Hansel's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tale) (19 page)

She wasn’t. Thanks to Hansel she was a
survivor.

Finally, she lowered her gaze and met
both of their eyes. At some point they must have leaned closer to
her, because they were practically head-to-head. If the moment
wasn’t so serious she would have laughed at how they appeared—like
congenital twins joined at the temple.

She did feel better to see their gazes
were bright--her father’s with pride, her mother’s with
relief.

Greta felt the swell of her heart as
it filled with love.

“
Sweetheart, we are so
proud of you. To be so strong, courageous and determined at such a
young age. It’s outstanding. I’m honored to be your papa.” He
pulled her up and into an embrace.

Her throat felt tight and strained
from the flood of emotions.

A short whimper came from her mother,
but Rita kept the tears at bay as she took Greta’s hand and held it
cocooned between hers. “I can’t tell you how many nights your
father and I have lain in bed and discussed the burden that was
practically visible on your shoulders. How it grieved us that you
would not talk to us. Then there were all those nightmares for
months when you got back. I would just lay beside you and hold you
all night just to try to keep them at bay.”

“
I remember.” Greta
recalled how much she hated sunsets because the terror would come
soon.

“
Now I know who this
Hansel was you would mumble about in your sleep. It was the only
time you were at peace through the night.”

“
What?” She pulled away
from her father’s arms and stared at her mother. “You never told me
that.”

“
Me either.”

Her mother simply shrugged and stood
up. “Not knowing the situation I didn’t want to bring up something
that may have made things worse for you.” After a pat to her hand,
her mother stood up.

Greta didn’t know what to say. In a
way, her silence had probably caused more of a strain than if she
had just let it all out. Dealt with it.

“
Well, I have cooking to
get done and you have a were-male to radio I’m sure.”

“
I do.” Standing, Greta
shook her head as she thought about the wonder of her parents.
“I’ll come give you a hand after I shower and change,
mama.”

“
Great.” Her mother headed
toward the kitchen. “Get your nap in, Manni dear. The last thing
Greta’s young male needs to do is meet a grumpy bear.”

Bending down, Greta kissed her father
other the brow, keeping him from seeing her smile at her mother’s
words.

Reclining back in his chair, he
grumbled, “I’m not sure how you Armel females think a male is
supposed to get any winks in with all this information and ‘Guess
Who’s Coming to Dinner’ issue tossed into my lap.”

“
I’m sure you’ll figure it
out, dear.” Her mother rounded the corner.

“
I love you, papa-bear.”
Greta touched his shoulder.

He patted her hand, then held it as he
glanced up at her. “Same here, sweetheart. No matter what you can
always come to your mama and me. Remember that.”

Nodding, Greta walked away.

When she woke up that morning, if
someone would have told her that all of these events would have
transpired before nightfall and that it would end with Hansel being
in her family’s house breaking bread with her father, she’d have
called them a foolish liar.

Turned out she was the
fool.

She entered her room and realized she
was glad about it.

~YH~

“
Hansel.”

Hansel stared down at the hand of the
big bear of a male standing on the porch. He had no doubt of two
things: one, Manni Armel was waiting on him and two, even though
his hair had a lot of gray in it, this male would give him a good
fight if he felt Greta was being treated wrong.

Approaching the older male with
respect, Hansel grasped the hand offered. “Mr. Armel. Thanks for
allowing me to share dinner with your family.”

The shake was firm, giving a show of
strength, but Hansel didn’t pick up any threat in his touch. He was
grateful for that.

“
You’ll one day learn
Hansel that in a male’s household he doesn’t get much say once his
mate makes a decision about something.” Manni pulled his hand
away.

“
I hope to be fortunate
enough to experience that one day.” Hansel felt those words deep in
his heart. Maybe because he was before the father of the female he
truly would love to have in his life on a more permanent basis.
However, things in his mind hadn’t changed much since he’d parted
ways with Greta earlier. So, he wasn’t here to make any promises.
Just get to know her and her family better with the time he was
given.

One corner of Manni’s lips tilted in a
smile, barely. “Well, Rita and Greta have been working hard on
dinner and I’m sure they are wearing the hardwood floor out while
we’re standing out here.” Stepping back, he opened the
door.

Taking the older male’s kindness in
allowing him to enter first, Hansel took the four steps two at a
time and went inside. Sure enough, Greta was standing in the middle
of the living room with her hands knotted before her body.
Nervously, she looked from him to her father, then rested her gaze
on him again. “Hello.”

She had changed her clothes from
earlier. She now wore jeans and a buttoned down white shirt,
appearing more casual and relaxed in her home setting. “Hi,
Blackberry.”

Her eyes shied away as she bowed her
head and glanced at the floor.

He was positive that if her mahogany
skin could have held a blush, her cheeks would have been flooded
with a red tint now.

“
Well, Hansel, it is
wonderful to see you again.” Rita drew his attention as she moved
from the entryway that he assumed led to the kitchen. The older
female, with her striking dark skinned looks, short natural hair
and almond-shaped eyes was a breath of fresh air as she moved
toward him.

He met her half way and returned the
hug she offered. Being with Rita always filled the hole in his
heart that was an emptiness of missing his mother. “I feel the
same.”

“
Again?” Should I be
concerned young were-male for you stealing my wife away instead of
your intentions toward my daughter?” Manni grumbled.

However, when Hansel turned and looked
at the male he could see there was a brightness of humor that lit
up his eyes. This male was confident of his mate’s love and knew he
had nothing to worry about.

