The night of June 4th was horrific, embarrassing and terrifying. On June 5th, Elise Davenport thought that her life couldn’t possibly get any worse. She was wrong.
For starters, she was lost in the woods. Elise had entered the wilds of Fairhaven Park about an hour ago, chatting away to her agent about the disaster of the night before, only to find that when she hung up the call, she had veered off the path. The sun had long-since settled into the blackness of night, turning leafy green trees into heaps of shadow. Elise’s spine tingled with cold, despite the balmy air of a summer night in the California countryside. Something was very, very wrong.
And that something was a bear.
Elise wasn’t sure what she was looking at, at first, but she froze on the spot, staring into the forest ahead. The huge lumbering shape made a move, just a few steps forward, and suddenly it was fully defined. Elise saw the impossibly wide, shaggy head of brown fur, and the huge paws with long, curling claws. The bear had small, dark eyes, which caught the moonlight and reflected it in silver discs. It took a few more steps, out of the foliage and straight into Elise’s path.
Frozen with fear, Elise could only imagine the horror of being mauled to death by a bear. It was a grizzly too, which was totally impossible for California, yet there it was in all its hefty glory. People wouldn’t believe that this was how she’d died. They’d imagine that she had faked her own death, rather than face the backlash of the biggest mistake of her modelling career. When the bear took a sudden lunge, a deep growl caught in its throat, Elise lost her thoughts completely.
And then, as if fate didn’t hate her enough, another bear entered the small clearing.
It was even larger than the first, and slightly darker in color. The fur seemed to glisten as if it was wet, picking up silver strands of reflected moonlight. Elise’s body shivered, her breathing escaping in stunted puffs of air. The new bear glanced her way, and its eyes were golden. Even in the depth of night, those two shining orbs burned like sunlight. It was both the most beautiful and terrifying thing she had ever seen. The two grizzlies faced off, each eyeing the other for a long, silent moment.
Elise took one step, daring to try and back away. At her movement, the golden-eyed bear leapt in front of her, teeth bared to its smaller adversary. Elise heard the clash of gigantic muscles as the creatures started to tussle, and her breathing gave way to a cry. Every blow was powerfully violent, and Elise willed her shaking legs to work again. The golden-eyed bear was beating the other one back, but that surely meant that he wanted this tall, blonde woman for his very own midnight snack. Elise couldn’t afford to be around when that moment came.
She ran for all she was worth, racing desperately towards any sign of life.
* * *
“You poor thing,” Anina soothed. “Here, have another sip of cocoa.”
The morning sun was peeking over the horizon by the time that Elise found the Rangers’ Lodge. Shaking and terrified, she’d been welcomed into the three-story cabin by an elderly lady with small, hunched shoulders. Her face was streaked with silver wrinkles, and behind her glasses there was a kind gaze that shone through milky-amber eyes. The woman had introduced herself as Anina Best, and at first glance, Elise felt safe with her.
“I guess I can afford the calories, after all that running,” Elise said in a hoarse tone.
“Who thinks about calories after a bear attack?” Anina asked in reply.
Elise gave a shrug, her disheveled blonde hair flicking out at strange angles.
“That’s the model mentality,” she supposed.
Elise had only been modelling in LA for the last year, after leaving college with a degree she probably wouldn’t use and a huge pile of debts to pay back. She’d been getting pretty good at it too, until she’d put her foot in her mouth at the Shine Awards. She tried her hardest to push the embarrassment back again, burying her face in the steamy mug of chocolate heaven. When the warm, gooey liquid had calmed her nerves, her voice became smooth and bright again.
“Thank you so much for your kindness,” she told Anina. “I’m supposed to be renting a cabin on the West Ridge. I didn’t realize it’d be so far to get to on foot.”
“Are you the last minute booking? Miss Davenport?” Anina asked.
Elise gave a nod. Anina pulled herself to her feet, shuffling gently over to a large door made of pale wood. The room they were in was decked in the same timber, and filled with comfortable easy chairs and coffee tables. It was a place designed for guests. It even had a flickering fireplace, despite the total lack of a need for extra heat. Anina had called out into the hall from the doorway, and Elise quickly realized that she hadn’t spoken in English.
“Are you European?” she asked as Anina came back to her chair. “I thought I heard something in your accent before.”
“The Bests are a German family originally,” Anina explained with a nod. “Ah, and here they are.”
As her words faded, four huge guys entered the room. At once Elise thought of how awful she must have looked after fleeing through the woods, and she tried to calm her wayward hair with a nonchalant hand. Two of the young men looked fairly similar, both with shaggy blonde hair that was in need of a cut, and they were flanked by a darker, more lithe guy and a brown-haired man with a look of contempt on his face. None of them were past twenty-five, and they all had muscles bulging beneath their Park Ranger uniforms.
“My grandsons,” Anina said, beaming. “Benedikt, Kurt, Hartwin and Reinicke.”
They were standing in that order, and each one nodded at their name. Except for the last one.
“Ry-ni-ka,” Elise said, sounding it out, “that’s an interesting name.”
“I’m an interesting guy,” Reinicke replied, in a tone flatter than roadkill. “Gram, can I go? You don’t need all of us to handle a bear scare.”
Anina gave a rueful little nod, and the one called Reinicke made his escape. On his way out of the room there was the sound of a clash, and suddenly a fifth man pushed his way through the middle of the group. He was bare-chested, a towel clinging to his huge shoulders. Elise let her eyes travel over the rippling muscles of his abdomen as he heaved for breath.
“You called, Gram?” he asked, in a deep, smooth voice. “What’s happening?”
His eyes travelled to Elise, and it was not the fact that he was tall, dark and handsome which took her breath away. When he looked straight at her, his eyes were golden. Elise knew that she had seen those deep, burning eyes before. Silenced by her shock, Elise’s gaze travelled to Anina’s other grandsons, and now they were all looking straight at her too. All of them had those golden eyes. And perhaps, behind her glasses and the pale cloudiness of old age, Anina had them too.
“Why are you all wet, Dietrich?” Anina chided. “You should be in uniform for morning patrol.”
Dietrich looked down at his bare chest, one hand raised somewhat protectively over his damp skin.
