamed her. The Aces were horrible. He just wished he could have gone, too. Maybe she thought his dad would come after them, but he knew better. And—

  Crack.

  The snap of a twig had him lifting his head in shock, twitching as he looked around the forest. He inhaled deeply, his senses sharper in this form.

  More crushing of twigs. Someone was coming through the brush. He could see them now, silhouetted by the dying light. It was a person.

  In reflex, he shrank back. If it were one of the bikers from the compound, or a hunter, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in him.

  Well, not without a fight. He raised to his feet as well as he could and faced them on all fours, his lips pulling back to bare his teeth in a snarl.

  “It’s okay,” a soft, soothing voice said as the figure stepped closer, into a shaft of light between the trees.

  He blinked. It was a girl, probably his age or just slightly older. Maybe twelve or thirteen.

  He felt an instant kinship with her. Her dark-blond hair was messy and there was grass in it like she’d recently fallen. She was wearing a puffy jacket and she had a roundness to her he liked. She looked healthy. Happy.

  She must live at the house out in the meadow. He’d gone by there once when he’d heard sounds of children playing there. He’d asked his dad once, and he’d said the kids there didn’t have parents, and not to go there again. That they didn’t mix with those types.

  Cage had listened, but he couldn’t help thinking about the house in the meadow and sort of wanting to be parentless so he could live there.

  The girl was moving closer. Her clothes were worn but clean. She took careful steps, as if trying not to scare him. That was stupid. He was a bear. Didn’t she know he could eat her? Well, he wasn’t sure, but wasn’t that what bears did? Eat people?

  “I want to help you,” she said, taking another cautious step forward. “You won’t hurt me, will you?”

  He looked at her in confusion. Did she expect him to answer her as a bear? Did she really think wild animals could promise to behave?

  But he wasn’t going to hurt her. And he wasn’t a wild animal.

  He nodded, wondering if that was a weird thing for a bear to do. But he had no choice. He couldn’t risk her leaving. He might die in this horrible trap.

  Curse whoever placed it here.

  “I need to go get something,” she said. “Maybe someone to help.”

  He looked up in alarm. If she brought a grown-up, they’d probably tell her not to help. Tell her it’s foolish and to let the stupid bear die so it wasn’t a danger to humans.

  He slumped down again in despair.

  “It’s okay. I won’t get someone, then,” she said, stepping forward and crouching a few feet in front of him. “I hate these old traps. I saw Willow rescue a raccoon from one, though. I know what she used. I think I can do it.” She reached a tentative hand toward his face.

  Was this girl crazy? Touching a bear?

  But he stayed still, and her hand touched the top of his head, sinking into his fur. He froze at how wonderful it felt. How long it had been since he’d been touched. He growled and pressed into her, not caring he was a bear in a trap. Only caring someone was caring for him.

  Then she let him go and stepped back. She looked up at the sky. “It’s getting dark. I’ll need something to get that off of you.” She frowned and bit her lip, looking cute. The kind of girl he would have probably teased or chased at recess if he’d been allowed to be a normal kid.

  Spunky but kind, even to rough animals.

  “I promise I’ll be back,” she said. “It’s getting dark, though, so it might take me a minute to find you. Maybe if you hear me getting close, you could roar?”

  He nodded again.

  She grinned.

  He was glad a kid had found him. Only kids were naive enough to think a bear could be friendly or that a bear nodding wouldn’t be weird. Yet he got the feeling that even compared to other kids, this girl was kindhearted.

  Deep inside, something was pounding as he looked at her. Something unsettling, something forever.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said. “To set you free.”

  He prayed she was telling the truth. He rested his head on his paws as he heard her footsteps disappear in the distance.

  She was running, for him.

  It was probably only minutes she was gone, but it felt like hours. He didn’t know how far she’d had
to run or how close he was to the house in the meadow. He hadn’t exactly been paying attention when he’d broken into his animal and torn off on a wild spree away from the compound.

  He wouldn’t be surprised if he’d gone in the direction of the meadow, though. Something about it always drew him in.

  When she came back, she was bundled up in her coat and had a blanket slung over her small shoulder.

  She also had a backpack, and she set it down beside her, alongside a flashlight.

  “I gotta hurry. Willow’s gonna worry when she sees I’m gone after dark. But I couldn’t leave you out here.”

  He blinked. It was more than anyone else had cared about him.

  She pulled two metal tools out of her backpack. “I hope I’m strong enough to use these. And remember how. I’ve watched Willow do it lots. She says some trappers way back when left these out here. It’s dangerous, so you shouldn’t run around here.”

  He wondered at her sense in talking to a bear but stayed quiet and still as she studied the trap.

  He saw her small, chubby hands and suddenly felt worried for her. What if she got hurt? Should he really let her help?

  “All right,” she said. “Here we go. What we have to do is press these down.” She pointed at the clamps. “Then it should open. Think you’ll be okay if I can get you free?”

  He nodded.

  “Good,” she said. She narrowed her eyes on the springs as she picked up the first clamp, and he tensed in preparation. It took several minutes and all her effort to get one spring held down in the clamp. Then she got to work on the other side. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest.