Heart Of The Bear (Appalachian Shifters #1)

by Alanis Knight

  A sharp rap sounded at the door, and then it flew open. Ivy stood in the doorway, backlit by the moon, her hair wild and her face frantic.

  “It’s Caleb!” she said breathlessly.

  “What?” I gasped, springing to my feet. “What’s happened?”

  “No time, just come with me,” Ivy said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.

  I could hear him long before we reached the clearing. I’d never heard a bear roar before, but this sounded more like screaming.

  “What is he doing?” I asked Ivy as we raced toward him.

  “Issuing a challenge,” she answered.

  What the hell?

  “Does he do this often?” I asked.

  “Only when he’s really upset.”

  We entered the clearing to see Caleb in his bear form. He was standing on his hind legs with his front paws stretched toward the moon, and he was bellowing so loudly it made my ears ring.

  “You have to stop him,” Ivy whispered. “I tried. He wouldn’t listen to me. If anyone shows up to accept his challenge, it could spark another territory war.”

  “Oh, no,” I groaned.

  I stepped into the clearing with my heart slamming against my ribcage. I had no idea how Caleb would behave towards me while he was shifted, but I couldn’t let him start a war because he was mad at me.

  “Caleb!” I called to him. He continued to bellow.

  I moved around in front of him and I looked up at him. All nine feet of him.

  “Caleb!” I shouted. “Look at me!”

  He stood his ground, but I noticed his eyes turn toward me and he stopped bellowing.

  “Good, you’re going to listen,” I said. “Look, I didn’t mean I didn’t want to be with you, Caleb. I was just surprised, that’s all. But whatever is going on, you don’t want to do this. I know you’re in pain right now, but think of the rest of the pack. Think of what this could do to them if you go making a poor decision and it ends up causing another war. Is that what you want?”

  He stayed upright, but his front paws lowered slightly, and he remained silent.

  “Come home with me,” I begged him. “Please come home. We can talk about all this, ok? Just come with me, Caleb. Please.”

  I extended my hand toward him and prayed he’d take it. I could see he was contemplating what I was saying. He lowered himself to the ground and walked toward me. It was then that I recognized him as the bear I’d seen at the crash site.

  He stood nearly as tall as me even on all fours. His massive head brushed against my hand, and I scratched him behind the ears. A rumble of pleasure sounded in his chest.

  “Let’s go home,” I said.

  I turned to leave the clearing, and Caleb was on my heels. Ivy was waiting for us by the tree line. We were almost to her when she suddenly shrieked, and I noticed her eyes were trained on something behind us. I whirled around just in time to see a massive panther leaping through the air. It landed on Caleb’s back and dug its claws into the thick flesh there. Caleb roared and pawed at the challenger.

  “No!” I shouted. “Stop! He was just leaving! We’re leaving!”

  But it was no use. The panther clearly had no intention of backing down, and it was apparent that he was out for blood.

  I saw blood spurting from a wound on Caleb’s shoulder, and I screamed and dove toward him, but Ivy grabbed the back of my shirt and held fast.

  “No! You’ll get both of you killed!” Ivy hissed. I tried to wrench myself away from her grasp, but she grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at her. “Listen. If you go out there, the panther will attack you. That will upset Caleb and he’ll lose his focus. There’s nothing to do but wait and pray.”

  I tried to tell myself that Caleb could handle himself, but the truth was I just didn’t know. I’d never seen him fight, and I was honestly afraid for him. I dissolved into a fit of tears and sank to my knees in the leaves that littered the forest floor. Ivy kneeled beside me and wrapped her arms around me, and I clung to her.

  The panther was fast – impossibly so. Caleb, being a larger, heavier animal, was understandably slower. All I could do was watch in horror as the panther continued an all-out assault on Caleb. It was a flurry of swiping paws and gnashing fangs, and Caleb stood there taking it, hardly moving aside from the occasional slap of his paw.

  “What’s he doing?” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Why doesn’t he fight back?”

