Her Wild Bear Read online

  This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons--living or dead--is entirely coincidental.

  Her Wild Bear copyright 2015 by Heather West. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission.

  Chapter 1

  By the time they had both tents set up, the hot summer sun was dipping below the rocky mountain ridge. Tawny smiled as she sat to watch the little brook that gurgled quietly by the campsite. The icy water tumbled lazily by as towering pines whispered to each other in the gentle breezes and covered the ground in deepening forest shadows.

  Tawny heard soft footsteps edging up behind her.

  “We should start cooking the beef patties before they get too old,” Sasha suggested, placing a friendly hand on Tawny’s shoulder. “Besides, I’m famished.”

  “The meat was still frozen solid when we left the cars, right?” Tawny yawned. “They should be good for another hour, at least. There’s no hurry.”

  “I suppose…But I’m still famished!” Sasha giggled. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and we just finished a three-hour hike into a remote wilderness area and then set up camp. God, Tawny, don’t you ever have to eat? Are you trying to lose weight for your gymnastics or something? Come on. Let’s get the guys to start the fire while we watch.”

  “Right, no problem,” Tawny laughed. “But let’s have Justin and Chad help us set up the beds, and we’ll see if Kyle can get a fire going, okay?”

  Tawny blushed as she saw Sasha’s eyes gleam with mischievous understanding. “You want to see your man go a bit primal, do ya?” she taunted.

  Tawny stared down at the stream and muttered something cruel under her breath.

  “I get it,” Sasha smiled, grabbing Tawny by the arm and pulling her to her feet. “The whole roughing-it thing gets me all hot, too. There’s something about the smell of Chad’s skin when it’s sweaty and hot from the sun that drives my lower — ”

  “I don’t need details,” Tawny interrupted. She followed Sasha back toward the tents.

  “I’m just not convinced that a preppy boy like Kyle is the roughing-it type, that’s all,” Sasha explained. “Sure, he played football in high school, but now he’s all into computers and finance — stuff you learn when you want an office job.”

  Tawny glanced around at the tents as they stumbled back into the campsite. Justin and Denise were setting rocks in a ring for the fire and Chad was sifting through his backpack searching for snacks.

  Sasha pointed to the rifle where Chad had propped it up against the tree. “That thing isn’t loaded, is it?” she demanded.

  Chad chuckled and nodded. “It wouldn’t be any use if it weren’t.”

  “Somebody’s going to get shot with that thing just sitting there in the open like that,” Sasha grumbled. “I thought I told you not to bring any guns with you.”

  “Nobody’s going to get shot if everybody just leaves it alone,” Chad retorted. “Besides, you’ll thank me for bringing it if a wild animal comes after us. There are mountain lions and even wild boar in these parts.”

  Sasha huffed and glared at Chad, but he ignored her.

  “Where’s Kyle?” Tawny asked.

  “He’s gathering wood to make a fire,” Justin answered.

  Sasha raised her eyebrows and elbowed Tawny in the ribs. “How very woodsy of him,” she snickered.

  Chapter 2

  Matt crouched down and ran his hand over the dark, fertile soil that filled his father’s grave. It felt cold. “I can’t do it,” he groaned.

  Bradly sniffed the mountain air, his gaze searching between the trees. “You need to, Matt,” he countered. “The entire clan depends on us finding more food, including you and your mother. The elk and deer have been scarce all summer. Maybe we’ve over-hunted, or they’ve died from some disease; I don’t know. But if we don’t prepare for the winter, we’re not all going to make it to spring. The entire council agrees we need to make this the highest priority.”

  Matt raised his eyes and gazed down along the trail that led back to Woods Creek, the only civilization for miles.

  “What we need is vengeance,” he growled. “They need to pay for what they did to my father.”

  Bradly sighed in disgruntled agreement. “What they did wasn’t right, Matt. There’s no denying that. But we need to keep focused on what is necessary for survival. Do you believe we can march into town and openly attack The Path and get away with it? They may be beastly, but the members of The Path are people. Even if we do manage to kill them, these hills would be swarming with armed men hunting one thing: us. It would mean the end of the Cold Foot Clan.”

  “They shot my father!” Matt yelled. “He died from what they did to him — slow and painful. Are you asking me to just let it go?”

  “I’m telling you that you need to,” Bradly rebuked him. “If you go after revenge, more of us will die. Your father understood the risks, he knew that — ”

  “He knew that he needed to find more food for the clan — that’s what he knew.” Matt stood to confront Bradly. “He went too close to town searching for elk and they shot him on sight. It’s a mystery to me how he managed to make it back here at all — for all the good it did him once infection set in.” Matt looked down at the fresh grave and felt his jaw clench. “We’ve always tried to be peaceful with humans, to forgive their stupidity and carelessness. How have they repaid us? We need to take back the forests and the mountains, and rid them of these smelly vermin.”

