Crash (Moon Burrow Bears Book 7), page 1
CRASH
MOON BURROW BEARS 7
FEL FERN
Crash © 2023 by Fel Fern
Book cover design: Cormar Covers
All rights reserved: No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.
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CONTENTS
Blurb
1. Jared
2. Jared
3. Crash
4. Crash
5. Jared/ Crash
6. Jared/ Crash
7. Jared
8. Crash
9. Jared
10. Crash
11. Jared
12. Jared
13. Crash
14. Jared
15. Crash
16. Bernard
17. Jared
18. Jared/ Crash
19. Bernard/ Jared
20. Jared/ Crash
21. Jared
22. Crash/ Bernard
23. Jared
24. Crash/ Jared
25. Jared
26. Crash
27. Jared
A Sneak Preview of His Winter Fox
About the Author
Also by Fel Fern
BLURB
In a race against time, Jared's life hangs by a thread... unless he finds his biker bear.
Death is unavoidable but Jared Church refuses to accept his fate. Haunted by his brother's murder, Jared is determined to rewrite destiny. A glimmer of hope emerges as his brother's final gift leads him on a desperate quest—to find the man who has consumed his dreams since childhood.
Harry ‘Crash’ Brady has everything. He’s satisfied with his role in the Grizzly Reapers MC and he has loyal friends to watch his back. Crash doesn’t need or want anything else, but everything changes the night he saves a psychic from two werewolves. Jared is wonderfully selfless, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He also believes Crash is innately good, even though Crash has done his fair share of deeds he isn’t particularly proud of.
Just as Jared's hopes flicker to life, his brother's killer resurfaces. With danger closing in, staying by Crash's side might mean certain doom for the both of them. But Crash refuses to back down—even if their adversary is a bloodthirsty demon.
Prepare for an exhilarating ride in Crash, the seventh book in the Moon Burrow Bears series. Brace yourself for an intense m/m mpreg shifter romance, where a chivalrous biker bear and a sweet, sensitive psychic defy all odds.
1
JARED
The intense headache hit me in the middle of my afternoon shift. One moment, I’d been flipping burgers at the fast-food joint where I’d been working for six months.
The next moment, my stomach heaved, and it felt like someone had stuck needles in both my eyes.
I dropped the metal spatula, took a few steps away from the grill, and rested my head in my hands.
Massaging my temples didn't work. The sharp pain in the back of my head persisted, and instinct told me this wasn't normal.
It had something to do with waking up in bed this morning, my entire body covered in sweat.
My throat felt raw from too much screaming the night before. Something bad was going to happen. I knew it in my bones.
My twin brother, Jace, and I came from a long line of seers. Jace and I felt an immediate sense of wrongness on the day our dad Reid took his own life.
Ten years ago, Jace had barged into my bedroom one foggy morning, ashen-faced and unable to speak.
Words weren’t needed. Deep down, Jace and I knew the inevitable had come to pass.
The same dread coiled in my insides in the present.
Both our dads were gone. Ken died of lung cancer. Unable to cope with his death, Reid took his own life.
Jace was all I had, but Jace was living thousands of miles away from Fair Creek, our hometown.
I had chosen to stay and live in the house where we grew up. The moment Jace turned 20, he left Fair Creek, our haunted home, and never looked back.
I resented him a little for leaving me behind. No, that wasn't true at all. I didn’t want to leave back then and now.
The familiar comforted me. Sudden change unnerved me, but I had a feeling change was about to visit me no matter what I wanted.
"Jared, you alright?" Ronda, my manager, asked.
Ronda looked at me with concern. I realized I’d wrapped my arms around my skinny frame.
I stared at the burning meat on the grill. Ronda followed my line of sight and calmly took over.
Finally, I remembered how to use my words.
"I’m not feeling so good, Ronda. Must be the flu that’s been going around," I said, lying effortlessly.
Lying had been part of Jace’s and my skill set ever since we were kids.
There were places in the world where paranormals and humans openly coexisted, but not in Fair Creek.
We had our share of supernatural residents, but they mostly kept to themselves.
The human denizens treated them with open fear and suspicion. They did not spare my family.
My family were outliers and didn’t belong on the side of the humans or the supernaturals.
Jace and I spent our miserable high school years being treated like pariahs. While we never openly declared what we were, rumors traveled fast in small towns.
Visitors frequented our house during my childhood, seeking Ken to read their fortunes.
In the present, some of the older locals still appeared on my doorstep, begging for my aid.
Jace would have refused immediately, but I never had the heart to turn them away.
"Take the rest of the day off, Jared," Ronda suggested.
I blinked at her, momentarily confused. For a moment there, I’d allowed myself to meander down memory lane.
