Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Lori) BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW Dating App Romance Book 5) (14 page)

“Best damn meal I’ve had in years,” he proclaimed. Lori stared at him in amazement, stifling a laugh. “Girl, if you can cook like this, we might consider keeping you around.” She nodded modestly, as if he’d given her an amazing compliment, but her heart was beating fast.
This sounds like good news, right?

“I’m pretty good at cooking. And cleaning. And fixing stuff,” she said.

“Yeah? And what else can you do?” the ugly guy said, his features distorted with a lecherous smirk. Her stomach plummeted again. There was no mistaking his meaning. The shop guy turned his head and shot him a look that was full of malice, and he shrank back in his chair, as if he’d been slapped.

“I’ve warned you about that!” the shop guy spat. “Potential mates are not to be spoken to in those terms.”

“Sorry, bro, I guess I just forgot.”

“If you forget again, it’ll be the last thought you ever have!” the shop guy said, and turned to Lori with a smile on his face. On someone else, it might have resembled a gentle smile, but on him, it was just hideous. Lori gulped.
What is he up to?

“I’m sure you’ve got plenty of talents that would make a mate very happy,” he said. She stared at him in shock.
What is he talking about? And did he just say ‘mate’?
He kept smiling at her. He’s waiting for an answer.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she mumbled, looking down, affecting modesty again.
Are they shape shifters too?
She glanced at them through her eyelashes
. Wolves. They look like wolves.
Now that she saw it, it was impossible to unsee it. Beneath their ugly human faces, she saw something lean and hungry. There was a hierarchy. The shop guy was clearly higher in the pecking order than the other guy. Knowing that they were half animal shifted things for her. She wasn’t sure whether it made them seem more dangerous or less. More, probably, knowing how keen the senses of shape shifters were. They could probably hear her every movement; smell her when she was miles away. The thought made the hairs on her arms stand up.

“When’s that bear gonna come looking for you?” the shop guy said suddenly.

“Bear?” she asked.

“You know who I’m talking about.” He moved closer, until his yellow eyes were inches from hers and she could smell the stale sweat coming off his body. “Don’t act dumb. I know you’re mated to a bear. It was him who came and wrecked our operations after you came sniffing around the shop.” She shook her head.

“No. I’m not mated to anyone. I know a few bears, it’s true. I also know lions, tigers and wolves.” At the sound of the last word, they both snarled, and she had the impression that their wolves could burst out of their bodies at any moment. She whimpered and cowered down in her chair.

“Which wolves do you know?” the ugly guy demanded.

“Dr Harley,” she whispered. They visibly relaxed, seeming satisfied. Dr Harley wasn’t a reason to get agitated, it seemed.

“You and this bear just cost us a lot of money, and four of our pack mates. And he isn’t gonna come looking for you if he’s not your mate,” the ugly guy said. It was a statement, not a question, and she didn’t reply. The shop guy poked her in the shin with the toe of his boot. She yelped.

“Is he your mate?” he demanded.

“No, I told you he wasn’t!” she yelled, pain making her angry.

“You better be lying, bitch. And he better come looking for you, or you’ll be very sorry,” he said, with a nasty laugh. She was silent while she absorbed this news, and then she burst into tears again. She put her hands over her face and blocked them out, and gave into her fear for a moment. She was so scared. Her nerves couldn’t take much more. She was dimly aware that they were muttering to each other, but she ignored them.

“Get up,” the shop guy said gruffly. She uncovered her face and stood up. “Time for bed.” He opened the door and indicated that she should follow. “You need to go to the bathroom?”

“Yes,” she said immediately. Her bladder was bursting, but she hadn’t thought about it till now.

“Down the side of the barn. Be quick.” She ran to where he was pointing and squatted down out of his sight. It was pitch dark, and she could hardly see anything, but the relief was immense.

When she came back, he was holding the door of the barn open, and the ugly guy was dragging a mattress in there. He was sniggering like a horny teenager. Her heart began to pound and panic tightened her throat.

