He’s a feral psycho and I’ve never stood a chance.
It wasn’t always like this. I had a life once.
But then puberty hit and my grizzly’s hostility started to grow. His rabid fury became overwhelming until one day he wouldn’t let me back out.
I’ve tried everything to pull him in, but it’s like I’m wedged in cement down here. Sometimes, it feels like he’s holding my head underwater, laughing as I drown.
Back in the olden days, they would have put a feral bear like mine down for the greater good. It wouldn’t have mattered that I was in here too. It’s always been too dangerous to let a beast like him live. They would have ended his reign of terror with a shotgun slug to the temple. My nightmare would have been over.
And it would have been the right thing to do.
I used to wish that my brothers would take mercy on me and settle it for good. I guess they think letting me live is compassion, but it’s not. It’s weakness. A truly compassionate person would have done the hard thing and ended this torture a decade ago.
A low wicked growl rumbles through our body as my bear gets close. I can smell the scent now.
It smells like apple sauce, cheap generic soap, and blue jeans.
It smells like trouble. It smells like a disaster waiting to happen.
I wrap my hands around his essence and try with all my might to pull him in, but he’s as unmovable as ever. I don’t have anything good to say about my grizzly bear, but I’ll give him one thing, he’s a strong motherfucker.
I watch helplessly through his eyes as he approaches the edge of the forest.
No…
Panic and dread starts to fill me.
Don’t. Please don’t.
A cute boy is standing in the forest—in my bear’s forest—staring up at the trees, oblivious to the danger quickly descending on him.
Run!
I scream, but there’s no use. He can’t hear me from where I’m trapped down here. No one can.
The kid has messy brown hair and dirt all over his jeans. I picture his mother this morning, tying his shoes and putting a couple of quarters into his pocket to make a phone call in case he got lost on his field trip. The dread starts to build inside of me. No phone call can save him now.
My bear creeps forward, snarling as the boy’s presence in his forest—in my prison—triggers his fiery temper.
I don’t think he’d hurt a kid—at least, I hope he wouldn’t—but I know at the very least my grizzly would terrify him to make him pay for daring to step foot in his domain.
I can taste the anger. The outrage. I’m drowning in it as my bear lowers his head and lets out a low feral growl.
The boy’s sparkling brown eyes snap onto us and then widen comically large. The poor kid freezes like prey. He doesn’t know what to do.
Enough!
Back up!
I holler at my bear, but my furious words land on deaf ears. He doesn’t care what I think. He likes me as much as I like him. The affection between us is non-existent. Whatever solidarity there once was died years ago in this wooded hell of a prison.
He takes a step forward.
STOP!!
That’s enough. Fuck this monster and his crazed need to dominate everything.
I got anger too. I grunt as I try to pull him in with every ounce of strength I have. He laughs me off at first, but I’m not giving up. Not this time. Not with an innocent boy’s life on the line.
I’m gritting my teeth and struggling as I pull him down and force my way up. His monstrous body starts to shake and he lets out a vicious roar as I get close.
But not close enough.
He snarls as he shakes me off easily, like a dog shaking off a flea.
I sink back down, watching helplessly as he once again takes control.
I try to pull him again, but this time he’s got his guard up and it’s like trying to move cement. It’s like trying to push a mountain.
Territorial feelings surge through his veins as he walks up to the kid, stopping only a few feet away.
Out of nowhere, a woman comes rushing into the forest. We were both distracted with fighting each other that we didn’t notice her presence until she was a few feet away, racing forward. She stands protectively in front of the boy, protecting him as she stares at us with terrified eyes. Her hands are trembling as she tells the boy to go.
More territorial feelings come, only these are way more intense.
And they’re not for the trees and dirt and forest all around us. They’re for her.
She’s our real territory. She is ours.
I feel it just as much as my bear does. Finally, we agree on something.
The feeling stuns us. It staggers my bear.
He steps back and huffs out a breath as we stare at her in awe.
She’s beautiful. A bright light in a dark room.
My heart pounds as I take in her blonde hair and bright blue eyes. A cute little nose and sensuous pink lips. She’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.
Her outfit is simple—blue jeans and a brown zip-up jacket, but it’s enough to make my pulse kick into overdrive. My hands are tingling as I run my eyes over her voluptuous curves that look so soft.
For the first time in over a decade, my bear calms. He’s breathless as he stares at her. His overwhelming anger melts away under her presence. The darkness extinguished by her light.
She’s it. She’s the one.
Our mate.
Nothing else could describe this change. If it was anyone else, my bear would be in attack mode, but right now, it feels like he’s about to drop to her feet and roll onto his back for a belly rub.
“Go, Gavin,” she says to the boy. “Run!”
Gavin hesitates until she pushes him and then his little feet take him out of the forest to safety. But she remains, sacrificing herself to protect him. She’s so brave. She’s unbelievable.
She looks scared, but she’s defiant, staring at us with her chin in the air and her hands squeezed into fists. I can tell she’s not going to go down without a fight.
Waves of warmth and comfort begin to wash over me as my bear falls in love. He’s completely captivated by her, which is leaving him vulnerable…
I quickly grab his essence and yank him down as I force my way out with every last bit of strength I have.
I catch him sleeping and it works. I can’t believe it, but it works.
His body shakes violently as my girl watches in horror. I claw and fight my way out as my grizzly gets sucked back in.
I explode out of him and fall to my knees. It’s been so long since I’ve been out.
The sensations are overwhelming. The cold dirt touching my knees, the cool air tickling my sweaty skin. I have to squint from the brightness of the sun. Every breath feels wonderful.
I stare at my hands as I squeeze them in and out of fists, almost forgetting how it felt to have any power.
The woman gasps and my eyes dart up to hers. The terror in her eyes is replaced with a look of confusion.
I don’t have a stitch of clothing on. I can’t imagine what she must be thinking right now. I’m not sure I want to know.
I push myself up to my feet. I’m all shaky and my breath is coming out all choppy and uneven. It’s been years since I’ve been out. Maybe even a decade. I lost count several cold winters ago.
We stare at each other for a long heated moment.
I’ve been trapped in there for so long that I’ve been desperate for any kind of human connection, but even I can tell that this is not normal. This is beyond a regular first meeting. This is what happens when a bear shifter lays eyes on his mate for the first time.