Shifter Nation- East Coast Bears Collection

by Meg Ripley

  She did? What did you say?

  Of course I agreed, he said. What else can I do? She’s still an employee of the park, under my direct supervision. I could be fired if I somehow let you see her against her wishes.

  I don’t want you to get in any trouble, I replied. I would never ask you to do that. I guess I just hoped you would defend me a little? Or find out what happened?

  It’s not my place to get into personal matters.

  Right. I know that, I admitted.

  Maybe just give her some time. Obviously, it was a shitstorm when everyone found out. Let it blow over and maybe she’ll talk to you again so you can get some closure.

  Closure. That’s what they all thought I needed. Well, I wasn’t about to let things go and just forget her. I couldn’t.

  I did wait a little while. For days, I didn’t text or call her. I showed up at the clan picnic and felt even more alone knowing I had wanted to bring Grace. I sat off to the side, not talking or mingling much, just sipping on a beer and wallowing in my misery.

  At one point, as the day stretched into evening, Ezra and Owen came to talk to me.

  “She looked better today,” Ezra said. “I think she’s moving on. It’s best if you can do the same, man. I know it’s hard, but you’ve gotta let her go.”

  “I don’t think I can.” I picked at the label on my beer bottle, trying not to think about the fact that Beast Brew was something Grace loved, too. “I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. I can’t sleep; I can’t stop thinking about her, and my bear is driving me up the friggin’ wall. I just have to find a way to talk to her. To see her. I…I love her.”

  Owen put a hand on my shoulder. “I know this is difficult, but the thing is, you have to remember that she ended it. She won’t text you or call you. She’s asked to not have to work with you at the park. It’s clear she doesn’t want to see you.”

  “It’s not a matter of you trying harder, buddy,” Ezra added. “It’s over. You don’t have a choice but to move on.”

  I left the picnic early and felt even worse than I had before I’d gone. Everyone had the same sort of things to say, that it was better to just forget about her find someone else. But I couldn’t, and the longer it went on, the more out of my mind I felt.

  When it had been a week since I’d heard from her, I decided to do something. I couldn’t just show up at her house. I knew that. I couldn’t just show up at her work, either. But there was one thing I could do.

  I headed to the Ranger Station, as I always did, and made it seem like I was just going about my usual business. While I was there, I checked the territories for the day. Owen broke up the park into sections, and if anything happened in a certain area, the Ranger assigned to that section would be sent to check it out.

  I saw where Grace would be stationed for the day and found the best spot in that area—secluded, but with easily identifiable landmarks. I set up my tent there, where no camping or tents were allowed, then I dialed the number for the main office and used a fake voice to place the call, which I knew would be answered by Rachel, the office assistant. She knew my voice, but not well enough to notice I was disguising it. She also wouldn’t be suspicious of a call like that, where Owen might be.

  “I’ll send someone to check on it,” Rachel said.

  I’d given her a description of where my tent was and called in to complain that someone had set up a tent in an unauthorized area. Then I waited. I worried she wouldn’t come, or that if she did, she’d pick up my scent and take off.

  I had a view of the road and watched from the tent. When she pulled up in the utility vehicle, my heart skipped. My stomach twisted into knots as I saw her get out and make her way toward the tent.

  “Hello there,” she called out from several feet away.

  I unzipped the tent’s door and looked at her, and when she saw me, she froze. I gestured for her to come closer, to step inside. She swallowed hard, took a minute to look around, then ducked down to enter the tent.

  I wanted to scoop her into my arms right then and kiss her madly. But she had ended things, and I didn’t know where I stood.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I was going out of my mind and I hadn’t heard from you. I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

  She sat down across from me, leaving a few feet between us. “I couldn’t. It would have been far too difficult to talk to you.”

  She looked down and wouldn’t meet my eyes again.

  “Tell me what we can do. How can we make this better? There’s got to be something we can do.”

  “There isn’t. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t even be here.” A tear fell from her eye and she stood.

  “Please don’t go. Please, Grace. I love you. I want to be with you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. I don’t want our clans to come between us. We can leave; go where no one cares about who we are. I just want to be with you. More than anything in the world, I want you.”

  Grace stopped and pulled her lower lip into her mouth. I stood and braved putting my hand on her arm, and she didn’t pull back or flinch from my touch.

  “You…really love me?” she stammered.

  “I do. So much. This has been the hardest week of my life.”

  She turned to me and had tears in her eyes. “Mine, too.”

  I was flooded with relief by hearing those words. Tears burned in my own eyes. “Please tell me we can find a way to make this work. I can’t live without you.”

  She fell on my shoulder, crying. I pulled her close, soaking in the sweet feel of her body pressed against mine. I didn’t know if I’d ever get to feel her again, and I enjoyed every moment. I drew her scent deeply into my lungs, filling my mind with it in case it would soon be gone again.

  “I don’t see how we can make this work,” she admitted. “Can we really just leave everything behind? Our whole lives?”

  “I don’t know, but if we have to, if that’s what it takes, then I will. I’ll give up everything for you.”

