Free MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance) by Claire Branson

had never experienced such a thing. And I have lived, perhaps, four hundred years.
    I... I stammered.
    I was profoundly in shock. And I do believe the word is shy . My dealings with women have been distant, entirely non-instructive.
    I...It's winter. I managed.
    What did I say that for? Ludicrous. 
    She smiled. A silvery laugh echoed back to me.
    It is, isn't it? She said with her mind. Well, Mr. Bear, have a good winter. I hope to see you in springtime next year.
    Then she turned away.
    Goodbye , I managed.
    Goodbye.
    She disappeared into the forest.
    I was left, alone.
    What happened? 
    I still do not know, even now. That question has instead birthed more questions. Now that whatever had happened has changed my life, unutterably and unalterably. What will I do? Sometimes, it seems, there are no answers.
    However, I know more now than I had then.
    ***
    Evening settled darkness over the cottage, the constant flames in the grate perseverant in the winter air.
    Mother sat by the fire. Kiryla had never noticed before how old and weary she had become.
    “Mother?”
    The older woman looked up, blinking.
    “Kiryla. Daughter. Come, sit by me.”
    Her hands, which clasped Kiryla's wrist, looked painfully-thin and felt icy cold. Nevertheless, she smiled at Kiryla.
    “Your father is out at the barns. We have time to talk a moment.”
    Kyrila rolled her eyes in sympathy. As he aged, her father became more short-tempered and difficult. Anger at his own infirmity makes him unreasoning .
    His infirmity meant that he could not farm.  Too old to guide a plow, till fields, gather seed, or herd stock, he labored beneath the yoke of his own resentment now.
    At seventeen, Kiryla faced the slow ruin of her family.
    She sighed. She could marry some strapping, boorish farmer, who would till the land and abuse her and take over the farm.
    But she could not.  She would not do that, would not allow life to crush the spark inside her. It spoke to the stars, sometimes, and under heaven she refused to let that go. But her mother was dying.
    “Mother?” Kiryla interrupted her mother's flow of talk. “You need something for your chest. You are unwell.”
                  “My daughter, you see what others try to hide.” Her mother's smile eased the lines in her face and warmed Kiryla’s heart.
    Kiryla swallowed. That is just part of it. If you knew what I feel and see, you would be as wary as I am about it.
    “As it happens,” her mother continued, “I would like something to ease the pains. Could you visit Alena for me?”
    Alena . The wise woman. Kyrila lived in awe of Alena, but had also come to love her. She proved the only person who understood the things that happen to Kiryla.  And the older woman shone as an example of the gift that she and Kiryla had. She was what it can look like, what it can become, when treated with respect.
    She looked at her mother, gold eyes shining. She loved her visits there.
    “Of course,” Kiryla said, voice soft.
    ***
    My next memories lie in winter. In them, I am in my cave, and most fully in my bear form…
    Around me, the forest slumbered, utterly silent. And I felt tired, so tired. My blood had slowed to almost-stagnant, my head hazy, my mind swimming. The time approached for the long sleep to descend.
    Despite all of this, my senses dwelled on her—Kiryla. My mind, my heart, my body… all saw only her. Her full, warm figure, her exquisite golden eyes. 
    Only a week had passed since I saw her, and I could think of nothing else.
    However, I could do nothing to address this longing. Even if I were not a bear, and she were here with me, and willing, my body remained as weak as a newborn. The onset of hibernation weakens me so much. 
    I scarcely permitted my longing, pouring a thousand scorns on it. Why would she love me? Would she even talk to me if she met me again in human form?   I wanted so much to find out.
    I would return here, come spring, I vowed. But, will I remember