by Topaz Jones
The mead’s magic wended its way down to her throbbing pussy. Oh God, it’d had been too long since she’d enjoyed the feel of a hard cock. Three years the devil on her shoulder whispered. So why don’t you go down there and do something about it?
Snow tossed back the last of her mead and stood up on slightly wobbly legs. “Whoa there.” she muttered, grabbing onto the deck railing. “If you’re gonna seduce these guys, you’re gonna have to remain upright. At least for a bit.” She giggled hysterically at her own joke, then burst into a fit of hiccups. Damn, that honey mead was stronger than her last batch.
Wending her way down to the cabin proved trickier that she’d expected. It was now pitch dark, she couldn’t see a thing, and her gravel driveway was painful to walk on in bare feet. Stupid. Shoulda warn shoes, she admonished herself but it was too late. She was halfway down and wasn’t turning back now.
“Ouch!” she yelped when a sharp stone pierced her heel. Instantly the door of the cabin was thrown open and she made out the blur of an enormous man bearing down towards her.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” He barked, as he scooped her up into his arms, like she weighed no more than a feather.
“I’m, uh…” Words failed her as her raging hormones realized that he was shirtless, his buff muscles playing underneath her hands as she held pressed them against his warm, hard chest. It was Ty, the quiet one, as she’d labeled him but he wasn’t quiet now – his chest rumbled and he almost growled admonishments at her as he strode swiftly towards the cabin.
“It’s full moon. There are dangerous, wild animals over there in the forest. And you’re tiptoeing around defenseless in the dark.”
“S’not wilderness,” she argued. “It’s my land. And I wasn’t tiptoeing.” She added mutinously, leaning her head against his chest so she could listen to the heavy beat of his heart. It was like a siren’s call to her, that heartbeat, and another ripple of desire washed over her as she breathed in his musky scent of pine and leather. He shifted her away from him while still cradling her, just giving some space between his torso and her barely covered body.
“Dangerous animals don’t read signs.” He stated gruffly. “And trust me darlin’, there are plenty of things out here in the dark you don’t wanna come across.”
“Wanna bet?” Snow retorted, giving him what she hoped was a come-hither smile as she peered up into his shadowed face. His frowned down at her, his black brows drawn across his ebony eyes in a very intimidating manner. She should be scared, she told herself, taunting an enormous, strange man like this. He could hurt her … or worse. Yet she felt safe and protected in his arms, despite the glowering glare directed at her.
He didn’t speak again until he pushed open the cabin door with his foot and dropped her to her feet on the wooden floor.
Jacob was sitting leaning against the tiny kitchen bench, his arms crossed over his chest, a worried expression on his GQ-handsome face. He was shirtless too, she noticed immediately, her eyes glued to the heavy tattoos that ran down both huge arms in a pattern that looked almost like claw marks. Ty had them too she realized as she blinked in the brightly lit room, taking in his darker skinned torso.
The cabin was tiny, just one main room with a couch, small kitchen area and double bed, and a modest ensuite. The size of the two men made it feel even smaller, she realized. In fact, they made her feel smaller too. She’d always been teased about her weight – being called bumble-bee body and other cruel taunts, but standing between these two titans, she felt positively petite. It was awesome. And a turn-on.
Snow swallowed and attempted to break the awkward silence. “Sorry to interrupt.” She directed the comment at Jacob who shook his head.
“You had been warned to stay inside.”
“So your beefcake brother here told me.” Snow giggled and then hiccupped again. Damn that mead was really helping with her usual social anxiety. “But I wanted to come visit you guys.”
Jacob’s frown grew even darker and he stepped forward towards her. Snow instinctively took a step back and collided with Ty’s immoveable frame. Her heart stuttered again at the contact and a trickle of fear broke through her tipsy brain.
“You’re meant to be the friendly one.” She teased Jacob, hoping to disarm him with a bit of banter and a big smile.
It didn’t work.