  9

  Mason

  Grace looked up at me, her expression hopeful. “Really? You’d really do that for me?”

  “Of course. I love you, Grace. I’m crazy about you.”

  “I love you, too,” she whispered. “I have to ask you something, though.”

  “Anything.”

  “All I need is for you to tell me the absolute truth.”

  “Okay…”

  “Adam had a map.” She sucked in a slow, shaky breath. “It looked like your handwriting. There were several places circled on it and by each one it said ‘attack.’ Do you know anything about it?”

  That question explained a lot. I pulled out my phone, my emotions whirling in turmoil. Was that what they’d used to turn her against me? I scrolled until I found what I needed and showed her the image on my phone. “This map?”

  Her eyes widened. “Yes.”

  “I can only imagine what they tried to tell you this was. I wondered where it had gotten to, but now I know it was stolen from the Ranger Station, not lost. Must’ve been after Owen and I marked it together. It’s a map of all the places there have been croc attacks in the last few years. All the places that crocs have done the attacking on either other animals or other shifters.”

  I pointed to the different places on the map. “This is where a dead panther was found. This is where Owen’s wife Addie was almost killed and our clan fought back. This is where Conner’s brother and sister-in-law’s bodies were found. This is where Britt was trapped and almost killed. This is where a nest of sea turtles was desecrated, killing all the turtles, including their eggs, and Addie’s name was written in the mud as a warning after Owen started digging around to investigate some crocs in the area. Did you know Aiden Harvey?”

  She blinked at me and looked back to the map several times. “So, this isn’t a map of where the bears were planning to attack? This isn’t your plan to retaliate?”

  “Do you know anything about the situations I mentioned
? Each one was dealt with at the time. Aiden, who killed the sea turtles and attacked Addie, was killed when his troop attacked and we fought back. The croc who went after Britt and the panthers was killed in the process of him trying to kill us, and the croc who killed Conner’s brother and sister-in-law went to jail, but was then killed by an inmate because he pissed off the wrong person. These are only the major attacks that affected my clan directly. There have been hundreds of reports of smaller incidents over the years. If we were going to retaliate, we would have done it long ago, but we’ve been busy trying to make things work, trying to keep the peace all this time.”

  She put her face in her hands and started sobbing again. I wrapped her tight in a hug and let her cry against my chest.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m so sorry. They said— they told us—”

  “Look, both our clans are trying to convince us of the reasons we shouldn’t be together. But they’re wrong.”

  “How can we do this?” She looked up at me with wet eyes and cheeks.

  I wiped away her tears. “I’m not sure, but I want to try. We have to try. I won’t just give up and let them keep us apart. Especially not because of a bunch of lies.”

  “I’m sorry I ever questioned you. I should have known.” She shook her head.

  I put my hand to her cheek and kissed her. Feeling her lips against mine again was pure heaven; I couldn’t stop and neither could she.

  Having been apart for days and being forced into something neither of us wanted drove us to cling onto each other desperately, and we kissed hungrily.

  “I never want to be away from you again,” I whispered in her ear.

  “I don’t either. We have to find a way.”

  “We will.” I kissed along her neck and back to her mouth.

  I sat and tugged her hand to join me on the floor of the tent. When she did, she sat in my lap, facing me, with her legs wrapped around me.

  I dug my fingers into her hair, pulling her closer. She ran her hands along my back, in my hair, sending chills through my body. God, I needed her; I just had to have her.

  I laid her down on her back and moved into position over her, kissing her until she pulled my shirt over my head, forcing me to let my lips leave hers for a moment.

  Her nails trailed along my skin. I slid my hands under her shirt, feeling the firmness of her full breasts, and she moaned against my mouth. When I pinched her nipples gently, she reached down and tugged at my jeans. I helped her unbutton and unzip them before she pushed them down. She wiggled out of her Ranger uniform and, for a moment, I remembered that she was on the clock. Someone might have come looking for her.

  “Wait, Grace, should we…?”

  She pulled herself up to meet my mouth and crushed her lips against mine as she took my stiff cock in her hands and stroked me. That seemed to be the only answer I was going to get.

  I moved my hand down between her legs and she opened herself to me. I slid a finger inside her, feeling her wetness.

  She moaned and bit gently on my earlobe. “Please, Mason. Don’t make me wait any longer.”

  I slid my finger out and moved my member into position, then slipped slowly inside her.

  She gasped and dug her nails into my back. “Oh, god,” she breathed in my ear.

  I thrusted in and out of her, every second sending a wave of pleasure through me. She rocked her hips up and around to bring me in deeper.

  “Faster,” she demanded.

  I sped up and felt myself get so close, I had to ease back for a moment. I wanted to make sure I gave her the most pleasure possible and didn’t want to let things end too quickly.

  “Don’t slow down!”

  I half chuckled into her ear. “I have to for a sec.”

  She reached back to grab my ass and forced me into her. Slamming into her hard several times, I came just as she cried out and shuddered beneath me. She gasped as I felt her contracting around my throbbing length.

