Part 2
### Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Copyright © 2019 by Koko Aranck.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
THIS IS BOOK ONE OF 'MY LOVE; MY MATE; MY SHIFTER' CHRONICLES, PLEASE READ IN ORDER - The Bearington brothers were told that they will know when they have found their mate. Her scent will overpower them, she will know the difference between the two brothers, and she will love them both, equally. So how hard could it be, to find a woman who smelled wildly like flowers, and loved both men, as they are. Apparently, extremely hard. All human females smell almost the same. Some stronger than others. So, when they find a different scent then they’d ever smelt before, they want her. But they have to put her through the test first. Will she pass? Or will they spend another century, searching for their Fated Mate?
THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK OF A CONNECTED SERIES.
Complete Chapters 26
Rating 4.8 ( 270 reviews ) Age Rating mature
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Chapter One: Searching for Their Mate
Laila Smithers looked at her camera then up at the eagle perched high in the tree. She has taken several pictures of the magnificent bird, but the dang thing just sits there. Not very exciting.
She smirked when the bird took flight. With a chuckle, she started snapping pictures. The wingspan was wide and beautiful. She got in some good shots before it disappeared into the sky.
A low growl had her spinning around. She almost dropped her camera in her fright but held it tight in her hands. The beautiful grey wolf stared at her. She quickly snapped a few pictures of the wolf. If she’s going to die, at least they can say she captured it on film.
The wolf pounced, and she closed her eyes and turned her head, not wanting to witness her own death.
A loud roar startled her and made her jump.
Laila felt something move past her and sucked in a breath as she opened her eyes and watched a large brown bear take down the wolf. She automatically snapped pictures as the bear and wolf fought.
It was a magnificent scene. She has never seen a bear and wolf in a full-on brawl before. And that was precisely what it was. It reminded her of a bar fight.
A sound came from her right, and she turned to find another brown bear. He walked around her so he could watch the fight between the other bear and wolf. She took a few shots of the new bear then went back to taking pictures of the other bear and the wolf.
The wolf let out a horrible noise, then escaped from the bear and ran off.
The bear turned to her blood dripping from his mouth. Okay, so she probably should have run a long time ago. Because she went from wolf lunch to bear supper. Or maybe a snack since there were two of them.
The bear approached her, and her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She closed her eyes, and her fingers automatically clicked the button on her camera. Closeups were awesome, but she won’t live to see them.
The bear stopped inches from her face, and she could feel its hot breath. She swallowed and tried not to panic.
Should I drop to the ground and play dead? She wondered.
Her father had once told her to do just that if she ever came face to face with a bear. And here she is a bear literally in her face, and she’s standing there her eyes closed her breathing uneven.
The bear sniffed her hair, and she almost squealed. Then the bear did something completely unexpected.
Well, no use playing dead. She thought as she fell to the ground.
Paxton looked at his brother. “I couldn’t help it, she smelled so good.”
Not the good where he wanted to eat her luscious body. No, no. The kind of good that made him want to taste her in a totally different way.
“Is she playing dead?” Park asked as he approached the girl.
Paxton nudged her with his nose. “No, she passed out.”
Park grumbled, “I guess it will make it easier to get her out of here,” he said as he shifted back to his human form.
Paxton shifted and watched his brother lift the girl into his arms. “How did Stephaun find out about her?”
Park looked at his twin. They were identical, and no one has ever been able to tell them apart. Only their mother had been able to, and now she and their father are gone.
Many years ago, when they had come of age and were ready to find their mates. A Shaman who was visited their tribe had given them a premonition of how they would find her. They have been searching for a long time. Had thought a couple of times that they had found her, but none of them could tell between Paxton and Park.
They were closer than human twins because of their shifter bond. So, they hadn’t been surprised when the Shaman had told them there was one woman and she will love them both equally.
She will also give them sons who will rule the Shapeshifter world when they are grown. How that prophecy was to come to pass, he would not say.
When Park had seen this girl at a bar a couple of weeks ago, her scent had over-powered him.
‘The scent of a flower will take you under its spell, and you will know you have found your mate.’
The scents of other women they have thought to be the one have been strong but had never knocked them over as this one had. They have been watching her since they had found her, seeing what she was like. And she is a nature lover and takes pictures of everything .
Okay yeah, a bit stalkerish, but fuck it’s been a long time, and they’re getting a bit desperate.
“Grab her camera,” Park said as he started walking.
Paxton picked up the camera and looked through the pictures. He whistled and looked up at Park.
