Chapter Thirteen

 

Bear Hollow Brews was packed wall to wall. Leo didn’t think he’d ever seen the place this full before. Even many of the older shifters, who rarely came out of their houses, had made the trip out to the bar tonight. Gilt Hollow had fallen, and there wasn’t a single shifter who didn’t want to celebrate. Many of the shifters, especially the older ones, hadn’t thought this day would ever come, especially not in their lifetime. Leo himself could hardly believe it, but he couldn’t deny that the moment was real. Not when Isa’s arm was around his waist. Isadora Eastmore, the Emperor’s daughter, had given up all the wealth and glory of Gilt Hollow to join the shifters. She had not complained once about everything she’d just lost. In fact, she’d seemed positively giddy when she crossed over the threshold of Leo’s house in Bear Hollow and said, “This is home now.”

Otto was standing on top of the bar right now, recounting for the entire crowd what had happened today. He held a giant mug of beer, and beer sloshed out every time he gestured wildly with his arms. Some of the shifters below him ended up with beer in their hair, but no one seemed to mind. How could anyone be upset about anything right now? The shifters were actually free!

Otto had already told the story of how Isa planted the bomb in the palace while Leo ran to the Arena and freed the shifters who were caged up there. After that, Otto had run back to Bear Hollow and quickly gathered up every shifter who knew how to fight. They had stormed the city, taking everyone in Gilt Hollow by surprise. It had still been early in the morning, and many people were still asleep. Those that were awake were too startled and preoccupied with the news of the explosion at the Emperor’s palace to be paying much attention to anything else.

Otto explained how the shifters had set fires all over town. The flames had rapidly grown and merged, turning the entire city into one giant bonfire. It had taken a while for the people of Gilt Hollow to get organized enough to begin to fight, and even then, there weren’t many properly trained guards in the city. The fighting had been bloody, yes, but most of the blood had been on the part of the Gilt Hollow citizens. There had been very few shifter casualties.

As it became clear that the shifters were going to be the victors in this battle, the Gilt Hollow humans started to retreat toward the palace in hopes that the Emperor would somehow have the magical solution to saving them all. But the Emperor had been so distraught over the destruction of the palace that he had barely noticed that the rest of the city was burning.

Not that it would have mattered much. Gilt Hollow was in chaos, and hardly anyone remained who knew how to fight. More than half the city was in flames, and all of the women and children—along with some of the men—were in absolute hysterics. The Emperor had no choice but to surrender.

Even in defeat, the Emperor had been obstinate. He had yelled at the shifters as though they were his slaves, even though his life was in their hands at that point. That yelling had been what Leo and Isa had heard as they walked toward the palace. Otto had refused to lose his own temper, though, and had calmly laid out his terms for the Emperor. All the shifters really wanted was for everyone from Gilt Hollow to leave and never come back. Otto told them that they were welcome to take whatever possessions they wanted, and he promised not to kill any more of them as long as they didn’t try to hurt any of the shifters. But even with those generous terms, the Emperor had a hard time admitting defeat.

When Isa showed up, the Emperor had made a last ditch effort to assert his power by trying to force her to come with him. But that attempt had fallen flat when the shifters had stood up for Isa, their new hero.

When Otto mentioned Isa, the crowd in the bar cheered even louder than they already had been. Before Leo knew what was happening, they had pulled Isa away from him and put her up on their shoulders.

“Isa! Isa! Isa!” they cheered. Leo could see her face turning pink. He knew she didn’t like to be the center of attention, but she’d been having a hard time avoiding the limelight today. By now, every last shifter in Bear Hollow knew that she had been responsible for the palace explosion, which had been the major reason that today’s battle had been so successful. Leo’s face hurt from smiling. He was exhausted, as were all of the shifters, but he wouldn’t have missed this party for the world. His people were free, and his girl was a hero. What more could he have asked for, really?

The drinking, cheering, and general revelry went on late into the night. By the time Leo stumbled home with Isa, he barely had the energy to walk. Isa was struggling to stay on her feet, too—no surprise when you considered how long it had been since she’d slept, and how much she’d drunk. But it didn’t matter how tired they were. The important thing was that tonight, they would sleep together in the same bed. And not only tonight, but every night after tonight as well. When they finally made it home and sank into the pine straw mattress next to each other, Leo would have loved nothing more than to make love to her right then. But that would have to wait until morning. He could hardly summon up the energy for a goodnight kiss.

