Chapter 6

Voices came faintly from outside, waking her up. It was dark now, only some light came in through the closed glass door. The room was cold, almost completely covered in silence, except for the buzzing sound of an electrical light outside. She sat up on the bed and looked around, noticing the diversity of aromas now that she felt better.

Someone was pacing out there, speaking. She concentrated and could finally recognize Damien’s voice.

“You’re sure, then?”

“Yes, boss, all areas have been patrolled, no sign of it,” a younger voice replied.

“Tomorrow I’ll go back and check again, just to make sure, everyone will make their rounds in bear form. Franklin, did you alert the other clans?”

A man replied in the distance, she couldn’t hear what he said.

“Any word from Raiden?” Damien asked.

The voice said something, longer this time.

“All right, keep trying for Raiden, we must warn him.”

A silence.

“You think we should go look for him, boss? Maybe he needs help,” the younger voice asked.

Damien laughed, “If Raiden needs help then hell has frozen over. That man is indestructible, you know that.”

The young man let out a laugh, “You’re right, he should be back soon, anyway, always takes his time.”

“He left,” Damien said, his voice now louder. Then a shadow appeared at the glass door and it opened, “but the man knows his job”.

Zoe looked at Damien, silhouetted in the dark. She couldn’t believe how big he was, broad linebacker shoulders, all muscle, no fat.

She’d been a fan of shifters since she was in junior high, everyone was. There were fighting leagues, and some human sports even allowed them in their ranks, provided they were countered by shifters. She had posters of fighters, athletes and artists in her room when she was little, but she never met one.

She always wished she had that kind of metabolism: not for the health benefits it brought them, she just wanted to eat anything she wanted without caring about her hips growing wide. Shifters turn their food to muscle and any extra fat gets burned when in animal form. Some people are lucky, she thought.

“Hey,” he said softly, “you’re awake.”

She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she must have been out for a few hours, it was dusk now, and she got there at least three or four hours earlier.

“Yes, I just got up,” she said.

“How are you feeling? Enzo said you are a fast healer.”

She smiled, kind of embarrassed for all the attention.

“What did he do to me? It was... like a warmth that—”

“—that got hotter and hotter and then stopped, taking away the pain.”

“Y-yes... what was—”

“Enzo’s got a special connection to nature, combined with medicine it can do great things, but it takes its toll on the patient... and him”.

“That’s why he shifted?”

“And that’s why you fell asleep, your energy reserves were almost completely used for that. He doesn’t suffer, but the bear always comes out when you channel nature like that. Don’t worry about it, he’s in his cabin, came back a few hours ago.”

She smiled.

“I like to see you smile, do you feel better?”

“Yes,” she said, then turned to him, “how can you see in this darkness?”

He sat at the base of the bed, took her hand and raised it, bathing it in a gleam of light coming from outside.

“We can’t see in the dark, but there’s always light, somewhere, you just need to find it. Like right now, this glint illuminates more than you’d think. Moonlight, or even starlight can help, that’s how I can see you smiling, even in this darkness.”

“So what happens now?”

“Well,” he said, standing again, “one of two things: you can stay here for the night, I’ll bring you blankets so you don’t get too cold, or you come to my cabin—”

She jerked, surprised by the offer, Damien saw her and laughed.

“You come to my cabin and sleep in my bed. Don’t get too excited, little miss, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

She was smirking now.

“Oh really, and I can count on you being a gentlemanly gentleman?”

“You can be certain of that,” he said with a ridiculous British accent, “I wouldn’t dare to be anything less, especially not to a damsel in distress.”

“Let me think about it,” she replied in a playful tone, “Do you have A/C?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

Her mouth grew wide open, “Are you serious? I was just kidding! How can you have A/C up here?”

“Oh, sorry? We have most of the benefits of electricity, thanks to the magical power of solar panels, batteries and good logistics, who would’ve thought so, right? A band of dirty forest rangers... and they have A/C in the middle of the woods!”

