Superstar Bear: Bodhi: Silvertip Shifters, #7

By J.K. Harper

A woman hiding a dark secret...

McKenna left her perilous past behind to live a quiet, simple life in tiny Deep Hollow. All was well—until that outrageously superior, thoroughly detestable, ridiculously self-anointed gift to women shows up in town again: fancy-pants megastar Bodhi freaking Walker. She's never forgiven him for treating her like crummy leftovers years ago. Even if the jerk is so hot he can fry her brain, she's still determined to hate him forever.

 

A bear shifter running from his fame...

Bodhi Walker is the most famous movie star on the planet. He used to relish being adored by millions for his sexy growl, his sexy tats, his sexy muscles. But now he wants nothing more than to escape the back-stabbing, fake celebrity world. His little hometown Deep Hollow would be the perfect safe haven—if it weren't for the completely grating, thoroughly obnoxious, insanely attractive McKenna. She happens to despise his guts. But hey, the feeling's mutual.

 

A shifter town ready to save its own.

But when the treacherous past returns, threatening to claim McKenna and expose her to the entire world, her relationship with Bodhi must finally explode into passion--and then flare up into the astonishing truth they have both always denied. The truth known by an entire town filled with wildly mixed yet fiercely loyal shifters: that these two suspicious, hurting hearts must blaze together as one if they want any hope of saving each other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.K. Harper
• Release date: Jul 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201719333

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1

Bodhi Walker yanked the brim of his hat farther down his face until it nearly covered his eyeballs. Sitting in the truck, he looked out the window but kept his head tucked down. Since it was only 6:53 am, no one else was on the streets of downtown Deep Hollow at the moment. That was good for him.

Even so, it was his habit to stay covered up when he was out in public. Even in his tiny hometown, where most of the residents had known him forever, being a crazy famous dude had changed his life in many ways. Ways that he really wanted to forget about now. Too damned bad he’d never be able to. Once a superstar, always a superstar.

Freaking superstar, my dumb ass. He softly muttered the words to himself, then frowned. Ten years ago, he’d hankered after being famous. Once he’d hit his huge movie star level, he’d reveled in his fame.

But these days? Hell to the no. He was done with the insanity of fame. It was more annoying than anything else he’d ever done in his life.

Well. Almost anything else.

The open sign abruptly lit up in the town’s best little bakery shop, the Mountain Muffin, as one of the employees unlocked the front door. Oh, hell to the yeah. Bodhi grabbed his coffee mug, slid out of the truck, and went straight for the door. Although the place didn't officially open for another five minutes, the employees often unlocked the door shortly beforehand. Thank eff they did that. It was a damned good thing for him.

The one who unlocked it early right now was Jessie, a full-time employee there and the mate of Bodhi's cousin, Shane. After Jessie first met Bodhi, freaked out at seeing him, and finally calmed down her initial fangirling attitude toward him when she actually got to know him, Jessie had eventually decided to open up the Mountain Muffin early on most mornings. She knew Bodhi liked to keep a low profile in town.

Despite this being a really small town. Like, crazy small. Which, he snorted to himself as he approached the door, was actually the best thing for him right now. This town had always known him and knew he’d grown up here. Most of the residents had been reasonably cool with him coming back here. But even so, he didn’t much like to be seen by a lot of people right now. Being famous was seriously a frustrating thing for him now.

As he pulled open the door and strode in, Jessie smiled at him from behind the counter. Morning, Bodhi. Coffee is ready for you, and we have a new little breakfast treat this morning. It’s Halloween cookies! They’re just scrumptious. Want to try one? She tempted him by waving at him a definitely scrumptious looking cookie.

Bodhi chuckled. Halloween cookies, really? But it’s summer, not fall.

Jessie winked at him. Yes, but we just decided to make them because people really enjoy Halloween cookies, even when it’s not fall yet.

He shoved his hat a little farther up on his head as he felt his stomach rumble slightly in eager anticipation of sugar-filled cookies. He usually was really careful about his diet since he had to keep his body in perfect shape. But right now, he just didn’t care at all. He wasn’t going to be in another movie for another month and a half, so heck yeah for cookies.

Yeah, I'll definitely take a couple of those. They look great. And coffee too, please.

Bodhi smiled at Jessie as he held his mug out to her, then nodded at the Mountain Muffin’s owner, Maddy. Maddy was loading a tray of muffins into the oven, her head tilted on her shoulder as she chatted into her phone. She gave Bodhi a quick smile and wave as she shoved the muffins into the stove and shut it with her hip.

