by Sophie Stern
Contents
The Bear’s Virgin Mate
Books
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Honeypot Babies
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
A Note for Readers
Alien Dragon
Beware of Dragons
Red Says the Dragon
About
The Bear’s Virgin Mate
Sophie Stern
Copyright © 2016 by Sophie Stern
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover design copyright © 2016 by Melody Simmons // ebookindiecovers.com
Books
Other stories by Sophie Stern
Billionaire on Top
Dragon Isle
Stepdragon (Dragon Isle Book 0.5)
My Lord and Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 1)
The Dragon Fighter (Dragon Isle Book 2)
A Dragon's Bite (Dragon Isle Book 3)
Lost to the Dragon (Dragon Isle Book 4)
Beware of Dragons (Dragon Isle Book 5)
For my readers
May you find your bears
Chapter 1
Carter
It’s an ordinary day.
I’m tired and sweaty from working on the new cabins we’re putting in. After a fire started by a complete dickwad who tried to sabotage our ranch, we’ve had to rebuild.
But we’ve done it.
And as I set down my hammer and take a step back, looking over my work, a sense of pride and accomplishment fills me.
This is it.
My brothers and I have been trying to leave our mark, our legacy. When our parents decided to retire early and give us their ranch, we knew we had to do something special to seal the deal.
That’s when we came up with the idea of bringing tourists in.
Honeypot is a shifter town and my brothers and I are loveable, bumbly bears. While not everyone in town is a shifter, most of the residents are. Honeypot is unique in that it’s a safe space for shifters. While the world knows about our existence, not every tourist destination is family-friendly for shifters.
That’s where the Blair Ranch comes in.
We’re going to offer a fun camping space for families to bring their kids. They won’t have to worry about people taking pictures, leering, or staring at them. They won’t have to worry about being different or strange. They won’t have to be afraid that something bad will happen.
No, our goal is to offer a place where families can unwind from the stresses of life in a safe place. We’re going to have bonfires, cookouts, and classes. Hope, my brother Wyatt’s fiancé, is going to host story times for the kids and offer babysitting for guests who might want a little alone time with their mates.
Micah, my younger brother, has offered to come up with some fun themed activities. Maybe we’ll have a dance night or a scavenger hunt. If we get enough people, we could have a giant game of hide-and- seek. The possibilities are endless, really.
Getting the cabins finished has been the biggest obstacle. The website is done, the social media sites are set up, and we’re going to have a huge promotion to try to make our opening weekend as successful as possible.
Yeah, I think it’s safe to say I’m the most excited I’ve ever been. Looking over the cabins, I can’t believe they’re finally finished.
We’ve got eight units all in a row. One will belong to my brother Micah and the second one will be for one of our employees, Alex. Alex lives on site and handles a lot of the day-to-day work. Cabin number three used to belong to Hope, but now that she and Wyatt are engaged, she’s basically taken over the main house.
I don’t mind one bit.
I love Hope and she’s good for us. All of us.
Cabin number three will instead go to my parents when they return back from their retirement trip and the rest of the cabins will be for our tourists. If we end up having more than five families who visit at the same time, we have plenty of space for people to pitch tents. There are also several bed-and-breakfasts in Honeypot, along with a little motel.
After I let Alex know I’m heading inside for a break, I walk over the main two-story house. It’s the home I grew up in and the one I hope to raise my own kids in someday, whenever that might be. I’m more than ready for lunch and the thought of having a bunch of little ragamuffins makes me even more hungry. I don’t know how my mom managed to feed three crazy bear cubs and still keep her sanity, but at least I know there’s hope for me and whoever I end up marrying.
If the way Hope and Wyatt go at it is any indication, the house is going to be full of kids before long, even if they aren’t mine.
As I make my way to the house, I mentally run through a checklist of the things we have left to do. Micah is already moving his stuff from the living room, where he’s been crashing, to his new cabin. All of his former belongings burned with the cabin, so he doesn’t have much: just a duffel bag of clothes and a computer. Alex will probably move his stuff out later. He, too, has been sleeping in the main house while we finish the cabins.
It’s a good thing we have so many damn couches.
Mom and Dad’s cabin still needs bedding and sheets, but something tells me Hope is going to go nuts getting that place ready, so I don’t even need to worry about it. If she needs any help, she’ll ask me, but my darling sister-in-law has a way of making cabins look cozy, homey, and perfect. I doubt she’ll need anyone’s help but her own.
When I reach the porch, I take a minute to appreciate how big it is. We don’t have a tiny little home on our ranch. No, our place is more like a lodge, which is good since we plan to have plenty of visitors in the coming months. Growing up, this house felt like a giant playground. Now it feels calmer, but no smaller. If anything, it seems bigger without little kids making messes everywhere.
