Slade Walker picked up his coffee mug and headed for the front door. The morning was already hot. The day would be a scorcher. He couldn’t wait to get back home after taking care of a few business tasks, and change into his bear form so he could run through the woods and feel the wind in his fur.
Today would be a boring day. He had to file some paperwork at the courthouse. Taxes, product information, and that sort of thing. This was the less fun part of his job, but at least it got him out of the house and into the city for a while. The Ozark Mountains were beautiful, but once in a while he liked to be around the tall buildings and congestion of the city.
He walked to his car, set his mug on the roof, and reached to unlock the door. But something wasn’t right. He walked to the front tire to inspect it more carefully. He set down his briefcase and bent to look closer. Yup. His tire wasn’t only flat as could be, it was damaged. Looked like someone had knifed it. He circled around the car to check the other tires, then cursed under his breath. All four, slashed.
And then he recognized the scent. It was the two of the women bear shifters in the area. The ones who’d been giving them nothing but trouble lately.
He’d have to take one of the guy’s vehicles. They had several between them. But as he walked from car to truck to car to check them, all he saw was flat tires. All slashed. They didn’t have a single vehicle undamaged, a single tire still holding air.
Slade slammed the house’s front door open and Dax jumped.
“What gives?” He stood in the doorway, looking like he was ready to head out himself in his suit and tie.
“Every vehicle, every tire, slashed.”
“You’re kidding.” Daxton pushed past him to run outside and see for himself.
Slade was standing in the doorway when he headed back. “It had to be them. I recognize the scent.”
Dax gritted his teeth and shook his head.
“I’m waking the guys up,” Slade said.
He hopped up the stairs, taking two at a time, and knocked on each door.
“Get up! Emergency meeting,” Slade called as he went.
He went back downstairs and paced in the dining room, waiting. Daxton sat in a chair, texting. One by one, the men came down until they sat at the table, looking up at their leader, who stood.
“This has gone on long enough,” Slade said, practically growling in his anger. “We tried taking it to the police and that didn’t work. It’s time for us to take action against these women. To show them who’s boss and what clan rules in this town.”
“What do you want to do?” Knox asked.
“I think we should just go kick their butts,” Beck said.
“Don’t be unreasonable,” Amir said. “We’ll just get ourselves in trouble doing that.”
Dax huffed. “Yeah, like they did? They kill our hive, set fire to our building, try to steal our business, and get off with nothing.”
“Must’ve been sleeping with the cops or something,” Knox said.
“Amir is right,” Slade said. “We have to start out by being reasonable. Let’s go over there and confront them. Maybe they just need to know that we’re not going to back down. They might have gotten off with no jail time, but that’s not the end. We’re not going to let it go.”
“And make them pay for the tires,” Dax said.
“Seriously,” Beck added.
“What are we going to say to them?” Amir asked.
“We have to be intimidating,” Knox said.
Slade nodded. “Intimidating and forceful. We’ll make it clear that this is their final warning. We’ll demand they stop coming after us.”
“What about our vehicles? I have sales appointments today,” Dax said.
“Can you make some calls?” Slade asked. “Get some people out here to fix them?”
Daxton nodded.
“I’m going to case the joint in a little while. Try to figure out who the leader is ahead of time so we’ll be prepared. I’d also like to get a look at their grounds and their honey processing building if I can. I want as much info going in as I can get.”
“I can go with you,” Knox said.
Slade nodded. “Sure. That’d be great.”
A little while later, Knox and Slade met in the living room to head out. They stripped down until they were wearing nothing, then walked outside and shifted. Whenever possible, they tried not to ruin their clothing. Sometimes they had to shift on the fly and it happened, but they went through so many shorts and shirts, it was crazy.
Slade loved the feeling of the transformation. He stood tall, stretched his arms into the hot air, then set them on the ground so he was on all fours. Knox did the same. They were all so used to the transformation, had been doing it so many years, it was now second nature. In the beginning, sometimes it took them a few moments to set their minds to change. But now, it was instant and almost no thought was required. It was as simple as wanting it, then the change started.
It was always his back first. The bones moved and shifted to form the back of a large bear, then the rest of his bones followed. It reminded him of going to the chiropractor, having his bones cracked and adjusted. It felt much the same. Then, somewhere toward the end of his bones moving and the skin loosening or tightening around his new skeleton, hair would pop out all over him, growing from his skin as if in a time lapse video. The last thing was the teeth and claws. They shot out of his mouth and paws, and he was now a fully-formed bear. From start to finish, the whole process took about two seconds.
They took off into the woods, running fast like they always did. They could run so much faster in bear form than human. The women’s clan lived many miles away. They tore through the forest, over a wide stream, scampered up part of a mountain. When they were close, they picked up their scent.
“Four?” Knox thought to Slade.
The best part about being a shifter and sharing a clan was the ability to share thoughts when they wanted to. Otherwise, communicating in bear form would be tricky.
“Five,” Slade thought back.
Knox nodded.
When the scent grew thicker, they slowed. Who knew if the women were in bear form themselves, running through the woods. If the Walkers were smelled, the women would know it was them. Not only did they already know their scents from being on their property, but the bear shifters smelled different than natural bears. Their humanness left its mark, no matter what form their bodies were in.
They came to a large house. It was much prettier than theirs. This house was cream and white, the shutters painted with simple flowers at the edges, the porch clean and peaceful looking with a swing in one corner.
They had a good bit of land. Maybe not as much as the Walker clan did, but enough. They circled around the premise first, to get an idea of what was located on the property.
Besides the house, there was a barn. Horses were kept there, from the smell and sounds of it. There was another large building, unmarked. Perhaps their processing building? They had a few bee hives, a full garden of vegetables and herbs, and a few smaller ones full of bright flowers. Maybe Slade should have one of the guys’ girlfriends plant some flowers. It would be good for the bees anyway.
Slade was the last lonely bear. All of his clanmates and business partners had found love over the last year. He didn’t know how they managed it. Anytime he was anywhere near anything that looked like a relationship, it freaked him out. He never trusted any woman enough to share his secret, and if he dated anyone, he constantly worried she would find out. That somehow, he’d end up having to change in front of her. More than one of the Walkers had a tale like that. In the end, it had worked out okay for all of them. But Slade had been burned once, and he’d never lived it down.
When he was just barely twenty, he met a gorgeous woman and fell head over heels. They were madly in love, planned for marriage, the whole thing. He knew he had to tell her. He waited until the moment seemed right, took her outside and told her, then showed her. She’d been so freaked out, she left her engagement ring and never spoke to him again. The heartbreak had been so severe, it damaged him permanently. Never again would he put himself through that. He’d rather be alone. He was perfectly happy alone.
Knox nudged his shoulder with his head. Slade looked in the direction he indicated by jerking his head and saw that someone was coming out of the house. Two women walked outside. They paused to talk and while they stood there, three more came out. So there were five then. A common number for a clan.
As they watched, one in particular did most of the talking. She was taller than the others, had long, dark hair flowing down her back. She had to be the leader, then. The leader of a clan tended to grow a few inches taller, like Slade was taller than his guys.
They were out of ear shot, even for their extended bear hearing. He wanted to move closer to hear, but that would be too close. That amount of movement would be heard and noticed.
So they watched, and after a time, the women started to scatter. The leader turned around and Slade’s heart jumped. He cursed in his mind, loudly, and Knox looked over at him. Slade shook his head and thought, “Nothing. Sorry.”
But the woman, the one who’d made him curse, was gorgeous. Her hair was only one part of it. Her face looked round and soft with dark lips and darker eyes. She was intriguing. She made his body hot and he wanted her.
He did a good job of ignoring women and not becoming attracted or interested. It was part of the whole not-being-tempted to-start-a-relationship thing. But he’d seen her and he was more than a little attracted. He wanted her. And that pissed him off big time.
