The Silver Bear's Mate

by Fay Walsh

  What did it mean for her? What would it matter to either of them? What would happen next? For Vicky, there was a lot that she could say about this, and a lot that she could do, but she definitely was excited about this, and she was ready for all of that to happen from here on out. She was ready for it, and she definitely felt pretty happy about the words that were uttered here.

  After a little bit, Vicky decided to explore at night. She didn't want to do it tonight, because it was late, but she had plans to go the next night after work. She decided to go to the park that she went to yesterday with Sven.

  Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she had a nagging feeling that something would happen next, and she was definitely ready for it. She was excited about the future of what may happen to them next, and she was excited about it all.

  She started to look around at all of the stuff that she had. She figured taking a knife and maybe some pepper spray may help her. But, she had a feeling that if she was dealing with animals, maybe a knife would be better. She took the knife but left the pepper spray at home.

  That night, she left the library with a sigh. She wanted to know. She felt like she was so close to knowing, and that’s what bothered her the most about this. She knew that, if she kept it like this, things wouldn’t be nearly as good, but she definitely was worried about what would happen next. She was definitely trying her best to keep herself together, but there was that lingering feeling of what may happen next.

  After she got to the park, she felt the eerie presence, like something was there, practically mocking her when she thought about it. She then stepped into the park, walking around. At first, she wanted to use her flashlight, but if she was going to explore she would want to keep everything in the dark.

  As she turned off the light, she felt a strange sensation in her body. She felt like she was definitely being watched, followed. She was a bit worried about all of this, and about what may happen next, and she was quite curious about what will happen now. She started to step forward, moving about, and going into the park.

  At first, she felt nothing. She didn’t notice any major differences at all, and she wondered if she was just imagining all of this. But, after a bit, the feeling became more sinister, much worse, and Vicky realized that there was something out there.

  It was terrifying, to say the least. She didn’t know what else to do or to say at this point, and she wondered as well if there was more here than what met the eye. She did have a few concerns, but she figured it would all make itself known sooner than later.

  She stepped forward, hearing the snap of a branch, and she let out a small squeak of surprise. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to come out here alone, but she did it anyway. She wanted to face her fears, to know the truth, and to get answers.

  If Sven was here, it would have something to do with her.

  As she stepped forward, she heard the sound of breathing. She wasn't alone. She whipped her head around, but she couldn't sense anything. The shadows of the trees obscured everything, making it hard to even be sure that she was in the right location.

  “Okay, just breathe. You’ve gotta breathe,’ Vicky told herself. She needed to breathe, even if she didn’t want to. She started to look ahead when she felt a small push. It wasn’t a huge push, but it was enough to make her fall forward, and she fell down to the ground.

  Panic started to flow through her body as this happened. She got up, trying to run away as she did this, but then, she fell down again, tripping over another branch that was nearby.

  The creature crept towards her, and Vicky tensed, realizing what was going on. They were there, and she realized that the shifter, or whatever this might be, was ready to attack, not leaving her alone until things were done.

  “Please, stay away,” she cried. She tried to put her hands up into the darkness, feeling her heart beat faster and faster. The wolf-like creature, or whatever it was, started to sneer.

  “You got yourself into this. Foolish little human,” the creature said.

  She noticed the light from a nearby lamppost, and as she started to move towards it, she got a better glimpse at who was there.

  “No way,” she said.

  She looked at the creature, realizing it was the same one that attacked her all those years ago. She remembered the black, mottled fur, the look of pure hatred and bloodlust in their eyes, the snarl that their mouth had. All of this made her realize that she may be in too deep, that this was indeed not what she should've been doing.

  But, she couldn't get away she didn’t want to get away. She wanted to stay, to witness whatever would happen next, and to see for herself just what would transpire.

  “Please… leave me alone, she said.

  The wolf didn’t listen, instead of attacking her with all its force. She fell to the ground, pushing the throat of the wolf away as much as possible. But, it was biting, attacking her with its strength. She could only keep this up for so long, but she knew that this wouldn't be the end. She had to get out of here. She needed someone, or something, to save her.

  It was then when she heard a growl in the distance. She looked around, trying to figure out the source when suddenly, she felt the weight get pushed off her body. She moved towards the side, scrambling to get on her feet, and she then looked over at the savior.

  She gasped. It was the silver bear from all those years ago. She knew that she hadn’t made it up. The fact that this creature was right here, ready to fight for her, made her realize that this was indeed the truth, that she hadn’t made this up at all. She looked at it, noticing how it was lunging at the wolf, trying to attack it.

  “I'm not here to fight you. I wanted the girl, but it looks like you meddled with our plans again. But don’t worry, I'll be back to avenge Emilia's death,” the creature told the silver bear.

