Bear Lake- Book Three Read online

  BEAR LAKE

  BOOK THREE

  BY

  A B LEE

  Copyright © 2016, A. B. LEE

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced whatsoever without written permission of the author, except for brief exerts in reviews. Any unauthorised reproduction or distribution of the material herein is illegal and may result in criminal proceedings. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to the internet or distributed via electronic or print without prior consent.

  Note from the Author;

  All names, places, and incidents contained herein are purely fictional and have no basis in actual events or linked to actual Humans, Witches, Vampires, Werewolves, Lycans, Werebears or persons living, dead or undead.

  Table of Contents

  BEAR LAKE

  BOOK THREE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Other books you might enjoy in the A B Lee series are:

  Books you might enjoy by ML Briers:

  CHAPTER ONE

  Shane dropped down from the truck and tested his muscles. It had been a while since he’d been on the road for any length of time. He hated to be away from the Clan for too long; it felt like his equilibrium was slipping when he didn’t have the others to fight with.

  But this trip was different. The bear clan from the valley had been short on drivers and they had an emergency load to deliver. Jackson had put it to him that he didn’t have to go, but that the money was good and it was just a three day round trip.

  Now he was regretting it some as he stretched out his aching muscles and waited for the healing process to kick in. He hadn’t been cooped up behind a wheel for that long in what felt like forever and his bear was getting antsy. He needed a beer to knock those feelings on the head and then he would be on his way.

  He had two and half days driving in his rear view mirror and it was a good ten hours back to the valley, add another hour to get back to his own clan’s land and he could be sleeping in his own bed in no time. That thought cheered him up some as he pushed into the bar and scanned the room for sights or scents of anyone he might have a problem with. It looked good.

  Shane dropped his backside down onto the bar stool and tapped a finger against the beer tap. The barman nodded and made his move just as the outer door opened and took Shane’s attention to what had followed him inside. His cock hardened at the sight of her…

  Five foot tall and as curvy as hell. That put a smile on his face. Her eyes snatched a look inside the room as if she was casing the place before she took to robbing it, and Shane felt the unease rise within him.

  Something was off with her.

  Lucy made a dash to the bar and tried to get the barman’s attention, but the guy wasn’t having it. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge her presence. He looked like the kind of dick that took one thing at a time and perish the thought he should have to think on the go.

  “Everything ok?” Shane asked and she gave him a double take. He knew full well that she’d seen him sitting there on the stool, because she’d already had one good look when she’d walked in.

  “Fine. Thanks.” Lucy wasn’t about to get into a conversation with a man like that. Built like a brick outhouse and with the kind of looks that got her into all sorts of trouble in the first place. Uh-Uh, she was done with his kind.

  The sound of the glass being slapped down on the counter in front of him made him reach into his back pocket for his money, and he tossed it down on the counter, not even bothering to acknowledge the guy. Tit for tat. His hand fisted the glass and he drew the bear closer to him across the counter top like a bear with a pot of honey from one of those damned cartoons.

  He had half and eye on the door and the other half on the woman. She was fidgety and it mirror the antics of his bear. The damn thing seemed to want to burst out and run amok, and he guessed he couldn’t blame him, they had been in that cab for a while.

  The sound of his change being slapped down onto the counter drew a growl from his bear, but not much else. The beast seemed a little too preoccupied with the woman to his left. The woman that now seemed to have the barman’s full attention.

  “What can I get you?” The guy sounded bored to be in the conversation and that irked Shane all the more.

  “Yeah, I’m looking for the guy that drives the truck outside. He come in here?” Lucy asked with what Shane thought was a hopeful expression. His bear growled some and then rested.

  “Dunno. I don’t ask people what they do for a living- I just serve them alcohol.” The bartender needed a slap upside the head in Shane’s opinion. The least he could do was have some damn manners with the lady.

  “That would be me.” Shane offered as he raised his arm from the elbow up like he was asking permission to speak, and turned his head to look at her again. He much preferred the full on view rather than the sneaky sideways glances that he’d been giving her.

  “Oh.” Lucy looked a little taken back.

  “Something wrong?” Shane asked and watched the little ridges over her nose form on a frown.

  “No.” She rushed out with a small smile. “You just don’t look like a trucker.” She gave a small shrug off her shoulders.

  “What can I do for you?” Shane asked and she seemed to have forgotten why she’d wanted him. He certainly wouldn’t have minded having her. His length certainly wanted to bounce her around a little…

  “No, it doesn’t matter.” She shook her head. Now she just seemed caught between a rock and a hard place and Shane was intrigued.

  “Sure?” He gave her a half grin and she frowned a little harder.

  “Yep.” She didn’t sound so sure as she started to back away from the counter top. Shane shrugged it off.

  Maybe she was a little nutty. Maybe his size scared her. But he wasn’t going to push the point if she was already backing away.

  He’d been known to charm his fair share of the ladies. It wasn’t just Marcus that had the magic touch. But he didn’t think this one wanted to be charmed.

