One of the men turned around and snarled at me, his eyes flashing in the darkness. They were a different color, but they reminded me of Nathan’s eyes. They had the same electric sparks that marked both men as something other.
What the hell have I gotten myself wrapped up in?
“What are you going to do with me?” I asked, trying to stop my voice from quivering – I didn’t want to give these men the satisfaction.
“Nothing. We’re just waiting for your boyfriend to get here. You’re bait, baby.”
They laughed and returned their attention to the card game.
“If you’re talking about Nathan Varga, he’s not my boyfriend,” I cried back, “You’ve made a mistake. I went on one date with him!”
A date I was now regretting. I didn’t know what Nathan was mixed up in, but I didn’t want any part of this.
“Lady, if you don’t shut up, I’m going to rip your face off,” the second man growled.
“You need to listen to me. I don’t know if he will come for me. This is ridiculous…” I stopped mid-sentence as one of the men rose from his chair.
“What the hell did I tell you?”
He loomed over me, the light in his eyes practically glowing.
What were these men?
My jaw went slack. The man in front of me seemed to be vibrating with energy. I watched as his muscles bulged and his veins pulsated violently beneath his skin. I pushed my back against the wall, clutching my knees up to my chest in an effort to gain as much distance as I could.
He let out an inhuman growl, tearing the sound from his chest. Then I heard the sounds of ripping, as if his skin was being pulled apart to let something within him escape. The growl turned into a roar that shook the building.
I think I screamed.
Shutting my eyes against the vision of the monster before me, I could hear the sounds of muscle and organs being squished and ripped apart, the laughter of the other man in the background, deep and throaty.
Then silence.
I opened my eyes. I expected to see a dead man on the floor, a body turned inside out. What I actually saw sent my head spinning wildly.
A bear. A huge, black grizzly stood on its hind legs peering down at me. It roared again, louder than before. Instinctively I covered my ears, desperate to block out everything that appeared before me.
My heartrate kick-started and I gasped for air, not realizing that I’d stopped breathing. Adrenaline surged. I desperately wanted to fight for my life; I didn’t want to die here in a dank basement, alone and afraid, with men that could transform into animals.
I scurried to my feet and lurched to the side. The bear raised a paw, and with one swipe knocked me backward. My head slammed into the wall, and I cried out in pain. Not giving up, I tried to make a run for it, sidestepping his great hulk. I was pushed back again, this time, claws scraped across my chest. Blood dripped down my dress, and I felt light headed with terror.
“Give it up lady,” the other man called out, “You don’t want to make him mad – trust me.” He laughed, and casually took another sip of beer.
The bear just stood still, watching me. I leaned back into the wall, my legs no longer able to support my body. I sunk down onto my knees. I was defeated, and I saw the glow of triumph in the beast’s eyes.
Nathan, please help me.
He was the only hope I had.
Chapter twelve
They had heard my approach.
I got out of the car, as the lieutenant of the Bow Mar’s stepped into the front yard to meet me. I recognized him from the peace talks. He was the eldest son of the clan leader, and as despicable as his father.
“Where is she?” I asked, not bothering to slow down my pace toward the house.
“Fucking wait, Varga. I want to talk to you.”
He held out his arm across my chest, trying to halt me. I grabbed it and twisted it sharply behind his back, hearing the satisfying sound of a bone cracking. He yelped in pain.
“Your brother brought this about! He started shit with the clan. We’re just retaliating!”
I yanked his head toward mine.
“You don’t touch humans. You don’t touch MY woman. And you certainly don’t threaten me,” I hissed at him, “Was it the peace talks? Did you somehow get the idea that I was soft? Did you mistakenly believe that I would go easy on you?”
I tightened my grip on his arm, pushing it further up his back. He whimpered in pain.
“She’s downstairs. We didn’t touch her, I swear it.”
“We’ll see about that.”
I ushered him through the old barn house. I could smell Chloe from here; her scent that was like the sweet aroma of the mountains, and the acrid scent of her fear. It cut my soul. I had done this to her. This was my fault.
I followed her scent in the direction of the basement. We descended the steps, my grip tight on the shifter.
Chloe was in the far corner of the room, cowering behind a bear. I could now smell her blood, fresh and potent. My bear jolted inside me. It wanted out.
Both shifters spun around to face me. I knew who they were. I threw the lieutenant to the floor. Both these men were the pride of the Bow Mar pack. They were trained killers, both having served time for human crimes, and both reportedly unmatched in their strength and brutality.
I wanted to take Chloe in my arms. To just run from this place, make sure she was safe before I hunted each one of them down and repaid their torture in kind.
But I couldn’t.
If I went to her now, they would gain the upper hand. We would both be dead.
“Just remember your brother started this Varga,” the Lieutenant growled from the floor, “You both die for his mistakes today.”
The bear started to gain on me, and the other shifted to join him. I took one look at Chloe’s face, terrified and confused, and I knew what I was about to do would cause me to lose her forever.
The realization added to my fury. I had planned to break it to her gently, in the kindest way I could. Now she was getting a shifter 101 in the most brutal way imaginable.