Once again, I’m caught by the yearning I feel to start a family. I need to push that down, though. I’m not marriage material by a long shot and the girl I want doesn’t look at me that way. I need to pull myself together, and fast.
Moving quietly through the empty house, I head into the kitchen and make myself a sandwich. It’s pretty plain, but you can’t go wrong with a turkey, cheese, and lettuce sandwich. I squeeze some ranch dressing on top and sit at the counter to eat my sandwich, texting my best friend, Savannah, as I do.
Carter: Lunch break time. Rawr.
I set the phone down and take a bite of my sandwich. Savannah never keeps me waiting, and my phone beeps before I’m done chewing.
Savannah: How’s that turkey sandwich treating you?
Carter: You know me too well. What’s the cutest girl in Honeypot up to today?
Savannah: Same as always. WORK. Wrk. Wrkin’ it. Boring stuff.
Carter: Have time for a lunch break? I can bring you one of my special turkey sandwiches.
Savannah: I’d kill for a boring Carter sandwich. ;-)
Carter: Coming right up.
I finish my food and make a second sandwich for Savannah. For hers, I add pickles. She’s got a thing for pickles. I don’t know why, but it’s Savannah, so I can’t complain.
We’ve known each other forever, but over the last few years we’ve gotten pretty close. I moved away for college, but came back when I graduated to help my parents on the farm. Wyatt was still serving in the military, so they needed all the help they could get. When I came home, Savannah and I reconnected and really hit it off.
Despite our close relationship, we’ve never pursued anything more than friendship. Sometimes I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I’m scared to lose her as a friend. Maybe I’m too much of a good guy that way.
If Savannah ever gave me the tiniest hint that she was interested in me as more than a friend, I’d kill any guy who looked twice at her. Hell, I’d marry her on the spot if she asked me to.
Savannah is the sweetest girl in Honeypot. She’s thoughtful and beautiful and kind. She runs a little souvenir shop her grandmother started years ago. While the store was originally just a postcard stand, she’s managed to expand it and now carries inventory from local artists, along with camping supplies, and a few other random odds and ends. She wants to switch things around and lately has been selling coffee and cupcakes.
It fits with the name: Cute as a Cupcake.
I toss her sandwich in a plastic zippered bag and head outside to my truck. Slipping inside, I start it up and head into town, wondering the whole time what I’m going to say to her when I see her, what she’s wearing, what she’s thinking about, and when it was that I actually fell in love with Savannah Bertrand.
***
Savannah sits behind the counter of her shop and takes a bite of her sandwich.
“Oooh,” she moans, and my dick instantly hardens.
Fuck.
The thing about shifters is that we have a very keen sense of smell. If someone is scared or excited, we can tell even without talking to them. We just know. This works for other things, too.
Like arousal.
“Seriously? You sound like you’re having sex,” I say, trying to lighten the mood, trying to draw attention away from the fact that I’m so turned on I’m about to explode. What I wouldn’t give to have Savannah on her knees in front of me, making that same moan.
“I’m sorry,” she giggles, but ignores my precarious position of arousal. “It’s just so damn good. Here, have a bite.” She holds it out to me and even though I’m the one who made it, I lean forward and take a bite of the sandwich.
“Pretty delicious,” I agree.
She nods and finishes eating, careful to keep her moans to a minimum. When she’s done, she tidies up her space before grabbing two cupcakes from the display on top of the counter.
“Cupcake?” She asks. “I made chocolate, just for you.”
“Is that so?” I raise an eyebrow. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I can’t resist chocolate cupcakes. Candy bars and cake do nothing for me, but cupcakes?
Maybe it’s because they remind me of Savannah.
When I moved back home after graduating, she showed up on my doorstep with a plate of fresh baked cupcakes she had frosted and decorated herself. There were so many sprinkles they left a trail from the front door to the kitchen as they bounced off the top of the tray, but I didn’t care.
She had been there for me.
She’s always been there for me.
I take the chocolate cupcake from Savannah’s hand and as our fingers touch, I feel a shot of electricity shoot through my body. Judging by the way she flinches, I’d say she felt it, too.
Only, she flinched, and I’m reminded once again that we’re just friends.
Only friends.
Savannah and I are just friends.
But it’s the worst feeling in the world to know that we’ll only ever be just friends. All I want is to wrap her up in my arms, kiss her sweetly, and promise her that no matter what happens, we’ll always be together.
No matter what life throws at us, we’ll always get through it together.
We’re a team, her and I.
We can conquer anything.
Chapter 2
Carter
My phone rings and I pull it out of my pocket and glance at the Caller ID. I’m not sure why one of the local police officers would be calling me, but I pick up, anyway. It’s got to be important.
“Edwards,” I say. “What can I do you for?”
