Bear Naked For Christmas (Bear Oak Novella) (3 page)

F
or the rest
of the day and early into the night, my head was spinning; I was unsure of what I’d seen. It couldn’t have been real. I must’ve bumped my head on the car hood or something and hallucinated the whole thing, I thought. There was no way Noah had turned into a bear in the blink of an eye right in front of me.

It just wasn’t possible.

Stunned and dazed, I felt like a zombie and spent most of my time alone in my room, going over and over what had happened.

I couldn’t even begin to think about telling my mom and dad about what happened. They would’ve thought I’d gone mad, most likely would have locked me up or at least thought I was on drugs, prescribing them for myself—I was after all a doctor with access to all sort of medical hallucinogens. No, the best thing would be to forget it ever happened and not even mention it.

My thoughts of Noah and the incredible sight that I’d seen completely dwarfed what Simon had done, and to be honest, I was glad about that. I didn’t need to think about how he’d almost kidnapped me. But Simon had been afraid… the shock on his face clearly indicated that he’d seen something, too. Something that was scary enough to cause him to flee as fast as he did. Had he seen the same thing I had? He was probably the only person I could ask about the whole experience, but speaking to him again was the last thing I wanted to do, let alone inviting him over to have a little chat about my possible hallucination. He’d only use me reaching out to him as an excuse to worm his way back into my life.

For most of the night, I lay awake thinking, playing it over and over in my mind, but I must’ve eventually drifted off to sleep. When I woke the next morning to the smells of Christmas floating around the house, it all seemed like a dream, a mirage that was fading away. I let it drift away from the corners of my mind and got ready for the day ahead.

But there was still the memory of the kiss that had shocked me to my core. I hadn't expected Noah to grab me like that, or for me to respond so passionately, and though it was clear that my body wanted it, logically it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

I’d just gone out of heavy relationship, for God’s sake, did I really need to throw myself into something new? Especially when there was a chance I was actually losing my marbles.

Maybe I could ask Noah about it when he arrived today, but the more I thought about it, the more it sounded foolish. I mean what was I supposed to say? “Did you turn into a bear yesterday? How about some honey on toast? And how about those Chicago Bears, eh?” I couldn’t just drop that into casual conversation without coming off like a complete and utter nut job. There would definitely be no second kiss if I did that… And Lord knows, I really wanted that second kiss.

“
S
top fidgeting
and make yourself useful,” my mom said as I paced back and forth, occasionally glancing out the windows to see if Noah was on his way over.

“What’s wrong with you today? You been very quiet and weird since yesterday… Something happen between you and Noah?”

I hated lying to my mom, but I wasn’t about to tell her the truth about everything that had happened with Simon, Noah and the lumbering black bear that had charged Simon. No, I would have to bend the truth a little bit or avoid her question altogether. “Nothing’s wrong, just hungry.”

“Yeah, but hungry for what?” My dad interrupted from over the corner in his easy chair. My mom gasped, and he broke out into chuckles as I glared at him.

“Dad! It’s nothing of the sort. I just wish he’d hurry up so we can begin to eat. You did tell him what time to come over, right?” I asked my mom.

“Course I did, he’s probably just running a little bit late. Go set the table, and I’m sure by the time you’re done with that he’ll be here,” she said with a smile.

I did what she asked, got out the cutlery, grabbed the napkins and the condiments and set the table. We were ready for a Christmas meal, and as if on cue there was a loud knock at the door.

“I’ll get it,” I said as I bolted for the door.

I swung it open and came face-to-face with a mountain of muscle, but disappointingly, this time he was fully clothed.

“Hi,” I said as I got lost in his vortex-like green eyes. I could swear he was trying to hypnotize me with his gaze.

“Hi,” he repeated, the corner of his mouth edging up into a smile. “Nice sweater,” he teased as he noticed my rather festive and cheesy novelty Christmas attire.

Our eyes were locked on one another’s and I could feel my heart rate pick up and march around my head. My knees threatened to buckle again as I stood there looking at him. Jesus, it was like I ninety years old and needed a walker!

“Well, aren’t you going to let him in?” my dad asked from his chair by the fire.

“Oh yeah, right…” I replied and moved so that he could enter the cabin.

“Fantastic, you’re here, Noah. And just in time, too,” my mom said as she greeted him. I closed the door on the cold outside and stood like a nervous teenager. I had no idea what to do with my hands, so I clamped them together to stop them from trembling. Why on earth was he having this kind of effect over me?

“Well, take your coat off, make yourself at home. Dinner will be ready in just a moment, but can I get you something to drink?” my mom asked.

“Thanks, that would be great. Beer, if you have it,” Noah replied as he unbuttoned his jacket to reveal a smart shirt beneath. He moved closer to me as I stood by the coat rack. “Oh, and before I forget, Mrs. Taylor, this is for you. Merry Christmas.” Noah handed over a wrapped box to my mom then turned towards my father. “And this, Mr. Taylor, is for you.”

