A Date For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 2) (9 page)

Terri charged at the fallen
polar bear, her jaws yawning wide open. Her teeth and fangs closed
around Silas's throat.

Silas clawed at her but it
was too late. Her jaws clamped down and she didn't hesitate. With a
violent jerk, Terri ripped out his throat and stumbled back.

Tony ran to her and supported
her just before she fell to the ground. She shifted back to human
form in his arms, and managed to bare her bloodstained teeth at him.

“I swore I would kill
him myself,” she wheezed.

“And you did.”

“Yeah. But...yuck!”
She spat the blood from her mouth. “Bad taste, real bad
taste.”

Cole, Dalton and Brad came
running up with a few of the guys wielding pitchforks and shovels.
They stared at the dead polar bear on the ground and at the bloodied
but grinning Terri.

“What...?”

“Did she do that?”

“Terri, you okay?”

“He's dead. I'm not.
So yeah, I'm okay,” Terri deadpanned.

“Gosh, she's a natural.
She fights better than you, Jason. You fight like a ninny.”

“I do not!”
Jason huffed. “But...I agree, she's a hell of a fighter!”

Cole and Dalton knelt to
examine Silas's body, which had shifted back to human. “A
Sunwalker bear,” Cole said, standing up. “I recognize
the brand on his arm. The Sunwalker clan has long been disbanded.
Their numbers have been dwindling. They wanted to keep their
bloodline pure. Instead, their narrow-mindedness has caused their
clan to diminish and wither. Their members have all gone their own
way, and I suspect quite a few of them have gone rogue. Like this
one.”

Dalton came up to Terri and
put a hand on her shoulder. “It's over, Terri. Your bear has
exacted its revenge. Don't let the anger and bitterness fester in
your beast. If you turn rogue—” Dalton paused for a
beat. “Tony will have to destroy you.”

Terri cut her eyes to Tony
and made a face. “You gave me my bear. You can take it away.”

“Something like that.”
Tony shrugged, trying to keep his tone light. But it was no
laughing matter. He Turned her. He was responsible for her. Dalton
was right. He would have to hunt her down and destroy her if she
turned rogue. It would destroy him as well, but he would still do
it.

Cole turned back to the crew
and barked an order, “All right, boys. Let's get back to the
job!”

“Job!” Terri
gasped. “Oh my job! Oh my God! I have been missing work
for...days! I need to call the office, now! Now!”

Everyone stared at her as she
spun in a circle and clutched her head. “Phone! I need a
phone. Where's the goddamned phone?”

Abby pointed to the house.
“We have a phone...”

Without waiting for her
friend to finish, Terri ran towards the house, screeching and tearing
at her hair. “My boss will kill me! Why didn't anyone remind
me? This is a disaster!” she wailed. “What am I going
to say? What am I going to do?”

After a word with Cole and
Dalton, Tony followed Terri into the house. The rest of the clan
removed Silas's body with minimum fuss and mess, and promptly went
back to work.

Terri was sitting on the
floor of the living room, staring at the phone in her hand. She was
in a large t-shirt that had been hurriedly and haphazardly dragged
over her head. Abby was crouched beside her, with her arm around her
shoulder. The two women looked up at Tony as he approached.

“I...I've been fired,”
Terri said numbly. “Fired. I tried to explain to them. I
told them I'd been attacked by a werebear, and I had to be Turned in
a hurry or I'll die. But did they care? Noooooooo! They wouldn't
even listen! I didn't turn up for work, so I've been replaced!
Fired! I don't have a job now. How am I going to afford my
apartment?” She dropped her head into her hands.

Tony went to her and held her
hands. “Terri, hey, look at me. Baby, will you look at me?”

“No,” she sulked.
“I'm jobless and homeless!”

Tony sighed and tilted her
face up with both hands. Abby gave him a quick smile and excused
herself. She disappeared into the kitchen to give them some privacy.

“Terri, you don't need
your apartment. You already have a home. You'll be moving in with
me,” he said firmly.

“Why?” She was
still pouting.

“Because...you're my
mate, and I love you,” he blurted out.

Her eyes rounded. “Oh,
Tony, you don't have to...”

“I mean every word,
Terri. You are my mate. And I'm not letting you get away from me
and run back to the city.”

Terri swallowed. “I
still don't have a job...”

“You do now. Nightfire
Landscaping needs a secretary to take care of all our paperwork.
We've been handling it ourselves, but it's a mess. Since Abby came,
she's been trying to organize all those overflowing messy files. But
it's an uphill task. You have your work cut out for you.”

“Y-you...you're hiring
me?” she spluttered.

“Yep. I'm one of the
owners of the business. I have the authority to hire any help we
need.”

Terri tapped her chin,
pretending to consider his offer, but he could see the corners of her
mouth curving. “Fine,” she said at last. “I'll
have to negotiate my remuneration though.”

Tony nodded. “Fair
enough. Name your price.”

“You won't be able to
afford me.” She wagged a finger at him. “Oh no, I
demand to be paid in...services.”