Chapter Fourteen

Two hours earlier

Andrea’s voice was tense with restrained panic.

“Lori has gone! We’re calling everyone we know. She's nowhere to be found. She’s disappeared, leaving Nancy alone in the garden.”

“Hey, slow down,” Bruno said. “You’re saying that she’s gone somewhere without her baby? She wouldn’t do that.”

“I know!” Andrea wailed. “Something’s happened to her!”

“I’m coming right over,” Bruno said, already running through his house.

“What’s going on, dad?” Tad called.

“I’m not sure yet.” Bruno looked at his son. He didn’t want to expose him to any kind of situation, but he couldn’t leave him by himself, and there was no time to make other arrangements. “Come on, we’ve got to go to Andrea and Magnus’s place!” Tad ran after him without asking any questions, hearing the urgency in his father’s tone.

They drove fast to the cabin, jolted to a stop and rushed into the house. Andrea came to meet them.

“Lori and Nancy were in the garden together, and I was upstairs. When I came down, she wasn’t there any more. How could she have just disappeared?” Bruno ran outside again, pacing around, sniffing the air. Nancy’s little cradle was in a corner of the garden. He sniffed all the way around it, in a steadily increasing circle. He knew that smell! Sweaty, unwashed bodies, mingled with a much stronger smell of wolf. And not just any wolf. The wolves who’d owned the meth lab he’d just turned over to the cops.
Shit!
Some of them must’ve avoided being captured, and then they’d somehow figured out a connection between him and her. He didn’t have time to wonder how they’d done it.

“Tad! Come on,” he called, and began to run after the scent of the two bikers and Lori. Tad caught him up and they plunged into the woods. They followed it for a few minutes as far as a clearing. And then it stopped.

“Damn!” Bruno exclaimed. But there was also a strong smell of gasoline, and an odor that only came from motorbikes. They’d taken her off on a bike. She could be anywhere. He felt like punching something. Instead, he bunched his hands into fists and walked around in a tight circle.

“Dad, calm down. We’ve gotta think,” Tad said. Bruno glanced at his son’s earnest face.

“You’re right, Tad,” he said. “Let’s go back to the car and see what’s already being done to find her.” They hurtled back through the trees and found Andrea talking to three cops.

“She’s been taken by some bikers – the ones who were renting out her old store. They’ve abducted her on their bikes,” Bruno told them. The cops nodded. They knew him well, and didn’t need to ask him how he’d gained this information. They just took it as fact – something he was very grateful for. They took their radios off their belts, and began talking into them rapidly.

“We’ve got traffic checking the highway cameras in the local area. Hopefully they’ll have something for us soon,” they said.

They all stood waiting in silence, too tense to speak. Terrible thoughts were running through Bruno’s mind. Were they planning to punish Lori for what he’d done? The thought sickened him, to the pit of his stomach.

At last, the radios crackled.

“Two bikes, both registered to tenants at that address have been seen heading north on the interstate. They’ve only managed to trace them for the first few miles though. After that, the cameras are unreliable.”

“I’m going to find her,” Bruno yelled. “Tad, stay here with Andrea!”

“No, I’m coming with you!” Tad shouted. Bruno stopped and turned to his son.

“Tad, it’s not safe for you. It could be a dangerous situation.” Tad’s lip trembled.

“Dad, please. I need to be with you.” There was something in his green eyes – something that was terrified of abandonment. Bruno couldn’t do it to him again.

“Ok, but you’ve got to do exactly what I say.” Tad’s small chest heaved in relief.

“Ok,” he said, and he ran towards the pick-up with his dad.

Bruno drove slowly on the interstate with his windows open. He knew it was a long shot, but he hoped he’d pick up something. So far, there was nothing. Just the thick, choking smell of thousands of vehicles and hot asphalt. Lori was so present in his mind. He was so worried about what those feral animals could do to her. But it was more than that. He felt like his mate had been snatched away from him. However hard he’d tried to put her out of his mind after he told her they couldn’t be together, it clearly hadn’t worked.

