Lord of the Bears (Wild Ridge Bears Book 1) (17 page)

Chapter Twenty

Nora

Lord
of the bears. The nickname was born out of their last name, but in Caleb’s case
it was easy to see why it stuck. He stood in profile on the porch of the long
house. The midday sun shone off his silver hair and beard. He looked regal,
kingly, even in his crumpled leather bomber jacket and blue jeans.

“You
love him?” he asked, keeping his gaze out at the tree line. He twisted a blade
of grass between his front teeth.

My
heart clenched. I went to stand beside him. I squeezed my eyes shut. The image
of Jax at the bottom of the ridge, ready to murder Simon to save me. A part of
me wanted to. The naked lust in Simon’s eyes still scared me, and I knew he
wouldn’t soon give it up. But, there could be no question who had won the wager
of battle. The entire group of clans had witnessed it.

“So
tell me again how that works? If Jax had just killed Simon, all of this would
have been washed away?”

“More
or less,” Caleb said.

“And
if I hadn’t found that evidence that Hank was the one communicating with
Damon?”

Caleb
shrugged. “It was a pretty solid plan he had. Pit the two strongest leaders on
the ridge against each other. Then let Damon Spence and his meddling government
inspectors through here to shut everybody else down but him.”

“But
why?”

Caleb
let out a breath. “Greed. Ambition. The usual stuff. Hank was a lot like Simon
back in his day. You know, he fought me for Sarah, Jax’s mother. I think part
of him never forgave me for losing her.”

“But
he found his own mate? He had Cullen? And your families swore an oath to each
other.”

“I’m
not saying this doesn’t hurt like hell. But it just turns out Hank wasn’t ready
to give up his power. And his mate, Fiona? She’s a she-bear. They weren’t
Anam
Cara
like you two and like my Sarah and me. They had Cullen and she went
off to live her own life after Cullen was grown. I guess there was something
about Hank that just didn’t sit right with her. Now we maybe know what that
was. Cullen should have challenged him years ago. But, blood is thick, you
know. You do things you’d never dream of to protect your own. No matter what.”

I put
a tentative hand on Caleb’s shoulder. He reached down and covered my fingers
with his warm palm. “Well, Damon can’t do much damage now. Even if he has extra
copies of those pictures somewhere I didn’t find, he can’t prove anything. Not
even who took them.”

Caleb
nodded. “I’m not worried about Damon now. Without Hank helping him out, he’s
got no ground here. You did good, Nora. Real good.”

A
commotion behind us drew my attention. Caleb pulled me close. The clansmen
filed out of the long house, their faces grim and gray. Simon and Jax came out
last.

Jax
came to me; his eyes flashed as he took me from his father and kissed the top
of my head. I stood between these two strong men. My new family if I wanted it.
Lords of the bears.

Then,
my heart broke in two.

The
decision had been swift and ruthless. Hank James’s ambition had put the clans
at risk. His actions could not stand. With pain in his eyes, Simon announced
the decision so Caleb, the rest of the clansmen further down in the valley, and
I could hear.

Banishment.
Both Cullen and Hank.

I
squeezed my eyes past the tears as Hank and Cullen walked past me. It took
everything in me not to reach for Cullen. He had been my friend. He didn’t
deserve to suffer for the sins of his father. Later, Jax would tell me it was
the way of the bears. Cullen had a choice to stay and give up his lands, but in
the end he couldn’t do it. No matter what else he was, Hank was his father. He
was old and wouldn’t survive banishment from the ridge on his own. Later, the clans
would decide how to split up Hank’s claims. Caleb’s words echoed in my mind.
You
do things you’d never dream of to protect your own. No matter what
.

The
last we heard of Cullen James was a great, plaintive roar as it rose over the
horizon amid the setting sun.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jax

My
Nora had magic in her. I’d known it from the first moment she reached out to
wake the sleeping bear. Now it shimmered all around her as she stood in profile
under the waterfall. She leaned her head back, her blond hair arcing high
behind her. Beads of silver sluiced down her naked breasts. Laughing, she let
the water rain down over her head. She gathered her hair in one hand and wiped
her eyes.