“What kind of
services?” Tony growled, coming closer to her.

“Services of the sexual
kind. And since you're the one who hired me, you should be the one
to pay me.”

“Of course.”

“And I demand advance
payment.”

Tony held her chin and tipped
her face up to him. “No advance, young lady,” he said,
brushing his lips against hers. “You start work right away.”

“Mmm,” she
murmured against his mouth.

“Cole's study is just
behind you. That's where we keep most of our paperwork. You can
start this very afternoon.”

Terri smiled. “And my
payment?”

“You'll be paid
promptly tonight.” Tony kissed down her jaw and neck. “Don't
work too late. I'm taking you out to dinner.”

“Oh, a date?”

“Yes. I've been
wanting to ask you out.”

Terri quirked a lopsided
smile at him. “Dating your mate? That's romantic. But—why
haven't you marked me? You had the chance, you know, when you Turned
me and we...” She touched the base of her neck tentatively.

“Trust me, I wanted to.
I wanted to claim you and mark you that night. But I'd just Turned
you. It wouldn't be fair to you. I didn't want to mark you against
your will, Terri.”

She raised her hand to cup
the side of his face. “It wouldn't have been against my will.”

Tony's brows shot up.

She sighed softly and went
on, “You are my mate, and I love you, Tony. I fell in love
with you at first growl. I want you to mark me. And...” She
leaned in to whisper in his ear. “I'm going to mark you as
well, Tony-boy. You are mine.”

Tony nipped her ear and she
squealed. “Bad, bad bear!”

He swept her into his arms
and kissed her hard. “Get to work now,” he drawled,
pinching her butt playfully. “I've got to get back to the
site, but I'll pick you up at six.”

“For our first date,”
she quipped.

“Yes.”

“Will we be having sex
on our first date?”

Tony groaned. The little
minx was tempting him beyond reason. He had to get back to work, but
her seductive purr and the feel of her squirming, soft body against
his was making him so hard. He was going to have trouble walking.

“Are you going to mark
me tonight?” she continued, pressing herself against his
erection.

Tony stared at her and let
out a growl. “That isn't even a question.”

She giggled as Abby appeared
from the kitchen with a huge grin. From the look on her face, Tony
knew that Abby had overheard everything.

“Tony, Terri, this
is...the best thing ever! I'm so happy for you!” Abby put her
arms around them and hugged them both tightly. “And for me!”
she squealed, doing a happy dance with Terri. “You'll be
staying in Moonstone Creek now, so I don't have to miss you like
crazy! Yay and double yay! Yay to infinity and beyond!”

The two best friends started
laughing and talking at once. They were already planning what to do
together, where to go, what to see, where to shop, who to meet.
Moonstone Creek was just a small but busy shifter town, but the girls
made it sound like it was the most exciting place on earth.

Well, now that they were
here, it probably was.

Tony smiled and left his mate
and his cousin-in-law to it. It was clear that the two women were
closer than sisters, and they were now clan and family.

Tony made a mental note to
thank his Alpha. He owed Cole, big time. He had thought his cousin
was out of his Alpha mind when he made them all sign up for that
stupid dating site. But it was through the dating site that Abby and
Cole found each other. And through Abby, Tony had met her best
friend, Terri.

Terri, his beautiful,
wonderful mate.

At the door, Tony turned to
see Abby leading Terri towards Cole's spacious study and showing her
the bookcases of bulging files. Terri rubbed her hands, relishing
the challenge. Tony chuckled. He suspected that his Alpha and Beta
would be getting a lecture from their new spitfire secretary about
the importance of proper filing and office administration.

The phone on Cole's study
table sounded and Terri was on it in a heartbeat. Her tone was
utterly professional as she snatched up the phone with one hand, and
grabbed a pen and notepad with the other. “You've reached
Nightfire Landscaping, the best landscaping company in Moonstone
Creek. How may I help you?” Terri said smoothly. She nodded
and scribbled furiously on the notepaper. “Of course we can do
that. We'll send someone out to measure your area and give you a
quote. Can I have your name and contact number please?”

Tony grinned as Terri put
down the phone and came running out to him. “Wait up, Tony!
Here you go. The name, contact and address of a new customer. Get
one of your guys to go out to this address and see what Mr Lim wants
done. Mr Lim mentioned he would like to include a cubby house for
his kid in his backyard.”

“Got it.” Tony
took the paper from her and gave her a quick kiss.

She kissed him back and ran
back to the office.

As Tony opened the front door
and stepped out, he heard the phone ringing again. He leaned back
into the house and called out, “I know you're busy, but—don't
forget our date.”

Terri winked at him over her
shoulder and put her hand over the mouthpiece. “I won't! This
is going to be the best first date ever!”

~
End
~

About the Author

Natalie Kristen is a writer
who enjoys mixing the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark,
the possibilities with the unimaginable. She enjoys exploring
paranormal and dystopian worlds, deep desires and inspiring romances.
She is hopelessly addicted to coffee, chocolate, reading and
writing. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to
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