Two of the women got into cars and drove off, while the other three went back inside. Knox and Slade watched for a while, but there was little else to see. They had gotten a view of the layout of the place and they knew who the leader was. It was all they could hope to get for now.
All that was left to do was wait. They’d go tonight, after the work day was done. They’d come, and hopefully, it wouldn’t break out into a fight. Hopefully, they’d be reasonable and things would be worked out.
* * *
Veronica Harper sat at her desk, moving around objects on her computer’s screen. She worked on a new ad for her line of honey products. This would be a flyer that they handed out with free samples of hand lotion. Across the top of the flyer, it said, “SheBear Honey” in swirly pink letters. She wanted to capitalize on the feminine name without making it too frilly.
When she felt satisfied with the design, she uploaded the file to the printer’s web site and went to check her email. Just a few emails later, there was a knock on her office door.
“Hey V? I think you should come out here.” A slight pause. “Like, now.”
Veronica got up and went to the door. Robin stood there, glancing back and forth between the front door and her.
“What’s up?” Veronica stepped into the hallway and shut the door behind her.
“Umm, well. The Walkers are running here. All of them.”
Veronica dashed to the door, where Christina and Abby were watching out through the screen door.
“There’s five of them,” Christina said.
Veronica looked out and saw the five bears running toward their house. Christina pulled her t-shirt off, revealing her tank underneath. She unzipped her jeans, ready to push them down so she could transform into bear form without ruining her clothing.
But before she could, one of the men changed back into human form. He was tall and dark-haired. His eyes were hard and his face unsmiling. But the dimple in his right cheek softened his look ever so slightly.
Veronica tried not to react, but her eyes went wide at the sight of him. He covered himself with his hand, but that did little. She could see all of his muscles and the hair on his chest and arms and legs. He was exactly her type physically. And he was a bear shifter? Her mouth pulled into a sideways smile. Her heart raced and she refused to take her eyes off him.
But the other men changed, too, and one of them had brought a bag with shorts, which they pulled on.
“Let’s go,” Veronica said.
Her and her four clanmates walked out onto the porch, arms crossed, on the defensive. She knew why they were here. They’d been harassing them for the last two years since her and her ladies had moved into the area and discovered there was a male clan in the same business they were in—honey and moonshine.
And recently, they’d tried to press charges against them. Luckily, Veronica had talked to the officer in charge, the one who’d been in love with her sister, Valerie. She’d managed to get the arson charges against Christina dropped, and they agreed they’d be more careful not to get caught in the future. Veronica was sick of having to clean up their messes. Maybe the guys showing up would shake them up a bit.
Veronica stepped to the front of her group, and the tall male with the dimple did the same. So, he was the leader then. Perfect.
“You’re trespassing,” Veronica said.
“That’s funny. You didn’t seem to have a problem with trespassing when you came to kill our hive, then set fire to our building, and now slash our tires. Funny you should care now.”
Slash their tires? What had those crazy girls done now? She hadn’t approved that. She wanted to leave these guys alone. To find other areas of the honey market to expand into where they didn’t have product. That was the purpose of the new lotion line. The Walkers didn’t have any lotion in their lineup. She hoped getting a start in the market first would keep it that way.
“You have no proof of anything,” she said. “Obviously. Or the police wouldn’t have let us go.”
One of the other men huffed at that.
“And you need to get off our property,” Christina said, stepping up beside Veronica. “We have every right to shoot you right now.”
Veronica nudged her inconspicuously. There was no way they were going to shoot these guys. Was she nuts?
“Relax,” he said. “We’re here to talk. I’m Slade. I’m the clan leader. And you are?”
He looked pointedly at Veronica only.
“Veronica.”
“Nice to meet you.” He stepped forward and held out his hand.
She glared at him for a moment, but finally stepped forward and shook it. If she wanted to make any sort of arrangement with them, she’d have to start somewhere. The only problem was, she didn’t want to be so close to him. Her heart raced even faster. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to think straight being so near him.
“Talk,” Veronica said. “We have things to do, so let’s make it quick.”
“You had plenty of time to get in our way,” the man who’d huffed said. “I’m sure you can make time now.”
She glared at him.
“Could we maybe step inside?” Slade asked.
Veronica opened her mouth to speak, but Christina jumped in. “I don’t think so.”
She would need to talk to her again about that. Being second in command didn’t give her the right make decisions like that and step in whenever she felt like it. Worst part was, Veronica had to go along with it. Had to back her up, or it’d look like they weren’t a solid team. She couldn’t show these guys any weakness.
“Fine,” Slade said. He moved his feet to widen his stance. “We’re here to call a truce. I don’t know why you found it necessary to come after us. The Walker clan has been in this area for over twenty years. If I recall, you’ve been here about two. You cannot just move into an area and think you can destroy our business.”
“We have every right to be here,” Veronica said. But she knew he was right. It was the same thing she’d said to them two and a half years ago. She didn’t want to move to the Ozarks to begin with. Why not find somewhere with no competition? But they’d all agreed that it was the best location, and they could just push out the competition.
“Sure. But you don’t have a right to destroy our property and do unethical things to steal business from us.”
“It’s just some healthy competition,” Abby said.
Veronica could sense her starting to get mad. Anytime there was a fight, Abby got worked up. She liked to argue with anyone about anything.
“Not when you damage property,” another of the men said.
“Look.” Slade turned his gaze at her and held it. “I’m sure we can find a way to work together on this. There’s plenty of room in the market for us both. We’re just asking you to stay off our property and we’ll stay off yours.”
“And you think coming onto our property now is the best way to prove that?” Christina asked. “If you don’t get your hairy asses off our yard in the next two seconds, I am going to shoot every one of you.”
Veronica gritted her teeth. “I can’t make any promises,” she said quickly, trying to override what Christina said. “But we’ll be less damaging.”
“Less damaging?” Slade scoffed. “Does that mean you’ll pay for the damage you’ve done so far? The building? The hive? The tires?”
“You can’t prove it was us,” Veronica said.
“We have you on video,” one of the other men said. “My girlfriend saw you do it.”
“Well, the cops didn’t agree,” Veronica said. Which was a lie. Christina should be in jail right now for that.
“Come on,” Slade said. “Stop playing games. We know it was you. You know it was you. Pay up and don’t do it again. This stops now. Or next time, we won’t just be talking.”
“Like I said,” Veronica said. “I can’t make any promises. But we’ll try.”
“Or, you could make it easy on yourselves and just leave,” Christina said. “Hell, we’d even come and help you pack.”
“Nice try.” Slade said. “We’re not going anywhere, and certainly not because of you.”
“Then I guess you’ll just have to deal with it,” Christina said.
Oh, how she wanted to slap her right now. Shut up, Christina! If only they were in bear form, she could send thoughts to her and not have to worry about anyone overhearing.
“Well, then at least get out of the honey business,” Christina said. “And leave the moonshine up to us, too.”
“Yeah,” Abby chimed in. “We’re not going to back off, so you might as well just do something else. Go sell flowers or something.”
“Now you’re just being unreasonable,” Slade said. “How hard is it to not break the law? I’d think that’s not exactly the most difficult request.”
Robin laughed once. “Because moonshiners are known for upholding the law? Right.”
“Hey.” Another of the men spoke up. This one was dark skinned and had a smooth accent. “We are 100% on the books. We follow the law. Unlike you.”
“Well, sucks to be you,” Abby said.
Veronica took in a deep breath. She met Slade’s gaze and he seemed to sense her frustration.
He stepped closer to her and dropped his voice. “Can I talk to you privately?” he said to Veronica. But he wasn’t quiet enough.
“You deal with us all,” Christina said. “We’re a clan. Maybe you men don’t get that, but us women stick together.”
Veronica nodded very slightly. He saw it and nodded back, just as subtly. He put his hands in his pocket.
“Well, I can see we’re not going to get very far,” he said. “I’d really hoped we could come to an understanding.”
