Healing the Bear by Vanessa Devereaux Page B

in the Witness Protection Program until the time where they could
get more evidence on this man, but it looks like it’s never going to happen. They’ll
probably get me before the Feds get him.”
    He
squeezed her tight. She was going to be safe. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.
    “The
agent in charge of my case came to see me and said you were fishing around and
were probably working for this man.”
    “No,
baby, no. I was just curious as to who the man was and why you didn’t have the
photo on display and hadn’t told me about him. I guess I was jealous.”
    Yeah, he had
been. Stupid but that was who he was.
    “I
hate the fact that I have this awful secret and that I had to keep it from
you.”
    It
was time she knew about him and then nothing would be in their way ever again.
    “Baby,
your secret’s nothing compared to the one I’ve been hiding.”
    She
looked up at him. “You’re not a widower, you have a wife somewhere?”
    He
shook his head. “No, my Lucinda is definitely gone. Have you ever wondered why
I like honey and salmon, and have a good sense of smell?”
    “Lots
of people like salmon and honey and can smell things miles away.”
    “Yeah,
but I bet not everyone can shift into a bear whenever they want.”
    Melanie
burst out laughing. “You’re the sweetest guy I’ve ever met, coming up with
something as ridiculous as that just to make me feel better about my secret.”
She leaned over and kissed him.
    Besides
transforming into a bear how else could he convince her it was true?
    “And
like you I’m not originally from around here. None of us are. I mean no one at
the wedding. Well except for Emily, Lilly and her daughter and relatives, Charlotte,
who are all human. ”
    She
laughed some more. “Dane, you’ve made me feel better, really you have.”
    “Melanie
I’m serious. We’re not from here, not from this planet. Our own one, Nereskila,
came crash landing to earth about twenty-five, well almost twenty-six, years ago. Talk about you keeping a secret, we’ve done it
for a quarter of a century.”
    Her
mouth was now open and she was giving him the sort of look people do when
they’re sort of convinced you’re telling the truth but still not sure you’re
not messing with them.
    “Another planet. Have you
thought about writing books?”
    Damn,
he thought he had her believing him.
    “It’s
true and you can’t tell anyone, okay? You have your secret. I have mine.”
    “Dane,
it’s okay. You’ve made me feel better and I know you can keep my secret.”
    “Damn
it, you have to believe this is real because I don’t want anything else to come
between what we have, and what we’re going to have.”
    He
got out of the car.
    “What
are you doing?”
    “I’m
going to shift into a bear, over in that wooded area there just in case the Fed
guys are spying on me.”
    “Dane…”
    He
walked away. She came running after him just as he began taking off his
clothes.
    “You
don’t have to do this,” she said. Was she mocking him or what?
    He
wasn’t going to argue with her any longer. He went on all fours and let every
muscle in his body relax. He closed his eyes feeling his hands change into
paws, then his feet. He arched up, being able to count each strand of fur as it
emerged from his back and belly. Dane glanced over at Melanie who had both her
hands over her mouth. She stepped back when he moved toward her and tumbled
back on a rock, which caused her to fall to the ground. He ran over to her. There
was fear on her face so he nuzzled against her leg like a dog would do to its
owner. She pulled away so he nuzzled her again, this time putting his paw on
her thigh. She was shaking which was understandable. She’d seen the guy she’d
been dating shift into a bear and here was a huge monster of one close to her,
touching her.
    She
lifted her hand and stroked his back.
    Mmm , that felt pretty good. He
nuzzled against her body, letting her run her hands
down the thickest fur on his back.