Red's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tales) (8 page)

“Oh, good. I might go insane if I ran out before you
returned.” Rena smiled. She picked up the kettle and filled it with water from
the faucet.

Laughing, Genma crossed the kitchen to her and kissed
her on her cheek. “I can’t say enough that I’m glad to have you here, Red.”

Hugging her, Rena said, “I’m happy to be here. It was
just what I needed.”

Genma pulled away. “I will be gone by the time you get
up.”

“Grandma, you can wake me. I’ll help you get your
things into Mrs. Octavia’s car.” Rena set the kettle on the eye and turned on
the range to heat the water.

“No, need. You should rest. Use this time to enjoy
yourself, eat and regain your strength.” Her grandmother started out of the
kitchen then stopped. “I need to show you how the radio works so you can
contact people, if you need to.”

Leaving the kitchen, Rena followed the energetic older
woman. Her grandmother crossed the living room to a wooden cabinet that had a
Citizens’ Band radio. Genma went through instructions of how to use it and
select one of forty different channels.

She pulled the drawer beneath it open and showed her
the address book with names and two digit numbers. “Here is a list of all of
the families in Den County and their channel, the mayor and sheriff’s offices
included. If you leave and want to take communication with you, this is the handheld.”

It was so strange to be in the twenty-first century and
be in a community that didn’t have telephones and cell phones. It was a
different way of life in Den that was for sure.

“Got it. Do you think the sheriff will allow me to use
the phone later in the week to call my doctor and let her know how I’m doing?”

“You sure can. Tell the quack your grandmother had the
cure.” Genma patted Rena’s cheek.

Laughing, Rena shook her head at her grandmother’s
comment. She couldn’t discount it since she had felt a hundred times better
since getting here hours ago. Rena was sure that if her strength and health
continued to improve, she would be back to her old self by the end of the week.
Maybe she would be able to get her old job back.

“Well, goodnight, Red.”

“Goodnight, Grandma.” Rena watched her grandmother
strut proudly through the living room until she  entered and closed her bedroom
door behind her.

Hearing the kettle whistle, Rena went to the kitchen
and fixed herself a cup of tea. A few minutes later she was curled up on the
corner of the couch with an original copy of Zora Neale Hurston’s
Their Eyes
Were Watching God
. The cover was laminated, protected and preserved with
pages yellowed from time in between.

She’d loved this book for years, and normally had no
problem becoming engaged in it once she started, however, she found her gaze
frequently being drawn to the patio door. Twice she had been ready to set the
book down and go for a walk to the lake, but the thought of the bear, which may
still be somewhere around, kept her rooted to her seat.

The last thing she wanted was a face-to-face with
something big and furry, imposing. Allowing her mind to drift to the large
animal for a moment, she recalled how its brown hair had seemed to shimmer in
the moonlight. Its movements were fluid for such a huge beast as he walked
toward her grandmother’s driveway.

She’d never thought about bears being beautiful, and as
massive as the one she’d seen had been it seemed like the word didn’t truly
describe it well. Stunning and arresting probably was better. Even now she
wished bears were more friendly creatures because she would love to rub her
hands along the powerful muscles of its back and feel if the fur was soft or
coarse.

“Let it go, Rena.”
My name wasn’t Grizzly James Adams
and that wasn’t Ben
.  

Hopefully the bear would be far away by morning and
stay away the rest of the week.

 ~YH~

A while later Cord still found himself circling Genma’s
property. He’d circled twice, unsure why he had not headed home yet. Something
was gnawing deep in his gut, but he wasn’t sure what. There was nothing amiss
at Genma’s. He sensed the hour was getting late and he had work to do come
morning. Shaking off the impression, he moved back toward the path to the lake
giving the area one last sniff and that’s when he smelled it. 

Mine
. His bear claimed.