“Night swimming,” he explained, “but something came up.”
Elise caught sight of something dark as Dietrich moved his arm. She must have mistaken it for a shadow initially, but the light of the fireside suddenly revealed its true nature. Dietrich had a huge, fresh bruise emerging down his right side. Benedikt, who appeared to resemble Dietrich closely, gave a wince and sucked his teeth.
“How in the hell did you do that, bro?” he asked.
Dietrich’s eyes flashed to Elise for the briefest moment. Another flash of gold.
“That’s not important right now,” he replied. “Gram, who’s this young lady?”
“Young lady,” Anina said with a grin. “You’re so formal, Dietrich. Why, I’ll bet she’s your age. Twenty-two.”
Anina looked to Elise, and she gave an apologetic shrug.
“Twenty-one,” she corrected.
“Close enough,” Anina replied. “This is Elise Davenport. She’s taking a little vacation from LA, but she encountered two of our grizzlies off the Northern trail.”
“I’ll bet one of them was Silo,” said the guy called Kurt. “He was a rescue from a Russian Circus. He doesn’t understand that he shouldn’t get so close to people. Hey Ben, you wanna put fifty bucks on it being Silo?”
“This is the hardly the time, Kurt,” Ben replied. He ran a hand through his dark hair. “I ought to draw up a report.”
When Ben moved to the far end of the room, heading for a wide wooden desk, Kurt followed him with a burr of low chatter. Elise found her eyes drawn to Dietrich again. He stood tall now that he’d stopped panting for breath, and his body was peppered with black hairs, the same dark shade as those on his head. He had a shadow of stubble on his square jaw, which he scratched at with a large, strong hand. Another flash of gold shot her way.
“Can I ask about the grizzlies?” Elise said tentatively. “I mean, I didn’t think we had any outside of San Diego Zoo.”
“Fairhaven’s a sanctuary for the grizzly bear,” said Hartwin. He had a softer jawline than the other grandsons, and he smiled whenever he spoke. “Most people who come here go trekking to try and spot them. But you didn’t know?”
Elise shook her head.
“Then why did you come, dear?” Anina asked. “Peace and quiet in the cabins?”
“Something like that,” Elise answered. “I, uh… The place was actually recommended by my friend Karina. Karina Vasquez.”
Anina’s face lit up like the roaring fire behind her.
“Oh, we know Karina Vasquez!” she exclaimed with delight. “All of my boys are signed up to her dating agency. Well, all except Reinicke, but we’ll fix that one of these days.”
“Good luck!” Kurt chipped in from the far end of the room.
Anina shook her head, and reached out to take hold of Elise’s hands. Her gaze was conspiratorial, greedy even.
“Does that mean you’re looking for a new man, Elise?” she pressed.
That had been the plan, actually. After the disaster at the Shine Awards, Elise had hopped in her car and driven as far north as she could get in one night. She remembered Karina telling her how beautiful Fairhaven Park was, and that it was the ideal place to meet someone new. Elise had imagined that a new man might be a welcome distraction. She wondered if she could hide away with some summer romance, until the heat had died down back home. It seemed that Karina had been right about the selection of guys on offer, but there was just one problem with the situation.
Those golden eyes were something else. Elise couldn’t place what was so unusual about them, for she’d seen the occasional man or woman with a golden gaze before, and clearly the Best family had those eyes in their gene pool. The connection to the bear was what really concerned her. She was lost in thought for a moment, so when the arm of her chair suddenly sagged with weight, she almost jumped out of her skin.
Dietrich gave a start, for he had perched on the arm. A fleck of cool water leaped from his damp, dark hair, landing on Elise’s cheek.
“Sorry about that,” he said, “my skin takes forever to dry.”
He reached out, one thumb gently pushing the droplet away. Despite all the fear and uncertainty Elise had been through on that long, dark night, Dietrich’s touch sent warmth through her body. He was gorgeous on the outside, all Anina’s boys were, but there was something more to him than just his dark looks. Something calming and protective lived within that perfect shell of muscles.
“I’m sorry that your first night was a little alarming,” Dietrich continued, “but Fairhaven’s a great place. You’ll love it here.”
The ranger’s smooth words washed over Elise’s nerves, and she hoped that he was right.
* * *
“What do you mean ‘coming for me’?” Elise yelled into the phone. “Who even says that anymore, Jane?”
Jane Walsh was Elise’s agent, a woman who never stopped working. She and Elise had been on the phone from the moment that Elise checked into her cabin on the West Ridge. There was a complimentary fruit basket on the kitchen counter, which provided Elise with both breakfast and lunch during the conversation. It was necessary to keep going over the facts. Elise was desperate to process the scale of her mistake.
“Chantelle Picard is not happy about what you said,” Jane confirmed for the hundredth time. “She tweeted that she’s coming for you, and encouraged all her brainless fans to do the same. Your feed is full of abuse. Don’t look it at honey, promise me.”
Elise rested her brow on one hand, trying to soothe her tension.
“Oh God, it’s all over isn’t it?” she replied. “I’m never going to get a gig again.”
“Are you kidding me?” Jane shot back. “The whole internet’s talking about you. You’re ten times more well-known than before. We just have to let things die down, then plan a relaunch. You got to the park okay?”
“Not really,” Elise sighed. “I mean, I’m here now, and the cabin’s stunning. But last night I almost got attacked by a bear.”
“A bear!” Jane exclaimed.
“But then this other bear showed up and started fighting it.”
“So… you were rescued from one bear by another bear?” Jane asked.
Elise paused. In her frantic dash to escape, she hadn’t really thought about it like that.
“I guess I was,” she mused. “This other bear was a little different. It had these weird golden eyes.”
On the other end of the line, Jane choked on her coffee.
“Golden?” she repeated.
“Yeah, and-”
“Don’t you realize what that means?” Jane cut in.
“Clearly not,” Elise answered. She waited, listening as Jane took a deep breath in.
“Do you remember that guy we met at the wrap party for that awful werewolf movie?” Jane began. “The one who said he was their ‘authenticity consultant’?”
Elise had to think for a moment, but the face of a slim, silver-haired man came to her mind. She suddenly remembered what was so striking about him.
“He had golden eyes!” Elise said.
