Rough (The Bear Chronicles of Willow Creek Book 1) (2 page)

Micah, a panther shifter, turns to look at me.  “I think we should use an online dating service.”

Shaking my head, I blow out another frustrated breath.  “We don’t need dates.  We need wives.”

Jon, a moose shifter, stands from his seat, before expressing his opinion.  “What about mail order brides?  Back in the day, wives were found by looking in the paper.  Can we do that?”

Before I can answer, Micah replies to him.  “I don’t think we can just find wives in a paper, but there may be something online for that.”

I chuckle at my friend, while placing my hands flat against the podium.  “You just want us to get with the times.  You’re always talking about online stuff.”

His laptop is in his hand, as he said.  “I’m telling you, we can get anything we need online.  That includes wives.”

A second later, he looks up and smiles.  “Here it is, Brides Incorporated.”

Standing up, he brings me his laptop.  Looking at the screen, I see pictures of young women in every race, shape, and age.  I study the pictures for a moment, before reading over the information.  What catches my eyes is at the bottom of the website;
Find your perfect bride here!

“Who goes first?” Jon asks, rising from his seat to walk to me.

 Eli stands up.  “If we take human wives, we give up our chance at finding true mates.  Who here would be willing to do that?”

Just the thought of never having a true mate nearly brings me to my knees.  Finding your mate is a goal every shifter shares.  Each and every one of us wants to find the other half of our souls. Not to do so will make for a long and very sad life.  Still, a wretched life is better than no life at all.  If the world ever finds out what we really are, each one of us would end up in a lab somewhere, even being forced to take a human wife is better than that. 

Raising my head, I take in a deep breath, hoping I’m making the right decision.  “As leader of this clan, I’ll be the first.”

CHAPTER TWO

Chicago, Illinois

April 29, 2015

Amelia

WRINGING OUT
the mop, I plop it onto the floor.  Pushing it from side to side, I stretch out my back, trying to work the kinks out.  Every morning, I get up at three am, head to the bakery and work six hours making doughnuts.  As soon as I’m done there, I head to the Iron Skillet and work another eight hours, bussing tables and cleaning up.  By the time the diner closes, my body is always stiff.  I end up feeling more like a fifty year old woman that a twenty-one year old woman.

It’s only going to get worse soon, two months to be exact.  At twenty-one years old, I should have been on my own over three years ago.  Luckily, my foster mother is allowing me to stay at her house, until my sister, Liza, ages out of the system.  She’ll be eighteen in June. After that, I have to find a way to support both of us, and two minimum wage jobs isn’t going to cover us.  I may have to struggle, but Liza won’t.  She’s going to go to college, even if I have to work myself into an early grave to get her there. 

Most of my checks go to my foster mother to cover rent, rent that is nearly eight hundred dollars a month.  That allows me to have a bottom bunk in a room with three other girls and three sparse meals a day. After paying her, whatever I can, I barely have four thousand dollars saved up.

I thought that would be enough money to get us started, until I started looking for an apartment.  It didn’t take me long to figure out that we would have to find a roommate.  So far, I’ve only found one ad looking for a roommate that was in our price range.  I was so excited, until I met the man that would be sharing the place with us.  He took one look at my boobs and said we could figure out another way to work out the rent.  He even went as far as to tell me he didn’t mind my scar so much.  He claimed he could always close his eyes and pretend it wasn’t there.  Needless to say, we won’t be taking the room. 

“Hey Amelia, did you see this?” Kelley says, walking towards me, holding her phone out in front of her. 

For some reason, Kelley and her friends make working at the diner pure hell.  They love to torment me.  They make fun of my hand-me-down clothes, even though they know nearly every penny I make is saved for the future.  They laugh about the fact I have to work two jobs, not understanding that if I didn’t have two jobs my little sister would be wearing the same hand-me-downs that I do.  They even mention the scar on my face every chance they get, not caring that I received it while saving my little sister from a fire that killed the rest of our family. 

My body goes stiff as soon as I see the evil smile on her face.  She’s going to do something to embarrass me, and I know it.  “What do you want?”

