18
Chapter 18 Chase
There wasa stiffness to Rory’s spine that I needed to be gone before Karly got to the camp site, which was why Hatcher and I had decided to bring him out first. The hope was that while we were setting things up, we would be able to get through to him and bring him down off the ledge. The only way this much-needed camping trip was going to benefit any of us was if we were all open minded and willing to listen and learn from one another. This had to be right.
“Ben picked a good spot for camping, don’t you think?” I asked the guys as we climbed out of the truck. I wanted to get the conversation flowing as fast as I could. “He knows what he’s doing.”
“Yeah, I agree,” Hatcher replied enthusiastically. “What do you think, Rory? This is so beautiful. Out in the middle of nowhere. Makes me feel like there’s no one else in the world.”
Rory grunted, not really giving us an answer either way. His expression was dark and hurt. This was going to be harder than I thought. I figured it was better if I just got to the subject at hand.
“Alek will be bringing Karly here soon, so I guess we should figure out how we’re going to express ourselves to her. In a calm and controlled way so it makes sense.”
I wasn’t saying this pointedly to Rory, but he took it that way anyway. “I didn’t mean to make a mess of things. I just lost my mind for a minute, that’s all.”
“Of course,” Hatcher jumped in with his sweet, reassuring tone of voice. “I get it. It was a shock. But I think your questions might have been a shock to Karly as well, which is why she didn’t give you anything to work with. She’s worried about the Astro Games competition, and why we’re here…”
“But I tried to tell her,” Rory complained. “I tried to let her know that I don’t care about the competition. I would much rather have what we share. That can’t be found in an arranged marriage. I don’t even care what the Leo clan thinks about my decision. This is for me and my future. I want love, I want what we share. I don’t even know Azariyah, but I do know I can’t love her like I do Karly. There’s a reason I fell for her so fast…” He broke off panting, some of his anger dissipating.
A lot of what he said was true for me as well. I wasn’t worried about anything other than my love life. I didn’t see a future where I beat out the guys at the top of the leader board anyway, so it wasn’t worth the fight. Not when I had something much better to fight for.
“We do need to think about the Astro Games though,” Hatcher reminded us both. “We can’t all just drop out, it doesn’t work that way.”
I had a plan, something I’d been thinking of for a while, but I was afraid to say it out loud in case I didn’t get the response I wanted. But if I didn’t say it, nothing would ever progress, would it? I had to just suck in a breath and be brave.
“What if we lost?” The guys stared at me in such shock I knew instantly I was the only one thinking this way. Now that I’d put it out there, I had to proceed with explaining. “None of us are too high up on the leader board anyway. Without putting in some real effort, we’re not going to get too much higher up in the second round of the competition. So, why not just lose? Be delegated. Leave the competition officially. I know there’s supposed to be a lot of shame attached to leaving first, but we won’t need to feel that way because we know why we’re leaving. We’re doing so because we’re putting ourselves first for a change. Losing has to be easier than winning anyway.” The tension was so thick, I was a little nervous to hear their responses.
“That…isn’t the worst idea,” Hatcher agreed with me, but there wasn’t any certainty in his answer. “It’s the only way to leave the competition without consequences.”
“We can’t really be thinking of doing that,” Rory jumped in, probably crushing the little bit of hope that Hatcher had. “Not without knowing what Karly wants. We need to know her decision before we do anything rash. I can’t throw away this competition just to end up all alone.”
We fell into silence for a while as we set up the tents and equipment. I was pretty sure the guys were as lost in their thoughts as I was, trying to work out what we were going to do next. I was certain that everything was going to fall into place. I felt nature would clear all of our minds and give us clarity moving forward. I also really felt like losing the Astro Games would lead us toward our happily ever after. I wished the other guys didn’t have these doubts, but what could I do?