  “That’s how Caleb fights,” Ivy said. “He knows what he’s doing. He’s wearing him down. Once the panther is exhausted, Caleb will go in for the kill.”

  I nodded, but I wasn’t convinced. I still didn’t know Caleb all that well, but I certainly didn’t want anything to happen to him. After all, he did save my life. And, if I’m honest, the passion we’d shared had really touched me. I wanted to know him better.

  Caleb took a vicious swipe at the panther and sent him splaying across the forest floor with his limbs at awkward angles. The hulking black cat slammed against a tree and looked momentarily stunned.

  I resisted the urge to cheer, swallowing down a yelp of excitement as I gripped Ivy so hard she grunted. The panther picked himself up and narrowed his eyes at Caleb. Instead of springing at him as I expected, he instead started slowly prowling around Caleb in a wide arc.

  “What’s happening?” I whispered.

  “The cat’s looking for a weakness,” Ivy whispered back.

  “Does Caleb have one?” I asked quietly.

  “Not that I know of,” Ivy said.

  It offered very little relief, but I clung to it as I watched the cat continuing to prowl. His fangs were bared as his lips twitched viciously. He’d made two wide paths around Caleb before he apparently decided his adversary had no weakness, and he sprang toward Caleb in a black blur.

  Just as the cat reached him, Caleb reared up on his hind legs and the two clashed together with both of them roaring so loudly the sound vibrated through me and made me nauseous. I gasped the moment they connected, and watched as the two huge bodies of fur and muscle rolled across the forest floor.

  The panther managed to clamp down on Caleb’s throat, and I heard him roar with pain. I tried to pull myself away from Ivy to run to him, but she held tightly and refused to yield.

  “He’s gonna kill him!” I cried.

  “Shh!” she warned me. “He’ll be fine. Just watch.”

  Caleb struggled, snapping his huge jaws at the panther but never managing to connect. The panther held on tightly with his teeth, and I could hear the flesh ripping from the edge of the clearing.

  I was just about to scream with fear when Caleb managed to roll over on top of the panther, his superior weight dislodging the panther’s fangs from his throat. He pinned the cat onto the ground with his huge front paws and clamped his jaws firmly on the cat’s neck.

  The cat began to writhe underneath Caleb’s vast weight, using his back legs to kick violently at Caleb’s underbelly. Caleb growled at the pain of his stomach being shredded, but he refused to release the cat. Before long, the cat began to show signs of weakening.

  Still kicking his hind legs and tearing at Caleb’s chest with his front paws, the panther fought valiantly. But eventually Caleb prevailed. The cat gradually went limp, and when Caleb was satisfied, he relaxed his jaws and let the panther fall to the ground like a rag doll.

  The panther lay motionless on the forest floor, and Caleb stood over him panting. He swayed slightly, and then fell to the ground with a thud.

  “Caleb!” I shrieked.

  I pried myself from Ivy’s clutches and ran to him, falling to my knees beside his great bear body and burying my face in the fur that covered his massive shoulder blade. I began to cry.

  Ivy’s hands were on my shoulders, and I hadn’t noticed until she spoke.

  “He’s fine, Penny,” she said. “Just give him a minute.”

  I sniffled and opened my eyes, and I watched in amazement as Caleb slowly morphed from the hulking, furry bear into his
human form right before me. I whimpered at the sight of him. His whole body was a mass of deep cuts and dangling flesh.

  “My god,” I groaned.

  “Help me get him up,” Ivy said.

  She pulled Caleb’s arm around her shoulders, and I followed suit with the other one. We pulled him to his feet, and he swayed precariously, but he managed to stay upright.

  Ivy pulled him in the direction of the den, and he managed to follow her. He was breathing erratically and clearly quite weak, and he kept stumbling every few moments. I was incredibly relieved when we managed to make it back to Caleb’s cabin.

  Ivy and I lowered Caleb carefully onto his bed, and he grunted. He clutched his ribs and groaned in pain, causing tears to spring to my eyes.

  “Is he going to be alright?” I asked.

  “He’s a shifter,” Ivy reminded me. “He’ll heal quickly.”

