Mail-Order Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 5) (11 page)

She had felt something
stirring deep within her as Gramma continued chanting quietly under
her breath. She realized that it was Gramma's incantation that had
pulled her bear out from wherever it had been slumbering inside her.
Gramma and Ne-ma had cast a gentle, benign spell to help her.

Lauren glanced at the two
witches. Gramma was sitting on the grass, mopping her forehead and
fanning herself. She looked out of breath and exhausted. Reid was
beside her, supporting her and watching Lauren carefully. If he
jumped in and fought for her, the deal would be voided straight away.
Irfan had given her a chance to free Eddie from his father's debt.
She had to win this fight, and she had to win this on her own.

Lauren faced Cage and looked
into the wolf's angry, yellow eyes. Lauren bared her fangs and
charged.

Cage tried to twist away but
Lauren closed her jaws around his hind leg and bit down hard. She
heard the crack of bone and felt claws rake across her face.
Shocked, she released the wolf's leg and staggered back.

Cage limped a few paces back
and crouched. Lauren blinked quickly and shook the blood away from
her eyes. Growling, Cage flattened himself to the ground and waited
for Lauren to come closer.

Lauren had never fought a
wolf before. She had never even been in a fist fight before. She
didn't know how to read and anticipate an opponent's moves.

She saw the blood coursing
down Cage's hind leg and decided to press her advantage.

Roaring, she ran at him,
aiming for his neck.

Cage didn't move until the
last minute. He remained on the ground until Lauren was within
reach.

He moved so fast he was just
a blur of gray fur. Lauren felt sharp teeth sink into her neck and
bellowed in pain.

She reared up and tried to
throw Cage off but he held on with his teeth. She stumbled backwards
and fell to the ground. Writhing and twisting on the ground, she
swiped and clawed frantically until she felt her claws tearing into
flesh and muscle.

With a howl, Cage leaped off
her and skidded to her side.

Lauren scrambled to her feet.
She couldn't remain down. She was inexperienced in a fight, but she
wasn't stupid.

Cage lunged at her before she
could find her balance. She acted on pure reflex and slashed her
claws through the air. She hadn't expected to tear into the wolf's
throat as he flew towards her.

She felt the hot, spurting
blood and knew she had hit an artery. Immediately, she delivered
another blow as Cage collapsed on the ground. She tore into the
wolf's bleeding neck and ripped his throat right out.

Cage convulsed on the ground
then stopped moving. The wolf receded and a dead man lay at her
feet.

Her bear wanted to continue
tearing into the body but Lauren forced her bear down by sheer
willpower and shifted to human form. She was sweating profusely, and
every joint and muscle in her body ached.

She straightened up and
stared at Irfan. With a curt nod, the Beta of the Dire Wolves
released Eddie.

“Aunt Lauren!”
Eddie ran to her and hugged her legs tightly. “Aunt Lauren,
you're awesome!” The boy was sobbing and laughing at the same
time.

Reid came over and enveloped
them in his arms. Lauren started to tremble but Reid held her tight
and whispered soothingly to her. His voice anchored her and steadied
her, and she found she could breathe easy again.

Over Reid's shoulder, Lauren
saw Irfan kneel beside Cage's body. He stood up silently, carrying
his dead packmate and started to walk away.

Lauren pulled away from Reid
and called out, “Why did you help us?”

Irfan stopped walking but he
didn't turn around. Lauren stepped forward and said, “You gave
me a way to free Eddie from his father's debt. You didn't have to do
that.”

Irfan turned his head
slightly and said over his shoulder, “I grew up shouldering my
old man's debt. By the time I finished paying the debt, there was
nothing left of me.” He sighed and added, “Perhaps I am
trying to find some pieces of me.”

His eyes flicked to Eddie and
Lauren thought she saw the corner of his mouth curve ever so
slightly. “I didn't have an aunt.”

Without another word, he
resumed walking. Lauren stood and watched him carry the dead wolf
past the line of trees and disappear into the shadows.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-TWO

Reid was helping Lauren in
the kitchen when the front door burst open and Damien stumbled in.
He dumped the shopping bags on the table and boomed, “Where are
my favorite people? I got toys for y'all!”

Immediately, the baby started
to cry in the bedroom.

Reid scowled at his cousin.
“You woke the baby.”

But before any of the adults
could move, Eddie had jumped up and was zipping into the room. “I
got this!” the boy yelled.

Reid and Lauren hurried into
the bedroom to see Eddie cooing to the baby. “Hey, don't cry,
Matthew, I'm here. Everything is okay. Look what I have here. A
purple dinosaur! It's yours, okay?”

