by Amy Star
“Kindling is great for starting a fire, but it might be nice to also have something that’ll actually keep the fire going.” He took a drag off his cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke in her face before flicking the butt into the leaves. “Good thing you got nice tits, ‘cause you’re dumb as a fucking stump.”
She fanned the smoke out of her face and stubbed out the ember with the toe of her scuffed up black combat boot.
“You flick your cherry into a pile of dry leaves, and I’m the stupid one?” She grumbled under her breath.
The dark-haired woman sitting off to the side tensed up, her eyes darting around with a whisper of panic.
“What was that?” Zeke stopped dead in his tracks, his body stiffening as he clenched his fists.
“N-nothing.” The dark-haired woman shook her head. “She was just talking to herself, babe.”
“What have I said about defending that dumb slut?” He pointed a grimy finger. “Sticking up for someone who disrespects me means you’re advocating what she said. Do you agree with what she said?”
“Leave your old lady alone, Zeke.” The chunky redheaded man looked like he could have been related to the girl. He was busy hammering a tent peg with a rock. “She’s not the one with a smart mouth.”
“You’re right, Abe.” Zeke’s face reddened as he paced back and forth. “She is my old lady. I don’t need your two cents on how to deal with her.”
The brunette’s shoulders scrunched up, and she lowered her head as Zeke crouched down, gripping her jaw to force her to look him in the eye, but her eyes looked off to the side.
“Do you want to fight Vixie’s battles for her?” He hissed through clenched teeth as she swallowed hard. “Do you want to stick up for her even when she disrespects your alpha?”
“Don’t pick on Steph to get at me.” Vixie furrowed her brow. “I’m the one that pissed you off; leave her alone.”
“I have no shortage of people giving me advice on how to deal with you, do I?” Zeke’s red-plaid shirt was open in the front showing his bony chest that was covered in thick gray hair. The sleeves of his shirt were cut off at the shoulder, and his jeans had holes in both knees. Jillian gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth at the loud smack that reverberated as the back of his hand connected with Steph’s cheek. He stood back up.
“Nice one Zeke.” The third man chuckled, showing a row of brown, rotten teeth. He was bald with faded-blue tattoos on his neck and arms. He was just as skinny as Zeke but not as tall. “Keeping those bitches in line.”
“I only see one bitch around here, Rottie.” Vixie kicked a face-full of dirt at the bald man who was going through a backpack.
“Don’t call me that!” He rubbed the dirt out of his eyes. “That’s not my fucking name, you fucking whore. Call me Ronnie or nothing at all.”
“Hey!” Abe stood up.
“What?” Ronnie shrugged. “You call her worse shit than that all the time?”
“That doesn’t mean you can.” He raised his eyebrows and pointed with the same hand he was holding the rock with.
“Guys.” Steph stood up and forced a brittle smile. “I think we’re just all really hungry, okay? Baby, when do you think we can go hunting?”
“Look at you, taking charge.” Zeke paced back toward Steph who’s smile dissolved as she looked down. Her knuckles turned white as she wrung her hands. “No, no, no, baby. You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m proud of you.”
The lines in the woman’s face relaxed as she stood up a little straighter.
“Yeah, Steph’s right.” Zeke beamed as he nodded. “Only I already told you fuckers that we weren’t hunting until the camp is all set. Do we have a fire going? No! So how about you get off your fat, lazy ass and find me some fucking firewood?”
Steph nodded fervently and headed off with Vixie to look for more satisfactory firewood. Steph wasn’t fat by any definition, though she was a little healthier looking than Zeke and Ronnie.
Vincent nodded to Finn and Jillian, who army-crawled backward. When they were a reasonable distance away from the ledge, they got to their feet and stepped lightly, heading back to the cabin. Jillian had no problem walking barefoot in the woods now. She preferred the feeling of the earth on the soles of her feet.
Finn gained ground quickly without hardly making a sound. Soon he was far ahead, and Jillian sensed that he was upset by seeing her and Vincent together at the river’s edge. That old familiar guilt welled up inside. That voice that told her she should be ashamed of herself. Though she didn’t want to acknowledge it, she knew she would have to address it sooner or later. They walked in silence for a long time before she could bring herself to speak.
