This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Laid Bear
Copyright © 2017 Eve Vaughn
Electronic book publication December 2017
With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means without permission from the author, Eve Vaughn.
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Dedication
To my readers, thank you so much for supporting me, and keeping me going. I hope you’ll enjoy reading this book as much as I’ve enjoyed writing i
Chapter One
Zora cursed her decision to veer off the main highway in favor of taking back roads. She hated sitting in traffic, and because of construction, the three-lane interstate had been narrowed to one and the speed reduced to half. She’d gone five miles in an hour. With the aid of her GPS on her phone Zora had taken the first exit she’d come across. Big mistake. At least by now she would have been past the construction part instead of traveling through Bumfuck, Egypt.
It didn’t help that she’d drunk a sixty-four ounce cup of cola she bought at her last pit stop. Three hours ago. Her bladder was strong, but she was pushing her luck. It had been a couple hours since she’d last seen civilization or gotten a proper cell phone signal. Hoping to God she’d see a sign of the main highway soon, she grabbed her map since her phone was now useless. Zora eyed it and frowned. Nothing seemed to match up. Had she taken a wrong turn? She knew she was somewhere in Tennessee, but which part was anyone’s guess.
Zora tossed the map aside, flipped off the overhead reading light and hit the steering wheel in frustration. “Dammit.”
Could things get any worse? Nothing had been going right for her since she’d recently buried her Nana. Selling the house and closing the little shop they’d run together had been equally crushing, but there was no way she could have stayed in Covington anyway. The town she’d considered her haven for the past ten years was no longer safe.
Now she had to start all over again with very little money to her name. The hospital bills and estate taxes had been crippling. She didn’t realize it would be such an ordeal driving from the tiny North Carolina town she’d adopted as her home to Ohio.
Zora had hoped to make it to Kentucky by nightfall and find a cheap hotel to catch some shuteye, but the sun had set a long time ago. At least Christine, as she’d dubbed her twenty-year-old, temperamental, gas-guzzling vehicle, was riding smoothly though the fuel gauge was getting dangerously close to empty. As if the car had read her thoughts, it began to make a sputtering sound. Zora groaned. Now wasn’t the time for her car to give her problems.
She caressed the steering wheel with the heel of her hand. “Come on, baby, just a little farther.”
The thought of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, especially in the mountains of Tennessee, sent a shudder coursing through her body. Maybe it was her imagination, but she was sure she heard banjo music playing in the distance. This was the kind of region where running into a group of wife-hunting hillbillies was more than a possibility. The thought was terrifying. While some people may have been more frightened of the wild animals populating the woods, Zora was more scared of the backwoods mountain folk. Wild animals were more likely to kill you. Hillbillies were more likely to keep you.
It was pitch black outside without a star in sight and the road was barely visible even with her brights on. Her day had been shitty enough after getting a late start on her trip and receiving a speeding ticket before she’d crossed the North Carolina state line. She was irritable, sweaty, restless and in dire need of a meal, a hot shower and a warm bed. This journey couldn’t possibly get worse.
As if some twisted fairy of bad luck could hear her internal lament, it began to rain, and not just a light drizzle but a torrential downpour, making what little visibility there was nonexistent.
Zora slammed her palm against the steering wheel. “Shit!”
In normal circumstances she would have pulled over to the side of the road, but Zora had no clue where she was and as a lone female out at night in the middle of nowhere, she had no intention of doing so. Easing her foot off the pedal to reduce speed, she trudged ahead.
She released a sigh of frustration as the rain hit her car like tiny rocks. The inside of her windshield was starting to fog up because of her non-functional defroster. Taking one hand off the steering wheel, she reached forward and wiped away some of the cloudy condensation. Her momentary lapse of concentration on the road caused Zora to swerve the car.
Zora’s heart plummeted to her feet as she gripped the wheel firmly with both hands and managed to straighten the vehicle out.
“That was close,” she muttered to herself, again silently cursing the circumstances that brought her here.
Even though she’d reconnected with her cousin Bernice, who’d invited Zora to stay with her, it didn’t fill her with a sense of joy. She’d had family and a purpose in Covington and the thought of starting over again was scary.