“He was one of those people,” Jane explained, her voice heightened by excitement. “A shifter!”
The whole world knew that shifters existed, those peculiar souls who could transform between their human state and a designated animal form. Elise had only ever met one, at that wrap party, though she’d sometimes heard stories of other people who had encountered those rare beings. That was what the golden eyes meant, and Elise had forgotten. The Best family shot back into her mind at the realization, their golden gazes burning in her memory.
“You were rescued by a shifter,” Jane said, clearly impressed. “And one who turns into a bear too. That’s a powerful friend to make on your first night.”
“I guess it is,” Elise mused.
Jane began to chatter about the situation with Chantelle Picard and her horrible twitter army, but Elise’s mind had started to wander. Those five park rangers circled her head, each of them broad and muscular. Reinicke, Hart, Kurt, Ben and Dietrich. It had to be one of them who had come to her rescue. But which one?
* * *
A hand-written note had arrived from Anina, inviting Elise to dinner at the Rangers’ Lodge. Elise was overcome by a strange excitement at the prospect of meeting the shifters again, now that she knew a little of what they were. It was rare, to be able to say that you actually knew a person with a supernatural ability, even more so to have been rescued by one. Elise had returned to her car at the park’s front entrance to retrieve the few items of clothing she’d brought, singling out a shimmery golden dress to wear to dinner. It was probably a little too fancy for the woodland park scene, but she wanted to make a statement.
When she reached the lodge’s ornate porch at six o’clock sharp, Elise felt her nerves tingling up and down her bare arms. And, when the door opened, they flooded into overdrive. Dietrich was the one to answer, dressed for dinner in silver suit-pants and a crisp white shirt that barely stretched across his chest. His dark hair was slicked back, but a wayward curl had escaped on one side of his forehead. Dietrich pushed it back into place, but it fell again no sooner than he dropped his hand.
“Hello Elise,” he stammered.
His words were breathy and spoken through a grin. Was he nervous? Elise wondered what on earth a hunky park ranger could have to be nervous about. Dietrich stepped back from the doorway to let Elise pass, and she caught a fresh scent on his clean-shaven skin. It smelled like cool spring water, inviting her to take a dip. The reception hall of the lodge looked cozier than ever in the evening, with its deep red curtains drawn and the sound of the crackling fire echoing through the space. Dietrich stepped further into the room, one wide hand showing Elise the way.
“The family dining room’s just over here,” he offered.
She saw him straighten out his shirt, which didn’t really need straightening. Elise gave a nod and followed Dietrich into the room, where Anina was fussing over her other grandsons.
“For God’s sake, she’s here!” The old woman fretted terribly. “Look presentable at least! And table manners! This is a nice, human dinner, not-”
Dietrich cleared his throat, and Anina stopped talking at once. Golden eyes flashed at Elise from all directions, and she was surprised to see all the Best boys dressed up for dinner. The word ‘human’ had caught in her ear, and Elise thought it was a pretty good time to be frank with the family. She was famous for her frankness now, according to Jane.
“It’s okay,” she began, “I know what you are. It took me a little minute to remember. I’ve never really met shifters before.”
The words sank into the atmosphere, and hung there for a long moment. Elise wondered if she’d said the wrong thing, if perhaps the family didn’t like their true nature to be spoken aloud. But then Kurt gave a merry grin, and took his seat at the table.
“Well, that’s going to save a lot of awkward excuses,” he said.
Dinner began, and it was quiet and calm, so different from the mixers and meetings that Elise was used to in LA. Dietrich sat to her left and Anina was to her right, and between them they kept her updated on the illustrious family history of Clan Best. Shifters, Elise learned, grouped themselves into clans, either by blood or by convenience of location, and the Best boys were all related. Ben was Dietrich’s younger brother, the sons of Anina’s eldest son. Kurt and Hart were brothers too, the children of Anina’s daughter. And Reinicke was the son of Anina’s other son, whom the rest of the clan didn’t seem keen to elaborate on.
Reinicke kept to himself at the table, but the other boys were talkative and friendly. Elise liked their company, but her interest kept shifting in only one direction. Dietrich seemed to pulse beside her, like he was giving off heat. She wanted to be close to him, to physically move her chair nearer. It was magnetism, two people drawn together, but Elise had never felt it on this scale before. Tempting herself, she leaned towards Dietrich’s ear. He tensed at the close contact.
“Sorry to interrupt, but could you show me where the restroom is?” she said, almost in a whisper.
Elise had no desire to use the restroom, but when Dietrich excused them from the table, she followed him dutifully. They walked up a fine wooden staircase that curved back on itself, arriving at a series of doors upstairs. The lodge was huge, and there were open doors to bedrooms everywhere. Dietrich put his hand on the golden handle to a closed door.
“Family bathroom,” he announced.
When she reached for the handle, Dietrich was too slow in taking his hand away. Their skin brushed, leaving Elise craving that warmth of his. She looked up into his golden eyes, studying them and trying to remember the events of her first night in Fairhaven.
“Please tell me it was you,” she urged. “You rescued me from the grizzly. You must have.”
“I’ve got the bruises to prove it,” Dietrich admitted with a nod.
“And you said you’d been swimming,” Elise added.
Dietrich raised a dark brow quizzically.
“You noticed my fur was wet?” he asked.
“I noticed everything,” Elise answered, her voice suddenly breathy. “You know, when you get past the terror of the situation, nature’s really kinda amazing.”
“I guess you don’t see it much in LA,” Dietrich reasoned.
Elise shook her head.
“But…” Dietrich continued. “You like what you see here?”
The ghost of a grin appeared in the corner of his mouth. Elise grinned too, her eyes wandering to his smooth lips and his suntanned face.
“Very much,” she revealed.
Dietrich waited for her at the top of the stairs, and Elise spent a few moments in the bathroom pretending to use the facilities. Instead, she texted Jane to see if there were any updates on the press storm surrounding her, and to casually mention that a gorgeous new guy had just flirted with her. When Jane sent her only a winking smiley face in reply, Elise emerged from the restroom with a wide, contented smile.
“I was thinking,” Dietrich said as they descended the stairs, “maybe I could give you a tour of the park tomorrow? There’s a lot of places the public don’t usually see, but I know all the most beautiful spots.”
