Bear-ly Human (Bear Claw Security Book 4) (13 page)

“
G
o out on a mission
, come back engaged, is that how it is?” Limes asked, leaning on the windowsill as Hercules faced his friends and business partners with his news.

Outside, the girls were gathered around Hera and her new ring that Hercules had picked up as soon as they landed back in New York.

“I guess so,” Hercules said. “When it’s a mission with a woman you love.”

“Sly dog,” Limes said, running a hand over his shaved head. “Man, you’d almost think this was some kind of matchmaking agency given the rate of matings around here being connected with missions.”

“Well, how else are we going to meet girls?” Bronson asked. “We’re always working. I guess we just got lucky.”

Cage shrugged. “I met mine on my own, more or less.”

Limes rolled his eyes. “That’s because you two were basically born together. Jamie didn’t even want to hire me. If she hadn’t come here, I had a cotton ball’s chance in acid that she’d marry me.”

Bronson laughed out loud at that and Limes just scowled, seemingly remembering how much his mate had been afraid of him when they first met. Hercules had to admit Limes’s bad attitude, bright green eyes, and love of punk apparel wasn’t much help with the ladies.

Not that he needed help anymore. 

They could hear the happy squeals of the women congratulating Hera and Hercules smiled, excited for when they could just go back to his place and be alone again.

“Uh oh, that’s the honeymoon look,” Mark said, from his usual quiet spot in the corner.

“How goes bodyguard training?” Hercules asked, eager to draw the attention away from himself. 

Mark shrugged. “I’m not ex-military like all of you, so I’m really better suited to numbers, but—”

“Nonsense,” Bronson scoffed, walking over to throw a hand over his more fastidious twin. “He’s got my size and reflexes. He’ll make some women he has to guard very, very happy.”

“I don’t intend to mix work and pleasure,” Mark said, adjusting his tie.

Bronson cocked his head. “Yeah. We’ll see. Women can’t resist a hot bodyguard.”

Mark cocked his blond head back. “Are you trying to give me a job, or just hoping to set me up? I can’t tell.”

Bronson rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I don’t know. Both?” He laughed. “All right Hercules, we should let you get back to your mate. How long are you going to want off with her?”

“We’ll need some time to find a place together and get her stuff moved in. Probably a couple of weeks.”

“See?” Bronson asked Mark. “Perfect time to move you up. We have an open space for a bodyguard.”

“And I’m still better at watching numbers than people,” Mark said, sliding a pencil behind his ear and standing up to stretch. “I’m headed out to lunch, so it’s a good time for you to make your escape, Herc.”

Hercules grinned and gave his friends one-armed hugs. He was just in a good mood, now that he had Hera back on his side.

Cage and Mark walked out with him while Bronson talked with Limes about business. 

When he walked out into the main greeting area, Hera turned to him with a sparkling smile. Carrie, Cage’s mate, was still holding her hand, which sparkled almost as much.

Almost.

“Wow dude, you don’t do anything halfway,” Carrie said, finally releasing Hera’s hand so she could come over to Hercules.

“I have some friends that did well with investing my army money. Nothing compared to Hera’s family, though,” Hercules said.

Hera just shrugged. “No comparison. I’d rather have Hercules. Plus, I have my own money from my time in the service, we’re going to live on that while we’re here. Worry about the rest later.”

“I think that’ll be a good adjustment,” Jamie, Limes’s mate, said.

“Well, it was nice to meet all of you. I hope to see you again soon,” Hera said. 

Hercules waved at them as well, and then tucked Hera’s arm into his so he could lead her outside. 

“Did you tell them that your family would probably be visiting?”

Hercules blanched. “You know, I completely forgot.” He looked back at the building. That had been one of the main reasons he’d wanted to talk to the guys, but once he’d gotten on the subject of his engagement to Hera, everything else had slipped his mind.

“Oh well,” she said, soothing him by running a hand over his arm. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure the first one won’t visit for a few weeks. Should give you time to clear things with Bronson.”

“I just want to meet them on less personal turf, you know?” he asked, walking her to his Jeep and opening the door for her. He handed her in, closed the door and then walked around to his side.

“Thanks,” she said. “And yeah, I can see that. Especially since several of them are so intimidating.”

“Yeah,” Hercules said. “I can’t believe I’m going to be related to them.”

“Lions are something else when it comes to high profile,” Hera said. “Really helpful that they can hide their shifter status.”