  Letting out a shaking breath, I lowered myself to my elbows. She’d felt so good, I didn’t want the moment to end. But I was also faintly aware that a call had come across on her walkie. She had to get back to work.

  I moved back, slipping out of her slowly, and she sighed and closed her eyes. Collapsing beside her, I was no longer able to hold myself up. I panted and she turned to lay on my chest.

  “We’ll have to be extra careful not to be seen or found out,” she whispered.

  “You sure you want to do this?”

  “I love you, Mason, and if you love me, too, and want to make this work, then we have to try.”

  I kissed the top of her head. “I want that more than anything. I want you more than anything.”

  “Me, too. And after that, I have to be able to see you again.”

  I chuckled. “You’ll get no argument from me there; that was amazing. You’d better get back to work, though. I don’t want to get you in trouble or raise suspicions.”

  “Right.” She sat up and gave me a sad smile. “When will I be able to see you again?”

  “Whenever you want; tonight, even. Why don’t you save my number under a different name in case anyone sees your phone, then call me and I’ll come get you.”

  She pressed her lips into a smile. “Okay.”

  “We’ll figure this out.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “We have to end this feud between the clans once and for all. We’re the ones who can, I just know it.”

  She nodded and pulled on her shirt. “I do have to make you aware, sir, that there is no tent camping allowed in this part of the park.”

  “My apologies, ma’am. I’ll be sure to take it down right away.”

  I stood and pulled on my pants as she finished dressing. She smoothed her hair down. “Do I look obvious?”

  “You look obviously gorgeous.” I kissed her and she sighed as she pulled away.

  “Tonight.”

  “I’ll be counting the hours.”

  10

  Mason

  I worked that afternoon and evening, but they were the hardest hours I’d ever put in. With all the turmoil of the past week on top of what had happened earlier that day, my brain was scrambled. I almost couldn’t believe it had happened. Had I really seen Grace, really told her I loved her and she’d said it in return? Had I actually made love to her right there in a tent in the middle of the park? It was like a dream. And, thankfully, it would be just a matter of hours until I’d see her again.

  I didn’t know what the future would hold for us. How we’d keep things a secret and for how long. I didn’t know how we’d end the battle between our clans. But I knew that as long as we had time together, we’d be fine. We’d figure out a way because nothing could stop our love. They’d tried and almost succeeded, but I hadn’t let them and neither had Grace. We wouldn’t let them do it again.

  I drove around my usual patrol, watching the scenes of the evening. Every time I sat somewhere that I could see people, I watched the couples, happy and in love. I thought about Grace and I grinned.

  A call came in over my radio. I picked up the receiver and held in the button to respond. “Officer Rowe here. Go ahead.”

  Dispatch answered with, “We just got a call. Looks a possible assault in the park.”

  “On it.”

  I started my car and headed down, following the map to the exact location as it came across my monitor. When I arrived, I saw a Ranger’s vehicle there with Owen and Ezra, as expected. An ambulance pulled in right behind me, lights and sirens going strong. But then I saw Conner’s crew pull up in the first responder truck. This wasn’t just a simple assault, then.

  I called in that I had arrived and sent for backup, then went right to Owen.

  “What’s the word?” I asked.

  “Got a call about someone found in the woods. Possible assault. Still waiting for all the details.”

  “Why’s the search and rescue team here?”

  “Wasn’t sure what we’d find.”


  I nodded and headed over to Conner. “Are you guys ready? Let’s head in.”

  As soon as my backup arrived a minute later, we armed up and made our way toward the location of where the victim was to be found, with search and rescue right behind us. As we got deeper into the mangrove, we heard someone moving not too far from us.

  “There!” One of the officers called out and we moved toward the sound. “I see someone. Ma’am? Can you hear me?”

  The group closed in around the victim. I didn’t have a clear view of her, but I listened intently for my cues.

  “Let’s get her out of there.”

  “On the stretcher,” Conner said. His team moved in and loaded up the woman. “Cut the gag.”

  Gag? I moved to get a clear view and saw that the woman on the stretcher had her hands bound behind her back. Her back was to me. Her clothing was torn and muddy, her hair mixed with twigs and leaves. Probably a sexual assault, I assumed and my heart dropped. Those were the worst kind of calls. And in the park? I hated to think something like that could happen there.

  “Can you tell me your name?” One of Conner’s team members shined a light at her, checking her pupils. “Ma’am? Can you tell me your name?” he repeated.

  She let out a sob. “I…don’t know.”

  When the words hit my ears, ice shot through me. No. No fucking way.

  I rushed over to the front of the stretcher, and that’s when my worst fear was confirmed. I would recognize her voice anywhere. But the last place I wanted to hear it was right then.

  “Grace!” I shouted and pushed through the crew working on her to be by her side.

  I looked her up and down, checking for any signs of injury, already knowing I would tear anyone who hurt her to shreds.

  “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?” I asked, taking her hand.

  Though her clothing was torn and dirty, it was still in place. The closer I looked, I thought my initial assessment of sexual assault was likely false; she didn’t have any signs. Thank god.

  She looked up at me, horrified.