All of a sudden, I sniffed hard. A brand new scent flooded my nostrils. An all too familiar one, and one I liked way too much. Karly was here, my bear just knew it. I dropped what I was doing and located her with my eyes, not just my nose. My heart was struck by her beauty; she really was the most perfect woman I’d ever laid eyes on. The closeness between Karly and Alek was evident, they’d gotten things back on track, which was great. But I couldn’t resist running to her and embracing her hard. I scooped her up in my arms before spinning her around wildly. Eventually, she slid down my body and crashed her lips to mine, letting me know all was right in the world. Karly alwaysmade me feel like everything was going to be okay. So much so that it was hard for me to worry about the reactions to other people. Sure, my mother wouldn’t be happy that I’d chosen a harem rather than to follow in the footsteps of fellow Virgo Bear King Mobius, but I didn’t care. I’d found my bliss.
Hatcher wasn’t far behind, and he embraced Karly too.
Of course, Rory was the only issue. Tension definitely remained between them.
“You know, I heard a waterfall in that direction,” Alek jumped in, clearly hoping that a distraction would be the best thing for all of us. Maybe he was right, as forced conversation would only make things more challenging at the moment. “Want to hike to it?”
Everyone agreed. Alek’s hearing was great, but he couldn’t hear too far away, so it wasn’t the longest hike in the world. Probably for the best, because things were definitely awkward. Rory didn’t walk too close to Karly, maybe because he didn’t know how to make things right. I could only hope that answer came to him quickly, because this could be a perfect day.
“Oh my goodness, look at the waterfall,” Karly gasped as soon as she spotted the water. “Look at the crystal-clear lake below it. We have to go swimming in it.”
An activity that would hopefully draw Rory out of his shell.
“Let’s do it,” I said enthusiastically.
“Wait.” She pressed her hand to my chest and stopped me from running and jumping into the water. “What’s the point of us being out here if we don’t take full advantage of being alone? You guys should shift and let your bears free.”
I wasn’t expecting that. It wasn’t often a human woman was willing to be alone with four bears who could potentially lose control at any minute, but I could see in Karly’s eyes that she really meant it. She wanted to see us all in our most natural forms. I wasn’t totally sure if I should do it or not. but before I could get too caught up in that thought, Alek came up next to Karly and me. The big deep brown bear that was Alek, that is. Karly was happy to see bear Alek, probably because she was used to him. It was adorable to see him brushing his nose against her and her stroking him like she found him adorable. The sight of this must have emboldened Hatcher, because as Alek pounced into the water, he shifted and allowed his much lighter, pale fur bristle up against Karly. The giggling sounds emanating from her made my heart race a whole lot faster. She was in heaven. She loved us as bears, which only proved what I already knew. That this was perfect and we were all meant to be together.
I shared a look with Rory, who seemed as doubtful as I was just a few seconds ago. But once I offered him a shrug and a smile, because this really did seem like a good idea, and he took the hint and went for it. His fur was much darker than the others, even darker than Alec’s. Possibly even bordering on black, but his eyes shone through with wonder and love. Rory really was one of the best guys I’d ever met, and I was glad I’d been given the chance to get to know him. It was strange how he seemed to find it easier to approach Karly when he was in bear form. He moved fast and with confidence, clearly aching to have her fingers in his fur. I watched in amazement as the shattered bond repaired itself with ease. This was nice, really nice.
It didn’t take me long to make the leap into shifting myself. I wondered how Karly would like my caramel-colored fur. We were almost a rainbow of browns between us all, which felt good, like it symbolized how we could all bring something different, but equally intense and powerful, to the harem…if Karly agreed to it. Rory was right, that was something that needed to happen. Without her, everything else would all fall apart.
“Come here,” Karly whispered with her hands outstretched for me. I did as she commanded, and was instantly stunned by how much more intimate and powerful her touch was when I was shifted compared to her just touching my skin. I couldn’t resist nuzzling into her neck and taking in her scent deeply, before I too headed for a big splash in the water.
The moment Karly jumped in too, everything felt complete. Finally, we were all here together, exactly where we were supposed to be. It was playful and fun, a great way to ease the tension between us all, but the atmosphere soon transformed to hot and heavy, with Karly bringing out something feral in us all. I wasn’t sure how I was going to cope, which was a feeling that only got worse as Karly shimmied out of the water, and out of her clothing too. Her naked form spoke volumes, I knew exactly what she wanted, and it seemed I wasn’t the only one who was unable to resist her…