The eerily high screech of tires across a slick plane brought Zora out of her silent musings as her car skidded to the right side of the road.
Fuck!
She whispered a silent prayer for the rain to subside at least enough for her to see where the hell she was going. God obviously wasn’t listening because it started to hail. She thought the rain had beat down on her car pretty hard before, but now it sounded as if her vehicle was being pelted by stones. Great. Even if she wanted to, there was no way she could continue on like this. She’d just have to suck up her misgivings and pull over. Besides, she doubted anyone would be foolish enough to be outside in this weather. Even the hillbillies. She’d only be out here long enough to wait out the storm, which hopefully wouldn’t last too much longer. Easing the wheel to the right, Zora swerved Christine toward what she assumed was the side of the road.
Boom!
Her car crashed into a large object, causing her head to snap forward. The sickening crunch of her car sent her heart plummeting. Shit! Shit! Shit! What the hell did she just hit?
Zora was thankful she wore her seatbelt and Christine was an older model made of much sturdier material than its newer counterparts. The collision could have been worse. As much as Zora wanted to drive away, she couldn’t do it without at least making sure she hadn’t killed someone.
“Please let it be an inanimate object. Don’t let it be a person,” she chanted, rubbing the stiffening sensation in her neck.
She undid her seat belt and got out of the car. Rain and hail hit her skin like needle pricks, soaking her within seconds. Zora shielded her face as she walked to the front of her vehicle.
Seeing the victim Christine had claimed made Zora wish she’d hit a person. It was an animal—a bear. Slowly making its way to a standing position was the most massive creature she’d ever seen. It wobbled as though trying to find the ground beneath its feet. Zora wasn’t crazy enough to stick around to help or be its midnight snack.
With a squeak, she raced to the driver’s side door, grateful she forgot to close it and that she’d left the engine running. From the way the bear had gained its balance, Zora figured it would be fine, but there was no guarantee she would be if she waited a second longer. Slipping back into her vehicle and yanking the door closed, she shifted the gear to drive. She slammed on the gas with every intention of maneuvering the car around the bear. In her panicked state, she didn’t take into account the slickness of the road.
Her car hydroplaned, making a three-sixty.
“Aaaaaahhh!” She screamed until her throat was raw. Desperately trying to gain control of the vehicle, she clutched the steering wheel for dear life and pumped the brakes frantically. This only served to send her spinning off the road and down a steep incline. Brief moments of her life flashed through her mind like moving pictures, and Zora was certain she was going to die tonight.
She jerked the wheel to the side in one last desperate attempt to stop the car’s progress. Nothing. The car crashed into a tree. But this time, she wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
~~~
“Still not awake yet? How much longer do you think she’ll be out?” Heath leaned against the doorway, his arms folded and eyes narrowed in concentrated scrutiny on the prone woman in bed.
Gavin dabbed a damp washcloth over his patient’s forehead. “Don’t know. She banged her skull pretty good, but she’s responding to the medicine better than I expected.”
“You sure giving her our medicine is the right thing to do? Her system may reject it. She may be our onida, but she’s not a shifter like us.”
“True, but remember, because our forefather’s genetic code was bred into her ancestors, her immune system should be able to handle more than the average human’s, enabling her to sustain the potency of our medicine.”
Heath walked farther into the room, his frown deepening. “Even still, isn’t that risky?”
Gavin nodded but buried his own anxiety. While he was almost certain she’d be fine, there were still some variables that tinged his thoughts with a little doubt. “Yes. I took a chance, I know, but she’s recovering beautifully, just as I suspected she would. She’s a fighter, this one. The swelling’s gone down and the gash over her eye is healing nicely. Her bones may take another day or so to mend. I won’t know for sure until she wakes up, but if need be, I’ll mix another batch of the potion and utilize my healing abilities. The combination of the two should do the trick.”
A soft moan escaped her full lips as she moved her head from side to side beneath Gavin’s careful ministrations. Other than that, she remained asleep. She’d been out for the past four days since she’d hit him with her car, subsequently crashing it.