  Emilia? That had to be the other person that was with this wolf all those years ago. She remembered there being another shifter too, but they were gone, replaced with whomever this creature was. She looked over at the silver bear, and when she locked eyes with him, there was something friendly about them.

  She didn’t understand why that was the case. After all, she figured it had something to do with the fact that they gave off that vibe that made her feel a little more at ease, a little more at ease. But, as she walked over towards the creature, the bear looked at her with a glare.

  “S-sorry,” she said.

  She didn’t know what to do. She just stood there, and she looked at the bear. She wanted to ask how the bear knew about her, how it could save her, but she just stared at it, taking a second to drink in the moment.

  When the bear changed, she gasped. She felt her eyes widen, shock settling in as she looked at the one who saved her. She had had a strange feeling that it was him, but she hadn’t known for sure that it was the case.

  Sven appeared, looking at her, and she stood there for a minute. He started to look away.

  “I guess you needed to know the truth sooner or later,” he said.

  “Yeah. I did,” she said.

  She stood there, trying to figure out what to do next. She wanted more information on what this meant, and what their relationship entailed, but she had no idea where to begin, or what to do about any of that.

  Chapter 7

  Sven knew that if he revealed himself here, things would change between them. He knew that she was the type who was curious, but she wouldn't run away. She was too curious to do that. But, Sven was worried about what this meant.

  However, he knew when she described the situation back at the diner a couple of days ago, that she was definitely the girl that he had saved. He remembered he felt a connection with her, and while she was only 18 at the time, he had a feeling he’d see her again.

  The silence between them was palpable. As for Sven, he didn't know where to begin. He looked at her, blushing.

  “So it was you. I had a feeling it was,” she said. ”I had a nagging feeling you might’ve been the person who saved
me those years ago too, but I didn’t know for sure. It’s… nice to say the least. I don't feel like I'm hiding anything anymore,” she said.

  “Yeah. You were that girl who was outside, angry at your parents for not listening to you, right?” he said.

  She blushed, and Sven could tell she wasn’t very proud of that, but it was true.

  “You could say that. But, how did you know it was me?” she asked.

  “I had this feeling. It was bizarre, that’s for sure. I don't really know what to make of any of this, and I definitely have a lot of questions myself, but I'm just glad that I could help you,” he said.

  “You have helped me. Twice now,” she said.

  ‘It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it, Sven said.

  “Bullshit. It is something worth mentioning Sven. People don’t help me out like this. Nobody cares about me enough to do something like this for me. I appreciate your efforts. A lot,” she said.

  He tensed, feeling those words hit him like a blow to the face. He then started to sigh, looking at her.

  “I'm glad that I could help. But, it’s bizarre how this happened. I mean, I know that a few years ago there were attacks. I remember that it was a big mess, and I remember that it was the worst it had been since I moved here, but I didn't expect… this,” he said.

  “I don't think either of us did,” she said.

  “Well, I'm glad that I came forward. I got… a feeling that you were in danger, so I wanted to help,” he said.

  He couldn't tell her about his power. He kept that mostly to himself. Only Travis knew about his ability to see into the future.

  “Yeah, I grew curious. I wanted to know more about this because I could tell there was something bigger here. I just didn’t expect this, you know,” she said.

  “Yeah. You were the girl that I saved all those years ago, that I fought for, that I chased off. I also remember telling you to not look for me. So, I guess you didn’t, it just kind of… happened, you know,” he said.

  “That’s really how it happened. I didn't mean to look for you at all. I just kind of learned that you had something hidden underneath the mysterious and cool facade that you always assume. I'm glad that I finally figured it out though,” she said.

  “You could say that. I haven’t ever revealed… that part of myself ever,” he said.

  “You mean being a shifter?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I was worried about what you might happen to think because of this. I mean, not everyone is, well, as nice as you are,” he said. He didn’t think she would even stick around.

  “Nah, I am genuinely curious about it. Have you always been a shifter? Even after moving here?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I always had this power. I hated it. Back in Norway, people didn't think twice about it, but now, when I'm here, I definitely know people aren’t as nice about it as people were there. Back then, people just kept to themselves. But, when I moved here, I remembered meeting Travis, and he told me to hide my power. It was quite different from what I'm used to, but I'm glad that I listened to him. Not everyone is as nice about this as you think they may be,” he explained.

  “I get that. I know that people aren’t as chill about it as they could be,” she replied.

  “That’s correct. I honestly didn’t think I'd ever show you. I wanted to show you, Vicky. For the first time... I actually felt like I’d met someone who wouldn’t run away if they knew. And I guess I was right about that,” he said.