He followed the scent from a tree to the docks. It was
different than Genma’s markings. This scent reminded him of honeyed asters:
floral, sweet and intoxicating. Something seemed familiar about it, but he
couldn’t place any female in the county he’d recalled having such an aroma.
Even though the flower grew wild around the county, he knew it wasn’t the same
as the plant. It was similar, but more original, and different.

Maybe someone had visited Genma recently, an unmated
female from town that had possibly just come into maturity. It was possible
that in his effort to avoid taking just any female Were, he was grasping at
straws.

Part of him believed that he was making up the smell.
That he’d become so overwhelmed by the pressures on him to find a life mate, it
was possible he was conjuring up some illusive Were-female.

However, the other part of him, his bear, whined and
pawed the ground. It wanted to stay there in the woods until it could locate
the female. That wasn’t going to happen. Tomorrow was soon enough.

Giving his bear a mental nudge until he began to
meander back toward the miles leading home, Cord allowed one final glance
toward the dock, then carried on.

He had every intention of rising early to attempt to
catch Genma before she left with his grandmother and question the woman about
visitors she’d had in the last few days.

Chapter
Five

She was hidden to him. His bear stood at the beginning
of the dock, staring at her silhouette at the end. The moon hovered behind the
night clouds, refusing to come out to illuminate the female before him.

Even though he couldn’t see her, he could smell her.
Her scent seemed to be all around him, powerful. It had obliterated everything
else around him and had him isolating on nothing but her aroma. Unable to
resist he moved his front paw, stepping on the wooden planks. Each of his steps
was accompanied by a deep inhale. He couldn’t get enough of the aphrodisiac of
her skin.

Mid-step he shifted, never halting in his approach.

When he finally stopped, he stood before her, feeling
the heat of her skin. So close, yet he still he couldn’t make out her features.
The fact that he had found her would not allow him to be disappointed that he
couldn’t identify her. Closing his eyes, he allowed his sense of smell to
acquaint himself with her.

“Cord…” she whispered his name. Her voice, sultry,
stroked his core.

He wanted to demand she touch him, but his throat was
too tight, his bear still too close to the surface. It was always like that
during mating time. It was the only moment where both man and bear were
operating as one. Both played a significant role even though the male form was
present, dominant.

Growling low, Cord leaned in, setting his nose along
her neck. Taking a deep breath, he drew in honeyed asters. It was like oxygen
to his soul.

Touching her with nothing but his nose, he lowered his
body and moved past her collarbone to the skin between her breasts.

She was trembling and her heart was pounding. A bawdy
symphony accompanied by the hard, heavy rhythm of his own. He felt calm,
steady, even though there were emotions and desires rocketing through his body
and demanding more. Demanding he claim her in the oldest way and make her his
before she escaped him.

Not giving in to the demands of his body, he had to
continue on. Find the central point where her nectar was strongest.  He
traveled past the supple skin of her stomach but as he attempted to locate what
he craved the most, it eluded him.

Instead of her scent becoming stronger it grew fainter.
No
.

Trying to capture more of her smell, the main identity
of a bear’s mate, he inhaled deeper. Yet, he could not fill his lungs with it,
with her.

The darkness seemed to swallow her up. Drag her away
from him. Dropping to his knees, he reached out in an attempted to grasp the
willowy form. Nothing.

Frustrated, he opened his eyes. She was gone. The moon
now illuminated the lake, the forest and the empty dock before him.

Rrrraaaahhhhhhaaaa
!

The agonized growl of his bear shattered the night
image before him, quaked his soul and awakened him.

Startled, Cord sat up, blinking against the rising
brightness of the morning sun. Looking from left to right, he was shocked to
see he was in bed at home, not on the dock.

It had all been a dream. She had been a dream

“Shit!” Falling back against the bed, he ran his hand
over his face. Everything had seemed so real, compelling. He knew what had
caused the vision in his mind, the trace of a faint scent at Genma’s.

