by Hope Ford
Solos may have only been playing with me in the beginning, but he finally tore into me. He ripped my shoulder open and although it’s already started healing, the pain is still there.
I’m on all fours, gasping for breath, a part of me wishing I was already dead. This is his game. Solos brings me so close to death, and then he releases me. He’s done it over and over and now I’m just exhausted. I can’t keep fighting him off. I just can’t.
I hear it then. My name, barely a whisper, but I hear Ronan saying it over and over. I turn in circles, lifting my eyes to the trees, the sky, trying to figure out where it’s coming from. I wait for it to stop, but it doesn’t. Over and over. “Bree, Bree, Bree.”
I decide then and there that I’m going to do everything in my power to stay alive. I’m not going to let Solos destroy me and what I have with Ronan. I put my head down, breathing in and out. And I wait. I know he’s going to attack again and this time I’ll be ready.
I don’t have to wait long; Solos is not a patient bear. When he comes for me, I bite into his shoulder, the sound of breaking bones loud as I gnaw on his leathery skin. I jerk him around and throw him as far as my bear is able to. It isn’t far, but it will give me a breather and some distance.
Another Eater in human form walks toward me. I stare him down, knowing my bear is stronger than him.
He raises his arm and points at me. “Shift into your human form.”
I roar at him, right in his face, letting him know that it’s not going to happen. I know what his plans are if I’m in human form and I’m not allowing it. Solos would destroy me.
The same man points over to Sayer. He’s in his bear form lying on the ground, surrounded by all the Eaters. He’s breathing, but barely hanging on. I can’t let them kill him. I can’t. He came with me to protect me and I should never have left the clubhouse. This is all my fault.
I know I’m dead either way, but if I shift back and do what they say, there’s a chance that Sayer might survive. I look around and Solos is still in his grizzly form. The others have shifted back to humans, but not Solo. I know his plans and I know what I have to do.
I morph back into my human form. I’m standing here, naked for all the men to see, but I don’t have a choice. I don’t cower or curl my shoulders in defeat. I focus on my love for Ronan and refuse to be the pleading, crying kitten they want me to be. I stand tall waiting on what will happen next.
Solos blows air out of his nose and ruts at the ground. The other men gather around us and I know they just want to see how Solos is going to torture me, his bear against my human form.
I would normally hope for a fast and painless death, but even now, looking the savage Solos in the eye, I still don’t want to die. I want to live and tell Ronan I love him. I want him to know what I think of him and how I want to be his… only his.
It’s then I hear it. A stampede of something. The noise is deafening and I can feel it getting closer.
Solos turns toward the forest and so do the human Eaters. We’re all curious, waiting to see what it is, when several grizzlies pounce through the trees at the same time. The first one I see is Ronan. He doesn’t stop once he lands on his paws; he tracks me and starts running straight for me. Once the shock wears off, Solos stands on his hind legs, ready for what’s about to come.
Ronan
She’s alive, but it looks like barely. I look between her and Solos and I know I have to end him now. I can’t let him survive, not after what he’s done to her.
I’m running toward him and he starts running to me. We meet in a mix of blood, sweat and spit flying everywhere. Solos is a big bear, but I’m bigger. And I have more to lose. There’s no way I will lose this fight. Even in this mix of flying fur, as we tumble and roll across the ground, gnashing our teeth at each other, I still have my eye on her.
She’s shaken and I see her collapse to the ground. I want to go to her, but I can’t. My growl is fierce and the split second I take my pressure off of Solos is too long. He pushes me backwards, hitting a tree, and it shakes from the force of it.
Solos walks slowly toward me and I struggle to get up, but not before a bear, Bree’s bear, comes flying to us and tackles Solos to the ground. I get my bearings and get up, charging the animal, ready to end this game. Bree is standing over Solos, daring him to get up. I nuzzle her neck, pushing her back toward the forest line. She’s done enough; she’s saved me and probably Sayer too. All the other Eaters have left, and my men stand around Solos. We can take him apart limb by limb, but that’s not how this is going down. I look at Bruin and nod my head toward Bree. He walks over to her and only when I know she is protected do I circle around Solos, moving my men back, letting them know that he is mine.
I stand over him, rutting my paw into the dirt, begging him to get up.
He does then and when he turns to look at Bree, I pounce on him. Just him looking at her is reason enough for me to end him.
I demolish him. We fight and tumble and roll all over the dirt road, but in the end I finish him.
15
Bree
“I’m leaving, Ronan.” I should say it to his face, but I can’t look at him. So instead, I write him a letter. My bags are packed and it’s the first moment I’ve had to myself since the fight with Solos and the Eaters. It’s only been a week, but I’ve spent that time taking care of Ronan. He was hurt pretty bad, but he is already almost completely healed.
Ronan was called for church this morning and I knew this would be my only time to escape. Since the moment I came into town, I’ve caused nothing but problems. Eden was going to be my big escape, my taste of freedom. Instead, I made enemies with the rival MC, got Petey killed, almost got Sayer killed, and I’ve come between Ronan and his father. I’m surprised that they haven’t kicked me out of town already.