 Kelley places a hand on her hip as her smile grows. “I thought you might want to see this.  We all know you’re gonna be tossed out on your ass soon, so we figured we would help you out.”

Her two cohorts are giggling behind her.  Cutting my eyes to them, I shoot them a death glare.  “I’m too busy to deal with you guys right now.”

“Oh, just take a look.” Kelley pushes the phone into my hand, forcing me to drop the mop. 

Instinctively, I look at the screen.  Across the top,
Brides Incorporated
is written big bold letters.  “What’s this?”

“We figured you could find a guy on here.  They must be desperate to place an ad on something like this, so even you may have a chance of getting picked,” she says, and then points to the side of the screen.  “All you have to do is click on that link and fill it out. 
Walla
, you get a husband.”

I stare at the screen for a moment, looking at pictures of all the women looking for husbands.  How could they be so desperate that they’d be willing to put an ad online?  Just as the thought flashes through my mind, my eyes land on a picture of Josie, one of the girls that had been in my foster home.  She aged out nearly three months ago, and I can still remember her crying the day she was forced to leave our foster parents’ house. 

Like me, she worked two part time jobs and planned on going full time as soon as she graduated.  Still, she knew she wouldn’t have enough money to put a roof over her head and food in her belly, so she decided to look for a roommate.  She told me she had found someone to share expenses with and said that she may even be able to enroll at the local community college, if she was able to find another part time job that is.   Obviously, none of that happened if she’s online looking for a husband.  Guess that answers my question.  Just like Josie, I’m desperate enough to look for a husband online. 

Shaking off the thought, I hand her back the phone.  “Just leave me the hell alone.”

Kelley laughs as she walks away and I do my best to ignore her.  Picking up the mop, I get back to my job, thoughts of the website filling my mind.  Can I do it?  Can I really marry someone I have never met?  Do I really have a choice?  No, I don’t.

I’m just finishing the floor when Kelley and her friends clock out.  Knowing this is my only chance I quickly put my cleaning supplies away and find my boss.  “Hey Bess, do you mind if I use the computer for a few minutes.”

She continues stocking the freezer, while she answers.  “Sure Hun.  What’s up?”

“I just need to do a little research.” I answer her with a half-truth.

She cocks her head to the side and searches my face.  “Go on, Amelia.  You know you can use my computer anytime you need to.”

“Thanks,” I mutter, as I quickly make my way to her office and sit at the desk. 

Pulling up the website, my eyes once again go to Josie.  She’s lost a lot of weight that she didn’t have to lose.  Her clothes are even more tattered than they were when she was living with us.  She nearly looks desperate.  I wonder if I look the same way, but I know the answer.  I probably look worse. 

Shaking off my thoughts, I pull up the application and start filling it out. Adding my name, age, and weight first.  Then, I go on to add a note about my sister.  Any man that accepts me will have to accept her too.  If not, we will find another way to get a home for us both.

 When I get to the portion that asks for a picture, I draw in a deep breath. Most men are going to shy away, as soon as they see my scar but there’s nothing I can do about that.  I do my best to straighten my clothes and smooth down my flat dark brown hair.  Forcing a smile, I look at the computer’s camera and press click.  Seconds later, I push submit and pray someone picks me. 

CHAPTER THREE

May 2nd, 2015

Ethan

WALKING DOWN
the hall, I do my best to ignore my cousin Eli as he lists off all the reasons taking a human bride is a mistake.  “We can’t trust humans, Ethan. You know they all lie and scheme to get what they want.”

After years of our ancestors being persecuted, I know he’s right.  Still, we have no choice. I do my best to pick my words carefully.  “We have no choice.  If we don’t bring outsiders in, the stupid fuckers lining our streets will never leave.”

He shakes his head, opening the door to my office and walking over to the sofa.  “I still don’t understand how marrying a human is gonna help.  One outsider won’t make the rumors surrounding us go away.”

Walking past him, I take a seat at my desk and open my laptop.  “One isn’t gonna do much, but as more humans are brought in it should silence the claims that we only marry people that grew up in our town.  Hopefully, the idea we’re some sort of fucked up cult will slowly fade away.”

