Desired by the Bear - Book 1: BBW Werebear Shifter Romance Read online

  “Duh.” Tally’s eyes widen, and she squeals, “Oh my god, you didn’t know?”

  Blood drains from my head, and the world around me begins to waver. “No.” Bile rises to my throat. I race to the bathroom and make it just in time. Water splashes as I lose the contents of my stomach into the toilet. Tears fill my eyes, and I sink to my knees. The floor is ice cold under my legs as I begin to tremble.

  I shouldn’t be surprised I’m pregnant. Jean Luc and I have quite an active sex life, and we’ve done nothing to keep conception from happening. What am I going to do now? What if one of my babies is a girl?

  Tally has followed me into the bathroom, and she says, “Goodness, Izzy. You’re pale as a sheet.”

  The water of the toilet rushes as I flush, and I stick my head under the faucet for a mouthful of water to rinse.

  “Your blood sugar must be low,” says Tally. “You know you have to eat more now, right?”

  She leads me back to the kitchen, and the bright light of the fridge shines as she opens it and grabs juice. She pours me a glass and says, “Here, drink this.” The drink is cool in my throat as I swallow it down. The sugar rushes to my bloodstream, and miraculously I feel better almost instantly.

  Jean Luc is going to be thrilled by the news, since he hints at how he can’t wait for us to start a family. “Thanks, that helped.”

  Tally clucks her tongue. “I have no idea how you survived without me all these years.”

  I had my brother. My twin, Tristan, was the one who took care of me up until about eighteen months ago when he found his true mate in Maine.

  Tally kicks a cabinet door, and it slams shut as she begins to dice a block of cheese. As her knife taps on a cutting board she glances at me to ask, “Want to know how many you’re going to have?”

  “Can you sense them?”

  She rolls her eyes at me for asking what must be a stupid question. My friend has so many different powers I’m never sure. She says, “Three little hearts are beating like mad. I’m surprised you can’t hear them.”

  I place my hand on my stomach and focus my ears. Oh my god. The small patters of my babies’ hearts are beating, and Tally’s right. I detect three. Goose bumps rise on my skin, and I take a deep breath as I brace myself against the answer I don’t want to hear. I ask, “Can you tell if I have boys or girls?”

  Tally lifts her knife at me and squints. “Sometimes I wonder why we’re friends. You don’t seem to know anything about me at all.”

  Oh for crying out loud. If I’d assumed she knew something she doesn’t I’d probably get the same response. My friend’s ego is slightly inflated when it comes to her magical powers. I sigh. “Tally.”

  “Two boys, one girl.”

  I groan as acid burns in the back of my throat. Oh god.

  3

  Nadia

  How the hell did they find me? The man who showed me an escape route didn’t strike me as the type of guy who would rat me out. Unless he was forced...

  A low rumble of anger vibrates through me. These two men think they’ve got me, but I’m not sure they know how fierce this polar bear can be.

  Cold metal snaps around my wrists, and I notice it’s sticky. I glance down to discover fresh blood, and when I look up at the hunter, I see more splattered on his clothes. Fury burns in me as they drag me back through the door to the basement. All I have to do is shift to break free, but the gun trained on me keeps that from happening. If I get shot through the heart or my head, no amount of werebear healing power can save me.

  The man who’s jabbing a gun in my side chuckles. “God, she even stinks like an animal.”

  “Bet she fucks like one too,” says the guy who cuffed me.

  I almost laugh at his absurd attempt to scare me. I turn to him and growl as I let my polar bear teeth show. He flinches back. “Jesus.”

  I laugh at his response, and he says, “Take her to the tunnel, and let’s get this over with.”

  Adrenaline surges in my veins, because I’m running out of time. An idea comes to me. I stumble on purpose, and as I go down I begin to shift. I don’t want to rip out of my dress, though, so I hold on to the point where I have my power and human skin. The impact of the floor on my knee radiates through my thigh as I snap the chain of my cuffs with the power generated from throwing my arms out wide. I manage to connect with the shins of both men when the metal snaps, and I knock them off balance. A gun skitters across the floor and slams into the wall as I deliver matching blows to the back of each man’s head. Their thuds are almost in unison as both of them collapse.

