by Nix, Haley
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The Bear’s Desire
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The Bear’s Desire
By Haley Nix
Copyright Information
Copyright © 2014 By Haley Nix
The Bear’s Desire is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and events are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book or portions thereof may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form whatsoever without direct permission from the author.
This book is intended Only for Mature Audiences 18+. It contains mature themes, substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers.
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The Bear’s Desire
Stella stalked slowly through the snow-covered forest, her agile paws sinking softly into several inches of cold, white snow. The combination of her flawless stride and her white winter coat made her soundless and nearly invisible as she moved through the icy wood. She liked days like this.
Walking between the glistening, ice-glazed trees, she wondered whether she’d made a mistake in leaving life out in the wild – leaving the world of shifters to blaze her own trail in the equally-bewildering world of human beings. She didn’t live a particularly majestic life, struggling to get by in a cramped apartment on the outskirts of New York City. She was working constantly, but only bringing home a modest paycheck. All of her friends gave her the same advice: find a man and get married.
But that was precisely why she’d left the shifter world in the first place. She loathed the idea of being taken as a mate, forced to remain true to one single shifter that she didn’t give a damn about. It’s not that she hated the idea in theory. No, if a suitable mate were to make himself available, she’d oblige. It was the fact that none of the shifters she came across seemed to be worthy of her.
Each of the wolves who’d pursued Stella was in his own way beneath her. None of them could match her in battle. Perhaps they might outmatch her in strength, but her cunning ensured she always remained undefeated. Every potential courter ended up lying on his back, whimpering in acute pain, just another casualty in her wake as she walked slowly away, laughing and howling into the night.
Stella left many wolves in this condition. All the neighboring packs had sent their best shifters in pursuit of her heart, but none could match her style in battle. She could never respect a mate who was unable to dominate her body and match wits with her perspicuous mind. It was only after this long line of suitors was exhausted that she’d made the decision to escape to the world of humans.
But what she’d found there was even more depressing. The men she came across seemed weak-willed. The stared at her curves across the rooms of dimly-lit, late-night bars. They bought her drinks and made ill-conceived drunken advances, hoping she’d lose her sense of judgment and wind up in their apartments, taking her clothes off and spreading her legs for their pleasure.
Sometimes her body ached for a sensual touch. She wanted to be dominated, taken by someone who was her equal, someone who would worship her curvy body and respect her mind. Such a man wasn’t to be found in a New York bar, just as such a shifter wasn’t to be found among the neighboring packs of her old territory.
The forest she walked through right now was located in Upstate New York, near a small town on the Hudson River. It was the same forest she always like to explore. To get here, she’d take an express train out of the city, carrying just the clothes on her back and a novel clutched in her hands for entertainment on the ride.
After a few stops, Stella would sneak out onto the back platform of the train when no one was watching. Looking both ways, she would survey the scene to ensure secrecy for this final act of escape. There was always a bit of hesitation here, like the moment before jumping into a pool of icy water.
Finally, she’d spring out, the train still barreling down the track, disappearing behind her as she flew through the air. By the time she landed on the train tracks, her body would be transformed into that of a white wolf. She’d peer slowly around once more, her senses much more heightened in her animalistic state. Once she had her bearings, she would disappear from the train tracks into the nearby forest, following the familiar path to her favorite spot.
***
Stella was walking through her favorite spot at this very moment. It was a cold day in the woods, but the sun shone brightly through the barren trees, illuminating the ground around her. The touch of sun on her back was the only warmth she felt in this brisk environment.
She was at peace here, so much so that she wondered whether she should give it all up and come back to the world of nature. The quiet serenity of the woods was surely an improvement over the noisy chaos of the city. Besides, this was her natural habitat; every sensation in her body at this moment seemed to verify this fact. She felt at home in these woods.
But still, there was dangers to a life out here in the wild. There was no police protection, no courts, no justice in the woods. Life was dictated by the law of nature: kill or be killed. Stella had to be wary of her surroundings when she took these secret walks. A lone wolf, even one of her caliber, was still vulnerable to attack. Eventually she’d have to sleep. Who would watch her back then?
That’s why she always made her way back to the train before night fall. As much as she wanted to come out and hide in these woods for days on end, spending the night alone was too great of a risk.
Stella looked up to the sky, gauging the height of the sun to tell what time it was. She still had a few hours left, she’d extend her journey a bit further before turning back towards the train station.
Over the following hours, the shadows cast by the trees grew longer as the sun disappeared behind the mountains on the far side of the Hudson River. Stella knew it was dangerous to stay, but she couldn’t help herself. She climbed further to reach the open face the mountain. Before long she found herself at the top of a large cliff and lay down, resting on the overlook – it was the perfect vantage point for watching the gorgeous winter sunset currently in progress.
