Page 1 of Wooded Bliss

CHAPTER 1

THATCHER

Looking up into the canopy of the trees, I search for the peace I always seem to be seeking. It’s been this way for the last ten years. Solace has become illusive. The ache in my chest, the missing of such a big part of myself, isn’t something I’ve been able to move past or push aside, no matter how much I’ve tried.

Without thinking about it, I reach up and rub my chest right where my heart is beating. Each beat feels lackluster with such a big part of my heart, past, and family missing. Shouldn’t I have been able to move past this loss by now?

Our parents had so much life left to live, but they were killed by hunters out for the thrill of the hunt. Nothing was the same after their deaths. There have been so many moments they missed out on when it comes to me and my brothers.

My youngest brother, Grady, was only 12 at the time and Wylie, the second youngest when it comes to the Bosch brothers, was 17. They should have had so much more time with our parents.

In the last ten years, they missed out on both of them graduating and becoming men I’m proud to know. I can’t help but wonder how different they would be if our parents hadn’t been taken from us.

The death of our parents set a lot in motion and we’re still feeling the ripples of their death every day. I can’t think about it for too long or else I’ll walk into the woods, shift into my bear, and never turn back.

“You can’t run away from our brothers,”my bear huffs, frustration in his voice even though it’s tinged in the same sadness I always feel.“Maybe if we found our mate.”

“No, I’ll never leave our brothers,”I agree with him while ignoring his feelings about finding our mate.

My bear has wanted to find our other half since we turned 18, but then only a year later I was dealing with the sudden death of my parents, and a mate was the last thing on my mind. Now, I don’t think finding her is in the cards for me.

I’m okay with it. Finding love, having another person relying on me, while knowing how fragile life can be, terrifies me.

It’s a shame since my parents were an amazing example of mates, and the love shared between them was beautiful to witness. I wanted to find the same thing they had when I was growing up. Now I know that my mate would just be another person to lose, another person with the power to rip my heart out.

If, of course, I was to even find my mate. Often bears of a certain age leave their home packs to travel and find their mates, but I didn’t get that chance. I could have gone when I turned 18, but I kept putting it off and then tragedy struck.

There was no way I was going to leave my brothers to deal with the fall-out of our parents’ death. Everything fell on my eldest brother’s shoulders and leaving it all on Ripp wouldn’t have been fair. He might have already been training under our father to take over as Alpha of our pack, but he sure as fuck wasn’t prepared to be thrown into the role in the wake of losing both of our parents.

Their deaths were just the start to everything falling apart.

Pushing aside the memories isn’t easy, but taking a deep breath helps. A little. Very little.

As I head deeper into the woods surrounding our homes, I catch a few scents on the wind. My bear perks up and takes notice of the scent of my brothers. I’m not surprised considering how much time we spend roaming the forest. Nature has become a distraction from the pain, especially for me.

“I smell someone else, too,”my bear growls,“not just our brothers.”

Our hackles raise and I move toward the scents with more purpose. It’s unusual for us to get people on our land. When it does happen, it’s usually a hiker who has traveled too far off one of the trails surrounding Whispering Pines. The majority of them are on the other side of town, but it’s not like I can blame someone for wanting to traipse through our woods.

It’s beautiful here.

The woods are what has kept me here instead of following the call of my bear and leaving. Well, the forest, the memories of my parents, and the love I have for my brothers.

My bear huffs,“You don’t want to leave me to my own devices because you know I’d start to hunt for our mate.”

I smirk because he’s not wrong. I’m just thankful fate hasn’t seen to it to put my mate in my path up to this point.

My gut knots as I step into a familiar clearing. This is where we used to have meetings when the entire pack was required to attend. It’s also where bears shifted for the first time and mating ceremonies took place.

I can feel the weight of loss pressing against my chest, but I ignore it because of the sight in front of me.

Ripp and Grady are standing in front of a woman while only wearing basketball shorts. Wylie is letting out a low growl while the brown fur on his large bear stands on end. His lips are pulled back with his sharp teeth on full display.

When I look at the woman, I’m surprised at how calm she looks. I wouldn’t think meeting a giant bear is normal for most people, but she looks almost bored and definitely not scared. She sure as hell isn’t shocked to see a snarling bear standing side by side with two men who are only wearing shorts.

Talk about a scene the average person wouldn’t come across.

Which means she’s not average.

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