“What should I do with the pictures?”
“Delete the ones of you fighting Stephaun and any close-ups of you.”
“What about the ones of you?” Paxton asked as he started deleting.
Park smiled, “leave one of me and one of you.”
“Delete them ... ” Park paused and looked at his brother. “Scratch that. Leave the ones of just the wolf. She needs to know what he looks like and know what he will do if he finds her alone again.”
“Right-o,” Paxton said with a nod.
“We need to find out how Stephaun found her,” Park said as he started walking again.
“Right,” Paxton said with a nod.
“We also need to come in contact with her to see if what we feel is the real thing this time.”
Paxton looked at him. “I think the attack today proves that.”
Park snorted. “He just knows that we suspect her you know there is only one way to prove she is the one.”
Paxton nodded, “next time we see her in the bar or at the club.”
“Right,” Park said as he looked down at her, “she sure is prettier than the others.”
Paxton grinned. “How lucky are we, huh, brother?”
Laila opened her eyes and blinked.
Where am I? She wondered as she looked around.
She sat up when she realized where she was. She’s in her bed, at home. How the hell had she gotten here?
My camera! She thought as she moved to get out of bed.
She spotted her camera on her nightstand and breathed a sigh of relief. She picked it up and shuffled through the pictures she’d taken today.
The pictures of the wolf were there. A chill flowed through her body. She won’t be going there again any time soon.
The pictures of the bear and wolf fighting were gone. Had she imagined it? No, it was too vivid of a memory to be her imagination. Then she found the pictures of the bears. But there was only one of each of them.
What happened to her pictures, and how had she gotten home? The last thing she remembered was the one bear sniffing her then licking ...
She looked at the two pictures of the bears. They looked identical, except she could see the difference in them.
The one who had stood off to her right was a lighter brown, almost golden the other bear darker more of a pure brown.
She could also see something different in their eyes. The golden bear looked to have a sweeter disposition. While the darker one looked to be more feral, more aggressive.
If they were men, they would be total opposites except for their looks ... How the hell would she know that?
“Is she here?” Paxton asked as he and Park looked around the bar.
“We still have the club to check out,” Paxton said, slapping his brother’s shoulder.
Park nodded, and they turned to leave the bar.
“Oh. No. You. Don’t,” a familiar female’s voice said from behind them.
They both groaned as they turned to her and plastered smiles on their faces.
“Penny,” Paxton said with fake enthusiasm.
She snorted, “don’t you Penny me.”
Park looked from Penny to his brother and back again. “You didn’t,” he said with a groan.
“No. But I did,” Penny said as she licked her lips, “and I was promised more.”
“Paxton!” Park said with a growl.
Paxton looked at his brother. “I thought she was the one. She likes both of us ... ”
“We hadn’t given her the test yet,” Park hissed.
“May as well,” Paxton said with a shrug.
Park rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he said, then walked away.
“Where is he going?” Penny asked as she watched Park walk away.
“To the men’s room, I’ve got to go too. Why don’t you wait for us at the bar?”
She licked her lips again. “All right. But I better be getting some tonight,” she said as she looked at his crotch.
Paxton fought the urge to roll his eyes as he turned to head for the men’s bathroom.
“So, who’s testing her?” Paxton asked when he saw his brother.
“I will since you’ve already almost blown it.”
Paxton laughed, “actually, I did blow it; twice.”
Park groaned and rolled his eyes. “I don’t need to hear about it. You know we’re supposed to stay true to our mate.”
Paxton scoffed, “the Shaman said nothing about oral sex. Besides, that was over a hundred years ago. Did he really expect us to hold back for that long?” He stopped talking and stared at his brother. “No way- You mean- For fuck’s sake Park- It has been a hundred and twenty years ... ”
Paxton threw his hands into the air. “Let’s hope we find her soon. God, your balls must be purple by now.”
Park snorted, “you leave my balls out of this.”
“No women,” Park said, “got easier when porn came into existence.”
Paxton laughed, “let’s find our mate.”
Park nodded, then pulled his shirt over his head and handed it to his brother. Paxton took his brother’s shirt and handed his own over. They smiled at each other as they pulled the shirts over their heads.
“Your shirt looks better on me,” Paxton said with a grin.
Park rolled his eyes. “Fuck off.”
Paxton laughed, “hurry, we need to find our mate you need to get laid.”
Park snorted, then nodded to his brother and walked out of the restroom. He spotted Penny at the bar and walked towards her. He hoped she thought he was Paxton because he has never really liked her. She wore way too much makeup and not enough clothes.