Stella concentrated on the majestic scene before her, watching the last glimmers of sun dance on the choppy water of the river. It was a windy day down below, and even up on the mountaintop she wasn’t immune to the chilling breeze. She shivered as the sun and its warmth disappeared. Only a small sliver of it showed over the top of the mountain, painting the sky in shades of red, orange and pink.
Then the sliver disappeared and darkness fell all around her. It was nearly pitch black as she made her way back down the mountain. Fortunately, she had the lights of the riverside houses below to guide her for part of the way, but occasionally they dipped out of view and she found herself ensconced once more in blackness of the most impenetrable type. The moon had yet to rise tonight.
Her body was nearly shaking in the cold. With the disappearance of the sun, the temperature must have dropped over twenty degrees. Stella knew it would only get colder. How had she even considered the possibility of staying overnight in the forest? Without a den to sleep in and keep her warm, staying overnight would practically be a form of suicide.
Since leaving the wilderness for the human world, Stella spent most of her time in the city and her body simply wasn’t adapted to the ha
rshness of the world outside. If she ever wanted to escape the confines of her human life, the path back to the shifter world wouldn’t be easy. It would take time to acclimate, to readjust, to build up her toughness in the face of the elements.
***
Stella continued down the mountain and into a ravine. It was a treacherous path, but it was the fastest way back to the station. She envisioned herself one hour from now sitting comfortably in the cozy cabin of the train, watching the light of the moon playing on the water of the river, sipping a hot cup of coffee as she made her way back into the city.
But she was still far from the train station. If it took as long to get back as it did going up, she still had more than an hour to go. In the darkness, it could take even longer. As fearless as Stella was, even she began to feel a sense of nervous apprehension. It didn’t help that suddenly she could feel eyes on her, watching her tread her path through the darkness.
She couldn’t tell what direction the threat was emanating from, just that it was close. Another shifter, perhaps? Definitely. She swiveled her furry head as she walked, shifting her eyes from side to side, her steps more cautious now, her senses sharpened and on guard against attack. Her eyes had adjusted to the light by now, but she still couldn’t see more than twenty feet in front of her.
The moon was rising in the sky at this point, adding a modest amount of light to the dark landscape around her. But the pale glow yielded little in the way of visibility. Instead, it lent the trees mysterious, bending shadows that seemed to play tricks on Stella’s eyes as she paced slowly through the fresh snow.
Around every tree trunk she seemed to see a hulking beast waiting for her in the shadows. But when she finally reached each tree, nothing was to be found – not even paw prints. There was simply no trace of life at all.
Still, Stella knew someone was watching her. The fur on her back bristled, her wolf’s body readying itself to fend off an attack. She would never back down from a fight, but she knew she was at a disadvantage in these woods; they were foreign territory. The shifter that continued watching her from some undisclosed location was most likely a denizen of these woods – it was his territory and he meant to protect it and claim submission from anyone who dared to walk on its hallowed ground.
A branch snapped somewhere behind her, and Stella whirled around, straining her eyes to see the source of the sound. This was her first confirmation that she was indeed being stalked as she blindly made her way back to the train station.
“Show yourself,” she growled.
But she was only met with silence. She walked back through the trees, retracing her path, searching for the beast that had been following her. Mysteriously, no footprints were to be found. Again, she called into the darkness.
“If you have any sense of pride, reveal yourself right now!” she howled into the wind, a biting cold wind that carried her voice through the darkness.
If she was forced to fight, she wanted it on her own terms. She couldn’t afford to be blindsided in some cheap shot attack. Only when she got the other shifter in view would she feel confident of total victory.
***
Stella stood there a moment longer, looking around, waiting for some movement, some indication that her challenge had been accepted. When she heard no response, she turned around and bounded away down the mountain, hoping to get back to the safety of civilization as soon as possible.
But as she ran through the darkness a haunting feeling overcame her. She was so close to this other beast she felt she could feel his heart beating. He must have a big heart, a strong heart. He couldn’t be some ordinary wolf, not with the way his presence overcame her like this.
Stella was jolted from her thoughts by the crash of branches. Out of the trees behind her plummeted a gigantic, dark shape. Its eyes glowed yellow as it looked at her. Stella’s first instinct was to run. Could this be the first fight she wouldn’t win?
She dodged trees stealthily as she bolted from the scene, sprinting through the frosty darkness of the night. An occasional glance behind her let her know the beast was in hot pursuit. This was either the biggest wolf she’d ever seen in her life or something else entirely.
