by Olivia Harp
The dripping bear’s goo fell on the ground, but no longer changed it. The black liquid turned into a gray, ashy rock when it touched the earth. Damien stepped towards it and the dripping bear jumped at him. Bad decision. Damien got on its hind legs and hit it so hard that its claws almost ripped it in two. Its glowing eyes were gone, vanishing in a second. He hit the ground with a soft cry, unmoving. It was dead.
Zoe’s monstrous bear roared and tried to run back to the forest, but Damien was not only bigger and stronger, he was faster. He got to it in a flash and pushed it against a tree. The bark no longer turning into something rotted and diseased. This was nature fighting back. The big, horrible beast bellowed, it knew it was over, and Damien finished him.
Everything had happened in just a few minutes. But to Zoe it had been an eternity. The sneaky bear was crawling on its front legs, its canines and claws still holding on to fury, looking at her, coming to take her if it was the last thing it ever did.
There was another pick-up truck coming down from the mountain. She recognized it, she’d seen it before, parked in the headquarters area.
It stopped and the guys came running.
“Holy fuck!” Maverick said, looking at the monster beast crawling to her car.
She saw their eyes start to turn black, all of them starting to shift but a huge roar stopped them.
Everyone, including her, turned their eyes to Damien. Walking calmly back to them.
“Ho-ly fu—” Franklin said, his mouth hanging open, unable to complete the sentence.
“It’s the Primal Bear,” said Enzo, his eyes wide with wonder, Zoe could see goose bumps on his skin. “He saved Zoe!”
Damien roared and ignored everyone, walking straight to the last enemy.
“It’s Damien,” Maverick said, his tone serious. Surprise never leaving his green eyes.
The sneaking bear roared, it had a hateful look, it wanted to fight. It wanted to kill. The Primal Bear, Damien, pressed a paw on its body and growled. His soft growl grew to a roar and then turned into thunder. A shockwave exploded from him, washing everything around. In a second, the monsters’ bodies became dust and smoke, disappearing in the air.
The leaves, the trees, the grass, the bushes. Everything in the forest became greener, healthier, not a single molecule of Rot avoiding extinction.
Then there was silence.
The sunbeams came through the trees, a cool breeze flowed. Birds chirped merrily.
Then Damien fell, breathing hard. No one said a word.
Zoe was the first to act, trying to open the door beside her but it was stuck, she looked to the other one and it would probably be the same, destroyed when the bear first struck the car. So she kicked the damaged windshield once, twice, and on the third time it flew open.
She saw the guys coming to help her but she ran past them and went to the ground with her bear, with Damien.
“Damien!” she said in tears, holding his head, “wake up, please!”
The Primal Bear started to turn back into man. Its fur retracting into skin, jaws and muzzle becoming human-like. Then he was there. Damien, covered in wounds. The crew silently watched, sadness in their eyes.
“Damien,” she said, “I came back for you, don’t leave me!”
She held him, her tears dropping to his face, talked to him.
“Remember when I said you convinced me to go back to the road? Back when we first met. You told me that there was nothing for me to find here that I couldn’t find somewhere else. But you were lying, because I found you. I found you and I won’t let you go, understand? I won’t let you go.” Her face was now covered in tears, it wasn’t fair, why did it have to happen this way? She kissed him, a soft kiss on his lips, “I love you, Damien, please don’t leave me.”
But there was no answer. For a second.
Then he coughed, and Zoe couldn’t contain her happiness. “Damien, just hold it there, we’re going to bring help! You’re going to be—”
“No, no,” he interrupted her, “keep talking to me, you know I love it when you say cheesy stuff like that,” he laughed.
“Oh you, you, you—”, but couldn’t hold herself and had to kiss him again and again, smiling, “I thought you we’re dying,” she said.
He stroked her hair, “I think I was, but then I heard you and had to come back, I’m never leaving you... I love you.”
They kissed again, a sweet, deep, warm kiss that could last forever. They held each other, their hearts racing, this time not out of fear, but out of delight.
Chapter 16
The night came fast, and the crew was still half astonished about what occurred earlier. Zoe was unharmed, if a little scared, but the fear quickly went away while in the company of Damien. He was now beaming, she could feel his strength washing over her, and she could see the crew felt the same way.
Damien had arranged for people to come pick up the damaged car, “The suits were going to fix it, I told them we needed another one entirely. Which one do you want?” he said.
She said she just wanted her car fixed, but he didn’t budge. He said her car would be damaged anyway if she used it frequently on the trail. Besides, to the White Paws, money was never a problem. Any car she chose would be a drop in the bucket.
She didn’t want to start the relationship with her man buying her a new car, but he didn’t see it that way. To him, it was a thing that needed replacement and that was it.
“It’s just an object, don’t worry about it,” he said.
“Thank you,” she finally relented.
“For what? You came back and the things destroyed it, I am the one who’s sorry, I promise I will never let anything bad happen to you.”