  “Ok.” He turned back to his beer. His ears still listened and he still had sight of her out of the corner of his eye.

  Lucy hesitated at the door. She was hoping to catch a lift with a trucker, but just not that trucker. She’d hoped to find an older guy that wanted to bore her to death with talk of his grandkids. Instead she’d found probably the only trucker for miles that could have modelled underwear for a damn living.

  She bit down on the need to turn back and beg him for a ride. But it was the thought of what kind of a ride he’d want in return that made her push back through the doorway and outside. Nope, if she was going to get the hell out of town she wouldn’t be doing it with that guy.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  Shane finished his beer, ate a sandwich that tasted like old leather rather than beef, and took a piss. Then he was heading back to his truck to get the hell home. He’d cook up some nice steaks and maybe some of that salmon that the girls liked when he got back to the clan, and that thought sustained him.

  His eyes snapped towards the woman that was sitting on the wall at the end of the beer garden. She looked up from under her eyebrows and did another double take at him. He smiled inside; she sure liked to get a second look…

  “Hey there.” Shane lifted a hand and gave her a small wave.

  “Hey.” She dropped her eyes downwards.
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  “You didn’t hit my truck with your car or anything, right?” He asked as he kept walking towards it. Maybe that was it. Maybe that was what she wanted to tell him, and yet when she saw the size of him she’d thought better of it.

  “What? No.” She snapped as her eyes came back up and his stomach clenched.

  “Well, ok then. Good to know.” His deep chuckle caught her ear and she frowned hard.

  “Damn it.” She muttered as she looked around her. Night was closing in and she could have been sitting there until morning for all she knew.

  “Look…” Shane stopped in his tracks and turned towards her. He pushed his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans to show her that he was no threat to her. It was bugging the hell out of him to find out what she’d wanted. “I’m a nice guy.” Shane started and saw her frown again.

  “I’m big, but I’m not going to bite…” He liked that joke. He didn’t know if the woman had pegged him for a shifter or not, but either way, the saying still applied.

  “O-k.” Lucy’s eyes darted back and forth as if she didn’t know why he was telling her any of this.

  “You obviously wanted something from the guy that drives the truck.” He shrugged those big shoulders of his. “I’m leaving now. So you might as well tell me what it was before I die of suspense.” He chuckled again and a smile broke across her face.

  “Oh…” She shook her head on a smile. “I was just looking for a lift, but you seem…” She waved a hand in his direction.

  “Like a threat?” Shane nodded in understanding. “Yeah, I get that a lot.” He chuckled again and she let out a whoosh of a breath.

  “Sorry to disappoint you.” Lucy offered and it was Shane’s turn to frown.

  “How’s that?”

  “For being like everyone else. And for killing the suspense with a boring reason for wanting you.” Lucy offered tongue in cheek and he chuckled again. She liked that sound. She wasn’t sure why exactly, but it warmed her inside, made her feel a little bit safer in an unsafe world.

  “Well look, I’m going towards…” He lifted a hand and pointed down the road.

  “Doesn’t matter where.” Lucy shook her head. Then she bit her bottom lip as if she’d said too much too fast.

  “Well, if you wanna tag along. That’s where I’m going.” He grinned back at her. He figured everyone had their little secrets and he wasn’t about to demand that she share. “But I’m leaving now, so you need to make up your mind.” He offered and she shook her head again.

  “Thanks. I’ll…” She shrugged again and his bear gently growled in disappointment.

  The beast wanted to damn well wait with her of that he was sure. Make certain that she was safe… The thought of her getting a lift with anyone that wasn’t him did something strange to him and he didn’t know why…

  “Ok. Nice to meet you.” Shane couldn’t hang around any longer. The valley clan would be wanting their truck back and Shane had commitments to his own clan. Still, he hated to make his feet move towards the truck.

  He climbed up into the cab and set about getting back on the road. The sound of a tapping on the passenger door made his beast growl inside of him and sent a rush of excitement to his very core. Then she yanked open the door and stared up at him, and that excitement grew.

  “You mind?” Lucy asked and Shane grinned back at her.

  “Hop in.” Shane nodded as his cock twitched inside of his jeans. But he wasn’t going to be that guy. That asshole. He wasn’t going to take anything from her that she didn’t want to willingly give, and give one hundred percent.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  It was nearly half an hour before Lucy started to relax. Even then she was still on the edge of her seat waiting for him to say anything, wondering if she should. She kept her eyes on the road and her mouth shut. She wasn’t out to make a new friend; she just wanted to put the past behind her, and quickly.

  Shane’s bear was having a hard time relaxing with the woman in the cab with them. Shane wasn’t sure what the hell was wrong with the beast, but it probably had something to do with the scent of her. She was like the first blooms in a meadow at the start of spring.

