His thick cock spasms inside me, shooting rope after rope of cum deep inside me. My whole body is taut, pulled to the max as I take it all in. The muscles of his back moving under my hands. His thighs flexing against mine. The feel of his heart thundering in his chest. I feel it all, and it consumes me, making me his in every sense of the word.
He collapses beside me, pulling me over top of him. He kisses me, telling me over and over how sorry he is. “But I promise, Keri. I’ll never hurt you. I’ll never let anyone or anything hurt you. I’ll spend my life making you happy.”
Dazed, I lie in his arms, letting his words surround me, warming me up.
Naked we lie there. Ray is tender with me, probably knowing that I’m a little freaked out. “If you can shift, we can make it to my truck at the base of the mountain and drive into town. The New Law will back us up against the Eaters.”
“What do I do?” I ask him.
“Try to shift. Imagine your body shifting. Your body is already stronger.”
I try, doing exactly what he says, but I can’t shift.
I feel so much warmer, and stronger too. It’s an intoxicating feeling knowing I’m as strong as a bear. Ray is patient and we lay here for the longest time. He nuzzles against me, wanting me to breathe and stay calm.
After a while, Ray tries to help me shift again when the challenging roar of the Eater who was here before sounds, shaking the cave.
“Stay in here. Don’t come out,” Ray tells me.
He gives me one quick kiss and leaves, shifting into his bear before he goes out to fight. I look out the cave and see that the Eater has brought two of his friends with him. I know I have to shift if Ray and I have any chance of surviving.
When Ray is attacked by two of the three bears it’s almost like I can feel it too. Like we’re connected. I watch the bears taunting him, one pulling at his fur as the other one claws at him. The first sight of blood I see on Ray goes through me, and I can feel my body start to morph. If there’s pain, I don’t feel it. I can hear and feel my bones creaking, my skin pulling, my whole body tingling, but no pain. As soon as I shift, I fall to the ground on all fours and take off. I launch myself at one of the bears and fight him with all the strength I have.
I take out the bear, slinging him to the tree and knocking him unconscious. When I turn around, Ray is in front of me, guarding me against the other two.
It’s two against two, but I know I’m no match for the much larger two bears. But I will beat them or die trying.
There’s a commotion behind the two bears, and I can tell a shift in Ray, as if he’s relieved. A wolf is walking toward us with a sloth of bears behind him. The two remaining bears, who were about to kill us, take off down the mountain.
Confused, I look at the gray wolf, all the bears behind him, and then to Ray’s polar bear. Are the wolf and bears with us?
Because I have no control, or maybe it’s because I don’t have fear anymore, I shift back to my human form and fall to the ground, exhausted.
The wolf and bears are all watching me, and Ray shifts next to me before picking me up and carrying my naked body into the cave. He holds me so close, so tight I can barely breathe, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
He pushes the hair off my face. “You did good, Keri. But you may want to remember that when you shift, you’re naked, and I don’t want my brothers seeing you like that.”
A blush creeps across my cheeks. “I didn’t even think. I’m so tired, Ray.”
“I know. You’ll get stronger and stronger. You’ll see. Thanks for saving me back there.”
I reach up and kiss him on his lips. “I had to. I didn’t get to tell you that I love you too.”
“You love me?” he asks breathlessly.
I just roll my eyes. “I have to. I mean, I just fought a bear for you.”
He laughs, the sound vibrating around the cave. “Fuck, I love you so much.”
I push his long hair off his face so I can see his blue eyes. “I love you too, Ray.”
Epilogue
Ray
Ten Months Later
I can’t believe it’s been ten months since I saved Keri on that mountain. Of course, she makes sure I know that she saved me too. I thought it would take time for her to get used to this way of life, but she seems to be a natural. She enjoys the hunting, fishing, and the hiking. I wouldn’t tell her this, but she’s probably better at catching fish than I am.