Cameron is doing okay, but he’s really pissed. I can hear him grunting like a madman as he chops wood behind his house. His ax is slamming into the logs so hard that he’s probably gone through a couple of chopping blocks by now.
All I can do now is wait for her to arrive tomorrow morning. If she doesn’t show up, I’m going to drive back to Belgrade Springs and knock on each house, one by one.
I’m finishing the last sip of my beer when I see headlights cutting through the night sky. My heart jumps into my throat as I follow them down the road and onto our ranch.
The unfamiliar car stops as I leap up from my chair and run over.
“Oh, thank God,” I whisper when Brooklyn steps out. She stares at me with watery eyes as her Uber driver pulls away and disappears back down the road.
I’ve never been happier in my entire life. She’s okay and she’s here. I’m not going to make that mistake again. I’m never letting her leave my side.
I rush over to her and swallow her in my arms, breathing in her warm scent, drinking in her sweet innocence. The relief is crippling.
“Are you okay?” I ask when I pull back to quickly look her up and down.
She nods, but she looks upset. It kills me to see her like this.
“Was that them?” Cameron hollers as he comes charging around the house. He’s gripping the ax in his hand like he’s hoping the next thing he gets to chop in half is a tiger shifter.
“No,” I say as I turn back to Brooklyn. “It’s my mate.”
“Your mate?” he says with a shocked grunt. “Oh. Hello. I’m Cameron. Logan keeps talking about you.”
She forces out a smile. “Are you okay? I heard what happened.”
He grips the ax harder and then charges behind his house without a word.
“He’s fine,” I say as the thundering sound of him slamming his ax into wood echoes throughout the night sky. “His ego is hurt more than anything. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”
My bear growls as we wait for her answer.
“No,” she says as she grips my arm. “But I have something to tell you. It’s not good.”
I guide her to the porch and sit her down on the chair. I pull up another one and hold her hand.
“Your father didn’t die in a tractor accident,” she says as she looks at me with her chin quivering.
My body prickles all over. I’m stunned as she tells me that her stepfather killed him.
“He wanted your ranch,” she says as she squeezes my hand. “But your father wouldn’t sell it.”
My stomach churns as I stare at the dark forest until it blurs and I can’t see anything.
“Logan, I’m so sorry.”
Tears are sliding down her cheeks when I turn back to her. I thought I recognized that guy from somewhere and now I know where. He showed up at the ranch a few times and my father was always pissed when he left. I didn’t realize it was him who had taken over what my father had spent his life building.
“That must mean…” I say when it hits me. “You’re living in my old house?”
She slowly nods. “I didn’t know. And Logan… It was Rhys who made me ask for a job here. He wanted to know how many shifters lived on this ranch and what kind of animals you guys had hiding inside.”
“He’s going to find out what kind of animals we have hiding inside,” I say as my blood boils. “And I don’t think he’s going to like the answer.”
“He wants to take over this ranch like he took over your father’s,” she says. “He has a crew of tigers. He runs guns. These are bad people.”
Her hands are trembling. I wrap my hands over hers, trying to soothe her and calm her down.
“You’re safe here,” I whisper to her. “I’m protecting you now.”
“My mother and my brother—”
“Are safe too. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to go over there and get them. Okay?”
She’s nodding, but she’s a mess of emotions.
My protective instinct takes over and I pull her into my chest, hugging her as she lets it out. “You’re part of our crew now, Brooklyn. We’ll take care of this guy for you.”
I pick her up and cradle her to my chest as I take her inside. I carry her straight to my bed and place her down on it as my bear paces with a territorial desire.
Mark her. Now.
This time, I’m not fighting him. It’s time to make this sweet girl ours in every way.
I want these thugs to know that this beautiful thing is off-limits. That she’s mine. That it’s marked and sealed. That they’re facing the possibility of death if they even dare to look at her.
The sadness in her eyes turns to arousal as I take all her clothes off. She’s looking phenomenal bathed in the moonlight that’s shining through the window as I step back and take off all my clothes.