“You care about her a lot, don’t you, dad?” Tad piped up, after being silent for a while. Bruno smiled at his son, amazed once again at Tad’s maturity and perceptive abilities.

“Yes I do, Tad,” he replied.

“When you find her, I think you should become mates, and she should come and live with us in our house.”

“I don’t know about that. Sometimes things aren’t as easy as they seem.” Tad was quiet again.

“It’s because of mom, isn’t it?” Bruno sighed.

“Yes it is,” he said at last.

“But it’s fine, dad. We’ll never forget mom, but I don’t want you to be lonely, and I feel like Lori is the one you should be with. And I would love it if Nancy was my little sister.” Bruno took a deep breath.

“It’s more than that. You know how we lost your mom?” Tad nodded, his eyes wide. “And you know how I met Lori – after the fire service rescued her from a car wreck?” Tad nodded again. “Well, I just feel like it’s a bad coincidence. I feel like the heavens are telling me that I wasn’t able to save your mom, so I don’t have the right to be with someone that I did save.” Tad was silent for a lot longer this time.

“But dad, maybe it’s the opposite? Maybe the heavens are giving you a second chance. You became a firefighter so you could save people. And you did save Lori and Nancy. So you don’t have to feel bad about not saving mom any more?” Bruno frowned. He’d never seen it that way before. He’d carried so much guilt around for so long, that he thought coincidence could only be a bad thing.

“Do you really think so?”

“It makes sense to me, dad.” Tad said, suddenly sounding far older than his years.
I guess if the heavens wanted to punish me, I would’ve been killed while I was trying to save Lori and Nancy
, Bruno thought to himself.
But if I was with Lori, would I ever be able to forget that she and my previous mate were connected by fire?

“If you rescue her now, it’ll make everything alright,” Tad said. Bruno’s head jerked to stare at his son.

“Tad, where did you get that idea from?” he demanded.

“I don’t know. It just came to me. Like there was a voice in my head,” Tad said, sounding worried.

“Tad, it’s ok, I’m not angry with you. I just needed to know.”

“It was like someone was giving me a message to pass on to you.”
That was exactly how it had sounded
. Bruno thought hard about Lori. He allowed his mind to be imbued with her presence. He tried to feel her with all of his senses. And she came to him, as if they were being connected across time and space. Her eyes were dazzling violet, but full of vulnerability. She was his mate, and she needed him. And he knew how to find her. He cleared his mind of any preconceptions, and let his mate guide him to her.

He turned off the interstate at the next opportunity, drove back south a little, then took a back road through some farming land. He kept going and going, and the road turned into a rough track. Night had fallen, and visibility was very poor. They seemed to be driving towards a farm. He sensed that Lori was no more than a mile away. He stopped the car and parked up next to an abandoned building.
“There’s not much time,”
Lori seemed to be urging him.

“Tad, I’m going to go on foot the rest of the way. I need you to stay in the car. It could be dangerous for you to follow me. Do you understand?” Tad nodded. “Here’s my phone, with all my numbers on it. Use the maps app to figure out where we are, and call the cops right now and give them our location. Got it?”

Tad nodded again.

“Sure, dad.”

“And keep the doors locked.”

Bruno unbuttoned his shirt and took it off, followed by his pants, shoes and undershorts, and then he stepped out of the car. Tad watched while his father shifted in front of his eyes, becoming a huge brown bear with pale blue eyes, and long, sharp claws, before he sprinted off, following the track ahead.

Chapter Fifteen

“Ever had two at a time, sweetheart?” the shop guy said, leering down at Lori. She was sitting on the mattress inside the barn, as they’d instructed her, and they were leaning on either side of the barn door. The ugly guy had a torch, and he was training it on her as she unfastened the buttons on her shirt, complying with their orders as slowly as humanly possible.

