AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But before I saw him to pass the laptop on, I needed to shift. My bear demanded it. I needed to get away so I could get him out of my mind and to let my bear work off all the pent-up frustration he was feeling toward me for not giving into the mating pull. He didn’t understand why I was doing what I was. All he knew was that fate sent him our mate and I was thwarting that.
I stripped off my clothes and walked out the back door of the mechanic shop. It led directly into the woods, thankfully. I didn’t want any company.
Eventually, we might actually expand the town to have more side streets. It was part of Aydan’s long-term plans. If it came to fruition, I’d no longer have direct access to the woods from here, but that would be several years down the road, and I had plenty of other things to worry about without inviting trouble that wasn’t even on the horizon yet.
I fell back and gave my bear his fur. He landed on the ground with a thud and took off at a full run. My beast was large but didn’t let his size get in the way of his speed. Being a grizzly, when I stood on my hind legs, I was well over nine feet tall. As a shifter, I was larger than regular grizzlies. Stronger, too.
Once I was deep within the woods, I slowed to a walk, letting my bear wander around, sniffing out berries and other things that we both enjoyed, including a squirrel that wasn’t wise enough to get out of our reach. He needed this time to be. Heck, I needed it too.
Eventually he was worn out, but also not ready to give back control. He found a nice spot in the sun and took a nap. Any human seeing us would be perplexed at seeing my bear just chilling. He might’ve been all grizzly when he needed to be, but he was also part me.
I needed space from Corey so I could wash his scent away and regroup myself, and this was the perfect opportunity.
Except his scent seemed to only get further into my soul with each step I took in the woods, each second I lay in the sun, each sound I heard. Everything I saw reminded me of him. Every. Single. Thing.
Did he enjoy blackberries or red berries? We had both kinds growing wild in the forest. Did he like them? Should I come back with a basket and harvest some for him? Or better yet, I could show him this spot where the berries were plentiful.
Only it wasn’t better yet. That would only lead me down a path of heartache. So did hearing the stream and yearning to bring him down to the banks with me for a picnic. Did he enjoy fishing in his bear form? I knew that I did.
I got up and lumbered toward the river. I could catch him some fish and take them to him. Alphas provide, right? I shook my head. Dammit, I needed to cleanse him from my mind, get him out of there completely. If only it were as easy as that.
At the river, I sat down on the bank and dipped my paw into the cool water. The fish scattered once they caught a hint of me. I wasn’t hungry, so I wasn’t going to catch them. Not now, anyway.
What sort of fish did my mate like?
Fuck, I needed to not think of him that way.
I tried to shut off my human brain; only that made it ten times worse. My bear, driven by instinct, didn’t care that my mate was promised to another or that my mate was my best friend’s brother, my Alpha’s brother, and I had explicitly been told that Corey was off-limits. No, my bear did not care about any of that. He’d scented Corey, and that was all he needed to know.
Rolling onto my back, I stared up at the midday sky. It was slightly overcast now, but the warmth permeated my fur. I loved that I could enjoy the warmth without being blinded by the sun.
Why did this mate thing have to be so complicated? It wasn’t fair. But then again, what in life was?
The sun moved in the sky, and I could no longer hide from my life. It was time to return to the den, to my responsibilities. I rolled back onto my paws and began the walk toward the garage, slower this time. I wasn’t in a hurry to return to my responsibilities. At least that had been my plan.
My bear? Yeah, he had other plans. He knew that Corey was there and refused to delay getting back to him, pushing through my attempts to meander. He moved faster with each step, bringing me closer and closer to our mate. And even though I should’ve been heading back to the mechanic shop, I found myself on the trail that came out directly to Aydan’s backyard—the one that connected to Corey’s.
I refused to shift to my human form right there, naked. Even though shifters didn’t care about nudity, I wasn’t about to expose myself to the man who my beast called mate, especially since just thinking about him got my cock stirring. At the very least it was inappropriate.
As if sensing I was there, Corey stepped out on his back deck. He smiled when he saw me. He might never have met my beast before, but there was recognition in his eyes. He knew who I was, and he was happy to see me. I did that. I made him smile.
All thoughts of how much of a bad idea this was left my mind.
I couldn’t deny Corey any longer, and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to deny me either.
Chapter 7
Corey
After spending the entire day with Zane, the last thing I expected was to see him in my backyard, least of all in his bear form. But the second I saw his bear, I recognized him, so did my beast. He was stunning.
Why did I step outside in the first place? I couldn’t even remember. Perhaps it was simply because my bear pushed me to, maybe he sensed out mate. Whatever the reason, I was glad for it.
I smiled as I saw him, taking in the ridiculously large size that he was. I bet he’d be up to my shoulders when he was on all fours. And his fur—I itched to reach out and run my fingers through it. Everything about his beast was a combination of fierce powerfulness and snuggle-worthy.
My body felt the second he realized I was there, and I held up a finger, indicating that I needed a minute. He nodded in understanding. I slipped inside the house and shed my clothes quickly, tossing them aside. I didn’t know how long he had been shifted for. Perhaps he wanted to return to his home and go to bed, or whatever it was he did in the evening. I hoped not. My bear wanted out—wanted to join him.
So did I.