No matter, though. He would have tomorrow morning, and tomorrow night, and every morning and night after that to show Isa just how much she meant to him. He turned to look at her one last time before closing his eyes. Her perfect skin was glowing in the silvery moonlight, and she was watching him with eyes that seemed to twinkle.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

He raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

“For saving my life today, back in Central Square. Everything got so chaotic that I don’t think I ever properly thanked you.”

He grinned back at her. “You’re welcome, but I should be the one thanking you. I may have saved your life, but you saved all of us first. Bear Hollow is forever in your debt.”

Isa’s smile widened. “Well, your people saved me from my father at the end there. I think we can call it even.”

Leo laughed. “Alright. We’ll call it even. And now comes the part where we all live happily ever after.”

Isa sighed. “Happily ever after. I never thought I’d be able to say those words about myself. But here we are. Living out a fairytale.”

“Here we are,” Leo agreed. And then he closed his eyes and let sleep take over him. He had never slept so well in his life, with the warmth of Isa beside him and his fingers intertwined with hers.

 

* * *

 

Isa blinked her eyes open to the bright sunlight streaming in through the window. It took her a moment to remember where she was, but only a moment. And when she remembered, a huge smile spread across her face.

Bear Hollow. Her new home. Her new home with Leo.

She looked over to smile at Leo, but was surprised to see that he was gone. She sat up, frowning. Where had he gone? She was sure he must have had something important to take care of, but still. It wasn’t nice of him to abandon her like that on their first morning together.

Although, Isa wasn’t sure if it even was still morning. The sun outside the window looked awfully high in the sky. Had she slept until noon? It wouldn’t be that surprising, considering how late she stayed up last night and the kind of day she’d had yesterday.

Isa frowned and decided she’d rather not think much about yesterday anymore. The victory had been glorious, but the day itself had been a bit of a nightmare. And she’d rather not think about her father and how he’d reacted to her choice to stay with the shifters. His anger didn’t matter anymore. Not when her new life had officially started here in Bear Hollow.

Isa grinned and swung her feet off the bed. She would go find Leo and give him a good scolding for leaving her alone. A good scolding that ended with her bossing him around a bit in bed.

But before she even stood, she heard the sound of the front door creaking open. He was back, and his footsteps were already heading toward the room. She looked over at the bedroom door as he slowly creaked it open and peeked in with just his face visible. When he saw her sitting up, he smiled and pushed the door open wider.

“You’re awake! I didn’t want to disturb you if you were still sleeping.”

All of Isa’s plans to scold him went out the window at the sight of him. She couldn’t think about anything except how handsome his tanned face looked right now. The tiredness was gone from his deep blue eyes, and the hint of stubble on his chiseled jawbones made him look extra-sexy.

“I…uh…hi.”

Real smooth, Isa. You sound like a blubbering idiot.

But his smile only widened. “Hi yourself. Sorry to run off on you while you were asleep, but I brought you something.” He pushed the door to the room open wider, revealing his left hand which held a huge bunch of wildflowers.

“Wow. Are those for me? Where did you even find flowers this late in the season?”

He winked at her. “I may have been living in Gilt Hollow for the last two decades, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know a thing or two about where all the good spots are in Bear Hollow. I spent my childhood here, after all. I know where to find all the late-blooming wildflowers, and I wanted to bring you something to welcome you to your first full day in Bear Hollow.”

He walked into the room and set the flowers down on a small table on the side of the room, then came to sit on the mattress by Isa.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his eyes searching hers, looking for any signs of pain or discomfort.

“I’m great. I can’t believe how long I slept, but other than that I’m great. And the flowers are beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He leaned down to kiss her softly on the mouth. “How are you feeling about the fact that you live in Bear Hollow now, and that all your family is gone?”

