Apex Bear Read online

  Had he uttered that word out loud by some mistake?

  “Me?” he whispered. He could still sense his bear trying to find its way out, but Cal was no longer afraid. Dimitri was here, after all, and for the first time, he didn’t just see the Apex Alpha but the man who saved him, who gave him a second shot of life. The same man he ran away from, because he’d been foolishly afraid of the feelings he harbored for Dimitri.

  “We can’t waste any more time, Cal. Watch me. Learn.” Dimitri took off his clothes.

  Lust spiked through his entire body, rendering him still as Dimitri peeled off his shirt, revealing a warrior’s muscled and scarred body. Then the Alpha kicked off his boots, his pants, and Cal’s mouth went dry. He dragged his gaze upwards, blushing hard, but Dimitri had a wicked smile on, as if he knew what Cal was really looking at—the massive cock hanging between his legs.

  One moment, Dimitri the man stood in front of him, the next, a massive black bear. For a second, fear wormed its way into Cal, but those amber eyes were familiar. Unlike other shifters whose eye color changed, Dimitri’s eye color seemed to be same all the time. Watching the Alpha shift did help, he realized.

  He took deeps breaths, then looked at the bear inside of him.

  Equals, Cal remembered Dimitri telling him. His bear stared back at him, growling.

  We’re not enemies. We’re in this together, until death.

  Cal had no idea if the animal heard him. The pain riding his body lessened. Cal didn’t fight his first shift, letting the brown fur cover his entire body. He screamed as bones broke and organs moved, but he gritted his teeth, let it finish.

  He fell on all four paws, panting. Shifting hurt like hell, he realized, looking up at Dimitri’s monstrous bear. His own shape was smaller, but no less deadly. Cal took his first few steps, then stumbled, not used to this new shape.

  Dimitri didn’t move from his spot, but he could see the patience in the Alpha’s golden eyes. As the Apex Alpha, Dimitri must have plenty of responsibilities, but he took time for him, Cal realized. He didn’t know what he felt toward Dimitri yet, but he was no longer going to fight fate or ignore what his heart and bear were telling him.

  Refusing to give up, Cal tried to walk on all fours again and failed. It took a few tries, but he managed to walk out of that tent. Dimitri waited for him, and he was distinctively aware of other bear shifters who had stopped whatever they were doing to watch him. Them.

  In that moment, he didn’t give a crap to what they thought. Cal only saw Dimitri. More confident now, he reached the Alpha. Dimitri licked at his nose, and he swatted at him. Dimitri let out a rumble, which suspiciously sounded like a laugh. Dimitri turned his head toward the left.

  Cal followed his gaze, spotting a few more tents, buildings. On the edges of the encampment stood towering trees and more houses built on them. Dimitri ran, and he followed the Alpha, wondering if this was all real. Some of the bear shifters greeted Dimitri. Cal didn’t fail to notice the mix of curious and suspicious looks his way.

  Dimitri continued south, and he followed. Cal noticed the two armored warriors standing next to what looked like a guard outpost.

  “Alpha,” the male warrior said. The female inclined her head toward Dimitri.

  Dimitri let out a growl of what sounded like acknowledgement and passed them. Cal spotted no more houses in the trees, just the woods. Freedom. Cal sprinted faster, feeling powerful in his new body.

  No, he wasn’t running away, but without anyone watching his every move, he could do what he wanted, explore his new shape. He didn’t mind the Alpha being there at all. Maybe after they were done playing, Dimitri could give him some answers.

  Chapter Seven

  Observing his mate roll in a patch of fallen leaves, then tumble downward to a slope, Dimitri would have smiled if he were in human form. It was always a joy, watching new shifters test and explore what their animal body could do.

  Dimitri had left Duncan in charge, knowing he wanted to spend the entire day with Cal. He told his second and his enforcers not to bother him unless there was urgent business to take care of.

  He wouldn’t make the same mistake as last time. Cal fled, probably because he was confused, scared. His mate probably had questions.

  Cal flopped on the forest ground on his back, fur covered in dirt and leaves. A mess. Dimitri padded to him and gave Cal’s nose a nip. Cal looked up at him. Dimitri sensed Cal following him as he led the way forward, finally ending up at the lake.