“Oh you shouldn’t have,” my mom said, but I could tell she was pleased at the kind gesture. She opened her gift and gave a squeal of delight as she took in the box of chocolates, which were her favorites.

“Very nice. This is just perfect, Noah, thank you,” my dad said as he opened what looked to be a small bottle of whiskey.

I’d completely misjudged Noah. I thought he was a brash, aggressive and rude individual, but so far his actions over the course of two days were proving that I’d been completely wrong.

While my mom and dad were mooning over their gifts, Noah silently moved to my side. I could feel my skin prickle with goose bumps as he got closer. He bent his head towards my ear and whispered, “You’ll get your present later.” And then he smirked with delight as I went completely red in the face.

My mom approached us with a huge grin on her face, and she began to raise and lower her eyebrows in quick succession. “Mom? Are you OK?” It looked like she was having some sort of seizure.

“Look up,” she said with glee. Both Noah and I titled our heads back to find what she wanted us to see. I shook my head… she’d planned it; she was such a schemer!

Staring at a bunch of mistletoe above my head, I sighed. I really didn’t want to kiss Noah in front of my parents, but before I could protest, Noah leaned forward without hesitation, took me in his arms and gave me a deep kiss that left me wanting more.

My mom squealed quietly, trying to hide her happiness at the situation, while my dad grumbled over in the corner. “Get a room, you two,” he said as he poured himself a whiskey. “Fancy one before dinner?” He said offering a glass to Noah, to which Noah nodded. He detangled himself from me and moved over to the couch to sit with my dad.

I was breathless again and couldn’t believe I’d gotten that second kiss I’d been dreaming of… though the location, in front of my parents, wouldn’t have been my first choice.

I clamped my hand over my mouth and excused myself to the bathroom for a moment. I needed to sort my head and get my blushing under control before I could look Noah in the eye again.

“Katie, dinner is ready,” my mom called.

I stepped out and joined the three of them sitting around a simple but festive oak table. Noah grinned up at me as if he were the cat that just got the cream as I sat in the chair directly across from him; I’m sure he was enjoying seeing me squirm under his stare.

“Thank you for inviting me. This looks delicious, Mrs. Taylor,” he said, taking his eyes off me for a second.

“Oh, dear, please call me Jackie. There’s no need to be so formal; I can tell you’re a nice lad.” My mom winked at him, and my mouth dropped open. She actually winked at him! And for a split-second I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

We spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence as we tucked into our meal, but soon, as I knew she would, my mom started asking Noah some embarrassing questions. I had a feeling she was doing it for my benefit, and I wasn’t about to stop her; I was actually pleased when she started to grill him about himself.

“So, Noah. Tell us a little about yourself,” my mom asked.

He placed his knife and fork down and considered the question. “Not sure there is much to say, to be honest.”

“Have you decided if you’re going to stay here permanently? Or will you be selling the cabin?”

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t dream of selling the cabin. But yes, I’ll be putting down roots here. I got a job working at the new lumber mill. I think I’ve had enough of the city to last a lifetime,” Noah replied.

“There’s a new lumber mill?” I asked. It was the first time I’d heard of such a thing on Scarfell, and couldn’t help but feel annoyed at the thought of the trees being cut down to feed some big business.

“Yeah, the guy who bought the area is setting it up. The rumor is he’s loaded.”

“Wait, what?” I looked to my mom and dad; surely they’d know about this. “Someone bought the mountain? Like the whole mountain… is that even possible?”

My mom sighed and patted my hand, which left me even more confused, because she’d only do that if she were about to deliver some bad news. “I’m afraid so.”

“We were going to tell you in the New Year, because we didn’t want you to be sad while we were here, but this will be our last year in the cabin for Christmas.”

“Why? I don’t understand.”

“Well, the new owner—”

“The rich one?”

She nodded. “Yeah, he’s wanting to turn the whole place into some sort of private retreat. He wouldn’t go into details. But basically what it means for us is that we won’t be able to rent the place each year like we normally would.

“This is bullshit! He can’t…”

“I’m afraid he can, honey.”

“Does this affect you too, Noah?” I asked, feeling the anger rising. This was the one place I got to go each year that enabled me to feel like myself. Even if it were only for a few days, this place was like a sanctuary for me.

Noah had gone silent, but shook his head in response.

“How?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to put my foot in it,” he said with a look of remorse.

“How do you get to stay, and we don’t?” I said again, demanding he answer me.

“It’s complicated,” was all he would offer up as a reply.

Before I could question him any further, a knock sounded at the door.

We all stopped what we were doing and stared in the direction that the sound came from.

