The Island Of Bears: A BBW Paranormal Romance Page 7

I nodded with my face against his chest. “I really am. Quite a bit shaken up, and I’m sure I won’t be able to stand up on my shaky legs for a half-hour or more, but I’m fine. Thanks to you. And right now I just want you to hold me, Holden. Just hold me tight and don’t let go for a while.”

  He did just that, sitting down himself, pulling me onto his lap, and then rocking me in his arms ever-so-gently while the waves crashed against the surf just a few feet away from us. I closed my eyes, reveling in the feeling of being completely safe.

  At least ten minutes went by before Holden spoke, the sound a low, quiet rumble in his chest.

  “Well, what’s the verdict? Are you going to tell yourself that you just hallucinated because I’ve drugged you or something, or are you finally ready to accept the truth, that this is a supernatural island, and I’m a shifter?”

  I opened my eyes and lifted my face. “I believe you now. Finally. And I’m sorry I didn’t earlier. But I guess you were right... Maybe I was just a little scared.”

  Holden’s eyes twinkled in the pale light. “A little?”

  I gave him a playful punch to the ribs. “Fine. A lot. And I was even a thousand times more afraid when I was facing down those wolves, but somehow I think that actually helped me. I was petrified, but I realized I couldn’t just turn tail and run. I had to accept what was happening and face it head-on as best I could, because the alternative was a cowardly death, and I guess that just didn’t sit well with me. So, I faced them. And maybe that fear kind of helped to conquer my fear and denial in other areas as well.

  Because when I saw you... When I saw you in bear form... I just knew it was you, and I believed completely. And now that I do... Well, even when you’re able to take me through the portal, I’m not so sure I want to go back right away. I think I want to stay on the island for a while. I want to stay here with you. If you want that, too, that is.”

  Holden furrowed his dark brows, sighing. “I do want that. I want that more than anything. But before we can continue our new relationship in peace, I think we’re going to have some trouble first.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, there are still several Forms left. They escaped the village and began heading back to the lake before my men and I could catch them.”

  “And you think they’re going to be back?”

  “Most definitely. And angrier and more bloodthirsty than ever, since one of the wolves I killed tonight was their leader. They’ll want revenge. They’ll want to kill anyone and everyone in the village, especially you if they’re somehow able to determine that I care about you. Which is why....”

  Holden paused, drawing his dark brows together even further still, seeming like he might not continue.

  “Which is why what, Holden?”

  Frowning hard, he took a deep breath before responding. “Which is why I’m going to take you back through the portal to Ellis Island the very first moment it’s possible. And you’ll stay in New York, safe and secure, for however long it takes me to kill the remaining Forms.”

  Horrified, I just stared at him for a long moment. “But... From what I’ve heard, they’re very hard to kill, and it usually takes months for you and your men to kill just one. Meaning, unless you have several back-to-back banner nights like tonight, which, no offense, but that seems somewhat unlikely, it could be many months before you’ve killed every single one of the remaining Forms. It could be years, even.”

  Holden spoke through clenched teeth. “Then so be it.”

  “But—”

  “I care about you, Haley, and I’ll do anything to keep you safe. Including being parted from you for a while. Tonight was just far too close a call for me to stomach, and the danger will only increase over the next several weeks. I’m sure there will be many more attacks before this is all over, and I just can’t take the chance that you could be hurt.”

  “But—”

  “My mind is absolutely made up about this. I’m taking you back to Ellis Island as soon as possible.”

  With a whimper, I buried my face in his chest, feeling an actual ache in my own chest, as if my heart were breaking. I wouldn’t leave the island; I couldn’t. Not now that I knew Holden cared about me and I cared about him. Not now that he and I were on the brink of what I thought might be a very happy and fulfilling relationship.