Yeah, it was damned nice coming to a local shop where the employees were chilling toward him. Back in L.A., things were often different. Escaping back here to Deep Hollow had been a good decision. Except, he thought with a sudden darkening of his face, not absolutely everyone here was happy to see him back.

Everyone meaning his brothers.

Clenching his jaw, Bodhi shut down the growl trying to rise up in his throat. His cousin Shane was the only relative in Deep Hollow right now who was okay with Bodhi being back home. He’d been a little huffy at first when Jessie had drooled over Bodhi, but he’d relaxed about it pretty soon and decided he and Bodhi were still friends.

But all of Bodhi’s brothers? Nope. They seemed truly upset that he was back here. Cortez, Riley, and Slade were all still being serious assholes to him. And Cortez’s friend, Beckett, didn’t talk to him either. Why the hell they all seemed to not care about him anymore, Bodhi had no idea what it was about. Quentin was not quite as angry at him as his other brothers were, but he still was fairly presumptive that Bodhi was a Walker family failure.

And that freaking sucked more than anything he’d imagined would happen when he returned to what he’d always considered his safest, kindest, nicest home on earth. The home that was the best place for someone like him: a bear shifter.

His bear growled deep inside him, just as frustrated as his human. Well, to hell with his asshat brothers. They wanted to be jerks to him, and that was damned fine for him. It was their choice to believe he was still a fool who had abandoned his hometown, and had also abandoned his own family. He didn’t care.

But deep inside him, a twinge of angry sadness rustled.

Now glaring at the counter, he shrugged it off. Whatever. At least he could hang out with Shane pretty often and have a decent time. They hadn't even seen each other since high school, and Shane had only been back here for about a year. It was a damned good thing that at least one relative here cared about him. So did Jessie, and their adorable little boy, Grant. That was cool for him. Also the Calhouns, Bain and Helena, whom Bodhi had known his entire life. They were bear shifters, as were their daughters. They were totally fine with him too, which was also great to be able to hang out with them now and then.

But the others who basically ignored him? His freaking brothers? Well, to the hell with them too.

His bear began to growl inside more, pushing at Bodhi to get out. He took a deep breath. He couldn’t be pissed off here inside the Mountain Muffin. That wasn’t cool. Jessie and Maddy didn’t deserve to see him being so irritated. They were super kind to him, and he always was kind to them in return.

As Jessie turned to the coffee machine to fill his mug and Maddy again had her back turned as she expertly slid another pan of muffins into the oven to bake, Bodhi dropped several twenty-dollar bills into the tip jar. Jessie and Maddy were awesome, and they provided good service here. No matter what his brothers thought, Bodhi wasn't an actual asshole just because he’d become a multimillionaire. He always tipped well, especially to people who were kind to him. Like Maddy and Jessie.

Clicking off her phone and sliding it into a pocket, Maddy turned back around and bounded forward to the counter, one hand raised. Finally shrugging off his irritation and grinning at her, Bodhi reached out his hand and they smacked them together. Maddy laughed as she pulled away and turned back to the oven. What's up, Bodhi? Got any good plans to go hide out today?

He grinned, feeling way more relaxed now. He and Maddy had grown up together in this town. They’d gone to kindergarten, middle school, and high school together. She’d always just treated him like a friend, even after he unexpectedly managed to throw himself into the movie industry. His becoming famous hadn’t changed their friendship. They’d even dated very briefly in high school, but ultimately they were just meant to be friends and nothing more than that. She’d stayed in touch with him over the years, sharing information about things happening around here, and he’d done the same with her about life in the movie industry. They were always going to stay good pals.

Of course, she’d finally met up with a permanent partner here in town. Bodhi had dated lots of women, but he didn’t have a partner yet. One day, he wanted to—but definitely not another human right now. Humans who knew he was famous no longer worked for him at all.

What he wanted was a shifter mate. But his deeply fearful thoughts were that he would never find the one truly meant for him.

Refocusing on the moment now, he nodded at Maddy. Oh, yeah. I’ve definitely got plans to hide out. Gonna go head into the mountains, where I plan to hang out for most of the day. He shrugged. Sounds like nothing much, but it works for me.

I bet it does. Maddy pulled another tray of muffins out of the oven, glancing at Bodhi with an arched eyebrow as she walked them over to set them down in the cart. I know it was pretty tough living in a huge city like L.A. You couldn’t shift there nearly as often as you can here. But at least there are other shifters out there that you were friends with. So you could sometimes go run around in the mountains out there as your bear, right?

