The lake's cool embrace always soothed the beast, a temporary truce to the constant hum beneath my skin. I cleaved through the water, each stroke a silent meditation, the rhythmic pull and push of muscle against liquid. As the sun descended, coloring the heavens with bright shades, the day's stress dissipated, leaving only the fundamental peace of my power. This was my sanctuary, a private world where the human façade could crack.
Then, a scent, faint but unmistakable, drifted across the water. Peaches and vanilla. Not the cloying artificiality of a store-bought spray, but something deeper, richer, touched with the earthy sweetness of ripe fruit and the warm, comforting spice of the bean. My nostrils flared, drawing in more, the aroma a siren song that bypassed my human brain and went straight for the beast. It was familiar, yet sharpened, intensified, like a forgotten memory brought into vivid focus. Ava's cabin, yes, but not Ava. This was younger, sweeter, with a hint of something wild and intoxicating coiled within its sugary warmth.
My heart hammered against my ribs, a drumbeat of pure instinct. The surrounding water churned, a subtle tremor emanating from my core. The human skin appeared too tight, too small, and unable to hold the surge of power that needed to get out. My muscles bunched, bones grinding, stretching, reforming. The shift was swift, a tearing, burning ecstasy that ripped through me, skin rippling, fur erupting, teeth elongating. A deep groan rumbled in my chest, a sound of profound satisfaction as I shed the confines of man and embraced the raw, magnificent power of the Kodiak.
Water sluiced from my massive skull as I broke the surface, the last vestiges of the shift clinging to me like a second skin, the animal still a live wire beneath. My senses detonated, a savage symphony of scent and sound ripping through the lingering fog of transformation. Her scent. It was a brand, an intoxicating lure, pulling me towards the distant shore, towards Ava's property. Ava. The news of her sudden passing this morning had hit me with the force of a rogue wave, but it was the discordant note, the wrongness of it, that truly grated.
I wondered if someone had informed Ruby, Ava's granddaughter. It had been almost a year since I'd last seen her, a gaping chasm in my self-imposed solitude. My gaze, sharpened by the bear, scoured the tree line, the cabin's dark silhouette a beacon in the encroaching twilight. And then I saw her. The very woman my primal mind had just conjured. A slender figure, framed by the deepening gloom, clutched a camera in her hands. Ruby.
My breath hitched, a guttural growl tearing through my chest, raw and demanding. *Ruby.* The name was a brand on my tongue, searing and sweet, a taste of forbidden fruit I was now ravenous for. I remembered her as a wisp of a thing, all sharp angles and endless questions, her auburn hair a fiery halo around a face dusted with freckles, always with that cheap disposable camera clutched in her small hands. She haunted the edges of my shop, a curious, fearless sprite, utterly fascinated by the shadows that clung to me, drawn to the primal hum beneath my skin like a moth to a flame. I watched over her then, a silent, unseen guardian, her safety an ingrained instinct, a sacred duty. But as the years bled into one another, as the sharp edges softened and the wisp began to unfurl, my gaze shifted. The protective instinct curdled into something far more potent, far more dangerous.
Ava had raised her, a fierce, loving hand molding the girl her mother had abandoned, unknowingly cultivating the very obsession that now threatened to consume me. She was mine, and the bear within me roared its possessive claim, a silent, guttural command. And now… now she'd grown. Gods, how she'd grown. From this distance, she was a masterpiece carved from my wildest, most depraved dreams. Her hair, a tumultuous spill of auburn, the exact shade of dying embers, cascaded in waves around an oval face.
A constellation of freckles, like scattered stardust, dusted the bridge of her nose and the high planes of her cheeks. Even in the fading light, I knew, with a certainty that vibrated through my bones, that her eyes would be that captivating emerald green, always sparkling with an inner fire, a fierce, untamed spirit that would burn for me alone. My bear roared — a silent, internal scream that ripped through my very essence, a primal recognition, an absolute truth that slammed into me with the force of a physical blow, stealing my air, stealing my sanity. *Mine.* every fiber of my being pulsed with it.
*Mate.*The word thrummed through every fiber of my being, a primal declaration that shook the very foundations of my existence. It wasn't a thought; it was an innate knowing, older than mountains, deeper than the lake itself. My mate. The one my bear had yearned for, ached for, through centuries of solitary existence. I'd never found her among my kind and had believed my destiny was to walk alone. Yet here she was, human, standing on the very edge of my world, radiating a scent that promised everything.