My possessiveness is reaching new heights as she spreads her legs and shows me the glistening lips of her sweet juicy cunt.
I wrap my hand around my rock hard cock as I climb onto the bed between her thighs. She’s so wet that I sink in easily, all the way to the hilt with one hard thrust.
“Oh, Logan,” she moans as I try to bury myself in deeper. “I was worried we wouldn’t be like this again.”
“Don’t ever worry about that,” I whisper as her bare breasts press into my chest. “This is where my cock belongs.”
She’s so warm and tight. The feeling of her pussy wrapped snug around me makes me forget about everything else. All I can focus on is her.
My bear starts to thrash around as I start sliding in and out of her pussy, drawing deep moans from her sexy lips.
He wants to take over. He doesn’t trust me to mark her.
Easy, I warn him.
But he keeps coming, clawing forward like an untamed beast. I flex my muscles and grit my teeth as I thrust in and out. I hold him there, close to the surface as Brooklyn looks up at me with worry in her eyes.
“What is it?”
“My bear.” My voice is deep and heavy, rumbling like a growl. He’s powerful, but I can hold him back. I can do this. “Trust me.”
She runs her hand down my cheek as I slide in and out of her tight warmth. “I do.”
He pushes harder, coming closer to breaking through, but I manage to hold him off. But not before he makes his presence known.
My body starts to swell as I make love to my girl. Everything grows. My back, my arms, my chest, my cock…
Brooklyn moans deeply as her curvy body twists on the bed. “Oh, Christ,” she whimpers. “Your cock is huge.”
It’s growing and thickening inside her, but her pussy is still taking every thick inch of it as I fuck her harder.
Her lips part—quick breaths escaping her mouth—as she looks at my face. I can only imagine what I must look like to her right now. I don’t know how she’s not screaming and fighting to run away, but she’s not. She’s staying here with me—mind, body, and soul.
Searing pain burns through my gums as my canines grow monstrously large. They’re pushing out my lips, making me look like a savage animal, but she stays here with me. A warm lust fills her light blue eyes as she looks at my mouth with intense fascination.
She runs her fingers over my tingling lips and then turns her head, revealing the soft unmarked flesh on her neck. “Mark me,” she begs. “I want to feel it on me.”
I hesitate, holding myself over her as my hard cock slides in and out of her wet cunt. She looks so perfect like this with her wavy hair splayed out around her and her bare breasts swaying back and forth with every thrust. I want to admire her one more time before everything changes. To see her one more time as the young innocent beauty who is destined to be mine.
When the possessive urge becomes unbearable, I lower my mouth with a growl and sink my big teeth into her neck. She cries out in shock and pain, but her arms wrap around me, urging me to continue.
Her body begins to shake viciously as my mark cements on her. At first, I’m worried it’s too much for
her, but then I feel her pussy pulsing around my cock and I realize she’s coming.
It feels so good, so tight, so warm as her silky tunnel milks my shaft and it sends me over the edge too. I bury my cock in her as I slide my teeth out of her neck. We both cry out as I release every last drop of come deep in her pulsating pussy.
My bear sinks back down below the surface and my body returns to normal. I catch a glimpse of my mark on her neck and I breathe in deep, knowing nothing will ever be the same again.
“Are you okay?” I whisper when we’ve both caught our breath.
She runs her hands down the sides of my face as she looks up at me with a new shine in her eyes. “I’m better than okay.”
I kiss her lips and then I kiss the mark.
She’s mine now.
She’s really all mine.
And I’m going to murder anyone who tries to take her from me.
Stepfathers included.
Chapter Nine
Logan
I’m heading to warn my brothers of the upcoming danger in the morning when the trucks pull up.
Three of them. All filled with tiger shifters.
I clench my jaw as my bear starts snarling inside. I grin when I taste how eager he is for a fight.
Good bear. We’re going to need all that aggression.
