by V. Vaughn
I Knew Bear Were Trouble
Bewitched by the Bear - Book 5
V. Vaughn
Copyright © 2018 by V. Vaughn
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by Wilson Rowe
Editing by Jodi Henley, Red Adept Publishing and Angie Ramey
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About This Book
I KNEW BEAR WERE TROUBLE
Bewitched by the Bear - Book 5
by V. Vaughn
When Nina moves to Maine to be near her best friends, she's determined to overcome the social anxiety that has always plagued her. It feels like a fresh start to open her own business and begin learning to be comfortable in her own skin. But old habits die hard, and Nina’s awkward ways shake her new-found confidence when she meets Seth, a werebear who is so sexy he makes her knees weak. The fact that he seems to find her quirks cute helps to foster their relationship, but Nina soon discovers Seth isn’t letting her see who he really is. The truth about the werebear who is supposed to be her soul mate makes Nina question what she really wants, and it might not be Seth at all.
1
"Up you go, Pixie," I say as I pat the back seat of my Kia SUV so that the Great Dane will jump on it. I run a dog-training business, and Pixie is my latest success. Because much of what I do is help canines get along with others, I also have dog-walking sessions. On this early morning, I'm taking out a group of big dogs.
"Thanks, Nina!" calls out Nancy, the Dane's owner, and I look at her on her front porch and wave. I lean in to hook a seat belt into Pixie's harness, and her tongue tickles my face as I let her lick me. It makes me smile, because she's a relaxed, happy version of the dog that used to be extremely anxious. Nancy told me Pixie whines at the door now when she knows it's time for her morning excursion with the other dogs.
The golden retriever next to Pixie pushes against me for attention, and I lean down to nuzzle with Daisy before I shut the door and walk around to the driver's seat. Once I'm behind the wheel, I glance in my rearview mirror at the four dogs I have as passengers. Besides Pixie and Daisy, who are curled up with each other like best friends, I have a black Labrador named Puck and a Bernese mountain dog named Duncan.
"You guys are in for a treat," I say. "Anyone want to swim?"
I take the tilted heads and lolling tongues of the dogs as a yes, and I pull out onto the road to head toward a small lake in the area. Because it's after Labor Day, I can let the dogs loose to chase after the balls I throw for them.
Even though it's late September in Maine, the temperature today is warm enough I'm wearing shorts, and the wind blows my hair as I crack the windows to let in some air for the dogs. I moved here last spring with my friend Sammy, who came to get her master’s degree in education at the University of Maine. Our friend Elise, who already lives here with her husband and two girls, begged us to come, and I'm glad we did.
The three of us initially met on a witchcraft forum when we were still in high school, and we became even closer when we met in person at Witchfest a few years later. So close that the three of us formed a private online group to keep in touch and talk about more than just magic. So when Sammy mentioned she wanted to get her master’s in education, Elise pushed her to come do it here. Since I was bored with my life in New Jersey and couldn't imagine my two besties being able to see each other without me, I decided to move to Maine too.
Pixie whines impatiently, and I say, "It's okay, girl. We'll be there soon."
It was a wonderful decision to come here, because for the first time in my life, I'm around people who love me for who I am. It's not that my parents didn't approve of my powers—my father has magic too—it's that I never fit in with the other kids I grew up with. It didn't take long for me to realize I was different as a child. While my classmates were pursing music, arts, or team sports, I was more interested in mixing potions and practicing spells. Because I didn't feel normal, I was a bit like Pixie with my social anxiety. So instead of thanking someone for holding a door open and wondering all day if I said it in the right tone, I chose to ignore the people around me.
Change rattles in a pocket of the car console as I bounce over small potholes and ridges on the dirt road that leads toward the lake. I realize now my behavior as a child made me seem as if I disapproved of everyone around me. Kids called me Wednesday, for the famous character in The Addams Family, and even though I hated it and was never cruel, I have to admit it was appropriate considering my penchant for black clothing and usual sour expression.
And then there was the little problem of what my magic does when I'm angry. Until I learned how to ignore what people said or how they treated me, I was known to have magical explosions happen around me. It can still happen in extreme situations, but it's not often.
I turn slowly into a parking spot and put my car in park before I turn it off and get out. When I graduated from high school, I took my knack for potions seriously and went to college to major in chemistry, and I got a part-time job working for a dog-grooming business. That's when I learned that I may not be great with people, but I have a calming effect on animals. It was only natural that when I came here to start a business revolving around pups I thought I'd found my calling.
I unbuckle the dogs, and metal tags rattle when the pups jump out and twirl around excitedly as they wait for me to lead them to the water. I slip on a backpack full of balls and grab my lacrosse stick before I close the car door, and we head out toward the lake. One of my powers is that I can communicate with animals. It's not quite talking, but I can sense their mood and am able to put intentions into their heads, so it's easy for me to keep the canines close without leashes.
I take them around to a section of the lake away from where people might go should they come while we're here, and my backpack thuds on the ground when I set it down. I laugh as Puck races for the water in anticipation of the ball he knows I'll throw. Daisy and Duncan splash in right behind him, while Pixie leans against my leg and looks up at me.