“I would absolutely love that,” Elise replied at once.
When they reached the dining room, Anina was shouting something at the other boys in German, and once again Dietrich’s not-so-subtle cough urged her into silence. Elise sat back down, unable to suppress her grin.
“I’ve never studied German,” she said brightly, “do you all speak it?”
Anina nodded proudly.
“The clan moved here when I was a young woman,” she explained. “The boys are all American, of course, but I try not to let them forget their roots. Sauerkraut every Sunday with dinner.”
Dietrich winced, and Elise stifled a giggle. She noticed Anina watching them both with that thoughtful sparkle back in her eyes.
“Dietrich’s offered to take me on a tour tomorrow morning,” Elise told her.
As expected, the old woman’s joy overflowed in her gaze, and her wrinkled smile was impossibly wide.
* * *
“So, your Grandma seems really keen to marry you all off,” Elise observed.
She and Dietrich were sitting on the edge of a fairly high ridge, looking down on a fantastic spring of crystal clear water. Dietrich fumbled with a twig, his hands bending and twisting the wood nervously. He looked out into the gorgeous view, a smile ghosting his lips.
“Tell me about it,” he replied. “We don’t meet a lot of girls our age out in the wilds of Fairhaven. She thinks we’ll all end up bitter old bachelors if we don’t start dating soon.”
“Hence Karina’s agency getting involved,” Elise filled in.
“Did she make you do an interview on the phone?” Dietrich asked.
Elise shook her head. “Worse. Mine was face to face. Her office is in West Hollywood.”
Dietrich gave a little shudder, his huge shoulders rocking with the motion.
“God, it was so embarrassing,” he revealed.
“Seriously?” Elise cut in. Dietrich looked at her in surprise. “What do you have to be embarrassed about? What girl wouldn’t want a date with a six-foot-six park ranger?”
He let loose a nervous grin, and the twig snapped between his fingers.
“Well, I’m not good at talking, in case you hadn’t noticed,” Dietrich replied. “When I’m not telling you about the clan or the park, I hardly know what to say. I’m not sure I have a lot in common with an LA model.”
It killed Elise’s buzz a little to hear that, because he was probably right. She liked him though, that kind of instant chemical like that you couldn’t ignore, and it made her keen to bridge the gap between their lifestyles. She raised a hand to the gorgeous scene ahead.
“Well, we have this,” she offered. “I love this place. My life has been so busy for so long, and now it’s crazier than ever. Fairhaven is calm and open and beautiful. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be right now.”
“Me either,” Dietrich said softly. “I’m a private kind of guy. I usually only come to this spot on my own. I… uh. I didn’t realize how nice it’d be to share it with someone else.”
Elise turned, and Dietrich was closer to her than he’d been a moment before. That heat was back, coming off him in glorious waves. It tempted her nearer, her eyes falling to his lips. They were barely more than strangers, only a few days into getting to know one another. And he was a shifter, a being that Elise still knew very little about. But it felt good to be so close to him. It felt right.
On the very edge of their kiss, when their lips had almost met, a camera flashed in their faces.
“Miss Davenport, what do you have to say about Miss Picard’s backlash?”
“Elise, over here! Give us that smile, beautiful!”
“Who’s your new man, Miss Davenport? Any comment for the gossip column?”
A swarm of press had found them. Cameras continued to flash everywhere, and the sea of reporters held out their phones and Dictaphones to record every second of the action. Elise scrambled up from the ridge, flipping her hair into place at her shoulders. She didn’t know where to look, for she had never had so many cameras on her at once, even on the red carpet. Usually, people took photos of who she was with, never Elise herself. Now, at the eye of the storm, she wasn’t sure that she liked all the attention.
“No comment,” she shouted above the clamoring pack. “I am here with a good friend enjoying a pre-planned break in nature. I have no reply for Miss Picard.”
It was the wrong thing to say. It only made the media more determined to pursue their story. Dietrich had gotten to his feet during the flash-storm and when Elise looked to him, she was horrified to see how uncomfortable he was. He shielded his eyes and face from the harsh lights of the cameras, trying to ignore the yelps of the reporters who were beginning to target him specifically.
“Are you a ranger here, sir?”
“How long have you known Miss Davenport?”
“What’s your comment on Chantelle Picard? Do you agree with what Miss Davenport said about her?”
“I… I, uh…” Dietrich stammered.
He shook his head, his face flushing pink. Elise tried to reach for him, to offer him some comfort, but it was no use. Dietrich strode from the scene with strong steps, pushing his way through the press pack. Elise swore that she heard a low, mournful growl come from his lips as he did. He disappeared into the forest beyond the crowd, and Elise wanted nothing more than to follow him and apologize for the awful situation he’d been caught up in.
“Come on now, guys,” she called over the press. “I said no comment and I meant it. Let me out.”
The crowd did not move. Elise had had no experience of bad press before today, and she suddenly yearned for Jane to be there, to tell her how to handle it. The ridge was behind her, offering no means of escape, and the press formed a semi-circle that stretched right around her. Elise knew that it was her fault, for her stupid slip of the tongue at the Shine Awards, but it didn’t seem fair to be hunted down like this. Her heart began to hammer, panicked at the prospect of no way out.
And then, someone at the back of the crowd yelled: “Holy cow, it’s a bear!”
The word filled Elise with a gleeful hope. Sure enough, a huge grizzly bear with piercing golden eyes had emerged from the trees. With an almighty roar, the bear rose to its hind legs, towering over the terrified press pack. The reporters began to scatter, phones and cameras dropping everywhere as the frantic mass ran in all directions. Dietrich’s bear-form landed on all fours again with a hefty thump, and Elise wanted to thank him for all he had done.
But something was wrong. Just as he had been agitated in human form, Dietrich was jumpy and snarling as a bear. He watched her for a moment, his golden eyes devoid of the calming presence they’d had the other night. They were brimming with fear now, and it stabbed at Elise’s heart to see such a powerful animal overcome with anxiety. She wanted to reach out and help him, but Dietrich seemed far too volatile to touch. Before she could think what to do, he turned and pelted into the forest. Elise looked down at the skids and slashes of his track-marks, so messy that they left no chance of following him.