  Yes! My heart pounds against my chest as my polar bear urge to kill rings in my ears. Years of warrior training just came in handy. It would be so easy to kill these men. But I can’t, because I know what a mess that would be for others to clean up.

  Either one of the men could regain consciousness in seconds, so I run up the stairs to the bus station as I tamp down my bear. I don’t stop moving until I’m in the thick crowd. You’ve got to love New York. Not one person bats an eye at my disheveled appearance as I walk with the flow toward a uniformed guard. I make sure he sees me and say, “Sir. I need help.”

  The man is young and immediately gives me his concerned attention. “Are you in danger?”

  I force a sweet smile. “I know I look awful, but it was for a photo shoot.” I pause and run my hand through my hair for effect. “Goodness, you probably have no idea who I am.”

  He rushes in to say, “You’re the Ice Queen.” He nods his head toward the billboard outside the entrance we’re near. “I recognize you. You’re tall.”

  “Yeah.” I sigh. “Look, here’s the thing. I’m such an idiot.” I twirl a loose strand of my hair and try not to get my finger stuck. “I was supposed to run away as if I were being chased. You know, like the commercials?” The guy nods as he gazes at me with the dreamy look that makes me think he’s turned me into a fantasy. “But I ran too far and got lost.” I roll my eyes and hope I’m not too over the top. “They probably think I flaked or something. Can I borrow your phone to call for a ride?”

  “Sure.” He reaches into his back pocket and hands me a cell. “Um, would you sign the case?”

  I giggle as a real smile comes, and I don’t have to fake my happiness when I say, “Of course.” The phone is slick in my hand as I quickly tap out Leif’s number. He’s not only the marketing director, but also a member of the De Rozier clan. He’s bound to be frantic, wondering where I went.

  When he answers I say, “Leif, it’s Nadia. I need a car to come get me.” With the help of the policeman I explain where to pick me up. After I sign the policeman’s phone case and we take a few selfies, I manage to get to my ride safely.

  The smooth leather seat of a limo is cool under my bottom as I slide over and thank the policeman for all his help. He too will be getting a vodka supply that should last a year. Tristan might want to dock my pay by the time I get out of here. The moment the door shuts I breathe a sigh of relief when I notice the driver is one of my clan. Darin tosses me a phone. “Call Leif.”

  I push the call button on the contact already pulled up, and when Leif answers I say, “It’s Nadia. I was ambushed in the bathroom by hunters.”

  “Is anyone dead?”

  I begin to shake from leftover adrenaline. They killed one of my fans. A low rumble of anger vibrates through my chest. “No. I didn’t kill them.”

  “Good. I’m not sure how we’d get them out of the city undetected.” He pauses before he says, “We need to get you back to Maine.”

  I picture Leif’s face when he saw me slip with a growl at the photo shoot the other day. The panic in his eyes matched the fear I felt about losing control. Tristan’s going to be pissed. I say, “I know. I’m so sorry.”

  Leif sighs. “Don’t worry. It’s my fault. I pushed you too hard.”

  “No.” Leif has been great as a boss and has never asked me to do anything I didn’t want to do. I’m the one who pushes him to do more. I say
, “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

  “Okay. Hey. Run long and hard for me when you get there.”

  “Will do.”

  The phone clicks as I turn it off, and I lean forward to talk to Darin. “I’m famished. Any way we can hit up a drive-through once we’re out of the city?” I glance down at my tattered gown and long for comfortable clothes, but that’s going to have to wait.

  “We need to make a few car switches to throw them off our trail, but after that, anything you want, Queenie.”

  I sigh, because I think my days as the Ice Queen are over. I flex my fingers and let my bear claws extend as I recall how I took out the two men who were going to kill me. I was trained as a warrior, but so were many of my clan, and when we moved to Maine there wasn’t much need for me. But after what happened today I think Tristan’s going to want my help.

