29

Cedric was careful as he climbed out of the bed, fighting against all of his instincts to remain. She was ovulating, or at least, on the verge of it. Her body was starting to release all of the hormones that made a bear like him crazy, and with the added scent of her desire for him, he was nearly overpowered by it. Only the sight of her tears, the underlying scent of her fear, and the memory of her jerking away and snapping at him helped him maintain his composure. Something had happened, before he woke up, that made her first instinct to his touch be to pull away.

He didn"t know what it was, and he wasn"t certain she knew either, but until they had reached the bottom of it, he couldn"t touch her again. When he fucked her next, it would be with love and tenderness and promises they both intended to keep. He wanted her, for always. She belonged with him, safe in his cabin and in his arms, and until the moment he woke up and she pulled away, he thought she knew that. He loved her, there was no denying that, and after the past few days, he had been certain she loved him in return.

Now, he wasn"t so sure of that. Wasn"t so sure of anything at all.

He needed to run, to feel the wind in his fur, to have the snow underneath his paws, and he needed to get her scent out of his system, before he lost all control.

It was still dark outside, and icy cold, but that didn"t stop Cedric from opening the door and heading outside, intent on going for a long run. He wouldn"t be able to go far, as his need to protect what was his was too strong, but he would run laps if need be, just to burn the extra energy bubbling in his skin. The shift to his bear form was hard, for some reason, and he shook himself a few times, trying to work the aches from his system.

Fuck, he knew the reason, even if it didn"t change what he had to do. He didn"t want to be a bear. He wanted to be human, in bed, with her. He wanted to have her in his arms, or under him.

And because his mind was in anguish at the idea of leaving her side, his body was fighting back as well.

Good. Maybe a little pain would keep him from seeking the pleasure he knew he could only find between her supple thighs.

No, fuck, he needed to not think about her thighs, or her breasts, or her ass, or the fact that she smelled so good he wanted to drown in her.

Something had upset and scared her, to the point that she had clung to him, begging him not to leave. Whatever it was, they had to get to the bottom of it, before he touched her and put a cub in her belly. There was a chance, of course, that this first time wouldn"t take, but he wouldn"t spend the next two weeks with her regretting having sex with him while waiting for them to find out if she was pregnant. If they couldn"t come to an understanding now, perhaps the next few weeks wait until she ovulated again would help with whatever had her so upset.

Time and patience, Owen had warned him. Cedric had never imagined they would be so hard.

The wind felt good as it ruffled his fur, cooling him down as he charged forward with all of his strength. Being around Bethany kept his blood pumping always, but the scent of her body ripening for his seed had him waking up on fire. It made him quick to love and lust, but also quick to anger, and she seemed to have the same reaction. How much of that was Bethany herself versus being his influence, he was unsure, but the two of them in a cabin together when they couldn"t fuck would only lead to fighting.

When she woke up, he would be cooled down, able to keep his senses about him. If he was lucky, she would even agree to have the conversation outside, where layers of clothing and the open air would help him to avoid falling to his lust and desire for her.

And once they had settled whatever the problem was, he would gladly unwrap her like the present she was.

Fuck, how long had he been running? Too long, because the scent of her delicious sex had faded from his nose, although he had no idea how much time had actually passed. She was in his house, alone, ripe and fertile, and his protective need demanded he return to her immediately. The last stretch of field towards his house made his heart pound so hard, he thought it might burst, but the sight and scent of another bear standing outside the front door made him stop.

Gareth. His twin.

Why was he in front of the house? Bethany was inside, alone, sleeping, and meant for him alone.

He would rip his brother to shreds! He would—

Gareth shifted to human form before Cedric could cross the remaining distance, and raised both hands in a defensive measure as Cedric continued charging. At the last moment, Cedric shifted into his human form, and swung his fist to hit his twin, more on instinct than intelligence, only to nearly stumble as his twin dodged out of the way.

"Woah, shit. If I had realized you were that protective of her, I wouldn"t have been so close. Thought it was odd I only heard one heartbeat in there. Fuck, what is wrong with you? Next time you go for a run, take me with you. Getting stir-crazy being inside."