“That’s it. Good girl,” the shop guy crooned, in a voice thick with saliva. Lori’s stomach lurched again. Her mind was frozen with horror as her fingers worked numbly.

“Nice tits,” the ugly guy said. “You still feeding that baby of yours?” she shook her head quickly. “Shame,” he said, drawing the word out disgustingly.

“Now take your shirt off, and undo your pants. Give us a nice strip tease to get us nice and hot for that sweet body of yours.” Lori swallowed hard.

“Please…,” she said. “Please don’t do this.”

“Stop begging and just do as I say, bitch, if you don’t want me to do something much worse,” shouted the ugly one, his eyes sparkling with rage.

“Please, I’ll do anything else you – ” she broke off as the ugly one stormed towards her, his face convulsed with aggression. He stopped a meter short of her, having seen the horror that transfixed her face. Then he smirked.

“You got the message, bitch, didn’t you?! Now continue where you left off, or I’ll continue myself.”

She stifled a cry, took her shirt off and started unfastening the button of her pants. Her hands were shaking so badly, she could barely hold the button between her fingers. She finally managed to unfasten it and then pulled the zipper down slowly. As her panties were revealed, the ugly guy made a sound of hunger.

“The bitch so wants me, her hands are trembling with desire,” he cackled. “Get those pants off and – ” he began to say, but he didn’t get to finish his sentence, as something huge appeared in the darkness behind him, and seemed to engulf him. He gave a single, high-pitched scream, there was a deep, vibrating roar and a sound of something tearing, and he fell to the ground. His torch dropped, but landed on something soft, and its beam illuminated the first couple of feet off the ground. The ugly guy was covered in blood. His throat was slashed, and deep cuts criss-crossed his face. Just behind him were two furry brown legs.

“You! How the fuck did you get here?” the shop guy yelled. He was answered with a roar of pure fury. There was the sound of tearing fabric, and Lori watched in shock as the clothes of the shop guy burst apart. His leather pants, jacket and shirt spontaneously shredded and fell off him. Underneath, he didn’t have skin, but fur – thick, gray fur. His body seemed to get bigger and bigger and then there was the sound of crunching bone, and a loud snap and a thump. And the face of a wolf stared at her, through mean, yellow eyes. She screamed, and screamed again as the wolf lunged at whatever was behind the body of the ugly guy. A snarl cut through the air, and the wolf was thrown back onto the ground, the dark shape plunging on top of it. It was a bear! A huge, brown bear. The wolf and the bear tumbled over and over, gnashing their teeth, biting at each other. The wolf was vicious and its gestures were manic and quick. But it was losing. The bear was so much bigger, and it had claws that could rip through flesh. Soon, the wolf’s snarls became whimpers, and then an agonized scream. The bear’s mighty jaws fastened around the wolf’s throat and held on. And then there was silence. The bear shook its massive head, and the wolf’s neck snapped. It was dead. The bear flung it on top of the other body. Lori stared, paralyzed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The bear lay down in front of her.

“Bruno?” she whispered, hardly daring to speak. If she was wrong, she was about to be in a lot of trouble. The bear lowered its head in affirmation, and the torchlight shone in its eyes, showing them as pale blue. Bruno’s eyes.
It’s him!
He’d come and saved her, just in the nick of time, before something indescribably awful happened to her. She cried in relief. He let out a long rumble. It was a soft, soothing sound. Her heartbeat slowed, and her breathing returned to normal. And she remembered that she was half naked. She buttoned up her pants and reached for her blouse and put it on quickly, then she stood up, looking at the bear for guidance. He stood up too, on all fours, and then he kind of lowered his body towards the ground and inclined his head at the same time. She frowned.

