Taming a Bear: Not Your Average Fox: BBW Shifter Romance (Red Moon Seduction) (2 page)

Bunny played her part well. And as much as
Matt appreciated the cover, it tore him to shreds that Anna believed he’d betrayed her. He never could, never would. She was the only one for him. Now he had to convince her of that, and regain her trust. Matt’s nerves of steel crumbled around Anna at times. She was his heart and soul. Watching her pain killed him.

She could never know the truth, she could never know that he was a Covert Operations Task Agent and was on a mission. If he was found out, he’d be a marked man, as would those close to him. A high profile case came up and a shifter needed to disappear from the human world…quickly. Only he was under high guard. That’s where
Matt came in. He knew the only way she’d leave him was if he betrayed her…so he let her believe it. It destroyed him inside, but he had a job to do, and one that was crucial. He couldn’t trust it with a newer agent or one with less experience.

His strength and precision to detail teamed him with Bunny’s agility and
‘fast on her feet’ thinking. Team C.O.T.A. (Covert Operations Task Agency) was on a need to know basis only, and the heart of it was secrecy. They were sent out to save shifters being persecuted for crimes they didn’t commit. Humans were trigger happy, and often times shot before asking questions. Matt had been on enough missions that there were few others he trusted in the field with the most important jobs. He was one of their leaders and Bunny was one of their top agents. He just didn’t expect Bunny to fall for him. That wasn’t in the plan.

The night of the last red moon, he knew he’d run to Anna the way he needed her. He knew he’d need to be inside of her. He forced the sheriff to lock him down
in the county jailhouse. A caged bear on a red moon wasn’t a pretty site. It was the most painful thing he had to put himself through… not being able to seek out his mate, his Anna, and letting her believe he was with Bunny instead. There were few people that could be trusted, and only another C.O.T.A. officer would understand. Under lock and key, Matt roared and tore at the bars of the cage, but they wouldn’t budge. His body needed to be free, but in this rare moment, it was now or never. If he was going to pull off the dangerous mission, he had to let her go. If she ever took him back, he swore he’d leave the agency and settle down, but there was no chance in that. She spit nails every time she saw him.

He saw the heat and lust in her eyes, but her stubborn will was strong, and she cut him out of her life.
The way he needed her was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. At times it scared him, the powerful driving force that led him to one woman, one fox. Bears didn’t mate for life, but she was the only one that could tame him, and was the only one that he wanted. Anna Brentwood was his chosen one. It pained him not to be by her side.

Matt
Stryker was larger than life. He was one of the town hero’s, a natural leader, and someone who was often in charge. And while his work life was thriving, his personal life was empty. He tried to move on, but it was pointless.

Bunny was always in his face, and if it wasn’t for the fact
that she was a damn fine agent, he’d have happily sent her hopping away. He didn’t need the distraction. She covered as a newscaster when she wasn’t on a mission. She had the look and fit the part, but it was her mind that brought her to the agency. As an intelligence officer, they needed her on the team.

Only after their mission, she got a little too close.
Bunny played her part well in driving Anna away, but now that Matt was alone, there was no reason she couldn’t move in. He was insanely desirable, powerful, had a strong sense of self, and more than anything was drop dead sexy. She was a woman after all. Most men fell at Bunny’s feet, she usually had her pick, but it was Matt that made her heart pitter patter. She knew where his loyalties were, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t try to persuade him. She knew exactly where he’d be running on the next red moon, but her plan was to intervene…and claim him for her own. She had every intention of seducing him.

T
he way he made the rescues look so effortless
… Bunny sighed. Yeah, Matt Stryker was the man she wanted by her side. If only she could make see how incredible they could be together.

Everybody was on edge. The red moon was coming. Relationships could change on a dime, or seal a bond that others didn’t anticipate. In a shifter town, a red moon brought heartache, seduction, and primal sex to the masses, bodies in motion
… biology at work.

Back in the older days there was rarely cross-breeding, but as they were fenced into Mountain View Crest and it was a smaller community, it became a matter of survival and need.

The red moon cast a magical spell on them, and no matter how much they wanted to deny their animal, it came out. The humans were right…they’d always be beasts, whether gentle or dangerous. Most shifters could control their abilities day to day, and even at night, but full moons and red moons were different. The pull was stronger on a full moon, and almost impossible to overcome on the rare yearly red moon.

Matt
experienced the primal need the first time after hitting puberty. As a cub, he wasn’t affected. He simply growled and snarled and went into bear form, but there was no mating at that young age. But once maturity set in, his body took over and he grew to love his power and magnetic draw. Women loved him…and he loved them all, until Anna. Once Anna came into his life, there was nobody else he could see. She was the one that spoke to him. The one that pulled him so deeply, that he wanted to consume her. After their first night together, he claimed her as his own. He’d have maimed another for touching her…until he had to walk away. Then all he could do was watch from afar. She shut him down. She had no other choice. When his mission was over, he groveled…but she was having none of it. If only he could have told her the truth, but he took an oath to serve in the secret task force, and he was duty bound. More than anything, he was a natural born protector, and the force found a leader in Matt.

