Saved by Alpha Bear (Paranormal Shifter Romance) (Shadow Claw Book 1)

by J. Stone, Sarah

  Cassie was frozen. When the shifter stuck his face in hers, she felt a strange feeling inside her. She had spent most of her life trying to subdue her nature, and the herbs and the potions that she consumed usually helped suppress the creature that was a part of her. But right now, with this stranger sniffing at her neck in what seemed almost a playful manner, the animal inside stretched and looked on in curiosity.

  She jumped when Luke licked her quickly on her throat. The reaction of her animal was worse. It sat up, and it was too late to realize the sexual implication that the lick had had on her animal.

  Cassie put a hand on Luke’s chest to push him back, but she found she didn’t quite have the strength. She glared at his bent head when he licked her again on the same spot, slowly. Her eyes closed as she felt some of her strength dissipate.

  Luke felt the looseness in her limbs. He hadn’t meant to lick her. But his bear wanted to be in control, and he was trying push it back and fight against the heady scent of his little captive. However, her reaction to his momentary loss of control shook him.

  He looked up at her face to say something, but her eyes were heavy lidded, and there was a dazed expression in them. The flush on her cheeks and the way her scent had become spicier told him all he needed to know about the situation.

  His own animal became agitated, and the human side of him struggled weakly. This was a losing battle.

  When he put his teeth on her neck in a gentle hold, he heard Cassie’s moan. The excitement of his animal was startling. He experimented with another quick lick, and he felt her fingers on his pants.

  Cassie feared the way her beast was shaking off the layers of control and chains under which it had been hidden. This couldn’t happen. She had to pull back. However, there was something about this man that had roused her animal from years of subjugation. Her body felt so good, and she wanted to give in to Luke.

  He wore a confused look on his face when he looked at her again, and she whined.

  His golden eyes turned molten, and she saw when the human in him gave way to the animal.

  His mouth crashed on hers, almost violently.

  His big hand cupped her face, and the shock of the sensations made her reel from the raw and primal impact. Cassie gasped into the kiss and felt her breasts swell and the place between her thighs quiver. There was nothing gentle about the way he moved his mouth on hers. He took what he wanted and demanded more. When she moaned, he nipped at her lower lip. She tentatively reached out with her tongue, and she felt him smirk and suck on it.

  His mouth travelled lower, and Cassie felt the excitement of her beast – the need. It was useless trying to restrain it any longer. If she could keep it from showing, then she could enjoy this moment. She rarely got the chance to get intimate with a partner of equal strength.

  She watched as his head went lower and lower, and then he jerked her up and slammed her against the wall. He gave her a cocky grin. “Easier access,” he said.

  Kicking her legs apart, he settled one leg between hers, and using his claws, he ripped off what remained of her damaged blouse. One thumb ran across her taut peak and when she dug her nails in his shoulders, he grinned. One large hand stroked over her jaw to her throat and remained there, a possessive hold.

  The next kiss was deeper, hotter than the first one. It was a kind of claiming and Cassie tried to reach up and offer more – take more – but he refused to let her take control. Her fingers clutched at him and when her abdomen clenched, she realized she was riding his jean-clad thigh.

  The knowledge did not stop her, and as he lowered his mouth to bite the lush swell of her breast, he kept rubbing her with his thigh and she gasped as she pushed down. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips parted as she concentrated on taking the pleasure that her body so desperately craved.

  Had she been herself and not in a lust-induced haze, she might even have been embarrassed – humiliated. But right now, there was nothing but need and from the fiercely intense look in his eyes, her partner was not thinking about social protocol as well. Instead, he ran a hand over her back, cupped her ass, and squeezed, making her gasp. Then that very hand slid down and shifted her into a more intimate position on his thigh.

  Her eyes were wide when that hidden muscle deliberately rubbed against her most intimate spot. He pulled away from her breast and watched her, a smug smile on his face as he brought her closer to the edge. And then she shattered with him watching.

  He didn’t give her time to come down from her high. Seeing her come apart in front of him made his animal roar and he ripped off her pants. Making quick work of his jeans, he grabbed her, put her on his cock, and thrust inside roughly.

  Cassie screamed.

  The power behind his thrusts did not falter. He tugged her legs around him and forced her back to the wall. He pulled out and entered again, making her sob in pleasure. He kept watching her and her eyes opened, clouded with confused pleasure.

  He smiled.

  It wasn’t a cocky smirk, or a satisfied grin.

  It was a genuine smile.

  And when she threw her arms around his neck to find some stability, he grabbed her ass and his thrusts turned harder until Cassie exploded, and he followed.

  His animal relaxed. The contentment which filled him made him kiss the side of her neck, happily.

  As he drifted into an unusual slumber, he grinned sleepily. Kevin had been right. This was what he had needed.

  He didn’t see the glowing on his chest just above his heart. As the strange symbol glowed and then faded, Cassie’s unconscious form snuggled into him, and he wrapped his arms around her.

  ****

  It wasn’t yet light when Luke woke up.

  Feeling this well rested was very unlike him. Since last year, he had not been able to truly sleep. Their entire den had been uprooted after the attack, and it had taken time to recover their stability again. Most of their fighting force had been killed in that unexpected attack. The children and elders had been moved immediately and most of them had survived.