  I think about the cute police officer. I’m going to miss the male attention, and it’s going to be hard to see my ex-husband, Sven, with his true mate again. But I’m in a much better place now, and if I focus on my training I’ll manage. I shift in my seat, and the spot where the hunter jammed a gun in my side aches. While the hunters seem to be clever enough, there’s no way I’m going to let them win. A low rumble sounds in my chest as my bear confirms my new plan. So hunters want to mess with the Ice Queen? Prepare for my wrath.

  4

  Izzy

  I’m not sure if I just threw up because I’m pregnant or because I just found out one of my babies is a girl. Water rushes when I flip on the faucet, and I splash some on my face. I gaze at myself in the mirror, but I can’t see the crazy, even if I can feel it lurking beneath my porcelain skin. I make my way from the bathroom back to the kitchen, where Tally hands me a saltine cracker. “Nibble on this, sweetie. It’ll settle your stomach.”

  I nod as I take it from her and lower myself slowly to my stool. The dry cracker crunches in my teeth as a knife scrapes against wood when Tally pushes the cubes of cheese into a pot. As much as I hate to admit weakness, except to Jean Luc, I know I can trust my best friend. I say, “I need your help.”

  She turns to me and reaches for my hand. Her petite fingers are like a child’s under mine, but she’s one of the strongest people I know, and her touch is comforting as she asks, “This isn’t about being pregnant, is it?”

  “It is now. I need to tell you about my curse.” Hot chocolate splashes into mugs as Tally pours us some, and a stool scrapes across the tile as she pulls it over to sit next to me. I gaze into her warm brown eyes and say, “My grandmother seduced a Native American man away from the woman he was supposed to be with. The medicine woman of the tribe was so angry she cursed my grandmother with bipolar disorder that would cripple her when she was in her thirties. The curse gets passed down through the females of the De Rozier alpha family. My mother--” I shudder because I don’t want to relive the horrors.

  Tally says, “And you’re afraid your daughter will have it.”

  I nod. “My mother told me the curse could be broken by bonding with your true mate, and I thought Jean Luc broke it for me.” I sip on the hot chocolate Tally poured for me, but it’s too sweet so the mug rasps on the countertop as I push it aside. “But my mood swings returned last week.”

  “Izzy, pregnancy hormones are raging through your body right now. Of course you have mood swings.”

  “Maybe. It does make sense, but what if I’m wrong?”

  “Then Jean Luc and I will find a way to help you.”

  I shake my head, because neither of them can possibly comprehend what I’ll become if I am still cursed. After witnessing what my mother was like, I know the only people safe around me are stronger werebear, and even though my mate is the alpha of the Ouellette clan and has polar bear heritage, he’s not powerful enough to stop me if I lose my temper. Only Tristan and the strongest polar bear from the De Rozier clan I came from can.

  I splay my fingers on the granite countertop, and the chill of the stone takes me back to a time when my mother locked my brother, Tristan, and me in a cage as punishment for a crime I can’t recall. We were little children, and I shudder as I remember the hunger of starving for days, and the fear that gripped us while we wondered if she’d ever come back to release us. I glance up at my friend to see concern etched on her face. I say, “Tally, I can’t risk my children suffering the way I did.” My throat tightens as tears prick at my eyes. I’m not sure how to handle the emotion, and crying isn’t something I do. I gulp it down, but my voice still cracks when I say, “I won’t.”

  Tally’s voice is stern as she says, “Don’t underestimate my powers, Izzy.” My tiny friend is almost two feet shorter than I am, but she is a powerful witch, and that’s what I’m counting on. “We’ll fix this.” She pats my hand and gets up to tend to her cheese soup. “I’m going to make you some tea, and you’re going to need to start up with the yoga I keep bugging you about.”

  I tune out Tally as she goes on with her plans for me. I know she’s trying to help, but she doesn’t understand what I fear. When I’m ready I’ll share what my mother was like. But not yet, because it hurts too much.

  A tissue whooshes out of the box my mother-in-law, Grace, keeps on the counter as I yank it. I think about how happy Grace will be to become a grandmother. She’s not nearly as subtle as Jean Luc about her desire for me to get pregnant. I get it, though. My husband is in his early forties, and Grace waited a long time for me to take over as prima. And I know now that she’s retired she wants the joy of grandchildren to keep her occupied.

