They hurried into the night and drove back to his house. They held hands and kissed, giggling on their way into the house. When they made it inside, he kicked the door closed and scooped her up into his arms. Her high heels fell to the floor and she gasped.
Their tongues danced as he charged upstairs and into the bedroom. He set her down on the bed and unzipped her dress, pulling it up over her head. She was left in her lacy white underthings as he gazed down at her with bright animalistic eyes.
He pulled out of his suit jacket and undid his tie, throwing it down on the floor before he unbuttoned his shirt and dropped out of his pants.
Donika watched Grayson strip down to his boxer briefs in front of her, her body gushing with desire. He sank to his knees, unbuckling her bra before he dove between her breasts. Kissing along her flesh, he reached her nipple and sucked. She threw her head back, gasping with pleasure. The sensation shot through her like a thunderbolt.
He slid his tongue over her chest and sucked the other into his mouth. He nibbled the delicate taut flesh.
She ran her hands over his shoulders, loving the feel of his hard muscles under her palms. He turned her over onto her hands and knees, pulling her panties down her hips and off her legs. He stroked her behind, sliding his fingers over her slit.
He teased out her desire as her moisture seeped from deep within. He sank to his knees and licked her from behind, dipping his tongue in and out of her channel as he stroked her pleasure bud.
She groaned as she sank to her elbows. He squeezed the globes of her ass, stroking her pussy with his tongue and fingers. Her desire reached a boiling point, and she burst into an incredible, screaming orgasm.
He stood up behind her and slid his hard dick up and down her slit. He popped the head of his cock into her pussy, and she groaned, her body still throbbing. He pushed inside her, sinking to the base as she gripped the bedsheets, and he gripped her hips.
“You like that?” he asked, bumping against her from behind.
“Yes!” she moaned, coming again.
He gripped her hips harder, whacking deeper and more forcefully with each thrust.
“Oh God,” she howled, her body clenching around his hard dick.
He shuddered with release, their mate bond vibrating between them. She could feel his pleasure as she knew he could feel hers. It made it exponentially more intense. She pulled the bedsheet off the mattress as hot jets of semen burst inside her, making her body throb with renewed pleasure. They collapsed together onto the bed, holding each other tight as the bedroom door creaked open.
Grayson pushed her off the bed just as a bullet sliced into the mattress. Before Donika realized what was happening, she fell to her knees, her eyes covered by her hair. A feral growl and a blinding flash of brown fur shot through the room. The grizzly slapped at the figure in the door, sending her tumbling into the hall. Donika pulled a bathrobe around her shoulders and hurried after Grayson.
“What’s happening?” she cried.
He growled as he chomped down on the shoulder of the figure below him. Someone had shot at them. She couldn't see over the massive body that clogged the hallway.
“Is that who I think it is?” Donika asked, tying the belt of the bathrobe around her waist.
Grayson just growled.
“I'll call the police,” she said, hurrying into the bedroom. She grabbed the phone from her purse and dialed 911. “We have an emergency. We need police and an ambulance immediately.”
“We have help on the way,” the operator said.
Donika ventured back into the hallway, and Grayson had moved slightly, giving her a view of Martha Howard pinned to the floor. Her gun had been knocked out of her hand and lay out of reach in the hallway. Several moments later, the police, paramedics, and men in black suits stormed into the house.
Donika gasped at the men in black, the ones who’d been following her since she’d arrived.
“Who are you?” she demanded as the Fate Valley Police arrested Martha.
“We’re federal agents, ma’am,” he said, flashing his badge. “We’ve been watching you since you came to town. We’re in the middle of a long-term investigation into Trans-Food Corporation. We saw the woman enter the house and heard the shots fired.”
Grayson shifted back into human form, and Donika threw a blanket around his shoulders as they carted Martha out of the house.
“She must be the one responsible for all of the recent deaths in town,” Donika muttered to the federal agents and Sheriff Bear. “I think she was hired by my boss.”
The federal agent nodded. A tear slid from her eye and Grayson enveloped her in a bear hug.
“If you have any additional information,” the federal agent said, giving her his card, “please contact us immediately.”
Chapter 29
After the police, paramedics and feds left, Donika and Grayson went to the kitchen to make tea. She sat with her hands cupped around the mug, looking blankly out the window onto the cold night. Grayson reached across the breakfast table and took her hand.
“I want you to change me,” she whispered. “I’m tired of being weak.”
“You aren’t weak.”
“I need to heal. I need to remember. Shifters heal faster than humans, right?”
“Yes. Much faster.”
“Then being a shifter will heal me. It will heal my mind. I’ll remember.”
“It could help. Our mate bond will be stronger. I’ll do it if you’re one hundred percent sure.”
“I am.”
“Come then,” Grayson said, standing and offering her his hand.
They went into the living room and sat together on the couch. He pulled her into his arms and she rested against his chest. Sliding her hair back, he gently kissed her neck along her pulse point. His teeth grazed her skin and goosebumps rose under the trail he left in his wake.