“Sorry I’m only half lion,” Hercules said.

Hera snorted. “You aren’t half anything to me. And if you didn’t have bear in you, I doubt my bear would have given you a second look. Rock star or not.”

Hercules hadn’t started the car yet, so he leaned over and gave her a kiss, treasuring the soft feel of her mouth and the way her whole body melted toward him.

“Thank you for being supportive of me meeting my family.”

“I’m supportive of whatever you want. Thanks for agreeing to go see mine on occasion.”

“Of course,” he said. “Honestly, you’re my family. Everyone else is just a bonus. You’re the most important thing to me.”

“And you to me,” she said, leaning in against him. “You’re all the family to me. Not that I don’t love my parents, but…”

“But we’re a unit now,” he said, looking down at her.

She nodded, rubbing a hand absentmindedly over her midsection. 

“Hera?” Hercules asked, looking suspicious.

“Oh no,” she said. “It’d be too early to tell. I was just thinking how nice it will be when we do. Just thinking I’d love a little you.”

“I’d rather have a little you.”

She snorted. “Then why don’t you start the car, so we can get in and get working on it.”

Hercules threw back his head and laughed. “Yes ma’am.”

* * *

* * *

T
hank
you so much for reading Hercules and Hera’s story!
This was a special one and I was happy to write it. I hope if you enjoyed it, you’ll leave a review on the page to help others find it! It really helps us authors.

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so you can know when the next book in the series is out and hear about any giveaways I do! I love giving back to fans.

If you missed any other books in the series, you can get them here, still at .99 for a limited time.

Bear to the Bone (Cage’s story)

Bear-ly a Hero (Limes’s story)

Bear to the Rescue (Bronson’s story)

Do you want to read some more sexy bears while waiting for the next book?
Try my Bear Haven series, about three sexy bear brothers who need to find mates to save their family ranch. In a boxed set now for .99 or in KU for a limited time!

Bear Haven Boxed Set on Amazon

S
hane McAllister sat
on one of the large, cool rocks at the edge of the small, private lake where he and his brothers liked to fly-fish whenever they got a chance.

Well, he and Jesse at least. Maverick had his own means of fishing he preferred, most of which utilized claws rather than rods and flies.

Shane checked his hook and then whipped his arm back and lazily let it fly forward, landing in a plop on the mildly rippled water in front of him.

It was an overcast day, cloudy and cool, the perfect day for thinking through the silly ultimatum from their late father. One that could change all their lives.

Like all of his brothers, Shane was in love with the land around them. The soaring mountains, the thick trees, the little paths throughout the acres that only the three of them had fully explored. They’d grown up here on this wild, private land, and he wasn’t going to let a few wildcats take the place he’d been all his life.

He slowly reeled his line back in as he thought dreamily about options. Then he cast his line again and again, in a slow, poetic repetition that put his mind at ease but didn’t help him come up with any solutions to their problems.

It made no sense that their father could give away the land. He and his brothers had made it great. His middle brother, Jesse, had started up a restaurant chain where they used the fresh beef and buffalo meat they raised. His youngest brother Maverick had built a successful trail-running business, where he took busy city men on quiet tours through the rugged west on vacation.

And Shane himself ran the ranch. Hired the employees. Ran the lodge where guests sometimes stayed when looking for a Montana adventure. Made sure things ran smoothly and money from the ranch was reinvested in the right ways. For a few years, he’d left the ranch and gone to college to study finance. It had been torture, wearing stuffy clothes, interacting with people every day.

The bear in him had hated that.

He supposed more than most bear shifters, he and his brothers had been spoiled. They’d been able to spend almost more time in bear form than human form. As a result, Shane understood many valuable things. How to hunt, how to fish. How to track a man or animal anywhere.

But not how to woo a human female. And ironically, that was the only thing that would save their land.

The quiet footsteps and the piney scent in the air signaled the approach of his younger brother. Jesse was just a couple years his junior and had long, golden-blond hair that grew effortlessly and was tied back in a loose ponytail. And pale blue eyes.

His coloring couldn’t have been more different from Shane, who had dark hair and piercing dark-green eyes.

Jesse looked relaxed in their typical uniform of worn, sturdy denim and a hardy work shirt, unbuttoned at the top to show impressive muscles.

All three of the brothers made their living with their hands, and their bodies showed it. Combine that with being bear shifters with extra height and the ability to build strength easily and they were a sight to behold.

