Unbearable: Russet Falls Series Read online

  A Hearts Collective Production

  Copyright © 2014 Hearts Collective

  All rights reserved. This document may not be reproduced in any way without the expressed written consent of the author. The ideas, characters, and situations presented in this story are strictly fictional, and any unintentional likeness to real people or real situations is completely coincidental.

  Also From W.H. Vega:

  Damaged But Not Broken (New Adult Rockers) by W.H. Vega

  Wounded But Not Scarred (New Adult Rockers) by W.H. Vega

  Falling Harder (A New Adult Romance Novel) by W.H. Vega

  Other Books by Hearts Collective:

  Satan’s Property (A Satan’s Sons MC Novel) by Celia Loren

  Crushing Beauty (Harbingers of Sorrow MC) by Celia Loren

  Breaking Beauty (Devils Aces MC) by Celia Loren

  Wrecking Beauty (Devils Reapers MC) by Celia Loren

  Impossibly (Dante’s Nine MC) by Colleen Masters

  Faster Harder (Take Me... #1) by Colleen Masters

  Faster Deeper (Take Me... #2) by Colleen Masters

  Faster Longer (Take Me... #3) by Colleen Masters

  Faster Hotter (Take Me...#4) by Colleen Masters

  DEDICATION

  I'd like to dedicate this book to all the awesome readers out there :)

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  UNBEARABLE

  A Russet Falls Novel

  By W.H. Vega

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Prologue

  Troy ran a hand through his thick dark hair as he climbed the stairs to kiss his daughters goodbye.

  “Daddy, where are you going?” Gabrielle asked, her blue eyes wide and innocent.

  “Just out hunting, baby. Not to worry.”

  She pouted and wiggled her hips, making her pigtails bounce. Troy pulled one playfully, making her giggle. “You take care of your baby sister.”

  Gabrielle stuck her tongue out. “She’s boring. She doesn’t do anything.” Gabrielle looked longingly at the tiny baby asleep in the swing.

  “Don’t worry. Soon enough, she’ll be running around with you.”

  Gabrielle looked doubtful. She leaned over the swing and stretched out her tiny little hand.

  “Gabby, don’t,” Andrea, her mother, scolded. Gabrielle stomped away.

  Troy went over to his wife and kissed her on the mouth. She looked so tired these days, yet she had a gorgeous motherly glow about her.

  “Don’t be gone long,” she begged, “I’ve got my hands full.”

  His eyes got hard. “I won’t be long,” he said in a steely voice. “Just need to take care of some things.”

  “And bring back food, why don’t you,” she softly scolded. “You came back empty-handed last time.” Then she turned serious. “And whatever you do, watch out for bears.”

  “Bears?” Gabrielle gasped, overhearing. “No, Daddy! Stay away from the scary bears!” She cowered in the corner.

  “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m not going to let those mean, nasty bears get me!”

  Troy remembered all too well the last time he went “hunting” and how he was nearly killed. He slung his gun over his shoulder and went to leave, looking back at his three girls, the family he cherished more than anything in the world.

  Troy climbed into his pickup truck and within a few minutes was outside the limits of Russet Falls. He could do this drive in his sleep, and he barely noticed the beautiful scenery as he made his way toward the forest. He pulled off the road and turned onto the familiar hidden dirt path.

  His truck bumped along for a mile as dirt blew out behind him. Anger began to pulse deep within him, and he felt it come to the surface as he fought the natural urges growing inside him.

  Not yet.

  He needed to park his truck first.

  Finally the forest grew thicker, and the truck was completely submerged within its shadows. Troy shut off the engine, and kicked his gun down onto the floor of the cab.

  “Stupid ass fools,” he muttered, getting out of the truck and slamming the door. “I’m sick of cleaning up their goddamn messes.”

  The anger beat inside of him, forming a life of its own…Troy knew that at any moment it was going to rip through him, changing him once again.

  His breath came heavy. He was nearly panting now as he felt the power growing within him.

  “Argh!” he cried, letting an angry roar rip through him.

  He fell to his hands and knees, kicking off his boots and yanking his shirt over his head before stripping off his pants. He didn’t feel like wasting time with clothes, but he would have to explain to Andrea if he came home with them shredded, or worse, no clothes at all.

  That wouldn’t go over well.

  Free of his clothing, he closed his eyes, letting the power wash over him. His fingertips began to tingle and he felt the vibrations sweep over his body, changing him from the inside out.

  He felt his skull grow and harden, his arms and legs thicken. His back became broader, his shoulders wider as his toes morphed into massive paws.

  He let out another roar, and this time it was the growl of a wild beast. Coarse black hair sprouted from every pore and he felt the animal within take over.

  All four legs were on the ground now and he saw through new eyes, the eyes of a bear.

