Wild Bear Mates: Paranormal Bear Shifter Reverse Harem Romance

by Lilly Wilder

  “Where are the other girls?”

  He looked at me and smiled. “You were the only one that passed the test.”

  “I don’t understand.” I knew this was a tryout, but I thought there were no rules. What exactly had I done so much better than anyone else? “So, they are all going to go home?”

  “Does that bother you?” That was not what I asked. Of course, it bothers me. Did they all get sent home because of me?

  “Did you send them home because of me?”

  “Would that make a difference?” What was it with this guy? Why was he so insistent on avoiding my questions?

  “I wasn’t trying to get anyone in trouble. I just thought that you guys would want to see something a little bit more interesting than women with toys.”

  “And you were right.”

  “Oh. Well then why are they getting sent home?” Shapeshifters were really confusing. They never seemed to do things directly. It was always around the world and back again.

  “I’ve made my choice.” He put his hands on my shoulders. The look in his eyes was tender, but full of passion.

  “You’ve made your…. choice.” Was becoming a breeder as easy as all that?

  “Yes, Catalina. Please do me the honor of being my breeder.”

  The look in his eyes was so incredibly hopeful. It was quite disarming. A few moments ago, I thought I was in trouble and was going to be kicked out of the breeding camp. Now, I’m a full breeder with a selected mate. I’ve got whiplash. But I also knew that fate was never wrong. I knelt once again in front of Gerard. “My body belongs to you.” He kissed me on the head in response.

  -15-

  When I arrived back at the room, my head was spinning. I was a full breeder. Trying to push aside the fact that all of the women in my group were sent home, I felt happiness. Despite my happiness, butterflies battered around in my stomach. After Gerard told me that I was selected to be his breeder, he also informed me that I would be moving from my current room into the breeding quarters and that meant my own room. I really hoped that Vivica had a good day. I couldn’t stand to say goodbye right now. She’s the only friend I’ve got for miles. I decided to shower and wait for her. While I was dancing under the steam, I heard her enter. I quickly finished up and wrapped myself in a towel. When I placed my hand on the doorknob, I heard sobs. Oh no, oh no, oh no. She’s going home. Shit. I really do not want to deal with an emotional goodbye. And in fact, I didn’t want to say goodbye. You can do this. Emotionally sticky yes, but necessary. I pushed out of the door with a large smile plastered on my face. Vivica sat on the bed, but she was rubbing the back of a woman I didn’t recognize.

  “Sorry.” Vivica mouthed. I shook my head. At least it wasn’t her crying.

  “What happened?” I mouthed back. The last thing I wanted to do was to listen to some girl cry about how she got kicked out when I wanted to celebrate my news, but this was a good way to get Vivica’s story with a buffer.

  “I can’t believe they are sending me home.” The mystery woman wailed. Well, duh. But, why. She pulled her head up out of our pillows. Her jaw dropped. “You’re the girl that came into our group. The girl on her knees!” Vivica’s eyebrows raised up and her mouth formed a small “o” of surprise. The hot water had turned my skin red, but I felt a flush.

  “Yup.” What was I supposed to do? Deny it?

  “Our leader sent everyone home. Except Vivica.”

  Really? That’s weird. I thought trials were supposed to last a week.

  “They also sent everyone in my group home.” Vivica’s eyes darted to my face, scanning for information. She raised her eyebrows and motioned towards me. I shook my head. She nodded and continued to pat her friend.

  “I don’t understand. We were just doing what they said and using the toys. And then Vivica stands up and asks the coaches if they want glasses of water while they wait. You should have seen the way they hustled her out of the room. I thought she was a goner for sure. But, then after she came in and knelt in front of her shapeshifter, they thanked us all for trying and said that we could return again next year to try again. I sold everything I owned to hitch a caravan here. I can’t go back to my parents. Not like this. They didn’t understand to begin with. It took weeks for them to even speak to me when I told them.

  “You’ve known for weeks?” The question slipped before I could stop it. Why was I just invited right before the tryouts began?