In most circumstances, Gavin would have put her in his pickup and taken her on the half-hour drive to the hospital, but from the moment he laid eyes on her—inhaled her scent—he was hard pressed to let her go. He knew right away she was an onida—wife, a descendant of those who were specifically bred to mate with his kind. Her scent gave her away. From what he knew of the legends, an unmated onida secreted pheromones that drove Kelowna males wild with lust, and filled them with an instant need to claim her. It was how Gavin felt times one thousand.
A surge of protectiveness like nothing he’d ever experienced had hit him harder than a ton of bricks, making him realize right away what she was. His pulse raced, his body vibrated with emotion and his cock stiffened. The sight of her, the smell of her, the feel of her skin told him she was the woman he and his cousins had been waiting for.
She even had a birthmark on her left hip that resembled a bear’s head. Yes, she was definitely the one. The woman they’d dreamed of. Their mate. Unable to help himself, he grazed her cheek with the back of his hand, reveling in the softness of her rich brown skin that reminded him of dark chocolatey concoction. Her body, though banged and bruised, was a thing of perfection with long limbs and a voluptuous frame.
When Gavin examined her to determine her injuries, it had been necessary to strip her. As a healer, he was used to seeing naked bodies of all shapes, sizes and colors but none of them had affected him the way this woman’s had. From her larger than average breasts capped with blackberry-colored nipples, wide hips, thick thighs and round high ass, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. The neatly groomed thatch of hair covering her pussy made his cock hard when he’d gotten a peek of it. She was what some would consider full-figured, but with her height, she was perfectly proportioned and toned as if she worked out or was just naturally fit. The dark beauty seemed to be made especially for them.
God, she was gorgeous with her large eyes, which he knew were brown from the brief minute she’d opened them as he tended to her wounds. Her nose was wide with a rounded tip that suited her face. Those full sensual lips had him fantasizing about what they’d taste like and how soft they’d be beneath his—he was dying to kiss them.
His gaze slid over her face and rested on the remarkable color of her hair that framed her face against the stark white pillow. Gavin fingered one of her golden locks that were a hue between brown and blonde. The color was unusual for someone with her skin tone, but it suited her. Whether she dyed her hair pink, green or blue, she’d still be gorgeous to him. He also liked the way the neat little dreadlocks formed around her head in an array of spirals and curls. When she was fully recovered and realized she belonged to them, he’d enjoy grabbing onto her luxuriantly thick hair as he rode her hard and long. His dick stirred in anticipation.
He realized they had a ways to go before that point, but he wouldn’t deny what he knew almost from the moment he laid eyes on her. She was theirs.
Gavin snapped out of his deep contemplation when Heath waved a hand in his face. “Earth to Gavin.”
Gavin reluctantly dragged his gaze away from their mate to turn his attention to his cousin. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”
“I’ve been talking to you for the last minute. You were spacing out.”
“It’s hard to think when she’s around. Life is about to change for me, you and Logan.”
Heath chuckled. “Yep. Guess our bachelor days are over. It’s so strange that up until you found her, we had considered finding our own wives and giving up on the idea of finding the one made specifically for us.”
“I know. It’s almost like her appearance in our lives is like some divine intervention.”
Heath sighed. “Exactly. I just wish she would wake up. There’s so many things I want to ask her. What she likes? What’s her favorite food, color, song? I want to shake her awake and demand she talk to me but that would just be crazy. Being patient is for the birds. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve stopped in here, waiting for her to wake up and acknowledge us, ya know?”
A smirk tilted Gavin’s lips. “Tell me about it. Logan has been roaming the house like a caged beast. He’s not the most patient person on his best day, but I think if our little Goldilocks doesn’t wake up soon, there’s no telling what Logan will do. He wanted me to give her more of the potion right away to speed up the healing process. I knew she’d be able to handle our medicine, but I’m not going to push it by giving her too much of it at once. Where is he now, by the way?”
“He went out for a run, said her scent was driving him crazy. You’d think he never had a woman before from the way he’s carrying on.”
Gavin nodded in understanding. “He hasn’t had this woman. But you’re right. If Logan goes all alpha on her, he may frighten her.”
“He was on to something though. When she wakes up, we should start as we intend to go. She’ll have to get used to us.”