Anna folded the last of the towels and put them away. She dreaded what was coming. She knew what her body and mind would need, and there was no way she was giving in to him. She was stronger than this, right? She could beat this. She was stubborn. The moon had nothing on her.

It would have been their third anniversary if he didn’t screw up last year. How could it still hurt this badly a year later? She tried to bandage her wound by dabbling around with her buddy, Hawk. She knew he wanted more, but she couldn’t force things. He was a great guy, and emotionally, mentally, they could easily enjoy one another, but physically he couldn’t do to her what Matt could.

Her heart raced at the thought of their first red moon together. She remembered him chasing her through the woods as she darted back and forth. He was fast and strong
. When the chase was over, he tackled her and they rolled playfully. In their human bodies, they bound tightly together and consummated what would become the start of their relations.

Matt
’s shoulders were broad like a wood beam. His chest was a solid wall of muscle, and the way his biceps curved all massive and strong, he left her flustered and nearly breathless. He was incredibly sexy. His eyes dark brown penetrated her leaving her heady and aroused. His face was shadowed with a day of beard growth. Anna’s body whimpered with pleasure before he even touched her.

Her ample body wrapped eagerly around him
and her thighs locked on tightly. Anna shook her head, trying to push the image of the past from her mind.
No, don’t do this to yourself
.  She looked at the calendar, three more nights to go. It’s not like she didn’t know before looking at the calendar, it called to her every day. If she could get to the fourth moon and stay away from him, she’d consider it a win. On the third night, it would take every ounce of her being to stay away from Matt. And she knew he’d be coming for her if he wasn’t chasing the rabbit. She had to stay strong. No way. No how. She couldn’t mate with a cheater. The word stung and dug up the old memory. Fucking, Bunny St. James. She hated her with a passion.

Anna gathered her things and headed out. She was working the overnight shift this week. They rotated in and out of the overnights, and tonight rounded out the last of her week. Her mind circled back to
Matt. She hadn’t seen him in a while. He usually honored her request and kept his distance, but with the red moon getting closer, the urgency was drawing nearer.

It was pointless to expect this year to offer her anything. She knew who her one mate was, but he’d be chasing down a rabbit, or some other creature of the woods. Besides, it’s not like she wanted him to show up on her doorstep. She’d only turn him away if he did. It would be a waste of both of their time. If she set herself free and roamed outside, she might find another…
Who was she kidding, she didn’t want another. She wanted Matt.

Anna clocked in and headed to her floor.

“Hey, foxy,” Gary winked. The security guard thought he was cute calling her that. She just thought he was an asshole. Yeah, play on words, she got it…but the way he leered at her tits when he said it and rarely looked into her eyes, yeah…creeper.

Anna settled in and started her paperwork. She’d have to make rounds soon, check on her patients, but without checking her charts, she’d end up missing crucial details.

Most of her patients were sleeping with the lights turned low. She peeked into the rooms and crates, making sure each one had what they needed. The emergency vet clinic took in critically wounded and tough cases. There was a regular clinic next door for standard cases. She was in the small animal wing. There was a larger animal wing, but she needed to finish more schooling to work in that unit. A lot of it came down to handling them, and the surgeries could be more difficult. Anesthesia was another concern with larger animals. She hoped to become one of the surgeons at the clinic with enough schooling and time behind her.

Shifters went to family doctors. The doctors in Mountain View Crest were trained to work on both the human and animal form and special needs of the shifter. Only in rare cases did the veterinarian surgeons get involved.
The animal hospital that she worked at was strictly an animal hospital for both domestic and wild animals, for family pets and the like.

Most shifters stayed in human form in the daylight hours. Shifting could occur at any time, but there was an understanding that your animal form wasn’t your primary being for work and daily life. Rules of their world were half human, half shifter rules, but because humans had to come in and out of their town time to time, it helped keep the peace and people weren’t as frightened.

The better the relations were between Mountain View Crest and the human city, the less turmoil there was. There was a segment of time where tempers flared and things got heated. It was ugly for everyone. The humans added barbing on to the tops of the tall fences. Fear and ignorance led most of it. By the time things calmed back down, the damage was done and new thoughts and ideas were formed.

Anna finished her hours and clocked out. Heading home in the morning, she was tired and cranky. While her inner fox enjoyed the nocturnal hours, her human was used to sleeping overnight. And all she cared about was sleep by the time she got home.