He had abandoned her at the ridge, more lost and confused than ever.
* * *
For the next two days, Dietrich was mysteriously absent every time Elise tried to visit the lodge. Anina didn’t look happy about having to report his continued absence, and all she could offer was what he’d told her: that he was taking some time to patrol the deeper woods. To make matters worse, the media had settled themselves on the campsite at Fairhaven. In her journeys to the lodge, Elise had to take long-winded hiking tracks and high-mountain paths just to avoid them. She was feeling the strain in her legs from so much effort, but she knew that Dietrich was worth it.
She had to explain. She just had to let him know that all of this was her stupid fault, and that she really did enjoy the calm and quiet of nature much more than the limelight. Elise couldn’t bear the thought that Dietrich was out there avoiding her, without even knowing the real reasons why. When she wasn’t seeking him at the lodge, Elise was glued to her phone in her cabin, which mercifully the press had not yet discovered.
“Don’t tell me that you were stupid enough to check into that cabin under your own name,” Jane chided.
“Yup, I’m actually that dumb,” Elise replied with a hapless sigh. “I’ve been a nobody for so long that it’s never really mattered before.”
There was a pause on the line, and Elise actually looked at her screen to make sure they hadn’t been cut off.
“You’re still there, right?”
“Sorry, yes,” Jane replied. “It’s just… this kind of stuff was the end of the world for you a few days ago. Now, it sounds like a minor inconvenience. Something’s happened.”
Jane was right, of course. Elise’s mind was far from the hungry cameras of the press, wandering out into those deep, shadowy woods that she could see from her cabin windows. She needed to make things right with Dietrich, and it was more important than anything else that had happened.
“Well…” She began, unsure how to explain. “Dietrich got really upset by the media attention, and-”
“This is the sexy bear shifter man?” Jane clarified.
“Oh yes,” Elise answered, “he’s very that. But he’s more too, you know? He’s quiet and thoughtful. I feel so calm with him, so safe. But now he won’t talk to me. I think he’s afraid to come near me in case the press find us again.”
“Not everyone can handle the pressure, honey,” Jane said sadly. Elise felt a lump in her throat at the bitter truth. “But,” Jane added, “if he thinks what you’ve got is worth it, he’ll come back. He’ll make it work if things are meant to be.”
Elise got up from the kitchen counter, walking through the open-plan space towards the back porch. Here, there was a set of glass double-doors that she had not yet admired the view from. As she listened to Jane’s thoughtful reasoning on the line, Elise stared out of the window into the forest ahead.
“Jane, I’m going to have to call you back.”
There, some twenty feet away on the tree-line, was Dietrich. He was in grey sweats, not his usual ranger’s uniform, and he was jogging out of the forest and straight towards the cabins. Elise’s heart gave a leap as she watched his strong, broad form getting closer and closer, praying all the time that he wasn’t going to veer off in a different direction. Soon, she could see his face, gleaming with a light sweat, and the dark shadow where the beginnings of a beard had grown in over his jaw. When his golden eyes came into proper focus, he looked up, straight at her through the huge double doors.
Elise opened the porch doors, smiling her most apologetic smile, and Dietrich jogged his way up to them. He panted at first, worked up from his run, and Elise couldn’t tell if the pink flush to his cheeks was down to exhaustion or embarrassment. When she guided him into her kitchen-diner, he sat down on a wooden chair, looking at his hands. Silence fell between them, and Elise felt all of her hope slipping away again. She had to do something. She couldn’t lose the potential they had together.
“Have you heard of a model called Chantelle Picard?” Elise asked.
Dietrich looked at her, one dark brow quirked.
“What does that have to do with-?”
“Humor me,” Elise cut in. “Have you heard of her?”
“Sure, who hasn’t?” Dietrich replied. “She’s the one with the huge… uh… Well, the huge everything.”
“Surgery, surgery, surgery,” Elise confirmed with a nod. “We were both at the same awards ceremony a couple of nights ago, the Shine Awards. I was just a guest, there to do some networking and show my face to a few companies, but Chantelle was claiming a big award for beauty.”
Elise crossed the room, sitting down in a chair opposite Dietrich. She gave a little sigh.
“And me, not being used to being watched by the press, well I said something stupid. I said that Chantelle wasn’t natural. She’d had to be augmented for people to call her beautiful. And I don’t think that’s right. I think she was beautiful anyway, before all the surgery. She didn’t need it. But the press took it all the wrong way, and now I’m all over the internet.”
“So,” Dietrich began, and Elise could see the thoughts connecting through his eyes. “So you’re not… augmented?”
Elise’s eyes widened.
“Oh no! Not at all,” she answered. “That’s my gimmick, see? The natural girl. My gigs are all skincare, vitamins, stuff like that. I’m aiming at the woman who wants to celebrate what she is, not change it all.”
Dietrich smiled, and it was the greatest sight in the world for Elise.
“There should be more models like you,” he said.
Silence again. Elise felt a little better, having finally got her faux-pas off her chest, but she knew there was more to come. With Dietrich’s shoulders curled like that, Elise could almost see the bear within the man, the way that his dark features must expand and increase in power. He still looked tense. Elise reached out, one hand coming to rest on his forearm. His sleeves were pushed up, and she dared to toy with the soft, dark hairs on his arm, drawing small circles.
“You must think I’m such a coward for freaking out like that with the press,” Dietrich said quietly.
He shook his head with a rueful grin, and Elise gave his arm a squeeze.
“I don’t know what to think, yet,” she admitted, “but I never thought that.”
“Clan Best is a really private group,” Dietrich began to explain. “Most shifter clans try to keep to themselves nowadays, because previous generations were wiping each other out with their pointless turf wars. But not everyone is pro-peace, even now. We do have enemies, and I’m the eldest male bear in Fairhaven. It’s my duty to protect everyone else.”
“I didn’t realize it could be so dangerous,” Elise replied. “I’m sorry I put you in that position.”
“You couldn’t help it,” Dietrich said. “How can you control a huge mass of media people like that?”
“No-one can,” Elise answered with a sigh.