  I knew what I had to do. I had to find some way to help take out the remaining Forms, even if I had to do it alone, and behind his back. Now I just had to figure out a way to do that without getting myself killed.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Hopping down the beach on one foot, with my breasts nearly bouncing out of my bikini top, I felt like a complete ass. And yet, I didn’t have any choice but to do what I was doing. I had to reach the village, and I had to reach it fast. About a minute earlier, the siren to indicate Forms in the area had sounded, meaning the Forms could be anywhere. They could be coming right up on me for all I knew.

  When I’d heard the siren’s very first blast, I’d been startled so badly I’d tripped over a piece of driftwood, which had made me fall to my hands and knees, dropping handfuls of shells I’d been collecting to make jewelry with. My little stumble had also somehow made me twist my left ankle. Upon standing, I’d realized I could hardly put any weight on it, and now, it was definitely slowing me down.

  I’d been too far from the village to begin with. A week and a half earlier, after Holden had killed the two wolf Forms, he’d told me to remain in the village no matter what, and to use the stretch of beach directly in front of the village only. But, on this day, intent on finding the best shells for jewelry, and kind of lost in my task, I’d strayed from the village just a bit. Just maybe an eighth of a mile or so bit. Which, with Forms nearby, I couldn’t deny was a very big bit.

  With periodic blasts from the siren assaulting my ears even at a distance, I knew I’d been an idiot to venture a single toe outside of the village. I just really hadn’t been thinking things through very well, or even doing much thinking at all. I’d been so intent on my shell-searching, I’d almost been in a sort of a daze. And of course, I hadn’t planned on spraining my ankle.

  Cora, Amy, and a few other women I’d been spending the afternoon with were just up ahead on the beach, probably only a few hundred feet away now, even though I couldn’t quite see them yet. I was pretty sure none of them had noticed me venture off on my own. They definitely would have stopped me, I was sure.

  Still hopping forward on one foot, I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted as loudly as I could. “Cora! Amy! Everyone! I’m down here! I’m coming as fast as I can!”

  I wasn’t sure if they could hear me, and in fact, I was pretty sure they couldn’t, but just on the off-chance that they could, I wanted to let them know not to worry or think I’d been dragged away by a Form. I certainly didn’t want them to send guards down from the jungle area directly behind the village, because I knew the guards were probably needed right where they were.

  After a short while, the siren blasts abruptly stopped, and I shouted again, sure I’d have a better chance of being heard now. “I’m okay! I’m coming back to the village!”

  I was still a bit of a distance away, though maybe closer to a tenth of a mile now. My ankle was hurting more and more as I hopped along, having to step lightly on my left foot every so often. The spaghetti straps anchoring my bright red bandeau-style bikini top came untied and fluttered against my shoulders, but I didn’t even pause to retie them. My goal was to get back to the village before any Forms could even get near me. And maybe even just as importantly, before Holden returned to the village and found me gone.

  Despite the fact that we’d grown even closer over the past week and a half, making love nearly every day, he was still insisting that I go back through the portal to New York City the very moment he was able to use the portal again and take me back, which would be in a week or so. Like he had the night he’d saved me from the two wolf Forms, he was still saying that it was for my own safety.
I was still insisting that me going back wasn’t necessary, and that I didn’t want to go back. Now that Holden and I had decidedly established a relationship, I could hardly even imagine it. I couldn’t just voluntarily agree to be separated from him at this point. Especially when neither of us had any clue how long that separation might last.

  Holden kept saying that he’d bring me back through the portal from New York to the island “as soon as possible,” whenever he’d killed the remaining Forms. But when pressed for exactly how long of a time period might pass before he accomplished that task, he’d had to admit he really couldn’t answer that question. I figured killing all the Forms so that I could return in complete safety might take him and his men a few months at the very least, maybe even years at the most. And I thought the worst case scenario the most likely one, since in all their years on the island, Holden, his men, and the other shifters on the island had only been able to pick off the Forms at a rate of a couple every few years.