  His breath came in ragged bursts, and he felt his enormous rib cage swell with each one. He pressed his snout to the wet earth, inhaling deeply as he tried to make out a scent.

  He moved stealthily for his size, trying to determine if it was the Virtus clan or the Atrocitas clan that had crossed the border. Either way, he was angry as hell and he was going to deal with the trespassers once and for all.

  In his bear form, he focused only on his animal instincts, his family barely a distant memory, though they were still there in the back of his mind, deep in his heart.

  Troy preferred it that way; he had to compartmentalize if he was going to survive in this world.

  He ran through the forest, hating what he was, but in awe of his own strength. He was grateful that the shifter blood hadn’t passed on to his girls; he could tell from the moment they were born, and he was relieved that Andrea would never have to know his dark, ugly secret.

  Troy realized that he should have communicated with some of the
other clan members that he would be out on the clan lands. Of course, it wasn’t his style to communicate with his clan—leader or not, he despised everything about being a shifter.

  Troy knew most of the clan members didn’t like him, and honestly, he didn’t give a shit. He wanted to find the trespassing bears and punish them, to do his duty and then get home in time for dinner to see his sweet little baby girl.

  Troy forced his mind back to the task at hand, and that’s when he picked up the unfamiliar scent.

  A roar ripped from his throat and he pressed his black nose into the dirt, sniffing furiously. He couldn’t place the scent; he hadn’t come across this particular bear before, and it certainly wasn’t one of his own clan.

  His heavy paws moved quickly across the ground, propelling him as he ran between trees and bushes. He thought of nothing else except finding the trespasser and making him pay. The clans had an agreement that they would stick to their own lands, and even though those lands came to a point in the state park, all the bears knew exactly where the borders were—someone was trespassing on purpose.

  The scent grew stronger, filling Troy’s nostrils. He was nearing the Virtus border but he didn’t care. He was following this scent until he came face to face with the bear that stepped into his territory.

  Troy had worked hard to protect his family and to keep his secret hidden. Troy’s father had been proud to be one of the last bear kings, but Troy only saw it as a burden. He had wanted a normal life—not one of shapeshifting and warring animal clans. Of course, according to their laws, Troy was allowed to tell Andrea what he was, and they would have been allowed to share it with their children should one of them have been born a shifter.

  However, Troy had chosen not to tell Andrea, afraid he would scare her away. He had worried constantly when Andrea was pregnant with Gabrielle, worried that if she was a shifter he would have no choice but to tell Andrea, and she would have been furious with him for keeping such a secret. He’d nearly cried with relief when both Gabrielle and Lucy were born under a half moon. When shifters mated with non-shifters, their offspring could only be a shifter if they’re born during a full moon.

  If Andrea had shifter blood running through her veins, it would’ve been a different story. The girls would’ve been shifters no matter where their births fell in the lunar cycle.

  Troy raced toward the Virtus clan lands, cursing his father for making him a shifter. Troy would never be proud to be a bear, never be proud to be a bear king. After his father and mother passed, Troy swore he would never breathe another word about his power. His family’s ties to the clan would die along with him.

  Or so he thought.

  Troy knew the moment he crossed into Virtus lands because he heard the angry roars of their tribe in the distance. He didn’t slow down, but instead sped up, his entire nose filled with the scent of the stranger. He was so close now he could practically taste the trespasser’s blood.

  Without warning, a bear lumbered into his path and Troy skidded to a stop, growling deep within his throat—it was the trespasser.

  The hair on the back of Troy’s neck bristled, and he began to pace back and forth, sizing up the stranger. The other bear didn’t seem nearly as large as Troy, and while Troy knew he wasn’t a cub, he sensed this was a younger bear. This bear had thick brown hair with a white patch of fur in the shape of a “V” on his chest, a definitive marker of the Virtus clan.

  Troy growled, warning the bear that he shouldn’t have trespassed. Whether or not the bear understood, he growled back at Troy, also pacing back and forth.

  They were in a standoff, and for a brief moment, Troy thought of shifting back to human form so he could tell the trespasser to stay the hell off Cruentus lands. But he was too angry, and too upset to change back now. Plus, he knew he risked his own safety by changing back to his human form while on another clan’s lands.

  Troy had expected the bear to back away, or grovel, but instead he stood haughtily on his two hind legs, antagonizing Troy. Furious, Troy roared, this time lunging at the bear, snapping at his leg.

  The brown bear roared with anger, swiping his paw at Troy and grazing the top of his shoulder. Troy cried out in fury and pain, feeling the warmth of blood seeping through his skin. Wild with rage, he lunged again at the brown bear, and this time he sank his teeth into the bear’s shoulder.

  The bear howled in agony and knocked Troy back, sending him flying through the air. Troy felt the air whoosh out of his lungs and he tried to scramble off his back, completely unprepared for the sudden strength of the smaller bear.

