The Bear’s Chosen Mate

by Vivian Arend

Their new friend wrinkled her nose. “Small-town gossip is small-town gossip, and wolves are compulsively snoopy. Honestly, you’re always going to have curiosity on high when it comes to mating fever. Polar bears are the only shifters to get it, and they’re close-lipped about what goes on. Since wolves recognize our mates pretty much from the first moment, I’m fascinated by the differences in how things shake out for other shifters.”

  Amber laid a hand on Kaylee’s arm. “You don’t have to answer, but hey—at least Lara understands the mating part, which I, the human in the group, do not.”

  Kaylee fidgeted with her napkin. “I want to be with him, but so far I don’t feel anything unusual. Cats don’t have fated mates, and I haven’t felt any sharp tug or anything. I don’t know. What’s a mating bond supposed to feel like?”

  “Like that moment when you’ve been holding your breath for too long, and if you don’t get your head above water and suck in fresh air you simply know you’re going to die. Imagine that moment, ongoing and urgent. At least with an unfulfilled bond.”

  Lara took a casual sip of her drink while Amber and Kaylee stared in astonishment.

  Their new friend shrugged. “So I’ve been told.”

  Okay, then. “I don’t feel anything like that, but James says he wants to be with me, and I want to be with him. So, we’re going to see what happens.”

  Amber squeezed her fingers on the table. “Again, as the lone human in the group, that doesn’t sound too weird. Sounds like dating, and then moving in together like most humans do.”

  “No, it’s weird,” Lara and Kaylee said simultaneously, which set all three of them laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” A deep voice sounded from two feet to Kaylee’s left.

  They all glanced up to discover not only had James shown up, but Cooper and Alex both stood waiting as well. Looming over the table like massive, overprotective bears—

  Yeah. Exactly what they were.

  “Are you going to ask us to sit down?” James teased.

  “Sure,” Amber responded quickly, tucking herself against the wall.

  Kaylee slid into the middle of the bench seat to make room for James to join her and Amber. She would tease him later for being totally oblivious to the dirty looks Alex was tossing Lara’s way.

  Oh, well. The guys owned the bar. If there were any damages, they’d have to pay for them.

  15

  A s he sat next to Kaylee and pulled her against him, James couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be.

  Her thigh was tucked tight against his, hips together. He kept an arm draped around her body, and inside, his bear breathed a sigh of contentment.

  She leaned closer. Amusement tinged her voice as she whispered, “I hope you brought bail money.”

  On the opposite side of the table, the third woman, the one with the incredible eyes—brown shot with flecks of gold—snorted before busying herself examining the dessert menu. Alex had been forced into the space next to her, as Cooper rested on the outside of the bench seat.

  They’d made the place to be as comfortable as possible for shifters of all sizes, but it still looked like there was crowding going on.

  “You guys going to survive over there?” James asked.

  Alex looked downright uncomfortable, easing away from Cooper to try and give him some elbow room as their oldest brother picked up his drink that had been delivered the instant they sat down.

  Only moving sideways tucked Alex closer to the stranger, and neither of them looked as if they were enjoying themselves.

  The woman with the white-blonde hair offered James a gentle smile that made her face light up. “I’m fine. You don’t need to move on my account.”

  Alex picked up his glass and drank steadily instead of answering.

  James linked his fingers with Kaylee’s and smiled at her. “You and Amber get caught up yet?”

  In the corner, Amber leaned her head out. “Not yet, but a really good gossip session takes a few days.”

  “Depends on how much there is to tell,” Kaylee said.

  “Oh, girlfriend. I think there’s plenty to tell.” Amber offered James a wink. “You let me know if I can help coordinate anything.”

  Plates of wings arrived, and a moment later, the entire surface of the table was covered with food and all sorts of dipping sauces. For a moment, hands moved faster than mouths as everyone dug into their favourites.

  Then curiosity got the best of James, and he turned to the newcomer. “Why do you look so familiar?”

