Bearly Hanging On: Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska Book 3 Read online

  Bearly Hanging On

  Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska Book 3

  Krystal Shannan

  Praise for Krystal Shannan

  "Wonderfully imaginative. Vampires have never been so sexy or dangerous."

  Liliana Hart, NYT Bestselling Author

  Highly recommended Krystal Shannan for anyone who loves a good story, some romance, hot sex and a action all around.

  Reviewer

  "Of Spells and Shadows is just what I need in a fantasy saga--alpha wolves, a steely heroine, and a plot that makes you turn the page faster and faster."

  Carrie Ann Ryan, NYT Bestselling Author of the Talon Pack Series

  “Hot sexy sassy women hot sexy alpha strong men!”

  Reviewer

  "Krystal Shannan and Camryn Rhys cast a wicked spell! Of Spells and Shadows is a refreshingly, richly imagined, captivating paranormal romance. With a novice witch heroine and a pair of werewolf half-brothers vowed to protect her--one lowborn, the other royal and a captain of the magick Court's guard--this book held me enthralled."

  Lara Adrian, NYT Bestselling author of the Midnight Breed series

  "Shannan weaves a sexy, action-packed tale sure to keep you turning the pages late into the night."

  Liliana Hart, NYT Bestselling Author

  "Rough and tough Texan cowboys meet stuffy court deceit and politics in Of Spells and Shadows. The Court of Draiochta series promises an entirely new set of possibilities and conflicts. I'm not sure where the authors plan to go next with this series but I'm definitely on board for the ride."

  Xtreme-Delusions Blog Reviews

  Acknowledgments

  Owen’s book is here! This book was a labor of love and determination. I think I started writing Owen and Tara’s story at least three times before they both finally settled on what was supposed to happen. Owen is a complicated man and I needed to tell his story the right way. He deserved it. They both did. And I’m so happy with the outcome. I think you will be too. My editors tell me it’s their favorite one of the series.

  * * *

  They are strong characters that will tug at your heart strings and I know you guys are going to love the addition they make to the Mystery Tribe. New characters are going to be introduced in this book. It’s about to get real and I hope you’re ready for the rollercoaster ride about to happen right now.

  * * *

  Thank you hubby for letting me spend so many hours in front of a laptop and always telling me to go after my dreams. Well, that and to ‘take over the world’. LOL. I love you so much.

  * * *

  Thank you Becca for being the best writing partner and friend a girl could ask for. You are my person. I couldn’t have figured out this book without your help.

  * * *

  Huge thanks to my team! Thank you to my alpha reader Shelane! You rock, girl! Thank to you Corrie and Tammy for your help on this project. You ladies are the best.

  * * *

  And my readers, the biggest thanks to you. Without your support I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t be able to write. Thank you for being Team Krystal Shannan.

  Hugs,

  Krystal

  Bearly Hanging On

  The best type of romance is the one that’s forbidden.

  Owen’s become an outcast for losing his Tribe… and that label is enough to prevent him from claiming his mate under pain of death. Tara won’t understand that he’s a bear, anyway. She’ll be scared. She’ll run away. So he keeps his distance...for now...

  But Tara’s being hunted by a group of guys who act more like a pack-- because they are. Wolf shifters are nothing to joke about, and once they attack Owen can’t stay away any longer.

  Owen is large. Untamed. And damn, he’s good in bed. The connection they have is deep and undeniable, the lust they have for each other something primal.

  Yet the wolves are still lurking-- they’re out for revenge, and they won’t stop until they have Tara. If Owen wants Tara as his mate, he’ll have to fight to the death to keep her.

  A sexy adventure that’s got thrills (and wild romps!) around every corner, Bearly Hanging On is the third book in the scintillating Soulmate Shifters in Mystery, Alaska series. If you like paranormal romance featuring protective bear shifters who love pleasuring and defending their women, then what are you waiting for?

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Afterword

  About the Author

  1

  “I would not wish any companion in the world but you” –William Shakespeare

  May in Mystery, Alaska…

  “I smell you, reptile,” Owen Di’Brahth growled, sinking his ax into another log and splitting it cleanly in half. A gust of icy wind kicked up loose snow and sent it swirling past his face, filling the air with the scent of fir trees and dragon—a unique combination of sweet and sharp nature mixed with smoke and sulfur. “Might as well come out and speak your piece.”

  Col stepped from behind the thicket of evergreen and lasered his gaze. “I told you to stay away from her, aonkan.” His voice cut through the crisp morning air like a sharp claw through hide, slicing exactly where he wanted it too—Owen’s soul.

  Owen’s blood heated and his stomach churned. He hated that word. Aonkan. Outcast. He grimaced and held back the angry retort hanging on the edge of his tongue like a blade ready to drop. Col didn’t have to call him that word. But Owen didn’t have to call Col a reptile either.