She snorted at that, “Okay, you’ve convinced me, dirty-forest-ranger-bear-guy, there is no way I’m staying here by myself!”

She put her leg on the floor to stand but instantly felt a shock of pain.

“Ow!” she jolted

“Wait, wait, I’m turning on the light, don’t try to get up.”

He flipped a switch and there was a moment of blindness, then she saw the lab in its full splendor: it was a biggish room, about ten by fifteen on its sides, with two steel tables and lots of chemistry equipment on them.

What caught her eye was the shelves filled with meds in them, jars with multi-colored fluids, and covered glasses full of leaves, tree cortex and all kinds of weird components she couldn’t name.

“You ready?” Damien asked, smiling.

“Ready for wha—,” she said, but Damien rolled his eyes and picked her up again. His strong arms felt hard and warm. The muscles well-toned, his grip soft, almost as if he thought she was made of the finest crystal.

“Wow!” she laughed, then patted him on the shoulder, his face close now, his scent a combination of sweat and nature. This was a kind of man she thought only existed in movies. He carried her out of the lab and took her to his cabin, where she was sure she was going to be safer, than in any other place in the world.

***

“That is your cabin?” she said, surprised, “You didn’t tell me the government builds mansions for you guys out here in the mountain!”

The cabin was still a few paces up ahead, but it was plenty visible now. Lamp posts here and there lightened the way back to his house.

“It’s just a two story house, it’s not even that big, come on,” he said.

“This is a huge house, how much did it cost? This is tax payer money you got here, bear guy, my tax money,” she joked.

“Well incredible as it sounds, it actually isn’t. We built our cabins ourselves.”

Surprisingly she didn’t emit a word, her jaw just hung open.

“Careful, unless you wanna eat a bug,” he said

“Oh stop it! Are you for real? You built this thing yourself?” she said as he approached the door.

“Not alone, the guys helped me, as I helped them.”

“Believe it or not, we bear shifters do like living like real people, not forest nut jobs. The government gave us trailers to live in, but since we were staying here for good, and we had some time available, we decided to build something a bit more spacious. Franklin even got us an Internet connection.”

She admired the wood work, it looked professionally made.

“You must have worked for a long time,” she said.

“We did, but nothing beats enjoying the fruits of your labor.”

“It’s beautiful,” she said slowly.

“Thanks,” he said as he opened the front door.

Inside, he flipped a switch and soft warm lights turned on. It had a cozy, rustic design, the living room to the right, to her left, the kitchen.

“And your kitchen has an island, seriously? This must be a joke. This house, in the forest, is bigger and more equipped than any other house I’ve been in.”

“If it makes you feel better, we do get bored easily.”

“And you built this.” She laughed happily. “Did you hire an architect? It’s like taken out of a—”

“—Magazine, right? Actually, Raiden, another one of us helped with that. He’s into all kinds of weird stuff, like architectural design, gardening, all kinds of stuff. He bought the design and floor plans online, we reviewed them, made some changes and built it. It’s not really that hard once you get the hang of it.”

She rolled her eyes. “So, any more surprises? Do you have like, a cave where you slide down a fire tube to change clothes and fight villains in the night or something?”

“Hey, that’s a good idea, I’m going to think about it,” he said going upstairs, passing two rooms and entering the master bedroom. He had a big screen LCD TV, some electronics connected to it, a Blu-Ray player, and a love seat.

“Cat got your tongue?” he asked as he put her in the bed.

“Oh, no. I’m just judging you in silence,” she said smiling.

Damien looked around, got a remote and turned on the A/C, “I’m setting it a seventy-five, that okay?”

She nodded.

“There’s the remote, Internet is fiber optics so it’s always on, there’s a Wi-Fi router there... I don’t know the password, it’s written on it somewhere, if you need anything, just ask, make yourself at home.”

