Hungry For Her Bear: Magic and Mayhem Universe: Hungry Fur Love, #2

PROLOGUE

S o, what are we doing for her birthday this year? Bella asked Evie in a not so stage whisper.

It was no secret I did not like birthdays, mine especially. It was difficult to get excited for a non-event like being born. I mean, I did not have any choice in the matter.

It did not help things that my mom and dad had been so wrapped up in each other when I was a child that the moderately powerful witch and warlock had often forgotten my birthday.

Yeah, it kinda sucked.

But I was not throwing myself any pity parties these days. Not when I’d recently discovered my two besties, the gals currently plotting a surprise party despite my infinite warnings for them to leave it alone.

It was the night of our monthly ceremony to reinforce the boundary spells protecting our little town and warding off humans from entering our space. Our community was chock full of supernaturals, and Castor’s Corner did not take kindly to interlopers.

Well, not till very recently anyway, I thought with a narrow-eyed stare at my BFFs.

Their plotting was no doubt related to the fact that there were three hulking males currently grilling a crap ton of meat for us to share in a sort of midnight feast over at the firehouse. Evie and Bella were gaga for certain members of the Shifter trio and, even though they were new here, the town seemed to like them.

Turned out Jaxson was Evie’s fated mate, and he’d since taken over as sheriff of Castor’s Corner. Meanwhile, his buddies, Tweedle-Snake and Tweedle-Bear, had accepted positions as firefighters. I had to admit, they were good to look at and they sure cooked a mean steak.

I had no doubts we would head over to join the three males as soon as our bonfire winked out. Still too immature to ignore Bella’s inquiry, I sent a shower of golden rain pouring on the two conspirators’ heads.

AHH!

Donny!

I smirked as I flicked my wrist, redressing myself in a Lafayette 148 New York cashmere sweater and wide leg, silk, and linen blended pants. The designer label was one of my recent finds and favorites as they made some of the best high quality plus sized creations around.

Witches typically had super-fast metabolism, but something was different about me, Evie, and Bella. The three of us had always been curvy and voluptuous, with wide hips, full breasts, and soft bellies. We totally rocked our shit.

Evie had her own unique 1950s-60s style. She never wore what you expected of a mayor and always looked relaxed, even when under pressure. Bella was as cute as a button blonde who loved pastels and florals. As for me, I was a sucker for top of the line fabrics and quality designs. Harder to find in my size, for sure, but I managed. And when I could not manage, I magicked.

It was a gift and because I was determined to see plus sized women outfitted in gorgeous designer, it wasn’t exactly selfish. There was a whole tribe of us curvy girls in Castor’s Corner, Shifters mostly, but other supes as well. Beautiful, bountiful women, who deserved to be able to dress fashionably and not suffer due to society’s constricts of what women should look like.

Whatever. The Goddess had never zapped me for altering the size of a Prada or Gucci yet, so I’d take that as a plus. Maybe my obsession with a trendsetting style wasn’t exactly selfish.

All I knew was, for a chubby magical trio of BFFs from South Jersey, we were hot as fuck. Evie, Bella, and I made up a powerful witch trifecta, and we were actually related. Turned out, we were cousins too.

Reinforcing our magical wards that protected the periphery of our hometown required monthly maintenance, and it was usually easy peasy.

Well. Except for that one time where Evie was late, and the wards came down for a brief moment. But it was only once. We’d been extra careful ever since.

Still, something was off. The seasons were changing, and as summer ended, I was beginning to feel a little anxious. True, I never thought about my birthday, but it was more than mere leftover childhood angst.

We just wanna celebrate you, Bella wailed.

She summoned a large, fluffy, pink towel to dry her jiggly bits, and a blue one for Evie. I had to hide my grin as they sopped up the rain, I’d sent to drench them, and patted their skin dry. It was only a little chilly, so I didn’t feel that badly.

They changed into dry clothes, and I waited as patiently as I could. They were more than friends, they were my family. Had been even before Grandpa Al had let us in on the secret of his little straying ways.

Warlocks could be such fuckers. It was one reason why I did not date them.

Actually, I wasn’t really dating anyone anymore. At least, not with any regularity. But that was another problem I did not want to think about.

The three of us walked to the Castor’s Corner Firehouse where three larger than life, ridiculously handsome, and unrealistically muscular Shifters were roasting what looked like half a cow over a spit.

I was surprised to see some of the locals there. It seemed our three newcomers had been busy making themselves at home in town. That alone was troubling.

It meant they weren’t leaving. And where I expected Jaxson to stay, seeing as how he mated Evie and all, I was not so sure about the other two.

