Bear's Gold (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tales) (20 page)

Please, Raven Spirit, be my guide
tonight.

~YH~

Theo was hot on the trail of the
Grizwald girl, when he could have sworn he heard someone calling his name. Digging
his paws into the thick soil, one white and three black, he wondered if he was
hearing things. Had Shayna shifted out of bear form to call him? Surely, not.

There had been a mild attraction
between the two of them, but that was the case between most available Were-males
and Were-males—nothing special.

When he began to start running
again, he clearly heard his name. However, this time it didn’t seem that the
sound was picked up by his ears, but his heart.

That didn’t make sense. That sort of
connection only happened after the second bite. So, he’d been taught. With
Cindy, he’d given her all three bites when he’d claimed her that Bear Run, so
everything was just
there
.

Lifting his muzzle, he began to
sniff the air. Looking for what or who, he didn’t know. The only woman his bear
had wanted was long gone. Even tonight, he had not gotten over that ache inside
of him, but he knew he had to move on. So, he’d forced himself out into the
forest.

It took a few moments for him to get
past Shayna’s alluring scent and the beguiling aroma of the other Were-males
that were traipsing and running through the woods in full heat. Then he
detected one scent that called to him more than the others had.

At first, he believed his heart had
wished the scent into the air, because he had been thinking of
her
.
Closing his eyes, he inhaled slowly, isolating that one smell.

There it is
. Rich and heady with the beckoning
sweetness of raw honey; a delightful ambrosia that was made up of all things
Riley.

Theo
.

It was definitely Riley’s voice that
called to him.

Please come to me.

He didn’t know how she had come to
be here, in the woods on the Westside of Den County, but he was positive she
was here. Not a phantom of his mind. 

Running in the direction he sensed
her, his paws digging deep into the ground and rapidly eating away at the
distance that separated them.

He allowed the spirits of the land
to guide him as his soul called out to her. Hoping she could hear him.

After what seemed to be the most
aggravating moments of his life, he saw her bare form, a silhouette in the
moonlight.

She must have spotted him at the
same time, because she smiled.

The first thing he noticed was that
her hazel eyes were without fear and confusion as they had been yesterday. Now
they were clear with recognition.  

“Theo.”

Shifting, he stood before her.
“Riley. Why are you here?”

“I came back.”

He felt his heart beat hard in his
chest, but he refused to take anything for granted. This woman had already
stolen his heart and the last thing he needed was for her to dash his hopes once
again. “Just twenty-four hours ago you didn’t want to have anything to do with
me and my kind. What’s different?”

She moved closer to him, her feet
crushing dry leaves on the ground.

Her scent became stronger as she now
stood only two feet from him. As always she aroused him, however, he
disregarded the instinctive hardening of his cock.

Riley must have noticed his reaction
to her. He watched her eyes darken, as her gaze trailed along his body. Her
tongue darted out and moistened her lips.

Mine
.

He stifled a groan and folded his
arms over his chest to keep from reaching for her as his bear wanted. His bear
didn’t care about why she had come back, only that it wanted to finish claiming
her.

“What’s different, Riley?”

Lifting her gaze, she met his. “I
am.”

Titling his head, he raised a single
eyebrow. “Explain.”

“How about I tell you a story
instead.”

He let out a humorless chuckle. “I
might be ready to lay a willing female down and fuck her, but I’m not in the
mood for a bed time story.”

There was a catch in her breath and
she blinked, once and then twice, but she wasn’t deterred by his blunt words.

She continued, “There was once a
little girl in the woods who came upon a young bear. A bear who took her breath
away by his majestic form; fur ebony as the night with the exception of one
single snow white paw.”

He swallowed.

“However, his beauty wasn’t so much
in his coloring as it was in the darkness of his eyes. Eyes that shined so
black in the morning sunlight they appeared metallic…gold.”

His pulse was now racing out of
control and his blood began to rush through his veins.

“Do you want to hear more of this
story?” she taunted.

“Yes.” Something about what she was
saying seemed familiar.

She smiled. “The girl was captivated
by this young bear. Watching him rise on his hind legs, imagining he invited
her to dance with him. However, the two were disturbed by a great bear.
Frightened, the girl wasn’t sure whether this great bear had come to do her or
the young bear harm. Afraid, she overreacted, grabbed a branch, and prepared to
protect herself. Her actions were halted as the younger bear took hold of her
arm.”

He watched as Riley bent her arm,
bringing her forearm in front of her chest and showed him the mark on her
wrist. Memories from his youth that he’d categorized as insignificant unfolded
in his mind.

“I don’t believe that young bear was
trying to hurt me.” She took another step closer to him.

“I wasn’t.” He lowered his arms. “I
was trying to keep you from hitting my father. He was angry at me because he’d
told me repeatedly to stay away from humans. Then there I was a young bear, a
ten year-old human, who at the first sight of a pretty little girl I was
strutting and trying to impress her.”

Shaking his head, he wondered at his
youthful wisdom of such antics. However, it had brought them to this point.
Reaching out he took hold of her hand and kissed the old scars on her wrist.
His mark.

Mine
. He bear declared with pride.

“I thought you were the most
beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”

“I was put on punishment for a month
because of it.” He reached out and cupped her face, no longer able to keep
himself from touching her. “I went back every year looking for any signs of
you.”