Matt stood tall beside his partner and brother, Kai. They were doing their daily grind when something caught his attention. Making the rounds during inspections, he didn’t expect to come across the quarrel. He could hear their voices escalating, but more than anything, it was their scent that caught him off guard. It almost reminded him of…

“Anna,” he called out. “Are you okay?” He rounded the corner and saw Hawk and Anna arguing near her car.

They spun around on hearing his voice. Hawk rolled his eyes. “Oh, here we go,” he mumbled under his breath.

“I’m fine,” Anna said and put her hand up.

Matt walked closer and sniffed the air. Something wasn’t right. He scoured her face and noticed her clenched jaw. Hawk had a well-defined vein along the side of his neck that tensed.

Matt
stared at them. “Are you going to lie to me again, or tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s not your business,” Hawk s
pat out.

Matt
’s partner walked up beside him. “Is everything okay here?” Kai stood in Hawk’s personal space.

“I’d like to know that myself,”
Matt said, crossing his massive arms across his chest.

Anna sighed. “Look, I know you think you need to save me from myself, but I’m more than capable of handling this.” She shot him a knowing look.

“What exactly are you handling?” Matt demanded firmly, his tone tight, in control.

“Mind your own damn business. This doesn’t concern you.” Hawk stood his ground
. Kai toed in closer, not liking Hawk’s tone.

Matt
curled his lip up, showing his teeth, which wanted to shift into bear form. He forced his snout to stay in human form, but the growl was already building inside of him. He felt it coming from deep in his belly, and leaned in closer to Hawk. “If you so much as put a single finger or feather on her…” he started, but ended with an earth shaking roar. The thought of Hawk touching her was too much.

“Fuck off, buddy. She’s no longer yours.” Hawk
forced the issue, knowing he couldn’t stand down. His body trembled internally at the roar, but he refused to look away. “And on the red moon, well, let’s just say she’ll forever be mine.” A smirk spread across his face.

Matt
was losing his hold on his human form. He knew time was running out. The red moon was almost here. His teeth shifted, and his face was starting to form, whiskers sprouting, his nose elongating.

Kai
talked him down, pulling him back. Matt shook it off and came fully back into human form. The idea of Hawk trying to claim Anna made him primal. He was ready to take Hawk out… permanently. He grunted and chuffed, letting out some steam. “Anna,” he demanded. “What’s going on here?” He felt another bellow coming, but forced it back down.

Anna looked away. She didn’t want to share the conversation they just had. It said more than she wanted him to know.
Hawk wanted her to give him a real chance. She knew her fox wouldn’t mate with him on the red moon. Sure they’d fooled around a bit, but it meant nothing to her. She didn’t want to hurt him, but he kept pressing the issue. It came down to Matt. She was waiting for him, to see if he’d show up. He scoffed at her, calling her a fool. He was angry she’d even consider mating with him again. It wasn’t until the words came out that Hawk grew angrier.

“I love him,” she explained.

“He treated you like garbage, betrayed you, and you’ll still wait for him to show up on the red moon?” Hawk was pissed that his friend would put herself through this, and pained that he couldn’t be the one to make her happy. He stomped the ground and raised his voice, “What the hell is wrong with you?” That’s when Matt showed up. Figures.

She knew she was foolish to hope for something to happen
, for things to change. She couldn’t do it herself in human form, she was too stubborn. But if he showed up on the red moon, her fox couldn’t deny him. The urge was too strong. He was the only one for her. There was nobody else that could take his spot. If he didn’t show up, she’d move on. But how could she not hope for one more encounter, one more time, one last moment that proved they belonged together?

“What’s going on here, Anna,”
Matt asked again, his eyes never leaving Hawk. He wanted to hunt and smother that bastard. The smarmy asshole who thought he could take claims to his girl…and taunted him, knowing she was the only one for him.

Anna
turned and walked away, leaving Matt waiting on an answer. “We’re done here,” she said and went back inside.

Hawk glared at
Matt. They stood toe to toe. “I’m going to tear you to shreds if you lay a hand on her, do you understand? She’s mine.”

“You might want to tell that to her.” Hawk yawned in
Matt’s face to irk him. “See you around,” he said and turned to leave.

Matt
needed the last word. “I wouldn’t turn your back on a bear,” he snarled as Hawk walked away.

Kai
waited for him to finish and shook his head. “Matt, you need to reel it in. You’re on duty.”

“I know
.” He tried to shake it off. “Every fiber of me wants to eat that damn chicken for breakfast.”

“That wouldn’t solve anything. This is between you and Anna, not you and Hawk.” He gently reminded.

Matt chuffed and looked away. “You’re right.”

Anna watched from inside, peeking out from behind the blinds. Her heart raced every single time he was near. It didn’t matter that he’d broken her heart. Her urges were getting stronger the closer the moon came. She wouldn’t be able to control her passion. The question was, would he show up or would nature call him to somebody new?