His teeth pressed harder against her flesh and she called out before they sank deep into her neck. She felt the changing venom slide into her blood. All at once, there was something new inside her. She couldn’t breathe, gripped in the changing bite. Finally, when she didn’t think she could take it a second longer, he let her go. She collapsed in his arms, shivering and shaking.
“Are you okay?” he asked, holding her close.
“I…I will be,” she coughed, her voice dry.
She heard the bear growling at the edge of her consciousness. Immature and childlike, right at the fringes of her mind.
“How long until I can shift?” she asked, gasping for air.
“Usually, it takes time. But the full moon helps.”
“Let’s go,” she said, struggling to her feet. “I want to change now.”
He held her up as she tripped at the door and almost fell.
“Even if you can’t shift tonight, I can feel your bear growing strong already. She’s like you. Independent and powerful.”
They walked out into the cold night air. The moon shone bright and full overhead.
He climbed out of his clothes and dropped them on the porch. “I'll go first and then you can follow me.”
She gritted her teeth as they left his front lawn and walked into the forest beyond. The moon was full and bright overhead, casting a blue glow over the bare tree limbs. As she watched Grayson shift, her mouth dropped open. It was over in an instant, and before her stood a massive grizzly, growling and panting in the cold winter air. She felt him urging her on through their bond.
She had to be stronger. She had buried her fears so deep that she couldn't even feel them anymore. Grayson nudged her hand, encouraging her to focus on her bear through their bond. She took a deep breath and exhaled, the heat puffing out in front of her.
“Okay. Here goes nothing.”
She focused on the fledgling grizzly. She was beautiful and brilliant, with light brown fur and bright amber eyes. She stepped toward it in her mind, reached out her hand, and invited the beast to come forward. The animal charged, and Donika gasped as
it jumped inside her.
Her body began to shift, growing larger, contorting and breaking apart. The pain was excruciating. She screamed, but what came out was a garbled growl. The pain stopped as quickly as it started, and she was standing on four massive paws on the forest floor.
Grayson's grizzly was beside her, nudging her with his nose. She looked up at him in shock. She was really a bear! The sounds of the forests were louder, the smells more intense, and her heart beat in her heavy chest with wild abandon. She surrendered to the feeling, her impulses leading her on.
All she wanted was to feel the forest night on her skin, to run wild and free. Grayson felt her feelings and started off before her, taunting and teasing her as he ran ahead. She charged after him, barreling through the underbrush. She caught him and nipped at his back leg. He turned and growled, increasing his speed. They raced into the night, their breaths panting out in front of them. The stars speckled the heavens and the moon glowed onto the forest, casting it in its silvery light. She could smell prey. She wanted to hunt. She wanted to sink her teeth into her first kill. Grayson felt her impulse and agreed. They would hunt the deer. They would bring it down, and she would feel strong.
They prowled through the night, seeking out the scent of the buck. It was hidden in a thicket. Sleeping. Grayson told her to circle around one side while he circled around the other. She sniffed the air, knowing the buck was in there.
Carefully, she padded through the forest as Grayson came around the other side. They would overtake the animal, not giving it a chance to escape.
The buck broke from the thicket. Grayson growled, swiping at it. He missed, and the buck bounded through the brush. Donika charged with her full force, knocking the buck off its feet. She pounced on it and bit its back. It struggled, trying to get away. Her teeth punctured an artery. Blood poured out into her mouth, lapping over her tongue. The buck spasmed and went still. She felt its life force bleeding into her. She thanked the fates and the animal for its life and blood, somehow knowing it was the right thing to do.
Grayson walked up beside her. They quietly feasted on her first kill, until there was nothing left but bones. Thrilled, her eyes flashed in the darkness as the blood dripped from her mouth. Grayson growled at her and nipped at her cheek. She nipped back, feeling the wild heat of her animal and her first kill sinking inside her. She knew she had changed. She was now a predator, a grizzly, a beast. Capable of killing and eating raw flesh under the full moon.
She reared up on her hind legs, roaring at the moon. Grayson mimicked her movements, standing up on his back legs. She felt the incredible thrill inside her. She growled and charged through the forest, gaining in elevation until she and Grayson came to the top of the hill.
She looked up at the moon, roaring at the glow as Grayson roared beside her. The woman who'd been obsessed with proving herself was gone. She knew exactly who she was now, strong and brave and capable of anything. With her mate beside her, she was free. Free of the expectations of society, free of the expectations of her family. The girl who had been teased by her classmates for being smart was no longer afraid. She was no longer above or below anything. She simply was. And she always would be herself.
The moon shone bright over her and bathed her in its glow. She tasted blood on her lips and would forever remember this moment as one of the most defining transitions of her life. More than her graduation from Harvard. More than moving to New York. More than getting her job at Shyster and Shyster. It was the first time that Donika felt fully herself, and she would never forget who had given it to her.
Chapter 30
They made it home that night, their bare bodies still covered in blood. She washed herself off in the bathroom, still full of the thrill of the kill, but despondent that she hadn’t recovered her lost memories.
“I'm going to help you remember,” Grayson said, walking into the bathroom.