I felt my bear tugging on me furiously. He wanted out. I didn’t have an alternative option.
I shifted. Chloe’s scream echoed across the room, and I cursed myself along with the rest of the vile creatures for causing her pain.
Roaring, I fell upon the first shifter. He tore at my back with his claws, but it was too late. With a hunger I hadn’t possessed since the times of peace started, my teeth tore into the flesh and fur at his neck. His blood seeped into my mouth, his body whipping and jolting as his life was cut short.
The other bear leapt onto my back. Digging in where I had already been sliced open, his claws raked at the raw flesh and I howled with pain.
“No!”
I heard Chloe’s cry, pleading, desperate. I wouldn’t leave her here to die. I spun around, clubbing the bear’s head backward. He pawed at me again, catching my snout. My own blood mingled with that of the dead bear.
He opened his jaws, ready to bite down and deliver his death blow.
I’m so sorry Chloe.
I heard a clatter, and turned to see Chloe standing behind my would-be killer with a chair leg raised in her hand. Distracted, the bear turned.
I took the only chance I had left. Grabbing each side of his muzzle with my claws, I bit down, breaking his jaw with my own. I released him and he reeled back. Swiping with my paw, I caught him around the throat; carving four deep gashes that instantly spurted bright red blood.
His body fell to the floor.
Behind me I heard the Lieutenant scrambling to his feet and running toward the stairs. I let him leave. I would find him later.
“Nathan?” Chloe whispered, her voice high and wavering.
I lowered myself down on all fours, unable to look into her eyes; unwilling to see the disgust I knew would be there waiting for me.
She hesitantly took a step closer. I tried to focus on shifting back, but with he
r so close, and the scent of dead shifters running through my veins, it was near impossible. My bear demanded he protect her.
I felt something warm on my forehead. I looked up to see Chloe standing close, her bare legs almost touching my nose. Her palm was pressed softly against my fur.
“Thank you,” she whispered, “I was hoping you’d come.”
My bear sighed with contentment at her touch.
Inside I felt my heart crack and break in response to the bitter sweet token of her acceptance. She would probably never see me as anything more than a beast, but at least she didn’t hate me.
It was enough. For now.
Chapter thirteen
We drove back to town in silence. There were a million things I wanted to ask, questions buzzing about my mind as it flipped itself inside out trying to come to terms, logically, with what I’d witnessed.
After the fight, Nathan had transformed back into a man. I had watched as the fur slowly receded from his body to be replaced by smooth skin. The huge bulk of the grizzly had adapted and transfigured into a human physique, tall, broad… perfect.
Despite the awful strangeness, the horrific sounds that once again accompanied the transformation, when I looked at him – human once again, I felt the same stirrings of carnal lust that I’d experienced on every encounter I’d ever had with the man. Only this time he was naked. My own feelings disturbed me more than anything else.
I wanted to get home. I needed space to think, to process the nightmare that I’d lived the last few hours. But home didn’t feel safe. The fact that those creatures knew where I lived made my home feel sullied and unwelcoming.
“I know you probably want to go home,” Nathan broke the silence, anticipating my request, “But it’s not safe there at the moment. There are others, more of the Bow Mar clan that pose a threat.”
I nodded slowly. Great. More half-humans happy to hunt me down in some kind of bear war, while the rest of the world remained completely oblivious to their existence.
“I’m so sorry, Chloe. I know you’ve been through a lot.”
I glanced over, watching his jaw twitch with repressed anger. I recalled the men saying that this was his brother’s mess – I wondered if Nathan’s anger was directed at the Bow Mar clan or his own kin.
“I have lots of questions,” I replied as levelly as I could, “But I need a shower, and I need food and some rest. I… I don’t know where to go.”
“I want you to stay at my place,” he hesitated, “I know it’s not ideal. It’s probably the last place you want to be right now, but it’s also the safest.”
I nodded again. No, it wasn’t ideal. I wanted space from Nathan. I was so grateful that he’d saved me, but at the same time I needed to process everything that had gone on tonight.
I watched from the window as the landmarks started to look more familiar. Nearing the city, I started to feel better. There might be mythological creatures surrounding Denver, but there was also a Starbucks and a Seven-Eleven. The world hadn’t gone completely bat-shit.
“I’ll stay with you,” I murmured.
He exhaled with relief, and I could practically feel some of the tension leaving his body. He was genuinely concerned, and the realization surprised me. I no longer understood what was going on between us, but perhaps the magnetic pull I seemed to have toward him was reciprocated. I didn’t want to dwell on it. Whatever my body, and in all honestly my heart, felt, I needed cold, hard logic to take over for now.
“I need to know a few things first,” I demanded.
“You can ask me anything.” He replied, his tone somber and full of regret.
“Your…abilities – was it something you were born with? Have you always been this way?”
“Yes,” he nodded, “It’s passed on through the genes. My father and mother were like this, and now so are my idiot brother and I. We come from a long line of shifters.”
“And who were those guys? Another pack or something?”
“Clan,” he corrected, “Yes. They’ve always been a problem. One I thought I’d solved – until Byron fucked it up by starting a fight with them.”