Damien looked different now, he irradiated a certain power, he even looked sexier —something she didn’t imagine could be possible— and when they were done with the debriefing and alerting the other crews in the nearby mountains, he gathered the crew and said “What about that deer? I’m hungry as ever.”
They laughed and got everything ready for the evening.
Franklin gathered wood for the bonfire, while Enzo and Damien prepared the deer. It was a messy process and they did it out of Zoe’s sight, they didn’t want her to see them butchering an animal right after what happened.
Maverick and Zoe prepared the grill and all the other side dishes.
After the meal, everyone got in their seats, enjoying the evening, the beers were cold, the air was cool and she found the arms of Damien the coziest place she’d been in her life. Maverick brought his guitar and started strumming sweet tunes, folk mixed with some country, Franklin singing here and there.
“How do you feel?” Damien asked her.
She turned to him, warm in his arms, “Being out here with you, in the middle of the woods, you holding me like this is exactly what I needed. I feel great.”
“Despite everything that happened?”
“That was nothing,” she said, “everything is perfect. Except for Franklin’s voice, the man can’t sing for his life.”
They all laughed out loud, Franklin most of all, “I’m kidding!” she said, “I’m kidding, you know you’re a great singer.”
“You’re actually right, ma’am, I know I sing like an angel.”
They continued for a while, talking about this and that. The conversation turned to the day’s events, Damien narrating everything that happened, how everything was normal and in a heartbeat he knew there was trouble.
“They were coming for her,” he told them, “damn cowards.”
“You know, that’s what I don’t get,” Maverick said, then looked at Zoe, “why did they want you? That sorta thing never happened before—”
“Because she’s his mate,” Enzo interrupted, everyone turning to him.
“So? What do they have to gain killing—” he caught himself, he didn’t want to say that word, “—err, going for her?”
“We all saw him, he is primal bear. They are destined mates,” as he said it,
Damien’s arms held Zoe tighter, he knew it was the truth.
“She helped him. It was fate they met. Their presence sent ripples to the Shadowlands. The monsters had to act right away. That’s why they wanted her since the beginning, when they met down by the creek. They knew they had no chance against Damien —or any of us— if his bear became the legendary shifter.”
“So... that means they won’t come back?” Zoe asked.
“Well... I don’t know if they can. All the specimens I gathered turned to ash, even this far up. You all saw the creatures, and the rot at their feet, they just vanished into ash.”
“All thanks to you,” Damien told Zoe, kissing her in the cheek.
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“You did everything Zoe, you gave me the strength to fight back when it was impossible, when I saw you in danger there was no other thing I wanted to do.”
“There were three of them,” said Franklin, “you saw their size? They were champions, they were masters on their own land, they set up an ambush and even then they got their asses handed to them.”
“All right,” Damien said, “it’s getting late guys, we got work to do tomorrow.”
Everyone agreed and started cleaning the area. After a few minutes they were finished and going to their cabins, taking venison meat for aging.
Damien and Zoe walked in the moonlight, holding hands in silence, enjoying the weather, the breeze, and each other’s company.
“I love being with you,” Damien said, “we can talk about a million things, and we can just walk without saying a word, and everything still makes sense.”
He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead, “You are everything I wanted, what I never knew I needed, Zoe... I love you.”
She gave him a thousand pecks on his lips, saying “I love you, I love you” every time. He laughed with her, holding her.
“Now, if I recall correctly,” he said, “we were in the middle of something when we were interrupted.”
She blushed, “Damien, are you sure? Aren’t you hurt?”
“Let me see how hurt I am”, he said, and he grabbed her hand and placed it in his thigh, his cock hard and ready, she got turned on instantly.
“Oh, poor man,” she said, “this needs to be taken care of, we just can’t let you carry on living like this!”
He carried her in his arms and jokingly sprinted toward his cabin, both laughing like never before. They couldn’t wait to start their lives together. This was happiness.
***
— One Year Later —
Zoe had her feet on the cool water. Birds chirped around her on this warm, quiet afternoon. This had become her favorite place, sitting on the circular rock, just out of the trees’ shadows.
It was the spot where she first met Damien. The stream carried more water: it was the beginning of spring, ice melted and came down from the mountaintops.
She knew the forest much, much better now. Damien taught her, and she was free to go and explore. He would tell her all kinds of stories, legends about shifters and humans, their place in the world... she loved the way he talked, and there was still so much more to learn.
Right now, she enjoyed being on her own. The guys were doing their rounds and she had to finish her work. Her little enterprise had more than a dozen clients, including two biggish companies. She had managed to make it grow to eight people. Not bad for a girl running from a city she didn’t belong, living out in the woods, going to town for meetings and important matters only.
She smiled, life was good, after all.
She opened her small backpack, took her home-made sandwich and started unwrapping it. She had books, an mp3 player and some other goodies with her. The quiet of the place gave her peace. She remembered how she felt when she first arrived: stressed, turmoil inside, the future a scary mystery.
