The BEARly Tamed Grizzly: Bear Clan, 3 Read online

  The BEARly Tamed Grizzly

  Bear Clan, 3

  Jenika Snow

  Contents

  Synopsis

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  THE BEARLY TAMED GRIZZLY (Bear Clan, 3)

  By Jenika Snow

  www.JenikaSnow.com

  [email protected]

  Copyright © March 2019 by Jenika Snow

  First E-book Publication: March 2019

  Photographer: Harris Davey Jr

  Cover model: Kevin Creekman

  Cover photo provided by: Harris Davey Jr

  Editor: Kasi Alexander

  Proofreader: Read by Rose

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  Oli

  I didn’t know her, what she looked like, where she was, but I knew my mate was out there. And it was that truth that had me saving myself for her. Only her. If I couldn’t fully give myself over to my fated mate, what kind of worthy male was I?

  But staying in town, hidden deep within the forest, wouldn’t bring my mate to me. I had to go and find her.

  I had to make her mine.

  India

  As a former foster child, I never had real family, no roots. I’d always felt like something was missing, so I worked hard on helping others. My mobile medical van was where my passion lay. It’s how I made sure no one else felt helpless.

  But when my van was broken into, and my safety compromised, it was a big bear shifting male who came to the rescue.

  Oli said I was his. He claimed I was his mate. He seemed certain of it just by looking at me. It was insanity, but I couldn’t deny the pull I felt for him, the way my body craved his.

  Pushing him away wasn’t an option, not when he was always there, watching me, making sure I was protected. And it was that need inside of me, the one that grew and consumed me, that finally had me giving in.

  I soon realized being mated to a bear shifter meant he was grumpy, protective, possessive, and wanted only one thing.

  Me.

  Chapter One

  Oli

  Some would say I was running, escaping my problems in search of a new path, a new future.

  But that wasn’t the truth.

  My truth was that I had to find my mate or I was going to go fucking insane.

  And so, I found myself here.

  The sun was bright, intense. I’d never felt anything like it, never heard the sound of waves crashing against the shore, never seen so many people in one area before in my life.

  Yet here I was, having traveled from my little mountain town to sunny California, standing on the beach staring at the Pacific Ocean.

  My whole life I’d never left home, never left the surrounding protection of the trees. The forest had always been my safe spot, where I’d shifted into my bear form and run free. But I’d left all that behind—temporarily at least—for the chance, the possibility of finding my mate.

  I wasn’t going to be like my brothers and wait around, hoping that my mate would show up in town. For all I knew she was on the other side of the world, unaware of my existence, yet feeling that something was missing in her life.

  Because even though we had never met, she was destined to be mine. We’d always be drawn to each other. We’d find a way to be together. I was just taking the initiative and speeding things along because I was an impatient bastard.

  I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, feeling the sun on my face. The heat out here was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. It penetrated my skin, went deep into my very marrow.

  And as much as I liked this change of scenery, the truth was I missed the mountains, the forest. I missed being able to step out onto my back porch and shift, running in the woods instantly. Here there were too many people around, not enough privacy, not enough space for me to even consider shifting and running free, letting my bear out.

  Sure, I could go up north, and maybe I would, at least to try and get some of this energy out of me. I wasn’t used to being cooped up in my human form for so long.

  As it was it had been weeks since I’d left home, taking a plane, traveling the state, hoping that I’d run into her.

  But right now I was at the beach, and I was going to enjoy every minute of it. My bear might be growling at not being able to shift, but he’d shut up once I was on the surfboard.

  And hopefully the thought of finding our mate would calm him the fuck down, or at least sate the bastard so that I could breathe.

  * * *

  India

  I put on my latex gloves and reached into my drawer for some antiseptic, a thick bandage, and some ointment. The little girl’s cut I was treating wasn’t anything deep, mainly superficial, but she had big crocodile tears streaming down her cheeks, and all I wanted to do was make her feel better.

  She acted like the world was ending and I was going to make sure to let her know it wasn’t, that everything was okay, even if that was just by putting a bandage on it.

  The mobile medic station that I ran, that I’d built from the ground up, was my pride and joy. As a nurse who wanted to help people more than I cared about making money at a hospital, this was everything I’d worked for.

  I traveled up and down the coast of California, mainly helping the homeless, and anyone who was poverty stricken. Which, unfortunately, in California there was plenty of.