  “Yeah. And some of the girls have known for months. One of them was here last year.” She sniffed and wiped her nose. Yuck. The way that the shapeshifters were running this was highly disorganized. Unless there was a reason for all this we didn’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t read too much into it.

  “Well, I should be going. I have to pack and say goodbye to all of the others. Thanks for comforting me and good luck.” She smiled and patted Vivica on the shoulder. Her smile trembled and then she walked out our door without so much as a wave. Well, okay then. I waited a few seconds and then squealed.

  “We’re in!” Vivica jumped up from the bed and wrapped her arms around me.

  “Come on. Let’s celebrate.” Her kisses pulled my thoughts away from their place. When Gerard was walking me back to the room, Arkan was sitting on the steps in one of the middle cabins. I gave him a small wave, but he didn’t acknowledge it. Had I not known better, I would have said that he was a statue or a life like painting. But his eyes followed me. Everything happened so quickly. I had hoped for one more dalliance with Arkan. But I guess the Goddess had something else in mind for me.

  “Okay, just don’t ask me to use a vibrator on you.” My mouth stopped her giggle short. We got into bed and pulled the covers around us. Two breeders at last.

  -16-

  I woke up with a start. My heart was pounding fast. The room was cloaked in darkness. My eyes scanned it wildly, looking for what had awoken me filled with such terror. Was it a dream? My memory was completely blank. Why was I filled with such dread? I glanced over at Vivica’s sleeping form beside me. Our last night in the tryout room. I licked my lips. My mouth was incredibly dry. I walked over to the bathroom. Maybe I can drink from the faucet. I should have brought bottled waters up to the room, but I figured it was our last night, why bother. Big mistake. My bladder twanged. Might as well pee. I really needed to cut out the coffee. My bladder was getting tinier by the day. I sat on the toilet and tried to recount how many glasses of water I drank, when I heard a noise. It was a vibrating screech. Followed by a crash. The sound of glass raining down. A heavy thud vibrated through the floor to my feet. The squeak of bedsprings. And then silence. My heart pounded in my ears. I tried to hold my breath, but my chest felt like it was going to explode. I wanted to go check on Vivica, but self-preservation was kicking in. If there was an intruder, the last thing I wanted to do was walk into his trap. Think. Think. Could an outsider get into the camp? Was this part of another test? Wouldn’t Vivica be screaming if something bad was happening? I’ve got the element of surprise. I looked around the bathroom for something heavy. The only thing that was even remotely weapon like was the plunger. It wouldn’t do any fatal damage, but the weight of it in my hands made me feel braver. Okay. Here it goes. On the count of three. Three, two, one, I burst from the bathroom door into the darkness, swinging. “Vivica, what’s going on?” My voice rang out in the complete silence. The window on our right was completely shattered. Glass littered the wardrobe and floor. On the bed rested our crinkled comforter. Vivica was gone.

  …

  “Tell me again what happened.”

  “I told you what happened. I woke up and went to the bathroom. While I was in there I heard the noises. After I heard the noise, I stayed in there less than a minute. When I came out, she was gone and the room looked like this.” I spread my hands out. “I ran out into the hall to try and wake up the other girls. Down the hall I went knocking on doors until someone answered. I could hear screaming. I thought maybe that someone else w
as being kidnapped. I didn’t realize that I was the one screaming, until Betty put her hand over my mouth and asked me what was wrong. That’s when we all raised the alarm.” Arkan looked at Gerard. He nodded.

  “There were ten of you taken last night.”

  “Ten!” I was lucky I was in the bathroom. It was luck. Wasn’t it? Why did I wake up afraid right before something bad was going to happen? It was as if I knew. Witches could see visions and various future events, but usually we had to perform rituals and call on the Goddess and intuition wasn’t a strong suit of my clan anyway. “Why were they taken? Who would do such a thing?”

