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THE SECRET BEAR DADDY OPPONENT
Without wasting any more time, I shifted back to my human form and pulled the sword out from the sheath on my back.The blade was magically enhanced like Elena’s daggers, but not with flames. No, this weapon had tendrils of electric power that moved along the steel surface while I held the hilt with two hands.Noiselessly, I crept through the trees and approached Hazel. She didn’t even flinch when I was right behind her. Though, her vulnerability didn’t deter me from what I needed to do.Two-handed, I lifted the sword up and then quickly brought it down, the blade slicing through Hazel’s neck with ease.Her eyes widened from the impact, but no sound came from her open lips.Wisps of magic rose from her body and then headed straight for my sword that eagerly soaked up the energy while her head tilted and rolled to the ground.Blood pooled around her neck and shoulders, but I didn’t look long enough to be elated by the death.Instead, my stare moved to my mate and the fucker who was try
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY PULVERIZE
I couldn’t lose her.“What the hell happened here?” Jack asked, but nobody answered him.My focus was on my mate, and that was where it would stay until she opened her eyes for me.I wrapped my fingers around her limp paw while I watched Amy press her palms over the wolf’s chest.“Don’t you fucking die,” Mark whispered in Amy’s ear when her faint magic began to cover my mate.Amy didn’t respond to him. Instead, she closed her eyes and slumped forward so limply that Mark needed to hold her up while she worked on Elena.I watched with strangled breath, helpless to do anything other than sit there and hope my reason for living didn’t stop breathing when I’d only just found her.Amy groaned, and Mark tried to pull her back, but she at least had the strength to keep her hands pressed over Elena. “I need to save her. It’s why I’m here.”I was certain Mark disagreed with that, but this time, he kept quiet. Just like I selfishly was.I hadn’t noticed him leave, but Jack’s Bear came running ba
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY CLEANUP
Right. That made more sense.“Your mother came to us, offering her life in exchange for your protection,” the Maiden said, her voice almost ethereal and garnering my full attention. She wore a white linen dress that probably meant to highlight some sort of innocence. Her long, dark brown hair stood out in contrast over the linen material and her chestnut eyes blinked expectantly at me.My heart instantly dropped into my stomach, and tears burned at the back of my eyes for a woman I’d never known but had always longed for.“She’s…” I couldn’t even say the words.The Crone sighed. “Your mother lives. At least, last we heard. We did not take her first offering of her life. Instead, we concealed your true form and her mate bond with Jacob.”I glanced at Atlas again, hope blossoming in me for the briefest of seconds until a realization hit me. If she were still alive, why hadn’t she come for me? After nearly three decades, why hadn’t my mother wanted me? Had Mathis and Jacob terrified her
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY ALPHA SUPREME
It hadn’t gone unnoticed that he didn’t answer my question about how he was doing, but I didn’t need his words to know.I could imagine the torment I’d have felt if it were him in this bed instead of me. Then, I’d multiply that rage by a hundred to get to Atlas’s level.He at least seemed okay physically, and that was enough. For now.“How is everyone else?” I asked, knowing there would have been casualties but hoping not many.Atlas stared ahead at the wall, and I instantly knew something worse had happened.“Is jack…?” I let my voice trail off.“He’s fine,” Atlas answered. “It was Tuck, along with more than a dozen others we didn’t really get to know.”Damn it. I’d hardly known Tuck, but he’d helped us and he’d been a close friend of Jack’s, along with being Sammy’s “Uncle Tuck.” My heart ached for their losses and for the grief felt by the rest of the families.I started to pull Jack’s arms away from me so I could get out of bed, but his hold tightened. “What do you think you’re do
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY SNIFFING
Holy shit.I’d honestly expected the wolves to consider me a failure with how badly I’d been hurt. This was… It was something else entirely.“That doesn’t mean wolves from the outlying packs in Fire and Fluorite won’t come sniffing around eventually, but the position is yours if you still want to stay here.” Jack smiled proudly. “You’ve earned it.”I snorted very un-queen-like. “Of course, I still fucking want it.”Sammy gasped. “Language, Elena.”His response had me laughing until my sides ached, and I had to lean into Atlas to keep upright.This was really happening.I was home, and I had a family, and I was going to rule an entire fucking House.As hard as some of that was to grasp, I couldn’t have been happier in that moment.“You told her without us?” Amy gaped with her fists on her hips. She and Mark were standing behind Jack, and I hadn’t even seen them approach.Sammy flinched. “Sorry.”Atlas kissed the top of my head. “And we wouldn’t have come together without you.”Even wit
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY UNASHAMEDLY
“Only if you join me,” I quipped, sliding my hands over his chiseled chest and farther down until I shoved his towel down to the ground and gripped his growing erection.“I just got out of the shower,” he replied, moving his mouth lightly over my collarbone.I unashamedly panted. “And yet you’re still a dirty boy.”His head lifted and he cocked a brow. “‘Boy’?”With my hand still around his hard cock, I squeezed. “Oops. Maybe you need to remind me just how manlyyou are again.”“Or maybe I need to punish you for forgetting.” He bit into my shoulder. Not enough to break the skin, but enough that I’d be feeling reminders of his touch for the rest of the day.I was tempted to beg him for whatever punishment he wanted to give me, but I’d learned the hard way that only led to him denying me for longer than I liked. So I kept my mouth shut while he kissed over the bite mark, then back up my neck.His fingers pinched my chin until my lips bunched together. “Naughty, naughty woman.”I smirked
