Page 1 of Beast Bear

Chapter

One

Grizzly shifter Theo Keenangrabbed his duffel bag and headed to the hallway of his parents’ two-story house. Family photos lined the walls leading downstairs. He paused at one snapshot of himself at nineteen, proudly wearing a harness from his first mountain-climbing course. That was seventeen years ago. Before he’d spent more than a decade cooking in some of the top restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. Long before the catastrophic events that finally drove him back home.

He rubbed a faint scar along his forearm, the spot where a bullet had grazed him during a bank robbery in Portland. He still saw the terrified face of the little girl, held at gunpoint by desperate criminals, and remembered how his grizzly had burst out in a frenzy to protect her. That feral urge was still like a curse under his skin, ready to erupt if he ever lost focus.

The city had been good for Theo, until it wasn’t. He’d soared to culinary stardom, piling up awards and money. After the bank standoff, local headlines hailed him a hero, but over the following months, he’d started to lose control of his inner beast. He started half-shifting at parties, snapping at his staff, ragingat the slightest injustice he witnessed on the street. All the while, he was haunted by nightmares of that little girl’s terrified eyes.

He passed through the living room, guided by the scent of coffee and breakfast. In the kitchen, Shane Keenan flipped sausage in a pan while simultaneously stirring batter in a bowl.

“You look busy,” Theo said to his dad. “Need help?”

Shane looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Didn’t I teach you all your cooking skills, kid?”

Theo managed a small laugh. “I picked up some new tricks in Portland, but nobody does breakfast like you.”

Theo had been crashing in his parents’ guest room for the last month, hoping he could somehow suppress his unhinged bear in these familiar mountains. Theo set his duffel bag on the floor and looked around the kitchen. His gaze drifted to a fridge plastered with magnets, new recipes, and photos. One snapshot showed him as a kid clinging to his mother’s hand. Lily had raised him on her own until he was five.

The photo was a reminder that his wild side had been uncontrollable as a little kid. Back then, he’d scared his kindergarten teachers and babysitters with his erratic shifts. Then Shane came back into their lives, and it hadn’t been a smooth transition. Theo still remembered the day he’d run off into the mountains, wild and confused. It had forced his parents to finally confront their own issues.

Lily sipped her coffee and then picked up a chopping knife to finish slicing strawberries for the muffin batter. “I’m glad you’re back on Fate Mountain, Theo,” she said. “We missed having both our kids around.” She offered him a warm smile. “So… any luck on mate.com?”

He shrugged. The last thing he needed was a mate to confuse his already unhinged grizzly. He still feared his beast might lash out at the slightest trigger. The night he’d lost control in a city park had nearly ruined his life. His bear had torn out of him when he’d witnessed a man following a woman in the dark. That had been enough to trigger his beast into an uncontrolled shift. He’d terrorized several groups of humans and ended up tranquilized and arrested.

A scathing newspaper article put an end to the public perception of him as a hero. He didn’t lose his job, but he couldn’t stand the look of fear in the eyes of his staff or the people who recognized him on the street. He had to change everything after that. His new job at the Fate Mountain Wilderness Academy would be enough to focus on for the foreseeable future. He couldn’t have a mate getting in the way of his recovery.

Shane took the strawberries from Lily. He folded them into the batter, poured the mixture into a muffin tin, and slid it into the oven. Shane then turned his attention back to the sausages sizzling on the stove. “If you really want to help,” he teased, “you can set the table.”

After the table was set and the food was plated, the three of them settled in for breakfast. As they ate, Theo’s mind drifted back to a time when his young inner bear believed living wild was better than living by rules he didn’t understand. Even after his father had promised he’d always be there for him, Theo had fought the wild stirring within him. He’d struggled with controlling his inner bear through his childhood. But in his teens, he’d been able to finally master his shifts. He hadn’t had a problem with this inner beast until the event in the bank.

“So,” Lily said, tidying the plates. “You’re sure you’re happy leaving all your culinary fame and fancy apartment in the city?” The timer chimed, and Lily took the muffins out of the oven.

“I learned a lot in Portland, but it was time to come home. The job at the Fate Mountain Wilderness Academy seems perfect. I’ll have my own cabin in the woods, manage all food services for the academy, and help with wilderness tasks when needed.”

Lily carefully packed the warm muffins into a container and pressed it into Theo’s hands. “We made you these muffins as a housewarming gift.”

Theo took the container of muffins, giving his mom’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Thank you, Mom, Dad. Letting me stay here these last few weeks has meant the world to me. I’ll be eternally grateful for you letting me crash in your guest room.” He grabbed his duffle bag.

“Any time, son,” his dad said. His parents ushered him through the living room and out to the porch.

He gave his parents each a hug. Lily reminded him to visit soon, and Shane told him to stay grounded and trust his skills. Their confidence in him felt good.

He drove off, muffins perched on the passenger seat. The winding road led him through dense pines and rocky outcroppings. But the lush forest of his youth couldn’t banish the churning sense that his bear was beyond salvation. More than once in the last several weeks, Theo had woken up at dawn, clothes torn and memories scattered. If he couldn’t handle his impulses, how could he trust himself with anything?

Chapter

Two

Cougar shifter Serena Vaughnwalked into her motel room and closed the door behind her. She set her single suitcase on the thin carpet. The space was cramped but functional, with dull curtains and a small television on a wooden dresser. It was late afternoon, and the fading sunlight through the window reminded her that she would be starting a new job at Fate Mountain Wilderness Academy in the morning.

She dropped her keys on a table near the bed, then sank onto the edge of the mattress. The room felt still in a way that pressed on her nerves. She had spent years as a traveling paramedic, picking up contracts in different cities and never staying long. It was a lifestyle that kept her free, but tonight, she felt more restless than ever.

She pulled the academy brochure out of her bag. The front cover showed a photo of climbing ropes arranged in neat lines. The print read Paramedic Rescue Training. It was exactly the kind of hands-on, intense environment she loved.

Fate Mountain’s reputation for fated mates gnawed at her nerves, a faint echo of fairy-tale endings that once made her rollher eyes as a kid. She had seen a billboard for the famous shifter dating app mate.com on her way into town. She thought of her mother’s haunted stare. It reminded her that beasts existed in real life—and sometimes the mate bond was more like a cage.

She flipped the brochure shut and set it aside, deciding she needed something to eat. A quick search on her phone led her to Fate Mountain Diner’s online menu. She phoned in a delivery order for dinner—a double bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a strawberry shake. Twenty minutes later, she heard a knock on the door. The delivery driver handed her a drink cup and a brown paper bag that smelled like heaven.

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