The Bear's Reluctant Bride: A Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (17 page)

“I've faith that you'll not fail us, but others could. What if there's a moment where it's you and I against those who would harm us and the baby? What if that happens and I hold you back instead of helping you? What if I'm the reason you get hurt?” she asked, looking as pained as he did. The baby, for his part, continued to sleep soundly as they both bared their souls.

“Is that really what you're worried about?” he asked in shock before he started to laugh deeply as the relief washed over him.

“Yes, but I really don't see what's all that funny,” she said, a bit annoyed to be laughed at when she was sharing her honest emotions.

“You and I have been so concerned with keeping our family safe that we have never stopped to think about just how the other one felt until just this moment. If you still want to learn to fight, I'll train you. I'll make sure you don't have to fear a future where you have to stand by and watch me fall while defending our family,” he vowed, his expression suddenly serious.

“And I promise I'll never go looking for a battle. I'll use the skills you show me only as a last resort to keep you and our son safe,” she promised in return, feeling her own wave of relief.

“Then we have an agreement,” he said with a predatory smile.

“Yes, we do,” she answered, keeping her guard up. She knew by the expression on his face that he was up to something.

“Then perhaps we should seal it with a kiss,” he said as he leaned in and kissed her passionately, with a lingering heat that left them both wanting more. Still, there were too many threats for them to leave the baby alone while they made love, though they both desperately needed it.

“Perhaps,” she suggested as she tried to catch her breath, "Mali should come and stay with us while you train me.”

“To what end?” he asked, looking suspicious.

“Well,” she said, her playful tone restored, "then she could be close at hand with Benji to raise an alarm should danger come and you and I could focus on my training.”

“Sound thinking,” he said passively.

“And,” she added with a wink, "perhaps she could be with him while we undertake other physical pursuits.” To emphasize her point, she ran her hand lightly over his penis, causing him to jump at the sensation, even through the fabric of his pants.

“Yes, I think that would be very responsible,” he said, doing all that he could to keep from taking her then and there.

“I'll have one of the warriors send word to her and escort her safely here. I believe you should prepare yourself,” he added mischievously, "for the most physically exerting night of your life.” To show her just a taste of his plans, he dipped his hand under her nightgown and caressed her breast, sending chills of desire across her skin.

“Tell them to hurry. The sooner we start my 'training' the better,” she said, but the gaze in her eyes left no doubt that what she was truly anxious for was to lay with him again, to feel him inside of her once more.

“Trust me,” he said with total seriousness, “he will be swift, on pain of death.” And with that, he swept out of the room, leaving her alone with the sleeping baby and her anticipation.

*

As Kalia waited for her sister to arrive, she buzzed around the house, keeping herself busy with preparations. They'd never had an overnight guest in their home. The tent had been too small for it and their lives, since they moved into the cottage, had been too hectic to lend themselves to house guests. Still, there was plenty of room for her to arrange a cot in the baby’s room that would make Mali very comfortable. It did take her a bit of time to decide which pillows and blankets would suit it best and she flitted about, trying to decide if she should move more furniture into the room for her to ensure her comfort.

In the end, she merely cleared out some of the drawers in the baby’s room for her sister to use and moved in a small table and chair so that Mali could have a bit of room to use the space as her own. She'd wondered if perhaps it was unfair to make her stay with the baby, but that was the help Kalia needed most and she simply put her faith in Mali’s desire to keep her nephew safe.

Mali arrived within a few hours and looked much happier to have been summoned than Kalia thought that she would be. Her sister seemed eager to help, which meant the world to both Kalia and Luke. The moment she entered the cabin, she swept Benji up in her arms and held him as Kalia walked her around and showed her what her accommodations would be. She was a little afraid of some push back about them. After all, her sister had always been a self-involved child.

“I brought in this mattress and this table and chair for your use,” Kalia said as the entered the room, preparing herself for the storm of one of Mali’s fits.

“Oh, this is perfect! Thank you, Sister,” was her reply as she took in the details of what was to be her room while she was with them.

“You’re sure? We could get you another chair or perhaps some more pillows if you thought they would make you more comfortable here,” Kalia offered, a bit in shock by her sister’s reaction. Her high maintenance little sister would've demanded a room of her own. She would've demanded to have her own space, not embraced helping to care for her nephew.

“No, this will be perfect. Besides, I'm not here for a visit. I'm here to help you keep this little one safe,” she said as she placed a kiss on the head of the baby boy in her arms.

“I'm glad to hear you feel that way,” she said, unable to resist the urge to give her little sister a big hug. “I'm so happy to have you here. It means so much to us to have you here. It'll make me feel so much better knowing that Benji has his aunt here to watch over him.”

“I'm honored you asked. I know you're used to me being a bit immature, but I've grown since you left for your new life. I've really embraced my role as the eldest child in the home. I've matured while helping Mother and the boys. I'm ready for this,” she said confidently. She held the boy close to her and looked at him in an adoring way that made Kalia feel even more connected to her sister.

“Well, I can take Benji while you get settled in,” she said as she reached for the baby.

“Oh no, my nephew and I need to get better acquainted. Leave him here with me and go start your training. I'm proud you've decided to learn to fight to protect your family. You've always been different, in some ways stronger than the rest of us. This will be hard, I know, but it'll be so worth it. You're remarkable,” she said, using her free arm to hug her sister tight.

Kalia could feel tears threatening to fall, but she did her best to hold them back. After all, it'd do her no good to become a sobbing fool right after her sister called her strong. When her sister released her, she was relieved to see she was also on the verge of tears.