“You want me to climb on your back?” she said. He gave a rumble and inclined his head again. She stepped towards him and reached for the fur on his back. It was so soft and luxuriant! She put some of her weight on him, and cautiously lifted her leg up and over his broad back. She transferred her weight so she was sitting right on top of him, and then she leaned forward and instinctively sank her fingers into the thick fur around his neck. As soon as she was sitting comfortably, he began to move at an easy lope, carrying her away from the farm and the evil werewolves, and along the road, back to civilization.

Soon, Bruno’s truck was in sight and a small boy was running towards them.

“Lori!” Tad screamed as he threw his arms around her. “Dad!” He rubbed the bear all over its head.

“We’re safe!” she said, reassuring herself as much as Tad. Bruno bent down low, allowing her to slide off his back, then he ambled off towards the truck, while Tad asked her a million questions.

A moment later Bruno was back, a tall sexy man, in jeans and a shirt, which he was still buttoning up. He had some cuts and bite marks on his arms, and a couple on his jaw. Injuries he’d suffered while protecting her.

“Lori, my mate,” he said in his deep rumbly voice, and opened his arms wide. She ran into them, pushing her face against his chest, and broke into a fresh burst of sobbing. “It’s ok, it’s ok. You’re safe now,” he muttered into her hair. “No harm will ever come to you again. You’re my mate, and I’m here to take care of you, forever.” He stroked the nape of her neck and planted kisses on the top of her head. His arms felt incredible wrapped around her, keeping her safe.
Is this really happening?
She asked herself.
So much had happened to her in the last few hours that anything seemed possible. Yet this seemed the most incredible thing of all. She tipped her head right back and tried to look into Bruno’s eyes. He was almost a foot taller than her, which made it a little difficult.

“Do you really mean that?” she said in a shaky voice.

“Of course I do, baby. When I discovered that you’d been snatched by that biker filth, it hit me that I was being ridiculous. And, uh, Tad gave me a helping hand too. The heavens gave me a second shot at finding my mate, and there’s no way I’m going to lose you again.” Lori’s lips curved into a smile, as pure and bright as the sun emerging from behind clouds. Bruno dipped his head and his lips locked onto hers, drawing her into a deep, tender kiss. All the tension and fear that had built up in Lori’s body over the last few hours quickly evaporated. She couldn’t get enough of him. His mouth was so warm, and the corners of his lips were a little salty. The tip of his tongue danced against hers, promising much, much more.

They were interrupted by a wolf whistle, and pulled apart to see Tad pretending to vomit.

“Give me a break, kid,” Bruno said, and held his arm out to him. Tad ran over and wrapped one arm around his dad and, much more hesitantly, draped an arm around Lori’s waist as well. She put an arm around him too, and squeezed him tight.

“I wish Nancy was here too, and then we’d be a complete family,” Tad said. Lori and Bruno glanced at each other, startled. And then they both grinned.

“We’ll all be together very soon,” Bruno said, and Lori’s heart leapt.

Just then, two police cruisers came into view in the distance. They waited for them to arrive, and Bruno gave them an edited version of what had happened, explaining that he’d come upon the two bikers as they were about to attack Lori, and he’d killed them with his bare hands in self defense. It was pretty much true. And he knew the cops wouldn’t ask too many questions – they’d be very glad to have the remaining members of the biker gang out of the way for good. The cops went to investigate, saying they’d take a formal statement later.

“Right, let’s get out of here!” Bruno said to Lori and Tad.

They all jumped into the truck and sped away from the terrible place.

On the way, Lori called Andrea, while he called the clan and let them know that they were all ok. Everyone was very relieved.

“Do you need to stop for food?” Bruno asked Lori. “You must be starving.”

“Uh, no,” she said, and related how she’d been forced to cook for the bikers. They laughed a little when she said that they’d praised the meal as the best one they’d had.

“Little did they know that it was their last supper,” Bruno said.

“Haha, suckers!” Tad exclaimed.

“Were you ok waiting for me in the car, Tad?” Bruno asked him.

“Yeah, I’m a big kid, dad,” he said.

“I know you are, but it’s ok to be scared in situations like that. It doesn’t mean you aren’t brave.”