  Their pack was not to be taken lightly, though.

  Once they had settled in their new home and Luke had incorporated the modern human security systems along with their own patrols, he and his best lieutenants had paid the panthers back in kind. The bloodshed had been minimal, but they had damaged the panther pack at their core.

  There had been no sign of the panthers after that, but Luke had tightened the patrols and every adolescent was made to undergo training. They were quite good at it, and although Luke was not one for sitting and laughing with them, he provided a form of comfort and security to them. He would often be tracked down by his pack members, some wanting to tell him about their training progress, some of them wanting to enroll in modern IT classes or similar courses which they felt would benefit the pack. Some would just come up to get some physical contact from their alpha and leave.

  He was their glue and their center, and although he didn’t dislike it, he couldn’t be their friend. He didn’t have that sense of bond in him. He could protect and he could nurture, but he felt a huge deficiency in his emotional state, and he didn’t know how to fix that.

  He sat up and watched the girl sleeping next to him.

  He couldn’t believe he had stooped so low as to sleep with a witch. Rubbing his face, he groaned internally. He would never hear the end of this.

  He should leave now and send some younger packmate back to make sure that Cassie left.

  Putting on his clothes, he tossed out the ruined t-shirt and searched for something one of his people might have left behind. He found a 90s-band t-shirt and, scowling at the rock star whose tongue was hanging out in the printed image, he put it on. He laid out some clothes for Cassie as well. He wasn’t that much of a bastard.

  Before he left, he gave another look at the sleeping woman and then left the apartment.

  ****

  Cassie waited until he left before opening her eyes. She had awoken the minute she had heard h
im moving about.

  Always on the run with her mother, she had become a light sleeper, her senses always attuned to her surroundings. She threw the back of her hand on her eyes, shuddering. What had she done?

  She felt the mating bond inside her quiver, and she surrounded it by her will of steel. No. The shifter could not realize what had happened.

  How could she not have noticed? Now that the bond was in place, she could tell from his strength and power that he was an alpha. She couldn’t mate with an alpha. Her eyes darkened as she clenched the sheets to her chest. Her mother had suffered enough. She knew firsthand what alphas did to their kind.

  She knew he wouldn’t be back anytime soon, but she couldn’t risk his coming back. She saw the clothes on the chair and was about to grab them, but hesitated. Glancing outside, she determined that it was dark enough for no one to be up at this hour. Opening the window, she glanced down.

  She’d jumped from worse heights.

  Her landing was smooth and in the shelter of the dark alley. She shifted into a large bear and ran into the streets, her clothes in her mouth.

  Chapter 4

  “Ted, why is Luke so angry?”

  The sentinel looked down at the upset child who was clutching at his jeans. He scooped the little girl in his arms and spoke loud enough for his alpha’s ears. “Because nobody kissed him,” he said.

  The implication made Luke bristle, and he glared at the cheerful bear, who pressed a loud kiss on Sara’s cheek, making the little girl giggle and ask, “If I kiss him, will he feel better?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you go try?”

  Sara was a late bloomer, and although she was three, she still couldn’t walk properly. In her bear form, she was fine. It was her human form which she was having difficulties with. Trotting as fast as she could, she would have stumbled in front of Luke had her alpha not picked her up.

  His hands tucked under her arms, and he raised a brow. “Are you gossiping about me?”

  Sara’s golden hair was all mussed up. Her blue eyes looked at him innocently, and she stuck her hand in her mouth. He sighed and pulled it out, telling her sternly, “No.”

  “Do you want a kiss, Luke?”

  He nodded, and she dutifully leaned forward and kissed his lips in the innocent way that babes did. Someone had been feeding her sweets, Luke realized.

  “Now me!”

  He kissed both her cheeks, making her blush happily.

  Her attention span was that of a rock’s, though, and when she spied Keenan in the doorway of the common room, she squealed and kicked her legs, wanting to be put down. Luke obliged and she tottered off. Then, she turned and came back, beckoning him.

  Amused, Luke leaned down to her size and gave her an expectant look.

  “Are you happy now?”

  Luke nodded and she smiled with satisfaction and ran back to the waiting Keenan.

  The alpha watched as the boy held out his hand and walked slowly with Sara, so that she could keep up with him. “He’s going to turn out to be a fine man when he grows up,” he said.

  “And she’s going to be breaking hearts everywhere with the way she keeps offering kisses to everyone like it’s some sort of sweet.” Ted grinned.

  Luke cornered him. “You sure have a lot to say about my ‘lack of kisses.’”

  Ted grinned and ducked under Luke’s arm. “You’re so grouchy that even the elders are avoiding you.”

  Luke’s eyes gleamed. “You’re in high spirits. Why don’t you take over the adolescents’ training for the next two weeks? I’m sure Laura needs a break.”

  When Ted gave him a horrified look, he smiled pleasantly. “Have fun,” he said.

  As Ted growled and stalked out of the room, he threatened over his shoulder, “I’m not going to forget this, Luke.”

  Luke just bared his teeth at him.