The doors open and ten tiger shifters spill out. Some of the guys are young, but they’re all big, except for a scrawny kid with wild messy hair. I have my eyes locked on Rhys. He tormented my girl. He killed my father. He’s a dead man.
“Who the hell are these guys?” Julian asks from behind me. I turn and see all three of my brothers—Cameron, Adrian, and Julian— approaching.
I’m feeling better as they stand by my side.
“These are the fuckers who harassed Willow,” Cameron growls. “And that guy flipped my truck.”
He points at Rhys who’s looking amused by all of this.
“He’s mine,” I warn Cameron. “He killed my father.”
“I’m so lost right now,” Julian says, looking around in confusion. He’s still in his pajamas. “Adrian, do you know what’s going on?”
“Not a clue,” Adrian says as he grinds his big knuckles into his open palm. “But I do know that my bear has been good lately, but deep down, the feral fucker is itching for a fight. Come on, buddy. They’re all yours.”
I can feel the ground rumbling as his huge frame begins to shake. We all step back as Adrian’s bear explodes out of him with a vicious snarl that has the hairs on my arms standing up. His grizzly has that look in his eye—the bloodthirsty look he used to always have before his mate walked into his life and mellowed him out. I didn’t think I’d ever be happy to see that feral look again, but I am now.
His black lip curls over his long sharp teeth as he turns to us with a low nasty snarl.
“Not us,” Julian says with a gulp. He points at the tiger shifters and grins. “Them. Go get ‘em, boy!”
Adrian’s feral bear turns to them with a growl and then charges forward with a deadly roar. They start popping into tigers as he rams through them like a bowling ball knocking over pins.
“Should we jump in?” Julian asks as three guys and a tiger jump onto Adrian’s back. His grizzly shakes them off easily and they go flying onto their asses.
“I’m not letting him have all the fun,” Cameron says as he rips off his t-shirt and lets his bear surge out. “Those three are mine. They’ve come around my Willow for the last time.” His pissed-off grizzly explodes out of him and charges into the brawl, slamming his head into the ribs of a huge tiger.
“I guess I’ll take the rest,” Julian says with a shrug. “I better make it fast. My pancakes are getting cold.”
His pajamas explode into tatters as his bear bursts forth. My eyes are locked on Rhys as Julian bounds forward.
“I know the truth,” I say as I approach him with my hands clenched into fists. “You killed my father.”
“The old bastard wouldn’t get off my ranch,” he says as he rolls his sleeves up his thick wiry arms. “So, I took him out. Just like me and my boys will take you bears out and take this land too.”
An edgy, twitchy feeling takes over as the rage builds inside. He took my father, now he’s trying to take my girl, and my home. He’s a dead man.
I hear a door slam behind me and I know it’s her before I hear her hollering. “Get the fuck out of here, Rhys!” Brooklyn screams as she runs over. “You don’t belong here!”
The bears and tigers are thrashing around in a violent brawl all around us. I don’t want her anywhere near this place.
“Brooklyn, stay back,” I beg, but she looks furious and keeps on coming.
“Get in the truck you little—” Rhys’ face drops when he sees my mark on her neck. “His mark… you’re mates?”
I turn to him with a possessive growl. “Don’t talk to her. Ever.”
Brooklyn spots her brother’s tiger and screams. “Oliver! What are you doing here?!”
The small cat jumps on Adrian’s huge back and gets thrown off almost immediately. He slams into a tree trunk with a crunch and falls to the ground limp.
Brooklyn runs over to help him. I go to follow her, but Rhys steps in my path.
“I don’t care if your mark is on her,” he hisses. “Brooklyn is my property. She’s my step-daughter and I have ownership over her.”
My bear is going nuts inside. He wants to get out and maul this guy.
“I was going to let you walk out of here,” I tell him as I rile my bear up even more. “But that’s not going to happen now. You’re a dead man.”
“Your father didn’t put up much of a fight,” he says with a sneer. “I doubt you will either.”
