Elianna let her bear go. They both needed to run until neither one could move. 

Ursid hybrid.

Justin couldn’t have hurt her more if he’d cursed her.

She’d expected him to ask about her coat or why she’d finally decided to shift, because the Justin she knew would be nice to her.

Not utter the words she could not escape.

She thought he liked her.  Maybe even more than liked her.

Not that she had returned his interest even though she’d wanted to, but calling her an ursid hybrid was the same as saying bastard. 

Her bear’s coat and her mixed-up body shape marked her as the king’s betrayal of his own kind. In her case, her father had also betrayed his mate by his infidelity. 

That’s why Elianna could never be accepted in his clan.

Any clan.

She dropped back and gave her bear the lead. 

Her bear ran, happy as a bumblebee bouncing through the woods. 

Elianna would use this time to nurse her wounded heart and get her head together so she didn’t act like some weepy woman when she was in human form again. 

Deep down inside, she’d hoped Justin would be different. He’d be that one shifter who would see that she wasn’t damaged goods, but just unusual.  He’d proven to be a decent man, better than the ones she’d known. If someone as good as Justin could not look at her without contempt, no male bear shifter ever would.

This would prepare her for meeting her future mate in bear form, but she would not hurt so deeply over that one.  Not the way she felt now. 

She had solved her problem of Justin flirting all the time.

No more silly comments or smoldering looks.

This was awful.

Something bumped up against her bear, throwing her sidestepping. Her bear chuffed and came around, ready to see who it was, then quieted and backed up a step.

What? No back away from anyone. Elianna had never been submissive to any bear and would not allow her bear to do it now.

Those words fizzled in her mind as soon as she got a look at the largest shifted grizzly she’d ever seen.  She was very big for a female, but that grizzly had to be another head taller, flatfooted.

Justin shifted into a monster bear.

If he attacked, he’d slaughter her. 

Changing her mind in the hope of staying alive, Elianna instructed her bear, Drop head. Do not antagonize. We cannot win.

Her bear remained with her head up and fixated on that breathing mountain covered in a deep brown coat Justin had called Herc. 

The giant bear lifted his head and opened his big jaws, roaring loud enough to make the trees tremble in fear. 

Elianna’s big bear heart thundered with excitement.  Her foolish bear clearly did not recognize a danger right in front of it.

Bear mate.

What did you say? Elianna asked.

Bear mate.

What was going on with her bear?  No. You do not pick mate. They couldn’t choose one like that.  Could they?

Yes, her bear answered.

Elianna might as well share her pain.  She told her bear, Does not want bear like us.

Mate.

She and her bear had been communicating more than ever since arriving here, but Elianna could not get her bear to listen until she figured a way to pull her bear’s attention away from Herc.

Yes, Herc mate, her bear confirmed.

The Herc they were discussing had lowered his head from that almighty roar and padded toward them. He wasn’t frothing at the mouth or making deep sounds of impending attack. 

Elianna had no way to make her bear move at the moment, so she prepared herself to be bloodied. Maybe Justin could stop his bear before he killed her.

When Herc reached them, he lowered his head and rubbed his cheek against her bear, who returned the affection.

Lost in the moment, Elianna became very still and soaked in the happy emotion rolling off her bear.  That was when she realized she had never known her bear to show this kind of joy since being a cub. 

Things had gone badly after Elianna’s first shift. She began noticing dirty looks from polar bear shifters in her mother’s clan once they saw Elianna’s animal form. She’d hidden her bear ever since.

Now, she felt shame over withholding joy from her bear.

When the grizzly nipped her bear’s neck, the party began.

The bears chased each other and played, sometimes tumbling over each other.  The happy sounds coming from her bear warmed Elianna’s heart and made her take stock of their relationship.

She had to do a better job of keeping her animal happy. Elianna had spent so many years suffering shame and rejection, she’d lost sight of how much her pain affected her bear. 

For the next hour, she let her bear have her head and romp through the woods with Herc, who appeared just as happy.  When her bear finally found a spot in the shade and dropped to the ground, Herc settled right next to her, but kept his head up in a protective way. 

Her bear placed a paw over Herc’s big paw and he licked her ear. 

Climbing up the mountain and running all over the place had worn Elianna out as much as her bear.  She closed her eyes and slept soundly, like she’d never rested before. 