My mom frowned. “We’re not expecting anyone else, are we?” she said with a slightly nervous laugh.

“I’ll go see who it is.” My dad pushed back his chair and went to the door as another, more persistent knock rang out.

From where we were seated in the small dining room off the kitchen, we couldn’t see who was at the door. But we all sure could hear who it was.

“Oh, we weren’t expecting you, Simon,” my dad said in greeting.

“I need to see Katie,” I heard Simon demand.

“Will he not take a bloody hint?” I said under my breath.

Noah and I exchanged a silent look as I got to my feet. But I didn’t need his help, or at least I didn’t think I would, and so I shook my head when I saw that Noah was going to follow me.

“Thanks, Dad, I’ll deal with this,” I said. My dad nodded as he passed. “Shout if you need me,” he whispered.

Once my dad was out of the hallway I turned my attention to Simon. I’d been fooled into liking him, into liking the facade he’d created for everyone to see, but now, piece by piece, it was all starting to melt away. And now I could truly see who he was—a controlling piece of shit who would most likely stop at nothing to get his way. But he didn’t really know me either, or perhaps he hadn’t been paying attention. I wasn’t some pushover who was going to lie down and let him control me or fall for his pathetic attempts to win me back. No, those bridges were burnt to a crisp.

“I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again. Why are you here?”

“I wanted to give you another chance to reconsider,” he replied and motioned towards me. His fingers almost grazed my cheek, but I flinched away just in time.

“Don’t you fucking touch me,” I hissed.

“Don’t be like this, Katie. I know you want me. You can’t just give up on us. I won’t let you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “That’s where you are wrong, Simon. You disgust me; the fact that you’ve come here makes me sick. I don’t know what I have to do to make you understand that, but I think I’ve been perfectly clear: I want you to leave and to never contact me again.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying, Katie, my love.”

I breathed in a lungful of air and counted to ten. Was he deaf? Or just stupid?

“Everything OK?” A pleasant voice asked from behind me.

Simon’s face turned pale when he saw the huge man approach. But he stood his ground. “Everything is fine. This doesn’t concern you. This is between my fiancée and me.”

Sweet as can be, Noah turned on the charm. “How about we go outside and take a walk?” he said.

“I don’t want to go—”

“It wasn’t a request,” Noah said firmly.

I
stood watching
as Noah led Simon outside into the snow. It felt nice to have someone protect me like that, not that I really needed protecting, but nonetheless it was sweet.

I followed them out and waited on the porch as Noah spoke to Simon, slowly easing him down the path towards his car. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, and every so often Simon would glance my way and smile a revolting grin. He looked like he knew something I didn’t, like he had an ace up his sleeve, and I couldn’t help but feel the same sense of dread wash over me as the day before.

But I was too late. Too late to warn Noah.

Simon dug into his pocket and pulled out a shiny, heavy object and pointed it at Noah.

A scream caught in my throat, but I would’ve been too late to shout out my warning anyway.

But it didn’t matter… Noah was quick, too.

He roared at the little man with the gun, and Simon’s eyes widened in fright.

Behind me the front door opened and my dad appeared. “What’s going on?”

Knowing I couldn’t let him or Mom get involved in this, I screamed, “Go back inside! Keep Mom safe!”

Surprisingly my dad understood, nodded, and without another word, closed the door.

I turned back to the scene unfolding out in the front garden. Noah’s body shook, and the cotton shirt he’d been wearing split at the seams, revealing a hard wall of muscle beneath. I couldn’t look away; I was mesmerized by the sight.

I wasn’t seeing things. This was actually happening. I hadn’t lost my mind, not now and not before.

His muscles bulged, and a thick coating of dark fur seemed to appear as if by magic, covering every inch of him. He grew taller, larger; before I’d been able to see Simon over Noah’s shoulder, but now with Noah’s monstrous size, he’d been eclipsed.

A shot rang out and echoed around the mountains; it sounded as if a hundred firecrackers had been set off. Followed by a heart-wrenching roar.

I could only assume Simon had fired upon the bear, on Noah… I couldn’t believe I was actually thinking that. Noah was a bear, and he’d just been shot at.
Fuck.

My brain finally managed to get through the needed communication to my legs, and I was sprinting off the porch, towards the two of them without any thought to my own safety. I just knew, instinctively, that I would do anything for Noah… The feeling had appeared out of nowhere, and I wouldn’t let him be harmed as a result of something I could’ve prevented.

I should’ve been firmer with Simon, made it even more clear… or maybe I should’ve done as he’d requested and gone with him. Then none of this would’ve happened.

A massive paw swiped at the air and made contact with Simon’s outstretched arm that held the gun. I heard a crunch of breaking bones and cringed when Simon started wailing. But he was far from done. If he was anything, he was persistent, I’d give him that.

With his uninjured hand, Simon grabbed for the fallen weapon and aimed it at Noah again.