  “We have an idea. One of the other shapeshifter warriors, Brawn. I’m not sure if you met him. He’s also missing. The thing is, he didn’t take any of the girls that weren’t chosen for breeding. It’s as if he waited to see who was chosen and then ran off with them all.”

  “But how could one shapeshifter steal ten women that fast?”

  “He couldn’t. He had help.” Arkan’s gravelly voice would have been extremely sexy in other circumstances.

  “What do you think he wants to do with them?”

  “Start his own tribe? Piss us off? Throw a grand orgy for fucks and giggles? We really don’t know. But we’re vulnerable. This isn’t good. We’re down to thirty breeders and ninety warriors.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “We’re not sure yet. The council will discuss it and we’ll announce it later.”

  “We’re going to take you to your new room. Someone will deliver your things once we clean up and look around in there. I’m sure you’d rather not sleep in there anyway. We’ll put two shapeshifters for each breeder on guard tonight. One in front of the door and one outside.”

  “Thank you.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. This all felt like a dream. One moment I was wrapped up next to Vivica and now she’s gone and others too? My stomach clenched. I tried to hold it but I vomited on my lap. Arkan reached out, but Gerard gave him a look. Gerard began to rub my back.

  “We’re going to get them back. Don’t worry.”

  “Can I have a tissue?” Gerard grabbed a few from the side table and handed them over. “When you get to your room take a long hot shower then climb into bed. No one will disturb you tomorrow. Sleep as long as you’d like.” I nodded. I wanted to tell him that I’d already showered and that I didn’t want to, but I kept that information to myself. The last thing I wanted to do was to commit some cardinal sin of disobeying him. Especially not now, when he was all I have. Fucking Vivica. I’m so sorry. I should have come out earlier.

  “I should have stopped them.”

  Gerard barked sharply. “No. You were smart. If you would have tried something, he could have taken you or…worse.” Even though I knew Gerard’s words had logic, I still felt guilty. Like I could have done more for Vivica.

  “Now go to your room. I’ll come get you in the morning.” Gerard tapped one of the young shapeshifters. “You and Sephyr go. Stay alert. This can’t happen again.” He and presumably Sephyr, nodded and stood.

  “Come with us.”

  I looked at Arkan, he averted his eyes. Gerard’s face crumpled a bit.

  “It’s okay Cat. It’s going to be okay.” His tone was as solid as ever, but there was something else in his tone. Something that I hadn’t heard before. An underlying emotion that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Was it fear? Or something else?

  The two young guards moved towards me, arranging themselves so they were one on either side. Suddenly I was a shapeshifter sandwich. Yay. We walked in silence towards one of the center cabins. After passing by a few rows, we entered an internal row of housing that wasn’t obvious from the street. All of the cabins had teal colored doors and planter boxes in the windows. It was almost as if the cabins were…girly in some way.

