A shifter’s fate was impossible to ignore.
10.
Krystal had never been so glad to close the shop as she stood waiting by the doorway for the sight of Anson’s truck. It had been a long, busy and enjoyable day, but since he had come to visit her, all she had been able to think about was locking the doors and heading off with him to spend the evening.
Her nerves were starting to fizzle to the surface, and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She didn’t want to psyche herself out before he had even arrived, but she was finding it difficult not to overthink with each passing second.
The candles had been blown out and the shop was dark. The dusk was already rolling in and some of the taverns had opened along Main Street, with early bird drinkers and diners already filling up the tables inside.
When she saw a set of headlights come closer, she knew it was him. They slowed and the truck stopped, and she ran her hands through her hair to bounce up the curls. She stepped outside and locked the store door behind her.
It was such a strange feeling to her that she couldn’t see him, yet she knew it was Anson.
She felt him.
She felt his eyes on her and she felt his presence. It was already carved into her and she felt bonded and chosen, as if they would never truly be apart again.
She had heard of this kind of thing. Her mother had warned her about it when she had been a teenager. She had told her about the power a shifter man could have when it came to claiming his woman, and that she had to watch for the signs.
Krystal had thought she had it all figured out, but since she had met Anson, all the things she had been told in the past had gone out the window. He was something she hadn’t been expecting, and now that he had arrived in her life, she needed to explore it.
“Hi,” he smiled as he stepped out of the driver’s door and made his way around to greet her.
He looked down at her and reached for the passenger door, opening it wide and letting her climb in.
“Thank you,” Krystal said as she pulled herself up and inside and then was instantly grabbed and smothered with hugs by Heidi.
“Krystal!” Heidi called. “I am so glad you’re coming to help us. Daddy said you’re going to show us how to make garlands.”
Anson climbed back in the driver’s side and laughed before he shrugged and seemed to agree with the suggestion.
“Did he now…?” Krystal teased.
“We have everything ready,” Heidi continued. “I got all my craft boxes down from the spare room.”
She was bubbling with excitement and it was catching. Krystal’s nerves had completely disappeared now she was with them both and all she could focus on was how easy and chilled things were. Their energies all mixed so well together, as if they had known each other for a lifetime.
Anson drove the mountain roads and left the main part of town. He headed out toward one of the quieter neighborhoods with bigger houses, and Krystal was in awe of how stunning they all were.
“Wow,” she said. “These are amazing cabins.”
Anson smiled and nodded.
“I built most of them,” he said as he looked at her. “My company did anyway. We own a lot of the land around town with my family being one of the original settlers here.”
“Wow, really?”
He nodded.
“So, around eight years ago, when I was just starting to get good at this building thing, I thought, Why don’t we cater for some of the rich crazies who like to come out to this neck of the woods? I mean, people have lake houses and vacation homes all over the country. Why not here?”
He was confident and intelligent, and it was even more of a turn on. When she had initially met him, he had come across as such a brutish jerk, but now she was getting to know him she could see how wonderful he truly was.
“So, I set the wheels in motion and we started with six executive cabins… now we have ten. And ours is right at the top of the neighborhood.”
The cabins were more than that… they looked like wood and glass mansions nestled discreetly in amongst the trees. Anson weaved the truck in and around the road easily, his hands moving at exactly the right time as if he knew each bend by heart.
He slowed and pulled up in front of one of the smaller cabins out of the ten that they had seen, but it was still incredible. It was traditional in style but with some modern features thrown in, and she could see that part of the roof at the back was glass and it looked as if it had been extended.
Heidi was chattering away in the back and she unclipped her belt and opened the door, running toward the porch at full speed and beckoning Krystal to come with her.
She followed her and Anson closed the door after her before he locked the car and took the keys to the front door. He slipped them in and opened it wide and when she walked in behind Heidi, she instantly felt that this place was a warm and welcoming home. She had been in some amazing houses over the years, but they had been cold and clinical. This place was inviting and full of good energy, and she looked up to Anson and smiled at him with a blush.
They went through to the kitchen and living space and she loved how big and open plan it was. Heidi hadn’t been exaggerating when she had said that she had brought down all her craft supplies, and there were three large Perspex boxes waiting for them on the island, filled to the brim with multicolored felt and ribbons, wire and sticks, fairy lights and patterns, wool and buttons.
“Well, look at all this,” Krystal said. “What a collection.”
Heidi beamed and sat and instantly started to open the boxes and pull things out and onto the countertop.
Anson was looking at Krystal and she turned to him and their eyes met. She felt a rush of longing throb right through her and she noticed that he was breathing fast too.
“Let me get you something,” he said. “A drink?”
“Thank you,” Krystal said. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
Anson opened the refrigerator and brought out a bottle of red wine. He uncorked it effortlessly and poured her a glass. Krystal took it from him and smiled, and then she went to take a sip but had to pull away. There was no way she could drink it.