She had been Paxton’s pick. Yeah, she smelled of flowers, all human females do. But her scent was mild. He would have never smelled her if Paxton hadn’t pointed her out to him.
“Hey doll,” Park said, coming up behind Penny and wrapped his arms around her.
“Paxton,” Penny said with a purr as she turned to face him. “Where’s your brother?”
Park smiled, “still in the bathroom. Want to get out of here?”
She grinned, “I’d love to. To tell you the truth, I don’t really like your brother. He’s too goody, goody for my taste. I’d like to keep you all to myself.”
Park frowned. He doesn’t like this woman, but that hurt.
Paxton showed up with a grin on his face and wrapped his arm around Park’s shoulders.
Park shook his head, and Paxton sighed.
“Sorry, doll,” Paxton said with a frown.
Penny frowned. “What’s going on? I thought you were Paxton,” she said as she pointed at Park.
Park snorted, “no, I’m the goody, goody brother, Park.”
Penny covered her mouth with her hand. “I’m sorry,” she said, then laughed, her cheeks turning bright red. “I can’t tell you two apart!”
Paxton frowned, “yeah, that’s where the problem is.”
Penny looked between them. “Was it something I said or done? I said, I’m sorry.”
The brothers shook their heads. “Sorry, Penny,” they said at the same time, then turned and walked away.
“I’m sorry!” She squealed then stomped her feet in a tantrum.
“Dude. We dodged a bullet with that one,” Paxton said, looking back at Penny, who was still stomping her feet.
“She was your choice,” Park pointed out.
Paxton grinned, “yeah, but she gave great head.”
Park rolled his eyes. “Let’s see if the girl is at the club.”
Laila sat in a booth at her favorite club. Her best friend Riley was dancing on the dance floor with a bulking man who looked like the Incredible Hulk without the green skin.
“Hello,” two men said at the same time as they sat down in the booth across from her.
Laila’s eyes widened as she stared at them. They were gorgeous, identical twins right down to their sky-blue eyes and tan skin. But their hair was different. She could tell it was natural, but she could see a difference. The one to her right had light brown hair kind of a golden brown while the other had darker hair. Like pure brown ...
That’s how she’d described her bears.
Well, now she knows what they would look like if they were human.
They both had bushy brown eyebrows but not too bushy. The hair on their muscled arms was a soft brown color. She wondered what their chests looked like. She caught herself before she licked her lips.
“I’m Paxton,” the one to the left said, “and this is my brother, Park.”
Park smiled at her, and if she’d been wearing socks, she was sure that smile would have knocked them right off her feet.
The brothers smiled at each other than at her. Why hasn’t she asked them to leave her table?
“So, would you like to dance?” Park asked.
Their voices were similar, but Park’s seemed to be more of a milky chocolate while Paxton’s was more of a dark chocolate.
“Yeah, come on,” Paxton said as he got to his feet and pulled her to hers.
Park got out of the booth and followed them, and her eyes widened. Did they want her to dance with both of them?
Riley watched Laila as the brothers surrounded her. Her friend’s eyes widened then she gave her two thumbs up. Great, Riley has been nagging her to lose her virginity since high school. But to two men? Surely, they want her to choose one. Right?
She watched the two brothers as they stopped circling her and planted themselves one in front and one behind her. They didn’t touch her, but she could feel the heat from each of their bodies.
She looked between the two identical men with their minor differences and whimpered. If they asked her to choose, she didn’t think she could.
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### Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Both men spit their beer out onto the table.
“Sorry,” Park said as he pulled napkins from the dispenser and handed some to his brother.
Laila watched them clean their mess up off the table. Her lips twitched as she held back her laughter.
Paxton looked up at her and grinned. “Let it out doll no use holding it in.”
And she did. She burst into laughter as she held onto her side. “Sorry,” she said with a gasp of air.
“No need, doll,” Paxton said with a grin.
“Yeah,” Park said, still smiling, “you just surprised us, that’s all. So, I guess you like animals, huh?”
“I love them,” she said with a beautiful smile that had both men twitching in their seats. “People don’t understand how I can go out into the woods alone just so I can get a picture of a wild animal in its natural habitat.”
“Sounds brave to me,” Park said with an interested smile.
Laila smiled at him. “That’s what my dad used to say.”
“Smart man,” Paxton said with a smile that reached his eyes, making them even bluer.
“Laila?” Park asked when he noticed the look in her eyes. She looked so alone.