  Dimitri waded into the water, turned back to human form to see Cal watching him from the shore. He extended Cal a hand.

  “Join me. Besides, you’re kind of dirty, don’t you think?”

  Cal let out a huff, but Dimitri could sense the fear from Cal. His mate-to-be was probably terrified he wouldn’t be able to return to human form. All new shifters harbored that same fear.

  “Don’t worry. It’s easy. Remember how you looked in human form. Keep that picture in your head and let your natural abilities to take over. Your bear knows what to do,” he said.

  Dimitri was the Alpha and Cal’s maker. If necessary, he could force the change on Cal if Cal wouldn’t be able to change, but that was a last resort. Forced changes were excruciating.

  He could feel Cal trying to shake off the bear. Cal growled, sounding frustrated.

  “No one gets it on the first try. Again.”

  Cal managed this time. Fur receded, replaced by skin, and Cal’s slender body lay on the bank, covered in sweat. Dimitri walked back to him and stood over him. Cal stared up at him, parted his mouth slightly, then closed it. Cal’s gaze moved down the length of his body, entire face turning red before he coughed and quickly looked away. Cal slowly sat up.

  Fuck. It would be so easy to take what he wanted now. Dimitri’s bear roared in approval, but the last thing he wanted to do was force himself on his mate. He settled for sitting next to Cal, their shoulders touching.

  “I didn’t know shifting hurt,” Cal grumbled.

  “The first time’s always hard,” Dimitri said.

  “I’m scared.”

  “Of changing forms again? It will get easier,” Dimitri answered.

  “Not of that but you. This.”

  Dimitri raised an eyebrow.

  “How I react to you,” Cal said. “It’s strange. We barely know each other but when I’m around you, I feel comfortable, like I’ve known you my entire life. Alpha—”

  “Dimitri.”

  Cal swallowed. “Dimitri then. Why did you do it? Cut that rope? I ran from you, but you still saved me, even Turned me so I wouldn’t die.”

  Dimitri reached out and put his fingers over Cal’s. Cal didn’t push him away, a good sign, simply let Dimitri curled them together. Cal’s smaller hand felt warm in his, put his bear at peace, something he hadn’t felt before.

  “The answer’s simple. You’re the one man I’ve been searching for my entire life. My soulmate.” He cupped Cal’s cheek, so Cal looked him in the eye. Cal leaned in close, reminding him of a needy bear cub.

  Dimitri didn’t intend to ever lose Cal again. The fear he’d felt when Cal lay in his arms was something he’d never forget. Dimitri had seen his fair share of bloody battles, found himself backed against the corner, but those situations were nothing compared to the thought of Cal slipping away from his fingers right after finding him.

  When Dimitri used his thumb to trace Cal’s bottom lip, Cal moved closer, sucked on it. Dimitri groaned—he could already imagine Cal on his knees, servicing his dick before begging him to fuck him senseless.

  Patience, he told himself.

  “I’ve lived most of my life, thinking a mate would only weigh me down. I didn’t think there was anyone alive who could stomach the kind of life I live, but deep down, I knew my bear felt incomplete. Everything changed when I saw you in Thorne Village.”

  “Is it bad that all I can think of is you kissing me?” Cal whispered.

  Dimitri smiled. That he could oblige. He lowered
his hand from Cal’s cheek, to the back of his neck. Dimitri lowered his mouth to Cal, starting with a slow kiss at first, feeling Cal out. Cal gripped his right bicep, responding with hesitant but eager delight. Dimitri plundered Cal’s mouth, all roughness and bite now. He nipped, sucked, and explored.

  The fire inside of him intensified, threatening to turn into an inferno. Dimitri’s cock grew long and thick, and he knew sooner or later, he needed to be inside Cal’s tight little ass.

  Cal opened his mouth and Dimitri thrust his tongue down his throat. Sweetness exploded on his tongue. So good. Cal tasted even better than he imagined. Dimitri ran his hand down the length of Cal’s chest, pleased Cal only moved closer, as if encouraging him to do more. Dimitri moved his fingers down Cal’s ribs, the faded scar over his stomach, finally reaching his target.

  Dimitri closed his fingers around Cal’s shaft and began working it. When he pulled away for air, Cal moaned, pupils dilated, mouth all swollen from all his attentions.