Isa could hear the worry in his voice. He was wondering whether she was regretting her decision to stay behind while everyone from Gilt Hollow moved on, but nothing could be further from the truth. She gave him a wide smile and reached to squeeze his hand. “You are my family now. The Bear Hollow shifters are my family now. Yes, it’s sad that everyone I knew from Gilt Hollow is gone. But if they couldn’t see that shifters were worth treating well, then I didn’t need them in my life anyway. I have no regrets, truly. I’m excited for this new life.”

“Even though you won’t have as much stuff?”

Isa smiled and shrugged. “There’s still plenty of gold in Golden Claw River. Your people can pan for gold easily now that there’s no one around from Gilt Hollow to stop them. And I can show you how to sell that gold to the cities beyond the forest to make money. The shifters can be as rich as they want now, but I have a feeling that being crazy rich like the people of Gilt Hollow isn’t exactly their style anyway.”

“No,” Leo said with a shake of his head. “We didn’t want the crazy excess wealth that Gilt Hollow had. We just wanted to live comfortably and not always be worried about starving to death.”

“Well, that’s all I really want, too. I’ve lived my whole life with all this extra stuff, and it’s never made me happy. I just want to have good food and good company. And being here in Bear Hollow gives me that.”

Leo raised an eyebrow at her. “And who is this ‘good company’ you speak of?”

She grinned. “I think you know.”

He grinned back and then leaned in to kiss her—a deep, firm kiss this time. She sighed happily as he put her arms around her and drew her closer, slipping his tongue past her lips to dance with her tongue. Isa could hardly believe that this was her life now. She could sit here kissing Leo and making love to him, and there was no one to stop them. They were free now, both of them. He was free from the oppressive Gilt Hollow regime, and she was free from having to act like a proper princess. She was just Isa now, not Princess Isadora, and that realization was intoxicating. She wrapped her arms tighter around Leo, drinking in the freedom.

He pushed her backward onto the bed, never taking his lips away from hers. He let out a low growl as he pressed his body against hers, and she moaned as she felt his erection pressing against her through their clothes. He was huge and rock hard, and it was all for her. She felt a thrill go through her body at that realization. This bear of a man, strong and perfect, wanted her. And he wanted her for her. All her life, Isa had been chased after by men who were only interested in her because she had the title of “Princess.” But now that her title was gone, she finally had a man who loved her truly. A man who desired her not because she was nobility, but because she was Isa.

And that man clearly could not get enough of her. He was reaching for her shirt now, pulling it over her head. Isa was wearing a mismatched set of pajamas that some of the other women in town had given her. The clothing was slightly too big, but it would make do until Isa could replace all the clothes she’d lost in the destruction of the palace. She hadn’t liked all her Gilt Hollow clothes, anyway. Bear Hollow’s simple style was much more her thing. Right now, though, Leo clearly didn’t want any clothes on her. After pulling off her shirt, he quickly moved on to tearing off her pants.

“I want to see you. All of you,” he growled. In less than a minute, Isa was completely naked, but she wasn’t about to let him get away with stripping her down when he was still wearing clothes.

“Off with your clothes too. It’s only fair.” She tore at his clothing, pulling it off to reveal his perfect, muscular body underneath. His clothes smelled like the freshness of the forest, as did his hair and skin. She breathed in deeply, relishing the smell, and memorizing it. He was hers, for the rest of time. She trembled with joy as his bare skin touched her bare skin. She could never have hoped for more from life than this moment she was living right now.

“You’re perfect,” she whispered in his ear.

“No, you,” he growled back. His breath was warm in her ear, tickling her and sending a fresh thrill up and down her spine. His strong hands held her back as he pulled her slightly higher on the bed, positioning her so that her breasts were right in front of his mouth. His teeth closed greedily over her hard nipples, and she gasped as a flood of tingling, electric sensations filled her body, radiating out from where his teeth were touching her. Her core began to burn with a familiar heat as the primal desire for Leo filled her. She wanted him inside of her. She wanted their arms and legs and entire bodies intertwined. She trembled with anticipation, and between her legs she could feel herself growing wetter and wetter.

He moved his lips down to kiss her stomach, drawing a little circle around her bellybutton with his tongue. She sucked in her breath as the sensation sent a fresh wave of heat through her. He didn’t linger long there, though. He moved down to put his face between her legs, burying his mouth into her dripping wet entrance and plunging his tongue deep into her. She shrieked and writhed beneath him as a flood of sensations filled her. His tongue teased the sensitive spots within her that he already knew so well, bringing the heat within her to a nearly unbearable level. The stubble on his face rubbed against her, and all she could think was My man is between my legs. He can’t get enough of me.