She was looking at him smirking, nodding at everything he said. Damien avoided her eyes, his bear roared mate! mate! inside him and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to control himself if he stood there for another moment.

“I guess that’s all, see you tomorrow.” he said quickly and went for the door.

“Damien,” she said. He stopped in his tracks.

“Yes?” he said without turning to look at her.

“Do you mind if I slept downstairs with you? I mean, not with you, I mean, I don’t want to sleep alone.”

Oh, he minded. He actually minded a lot. His bear hit him inside, trying to come forward, growling mate! now!, his cock went instantly hard, it was threatening to rip his pants apart, he couldn’t take this anymore.

“What?” he said, faking calmness.

“It’s just... I’d feel much safer if I knew you were close,” Zoe said in an embarrassed tone. He turned his head towards her, not wanting her to see how fucking turned on he was and how close he was to just let the beast take over and kiss her.

“It might be dumb, but, what if something like that wildcat thing comes through the window? I wouldn’t stand a chan—”

“Don’t worry.” He went to the love seat in the room, never fully exposing his front to her, took out two cushions from it and turned it into a bed.

It already had bed sheets so he just put the pillows over it, took off his shoes and laid face down on the sofa-bed.

“I’ll sleep here, then. Just try not to snore too hard, I have work to do tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” she said, nodding.

Damien’s heart raced. Too close, he thought, too damn close.

***

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Damien’s words came to her dimly, from far away, Zoe opened her eyes and saw only darkness. Little by little her eyes adjusted to it and could see faint shapes around her bed. She was in a small room, for a moment she forgot where she was and was frightened, but recognized Damien’s voice and little by little everything came back to normal.

He was holding her hand, kneeling by the bed. “You were having a bad dream,” he whispered, “you’re safe, remember?”

She held his hand tight, sat on the bed and wiped her tears.

“I’m sorry, I... I don’t know, I got really scared and...” She couldn’t put it into words, she felt like a dam broke inside of her and couldn’t say exactly what was the factor that made it happen.

“Please, don’t be sorry about anything, it wasn’t your fault. It’s all on me, my mistake, I should’ve known you were in danger, all my senses told me so but I didn’t listen, you’re the one who has to forgive me.”

“No, it’s...” she trailed off for a second and met his eyes, “it’s not just this. I know I can be a pain in the ass some times and come off as... super confident or something, but the truth is I’m really scared.”

Damien got closer, holding her so she knew he was not going to let her go, that he was going to protect her.

“Are you in trouble? Is there any way I can—”

“No, I’m not in trouble... life, life can be so hard sometimes, you know, and then this happens, and then you carry me in your arms and everything seems as if the weight of the world wasn’t really that hard to bear, things here just seem so simpler...”

Damien leaned in and held her, not saying anything, only listening. Zoe held him back. There was only silence in the room, and they were warm against one another, feeling their heart beats in the night.

“I’m sorry... this must seem very dumb to you. I’ve just been really, really stressed and this was, like, the final straw”

“I understand. I don’t want you to worry about anything.”

She held his hand, composed herself and let out a sigh.

“I thought I was strong. I thought I could just leave Detroit and start over somewhere else. I thought it was going to be easy. I thought leaving behind a boss who doesn’t care about anything you do, bullies you to do his own work and then makes vague threats about your job security was going to be easy. I have no one, you know. My mom died years ago and I promised myself to get out of there as soon as possible, then didn’t do it for a month, then a year, then several years, because I’m not as strong—”

Damien couldn’t hold it any longer, he was there and he felt horrible, unable to make her feel better, all he wanted was for her to be happy. To hold her and tell her everything would be better.

“You are the strongest woman I’ve met.”

“No, I’m—”

“You fought a shadow cat, you kept it at bay, you acted. Normal people would’ve been dead in a heartbeat, but you fought back.”

“I... I just...”

“You are stronger than anyone here would think, but you don’t believe it yourself.”