“Carter,” he says, and his voice is stiff, strained. Immediately, I realize this isn’t a social call. I can hear crying in the background and someone murmuring something. “I need you to come over to the station. Now.”
“What’s wrong, Jason?” I ask, softening my voice. I know I’m not in any kind of trouble. He wouldn’t have bothered with a phone call if I was. Jason might be someone I’ve known for years, but he doesn’t play favorites when it comes to arresting bad guys.
No, this is something else.
“Just get down here. Now.”
He hangs up and I turn back to Savannah. With her super-sensitive shifter hearing, I know she heard every word.
“I’m coming with you,” she says, and flips the sign on the front door from “Open” to “Closed.” One of the benefits of running your own business is that you can shut down earlier than usual when you need to. I don’t bother asking her not to come with me. Savannah is stubborn, but she also looks after me. If she thinks she needs to come with me, I’m not going to refuse.
Why the hell does Jason need to see me?
We drive over to the police station in silence and walk inside. Everything looks normal. There’s nothing crazy or insane going on, so why did he call me? I tell the front clerk I’m here to see Jason Edwards and she motions for me to head on back. One of the perks of living in a small town is there aren’t too many restrictions when you head to the little local station. If you have friends who are cops, you can head over and hang out with them on their lunch breaks. You don’t have to go through a huge screening process.
“There,” Savannah points to Jason, who is sitting at a desk. He’s slumped over with his head in his hands and he looks completely miserable.
What the hell?
What happened to the spitfire?
What happened to the crazy guy I grew up with?
Jason doesn’t even notice us until we’re standing next to his desk and I clear my throat. Then he looks up.
“Hey, where’s the fire?” I ask casually, trying to lighten the mood.
It doesn’t work.
Jason looks stands up and looks at me. He doesn’t even acknowledge Savannah. Instead, he grabs my wrist and yanks me into a hallway. Savannah follows close behind.
“What the fuck?” I push him away, and I know I’m lucky we’re out of eyesight of the other cops. They wouldn’t tolerate such a bold move.
“Dude, listen. I need you to shut up and listen to me right now.” Jason is pale. His eyes are big and he’s staring at me. “What was your relationship with Cherise Montelview?”
There’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time.
Time stands still for just a second as memories of Cherise roll through my mind on slow motion. Next to me, I feel Savannah’s body stiffen. She remembers exactly how heartbroken I was over Cherise when I moved home.
“We dated in college,” I tell him honestly. There’s no point in lying. I don’t know what kind of trouble she’s in right now, but if any information I give can help Cherise, I’ll do it. “As undergrads. Things were pretty serious for awhile. After graduation, I wanted to keep dating, but she went to graduate school out of state and wanted a fresh start. No ties.”
“Typical,” Savannah mutters under her breath, but Jason shoots her a scolding look and she shuts up.
“You never talked after you broke up?”
I shake my head. “You know social media has never really been my thing. She asked me not to talk to her anymore, not even to email her, and I respected that. She did send me a text a few years ago one night when she’d been drinking, but when I replied, she didn’t respond.”
Jason sighs and runs his hands through his hai
r. For a tiger, he keeps his hair longer than I’d expect. It reaches the tops of his ears and is a little bit shaggy. He reminds me of my brother Wyatt, actually, which is probably why the two of them don’t get along too well.
“So you have no idea,” he groans.
“No idea about what?”
“Listen,” Jason straightens up and I can tell he’s about to give me his cop face, his professional face. “Cherise passed away. I’m sorry. She had cancer. She was going through chemo, but it wasn’t enough.”
“What?” I hate the way my voice cracks. “But she was my age.”
“I know, man, and I’m sorry,” Jason takes a deep breath. “But that’s not all of it.”
“What else could there be?” Savannah whispers, but I know exactly what Jason’s going to say before he says it. I can tell in his eyes, and for just a second, everything clicks into place.
Why she ran away to a school out of town.
Why she never wanted to talk anymore.
Why her family wouldn’t tell me where she was.
Why she was feeling so sick the last few weeks we were together.
“She was pregnant, wasn’t she?” I whisper.
Jason nods. I hear Savannah gasp, but I don’t look at her.
“You have a son, Carter, and he’s waiting to meet you.”
“How could this be?” I ask Jason. “I mean, is that even legal? She never told me.” I never even suspected until now. How much of an idiot am I? I had no idea. When she broke up with me, I thought she really wanted something new, needed some time to herself, needed to re-evaluate her life.
I wanted to give her space.
I didn’t want…this.
I have a son.
I have a son and he doesn’t know who I am.
“Cherise has you listed as the father on the birth certificate,” Jason says. “She also made sure to create a will before she passed away that expressed her desire for your son to stay with you.”