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16

Goldie

A s soon as I awoke, I knew I was alone. I also knew the storm had settled.

There was this calmness in the air, this stillness that only happened after the skies opened up and poured down all their frustration and misery.

I pushed myself up on the furs, the buttery-soft cloth that covered my chest pooling at my waist. I was sore in all my intimate places, felt sticky between my thighs and on my breasts. And looking down at my body, I could see why. So much dried cum painted me in the most erotic, obscene way.

And it turned me on.

I also made out claw marks on my legs and waist, not ones that broke the skin but powerful enough to leave red welts of ownership and possession from my bears.

My bears.

Why did that sound so perfect?

There were bruises on my inner thighs, and the memory of how I got them, how they’d held me open as they claimed me, played through my mind in startling clarity.

I could feel the tingling warmth of bite marks on my neck. And despite the discomfort I felt from those possessive marks, I’d never felt as content, sated, or pleased in my entire existence.

I grabbed the blanket and pulled it up, covering my breasts as I looked around the large room. The furs were a disarray all around me, and when I smoothed my fingers over the soft material on either side of me, the cotton was cold, as if the brothers hadn’t been sleeping beside me for quite some time.

I was out of bed and had my gown back on moments later, the room warm from the fire that was still slowly burning in the hearth across from the bed. Yet, I shivered. This feeling of being alone was something that wasn’t unusual for me, but right now, it felt very much as if I’d never experienced it before.

It was as if this taste of being consumed, of being the center of someone’s entire world, had twisted me all up inside. I didn’t know if I liked the feeling that these brothers ignited in me, as if a sleeping creature had been lying dormant all this time, waiting for that first ember to take life.

And Bear, Bruin, and Ursid were the start of that fire in me.

I walked out of the room but knew I was utterly alone in the cottage. I even went into the cavern, expecting the bears to be there, wondering if this was another game of the cat hunting down the mouse.

A wave of arousal filled me at the thought.

I left the empty cave and went back into the cottage.

There was a fire going in the hearth in the living room, and in the kitchen, there were a few freshly caught fish slung over the basin. A bowl of fresh berries sat beside some nuts and edible flowers on the table.

I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered, standing there for long moments, wondering what exactly my next move was going to be.

I could stay. Or I could go. Right now. The bears weren’t here. They couldn’t stop me. The storm had ended, and although I didn’t know exactly where I was, I knew enough of the surrounding forest that I was fairly certain I could find my way back home.

Home.

Why did that word seem so strange when I thought about the only place I’d ever known, the only place I’d ever felt safe and comfortable?

My heart was thundering as I made my way to the front door. I saw my shoes on the floor to my left. I slipped them on and tied the laces, grabbed a thick shawl that hung over the back of the chair to the side, and opened the door.

A cool breeze blew around me, and I wrapped the shawl around my chest and braced for another gust. The sun shone; the sound of water dripping off the trees, and birds singing played a symphony all around.

The earth was drenched from the storm, and the scent of fresh rain filled the air as I inhaled deeply.

Taking a step outside, I scanned the surroundings but didn’t see the bears or any sign that they were close. I listened and waited, and when all I heard was the sound of the forest waking up for a new day, I walked away from the cottage.

I didn’t realize where I was going until I was deep in the woods, and the farther away I went from the cottage, the more unsettling and wrong it all felt.

I stopped, closed my eyes, and inhaled, and I turned my head back. I wanted to be with the bears. I wanted to have them touching me, holding me… just looking at me.

And so I started walking back. I stopped, turned around again, and then told myself I had to get back to my cottage, to my animals, and to all my things. I had to figure this out without the desire and heat the bear brothers conjured in me.

I’d walked for a while, when suddenly the birds above stopped singing and flew away, squawking as if something startled them.

I stilled, looking above and watching the mass of black birds disappear before this hard silence settled all around me. The back of my neck tingled, the hairs on my arms stood on end.

I knew I wasn’t alone.

Closing my eyes and breathing out, I realized at that moment the bears were close, that they watched me—probably had been this entire time—and it made me feel a soul-settling pleasure deep in my bones.

“You’re here,” I whispered more to myself than to them. The sound of twigs cracking was close, and a second later, I felt their heat surround me.

“You think we’d let you venture off without protecting you?” Bear’s voice was right behind me, his warm breath stirring my hair.

“You think we don’t know where you are at all times?” Ursid prompted and ran his snout over the side of my neck.

I still had my eyes closed as goose bumps covered my limbs.

“We knew you’d want to go. We hoped it would be sooner rather than later.”

I opened my eyes when Bruin spoke and tipped my head back to look at him.

“Why?” I whispered.

He leaned in and moved his tongue over my lips, kissing me in the way his kind could.

“Because the sooner you realize you’re ours and that your place is with us, the sooner we can truly start our lives together, sweet Goldie.” Bruin held out his paw, and I immediately slipped my hand into his offering.

A large fur was draped over my shoulders, warming me instantly.

We said nothing as I was led forward, my hand in Bruin’s paw the entire time, Bear to my other side, and Ursid behind me.

They kept me sheltered, always protecting me.

We walked for so long that I was about to ask where we were going, when I suddenly recognized my surroundings.

They were taking me home… or to the home I thought was where I wanted to belong.

“W-Wait,” I said, and pulled myself to a stop. They came to stand in front of me, their eyes always glowing golden as they watched me. “What’s going on?” I didn’t know why I felt this panic settle within me at the thought they’d led me back here.

Did they not want me?

“Our sweet girl,” Ursid growled and came closer, cupping my cheeks in his oversized paws. “You were coming here for a reason.”

I couldn’t catch my breath as we stopped at the clearing, the same one I’d seen them in so long ago when they led me here and watched me from afar.

I could hear the animals making noises up ahead and smelled the freshness of the storm still lingering in the air. When I opened my eyes, I stared at the only place I’d known for so long. It was all so familiar, yet right now, it felt… strange.

I saw Lorna step out of the cottage, her shawl slung over her shoulders, her satchel in her hand as if she’d been waiting for me to arrive so she could leave.

She eyed the bears, and shockingly, there was no fear or surprise from her, then she settled her gaze on me. And when she gave me the tiniest smile and a nod, I exhaled a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding in.

“You finally realized what you were missing,” she murmured, turning to cluck at the chickens. Then she started humming as she walked away, presumably to her cottage.

The bears crowded around me, each one placing a paw on me as if they needed the contact as much as I did.

“I don’t understand,” I murmured as I stared at her until she disappeared.

“Yes, you do,” they growled in unison. “You’ve known there was something else in this world you were meant for.” Bruin dragged his tongue along my mouth repeatedly until I relaxed.

“You’ve felt us watching you… reveled in it, sweet Goldie,” Bear rumbled in pleasure.

“You were meant for us, and we were meant for you.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head, but I wasn’t denying what they said. “I feel that way. God help me… I feel that way too.”

They embraced me, and I felt like there was nothing else in this world that would ever feel this good.

It made no sense. It confused me, frightened me a little, but the overwhelming need to explore what this all meant was stronger than anything that could hold me back.

“Take me home… all three of you.” I pulled back and made eye contact with each one, letting my bears know I meant this. That I wanted it.

And that’s exactly what they did.