“Okay, I have a confession,” she said.
Anson looked at her with worry, but she laughed and shook her head to let him know it wasn’t anything to be alarmed about.
“I don’t like wine,” she said, and she cringed as if she had just told him the worst thing in the world. “I’m sorry… In fact, I don’t like alcohol that much in general.”
Anson’s brow unfurled and a look of relief flooded over him.
“You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear that,” he said as he reached and took the glass away from her and threw the contents of it down the sink with a splash. “I don’t drink either. Not at all. I’ve been teetotal for years.”
“Really?” she asked. Completely dumbfounded as to how Anson could have gotten any more perfect than he already was.
“Yeah, it was never something I enjoyed,” he said as he looked at Heidi, as if the reason was something to do with her being in his life. “And you know, I have my responsibilities…”
Krystal’s heart was melting.
He was everything she had ever dreamed of. How could her mom have disliked guys like him? Maybe she had been brainwashed by her own parents and had just never had the chance to explore things herself and be proved wrong.
He laughed and rested the almost full wine bottle in the sink and then he went back to the refrigerator.
“Okay,” he grinned. “Let’s start again.”
He brought out a bottle of lemonade and a smoothie that looked homemade, he had fresh juices and mineral waters, and he let Krystal take her pick.
“Oh, I’ll have to try a mountain spring water,” she said as she took the bottle from his hands. “Thank you.”
He chose the same and they untwisted the caps from the tops of the bottles and then chinked them together before they drank.
Their eyes never leaving each other’s for a moment.
Krystal could have kept looking at him forever, but Heidi was already bouncing around on her chair and asking them to sit with her.
“Come on guys,” she said with glee. “Let’s make a wreath for the door with these dried pumpkins and lights… I have these leaves too.”
Anson smiled, and so did Krystal.
Out of an initial meeting of what would officially go down as the worst in history, they had found something special here… and now, Krystal was relaxing in this wonderful home with a gorgeous little girl and her dad. Could this be the family-life she had missed and craved so much?
They started to unpack the lights and the faux autumn leaves, and Anson watched as the two girls got to work. There was a lot of crafts to be done, and they were eager to get going. Before the night was through, their cabin was going to be decked out for Halloween so well, people would be traveling to Bridge Hollow just to see it.
“She is honestly one of the most amazing kids I’ve ever met.” Krystal smiled as she and Anson sat on the couch together later that evening.
Heidi had been exhausted by the time it had hit 9pm, and after being super excited about being able to stay up late, she had eventually crashed and gone to bed without having to be prompted.
“She is incredible,” Anson said humbly.
“And you’re the reason,” Krystal continued. “You really are a fantastic father.”
He shrugged and looked momentarily embarrassed.
“It’s not always this easy,” he admitted. “But I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s been the two of us for so long now… since the beginning really. We don’t know it any other way.”
Krystal wanted to ask what had happened to Heidi’s mom, but she didn’t want to overstep.
“Would you mind if I asked what happened… with her mom?” she asked tentatively and almost in a whisper.
Anson locked eyes with her and smiled before he looked away, as if he couldn’t bear to admit it to another person.
“She was an addict,” he said finally. “She left us when Heidi was only a few weeks old. She stole money from me and my business and one morning she was just gone… Five years later and we haven’t heard a word from her. Not that I want to. Heidi is much better off without her in her life, but sometimes I can tell she misses the presence of a mother figure.”
Krystal’s heart was breaking for him, and she reached out and touched his arm. Her fingertips grazed his hot skin and the heat from within him made her gasp.
He looked at her and their eyes met again. There was something so deep and intense there, something made it impossible for her to break away.
“I know the truth about this place,” she whispered. “I lived here myself when I was a child, and my mom and I left before I had a chance to figure things out… but she told me…”
Anson’s eyes were on her, his pupils wide and engulfed with passion.
“I know about the shifters…” she let the statement hang in the air. “You are one, aren’t you?”
Her heart was racing in her chest and she felt her palms go clammy. She wanted to know the truth about him, but at the same time, she was afraid. If he confirmed what she thought he was, then she was going to be conflicted. She didn’t want to disrespect everything her mother had always told her, but she also knew how she felt. She was falling for this man. And it was impossible to stop. Something powerful had brought them together and they needed to explore their connection.
“Yes,” he said, his eyes not leaving hers for a second. “I’m from the bear pack here. Does that frighten you?”
He said it so calmly, so honestly, that it was hard for her to feel any other way than a certain kind of relief.
“No,” she smiled. “I thought it would… but it doesn’t.”
He smiled and took her hand.
“I always said I wouldn’t get involved with anyone,” he moved a little closer. “But the moment I saw you, something inside me came alive. And I can’t ignore it.”
“Me neither,” she said in a whisper.