Tipping his head back on the pillow, he stared upwards
at the painting Genma had given him—a lake with an empty dock.

“Genma.”
Damn it.
Shoving off the cover, he
launched from the bed. He’d wanted to be at her house before dawn to try and
see her before she left with his grandmother. Now he was running late. The
sun’s position, barely above the trees, let him know it was almost eight in the
morning. In the fall, it rose later than the summer months.

He was angry with his bear for being so fixated on the
damn scent it had conjured up a fantasy that Cord couldn’t release himself from
until it was over. He rushed into the bathroom in his bedroom and washed his
face and brushed his teeth, thankful that he’d had the foresight to shower last
night after he returned.

In his bedroom, he went to the dresser and pulled out
jeans and a t-shirt then got a pair of clean socks. Minutes later, he padded
out of his bedroom directly into the sitting room, the only other room on the
second floor of his house. Reaching the CB radio stand at the far end of the
couch, he dialed the channel to his grandparents’ station.

“Morning, Cord.” His grandfather, Benat Bjorn, answered
his call sign. “Is everything okay?”

Depressing the button, Cord responded, “Hi, PawPaw.
Everything is just fine. I was trying to reach Nana. Is she in?”

“Nope. You know her and Genma were out before dawn even
crested, like they were being run out of town.” His grandfather chuckled, no
concern in his voice.

He knew it was a long shot to hope his grandmother was
still in town, but he knew his bear would give him no peace if he didn’t at
least try. Groaning, Cord ran his hand over his head.

“You still there, son?” A small note of worry came
through the line.

It amazed Cord how his grandfather could be perfectly
fine with his wife and her friend going out on some Thelma and Louise adventure
during the First Frost Moon Festival, but become vexed from a moment of silence
from his grandson. Just proved to Cord that all of his family was troubled by
his lack of a life mate.

Did they see me as weak? A defective
bear that was going to be the leader of their community?

Squeezing his free hand into a fist, Cord fought
against the budding rage.

Holding down the button, Cord wanted to set the older
man at ease. “I’m here. Things are fine.”

“Anything I can help you with in your nana’s absence?”

“No, PawPaw. Really I was trying to ask a couple
questions of Genma before they left.” Cord rubbed his chin, hearing the scratch
of the stubble there. In his rush, he hadn’t shaved this morning. Soon he’d
have to be more meticulous about his image. As mayor over Den County, he would
be the face of the community. Even his long hair would have to go.

“Ah. That’s right, your grandmother mentioned you would
be taking care of something for her friend. Well, I’m sure you’ll sort it all
out.” Confidence in Cord’s ground maintenance skills was evident in his
grandfather’s light tone.

“Thanks. Well, gotta go.”

“I understand, you have work to do and all.”

Soon they ended the connection with sincere vows of love
and respect. Not wanting to waste any more time on his day, Cord moved
downstairs to the first floor where his living room, kitchen and two guest
rooms were located. After a quick breakfast of honeyed sausages between whole
grain bread and a cup of coffee, he stepped into his work boots at the door
leading into his garage.

Ten minutes later, he was on his way to his shop in
town for the additional supplies he would need for Genma’s yard. He could take
one of his assistants, but this was something he needed to do alone. He would
stretch out the job for the week and keep him away from town.

Burying his hands deep in dirt and soil was just what
he needed to shove all the anger, worry and issues plaguing him to the back of
his mind.

~YH~

Her growling stomach woke her the next morning. She’d
slept more peacefully than she ever did at home in her own bed. Before coming
here, she would have thought that sleeping without all the city sounds would
have been difficult for her, but the soft bird calls outside the window were
soothing. Reaching over to the nightstand, she grabbed her cell phone beside
the book she had been reading the night before. Her phone was something she
used more for time than anything else. There was absolutely no cell connection
in Den County, she had checked. Seeing that it was almost ten in the morning,
she didn’t even try to fool herself to thinking her grandmother was still
around.