“Understand this,” Christina said. “We’re not going anywhere. If you can’t handle it, feel free to get out of town anytime.”
Slade stuck out his hand to shake Veronica’s and palmed her a business card. She stuck her hands in her pocket to hide the card and watched the men turn and walk away.
Veronica turned back toward the house, brushing hard into Christina as she walked past her. “Meeting. Now.”
They met inside minutes later, perched on various couches and chairs in the living room. Veronica stood in front of the TV, hands on her hips.
“That was completely unacceptable,” she said, her gaze hard on Christina. “Do I need to remind you that I am the leader of this clan? Not you. You don’t make decisions or speak for everyone.”
Christina crossed her arms and glared. “What did I say that you didn’t agree with, leader?”
“Well, where do we start? How about when you threatened them? Or told them to leave town? We will benefit much more if they think we’re friendly.”
“How so?” Abby asked.
“Because then they won’t be watching our every move. Like they surely are now. What do you want to bet they’ll have someone in the woods, watching us?”
Beth got up and went to the window to watch out. She stayed there. Beth was not one for confrontation. She was the quietest one of the group, and she often kept to herself. This was her way to take herself out of the fight. Fine. One less person to argue with her.
“We will not step a foot or a paw onto their property again,” Veronica continued. “Do you understand?”
Christina said nothing, but continued to glare. “You know, Valerie would have been all for this. If she were here, those guys would have already run off in fear.”
Veronica swallowed hard. Her hands balled and the rage tore through her chest. She stepped toward Christina, putting her face close to hers to hiss her words at her. “Well, I guess being dead and all, there’s not much she can do about it now, can she?”
How dare she bring up her sister like that? The ache that Veronica tried to suppress flared hot and angry inside her. She missed her sister constantly. It was like losing a limb. She always felt the absence of such an important part of her life. She was no longer whole. No longer able to function properly without Valerie.
She’d worked very hard not to hold Christina accountable for Valerie’s death. But it had been Christina’s idea to go after the guy who cut them off in traffic. Her idea to terrorize his family when he pulled a gun on them. And when they’d shifted into bears in front of him to scare him and his children, Christina and Valerie had been cracking up at their joke. But the man didn’t think it was funny. He pulled out his gun again—had they thought he wouldn’t? He shot at them both. He missed Christina.
Christina was right about one thing. Valerie had been much more aggressive and up for a fight, just for fun. It was why her and Christina were best friends. All that had never interested Veronica much. Just like being the leader of the clan hadn’t either. That’s why, though Veronica was twenty-seven minutes older, she gave leadership rights to Valerie. Of course, when Valerie died, Veronica had no choice but to take over for her.
But so often she loathed this clan. Loathed the whole bear thing. It had gotten her sister killed. And after that, nothing seemed funny anymore. Nothing seemed worthwhile. They’d even moved here to try to get a fresh start. Veronica had wanted to come on her own, but the clan followed her. It was part of their duty to, whether she wanted them or not. They had to stick together. She had wanted a fresh start, but now, almost three years after Valerie’s death, this crap was starting all over again. The violence, the playing games, the pissing people off.
“We are not going to repeat what we were before,” Veronica said. “And since Christina reminded us, Valerie is no longer with us. She’s dead because of stuff like this. Because she couldn’t let it go when someone pissed her off. I will tell you this”—she made sure to make eye contact with each of them—“I am not going to bail any one of you out if you go after the Walkers. You’re on your own. I am forbidding it, so know that if you choose to take action, you’re on your own.”
Veronica stormed out of the room, to her bedroom. She glanced at the photo of Valerie on her bedside table. The grief ripped through her, and she fell to the floor on her knees, in tears.
Maybe she could just leave. Get away from them all. Get out of here. If she left in the night, if she found some water to swim through to hide her scent, maybe they wouldn’t track her. Maybe they’d let her go. Christina could be the new leader.
She sat on her floor, crying quietly for a while and missing Valerie. Then, she took out her phone and dialed the number on the business card.
“Slade Walker,” he said.
“It’s Veronica Harper. Meet me in the back of Michael’s on sixth tomorrow at two.”
“I’ll be there.”
She hung up and stared at the card, at his name. She didn’t want to feel anything for him. This was no time to get involved in anything. But the thought of meeting in the back of that dark bar excited her. She pictured his face. That dimple. He was so hot. And it had been so long since she’d spent time with a man. She hadn’t had a boyfriend since before Valerie, and after, she’d been too consumed by grief to feel anything except pain.
Maybe it had been long enough now. The pain would never leave. But most days, it was manageable. Even now, when missing her hurt so badly she couldn’t breathe, she still felt a stir of excitement at meeting him tomorrow. Maybe that meant something then. Maybe she was ready to be in a relationship again. Maybe. Though the leader of her enemy clan was probably not the one to try with.
* * *
Veronica got to Michael’s several minutes late on purpose. She wanted to keep Slade waiting. Wanted to make an entrance. She’d taken much too long to dress and do her makeup. She needed to look hot, but without looking like she was trying to look hot.
She’d settled on a tight-fitting black tank with a slight shimmer in the fabric. Short denim shorts and wedge sandals. With her makeup and accessories and hair pulled up on top of her head, she thought she’d managed to do what she intended. Drive him a little mad. Hey, it could only help her case, right?
She pushed opened the glass door of the bar and walked right to the back table, where Slade sat, watching her. She slid into the booth and pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head.
He looked even hotter than she remembered. He wore a t-shirt, but the sleeves strained around his muscles. She could see the glimmer in his eyes better, and that dimple. In the dim light, it was deeper and even cuter. It somehow added to his mystery. Like that little spot was full of his deepest secrets that his hard expression wouldn’t tell.
“Does your clan know you’re here?” she asked.
“Not yet. Yours?”
“Hell no.”
“So.” He crossed his arms and sat back.
She let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I appreciate what you guys were trying to do. But you gotta understand, my clan is a bit nuts. When they smell blood, there’s no stopping them.”
“Tell them we’re bears, not sharks. They need to back off. I don’t know what to do, here, Veronica.”
“What do you mean?”
“You think my guys are fine with all of this? You think they don’t want blood spilled just as much? I’m doing my best to keep everyone calm and happy so this doesn’t break into a fight. But they are not calm and happy. Especially after you were so unreasonable yesterday.”
“Not me. My clan. Things should have gone very differently yesterday.”
Slade pressed his palms on the table and leaned forward. “Maybe you chicks don’t understand how the whole bear clan thing works, but there’s one alpha. One leader. And that alpha gets the first and last say and the others have to listen. You clearly need to learn how to manage your clan. They don’t make the decisions, you do.”
Her cheeks grew hot and she felt the anger building in her. “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about, okay?”
“Well, why don’t you tell me what you wanted to have happen yesterday, then?”
“First of all, I couldn’t very well go against my clanmates, could I? All five of you showed up, making the numbers even. If we had shown any sign of weakness or lack of solidarity, what do you think would have happened? You’re telling me the big, beefy blonde would have ignored that?”
He cocked his head to the side. “He would have done what I told him to.”
“Whatever. I couldn’t let us look weak, even if I didn’t agree. You know that’s true.”
“Fine. But you didn’t answer the question.”
“I don’t want them to attack you. I’ve forbidden them from stepping onto your property. But they often don’t listen to me.”
He threw his hands into the air. “You’re supposed to take them out if they don’t obey. You know that, right? Honestly, did you skip bear instincts day? Do you not know how all of this works?”
Veronica looked down at her hand. At the small half of a heart tattoo that no longer had a living match. “You don’t understand. But it doesn’t matter.”
“It does. If you can’t control your clan members, if you can’t lead them and make them obey, I’ll have no choice. We’ll have to take action.”
“And that means what, exactly?”
“My guys will go after them. Or attack if they come on our property again.”
“What did you want to have happen yesterday?” she asked.
“I was hoping to come to an agreement. To first of all, agree to keep off each other’s property. Then maybe, I don’t know. I guess I was being too optimistic.”