“Who were they?” Jillian croaked, glancing at Vincent before looking at Finn’s black shirt that was still barely visible ahead.
“Other shifters,” he answered flatly.
“Are they here because of me?” She held her breath.
“I think so.” Vincent tied his hair back into a ponytail. “We haven’t had another clan pass through here in the entire time we’ve lived here.”
“So, what do we do?” She had to take twice as many steps as Vincent did, and still, Finn was somehow faster than both of them.
“Generally, when two clans find each other, they decide if they want to combine into one tribe. Sometimes, only a few members decide to stay or are invited to stay. The same applies to some members choosing to leave with the tribe that is passing through. But…”
“What?” She gave a nervous frown.
“Sometimes the tribes clash, and they fight over the territory or… whatever it is that the invading tribe wants.”
“Which, in this case, may or may not be me…” She pressed her lips together.
“You’re the only thing we have that they could want.” Vincent sighed.
“They don’t exactly seem like good people.” She hugged herself.
“Not the kind of people we would want to join us, that’s for sure.” Vincent cleared his throat.
“What?” Jillian sensed he was trying to work up the nerve to say something.
“Listen, I don’t make any assumptions about what happened between us.” He kept his eyes facing straight ahead.
“Vincent.” Jillian frowned as the cabin came into view, and Finn disappeared inside. “Please...”
“With rival clans rolling in, I think it would be a good idea for you to choose one of us as your mate.” As the words left Vincent’s lips, Conner came outside. His blue eyes lit up as he smiled, seeing them approach. “My tribe viewed women as sacred beings, and anyone who wants to join us will abide by the laws of my people. But not all tribes are going to share those beliefs.”
“I thought all of you believed in the same spirits. Shouldn’t you be following the same rules?” She stopped walking, not wanting to have this conversation in front of Conner and Finn.
“How has that worked out for humanity?” His eyes shifted from the cabin to her and then back again.
“You make a good point.” Jillian groaned.
When Conner’s eyes met with Jillian’s, the smile faded from his face like he knew she was upset.
She stood by her decision to try and have a baby with Vincent, but she had an attachment to Conner that meant too much to toss aside. Finn was probably locked in his room, either fuming or being quietly heartbroken. He was not as open to the lifestyle Vincent described as Conner was, and his reaction drove that fact home.
God, I’m a horrible person. She put her hand on her forehead.
Finn had asked her to be upfront with him if she decided one way or another, and she jumped onto Vincent without even talking to him.
Was there even any point in agonizing over any of this? Not unless Conner would be open to being her mate even though she was planning on trying for a baby with someone else. After playing out that conversation in her head, it made her stomach tie itself into knots to even think about bringing it up.
“I know you’re going
to be an amazing father.” Jillian looked at Vincent, but her eyes were drawn back to Conner, who was leaning against the house, waiting for them to finish their conversation.
“You don’t have to let me down easy.” Vincent faced her.
“It’s not about letting anyone down easy. I get that relationships are a little different where shifters are concerned, and I’m starting to come to terms with the fact that I can love you all in different ways.”
“Then why is this such a hard decision.” He put his hands on his hips.
“Because I also feel like when I choose a mate, I should at least know what that means. If I’m allowed to have sex with other people and love other people, then what exactly makes being someone’s mate so special?”
“Because our kind mate for life.” He exhaled. “You can be a vessel to give someone children without any strings attached. You can love someone as a friend and also be attracted to them. Your body is yours to share with whomever you choose as long as the people involved know where they stand.”
“When you say mate for life…” She bit her thumbnail.
“A spiritual connection is formed. You can sense each other’s thoughts and emotions, and oftentimes, the bond runs so deep that if one dies, the other doesn’t last long without them.”
“Those are all pretty crucial details, don’t you think!” Her face reddened. “How did you not think that was pertinent information?”
“I planned to tell you.” He rubbed his face.
“When?” She threw her hands in the air. “When were you going to tell me? I’m supposed to give another person access to the inside of my head. Do you know how insane that sounds? Oh, and I also die if anything happens to them.”
