Bride For the Bear (Paranormal Shifter Romance) (Haven Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note and Links

  My Hero Bear Preview

  Bride For the Bear:

  Noah

  (Haven Book 1)

  by Stella Night

  Copyright 2016 STELLA NIGHT

  All Rights Reserved

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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  Enjoy!

  “Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.”

  ― Maya Angelou

  Chapter 1

  Noah

  “You better have a damn good reason for knocking on my door at this hour.”

  “Now, Noah,” Maddox said. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

  The old bastard stood on my porch looking up at me like he expected me to invite him inside. That wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t welcome in my home.

  I watched him warily from my doorstep. Dark shadows hid his features, but I got the impression he was trying to look friendly. Not a good sign.

  Hell, the simple fact that the head of the Elder Council was on my doorstep in the middle of the night was bad enough. Nothing good ever happened this late at night unless it involved a pretty girl, and Maddox Hale was the furthest thing from a pretty girl I could imagine.

  His face was lined with age and his hair was thin and gray. He’d been head Elder of the Bear Haven Clan for longer than I’d been alive. Ever since I’d become Alpha, he and I had been at odds.

  “Since when are you and I friends?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of me.

  He made an offended sound. “I’ve always been your friend, son. I’ve looked out for you since you were a boy, whether you realized it or not.”

  “I am not your son,” I said, straightening to my full height in front of him. “And you are not my friend.”

  He spread his hands in surrender. “Fine, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”

  “Just get to the goddamn point.”

  “It’s been almost a year since you became Alpha.”

  I nodded. “You gonna throw me a party?”

  “I might,” he said, flashing a smile at me. “That depends on you. Have you found a mate yet?”

  I barked a laugh. “Sorry, old timer, I don’t swing that way.”

  The smile faltered on his face, but he managed to hold it steady. “So no mate, then? You know the rules, Noah. The Alpha is required to have a mate by the end of his first year.”

  I cocked my head at him. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I’m afraid I’m very serious.”

  “That rule is almost as old as you, and you’re like a thousand years old. Nobody enforces that bullshit.”

  Maddox’s face tightened. “I’m eighty-two, thank you. And that ‘bullshit,’ as you call it, might be an old rule, but it is a rule.”

  “Fuck the rules,” I said, my jaw clenching. “I’m the Alpha. I make the rules.”

  Maddox shook his head. “You’re the Alpha, yes. But even the Alpha must abide by the clan’s traditions. It’s why the Elder Council exists, to enforce those traditions.”

  “Maybe it’s time for some new traditions.”

  “Don’t you want to keep your clan strong? Don’t you want to keep your people safe?”

  A growl rumbled in my chest. “You dare question my loyalty to the clan?”

  “I question your logic, not your loyalty. Our traditions keep the clan strong. Don’t dismiss them so easily.”

  I looked past him into the dark forest. My bear seethed just beneath my skin. It longed for the freedom of the woods, away from clan politics and clan rules.

  “I’m not interested in finding a damn mate,” I said finally.

  “What you want doesn’t matter,” Maddox replied. “Not anymore. You’re the strongest. You have a responsibility to make our clan’s next generation strong as well.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. My clan was everything to me. It was the reason I’d taken over as Alpha when our last leader died. It wasn’t because I craved power or status. It was because the strongest in the clan had a duty to lead.

  It was that sense of duty that kept me from ripping Maddox’s head from his shoulders for thinking he could tell me what to do. I reined in my thirst for violence, although it wasn’t easy.

  “How long do I have left to find a mate?”

  Maddox seemed to relax, as if relieved. “Two days.”

  I forced a laugh. “And you’re just telling me now?”

  Maddox spread his hands. “I assumed you knew.”

  I knew about the rule, of course, but I thought it was more of a recommendation than a hard and fast rule. So I chose to ignore it. I guess I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

  “I guess I better start looking,” I said.

  A wide grin split Maddox’s face. He seemed excited. “Look no further. I have the answer to your problem.”

  I arched an eyebrow at him. “And that is?”

  “I’d like to offer you my daughter Gillian’s hand in marriage.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “I’m dead serious. She’s the strongest she-bear this clan has seen in years. And for some reason, she’s quite fond of you. Besides, you two have history.”

  I chuckled. “History. We dated for like a week. And that was a long time ago.”

  Maddox’s face darkened. “She’ll make a good wife and a good Clan Mother.”

  Anyone in the world would be a better option than Gillian. She strutted around the clan like her shit didn’t stink, and ever since I’d become Alpha, she’d been sniffing around here, trying to catch my eye again. The woman wanted to be Clan Mother so bad she’d do anything for it. I didn’t like her, and I didn’t trust her. Plain and simple.

  “She’s not exactly my type.”