I rush at him and slam my fist into his jaw. He stumbles back as I hit him again and again and again. My bear is roaring to get out, but I’m enjoying hitting this bastard and I’m not done yet.
I hit him with an uppercut and then follow it with a roundhouse but he ducks out of the way. I grunt as he slams his fist into my stomach and then hits my eye. He hits hard. He’s bigger and stronger, but I’m faster and I have destiny on my side. I’m fighting for my mate.
We batter each other some more and then we separate, both bleeding and breathing heavily.
“Had enough?” he asks with a grin.
I shake my head and let my bear come. “Not until you’re dead.”
We both explode into our animals and attack.
Chapter Ten
Brooklyn
Oliver’s tiger whimpers as he tries to get up and then stumbles back to the ground. I’m running over to him, hoping I get to him in time before he sprints back into the fight.
“No,” I shout as he gets back onto his paws and bounds away. I dive and catch his tail, pulling him back as I fall to the ground.
His tiger whips his head around and snarls at me. I slap him as hard as I can.
“Oliver!” I scream. “Get out here!”
The tiger shakes and the tail disappears from my hand as he phases back into his human form.
“What are you doing here, Brooklyn?” he shouts. “You’re embarrassing me! Let me go!”
I’m holding onto his arm and pulling him back with all my strength. Adrian’s grizzly bear is in a full-on lunatic rage. He’s lunging on every cat in front of him, ripping out striped fur and chunks of skin with his vicious jaws.
“You’re fighting against the good guys, Oliver,” I tell him as I point at Logan’s bear. The sounds are horrible as he wrestles on the ground with Rhys’ giant tiger. “Can’t you see that?”
“Rhys is family now,” Oliver says as he tries to yank his arm away from me. I grip it tighter.
“That bear is my mate,” I say, desperate for him to see. “Rhys killed his dad and he’s trying to kill all of them too. They’re good men, Oliver. Better than the crew you’re hanging out with.”
He stops pulling on his arm as we watch the grizzly and tiger fight. Rhys leaps ont
o Logan’s back and sinks his teeth into the scruff of his neck. Logan roars out and then throws him off with a fierce shake.
“You’re fighting against me,” I tell him as tears sting my eyes. “I’m on their side now. Rhys is trying to kill me.”
His eyes dart over to mine and I can see my real brother in them for once. It’s the first time since we moved here that I can see the goodness in him again.
“I’m sorry, Brooklyn,” he says, trying not to cry. “I just wanted Rhys to like me. I miss Dad so much.”
“I know,” I say as I wrap my arms around him. “I do too.”
I finally have my brother back, but I can’t enjoy it for long. We’re in the middle of a vicious battle.
Adrian’s bear is chasing a large tiger across the parking lot. The cat leaps onto the roof of their pickup truck and Adrian slams his shoulder into the door, sending the tiger flying off as the truck rolls over.
It’s chaos everywhere. Cameron is in his human form, fighting three tigers at the same time. He grabs one by the tail as he tries to escape. With a primal grunt, he picks the cat up and slams him over his knee.
“Oh no,” I gasp when I look back at my mate. Rhys and Logan are in their human forms once again. They’re both badly beaten up and limping, but still going strong.
Rhys’ cruel green eyes lock onto me as he grabs Logan in a headlock. “I’ll kill her first,” he hisses. “And I’ll make you watch.”
Logan phases back into his bear and bursts out of Rhys’ chokehold. But my ruthless stepfather is quick and deadly. He leaps onto the bear’s back and starts choking the life out of him.
Logan’s grizzly tries to shake him off, but Rhys is too strong. He tries to roar but no sound comes out.
“He’s killing him!” I gasp, watching in horror as my mate struggles to breathe. I jump to my feet and run as fast as I can to try and do something.
I hear a loud rip behind me and then Oliver’s tiger comes bounding past me. He leaps onto Rhys’ back and digs his teeth into his shoulder as he slices his back with his sharp black claws.
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