Gareth was talking too fast for Cedric to keep up, but trying to process his brother"s words helped him to calm his racing heart, and think about what he had just done. The desire to attack his twin brother and best friend was something completely foreign to him. Gareth would never be a rival, for territory or for a female"s attention, and yet Cedric had charged at his brother with no hesitation, intent on striking.

Fuck, what was she doing to him, and how had he lost control?

"What are you doing out here?" Cedric asked, positioning himself in front of the door. It was instinct once again, and he was unable to stop himself, needing to protect Bethany against any who might harm or take her.

Yes, even Gareth.

"Was walking by earlier on my way home and heard the pair of you carrying on fighting. Figured it was foreplay or something, but then I heard you leaving and thought it was strange. Wanted to come by and make sure she was alive."

The fuck was that supposed to—

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" Cedric snapped, ready to swing again. "I wouldn"t hurt her!"

"I mean, the way she was carrying on crying earlier, you must"ve done something to make her cry," Gareth teased, too stupid for his own good. "Never see you anymore, but wanted to make sure you weren"t keeping her hostage or some shit."

"She"s not a hostage," Cedric roared, his fists clenched on either side. "I fucking love her."

"Yeah, sure, but does she love you?" Gareth prodded, clearly intent on stoking an angry bear.

He was going to get what was coming for him if he kept it up.

"Of course she does," Cedric snapped, even though he didn"t know that for certain. She had never said the words, although he hadn"t either, but she had also lashed out at him earlier and jerked away.

"Sounds like you"re not too sure about that," Gareth teased, shaking his head a little. "Think I should go in there and show her she has other options."

Cedric was in his bear form before Gareth had even finished talking, and roared, warning his brother to shift as well. The damage Cedric could do to Gareth while he was still human was substantial, and while he was determined to protect both his territory and Bethany, he wanted to give his brother a warning worth remembering, not permanently maim him.

Bethany would be the mother of his child, and if he was lucky, the woman he spent the rest of his life with. Brother or no, Cedric wouldn"t allow Gareth to make a mockery of their relationship any longer.

Gareth took the warning for what it was, and shifted as well, dropping to all fours as Cedric lunged forward, swiping a forepaw at his brother, intent on knocking him down. It had been years since they had fought, and never with their teeth and claws as sharp as they were, but Cedric wasn"t going to hold back when he knew Gareth had been in his share of fights while roaming.

Gareth roared as Cedric"s claws connected, and swiped as well before lunging forward, teeth barred. He rose up onto his back paws, and Cedric did the same, swinging with his paw. It connected with his brother"s head, and he pushed his brother backwards, trying to knock him to a lower level. Whoever managed to stay upright longer would have the upper claw, and be able to bite down first.

Back and forth they went, swinging and roaring, until Cedric managed to connect with his brother"s snout and knock it to the side. He made his move, teeth sinking into his brother"s shoulder, and Gareth jerked away, trying to pull him off with his paws, but already he was going down, allowing Cedric to move and take another bite. He bit down, tasting his brother"s blood, but Gareth swung his head and bit down on his foreleg, the pain strong enough to almost jolt Cedric out of his rage.

Almost, but not enough.

They both snarled as they stayed locked onto one another, with Cedric swinging his other foreleg over his brother"s back, intent on taking him to the ground completely. They struggled, both swinging their heads, and Gareth let go, only to reattach higher up on Cedric"s shoulder, his teeth sinking in and making Cedric roar in pain.

No more playing nice. He was taking his brother down.

The struggle continued, neither willing to give up, but Cedric had more to lose, and he wouldn"t lose her, no matter the cost. They both bit and swung at one another, until Cedric connected with Gareth"s neck, and his twin went down. Cedric was on him an instant, pinning his brother to the ground and biting down harder, not allowing his brother up. The taste of the other bear"s blood was driving him into a frenzy, and he shifted his body weight to keep him pinned, when a sound behind him startled both bears, making them both let go of their bites, and Cedric tumble over his brother to turn and face the intruder.