  We mainly relied on donations and benefactors, be it monetary or medical supplies. And what we couldn’t cover, a lot of the volunteers pitched in with their own money. We were a family.

  This might have been a company, an organization I’d started, but it was run by everyone. Everyone had a hand in making it successful. It was our passion and that’s why I worked damn hard to make sure it didn’t die out. That’s why I was barely making ends meet, because this was a job of passion, not a get-rich profession.

  We were really lucky to have what we did. And one day I’d like to expand and not just be stationed in California. I’d like to have more mobile medics all over the country. I’d love to be able to help everyone.

  “Is it going to hurt?” the little girl asked with fear in her voice.

  I gave her a reassuring smile.

  “It’ll be okay. I’m just going to clean it and put some of this ointment on it, then cover it up so it doesn’t get dirty anymore.” I could see she was frightened, her little body tense as she watched me with wide eyes. “Would that be okay?”

  She looked hesitant as she glanced at her mother, who stood a few feet back. I’d seen the mother before, a woman who had left her abusive husband and was now staying at a women’s shelter with her child.

  She was so strong, more than she gave herself credit for.

  “This is what I’ll be using.” The little girl looked back at m
e. I showed her each step I was doing, and when I finally had the bandage in place, I smiled. “See, all done. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  She looked down at her freshly covered wound and shook her head, her smile lighting up the trailer.

  “I can’t wait to show the other kids at the shelter. It looks so cool.”

  I chuckled.

  I reached in my pocket and pulled out a sucker, handing it to her and watching as she ran up to her mother.

  “Thank you,” she said and wrapped her arm around her daughter’s shoulder. Then they both left.

  It was moments like these that made me glad I had taken the risk and started all of this. There had been plenty of people who tried to talk me out of it, friends who thought it was a ridiculous idea, others who just didn’t understand.

  But I hadn’t listened to any of them and had followed my heart.

  This had been one of the easy days, a little touch-up on a cut that wasn’t serious.

  “That’s it for the night,” said Jackson, one of the volunteers.

  During the day, he worked as a paramedic, and most nights he was helping me. God, I loved the people who helped me out. They were so genuine and kind, and just wanted to do good.

  “Thanks so much for helping today.”

  He smiled and nodded, taking off the latex gloves and cleaning up his station.

  The mobile medic van wasn’t that large, really just a camper that had been converted to have three separate stations. We couldn’t treat anything serious, but we handled superficial wounds and gave out prophylactics, supplements and vitamins, even some antibiotics when our volunteer physician was on duty.

  But the people who came here couldn’t afford anything. And they appreciated everything. So, we did what we could, helped out as much as possible. But sometimes it wasn’t just medical issues we helped out with. Sometimes we helped with food, housing, placing families in shelters, just doing what we could to make their lives a little bit easier. And in this day and age, in this world, it was the least we could do.

  “Anybody else here?” I asked Jackson, referring to the other volunteers.

  He emptied out the trash cans and tied up the bag, shaking his head. “No, everyone left about ten minutes ago.”

  “Thanks so much for your help today.” A lot of days I worked the medic station by myself, something that had to be done given the fact the volunteers had other jobs. And although I also worked as a part-time nurse at an extended care medical facility, something that allowed me to pay my bills, I didn’t mind working the mobile alone.

  It gave me time to think, reflect, and a part of me actually enjoyed it.

  “I won’t be able to come in for the next couple days. Heading up north to spend time with my brother. But I’ll be back this weekend and can cover a few more shifts.” Jackson smiled and I felt gratitude fill me.

  “Thank you so much. You’re always such a huge help. Have a great time with your brother.”

  Family, something that was totally foreign to me. Being a child who grew up in foster care, I never really had a stable life or family bond. I didn’t even know who my birthparents were, didn’t even know if I had siblings out there.

  I’d never been adopted, so at the age of eighteen, I left the system, got a part-time job, and went to school. It was hard, and I felt like giving up more times than not, but here I was now, twenty-five years old and going home every day feeling like I’d made a little bit of a difference in the world.

  Jackson smiled and exited the van. From the doorway I watched as he walked across the parking lot, the trash bag in hand. He tossed it in the back of his truck and climbed in before driving off.

  The sun was just starting to set, and I shut and locked the door. After cleaning the rest of the interior, I settled behind the driver’s seat and started the engine. I headed home, something that should’ve been a relief given the fact I’d been working all day, but the truth was it was lonely.