  Shane was distracted too. He wanted to keep his eyes locked onto the road ahead yet they kept flicking towards her. She had barely moved a muscle since she’d climbed up into the cab and seated herself, yet every small movement; no matter how tiny had been documented.

  Nothing was ever easy in his life. He had two urges. One was to pull the hell over, open her door, and to ask her to get the hell out. The other was to fuck her until he couldn’t see, couldn’t think, and couldn’t breathe another breath.

  He knew he wouldn’t do either.

  “Shane.” He offered and from the corner of his eye he saw her head snap around a little too quickly on her neck in his direction.

  “Lucy.” She’d waited too long to answer. That hesitation told him that she was either debating giving him her real name and the one she’d given was a lie, or she’d debated it and decided to tell the truth. He’d probably never know which was accurate.

  Shane bit his tongue. She obviously had secrets to keep and he’d let her. He wanted to know what they were. He just didn’t want to bug her.

  “Thanks for the lift.” Lucy offered and he nodded.

  “No problem.” Anytime. Damn, would I want to go through this torture again? Yeah, probably. If she asked me to drive her somewhere else I just might do it.

  And it was back to silence between them again.

  ~

  ~

  ~

  “Ah crap!” Shane bit out as he slowed the truck down and squinted out of the windscreen.

  Lucy pushed up in her seat. She’d fallen asleep at some point and that wasn’t good. It was dark, so she’d slept into the night. Now she was blinking to clear the haze in front of her eyes…

  “What’s wrong?” Lucy asked as she reached up and rubbed her eyes. Sleep had taken her heavily into its arms. She was dog tired and yet she thought it might just have been the rumbling of the truck that had lulled her to sleep and kept her there… “Oh…” Crap!

  CHAPTER TWO

  It wasn’t a haze in front of her eyes. It was snow. The white stuff was coming thick and fast and causing something of a whiteout. It didn’t matter which window she looked out from, everything was just- white.

  “I’m gonna have to pull it over.” Shane growled a little before he realised that she had no damn clue he was a shifter. If she did, she hadn’t said anything. He didn’t want her freaking out in the middle of nowhere because there really was nowhere for her to go.

  Lucy’s heart beat like a drum. Her hands clutched the seat beneath her as she felt the truck’s wheels spinout on the road. Her eyes flicked from the windscreen to him and back again several times.

  Shane’s perfect vision meant that he could probably see just a little better than she could. He could still see the roadway and he shifted the gears until the truck started to climb up the hill again. Slowly rolling on now that it had a little grip.

  “I thought you were pulling over?” Lucy asked.

  “I am. Just not in the middle of a damn roadway. There’s a pull in up ahead. It’ll afford us some protection from traffic stupid enough to try staying on the road in this.” Shane counted the seconds until he could pull the truck over. He hated feeling that exposed.

  It didn’t help that she was in the cab with him. He had the irrational need to protect her, and getting the damn truck stuck in a snowstorm wasn’t his first choice. He knew roughly where they were and there was nothing for miles in all directions- nothing except clan land about a mile to the East. He’d screwed up.

  “Now what?” Lucy frowned at the sight of the snow in his headlights.

  “Now we hunker down and wait for the snow to ease up so we can move on.” Shane heard her curse under her breath. “You have somewhere you needed to be?”

  “Not exactly.” Lucy didn’t like t
his. She felt trapped. Caged.

  What if this guy became out of hand? She couldn’t exactly just jump out and walk away.

  “Good. Then no harm, no foul. There’s a sleeper in the back. You can go and make yourself comfortable…”

  “What?” Lucy swallowed down hard. Her eyes flicked about the cab and he could scent the rush of fear that filled her. Shane’s bear growled long and hard within him. The animal sensed her distress too.

  “Hey now. Not what you think.” Shane tried to reassure her. “I’m gonna be sitting right here the whole time.”

  “I… No… I’m fine here.” Lucy vigorously shook her head.

  “Ok. No problem.” He wanted to explain himself. He wanted to reassure her that he wasn’t that guy, but from her skittish behaviour he guessed it was best just to sit still, make no sudden movements, and keep his stupid mouth shut.

  “Look. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you would… that you were trying…” Lucy felt like shit. The guy looked as if she’d just kicked him in the balls. He waved it away.

  “I guess men really don’t get what it’s like to be a woman…” Shane certainly didn’t. His role models were the mates that two of his clan now had, but he really hadn’t known them long enough to get a grip on the female mind. Not that he thought he ever would.

  Females confused him so.

  “Yeah.” Lucy scoffed.

  “Not to blow my own damn trumpet or anything, but I don’t need to coerce a woman into…” Shane bit off what he was trying to say.

  “Yeah. I get what you’re saying.” Lucy nodded. The man was certainly eye candy. He had a fantastic body and she wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that he had woman lining up a mile long to get what he had to give.

  She rolled her eyes and pushed back in her seat. She felt like a complete idiot. The man must have been laughing his ass off at her. There was no way in hell that a man like him wanted anything from her…