Grizzly Secret (Arcadian Bears Book 3)

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  Published by The Hartwood Publishing Group, LLC,

  Hartwood Publishing, Phoenix, Arizona

  www.hartwoodpublishing.com

  Grizzly Secret

  Copyright © 2017 by Becca Jameson

  Digital Release: August 2017

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Grizzly Secret by Becca Jameson

  Grizzly shifter Joselyn Arthur has been living a lie. She’s been lying to her parents, her siblings, and even herself. The decision to move back to her hometown in the mountains of Alberta, Canada, after university and take a job in the family brewery two years ago was the dumbest choice she’d ever made.

  Alton Tarben has also been working his butt off for the past two years in his family’s brewery on the other side of town. He too is questioning why on earth he thought this would be a good idea. He’s lonely and bored, and his bed needs warming.

  When the two breweries end up in a battle over new product launches, Joselyn and Alton decide they’ve had enough. Enough hiding. Enough sneaking around. Enough separation.

  The problem is that life is not that simple. Silvertip isn’t progressive enough to tolerate the binding of two shifters from rival bear packs. Joselyn and Alton must decide if they’re finally willing to put their happiness first and risk losing their families and their community.

  Prologue

  “You mind if I sit here?” Alton asked, his fingers wrapped around the back of the chair across from Joselyn. The question was absurd. Speaking to her at all was absurd. Approaching her was absurd. Nothing about this situation was reasonable.

  And she proved his point when she lifted her gaze—just her gaze, not her face—to meet his and said, “It’s a free country.” Just as quickly, she lowered her deep brown eyes with the gorgeous, long lashes back toward the huge book open in front of her and tapped her pencil on the table next to a notebook. Her thick dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but tendrils had escaped to hang across her tanned cheeks.

  The only sign he had that she cared a bit that he was standing over her was the way her shoulders stiffened and she squirmed a bit in her seat. She wore a gray cardigan, but it hung open, doing nothing to hide the cleavage of her full breasts behind the edge of a navy silk camisole.

  They were in the dining centre at the University of Calgary. The overwhelming scent of fresh pizza filled the room. He often spotted her studying there after she ate. Joselyn had just started her freshman year. Alton was a sophomore. He’d been sort of stalking her but hadn’t approached her until today. His balls were big, but it took more than big balls to attempt conversation with Joselyn Arthur.

  He pulled out the chair anyway, manning up to the task, and slid onto the seat. After opening his backpack and removing a random textbook, he set his elbows on the table and stared at the top of her head.

  She pretended to ignore him.

  The room was crowded, noisy. It was a far cry from the library. For some people, the constant hum of excitement was welcome background noise. Apparently, this was true for Joselyn.

  He slid his feet forward just enough to bump into hers casually under the table as if by accident.

  She yanked her legs back and jerked her face up to glare at him, her head cocked to one side. “What do you want, Alton? I’m trying to study here. I have a bio test tomorrow.”

  “Bio? I’m good at bio. Took it last semester. Maybe I can help?”

  She narrowed her gaze. “Didn’t ask for your help. I have it under control.”

  He was certain she did. In fact, he was certain she had everything in her life under control. She’d graduated at the top of her class last year from the same high school he went to in Silvertip, about two hours west of Calgary. She could probably teach him more about biology than he could her, but that was beside the point.

  He licked his lips. He’d made the decision to go all in this afternoon, and he didn’t intend to back down now. “You know, if you took a moment to drop the snarky routine and get to know me, you might find out I’m a nice guy. Perhaps we could even be friends.”

  She narrowed her gaze further, shooting daggers. “Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I don’t want to be friends? Maybe the snarky routine is just who I am. Why don’t you go bother someone else? It’s a huge campus. Surely you can find some other coed to lure into your web, Alton. It’s not going to be me.”

  He chuckled. At least she was interacting with him. Those were the most words she’d ever shared. “What if I don’t have a web?” he retorted. “What if I’m just a genuinely nice guy making polite conversation with someone from the same hometown?”

  She rolled her eyes. Her fingers gripped the pencil she held so tightly, he thought it might snap in half. Her spine was rigid, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she squeezed her legs together under the table. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a nice guy or not, now does it?”

  “Doesn’t it?” he challenged.

  She shook her head. “No. Your desire to befriend me didn’t work in elementary or junior high or high school. And it still won’t work now. So, again, please, find someone else to hit on. I’ve got work to do.” She lowered her face back to the open book and turned the page, dropping the pencil, setting her chin on one palm, and staring intently at the paper.

  Alton had no intention of giving up so easily. In all honesty, he didn’t see it as a choice at all. It was reasonable and even expected that she would ignore him at school in Silvertip, but they were not at home now, and he intended to break through her thick exterior and get to know her now that they were at university.