When she woke, someone was brushing fingers over her hair.

Hair? Her eyes came open and she stared up at Justin leaning over her, smiling. 

He said, “Hi there, Eli, babe.” His voice reminded her of warm mornings snuggled under a thick blanket with the snow falling outside. 

She felt so relaxed. Whisper soft, she said, “Hello.” 

It felt so good to lie here on the thick grass her bear had pressed down.  Oh, no.

His smile dimmed. “What’s wrong?”

“My bear not here. I am.”  She took in his body that no longer had a shirt, and looked down to see she wore his shirt.  Thankfully, it went to halfway down her thighs.  “I wear wrong shirt.”

“A trained observer, are you?” He grinned again.

Was everything funny to this man?  “You are wise mouth.”

“I think you mean a wiseass.”

“Yes, that.” She drew a shallow breath, enjoying his scent that surrounded her

His eyes lit with more amusement. “Better a wise-ass than a dumb-ass.”

“How did clothes come?”

“I had Herc grab the backpack as soon as I shifted. He dropped it close by once we found you. I knew I could keep you corralled in this area, but I had to go back to find your clothes. You were tuckered out so I just let you sleep.”  His finger kept toying with her hair.

What had changed from when he saw her bear? “Why I wear your shirt?”

“Because I like seeing you in my clothes, but I’d like your smile more.” 

He acted so happy. She wanted to give him a smile, but she could not when he had called her a name she hated. 

Her brain pounded with two words that gave her a headache. She had to address what he called her and find out why he was acting nice now. 

Loading her words with plenty of accusation, she said, “You call me ursid hybrid.”

“Yes. Why did that upset you?”

“You know meaning?” she asked, unable to hide her anger. Was he intentionally acting dense or turning her into a joke?

“Of course, I do. It’s a cub that came from the cross between a polar bear and a grizzly mating.  I just never expected to see one in my lifetime.  You have the most beautiful bear I’ve ever seen. It’s like seeing a unicorn that is as magnificent as it is elusive.”

Tears pooled in her eyes.

His face fell. “What’d I say wrong, Eli, babe?”

She smiled and he stared at her as if she’d shocked him.  Her lips trembled as she forced words out. “You ... you call my bear pretty.”

His eyes softened and his voice turned gruff. “No, babe, I didn’t call her pretty.” When her face crumbled, he explained, “Pretty doesn’t begin to describe you or your bear. You’re beautiful and your bear is spectacular. But your smile can bring me to my knees.”

Her heart thundered, pounding her chest.

She lifted up and kissed Justin, sharing all the happiness he had just gifted her. 

He jumped in right with her, bringing her body up to him. His arms wrapped around her and he dove into the kiss, taking everything she’d give him. He had no idea how much she had bottled up inside her just waiting for this moment.

Not with just any man, because Justin wasn’t just any man or any shifter. 

He was ... spectacular.  She liked that word.

When a hand reached between them and slid up inside the shirt that smelled of him to touch her, she shivered in reaction.  “Yes, that. I want that.”

“I love it when you talk dirty.”

She started laughing and his hand fell away.

He leaned her away and looked at her with such awe, she stopped laughing and asked, “What?” She was still happy.

“I’ve been waiting for you to smile, but your laugh.” He swallowed.  “I can die a happy man now that I’ve heard it.”

She couldn’t contain her smile that got bigger and bigger.  “No die. I smile more if you not stop.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  He lowered her down and gently pushed her arms to the ground on each side of her head.  “How’s your shoulder?”

“Is good.”

“Glad to hear it, Eli, babe. I plan to put a smile on that face you can’t wipe off for weeks.”

“I like you talk dirty.”

He chuckled as he got busy unbuttoning the shirt he’d covered her in, but his humor fled as the cloth fell away and exposed her all to him.  Moving slowly, he eased his hands to her breasts and massaged them.

She closed her eyes and moaned. 

Then his fingers played with her nipples, gentle then a small pinch of teasing pain that she hissed at, but begged him not to stop.

“Not unless you tell me to, babe,” he said.  “It would kill me, but I will always do whatever you want.”

She opened her eyes, struggling not to cry out as he continued to mix sweetness with the seductive torture of her nipples. “I want ... you.”

