“Your name, sweetheart, what is it?” The bear inquired again, and Kenzie felt a cold sweat start to cover the length of her spine. He took a step forward. She glanced at Marek and Tank, but the cougar shifters were still occupied with a blonde and redhead.
Any moment now, Rook could come out. She didn’t want the bear hurt because of her, and although there was no doubt he could handle himself, Rook was a psychopath. She stood, moving back, away, trying to escape.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had to work this hard to get a female’s name before.”
Her back met the hard, cold wall, and she turned her attention back to him. He towered over her. Although he easily outweighed Rook in muscle mass and was several inches taller than the panther, Rook was a sadistic bastard. He believed in pulling fingernails off, breaking kneecaps, and torturing his victims until they complied with whatever he demanded of them.
As she stared into the male’s bright blue eyes, took in his dark hair with a faux-hawk style, she felt something shift inside her. Deer were known to be on the skittish side naturally, and she’d never been any different. But for some inexplicable reason, she found herself opening her mouth and telling him exactly what he wanted to know.
“Kenzie.” She licked her lips, and he lowered his eyes to watch the act. “My name is Kenzie Harlow.” She sounded out of breath, and her chest rose and fell with such force her breasts were almost touching his abdomen. She didn’t like how he made her feel so off-balanced.
She felt this unexplainable pull toward him, one she wanted no part of.
Before he could say anything in response, the scent of Rook invaded her nose. His aroma was a strong mixture of his expensive, suffocating cologne and his underlying vileness. It had always made her gag, but for some reason, Rook’s odor was pushed away by this bear’s naturally arousing smell.
The bear’s gaze was still on her lips, but when he inhaled, a low, vicious rumble left him.
“Who the fuck are you?” Rook barked out. “And what are you doing talking to my female?” Rook’s deep, clipped voice came through like a serrated knife to her belly.
Kenzie tensed, and she noticed the bear clearly took note of that fact. His jaw hardened, and a muscle under his left cheek jumped violently. He kept his body right in front of hers, blocking Rook from her vision. Ever-so-slowly, he turned only his head, and she could imagine how he looked: fierce, commanding, and wouldn’t take shit from anyone, the sadistic panther shifter included.
How strange for her to feel something so magnetic for a male who just walked up to her and claimed she was his.
“Bos—” Tank’s voice was gruff from years of smoking.
“Shut the fuck up,” Rook growled.
“Want us to take him out back?” Marek asked with an excited tone in his voice.
“You shut the fuck up too.”
Although Rook’s right-hand men were all too ready to do some dirty work, she didn’t miss their apprehension. They should be wary, because Rook always expected to be obeyed, and those two had put this situation into motion.
Everything became eerily silent. “You fucked up by not watching my property, and I’ll deal with you two later.” A beat of silence surrounded them after Rook spoke.
The air around the bear shifted dangerously, and the hairs on her arms stood on end from the electricity that came off him. “Who the fuck am I?” The bear turned fully around but made sure to keep his body in front of her in a protective manner.
“Come here, Kenzie. Now.”
To anyone else, they wouldn’t have picked up on his intense anger, because Rook was a professional at keeping himself in check, but Kenzie knew better. She heard the threat laced with his words, one that was just for her.
She didn’t want to see anyone hurt.
The bear in front of her stayed calm, despite Rook’s presence, but there was no masking the scent of his rage.
Kenzie tried to move from behind the bear, but he threw his arm out, successfully locking her in a cage of bone and muscle.
“I asked who the fuck you are,” Rook said again in an even more threatening manner.
“You want to know who I am?” the bear prompted calm, evenly, and with so much intent Kenzie felt it deep down. “I’m Bram Wylde, the male who’s going to kick your sorry fucking ass for thinking this female is your property, because I sure as fuck can guarantee she’s not yours.”
And just like that, the tables had turned.
5
Kenzie’s heart was going to tear through her chest. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears, felt the hard, frantic beat of her pulse in her throat, and knew things had just gone from horribly wrong to devastatingly worse.
Again, she tried to move past this stranger, but it was like trying to run right through a brick wall. She wouldn’t see someone hurt because of her, not even if that someone looked like he could handle his own in a back-alley fight.
“Please, just let me go to him.” I can’t bear it if anyone is hurt because of me. Just thinking about going back with Rook had bile rising in her throat, but knowing that if this stranger, this bear shifter who was selflessly putting himself in front of danger for her, died because of her fear had nausea assaulting her.
That was a far worse thought than being Rook’s captive.
“No way in fucking hell am I letting you go anywhere near that asshole.” Bram’s voice was just as sharp as Rook’s had been, and Kenzie lifted her gaze up to his. She couldn’t see his eyes, but his profile showed steely determination and concentration.
“Boy, I don’t think you know who you’re going up against.” Rook undid the first few buttons of his shirt at the collar and grinned.
