Logan

I was so damn tired from a long day at the lumberyard. It was a blessing to own both the yard and tree farm. It allowed me to control the prices and number of trees that could be cut down per year. I never let a surge in lumber sales force me to cut into the next year’s crop. It took a long time to grow them to the proper size.

My body was sore and I was pissed because one of my employees quit and left me shorthanded. I had to work my ass off in the yard and office. I needed to hire another laborer, or least an assistant for me. It was already seven at night, making it a fourteen-hour work day. I was beat and ready for the protein shake I forgot to take with me.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I took it out and saw it was my parents. “Hey, I’m on my way back to the house.”

“We are as well,” my mother said through their Bluetooth car speaker.

“I’m surprised you’re not home already. You stayed out late today.” They usually fished for a short time then came home with enough fish for an army. I hated fish. It was strange of me to hate it, but I do. That’s why I enjoyed my protein shakes and meat.

“Yes, well…mind your business, son,” my mother chastised me. I closed my eyes, grossed out because that meant they were fucking in the mountains somewhere.

I started the engine of my truck, shaking my head. “Oh, well I’m glad you got it out of your systems for the day. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep without all the racket.”

“Logan, you’ll find the one and then you’ll make more noise than us oldies,” my dad stated.

He didn’t need to remind me that I was lonely as fuck. I hadn’t met anyone special that I wanted to share my life with. It was too complicated to invite just anyone into it. I was far from normal as were my parents. “Thanks, then I’ll be moving out. I plan to make a lot of racket.”

“Hopefully that day never comes because the house is big enough for you and your family. I want grandbabies, mister,” my mother complained.

“Yes, mama bear,” I muttered. “See ya when I get there.” I called her by her nickname when she got too motherly. At twenty-four, I was a grown man, but that could not be truer than with my mom. I had little to no friends growing up because we lived out in the wilderness. Some of the workers’ kids were all I had, but then I could never invite them over. I was transferred to a different school because of a forest fire. It was the worst time of my life. Everyone had been total dicks to me. I was scrawny and little, so I was picked on. One day my mother saw and intervened which only made the teasing worse.

It wasn’t until my sophomore year that it all ended. I showed up to school at six-seven, muscles growing every day. My puberty hit late, but my father said he had been the same way. I had noticed the changes starting at the end of my freshman year, but by the time we returned, I was a giant. No one dared say a word and after that my size alone commanded respect.

My grandfather passed the next year and to my surprise, I was given the company. My father was a partial owner, but preferred his life as it was. He was a best-selling author for serial killer books. With help from my parents and the staff at both the lumberyard and farm, I was able to finish high school and keep the company afloat. Then I became everyone’s best friend.

Those memories soured my outlook of ever finding a mate. We didn’t have to stay with one for life, but I felt I could never trust any woman with my secret, then just expect her to accept that I was a bear shifter and any kids we had would have that gift too. I continued my drive home, wallowing in my self-pity.

I arrived just as my parents pulled in. We lived together because there was no need for change and I really loved having someone cook for me.

“Where’s your catch?”

“We didn’t bring it back. We made a fire and ate in the woods with a bunch of people camping. There was a big uproar when they lost one of their hikers.”

“Really? Did you scent the hiker?”

“Yes, but we lost her scent. It was headed this way, but then we saw two mountain lions, so the party retreated.”

“They left a female in the woods alone?”

“Chivalry is dead, son. But…” He raised his nose in the air. “She made it this way.”

“Oh my goodness. The house.” I sniffed the air and my eyes widened.

“What is it, son?” my father asked.

“We have to find her,” I growled, running up the porch steps and unlocking the front door like my life depended on it. They were right behind me. Her scent grew as we moved toward the kitchen. I pushed the door open to see it was a wreck. My favorite chair was on the floor in pieces. It was the one I first built as a ten-year-old with my grandfather. My anger was building. This woman had invaded our home, broke my seat, and messed with my body. I had this simmering emotion coursing through my veins and felt like beating my chest. I had no idea who she was but I wanted to see her, smell her.

“She’s bleeding,” my mother said. I saw the blood drops to the fridge and sink. Seeing those dark red stains only made my rage grow, but it wasn’t at her. Why was she here and hurt? I didn’t smell anyone else. I saw my smoothie shaker in the sink and just started laughing.

“It’s not funny,” my mother chastised me.

I shook the empty cup at her. “My chair, my replacement meal; I wonder if she’s sleeping in my bed, too.” I dropped the cup back into the sink then climbed the stairs to my room two at a time. I closed my eyes and tilted my chin, sniffing the air. With a smile, I nodded my head. She was in my room, laying on my bed, her scent soaking into the sheets.

The thought of a stranger entering my home uninvited made my blood boil. With our secret, I always worried someone would come snooping. Why that no longer upset me was easy to figure out based on the undeniable hard-on in my pants. This woman in my room, in my bed, probably under my covers, had my body under her control and it frightened me as much as it turned me on.

My parents were on my heels as I opened the door quietly. The erratic thumping of my heart could be felt in my ears. The sound was so loud that I thought she’d wake up from the noise. I approached the bed with caution because the beast that had been under my skin ached to break free. My parents stood on either side of me, but all I was focused on was the woman nestled in my bed.

She was wrapped up in the covers with her long blonde hair draped over my pillows. She had a large gash on her forehead, but it didn’t take away from the beauty of her face. Her eyes were closed and despite the blonde hair, her lashes were dark and long. My dad grabbed my arm tightly, while my mother pressed her hand on my chest and laid her head on my shoulder.

I wanted them out of the room as much as I wanted them there. With them present, I couldn’t just take what I felt belonged to me. I knew deep down in my soul that she was mine. How the fuck she got from the campsite area to here was a mystery, but this woman wasn’t leaving. She broke into my home and then invaded my life. It was my right to keep her.

I couldn’t peel my eyes away from her as her chest rose and fell with each breath. Her lashes fluttered then a low moan of pain escaped her pink, chapped lips. “I’ll be right back,” mama bear whispered, leaving the room. My mother had been a registered nurse in town for two decades, so I knew she ran to get her first aid kit. She had just returned when my angelic intruder opened her oceanic blue eyes.