“We need to get you out of here right now.” He replied, grabbing her by the upper arm and turning her around so she was sandwiched between the two men.
Ty gave a quick shake of his head and nodded towards the door. “Too late. He’s outside now prowling around.”
“Who’s outside?” Snow demanded.
Both men looked down at her but didn’t answer. A deep growl echoed outside, sending a chill of utter dread down her spine. “What the hell was that?” she whispered. “I’ve never heard any animal sound like that before.”
“It wasn’t an animal. It was Dax.” Jacob stated baldly.
Snow blinked. “You’ll be telling me next he’s a werebear.” The joke fell flat. More silence, more meaningful looks. Frustrated, Snow slipped past them and flung open the door.
“Oh for goodness sake, there’s no such-“, Snow stopped in shock, as her addled brain registered the enormous grizzly bear that paused mid-prowl on the lawn at the bottom of the stairs. It stood perfectly still and though it remained on all four paws, its shoulder height was taller than Snow. Its brown eyes eerily reflected the moonlight, and drilled into hers as she stood fixed to the spot by sheer terror.
Jacob heaved a sigh from behind her, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. “And that’s what we were trying to tell you.”
Chapter Four
Snow tried to answer, but words completely failed her. She couldn’t even breathe and her legs began to buckle.
Ty swore and scooped her up again in his arms. “Good one, Dax.” He snarled over his shoulder at the bear and carried her into the bedroom where he gently laid her on the bed.
Snow scrambled back and held the pillow in front of her like a shield. “You just spoke to ... it… as if it understood.”
“He does.” Ty nodded, standing over her like a giant statue, arms crossed over his chest. His face was expressionless and for some odd reason, his straightforward, “no shitting around” approach, calmed the rising panic in her. “In bear form he can’t speak words, obviously. But he understands. He’s still human, just in a different form.”
Snow shook her head in wonderment. She could hear Jacob on the front porch direct the bear in deep, low tones …. She couldn’t quite bring herself to refer to it as “Dax” nor could she make out what was being said, but eventually Jacob joined them in the bedroom.
“Are you okay sweetheart?” Jacob sat down on the bed which dipped alarmingly under his enormous frame. He picked up her damp hand and clasped it between his. “I’m sorry you’ve had such a scare.”
Tingles of awareness incredibly began surging down her again. She’d just had the fright of her life, discovered that werebears really did exist, and here she was getting turned on by this man’s touch? What the hell was happening to her?
“Fear can be a great aphrodisiac.” Jacob replied, as if reading her mind. “But the honey mead in your system calls to the beast within us. And in you, too, Snow.”
“Us?” she whispered, looking frantically from one man to the other. “You’re both bears? Like Dax?” she crossed her arms protectively over her generous breasts. “And I’m no werebear!” she denied hotly. “Why, I’ve never even seen a real bear up close … until now.”
Jacob made a deep chuckling sound that shook the bed gently. “No, you’re not a bear sweetheart. But you’re a very beautiful woman, who may well possess the answer to our fate.”
“Your fate?”
“Death. By thirty.” Ty explained gruffly. “Our species used to live the same lifespan as humans, but not any longer. At least not in the last century.”
Tears filled Snow’s eyes. “But why
?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. It’s just a theory at the moment, but we… I...” he corrected himself when Ty made a huffing sound, “Believe that a special compound found in your honey may be the key.”
Snow listened in fascinated horror as Jacob explained how young male werebears were dying in their hundreds, trapped for most of their days in their bear forms, instead of being able to shift at will when their human bodies needed respite from the beast. Reaching the prime of their life, they should have been mating and producing cubs for the continuation of their species. Instead their human cells were imploding, and they were either dying prematurely or unable to escape the annual Grizzlyville cull.
“Either way, it’s the human aspect that’s killing us.” interrupted Ty in a bitter tone. Snow got the feeling Ty really didn’t like people – despite appearing like a self-contained man who didn’t display his emotions, she sensed the wild animal within him was very close to the surface.