“What? What else were you hoping for?”
“That we could somehow work together instead of against each other?”
“In what way?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. In a perfect world? We form a company and all take part. With twice the manpower and resources, we could produce a lot more. Expand our market reach, expand our products. Be one big team instead of fighting for business.”
She laughed. “My clan would never go for that in a million years. We came here with plans to chase you guys out of town.”
His eye twitched as he glared. “Yeah, I sort of figured that after yesterday. I don’t know why you think you can just come in here and chase us out. Our roots are much deeper. And in two years, your business is the one suffering, not ours.”
Veronica hung her head. A lot of that was her fault. She hadn’t been working nearly as hard as she should be working. But she had so little fight left in her. There was too much pain for there to be enough room left for strong motivation and a good business sense. “I know,” she said quietly.
“Then why let this go on? At least stop trying to chase us out, and focus on your own marketing. That would be much better for business.”
“They won’t agree to that. They like the fight. They like the challenge.”
“Veronica. You have to take charge.”
She shook her head. “This isn’t my clan. That’s what you don’t get. That’s why they don’t listen, and I can’t do anything about it. It was my sister’s clan. She was the alpha. She was also my twin. She was killed three years ago and the clan fell to me. But I never wanted them. She put the clan together, not me. I was happy being on my own, or with just our family. She wanted to expand, she wanted a business group. She brought me in and I joined willingly, but I never would have started a clan with half of these ladies.”
His mouth parted slightly. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” She looked across the room, staring at the neon beer signs and dingy mirrors high on the wall. They had timed it just right so that the place was pretty dead. The lunch crowd had gone and the after work crowd hadn’t yet arrived. They were nearly alone, and the perceived intimacy had made her say far more than she should have. She forgot, when she looked into his sparkling eyes, that their clans were enemies. Which meant he was technically her enemy, too.
“I guess I see why that’s hard for you,” he said softly and with compassion.
“So, I don’t know what to tell you. I’d love to merge, but it’s just not going to happen. Hopefully they’ll stay off your property like I told them to. I’m sorry. They’re just out of hand.”
He sat quietly for a long while, running one fingertip along the rim of his glass. It looked like he was just drinking a soda, but she didn’t know for sure. Maybe he’d added whiskey or rum. Finally, he looked up at her.
“I know it must be hard. But even if you didn’t want them to begin with, they’re your clan now. You’re going to have to step up and learn how to lead them properly. Or they’ll just keep walking all over you. Unless you want to step down, you have to step up.”
She nodded slowly. “I might step down.”
He looked at her, surprised. “Don’t do that. You’re a natural leader, Veronica. I can feel it. Maybe you don’t see it, but you have what you need to do this well. You’re just too consumed by pain to see what you have to do to change your life. To take a risk on something that might be…” He broke his gaze from hers and looked down at his hands for a minute before meeting her stare again.
She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Some risks turn out to be worth it in the end,” he said.
They shared a long gaze. The feelings she had for him earlier seemed to be growing. He was so calm and cool. Even now, he sat back in the booth, casual and chill, like nothing in the world could shake him. Yesterday, he’d been confident and strong. In charge. And his clan listened to him. They didn’t step out of line. One or two spoke up, but they didn’t overstep. They didn’t make decisions. And it seemed like what they said was in line with what Slade said. He was a real leader. She wasn’t. But she deeply admired him for it.
“If it means fighting with your clan, it’s not worth it to me,” she said. “I’m happy to make honey and moonshine and any other products we come up with, but that’s it. I can lead in business. I never had trouble with that. Our workers follow my commands with no trouble. But I don’t want to wrangle a bunch of crazed bear women who just want to tear something apart. I’m more interested in building.”
“I’m not sure where that leaves us,” Slade said. “I feel like we really didn’t accomplish much.”
She shrugged. “We got to know each other better. That’s not nothing.”
He pulled up his mouth in a half smile. “No. That’s not nothing.”
“I’ll talk to them again. Maybe eventually I can get them to see the light.”
“Let’s hope.”
He stood and dropped a $5 bill on the table. Must be just soda then. She stood as well and followed him out of the bar. He waved to her as he walked in the opposite direction.
She was almost to her car when she turned around. “Slade! Wait!”
She ran over to where he was unlocking his car door. He turned to face her. She stopped in front of him, leaving just a foot or two of space separating them. Then she reached up, took a fistful of his shirt, and pulled him toward her as she leaned it.
She pressed her mouth to his hard, not letting him back away easily. But he didn’t back away. He put his hand at the small of her back and drew her closer. He kissed back just as hard.
She laughed when she ended the kiss. “Sorry, I… I guess I’m so starved for time with men and you’re just so hot.” She winked at him. “I spend way too much time in a household of women. They get on my nerves. It’s really refreshing to hang out with you. If you ever want to do it again, let me know. You have my number from when I called you.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “I just might call you then.”
“I hope so.”
He kissed her again, short and sweet, before she hopped off to her car.
Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but she really didn’t have a choice. She wanted him so badly and he just sat there, looking all sexy. It was the first of anything she’d felt since Valerie died and if she didn’t act on it, or do something to keep it going, then it might fade and she’d be right back in her grief, lonely. She was sick of feeling lonely. And she wanted Slade.
Well, that was one way to show her leadership abilities, wasn’t it? To take charge and make the first move? He had to like that. Most guys did. Found it hot when the woman acted first. Usually it was because the guy didn’t want the pressure of making the first move, of the chance of rejection, but that couldn’t be true in Slade’s case. He had far too much confidence to be one of those guys. No, with him, it would be about the challenge. She’d challenged him by making the first move. Now, he had to step up and take charge unless he wanted to let her run the show. And she was pretty sure that, being a man, his alpha was stronger than hers.
Good then. Let’s see what he does. See what move he made. See how much he really wanted her in return. She hoped it proved to be as much, or more than, she wanted him.
* * *
Veronica was on her way home when her phone rang. At first, her heart skipped. Was it Slade? But when she looked at her phone, she saw Beth’s name on the caller ID.
“Hey Beth,” she said.
“V? Where are you?”
“On my way home. What’s up?”
“You should probably hurry.” Beth sounded worried and her voice was hushed.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Did you go to meet Slade?”
“What? Why would you think that?” She hadn’t told any of them, and she’d been careful. How did they find out?
“That’s what Christina said. And now, she’s got everyone going over there to attack them.”
“What?! Attack them how?”
There was a muffling sound, like someone was covering the phone.
“Beth? You there?”
The call ended. She must have hung up. Beth probably called without the others knowing. She could have endangered herself if they’d told her not to tell Veronica. They might have attacked her as well.
Well, Veronica wasn’t going to allow this. She pressed harder on the gas and scrolled to Slade’s number on her phone.
“Hey,” he said when he answered.
“We have a problem.”
“Okay. What?” He already sounded ready to handle the situation. Ready to take charge. She liked that.
“I just got a call from my clanmate. She said Christina is leading an attack on your guys.”
“What else do you know?”
“She just told me to hurry, so I’d guess it’s going on now. She seemed to know I was meeting you.”
“Let me know if you get any more information,” he said.
“I will. You too.”
“Veronica?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.” Then he hung up.
She drove as fast as she could back to her house. When she got there, she found the place empty. No note, nothing to say what was going on. It looked like it could be any normal day with them scattered off dong their own thing, their own parts of running the business.
If it weren’t for Beth’s call, she would have no idea what was happening right now. She quickly stripped down, then ran out the back door, changing into bear form before her feet even hit the grass.
She picked up their scent instantly. She knew it so well, it wasn’t hard. The problem was stopping long enough to really concentrate. Their smells were all over the woods. They were all through there all the time, so finding the most recent trail took a second, though she had an idea of which way they had headed.
She picked up their trail and booked it, running at top speed for several long minutes and until she heard a distance growling sound. The sound of a fight maybe.