“
I wouldn’t have a
chance.” Hansel smiled and gave him a nod.

Lowering his arms from around Rita,
Hansel then moved to the female he really wanted in his arms. When
he got to her, he didn’t trust himself to do more than place a
light kiss on her cheek. “Thank you for the invite.”

“
You’re welcome. I’m sure
you’re hungry and lunch has worn off.”

Lunch had barely been able to compete
with her ferocious appetite after the lusty activity he shared with
Greta. He kept those words to himself but allowed the heat of the
memory to fill his eyes.

Greta clearly picked up on
his thoughts.
Hansel, I’d like to get
through dinner with my parents without embarrassing
myself.

Promise me a walk in the
woods afterwards.

Maybe. Depends on how you
behave.
“Follow me to the dining room.”
She led the way behind her parents through the archway with what
appeared to be a little extra sway to her luscious hips.

His bear released a low
growl.

They crossed the kitchen to a back
room with a large bay window that caught the small bend in the lake
a ways off from the cabin.

“
Genma, she lives next
door and her living room has a better view of the lake. There’s a
lovely dock that stretches over the water from behind her cabin
too.”

“
Sounds wonderful.” He
glanced from the view to Greta.
Make that
a walk by the lake, Blackberry. I’d love to see your body in the
moonlight.

This is
not
behaving.

“
Have a seat.” Manni
gestured from the head of the table toward a chair at one of the
sides of the cheery wood four-person table.

“
Thanks.” Hansel waited
until Greta and Rita settled into their chairs. “Everything looks
and smells wonderful.”

“
I hope you enjoy roasted
chicken, succotash and herb butter couscous.” Rita beamed from the
opposite end of the table from her mate.

“
I’ve never been picky.
But have found it an honor whenever I can enjoy a home cooked
meal.” Hansel took the platter of sliced meat Rita passed to him.
He added a few slices to his plate then offered it to
Manni.

“
Well eat all you’d like.
But save room because Greta made a blackberry cobbler for dessert.”
Rita handed him the vegetables next.

Blindly he took the bowl as he glanced
across the table to Greta as she finished scooping herself
couscous.

He waited until her ebony eyes met
his. “Blackberries are my favorite.”

Keep it up, Hansel, and
you’re going to lose your walk and your dessert.

Oh, I plan to have
both
my desserts.
This woman was an addiction to him. He warned
himself to be careful, there wasn’t room in his life for promises
and she deserved more than empty ones.

Greta kept her thoughts silent but
Hansel didn’t miss the slight tremor in her hand as she passed the
dish to her mother.

“
Ahem.”

Hansel glanced at Greta’s father
hearing the older male clearing his throat.

With an arched eyebrow Manni shifted
his head from left to right as he stared at Greta and
Hansel.

The Were was perceptive, Hansel didn’t
doubt the male had more than a few questions on his
mind.

“
I hear you’re helping out
Rorke at Ursine Furniture.” Manni set the last dish down in the
center of the table after he served himself.

Picking up his fork, Hansel nodded.
“Yes, sir. Rorke and his family have a great business. It felt good
to put my hands to work.”

“
My papa always said a
were-males not anything without an honest day’s work.” Manni lifted
a chunk of meat to his mouth.

“
Your father must have
been a wise Were.” Hansel reached for his iced tea and enjoyed the
sweet honey and orange combination as he drank.

“
He was. How about your
own father. What’s your relationship like with him.”

Greta gasped. “Papa-bear, maybe we
should discuss something—”

“
I’m sure Greta probably
told you both where we met. Well, I lost both my parents and an
unborn sister the day I was captured.”

Manni’s face twisted in
disgust.

“
Oh, my. The loss you must
feel.” Rita covered his hand.

He glanced at her and saw the tears
filling her eyes. “Mrs. Armel it was immense, when it happened and
years that followed I wanted nothing more than to die along with my
family if I could not have them back. Then the Great Spirit brought
someone into my life that gave me hope. A renewed inspiration to
live.” Still holding the older female’s hand, he shifted his gaze
to capture her daughter’s across the table. “It wasn’t the best
situation that brought Greta into my world, but I’m grateful just
the same.”

“
We are grateful that you
helped her return to us.” Manni’s voice drew everyone’s gaze down
to his end of the table. “Her mother and I felt…lost, simply shells
of our former selves. I will be forever in your debt.”

Hansel shook his head as he leaned
back in his chair. “No…no, you’re not.”

“
Sacrificing yourself for
me.” Greta held his gaze.

I will always protect
you.
“I just did what any Were would have
done for another,” he said out loud.

“
Maybe, but we are still
honored to have you here in our home. And in town for however long
you will be staying.” Rita smiled.

The conversation moved to the
preparation for the First Moon Festival and other happenings around
town. Hansel enjoyed the easy banter between Greta’s parents and
the love around the table they all had for each other. Even though
their comradery made him miss his own family, it felt good to be a
part of this one, this night.

~YH~

“
Your parents are
great.”

“
Even my papa-bear?” Greta
teased as they walked slowly down the dock over the lake after
dinner and dessert.

Hansel chuckled. “Yes. After he warmed
up to me.”

Greta bumped her shoulder to his as
they continued on. “Papa can be a bit stern and stubborn at times.
However, I hope you know he meant what he said about his
gratitude.”

Placing a hand at her waist, he
stopped her before they reached the end. “I don’t need it. You did
more for me showing up in my life than I did for you. Remember
that.” He brushed her hair back over her shoulder.