“How?” she asked, wrapping herself in a bathrobe.
“We’re bonded. I can see inside you, through our connection.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes—I can’t stand this blankness inside me a second longer. I need to know,” she said skeptically.
“Let's go get comfortable.”
Wrapped in cozy bathrobes, they crawled onto the bed and sat opposite each other on their knees. Reaching out, Grayson took her hands, gazing into her eyes.
Now that Donika was a bear, she was stronger than she had been before. She could feel her body repairing and her mind healing. But the memory of what had happened in New York was still trapped deep inside.
“Close your eyes and reach out to me through our bond,” he said, holding her hands warmly in his.
She took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes. She could feel Grayson sitting in front of her, his warm, strong presence a solid support to her, no matter what the storm. She reached out to him through their connection. She felt herself like a flurry of anxiety, fevered and panicked with frustration. The bear inside him called back to her with a soft growl, calming her nerves.
“That's fine,” he said. “You're doing well. Now let me inside you.”
Donika took a deep breath and relaxed. She saw Grayson in both bear and man form, approaching her through the vast void of space. He walked into her mind as if he'd walked through a door. She greeted him, seeing both her woman and bear form. They came together, standing opposite each other in the land of her imagination. He took her hands and the bears nuzzled each other.
“Show me where you keep it hidden,” he said, the sound of his words echoing off the walls of her mind.
“I don't know where it is,” she said, shaking her head.
“Then we will look together,” he said.
They walked to a cliff's edge. The ravine below was dark and treacherous. She couldn't see into the depths.
“Maybe it's down there,” he said, pointing into the vast crag in her mind.
“I don't go in there,” she said. “That's where I keep my fears.”
“Then we must go there together,” he said.
They walked along the ravine, looking for safe passage down the cliff. They walked on and on for what felt like hours.
“We’ll never find a way down,” she said.
“We will find a way. We must be patient.”
They continued walking and the landscape began to change. Finally, Grayson saw a way down. A meandering trail led along the cliff face, down into the ravine. He pointed at it with a smile.
“There,” he said.
They continued down the trail, switching back and forth as they descended the steep decline. Finally, they made it into the dark, narrow valley between the craggy rocks. The forest was thick with shadows, and she felt a wave of fear knock her back. Her heart pounded and sweat dripped down her brow. She wanted to open her eyes and escape the dream she and Grayson shared. This was not a place she wanted to enter. She kept all her fears there.
“It's all right. I'm right here beside you.”
She felt his hand in hers, warm and reassuring. The grizzly’s warmth beside her nudged her on. She exhaled and followed him along the trail into the forest. An owl hooted, and the forest creatures cried. Insects buzzed furiously as they entered the cold forest. It was dark inside. Not even the light of the moon penetrated the canopy. Grayson pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and lit the way. They continued along the narrow, overgrown trail.
“I don't even know what we’re looking for,” she said.
“We're going to find your memories.”
“But where are they?”
As soon as she asked the question, they were confronted by a gnarled old tree in the middle of the path. Its thick arms reached out, blocking their way, and its bark was like the visage of a deformed face. She gasped and stepped back.
“What is that?”
“It's just a tree,” Grayson said.
“No, it's more than that. There's something inside it. Something I don't want to see.”
“T
his must be it,” he said, finding an axe somewhere.
Grayson began to swing the axe, hitting the tree with all his might. Blood sprang from the tree trunk as he chopped it. Donika screamed at the sight, covering her eyes. Grayson continued to chop. The axe whacked the trunk over and over. She heard Grayson breathing heavily and finally ventured to look.
He had cut a large chunk from the tree. With one final cut, the tree began to crack and fall to the side. It smacked the ground and sent a reverberation under her feet and through the forest. Blood spilled from the tree, soaking the ground. They walked forward and stared inside the hollow trunk. Inside was a box. Grayson picked up the box and handed it to her.
“You have to look inside,” he said.
“I don't want to. I don't want to know. I don't want to see.”
“You must Donika. You have to remember.”
She bit her lip, unlatched the box, and opened the lid. Inside was a piece of paper. She picked it up and read it. It was the same paper she'd read on her desk in her office the day she punched her boss.
Suddenly she knew. Trans-Food Corporation was knowingly poisoning its customers. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were eating carcinogenic ingredients. And the corporation never cared that it had caused so many deaths. They'd covered it up and had never informed the public. And they’d continued using the same cheap, poisonous ingredients. Her boss had wanted her to continue to defend them, to get them off so that they could continue their treacherous practices.
Donika dropped the box and stepped back, her heart pounding.
“I remember. They’re killing people. They’re killing people with their terrible ingredients, giving them cancer. Poisoning them slowly until there's nothing left. And no cared until me. I know what they're doing. I can stop them!”
Suddenly she snapped out of the dream.
“I remember everything! I remember exactly what those files said. I know why my boss is trying to have me killed. He doesn’t want me to reveal what Trans-Food Corporation is doing. It’s a billion-dollar company and worth millions for the firm and for him.”