“And it’ll be the human part that saves us.” countered Jacob. “We’re going to save our species, Ty.” His voice and expression was filled with so much earnest belief and yet pain for his friend that Snow’s heart melted, and she believed him absolutely.
“Tell me how I can help?” she implored, gripping Jacobs hands. “Do you need all of my honey supplies? My hives? And what about Dax?”
Jacob shook his head, watching her face closely. “It’s you we need Snow. We need to protect you. Dax has chosen to stay in bear form now for the next few days to patrol your property. His heightened animal senses will warn us of any… visitors.”
“Visitors? I’m not expecting any guests-“
Jacob cut through her confusion. “There’s a rogue mob of villagers that have been shooting their mouths off in the bar about driving you off your land. We have reason to believe they’ll strike tomorrow night.”
Snow gasped in horror. Suddenly her safe little world here in Grizzlyville, was shattered. “But why? I’ve lived here all my life. I’m just a 23 year old girl! What threat am I?”
Jacob heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry sweetheart, I know this is upsetting. They’re idiots. But drunk or not, they’re dangerous idiots who shoot first and ask questions second. Your honey is now connected with us, and they believe you’re helping werebears. In their eyes, you’re putting the entire village at risk of werebear attack.”
Snow’s frantic mind replayed the comments from her customers at the market, the warning from Katie, and the furtive looks, and outright scowls, some of the local men directed at her. At the time she’d been too entranced by the werebear brothers, but on reflection she did feel an undercurrent of something different at the market. But her raging hormones had successfully blocked that helpful insight until now.
“Not to mention the other packs.” Added Ty dryly.
Jacob shot him a look that could kill. “We weren’t going to mention that.”
“Other packs?” she asked faintly, not sure she could take much more in.
Ty shifted his huge body, and leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his mighty chest as he surveyed her, his expression blank but there was a fierce fire in his dark eyes.
“Werebears usual mate and live in small packs, which form part of the larger clan.” He explained. “Until you’ve mated with us, you won’t be imprinted with our scent which would mark you as ours. Problem is as we are aging, it’s getting harder to shift back into human form. And that’s a death sentence for us.”
Jacob turned her chin towards him, his eyes imploring. “Eating your honey has reversed that aging process. I believe the next step is testing whether we can mate safely without shifting.”
Chapter Five
Snow’s mouth made an O shape, but only a shaky breath came out. Ty’s grunt of disbelief echoed around the cabin.
“Ty, you’re still not listening to what I’m saying.” Insisted Jacob, shooting a dirty look at his scowling brother. “Snowanna-Jane’s honey has proven again and again that it helps to control us shifting. It would be absolutely safe to mate with her.”
Snow looked at him in amazement, her cheeks blazing from all the talk of mating. “My honey does that?”
Jacob nodded. “That’s why we’ve been coming down from the mountains the past five years to protect you Snow. Every summer. At first it was just about the honey, then, well, it became about you.” Her heart stopped as he gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “You’re too precious Snowanna-Jane to be left unguarded. Until now we’ve kept our distance, waiting to be sure that the honey will work, before we courted you. But these past few days our scouts have heard the rumors from the vigilantes, along with other packs coming down to Grizzlyville. Well, let’s just say our protective instincts have gone on high alert.”
Ty gave a bark of harsh laughter. “Dax nearly ripped the throat out of that young idiot talking to you at the market this morning.”
Snow looked at him in utter confusion, and then remembered the brief flirty conversation she’d had with the young man working on the next door market stall.
She swallowed, words stuck in her throat momentarily from his stunning revelation. “But I’ve never seen you before!” she exclaimed, her heart pounding from a mixture of delight, desire and fear.
“We watched over you from a safe distance in human form. But we also took turns patrolling your farm in bear form at night. ” Jacob explained patiently. “We need to be able to blend in with the villagers in human form, but also to shift and use our animal instincts and senses.”