Her look was intense.

“I’m proud of you, Zoe.”

“Thank you—”

He kissed her. She felt his warm lips touch hers, waking a sudden burst of butterflies in her stomach, she was surprised and frightened and felt lovingly secure in his cabin deep in the mountains.

She’d never been kissed like this, with so much softness and intensity at the same time. She went in deeper, his tongue flicking and wrestling hers. He put a hand on the back of her head and kissed her with a fiery passion she hadn’t known before, breathing a soft moan as he softly kissed her cheek, slowly moving toward her neck.

She wanted to lose herself in him. Damien uttered a deep, soft growl, and she felt her thighs get hot and wet, her breath rougher now, her palms feeling every part of his back, every hard muscle just for her. She moved her hand towards his abs, never thinking that she would meet such a man, she was lost in the moment and realized her hand had gone downward: his hard, thick cock in her palm. As soon as she touched it, he let out a quiet roar, letting go of his kiss, his palm caressing her breast while his head moved to kiss it. She caught a glimpse of his eyes, hungry eyes, and wanted him to take her.

She had never let herself go off like this, she felt like surrendering every inch of her body to Damien, to be completely his. He looked at her and with a sudden fury ripped her t-shirt, her breast compressed in her sports bra, his chin submerged between them, kissing and licking and softly biting her skin, not yet reaching either of her nipples.

His other hand was getting closer and closer to her thigh, caressing her legs. How embarrassed she would be when he felt her center and saw that it was soaking wet! That it only took this to make her this aroused. He hadn’t even touched her naked body and she was about to collapse in an orgasm, he hadn’t even been inside her.

His cock was massive in her hands, she was ready for him, she wanted him now. No other man had made her feel like this, it was almost torture he hadn’t entered her.

“I want you,” she whispered, “I want you inside me.”

Damien looked at her like a predator must look at its prey, his eyes sure of what he wanted, and what he wanted was her.

She raised her arms and he pulled her sports bra off. They looked at each other, smiling in the dark. Her nervousness was completely gone, surrendered by lust. He kissed her and put his hand on her waist, taking off her leggings, going down, kissing her legs from top to bottom, taking his time to feel the warmth of her skin, moving upwards to her chest, to her neck, to her lips, to her ear.

“I want to taste you first,” he whispered.

Her center dripped warmth.

“I want my tongue to spread your lips, I want you to fill me with your taste,” Damien continued.

She had never been talked to like that during sex. Had never been told such... dirty words. She didn’t think they would turn her on this much, didn’t even notice her legs spreading unconsciously , she couldn’t take it any longer, she wanted more of him now.

“Do you want that? Say you want it,” he commanded.

Her breath turned to moaning each time his tongue rolled near her lower stomach, each time he licked her thighs and legs, each time he teased her with his tongue and hands, and his cock touched her bare skin. He was torturing her, licking her inner thighs, kissing her top to bottom without touching her center.

He asked again, this time a more commanding tone, “Say you want my tongue in your pussy.”

“Yes...”

“Yes what?”

“Yes I want it... please.”

“Say the words.”

She had to obey. She wanted to say it.

“I want your tongue... I want your tongue in my pussy Damien, please.”

And he did it. She felt the heat of his tongue mixing with her wetness, becoming one, he was softly going up and down her opening, tasting her completely, then little by little focusing on her soft spot.

She couldn’t think straight, she was consumed by this, her body shaking now, her legs spread open for him, her center completely moist, drenched with her juices, Damien tasting every drop.

“I’m gonna cum!” she yelled without thinking.

Damien continued, a little harder this time, her clit the center of his attention. What began as soft licking was now concentrated flicks on her spot, his face unashamedly pressed against her, his tongue adventuring inside her for a moment and then coming back for more of her spot. She was coming hard, she exploded.

“I’m coming! Damien!”

