by Olivia Arran
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I grabbed his shirt before he slipped away, ignoring Liam’s groan from the back. “And it’s our mating party, buster.”
He winked, giving me a cheeky smile that melted my heart. “Yes, Ma’am.”
Cade
The air hummed with voices and music, tiny fairy lights hanging from the trees and lighting the area in front of the cabins.
Mina stared up at them as we passed, turning in circles to get a closer look. “Whose idea were those?”
“Leona’s. She spent all day setting everything up as a surprise. And Harper, of course.”
The two ladies in question broke away from the crowd, as if they’d heard their names being taken in vain. Well, of course Harper would have, but Leona seemed to have a six sense about stuff like this. She called it woman’s intuition, I called it spooky shit.
“You’re finally here!” The accusation was pointed at me.
Mina chuckled, grabbing my hand before I could make a getaway. “We had to drop everything off at Granny’s cottage and then she wanted to get changed.”
Leona and Harper leaned around us, like a pair of bookends. Shock had their mouths dropping open. “She’s…” Leona started.
“…Wearing makeup?” Harper finished, blinking rapidly.
“And her hair’s all … fluffy,” Leona added in an awed voice.
“I know, right?” Mina leaned in, lowering her voice. “I think she has a thing for Talbot.”
I winced. Yeah. I so didn’t need to hear this. The women huddled, whispering in voices that were still too loud for my sensitive ears.
Making my excuses, I made my escape, grabbing a beer out of the tub someone had thoughtfully filled with ice and bottles. Twisting off the top, I downed the first half in one long swallow.
“For a newly mated man, you’re sure downing that beer.”
I shot Austin a scowl. “They’re trying to set Granny Foxglove up with my Dad.”
He winced, pulling face. “Ouch.”
“I don’t think my dad’s complaining, though.” Across the way, I watched as my father made his way over to the gaggle of women—which now included Granny—taking his time and doing his very best to appear like he wasn’t actually making a move.
Which was completely absurd. The women had seen him coming a mile off.
Smothering my grin, I took another long drag of my beer, letting my eyes settle on the one woman who I’d move heaven and earth to make happy.
“It’s something, right?” Austin only had eyes for Leona.
We were a pair of soppy eyed assholes, but who gave a fuck. “Damn straight.” Carter and Grant broke off from the main group crowded around the fire, Grant greeting me with a fist bump and Carter with a sharp nod.
Gone were the slick, tailored suits, but Carter did dress down like other men did fancy wear. His jeans were a soft black without a spec of dirt on them and his sweater was the kind you saw at the local mall for business men relaxing at home.
Grant, on the other hand, was as rugged and rough around the edges as the rest of the crowd. Slinging an arm around my neck, he tipped his bottle against mine. “Saw this coming the second we walked into that damn farmhouse and the girl lost her head over you.”
That wasn’t how I remembered the events. “Mina threatened to blow my head off.”
“She didn’t, though, did she? Like I said—she was a goner from the start. Took you both a while, that’s all.”
Carter stayed quiet, obviously preoccupied.
“How’s Michael?” I tried hard to keep my voice level, but the insane urge to strangle the man for kidnapping Mina had never left. Even if he’d ultimately meant well.
“He’s good.” Carter had been tight-lipped so far about the famous leader of the rogues and all we’d seen of Brent was the odd occasion he returned to his cabin to pick up fresh clothes. Even Brent’s beloved yard was being neglected and any thoughts of a thief had been forgotten.
It was probably Nate, anyway.
“He’s invited some of his friends to come visit us.” Owen cut in with an easy smile, which widened at Carter’s frown. “What? We’re all friends here. All on the same side.” Our little group grew, a couple of the others joining us. I nodded at Nate and Jake, and accepted Julie’s hug before she darted off to see what kind of mischief her friends were up to. Tom watched her go with a look that was torn between wanting to drag her back and stay the hell away from the furtive glances.
“Better to leave them to it. Trust me,” I muttered, handing him a beer.
“How many?” Austin asked.
“And why?” I added.
“I was going to brief you all in the morning, but since Owen so nicely—”
“Let the cat out of the bag?” Nate offered with an innocent smile.
Carter fixed him with a look that had the smile fading.
Damn. I needed to learn how to do that shit right there.
“As I was saying, Michael’s given us three names and descriptions and they’ll be arriving at sundown tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a fucking cowboy flick. I’ll see you at sundown,” Shane muttered, joining us.
“It’s high noon, idiot.” Tiny stared at us, daring us to say something.
“I’ll go over everything in the briefing tomorrow.” Subject fucking closed.
People melted away, some moving over to dance while others sat and watched from the safety of the sidelines. Austin, Nate, and Jake remained, swigging beer and shooting the breeze. For once, Jake was in a good mood. For him, anyway, a small smirk lifting his face from its usual death glower.
“What?” I felt like I’d missed something.
Austin threw his head back and laughed. “You’ve got to show him.”
“Fuck off.” Nate stuck his hand in his pockets and nursed his beer like his life depended on it.