“Now look at us, living together again for only a few moments and we are already in tears,” she teased, earning her a giggle from Mali.

“At least there are no bruises or broken bones,” Mali laughed.

She wasn't wrong. They'd often roughhoused as children. Their bear strength had made their sisterly spats a bit more dangerous than the average sibling spat. One particularly tough battle had left half the furniture in their shared room destroyed and each of them with their own scars to remember the day.

“Alright, well then, I'm going to go find Luke and start my training. Remember, all you have to do is call out if you sense anything out of the ordinary and we'll be here in a moment. You don't need to fight or engage anyone. You just need to call us and Luke and I'll come running,” she said seriously.

“Oh, I've no delusions of valor. I'll call for help. Believe me, if anyone happens to get through all the guards I saw when I was coming in, I'll gladly call for you and Luke. I'll tell you, though, if something keeps you from coming, I'll lay down my life for this little boy. He's our future,” she said gently nuzzling the baby.

“Thank you so much for doing this for us. You'll never know how much it helps us and it means the world to both Luke and I that you love Benji so much,” she said, leaving the room to allow niece and nephew to bond a bit and to allow Mali to get settled in her room and her new life.

She wasn't sure where Luke was, but it took her only a moment to catch his scent in the air. She followed the scent from their clearing and into the woods surrounding them. It felt wonderful to move around with such freedom again. She pushed the fact that it was being made possible by dozens of warriors patrolling and creating lines of defense to keep their enemies at bay. Instead of thinking of that, she focused on the wind upon her face and the ground beneath her feet, savoring the scent of nature as she walked deeper in to the woods.

Had she not been so dialed in to her surroundings, Luke’s sneak attack would've caught her completely off guard. But in that moment, she was so connected to all that surrounded her that she felt the minute shaking of the ground as he moved toward her, heard his catlike footsteps despite all his attempts at stealth, and smelled the very danger in the air.

He rushed at her in an attempt to gauge her ability to defend herself. He had suspected he would catch her completely off guard. He had considered she might make a delayed attempt to deflect him. What he didn't anticipate was her grabbing his arm and flipping him over, pinning him to the ground.

“Easy, Kalia! It's just me,” he said, gasping for air as her arm crushed down on his windpipe. Her eyes widened in shock and she released him, looking as shocked as he was at her reaction.

“I'm so sorry, Luke!! I just sensed someone coming at me and my instincts took over. I cannot believe I did that to you. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that to you,” she said before realization he had attacked her first. “Wait,” she said. “You attacked me. Why on earth did you do that? Did you not know it was me? You told me to come and meet you after I got Mali settled. You should've been expecting me.” The confused expression on her face was absolutely adorable to him. He wanted nothing more than to laugh aloud, but he was fairly sure that he would find himself pinned back to the ground if he did.

“I've been lying in wait for you since I left the house this morning. I wanted to test your skill set. You passed, by the way,” he added, unable to keep from smirking.

“You were testing me? I could've killed you. That's what my instincts told me to do,” she said, a little shocked at how strong the urge to kill him had been.

“That's good. Not that I'm saying you should've torn my head from my body, but you need to listen to those instincts. It's your inner bear that's your true warrior. Even in your human form, you need to let it rule when you're threatened. That was going to be my first lesson for you, but apparently you already know that,” he said with a laugh.

“I didn't make a choice to let my instincts take over. They just did. It was like I was watching someone else react. It all happened as though I had no control,” she explained, unsure what that meant.

“That's what our warrior training does. It allows you to be connected with those instincts but to control them. We'll put you in touch with that primal instinct but you'll be able to use your own thoughts and reason to be a smart fighter, not just one blinded by desire and impulse,” he continued, circling her as he spoke.

“Do we really have time for that? We should've started this while I was pregnant. I'll never be ready,” she moaned.

“If I recall, you did start your training while you were pregnant,” he said with a laugh at the pouting expression on her face.

“That was different. I punched my hands bloody against the trunk of a tree. I didn't tap in to any raw instincts. I just worked my arm muscles and thickened the skin on my knuckles,” she said in frustration.

“You started as all warriors start. That exercise is more than just a physical one. It's the first step that warriors take to mix the physical with the mental. Tell me, when you were striking the tree then, what was your mind doing?” he asked, looking as though he already knew what her answer would be based on the grin on his face.

“Well, I suppose my mind was blank. I was only focusing on my movements,” she answered, not sure what he was hinting at.

“That's exactly what my warriors do. By focusing on your physical actions so intently, it helps to meld the two,” he explained, amused by the light of realization in her eyes.

“What is the next step?” she asked, eager to expedite the process.

“You cannot rush this, my dear. We'll spar and while we do, you'll work to meld your primal urges with your conscious thoughts,” he said, the smirk on his face telling her that he had decided to enjoy their sparring rather than letting it make him fearful. The sight of his smile was a relief to her. Since he had agreed to finally train her in earnest, she'd worried about the toll that it'd take on him to do as he promised.

“I think I might enjoy that,” she laughed as she dropped into a defensive stance.

“That's excellent posture, but that alone will not save you,” he said as he continued to circle her.

With that, their training began in earnest. He circled her, pouncing again and again as she worked to avoid his grasp. She did remarkably well, each time he came close to her, she was able to spin away. Again and again, he lunged at her and again and again, she kept herself free.

“This isn't enough,” she said as she ducked to avoid his latest attempt.

“What do you mean?” he asked, as he paused to really listen to what she was saying to him.