Healing the Bear

By Vanessa Devereaux

This book was first published by Evernight Publishing in 2014. It’s been re-edited and formatted.

Dane Reynolds was banished from the Kalispell Shifters when he killed the man who’d murdered his wife and unborn child. He’s been allowed back and invited to the wedding of Christopher Renner and Lilly Banks.

During the ceremony he thinks of his wife and all that he’s lost. He flees, running for cover into the kitchen of the Lodge where the wedding is being held. There he sees a woman who he believes is his wife.

Melanie Partridge thinks the man who utters the words, I know who you are, has one intention and that’s to kill her. When she realizes he’s just a harmless and very handsome guy, the two strike up a conversation.

Dane knows he has to get on with his new life and asking out a woman might be a good start. However, the only one he wants to ask is human. He’s a grizzly bear shifter and he’s never been one for keeping secrets. However, Melanie has a few of her own, like Melanie isn’t her real name and she’s got a former life that she’ll keep hidden at all costs.

Can these two overlook each other’s secrets or will they come back to break them apart?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Palmquist
• Release date: Nov 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463537718

Vanessa Devereaux

Vanessa Devereaux is the bestselling author of erotic romances and erotica including Cater to Me, The Rake, Who's the Boss, and The Pleasure Room. She's also pens three ongoing series, Perfect Pairing, Big Sky County and Kalispell Shifters.

Book preview

Healing the Bear

Kalispell Shifters

Vanessa Devereaux

Published by Coldstream Publishing at Smashwords

Copyright 2019 Vanessa Devereaux

Smashwords Edition, License Notes.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Thank You

Social Networks

Back to Top

Chapter 1

Dane walked to the top of the hill but then had to stop and lean over. He was out of breath. He coughed twice and held his chest. He was out of shape because he hadn’t run in over a year. If a man was forbidden to run as his bear half, there wasn’t any point in doing it. He stood upright, looking down onto the road below him. Coming back to this spot was stupid. He knew it. Knew that he was torturing himself but nevertheless, here he was.

Now that he’d been allowed to come back to Kalispell, he wanted to visit the spot again. A year away hadn’t done anything to take away his hate and resentment of the human that had taken the life of his wife and unborn baby. Dane had done a bad thing to him, he knew that, but still to this day he didn’t feel any remorse for his actions.

He focused in on one particular spot on the road below him. He needed to go and see it again, punish himself some more. Two cars passed him by setting up some dust that he brushed off his jacket. Many of the trees in the area had been hit by lightning while he’d been gone. Maybe even a similar storm to the one that had brought them to this planet in the first place. They had, in fact, crash landed close to this wilderness area west of Kalispell and that was the reason why he and Lucinda liked to run there.

The tree in question was still standing untouched as if it knew it held a special place in this bear’s heart. Dane reached out for it, extending his arm so his hand could touch the bark. Lucinda had taken her last breath slumped against this tree.

He knelt down, putting his forehead against it, picturing in his mind’s eye his beautiful wife and how she’d looked that day. Her round face, her glowing skin, and her beautiful growing belly. A child residing within it, one that they’d tried so hard to conceive and finally been granted their wish. Dane spread his fingers out, allowing his large hands to grab the bark and feel its roughness against his palms.

It had been his idea to shift into their bear form so they could run in the woods, enter areas that would be unmanageable in human form. They’d run along here close to the edge of the woods, then out of nowhere… Dane flinched as he had that day. The crack of a rifle sounded throughout the area. He was about to tell his wife to take cover but when he turned to look at her, she was already on the ground with blood pouring from her side. He’d shifted back into his human form, ran over to her not scared about being shot himself. He’d pulled her behind the tree but at that point she’d been too weak to shift back from her bear half. Tears flooded his eyes, still seeing her lying there dying. He looked up at the tree and saw some of the blood still etched deep within its bark.

She hadn’t died quickly but slowly and when he’d seen the hunter looking for them, he’d had mixed emotions about what he should do. Come out of hiding, take his gun, and kill him or hide her body and stay with her and hold her until she’d passed.