He’d spoken about Byron on our date, though obviously not about him being a bear. Oh. The bear in the woods.
“When I saw you in the forest, was that Byron you were helping? That bear? Was that the fight that started this?”
“Yes,” he replied tersely.
So, Brianna and I had witnessed a shifter fight. Wow. The thought that Brianna had been tending to a half-human bear made me feel slightly hysterical, and I started giggling.
“What?” Nathan asked, bemused.
“Nothing…it’s just – Jesus. I can’t get my head around this. I need coffee.” I groaned, my hysteria subsiding as a pounding headache grew in its place.
“We’re almost home. I have coffee.”
I nodded and hoped he also had a shit-ton of painkillers and a powerful shower. I leaned back into the plush car seat, closing my eyes. The questions would just have to wait.
Chapter fourteen
I let her sleep.
As soon as we got home, she made a bee-line to the shower. When she emerged, she was wrapped in my bathrobe, only her toes and face visible from the swathes of terrycloth that engulfed her. Color had been restored to her cheeks, and her damp hair smelled summer-orchard sweet.
My bear had tugged at me again, and I felt my hard-on, rock solid and needy, pressing uncomfortably against my suit pants.
I’d shown her to the guest bedroom, thinking she’d be more comfortable without being surrounded by my things. It was now seven in the evening and she still hadn’t woken.
I had spent the day working from home, but it had been torture knowing that Chloe’s naked body was nearby. The thought of her laying between the cotton sheets, her hair and skin pressed against my pillows, her soft, large breasts exposed, was enough to drive me near insane with distraction.
The only blessing was the absence of Byron. Had he been here, my rage at his stupidity and the selfishness of his actions would have potentially put him in an early grave.
“You look angry.”
I’d been so consumed by thoughts of my brother, I hadn’t heard her enter the room. She looked rumpled and adorable, a light crease across her cheek where she’d slept.
“I was thinking about my brother,” I smiled, pulling out a chair, “Good morning.”
“Don’t you mean good evening?” She asked, looking out across the city expanse visible from the window.
“Morning for you. Coffee?”
“Yes, please.”
I set about brewing a fresh pot, noticing with satisfaction that she sat on the chair next to mine. Part of me had been worried that when she awoke, she’d run screaming from my apartment. But even in the short time I had known Chloe, I should have realized that she wasn’t the kind of woman to run. She was brave, bold and courageous. In truth, I was in awe.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve just been in a mental car crash. I’m still having a hard time believing everything.”
“Well, if you have questions, I’ll answer as honestly as I can.”
She didn’t say anything for a while, and it was only after she took her first sip of coffee that she spoke again.
“Where you ever going to tell me?”
I sighed. That was a complex question. I didn’t know how to reply without telling her how I truly felt about her.
“Yes,” I said eventually, “If things had gone as I’d hoped between us, I would have tried to break it to you gently.”
A corner of her mouth turned up at that and I could see the barest hint of amusement dancing in her eyes.
“Break it to me gently? How did you think you’d accomplish that?”
“Honestly,” I laughed, “I had no fucking idea. I’ve never… well, I’ve never felt this connection with another human, or shifter for that matter.”
She took another sip of coffee and I could see her d
igesting the information.
“Do shifters normally only date other shifters?”
‘Dating’ was a strange term for the bonding that took place between mates, but I knew what she meant. I also knew that humans had no concept of the strength of two souls entwining completely the way we did in the shifter world. Our bonds were sacred, unchanging and forever.
“As far as I know, yes.”
“Oh.”
She looked down at her coffee, not meeting my eyes.
“But everyone is different. And I’ve never felt the way I do about you before, not with a human or a shifter.”
It was as close as I could get to the truth. The brief second she took to reply felt like an eternity. I’d put myself on the line. Emotional exposure wasn’t something I was used to.
“Oh.” She said again, but this time I could see a small smile teasing at the edges of her lips.
Her bathrobe had fallen open slightly at the top revealing the plump curve of her cleavage moving slowly with the rise and fall of her chest.
I wanted to claim her. To move her luscious hair from her neck and expose the soft, silky skin of her throat. To mark her with a bite that would show the world that this woman belonged to me. Marking her as my own would seal our unbreakable bond, so that I would never have to spend another day of my life without seeing, touching or being allowed to pleasure Chloe Carpenter.
I carefully took the coffee cup out of her hands and placed it down on the table. I did move her hair, tilting her chin up toward me, but only to kiss her softly on the lips. She tasted like mint and coffee, and I groaned as I parted her lips with mine, wanting to drown in her taste, to lick and kiss every inch of her.
The kiss seemed to have the same effect on her as it did on me. She rose out of the chair, pressing her body to mine. I squeezed her full, ample bottom and drew her against my rock-hard cock so that she could feel how much I wanted her.
She gasped, but clung to the back of my shirt, driving me closer.
“I don’t know how I feel,” she said, breaking away from me, “But I want you – I need you inside me, I need you to make me feel safe again.”
Bears of Burden: STERLING Page 45