Shane wondered if that would be an advantage in winning a woman. He honestly had no idea. They rarely came to the ranch, and he didn’t remember one ever wanting to work there. Except for their funny, plump housekeeper who was more of a surrogate mother than anything else.

Fanny had occasionally bemoaned the lack of female company but kept the men in control well enough. Shane wondered if she would have any ideas about how to go about catching a mate.

“Thinking over our recent predicament?” Jesse asked quietly, situating himself cross-legged on a rock a few feet away.

Shane nodded and cast his line again, slowly reeling it in. “Recently
known
predicament. Obviously, it’s been around a lot longer than that.”

Jesse sighed. “Yeah.”

They heard a rustling in the brush around them, and from the spicy scent in the air, Shane knew Maverick had joined them.

In bear form, as usual. He let out a low growl, announcing his presence, as he slumped on the sandy shore between them.

Jesse gave him a passing glance and then stared out at the lake, where Shane’s attention was directed. “Well, we don’t have a choice. One of us has to bite the bullet immediately, and my guess is it has to be you.” He turned to Shane. “What do you say?”

“I say he doesn’t know how to talk to a female,” Maverick growled. They were all able to talk in their bear forms. A bonus to the magic that made them what they were. “I say we’re all doomed, unless we go kidnap one.”

Shane ignored that insane idea. “I’m not going to let us lose the land. I’ll figure something out.”

“Right,” Maverick grumbled. “Big brother will always fix things. See where that’s gotten us so far. Aren’t you the one that’s supposed to be in charge of paperwork?”

“If you knew just how much paperwork there was and the state it was in when Shane took over from Dad, you’d know exactly how he missed it in the first place,” Jesse retorted serenely. It took a lot to ruffle their middle brother, who wasn’t likely to lose his temper at anything Maverick said or did after years of dealing with his hot temper.

“It’s still my fault,” Shane said, setting his pole aside, tired of fishing. “I should have noticed. Should have looked at the will closer.”

“Three months to find the first mate. That sucks,” Maverick said.

Shane frowned. Maverick was the youngest of the three, only in his mid twenties, while Jesse was in his late twenties, and Shane in his early thirties. “I’ll go first. That gives you two some time.”

They seemed mildly satisfied by that. All three were confirmed bachelors. Like Shane, they didn’t really see the point of or need for a mate. Except to save the ranch.

All a woman could do around these parts was get in trouble or distract them from work. This wild land wasn’t meant for a female, especially the fragile, bookish ones Shane had gotten to know when he went to the big city for his degree.

No, they’d be better off running things just the three of them. But unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.

“You know, there’s gotta be females in town,” Maverick said. “Only thirty miles from here.”

“Yeah, and with ten males for every female, it’s unlikely they’ll want to come up to the ranch,” Shane said.

“Maybe Jesse should go,” Mav said. “He might be the nicest to a female, with his pretty boy looks.”

“Hey…” Jesse said. Then he shrugged, because what Mav said was true. “I guess if I have to, I can try to find someone. But having never really left the ranch except for meetings with suppliers, I imagine I have even less experience with the fairer sex than Shane.”

“Humph,” Maverick said, settling the huge weight of his bear with a thud. “Seems like if anyone wants anything done, they have to do it themselves.”

Shane just laughed at that as Maverick disappeared into the woods around the lake.

“Should we go after him?” Jesse asked, standing and brushing off his hands. The sun was starting to set, throwing beautiful shadows through the trees around them, making the water shimmer with dim light. “No telling what he gets up to on his own.”

“What’s he going to do? Find a female as a bear and convince her to come back here?” Shane laughed, shaking his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jesse said. “What’s the worst he can do?”

The answer to that turned out to be worse than either of them could have expected.

* * *

M
averick shifted
into his human form as he stalked into the small cabin he’d claimed for himself at the edge of the ranch. He liked his privacy, preferred things that way, and intended for things to stay that way.

The land was theirs, it always would be, and it was clear now that he had to do something to ensure it, because his weak older brother was too cowardly to do anything about it.

If it were up to Maverick, he’d just go into town, pick out a female, drag her up to the ranch, and tell her how things were going to be.

But that would land him in jail, and besides, he valued his bachelor existence. And what woman would be able to tolerate the kind of living he enjoyed? None probably.

He pulled on a shirt and jeans and sat at the small chair and desk he’d made, which had an outdated computer on top of it.