  His middle brother snorted. “How do you not know this?”

  “Because I haven’t lived here for years,” the woman said dryly, wiping her fingers clean then offering her hand to James. “Lara Lazuli.”

  He kept a smile in place because that’s part of what he did; stay cool and collected in the midst of unexpected situations. Now Alex’s discomfort made sense. Holy smokes—Lara was the youngest daughter of the family that operated Midnight Inc., their biggest competitor.

  Which meant this was a great opportunity to put the thumbscrews on his brother, since Alex appeared bent out of shape way beyond proportion by the harmless, petite woman.

  James shook Lara’s hand firmly. “Consorting with the enemy. I like it. It adds a kind of pep to the day.”

  Kaylee’s elbow dug into his side. “Stop that. She’s not the enemy, she’s our friend.”

  “Really,” Alex said, his voice low and emotionless. “You all got to be besties in an awfully short period of time.”

  Amber leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin in the palms of her hands. She looked adorable, like some freaking tree fairy. “Didn’t we? It’s because women are wonderful and marvelous creatures.”

  Lara copied the cutesy position, batting her lashes at Alex. “Sugar, and spice, and everything nice.”

  He choked for a moment. Cooper helpfully patted Alex firmly between the shoulder blades.

  Seeing Alex so on edge because of the delicately featured woman sitting next to him was a hoot. James was happy for the entertainment, and having Kaylee next to him made everything else in him content.

  Cooper and Amber began a running back-and-forth banter about the schedule for the upcoming Canada Day gala. Coordinating the event was supposed to be James’s gig, but while he’d been out of commission for the past week, things seemed to have progressed nicely without him.

  Kaylee tapped him on the shoulder before he could dive into the conversation. “I need to use the little bobcat’s room.”

  He stepped aside to let her out, hiding a smirk as both Cooper and Alex slid from their side of the bench to let Lara out as well.

  He turned to Amber and gestured to the other women who were already heading away.

  She shook her head. “Nah. I’m good.”

  “I thought women only travelled to the washroom in packs,” he teased.

  Amber raised her beer stein in the air, offering him an amused expression. “This human woman has an amazing bladder capacity far, far beyond that of the average shifter.”

  Both his brothers laughed as they resettled behind the table then grabbed their drinks.

  Cooper raised his glass in a toast to the small dark-haired woman. “May you always have more than what you need.”

  Alex edged forward, speaking softly, but insistently. “Seriously, what is she doing here? Lara, I mean.”

  Amber wiggled her way closer, leaning in as if she was about to share some big secret. She lowered her voice and announced with great excitement, “Having drinks with me and Kaylee.”

  His brother leaned back, disgruntled. “Amber.”

  “Alex,” she repeated in the same tone.

  Both James and Cooper fought to keep from snickering. It was so much fun to see the little human take control of a situation where she should’ve felt intimidated. Alex was not giving an inch, and right now he was in one hundred percent overprotective, overbearing bear mode.

  It was obvious, though, that Amb
er felt completely comfortable in making it clear this was a no fly zone.

  “You need to step back and mind your own beeswax, buster. I know you’re the grand pooh-bear of security at Borealis Gems, but you’re not in charge of who Kaylee and I spend time with.” She was on fire and her eyes glinted.

  A low grumble escaped Alex. “Pooh-bah.”

  Amber frowned. “What?”

  “It’s Grand Pooh-bah—me, as the head of security, yada-yada. Not pooh-bear. That’s a stuffed animal in a stor—”

  “I know who Pooh Bear is.” Amber spoke so dryly that James snickered, covering it up when his brother flashed him a dirty look. She continued. “When and if I ever have something important to tell you, I will. Until then, keep your furry butt out of my business.”

  Alex still looked annoyed, but he gave a brief nod and stopped trying to push her around. The tension that had slowly built faded.

  Cooper eased away as Amber relaxed and picked up her drink.