  “That’s yours.” Sephyr pointed at the cabin to our left. I climbed up the stairs. They sagged and groaned underneath my feet. The red paint was fresh. My house. I turned the knob and opened the door into a tastefully furnished sitting room. A large screen television was fixed to the eastern wall. A suede sectional segmented the room. On the far corner was a bay window surrounded by bookshelves. A floral fainting couch set in a corner. Swank. A breakfast bar divided the far half of the room. Dining room chairs sat around a small circular dining table. I took off my shoes and padded across the cream-colored carpet to the kitchen. Brand new appliances gleamed underneath the overhead light. Out of curiosity, I popped open the fridge. Bottles of plain and flavored seltzer water lined the door. On the top shelf sat a dozen eggs, a small container of ghee, and five goat milk yogurts. Inside the fridge were various covered bowls, pots, and Tupperware containers filled to the brim with mystery dishes. The crisper was full of apples, bananas, peppers, mangoes, and cucumbers. Someone had taken the time to fill my fridge carefully. It was such a touching gesture, but a huge departure from the room that I had in the tryout dorms. I guess they were serious about taking care of their breeders. I shut the fridge and moved from the kitchen into the hallway. The first door opened into a large closet. It was stuffed with towels, bedding, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. The next door was a gigantic bathroom. Despite the fact that it was stuffed with a walk-in shower, a hot tub, toilet, and dual sinks, there was still room for a full-length mirror and makeup table. There was a door at the far end of the bathroom. That must be the bedroom. When I opened the door, I expected to see a bed. Instead, I was greeted with a walk-in closet that was the size of my previous room. The room was stuffed with clothes. I fingered the different fabrics. There was formal wear, casual, work attire, even an entire wall dedicated to lingerie. Everything had a tag on it. There were thousands of dollar’s worth of clothes in here. More than I’d ever had in my entire life. How big was this cabin? I walked through the closet into the door on the far side. This had to be the bedroom. Opening up the door, I was relieved to find a bed. Inside the bedroom was another large screen television, blackout curtains, a speaker, and a dresser with a large box on top. I went over to the dresser. What could this box be? When I opened the box, I wasn’t automatically sure what I was seeing. Sparkling jewels, gold, and various baubles were all arranged and nestled in their proper places. A jewelry box fit for a queen. As generous as these gifts were, I couldn’t help but feel like they were a random stab in the dark at a certain kind of woman. I didn’t care about fashion. Who would I even see in half of these outfits? What I really wanted were my supplies. I hadn’t practiced magic since I got here. Perhaps if I asked the Goddess, she would tell me where Vivica was. There had to be plenty of herbs and mushrooms in this forest. And I hadn’t seen anyone drink, but surely some wine would be available? I was going to have to ask Arkan, I mean Gerard in the morning. I couldn’t live here very long without some considerations. I wasn’t this type of woman. If I was going to breed, I was going to need to feel like I was in my own home. Would he be offended? I couldn’t imagine anyone else turning down these things but I wasn’t just anyone. I went back in the closet and looked around for pajamas. I selected a fuzzy pair of pajama pants, a long top, and some leopard print slippers. I guess I could get used to this. Pulling back the covers, I hopped into my new bed. The coolness of the soft sheets felt incredible. Vivica. How I wished you were here to see this. You’d have a little house of your own. I wonder what was in your house. Would you ever get to see it? Somewhere amongst the questions, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

  -17-

  Sunlight streaming through the curtains burned my eyes. Didn’t I close those? I looked around at my room, seeing the box on the dresser and my rose-colored comforter. I wasn’t in the old room and Vivica was gone. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Coffee. Was there a coffee machine in the kitchen? I didn’t see it last night, but I couldn’t imagine a kitchen so well-stocked not having a coffee machine. I went through the closet door. There was a small chill in the air. I didn’t see a heater or vents. Number one thing to ask someone about
this place. How do I control the temperature? I went through the pajamas and found a flannel robe. Wrapping it around myself, I continued back on through to the kitchen. My eyes swept the counter for a coffee pot. There was nothing. I knelt down and checked all of the cabinets. Cookware and various appliances were neatly placed, but nothing to make coffee with. I checked the spice cabinet. Not a coffee bean in sight. I rustled through and found tea bags, but they were herbal. Where in the hell was the coffee? In the tryout’s cafeteria, the coffee was abysmal, but it was there. How was I supposed to get a hold of anyone? Where was Gerard?

  “Gerard! Give me coffee!” A crackle echoed through the house, loud enough to cause me to cover my ears. What in the hell was that?

  “Did you need something Cat?” A strange man’s voice echoed over some invisible loudspeaker.

  “Who the hell are you?” And what was he doing coming over the speaker to my house?

  “Your butler. Did Gerard not tell you I’d be waiting?”

  Um no. Gerard did not. It seems like Gerard likes to take a lot of liberties and make a lot of assumptions. And I’m supposed to bear his children. Yay. “I’m sorry. My what?”

  “Your butler. Whatever you want and need, I’m supposed to get it for you.” Well, I guess that doesn’t sound too bad. Perhaps, assumptions are not so bad after all.