He muttered something wicked and dropped his head to one breast, using his tongue and teeth as he had his fingers.

She felt that in her womb and clenched her legs. 

His free hand now moved to those legs, easing them apart and running his finger through her moist center.  She could not take this forever. 

Sliding his finger across the sensitive bud, back and forth, he then dipped inside her. He had big hands and the feel of that thick finger took her breath as he slowly moved it in and out, then drifted his fingers over the heat building between her legs. 

She was panting. Muscles in her body were taut, anticipating something just out of her reach. Justin would not let up, but neither would he go ahead and give her relief.

Her body begged to be released from the tension twisting through her.  Blades of grass snapped off in her fingers, but she kept her arms in place.

He swept his mouth from her breast to her lips and kissed her, in no rush to finish.  Healthy shifters did not suffer heart attacks, but she might. 

Her tongue had a mind of its own when his slipped between her lips. They seemed to know each other.

Justin pushed his finger insider her again and she forgot to keep her arms down.  Her hands clutched his powerful shoulders. She shook hard as he drove in and out of her, then pulled out one last time and his finger stroked her perfectly.

She lost herself when everything broke apart inside her.  The coil of need unleashed, lashing through her like an out-of-control whip of pleasure. 

She clung to him, sure that she was safe in his arms. 

He would not let her fall far before he pulled her back to him. Every time he touched her, she felt the zing of energy inside her race to meet his fingers as if recognizing him.

His head lifted up a few inches.  “Better?”

“No.”

He dropped his head to hers. “Dammit. What is with that word and you?”

She laughed at him. “You funny.”

Picking his head back up, he said, “That’s not what a man wants to hear after making love to a gorgeous woman.”

He tossed words like “gorgeous” around as if they were so easy to attach to her.  She brushed her fingers over his cheek and he turned to kiss them.

When his dark gaze returned to her, she said, “You want hear how good you do?”

“I wouldn’t complain if you said that.”

“Not good,” she managed to tell him with a straight face.

He frowned. “You’re joking, right?”

Fighting to stay serious, she said, “Not call what you do good. It would be insult. More like maestro with simple instrument you make sing as angels do.” Smiling up at him, she said, “Your kisses make me lose mind.”

There was the grin of a proud man whose ego might blow off half the mountainside if it continued to grow, so she added, “But not finish.”

“Huh?”

Now that his head had shrunk back to normal size, she explained, “I see great promise in pant bulge.”

He lifted his eyebrows up and down.  “Liked what you saw, huh? I’m not one to brag, but it’s impressive.”

She chortled.  “You crazy.”

“About you.”

She would truly lose her mind if he kept saying such things.  “If so mighty, why not show?”

“Because I didn’t have any idea this would happen. I don’t have a condom, babe, or you’d get the full Monty.”

“Who is Monty?” Her eyes widened and she gasped, “You name that, too?”

He barked a laugh.  “No. I’ll tell you about the full Monty later when I can demonstrate.”

“Need no condom. I know body.  One week before can make cub. Now, more excuse?” she challenged, enjoying the banter.

“Hell, no.” He jumped up and had his pants shed faster than her next breath.

She stared up at the most incredible man. He was a vision of excellence from head to toe.  The short dark hair fit Justin’s no-nonsense side, but with his clothes off and his signature grin in place, he was nothing short of delicious.

And he had not been exaggerating. 

She licked her lips and said, “Hello, Monty.”

He dropped his head back and bellowed a laugh. When he caught his breath, he lowered himself to the ground and propped his big chest up with those formidable biceps.  Then he dangled Monty down, teasing the small triangle of hair where her legs met. 

“I wonder ...” she murmured then reached down to grasp him.

“Holy mother of ... ” Justin shouted. 

She paused in her first stroke. “No like?”

“Are you kidding? I love it. I was surprised, but in a good way.” 

Always with the sweet words, this one.  She moved her hand again and he let out a sound of such happiness that it made her feel special to give this man pleasure. 

“I use mouth,” she suggested.

Justin made a deep groan.  “No way.”

“What?”  She paused with him in her grip. 

He was breathing hard.  “Babe, I would love your mouth on me, but I want this to last more than a few seconds. I’ve wanted you twenty-four hours a day since coming back from your walk to the beach.”

“Oh.” She knew he meant the wolf attack, but he would not bring that up now.

