7. Graham
Seven
Graham
Holy fucking shit.
My hot-as-fuck mate is touching herself.
I know it’s wrong. I know I should leave.
But I don’t.
Being a Bear Shifter means I have really good hearing—super hearing, if you will.
And when she starts to moan and slide her hands up and down her body? Yeah, I fucking hear it.
I hear everything.
So sweet. So fucking good.
I can’t help myself.
I unzip my jeans and free my hard-as-steel cock.
Next, I squeeze and run my hand up and down my length, using precum to lubricate the way.
“Goddamn,” I growl, listening to her moans and heavy breathing as she works herself harder.
I want to climb inside with her. I want to show her what being mates means. But I can’t.
Not yet.
I can’t make myself leave either.
So yeah, I listen, and I fuck my hand while she gets herself off.
Sick or twisted—whatever you want to call it—I am rooted to the fucking spot.
And when she finally comes?
I do too, with a roar so fucking loud it shakes the whole forest.
A few minutes later, I listen to the sound of her shower turning on. She's probably getting ready for work.
Mate.
“I know.”
Go see mate.
“I plan to.”
Apologize to her.
That one makes me wince.
Yeah...
About that.
Most men bring flowers.
Bears maybe bring fish.
Mine apparently bites women.
Smooth.
Real smooth.
The least I can do is shower for her.
Walking away takes some convincing but I manage it.
By ten o’clock, I'm standing across the street from Moon & Mug with a cup of coffee I bought from the diner next door because showing up the second she unlocked her own coffee shop seemed desperate.
Even for me.
The bell over the bookstore door jingles.
She steps outside carrying a little chalkboard sign.
My breath catches.
Sunlight catches in her blonde hair, making it glow.
She's wearing another flowy dress today.
Pale blue this time.
A white cardigan hugs her soft curves, and she bites her bottom lip while concentrating on writing something on the sign.
Fresh Blueberry Scones
Honey Lavender Lattes
Journals are Buy 2 Get 1 Free
She steps back.
Tilts her head.
Erases one crooked letter.
Writes it again.
Smiles to herself.
My chest tightens.
Mate.
Yeah...
I know.
But I didn’t know she was so fucking beautiful. Or that she smells like my favorite wildflower honey up close.
She disappears back inside before I can lose my nerve and walk over.
Shit.
I pull out my phone.
Right on cue, it buzzes.
Lucien Biancomano.
I answer immediately.
“Tell me what you learned.”
A low chuckle greets me.
“Good morning to you too.”
“My patience is limited, Luc.”
“So I've noticed.”
Lucien has been my best friend since high school.
Which is hilarious when you think about it.
I'm a Black Bear.
He's a Vampire.
Yeah, bloodsuckers are real too.
Predator politics say we should hate each other.
Instead, he's the closest thing I've got to a brother.
Mostly because he enjoys reminding me whenever I'm acting like an idiot.
Which is often.
“So?” I ask. “Did you run the background check?”
“I did.”
He pauses dramatically.
“And did you ever stop to think it’s creepy to run a background check on your fated mate?”
“Fuck you.”
“No thanks. Anyway, you owe me.”
“I always owe you.”
“Damn right.”
Lucien owns Stakeout Investigations, Barvale's premier private investigation agency.
The logo—a vampire peeking around a corner holding a clipboard—had been his own idea.
He insists it's brilliant and punny.
I insist it's terrible.
I’m probably right.
“So?”
“So...”
I can practically hear papers shuffling.
“Elsie Stevens.”
Just hearing her name makes my Bear rumble happily.
“Thirty-four.”
“Mmm.”
“Single.”
A grin tugs at my mouth.
Very nice.
“Never married.”
Even better.
“No children.”
“Okay...”
“Former pharmaceutical marketing executive.”
That surprises me.
“Really?”
“Made excellent money.”
“So why'd she quit?”
“Burnout.”
Lucien's voice softens.
“Packed up her entire life eight months ago. Moved to Barvale. Bought Moon & Mug.”
He pauses.
“Actually,” he corrects himself, “she rents the building with an option to buy.”
She’s responsible. I like that.