“Well, I guess I was a little scared too.” Bruno glanced at Lori. He couldn’t imagine how terrified she must have been, especially when those assholes were about to rape her. He wanted to ask her all about it, but it wasn’t a conversation to have in front of Tad. He was just so, so glad that he’d gotten there in time.

An hour later they were back in the national forest. Andrea and Magnus’s place was all lit up, and everyone they knew was out in the garden, waiting anxiously for their return.

Andrea and Magnus came over, carrying Nancy. Lori took Nancy in her arms and held her tight, tears pouring down her face. She’d been so worried that Nancy would be left without a mother, and almost suffocated with the guilt of having left her by herself in the garden. She kissed her little head again and again, her heart bursting with love.

“She was still asleep when I came down,” Andrea explained, when Lori asked if she’d been distressed. “She’s a good little sleeper, that one.” Andrea put her arm around Lori’s shoulder. “And don’t go feeling guilty. Those monsters dragged you off, and there was nothing you could have done. I’m sure they warned you not to shout out as well.” Lori nodded. “You were doing your best to protect her.”

“Thanks, sis. Thanks so much for everything,” Lori said, and welled up again.

“Ok, I have to snap your photo for the paper. Kristin will kill me if I don’t do it,” Andrea said, and pulled out her phone. Lori smiled for the camera and held her baby close to her face.

After everyone expressed their relief that Lori had been rescued, they all went home, leaving Andrea, Magnus, Lori, Bruno and the kids.

“I’d better get this one off to bed,” Bruno said. He stepped close to Lori and kissed her on the lips, briefly, but long enough to send shivers all over the body. The effect he had on her was incredible. “But let’s meet up tomorrow?”

“Yes, let’s!” Lori replied beaming at him. She wanted to meet up tomorrow, and the day after that, and spend every day of the rest of her life with him. She hugged Tad, and waved them off as they headed back to their truck.

“He’s so into you,” Andrea said, as soon as they’d gone. “His eyes light up every time he looks at you.”

“They do?” Lori said and grinned. She’d noticed his pupils dilating when he turned those pale blue eyes on her. She tingled with emotion. In the past day, she thought she’d felt every emotion it was possible to feel. But now, she felt only gratitude, tenderness, and desire.

“So what do you want to do – bath, bed and talk tomorrow, or do you want to tell us what happened now?”

“I think I’d like to have a bath and talk, if that’s ok?” Lori said.

“Of course! I’ll run the water for you, so just get yourself ready.”

When Lori came downstairs, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, Andrea had a cup of hot chocolate waiting. Nancy was drowsy but not fully asleep, so Lori fed her and held her on her lap, and then she told her sister what had happened, from start to finish. Andrea had tears in her eyes when Lori explained how Bruno had saved her from being raped.

“I knew he was a great person, but he’s gone even higher in my estimation now,” she said.

“He’s the best,” Lori agreed.

“I have to admit I had my doubts about you dating him when the other girls said he was a tortured soul. I thought you’d been through enough not to have to deal with that. But just now he looked completely different. It was as if all the darkness had left him. I can see that you bring light into his life.” Lori explained what had happened with his previous mate, and why he thought he couldn’t be with her.

“Poor guy. It all makes sense now,” Andrea said, her face full of pity.

“He says we’re mates,” Lori said. Andrea gasped. “I knew it. And so did everybody else! I’m sad it’s taken this to make him realize it, but at least he got there in the end.”

“And after he killed those bikers in his bear form, he carried me on his back, all the way back to the truck.”

“No way!” Andrea breathed.

“What? Is that unusual?”

“Maybe not for bears, I guess. But I’ve certainly never ridden on Magnus’s back.”

“I can’t really imagine it,” Lori said.

“Neither can I,” Andrea said with a giggle. “Most of the time I let him get on with his shifter thing. You know midnight hunts and stuff like that. The only time I really engage with it is when we mate.” Lori giggled.