I jerked my head toward my best buddy Luke, sitting in the passenger seat of my Jeep.
Luke laughed. “Okay, lover bear. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just think you’re doing right by her, that’s all.” He gave my arm a light punch. “She really brings out the best in you.”
My little mama bear was gonna light up like the sun when she saw my graduation present for her and the baby.
I’d been keeping it secret for the past month, and it’d been hard as hell. Helen was sharper than a razor—getting anything past her was next to impossible.
Luckily she’d had finals to prepare for, then graduation. The distractions had given me and Luke enough time to get some work done.
“That’s the treatment I get?” Luke asked, climbing out of the Jeep and closing the door. “After all my free labor?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘free,’” I said with a smirk. “I already told you, I’ve got your tab at the Buckhorn for the next year.”
“What if I quit drinking?” he said through the open window.
I rolled my eyes. “We both know there’s no danger of that.”
Luke laughed, and I waved goodbye as I turned back down the road. The late afternoon sun made the forest look pretty enough for a postcard. Living in such a beautiful, peaceful little place made me feel lucky as hell.
I was so glad Helen had decided to settle down with me here. Living out in the sticks wasn’t easy for her, but I knew one day she’d come to love Bear Creek as much as I did.
As Dad’s cabin came closer, I sensed her presence through our mating bond.
My baby was back in town!
I put the pedal to the metal and zoomed home.
I couldn’t wait to see my favorite college graduate.
My nose was squished to the window like a lovesick puppy as we pulled into Jack’s long driveway. Sam and I had only been apart since early this morning, but my heart was already hungry for him.
As we parked the car in the garage, Jack and Sam, or Hunk & Son, as I sometimes called them privately, came out of the house to meet us.
I was all butterflies as I jumped out of the truck and into Sam’s waiting arms.
“Happy graduation, baby!” He picked me up and spun me in a circle.
“Thanks,” I said, giggling as he set me down. He kissed my belly through my graduation robe.
“You and the baby must be starving after your big day. Dad and I want to take you to Rowen’s to celebrate.”
“Am I!” I said, not mentioning the fact that Mom and I had gorged ourselves on extra-large McFlurries right before we left Boulder.
My mom had raised me all alone for so long, and I’d seen how difficult it was for her. I was lucky to have a Papa Bear around.
Sam put his big arm around me, steering me in the direction of our parents.
Jack had my mom pushed up against the jet skis in the back of the garage, sucking face like he was half vacuum cleaner. His big, burly hands reached for her breasts, and Mom moaned softly—
I wished I could've said this was out of the ordinary, but that simply wasn’t the case—Jack and Mom were just as horny as Sam and me.
I didn’t like being a buzzkill, but seeing our middle-aged parents going at it like Bugs and Lola Bunny every time we turned around was really fucking with our heads.
“Sorry about that,” Jack said, clearing his throat. “So, um—dinner?”
“I’ll have the blue-cheese burger, medium rare, with as many fries as you can fit on the plate,” Sam told our waitress at Rowen’s.
The skanky server I’d met my first time here had run off with a wolf shifter, and she’d been replaced with a kindly chain-smoking grandma who was much less predatory.
The waitress scribbled Sam’s order in her notebook and turned to me.
“And what about you, little lady?” she croaked, practically blowing smoke rings.
“The blue cheese burger sounds delicious,” I said. “I’ll have the same. Medium rare.”
“One hot second, Helen,” Sam said, putting his hand on mine. “What about baby bear?”
“What do you mean?”
“Rare meat? Blue cheese? Babe, have you been reading the books?”
“Ugh, come on, Sam! I just graduated. I already can’t drink!”
Sam responded with a stern look. We both knew he was right.
“Fine,” I sighed. “Regular cheeseburger, well-done.” I shot Sam a cheeky look. “And he’ll have the same thing.”
Sam smirked. “Fair enough.”
The waitress took Mom and Jack’s orders and went back to the kitchen. As she left, I noticed a few customers’ eyes aimed in my direction.
“Speaking of baby bear,” Mom said. “What with all the excitement lately, we’ve barely had time to talk about your plans.”
Jack bristled slightly at Ellie’s words. “Well, obviously she and Sam are gonna stay right here in Bear Creek. Sam’s building—”
His lips shut abruptly, and I turned to see Sam fixing him with a death stare.
“Building a life for you,” Jack finished, his eyes on Sam. “And I don’t see why the girl has to up and do much of anything until the baby’s here. You just put in four years of hard work. It’s time to enjoy the good life. And we got it real good here.”
Jack had a point. Sam and I were comfy in Bear Creek, despite the fact that we were at least a hundred miles from the nearest Starbucks.
But I hadn’t gone to college to be a werebear’s housewife. I had goals. Dreams.
More than anything in the world, I wanted to be an artist, and the award I’d gotten was proof that I had talent. I wasn’t going to squander it.
“Actually, Jack,” I explained, “I really want to start my art career. I was thinking I’d start trying to sell my paintings. Maybe become an artist’s assistant. My school has a big alumni network in Denver, and—”
“World-famous?” I repeated, dubious.
“You betcha,” Jack said proudly. “Just let me know and I’ll set up a meeting.”
“Sure, sounds great!”