“She's got excellent credit.”
I blink.
“Why do you know her credit score?”
“I'm a private investigator.”
“Fair.”
“No criminal record. Volunteers twice a month at the senior center reading to residents.”
My eyebrows shoot up.
Seriously?
“Oh, and get this. She leaves little anonymous gift baskets on doorsteps every Christmas.”
My heart melts.
“She also feeds the stray cats behind Murphy's Market.”
Mate.
“She has a digital donation box on her website that sends books to the local elementary school. Raised enough for a hundred books this month alone.”
Every sentence somehow makes her even more incredible.
“She also tipped her moving company an extra thousand dollars because one of the movers mentioned his wife was fighting breast cancer.”
Silence stretches between us.
Finally I ask quietly,
“Is there anything at all wrong with her?”
Lucien laughs.
“I've been waiting for you to ask.”
“And?”
“The only thing I can find is she believes in crystal healing.”
I snort.
“That's it?”
“Pretty much.”
“I can live with crystals.”
“I figured that.”
He clears his throat.
“There is one issue.”
Every muscle in my body tightens.
“What?”
“You.”
“Me? The fuck you talking about.”
“You claimed a human without telling her, Graham. If the Shifter Council gets wind of this, not to mention your Alpha—”
He stops talking because he knows I know how fucking serious this is.
I rub the back of my neck.
“Yeah. I know.”
“So, when are you planning to tell her?”
“I don't know.” I drag a hand through my hair. “Eventually?”
My stomach knots the second the word leaves my mouth.
Eventually.
Christ.
What kind of answer is that?
Luc sighs loud enough for me to hear it through the phone.
“Dude... you don't have eventually.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Barvale Clan is hosting this year's annual Shifter Conference.”
I close my eyes.
“Shit.”
“Exactly. Isn't it next week?”
“It is.”
“That means Council representatives are already trickling into town. Alphas, Betas, Enforcers, delegates... half the supernatural world is going to know there's a newly claimed human walking around Barvale before the week is over. You’ll need to bring her before Alpha Devlin.”
“Fuck,” I growl, pressing my fingers against the bridge of my nose. “I forgot about that.”
“How do you forget these things?” Luc laughs in disbelief. “I'm not even a Shifter and I know when your giant furry political convention is.”
“Because I'm a musician, Luc.”
“So?”
“So I don't exactly spend my free time reading Clan newsletters.”
“You should.”
“I'd rather eat glass.”
“You're such a shmuck.”
“I've been told.”
He snorts.
“You literally won a reality singing competition and somehow still manage to live under a rock.”
“I live in a log cabin on the edge of the woods.”
“That actually explains a lot.”
Despite everything, I laugh.
It's short.
Tight.
More of a release than genuine amusement.
Luc's always been good at that.
We've known each other since we were dumb teenagers getting into trouble around Barvale. The fact that he's a Vampire and I'm a Bear never mattered.
He became the brother I never had, which means he's also one of the only people alive willing to tell me when I'm being an idiot.
Unfortunately...
That’s fairly often, and he's usually right.
“Listen,” he says, his voice losing some of its teasing edge. “I'm busting your balls because I care.”
“I know.”
“You claimed her.”
“I know.”
“You're magically connected now.”
“I fucking know, man.”
“And she's human.”
That one lands differently.
“She doesn't know what she is to you,” Luc continues. “Hell, she doesn't even know what you are.”
The guilt sitting in my chest grows heavier.
“She thinks she got rescued by a really big Bear.”
“Yeah.”
“She has no idea that really big Bear accidentally tied your lives together.”
I lean back against the brick wall across from Moon & Mug.
“She looked at me...” I murmur more to myself than to him.
“And?”
“She wasn't scared.”
“You're kidding, right?”
“Nope,” I reply and pride that I have no right feeling surges through me. “She should've been. But she wasn't.”
“Damn. That’s pretty cool actually,” Lucien mumbles.
I smile despite myself, remembering those pale, wide eyes studying me after the fox ran off.
“She called me a bad Bear.”
Luc barks out a laugh so loud I have to pull the phone away from my ear.
“She what?”