“Jake got him back,” Austin explained.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask exactly how, when Austin whipped his hand out and snatched Nate’s ball cap off the top of his head.
“Fuck me,” I spluttered, coughing up a mouthful of beer.
“No thanks.” Retrieving his cap, Nate shoved it back on his head with a scowl.
I was never going to be able to erase that particular image.
“Why…?”
“Because he’s a dick.” Jake’s answer was short and very smug.
Nate had a brand new haircut. Cut into the back of his head—down to the fucking skin—was a very short, very thin dick. With balls. Very tiny ones.
“It’s childish,” Nate snarled.
“Just your style, then.” They stalked off, still arguing. They’d be brawling soon, if they hadn’t already.
“They’ve been at it all afternoon,” Austin confided with a pained expression, but he was laughing.
“I didn’t think Jake had it in him.”
“Neither did I, to be honest. Maybe there’s hope for him yet. I’ve banned them from payback for a month. Give them time to grow their hair back.”
“And maybe grow up?”
“Nah. Never going to happen.” His face brightened. I didn’t have to turn to see why. Laughing fit to bust, Leona slid into his arms, tilting her face up to his. “Dance with me?”
Sliding his hands down her back, he snagged her hand. “Always.”
Hands slid over my eyes, a warm body with curves in all the right places molding itself to my back. “Dance with me?”
The worry of Carter’s announcement faded away. It would still be there in the morning. Catching her hand, I pulled her around to my front, sliding my leg between her thighs as we swayed to the soft drum beat pulsing through the night air. Contentment washed over me, the kind a man could dream of but never know how much he craved until he held it in his hands.
Her cheek against my chest soothed me. Her soft sigh was everything; my world condensed down into a single sound.
Brushing her hair away from her neck, I revealed my mark, sati
sfaction humming through me. But it wasn’t the mating mark that brought the peace that I could feel sinking into my bones. It was the mark she’d left on my soul, when she’d sworn that she’d never leave.
She knew what that meant to me—to the young boy inside who’d never forgiven his mother for walking away. Never truly gotten over it.
She knew.
And she’d promised me forever.
I knew that she meant it and I had finally been able to let go of the past.
“I love you, sweetheart.”
She tilted her head back, her small smile only for me. “I know,” she whispered.
Heartsridge Shifters: Austin
(South-One Bears Book #1)
Keep reading for a sneak peak of:
My Curse to Bear: The Everson Brothers
Five bear shifter brothers looking for big love in a small town.
Also by Olivia Arran
Recommended Reading Order
True Mates - Wolves
(Series complete - best read in order)
Found (a Prequel) HERE
Promised - HERE
Taken - HERE
Healed - HERE
Redeemed - HERE
Cherished - HERE
OUT NOW - True Mates: The Complete Series Boxed Set HERE
Alpha Protectors - Wolves
(Series complete - standalone stories)
Guardian - HERE
Sentinel - HERE
Defender - HERE
Enforcer - HERE
Watcher - HERE
The Everson Brothers - Bears
(Series complete - standalone stories)
My Curse to Bear - HERE
My Duty to Bear - HERE
My Wound to Bear - HERE
My Heat to Bear - HERE
My Hunger to Bear - HERE
Sneak Peak: My Curse to Bear
(The Everson Brothers)
Prologue
Craig
Eighty-seven years ago…
“I love you, Craig,” she whispered quietly.
My acute shifter hearing picked up the soft words from the other side of the room and I flinched, cursing inside.
Shit. Here we go again.
“Meridith…” I started to say, turning to face her. This part was never easy.
Let her down easy, it’s not her fault.
“…I think we need to talk.”
Worry lines creased her brow, marring her elfin features.
“Talk? About what? We’re good—aren’t we?”
Double shit.
“Well, there are a lot of things you don’t know about me. We don’t really know each other that well…and sure, we’ve had a good time…” My voice trailed off, as I desperately searched for the right words.
“Good time? Don’t know each other that well?” She parroted, her disbelief evident from her tone. “What I do know is that you are a shifter…”
“How the hell?”
“Oh, I’ve always known. I was just waiting for you to tell me, to share your secret with me.”
She knew. She’d known all along. Did that mean she would understand?
“You’re not my mate,” I blurted, bracing myself for an onslaught of tears and anger. There. I had done it. I hated this part. I had been a fool this time, letting her get too close—to expect too much. But, there had been something about her. Something that had made me think, made me try to convince my bear that he was wrong—that she was the one. But, though he had wavered, he had eventually point blank refused. She wasn’t my mate. Time to move on. Again.
“And?” she asked.
Okay. She obviously didn’t understand. I wracked my brain, trying to think of how to explain.
“Every shifter has a true mate. The other half of his, or her, soul. Different shifters have different beliefs, but we bears…”
“So, that’s what you are,” she said, chuckling softly. “I was guessing at either bear or horse.”
I stopped in my tracks. Horse? Really?
“Horse?” I echoed my thoughts, temporarily sidetracked, and not sure whether to feel a little insulted.