  There was no way I could go back to New York if there was even a chance I might be separated from Holden for years. For my part, I knew I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, forget him, but I worried that he’d forget me, or find someone new, and the risk of that was just too great. Not to mention that I just simply didn’t think I’d be able to stand being parted from him for that long. I just wanted to stay with him and see if our new relationship would lead to love, maybe even very long-term love.

  But Holden’s mind was very made up. He hadn’t wavered even once since saying he was going to take me back through the portal for my own safety. Being that he was such a strong, decisive man and leader, I knew better than to think I could change his mind. I’d stopped trying and hadn’t even brought up the issue in days. Though that was only partly because I knew convincing him was futile. It was also because I’d been busy trying to think of a way to take out the remaining Forms myself, which, so far, I hadn’t been able to do.

  I had zero ideas in regards to the Forms. I knew there were guns in the village, and I knew that Holden even kept a large cache of them at his cabin, even though he hadn’t used them in years. Being that, for whatever reason, shifters were unable to harm or kill other shifters with man-made weapons, other shifters that included the Forms, the guns were pretty much useless to Holden. And I figured they’d be useless to me, too. I had absolutely no experience with guns and had never even held one before. Because of this, I knew it would be foolish of me to think I could somehow quickly figure out how to shoot, and then miraculously be accurate enough to really kill the Forms. I knew even attempting to use a gun wasn’t an option. I’d have to think of some other plan. Some other weapon that would be easier for me to handle than a gun.

  Out of breath, I continued half-limping, half-hopping down the beach, shouting again, though I still wasn’t sure I was close enough to be heard. “Cora and Amy! Don’t send any guards! I’m coming!”

  It was only then that I realized that maybe I shouldn’t be shouting. If the Form or Forms that had been spotted were now anywhere near me, I was obviously just announcing my presence along the deserted stretch of beach.

  Now afraid that I was even breathing too heavily, I came to a stop with my weight on my right foot, just barely touching the toes of my left foot to the warm sand for balance. My breaths were coming in ragged gasps far too loud to be drowned out by the gentle ocean waves to my right, and I tried to quiet them without much success. I suddenly felt naked, exposed. Which really, I was. There wasn’t a single thing on the beach to hide behind, and I realized that if a Form came out from the jungle and tried to attack me, my only option would be to run into the ocean. The only alternative would be to try to fight it, but I wasn’t even wearing sandals I could use as makeshift weapons, and I was pretty sure throwing handfuls of sand wouldn’t be very effective.

  However, I knew I wouldn’t have to defend myself or head into the ocean at all if I could just make it back to the village, which I was determined to do. So, after a quick scan of the jungle to my left, not seeing any sign of a Form, I started off down the beach again, half-limping, half-hopping, and trying to inhale and exhale as quietly as I could.

  A minute hadn’t even gone by before I heard movement in the jungle. It was a loud rustling, as if a something was tearing through the trees and vines. This sound was accompanied by the faintest hint of a growl. I froze, heart pounding, not even wanting to look. But momentarily, I heard my name. I recognized Holden’s voice instantly and heaved an enormous sigh of relief, turning toward the jungle.

  My relief was short-lived. When I saw Holden’s face, I cringed inwardly, cursing myself for having taken even a single step away from the village, let alone the few hundred that I had.

  “Dammit.”

  I was barely aware of whispering the word. I was too focused on Holden’s stormy eyes and dark brows, which were drawn so closely together they seemed like thunderclouds colliding as he strode down to the beach. Clearly, he was just a touch upset with me. Also clearly, wherever he’d come from, he’d come in a hurry, because he was only wearing jeans and just one of his heavy black boots. He liked to patrol the jungle in both human form and bear form, and when in human form, he always liked to wear these particular boots. Though, of course, he usually wore both of them.

  Even knowing that he was upset with me and that I should be planning my apology, which would be sincere, I still couldn’t help but admire his bare chest in the bright afternoon sunlight. Broad, smooth, and extremely well-muscled, it was more like a work of art than a chest. Flawless, it was like sculpture. I’d grown nearly addicted to running my hands over it, feeling every hard ridge under my fingers. I wanted to do just that right then, but when Holden reached me and came to a stop, he made it crystal-clear that this wasn’t going to be a time for touching and caressing.