  He was shocked that he was correct about all of that since he knew how people could be about that. She then started to giggle, laughing at his words.

  “You’ll need to do a whole lot more than that to scare me away you know,” she told him.

  He smiled in relief.

  “Thank you for that. But you’re not… scared, right? Of this form? Of the fact that I do have that side of me?”

  “Not at all! Trust me on this. I'm actually quite curious about this. I want to know more about you, Sven. I want to know the truth behind you, your powers, everything,” she said.

  He flushed, realizing that she wasn’t scared of him. It was a novel feeling, that was for sure. He didn’t expect her to stay here, to actually care enough to want something more from this.

  “Are you sure? I mean, I'm just… not used to this. Not used to showing someone how I feel,” he said.

  “No, I want to stick around. I'm genuinely curious about this. You have an interesting and very different perspective on life. I mean, I've always expected there to be shifters about, but not like this. I didn't think I'd ever meet one in my life. So thanks for that,” she said.

  “You’re welcome. I'm glad you’re not scared,” he said.

  “You will need to do a whole lot more than this to scare me away, you know,” she teased.

  “Yeah, but I don’t expect you to actually stay here and listen to me,” he said.

  “Trust me, I'm happy that you showed me the truth, that you care about this, and that you like me enough to do that. In a strange way, it’s… nice to admit. Nice to know,” she said.

  Before he could say anything else, he felt a pair of lips against his own. He didn’t know that she cared enough about this to want to find out more. He kissed her, feeling the lightness of her lips, and the chastity of the kiss. She pulled away, blushing as she looked at him with a look of longing.

  “I want you, Sven, but… I'm nervous. You’d be my first,” she said.

  He turned red as he heard those words. He wanted this as well, but he didn’t think that it would happen like this. However, he wasn't going to complain. He leaned in, smiling.

  “Well, I guess that makes two of us. I'll try to give you the best experience possible,” he said.

  She reddened at his words, which he thought was utterly adorable, but then, she relaxed.

  “Okay. I trust you. I really do,” she said.

  “Thank you for that. I'm glad that you do. It’s… nice to say the least,” he said to her.

  She nodded, and soon, he pressed his lips to her own, kissing her softly. The two of them started to dive in, letting their lips move and mingle with soft, sensual touches. He let out a groan as he started to push deeper, knowing full well what he was doing. He had never gotten this close to a human before. He always kept his distance, for fear of what may come about. He also knew that getting involved with humans could be something that may backfire later on, and he was quite happy that she was at least willing to listen to him.

  The two of them kissed passionately in the forest, moving deeper into there. He wanted to make this special. He knew that this was her first time, and as he pulled away, he spoke.

  “I know of a place where we can go that’s nearby,” he said.

  He knew that there was a small hotel about a block away, but then, Vicky blushed and shook her head.

  “Let’s… go back to my place,” she said.

  He nodded, following her back to the car and then heading to her apartment. It was quiet, probably because of how late it was, but when they got in, he kissed her again, the two of them drowning in the embrace. He loved everything about this, craving more of this from her, and he wanted to feel this even more than ever before. When he pulled back, he looked over to the hallway.

  “Where is the bedroom?”

  “T-this way,’ she said, leading him there. When she got on the bed, he kissed her again. His animalistic instincts took over, and as he kissed down her neck, he lightly nipped at the flesh there causing her to let out a moan of pleasure and surprise at his actions. He stopped for a brief moment, fearing that he might’ve hurt her, but then she shook her head.

  “No. it’s okay. Trust me, I'm fine,” she said, reassuring him of this. He started to nod, moving downwards, and soon, he started to lightly suck on her flesh, and he watched as she started to let out a cry of pleasure and surprise at his actions. He loved hearing that from her, and he soon started to nibble on her flesh, teasing it softly, enjoying the way that she moaned in r
esponse. She looked at him and started to speak.

  “Y-you can continue on,” she offered.

  He tensed, looking at her with surprise in his eyes.

  “Are you… sure?” he asked.

  “Yes. Please keep on going,” she said, her voice laced with both lust and desire. She did seem a bit fearful, but she was excited about this. He moved his hands to her shirt, lightly pushing it upwards until it got over her head. He kissed down her body until he got to her breasts, nestled within a small sports bra. He pulled it off, over her head, and as he took a moment to drink in the sight of her beautiful body, he realized what he was doing.

  He wanted her. His body knew that this was it. Was she his mate? He honestly didn’t know, but he was too far gone, too enraptured by lust, to stay here and not do something about it. He started to move his hands downwards, and soon, he started to move his hands right over her small breasts. He cupped them, touching them there. She let out a small gasp of both surprise and shock at this, and he realized this might be her first time experiencing something like this.