Prologue
Cason
I stood on my deck, leaning against the railing as I stared off into the forest. The sounds of birds filled my head, and the sight of animals scurrying deep within the woods was something I was able to pick up with my shifter vision. I was shirtless, my sweats hanging low on my hips, wild energy pumping through my veins. I already shifted twice today, let my bear free, let him be wild, but I was ready for round three.
If I were being honest, I was not the type of person who particularly enjoyed being around others. I liked my solitude, my little piece of land away from everyone and everything. I’d built my cabin far away from my brothers—not because I didn’t enjoy their company, but because it was just easier for me to be with my own thoughts.
And now that four out of the six of us had found our mates, with only Damon and myself without our other halves, it was a lot fucking easier to be on my own. Seeing my brothers happy and content, their fated mates by their sides, their families growing, had this ache settling deep within me.
So yeah, being alone was really fucking good for me.
As the years passed, and the idea of my female grew further and further away, I realized that being out here was for the best. I’d started becoming grumpier, more animalistic. I let my bear out more than I was sure any other shifter consciously did.
One thing I was sure most humans didn’t know, one thing shifters kept tightly guarded, was the fact that the more times we let our animals out, the more times we shifted to let it be free, the more primal we became.
I was right on the verge of just saying fuck it all and being a bear full-time. But I’d miss a lot of shit being human afforded me: enjoying a nice meal, and sitting around the campfire with my brothers and shooting the shit.
I’d miss a lot of fucking things about being a human.
But the truth was, it was easier to be a bear. Less hectic, less confusing. There were no responsibilities or expectations. I lived off the land and just let my basic urges run free. And it was incredible. It was exhilarating and liberating. But whether I was in human form or shifted as a bear, there was one thing that was deeply rooted in me, something that grew by the second.
My mate.
It was this growing feeling inside of me, like this seed was planted deep inside me and every year it grew until one day it would just burst free, tearing me from the inside out.
I had one sole purpose on this planet, and that was to find my mate, to claim her, mark her, to get her swollen with my child. And the very thought, the picture of her big and round, my baby growing inside her, my mark on her neck, was nearly enough to send me into a frenzy of possessive need.
I didn’t know where or who she was, but what I did know for certain was that if I ever did find her, I was going to claim her so fucking hard there was no turning back.
I just hoped I wasn’t more animal than human when that time came.
Chapter One
Mena
“When are you going to find a nice man, Mena honey?”
I stopped midbite as I looked up at my father. “A nice man?” I asked with a mouthful of my mother’s homemade meatloaf.
“Well, a nice human, sweetheart.”
I set my fork down and reached for my glass of red wine, taking a long drink from it before I answered. Having a father who was a bear shifter and a mother who was human meant my father was an outcast from the moment he decided to marry and be with someone not his fated mate. But he’d fallen head-over-heels in love with my mother, mate or not, because after forty years of him being alone, he was done looking for that “soulmate.” And I couldn’t blame him, was glad they’d been happy and found each other.
I’d been their midlife baby, the surprise they thought they’d never be able to have any children. I’d taken after my mother’s side, fully human but with slight bear-shifting genetics. My senses were keener, more heightened. And my drive for the wilderness was there, so strong I found myself in the woods weekly just to touch base with nature.
But actually shifting into a bear? Never going to happen for me.
So here I was, my father salty because he was estranged from his bear side, and both my parents wanting nothing more for me than to be happy and live a shift
er-free life with a banker husband, a white picket fence around our three-bedroom home, and popping out little human babies.
“We just want you to go after what you deserve, honey.” My mother brought her fork to her mouth, the prongs speared with romaine and spinach, a dollop of thick ranch dressing dripping onto her plate.
I glanced at my father, who was in the process of cutting into his pretty much rare steak. The focus he had on the piece of meat was akin to being in love.
“I’m actually going to head to bear country for the week to go camping.” That had my father glancing up midchew. Bear country wasn’t the town’s real name, but it was one the residents and anyone who lived within a hundred-mile radius called it. Mainly because the population of bear shifters in that area and the surrounding parts was pretty thick.
“Bear country?”
I nodded at his question. “Yeah. Isn’t any mountain town filled with wild animals?” I asked in confusion.
My father lifted a salt-and-pepper, bushy eyebrow.
“And you’re camping? Like in a tent or one of those rent-a-cabins?” There was worry in my mother’s voice, and I almost scoffed.
“I’m gonna rough it. Full-on middle of nowhere, pitching a tent, and starting a fire all by myself.”
My mom and dad glanced worriedly at each other.
“You think that’s a good idea? Safe? The bear shifters that live in the forest are feral, Mena. They aren’t like the bears who live in towns. They are in their animal form more than they are human.”
I did roll my eyes then and scoffed. “I don’t even know if there will be bear shifters where I’ll be. And if there are, I’m sure I’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m not bringing protection.
“Protection?” My mother all but gasped that word and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. She leaned in closer. “Like a gun?” she whispered.
“Oh my God, Mom.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Firstly, you make it sound like a dirty word. Secondly, no, I am not bringing a gun. I don’t even own one.”
“Oh, thank fuck.”