It all felt so hopeless. Dietrich couldn’t be in the public eye, and with the scandal afoot, Elise couldn’t stay out of it. She wanted desperately to find some way out of the situation.
“I don’t want to not see you,” Elise said firmly. “I think we’ve got something going here. I need to see how it plays out.”
Dietrich shifted in his seat, and he took both of Elise’s hands in his. His huge, warm palms enveloped her, and she could feel his pulse through his fingers. His heart was hammering.
“I’ve met a fair few women since Gram made me join Karina’s agency,” Dietrich admitted, “and I was just about ready to give up. But you and me, we click. You’re right. There’s something here.”
Elise felt her breath catch in her throat, and she knew she had to take the moment. She leaned in, holding onto Dietrich’s hands to keep him in place, and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was warm and firm for a long, sweet moment, before Dietrich seemed to realize what he was supposed to do. Elise felt his hands slide along her arms, and his lips opened to allow their tongues to meet. A flush of heat rushed through Elise’s whole body.
But then Dietrich pulled away.
“Wait,” he said breathlessly. “There’s more. We can’t go forward unless I explain it all.”
“Could you make it quick?” Elise quipped.
She licked her lips and Dietrich flashed his shy grin, but it faded a moment later. He hung his head, not meeting her eye as he talked.
“I didn’t willingly transform when the press found us the other day,” he revealed. “The camera flashes and all the shouting… I’m not used to that stuff. What you have to understand about shifters, is that the animal is within us all the time. We fight against its urges when we’re in human form, and we have to let it out sometimes to run free, otherwise it’d drive us crazy.”
“So the bear is here, right now?” Elise asked in fascination.
Dietrich gave a little nod.
“All that power and instinct,” he confirmed. “It’s like having another voice in your head, a voice without words. When the media had us surrounded, the animal part of me needed to get out.”
Elise remembered the look on Dietrich’s face when he was in bear form. His eyes were filled with anxiety, and she’d felt so sorry for him.
“You need to know that I can’t always control that part of me,” Dietrich added.
Slowly, Elise pushed herself off her chair. She came to stand before Dietrich, stepping into the gap where his knees were splayed. Gentle fingers caressed the back of his neck, and he looked up at her with deep, soulful eyes. This close, she could see the different tones of gold swirling in his gaze. His hands came to rest on the small of her back, and when he straightened up, his head was almost level with her shoulders.
Elise leaned in again, and when their lips were close enough to brush against one another, she whispered.
“Can you stay in control right now?” she teased.
“I can sure try,” Dietrich answered, grinning into her kiss.
And that was when the doorbell rang.
* * *
“I didn’t even know these cabins had a doorbell,” Elise mused.
She and Dietrich had walked through the room to reach the door, hand in hand.
“It’s Gram, I know it is,” he supposed. “She’s come to hunt me down. It’s the old Mamma Bear instinct.”
“Mamma Bear?” Elise asked with a giggle. Her hand was on the door handle. “I hadn’t even considered that she’s also a-”
The sentence died on her lips, for the moment she opened the door, the old familiar chorus was back.
“Are you aware of IHateDavenport.com, Elise?”
“Any comment on the recent developments on Twitter?”
“Is that your new man, Miss Davenport? What’s his name?”
Elise slammed the door again at once, pressing her back against it. Her body flooded with rage and disappointment, her breath catching in sobs in her throat.
“I’m so sorry,” she said at once, looking to Dietrich. “Maybe we can escape out the back?”
But it was far too late for that. Now that they knew they had found the right cabin, the press pack was planning its siege. Dietrich rushed to the double doors of the porch and closed them tightly, drawing the curtains over the wide windows. Elise did a circuit of the large, open-plan room, closing shutters and plunging them both into darkness. She fumbled for a few lights, bathing the room in an artificial yellow glow.
“We’re trapped,” Dietrich tried to say, but it came out as a growl.
Elise froze, staring at him. She could see the terror on his face, that same fury and anxiety that had hit him out in the woods. But now, there was nowhere to run, and Dietrich was beginning to shake. He shook his head, growling at himself with fury. His massive arms held onto his body, crossed over like a straight-jacket.
“No, I can’t…” he snarled through gritted teeth. “I don’t want to…”
But there was nothing to be done. The media had set him off, and the animal within wanted out. Elise backed up to the counter, watching in amazement as the shift began.
Dietrich’s grey sweat-suit was ripped apart. The hoodie went first, tearing in a straight line down his back as the arch of the bear’s spine began to grow. Smooth, glossy fur sprouted from his taught skin, spreading all over as his arms lengthened into limbs. His hands were paws before Elise had even noticed them changing, and long, sharp claws extended from each one. He was easily five times his usual size by the time the transformation was complete, yet Elise could see him present in those golden eyes. His bear form was growling continually under his breath, a mournful and regretful noise.
“Listen,” Elise said gently, daring to approach him. “You told me that the animal was inside you all the time. Well, I figure that means the human is there all the time too. Forget about what’s outside. We’re safe in here, Dietrich. It’s just you and me.”
The growl abated, and it gave Elise more confidence. The bear cocked its head to one side, tense but attentive. Elise stepped closer still, and placed a gentle hand at the side of Dietrich’s neck. The muscles were superbly powerful, frightening even, but Elise pushed back her fear. Inside this strong animal was her man, they were one and the same.
“Come on, now,” Elise soothed. “Take control.”
Slowly at first, the bear began to shrink. This time Elise did see the claws retract and vanish, hairs receding into skin as a paw became a palm once more. Dietrich was soon lying on the floor on his front, gasping from the speed of two transformations.
And totally naked.
“Stop peeking,” he said wryly, “and get me a blanket or something.”
Elise did as she was told, but not before she’d taken a mental picture of the strong, defined line of his spine, and how it lead to a pair of taught, muscular buttocks. When Dietrich was wrapped up in a throw from the couch, they sat together on the floor in the dimly-lit cabin. Dietrich rested his head on Elise’s shoulder, and she ran her fingers gently through his hair.
“No-one has ever calmed me down like that before,” Dietrich said in amazement.
“I live in LA,” Elise said with a shrug. “Everyone’s anxious there, twenty-four seven. You get used to handling it. Although this was a very different kind of challenge.”