  Dimitri pressed a kiss to the side of Cal’s neck, where his bite was. He knew instantly he wanted to place his second set of marks, his mate mark just above that first bite. He licked at it, which made Cal shudder.

  “More. Please.”

  “Beg me some more.” Dimitri stopped his hand job. Cal let out a groan.

  “Please, Alpha,” Cal began. “I want.”

  “Want what?” Dimitri teased back, aware Cal eyed his prick again.

  “Your dick,” Cal murmured.

  Dimitri rose to his feet. “Show me.”

  Cal fell on his knees in front of him, and Dimitri speared his fingers through Cal’s hair, bringing the other man close, until Cal’s lips touched his cockhead. Cal flicked out his tongue, swiping the pre-cum gathered at the head of his shaft, before sneaking a look back at him.

  “Go on,” Dimitri said, smiling.

  Cal licked him from tip to base, seemingly intent on exploring every inch of him.

  “Take my balls in your hands, give them a squeeze. Yes, just like that,” he said, letting Cal hear the approval in his voice.

  Dimitri didn’t care about Cal’s past, whether Cal had lovers before him. It would be a clean slate between them. Either way, after this moment, there would be no other man in Cal’s life but him. Possessiveness flared inside of Dimitri. Any other man who so much as looked at his mate wrong, they better be prepared to face the wrath of an enraged and territorial Alpha bear.

  He tightened his grip on Cal’s hair. “Take me in your mouth.”

  Cal gagged on the first few inches of his dick but that didn’t seem to deter him. Cal hallowed out his cheeks, tried again, getting further this time. A few more times and the tip of his cock finally hit the back of Cal’s throat.

  “I’m taking over,” Dimitri ordered. “Hold your mouth open.”

  Cal did as he asked as he pushed in and out of Cal. Dimitri’s dick felt like a steel pipe between his legs, close to bursting, but he wanted to finish in Cal’s ass. He pulled his prick away as Cal licked at the pre-cum left on his bottom lip.

  “On all fours,” Dimitri commanded. He strode past Cal and pulled a couple of leaves from the tree nearby. His mate got into position without protest.

  “What’s that?” Cal asked, glancing at him from over one shoulder.

  “Natural lubricant.” Dimitri crushed the leaves, letting the liquid cover his fingers, before positioning himself behind Cal. “Tell me, Cal. Are you ready for this? Once we set on this path, there’s no turning back.”

  Chapter Eight

  “No. Yes,” Cal answered, heart racing so fast he was pretty certain Dimitri could hear it. Now that he was a shifter himself, his evolved sense of smell, sight, and hearing overwhelmed him at first, but slowly, he was getting used to the change.

  Dimitri laughed, a deep and sexy sound. “Which is it?”

  A less patient man wouldn’t even bother asking Cal that question, would just take what he wanted, yet Dimitri wasn’t that. All the rumors he heard about the Apex Alpha in the village weren’t true. Maybe Dimitri was ruthless to his enemies, but Cal had seen the way Dimitri’s clan mates addressed him with familiarity. They weren’t terrified of him.

  Cal could also be dead a thousand times over if it weren’t for Dimitri’s intervention, but he wasn’t just doing this out of gratefulness. His heart lay on the line, and damn it, he understood the implications of Dimitri’s words. If this, whatever it was between them, failed, he wouldn’t know how to recover.

  The Alpha didn’t know it yet, but he already owned Cal’s heart before his body. That scared him shitless. For the longest time, Cal had been alone. Trusting didn’t come easy to him, and yet his inner bear knew without a shred of doubt that Dimitri would never betray or hurt him.

  “Cal.” Dimitri calling his name with that commanding voice made him shudder.

  “I’m sorry,” he blurted. “Yes. I want this. I want you. I’ve never encountered anyone like you.”

  God, did that sound lame? Dimitri then reached between his legs and ran his hand up and down his cock. Cal groaned as Dimitri kept stroking him while using his other hand to spread his ass cheeks open. He felt Dimitri’s slick finger inside his hole a moment later.

  He groaned, incapable of speech as Dimitri used his fingers to spread him open and prep him for access. Needing something to hold onto, Cal gripped the grass in front of him. As Dimitri added a third finger inside his hole, he moaned, wanting something so much bigger in him.