She squeezed his hand reassuringly and he lifted his other one to brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The sensation of his fingertips connecting with her skin made her bones tremble and her heart race. He was awakening things in her too… things she hadn’t known before and things she was quickly becoming addicted too.
The tension between them was mounting, and Krystal knew she wanted to kiss him. She didn’t truly know what the implications were, but the way she was feeling in this moment told her that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with this man. She never wanted them to be apart.
He leaned forward and their lips grazed against each other’s.
“Do you know what happens when men like me find our one true mate?” he whispered.
Krystal nodded. Her mother had told her that once they had been connected, their souls would be entwined forever.
Everything in her head was telling her to run, but her heart was ruling and there was no stilling it.
“My mother told me… that you claim someone…”
Anson nodded.
Krystal swallowed nervously and looked up into his eyes.
“I can’t fight this,” she whispered.
The pull between them was so strong it was physically beginning to ache. She wanted him so badly, but she had to be sure.
“I can’t kiss you,” he said as he pulled away. “If I do… there is no going back.”
Krystal looked away and breathed out deeply, her heart was pounding so hard and her mind was a mess. She felt so strongly toward him, but everything in her life up until this point had told her to run from men like him. How could she just go against all that without doing some serious soul searching?
“I should go,” she said as she got to her feet and smoothed her hands down her jeans. “I know how I feel, but I’m so confused.”
Anson nodded and put his head in his hands.
“Me too,” he said. “It’s been Heidi and I for such a long time…”
He looked up to her and smiled weakly. It was clear they were both conflicted, and yet their passion was so extraordinarily strong. Neither of them had ever felt anything like it before and it was knocking them both off their feet and moral compasses.
Krystal looked across at the carnage they had all left on the island in the kitchen and the table beside it. The leftovers of the Halloween crafts and the lovely little things they had made. It had been a wonderful evening, and now, she had had her suspicions confirmed. Anson was a shifter, and if she got involved with him, she would be with him for all time. Their souls would merge into one, she would be claimed by him and no one would ever be able to break them apart.
Fate had them in its sights.
“Thank you for tonight,” she smiled as she grabbed her jacket and raced toward the door. “Don’t worry about getting me home, I can walk.”
“No!” he said as he rose to his feet. “You can’t walk home; we are miles from Main Street.”
She chewed her bottom lip and thought of the sleeping little girl in the bedroom down the hall and the way she had come here and fallen in fast. She didn’t even want to go, but she knew she had to be strong and resist spending the actual night with him.
“I’ll call a cab,” she smiled.
“There aren’t any around here at this time of night,” he said as he looked up to the clock. “I’ll wake Heidi and bring her with us.”
“No,” Krystal shook her head. “Please don’t do that.”
He smiled and shrugged.
“Then please, take the spare room?” he asked her. “I can drive you back first thing. As early as you want.”
Krystal couldn’t think of anything more perfect. Waking up in the same house as him and Heidi and seeing how they got to spend their morning.
“Okay,” she smiled. “As long as it’s no trouble.”
“Trouble?” he asked with a raised brow. “There’s no
way I’m letting you out of here into the dark night alone. Come on, I’ll show you the space.”
They walked down the hallway hand in hand, and Krysta’s heart was on fire. This had been the most perfect evening, and now, it didn’t even have to end until the morning.
11.
She rolled to her side and yawned. The warmth around her was lush and so soft she felt as if she were sleeping wrapped up in marshmallows. It had been the best night’s sleep of her life, and when she opened her eyes, it took her a moment to figure out where she was.
The room wasn’t the one at the apartment that she had been calling her own. But a stunningly modern one with a huge king-sized bed. She sat up and blinked in a daze and it came rushing back to her that she was at Anson’s and Heidi’s house. She pulled the covers up to her chin and grinned.
Last night had been so perfect.
They had had the most wonderful time and Anson had been nothing but the perfect gentlemen. He had asked her to spend the night in the guest room and had even resisted kissing her at the doorway before he went off to bed himself. But it had been hard for them both. Krystal hadn’t known if she would have been able to do it, if the pull would have been too strong, but what kept her head fixed on her shoulders was the knowledge that she had to speak with her aunt. She had to know the reason why her mother had felt the way she did. She had spent her whole life believing these men to be bad. Was there something she was missing? How could Anson be so perfect, how could she feel so pulled to him, if he was really such a bad guy?
She knew deep within her heart that he wasn’t. But she also needed some answers. She needed to know she wasn’t about to make the biggest mistake of her life. Even if her soul wanted it more than anything.
She rose to her feet and looked in the mirror. She had slept so soundly she can’t have moved in the night at all, as her hair still fell around her face in soft waves and she didn’t look disheveled one bit.
She took a sip of water from the glass on the nightstand, and then she went into the adjoining bathroom and quickly washed her face in the sink and freshened up a little before she headed toward the door.
Bridge Hollow Shifters: The Complete Collection Page 38