  Turnabout was fair play.

  Owen pushed the two split pieces of wood off the stump and placed a fresh log in its place. Of course, Col was here to warn him away from Tara. Again. Why else would a royal from the House of Li’Vhram deign him with his presence?

  No one would’ve guessed the man standing no more than ten feet away could shift into a dragon bigger than a Mack truck and trailer, but he could. Col Li’Vhram was big in human form too. As tall as Owen. Just as broad. And those fiery eyes of Col’s when the magick surfaced were scary as fuck. No one survived dragon fire. Not that Owen wasn’t willing to go down in a blaze of glory, if that’s what it took to keep Tara safe.

  He would.

  “I haven’t spoken with her. I haven’t touched her.” He swung the ax and the crack of the wood echoed through the air hanging between them like the warning break of lightning before a horrible storm.

  “Kann has seen you near the Jenkins store on numerous occasions.” The dragon male stepped closer, his boots crunching in the freshly fallen snow.

  Owen scoffed and kicked the two newly split logs off the stump and replaced them with yet another log. Damned fire-breather. The only thing bigger than Col’s over-inflated ego was the actual size of his damned dragon.

  Why did a dragon have to make it through the portal?

  The Li’Vhrams had ruled the N’ra Lowlands in Reylea for centuries. Hell, dragons ruled the entire world of Reylea alongside the Magick-Benders. And now they would rule again here.

  “She is mine,” he growled. He would never leave Tara. Even
if he had to watch her grow old and marry and bear another’s young. He would never be able to leave his shuarra—his mate.

  “You are forbidden.” The rumble of Col’s voice shook the air. The man’s dark brown eyes danced with the flames within. “You know what I will do if you break our laws. Your punishment for failing your tribe is a life lived alone. No mate. No children. You are fortunate I allow your sister to remain with you.”

  Wasn’t for a lack of trying though. Col himself had invited Ava to stay with the Tribe in Mystery multiple times. As had the others.

  Ava refused.

  Every. Single. Time.

  He and Ava had been so close before… before he’d been exiled. Then after the Exodus, it’d just been them on Earth and she’d stayed with him, even though he was aonkan. He’d told her she should go make a life with the tribe, but it was like trying to convince a fish to walk on land or a bird not to use their wings. Ava was pissed on Owen’s behalf that Col was taking the opportunity not to let Owen start fresh as well.

  “Ava makes her own choices. You would never hurt a female,” Owen growled out and swung his ax again. Not like I did. Maybe he deserved to be an outcast for losing his tribe. Maybe not. But for killing a female, even though the she-wolf had attacked Ava. Owen should have pulled back. He should’ve recognized that she was female quicker. He wouldn’t have hit the she-wolf so hard. Wouldn’t have killed her.

  But he had. And it was shameful. Worse than losing his tribe to a usurper. Their entire planet had gone up in flames, and he’d killed a surviving female.

  He knew why the wolves were really circling Mystery.

  Him.

  And he would kill every last one of them to protect Tara if that’s what it took. He wouldn’t like it, but he would do it, dishonorable or not. He wouldn’t let his careless mistake cost Tara or his sister or anyone else in town.

  “It’s my fault the wolves are here and I won’t abandon Tara. Even if I can never claim her.”

  Col’s gaze softened just a fraction. Females were so special in their world. Treasured. Protected. But Owen swore he saw guilt or shame flash in the dragon’s eyes. “Many things happened during the Exodus that we all wish had not transpired. Sometimes death is inevitable.”

  The dragon wasn’t making sense, unless…No…Col couldn’t know about the she-wolf. Ava wouldn’t have told the dragon, would she? It didn’t’ matter.

  Owen just wanted peace and quiet. Or death. “If you have to kill me for protecting, Tara, then so be it. Just know I won’t go down without a fight.”

  “You will die regardless.” Col turned and walked back toward the tree line. He paused at the edge. “Crossing me, aonkan, will only speed up your demise.” The threat was a clearly drawn line in the proverbial snow.

  A moment later Owen was again alone in the clearing with only his ax and logs for company.

  He turned back to the pile of chopped firewood. Almost enough. Chopping firewood for Tara—for his shuarra—was a way he could serve her, take care of her, without making himself known. Without breaking the command Col had clearly laid out as punishable by death.

  Owen could never have Tara. Never claim her. He was unworthy of Fate’s choice. Tara was kind and good and innocent and human. He refused to drag her into his darkness. Into his shame. Into a life of running and looking over their shoulders for the judgmental hand of a dragon.

  His pocket buzzed, distracting him from his haunting thoughts.