“You
going to just sit there and watch me, or are you going to come over here and
get clean?” Her tinkling laughter warmed me from the inside out. She gave a
playful kick and splashed water all over me as I lay on my side on the flat
rocky ledge in front of her.

“Just
enjoying the view,” I called out.

And I
was. This was the first time we’d had alone together in weeks. Things had been
stirred up at the mines since Cullen and Hank left. My heart twisted thinking
about him out there, banished. Hank I could murder with my bare hands for what
might have happened, but Cullen just had the bad luck of sharing his blood.
Sometimes bear law is brutal. But, it had kept us safe and thriving for
centuries when the rest of the world wanted to end us. If Cullen was strong enough,
he might find his way back. For my part, I would keep his crew and mine
separate. I would do for him what he did for me while I was away. If it was
within my power, I’d help him reclaim his place here. I could only hope that
Hank’s poison wouldn’t drag him down anymore.

But
this was my time. My beautiful Nora took a step toward me. Droplets of water
slid down her naked breasts, making her skin shine like diamonds. I couldn’t
remember the last time I’d seen her in clothes. She was like some woodland nymph,
becoming one with the forest like I had. She belonged here. She thrived.

She
came to me; wrapping her strong legs around my waist, she turned me on my back.
Nora let out a gasp as she seated herself, sheathing me to the root. It seemed
I was hard for her all the time. It would be like this for a while, my father
had warned me. Our need for each other could make us forget to even eat. But,
my Nora had packed a picnic basket today. She reached over and popped a green
grape into my mouth. I leaned up and took another one from her. Then, I took
her pink nipple between my teeth and lightly bit her there.

Nora
squealed. I had my hands on her hips to keep her in my place. My heaven. Down
here in the valley with the raging waterfall behind us, and deep inside my
Anam
Cara
. There could be no better place.

“Do
you miss him?” she asked. Nora rocked her hips without even realizing she was
doing it. I smiled and leaned back, resting my head on my arm.

“My
father? A little. It was good to see him. But, he’s right, his place is with
the clan elders in the Yukon. He’s content there. He wouldn’t come out and say
it, but I think he may even have found someone.”

Nora
smiled. She put a flat hand on my chest and bit her bottom lip, trying to still
the rhythm of her hips. She wouldn’t be able to for long.

“I
think so too,” she said. “It’s just a feeling I have. I’m glad. I could sense
the sadness still in him from losing your mother. But there was something
chasing it away at the corners.”

“You
could sense all of that? Hmm. You’re getting better at that by the day. I ought
to check you for claws at night.”

Nora’s
face darkened. “That can’t happen, can it? I mean, I’m never going to be a bear
like you.”

I
shook my head. “No, my love. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Hmm.”
She cocked her head to the side. “There’s a part of me that’s a little jealous.
I think I’d love to feel what it’s like to see the world as your bear does.”

“Oh, I
think you see plenty. And sometimes, I wish I could see the world like you do,
with just one soul.”

“Well
then, I guess we’ll just have to be the other half for each other, won’t we?”

I
leaned up and kissed her. “That’s what
Anam Cara
really means, my love.
You’re the other half of me, and I am to you.”

She
ran a hand over her as yet flat stomach. My urge to plant my seed in her grew
stronger by the day. We’d agreed to wait though, at least a year. She’d
switched her major to photography and had another semester to go. After that,
I’d follow her anywhere as long as we always came back to the ridge.

I
spanned her waist with my hands. I thrust upward and deeper into her. Nora
shuddered with pleasure and threw her head back. She dropped her chin and
smiled at me, her blond hair a cascading wave between us.

“When
we make a baby, will it be like you or like me?”

“I
don’t know,” I said. “Both, maybe. It depends if it’s a boy or a girl. Only
she-bears can give birth to other she-bears, and most of them are extinct now.
No one knows why. It’s the same with all types of shifters. But if you have a
boy, he might be like me.”