  My one bedroom, one bath apartment was lackluster, to say the least. And the only company I had was a damn house plant which, more times than not, looked half-dead.

  A green thumb was not something I had, apparently.

  California was a heavily populated state, yet I felt utterly alone. It had been something I’d felt my entire life, a missing piece that I could never fill. Maybe it was because I never had a family. Maybe it was because I didn’t really know who I was.

  Or maybe it was something else.

  That feeling that something was missing in my life had been so consuming, so filling, that it had actually had me isolating myself even more. Trying to connect with people was hard, because I didn’t feel like I belonged.

  It was the strangest feeling, one that had taken me a long time to accept. Now, I just went through the motions, immersed myself in helping others because that’s what made the connection for me.

  Maybe one day I wouldn’t feel this way.

  Maybe one day I’d find that piece that I’d always been missing.

  Chapter Two

  Oli

  I probably looked like a growly, reclusive bastard sitting in the corner of this diner. I certainly had seen people looking at me with caution in their faces, a little bit of reluctance.

  And I couldn’t blame them. An unmated shifter in search of his female was a dangerous thing.

  I’d been here for the past half hour, slowly eating the cheeseburger and fries in front of me, looking at anybody who walked in, the little bell above the door chipping away at my patience.

  I could’ve left at any time, but there was something inside of me, this feeling that had me staying put. I didn’t know what it was, didn’t really understand it.

  It was like an intuition, something I’d never truly felt before, but didn’t want to ignore.

  So here I sat, not sure how long I was supposed to stay here, maybe until this feeling passed, or until I lost my damn mind.

  I picked up my glass of water and took a long drink from it, glancing out one of the front windows in the process. The parking lot was mildly full, cars sporadically placed in intervals.

  As a shifter, all of my senses were heightened. I heard the sizzle of bacon in the kitchen, the grease splattering up as it cooked. I smelled the batter that was being stirred, the sound of the whisk on the metal bowl filling my head. The chatter of employees talking in a back room came through the walls, the conversation as clear as if I stood right beside them, engaged right along with them.

  But it was none of those things that had the hairs on my arm standing on end, that had my bear pacing. Whatever it was had me on edge.

  Was there danger? Something wrong at home? I’d called my brothers this morning, and everything had been fine, but still there was something lurking under the surface that had me on alert.

  I continued to stare out the window and saw a mother and father and their two children entering their mobile home, this large recreational vehicle that screamed family camping vacation. I continued to look outside, my gaze finally stopping on this small van, which almost looked like a clinic, with that medical symbol painted on the side.

  There was a line of people right outside the door, little children holding on to their mothers’ and fathers’ hands.

  It was across the street, but I could see each and every person that stood there, the elderly woman at the back who held a cane, her hand curled tightly around it, her body fragile. There was a couple at the front who had ragged clothing, dirt under their nails, and bags under their eyes.

  I watched each person, not sure if one of them was the reason I felt this way. Maybe my mate was close? I’d never felt anything like this, and didn’t know how I’d react once I did see her. Maybe I’d be uncontrollable, unable to stop myself from shifting, my restraint completely gone.

  I’d never really listened to the story of my brothers mating, of how they’d reacted. But I did know that it was different for each shifter, that instant connection the same, but how our animals handled it very
different.

  Or maybe she wasn’t even in California. Maybe I was just getting too antsy, too impatient.

  But out of everything in this entire world, that feeling, that uncontrollable desire, that first meeting ... was what I needed desperately.

  * * *

  India

  I unlocked my front door and pushed it open, tossing my keys on the breakfast counter, shutting the door with my foot, and just standing there for a moment listening to the nothingness of it all.

  After locking the door, I headed into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of white wine, and a glass from the cupboard. I wasn’t much of a drinker, but a glass of wine at the end of the day tended to help me wind down, especially when it was one of those days.

  Hectic. Time consuming. Exhausting.

  I grabbed a bag of marshmallows and headed back into the living room. Then I sat down, stared at my TV, and contemplated turning it on or just sitting in the dark.

  Although I was alone, had been pretty much my entire life, the kind of emptiness I felt just seemed to grow daily. I didn’t know what it was, couldn’t put it into words, not accurately. It was as if there was a hole deep inside of me, growing, becoming bigger until it would swallow me completely one day.

  I took a long sip from my wine glass, resting my head back on the couch and staring at the ceiling. Today had been a brutal one, with me working a few hours at the facility, then immediately doing the mobile medic.