  Attending U of C had been a bit of a gamble for him. He had hoped and prayed she would also choose the same university. For one thing, it was the largest university in the area. For another thing, both her older brothers had gone there. It was a safe bet.

  And here she was.

  He leaned closer, breathing in her scent. This was the closest he’d been to her in a long time, and it was both torturous and heavenly. “How about we make a deal?”

  She groaned, shooting him another irritated look. “A deal? This isn’t a game show, Alton. This is my life. I don’t want to make a deal with you.”

  “Hear me out.” He glanced around to make sure no one was listening to him and lowered his voice. “There aren’t a lot of shifters here. It’s nice to have a few friends who are of the same species.”

  She interrupted him. “We are not friends, Alton.”

  Damn, she was difficult. Why the hell was he putting himself through this again? He knew the answer. Maybe if he badgered her with the details… “That’s true. We’re far more than friends, and you know it. You’re my—”

  Her eyes widened. She cut him off with a hand out in front of her and the most furious glare he’d ever seen. “Stop. Don’t say it.” She then slapped
her palm against the table with enough force for several people to turn their attention toward the two of them. She lowered her voice, gritting her perfect teeth and leaning across the table. “I swear to God, Alton. Enough is enough.”

  He grinned. “So you’ll take my deal?”

  She jerked back several inches, gripping the edge of the table with her fingers hard enough they turned white. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  He smiled wider. Oh yeah. She was totally going to take his deal. “You stop acting like you can’t stand the sight of me and make nice to me on a regular basis, and I won’t mention what we both know out loud.”

  She licked her lips. He had her. The trouble was he was making this shit up on the fly and had no idea how he was going to be able to uphold his end of the bargain. How long could she hold out?

  Finally, she bit the corner of her lip and then spoke. “You want to be friends,” she deadpanned, not wording it as a question.

  “Yes.” For now.

  She leaned back farther, pondering the deal as she lifted her arms and crossed them. “Fine. Let’s hear it. What do you propose?”

  Shit. Now he had to make something up. He swallowed and laid down his terms. “You study with me two nights a week, and I take you to dinner twice a month.”

  She groaned, rolling her head back and looking at the ceiling. “I don’t even like you.”

  Liar. He reached across the table, intending to grab her biceps so she would look at him.

  As if lightning had struck the room, Joselyn jerked out of his reach so fast she nearly tipped the chair over backward. She unfolded her arms and held her hands out at her sides. “Don’t.”

  “Jesus, Jos. What the hell?” Did she think he had leprosy or something?

  She ignored the strange outburst and continued speaking. “Fine. Here are my terms.” She stared at his outstretched hand until he pulled it back. “We study together one night a week for not more than two hours. You can take me to dinner one night a month—someplace nice—for not more than three hours. But,” she narrowed her gaze again as if making sure he was paying close attention, “you don’t ever mention anything beyond friendship, and,” she added with extreme emphasis, “you never touch me.”

  Damn, she led a hard bargain. His cock stiffened to the point of pain, and he smiled. “Deal.”

  Chapter One

  Six years later…

  Alton Tarben lifted his snout to the air and took a long whiff. Yep. She was nearby. Somewhere on the mountain. No denying it. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea to chase her down today. He shouldn’t. He should turn around, tromp back down the mountain, and get as far away from her as possible.

  Confronting her was never a good plan. Not six years ago or ten years ago or anytime in between. But damn if he could stop himself. And besides, what was she doing on his family’s property? Curiosity got the better of him.

  Had she scented him yet?

  He blocked himself, hoping to catch her off guard, and turned to head her direction. Loping between the trees on the side of the mountain, he remained in his grizzly form. His paws crunched in the thin layer of frozen snow, broken branches, and fallen leaves.

  He hadn’t seen her in months. Four to be precise. His body came to life as he tracked her, awakening from the permanent state of discomfort he lived in without her in his life. It pissed him off.

  Joselyn Arthur.

  His mate.

  A fact they both denied, though Joselyn did so with an intensity that far surpassed his ability to shut her out.

  He’d known she was his since third grade. Originally, he’d ignored the pull toward her with as much vehemence as she did him. And, truth be told, he should continue to do so until death.

  She wasn’t right for him. Nor was he right for her. Their families had a history that wasn’t pleasant. Insurmountable history that made it impossible for them ever to be together. And who was to say she was truly his anyway? So what if he’d had a weird vibe indicating so for most of his life?

  He didn’t put much merit in Fate. Neither of them did. Grizzly shifters, in general, didn’t. It happened. Sometimes Fate seemed to have a hand in who bound with whom. It had happened more lately than reasonable. But it was rare.