She ran harder, her heart ready to burst from the speed. “What’s going on?” she thought to them.
There was no response. So, they’d agreed to keep her in the dark. And it looked like Beth was playing along to appear like she was with them. Veronica tried to reach their minds, but they were shut off to her.
She finally saw the flashes of black fur up ahead. There were more than four bears in the woods, wrestling and jumping on each other. But then she saw several bears run off, away from the group.
“Stop this fighting now!” she shouted in her mind.
Her four women turned and ran toward her, now that the bears they were fighting ran off.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. “I forbid you from coming here.”
“And we decided to take matters into our own hands,” Christina thought back, not pausing as she ran right past her. “We taught them a lesson. We’re not pushovers. We’re not weak girly bears.”
Veronica turned, and now she was chasing after them. “Tell me what happened.”
There was only silence in their heads. She knew Beth would tell her later probably, but she wanted them to fess up.
“Did anyone get hurt?” she asked.
“None of our clan,” Christina thought proudly.
“And the Walkers?” Silence again. “You have all deliberately disobeyed me. I should fight and kill every one of you.”
Christina laughed in her mind from several feet ahead of Veronica. “Go ahead. You think you can beat any of us? You wouldn’t even try. You’re all talk.”
Anger flared again inside her. Slade was right. She had to do something. They were going to keep attacking. Keep stepping out of line. But the thought of taking the action she should take overwhelmed her. She wasn’t the best fighter, it was true. And though being alpha gave her some advantage in size and strength, it wouldn’t be enough. She didn’t want to fight them, either. Didn’t want to hurt them, even if they had done something horrible. There was enough pain in her life. She didn’t want more.
When they got back to the house, they changed back to human form and Veronica shouted at them, standing naked on the back porch. “This is unacceptable, all of you! You have gone against my commands and you have attacked innocent men. I hope they press charges. I hope you all wind up in jail. Don’t think I’ll come to bail you out.”
Christina glared back and Abby had a hard look, but Beth refused to look at her and Robin looked ashamed. At least she knew where she stood with each of them.
“They won’t press charges because we’ll just attack again,” Christina said. “I’m not afraid of jail time and besides, what are they going to say? That I turned into a bear and clawed them? He has obvious animal injuries. No one will believe him.”
“Who?” Veronica asked.
“One of the Walkers,” Abby said.
“We went after one of the bee guys,” Christina said. “He wasn’t so tough after all.”
“With four on one?” Veronica shrieked. “I guess not. I don’t know how many people would be, even those big men. How unfair and unethical. You fought one of them? All four of you?”
“We waited until we could get one alone,” Robin said quietly. “It was Christina’s idea.”
Christina turned and glared. “Well, someone had to take charge around here. Clearly you weren’t going to do anything.” She gestured to Veronica.
“I was, actually,” Veronica said. “When you launched into your disobedient plan, I was talking with their leader, trying to come to an agreement. You know, the proper and civil way, like adults.”
Christin huffed. “We’re bears, V. Don’t forget that. Our animal nature changes things.”
Veronica snatched up her clothes from the floor where she’d left them and yanked her shorts on. “Yeah, well, our human nature doesn’t.” She pulled on her shirt next. “None of you will leave this house for the rest of the night. Do you understand me?”
They all nodded except Christina. She narrowed her eyes and watched Veronica walk away.
She dashed to her room and called Slade. He didn’t answer. When his voicemail came on, she said, “Is everyone okay? I have my clan here, and I’ve forbidden them from leaving the house. Please let me know what’s going on. I’m sorry, Slade. Christina just went behind my back and did this, and she doesn’t care that I commanded them to stay away from you. I hope everyone is okay. I’m so sorry.”
She hung up and paced her room. Should she go over there? See what was wrong? But they might be hostile. They didn’t know the whole situation, unless Slade had managed to tell them some of it. But if he got home when they were in the middle of a fight, how much had he told them?
And if one of the guys was hurt, they might be going to the hospital now. Maybe that’s why he didn’t answer. She felt so bad about the whole thing. She didn’t want anyone getting hurt, and somehow, she felt worse that it was one of the men who had. If one of her women was hurt, it would be their own stupid fault. They would deserve it. But the men had only been trying to make the situation better.
She hoped whoever it was would be okay. She didn’t know which was the beekeeper, or even any of their names, but it didn’t matter. Whoever he was, he was one of Slade’s, and that’s what mattered. She didn’t want Slade to be hurt by this. And she really didn’t want him to turn against her through all this. What if he did, though? What if somehow, he thought she’d planned it that way, to get him out of the way so her clan could attack?
Oh no. It did seem like a solid explanation. She’d set the time and place. How convenient. But then, she’d called him to warn him. To tell him to hurry. That had to mean something, right? He had to know, after all she’d told him, that she would never allow this. Would never order this. As her stomach tightened in panic, her phone rang.
It was Slade. She held her breath and answered. “Is everyone okay?”
“Hey. No. Knox is hurt really badly. We’re at the hospital.”
“Oh my God, Slade, I am so sorry. You know I didn’t allow this. I forbid them from coming onto your property at all. I never wanted it to get to this. I never wanted a fight or for anyone to get hurt.”
“I know. He’s going to be okay. But Veronica…”
“Yes?” She gulped. Her mouth was dry waiting for his response.
“We’re going to have to retaliate. I can’t just let this go. I owe my guys more than that.”
“Okay, right. Of course.” She tried to breathe. “What does that mean, though?”
“I don’t know yet. But I told the guys what you and I discussed today. They’re aware of the situation.”
“But Slade—”
“I gotta go.”
“Bye,” she said, but he’d already hung up.
She continued pacing, now worried for a different reason. What did it mean that he’d told them everything? That they wouldn’t hurt her because they knew? Or didn’t that matter? Maybe they didn’t care that she had forbidden them and they hadn’t listened. Maybe they thought if she couldn’t lead them, that she had to be taken out. Maybe it was going to be a huge slaughter.
She went downstairs and checked all the windows and doors to make sure everything was locked up.
“What’s going on?” Robin asked.
“We have to be prepared for retaliation.” She spoke louder, so everyone could hear her, no matter where they were in the house. “I want a watch all night. Take two hours shifts and rotate. Bear form, around the house only. Stay close. Got it?”
She heard a confirmation of some sort from each of them.
“Watch starts now. I’ll go first.” Veronica changed back into bear form, but made sure her phone was close so she’d hear it if it rang again. She walked in a circle around the house, hoping it would burn off some of her anxiety.
* * *
Slade paced across the front of the living room, stroking his chin. The little hairs there needed to be trimmed, but it was the least of his worries.
“I think we should go tonight,” Beck said. He’d been wearing a permanent scowl since he found out his brother was injured. He was ready to fight them all. He was agitated and angry. Even his girlfriend, Harmony, hadn’t been able to comfort him.
“We have to be smart about this,” Slade said. “And if we go tonight, we’ll be fighting on no sleep, no rest, and emotionally and physically in distress. If we’re going to do this, we need to be in peak condition. Unless, of course, you don’t mind if someone else gets hurt.”
“Of course he minds,” Amir said. “He knows you’re right. Don’t you, Beck?”
Beck gave him a hard look, but said, “Fine. Tomorrow then?”
“Tomorrow,” Slade said. “We’ll get a good night’s sleep and rest up. Then when we’re ready, we’ll go. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Amir and Daxton said.
“Agreed,” Beck said.
“But.” Slade held up his hand. “I’ve told you about Veronica. Unless she fights, do not hurt her.”
“And if she joins in?” Dax asked.
“Then she’ll either have lied to me today, or have changed her mind, and she’s no better than the rest of them.”
The next evening, they gathered again. They’d spent a large part of the day at the hospital. Knox’s wounds were healing, and quickly. One benefit of being a shifter. But the fact that he still couldn’t use his arm, and his cuts hadn’t yet healed meant that he was badly hurt.
