Chapter Fourteen
Poppy watched as Wilder put the finishing touches on his home to make it secure again. It had been two weeks since they were attacked. The fawn he was helping to heal had already been let back into the wild. It amazed her how kind and gentle he was with all the animals.
They hadn’t really talked about his revelation.
At first, she thought it was a big fat lie, but then everything else fell into place.
The reason she thought of Wilder when she saw the bear.
Why the bear disappeared whenever Wilder was nearby.
The way the bees reacted as well as other wildlife.
It completely explained the cub. It made total sense, and she didn’t feel crazy anymore. Bear shifters weren’t a fantasy.
“All done,” Wilder said.
She looked at him, and she thought about that room. “Your parents were killed?”
“Yes.”
Wilder didn’t talk about his bear shifter, and he didn’t talk about his past. They hadn’t talked about what went down a couple of weeks ago. She was done hiding from it. It felt like a living thing between them, creating an invisible rift.
“And that’s why you had to hide yourself in that room, to keep other ... beings safe,” she said.
“My parents were gone before they could teach me how to control everything.”
She felt so sorry for him. It must have been a nightmare. “You were lonely,” she said.
“I didn’t think of it as loneliness.” He shrugged.
“I can’t imagine having to go through any of that. I mean, I went through puberty, and I guess I could be a bit of a monster. Most women are at least once a month.”
Wilder laughed.
“I feel like it doesn’t compare to, well, you know, the whole body shifting.”
“The first time I can remember, it wasn’t fun. I hated it. It hurt,” Wilder said. “I remember after it, I didn’t fully transform, and it’s known that some shifters struggle, and it takes several days to transform completely, to shift. For others, it could take the process of months.”
She winced. “What was it like for you?”
“About three days in my first months. Every single day, it hurt like hell. It’s what I imagine hell is like.”
She frowned. “Do you want to talk about this?”
“Poppy, you’re not running away screaming.” He put the hammer he’d been using down on the dresser he’d also repaired.
She didn’t pull away, because she wasn’t afraid of this man. He protected her, even when he didn’t know her.
“You’re the only one I want to talk to about this.
Three days, and each time, it seemed to hurt worse than the time before.
I remember coming to, and the house was trashed.
I wasn’t expecting it, and I couldn’t remember a damn thing.
The pain was all I could remember, and that was when I got to work in advancing the room my parents had already started. ”
“Your parents started that room?” she asked.
He nodded. “They were planners. They planned for me to be ... strong.” He reached out and took her hands.
Poppy waited for fear to settle in. Panic. Nothing. She didn’t feel any worry or stress, as Wilder held her.
She’d ran away when she saw that room. Ran at any sign of danger, and yet, as she stared into his eyes, it was like she knew with every single fiber of her being, she was ... home.
“You’re not afraid?”
“No, you’re not going to hurt me.” She reached up and cupped his cheek. “I know that.”
Wilder pressed his face against her cheek.
“You’re not going to run and try to sell my story for money?”
Poppy burst out laughing. “Please, they’d have me committed. There is no way anyone would listen to me, and besides, I like my life here with you. Bees don’t sting me, and you’re an amazing cook, and do you hear that?” she asked.
They were both silent.
Silence.
Resplendent quiet.
“It’s so peaceful here, and you’re right, humans suck, and I should know, I’m one of them.” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
“You’re different, Poppy. You always have been.” He reached out and stroked a curl behind her ear. “I know this is a lot to take in.”
“It’s fine. I just have to get used to the fact you’re a bear ... shifter?” She smiled and frowned. “So, you don’t use that room anymore?”
“No, I never lose control.”
“This is probably good.”
“Do you want to run away?” he asked.
“No, I want to understand you more, and it makes so much sense. Like I said, it explains the bees and the way animals react to you. It kind of all falls into place, and makes me think everything is a little less weird.”
“Are you tempted to take a picture and send it into the press?” Wilder asked.
She frowned. “Absolutely not. No. I would not do that to you.” It was different when she thought of him as just being a bear, something rare and majestic.
He was still rare and certainly majestic, only hunters, poachers, other people would gravitate to these parts to find him, to hunt him, and she couldn’t allow that to happen.
Rushing toward her camera, which against all odds had actually survived all of the chaos, she held it out to Wilder.
It wasn’t much, but it was something. Within it was the evidence of the poachers, as well as a possible, singular shot of Wilder as a bear.
“This is yours. All of it. Do with it as you wish.” She went onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
They’d not had sex for the last two weeks. Wilder was being the perfect gentleman, but the moment his grip tightened around her waist, she couldn’t help but gasp. The way he touched her, it brought back so much passion and spark.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. Letting him know how much she needed him. In response, Wilder grabbed her ass, but this time, he lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her toward his bedroom.
Within seconds, he had her on her back, as he pressed his cock against her core. She started to tear at his clothes, wanting to get him naked. His body was raw masculinity and she’d never get enough of him. Knowing he was also a bear was somehow a turn on.
“You’re mine, Poppy,” he said, stripping her clothes off.
“Yes, yes, I’m all yours.” She felt desperate. Poppy didn’t know what was riding her, just that she couldn’t help herself.
Wilder kissed her, and then trailed his lips down her body, taking one nipple, then the other. She was putty to his demands. She didn’t want him to stop. Her body was at his mercy.