  “Werebears don’t kill people,” Bradly objected. He reached a comforting hand for Matt’s shoulder, but Matt bitterly pushed it away.

  “Maybe it’s time we did!” Matt snarled. “Look at what they’ve done to our home, our forests. Even our air doesn’t smell right anymore. They’ve soiled everything they’ve ever touched. Besides, where is this rule written that we shouldn’t harm people? Didn’t Jacob slaughter some campers a few years back?”

  “And when he did that, we had to find a new place to live,” Bradly reminded him. “We were driven deeper into the mountains. We can’t keep moving like that. There are fewer places for us all the time as it is.”

  “I have an idea of how we can fix that,” Matt muttered.

  “Good. Now get an idea of how we can eat this winter. You need to take your father’s place in the council. We need leadership right now.”

  “No,” Matt’s voice rumbled. “What I need is retribution.”

  Matt turned away, stripping off his buckskin shirt and pants as he walked. His mournful roar echoed from the nearby cliffs as he shifted to bear form and dropped on all fours, trotting angrily toward the mountain pass.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Bradly yelled.

  Matt stopped and turned back to stare at Bradly for a moment before giving a gruff reply. “I’m going to spend a couple of days at the old cabin by Granite River. I need to think things over. I’ll be back soon enough. Don’t get your fur matted over it, tight-ass.” He turned and loped up the incline to the path.

  “Don’t do anything rash!” Bradly called after him.

  “Like save the world from people, maybe?” Matt grumbled under his breath as he walked away.

  Chapter 3

  Tawny watched as Kyle stacked broken logs and twigs into the fire pit and lit a match. He jammed the match under the wood, stood up, and stepped back.

  Tawny dropped her head into her hand as a little puff of smoke curled up into the air. The flame was gone.

  Kyle shifted the twigs around a bit and tried again, but with no better succes
s. “I think we need paper,” he said with a grimace.

  Tawny took a long, heavy breath, feeling some satisfaction as her large breasts swelled out, and gave a sad sigh. “We didn’t bring any scrap pieces, Kyle. You’ll have to find some dry leaves or something.”

  “Actually,” Justin pointed to a nearby tree, “that’s a birch, and the bark peels off like paper.”

  Kyle stared at the tree and scrunched his nose, but walked down the little hill and started picking at the trunk. Tawny squinted her face in dismay as she watched his awkward attempt.

  “Here.” Justin walked up alongside Kyle and began tearing off large pieces of paper-like bark strips, “let me give you a hand with this.” Justin pointed over to an enormous evergreen tree. “And that’s a red cedar, I believe. That bark will make excellent kindling. This should be easy.”

  A few minutes later, Justin had filled the fire pit with birch and cedar bark, piled twigs atop that, and stacked a few thicker branches teepee-style over that. He grabbed the matches from Kyle’s hand, and Tawny had to cover her mouth to conceal a sudden cry.

  “Justin,” Sasha called out, scampering up to him as she saw Tawny’s look of horror. “Let Kyle get that. I need you over on the other side of the tents.”

  Justin glared at her. “What’s the matter? We need to get the fire going so we can get some dinner.”

  Sasha lightly ran her fingers up and down his arm, leaning in close. “Kyle can get that,” she sighed. “But one of the ropes that holds up the girl’s tent looks loose to me. I don’t want it falling in on us in the middle of the night, leaving us laying there helpless in our pajamas. You wouldn’t want that, right?”

  Justin swallowed hard. “Of course not,” he lied. He tossed the box of matches back to Kyle and followed Sasha around to the other side of the tent.

  “What the hell was that about?” Kyle mussed as he crouched down once more. “Do those two have something going on?”

  Tawny shrugged and pretended to know nothing, sitting to watch as Kyle lit another match. It took two more after that before he managed to get the birch bark to catch, and a minute later a healthy flame took hold. Kyle stood and gloated over it triumphantly while Tawny quietly nursed a gnawing disappointment. She daydreamed of him building the next fire, hoping he’d gain confidence.

  ***

  As Matt came up on the cabin, he waded into the river near a spot where the water ran deep, his dark fur clumping over his legs as it got wet. In a few minutes he had caught a couple of large trout with his teeth and devoured them greedily on the riverbank.

  Clambering out of the icy water, he shook himself, fluffing his thick fur. He lumbered clumsily up the cabin’s porch steps, the thick wood squealing under his weight, and shifted back to human form before walking inside.

  He checked to make certain he still had clothes there, but didn’t bother getting dressed. Instead, he fumbled around naked, his large parts swinging, and wandered the cabin preparing the bed and checking that everything was in order.

  Once he was satisfied that nothing had been messed with, he went back outside and shifted back to bear form. He was still hungry, and it felt good to be back on the old hunting grounds. These were the forests where he had lived as a young cub. Night was settling in, and he knew he would be able to smell out a deer grazing in the moonlight.

  Chapter 4

  “The hamburgers were wonderful,” Chad grinned.

