His bear was a violent asshole on the best of days, and although it was pacing, it wasn’t the volatile energy that consumed it.
She soothed the beast.
This girl didn’t need to be in a filthy, violence-filled bar that would tear her apart without a care of her innocence.
He took another step.
She didn’t notice him right away, but her apprehension and fear were a thick cloak that had that calmness she created in him vanishing. His bear was on alert, ready to take down whatever or whoever had caused their female to feel this way. Shit, he was acting like a mated male, calling her his.
She scanned the interior, and he could tell she wanted to run, but from what? Did someone hurt her? Was she trying to escape from them? Those thoughts had an angry need traveling inside him, one that wanted flesh between his teeth and the metallic flavor of blood on his tongue. He’d always been intense, knew his bear could take control if he wasn’t careful, and right now, he was more than willing to let his animal out to do some real fucking damage to whoever harmed her.
She was his, and there was nothing that was going to take her away from him. Nothing.
He moved closer until he was standing nearly over her. And when her sorrow-filled eyes landed on him, they widened. He could only imagine what she thought of him. The wounds on his face were nasty as fuck, and those were only the ones that could be seen. He probably looked like he had just killed a man, nearly had too, but he didn’t want her to look at him as though he would hurt her.
I’ll never hurt her.
His tongue swelled to taste her, to see if she tasted as sweet as she smelled. He wanted to run his canines along her flesh just enough to open the skin and let his scent in, to mark her, to let everyone know whose mate she was.
His dick throbbed with the thought of having his mark on her, his sign of ownership. He sounded like a domineering womanizer, but he was a shifter, one who was more bear than human, and he had just found his mate.
That realization had a low grumble of pleasure leaving him. She was his.
Mine.
All he could think about was her, about keeping her safe, about taking her to his home and touching every part of her. He’d known if this moment ever came in his life it would be instantaneous, and right now, he was running on pure instinct. Those carnal desires were telling him to focus solely on her.
His need to take her, mark her, and let every fucking male on the planet know she was his slammed into him again, and again, and again.
Make sure every male knows that if they fuck with her, I’ll rip their balls off and snap their necks.
It was his animal wanting to make that thought a reality, but Bram agreed 100 percent. This little doe was theirs, and he wasn’t going to let her get away. He couldn’t.
It was as easy as that, and when this was all said and done, she’d be giving herself to him completely, begging for more. He dared anyone to come forth and try to take her from him. At the very thought of that happening, he growled low in his throat, and he saw and heard her swallow in clear apprehension.
Leaning down so they were eye-to-eye, he said without trying to hide the wild bear inside him, “You’re mine, little deer.”
Her eyes widened further, and the scent of fresh fear filled his nose. She had no need to be frightened of him. He’d never hurt her. He’d protect her above all else.
One thing was for certain: Bram was going to claim his mate, and he was going to do it so fucking hard it lasted forever.
4
Kenzie had been ready to make her escape, but then this alpha bear had come thundering over, claiming she was something to him, and that plan had gone down the drain. She was frozen with shock, a little bit of fear, but most of all… sudden arousal.
He stood in her way, blocking her only escape. Her one chance was shot.
Kenzie craned her neck back and stared into the intense blue eyes of the bear shifter in front of her. He was covered in blood and sweat, had so many wounds on him she couldn’t even count them all, but underneath that violence, he was beautiful.
There was a nasty gash above his right eye, a fresh bruise forming along his left cheek, and his full bottom lip was split. He’d clearly been in a fight, and if he was walking around as if there wasn’t anything wrong with him, Kenzie didn’t even want to see what his opponent looked like.
“What’s your name, little doe?”
She didn’t like him calling her that, didn’t like this dominance that clung to him like a second skin, and having him this close had her getting a straight shot of pure adult male bear. It was intoxicating. Kenzie swallowed the second lump that had formed in her throat since this alpha male had come up to her. Her heart thundered, and she couldn’t quite understand her body’s reaction to this stranger.
He couldn’t be any better than these trashy humans and shifters that filled the ratty bar. His appearance alone sent warning bells through her. He was tall and muscular, and a part of her wanted to lean closer, to breathe in deeply and take his essence into her body. It was a ludicrous feeling, and certainly not one she played on.
Those thoughts immediately gave way to the fear of Rook.
Fear and caution were always at the forefront of her mind.