  As if I summoned her, Grace’s footsteps tap down the stairs, but I know it’s Tally’s cooking. No matter what my friend makes, it always smells and tastes better than any other version. I glance over at Grace as she enters the kitchen. She’s a tall woman with angular features and has hair that is a paler version of my husband’s fiery-red shade. She frowns when she notices my appearance.

  “Izzy, are you feeling okay?”

  I nod as Tally tries to suppress her excitement. I glance at my friend before I speak. “This is the kind of news I should tell Jean Luc first, but I don’t think Tally can get through our lunch holding back the secret.”

  “Can too.”

  Tally makes the motion of sealing her lips and locking them shut with a key, and I chuckle because she’d be squirming in her chair through our meal trying to control herself. I say, “I’m pregnant.”

  A grin covers my mother-in-law’s face as her teal-blue eyes turn glassy with moisture. I hold out the tissue box toward her as she says, “This is wonderful news.”

  I shove my fear aside and smile back. “It is.”

  “So my son doesn’t know yet. I won’t say a word,” she says. “When do you plan to tell him?”

  Knowing my friend will have to be locked up to keep her from spilling the secret to anyone she sees, I decide it better be soon. I ask, “Tally, will you make me a picnic to take to Jean Luc?”

  She bounces with excitement as she says, “Of course. Oh goodness, he’s going to be so happy.”

  Grace says, “That’s a nice idea.” She studies me for a moment, but Grace is the kind of woman who waits for people to tell her things instead of prying, and she doesn’t ask me the questions I think are running through her mind. I’m not sure how she does it, but I find I confess things to my mother-in-law when I’d rather not. And while I need to discuss my fears with Jean Luc and Grace to keep them safe, now isn’t the time.

  I stand up as I say, “I’m going to take a hot shower and get ready.”

  Tallulah’s excited voice follows me as she squeals to Grace and they begin to make plans for me. Water rushes out of the shower when I turn it on. As I wait for it to warm up I strip off my clothes and gaze in the mirror at my body. My nearly white-blond hair and pale-blue eyes are polar werebear traits, and I wonder if Jean Luc’s red hair and teal eyes will dominate our children’s coloring. I place my hand on my stomach. Werebear gestation is only six months, and since I started feeling o
ff about a month ago, it won’t be long before I’ll have a baby bump. That also means I’ll give birth in late September. Halfway between the bipolar high and low.

  My mother’s mental disorder was in tune with the sun. Back in the Arctic the dark months of winter were the worst. That was when she was pure evil. I flash to a bloody scene of my mother’s destruction. Near the end of her life, she was so far gone that highs and lows had little impact on the crazy. Steam curls around me as the mirror begins to fog and my image fades. A chill makes me shudder, and I step into the hot spray of the shower.

  I let the heat warm me, and I whisper as if I can will my curse away, “I am not going insane.” I place my hand on my stomach. “Darling children, Mommy will do anything in her power to keep you safe.” Anything...

  5

  Kelsey

  The moment the Border Patrol building disappears from my rearview mirror I breathe a sigh of relief. Those guys were so not up for good old-fashioned flirting, and my botched attempt to lighten the mood when they asked for my passport led to a thorough vehicle search. Or maybe when I asked if they wanted to frisk me, they took it as sexual harassment.

  I gaze out at the blue sky ahead. The Canadian blue sky! I squirm in the driver’s seat of my trusty Subaru. I managed to land the highly coveted internship at Ouellette Yachts offered to one graduating student at my boat-building school. I grin to myself when I recall the look on Lance Everett’s face when he found out. He was so sure his blue-blood background would let him waltz through the door to the most prestigious sailboat company on the East Coast. I love knowing it killed him that the lowly daughter of a single-mom schoolteacher beat him. Serves him right for being such a snob.

  Landing my internship is only the beginning, though. I have a plan to make Jean Luc Ouellette my mentor. And if I play my cards right, I’ll become the best thing he ever did for his business. I’ll be so valuable he’ll need to give me a job at the end of the summer and never want to let me go.