"Go ahead, girl," I say. "It's okay."
I toss the first ball and call out, "Puck! Go get it, buddy!" That's enough for Pixie to trot into the water too. She won't actually go after a ball yet, but she enjoys chasing after Daisy and sometimes will venture close to the boys too. Moving to retrieve three balls from the dogs and throwing them out again is exercise, and it doesn't take long for me to heat up with the exertion. But since this kind of adventure usually ends with me almost as wet as the dogs, I stay cool. I laugh when Duncan shakes near me and offers me a refreshing shower. Pixie prances over as Daisy brings me her ball.
"Can I get one too?" a guy asks from behind me, and my heart stops when I jump in surprise. My magic sparks in me, too, as I turn around with my hand on my chest to try to contain my powers as anger bubbles in me. Pixie begins to growl, and it makes Daisy bark. Not to be left out of the excitement, Duncan begins to bark, too, and Puck rushes out of the water to join in.
"Whoa," the guy says as he backs up.
My burst of anger is a result of being startled, and it quickly fades. But the fact the dogs don't like this guy makes me anxious. I place my hand on Pixie's head. "Shhh. It's okay, girl."
I take stock of the man before me. He's huge and has bulging muscles in a professional-football-player way, which is bo
th intimidating and fascinating when you're only five feet tall. He's also super-hot, with dark hair, green eyes that are mesmerizing, and strong cheekbones that make me want to trace them with my fingers. And then there's the rock-hard body. Whew. I pluck at my shirt to fan myself.
As Puck growls and moves toward the guy, he asks, "Any chance you could call him off?"
It would be easy for me to send the dogs a calming intention, but then this gorgeous vision before me would probably want to make conversation, and since I'm flustered by how attractive he is, I'd say something stupid. I glare at him. "He won't attack as long as you keep backing away."
"Wow." The guy chuckles as he keeps moving backward. "Sorry I bothered you."
Guilt tugs at me because this man doesn't deserve my wrath, so I communicate with the dogs. Calm down, guys. He's okay.
The barking ceases, and I turn away from him toward the water again as I ask, "Duncan, where's your ball?" As he goes to retrieve it, I look at the golden. "Daisy, go get it." I toss her ball back out into the lake.
When I look over my shoulder to see if the guy is still around, I find that's he's gone. An unexpected wave of disappointment washes over me. I swore when I moved here I was going to stop worrying about what other people think and be who I am. No excuses. I wish I'd made the effort to give the handsome stranger a better impression of me.
I let out a sigh because I'm caught in my loop again. Free college counseling taught me I need to let the little things go. Chances are the man has already forgotten about me, and I can be darn sure he won't give what happened today a tenth of the energy I'm tempted to. So I employ a therapy technique; I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly as I imagine the awkward situation with the guy is leaving my body. And then I tell myself the memory of him is gone for good. I hope.
2
The strong aroma of coffee and vanilla fills the air of the Cat's Meow cafe as I sit at a table with my two best friends.
"How were the kids today?" Sammy asks me as she lifts her latte up to take a sip.
I gaze into her blue eyes, which appear too big for her pale face. "Pixie is doing so great I can't believe it. She actually chased Duncan as if she was going to take his ball."
"Wow, that's huge," says Elise. "All Sadie and Sophie did today was finger paint each other before I caught them. It's a good thing I learned a spell to clean it up easily a long time ago."
"No!" I say before I laugh along with Sammy about our friend's twins. "What a mess."
"It was," says Elise. "I'm thankful for my cleaning spell."
"I bet," says Sammy. "My day at the library, working on Montessori theory, sounds boring now."
"I doubt it," says Elise over a mouthful of chocolate croissant. She swallows it down. "You love all that stuff."
"True," Sammy says with a sheepish smile.
I lean back as the waitress comes over and tops up my coffee, and liquid gurgles into my mug as I notice a man walk in. I gasp when I realize it's the guy I saw at the lake this morning. I lower my head and try to hide behind my hand.
Elise and Sammy's heads whip around so fast to look at what I saw their brains probably get bruised. Sammy says, "Mm-hmm. That is one Venti-sized drink of hotness."
"You got that right," says Elise, and she turns back to taunt me. "Something tells me Nina knows him."
"Lucky girl," says Sammy. She grabs my hand to pull it away from my face. "Spill it. Why are you trying to hide from him?"
My heart’s stupid, because it flips with excitement over seeing the hot guy again as if nothing awkward had happened. "We may have had a bit of a run-in."
"Run-in?" Elise reaches over, and her fingers are cool on my arm. "No matter how dorky you think you were, I'm sure he doesn't think so. What happened?"
"It's nothing." I look over to find the guy is sitting by himself at a table and looking my way. When he makes eye contract, my face heats up, and his eyes widen before he gives me a smirk. I quickly grab a menu and open it to hide behind.
Sammy's voice is soft and calming when she says, "Tell us what happened, Nina. We'll help you sort it out."
I don't move the menu but clutch it with a death grip as my coffee churns in my stomach. "He startled me at the lake, and the dogs kind of freaked-out on him."
"Kind of?" asks Elise. "Define that."