Conrad Boman was a rare python Shifter who seemed a mite obsessed with watching my friend Bella. His cool blue eyes never wandered far from her frame whenever we were near. Not that I could blame him. She was all kinds of awesome. But my clueless friend didn’t seem to notice. Still, I made a mental note to watch him. The three of us vowed long ago to always look out for each other. We’d made a witch’s honor pact and that kind of thing was not taken lightly.

The other new addition to town was Ryan McLeod. The enormous grizzly bear Shifter was hard to ignore. He was too damn big for that. Fella was at least seven feet tall and half again as wide. A veritable mountain of a man, and tempted as I might be, I did not think I was in any shape to climb him.

My heart certainly wasn’t. Frowning, I watched as Jaxson raced over to Evie, sweeping her up in an embrace that made me feel like a peeping Tom to witness.

Gulp.

I envied them for a moment, but my heart was so happy for Evie that the momentary jealousy faded as if it had never existed.

Oooh, Donny! Check out this bread, Bella enthused as she walked over to the picnic table heavily laden with food.

The baguettes were killer. Crispy crust, perfectly browned, and light as air with the right amount of density and air pockets inside. The bread was perfect.

Where’d they get it? I asked.

Me, a rumbling voice said from behind me.

I felt his warmth radiating onto me as if he were my own personal furnace, and yeah, certain parts of me wanted to melt under that slow, seductive timbre. Closing my eyes, I adopted my best bored expression and rolled my eyes before taking a dish and walking towards the other end of the table on my fabulously high-heeled boots.

I felt his eyes on me but didn’t bother turning around as I filled my plate, pointedly ignoring the bear and his heaven scented bread. I was going to regret that decision later, but I couldn’t lead him on. It would be unfair.

Being a witch and hair stylist in our supernatural town took up all my time as it was. I had no room for big, bearish boyfriends. Besides, if we fell into bed together, I had no way of knowing if he would stick around for more than the night.

Evie and Jaxson were this sure thing, but that did not mean Ryan and I would follow suit. And since he was one of Jaxson’s best friends, that would mean way too many awkward meetings.

I could not risk it.

Fucking hell, was this gonna suck.

So, whatcha think of these guys? Looks like they’re fitting in around here, Bella whispered in my ear.

Fucking fuckety fuck, Bella! You scared the fucking fuck out of me! I yelled, dropping my paper plate onto the floor and slamming my hand over my chest.

The entire gathering turned to look at me. Bella’s mouth was hanging open, and I realized I’d said more fucks in that sentence than I normally did aloud.

But what the fuck? I’d been deep in thought and my blonde bestie had truly scared me half to death.

Ooh, I think that was a lot of fucks to say at once, Evie winced, walking over to help me pick up my plate.

Fuck, I growled one more time just because I was furious.

Everyone turned back to what they were doing, except for the one bear I was still ignoring. Too bad he wasn’t returning the favor because right at that moment, Evie’s guess that I’d said one too many fucks aloud turned out to be true.

A giant, bubble gum pink lightning bolt of magic came hurtling out of the sky and zapped me right on my rear. The Goddess making an example of me for using too many obscenities.

Someone has a potty mouth. Bella tsked.

Eeeeek! I’m on fire!

I screeched, rubbing my posterior, and trying to put out the flames. Good thing we were in the firehouse. Mr. Big and Beefy Bear decided to pitch in right then. He turned on the garden hose, thankfully forgoing the enormous one they used for buildings and such, and completely doused me under the icy cold spray.

To say it was a shock to my system was a gross understatement. Water got everywhere, my face, my blouse, and finally, my burning ass. After a minute more of torture, he turned the thing off.

You alright? he asked, brown eyes concerned.

I was so far from alright, it wasn’t even funny. Evie and Bella tried not to laugh, but were failing, and I’d had about enough humiliation for one evening. Huffing out a breath, I straightened my shoulders and flipped my dripping wet hair back over my shoulder. Then I spit out the water I’d caught in my mouth right onto the big dumb smexy idiot and I left.

FML.

CHAPTER 1

The next day started out like any other. I got up and went about my usual routine. Starting the electric kettle, I put a cup full of delicious roasted Columbian coffee beans into the grinder and pressed down on the thing, loving the aroma that filled the kitchen. There was truly nothing else like it.

I was not a fan of those little pod things. They were convenient, yes, but they took all the flavor out of it for me. Next, I set up my pour-over-carafe and waited for the water to boil.

About ten minutes later, I had a steaming mug of perfectly brewed coffee. I added two teaspoons of creamer, no sugar, and a dash of cinnamon.

Just right.

I moaned in ecstasy as I took my first sip. Oh, that always hit the spot. I never