Slade had been torn about Veronica. She had called to tell him what was going on when her rogue clan went after his guys. So, it was only fair to warn her back, right? But in that warning, he might be setting himself and his guys up. What if they planned something worse for their arrival? Would she tell her clanmates or keep it to herself? He couldn’t be sure. He was far from being able to fully trust her. And she was the leader of a group of his enemies. In the end, he decided to warn her, but give her no time. That way, if any of the other women found out, they wouldn’t have the chance to plan an attack.
Before he walked downstairs to meet the guys, he sent her a text that simply said, “Now.”
Slade met them downstairs and looked over them. They had gotten enough rest, he supposed. Even if they hadn’t, tonight was the night. They walked together to the back porch, took off their shorts, and stuffed them into a small backpack. Veronica hadn’t responded by the time he put his phone in the bag.
They all stepped outside, let the hot night air hit their naked bodies, and shifted into bear form. They took off running, Slade at the head of the pack, toward the Harper property. They arrived at the Harper’s property a short time later and paused in the woods a good distance away.
The four of them stopped to listen and watch before moving closer. They wanted to be prepared and not be caught off guard.
“They have a watch,” Dax thought to the others.
Slade saw the bear walking away from them, circling the house.
“Is it Veronica?” Amir asked.
He sniffed again to make sure. “No,” Slade thought. “Charge the watch on my command.”
His clan nodded and waited for his signal. Slade watched until the bear was making her way back toward the front of the house. Then he lifted a paw and stomped the ground. They ran to her.
Their thumping paws quickly drew the attention of the watch. She stood on hind legs and howled. As the men reached the house, three more bears came running out to join her. Veronica was not among them. She wasn’t anywhere that Slade could see or smell. Had she decided to leave and not be a part of the fight at all? At least this was an even four-on-four fight then.
The male bears crashed into the female bears. The sound of growls and snapping teeth filled the air as they bit and swiped each other. Slade managed to whack one of the women with his paw and sent her flying back several feet. She came at him with claws flailing, and he ducked in just enough time to miss being slashed.
He leapt at her and closed his teeth around her throat. She fell flat on the ground in an attempt to break free. But his jaw was strong. He swiped at her and connected claw to skin. She whimpered under him.
He thought he had her. But then another bear leapt on him, knocking his grasp free. He tumbled with the new bear, then landed on top of her. He looked back over his shoulder to make sure the bear he’d had his teeth on wasn’t coming after him. But Amir had her.
When he looked over the fight, all the male bears were overtaking the females. They were winning this fight.
A loud shot rang through the air. Then someone shouted, “Stop!”
Eight bears’ heads snapped toward Veronica. She stood at the side of the property, holding a gun high in the air, naked. She’d obviously run somewhere in bear form. To get the gun maybe?
“Everyone stop right now,” she shouted. “Change back to human form.”
She stood with her arms crossed, the gun hanging from one hand. The position may have hidden her breasts somewhat, but it didn’t hide enough.
Slade gawked at her. Her body was lean and muscular. She must have almost no body fat. Her hips curved wide under her rippled stomach. But her breasts spilled above and below her arms. He was glad in that moment that he was still a bear. He’d have to get a hold of himself before he turned back to human form or everyone would know exactly how he felt about Veronica.
For a long while, no one changed. Then, Veronica pointed the gun at one of her clanmates. “If you don’t all start to change, I’ll start to shoot.”
The woman she’d pointed the gun at changed back. Then another, who went to stand by Veronica, trying to hide her naked body the best she could. Then Amir changed. Then Dax and another woman. The rest of them changed almost all at the same time. The group of them stood in a circle, most of them covering various body parts.
Slade had to work to keep himself covered. But he was still hard looking at Veronica, and he could only hide so much. He dared a glance at her, and she was looking at him. Looking intensely and with desire. They shared a long, intense moment, then she turned away from him, letting her arms fall to her sides, revealing every inch of her body, as she walked to the center of the group. Man, was she trying to drive him mad on purpose?
“This fighting must stop,” she said. “Someone has already gotten hurt and more people will get hurt if we continue.” She walked over to Slade and stood by his side. “The clans are merging. We will become one and we will work together. Our truce starts now.”
She looked around, challenging someone to argue with her. Slade wanted to kiss her right then for being so bold. And they were going to join clans? So, she’d decided to step up after all. He wished she’d told him this was her plan, but maybe he hadn’t given her time to. All that mattered now was how they would get their clans to be okay with it. He’d already talked to his guys and while they weren’t thrilled with working with women who had attacked them, they agreed it was better than continuing a war.
“This is ridiculous,” one of the women said. It must be Christina, based on what Veronica had told him about her. “We are not joining them.”
“We are,” Veronica said. “We will form one company to make our products together, and we will be sister clans. Anyone who doesn’t like it, can leave.”
“You can’t be serious,” Christina said.
“You can’t make us do this!” another woman said.
“Oh, yes I can, Abby,” Veronica said. “I am the alpha. You will obey or you will find a new pack.”
“Nothing like this would have happened if Valerie were still here,” Christina said.
“And if you hadn’t been so interested in fighting,” Veronica said, “she would still be here.”
Christina glared back at her. “You can’t just kick me out. I live here.”
“I’m not kicking you out,” Veronica said. “I’m telling you we’re going to work with the Walkers. We are going to stop fighting them. If you can’t do that, then you are free to leave. It’s your choice.”
The men watched, looking back and forth from Veronica to Slade, waiting for direction. Of course, they all knew Slade had wanted them to work together. They probably just never expected it to actually happen. But Slade was happy that none of his guys seemed ready to take off. He wouldn’t expect any of them to do that.
After a few tense minutes, Christina shifted into a bear again and ran off. Veronica looked around at the rest of her clan. He could see the hurt in her face and hear it in her voice when she spoke. She was bothered that Christina had left.
“Anyone else?” she asked.
Veronica saw Abby’s indecision. Her and Christina had been close. Closer once Valerie died and the position of Christina’s best friend was available. She didn’t envy the decision Abby had to make now. It was either her best friend and freedom or her clan and her business.
Abby turned to her, tears filling her eyes. “I’m sorry, V. I can’t just let her go on her own. She’ll have no one.”
Veronica nodded. Abby ran to her, gave her a brief, awkwardly naked hug, then shifted and ran off. Veronica swallowed hard and looked at the remaining members of the group. She’d expected this, though. She had a pretty good idea that Christina would leave. Was half hoping for it. As much as she loved Christina as a sister and clanmate, she was the one always causing trouble. And she reminded her more of Valerie than any of the others. They’d been inseparable before her death and something about Christina being her dead twin’s beset friend made her special to Veronica. But she couldn’t have her causing this trouble.
Abby hurt worse. Though Veronica thought she’d likely leave if Christina did, she was sadder to see her go. She liked Abby a lot, though she was argumentative. In the end, she usually ended up listening to Veronica. Well, until recently with all this fighting. Her loyalty clearly lay with Christina, though, so in the end, it was better.
She looked at her two remaining clan members. She knew Beth wouldn’t leave her in a million years. She was the one Veronica was closest to. And Robin had joined Valerie’s clan because of Veronica, so she assumed that loyalty would continue. They didn’t look confused. They looked sure in their decision.
She looked over at the men. None of them seemed ready to take off, either. She felt a ping of jealousy at that. Slade was a much better leader. His men were much more loyal. Though it looked like one was missing. That must be the injured one, though.
“Anyone else?” Veronica said. “Last chance. Leave now or forever keep the peace.”
She waited for two long minutes. Then, she turned to Slade.
“Okay,” she said. “Let’s make this happen.”
* * *
The seven of them gathered in the Harper’s living room, now dressed at least partially. The men were all shirtless. Veronica didn’t mind at all, if it meant Slade would stay shirtless. She considered offering them shirts, but then decided they were just fine as they were.