  “But…”

  “Trust me,” Ivy said. “I’ve seen much worse.”

  As I looked at the wide lacerations that were seeping blood into his sheets, I was skeptical. It seemed impossible to think of anyone recovering from such angry-looking wounds.

  “Shouldn’t we… I don’t know… stick him up or something? At least put some Neosporin on his wounds?” I asked.

  Ivy laughed and said, “I don’t think any of that will be interested. Look.”

  She nodded toward Caleb and I looked back toward him. Astonishingly, his wounds already appeared to be closing up a bit.

  “I’ll be damned,” I murmured.

  He was sweating profusely and panting, and he kept rolling his head from side to side and mumbling. I sat on the edge of the bed and stroked his blood-caked hair away from his forehead.

  “Caleb?” I said gently. “Can you hear me?”

  He continued to mutter incoherently, and I looked at Ivy.

  “He’ll be fine,” she promised me. “I’m going to go check on some things. If you need me, I’m in the cabin at the end of the lane.”

  “Thank you,” I told her.

  She patted my shoulder and left the room, and I turned to watch Caleb as he continued to mumble fitfully and writhe around on the bed.

  “Penny…”

  I perked up. Did he really say my name?

  “Caleb, I’m here,” I told him, taking his hand and squeezing it between my own.

  “Penny…”

  “I’m here,” I told him. “I’m right here.”

  “Don’t go…”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I told him. I pressed my lips to his forehead. “I’m here and I’m not leaving.”

  “Penny…”

  I was helpless. There was nothing I could do for him but sit by his side and hold his hand. It’s a terrible feeling to care about someone so much and be unable to help them in a time of great need.

  He continued to call for me, and I continued to hold his hand, stroke his hair, kiss his forehead, and talk to him.

  After a couple of hours of this, he sat straight up in bed, his eyes wide as though he were frightened.

  “Penny!” he shouted.

  “I’m here!”

  His eyes immediately turned to me, and he took me into his arms and squeezed me so tightly I heard my bones crunch slightly.

  “Ouch,” I muttered, and he eased his grip slightly.

  “I thought you were gone!” he said.

  “I’m right here,” I said, stroking his back as I held him. “I never left.”

  “I thought you didn’t want me,” he said. I could have sworn it sounded like he was about to cry.

  “Caleb, I never said I didn’t want you,” I told him. “I was just confused, that’s all.”

  He buried his face into the hair that fell over my shoulder and I felt his teeth nibbling at the delicate flesh there. Chills erupted across my skin, and I moaned slightly.

  “I need you, Penny,” he said quietly.

  My insides were bathed in warmth at this revelation, and I suddenly realized that this Alpha who seemed so strong might actually be quiet vulnerable.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” I said.

  He nuzzled my neck with his nose, and then touched his lips against my shoulder. His lips trailed up my neck, and then he kissed my jawline, my chin, my cheek, my nose. His hands closed around my neck and pulled me closer to him, his thumbs brushing across my jaw as he pressed his lips against mine.

  His hands slid down my throat and around to my back. He gripped the back of my shirt at the bottom hem and pulled it upward. I lifted my arms and allowed him to pull my shirt off. He threw it aside and dipped his head, running his tongue into the depression at the base of my throat between my collarbones.

  He fumbled with the hooks of my bra and tore it away from my skin, tossing it across the room. He cupped my breasts in his hands and seemed to marvel at their sight before lowering his head further to suck my nipple between his lips.

  My hands gripped his shoulders and he winced and sucked in a breath. I quickly took my hands away from his body, but he grabbed them and put them onto his chest.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” I murmured.

  “You not touching me is the only thing that can hurt me,” he said.

  I was gentle as I slid my hands carefully over his wounded body, and I could see him shiver with pleasure. My eyes raked downward to his erection, and I remembered that I hadn’t been able to suck him during our last encounter. I took him in my hands and bent my head, taking him between my lips. He moaned and leaned back against the stack of pillows at the head of the bed.

