Bear Lust: Shifter Paranormal Romance Short Story

By Selina Coffey

When her boyfriend ran off with a nineteen-year-old nanny, Casey knew exactly what she should have done: go on with her life as normal. That's what functional people did, right? Instead, she ran off to her family's cabin upstate and decided to drown her troubles in a bottle of wine. Or two. Or maybe three. A raging thunderstorm seemed like the perfect backdrop for bitter wallowing. What she didn't realize was that her weekend was going to get a hell of a lot more exciting than that. Because first there was the bear that showed up in her house—the bear that seemed more intelligent than it really should be. And then there was a pack of wolves who weren't afraid of humans, and a man stumbling out of the forest; injured. The hottest man Casey had ever laid eyes on, if truth be told. But Nathaniel isn't just a normal guy. And no matter the heat between them, there are some issues they'll have to resolve first. Like the fact that he's a shifter, and there are thirty wolves out for his blood.

 

WARNING: This book contains mature themes and language, intended for adults only.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lovy Books Ltd
• Release date: Aug 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215688922

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The thunder crashed and Casey snuggled down further on the couch. Her third glass of wine glinted red in the firelight. She had stopped drinking an hour ago, realizing just how drunk she was getting, but bitter reminiscing just seemed better with a glass of wine in her hand.

If she was being honest with herself, she was taking a certain satisfaction in knowing that she was approaching this entirely the wrong way. A productive adult would handle a break-up by going on with their life as normal. Maybe they would indulge in a set of new workout gear, or a few meals’ worth of Chinese food, or a haircut or something.

Casey, on the other hand, had spent two days in bed, bawling her eyes out while wearing an oversized T-shirt, and had then proceeded to pack a backpack—not even a suitcase—and run away to her family’s cabin upstate, where she was now drowning her sorrows in wine. Maybe, she thought; she should cap it all off by getting a tattoo. What tattoo said, My boyfriend left me for his sister’s nanny?

She took a gulp of wine and groaned. The nanny was…well, just what Casey had been once; young, gorgeous, and cheerful. And Casey was That Woman, the one pushing thirty and finding grey hairs, who was—to top it all off—going to have a killer hangover tomorrow morning because she couldn’t drink like she used to. And she knew if she told anyone about this, they would roll their eyes and tell her how pretty she was and how thirty wasn’t old. So she hadn’t told anyone.

She wanted to wallow, dammit.

The thunder crashed again, and she jumped. She drained the glass of wine and reached for the bottle. One glass left. She should stop. But she should also be home in New York, already asleep because she had work tomorrow, and she wasn’t doing that either. She poured the last of the bottle out, and then tipped her head back on the arm of the couch and sighed.

She had really thought Eric was the one. Never hitting on her friends, always respectful, and a career on track for spectacular things. And now all that was left was a hurried, I think we made a mistake, and some bitter words about wasting three years, and he was off with a nineteen-year-old while Casey drank herself stupid, alone, in a cabin. One of them was clearly getting the better end of the deal, and it wasn’t her.

Another crash sounded, and this time it wasn’t thunder. Casey sat up, her heart pounding. It was nothing. It was the wind. It was her sister here to check on her. Casey would have groaned at the thought of Jenna’s lecture, only she was suddenly very, very certain that it wasn’t any of those things. She put the wine on the table and crawled, staying low, to look out the sliding doors at the end of the kitchen…

And screamed.

The bear was dragging itself slowly up the lawn, the shattered remains of the picnic table lying on the storm-soaked grass, and its eyes were fixed on the cabin. It was coming for food. It was coming now. It did not wander, sniffing as an animal should. It was taking a straight path, and it was coming for her.

Casey scrambled back, upsetting the coffee table and hearing the glass shatter on the hearth. She paused, stupidly, thinking she should get a sponge and—

Bear. There was a bear. She ran for the coat closet, fumbling through layers of winter coats and snowshoes until the heavy shotgun case emerged. She hauled it out, fumbled at the latches. Locked.

Dammit.

She dragged it with her as she crouched and ran back to the kitchen. Ammo in the bottom drawer, keys in the top drawer. She