Starting my art career in Bear Creek was like having my cake and eating it too.
“Now that that’s settled,” Jack continued. “How’s the shifting going? Any progress?”
My stomach dropped.
“Shifting during finals, Jack?” Mom interrupted. “Helen was too busy studying to turn into a bear.”
“Well,” I said carefully. “No updates really. It only happened the one time.”
“Strange,” Jack said. “And you still don’t know what triggered it?”
I shook my head, tense.
Explaining to them how Chris had managed to follow us home like a demented zombie would mean explaining what had happened to him. What I’d done.
My family was giving me strange enough looks knowing I’d shifted. I hated the thought of how they’d see me if they knew the truth.
Even though my memories of that night were blurry, I knew what I’d done. What I’d become...
And now I was afraid of shifting, just in case I can’t control myself—in case I hurt someone else.
So I hadn’t tried it since.
Sam and Jack had told me that young shifters often transformed spontaneously. They just had to be triggered by a powerful emotion. Something they learned to control with age and experience.
That night at the cabin, squaring off with Chris, my emotions had gotten the better of me.
I didn’t want it to happen again.
I turned to Sam for some support, but of course, he didn’t know why I’d shifted either. I knew I needed to tell him, but the opportunity just hadn’t presented itself.
Sam just looked at me, half-there. I didn’t know what was going on in that bear-brain of his, but it didn’t look like he was going to bail me out of this conversation anytime soon.
“I’m gonna use the restroom,” I said, getting up from the table. I squeezed Sam’s shoulder, snapping him out of his daze. “Back in a sec, boo.”
I headed to the restroom, fielding more eyes from fellow diners.
It was almost like they knew something about me I didn’t want to admit.
My gaze drifted around the restaurant. Everyone was giving us looks, and I didn’t like it.
Helen hadn’t left Jack’s cabin much while her girlfriends had been staying with us. Neither of us had, really. I’d kept her pretty busy, um…making sure she stayed pregnant.
But being out with her at Rowen’s, I could tell my affection for Helen wasn’t shared by my fellow shifters. Our table was getting more stink eyes than a rotten potato.
Trouble had followed her since we’d met, and the rest of Forest Lake knew it. Helen, Emma, Brittany, and I had told the Bear Council about what had happened with Chris and Sean.
Tove, The Great Elder—or the Great Ass Pain, as I called him—had made it pretty clear that he thought contact with outsiders was the root of the problem.
Unfortunately, more folks sided with Tove than me. Not only was Helen an outsider, she’d also turned shifter from carrying my child, which was rare as hell in our community.
We associated with humans from time to time, but we didn’t normally…er…breed with them. There were stories about it happening before, but they never had happy endings.
Ellie’s arrival had already stirred up trouble, but standing up for Jack in Ursa Hall had earned the community’s respect.
Helen, on the other hand, was becoming an outcast, and it didn’t help that she still had big city clothes and big city dreams.
I wouldn’t have had my baby any other way, of course…
But life sure was getting difficult.
“Hey,” Dad said in a low voice after Helen had left the table. “We need to talk.”
“What’s up?”
Dad and Ellie shared a look.
“You need to speak to Helen about her art career,” Ellie said. “We’re supportive and all, but the fact is, Tove has a vendetta against outsiders. We don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be looking for jobs outside of Bear Creek.”
I nodded slowly. “I get that. But I’m not sure how well she will.”
“Bear Creek’s got a lot to offer,” Dad said. “I’m sure you can make her see that.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said with a sigh.
I knew what was at stake if Helen didn’t fit in here. We were bringing a new cub into a community who might not welcome it.
But unfortunately, I’d picked a smart one, and I couldn’t sell Helen something she didn’t want to buy.
We all went straight up to bed when we came home from dinner. After my long day, all I wanted was a good night’s rest.
Sam chuckled. “Okay, okay…”
He stripped off his tight flannel and undershirt, putting his marvelous torso on full display. His muscles had muscles, for God’s sake.
“Your turn,” he said, slipping out of his pants. My breath caught as I saw the rise in his boxers. His length never ceased to amaze me.
I shimmied out of my dress and flung myself on the bed. Sam pounced on me, tearing off my bra and snuggling into my breasts.
I stroked his hair as his mouth closed around a nipple. He alternated between them, licking and sucking, making me wet way before I felt his hand prodding my mound.
“Oh, Sammmmm,” I purred as his hand slipped beneath my panties.
“Helennn,” he moaned into my breasts.
Suddenly, the whole room shook. The lamp trembled on the nightstand. The ceiling fan rocked back and forth above our heads.
“JACK! JACK! JACK! JACK!” I heard my mom cry out through the wall.
“ELLIEEEEEEE!!!” Jack’s voice bellowed.
I shut my eyes, whimpering as I rolled away from Sam on the bed. I felt him stroke my hair. Jack and Mom were still going strong.
“Hey, babe, you still wanna—”
“NOOO!” I shouted with a subconscious shiver.
It wasn’t the first time we’d heard our parents having sex, and until we got our own place, it most certainly wouldn’t be the last.
My new life may have started…
But I still had to solve some old problems. And maybe part of why I hadn’t told Sam what happened that night had to do with our lack of privacy.
Sam and I needed space.