She brought her hand to the back of his head and pushed him against her. Her whole body exploding, her waist spasming, jumping up and down on its own. She screamed loud, thinking she’d wake all the fuckin’ animals in the mountain but she didn’t care, she was letting herself go.

He continued tasting her, every drop of her juices were his and she couldn’t help it, it was a mix of embarrassment and hotness and feeling like a bad, bad girl in the way she always had wanted to feel, with someone that mattered, someone who didn’t judge her and let her be who she was.

The orgasm had gone and she was drained.

“Oh my God,” she said, breathing loudly, her chest going up and down. She looked down and Damien was grinning, looking at her, the intensity of his gaze only matched by the bulge in his underwear. He started kissing her body. Soft kisses, his hands caressing her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. He kissed her quickly on her lips and laid beside her.

“Oh my god is right,” he said.

Zoe looked at him, he was just looking up to the ceiling, lost in thought. She could barely move, all her body turned to mush. She felt guilty, she should jump right over him but her lack of experience made her think twice, that orgasm depleted her, but still... she wanted him. She could see his big hard cock just a few inches away, so she reached for it.

He turned to her, letting out a soft moan. They kissed, slower this time, her hand going up and down, jerking him off until she took it out of his underpants and finally saw his hot, steel hard cock. Her hand was sticky now, precum in her palm, it was slowly flowing downward. She kissed him and he kissed her back and touched her stroking hand and held it.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said looking at her straight in the eyes, “I can die a happy man if you wanted to stop now and just sleep.”

She looked at him, his face was rough and hard and at the same time vulnerable, a sight that she knew was just for her.

She stopped stroking him, her hand deliciously sticky, she had to stop before this turned into something that maybe none of them wanted. So she stopped. He looked at her and smiled, his eyes deep, looking at her, if she could describe that look in a word, she would say “happiness”.

Then she did the unthinkable.

She licked her hand, tasting his precum, bittersweet in her tongue. Her sex flared up again, her juices flowed inside like a furnace, melting passion, she put an angry hand in his hair and moved above him.

She used her sticky hand to grab his cock and put it inside of her in one movement. She knew it was going to hurt her a little and she looked forward to it, to feel that part of him fill her completely,

“Oh,” she moaned, and tightened her left hand, fixed on his hair and moved her waist, riding him.

This was no longer soft or sweet, this was unabashed, hardcore fucking. She never had let herself go like this, this man... this shifter was just above and beyond what her previous boyfriends could do in bed. Her experience was minimal but she compensated it with eagerness.

Damien grabbed her waist and they found a natural rhythm, a hard, deep, wet rhythm that was just theirs.

“I want you to come inside me, Damien”, she said, and when her eyes met his, she blushed. A good girl like her shouldn’t say those words.

Damien pushed himself even deeper now, she was now wallowing in a mixture of pleasure and pain, her body about to explode

“You’re a bad girl,” Damien told her, his rod sliding in and out of her, covered in her natural lub, sticky and wet.

“No, I’m not,” she said, blushing, so Damien spanked her hard.

“You are my bad girl, Zoe... say it.”

“My god, you’re making me cum again.”

“Say what you want to say Zoe, say you are my bad girl.”

“I’m your bad girl, Damien.”

“Say it louder.”

“I’m your bad girl, Damien,” she said embarrassed, she couldn’t bring herself to say it much louder, this wasn’t her, it was this man’s fault, he put a spell on—

“Ow!” she moaned, she felt it now, it was coming to her, she was coming for a second time, she was under a spell, she was sure of it... and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

“No, honey. You’re gonna yell it, now. Say. You are. My bad. Girl.”

He spanked her again, she let out a moan, she didn’t want him to notice that she was completely his right now... that she was on the verge of coming again.

Then he took her in his arms and stood up, never pulling out of her, fucking her hard, Zoe holding onto him, her body melting away, her sex dripping, the floor wet with their fluids.