My logical friend is looking for an explanation, and I let out a sigh, because I trust Sammy and Elise to have my back. "They barked and growled at him, and I told him to go away."
"That doesn't sound bad," says Sammy as she tugs on the menu so I'll lower it and look at her.
I wonder if my face is as red as it feels and reach up to cover my cheeks with my cool hands. "Yeah, well, when he asked me to call them off, I didn't. I was so flustered all I could think to do was tell him to leave." I frown down at the table.
Elise chuckles. "I totally get it. He's exactly your type. He's got that dark-and-dreamy look you like."
"'Right?" I let out a bigger sigh. "And did you see those green eyes? Figures I'm so suave I bit his head off."
I glance between my two friends to see their sympathetic expressions, and I turn on the light of a smile as if it can cover up how dark I feel inside. "I hope one of you doesn't mind me putting a granny cottage in your backyard, because I'm destined to be single forever."
"That is not true," says Sammy.
"You know why the dogs acted up, don't you?" asks Elise.
"Because I should stay away from a guy that far out of my league?"
"No." She scowls at me. "I thought you'd been working on your self-worth. Anyway, he's a—" Elise looks around and then lowers her voice. "Like Ian." Because we're in a cafe where humans are present, Elise doesn't want to say that the guy is a werebear like her husband.
"That makes sense," says Sammy. "They probably thought he was a predator."
"Oh." I steal another glance at the guy. His shifter status explains his size, and I suppose it could also be why the dogs were nervous around him. Although now that I think about it, they could have been reacting to my emotions. "It could also be because I got angry when he scared me enough to make me jump. The dogs probably sensed my adrenaline rush and took it to mean we were in danger."
Sammy licks foam off her top lip. "I bet you're right. Animals are very in tune with our emotions."
My stomach knots up because even though I'm prone to overthink situations and want to make amends for things that mean nothing, I'm pretty sure I'm not wrong to think I should this time. I double-check with my rational friends. "Does this also mean I should apologize to him since I was the reason the dogs fre—?"
"Yes!" Elise exclaims, and Sammy laughs.
I roll my eyes at her, because since the day Sammy and I arrived, she's been trying to get us both to date werebear so we can fall in love with one and have shifting cubs like she has. "Gee, hidden agenda?" I ask.
"Pfft!" says Sammy. "Elise isn't hiding a thing." The grin on her face fades. "You're right, though, Nina. If you think you acted rudely, it will help you sleep tonight if you go apologize to him."
Elise nods. "Totally valid. Want me to come with you?"
I shake my head. "I've got it." Except I'm not so sure I do, because my palms are damp with sweat when I stand up and tug on the hem of my shirt. I start walking over to the guy's table before I lose my nerve.
He smiles as he sees me approaching. At least he's not mad, so I suppose that's good.
"Hey," I say when I get to him. "I'm sorry—” My mind goes blank for a moment as I stare at him. When the guy's eyes widen I blurt out, “About this morning. I—I should have called the dogs off."
"It's okay. I scared you. I'm sorry about that."
"Okay." I take a step backward as I kick myself, because now that I've apologized, I haven't got a clue how I'm supposed to gracefully leave. I wring my hands as I say, "I'm—"
He asks, "Are all of those dogs yours?"
"No." I smile, because this, I know how to answer. "I'm a dog traine
r."
"Cool. I'm Seth, by the way."
"Oh." I nod as I wonder if it would be okay to just turn around and walk back to my table before I say something stupid.
He chuckles. "And you are?"
"Oh!" I close my eyes for a second as if I can become invisible, and my cheeks flush with heat. "I'm Nina." I take another step backward and wish I really could throw up an invisibility shield the way Elise can.
"I still scare you, don't I?"
I blink at him as I try to figure out what I'm supposed to say. I decide, since this can't get much worse, to go with honesty. "Yes."
He grins. "You are absolutely adorable, Nina." He glances past me and then motions with his hand. "Come sit for a moment and give your friends something to talk about. I promise I won't bite."
I scowl as I run the scenario through my head for a reality check. He's inviting me to sit and talk. That means he must like me, even though I know I'm acting beyond awkward right now. I bite my lip, because if I'm ever going to get better, I have to tamp down my fears.
Seth stands up and speaks softly. "Hey. Please sit with me, because now I'm going to look like a jerk if you walk away."
I nod and take action. I plop down in the chair across from him so hard that it creaks with the threat of breaking, and I think I bruised my butt too. "Hi," I say a little too loudly.
"Hi," Seth says as he smiles at me. I swear his eyes twinkle with a spell that sucks me in, because I suddenly don't want him to ever look anywhere else. "So, Nina the dog trainer, do you go to school here?"
I shake my head and break our gaze to grab a sugar packet from the bowl between us as I swallow to clear my throat. "Do you?" I let out a chuckle and try to joke back. "Seth the scary guy." Oh god, did I really just say that out loud?
Seth's laughter rings with a deep tone that is infectious, and when I laugh, too, my anxiety fades a little. He wipes at his eyes when he recovers and asks, "Do you think we could come up with a better name for me? Because not one of my friends would ever believe I scared someone."