  With his expression so dark he was nearly scowling, he faced me, hands on hips. “What are you doing all the way down here?”

  I stammered briefly, lifting my shoulders in a feeble shrug. “Well, I was just combing the beach for shells to make jewelry with, and...well, over the past few days, I’ve pretty much collected all the good ones from the stretch of beach in front of the village, so I just...well...”

  “So you just decided to completely disregard my instructions to not stray even an inch from the beach right in front of the village.”

  “No! No, Holden, it wasn’t even like that. I was just really involved in what I was doing, and I just kind of...I guess I just spaced out. I really didn’t even realize exactly where I was until the alarm sounded. Which, by the way...where’s the Form? Is everyone safe?”

  “Yes. Fortunately, the Form began racing back to the lake immediately after the alarm sounded. My men are chasing him right now. He didn’t even get very near the village at all. And thank God for that, because he could have heard your shouts from inside the jungle, like I did, and you could have been cornered out here alone on the beach. You could have been hurt, or worse.”

  “But I wasn’t, though. I’m fine. It was just an innocent mistake, and I’m truly sorry I made it.”

  Folding his arms across his chiseled chest, Holden spoke through gritted teeth. “This is exactly why.”

  “Why what?”

  “Why I’m going to take you back through the portal the moment I’m able to, in about a week. It’s not safe for you here. It’s not safe at all, and it won’t be, it will never be, until all the Forms are dead.”

  “That’s not true, though. I’ll stay in the village now, from now on. I promise. I won’t get spacey again and wander down the beach.”

  “That doesn’t matter. The remaining five Forms seem to be getting stronger and stronger, and they have been over the past several years. As if each time one of their own is killed, the remaining Forms absorb his power or something. That’s the theory some of us have, anyway. And it doesn’t even matter if we’re right or wrong, because the fact of the matter remains that they are growing stronger, for whatever reason, and I’m afra
id that someday, maybe even someday soon, they’re going to be able to enter the village and cause destruction before I and my men can fight them off. Needless to say, I don’t want you anywhere even remotely near when that happens.”

  I put my hands on my hips, fighting irritation. “So, you’d rather have me all the way back in New York City, thousands of miles away from you.”

  “Exactly. I’d rather have you thousands of miles away from me, but completely safe, than near me but in imminent danger. As I’ve told you numerous times now over the past week or two.”

  “And you don’t think me simply living in New York City is dangerous? There’s muggers, and rapists, and murderers, and—”

  “Yes, I’m well aware. And that’s why when I take you back I’m going to set you up in a new apartment, one in a very affluent and safe part of the city. The building I have in mind has a private security detail monitoring visitors at all hours. Many celebrities live in this place, apparently.”

  I snorted, losing the battle at controlling my irritation. “Well, if you set me up in this building, I have no idea how I’ll ever pay you back, and I don’t want to be indebted, so bottom line, I can’t afford this. So, I guess I’ll just have to stay right here, on the island.”

  “Nice try, but I’ll be paying for your new, safer apartment. I think I’d also like to hire a bodyguard or two for you as well. As payment for our services, we shifters were all given a massive amount of gold bullion by the scientists who first brought us here, not to mention that everyone in Sun Cove, including myself, has profited from our little artisan chocolate-making enterprise, so between those two things, I’m in pretty good shape financially. I’ll be paying for your new place as a gift, not as a loan.”

  “Well, what if I refuse your gift? How about that? I have free will, you know.”

  “Yes, that was made quite clear just a bit ago when you wandered away from the village and put yourself in harm’s way.”

  “Please answer my question. What if I refuse your gift? What if I refuse to be set up in a fancy, safe apartment? What if I refuse to have bodyguards? What if I simply refuse to leave this island?”