Fern was his potential mate.
And for some fucking reason, she smelled like Able.
His bear hadhatedthat, rearing up inside Fitz and forcing him to step away from her. Even now, the beast in his chest grunted in protest and scratched his ribs.
Why’d she smell like Adam?
Exhaling a cloud that hazed up his living room, Elliott tossed his head back and stared at the ceiling. He should’ve hooked up with that raccoon shifter at the Stonecrop Cove Art Exhibition back in June.Shewasn’t a potential mate, just a normal potential hookup. Those were the safest situations because they could have sex without risk of starting a mate bond. She’d been cute and interested, but he’d been worn out from socializing at his booth all day and hadn’t had it in him. He should’ve rallied.
Now look at him, going feral for Fern? He’d definitely waited too long to meet someone new, and he was in such a pickle. While she was gorgeous and smelled fucking fantastic, it wasnevera good idea to hook up with someone from town. Beckett Falls was too small. And he didn’t want a mate regardless, so he’d have to stay far away from that woman.
That beautiful woman… with her shiny brown hair, bright blue eyes, and that smattering of freckles across her nose. Positive or negative, it didn't matter, she'd captured his attention immediately, even through phone screens, even with her incessant chatter. And now she was here—the only human in town—all because she was friends with the alpha she didn’t know was an alpha.
God, this was going to be annoying. They couldn’t even have a rational conversation and come up with a plan to ignore the potential bond. He’d just have to do it himself.
Elliott’s bear rumbled and his stomach gave an encore. Familiar pressure built in his chest as his beast made his desires known, using Fitz’s ribcage like a tree trunk to scratch his back, rubbing up and down, side to side, incessantly.
“Oh my god,fine, let’s go fishing.” That always helped him relax, plus he hadn’t decided what to make for dinner. Two birds.
Elliott swung through the kitchen to the back porch where he stripped and piled his clothes on the daybed. It was easier that way. Hecouldshift while dressed if he wanted, but when he changed back to human form, his clothes would pop up nearby. Never on, just nearby. And he had a habit of shifting in the water, especially when it was warm out. The Potter’s Branch of the Wrentham River had claimed several pairs of his pants. Sometimes they made it all the way out to the main flow before he tracked them down.
On the back lawn, Elliott gave over to his beast and stepped into the figurative back seat of his brain as his body contorted, morphing from man to grizzly. Stretching in animal form, his bear swung his big head from side to side and lumbered over to a tree, rising up for a real back scratch.
No small creature, his grizzly stood about four feet at the shoulder, a solid eight on his hind legs. Far larger than his black bear father, somewhat larger than his mother, and the same size as his grizzly best friend, Adam Ableman, it was a wonder no tourists had ever caught on to the invasive brown bears in their part of the state.
In a frantic mood, Fitz’s beast ignored his request to head to the river and instead looped around front to sniff the driveway where Fern had been some twenty minutes before.
“Come on, dude. We’re hungry. Let’s go see what we can catch.”
His bear rumbled and scratched at the gravel.
“Fishing. I know you want to.”
With a huff, the beast turned to head down the slope to the water.
The situation with Fern was going to be fine. Elliott wouldn’t say or do anything; he’d wait it out, and the potential bond would fade. It usually took a month if a bond was ignored. He could manage that. It wasn’t like she had any idea what was going on, and as long as he didn’t tell his friends, the secret would remain his alone.
Shifters could find a potential mate in anyone, regardless of their magical status. But his people mainly kept to themselves, and mating with a human wasn’t all that common. However, the magic wanted what it wanted, and her sweet, enchanting scent, like fresh berries and a garden picnic, put a damper on his never-changing plans. He was screwed for the next thirty days, minimum.
He hoped it wouldn’t take longer than a month. His damn bear had gone from napping to feral at first sniff, and Elliott nearly lost control of his shift. That hadn’t happened since he was a teen. It must’ve been the combination of his and Fern’s potential mate status mixed with Able’s scent on her. Adam was working at the gatehouse and probably saw her when she got to town. It was nothing, Elliott wassureit was nothing.
After a final longing glance over his shoulder at the empty road, he was able to coax his bear into the river and upstream, where the fishing was best. There were no guests over at the Lodge this time of year anyway. Even if Able had been around, he wouldn’t think twice about seeing Fitz out for a romp at dusk. In fact, he’d probably join… and give Elliott a chance to ask what the fuck was going on.
No, it was really no big deal. He bobbed his non-existent human head and focused on the water through his bear’s eyes.
What would Fern do if she saw him? Had Liv warned her of the wild animals in town? She obviously didn’t know about shifting;veryfew humans did. Exhaling within his bear, Elliott wished he could pace to burn off some stress. He gave it a month, tops, for Fern to stay clueless about the true nature of everyone around her in Beckett Falls.
His grizzly spotted movement and swiped his paw with a splash. The catch was a success, and the first trout went right down his throat.
“I wanted to cook that, dude,”Elliott grumbled.
His grizzly captured the second fish with a particularly fine pounce, then caught a faint whiff of berries and jasmine in the air. Spinning from where he’d been eyeing the waterfall, he stood to sniff the breeze coming down from town.
The fruit could have been wild raspberries and early blackberries, and the jasmine could have been from someone’s garden, but the combination?The undertones of vanilla? It was Fern. Probably walking from her car to her apartment, hauling boxes. He should’ve gone to help. Would that have been weird? Too pushy?
Pointless. It would’ve been pointless. And she was annoying, anyway. The alphas would be there. He doubted she was working alone.
“Back to business, I’m hungry,”Elliott coaxed his bear to action, and the animal begrudged him three trout, carrying them to shore in his teeth.