  His precum tasted salty and slightly bitter. I swirled my tongue around the head of his cock before taking him deeper into my mouth. I had to stretch my jaw to take his full girth.

  “God, yes, baby,” he groaned. “That feels so good.”

  I cupped his balls with my palm and softly massaged them as I sucked him. He started to thrust slowly in and out of my mouth, and I found myself wanting to swallow his cum. I’d never done that before. I’d always found the very thought of it disgusting. But somehow it was something I wanted very much when it came to Caleb.

  “Stop,” he whispered hoarsely, putting his hand on the top of my head. “Stop, stop! I don’t want to cum, yet.”

  I moaned with disappointment and forced myself to stop sucking him. I wanted to please him fully, but he wasn’t ready.

  “I want inside you,” he said.

  He pushed me back onto the bed and tugged at my pants. I allowed him to take them off, and he tossed them, along with my panties, into the floor.

  I could tell he was desperate to take me. He wasted no time sliding between my legs and pushing the head of his cock against me. I was so wet from sucking his cock that he slipped easily inside, and he began to thrust quickly.

  “Oh, wow,” I moaned. “Oh, my god!”

  The first time he’d penetrated me was amazing, but this was somehow transcendent. I guess it was the fear that I might lose him, but I’d grown exponentially more attached to him ever since his encounter with the panther. Now the sex was out of this world. The harder and faster he thrust, the closer I got to cumming.

  “Your breasts are magnificent,” he said as my breasts bounced with each hard thrust

  “You are magnificent,” I told him, my hands gently fingering the ridges of the muscles in his arms and shoulders.

  He began biting his lip, and I could tell he was struggling to contain himself. The knowledge that he was nearing orgasm drove me over the edge, and I felt myself clenching around his thick shaft.

  “I’m cumming!” I cried.

  “Cum, baby!” he groaned through gritted teeth. “Cum all over my cock!”

  With that, he growled long and low as he squirted deep inside me. With each erratic thrust, he growled again, and his eyes were wide with lust as my orgasm flooded across my body and threw me into a state of perfect rapture.

  His body weight lowered onto me, and he rolled to the side and collapsed on his back, panting. I was too
weak to move, and my legs were trembling from the exertion.

  “That was… incredible,” I whispered.

  He rolled over and put his hand on my cheek.

  “Stay with me tonight,” he said.

  I nodded, and he slid his arm under my neck and pulled me against his chest. I snuggled against him and listened to the sound of his breathing and felt the slowing rise and fall of his chest. Soon, I was lulled to sleep.

  Chapter Seven

  By morning, Caleb’s wounds had healed, leaving no trace of scar tissue. I had to wonder what had caused such traumatic injuries that a shifter would never be able to heal them completely.

  “Cal, are you ever going to tell me how you got your scars?” I asked, tracing my fingers along their thick, white ridges.

  “Someday,” he said.

  “Why not now?” I pressed.

  He sighed heavily and rolled over, pulling himself into a sitting position with his feet slung over the side of the bed. He rested his face in his hands as though he were hiding.

  “I’m just not ready to talk about it,” he said. “I left all that behind me a long time ago. Or at least I thought I did.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, putting my hand on his bare back. “I won’t ask anymore. You can tell me whenever you’re ready.”

  He turned to face me and slid his finger along the base of my chin. I could see the pain in his eyes, but where once there had been only darkness, I now saw the flicker of light.

  The door burst open, and I quickly pulled the sheets over my naked body. A young man, his face ashen with fear, turned his head upon seeing my modesty.

  “I’m so sorry, Caleb,” the young man said. “But it’s urgent. The panthers are here.”

  “What? I thought he was a loner!” Caleb said, springing to his feet with his assets dangling freely.

  “Caleb…”

  He ignored me and said, “Brock, get Ivy. Now!”

  The young man dashed off without another word, and Caleb turned to me and said, “I have to get you out of there. Things are about to get crazy.”

  “What? No!” I shrieked. “I’m not going anywhere!”

  Caleb kneeled on the bed and took my hands. His eyes held a look of grave concern, and he hung his head with sorrow.