“It’s okay,” she said with a forced smile.
“What’s wrong, doll?” Paxton asked as he reached for her hand.
Laila sucked in a shocked breath when a sensation she has never felt before flowed through her body.
Paxton froze for a moment and stared at their hands. He then moved their hands over to Park. Park looked at his brother, who looked down at his and Laila’s hands then back up at him. Park nodded then took her hand from his.
Laila sucked in another shocked breath when the same sensation flowed through her body. Only this one was less tense more tender.
Park stared at her hand in his. “Laila,” he whispered, looking up at her.
The tense look in his eyes made her nervous, and she pulled her hand from his.
“What was that?” She asked as she looked between them questions in her eyes.
“What was what?” Park asked, shoving his hands into his lap as Paxton cleared his throat.
“You know what,” she whispered to them.
“Laila!” Riley said excitedly as she shoved Laila further down the bench and hugged her. “Who are these two hunks?”
Paxton and Park smirked at being called hunks.
“Park, Paxton. This is my best friend, Riley. Riley, this is Park and Paxton,” Laila said as she suggested across the table to the two, “hunks.”
“Pleasure,” Park and Paxton said at the same time as they nodded at Riley.
“The Bearington brothers,” the bulky Hulk said as he pushed the twins over so he could sit across from Riley.
“Mark,” Paxton said, glaring at the large man.
Mark grinned at him. “What’s up, Pax?”
“Still searching, I see,” Mark said, wagging his eyebrows up and down.
“For someone who will accept them both, of course,” Mark said with a wide grin.
“Mark!” Park shouted with a loud growl that didn’t sound human as he stood up from the bench.
Laila stared at Park. He was the quiet one the less aggressive one, but the power that vibrated from his body contradicted what she had thought about him.
Mark’s face paled as he looked away from Laila. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
Paxton pulled Park back onto the bench and whispered into his ear. Park looked at Laila and instantly calmed.
Laila wondered what Paxton had said to Park to calm him. It apparently had something to do with her.
“Let’s dance,” Park said as he stood and climbed up onto the table.
Laila giggled when he pulled her up onto the table with him. He then moved to the end of the table and jumped down. When he turned and held his arms up to her, she knew she was a goner. She let him help her off the table and stared into his eyes as he set her on her feet. With that same smile, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor.
Paxton glared at Mark once Park and Laila were gone. “What the fuck, man?”
“Sorry,” Mark said without looking at Paxton.
“Hey!” Riley shrieked angrily. “Why do you have to take their crap?!”
“Because they are the leaders of the bears,” Mark whispered. “They are Chiefs.”
“She knows about us?” Paxton asked, looking from Mark to Riley then back again.
“Yeah,” Mark said with a grin, “show him your ring, love.”
Riley smiled as she held up her left ring finger.
Paxton smiled, “congrats, man.”
“Thanks,” Mark said as he reached across the table and took Riley’s hand in his.
“So, what’s going on with you, your brother, and my best friend?” Riley asked as she looked at Paxton.
“We saw her a couple of weeks ago and smelled the flowers,” Paxton said, totally confusing Riley.
“You’re joking,” Mark said, looking at Paxton.
“That’s amazing,” Mark said with a huge grin.
“What do flowers have to do with anything?” Riley asked, still lost in their conversation.
Mark moved to the other side of the table to sit next to her. “All human females smell like flowers—some stronger than others. And if the soul is tainted, they smell like weeds. And not all smell the same.”
She smiled at him. “What do I smell like?”
She looked at Paxton then at Mark. “Is that why you sniffed me when we first met?”
“Yes,” Mark said with a nod, “but to me, you smell so sweet I smelt you from across the room.”
“Because you are my mate,” he said with a playful growl as he nipped at her neck.
She giggled as she tried to hide her neck from him. “What does Laila smell like?”
“A field of wildflowers,” Paxton said with a sweet smile.
Riley smiled, “that makes sense for her.”
“It does,” Paxton said with a nod. He looked at Mark and scowled. “We’ve already had to protect her. Somehow Stephaun discovered she’s one of the women we suspect to be our mate. She was in the wild taking pictures when he attacked her.”
“Oh no,” Riley cried out as she covered her mouth with her hand.
“I got there before he could touch her,” Paxton assured her. “But until we know for sure that she’s the one or not, she is in danger. And if she is our mate, she will be in even more danger, from even more shifters.”
Mark nodded, “not everyone wants you two to find your mate.”