The mention of LA was a small mistake, for it brought the noise outside back into focus. The press were still rapping at the doors and windows, still shouting their questions through the wooden walls.
“We need to do something about that,” Elise mused angrily.
“You know, I might just have an idea,” Dietrich replied. He kissed Elise’s cheek, his long stubble tickling her cheek. “Pass me your phone.”
* * *
“I can’t actually believe my luck right now,” Elise said into her cellphone.
“I know,” Jane answered proudly. “I told you that no press was bad press. We’re set up, honey. It’s relaunch time.”
“Okay, well you get the details together and call me tomorrow,” Elise replied.
“Not later tonight?” Jane asked.
Elise felt her cheeks flush red, and she was glad that her agent couldn’t see them.
“I’ve got plans tonight,” she said as discreetly as she could.
Jane said her goodbyes, and Elise was hanging up the phone just as Dietrich entered the room. They were in the lounge at the Rangers’ Lodge, the same place where Anina had first introduced them, and it was dark outside the windows. The fire was crackling in the hearth, lending a warm glow to the room, and Dietrich seemed more relaxed than Elise had ever seen him.
“Was that your agent?” he asked.
Elise nodded with great enthusiasm.
“You won’t believe it,” she said, beaming. “Some activists for natural beauty got hold of the Twitter war and started fighting on my side. And now, the cosmetics company Naturalis has offered me a huge contract! Natural beauty is on trend, and I’m going to be the face of it.”
Dietrich leaned in and kissed her gently.
“You already are,” he said softly.
He crossed the room, settling in one of the wide easy chairs by the fire. Elise watched him with interest as he put his hands together eagerly.
“I have news too,” he began. “After I started making those calls to the different wildlife federations, their lawyers got together. Fairhaven Park officially has a ban on all commercial press and media entering its gates.”
“No press?” Elise exclaimed.
“It’s bad for the grizzly bears,” Dietrich replied, grinning.
“So that means my career’s not over, and you’ll never be bothered by the media again?” she asked.
She crossed the room, settling herself on Dietrich’s lap. He pulled her in, his warmth spreading into her skin.
“Aren’t we lucky?” he whispered against her neck.
He began to kiss her there, trailing ghost-like pecks down her throat. When he reached her collarbone, Dietrich lingered, tracing his lips and tongue over the ridges. Elise felt a shiver that was nothing to do with being cold, and she glanced to the fireplace, and the rug that lay before it.
“Did you say that Anina and the boys were out tonight?” she asked.
Dietrich paused in his kissing to give her a thoughtful look.
“Kurt goes down to LA overnight for some downtime, now and then,” he explained. “This time Gram wanted to go with him to get some shopping done, and she’s got Ben helping her to carry it all.”
“And Hart and Reinicke?” Elise pressed.
“Night patrol,” Dietrich answered. “Reinicke loves the high mountain outpost, he practically lives there. Hart’s down at the campground for the night.”
Emboldened by this news, Elise rose from Dietrich’s lap. He frowned, opening his arms as if to invite her back in, but she shook her head. She moved to the rug in front of the fireplace, trying to look graceful as she lay down before it on her back. Dietrich remained in his chair for a moment, his mouth a little open in surprise.
“Are you sure it’s not too soon?” he asked.
Elise shook her head, her face warmed by the fire.
“Everything has worked out for us to be together, Dietrich,” she said softly. “This is right. And I can’t wait any longer for you.”
Dietrich pushed off from the chair, down onto his hands and knees. He began to grin that shy grin of his as he crawled across the floor, approaching Elise.
“Well, I’d hate to make you impatient, Miss Natural Beauty,” he teased.
Elise felt her shoes being coaxed off first, then Dietrich’s strong hands slid up her bare legs. When he reached her thighs, the path of his fingers veered off teasingly, drawing circles on the outside of her legs instead. He found the waistband of her skirt and undid the small buttons, allowing her to wriggle out of it as he pulled it down. Whilst he was busy with that, Elise fumbled with the buttons of her blouse, leaving it to fall to either side of her chest. Dietrich paused, his golden eyes roving over her nude-colored underwear, before his mouth began to tease the visible section of her breasts.
It was Elise’s turn to groan, and the animal noise that escaped her seemed to wake something in Dietrich. He was faster suddenly, more determined as he helped her to sit up and unhook her bra. Whilst she was up she pawed at his shirt, and Dietrich broke two of the buttons in his rush to take it off. He eased her down, laying on top of her as his tongue plunged into her mouth. Elise’s hands were everywhere, racing down his back to feel the shift of his muscles, then rushing back up into his hair to hold him close and kiss him deeper.
The contact of their bare chests sparked with electricity, and it made Elise all the more aware that they weren’t yet totally naked. As Dietrich showered her neck and breasts with warm, wet kisses, Elise reached for her panties and managed to wriggle them off. Dietrich continued a downward path, hands and tongue drawing shapes on her stomach. She felt his breath on her thighs a moment later, and she waited. The pause was too long.
“I want you, Dietrich,” she murmured. “Please. Please kiss me. Touch me there.”
“Sorry for the delay,” Dietrich teased, “you know how much I like to admire outstanding natural beauty.”
Elise was about to reply, when Dietrich suddenly slipped his tongue into her. She gasped, then giggled at his boldness, and then the wonderful shock gave way to a deeper sensation. She could feel her back arching as Dietrich’s tongue pushed and swirled against her clitoris, sending shockwaves up her spine. She buried her fingers into the rug beneath her, feeling Dietrich’s hands as they held her quivering thighs steady. If he wasn’t careful, he’d bring her to climax before they’d even really begun. She didn’t want that, as incredible as it felt. She wanted it all, the full connection.
“I’m ready,” she whispered. “God, I’m so ready. Get up here. I need you now.”
There was another delay, but this time Elise didn’t complain as she heard the shuffling of more clothes coming off. When Dietrich lay himself down on her, she felt the long, hard shaft that throbbed against her thighs. Her legs were already open, and a deep burning came from somewhere within, begging him to fulfill her. She looked into Dietrich’s golden eyes, and they were darker than they’d ever been before. She found herself wishing that she’d always be able to gaze into those eyes for the rest of her days.