  Owen ran his gloved hands through his long shoulder-length brown hair, pushing it out of his face. His sister was always telling him he should pull it back, but he liked it loose. It was warmer that way too. Snow and cold temperatures in this place were no joke, not that it mattered to him. His bear could survive in any climate, but his human body wasn’t fond of the violently cold weather this place offered up nine months out of the year—according to his sister’s research on something she called the internet.

  The May Alaskan sky was clear overhead today, strange after three months of almost solid snow and storms. Blue and beautiful and wide open. Owen could say the openness and view of the mountains reminded him of home—of Reyela. But it didn’t. The cold was opposite Ryelea’s warmth. The blue was opposite Reylea’s orange sky. Everything was different. And he liked it better that way.

  He pulled the black square of glass and metal from his pocket—a cell phone.

  His sister’s picture popped up on the screen and made him smile and forget about the annoyance of being interrupted.

  When the Exodus had been announced in the trading places, his sister had been secretly meeting him like they always did every few months. The rumbles from the volcanos started while they were there. The ground had split open and poured out liquid fire, blocking the way down into the valley where the tribe was living. It devoured everything and everyone in its path. He and Ava had tried all the trails out of the trading village to get back. To save their family. But everything had been blocked. The smoke and fumes from the lava choked the air.

  A decision had to be made and he’d made it, difficult as it was. He’d taken Ava and run. They were among the last to cross through the portal before the mountain below their feet began to break and crumble.

  His sister was the only speck of goodness in his world. Well, her and Tara. Just being within proximity to his shuarra settled his bear. Kept the darkness of survivors guilt at bay. Which reminded him that he still needed to make rounds of the Jenkins store today.

  Owen’s phone buzzed again. Another message popped up on the screen. He scrolled down to read the messages.

  Ava: Are you still chopping logs?

  Ava: Can you stop destroying the forest and come inside please?

  He fumbled with the screen and texted her back.

  Owen: The forest needed a trim. On my way.

  Owen pulled the ax from the stump in front of him and turned to survey the destruction. He hadn’t chopped a whole cord yet this morning, but it was close. He’d come back later and finish, then stack it up. Some would be saved to use in their fire pit in the back yard, but most he’d take to Tara’s house under the cover of darkness.

  His mate should never have to chop or haul her own wood. He kept it neatly stacked for her just outside the back door of her house. Of course, she had no idea it was him. She was always asleep when he brought it.

  Even though it was May and the snows were starting to release the land, fires at night were still a must. And for people in cabins and homes with woodstoves, which was almost everyone, firewood was a necessity year around.

  He laid the heavy ax on his broad shoulder and started up the hill to the rental property he and Ava had secured not too long after they’d come through the portal and found themselves in the town of Mystery.

  It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was safe and secure, and the rent was cheap. They were on the edge of town, next to Leif’s Gas & Go where Owen worked most days. No neighbors. Nobody to bother them. But close enough to get into the small town within minutes.

  Twenty minutes later he stomped up the wooden steps of their place. It wasn’t as grand as the tents and lush carpets and furs he’d grown up with, but it was home. Even bare, like the temporary lean-tos he’d built during his time with the outcast. It was four walls and a roof, as their landlord had so eloquently pointed out. Safety from the cold.

  The house was about four miles outside of a small town in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness. Native locals called it Tukisinangitok (Too-kee-see-nahn-gee-tock), which translated in English to Mystery.

  Mystery, Alaska.

  Owen opened the front door and stepped into the semi-warmth of the singlewide home. A fire blazed in the woodstove. A sugary scent filled the air. Something was cooking in the oven.

  “Ava?” He hung the ax on its hook on the wall by the door, pulled off his gloves and coat, and put them on the bench at the end of the entry way.

  “Took you long enough.” Her teasing voice broke the silence from the hallway to
his right.

  She gave him a smile he was familiar with. A smile that said she was planning something he wouldn’t like. Right now, he didn’t care. He just wanted to eat and head into town. His soul burned with a need to see Tara. After the wolves had broken into the Jenkins’ grocery store back in February, he’d made it his business to patrol the place every single day.

  He might not be able to claim his mate, but he wasn’t about to let those asshole wolf shifters, royal bloodlines or not, hurt her or her family. They were coming around because of him, because of what he’d done on Exodus day.

  Tara deserved peace and quiet. Her father was very sick and…it was the least he could do.

  Plus, he needed to see her.

  Not talk or touch. That would be too hard. He pacified his bear, telling him that it was better this way. Tara was human. She wouldn’t understand him being a shifter. And he was broken and angry and a worthless outcast and not good for anyone, even though his sister continued to claim otherwise.

  And then there was Col. If he tried to claim Tara. Col would end his life.

  Damned if he did. Damned if he didn’t.

  But he couldn’t protect Tara and her family if he was dead. So on he trudged, being careful not to cross the line Col had once again promised to enforce.