“You seem like you’re already overwhelmed, and I wasn’t sure how long you needed to adjust to life here before learning every little detail about how we operate. For example, we age thirty percent slower than humans, so whomever you choose is more than likely going to be sacrificing thirty or forty years of their life.”
“Are you serious?” She put her hands on her heart. “The person I choose to love… I’m a walking death-sentence! What else were you waiting to tell me?”
“The people we just saw…” Vincent pointed back at the woods. “Treat their women like slaves. If we end up meeting with them, they are not going to care what you want or how you feel. If you’re unclaimed, they will view you as fair game.”
“Well, you’re not going to let them take me, are you?” Jillian shivered at the thought. “Just because I haven’t chosen a mate?”
“No, but it’s less likely to escalate if they know that someone has already spoken for you.” He took a breath to calm himself. “Don’t you think we should avoid a violent conflict if we can help it? We don’t know if they have weapons, what animals they shift into, or if the rest of their tribe is still on the way.”
“You mean there could be more of them?” Jillian’s chest tightened.
“It would be foolish to assume anything at this point.” He took her hands in his. “And I’m not saying that you have to choose me, but I would happily die young for you. I’m sure Conner and Finn would both say the same thing.”
“I can’t handle any of this.” She shook her head.
“I know how much love matters to you, and I promise, whoever you choose will love you, and you will love them one day. But for now, this is about all of our safety.”
“I…” A knot formed in her throat as she bit down on her lip so hard she thought it might bleed. “I just…”
“Jillian, we will all protect you with our lives if it comes to that.” He stroked her cheek. “But the fate of everything depends on your child surviving. You don’t want to know what a man like that will do to the offspring of an unmated vessel and his rival alpha.”
Her eyes widened as all kinds of gruesome scenarios played out in her head. The tension built in her chest, and each breath was more pained than the last.
“We can’t let that happen.” She breathed. “You’re right.”
She looked at Conner, who rubbed the back of his neck like he always did when he was anxious. A soft smile crossed her lips as she remembered their one passionate moment that took her breath away, just thinking about it.
As Conner finally turned to walk back inside, her eyes filled with tears, and her lips parted to give her answer.
The End, for now…
**
Ready for the next part of the story?
Dear Reader,
I want to personally thank you for taking your time to read “Goldie Lox And Her Trio Of Bears” I really hope you enjoyed it! If you did like the book, then it mean so much if you could leave a quick review. (Even just 1 sentence or 2 makes a BIG difference to me!)
The next book is entitled “Goldie Lox And The Alpha Of The Den”, you can get your copy at this link.
GOLDIE LOX AND THE ALPHA OF THE DEN
See you in the next book :)
Amy Star x x
P.S Have you read my other series “House Of Bears”? If you liked this book you should LOVE that, check it out now!
From struggling to even find a match on Tinder to suddenly being desired by four muscle-bound werebears. Life just got very interesting for Holly Smart…
So it all began when I inherited a house in Oregon from a grandmother I barely knew. This was strange enough on its own.
But little did I know the house came bundled with a bunch of hunky men who not only refused to leave but insisted I live with them.
Oh, and they were all shapeshifting WereBears!
They said, it was my “destiny” to bear a child with one of them and bring everlasting peace to all of the bear clans in the world.
Sounds crazy right?
Yet here I am agreeing to it as there is something about these men that is just drawing me in.
Anyway, strap yourself in as this is where one hell of a freakin’ story begins…
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HOUSE OF VAMPIRES
“One minute you're flipping burgers, the next minute you're living in a mansion with 4 handsome vampires who all want you to have their baby...”
When her grandmother passed away, nineteen-year-old Lorena Quinn was left a small fortune in her will.
Along with a further surprise.
Upon accepting the inheritance, Lorena learned that she was central to a prophecy. A prophecy that forecasts the end of the world and Lorena was the only one who could save it.
For this to happen, Lorena would have to have a child with one of the four sons of Vlad. More commonly known as VAMPIRES.
Now she has to choose which of the four eligible vampire bachelors will be the father of her child.
However, before she makes her choice, she must first live with them. All of them, at the same time...
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