“I can arrange that.”
Kenzie curled her hands into fists, ready to fight, because she was sick of running and being scared, but he never got any closer. Bram roared out, and she knew the windows surrounding them had to have rattled. The leader’s eyes went wide, and he grunted right before he was flung back in the alley.
Bram stood before her, his chest rising and falling violently and his bear right under his skin, his blue eyes flashing to black and then back to blue. A strangled noise came from behind him, and he turned and met the wolverine head-on. She saw the other three addicts lying still on the ground but could still hear their heartbeats. Bram had taken them down in a matter of seconds. God, he was so fierce.
The sound of bones breaking slammed into her ears, gurgling noises surrounded her, and then there was silence. Bram stood over the leader, the wolverine holding his hands up in surrender, his fingers at odd angles from being broken. Blood sprayed across Bram’s chest, but at that moment, she couldn’t see anything but her protective, powerful mate.
“Please, man, please. I didn’t mean n-nothin’ by it,” the wolverine stuttered, and blood slipped down his chin. Bram lifted his hand, his fingers curled inward and clenched tightly.
“I told you not to look at my mate, think about her, or fucking touch her. You dared to think about touching my female, to hurt her?” His voice was bordering on vicious. “Because of that, I’m going to rip your fucking throat out and let you bleed out.” He started to bend toward the wolverine, and a whimper came from the broken male at his feet.
She had to end this. It had gone too far, and even if the other shifters started it, and Bram was just protecting them and defending himself, this needed to end now.
“Bram.” Her voice was surprisingly strong for the events that had transpired, but he instantly stilled and looked at her. “It’s enough.” His eyes flashed, yet it wasn’t with anger but acceptance and surrender. Her big bear was submitting to her. That was a heady damn feeling.
“Mine.”
If she hadn’t realized that before, she certainly did now. He stalked forward, and all Kenzie could do was stand there. When he was right in front of her, she inhaled deeply. The violence he just delivered should have had her screaming in fear, running away from him, and reminding her of the life she had led.
But none of those emotions came to her. Instead, she softened under his gaze, felt everything that was female about her melt right before her mate. He made sure she was safe, once again, and she knew that falling for this bear was unavoidable.
“You’re mine, Kenzie, and I’ll destroy anything that threatens to take you away.”
Her breath stalled, and all she could do was nod. Yes, she was his, and dammit did it feel good.
21
The terrain was rough and uneven, but it was perfect for her inner deer, and being out in the open with nature surrounding her was glorious.
For longer than she wanted to admit, she had been surrounded by glass, steel, and the effects of modernization as Rook kept her with him, but not having anything restraining her, and smelling all the wonderful scents was sublime. Bram was in front of her, but only by a foot.
It had only been two days since he had taken her back to his home, and the kind of attention and affection he gave her were what she dreamed of while living with Rook. She hadn’t thought about the fight he had with the wolverines, and found it easy not to, especially when he was so gentle and soft with her. Maybe she was starting to heal.
She may feel as though she was, but that didn’t mean the threat of Rook wasn’t still very real. “Are you sure we’re safe?” Despite the thick protection the forest gave them, Rook was a hunter and got a thrill from the chase.
She didn’t sense anything aside from the cleanness of nature, and Bram was relaxed, which helped her calm as well, but she still asked… for the third time. He stopped and turned to look at her.
“Kenzie, I promise you’re safe. This is my home, and I know it better than I know myself sometimes. If there was any kind of threat, I would know, and there wouldn’t be any way I’d take you out of the safety of the cabin.” He took a step forward and took her hand in his. “I just want to see you smile when you see the waterfall.” He gave her hand a squeeze and started leading her again. He had only kissed her that once, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
He hadn’t tried anything else for that matter, but she could still sense his restlessness to be with her. It was this frantic need to take his mate, to possess her in the way she possessed him.
She didn’t fear him, and certainly didn’t fear the way he always watched her, as if he truly did want to make sure she was comfortable and safe, whilst holding himself in check. For as much as she knew he wanted her, Bram stayed the perfect gentleman, even if it had only been these couple days. They had only been hiking for about a mile, but soon the scent of fresh water and the sound of the waterfall he had spoken about came at her full-force.
They came to a stop right as the trees thinned out. “Be careful. The ledge is only a few feet away.” Bram smiled at her, and the look was contagious. They moved closer, and her breath stalled when she saw how high they had gone up the mountain and the incredible waterfall that lay right in front of them. The water pooled at the basin below and quickly rushed farther down the mountain. It was beautiful with colors of white and