Her and Slade stood at the front of the room. She could feel the heat coming off him and she wanted to reach over and touch him. Feel the hard muscles of his stomach, kiss his soft lips again. And again. And again. She tried to focus. This was about the clans. They had to make this work to keep the peace, and for the betterment of their business. They could get down to personal business later.
“I think for now, we should start with a basic peace treaty,” Slade said. “We’re all tired from days of fighting, and we’re missing Knox, so I don’t want to make any serious decisions yet. Let’s take some time to think about what we want this to be. What we each hope to gain out of this merger. Then, we can come back together and discuss the terms and set some sort of contract in place.”
Veronica nodded. “So, what do you think? A week? Longer?”
“I think a week is good for our initial discussion. I think it might take a few meetings before we have a solid agreement.”
“Everyone okay with that?” Veronica asked. They received a combination of agreements and head nods from the group.
“So, we’re all in agreement that, for now and for the foreseeable future, there will be no fighting,” Slade said. “We will not go onto each other’s property without permission, we will not damage each other’s property, we will not set out to harm each other’s businesses, and we will not cause physical or emotional harm.” Slade looked to Veronica first.
“I agree,” she said.
One by one, each of them made their agreement. The men stood to leave, but Veronica turned to Slade to whisper in his ear. “Can you stay for a little while? There’s something I want to discuss with you in private.”
He nodded. “I’ll see you at home later, guys.”
Veronica took his hand and led him upstairs, to her bedroom. Once there, she closed the door behind her. He stood in the middle of her room. He looked around for a minute, at her white walls plastered with many photos of her sister of other family and friends. Her bright yellow curtains and comforter, chosen because they felt cheerful at the time.
“So, what’s up?” he asked.
“Well.” She walked closer to him and hugged him. He hugged back and she stayed there for a moment, just enjoying the feel of his strong arms around her. Then she looked up at him and said, “I just thought maybe we could talk about our merger.”
He pulled his eyebrows together. “Okay. I thought we just said we were going to take some time to think about it, then discuss things next week.”
She smiled. “Oh no. Not our clans’ merger. Our merger. You and me.”
“Oh.” He bent down to kiss her.
As their lips moved together, she felt the heat rise in her chest and spread through her.
“What is there to discuss?” he asked, tugging gently on her lip with his teeth.
She raised a shoulder. “Do you have any terms you’d like me to comply with?”
“Yes.” He lowered his eyes and pulled his mouth into a half smile. “First, you cannot be wearing clothing.”
“Right.” She pulled off the tank and shorts she’d put on earlier, after the fighting. “But you have to comply with that, too.”
“Fair enough.”
He stepped out of his shorts and she saw the full length of him, hard and ready. She made herself look away. Otherwise, she’d rush things and jump on him right then.
“Next?” she asked.
“Well,” he said, stepping close to her again. “You cannot be more than arm’s reach away from me at all times.”
She stepped back into place in his arms. This time when they hugged, though, she pressed her hips against him, letting his hard cock rub against her bottom lips. She was already wet with desire for him. He slid back and forth easily against her, sending waves of pleasure through her body.
“Anything else?” she asked.
He closed his eyes and moaned. “Umm…”
She slowly slid down his stomach and took him into her mouth. He let out a moan and put out a hand to brace himself against the wall. He let his other hand fall to her head, letting his fingers run through her hair softly as she sucked and stroked him.
“That feels so good,” he said.
After another few minutes, he stepped back to break free of her mouth. Then he picked her up and tossed her onto the bed.
“My turn,” he said.
He spread her legs apart and lowered himself down. With his tongue, he flicked and sucked at her clit and around her lips. She moaned and moved her hips against him, wanting more. He slipped a finger into her as he pressed his mouth harder.
Veronica sat up suddenly. “You have to stop.”
He pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. “Okay…”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said.
He sat at the edge of her bed, his legs tucked underneath him, and she crawled over to him.
“I just can’t wait any longer.” She positioned herself with her legs around him and lowered down onto his erection.
He growled in her ear and wrapped his arms around her, then rocked forward and back with her, pushing in deeper with each move forward and pulling out slightly with each move back.
She moaned and tugged at his earlobe with her teeth. He growled in response and then made a purring noise that sent chills through her. She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer, smashing her mouth to his. Why did he always feel too far away from her? If his skin melted into hers, he still wouldn’t be close enough.
“You’re so wild,” he said. “I like it.”
“Must be the animal in me,” she said.
She rose up on her knees so she could slam down harder on him, tilting her hips forward and back to rub her clit against him as she did. She pulled at his hair and scratched along his back and kissed him hard. She still couldn’t get him deep enough or close enough.
He squeezed her tight and rolled them over onto their sides. Then he rolled to his back and pulled her on top of him. She sat up, digging her fingers into the hard muscles of his stomach. He grabbed her ass and smacked her, hard.
“Oh, you like rough, do you?” she asked with a smirk.
“I do,” he said in a deep and smoothly sexy voice. “Do you?”
She answered by pulling at his hair and biting his neck, then his nipples.
He flipped her over onto her stomach and took her from behind. He pulled at her hair and rammed hard into her. She cried out in pleasure, putting her hands up to press against her head board so she could push back against him, sending him deeper inside her with each thrust.
The bed was banging against the wall, and she knew Beth and Robin had to be hearing this. That thought only turned her on even more and she moaned louder.
“Yes. Faster,” she said.
He obeyed and sped up. Thrusting into her until she felt the level of pleasure rise and spill over into orgasm. They moaned loudly together as they finished.
He sat still for a moment after, staying inside her while they panted.
“One more term to add to our agreement,” he said.
“Yes?” she breathed.
“There can be as many repeat performances as necessary.”
“Deal,” she said, chuckling.
He withdrew from her slowly and lay to face her on the bed.
“Hi.” She smiled lazily at him.
“Hi.”
“You know something? I think you’re pretty great.”
He kissed along her shoulder. “I think you’re pretty great, too. And I think we’re pretty great together.”
“We are. But, I should tell you,” she said. “And I don’t know what exactly you had in mind moving forward, but it’s been a long time since I was in any sort of relationship.”
“That makes two of us.”
“Okay. I’m not really looking to rush things. Well, I mean emotionally, I guess. Physically, I like fast.” She winked at him.
He smiled and brushed aside a stray piece of her hair. “Me either. I honestly never thought I would be able to trust anyone again. I thought I was done with relationships. My last serious relationship was a disaster and ended very badly.”
She laughed humorlessly. “I probably got you beat, but let’s hear your story.”
“Well.” He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling. “We were together a few years and we were engaged. Totally in love, planning a wedding, all that. And I realize now that waiting probably made it worse, but I still hadn’t told her I was a shifter. Then one day, when I thought I couldn’t wait any longer, I told her. Then I showed her. She flipped out and ran off and never talked to me again. She wouldn’t even come and get her stuff herself. She sent a friend. I think she was maybe scared of me or something. I tried to talk to her to explain. Calls, texts, emails, letters. She wouldn’t listen and wouldn’t respond to any of it. Just like that, it was over.”
“Hmm,” she said.
“Pretty awful, right?”
“Well, I can see why that would give you trust issues. It’s interesting, though.”
“Interesting? That’s not the response I was expecting.”
“Oh no, it’s awful for sure. But I can imagine exactly how painful that would be. That’s almost what happened to me. We weren’t engaged, but we were together for four years. One night, I drank a little too much and we were making out. I got too excited and wasn’t in control of myself. I started to feel the change. Instead of stopping it, I stood up and said something stupid like, ‘Look how wild I really am,’ and changed, just like that. Obviously, he freaked. He called me lots of names and said he would tell everyone. I had to bite his leg and promise to hurt him worse to get him to agree not to tell. And, of course, I never heard from him again, either.”
“That is interesting. We have a very similar relationship past.”
“Yeah. Oh hey,” she said, turning on her side to face him again. “I should tell you something before this goes any further. I don’t want any surprises later or for you to freak on me like the last guy did.”
