A Wife For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 3) (9 page)

Satisfied, she sat back and
rubbed her bulging belly absently. She was working from home today,
designing the new website for Nightfire Landscaping. Lisha found
that she enjoyed her job as a librarian too much to give it up
entirely, so she worked part-time at the library instead. On her
days off, she worked from home, freelancing as a web designer.

But with her pregnancy now in
its final stages, she was finding it tiring to sit for long periods
at a time. The little rascals were getting restless as well,
constantly wrestling and kicking around in her belly.

Brad and the entire clan had
been ecstatic to find out that she was expecting twins. Everyone had
fussed over her, constantly bringing nutritious food and nourishing
soups over to feed her. Lisha swore that she was now larger than a
full-grown whale.

Lisha uploaded the website
and pushed back from her desk. Waddling out of her study, she made
her way to the kitchen to grab a glass of milk.

She stood and gazed out the
window for a few minutes. Finishing the tall glass of milk and
giving herself a milk mustache, Lisha smiled and waved to some of her
clan members as they passed her house. Bruno's grandmother had just
returned from a shopping trip with Jason's mother and sister. The
three women waved back and grinned. From their guilty,
conspiratorial glances, Lisha knew what their shopping bags
contained. She narrowed her eyes at them and they laughed. They had
bought yet more baby stuff for her. Her house was already
overflowing with baby gifts and presents from the clan. And from the
Book Babes. The Book Babes had morphed into the Knitting Babes
though. Her book club members had been dropping by to give her
beautifully knitted baby booties, bonnets, blankets, shawls and even
a matching pair of sweaters for her and Brad.

Lisha shook her head and
chuckled as the three she-bears hurried eagerly away. They couldn't
wait to rush home and wrap up all those presents.

She rested her hand
protectively over her swollen belly as her mind flashed briefly back
to Mack Kross. Mack had given a full and damning confession,
describing in detail the workings of the human trafficking syndicate
that he was a part of. With a full list of names, dates and
locations, the authorities and government agencies successfully
infiltrated and smashed the syndicate. The masterminds and minions
were all prosecuted and convicted. Most of the kidnapped, missing
humans were found but not all could be rescued. Some had contracted
incurable diseases, and some had been maimed and mutilated beyond
recognition. Some had gone mad, their minds and bodies irretrievably
broken and wasted.

Mack Kross would end his days
in a maximum security prison. With no arms and no legs, he would be
easy prey for the more violent, savage inmates. Maybe the prison
guards would intervene and stop the violence. Or maybe they'd look
the other way.

Lisha didn't care.

Mack Kross and his ilk would
never touch her and her loved ones again.

Lisha exhaled a long breath
and shook away the horrific memories. She would think happy
thoughts, soothing, cheerful thoughts for her babies. She'd
conceived her babies the night she first mated with Brad. It seemed
her life took a sharp turn for the better that very night.
Everything fell into place. Her tiger, her heart, her life.

Turning away from the
window, Lisha went to the phone and called her sister-in-law. Abby
picked up on the first ring.

“Lisha! Are you...”

“No,” Lisha
laughed. “No labor pains, yet.” She heard Abby blow out
a breath. “I just wanted to tell you that I've uploaded the
website for Nightfire Landscaping. I want you and Terri to take a
look and tell me what you think.”

“Oh, wow! That's fast!
Okay, I'll just...”

“Oh, oh, ow!”
Lisha clutched the edge of the table and panted. “Abby! Are
you there?”

“Yes, Lisha, I'm here!
What's happening?” Abby yelled. “I'm coming over right
now!”

“I...oh, gosh! I'm
leaking water...”

“I'm on my way! I'll
call Terri and Terri will call Brad. You stay calm, you hear me?
Calm, calm!” Abby shrieked, sounding less than calm herself.

Lisha grunted against the
sudden, shooting pain and fumbled her way to the front door. She'd
just gotten the door open when she saw Abby's car screech to a halt
in front of her house.

“Let's get you to the
hospital!” Abby ran up and helped her to the car. “Terri
has gone to collect Brad and the boys. They'll meet us there. Let's
go, let's go. Now! Move it, people!” Abby yelled commands to
herself in stern, military tones as she hustled Lisha into the car.

Lisha grimaced as she pulled
the seat belt over her shaking body. Abby nodded approvingly and
hollered, “Seat belts everyone! We're on our way!”
Lisha had to glance behind to see if there was anyone else in the
car, but there were only the two of them. She shrugged and stifled a
giggle. Apparently, treating this as a military exercise steadied
her usually unflappable sister-in-law.

Abby revved the engine and
announced, “And Team Cubs-a-coming is on the move!”

Lisha cradled her two babies
in her arms and looked up to see Brad skidding into the hospital
room. His eyes were round with worry and excitement. “Lisha,”
he breathed.