Turning her face into his palm, she
said, “My family never went back there after that. They were afraid that it
would cause me to remember something frightful.”

“Is that how you remember it now?”

She shook her head. “No. Something
wonderful.”

Kissing his hand, she rubbed her
face against him as if she were trying to absorb his scent.

Lifting her head, she gazed up at
him. Reaching out, she caressed his cheek and trailed her hand down along his
jaw to his chin. “You shaved your beard off.”

It was more of a statement, still he
answered. “I thought it was to for a change.”

“You have a very handsome face.
However, I think I like you better with it. You see more free…virile and
unrestrained.”

Her words had his heart thumping
hard inside his chest.

“What do you want now, Riley? It
can’t be for this one night and then you return to your life.”

“You are my life, Theo. You and
Bernard and Auberon. I should never have walked away from you guys.”

Hearing her confess what his heart
needed to hear, he pulled her into his arms. Fusing his mouth to hers, he
kissed her. Not holding anything back as his hands moved from her face to
caress her all over. Familiarize himself with the feel of her soft skin again;
every curve. Ending his touch at her ass, he palmed the silken globes and
squeezed.

She moaned and pressed herself to
him. Gyrating her hips, she pressed her sex against the aching length of his
cock.

Trailing kisses from her mouth to
her breasts, he said, “I need you, Riley. Right here, right now.”

“Only if you promise to give me my
third bite.” Burying her hands in his hair, she pulled until his face was
parallel with hers.

Growling, he planted a loud kiss on
her pouty mouth. “Just what I had in mind.”

“I like how you think, my golden
eyed bear.” She winked at him.

Laying her down in the heavy pile of
leaves at their feet, with the Frost Moon beaming down on them he aligned his
body on hers. Starting with her mouth, he moved his kisses across her chin to
her breasts. Taking one beaded nipple into his mouth, he sucked it and enjoyed
the feel of her writhing beneath him.

Licking along her torso, he teased
her navel and heard her giggle.  However, when he parted her thighs and tasted
the moist essence coating her sex, her laughter broke off on a moan.

Parting her labia with his tongue,
he commanded her passion. Taking her to the brink but not allowing her to fall
beyond the crest of desire until he wanted. He dipped inside of her pussy,
tasting the unadulterated cream of her pleasure.

“Theo.” She called out to him,
urging him on, and screaming his name as she begged and pleaded for
satisfaction.

Her body began to tremble and buck
against his greedy mouth. Taking her clit between his lips, he flicked it
incessantly and guided her over the edge of euphoria.

At the same moment her climax over
took her body, he turned his head and sank his teeth into the center of the
tender flesh of her left thigh, just below her pulsating sex. Claiming his
woman.

Epilogue

Riley lumbered slowly through the
woods headed toward the river, a golden brown bear. It was the first night she
and her family had been away from their property. Theo hadn’t been kidding when
he said the entire town hibernated in their homes. She had enjoyed getting to
know her new husband over the winter months and her two step-sons. The Fish
Moon Festival would be at the end of the month and she was excited.

Theo arrived at the river first and
shifted from his black bear to human form. She would never get tired of seeing
all the sexy male goodness displayed before her.

“Take your time, my honey bear.” He
stood on the bank waiting patiently for her.

She let out a roar, as she finally
reached the moist soil of the river. It took all of her focus to shift, because
it was only the third time she had done it.

“There you are, beautiful.” He kneeled
before her and massaged her calves.

“I will be glad when this baby gets
here.” She rubbed her protruding stomach. “I think I need Doc Paddington to do
another ultrasound. I can’t be this big for only one child.”

Angling his body behind her, he
joined her in stroking her belly. Enjoying his touch, she rested her back
against his chest.

“I told you that the combination of
our genetics causes the woman’s pregnancy to be much shorter because of the
rapid growth of the baby.”

“Yes, but no one told me I’d be a
grounded blimp also.”

“Well, a few more days and the boys
will have a new baby sister.”

The mention of Aubrey and Bernie
made her smile. They were with her husband’s parents tonight, giving her and
Theo some time alone. “They are very excited. You should hear the names they
have picked out for her.”

Theo kissed her on the temple. “They
read them off to me this morning. Most of them come from one kids’ show or
another.”

She laughed. “I like that we will
decide once she’s born. See what name fits.”

“Do you still want to visit your
parents at the end of the month?”

“I do.” She’d called her parents from
the sheriff’s office after the Bear Run and her and Theo’s subsequent wedding,
with the other newly mated couples. No one was happier than she to see Shayna
had ended up with Gordon, putting that old rivalry to rest.

“Mom was excited about the baby.”

Again she’d called, earlier today to
tell them about the baby. Riley had led her mother to believe that she’d been
pregnant when she came home but had not realized it. That was easier than
revealing the secret of Den County, one that was now hers to protect as well.
Her father seemed to understand a little more, however, she knew that was
because of his Native American lineage and faith. If it hadn’t been for that
faith, she may have never been guided back to Theo.

That thought made her heart ache.

She and Theo sat in silence as they
stared out at the flowing river. Riley couldn’t help but rejoice at how settled
her life had become. She no longer had the restless feeling that caused her to
run away. Finally, she’d run to her destiny and had no desire to be anywhere
else.

Next year after the baby was a year
old, she’d start teaching the preschoolers. She and Kaley had discussed it at
length by radio during the winter months.