He didn’t know exactly how human men typically found mates, but he knew the computer in front of him had answers to almost everything in the human world. He typed in a few clumsy searches. “Find a mate” didn’t bring up the right results. Neither did “buy a wife.” He scratched his head. “Bring a woman out west.” Still nothing.

There wasn’t a lot out here to tempt a woman besides beautiful vistas and cool, fresh air. A few more searches led him to "dating" websites, places where people put pictures up and talked to each other, but Maverick didn’t think any of that would lead to exactly what he was looking for. Three months wasn’t enough time to get Shane hitched.

Or to get a woman out here for the sole purpose of meeting him.

Maverick scratched his stubbly chin. Shaving was the least of his worries, and none of his men seemed to care. Perhaps he was thinking about this the wrong way. Wooing a woman? No, he didn’t understand that. But hunting, trapping, he understood that. Perhaps this wasn’t so different from catching a juicy fish. Set the bait, set the trap, and wait…

And the dating website that had shown up in Mav’s most recent search was exactly the right place to do it.

Mav typed in Shane’s name, knowing computer savvy Shane had probably looked into this weeks ago when he’d first found out about the ultimatum that could lose them their land.

Sure enough, the profile popped up. But the text below the words was all wrong. Nothing that Mav thought would attract a mate.

Someone just had to show Shane what exactly would bring a woman out to Montana, and it wasn’t anything like Shane was describing.

Mav took a few moments to imagine what a lady bear would want in a mate and then rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

When he was done, he scanned the screen with satisfaction, changed the login so Shane wouldn’t be able to get in and see this particular profile, and shifted back into his bear to run out into the night.

The land that meant everything to him was saved. He was sure of it. Now he just had to show up in the right place at the right time, spring the trap, and bring home Shane’s mate.

Ruby didn’t know if it was the wine she’d been drinking with her girlfriends, the breakup, the demotion at work, or everything altogether, but for some crazy reason, she was actually considering answering the most ridiculous personal ad she’d ever seen in her twenty-eight years alive.

“You can’t be serious,” Bonnie said, waving her hand at the bright screen in front of them. “It’s freaking… ludicrous.”

Ruby stifled a giggle, reading the profile again as her friend Harmony threw her arm around her and swayed toward the computer.

“Huge man seeks female mate?” Harmony gasped out, laughing. “Can protect cubs. Can haul much weight. Can provide much food.”

“Ridiculous,” Bonnie said, holding her midsection as she doubled over. “I mean, is this a joke, or did that guy really write that?”

Ruby didn’t know. Her head hurt from laughing, yet she couldn’t stop looking at the picture that accompanied the profile. He looked normal enough. Maybe he just had a sense of humor about the fact that he lived in Montana.

The man was beyond handsome. He was panty-melting hot, and if his height was listed correctly, he was about 6’6” of tall, muscled mountain man perfection. Dark-brown hair, tanned skin, rugged, masculine features with a squared-off jaw and dark, and sparkling forest-green eyes that seemed to go on for days.

Somehow, and maybe it was just that she was tired, but somehow, she was dying to meet him. Despite the silly words in the profile, something drew her in.

“I mean, maybe he just doesn’t understand women,” Bonnie said. “He owns a ranch, so he obviously has a good brain. And is probably rich, like he says,” Bonnie said. “Still, half his profile reads like a caveman wrote it.”

“A hot caveman,” Harmony said, giggling as she read more of his profile aloud. “Ad must be answered within one week. If you want to meet me, be at the Skyline bar in Bear Ridge, Montana, on Saturday, September 4, at 6:00 p.m.”

Ruby shook her head. This guy clearly didn’t understand how the dating world worked.

“Who would honestly do that?” Bonnie asked. “Fly all the way to Montana just for a shot at meeting a man who talks like the worst kind of Neanderthal?”

Well, he was a hot Neanderthal, Ruby had to admit, resting her cheek in her hand. And really, what he was offering was exactly what her educated, city boyfriends had failed to give her. She was the one who paid for things with her job as a hairdresser while they pursued their dreams and got expensive educations in subjects that would never support a family.

“Look at the preferences,” Harmony said, laughing again. “Seeking sturdy woman. Large is better.”

“Well, I have that down,” Ruby said, hugging her curves. She liked her body. She’d had to deal with the fact that society at large didn’t seem to value it, but over the years, she’d only grown more comfortable in her skin as a big girl. The thought of someone requesting a big girl, rather than settling for one, was appealing.