Her eyes flicked down, fixing on my crotch area, one delicate brow arched in amusement.
Oh. Right. Compliment, then.
“Definitely bear,” I replied, my voice a little strangled. This was not going the way I had planned. At all. Wrestling my mind back on track, I plowed ahead.
“The long and short of it is—my bear can recognize his true mate. While the human half of me could possibly be okay, maybe happy, with someone who is not my mate, my bear cannot.”
And then he gets grumpy. And whiny. And sullen. And unbearable. I stifled a snort. Man, I was killing myself.
I’m doing this for you, mopey furball. I hope you appreciate it!
A near deafening yawn reverberated through my skull. Get on with it, my bear grumbled deep inside my head.
“He can’t accept me? Because I’m not his mate? So, you’re a two for one package?” Meridith’s voice rose with every question, until it was a shrill shriek.
“Ah, yup. That sounds about right.” Now she got it.
“And you didn’t think that, maybe, you should have told me this? Warned me? After all the time we’ve spent together? Before I let myself fall in lo…” Her face crumpled and her wide eyes, green like a bushel of freshly picked apples, glittered with unshed tears.
Slowly moving around the solid oak kitchen counter toward her—conceding my last line of defense—I waved my hands at her helplessly. I hated it when a woman cried. I never knew what to do.
“Don’t come near me,” she spat, edging back toward the front door. Her red hair flamed around her head, curling and spiraling around her shoulders. Throwing up a small hand she begged me to stop.
I had always been intrigued by the fragility of her, how small she was compared to my 6’5” frame. Even though she was not small for a human woman—not by their standards—by mine, she was delicate, exquisite. My heart ached at the unfairness.
Why couldn’t she have been the one?
“I’m sorry…” It was all I had. But by the Mother of All, I meant it.
Visibly, she pulled herself together, her face shuttering as she swiped ineffectually at the wetness marking her cheeks.
“Well, I think I might be able to help you with your little problem…the one on which you and your bear can’t seem to agree…” her voice trailed off, still raw with hurt but starting to vibrate with anger.
“What?”
Holding me with her gaze, she stalked toward me, laying a hand on my chest.
“You don’t know everything about me, either.” Pressing firmly against the rough cotton of my shirt, she mumbled under her breath, whimsical words of nonsense. Her hand burned hot through the fabric as I stood frozen in confusion, straining, even with my shifter hearing, to make sense of her words.
Then she stopped.
And pain ripped through me, tearing and burrowing deep into my soul. Back arching in agony as the burning sensation lingered, I tried helplessly to pull away, to break the connection.
Stretching onto her tiptoes, she reached up and laid a gentle kiss on my lips.
“I curse you, Craig Everson. To be as one with your bear, to only mate when he is ready. You are bound to the same destiny, human half and bear half.” Backing away, she turned, opening the door.
“See you in the next life, lover,” she whispered over her shoulder.
I stood rooted to the spot, the agony fading but still unable to move, watching her walk away.
What the hell had just happened? I rubbed my chest, feeling inexplicably…empty. And what did she mean?
Chapter One
Merrie
Ding. The chime of the bell above the store door sounded over the blare of the radio, which just happened to be playing some of my favorite 80’s hits. I swiftly shoved the stock I had been sorting out back onto the shelves, crossing my fingers that it looked more like an enticing disp
lay than a haphazard mess.
Customers! Please, please, please let them buy something, I chanted to myself while rising from my stooped crouch, frantically brushing the dust from my tunic-style dress.
Crowding into my small, eclectic store, were a multitude of middle-aged tourists, wearing fanny-packs and loud tour-company emblazoned T-shirts. They were—to me—beautiful. Clearing my throat of nerves, I pasted on a wide smile.
“Hello, and welcome to my store, Magical Gifts. My name is Merrie, and I’m happy to help if you have any questions.”
The group acknowledged my spiel with a quick glance, before turning back to look over my stock, picking up and discarding the many trinkets and knick-knacks.
Tourists were my bread and butter, I reminded myself, forcing the smile to remain on my face. They were why I filled the front of the store with general baubles and things that they would like, and put up with them swarming into my store, using their purchases as an excuse to stare. At me. The witch. Cue spooky music and flying broomsticks.
I stifled a laugh as one of the women gave my dress a side eyed once over, a disappointed look on her face. Ah yes, I drew the line at playing dress-up.
“Ahem, excuse me, Miss…Merrie. Where are the spell books?” asked an older woman sporting a short bottle-blonde perm and the mandatory fanny-pack. Her T-shirt looked painted on, stretching over her generous chest and straining around her voluminous hips. Her eyes round, she waited anxiously for my answer. I had to remember to thank the tour bus guide, Gemma. She always waxed lyrical about me before bringing them here, piling on the mystery, and sprinkling her tales with half-truths for effect.
Time to put on a show.
“They’re just over here,” I replied, gesturing toward the back half of the store. “I don’t keep them at the front because…” I leaned forward, lowering my voice for effect, “…well, you know, they contain powerful spells. Wrong hands and all that…”