The sound of a motorcycle has me looking out the window. He must have forgotten something, I think when I see Ronan flying up the driveway.
I look around the room but don’t see anything. Only seconds flick by from time he shuts off the motor and the front door comes splintering open.
“What are you doing, Bree?” His nostrils are flared and even though I know he would never hurt me, I’m a little scared right now.
He stalks into the room and I back up two steps for every step he takes.
He pauses at the kitchen table and looks down at what I was just writing. “You’re leaving me?”
I don’t have the words, I can’t say it out loud. All I do is nod at him.
I expect him to ask me why, or hell, he should be kicking my bags out behind me and saying so long. But he says the one thing I never would have expected.
“You’re not leaving me.”
My shoulders drop. It was going to be hard, fuck, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, leaving him. But with him here, right in front of me, it will take everything I have to. “Ronan, look at what I’ve done to you, to your family, your crew…”
He walks over to me, gripping my shoulders. I cringe at how tight he’s holding me and he softens his touch a little bit. “Our fight with the Eaters started way before you got here. And it’s going to be here for a while, but not because of you.”
I put my hand up on his firm chest. “Yeah, but you and your dad?”
He brushes the hair off my shoulders and holds it at the nape of my neck. “My dad and I are fine. He understands now. He’s not going to come between us…”
I look at him skeptically. I want to believe we have the possibility for a future, but as soon as my hopes start to rise, I think of something else that will stand in our way. “Ronan, I saw how your dad reacted to me. You can’t tell me he’s just going to accept me, accept us.” I point between the two of us.
He wraps his arms around me and locks them behind my back, holding me tight to him. “Mom’s talked to him. He’s good.”
I laugh then, because I can’t help it. “No one messes with Kass, do they?”
He chuckles. “Not i
f they want to live.”
I rest my head against his chest and breathe him in. “Ronan, I don’t get it. You should be running me out of town, not telling me you want me to stay.”
“Hey”—he nudges his body against me, shaking me a little—“look up at me.”
I raise my head, resting my chin on his chest.
He stares at me for the longest time and I swear I see exactly what he feels for me in his eyes. The thought scares me a little.
His voice is rough and thick with emotion. “Do you remember me telling you that I was claiming you? That you are mine?”
I nod.
“Well, I meant that. You’re stuck with me.”
I try to back away from him, but he stops me. I push my hands hard against his chest. “This doesn’t make sense, Ronan. I feel so boggled up inside and I can’t make sense of anything. I don’t understand this… what’s happening between the two of us. I just don’t know,” I tell him.
“I know exactly what it is, but I can’t tell you how to feel, Bree. I need you to figure this out on your own.”
Ronan
Now I’m worried. I know she’s younger and doesn’t fully understand what’s happening, but how do you tell someone that they are mated to you? What if she’s my mate, but I’m not hers? Is that even possible? I’ve never heard of it.
I lead her over to the table and pull the chair out. “Sit down.”
She looks at me weirdly but does as I ask. “Okay, clear your mind, try not to think of anything but you and me.”
She rolls her shoulders as if she’s trying to relax.
I pick up the letter that she started, and read the words over and over. “Ronan, I’m leaving.”
She’s watching me curiously, but I keep at it. I imagine coming here and finding her gone. I imagine never seeing her again. I imagine losing my one true love… my mate. The emotions build inside of me and I can feel it affecting me. My heart is beating rapidly in my chest, my muscles are flexed and the pain in my gut is immense.
Her hand slides across the table and I can’t stop myself from reaching for her. Her other hand goes to her stomach and she holds herself like she’s in pain, like she can feel what I’m going through. She leans toward me and I watch as a tear rolls down her cheek. I can’t help it, I pull her into my lap. She curls into me, her hand pressed against my chest. We sit there for the longest time, until finally our breaths return to normal.
With her cheek on my heart, she finally asks me the question I’ve been waiting for her to ask. “Ronan, how did you know I was hurt? How did you know where I was at?”
I don’t answer her for the longest time, and finally she raises up and looks at me. I cup her jaw in my hand. “I felt your pain. I felt what Solos was doing to you. I felt it so hard that I couldn’t even get up off the floor because the pain was so bad. It was weird and I’ve never experienced anything like it, but I knew where you were. I could see you.”
Her eyes are wide. “I felt your pain, Ronan. Just now, when you read my letter that I was leaving, I felt what you were feeling.” She says it with awe in her voice.
Nodding my head at her, I say to her, “We’re mated, Bree. You’re my mate. I wanted you to figure it out on your own. I didn’t want to tell you what you’re feeling, but you’re mine, and I’m never letting you go.”
Her hand goes around my neck. “I love you, Ronan.”
I nuzzle her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. “I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Ronan
Two Months Later
Bree, the badass black bear, is the only woman who is bear enough for me. I thought it would take years with someone to get even close to how I feel right now about Bree. I wish I could say I left that fight with Solos without a scratch on me, but that’d be a lie. She’s nursed me back to health, and completely taken care of me. She’s even kicked my ass a little when I’ve tried to milk my healed-up injuries a little longer.
