Forbidden Bear (Bear Creek Biker Bears #1)(7)

Words could not have been worse than the look on her face. The look that said she’d already lost one child through taking risks; she didn’t want to lose another one. Mia had simply averted her eyes, sipped her coffee, tried to stop the room spinning, and gritted her teeth when the water stung her cuts.

Inside, she was more cut up than her face. Trapped in a world she hated, and for once she could not talk it over with her mom. Because to do so would be to break down and cry. Her mom would tell her to let the Wolf Valley Motorcycle Club find a new president, and then they would no doubt be forced out of their home.


Only now, with Joel in her future, that no longer sounded so bad. Having a mate provided her with an escape route; that frightened her more than her mom’s worried face. Because it made her weak, and weakness cost you. Her brother Kurt had shown that to be true.

Joel turned off the road and led her up towards the mountain; she hadn’t expected this. A cheap roadside hotel was more of what she had envisioned. Instead, she thought he was going to take her to some damp bear cave somewhere. Great. But at least it would be dark and he wouldn’t be able to see her face. Mia really couldn’t face having to explain her complicated life to him. Not when all she really wanted was uncomplicated fun.

At that thought, her wolf howled in agreement. Fun with her mate would only mean one thing, sex. Yes, in his arms she could forget who she was for a while, and just be the person she had only dreamed of being. Not a tomboy with fists made for fighting.

The road grew steeper and then became a narrow stony path. Still they climbed, her bike, not built for off-roading, slipping and sliding on the wet ground. Yet she expertly handled it, keeping her revs up to stop it stalling, following in his tracks, confident he would choose the best path.

Eventually even this path disappeared, and he pulled over, guiding his bike into a low thicket. Mia followed carefully; she didn’t want to scratch her paintwork, her bike being her most prized possession. When he stopped and cut his engine, she did the same, drawing up next to him. However, when he removed his helmet, she kept hers on.

“I thought we would go animal from here. There’s a cabin high up in the mountain where we won’t be disturbed. If that’s OK with you?”

She gave him the thumbs-up, watching his expression; he was bemused, but didn’t press her to remove her helmet. Instead, he placed his helmet on his handlebars and offered her his hand. She didn’t take it, instead dismounting on her own, slipping her helmet off quickly and letting her long auburn hair sweep across her face, hoping the thick strands would hide the bruising. Not that he would be able to see her face properly anyway, the night was dark around her, making her wolf clamour for release.

“Where now?” she asked.

“Follow me?” In one swift motion, he changed into his bear, so quick it was almost instantaneous. She hoped her nerves wouldn’t get the better of her and mean she messed this up.

Carefully she allowed her wolf to take hold. The world shimmered around her and then disappeared in a blink of an eye before she reappeared on all fours, her big wolf tail wagging.

Joel glanced around once and then leaped forward, but even at full tilt, he was no match for her long slim wolf legs. However, she had no idea where they were going, there was no trail, so she had to stay behind him, curbing her wolf’s desire to run fast and free in front of her mate.

Her wolf was so excited: any minute now, it would probably be doing tricks, fetching a stick for her mate, or begging for scraps. No pride, not in the face of their bonded mate. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice, instead he kept his pace steady, heading higher and higher until they were above the tree line. Then they entered a narrow pass, high rocks on either side of them. She had a sneaking suspicion she had heard of this place.

Then she remembered her brother Kurt. This was where he had come when he had chased their cousin Fiona here during a snowstorm. After becoming trapped, he had spent too long as a wolf, and this had left him mentally unstable. This was where Fiona had met her mate, also a bear shifter. Did Joel know this? Was he trying to punish her?

Mia slowed, letting him get ahead of her, but the pull of the bond was too great, she had to find out what was going on with Joel. Whether he had some plan for her, she had to reassure herself that he couldn’t hurt her. But the wariness she had for others, even her own kind, made it hard for her to trust him.

If he sensed her reservations, he didn’t show it; he kept moving on, taking them down into Bear Creek territory. It wasn’t somewhere she would normally come, certainly not as a wolf. The lines between their territories were well known and well-marked, and if another bear caught her here, she would be in trouble.

Her hackles began to rise as the smell of bear became stronger and stronger. There was no mistaking where she was, and she caught up with him now, sticking close in case she needed his protection. Ahead the shape of a chimney stuck out along the low tree line; as they grew nearer, the shape of a cabin became clear. So not a bear cave, a bear cabin. Was that any better?

Joel reached the cabin, transforming back into his human form on the porch. Mia stood beside him, putting off the inevitable. While she hesitated, he took the opportunity to run his fingers through her thick wolf fur. His touch made her tremble with desire for him, her body shuddering until she could stand it no longer and she changed, trying once more to hide her battered face from him.


"Mia, it’s OK,” he said. “It’s just us. When we walk through this door, I want us to forget about everything else. Just for one night.”