Lauren picked the baby up and
sat on the bed, patting the baby's back. Eddie immediately knelt
beside her and stroked the baby's soft downy hair, talking to the
baby the whole time. The baby gurgled and reached for Eddie's
finger.

Eddie grinned and kissed his
cousin's tiny hand. “Matthew loves you,” Lauren told
Eddie. “He stopped crying once he heard your voice.”

“He started crying once
he heard Damien's voice,” Reid deadpanned.

Damien elbowed him in the
ribs and sauntered forward. “Come here, come to Uncle Damien,”
he sang.

Reid watched Lauren pass
their son over to Damien. When Damien began to speak gibberish to
the little guy in his arms, Eddie shook his head and said sternly,
“Don't speak to him like that, Uncle Damien. He understands
every word. I've been teaching him.”

“Oh? And what have you
been teaching him?” Damien asked.

“I taught him the
alphabet, and a few songs I learned at school. He can sing after me
you know,” Eddie said proudly.

“No he can't.”
Damien smirked.

“Yes he can. Come on,
Matthew, let's show Uncle Damien what we can do!”

Eddie began to sing the
alphabet song in his clear, bright voice and Reid chuckled when the
baby raised his head and started to coo and squeal in time to the
song.

Damien whistled, impressed.
“Wow. You boys are great!”

Reid ruffled his nephew's
hair and took his son from Damien's arms. “Ooh, time to change
your diaper,” Reid said, wrinkling his nose.

“Can I help?”
Eddie asked.

“Sure.”

Lauren got up and smiled at
Damien. “I just baked a pie. Come to the kitchen. I'll get
you a slice.”

“Oh, yum!”
Damien started after Lauren, then asked, “You don't have to
supervise those two?”

“Oh!” Lauren
burst into laughter. “Of course not. I only do the feedings.
Reid and Eddie do everything else. Those three are inseparable!
Hmph, being the only female in this house, I'm starting to feel kind
of left out.”

Damien chuckled. “Wait
till you have a baby girl...”

“She'll be a little
princess for sure!” Lauren shook her head. “With Reid,
Eddie, Matthew and you around, she'll have a big Papa bear, a big
cousin bear, a big brother bear and a big uncle bear! You'll wrap
her up in cotton candy and scare all the boys away!”

“No we won't!”
Reid, Damien and Eddie shouted together. Even little Matthew
squealed his protest.

Reid took the clean diaper
and baby wipes from Eddie. The two of them worked as a team,
efficiently and seamlessly getting the clean diaper onto the baby and
disposing of the dirty diaper in one minute flat. It was like a
military operation.

“Can I hold him, Uncle
Reid?” Eddie asked, holding out his hands eagerly.

Reid nodded and made Eddie
sit comfortably on the bed before handing him the baby.

“You're a very good
cousin to Matthew,” Reid said, smiling at Eddie. “You
two are going to be best friends when you grow up.”

“Like you and Uncle
Damien?” Eddie asked, beaming.

“Just like me and Uncle
Damien.”

“But you guys squabble
and fight all the time.”

“He is annoying,”
Reid huffed. “But I still love him.”

“I heard that!”
Damien said, walking into the room with his mouth full of pie.

“You'll never get me to
repeat that,” Reid growled.

“I don't have to. I
know you luuuuurrve me!” Damien tackled him in a bear hug.

“Get off me, you oaf!”
Reid bellowed. He threw his cousin off and held him in a headlock.

Damien twisted round and
managed to sweep Reid's legs out from under him. The two of them
crashed to the floor and continued wrestling.

“Aunt Lauren!”
Eddie yelled.

“Tattletale,”
Reid and Damien said together. They exchanged a glance and grinned.

Before Eddie could scramble
away, they pounced on him together. “Help!” Eddie
shrieked with laughter.

Lauren strolled into the room
and hid a laugh behind her hand. She saw Damien at the bottom of the
heap. Eddie was sprawled on Reid's back, panting and grunting.

Reid was holding the baby
expertly on his shoulder and grinning up at her. He was sandwiched
between Damien and Eddie.

“What are you doing?”
she demanded, mock glaring at them.

“Guy stuff,” they
answered in unison.

Reid caught Lauren's smile.
She stood at the door and gazed at her family with affection and
amusement. Reid met her gaze and her smile widened.
Love ya.

Giving them an exaggerated
eye roll, she shrugged and went back to the kitchen.

“Boys,” she
tsked. Then she chuckled softly. “
My
boys.”

~
End
~

About the Author

Natalie Kristen is a writer
who enjoys mixing the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark,
the possibilities with the unimaginable. She enjoys exploring
paranormal and dystopian worlds, deep desires and inspiring romances.
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writing. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to
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