Jessie's face was very curious now. Bodhi knew Shane had turned Jessie into a bear shifter not that long ago. She'd been born human, but after having a son with Shane and moving here to Deep Hollow, she’d finally agreed to be turned into a bear. Apparently she now loved it.

Yeah, there are a lot more shifters in the entertainment industry than most people know about. Bodhi leaned against the counter as he went on. Some of my good friends are pretty quiet about that, but some are really well-known in the shifter community. Like my friend Ty.

Typhon Kade! Maddy said, her face going dreamy. He’s so amazing.

Bodhi nodded. Ty was a dragon shifter who was an incredibly famous actor as well. He and Ty were the closest friends in the movie industry. Oh, yeah. Dragon shifters can shift into a dragon and fly around all day long without being noticed, because humans can't see or hear dragons. Ty does that all the time. But me? He gave a snorting sigh. No way. That's why I bought a pretty big property out there so I could shift in my own backyard and run around without having to take the time to go up into the nearby mountains. But I way prefer being able to run around Deep Hollow and the mountains all day long without worrying anyone will see me.

So true, Jessie said. It's the coolest thing in the world to be a bear shifter. Especially out here where we’re hardly ever seen. I just love it!

Maddy laughed. And who would have thought a human woman would come here to Deep Hollow and get turned into a bear shifter?

All three of them laughed now. Every human who had been raised in Deep Hollow knew about shifters, and were also raised to know perfectly well they could never share the truth about shifters to the outside world. Some of them ended up mating with shifters, and sometimes also got turned into a shifter, but humans moving here from elsewhere weren’t as common.

True, Jessie said with a happy grin. But it’s been the darned most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ll love being a bear shifter for the rest of my life.

Heck yeah, Bodhi said, reaching out to gently slap hands with her too. Being a bear shifter rocks. Especially out here.

For sure. Jessie smiled, then placed the Halloween cookies, which were little white ghosts yelling BOO! and orange pumpkins that sported wild faces, into a little bag, and handed Bodhi's mug back to him so he could screw the lid back on. Then she turned to the register to ring up his bill.

Behind Bodhi, the door opened. Dang it. He winced at the sound and immediately shoved his hat back down his face. Good thing he was about to leave.

Jessie raised her head with an automatic smile toward whomever had just entered. Welcome to the Mountain Muffin! I'll be right with you.

Maddy smiled at Bodhi as he handed her cash for his food and coffee. In a casual tone, she said, Thanks for stopping in and have a great day. She winked at him as she talked like he was just some random person coming in. He gratefully smiled back at her and nodded, scooping up the bag of cookies.

I hope you have a great day, too. Jessie’s grin ticked up as she added in a low voice, I'm working here again tomorrow morning, just so you know.

Bodhi smiled gratefully at her too as he nodded a goodbye. In an equally low tone, he said, Thanks, Jessie. I really always appreciate it.

Shoving the bag under one arm, and holding the lid below his coffee mug, he turned toward the counter where the creamer bottles were sitting.

And damn it all to hell, he turned directly into a woman he didn’t realize was standing there, the coffee knocking out of his mug and splashing over her.

Motherfucker! The woman's outraged cry of pain from the hot coffee landing right on her arm dropped a sudden silence into the room.

Bodhi roared out, Fuck! at the same moment as his coffee painfully sloshed over his arm, too.

He heard Jessie inhale sharply and murmur, Oh, no!

The room fell even more deeply silent, his voice still ringing everywhere. Ah, hell.

Redirecting himself, looking down at his arm and trying to rub the coffee off of it against his shirt, he said, Oh, damn, I'm sorry. I thought you were standing on the other side of me.

Reaching out again to the counter, he grabbed some napkins to hand to the woman, who was still sputtering angrily behind him. When he turned back and finally looked at her face, he felt all the blood drain from his expression as his bear abruptly went dangerously silent inside him.

What the hell?

Oh, no. No, no, no.

It was her. Her.

Oh, shit.

Some serious trouble was about to happen right now.

The woman finally looked up from where she’d been angrily swiping the coffee off her arm and met his face. She froze at the same moment, her expression paling as her mouth tightened. A long silence held them as her eyes narrowed out.

Glaring, she snapped, Well, what a surprise. Bodhi Walker, superstar of the universe. Back here in your little hometown to parade around like the famous jerk you are, huh? And here you go, throwing coffee on me. Totally typical. Asshole, she added with a glare, stepping back from him.

Bodhi could hear the shocked silence behind him. Both Jessie and Maddy had to be staring with their mouths wide open right now. His hand, still holding the napkins out toward the most pissed-off woman he’d ever known, was