“I
think he will,” she laughed. “I have reason to believe your seed is very, very
strong.”

I
tightened my grip on her hips and thrust upward again. Nora let out a gasp of
pleasure that sent heat shooting through me. Her walls clenched, and I knew how
hard it was for her to keep still. Oh, how I loved to torture her like this.
Later I’d take her up to the house and tie her to the bed. We’d discovered that
pleasure a few nights ago.

“It’s
getting harder and harder to wait,” I said, leaning up, I grasped her bottom
lip between my teeth. She started to rock her hips on my cock and wrapped her
arms around me.

“I
know,” she said, her breath catching. “I want it. I want all of you. I crave
it, Jax.”

“It’s
all right,” I said. “I’ve waited my whole life for you. I don’t mind having you
all to myself for just a little while longer. Besides, think of all the fun
we’re going to have practicing.”

Nora’s
laugh undid me. I couldn’t take it any longer. I flipped her over and caught
her ankles in my hands. I spread her wide, spearing my dick deep inside of her.
Her moans of pleasure drove me wild. The bear came to the surface and made my
vision shimmer. Nora wrapped her legs around my shoulders and held on for the
ride.

I
worked her slow and rough, gentle and deep. She couldn’t hold back, and I
didn’t want her to. Her orgasm ripped through her, making her walls judder and
clench around me. When it seemed her body went boneless, I redoubled my efforts
and brought her back up to me again. She came for me wave after crashing wave.
And then it was my turn. With the waterfall crashing behind us, I reared back
and roared for all I was worth. I poured myself into her and she remade me over
and over and over again.

That
night, we lay together under the stars. She was peaceful. Content. Whole. So
was I.

“You
know,” she finally whispered, as a meteor shower sparked across the sky. “As
brave as you are, you’ll have to be braver, my love.”

“Mmm.”
I nuzzled against her, resting my face in one of my favorite spots, right
between her ample breasts. “I’ll always be as brave as you need me to be, my
love.”

She
laced her fingers through my hair. “That’s good. Your wager of battle with
Simon was something to see. And how you stood up to Hank and Aaron Spence
before that. But Jax, there’s still something you need to do for me. I’m sorry
it means you’ll have to be just as brave so soon again.”

I
froze and went up on my elbow. I took a breath and raised a questioning brow.

Nora’s
eyes shone. “You still haven’t met my father.” Her smile and lilting laughter
melted me.

I
nipped her earlobe and made her squeal, then pulled her close. I let the bear
out just enough to growl at her the way I knew she loved. When she leaned up to
kiss me, it was forever.

THE END

A Message from Kimber White

Thanks
so much for starting the Wild Ridge Bears adventure with me. Jax was one of
those characters who just sort of took over when I was writing another story.
More on that in a second.

I have
a lot more stories to tell from Wild Ridge. Next, I can’t leave Cullen James
behind. He’s on a quest to earn back his claim to the ridge despite Hank’s
treachery. Along the way, I have a feeling he’s going to find a tough as nails,
sexy
Anam Cara
all his own. Cullen’s story is called
Outlaw
of the Bears
. You can get more information
here
.

Now
about Jax again. He first appeared in
Savage Moon
as Olivia Lord’s brother. If you are interested in
reading Olivia’s story and finding out about the wolf she left Wild Ridge for,
I’ve provided an extended excerpt at the end of this note. You can pick up a
copy of Savage Moon
here
. Though
it is part of my Wild Lake Wolves series, each book (including Savage Moon) is
a complete standalone. Feel free to give it a try by reading the first two
chapters in the next section.

For an exclusive first look at my next new release,
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Psst . . . can I ask you
a favor?

If you liked this story, can you do something for
me? Please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased or borrowed it. Reviews
help authors like me stay visible and allow me to keep bringing you more
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And if you STILL want more, I’d love to hang out
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. I like to share story ideas, casting pics, and general
insanity on a daily basis.

From the bottom of my heart though, THANK YOU for
your support. You rock hard.

See you on the wild side!

Kimber

KimberWhite.com

[email protected]