The creature chased her down into another ravine. Stella stumbled and scraped herself against a pile of sharpened rocks. But the instinct for survival made her get up instantly, the pain barely registering in the intensity of the moment. As she sprinted further, she realized that her attempted escape was futile. The creature had chased her up to the bottom of a small cliff.
Desperately, Stella leaped, trying to clear the edge of the cliff. She reached the top of it with her front paws, holding onto the edge for dear life as she tried to pull the rest of her body up. But just as she thought she might get away she felt herself being pulled back down with a jarring blow to the back. She lay on the floor of the ravine looking up into the glowing yellow eyes of a gigantic black bear.
“Get up,” roared the bear mercilessly. “You’re staying with me for the night.”
Stella winced in pain, but then sprang up unexpectedly, catapulting herself towards the bear and taking a vicious swipe with her left paw, cutting him across the chest and causing him to stumble backwards.
The bear let out a forceful roar, one of anger more than pain. He wasn’t hurt by Stella’s attack; he was insulted.
“How dare you touch me? Don’t you know whose territory you’re on!?”
“I don’t give a damn,” growled Stella. “Now leave me be.”
“Not a chance.”
The bear paced towards her. Stella bounded into the boulders at her side, springing off of three of them in turn before landing on the ground behind the bear and taking another swipe.
“You think you can match my agility?” she asked daringly, as if she was now trying to provoke a fight.
“Who needs agility when you have raw strength?” he responded.
The bear rose to his full size, and swung his arm in a long arc, crashing it into the trunk of a tree. Stella watched in awe as the tree trunk snapped, splintering wood and dust into the cold night air.
“It’s your move now,” he growled.
She paced around him, sizing him up. He was enormous and clearly her superior in strength. He had speed, too, notable in the way he’d pursued her. She continued to stare in silence, readying herself for the chance that he would attack, already planning the countermove in her head like an expert chess player.
“No answer?” he asked.
Still silence.
“You’re coming with me then.”
“No,” she growled.
“Look, you’ve got two options. You can come willingly, or I can take you against your will. Which of those sounds easier to you?”
“I’ve got a third option,” growled Stella.
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“I can kill you.”
The gigantic bear let out something like a laugh, his body convulsing with a certain sarcastic pleasure, as if the possibility of losing a fight could only be a joke to a creature such as him.
“You’ll get your chance to fight me. But I propose a deal. The only way you will escape is by killing me. Do that, and you’ve bought your freedom. But if I win, you go to bed with me in my den. And what more, you’ll like it. Do you agree to the terms of the deal?”
“I’d rather die than sleep with you.”
Stella sprang at him once more, and the bear easily swiped her to the side with one swing of his powerful arm. She crashed into the side of the ravine before rolling back down to his feet. He was about to attack again when she rolled out from beneath, back on her four sturdy paws. She took a few quick steps and catapulted off a nearby rock, landing herself on the bear’s back. She took a vicious bite at his neck.
The bear roared and shook her off. Stella fell to a ground, a sharp rock gouging the soft skin below her ribcage as she landed. She yelped in pain, clutching her side. The bear stood up, towering over her.
“You have a
lready lost. I could kill you now, but I won’t.”
Stella could barely growl the pain was so intense. Instead she waited as the bear hoisted her onto his back and carried her through the woods. She was too weak to fight back, too weak to make an escape.
Her body felt so cold. Even if she could somehow disengage herself, the bear would undoubtedly chase her down. She tried to calm her mind and face up to her future with a cool head. She would bide her time; perhaps once she regained her strength she could escape from the bear’s den.
***
Stella kept her cool as the bear carried her underground into a massive hollow that she assumed was his den. Inside, a fire blazed, casting shadows all along the rough shapes of the dirt walls. It was positively enormous and had an air of luxury about it, a level of warmth and finesse that seemed out of place in the harsh woods in which it was located.
Yet even inside this large den, the bear that carried her was enormous. Stella wasn’t surprised that after he lay her down on the floor he immediately shifted into human form. She took it as a sign that she should do the same. And so she lay there, a curvy city girl on the dirt floor of a bear den, looking up at the bare-chested man who stood before her.
She felt flushed as she traced the lines of his muscles with her eyes. She didn’t know if it was the heat of the fire or something more primal that was burning inside her body. She brushed a hand across her brow and felt the sweat that had accumulated. The man was staring down at her, looking into her eyes and sneaking an occasional glance at her cleavage.
“My name is Olex,” he said. “Perhaps you should be resting on the bed.”
He reached a hand down to help her up, but Stella waved it away.
“I can get up on my own,” she snapped.
As Stella walked to the bed, she caught a glimpse of the outside world through the entrance to the den. She briefly considered making one last-ditch effort at an escape.