“Hey, don’t say ‘oh’ like I can’t last, but not this first time. I want you so much I’m barely hanging on.”

She gave him what she hoped was a coy look and kept stroking him, reveling at the velvet feel of his skin.  She nipped his chest and he kissed her neck, mumbling words she couldn’t understand but they sounded sexy. 

When she quickened the pace, he lifted up out of her reach. She asked, “Now what?”

“Now ... this.” He watched her until he lowered his mouth to kiss her stomach, then moved further down until his lips touched her in the most intimate way.

Opening her legs gently, he did things with his mouth she didn’t think possible.  She arched, clinging to her sanity and pleading for him to keep going.

He did and stars burst into her vision. 

Her climax rushed through her this time like a flash flood of heat.  When he finished, she was limp all over.

Then Justin began kissing her all over as he worked his way up her body, massaging muscles and loving each inch of skin. He did not bypass her breasts and they thanked him for the extra attention.

As his face came into view above her, he eased Monty inside her just a bit.  He kissed her thoroughly and she lifted up her hips to take more of him.

There seemed to always be more.

For that, she was thankful and appreciative.

He was next to her ear when he whispered, “Ready?”

She said, “Why ask? I fall asleep if ... ”

He filled her to the hilt and she sucked in a breath.

“You okay, Eli, babe?” his voice murmured next to her ear.

“Yes. Much okay.”

His voice was tight, but still held a smile when he said, “I love the way you talk, especially when you leave out the word no.”

“Less talk.  Move,” she ordered, unable to stop smiling at this crazy man.

He did as she’d ordered.

His hand cupped her bottom and lifted her to him where he pulled out and slid back in deeper this time.

She dug her nails into his arms.

He grunted, but it sounded like a happy grunt. 

Her legs shook from the strain of another climax building.  Justin started moving faster.  He gritted out, “Still okay?”

“No. More!”

“Waiting on you.”

“I help.” She reached down and touched herself.

That must have been all he could handle. He slammed into her over and over.  She cried out a second before he shouted her name. 

She would never get tired of hearing him say Eli, babe.

Little by little, he slowed, but even when he stopped he was still partially hard inside her.  She had a feeling he could do this for many, many hours.

Being careful not to put his full weight on her, he lowered his body and rolled, bringing her over on top of him as he breathed deeply in and out.  Her hair draped over his chest.

She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

His arms had never let her go. He held her in a possessive way. 

She did not want to open her eyes and have this all vanish.

He had seen her bear and liked what he saw.

Justin held her as she came completely back into her body, because she was sure she had left it at some point.

Those were not normal orgasms. Not one of them was like being with the polar bear guy.  She did not even recall his face now. The only face she saw in her mind was Justin’s.

No, this did not just feel different.

It was ... different.

Could her bear be right?

Could Justin be her mate?

Her sleepy mind drifted into a happy place.  She walked the shores of PK picking up shells and talking to her sweet Nico. He laughed at a bird and ...

Her eyes flew open. Mate?

No, she could not take a mate. What was she thinking? She had to save Nico and could only do that with a Boudreaux Clan mate.

Closing her eyes tight, she held back the tears threatening to burn down her cheeks.

She wanted Justin as hers forever. 

But if she stayed with him, she would break her end of the deal with her father.

She would lose Nico. 

That could never happen. Then she thought on all Justin had told her. He had grown up in Clan Boudreaux. He did not like them, but he was a male bear shifter of that clan. Her heart lightened at realizing she could have Justin, but ... only if he wanted a mate.

Her eyes blurred suddenly and the world twisted. 

The vision she’d had in San Francisco occurred again, but with more detail.  A wolf shifter chased her through the forest. He was much faster than her. Another wolf showed up.  They ran her into the ground. She could see Nico in the distance, but she would not get to him in time. He started fading.  She reached for his little body and grasped air. Howls followed close behind. Turning to take a stand, to call up her bear would make her vulnerable to the wolves. At the last minute they lunged and ... the image blurred and turned dark. 

Elianna squinted, trying to discover the last part.

What did it mean?

She should tell Justin, but if she did he might take her straight to Clan Boudreaux or the place he called a safe house.

Not yet. The vision could be for much later when she and Nico left the clan.  For now, she could not give up control.