Now that she found her man—someone she could always count on, no matter what—it was impossible not to think back and shiver. Everything had changed so much. She always felt she had to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. Now she finally had some time to breathe, to enjoy life.
“It’s not really recommended to hike through this parts alone, you know that, right?” Damien said, taking her out of her thoughts.
He was walking towards her, carrying a backpack. Those deep blue eyes gleaming as they did every time he looked at her, and that smile... it made her heart race.
“Good thing this is a free country, and I can do whatever I want,” she answered smiling.
“Well, you can... but what if you encounter a bear?”
He was almost with her, what’s that backpack for? she wondered.
“I brought bear spray, remember?” she replied with a wink.
She stood, dripping water to the rock beneath her, and opened her arms.
He got to her and they kissed.
“Are you busy?” he asked
“No, just relaxing, I love this place.”
He looked around and took a big breath.
“I love this place too, one of the best spots in the mountain.”
She put her arm on his shoulders and turned around, the view was worthy of a magazine cover.
“Oh, you’re already eating?” Damien asked her when he saw her sandwich.
“No, just about to take my first bite”, she said, “and don’t think you’ll get one too... unless...”
“Unless I work for it?”
“The thought crossed my mind...”
“Oh well,” he said jokingly, “I could say yes to your proposition, but I was pretty sure you’d want to share.”
“Really?” she teased, “what makes you so sure?”
He opened his backpack and took out a blanket and a wine bottle.
“It occurred to me that we could have a wine tasting date,” he said showing her a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
“I brought cheese, Serrano ham, bread... everything... But since you got your ham sandwich I guess I’ll have to go back—” he teased, faking a step back to the trail.
“No, no, no! I was kidding” she said laughing.
“Seriously? ‘Cause you look so fond of your little snack that I thought—”
“I’m serious, you dork, you know what’s mine is yours.”
“You’re so romantic, Miss Fox.”
“I learned from the best, Mister Black... help me down, let’s set the blanket.”
He took her by the waist, lifting her easily.
“Oh, I forgot something,” he said as he lowered her.
“What—”, she was about to ask when she realized he was going down on one knee, reaching for something in his pocket. She felt her knees weaken, a million butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
He took out a small, black velvet case.
She had seen this happen in TV time after time. All those girls laughing and screaming and crying and so uncollected. She never understood why, it was just marriage.
Now it was her turn and she was almost fainting.
He opened the case and inside was a ring with the biggest, most beautiful diamond she had ever seen.
“You are the reason I live, Zoe,” he said, his deep voice filling her heart with every syllable, “everything you are, I love, you make me much more than I ever thought I could be, you fill me with joy, every minute of every day.”
Her eyes started to water, Oh my God, this is actually happening... it’s actually happening to me.
“I would be honored if you would take me as your husband,” he said, his eyes locked with hers, “would you marry me, Zoe?”
Her heart burst with excitement, she couldn’t believe it, all of her dreams had come true.
“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you, Damien!” she replied, with tears of joy.
He put the ring on her finger, stood up and gave her a long, deep kiss, both melted into each other. On this day, the universe spun just for them.
Epilogue
The day was almost over. At first, Zoe stre
ssed about it, but the wedding planner made sure everything was absolutely perfect: the see through tents set up by the lake, the rounded lights, softly glowing in the sunset, and her husband, Damien. She couldn’t have asked for more.
There was a small gathering of people still in there, mostly saying their good byes.
She turned to Damien. He looked more handsome than ever... sexier than ever. It had been a day filled with surprises, Franklin and Mav played a few songs. They had this weird southern happy folk sound that was unique, it was funny and sweet.
They had danced, held and kissed each other, and people partied until they couldn’t stand. Zoe looked at Damien, looking positively radiant. He looked back, smiling.
“This was the best night of my life,” she said, “I’m so tired.”
“Oh, you mean you’re done?” he teased.
“You wish I was done, later on tonight we’re having our own private party... and I feel it’s gonna be a wild one.”
“Zoe you can’t say that in public,” he whispered.
“Really?” she said looking down at the rising bulge in his pants, “and why is that?”
“I’m gonna have my vengeance, Ms. Black.”
The mere sound of those words turned her on. This was supposed to be a sweet night but here they were, whispering sexy secrets to each other.
“Oh! I’m so scared, please! I’m an innocent girl, please don’t make me do bad things...”
She could see his cock stiffening, pressed against the fabric of his pants. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, but as she did it she grazed his hard cock with the back of her fingers.
To anyone looking, it was a lovely sweet kiss from a new wife to his husband. Only they knew the truth.
“Damn it,” Damien said, his erection plainly visible now, he almost jumped to the nearest chair, hiding it while sitting. Zoe couldn’t contain her laughter.
“Vengeance is coming, Ms. Black,” he told her.
“I love you,” she replied with a wink and sat on his lap, pecking him on the lips.
“Get a room guys,” Maverick said, walking to them. “Oh gosh, I forgot, that’s where you’re headed!”
“Shut your mouth or you’re going home with a fat lip,” Damien said joking, Maverick laughed.