I moved, a powerful lumbering grace that carried me through the shallows. The water parted for me, a silent testament to my size, my strength. My focus narrowed, every fiber of my being locked onto her. The distance closed quickly. She stood there frozen, camera still raised. The soft clicks echoed, tiny disturbances in the vast silence. She wasn't running. That surprised me, though it shouldn't have. Ava had raised her well, taught her respect for the wild.
I reached the shore, water sluicing from my thick fur, droplets glittering like diamonds in the last rays of sun. My shadow engulfed her, a vast, living darkness. My eyes, steel-grey and ancient, locked onto hers. I saw surprise there, awe, but no fear. Not true, bone-chilling terror. Instead, another scent, subtle but distinct, mingled with the peaches and vanilla. Arousal. A flush of heat spread through me, a primal possessiveness tightening its grip. She was mine.
I desired to span the remaining space, to caress her, to touch her skin, to sense the yielding of her form against my coat. I wanted to claim her, right here, right now, under the vast, indifferent sky. My beast clamored, a wild, insistent demand to possess, to mark, to bind her to me. Images flashed through my mind: her belly swollen with my cubs, her skin slick with sweat beneath me, her cries of pleasure echoing through the woods. God, I was in trouble.
I lowered my head, a deep rumble vibrating in my chest. It was a warning, to myself as much as to her. I had to put a space between us. I had to. If I didn't, I would lose control. I would take her, and though my bear knew she was mine, my human mind understood the delicate balance of her world, the need for a slower dance.
My head swiveled, breaking eye contact. I turned, a fluid pivot of massive muscle and bone and lumbered back towards the lake. Each step was a battle, my bear protesting, whining internally, wanting to stay, to fight for its mate. But I forced myself, one heavy paw after another, back into the water.
The icy embrace did nothing to quell the fire raging within me. My cock, still hard, pulsed with a desperate ache. I plunged into the deeper water, pushing off with powerful strokes, the distance between us growing with every pull. I swam, not for pleasure, but for escape, for a temporary reprieve from the overwhelming pull of my mate.
The cabin lights across the lake — my cabin — glowed like distant stars. It was twice the size of Ava's, a testament to my own needs, my own solitary existence. Modern comforts blended seamlessly with rustic timbers, a reflection of the man and the beast. But presently, it appeared hollow, a huge space awaiting occupancy. Waiting for her.
I reached my shore, pulling myself from the water, the shift back to human form a familiar, if less ecstatic, process. My clothes left in a neat pile felt alien, restrictive. I pulled on a pair of sweats; the fabric chafing against my still-aroused skin. The scent of peaches and vanilla still clung to me, a phantom whisper of what I'd left behind. I entered my living room; the huge, unrestricted area abruptly appeared enclosed. My gaze drifted to the window, across the dark expanse of the lake, towards the faint glow of Ava's cabin. Her cabin. Ruby's cabin now.
I sank onto the rough-hewn bench by the window, the wood cool against my bare skin. My hands, still tingling from the shift, clenched and unclenched. She knew. She had to. The way she hadn't run, the arousal I'd scented. It wasn't just idle curiosity. A spark had ignited between us, a recognition that transcended species. My phone buzzed in my pocket, a jarring intrusion. I pulled it out, squinting at the screen. A message from Liam, my second. *Meeting tomorrow. The council wants an update on the human situation.
I sighed. The "human situation." With the increasing frequency of shifters revealing themselves, the lines between worlds are blurring. And now, my mate was human. A human, who had just inherited a cabin directly across the lake from me.
I pictured her again, her emerald eyes, her auburn hair. The way she had stood brave and unmoving, before a creature that could have torn her limb from limb. A slow, possessive smile spread across my face. She was strong. My mate was strong. My groin also ached, and the ache persisted. The icy lake hadn't helped. Nothing would, not until I had her. My mate. Ruby. I leaned my head back against the wall, closing my eyes. The scent of peaches and vanilla filled my mind, a promise of things to come. The hunt had begun. And I, Logan MacCuirc, Kodiak bear shifter, would not rest until my mate was by my side, safe, claimed, and irrevocably mine.