  “Bah,” he said, waving away my comment. “I’ve seen your type.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You’ve screwed every human slut in Bear Haven.”

  I grinned. “Well, not every slut—”

  “But that part of your life is over. We are forbidden to take humans as mates. It’s time for you to settle down with a she-bear and do your duty to the clan.”

  I forgot how much Maddox hated humans. A lot of shifters did. Centuries of being hunted down and killed weren’t easily forgotten, even if it was a long time ago. Me, I’ve always been a fan of humans. Especially the female kind. My cock was a firm believer in equality.

  “You need to watch your tongue, Maddox. Elder or not, you’ve got a lot of balls coming to my home, trying to order me around.”

  “Attack me all you want. It changes nothing. Find a suitable mate or you’re no longer Alpha.”

  I clenched my fists hard. It took all my effort to keep from squeezing his neck. My bear raged just under
the surface at the thought of losing my Alpha status. I needed to shift. I needed to tear through the forest until my muscles ached and I couldn’t run anymore. First, I had to send Maddox away.

  “I’ll take it under advisement. You’re free to go.”

  “I’ll go, but I urge you to reconsider Gillian. It’s a smart choice. Besides, it’s not like a suitable mate is just going to fall into your lap.”

  ***

  Rachel

  My eyelids kept drooping, begging me to fall asleep. Probably not the best idea when speeding down an unfamiliar country road at night.

  Trees towered over me on either side, barely visible in my headlight beams. If I fell asleep now, I’d get to see those trees up close and personal. It was one way to solve my problems, I thought grimly. Just close my eyes, jam my foot on the gas, and wait for the world to end.

  I scrubbed my tired eyes and tightened my grip on the wheel. Get it together, girl. Things were bad, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel if I could just hold on a little longer.

  I checked the GPS on my phone. Almost there.

  When I’d accepted Nina’s offer to use her cabin, I didn’t realize just how far away Bear Haven, Oregon was from New York. I crossed the country in a caffeine fueled haze, stopping only when absolutely necessary. Now I was in a completely different world, but that was the point of me coming out here.

  Maybe I couldn’t outrun my problems, but I could sure as hell try. I’d been feeling lost for the past year or so. “Sometimes we need to get lost before we can find our way,” Nina said to me before I left.

  I damn sure hoped she was right. Coming out here was a chance for me to escape and simplify my life. I could stop, take a breath, and center myself. Then, maybe I could start working on my next book before my publisher dropped me like a bad habit.

  I had a month to deliver something to them. It didn’t have to be a full blown novel, but I needed to get them at least an outline. That was easier said than done. I hadn’t written so much as a grocery list in the last year.

  I was starting to think I’d never write anything again. Coming out here was my last, best chance at getting my head right. Otherwise, it was back to waiting tables. I guess it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but after publishing a few semi-successful books, it would be the end of my world.

  I couldn’t get over how dark it was out here. This far out in the middle of nowhere, there were no street lights or other signs of civilization. My headlights were the only light in the darkness, but even they struggled as tendrils of mist crept out of the trees and along the road.

  My GPS instructed me to turn right just up ahead. I turned as directed, entering a gravelly road that sloped down in front of me and curved left into the forest.

  My car picked up speed as it went down the hill. I pumped my foot on the brakes, but my tires couldn’t get traction on the loose rocks. I loved my shitty little car, but it wasn’t built for this terrain. Hell, it barely ran in the city.

  My car continued to accelerate to a dangerous speed. My heartbeat raced along with it.

  I swung around the curve in the road going faster than I intended. The uneven surface made my whole car shudder. I struggled to hold on to the wheel. My car fishtailed on the loose soil, and I felt the ass end of the vehicle drift perilously close to the trees.

  I managed to straighten out. My headlights lit a dark shape in the road in front of me.

  I cried out in alarm and spun the wheel to avoid whatever it was. A sickening thud sounded in the night. I just had time to register that I hit something living before my car swerved off the road and into a ditch.

  Panic seized me. My heart beat so hard I thought it would punch through my rib cage. I took a deep shuddering breath and took stock of my situation.

  I was still alive. Okay, that was a good start. Nothing was broken as far as I could tell. Pain burned in my chest. I looked down and saw the seatbelt digging into the flesh between my breasts. I unfastened the seatbelt, feeling instant relief when it loosened around my body.

  So far so good. I was a little banged up, but nothing major seemed to be wrong with me. Then dread filled me. What the hell had I hit?

  I grabbed a flashlight from my glove compartment and struggled awkwardly out of the vehicle, which was tilted at an odd angle in the ditch. There was no way I was driving out of here in this. I couldn’t worry about that now. I climbed up the short slope to the road and clicked on my flashlight.

  A man lay motionless in the road. He was so still he could have been asleep, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t sleeping.