  James let his gaze drift over the bar. Between Alex knowing better than to pick a fight with someone he couldn’t win against, and Cooper acting as backup for his personal assistant, if she needed it, which wasn’t likely, there was nothing James needed to worry about.

  Kaylee and Lara were coming back toward the booth, walking side by side and laughing as they wiggled their way through the crowd to where he waited.

  Until someone stepped in front of them.

  James didn’t recognize the man, or his friends, and he didn’t want to go off the deep end if blocking the women’s path had been an accident. He was on his feet anyway because, dammit all, Kaylee was his and he planned to take care of her, no matter what.

  Blood rushed to his brain as fury rose, and he was moving rapidly across the floor.

  The road block wasn’t an accident. Somebody was looking for trouble.

  “You’re a sweet thing,” the man said, raising a hand as if he were going to stroke his knuckle down the side of Kaylee’s cheek. “Far too sweet to be hanging out with this kind of trash.”

  Kaylee knocked his hand away before he could touch her, even as another man reached for Lara.

  Someone in his path raised a fist. James countered it in self-defense.

  And then like most nights in a northern town once the violence had hit the floor, it kind of rumbled out in a widening wave until it encompassed the entire gathering.

  Fists swung, bodies crashed. Tables creaked, and glassware shattered. Through it all, James moved forward like the bear he was. He wasn’t aware of making impact, he only knew he needed to get to Kaylee as quickly as possible.

  Wading forward, bodies flew out of his way as if teleported. Or maybe those were his fists connecting with convenient body parts.

  But when he got to the other side of the crowd, Kaylee was standing with her arms folded over her chest, glaring at the first man who had tried to touch her.

  The one who was currently lying on the floor, moaning.

  “Kaylee.” James rushed forward.

  That’s when he noticed Lara had another man on his knees, his body twisted into a painful position. She had one of his arms shoved up behind his back, and the fingers of her free hand were tangled in his hair, his head pulled in a painful angle.

  Lara wore a disturbingly sweet expression as she spoke softly to Kaylee. “Rude people in this bar.”

  “Unusual crowd,” Kaylee offered with equal saccharine sweetness. “Must be a full moon or something.”

  Behind Lara, at the edge of his peripheral vision, Alex and Cooper had another two of the troublemakers in headlocks. James’s gaze remained locked on the man on the floor attempting to crab crawl to safety.

  Blood pounded at the back of James’s eyeballs. “You tried to touch Kaylee,” he said. “Prepare to die.”

  16

  K aylee had a slight ache in her entire body. It was all good and well that James wanted to be her mate, but this? Seriously?

  As the big galoot waded forward, she stepped in front of him, smacking into his chest. James stopped instantly.

  “Prepare to die? Who do you think you are, Inigo Montoya?”

  Under her hand, James’s chest continued to heave, pulsing with each heavy breath. His bloodshot eyes seemed unfocused, and she could swear his fangs were slightly out as he attempted to find the man she sensed inching toward safety behind her.

  “He touched you,” James growled, far more animal than man.

  “He did not,” Kaylee said.

  It was true. Between her knocking his hand away and Lara acting like a freaking ninja warrior princess by taking down the guy bothering Kaylee and the next one in the lineup, she’d barely had time to get worried.

  “Touched you.” This time it came out a roar.

  Okay. Now it was time to get worried. There was no reasoning with him when he was like this. He was leaving human thought behind and moving rapidly to fight or flight.

  And right now, his bear didn’t have a flight reflex.

  It was the only thing Kaylee could think of to stop bloodshed from occurring—well, more than the bloody noses and blackened eyes already visible strewn on the floor between their table and where they now stood.

  She fisted the front of his shirt with both hands and dragged herself up against him, using her body as a shield in an attempt to calm him down.

  “I’m safe. I’m okay.”

  James was having trouble focusing, and he was still growling.