She was enveloped in him, holding him tight, his hard muscles supporting her weight, it was here. She scratched his back, his arms... she was done. He’d won.

And she yelled hard. She exploded once again, holding on to him while he carried her.

“I AM YOUR BAD GIRL, DAMIEN!”

Damien put his forehead with hers, letting out a loud moan as she felt her insides being filled.

A thick, warm fluid blasted inside her and combined with her own, both of their orgasms mixed in the dark bedroom.

Afterward, just their ragged breath remained, and the heat of their bodies holding each other.

***

They were both laying in silence, Damien looking up, Zoe holding him, face down.

His heart was racing. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. His bear was quiet now, it was always growling for her, trying to mate her, but he knew he couldn’t do that. Not now, probably not ever.

This place wasn’t safe. What could he do? He was the alpha, leader of the White Paws, he never thought to take a mate. It had worked well.

Until now.

Now he understood the price he set for himself. It was going to be more than he bargained for. Long distance relationship was out of the question. It was difficult enough for humans, for shifters it was an impossibility. Mates stay together, or they wither and die. You can’t argue with fate, you can’t argue with nature.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said.

There was a momentary silence.

“In case you’re wondering... I’m on the pill, you don’t have to worry.” Her tone was strange, almost as if she was afraid to say it, or embarrassed to admit that. He let out a smile.

“Bear shifters know about... things,” he replied, “I... know you’re not ovulating.”

Her eyes widened, “Really? You know that too?”

Watching her reaction was funny in a charming way. He was amused, everything to her came as new and full of possibilities.

“It’s like a subconscious thing, we pick up hormones and scents that let us know a lot of things, but we don’t do it consciously we just know... I know you’re healthy too.”

“Damien!” she hit him in the shoulder, “of course I’m healthy, you thought I was going to do this if I wasn’t? I know some things, too.”

“Oh really?” he said in a fake mocking tone, “Like what?”

“Oh really, like what?” she imitated him, “well, for example, I know shifters are healthy too, if you know what I mean.”

“No I don’t.”

“You’re going to make me say it, right?” she said, rolling her eyes, “I know that shifters can’t carry weird diseases, okay? I knew we were both ‘safe’, so to speak.”

“Very well, bad little girl.”

She blushed.

Damien smiled and continued, “I haven’t had sex like this in... in forever, I think. I don’t even have condoms here... what I’m trying to say is I’m glad I’m a shifter and you, well... I’m glad you’re you.”

She kissed him in the cheek and turned, her head on the pillow.

“Hey, you should know... I’m really not a bad girl, this just felt... different. I hadn’t been with anyone in quite a while.”

He looked at her, “You were incredible... and I don’t judge—”

“No, seriously. My last hookup was like, two years ago? I don’t know what happened tonight but... I guess we connected really really well.”

Damien turned to her, “did you just say I’m a hookup? Seriously, being used for sex is not my idea of a romantic night.” he said with feigned indignation.

“Oh, sorry, I know you bear shifters are such softies deep inside, I should’ve known my words would hurt you.”

“Okay now you’re being racist! Shifters have feelings too!”

“I am not! Gosh, somebody help me, this ranger-bear-shifter-guy is trying to drive me nuts! What I’m saying is that shifters are not exactly known for being sweet and romantic, and this night was great okay? I still kind of like you anyway, buddy.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? Great.”

“Yes. Tomorrow. You and me. Dinner.”

“It’s fine, I’m just joking!”

“Are you rejecting my formal invitation for dinner?”

“What? No, it’s—”

“It’s settled then. Tomorrow we dine like shifters don’t.”

And that was it for him. He shouldn’t have invited her out, especially not if she was the reason his bear was going crazy inside. He knew full well she was going to leave, and he wouldn’t mate her, for her safety, and the sake of his duty. Oh no sir, he wouldn’t mate her. He messed up. He was doing everything he promised himself he wouldn’t do. But he looked forward to it.