  The brown bear took advantage of his position, pouncing on Troy. Troy roared as he felt his ribs snap as if they were made of twigs. He rolled over, heaving with the effort it took, and tried to stand up onto his shaking paws. How could this smaller bear be so strong?

  Troy staggered to his feet, circling the other bear, who was clearly pleased with himself. Troy snapped his teeth at the brown bear, and he tried to growl but his damaged ribs seared in pain. All he needed was to attack at the right angle, and he could rip the brown bear’s throat out. Then he would piss on him as he bled out on the ground.

  The brown bear anticipated the move, and he agilely dodged to the side just as Troy moved to strike. The brown bear swept up to the side of Troy’s body and bit his other shoulder. Troy bucked back, then raked his razor-sharp claws across the bear’s face, making him cry out too.

  Both bears jumped onto their hind legs, battling with one another, but Troy knew he didn’t stand a chance. His insides were screaming and he could feel his broken ribs; his strength was waning.

  The brown bear knew this and he bit Troy again on the shoulder, just below the neck. Troy let out a guttural wail, falling onto his back as he tried to fight off the brown bear. The bear attacked head on, and Troy bit at him where he could, clawing futilely at the ridiculously strong bear. The bear roared in frustration, and Troy could smell his blood, but Troy was too weak now to finish his opponent… it was he who would perish.

  Troy’s thoughts became fuzzy, and he was seeing black patches in front of his eyes. The bear backed away, and Troy instinctively knew that the bear was only backing away because Troy was dying.

  Troy felt his body shift back into human form, and he whimpered pitifully from the pain as his human bones broke again. Here he was—nothing but a weak, dying human, slowly bleeding out. This was his fate. Damn his father for doing this to him!

  “Andrea!” He cried. “Gabrielle! Lucy!”

  As the brown bear turned into human form, Troy managed to glimpse the big bloodstains on his skin and the scratches along his body. He’d injured the trespasser, but in the end he’d been no match for the brown bear.

  “Why?” Troy rasped, looking at the other human, who was nothing more than a teenager.

  The young boy’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t quite believe what he did. “You—you—trespassed,” he stammered.

  “Idiot,” Troy wheezed, “you were on Cruentus lands first.”

  “What?”

  “My lands,” Troy rasped, “you trespassed first. I picked up your scent.”

  The boy looked on, bewildered. A hint of remorse flashed across his eyes.

  “Do you not know the laws?” Troy wheezed, losing the last of his strength.

  Something about Troy’s authoritative tone woke something within the teenager, and he straightened up, looking arrogant and haughty. “I know all about laws,” he snapped.

  Troy wanted to yell back at this little shit. He had cost him everything—his life, his family—and for what? The kid had no idea what he’d even done. Troy opened his mouth to speak, to protest, but instead he felt his heart sputter.

  He made a wet gurgling sound, and felt the warm trickle of blood ooze from his mouth.

  The boy gasped, his eyes wide, as he stepped back in fear.

  Troy took his final, ragged breath, his heart filled with anger and hate, and then his eyes glazed over.

  Chapte
r One

  Eighteen Years Later

  Gabby quickly straightened her shirt, feeling ruffled after dealing with such a rude guest. She watched the man hastily depart the lobby and then rolled her eyes once she was sure he was gone. “Dick,” she muttered under her breath, as she began rearranging a stack of papers he had knocked over. Usually people were more than pleasant when they came into the hotel, but that guy had been a complete jerk. Apparently he thought he was staying at the Four Seasons and not a quaint little hotel nestled in Russet Falls, Oregon.

  “Gabby.” Paul, the manager, was hurrying toward her and he looked both annoyed and sorry. Gabby wasn’t sure what she did but she braced herself for whatever he was about to say. “One of the counselors from the high school just called. They said they need you down there immediately.”

  “What?” She felt anger flare within her. What the hell had Lucy done now?

  Paul looked apologetically at her before he spoke again. “They tried calling your mom but got no answer.”

  Of course they got no answer. Gabby’s mom was the town drunk. “And they said I have to go down now?” she asked, her voice tight.

  Paul nodded.

  This was the second time this month that Gabby had to go over to Russet High and deal with Lucy. “I’m going to kill her,’’ she muttered. “I’m so sorry, Paul,” she quickly apologized. “My mother should be dealing with this crap.”

  Paul nodded understandingly. “It’s alright. Go. It doesn’t make sense for you to come back today.”

  “I’m really sorry.” Gabby realized that she was lucky to have such an understanding boss. It probably didn’t hurt that Paul had a crush on her. Gabby hated using that to her advantage, but today she needed it.

  She leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, her ample chest brushing up against him, at which Paul’s fair skin turned bright pink. “I’ll be in early tomorrow,” she promised. She reached under the check-in desk to grab her purse and then hurried out of the hotel.