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY DISSAPOINTMENT
SEQUELELENA“Wasn’t there anything else you could have done?” came the all-to-familiar question from grieving parents.Elena always thought she was mentally ready for it and knew how to answer, but she had never gotten used to seeing the loss mixed with disbelief in each parent’s eyes, leading up to her having to tell them the worst news imaginable to a parent.Your child has passed, and there was nothing we could do.It never ceased to cause tears to lodge in her throat, and she wished she could say anything but that.Elena forced down her own emotions. “No, unfortunately not. The infection spread too rapidly, causing Valerie’s system to shut down.”She watched the mother fall apart in her husband’s arms as the realization sank in. And all Elena was allowed to do was stand there and say she would give them a moment.This was a picture Elena had seen more than her share of times.After she said her practiced line, she turned and went around the corner to shed her own tears for the fa
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY MOMENT
It was brief, but Elena got the gist of what may be required.Caring for one child who wasn’t terminal looked right up Elena’s alley. Not only that, the location was not far away. But what really stood out for Elena was the pay. It was almost double what she made now. Yes, it was around-the-clock work, but to Nora, it seemed like her savior.She was trying not to get too far ahead of herself, knowing how hard these jobs were to come by and how many others were probably applying at this very second.The only part that she wasn’t sure of was how old the child would be. But that was neither here nor there, especially given the array of children she’d dealt with throughout the years. If she was offered the job, she was sure she would be more than capable.It was everything she was looking for. This might be the change she desperately needed.Elena checked her resumé to make sure it was up to date, and everything was in order. She couldn’t fuck this up.It didn’t ask for a cover letter, bu
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THE SECRET BEAR DADDY CREATING FAMILY
But the pain was magnified by the look Marigold had given her as Elena washed and dressed her for the last time.It was a look of pure, unadulterated trust.That baby loved you. And you just left her.She still had her keys to her mother’s house, and when Elena walked in, the house was silent and dark.It seemed her mother wasn’t home. She was probably out shopping or with one of her friends.Great, your mother’s got a better social life than you do. Now get it together.Her thoughts had changed.Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she would be strong. She would put herself back together and be happy doing it.Back in her room, Elena unpacked her duffel bag and pulled out her laptop.Then she headed to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee while she updated her resumé.Elena also considered starting a writing blog where she could post fictional stories about men that turned into bears and wolves. But then she remembered the man who had followed her in Costco.She understood what At
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY HURT
Could this man have been one of the council’s goons? Atlas couldn’t picture any shifter he had ever met from Elena’s descriptions.But then, there were bear shifters all over the United States. Who knew what kind of trash Elias or Callum had called in to take care of Atlas?“I don’t want you going out on your own again,” Atlas found himself saying. His voice was harsher, hotter than he had intended.Elena turned from where she stood at the stove and looked at him with raised brows.Her bright eyes were almost cold. He shuddered. Lyra had never looked at him with anything other than warmth in her eyes.“Excuse me?”Her voice was a whisper.Just then, Marigold started fussing, and Lyra came from the kitchen to pick up Atlas’s daughter.“It isn’t safe for you to go out on your own. We don’t know if that guy who followed you was just a creep or if he was connected to something … else.”Atlas ensured that his voice was gentler, but Lyra still looked incredibly angry.“I’m not someone who l
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY THREATS
Elena spent about two hours trying to fit Mari’s car seat into the backseat of the truck.Then she went back into the cabin to wash and dress Marigold, who she put in a fluffy, yellow onesie.She put a white cap on Mari’s head and matching white woolen booties on the infant’s tiny feet.Not that Marigold was that tiny any longer. The baby was growing faster and faster every day … faster than most babies.Elena had a feeling it had something to do with her bear-shifter genes.Marigold was even outgrowing the clothes that Elena had purchased two weeks earlier.“I’ll stop by the baby care store in town,” Elena whispered to Marigold. She stroked the baby’s cheek once and then lifted her into her arms. “And we’ll get you some new threads.”Elena grabbed her bag on the way out, as well as the Maya wrap Atlas had purchased.She settled Marigold safely into the car seat, strapping her in tightly. Then Elena got into the driver’s seat and turned on the beast of a truck.The engine roared to li
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY DELIVERIES