  “What was that?” Dimitri asked. The cocky bastard sounded too amused for his liking, but it didn’t matter. His body no longer felt like it belonged to him.

  “Please.”

  “Please what?”

  “Alpha, I need your dick inside me.”

  Dimitri stopped his hand job and patted his ass. The Alpha took his digits out and replaced them with his dick. He groaned as Dimitri smeared his pre-cum all over his entrance, teasing him, not yet pushing in.

  “Dimitri!”

  Dimitri pushed in. It burned at first, given the Alpha was massive. Once Dimitri pushed his cock past the thick ring of muscles, it went easier. Dimitri sunk all the way in, until his balls brushed against Cal’s ass. He breathed in and out, marveling at how huge Dimitri’s dick felt inside him, stretching him completely.

  “Alpha.”

  “Shh. My turn to make you scream.” Dimitri gripped his hips and began pumping in and out of him. With each entry, the initial burn completely faded away, replaced by sheer ecstasy.

  Electricity started from his balls and cock and zipped to the rest of him. His muscles tightened as Dimitri pummeled in and out of him, faster and deeper. Cal soon forgot where they were.

  The view of the forest faded away from his line of sight until the only thing that mattered was their bodies joining, becoming one. His prick went from half-mast to full within moments. Cal didn’t know how long he could hold his climax back, but he didn’t want to come right away.

  Dimitri called to the wild bear inside of him, tamed it, made it submit. Yield happily. Until this moment, Cal hadn't thought much of sex, but this was something else. Intimate. Personal.

  He knew he’d surrender it all to this man, his mate. All of him without question. That word resonated so strongly with him now. Not long ago, it would have frightened him shitless that he’d hand over his control to one man, but not anymore.

  Cal arched his back as Dimitri found his sweet spot.

  “Touch yourself,” Dimitri ordered.

  He reached for his cock, began running his hand up and down his length. Dimitri kept hitting his prostate. His balls tightened, felt full, waiting to burst.

  “Dimitri, please.”

  “You want to come for me, baby?”

  “Please.” That was the only word he seemed capable of uttering at this stage.

  “Go ahead.” Dimitri plunged his prick inside him once more. That did the trick. Cal exploded, his mind hazing over, seemingly flying through the clouds. He spilled his load int
o the grass, vaguely aware of Dimitri thrusting in and out of him a few more times, before filling his ass with warmth.

  Cal collapsed on the grass, only to feel Dimitri joining him. Languidness filled his entire body. Cal could sleep right here, luxuriate in this moment. Through his half-closed lids, he saw Dimitri joining him on the ground, pulling his body close so his back rested against Dimitri’s massive chest.

  “So warm,” he uttered.

  Cal didn’t care what lay in store for them in the future, whether the other bear shifters would accept him or reject him. The only thing that mattered was Dimitri’s body, draped over his.

  Dimitri kissed the side of his neck, the side bare of any bite marks, and nipped at it. He shivered, unable to explain why that spot seemed important. It felt like Dimitri had a hard time pulling away. Maybe shifters like to bite during sex. Well. He didn’t mind. Cal already had the bite from where Dimitri bit him to Turn him. What was another?

  The Alpha pulled his mouth back, however, and tightened his hold around his waist, his hold possessive. He didn’t know how long they didn’t speak, but it didn’t bother him. Cal could fall asleep like this all the time, tucked next to Dimitri’s big body. He felt safe, untouchable.

  Dimitri surprised him by reaching out for his hand and twining his fingers with his.

  “I didn’t know sex could feel like that,” he said. Cal blushed. “I mean, I’m not usually like this. I don’t do this with a guy I just met. With you, all the rules seemed to fly out the window.”

  Dimitri kissed the back of his neck, made him shiver in anticipation. Crap. How was it possible that Cal’s prick started to get hard again? He heard shifters recovered quickly but thought that was only the shifters in Thorne Village bragging. He could also feel Dimitri’s length pressing up against the curve of his ass. He moaned, and although he was a little sore, he could definitely go another round or two.

  “The rules don’t apply to me. To us. You’re my mate, Cal. I’ve told you this before. We’re destined to be together.”