  “I wish someone had thought to bring some salt,” Kyle griped. “Maybe they wouldn’t have been so bland.”

  “Hey, this is roughing it!” Denise laughed, leaning over and grabbing his thigh playfully. “We’re miles away from any roads, lost up an overgrown trail in some wilderness somewhere. You weren’t expecting fast food, were you?” She teasingly rubbed his leg muscle for a brief moment before her face softened with a sudden spark of arousal. She yanked her hand away, turning back to sit in stiff silence and stare at the fire with feigned nonchalance, but not before glancing at Tawny to be sure she hadn’t seen.

  “It’s dark as hell up here, isn’t it?” Justin remarked.

  Tawny gazed around at the blackness lurking in the trees. She shivered involuntarily as a chill crept up along her spine.

  “Wild animals will avoid the fire, though, right?” Denise asked, her voice weak and uncertain.

  “But the fire won’t be burning all night,” Sasha pointed out.

  Everyone went quiet. The men stared into the flames while Tawny and Sasha glanced around into the murky darkness. Denise looked sideways at Kyle, her eyes traveling slowly up and down his muscular form.

  Tawny forced her attention away from the hidden beasts in the forest and back to the fire. She looked up at Kyle as he sat calmly on the log across from her, drinking in his broad shoulders and his chiseled jaw. Sasha noticed Tawny’s growing interest with a grin.

  “Let’s go check out the tents and make certain they’re ready, okay?” Sasha suggested, reaching over and grabbing Chad’s hand. “Chad and I will check out the guy’s tent.”

  “Seriously?” Chad exclaimed in excited surprise as Sasha lightly ran her fingers up his forearm.

  “Unless you don’t want to,” Sasha said with a coy shrug. She looked up at Chad, his expression still shocked, and gave him her best puppy-dog eyes.

  Chad looked brazenly down at Sasha’s chest, and she stuck it out a bit further for him. “Hell, why not?” he said, and followed Sasha as she stood up and led him toward the tent.

  “Denise, why don’t you and Justin check out the girl’s tent?” Sasha suggested as she disappeared behind the flaps.

  “Check it out for what?” Justin complained. “Didn’t we check everything out when we unrolled the sleeping bags earlier?”

  Denise gazed up along the entire length of Justin’s body, then glanced back over to stare unabashedly at Kyle’s bulging pants for a quick second before grabbing Justin by the hand.

  “Come on,” she muttered, “Let’s take the time to make sure. I don’t want to be up all night because we didn’t.” She dragged Justin to his feet and toward the tent.

  “Fine,” Justin groaned. “But let’s hurry, alright? I don’t want to waste — ”

  He went quiet when Denise reached behind him and greedily grabbed a handful of his ass, squeezing tightly. He hesitated, and then went stone quiet before following her into the tent.

  “Wow,” Kyle exclaimed, laughing. “Did everyone suddenly get horny tonight? Was there something in the food?”

  “Looks like it,” Tawny mused with a sigh. “By the way, did you get enough to eat?”

  He gave her no more than a quick look before leaning down to poke at the fire. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m fine. You?”

  “I had plenty, I’m sure,” Tawny replied with a sly smile. Kyle didn’t seem to notice. “But it’s scary out here, with just the two of us now.”

  Kyle looked up at the blackness, working hard to hide a cringe. He went back to poking at the fire.

  “Can I sit over there with you?” Tawny asked, getting to her feet.

  Chapter 5

  Matt could smell the campfire from miles away. He lunged through the woods, determined to root out the intruders and frighten them off. The last thing he wanted was more people invading the forests, even if it was just for the weekend.

  He stepped softer, lighter, as he approached the camp. He knew it wasn’t a fair fight — they were still miles from any road, and to send them scampering aimlessly out into the night now would mean they would be forced to race back to wherever their cars were. And they would be running in what, for them, would be absolute darkness. Still, he had to be certain they weren’t poachers.

  Matt quietly made his way to the edge of the camp. Peeking through the trees he could see a young man, sitting a bit uncomfortably on a fallen log and warming himself by the fire. The man fidgeted uncomfortably, pensive and uncertain. Faint moaning emanated from both of the tents, and Matt could smell the pheromones.

  Then a w
oman stepped softly into view, her gaze steadily fixed on the boy. She walked to him with a warm confidence, and turned just slightly. The firelight captured the essence of her face and bathed it in an amber glow.

  Matt struggled to catch his breath as his heart began to race. He stepped cautiously closer, eager for a better view. Each breath was a sudden fevered gasp, his mind whirling, as he watched her brush at the young boy’s hair with tenderness.

  Matt felt as though he were watching a goddess, her poise confident and alluring, her long bare legs exposed below her shorts to reveal supple, deliciously tanned skin. Her hair flowed, long and thick, down her back in swaying dark waves that hinted of cinnamon in the firelight. He studied the curves of her cheeks, her back, her full breasts. He felt something deep within him stir, and it pushed him quickly to the edge of madness.