He wanted to growl, his bear trying to break out, but he held his anger down and frowned at them. "I have a human nanny. Elena is my daughter's nanny."They didn't seem to believe him, and he sighed, waving a hand."Serenity died if you have forgotten, and I have a newborn baby that needs attention. Much more attention than I can give her, mind you. So, I hired a nanny.""You're saying that this nanny that is living in your house hasn't joined you in bed? That's what you're saying? You haven't slept with her?" Devlen asked, narrowing his eyes. He wanted him to admit that he'd mated with Elena, but he wasn't going to."No," he lied, shaking his head. "She is just my nanny. She's what Marigold needs right now. I need an extra set of hands around the house."Devlen scoffed and shook his head. He placed his hand on the table, his words coming out harshly. "I don't believe you. You're lying. She isn't just your nanny, and we are all watching. I'd be careful, Atlas, because all eyes are on
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY CROSS ROADS
Atlas reached for her hand, shaking his head. “I don’t want to talk about that.”He pulled her toward him, sealing their lips together. A spark ran down her body. She leaned into it.His hands skated over her back and down, cupping her ass. He pulled her onto his lap, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss deepened, and she moaned softly against him.He broke the kiss, inhaling against her neck. “You smell so good,” he muttered into her ear.She smiled, feeling his hands sliding up her back. He reached for her bra straps.She leaned back, looking into his eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk?” she asked, seeing frustration in his eyes.He shook his head. “Maybe later. Right now, I just want you.”She felt the love so deep in his words. She kissed him, allowing him to pull her shirt open and undo her bra.The air bit at her bare skin, but he pulled them onto the bed and under the covers. She pressed into the sheets as his fingers scraped at her pants.His lips kissed
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY SURPRISED
Her heart dropped into her stomach, and her breathing, she realized, was shallow, unsteady.Atlasr’s eyes darkened then, and his jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth.“We need to be very careful, Elena.” The warning in his voice was clear. “We need to continue pretending that you’re my nanny and not my mate.”“You really cannot expect me to do that.” The distress in Elena’s voice surprised her. But a dent had been put in her pride.“Yes, you have to,” Atlas said, his voice more serious than Atlas had ever heard it before. “You cannot tell anyone about us. Not even your mother. And I’m not doing this because I want to keep you a secret … far from it. I’m doing this because I want to protect you.”“Maybe we should move?” The idea flashed across Atlas’s mind so suddenly that she hurried to grasp it before it vanished. “Move to another state where we can live freely. Like Alaska.”Atlas shook his head as Marigold started crying.Elena took the baby automatically, cradling the little gir
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY REJECTED BY THE COUNCIL
Devlen, Case, Elias, and Jameson represented the bears of Montana.“Atlas,” Devlen spoke in his growling voice.Atlas inclined his head in a small bow to each of them.The four shifters all wore bear skins.“Thank you for seeing me,” he said. “I am here to plead before the council. I would like to find a human mate. Clearly, Serenity and I were not a match, and this resulted in her death.”“I believe, Atlas, that you’ve mated with a human before coming here to get our approval.”Fear raced through Atlas, crashing into him in great waves and almost knocking him over.But he remained steady, his face impassive.“Not at all, sir,” he said as respectfully as he could. Anger had blended with his fear. “I simply want us to change the old ways of living to save the bear shifters of Hendrick Klaus.”“The reason we do not mate with humans, Atlas,” Elias spoke in a gentler voice, though his face was stern, “is because we are keeping our species pure. Mating and procreating with humans only weak
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY SETTLED
Atlas took a hesitant step toward her.Outside, the wind had picked up. Leaves and thick, rich patches of soil blew around in gusts and spurts.The air had smelled wet and ripe, as though it was about to rain.“I want you. Only you,” Atlas said. His eyes were sincere … sincere enough that Atlas believed him. “More than anything. But I have to ensure that the council approves of our relationship first.”“Why?”Elena settled into the rocking chair next to the baby’s bed.Marigold was still awake but allowed Elena to cradle her. It was as if the baby knew Elena needed to hold her.“Because,” Atlas leaned against the changing table, “the council rarely approves of bears and humans mixing. Socially and … romantically.”“Is it really that big of a deal?” Elena found the strength to ask Timber, who crossed his arms over his chest.“It isn’t to me. But the bear council wants us to keep our bloodlines pure. They believe that mating with humans is physically impossible, and even if it were poss
THE SECRET BEAR DADDY CONVERSATIONS
She gripped her hands into tight fists. Her lips pulled into a straight line, and she inhaled sharply.“If you're not going to be honest with me, then I'm not staying. I told you I wasn't going to watch after your kid day in and day out. I'm the nanny, not the mother."She turned on her heel and marched toward the door. He quickly pulled himself out of bed and reached for her hand, stopping her."Stop!" Elena yelled, but he didn't."Just give me a second to explain," he whispered, making her pause.He knew she wouldn't believe him unless she saw with her own eyes, so he turned them toward the door and walked her out to the backyard.The grass was wet, and it smelled like it had recently rained. He turned toward her on the deck and took a few steps back."Now, you can't say I didn't warn you," he said, watching her look at him confused.He relaxed his muscles and allowed himself to shift into his bear form. His bones moved, and his muscles contracted. And then she screamed.Elena's eye