She saw the glimmer of concern cross his face. “What?”
She leaned down and whispered, “I can turn into a bear.”
He made his eyes go wide. “Oh no, you’re kidding me! Well, I have my own secret.”
“What?” She smiled and made her face looked worried, playing along.
He leaned in close to her and whispered, “I trust you more than I’ve trusted any woman since my ex. And this is the first time I’ve ever thought that someone was worth the hassle of a relationship.”
Her smile vanished. She’d expected him to say he was a shifter, too, to keep the game going. But this was serious. “Really?”
He nodded. “There are so many things I don’t have to worry about with you. You know all the intimate details of being a shifter. You even know what it’s like to be the alpha. You’re in the same business as me, and you know about running a company. You’re like the female version of me. I have no reason to hide anything from you. You already know the most complicated parts of my life. And now that you know my relationship history, you know my biggest piece of baggage. And it’s the same as yours, too.”
“We do have an awful lot in common. It’s nice, for a change. I’m surprised more shifters don’t bear up together in relationships. I don’t know any shifter couples, actually. Any of your guys single?”
“No,” he said. “I was the last holdout. And they’re all in shifter-human relationships. I think maybe most of us cling to that normalcy that comes from pure humans. I don’t know. There’s also not that many of us, and even fewer close by.”
“We should start a bear shifter dating web site to help us wild, lonely folks find each other.”
“Right.” He let his fingers trail over her stomach and breasts, her hard nipples. “God, your body is perfect. You know something? I think I could love you.”
She closed her eyes, the emotions flooding her. When she looked at him again, tears blurred her vision. “You know something? I’d be totally okay with that.”
She leaned up to kiss him, feeling more at peace than she had in a long time.
* * *
Slade sat at the head of the long table in the Walker’s dining room and Veronica sat to his right. The table was filled with both of their clans. Daxton, Knox and Beck, Amir, then Beth and Robin across from them.
“Are you all ready for the big reveal?” Slade asked.
“Wait, I know what it is,” Robin said, holding up her hand. “Veronica is pregnant.”
Veronica’s face went red, and she shook her head. “That’s not the big reveal. And I’m not.”
Slade glanced at her, stood, took in a deep breath, and said, “Okay then. Here’s the design we came up with.”
He turned around a board that held the logo design her and Slade had worked on together. Across the top of the image, it said, “Harwal Honey Products,” the name of their new company. At the very bottom, it said, “A merger of Bear Natural Honey and SheBear Honey” in small letters. Between the lines of text was an illustrated drop of honey falling into a small piece of honeycomb.
They’d gone through multiple looks and colors and names, working together over long hours into the night. They stopped often to take sex breaks, as Slade liked to call them. It helped to keep their minds clear and focused, he claimed. Right. She didn’t care what excuses he came up with, she loved being able to alternate work and making love and was happy to pause anytime.
The whole process of merging their clans and businesses had taken much longer, but gone much better than she expected. They had come back together the next week to discuss things. Turned out, everyone had many more ideas than either Slade or her anticipated. Great ideas, and all ways to work together to make their new company awesome.
With Christina and Abby gone, the hostility had quickly vanished. They began regular picnics and events to get the clans together, with the guys’ girlfriends joining in. They’d all become friends over the months, and Harmony’s little boy was brutally spoiled with kisses and hugs. They’d even briefly discussed building one giant compound that all the couples could live on together. It would take more time for that to become a reality. They’d need more land, and they had to focus on production first.
“Thoughts?” Veronica asked. She looked around the table at their reactions. There were many head nods and several expressions of interest.
In the end, they all liked it. Next on the agenda, they discussed the new product line. They were going to expand the soaps that the Walkers had tested, and include the new lotions the Harpers had perfected. There would also be teas, candles, and candy.
And they had plans to expand into shampoos and other food options later down the line. They had a whole five-year-plan and a ten-year-plan that had been dreamed up over the months of meetings they held. This was one of their weekly meetings, which would end with a cookout.
“Work hard first, then play harder,” was what Slade always said. Though, when they were alone, Veronica said, “Work hard first, then fuck harder.” Slade was happy with both versions.
Once they finished all the business on the list, Slade stood again.
“Any final issues of business?” he asked.
No one said anything.
“Then, it’s time to have some fun!” Veronica said.
“Wait a minute,” Slade said. “Any non-business issues to discuss?”
They always left time to talk about personal things or share about what was going in their lives. Veronica was hungry, though, and wanted to speed things along. They’d all talk while they cooked out anyway.
“I do have one thing.” Robin stood. “It’s been a long time coming, I think, but I wasn’t sure how to tell you all.”
Veronica’s heart started racing. Robin looked nervous. Was she about to give them bad news? Was she planning to leave?
But then Beth stood, too. “And I asked her to wait until I was ready.”
Veronica glanced at Slade and he looked just as confused and worried.
“But, here it is.” Robin breathed out a hard sigh and reached out to take Beth’s hand. Then she turned and kissed her.
Veronica’s mouth dropped open. That was the last thing she’d expected. She had no idea either of them were gay, or that they had any interest in each other. Though now, it made sense. She’d never seen either of them in a relationship and they had been getting closer over the months. She had thought it was just the combination of Christina and Abby leaving and her spending more time with Slade and leaving them alone, but apparently, it was more.
Slade started clapping and the others joined in, hooting and hollering as Beth and Robin smiled with red faces.
“Thank you,” Beth said. “We weren’t sure how everyone would take it.”
“You really thought there’d be complaints?” Dax said.
Knox nudged him, but laughed.
“Really happy for you,” Slade said. He took Veronica’s hand under the table and squeezed.
“Yeah,” she said. “I mean, I’m shocked and I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner, but this is awesome!”
She had secretly been a little disappointed that all the Walkers had girlfriends. After knowing how awesome it could be to date another shifter, she wanted that for them all. She hated seeing Robin and Beth be the only single ones at their events that were all filled with happy couples. But this made everything perfect. Everyone was paired up and happy. Things felt very complete.
“Anyone else?” Slade said.
“Who could beat that?” Beck said.
“Well, I’m going to try,” Slade said. “Not to upstage you or anything, but I had this planned for months.”
He stood and turned to Veronica. “Exactly one year ago today, we kissed for the first time. It was unexpected, but wonderful, and since that moment, I have not been able to get you off of my mind. The last year has been the most amazing year of my life, and I want to see just how much better it can get. Veronica, I don’t want to live without you. You’re already my business partner, my co-alpha, my best friend. But, I’d like to add wife to that list.”
He dropped down on one knee, and Veronica’s eyes went wide. They hadn’t discussed marriage at all. They’d both said they’d been so hurt in the past and had such trust issues that they were going to take things slow. This didn’t feel slow.
But she’d fallen so hard in love with him in the last year. So hard, she thought it would scare him if she told him. If she said how she’d dreamed of being his wife and having shifter babies. When Robin joked at the start of the meeting that she was pregnant, she wanted it to be true. But she didn’t want to move things too fast for him. It seemed now, that they’d both decided slow wasn’t necessary. Everything about this felt so right.
Slade opened a ring box and held it up to her. “Will you marry me?”
She took a moment to gaze into his eyes, to let the scene blur with her tears as her heart swelled with joy. But apparently, she’d taken too long.
“Of course she will!” Robin said.
“Yes!” Dax said.
Veronica laughed and nodded as a chorus of “Say yes!” broke out from the table.
Slade slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her, then stood with his arms tight around her at the head of the table. “Meeting adjourned.”
The room cleared, but Slade held her close to keep her there. She didn’t mind. She wanted a few minutes alone, too.
When they were alone, he kissed her again and asked, “They didn’t pressure you into it, did they?”
“No, of course not.”
“You’re sure? I know it’s fast and we said we wanted to take things slow, but—”
“It feels like exactly the right time,” she said.
“Yes. It does to me, too.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”