He plops down on the sofa and runs his hands through his hair.  “If you marry a human, you lose the chance of finding your one true mate.  You’ll be lonely for the rest of your life.”

His words cut me to core, because I know how true they are.  Bear shifters come of age around twenty.  After that, we are constantly looking for our mate.  Each day we go without finding her, we become more and more lonely.  At twenty-nine, I already feel as if I have a hole in my soul.  Taking a wife that is not mate, not to mention a wife that is a human, that hole will only continue to grow.  Until finally, I am nothing more than a shell of the man and shifter I should have been.  

“We don’t have a damn choice.  We have to save Willow Springs, Eli.”

He stands up, a look of pure anger on his face.  “We don’t even know if this is gonna work.  You could marry her, and our town could still be covered with reporters and damn freaks wanting to join some cult.  What will you do then?  You’ll be stuck with this woman and still have the same fucking problems.”

His words are a reflection of my own thoughts, things I’ve been thinking since I made the decision to marry a human. As much as it scares me, I must do my duty.  “If that happens, I will deal with it.”

He stares at me a second before partially shifting and letting out a deafening roar.  “As your second in command, I can’t let you do this”

Jumping up, I don’t even bother shifting before grabbing his throat.  “Never roar at me. Never let your bear out, while you are speaking to me.”

Tossing him across the room, his body crashes into the wall and he pulls his bear back.  “Forgive me, Ethan.”

“Get out.” I growl, letting my claws descend. 

He pushes himself off the floor, before turning and rushing out of my office.  I wait until I hear him slam the front door and pull my claws back.  Taking in a deep breath, I go back to my desk and look at my computer.  If I’m going to do this, I might as well get it done now.  Typing in the web address, I wait until I see the page come up and start searching for a woman I could at least imagine taking to my bed.   

 Looking through the pictures, my body shudders at the thought of taking one of these women as my wife.  Some are young, some are old.  There are beautiful women on here, but there are also a few that would make me cringe at the thought of sinking my dick into them.  Some are thin, some have extra cushion.  No two are exactly alike.  Still, I can’t find even one that would suit me. 

Going to the next page of pictures, my eyes lock onto a picture of a woman with coffee colored hair. She’s young; I doubt a day older than twenty.  Her eyes are the deepest shade of green I’ve ever seen and so full of pain I can nearly feel it coming through the screen.  For some reason, they call to me and I don’t like it one damn bit.

I stare at her a little longer than I did the rest of the women, taking in every aspect of her heart shaped face.  Just looking at her has my cock thickening in my jeans.  She has a button nose, and her lips have a perfect cupid bow. Her high cheekbones, give her a sculpted look that you see on movie stars.  If I felt any attraction to humans, I would say she was the perfect woman.  Even the scar on her face doesn’t distract from her beauty.  In fact, it gives her more character.  It seems to let people know that she is more than they see. 

I read through her bio, noticing her name is Amelia Rogers.  I was right about her age; she just turned twenty-one.  For a second, I think I may have found my future wife.  Then, I notice a note about her sister.  She wants to bring her younger sister with her, when she marries.  I shake my head, deciding she’s not for me.  One human is all I can handle right now. 

Just as I’m about to go on to the next photo, my bear comes alive.  Suddenly, my nails are extending to full claws; my gums are aching as my teeth descend.  As my bone starts to elongate, I force in a deep breath. It takes every bit of strength I have to keep from shifting. 

As soon as I get control of myself, I look around the room for danger.  Looking in every corner, I see nothing out of the normal.  I search the house, making sure there isn’t someone hiding. There are no strange scents and no sounds that cannot be explained.  I even peek out the window, trying to figure out what my bear is sensing, still nothing. 

Finally giving up, I walk back to the desk.  Taking my seat, I look at the computer again and start to click on the next picture.  Again, my bear goes wild.  Suddenly my eyes lock onto the photo, and I realize my bear has found the woman he wants.  Realizing he’s not going to leave me alone, I click on her picture and click choose.  If I can handle her, surely her sister will not be too damn much trouble.