He came to her side and
kissed her hair, gazing down proudly and lovingly at their newborn
twins. Cole, Dalton and Tony crowded round, grinning and gawking.

“Everyone, meet Daren
and Rita,” Lisha beamed. She'd named her son after her dad,
and her daughter after Brad's mom.

Cole shared a smile with his
younger brother, and came to kiss her on the cheek.

Dalton and Tony came up to
kiss her as well, and eagerly asked if they could hold the babies.

Terri and Tony cooed over
little Rita, who was yawning and wrinkling her nose.

“Oh!” At
Dalton's startled cry, everyone rushed over to him. Only Brad
remained at Lisha's bedside, holding her hand.

Daren Junior had started
bawling in Dalton's arms. Then right before their eyes, the baby
shifted into a little bear cub. Dalton held the squirming ball of
brown fur in his large hands and laughed.

“He's just like you,
Brad,” Dalton chuckled.

“Yeah,” Cole
laughed, peering at his nephew. “When Brad was young, he used
to turn into a growling little bear whenever he got angry. After he
exhausted himself, he would shift back to human form in his sleep.”

Sure enough, when Dalton
settled the little cub back in his arms and patted him to sleep,
Daren Junior shifted back to a human babe.

“Rita is not a
werebear,” Terri said, sniffing her sleeping niece. “Is
she...a weretiger? Ooh, she's strong!” Terri grinned and
tried to pry her little finger from Rita's tiny fist.

“I don't know,”
Lisha answered with a shrug. “White tiger genes aren't
dominant. That's why there are so few white tigers around. She
might be a weretiger, or she might grow up to be a human woman
without her animal ever emerging.”

Brad beamed. “If Rita
grows up to be a beautiful white tiger like her mother, that would be
simply wonderful!”

“If she grows up to be
an amazing human woman like her Aunt Abby, that's wonderful too,”
Lisha grinned.

Brad went to hug Abby.
“Thank you for driving her to the hospital.”

“That's what family is
for,” Abby said, patting his shoulder. Then she squealed and
danced around the room with Terri. “I'm an aunt! I'm an aunt!
I'm an auntie!” they sang, twirling each other around.

Cole and Brad went to hold
the babies, while Dalton and Tony hovered over their shoulders,
clucking and cooing and making all sorts of unintelligible noises.

“The rest of the clan
will be coming soon,” Terri told Lisha. “I don't know if
this room can hold the lot of them.”

Before Lisha could reply,
Abby planted her hands on her hips and faced Brad. “Lisha has
given you two beautiful babies. Now, when are you going to make an
honest woman out of her, Brad Jameson?” she demanded in her
sternest big sister voice.

Brad blinked at Abby, then
carefully handed his yawning son to Tony. A slow smile was curving
his lips.

Terri and Abby stood flanking
Lisha, like two overprotective big sisters. Lisha stared at Brad as
he walked to her bed and took her hand. “Lisha, my beautiful,
brave, amazing mate. You have given me a son and a daughter, and you
have made me a very happy man.” Brad took a deep breath and
withdrew a velvet box from his pocket. “There is only one
thing that will make me even happier.”

Lisha gasped as Brad opened
the box to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. He dropped to one knee
and said, “I know we're mated but I'll like to get married as
well. I love you, Lisha, now and forever. Will you be my wife?”

There were rushing footsteps
and familiar voices along the corridor. The rest of the Nightfire
clan jostled through the door and stumbled noisily into the room.
They stopped in their tracks when they saw Brad on bended knee,
holding out a diamond ring to her.

“How romantic!”

“He's proposing to
her!”

“How come you never
proposed to me, huh?” one of the she-bears grumbled and smacked
her mate over the head.

“Say yes, Lisha! He
won't get up till you say yes!”

Lisha stared at Brad for a
long while, seeing all his love and all her tomorrows in his eyes.

“Yes, Brad,” she
whispered. “You have given me the greatest gift. I love you,
too. And I will be your wife!”

Lisha laughed as the whole
clan surged into the room, clapping and cheering. “Congratulations!
Congratulations, Brad and Lisha!” The babies woke up, but
they didn't cry despite the raucous din around them. They gurgled
and seemed to enjoy being passed around.

Lisha leaned into Brad's
embrace as her clan members milled around and began to discuss
weddings, baby showers and birthday parties. Lisha smiled, lacing
her fingers through Brad's. Her smile was even more radiant than the
dazzling ring on her finger.

Her tomorrows were filled
with love, hope and happiness. She would always treasure the
memories of her dad, her happy childhood, her old home. And she
would cherish every moment and celebrate every milestone with her
loving, wonderful family and clan.

After all, this was what life
was all about—memories, moments and milestones.

This was her life.

And her life was good.

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
follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her blog for the latest
news and updates.

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/NatalieKristenBooks

Blog:

nataliekristen.blogspot.com

Twitter:

@NatKristenBooks