  Finally alone, he looked around the huge room that everyone had dubbed the ‘common room.’ All the pack members would gather here when they were free for meals or to hang out. Even now, some teenagers stood in a corner of the room, discussing something in hushed whispers. Making a note to warn Heather that the kids were up to something, he left the room. The elders were better equipped at handling the adolescents than he was.

  He pondered over what Ted had said as he made his way to his quarters. He had forced Kayla to go out with some friends. His office had become more of a hiding place for her than a job.

  Maybe he, too, needed to relax for a while and take a break from the hectic routine. When he found himself thinking of visiting that bar again, he froze. It had been three months. Why did he still remember how Cassie’s skin tasted like? This was bad. He shouldn’t focus on this woman.

  He closed the door to his quarters and slipped off his shirt. There were other females out there. Maybe he needed a woman now – a mate who would be a partner to him in every sense. Cassie’s scowling face came to mind, and he snickered and then frowned. What the hell was going on? The sex had been amazing – mind blowing, even – but he wasn’t one to be led around by his balls. So why was he so enamored after one night of mind-blowing sex?

  He put on a tank top and considered dropping by the gym but decided against it. He had been working out so much since his encounter with Cassie that one of the elders had told him off. They didn’t understand. He could not even get himself off anymore. It was downright embarrassing. Maybe, he should go out on a run. He usually ran with different packmates but it had been a while since he ran by himself.

  Slipping by unnoticed, he shifted outside and ran. Feeling the air on his fur made him feel relieved. Letting the animal take charge, he let his human side rest in the back of his mind. Too much thinking couldn’t be good for him. This was why, when the bear caught a familiar scent in the air, it raced towards it, making Luke realize too late what was going on.

  ****

  Cassie stumbled over the root and scowled. Her morning sickness was not a joke. There should be a man to take care of all this shit. Her mood angry, she rubbed the bump in her womb, and said, “I’m not angry with you. Just with life. Once you’re here, we’ll have loads of fun, I promise. In the meantime, mommy’s going to swear a lot.”

  She had hoped against hope that she didn’t get pregnant from her encounter with the alpha shifter, but her body betrayed her. More like her nature betrayed her. She should have fought back against her urges to submit to the strange shifter. Her animal had been quite subdued over the past few weeks and she was too angry to care.

  A baby was not something she had planned. It was not that she disliked children, but how could she raise a child in the environment that was her life? How could she keep uprooting a child so that they could escape every time her father caught up to them?

  She fell to her knees, and her eyes burned. How could she bring her child into a world where it would be hunted for what it was? She covered the bump where her innocent child lay ignorant of the cruel world it was coming into. Shuddering, she stood up and tried to ignore the weakness in her legs. She hadn’t been able to keep anything down for a while now. Part of it was due to her body changing, and part of it was her suppressing her mating bond.

  But she knew that simply having a mate did not guarantee safety. Her father had imprisoned her mother while she had been pregnant with her. He had tortured her mother when he could. And he had been her mate. That was why her mother had escaped when she was born.

  The omegas of the packs were not treated equally. They were at the lowest level of the food chain. Sometimes, omegas managed to keep a low profile and remain content, but when the alpha decided he wanted you, your animal was too weak to resist the dominance, and the mating bond would be forced. She still remembered the permanent dark bruises on her mother’s wrists.

  She gritted her teeth against her desire to rest. She had to do this for her unborn baby. When she had been a child, her mother had once come to this city. She had carved a symbol into a tree in these woods to summon a particular witc
h. Scowling, Cassie wondered why witches couldn’t follow the modern method of communication. Writing an email seemed easier than walking into the woods at night and carving things into trees.

  But she needed an amulet for her child. If something happened to her, then the amulet would protect her baby against those who wanted to use him. She hoped she had a son. Male shifters were more aggressive and more able to defend themselves. Or so she hoped.

  She couldn’t find the tree anywhere. She checked each tree she saw, but that huge, white oak tree was nowhere to be found.

  In her despair, she wondered if the witch hadn’t died. A witch’s lifespan was linked to her tree which would follow her life and die when she died. She muffled a sob after an hour. Oh, god. What was she going to do?

  She ventured deeper into the woods, straying from the path that she remembered. Maybe it was here and she just didn’t remember the exact location. However, she knew that the witch was dead, because there was no white oak tree.

  She leaned her forehead against one of the trees “I’ll find another way, baby. Don’t worry. Mommy is very stubborn,” she said.

  However, mommy had not accounted for the fact that she may not be in the woods alone. She turned around when she sensed another predator in the vicinity. Cassie’s blood ran cold when she recognized the scent.

  It was that shifter!

  She couldn’t transform right now. Where would she go? However, maybe if she masked her scent through the water, he wouldn’t find her. She ran as fast as she could. Even with her enhanced eyesight at night, she still had to be careful of the baby. Her legs moved quickly, but she had forgotten that she was not at full strength.

  She could smell the spring in the air. If she could just discard her clothes there and wade downstream, then she could lose him. If he scented that she was with child, he may not be willing to let her go. She couldn’t afford to let that happen – not if she wanted a secure future for her child.