Dietrich began to kiss her, strong lips pressing against hers. In the same moment, he rocked his hips forward, and guided himself into her. It had been a little while since she’d last had a boyfriend, but the pressure faded after only seconds. She squeezed his hips with her thighs as he pushed deep into her, filling her completely. He paused there, his tongue tracing patterns on her lips, and she reached up to wrap her arms around his broad chest. They were so close, so complete, and Elise wanted to say something very important. She didn’t know if she could. Would it scare him away if she did?
When he broke the kiss, Dietrich rested his lips against her ear.
“This is perfect,” he whispered. “You’re perfect… And I love you.”
Joy washed over Elise, and she smiled so wide that it hurt her face a little.
“I love you, Dietrich,” she said in that same quiet tone.
She held him fast as he began to thrust. He was powerful but controlled, and every push sent waves of heat through Elise’s body. His hips were strong and heavy between her legs, and she reached down to hold onto them, feeling his power with every thrust. When he was reaching a steady rhythm, Elise snaked her hands round to cup his buttocks. She gave them a squeeze and Dietrich let a growl loose from his throat. The sound vibrated against Elise’s neck, and he began to kiss her rapidly there.
He was speeding up, and Elise felt a new jolt of electricity every few seconds. She could feel her muscles tensing, readying themselves for the moment she’d been aching for since she first laid eyes on Dietrich in that very room. Their bodies were soaked with sweat, sliding against one another as they writhed, and Elise began to pant as she lost her breath in the excitement.
But the pattern soon changed. Dietrich lifted himself onto his strong arms, slowing down. He pressed deep into Elise as far as he could reach, then pulled out slowly, almost all the way. It was the most wonderful torture she had ever felt, and when she had her breath back, she looked up into his grinning, gorgeous face.
“You know, for a shy boy, you’re pretty wicked,” she remarked.
“It’s the beast in me,” he teased.
His voice was low and throaty. Dietrich held his weight up with one arm, the other reaching down to slip between Elise’s legs again. He found her clitoris at once, so swollen from all the pleasure he’d given her, and he rubbed a teasing circle over the knot of flesh. Elise’s hips gave a spasm that was out of her control, and she cried out with sudden pleasure. He was teasing her, drawing the torture out, and she knew that when she did reach her climax, it was going to be huge.
Dietrich stroked her until her thighs were shaking, and then he pressed down onto her to finish what he’d started before. Kissing him deeply, she held onto his shoulders as he took control of her. Thrust after thrust came hard and deep, growing in speed with every moan and groan that she made. In those last few moments as the rush and the ache built up inside her, she ran her hands all over his body, tasting every muscle with her fingertips. Dietrich broke off their kiss, panting hard, and his whole body trembled, so fiercely that Elise felt like the room was shaking.
She let go, crying out as wave after wave of the orgasm hit her. It made her wriggle and moan, unspeakable pleasure attacking her body with nerves and heat. Seconds later, she felt the last hard thrust against her hips, and Dietrich shook as he came. Sharp, low noises escaped him, reverberating through the room. Slowly, Elise became aware of the world again, and the heat of the fire against one side of her body. Dietrich kissed her softly on the lips, and they stayed in place as they caught their breath.
He watched her carefully, searching her face.
“You’re incredible,” she breathed.
“I’ll have to be,” Dietrich reasoned, “if I want to keep you forever.”
* * *
Epilogue
Three months later.
It was easy, getting back and forth between Fairhaven and the city. Elise had finally found a balance in her life, even though her career was ten times busier than before. She didn’t need to attend awards and parties late at night in LA, now she only went where she was invited, and where the right kind of people were there to support her. The Naturalis campaign had launched to superb success, and Elise Davenport was a name synonymous with nature, beauty and calm.
It was these three things that she craved, and when she came home to the Rangers’ Lodge at Fairhaven, they were always waiting for her. It was a bright Sunday afternoon when she found herself gazing out of the window of the bedroom that she and Dietrich now shared. She looked out into the vast, dark woods and the mountains beyond, letting the stresses of work disappear into the fall foliage. She heard a noise behind her, and a moment later Dietrich’s hands snaked around to hold her stomach. She leaned back into his strong body, putting her hands over his.
“I got offered another contract today, for eco-friendly fashion,” she said wistfully.
“Your life is more exciting than mine,” Dietrich admitted. “I got into a fight with Ben over whose turn it was to hide the sauerkraut from Gram.”
Elise giggled a little, but she had bigger things on her mind.
“I turned the contact down,” she explained.
“What? Why?” Dietrich asked. “You keep saying how you want to move from skincare into fashion.”
She turned within his embrace, planting a kiss on his lips for the fact that he actually listened to what she told him. The kiss stirred something in her lover, and his eyes began to turn that darker shade of gold. Dietrich kissed her deeply, one hand sliding up under her shirt to touch her skin. She escaped the kiss with a lingering regret, pulling away a little.
“I had to turn it down,” Elise explained.
“Had to?” Dietrich repeated, his dark brow quirked.
“I don’t think I’m going to be modelling any clothes for a while,” she began carefully. There was a silence, one of those moments they had where small secrets hung between them. “Well…” Elise continued, “Not unless they’re maternity clothes.”
It took him a moment to understand, and Elise watched the news sink in with bated breath. Dietrich’s eyes flashed towards her stomach, and one of his hands reached out, palm flat over the skin there. She had started to show, just a pound or two, and she figured Dietrich had been polite enough not to mention her gaining weight. If she had left it any longer to tell him, though, the bump would have been obvious to everyone else as well.
“Are you okay?” she asked, her heart beating in her throat.
“Okay?” Dietrich replied. “I’m… I’m great. There’s a baby, and it’s yours and mine.”
“I know we didn’t plan it, but-” Elise began.
“We didn’t plan anything about us,” Dietrich cut in. “Fate planned it all. We came together despite everything, and now we’ve got a child on the way. Everything’s exactly as it’s meant to be.”
“A shifter child,” Elise corrected, “which means you need to educate me a lot more on this clan business.”
“I will,” Dietrich said. He wrapped Elise up in his arms, his embrace tight and strong. “Both of you. I’ll teach you, and protect you, and never let you go.”
The End.