“Simon! No!” I ran as fast as I could, but everything slowed down to a crawl. The snowflakes that drifted down from the sky seemed to float longer in the air. Noah turned his head slightly towards me. His green eyes pleaded with me to stop, to stay back.

CRACK. Another shot rang out. I’d managed to get in between them just in time to save Noah from a fatal bullet wound. I was ready to feel the pain when all of a sudden Noah’s whole furry body engulfed mine, shielding me from the oncoming shot.

Noah whimpered as the bullet hit him, but he didn’t let me go. I was in a literal bear hug, with no escape.

Breathless, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest with Noah’s soft, fuzzy muzzle next to my head. Time slowed again; I felt safe in his arms, like I belonged, but no sooner had I thought that than time sped up and Noah’s furry arms let me go, ready to wage war upon the puny human that threatened to hurt us.

I lifted my head and saw thick glob-like splashes of blood drip into the snow. A crimson trail led all the way to Noah’s back. It was hard to see, what with the dark color of his fur, but there was an even darker patch, wet with blood. He was hurt, and his movements were not as fast as they’d been before, but he was still faster than Simon, who’d started running down the trail. He was out of bullets—he’d fired the remaining ones wildly at the charging bear.

Noah chased after him on all fours, and I struggled to keep up in my ballet flats, which were totally unsuitable for running in the snow.

In the distance, I could hear Simon yelling for help. He was starting to slow; that’d teach him to not go to the gym with me, I thought bitterly. He’d always made excuses whenever I wanted to go work out, and he was paying for it dearly now.

Down the trail, a figure emerged from the tree-line, slowly but with determination. I saw the stranger approach. Simon was waving at him to help him. And then I saw it. The hunting rifle in the stranger’s hands.

Oh god, no.

“Stop!” I screamed. “Don’t shoot! Noah, stop!”

But Noah continued to lumber forward, hot steamy air escaping from his muzzle, determined to get his paws on Simon.

“Noah!”

I dug deep, kicked my shoes off and tried to summon the extra energy I would need to catch up to him. The snow turned the soles of my feet to ice, but I barely registered the cold… I couldn’t lose Noah. Not like this.

Simon made it to the stranger holding the rifle and pointed desperately at the huge black bear that was coming towards them, desperately trying to the make the man fire upon Noah.

The man looked amused, and a broad smirk crossed his face an instant before he swung the gun around and planted the butt of it in Simon’s face, knocking him out cold.

What the hell was going on?
I’d been convinced the stranger was about to kill Noah and do what Simon had asked, but then the absolute unexpected occurred.

Noah continued to leave a trail of blood behind him, and he’d slowed to a brisk walk, still making his way to the man with the rifle. But before he reached the stranger and Simon, lying cold on the ground, his body convulsed again as he returned to his human form.

“What the hell is going on!?” I screamed at the both of them as a naked Noah embraced the fully clothed man in a jovial hug.

T
he man holding
the rifle barked a laugh.

“This isn’t fucking funny! Noah?” I demanded.

He turned, unashamed in his nakedness, and I had to consciously look away from his magnificent form. But not before I saw him in all his glory.
Jesus Christ!
My mouth turned to ash as I witnessed the biggest cock I’d ever seen.
Concentrate, Katie!

“Everything is OK,” Noah said.

“Everything is not fucking OK. You’re shot—Jesus, you’re bleeding. And you turned into a bear! I thought I’d hallucinated it the first time, but fuck me… AND YOU’RE FUCKING NAKED!”

“She’s got a bit of a mouth of her, that one,” the clothed man replied with a smile.

“You’re not helping,” Noah said quietly.

Noah placed a hand over his enormous junk, though it did little to hide it, and cautiously stepped forward.

“Katie, you’re in shock. But everything will be OK now. The man behind me is Jake. He’s the guy I was telling you about. The one who’s purchased the mountain.”

Jake raised a hand in greeting. Jesus, he was huge, too… his hand was almost the same size as a—

“Does he turn into a bear, too?” I asked angrily, though I wasn’t too sure why I was so angry. Perhaps it was the thought of losing Noah, combined with the adrenaline that no longer had an outlet and was still surging around my body; it had to go somewhere, and shouting at that moment felt like the best thing I could do.

Noah and Jake exchanged uneasy glances. “I’ll explain everything later, I promise. But let’s get you back home. Your feet must be freezing,” he said as he nodded down to my bare feet.

“What about him?” I replied and pointed to my unconscious ex-fiancé.

“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him,” Jake said. And I couldn’t help but believe him. “You need patching up, too, Noah… those bullets won’t come out by themselves.”

“Well, I have a perfectly good doctor here who can sort me out. Don’t I?” Noah said with a wink.

“Fine,” I muttered, “but you better starting giving me answers…”