  Kaylee slid her hands up his chest until she could cup his face. When he didn’t look at her, she gave into frustration and caught hold of him by the ears, tugging sharply to get his attention.

  His bear stared back.

  “I’m going for a run,” she said as haughtily as possible. “Maybe if you catch me we can have a discussion about your behaviour tonight.”

  His arm swung out as if he would grab her in an enormous hug, but she wasn’t a cat for nothing. She dropped to the floor, and with a quick finger wave at her friends, headed for the exit.

  Somebody in the crowd was alert enough to realize she needed a little help, shoving the door open then darting out of the way. It was a good thing, because she was using both hands to tear off her shirt. She made it through the opening and hung a hard right, all but throwing herself to the ground as she jerked off her skirt, kicked off her boots and shifted.

  James was seconds behind her. Somebody must’ve gotten in his way for long enough to give her that much of a head start, but it was enough. She raced toward the path conveniently located at the side of the parking lot. The one that headed into the wilderness, with multiple hunting trails and jogging paths for when the human community wanted to get out into the great outdoors as well.

  Warm air rushed past her. Kaylee took deep breaths and let the distance vanish beneath her feet. She would’ve been quicker on snow, but the thick padding on her paws let her cover the branch-strewn spaces between the trees as she darted from one path to the next, leading James away from anyone he might get in trouble for decapitating.

  She slowed and ducked around a tree—and damn near bumped into him, his massive bulk sitting in the middle of the path like a door stop.

  Kaylee backpedaled, darting away and through a patch of prickly brambles, ducking low enough that she could fit without losing more than a few tufts of fur.

  She ran through the open space on the opposite side as rapidly as possible, looking to get ahead of him. He’d have to go around the entire area, and the extra distance would give her time to—

  Only, when she popped back out on the trail, he was there, lying across the path as if he were a Playboy model. One furry leg bent up and crossed over another, head supported on a paw.

  He’s cute, her cat said. He’s not supposed to be that cute.

  Cute, but oh so annoying.

  I’d kiss him, her cat said with shocking agreeability.

  Which changed things to the nth degree. Her cat rarely liked anyone that way. Kaylee padded over to where James
was waiting, now rolled onto his belly, watching her closely.

  What the hell? Kaylee let her wild side do what she wanted, which was to nip the tip of his ear.

  James batted his enormous powerful paw against her so delicately he wouldn’t have disturbed the wings on a butterfly.

  Quickly, she was shifting, and so was he, as he pulled her into his arms and brought her to the ground with him. He kept his body under hers, taking her lips possessively. The low rumble that had been pouring from his chest finally faded away after he’d kissed her hard enough to leave her gasping.

  She knelt over him, palms pressed to his naked torso, staring down into his big brown eyes. “I don’t need you to hurt people for me,” she scolded.

  “But he touched you,” James repeated the phrase like a toddler with a one-track mind.

  She tweaked his nose. “He did not. I protected myself.”

  “He could have hurt you.”

  Very doubtful. “Lara was like some high-test bodyguard on speed, so even if he had made contact, she would’ve had him on the ground in only seconds.”

  His expression turned to sheer confusion. “Lara did that?”

  “Yes. And your brothers took care of another two, although that was because you were already a little busy taking out a dozen people on the direct route.” When he blinked and had the grace to look a little ashamed, she leaned closer, thrilling as the heat of their chests. “I’m okay, I swear it.”

  He dipped his chin unsteadily, gaze rising to meet hers. “I think it’s the mating bond. I mean, I’ve never felt like that before, so out of control.”

  She did another internal systems check, but there was nothing different other than the fading traces of fear, annoyance, and amusement. The absolute terror on Alex’s face as he spotted sweet Lara all but ready to skin her victim alive had been a great visual.

  No mystical mating bond had snapped into place between her and James.

  Still, she didn’t want him worried about it. “I’m sorry you got caught by surprise like that. And while I don’t feel anything, I understand. We’ll be extra careful until things settle down.”