  I pulled my phone out to call for help. Fuck, no signal. The GPS had been working. Why couldn’t I get a signal?

  I was on my own out here. A wave of nausea swept over me, but I didn’t have time to be sick. I rushed over to the man to see if he was still alive. There wasn’t much I could do to help him, but I had to try something.

  I trained my flashlight on him. He lay on his back, his arms splayed out on either side of him. I couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. I knelt down beside him and placed my hand on his neck. My own heart was beating so hard, I couldn’t tell if I could feel a pulse or not.

  I moved my hand to his chest to see if I could feel him breathing. There was no movement in his chest that I could feel. Tears stung my eyes.

  What have I done?

  Chapter 2

  Noah

  I lay broken and bruised on the road, but my pride hurt more than my body. In bear form, my senses were razor sharp and my reflexes were quick. Still, I’d let myself get taken by surprise.

  My thoughts had been consumed with the mate situation. I heard the car coming from a mile away, but I didn’t pay it any mind. I figured I was safe walking around in bear form. Humans never came out here. It was the reason why most of the clan lived out here on the Bear Haven Nature Preserve. It was private and secluded.

  It wasn’t until the car was almost upon me that I realized my mistake. I sensed it was a human driving. I had to change back to human form so that whoever it was didn’t discover me. Humans couldn’t know about our kind.

  The damn car struck me in the middle of changing, right when I was most vulnerable. It was a stupid mistake. I was just glad no one in my clan had been around to see it.

  I could feel broken bones and torn muscles piecing themselves back together. The process wasn’t pleasant, but it was better than the alternative. It was one of the benefits of being a shifter. We healed fast, making us hard to kill. Although from how much pain I was in, the car had come close to ending me.

  A soft hand touched my neck. The caress was unmistakably female. It cut through the pain and soothed the wounded bear inside me. I breathed in an unfamiliar scent. It was sweet-smelling, like a mixture of honey and cinnamon. The fragrance awoke a primal desire deep within me, intoxicating me like a drug.

  Drops of moisture fell on my cheek. My eyes fluttered open. I found myself staring into two beautiful brown eyes the color of rich soil after the rain.

  “You’re alive,” she breathed.

  Her eyes widened, spilling more tears down her pale cheeks. I had the strange urge to brush those tears away.

  Then I remembered what she’d done to me and anger burned hot inside me.

  “No thanks to you,” I groaned.

  She flinched as if I’d struck her. “I’m sorry,” she said, drawing in a shaky breath.

  I pushed myself up to a sitting position, flexing my limbs to evaluate my recovery.

  “I didn’t see you,” she continued.

  “Well, that’s a relief,” I said, getting to my feet gingerly. “I’m glad to know you didn’t hit me on purpose.”

  “I lost control,” she said, standing up as well. Her wide eyes followed me as I took a few tentative steps. “Are you sure you should be walking around?”

  She looked so concerned for me I almost forgot how pissed I was at her. Almost.

  “I’ll be a little sore tomorrow, but it’s nothing
a couple shots of whiskey won’t cure.”

  The pain was receding. Now that I was starting to feel like myself again, I finally got a chance to get a good look at the woman who’d struck me. My eyes drank in her curves, lingering on the swell of her breasts and her full, sexy lips.

  Desire struck me like a punch to the gut. It was like getting hit by her car all over again. I felt the overwhelming urge to take her home with me. On any other night, I would have tried. But my life had just gotten really complicated, really fast.

  Now was not the time to start messing around with a woman who could never be my mate. Even then, I was tempted as hell. I forced those thoughts away and focused on the situation at hand.

  “And you?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

  She looked down at herself, as if to assess the damage. “I’m good, I think. Maybe a few bruises.”

  “Good, good. So, uh, who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing out here?”

  ***

  Rachel

  “Excuse me?” I said, unable to believe the way he’d just spoken to me.

  “You heard me,” he said. “Who the fuck are you?”

  His eyes gazed into mine, unashamed and undaunted. I stared back at those icy blue eyes, unwilling to be the first to back down. The man intimidated me, but I didn’t want him to know that. He seemed to stare into me, like he could see all the secret parts of me. I felt small and weak under that stare.

  I flinched and looked away.

  “My name is Rachel Holmes,” I said.

  He grunted. “Rachel,” he said softly, almost like he was tasting my name on his lips.

  The sound of his deep baritone voice sent a shiver through me. I liked the way he said my name. Now that he was looking at me, really looking at me, I realized how good looking he was.

  Shadows painted the contours of his face, accentuating his strong jaw and sharp cheekbones. His eyes had a dangerous, feral look. A slight smile curved his sexy lips, lips that seemed like they were made for kissing. Liquid heat rushed through my veins at the thought.