Isa couldn’t get enough of him, either. She wanted the moment to go on forever, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold back the pressure that had built to a breaking point. With a long, loud shriek of his name, she gave in to her release. Tremors of perfect electric passion rocked across her entire being, and all she could do to keep her bearings was to cling to Leo as he continued to dig his tongue deep into her. Spasms rocked across her body, and Isa whimpered with delight. She was a prisoner to the ecstasy running through her, and Leo showed no mercy. He continued to draw out the tremors and heat with his tongue, pressing it deep into her until he was sure that her energy had been completely spent. Only when the spasms had completely subsided did he finally pull away.

He raised his head and smiled at her, his expression almost a smirk.

“Looks like your bear knows how to keep you satisfied.”

Isa could only moan in response. She would have loved to pull herself on top of him right then and there, and show him that two could play that game. She knew how to satisfy him, too. But her body was still coming down from the incredible high Leo had just taken it to, and the only movement she seemed to be capable of was trembling from the aftershocks.

This seemed to please Leo, though, and he let out another low growl. “I’m not finished with you yet, my little princess.”

Isa had always hated being called a princess, but the word was somehow different when Leo said it. It held a certain love and respect that she had never heard in anyone else’s voice before, and she smiled at the sound of the word on his lips. If a man as wonderful as Leo wanted her to be his princess, then that’s what she would be.

Leo hadn’t been kidding when he said he wasn’t done with her. He pushed her down firmly and pulled himself up over her, his eyes filled with hunger. “Are you ready for more?” he asked in a low, husky voice.

Isa only whimpered in response. She wanted more of him, but she was still too overcome from her last release to be able to form any coherent sentences. That wasn’t slowing Leo down, though. He knew she wanted him, even when she couldn’t say the words out loud. Oh, how she wanted him. He was her everything, and she still had to pinch herself to believe that she got to spend the rest of her life with him, free to be themselves and to live and love as they saw fit.

Leo’s thick, stiff erection was poking at her now, teasing her sensitive entrance, which was still growing wetter with every passing moment. Her desire for him knew no bounds, and she knew she was about to have that desire fulfilled yet again, in an even more satisfying way than before. She felt the sweet, hot pressure of passion beginning to build in her core once more, and she closed her eyes to happily drink in the moment as Leo pushed his rock-hard dick deep into her. Once again, she felt him pushing against her inner walls. He moved in her, thrusting his hips back and forth and hitting every sensitive spot inside of her. He was all at once gentle and firm with her, asserting his power while expressing his love. Isa had never felt so protected and cared for. She shivered with pleasure at each thrust, and soon found herself reaching the point of climax again.

“Leo!” she cried out. His name was the only word that she could speak. It was the only word that resounded in her head as she felt her release begin to wash over her again. Her body trembled and hot spasms of passion radiated outward from her core. Her inner muscles clenched around Leo over and over again as they squeezed around his erection inside of her. No one and no thing had ever made her feel this way. She gave in completely and let the moment take her.

Leo followed right behind her, roaring and pulsing into her as he found his own release. He held her tightly and thrust himself as deep into her as he could. Isa clung to him, and they rode the waves of ecstasy together. She had never felt so connected to anyone. Mind, body, and soul, they were completely one person in that moment.

Several minutes later, when her breathing had finally returned to normal, he pulled out of her and lay on the bed, smiling over at her. His smile lit up his whole face, and Isa thought that even the sunshine streaming in through the windows had nothing on the brightness of his expression. Both of them were silent for a few moments, just looking at each other with the love and admiration that came from knowing that someone else made up your entire world.

“That was a nice welcome to Bear Hollow,” Isa teased, finally breaking the silence. “If you ever want to remind me of how welcome I am, please go right ahead.”

Leo laughed, but then his face turned serious.

“So this is what freedom feels like,” he said, leaning over to kiss the tip of her nose. “It was worth it all.”

“Yes,” Isa agreed softly. “Definitely worth it all.”