  He told himself for the millionth time that Joselyn Arthur was nothing more than a sexy woman whose body called to him with enough force to make his dick stiffen just thinking about her. Didn’t mean he had to bind to her for God’s sake. But he sure would like to fuck her at some point just to see what would happen. Maybe work her out of his system so he could move on with his life.

  He shuddered. The idea was preposterous. What he needed to do was find a lovely woman in town who wasn’t a member of the Arthur pack and bind himself to her, essentially cutting off all possibility of ever knowing what could have been.

  But he was a fool.

  He inhaled deeply over and over as her scent grew stronger. His paws covered a lot of ground in a short time. She was alone. He hated the idea of her running alone in bear form in the mountains. It wasn’t safe, but he had no say in her life—a fact she reminded him of every time he saw her.

  For five minutes he knew she was in her grizzly form, but when he finally popped out of a copse of evergreens, yards away from her, he came to a grinding halt.

  Joselyn was leaning against a tree, human, arms crossed, dark brown eyes narrowed, glaring at him. A light breeze blew her thick brown hair around her face. Her serious expression always made his heart ache. So rarely had he seen her smile that he couldn’t remember the last time.

  He slowly approached, still in his bear form, knowing it was easier to hide his reaction to seeing her if he did so. Damn, she was gorgeous. Every time he saw her, she was prettier than the last. Even angry, she made his heart race.

  Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail—as it nearly always was. He’d seen it down only a handful of times in recent years, and it made him salivate with the desire to run his hands through it. He couldn’t decide if she didn’t care much about her appearance, if she intentionally chose to hide her beauty, or if she did it to keep him at bay in particular.

  No matter which of those theories was correct, she failed miserably. She would look fantastic even in a sack. Pulling her hair back wet in a ponytail—as he knew she did most mornings—did nothing to hide her inner or her outer beauty, no matter what her intentions were.

  Her eyes were melted chocolate that reached into his soul. Her round face was always a gorgeous tan color even in winter. Thick lashes that didn’t need mascara were the envy of many women.

  She rolled her eyes as he approached. “How long have you been tracking me?”

  He chuckled into her head. “How long have I failed to block you?”

  “You gonna circle me all day like I’m some sort of prey, or do you have the balls to shift and face me as a man?”

  He stopped two feet in front of her and cocked his head to one side. She was feisty. He wanted to laugh, but he feared it would piss her off further. Instead, he summoned the change, closed his eyes, and allowed his body to make the shift from bear form to human.

  As his fur receded and his bones reconfigured, he lifted up onto his hind legs. Fifteen seconds later he stood before her, fully human. Thank God he’d worn a winter coat and boots. It was damn cold out to be shifting into human form this high in the mountains.

  Luckily, Joselyn had also ventured out prepared for the possibility of shifting. She wore fucking sexy tight jeans, boots, and a thick, navy down coat with her brewery’s logo on the breast—a depiction of a glacier next to a lake. Apropos, since her pack owned Glacial Brewing Company.

  As he met her gaze head on, he watched her breath, smoky in the air around her. Every exhale was closer together. He affected her as much as she affected him.

  “How have you been?” he asked.

  She sighed. “Small talk? Really, Alton?”

  He shrugged. “It’s the usual way people star
t a conversation when they greet each other after several months.”

  “I’m all right,” she shot back. “The usual. Busy with work. Yourself?”

  “The same.” He hated this thing they did. This game they played. The same game they’d played for years.

  Today things were markedly more strained between them. The lure to pull her into his arms was stronger than ever. Though he shouldn’t be shocked. It had grown incrementally over the years.

  He’d known for certain the pull would be stronger now than the last time he’d seen her several months ago. He should have turned around and fled instead of approaching. But she was like a giant magnet. He couldn’t seem to stop himself.

  For long moments, they stared at each other, neither blinking.

  “You’re on my parents’ land.” He tried to sound irritated.

  She looked past him and shrugged, her gaze turning to take in the spectacular view of the distant, snow-covered mountains, the valleys between, and the perfect blue skyline. He didn’t need to glance that way to know what she saw.

  When she reached up to tuck an escaped curl behind her ear, he lifted his hand automatically. He needed to touch it, feel the strands between his fingers.

  She jumped to the side to avoid his touch. “Don’t,” she mumbled.

  He dropped his hand. “Sorry.” It was a permanent rule of hers. No touching.

  She lowered her gaze, toeing the thin layer of snow under her boot absentmindedly. “You shouldn’t have followed me. It only makes things worse.”

  Is that what she believed? If she didn’t want him to find her, why was she standing on his property?

  He ignored the obvious. “What are you afraid of?” He stepped closer, goading her. And himself. “Perhaps, you should give in.” How many times had they had this discussion? It was cryptic, but she knew what he meant. On occasion, over the years, he had forced her to discuss the attraction between them. Test it. Feel it out. Purge it. As if that were possible.