He licked at her nipples, sucked on the buds, and glided his tongue further down her body, until he got to her pussy.
Wilder pressed his hands on either side of her thighs, holding them open, and then, his tongue began to work between her thighs.
He licked up and down her clit, going down toward her cunt, penetrating her.
She felt mindless. Needing his cock. It was a compulsion.
She came so close to her orgasm, and Wilder held it back, moving between her spread legs, and she looked into his eyes. She knew she saw the bear and Wilder at the same time, and there was no fear. The truth hadn’t scared her. It felt like it had finally set her free.
She cried out, instantly seeing bliss as he pressed forward, taking her in a long, hard, searing stroke. He pulled out, and he wasn’t too gentle as he slammed balls-deep back inside her. He was so long and thick, more than she’d ever imagined possible.
This was different. It felt more powerful, and the orgasm it was stronger than ever. He didn’t need to touch her, but she felt herself going to that edge, and he pushed her over the brink, and there was no control. She shattered into a million pieces, and the pleasure rushed through her.
She screamed his name, and then Wilder sped up. Poppy realized, all this time, he’d been holding back for her. Did he think his bear repulsed her? Now there was no reason to hold back anymore.
****
Wilder looked out into the darkened sky, with more questions than answers.
Alder hadn’t exactly been clear. He’d been using the humans to what?
Round up bears, hunt them down, and force them to mate amongst their own kind.
He was an extreme purist, and he should really mind his own fucking business.
Both Wilder’s parents had been bears, and yet that hadn’t stopped humans from killing them. Bears were not stronger together, but he felt like he needed to hunt for Alder.
It had been a long time since he met another bear shifter, and although he couldn’t fucking stand Alder for the fact he worked with humans, he couldn’t deny that the other man might have some knowledge he might need.
It had been nearly three months since Poppy learned the truth about him, and he knew they had a true mating. He’d felt the difference in him, but also, he sensed the chance within Poppy.
She was not becoming a bear.
She was pregnant, with his child.
Poppy smelled different, and she carried an aura with her, and Wilder hated that he hadn’t considered the possibility of what a bear child might actually mean.
He could lose his mate, and the very thought had his bear tearing up inside.
They were in a state of panic, because for the first time in his adult life, he was finally happy.
He’d found a reason to live, a purpose to keep fighting another day.
He and Poppy were compatible in so many ways. Their only difference—he was a shifter, and she was human. This is why he’d spent the past few weeks exploring the forest, looking for any scent or trail Alder might have left behind. He knew it was a long shot, but it was something he needed to do.
Bending down, he ran his hand in the wet dirt.
It had been raining for three days straight.
A freak heat wave had struck the country, and any sign of snow was not going to happen.
Although, he’d lived through days where it was sunny in the morning, raining in the evening, and completely snow-covered by nightfall. The weather was unpredictable.
He sniffed the air and caught the scent of something. It was soft, subtle, and faint. He breathed in again, feeling that hope blossoming in his chest.
When had Alder first come to his forest? Why hadn’t he seen or heard of him before now?
He didn’t have any answers. All he knew was, he had a desperation to speak to him. To set things straight. He wasn’t going to have a threat hanging over his mating and their child.
Wilder was about to stand up, when something pushed him down, knocking him on his ass.
“Your human is making you weak,” Alder said.
Wilder gritted his teeth, as he’d fallen on a stone, which dug into his back, and the truth was, a bear shifter he might be, but he was still fucking old. Stones, just as damn plugs under the foot, still hurt.
“I’m not weak,” Wilder said, springing into action. He looked ahead in the forest, but Alder was not where he’d been moments ago. Wilder was not used to being close to another alpha, however, an alpha is what he sensed within Alder.
“Are you ready to get rid of your human whore?” Alder asked.
The insult was the final straw.
Alder may be an alpha. He may have gotten the upper hand, but no one messed with his mate, nor called her names.
This time, as Alder went to strike, Wilder was ready, calling on the power of his bear, as he intercepted the attack, wrapping his fingers around Alder’s throat, and within a matter of seconds, had him thrust against a tree.
He’d transformed his arm only, and it was not even close to the full moon.
Wilder mastered this skill many moons ago.
Boredom had a way of making most people learn a skill they did not think they had.
Trapped. Unable to move. He held Alder at his mercy.
“Let me go,” Alder gritted out between clenched teeth, but it was only because Wilder gave him some leeway to be able to talk.
“Insult my mate again, and I will rip out your throat.”
“It’ll grow back,” Alder said.
“I know, and then I will gladly rip it out again. Try me, let’s see who’s lying.”
He stared at Alder, just as Alder stared right back at him. Seconds passed, maybe even minutes, but the fact remained, Wilder wasn’t joking.
“I mean no disrespect.”
Wilder didn’t let him go, because right now, he didn’t trust him. “My mate is with child,” he said.
Alder’s eyes went wide.
“You seem to know what’s going to happen. I need to know if my mate is going to live, or if I must consider if she should remain pregnant.”
Alder was silent.
That silence continued.
“Test my patience, Alder, and I would be happy to play with you and use you as my chew toy.”
It would be a battle of wills, but it would be fun while it lasted.