“Oh yeah? And exactly how do we broach that subject? ‘Hi, I’m Gavin and these are my cousins, Heath and Logan. We can shift into bears, and by the way, you’re our mate and we expect you to deal with it because you have no choice.” He snorted. “That’ll go over well.”
Heath rubbed his chin as frown lines deepened in his face. “I see your point, but she’ll have to know sooner or later, and I prefer sooner. We’ll give her time to adjust to the idea, of course, but I don’t see the point in wasting time. We only have a month before we head back home. I don’t want to spend the bulk of it tiptoeing around what we are. It’s fortunate we even found her. I thought…” Heath broke off as his voice flooded with emotion.
Gavin knew exactly how his cousin felt. There weren’t many of his kind left because of the shortage of females who could carry their seed. He and his cousins were descended from the Kelowna clan, a group of sentient bears who had at one point lived peacefully among humans. As time passed and the environment changed with industrialization and the influx of hostile humans, their kind suffered. Diseases their systems could not handle were introduced to them, leaving only the strong to survive. Most babies came out stillborn and a large portion of their females didn’t survive childbirth.
It came to a point where the males outnumbered the females in alarming proportions. As a solution to their crisis, elders of the Kelowna reached out to the humans who knew of their existence for help. Thus began an attempt to successfully breed with humans to save their race. Of the successful attempts, two types of babies were born. The first, a newly evolved breed that could take the shape of bear and human—what the modern Kelowna now were. The second type was the onida, mostly human, without the ability to shift but able to mate and breed healthy offspring with the Kelowna.
The male to female ratio was still lopsided however, so it was decided that males would share their women, grouping every three men with one female to ensure all the males had a chance to mate. It had been an effective solution in the beginning. Eventually, however, even the onida failed to breed enough female offspring to sustain their race. Because of that, there was only a handful of their kind left.
From an early age, Gavin, along with his cousins, Heath and Logan, knew that their family’s line would end with them if they were unable to find a mate. All three of them were now in their late thirties and had even considered settling down with “regular” women for companionship in their later years. Now that they’d found this beauty, there was no question of that.
“I know. I never thought we’d find her either, but we did, and we’ll have the rest of our lives to spend with her. I don’t think holding off a bit is asking too much. Let’s ease her into the idea a little at a time.”
Heath raked his hand through his russet hair. “I guess you’re right, but Logan won’t like this. Hell, I’m not sure I like it, but we’ll try it your way for now. One thing that worries me is when she comes to, what if she’s left someone behind, a family that may come looking for her?”
Gavin had thought about that as well, but quickly dismissed the idea, not even wanting to contemplate the prospect of losing her when they’d only just found her. “I don’t think so. When we searched through her car, it looked like she had a lot of her possessions packed up. Either she was going on a very long vacation or relocating. Besides, she’s not wearing a ring on her left ring finger, and there’s no tan line either, so I think we can safely assume she’s unattached.”
“A boyfriend maybe?”
“If she’s not married then she’s ours.”
Heath leaned over the sleeping beauty, skimming his fingers along her arm. She shivered as if responding to his touch. “Zora,” he whispered her name softly.
A smile curved Gavin’s lips at the sound. Since they’d found her identification card with her name, he’d said it over and over again, savoring the word on his tongue. The name sounded sophisticated and sweet at the same time— it was perfect for her. Zora Calloway. “Gorgeous, isn’t she?”
Heath licked his lips, eyeing her with a longing with which Gavin could empathize with. “Being this close to her is driving me insane. Her scent is intoxicating. I think I need to get out of the house for a bit. I haven’t shifted since she’s been here and my bear is getting restless. Wanna join me? I’m sure she’ll be fine for an hour or so.”
Gavin shook his head. “No. When I give her more of the medicine, I’ll need to monitor her carefully to make sure she has no adverse reactions.”
“Okay. When we get back, I’ll take over the watch. You need some rest, cuz.”
“I don’t mind staying by her side.”
“But I do mind you wearing yourself out. You’ll be no use to her then.” Heath straightened, and placed his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “Promise me you’ll at least take a nap when I get back.”
“Fine, although it’s really not necessary.”
Gavin was thankful Heath didn’t reply.
His cousin gave one last longing look at their mate before heading out, leaving Gavin alone with her once again. Gavin took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze.
“Soon.”