She looked from one to the other in amazement, as his words registered, unable to comprehend how on earth these two alpha males would ever blend in with normal people. “But you were risking your lives for me. The bear cull takes place during that two weeks of the Litha Festival every year. You would have been walking around right under their noses. ”
Ty shrugged, brushing aside her concern with his uniquely male gesture of impatience. “The safety of our pack mate comes before anything else.” He growled, his gaze intense. “But we’re also experts at evading human idiots with guns.”
Snow shook her head in wonder. “My God, this is so surreal. I feel like I’ve just woken up from some dream. And now this….” She gestured towards them with a shaking hand. “I just can’t believe my honey has this power.” She didn’t let herself even go down the route of believing they could want her for more than just her honey.
“Neither can Dax or our clan elders.” Ty retorted grimly as he pushed away from the wall and sauntered over to the window.
Jacob snorted. “At first, they all dismissed my idea that your honey could protect us from shifting. As werebears age, it becomes harder and harder on their bodies to shift back to human form. But by eating your honey over the past years, we’ve been able to do it easily. And prove my theory correct.”
Ty snorted. “There’s a long way to go brother, before you can make statements like that.”
“You know I’m right, Ty.” Jacob insisted and turned towards Snow, staring into her wide eyes. “And one day, I’ll prove it to you too, Snowanna-Jane.”
“And of course that’s got nothing to do with the fact you’ve wanted to mate her for past five years.” Ty interrupted grumpily.
“As do you Ty,” Jacob shot back immediately. “You’ve been drooling over at her like she was a tasty steak for the past two weeks.”
Snow watched in amazement as a pink flush highlighted Ty’s cheeks. Jacob was right. Despite Ty’s grumpy façade, his eyes were looking at her heaving breasts with undisguised lust. Her delicate nightie strap had slid down her arm, and he was in danger of getting an eyeful of her naked breast and nipple. The disappointment on his face though, as he watched her move to restore her clothing, made her heart melt. It had been a long, long time since any man had looked at her with such undisguised desire. Damn, it felt good.
“So let me get this straight…” she began slowly, trying desperately to calm her galloping heartrate. “My honey ca
n help you shift back to human form. Which you need to do to stay healthy. But it also attracts the beast part of you.”
She paused and watched as they nodded in confirmation. “But the beast part of you could hurt me, during….mating.” A wave of heat washed over her face, but she wanted to understand all the facts.
“Werebears have been known to kill humans during sex, that’s true.” Agreed Jacob calmly. “That’s why we mate in a pack; brothers can keep each other and their mate’s safe by watching for signs of …danger …during the act.”
He paused, his gaze searching Snow’s flushed face intently. “Our mate’s safety comes before all else. Including our brother’s life.”
Snow suddenly had a vision of wild bears fighting, their lethally long claws inflicting grievous wounds as they protected their human mate. His next words snapped her from those disturbing thoughts though. “Would you be willing to trust us, Snow?” Jacob asked, his voice husky with emotion.
Chapter Six
She drew in a shaky breath to answer, but his warm, firm lips brushed lightly against hers, teasing with their sensual promise until all rational thought disappeared. “That’s, um, unexpected.” She murmured shyly, after the gentle kiss ended far too soon.
“But not unwelcome, I think?” Jacob smoothed back her tousled curls and tucked an errant strand behind her ear. His touch was gentle. Safe. Trustworthy. His intense dark gaze glittered as he paused, allowing her time to process his question.
Right then Snow knew she wanted more. Much more. Her insides quivered as she thought about making love to this sexy man … and his brother, who’d moved close to stand beside the bed.
The thought of them both worshipping her body almost made her come right there. She wanted them to tear off her nightie and ravish her until she had no more thoughts about crazy villagers or magic honey. She simply wanted to be with them and shut out the rest of the world.