The sun is rising over the Klamath mountains and I have Bree in my arms. Ever since the day she had planned on leaving, she has been by my side. I’m pretty sure I convinced her that day that we were meant to be together, but just in case, I plan on sealing the deal.
She stretches beside me and when she’s finished I pull her into me. She lays content on me and I breathe her in. “Honey.”
She doesn’t answer me and is faking asleep.
I turn her on her back and put my body between her legs, holding her open. I look down at her naked body. In the past two months we’ve spent every night together and I can honestly say I’ll never tire of looking at her.
I kiss her lips, her neck, her shoulder, and when I nip at her peaked nipple, she moans.
I pull away and smile at her before reaching in the drawer next to the bed.
Her eyes are heavy and she’s smiling with them closed. I kiss her nose. “Open your eyes.”
She opens one and peeks out at me, finding me lying there with a box in my hand. She gasps and tries to scoot backwards, but I put pressure on her and keep her where she’s at.
“Well?” I ask her.
She just shakes her head at me. “I’m sorry, did you ask me a question?”
Rolling my eyes, I lean in to kiss her. “You’re going to marry me, Bree McGuire, soon to be Bree Vahn.”
Her legs go around my middle, lightening her words. “I don’t know if I will or not since I haven’t been asked.”
I put my weight on her and bring my lips to her ear. “Honey, there’s a lot of things I’ll ask you for, but this isn’t one of them. You don’t have a choice. You’re marrying me because I love you and you love me. Without you, I am nothing, no one.”
I can see the light in her eyes and I know she wants this. I know she wants to say she will marry me, but something’s stopping her.
She lowers her eyes. “But your dad…”
“He knows you’re my mate and will give his blessing, not that I need it. Just like I didn’t need your cousin Bruin’s blessing, but I asked for it.”
“You asked Bruin… but you’re not asking me. Your logic is a little messed up there, Ronan.”
I just laugh. It wouldn’t have mattered what he said. Me asking was just a technicality. She’s going to be mine. Once and for all.
“Well?” I ask her again.
She finally shrugs her shoulders. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Ronan. I mean, you are my mate. It makes sense.”
I laugh before kissing her. I slide my tongue across the seam of her lips and she grants me access. I stroke her mouth until she’s gyrating her hips, pressing them against my hard cock. “I have to have you.” I kiss down her body until I’m looking at her wet, slick folds. “And then my bear needs to run.”
There’s no better way to celebrate than letting your bear run free in the Klamath mountains.
She widens her legs, showing me her core soaked with desire. Her whispered words break me and I’m licking her seam before she finishes. “I’ll show you my bear if you show me yours.”
Epilogue 2
Bruin
When Ronan asked me for my blessing, I gave it to him. After the way he protected Bree, I knew there was no reason I should stand in their way. They are obviously each other’s mates. If you’re with them in the same room for just a few minutes, it’s obvious.
Watching them these past few weeks has made me wish for things I’ve never thought I would want before. I used to find pleasure in any of the club Twinkies, but now it’s just to pass the time.
Just take Rita for instance. I know that Sayer has a thing for her, but here she is, obsessed with my dick. She caught me in the hallway and pushed me into my bedroom. I want to tell her no, but the praise she’s giving my dick is amusing. I fully intended to push her away before she started kissing and licking me, but I’d been distracted by the sound I heard in the closet.
Someone is in there.
I can feel the eyes of someone on me from the closet but it isn’t a predatory gaze. The sen
sation that rushes over my body is more like a curious hot stroke over my cock.
I look down at the carpeted floor near the closet doors instead of directly at the doors to see movement behind the slats and can make out the full feminine figure behind the doors.
Whoever it is, she’s got big, round full breasts and the thought of the sexy stranger watching me get a blow job turns me on a lot more than Rita and her efforts. I grab Rita by the shoulders and push her away. She barely notices as she works her hand between her thighs.
I leave Rita on the bed and edge a little closer to the closet, but before I can make it to the doors to open them and find out who is behind them, Lisa, one of the club sluts, comes bursting into the room with Deator, Ronan, Johnny, Zeus and Teddy.
They all ignore the half-naked Rita on the bed pleasuring herself. Lisa points to the closet. “She’s in there.”
Deator opens the doors wide and stands back.
Inside the closet stands a blond-haired woman, a shifter, I realize when her scent fills my nostrils. She looks vaguely familiar and when she raises her chin, her light blue eyes pierce me, and it’s then I recognize her resemblance. There’s only one person that I’ve seen with eyes like hers. She is related to Alban, a member of the rival Eaters Gang.
Her eyes flick down my body and when they land on my exposed hard cock, it grows even harder. She licks her lips and just the sight of her extended pink tongue sends a jolt through my body. I tell myself she’s an Eater; she’s off limits. My mind obeys, but not my body. Pre-cum drips to the floor, but I’m not watching that; no I’m watching her and she’s watching me.
She’s an Eater, hiding in my closet. Was she sent here to spy or is she an assassin? I look around the room at the bloodthirsty looks on the men around me. They’re out to get the Eaters and they won’t hesitate to use her to get their revenge.