“No fucking shit,” Paxton grumbled. “Do you know how many wolves and bobcats have offered themselves to me?”
Mark chuckled, “you can’t fool me. You enjoy the attention.”
Paxton chuckled, “maybe a little.”
“I’m so lost,” Riley said with a pout.
“We’ve been searching for our mate for over a hundred and twenty years,” Paxton informed her.
Riley looked at him. “You mean mates ,” she said, emphasizing the S at the end.
Mark laughed as Paxton shook his head.
“No mate , singular. Someone who will choose to be with us both.”
Riley sucked in a deep breath, everything finally clicking into place. “And you think Laila is that one?”
Paxton nodded. “She smells strongly of flowers, and we felt the tone of mating when we touched her hand earlier.”
“She’s got to be the one,” Mark said with a nod.
“Tone of mating?” Riley asked, confused once again.
Mark looked into her eyes and squeezed her hand. “Do you remember that feeling you got when we first touched ... ?”
“Oh yeah,” she said with a grin, her voice vibrating with arousal.
He chuckled, and her eyes widened.
“Wow,” she whispered, then looked at Paxton. “And you both felt it with her?”
Paxton nodded, “yeah, we felt it tonight for the first time. I think that’s because she’s attracted to us too.”
“That’s not how it works,” Mark said, pointing at Paxton.
“I know. What I mean is, the first time we touched her, she was unconscious.”
Paxton chuckled, “the wolf attack, remember.”
She nodded but continued to scowl at him.
“Is she faint of heart?” Mark asked.
Paxton laughed, “no, not at all. She stood there and watched even took pictures.”
“Don’t worry, I erased the ones of the fight. But she was very brave, she just stood there ... ”
“Then what made her pass out?” Riley asked.
Paxton looked straight into her eyes. “My bear licked her.”
“What?!” Riley squealed as Mark burst into laughter.
Paxton sighed, “after Stephaun ran away, I walked up to her. She just stood there, still snapping pictures. I sniffed her, and she smelled sooooooo good.” He paused, and his cheeks reddened. “I couldn’t help it. I liked her smell.”
Mark was still laughing, and Riley was shaking her head.
Paxton shrugged, “Park carried her while I deleted the pictures of the fight and me and Park. We left her the single shots of the wolf, so she knows what he looks like in case he comes after her again. And we also left one picture each of our bears.”
Mark finally stopped laughing and wiped his eyes to clear them of their tears of merriment.
“I don’t find this at all funny,” Riley said as she growled at Mark.
Mark pulled her against him and kissed her. “Riley, don’t you realize what all of this means?”
“Yeah,” she said grumpily, “your friends are perverted bears.”
“This means you won’t have to hide anything from your best friend anymore,” Mark said with a smile.
Mark squeezed her tight. “If Laila is their mate, she will learn everything you know.”
She squealed with excitement. “Does it also mean she won’t grow old and die on me?”
She glared at Paxton. “What are you waiting for? Go claim your mate! I want to keep my best friend!”
Paxton smiled at her. “It’s much more complicated for us.”
“How?” Riley asked. “She smells right. She adores both of you. What more could you want?”
Paxton sighed, “mine and Park’s mate has to pass a test, then we will know she is our foreseen mate.”
“What test?” Riley asked as she folded her arms over her chest. “I didn’t have to go through any test.”
“Because I’m not the Chief’s sons,” Mark said.
“So ... ” Mark took a deep breath. “When a shifter comes of age, they are sent to the Shaman. Or the man comes to them, and he tells the shifter what to look for in their mate. I was told that she would smell like the ripest strawberries. So, to Paxton, Park, and any other shifter, you smell like lilacs. But to me, you smell like the sweetest, most delicious strawberries with a hint of lilac. It’s very intoxicating,” he said then kissed her.
She smiled against his lips, “you smell like sugar cookies to me.”
He grinned, “that just proves that you are my mate. Our mates smell us as something sweet, like chocolate ... ”
“Or sugar cookies,” she said with a smirk.
“So why don’t they ask Laila what they smell like to her?”
“Because the Shaman gave them not only what to look for in their mate but also a premonition.”
He whispered it into her ear, and her eyes grew wide as she looked across the table at Paxton.
Inkitt’s mission is to discover talented writers and turn them into globally successful authors.
Authors can write and upload their manuscripts on Inkit for free and writers retain 100% of their copyrights while writing on Inkitt
Readers can read all books for free, without any ads and give the authors feedback.
Books that perform well based on their reader engagement are published on our Galatea app.
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