"Thanks, Ronda," I told her.
"Take all the time you need. You have my number. Get some medicine for that flu," she called over my shoulder.
I made my way to the employee break room and grabbed the rest of my belongings.
Not bothering to change out of my uniform, I left the store. The moment my feet touched the pavement, I breathed in some fresh air.
The pounding in my head subsided a little, but the uneasy feeling in my gut lingered.
I tried calling Jace right after I slid behind the wheel of my battered blue Honda. No response.
The last time I heard from Jace was two weeks ago. He seemed happy, working an office job for a hot boss. Those were Jace’s exact words.
Jace drifted from one job to the next, before finally settling on this one a year ago.
He’d sent me pictures of his desk, of his fancy new apartment. Jace seemed happy. So what went wrong?
After texting him to call me back, I drove back home. Spotting the latest graffiti artwork sprayed on my porch steps, I sighed.
Cleaning that mess up would take hours and I wasn't in the mood, so I left it for now.
I entered my quiet little home. Buster, my playful 5-year-old gray Ragdoll, immediately ran up to me to greet me.
Buster twirled around my legs, and I knew he wouldn’t stop until I picked him up. He was such an adorable baby that way.
I hefted him in my arms and let out a dramatic groan.
"Did you gain some extra weight again?" I asked him.
Buster meowed in my arms. I carried him upstairs to my bedroom. Once again, I ignored the two empty bedrooms across the hall.
A co-worker once asked me if I ever got lonely, living in such a big house on my own. I told him I was fine because I had Buster with me.
That was another lie. There were nights when I came home, feeling completely wiped out from work, wishing I had someone to come home to.
Someone who would greet me with a warm smile and a teasing kiss. He’d make me dinner and ask me how my day was.
Maybe the mystery man I’d been dreaming of ever since I was a kid.
Jace always teased me every single time I brought him up. My Prince Charming had dark gold hair and vivid blue eyes that sometimes turned amber in certain situations.
He wasn’t traditionally handsome but had a rough, rakish look to him. When he smiled, my heart completely melted.
When Jace told me to grow up and find a real man, I stopped mentioning my imaginary prince to him completely.
I never told my brother this, but some childish part of me still believed he was real.
My prince was out there, looking for me. Someday, our paths would cross, but until then, I’d continue dreaming of him.
Wanting to get the smell of greasy burgers off me, I took a quick shower.
After making myself a quick dinner, I checked my phone, but there was still no reply from Jace.
I hugged Buster close to my chest. He stilled, allowing me to use him as a fluffy pillow. It was as if Buster knew I needed the extra comfort.
“Jace, what happened to you?” I whispered to the empty kitchen.
I woke up crying. Buster licked my cheek, and I realized I’d fallen asleep on my lumpy living room sofa again.
The more I tried to recall the dream, the more it slipped away from my grasp.
I had dreamed of him again, my golden prince with the eyes that never remained the same. My prince with the hungry smile.
In that dream, I saw him clear as day, leaning against a black monstrous machine—a Harley.
Once he spotted me, he’d crooked a finger at me. I could still remember the words I said to him in the dream.
“You’re my past, present, and future, Crash,” I had said.
Crash. Was that his name? I’d always thought of my prince as nameless. Where did that even come from? What kind of name was Crash?
My phone buzzed, and it took me a few precious seconds to find it tucked under one pillow.
Jace’s name flashed across the screen, and I answered his call immediately.
“Jace, thank God you called me back. I was worried about you all day,” I blurted.
A quick look at the clock on my kitchen wall told me it was midnight. I arrived home at 3 pm.
Plenty of time had passed. Buster jumped on my lap, and I stroked him to calm my nerves.
“Jace, are you there?” I asked anxiously.
“There’s no time,” Jace said, sounding a little out of breath.
I pressed my phone closer to my ear and could hear shouting in the background, followed by a distinctive sound I’d only heard in movies or shows.
A gunshot? Was someone shooting at my brother? My heart thumped painfully, and I gripped the phone tightly in my hand.
“Jace, talk to me. What do you mean, there’s no time?” I demanded.
“I made a terrible mistake,” Jace said. Each word sounded strained. He panted heavily.
Jace continued, “I have so many things I wanted to tell you, Jared.” “Stop running and let’s talk this out like adults, Jace.” I heard someone saying.
Unlike my brother, who seemed to have trouble drawing air into his lungs, this speaker had a calm, velvety voice that made the hairs on my arms stand.
“Who are you calling?” asked that same voice.
“Run,” Jace whispered to me. “Get out of town. Do it right now or you’ll die in three days.”
