The Right Bear's Arms BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance(8)

When Katie woke up, for several moments she thought she was back in Boone, in her childhood bed. It smelled like home, when home was a happy place. When Dad was still around. It smelled like... bear.

She jerked fully awake, convinced she’d been dreaming. The scent was still there, an unmistakable undercurrent. Next to her, Jake slept on, his eyelashes casting long shadows on his cheeks. How had she missed it? He was tall, broad, a little furry—how had she missed the unmistakable scent of bear-shifter? Was he an alpha too? How could he be, living here miles from any bear enclave... “wildlife management,” he’d said. His big brother had died, leaving him—the family business. He was an alpha bear.

How could she have been such a fool? Had her mother sent him? Katie wouldn’t put it past her. Her mother would do anything to regain her social standing in Boone.

He was the most wonderful man she’d ever met, and he was everything she had been running from.





***





Jake woke to an empty bed in a strange place. Katie. He couldn’t stop smiling at what a fantastic night it had been, but where was she? Her side of the bed was cold, and there wasn’t anywhere in the small, homey studio apartment where she could be hiding. Even the bathroom door was open. He eased out of bed, snagging his shorts and pulling them on. There was a note on the kitchenette counter.

Jake,

Had to run to work. Please lock up when you go. Thanks for everything.

K.

That was it. No hearts, no kisses. No “can’t wait to see you again.” Jake’s shoulders slumped. She’d had a good time, he had no doubt about that. They’d had a connection, hadn’t she felt it? So what did this mean?

Later, he related the night’s events to Rafe as they were setting up in their usual spot. Jake strapped on his acoustic guitar and started checking the tuning.

“So she just walked out? Man, that’s cold.” Rafe drank from a small paper cup, then curled his fingers around it for warmth. The early spring morning was chilly, and there was a strong wind off the lake.

“I didn’t expect her to fall in love with me right away or anything, but damn it, Rafe. We had a real connection. I felt it. She’s the one.” This morning his inner bear was sulking around grumbling like a petulant child denied a toy. She was ours.

“Are you sure she felt it, though? If she doesn’t know what she is, she might not know what that connection means, you know?”

“I gotta make her understand, Rafe.” Jake felt a rising sense of panic. What if he lost her forever, the one woman who was destined to be his mate? “I need to talk to her.”

“What are you going to tell her?” Rafe leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Are you going to walk up to her and go, ‘so, I’m actually a bear, and you’re my soulmate, so you need to come make bear babies with me now’?”

“Well... maybe not quite like that?” Jake fiddled with a few chords, frowning. “What happens if I lose her? Nobody ever talks about that. Everybody’s all ‘ooh destined mate, how romantic,’ but nobody mentions what happens if one of the mates doesn’t believe in destiny.”

Rafe laughed at him. “The course of true love, man. That’s the thing with destiny. If it works out with her, it was destiny. If it doesn’t, then it wasn’t. What do you want to do?”

“Go talk to her,” Jake said immediately.

“Phew. I thought you were gonna try and kidnap her or something. Talking is a good start.”

Jake waited until there was a lull in foot traffic on their street corner, then headed for the diner.

Katie had been telling the truth about needing to work, at least. Jake saw her through the plate glass windows, moving from table to table with a smile on her face. God, she was beautiful. And tough. And funny. And the sex had been out of this world. She was everything he’d hoped for in a mate. She was his, he knew she was. He just needed her to know it.

He stepped into the diner and the smile on her face faded. “Katie, can we talk?”

She barely looked at him as she brushed past. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Did I do something wrong? What happened?”

“Damn it. Hang on a minute.” Katie delivered her order and went to talk to the man in the kitchen before coming back and grabbing Jake by the arm. She pulled him outside and into the alley next to the diner.

“Katie, I’m sorry if I—”


“Shut up. Just shut up and listen to me.” She looked angry, but worse than that, she looked hurt. Jake racked his brain trying to figure out what he had done to hurt her. “I know what you are,” she said. “I don’t know why it took me so long.”

“You know—” he lowered his voice “—that I’m a bear?” That should be wonderful news, but her reaction was all wrong.

Her sweet face was contorted in anger. “Just stay away from me. I don’t care if my mother sent you or not, I don’t want anything to do with a man like you.”

Jake hadn’t realized before now that having a broken heart could cause literal pain. The way she looked at him, like he was something she’d stepped in and wanted scraped off as soon as possible. “Your mother? No, nobody sent me! Katie, it’s—it’s destiny. We’re meant to be together, didn’t you feel it? Don’t you see?”