Bethany was standing on the porch, wrapped in only a blanket, with her eyes wide and her mouth open.

"Stop it! Stop it, the pair of you! Oh my God, Cedric, are you—You"re both bleeding, and I can"t tell you apart! Shift back, now! Oh my God, the blood in the snow, why are you—"

Cedric shifted into his human form a half second before his brother did, but he didn"t look away from Bethany, not even to look at his own wounds. His shoulders and arms were aching, there was blood in his beard and under his nails, and he felt like he had been hit by a truck, but looking away from her would hurt far worse.

"Fuck this," Gareth snarled, now standing in between them after pushing himself up out of the snow. "You"ve been locked up in your cabin for weeks with her, which fine, fuck, I get it, you"re sowing your oats or whatever it is, but I"m only here because of you. No point in fucking staying if you"re going to forget your own flesh and fucking blood."

Cedric finally looked away from Bethany to look at his twin, feeling himself ripped in two. Gareth was bleeding from multiple places on his upper body, and even though Cedric knew he would heal quickly, the knowledge that he had done that to his own brother made his pain amplify.

To strike at and fight with his own brother, to the point of pushing him away entirely? Fuck. He knew Gareth wasn"t really a threat to Bethany, but—

"Fuck, Gareth, I didn"t mean to—"

"Yes, you did. You made it clear this territory isn"t big enough for both you and me when you"ve got something you want to protect. I fucking get it, but I"m not staying. I"ll come back after Spring to get my shit."

"I"m sorry, man," Cedric insisted, walking towards his brother and reaching out. "I wasn"t thinking. If you knew what was going on, then—"

Gareth jerked away, much like Bethany had a few hours earlier. The reaction hurt just as much as it had the first time. "I don"t need to know what"s going on in your den to know I"m not welcome in it."

"Please don"t go," Bethany begged from the porch. "I don"t know what"s going on, but you"re right. We"ve been locked up in the cabin and I"m sorry. That isn"t fair to you. I interrupted your lives, and—"

"Don"t make apologies for him," Gareth snapped.

"Don"t you fucking yell at her," Cedric warned his twin, his teeth once again barred before he could stop himself.

"Stop it, put those away," Bethany begged, still on the porch. It was a good thing, because if she approached right then, Cedric wouldn"t have been able to stop himself from swinging at his brother again, no matter what she said. "This is my fault. I"m apologizing for me."

"No, the problem is him," Gareth snarled, looking back at Cedric once again. "Makes everyone around him mad, then lashes out at them in response."

"Then stay!" Bethany insisted, pulling Cedric"s attention back to her. "Let"s talk this out. We can get you both cleaned up and talk about—"

"No!" Cedric roared, not wanting Gareth close to Bethany when she was ready to be bred. No bear would be able to resist her scent, even his brother. "Don"t go fucking near her. And you, get back in the house!"

Bethany"s face immediately showed her reactions, her face falling and showing that his order had devastated her. Didn"t she know he was just trying to protect her?

"I"m sorry," she gasped, shaking her head at them both. "I"m so sorry, for all of this."

Cedric didn"t have to snap at her again, as she turned and headed back inside, slamming the door behind her, leaving just him and his still bleeding twin. Good. She was safe in the cabin with walls between her and his rival... no, his twin.

Fuck. His twin. He had attacked his twin.

He turned to look at Gareth again, trying to form an apology, only to see Gareth shift back into bear form and head off, limping slightly. The urge to follow him was there, but another glance towards the closed front door had him torn. He wanted to go after his brother, to stop him from leaving and make amends, but he had to go to Bethany, to fix all of the problems he had caused, and beg her forgiveness.

"Come back before Spring, please," Cedric called out after the other bear. "Please, fuck man, please forgive me."

He headed towards the front door, knowing there was a good chance Gareth never would. It was killing him to let his brother go, but he had to talk to Bethany. Had to make things right.

Somehow.