Three days? Was Jace for real?
“Out of Fair Creek? Why? Jace, you’re not making any sense. Where would I even go?” I demanded.
“To your Motorcycle Prince. He’s real. I’m sorry I made fun of you all those years ago. Go to him. He’ll keep you safe,” Jace said. “I love you, Jared. I really wish we had more time.” Jace abruptly cut the call, and I stared at my phone for the next few seconds, stunned.
What just happened?
Jace told me to leave town, and I knew he wouldn’t just give me that advice without a reason.
Jace’s gift of foresight had always been stronger than mine. Did he see my death? I was about to call him again when my hands started to shake.
The cellphone slipped from my fingers. Invisible pressure constricted my chest, making it hard to breathe.
My heart felt like it would burst from my chest. I knew in that instant that Jared was about to die, and there was nothing I could do to save him.
Terrible agony gripped my head. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing I was receiving a vision. A late vision, but something was better than nothing.
My head spun, and the world seemed upside down. Cold swept over my clothes, my trembling body.
I heard the crash of waves, and the smell of brine permeated my nose. I was on some sort of dock or marina.
Large and pale fingers circled my fragile neck, and a terrible face loomed above me, beautiful yet unnatural.
A croak slipped from my throat, but I wouldn’t beg for forgiveness or mercy. That wasn’t my style. It took me a moment to realize I was looking out of Jace’s eyes and hearing his thoughts.
These were his last moments on this earth.
Despair filled me as the creature in front of me continued strangling me. My body, or rather Jace’s body, started to grow limp.
“Tell me, Jace. Who did you call?” asked my brother’s killer in that same eerie and calm voice.
Jace managed to blurt out two words. An impolite curse. His killer wore a disgusted look on his face.
Cold red eyes bore into mine. Jace’s murderer wasn’t the least bit human. Why wasn’t I surprised?
“If you hadn’t snooped around, then things would have still been peachy between us. I really enjoyed you in my life, in my bed, Jace. Here I was, thinking we were partners.”
I detected a hint of sadness in the monster’s voice, but it was gone the next moment. “Too bad I need to replace you.”
The monster squeezed one more time until the fragile bones in my brother’s neck broke.
My mind pulled me back to reality. I gasped, clawing at the fabric of my sofa. Sweat beaded my brow, and my heart galloped.
What was the point of having this gift, when I could only see my brother during his dying moments?
“This isn’t a gift. It’s a bloody curse,” I whispered to myself.
I burrowed my face into my hands. Hot tears filled my eyes. With Jace gone, I was the only member of the Church family left alive.
2
JARED
I glanced at Ken’s battered wristwatch for what felt like the thousandth time. The grimy clock face stared back at me, along with the massive crack in the middle.
The watch was broken, no longer able to tell time, but wearing it comforted me. At the same time, it also distracted me from what was going to happen in the next five minutes.
“Want a refill, hon?” asked a waitress.
I silently read her name tag. Miranda. I studied her face. Inquisitive brown eyes peeked out from an angular face.
She had gathered her long brown curls into a tight, single braid. A jolt of recognition hit me.
Miranda was the woman I dreamed about the night before. This woman would die soon if I didn't intervene.
In my mind’s eye, I saw Miranda bleeding on the dirty yellow vinyl floor, a bullet between her eyes.
I shuddered. Two days had passed since I packed my bags and left Fair Creek. That meant I only had one more day to live.
I still hadn’t gotten over my brother’s death, but it would be remiss of me to ignore his last warning.
Leaving had been easier than I thought, especially after coming to the realization that I wouldn't be missed.
With my entire family gone, I wouldn't miss Fair Creek one bit either.
My visions had also increased in frequency since Jace’s death. Sometimes I saw strangers minutes before their doom.
My dreams of Crash had also ramped up in intensity. When Jace told me to find him, his suggestion felt absurd, but lately, I saw myself driving past vast cornfields.
Then I’d enter a narrow road lined with ash and oak trees that were centuries old. Almost there, I had thought that morning.
It wouldn't be long now before I could pinpoint Crash’s location, but first, I had another soul to save.
“Yes, please,” I said, remembering where I was.
Miranda flashed me a warm smile before refilling my cup. Over her shoulder, I spotted a nondescript man in his mid-thirties, pretending to read a newspaper.
I knew he was pretending because he hadn’t turned the page since he occupied that booth fifteen minutes ago. Gut instinct told me to flee.
The stranger stuck out like an odd duck in the roadside diner. Truck drivers and the occasional traveler were the diner’s usual customers.
This man looked like he belonged in an office. Judging by how well the dark violet suit fit him, I could tell his clothing was tailored and expensive.
