The Shifter's Love: Bear Heat

Chapter 2

    When the black SUV pulled up at at 0855...Tristian realized that things were not going to be alright. In fact, he realized before this Alex even got out of the vehicle that this was about to be an absolute s**t storm. His bear was clawing at him just beneath the surface, demanding to see his "mate". It took everything in Tristian just to keep his composure in front of his guys. His mind was a torrent of emotions and thoughts while his bear was just itching to see their mate. 

    While his mind was spinning, the driver opened the back door to the SUV, then went to the back to grab some duffel bags. Next thing Tristian was his with the most intoxicating scent he had ever smelled in his life, fresh baked blueberry pie with a hint of vanilla. He closed his eyes, taking in the glorious scent while trying to calm his nerves. The smell was a calm to the violent storm that was his mind, but what came next was a utter shock. He heard Alex's laugh and his eyes snapped open staring at the back of the vehicle. 

    In front of him stood the absolutely most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Standing there in her perfectly fitted uniform, which hugged her ample curves in all the right places, he felt himself already becoming aroused with thoughts of her dashing through his mind. It wasn't until he heard snickers from his crew that he was able to pull himself back together.

   "What's so funny?" he said with a death glare.

    "Holy shit....Boss your eyes are swirling around something fierce. Better get them in check and quick." Brantley said with a slight smile. 

    But before he got to say anything back, a melodious voice brought all their eyes to the angel in front of them.

    "Hello. I'm First Lieutenant Alexandria Carter, sent here by orders of General White as your temporary liaison officer while I get you all up to speed on how we run fire missions in the Marine Corps. Cute decorations by the way. I appreciate the warm welcome. Ya'll got names?" she said with complete and utter confidence. Tristian could tell his bearings were already trying to falter as he stood there completely awestruck.

    She stood about 5'6', maybe 5'7'. Her chestnut brown hair was pulled into a perfect bun under her cover. She had flawless tanned skin, gorgeous sea green eyes and a million dollar smile accented by perfect pink pouty lips. Lips he couldn't stop staring at, already wishing he could kiss them.

    After a few moments of awkward silence, his beta Hunter finally cleared his throat to end his bosses misery.

    "Sorry about that." he said while glaring at Tristian quickly before returning his gaze to Alexandria. " I'm Hunter Fox, the best second in command a boss could ask for and obviously the most good looking of the bunch too. Next to me is Jason Dodson, Grant Black, Brantley Gray, Ryan Gibson and the baby Max Cromwell. The mute i***t here to my left is our boss,Tristian O'Connell." He finished with a huge smile and extended his hand to meet hers.

    "Thank you Hunter. I was wondering who was actually going to speak first. Although a little surprised it wasn't the boss, but seeing the looks on all your faces tells me you are actually shocked to see me."

    "We were told it was someone named Alex. Just kinda assumed it was a guy."

    "Yeah. A stupid nickname I earned with my first company after graduating boot camp. General White heard it one time and now just loves to throw people for a loop with that mix-up. My apologies for the misunderstanding." She said with a smile. "Anyways, mind telling me where I'm bunking? I'd like to get somewhat settled before we get down to business."

    "You can't stay here at base. Sorry." Tristian said, finally finding his voice.

    "Excuse me? Why not?'' Alexandria said with a glare.

    "You just can't. This whole thing is a mistake. We don't need your expertise." he said firmly.

    "Well obviously General White thinks differently, otherwise I wouldn't have signed that contract to attach to this private contract program you have here. So unless you want me to video call Quantico and we have a little chat with General White, you are all stuck with me until I deem you all qualified to handle fire missions. So either show me my area, or head to your office and pull up General White, Staff Sergant O'Connell." Ending the last part of her bold statement rather wickedly with her smirk. "Yes....I have mini dossier files on you all. So don't think that I know I outrank each and everyone of you." she finished while walking past the shocked faces of everyone inside their base to give herself a tour.

***

    At first, Alexandria was thrilled about this new mission. While driving through the quaint town of Layton, she was awestruck by the small town charm. It's beautiful charm instantly pulled her in. She could get used to a beautiful place like this quickly. But once she hit the base, that's where all the charm stopped. The base was top of the line and absolutely flawless; but the reception from the crew, especially Tristian, was anything but stellar. In fact, it was down right rude. 

    "Damn chauvinist idiots." she grumbled to herself while giving herself a mini tour. While she was thoroughly impressed with the layout of the base and its location, the crew ruined it. Being a Marine Corps officer, she was used to push back and hate, especially in her field. It gave her a thick skin and she knew how to deal with these situations accordingly, a far cry from what she used to be before joining the Corps.

    After a quick shudder at the memories the quickly came flooding back from her past, she quickly composed herself and shut them back down. A small tap on her shoulder brought her quickly back to reality as she jumped from being startled.

    "Sorry about scaring you just now. I just wanted to say sorry about the not so warm welcome. I'm Max." he said with a small smile.

    "No your fine. I was just lost in the beauty here of the lake. This base is pretty impressive if I do say so myself." Alexandria said with a warm smile.

    "Yeah....We all love it. Plenty to do at any time of the year and gives us room to roam too. So First..."

    "Nope. No formalities Max, at least not when we are off duty. Just call me Lexi." she said with a warm smile "By chance do you mind showing me where I'll be bunking? I'd rather not stay in uniform any longer than I have to."

    "Yeah. Any request to a room? We've got spare rooms on our wing or other guest quarters on the other side of the complex also."

    "Any of the rooms have a view to this gorgeous lake?" she said with a slight laugh. 

    "Yup.....We got one left. But......It's next to the boss." Max replied.

    "Well....Guess if I want to wake up to this gorgeous view I'll have to suffer. You win some, you lose some."

    "Sorry for the less than stellar welcome Lexi. I promise you we don't mean it. We just went through a lot to get to the position we are now. And a gorgeous female human like yourself could really throw off the dynamic of the crew." Max answered back rather oddly. "But anyhow, here is your room. See you later!"

    'Well that was weird. We are all flipping human.' Lexi thought to herself while walking into her room. Oddly enough, she was surprised by how put together the room was. Better than any of the rooms on the bases she was used to. Simple gray walls, a queen sized bed, dresser, desk, closet and a adjoining full bathroom made up her guest quarters. But her favorite part of it was the comfortable looking chaise lounge that faced the floor to ceiling windows with one of the most gorgeous views she had ever seen. 

    Looking out she could see the fire pit area, a basketball court and some outdoor workout gear. Past that was a lush green lawn that slowly faded to a quaint little beach area with some Adirondack chairs and a sand volleyball court. The beach was met with and absolutely flawless crystal blue lake that was surrounded by majestic looking forest that stretched for miles that finally met with what looked like a ski resort. The view was absolutely breath taking and for the first time in a long time, Lexi felt like she was at home. An absolutely strange feeling to her considering her broken past she so desperately tries to stay one step ahead of, afraid that the monster will once again find her and force her back into a life she wants nothing to do with. 

    After shaking off the brief flashback from her past, Alexandria decided a hot shower was much needed after traveling. Throwing her luggage on the bed, she dug out everything she needed, placed it in the bathroom, then stripped down and relaxed as the hot shower melted her thoughts and fears away....