He’d chosen the latter, but the hunter had still hung around. If only he hadn’t. A grizzly had to do what one of the most unpredictable animals had to do. He had to take revenge.

Dane hardly remembered shifting back into his bear form, but he did still recall tracking the man, knocking him to the ground, using his claws and strength to take away every inch of the man’s life. When he’d finished, he’d been totally ashamed of what he’d done.

He hadn’t put up a fight when Aiden told him they’d report it as a bear attack but that he was banished from Kalispell and the group until the Council gave the okay for him to come back.

He was back and so much had changed while he’d been living in Washington State.

Aiden had found himself a human, Trent had found one too, and now Aiden’s brother, Christopher had found one as well. He pulled out the wedding invitation he’d received two weeks ago along with his permission to return to the area.

Ms. Lilly Banks and her daughter Kaitlin request the pleasure of your company at her marriage to Mr. Christopher Renner at 3 p.m. Saturday October 4, 2014 at The Lodge in Evergreen, Montana.

A wedding was the last thing he wanted to attend, but he was on probation. One more strike and he’d be banished forever. Aiden was a no-nonsense leader. Dane had to be on his best behavior because he needed to be back where he and Lucinda had fallen in love, conceived their child, and the place where he said his goodbye to her.

He took a deep breath. They’d also forbidden him from shifting while he’d been gone. That had been the hardest thing for this grizzly to do. He was free again and while he was out here in the middle of nowhere, he was going to shift and run and let the wind fly through his fur.

*****

Melanie put the three trays of cupcakes into the oven and checked the temperature on the dial. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, realizing when it was too late that she’d just put flour all over her face. She glanced at her watch. Lilly and Christopher would be here soon to go over last minute preparations for their wedding ceremony this coming weekend.

She heard the bell ring over the door. That was probably them arriving early. She wiped her face and headed to the back of building where the bride and groom to be stood on the step.

Hi Lilly, Christopher. She opened the screen door and let them in. Please excuse how I look, but I’ve just finished the last batch of cupcakes for a sweet sixteen birthday bash happening here tomorrow.

If you’d prefer that we come back later that’s fine with us, said Lilly.

No, absolutely not. Come on. Let’s go through here and we can give everything a final check.

The weather forecast says sunny all day on Saturday, so let’s go with our initial plan and have both the ceremony and reception outside, said Christopher.

Lilly lifted her hands in the air and crossed her fingers. You know how unreliable the weatherman can be these days.

We’ll hope for the best, said Melanie as she showed them into her office. She pulled out the book containing all their notes and requests.

Let’s see we have 120 guests who have said they’ll be attending and you want the chairs divided evenly on both sides of the aisle.

Lilly nodded. Most of the guests know Christopher, but I guess I’m inheriting them as my friends too now.

She smiled at Christopher and he leaned over and kissed her. Melanie knew love when she saw it and these two personified it. She should have been happy for them, but it was making her depressed.

The family members will be in the first two rows, here, said Melanie putting at the seating chart. Your mother, step-dad and step-brother, aunt, and uncle will be right here. On other the other side, you’ll have Christopher’s sister-in-law, his aunts and uncles, and behind them his cousins.

How about the flowers, did you speak with your friend? asked Lilly.

Melanie nodded. They can deliver them a few hours before the ceremony and they’ll set them up at the front here, and then on each table for the reception, she said, pointing to the layout.

They held hands and Lilly leaned on Christopher’s shoulder. Yes, they were making her downright depressed.

And the cakes? asked Christopher.

You still want the large wedding cake and then the small bridesmaid’s cake in the shape of a bear?

Oh yeah, we wouldn’t hear the last of it if we didn’t, said Lilly. I guess you’ve guessed by now we have a thing for bears.

And the food for the dog? asked Christopher.

Yep, I have someone who owns a dog bakery in Big Fork and they’ll put something together just for Barney, she said, double checking she’d got the pooch’s name right.

Great and how about valet parking for our guests? asked Christopher.

I have a couple of guys who work on special events here and they said they can do that. And you’re still going with the chilled cucumber and dill soup, blackened salmon, rice pilaf, roasted green beans, and for dessert, the huckleberry ice cream?

Christopher licked his lips