“She scolded me.”
“Oh, this woman is already my favorite.”
“She actually wagged her finger at me.”
“Oh my God.”
“And then…”
I can't help smiling wider.
“She thanked me.”
The laughter on the other end fades.
“Well...” Luc says quietly. “That's... different.”
“Yeah.”
“You know, I've investigated a lot of people over the years. Most humans would've passed out.”
“She didn't.”
“No. She yelled at your Bear.”
“She did.”
“Then she thanked your Bear.”
“She did that too.”
“And then that?”
“She let my Bear escort her home.”
I nod even though he can't see it.
“She never ran.”
“Huh.”
“Huh?”
“I think your mate might be just a little crazy.”
I laugh.
“I was thinking brave.”
“Yeah well, I said what I said.”
We sit in comfortable silence for a few seconds.
Finally he clears his throat.
“Which brings us back to the important part.”
I groan.
“I knew there was a catch.”
“You need to tell her.”
“I know I have to tell her,” I hiss, frustration leaking into my voice.
“You need to tell her now,” he says.
“I fucking know!”
“Ouch! My ears are more sensitive than yours, you fuck,” he growls back.
“Sorry. I snapped because you're right.”
“I know.”
“I hate when you're right.”
“Wow. You must hate it a lot then.”
“You enjoying this?”
“Immensely.”
“Asshole.”
“Bad Bear.”
I chuckle despite myself.
Then the humor slips away as quickly as it came.
“What if she hates me?”
Luc doesn't answer immediately.
“What if she finds out I bit her on purpose?”
“You didn't.”
“My Bear did.”
“You are your Bear. Besides, you two are fated.”
I wince.
“What if she thinks I trapped her?”
“You didn't.”
“But what if that's how it looks?”
Luc sighs.
“Graham... she's going to have questions. She's probably going to be angry. Hell, she has every right to be.”
That stings because it's true.
“But,” he continues, “I'd be a hell of a lot angrier if I found out the truth from someone who wasn't you.”
I swallow hard.
“You don't get to protect her by lying.”
“I know.”
“You protect her by trusting her.”
Silence stretches between us.
“So,” I finally ask. “Now what?”
Luc doesn't hesitate.
“Now you stop hiding on the street like a lovesick teenager.”
“I'm not hiding.”
“Graham.”
“I'm observing.”
“You're standing behind a newspaper.”
Shit. How does he know that?
I slowly lower the newspaper.
“Fine.”
“Go inside. Buy a cup of coffee or a book.”
“I have a cup of coffee in my hand, and I don’t even drink coffee, Luc.”
“Then toss the coffee and buy a muffin.”
“I don't need a muffin.”
“You absolutely need a muffin.”
“Why?”
“So you have an excuse to stand there and stare at her like the giant sap you are.”
“I am not staring.”
“Really? What’s she wearing?”
“A blue dress and snug little sweater. It’s got these tiny white buttons that are making me insane. She looks so—shit. Fuck you, Luc!”
“See, you can describe her dress in detail from thirty feet away.”
He’s right.
“You also told me she hums while she shelves books.”
“Okay, so I notice things.”
“You're whipped already, man.”
“I only saw her yesterday.”
“Exactly.”
I glance toward Moon & Mug's front window.
Elsie is helping an elderly customer choose between two mystery novels, smiling like she hasn't got a care in the world.
My Bear rumbles.
Mate.
Luc chuckles knowingly through the phone.
“There you are.”
“What?”
“You’re already in love with her, champ. Now go get her..”
I don't answer. I just hit end call.
Because for the first time in thirty-five years...
I’m really scared.
She's in there smiling.
Really smiling.
Like she has no cares in the world.
God.
Am I supposed to just walk in there and say—
Hi. I'm Graham. Sorry I accidentally claimed you as my fated mate by biting your hand—yes, I’m the Bear you met yesterday. Surprise! Let’s make some babies!
My Bear huffs impatiently.
Mate.
“I know.”
Go get her.
I take one deep breath.
Straighten my shoulders.
And I finally walk towards her front door.
This is either going to be the best day of my life...
Or the worst.
I’m betting on the former.