Bruised MC Bear (Beartooth Brotherhood MC Book 3)

by Bella Love-Wins

  Without showing him my claws, I got closer, eyes trained on him and ears focused on the two men closing in behind me. Standing sideways with my leg at shoulder width, I prepared myself to pin his arms behind his back or figure out some other defensive move the instant this standoff turned physical. Something about him made this seem too easy. What game was he playing?

  As the question crossed my mind, he lurched forward. Although I got out of his way in time, he was able to nick my arm with something sharp. I cursed under my breath for letting him touch me. The move was clumsy, but I had to hand it to him. The whole alcohol on the breath deal was a ploy to confuse me. He wasn’t drunk at all. I only realized that insight when it was too late.

  I looked down my arm and everything tilted. My vision became blurry. A haze clouded my thinking. Aconite. Fear and panic kicked in when I realized this was probably the end for me. I used my full strength, swatting and kicking the man until I made it past him and stumbled through the doors. The dizziness and searing pain eroded my hand-eye coordination. I had to press the elevator call button five times before it lit up. The room spun when I turned to look at the door I’d just entered. Why weren’t they following me?

  My last semi-coherent thought was a two-part answer to the question. First, my time was up. Second, a fourth figure appeared from out of thin air. Vincent?

  That was when everything went pitch black.

  15

  Vincent

  I was using the phone in my room when Sonya had slipped her hotel card under my door, and after ending my call, I decided to look for her to wish her a safe trip. That was when I realized what was happening in the underground parking garage.

  Rage overcame me.

  These novices dared to attack a patron—and Sonya, of all people—at a hotel that I owned? It was always the incompetent ones who gambled their lives this way. The skilled hunters I had come to know over the years were smart enough to draw their prey out to neutral territory. These pitiful men were now on my turf. They would not live to learn from their mistake. Before the hunters knew I was in the vicinity, I moved in stealth to take down the man at the door. He had used a knife tainted with poison to cut Sonya, so I reciprocated by snapping his neck just as swiftly. The other two heard their friend crumple to the ground. Instead of making their exit, they came to look.

  Brave, yet utterly useless fools.

  Amateur hour wrapped up in under a minute when I smashed the last two men’s heads together. They weren’t dead. The blood in their veins still flowed, but I was in a generous mood. Striding into the elevator bay, I lifted Sonya into my arms and hit the elevator call button again. She released a dull groan before her head sagged backward. She had lost consciousness. Probably from the pain. That symptom alone, plus the smell of the blade in the dead man’s hand, told me it had to be aconite poisoning.

  Strange.

  I was sure I had smelled it, but now, with her in my arms, the only scent my nose picked up was the blood from her wound. I stopped suddenly when I boarded the elevator, snapping out of my bloodlust to focus and sniff the air. Yes, the aconite was flowing through her system now. I noticed her hands were still transformed into wolf paws as I entered my suite. They would stay that way until the full moon passed in about an hour. Halfway to my bedroom, Sonya stiffened up in my arms. I quickly got her to my bed.

  She let out a piercing scream and brought a hand close to her cut. “It burns!” she cried out, arching on the bed. “Help me … please…”

  “You’re safe now. It’s me … Vincent. You were attacked. It will take a few hours for the pain to subside.”

  Stunned and confused, she tried to sit up, but collapsed back into bed, rolling around and writhing in pain. “God! I can’t wait that long … it feels like my veins have acid running through them … ohhh Godddd, it’s unbearable…”

  I soaked a towel with cold water in the bathroom and took it back to her, placing it on her forehead. “Take slow breaths and try to relax. There are only two ways to get this poison out of your system, and trust me, you’ll prefer the pain over the alternative.”

  “I know what you’re talking about, and for me, it’s the only way. You have to drain me of at least half of my blood.” Sonya grabbed my wrist with both hands. “Do it. Please!”

  “I can’t. If you know the cure, then you also know the consequences. You’ll be bound to me.”

  “Do it.” She pulled the towel off her forehead. “Please! Heal me. I accept the consequences.”

  “No, Sonya. Don’t you understand? It’s a curse worse than enduring the few hours of pain you’re in.”

  “You don’t understand. The aconite will kill me. I’m from Death Adder’s wolf pack.”

  I lurched back from the bed at this news. Death Adder was one of the wolf shifter leaders in Red Ridge. Every member of his pack had an unexplained genetic defect. For them, aconite was lethal, and somehow, would stop their ability to heal themselves when they shifted to wolf form. Rubbing my now frantic hands over my temples, I estimated the amount of time since she was cut. It had to be more than ten minutes. Sonya had less than ten minutes left before the poison would kill her.

  Sonya was going to die. Only draining her of most of her blood could save her. Feeding on her would remove enough of the aconite for her to shift and heal herself. Only falling under a curse would save her.

  “There has to be another way,” I told her, pacing. “I’ll phone someone who can help.”

  “No. There’s no other way. We have no time.” Dripping with cold sweat, she pulled her hair to one side and exposed her neck to me. “Please. Feed. I will be bound to you for life … if the myth is true.”

  “It is true. Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “Yes. I’ll be cursed for life, but it’s the only way.”

  What else could I say? “I’ll do it.”

  I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her weak frame into my lap. Tilting her head to one side, I took a moment. Her life would never be the same, and neither would mine, but this was what she wanted.

  I did it.

  I opened my jaws wide and sank my fangs into her neck, puncturing her flesh to draw blood from her pulsating carotid artery. The initial rush of her life force tasted exactly as I expected. Warm, rich, semi-sweet, addictive. Yes, it was tainted by aconite, but the toxin was not at all dangerous to vampires.

  As I drank more from her, her body relaxed, and the tension on her face subsided. Her shifter blood strengthened me more than human blood ever could, instantly improving my mental acuity and taking all five senses to new heights. No wonder it was forbidden. With a hand on her weak pulse, I took my last drink, and then I withdrew from her neck.

  “Sonya, you need to stay awake.” She groaned, but barely moved. “Sonya.”

  “Yes … I’m okay, I think.”

  “You need to shift to wolf form. Now. Can you do it?”

  “I have to. I’ll start now.”

  Helping her to the center of the room, she dropped to her hands and knees. Were there more time, she would have removed her clothes, but she didn’t have that luxury at the moment. Her eyes began to glow. Her body shook as though she was cold. Thick, long tan fur sprouted from her face and neck. Arms and legs transformed and distorted her limbs. Her nose elongated until she was a light-colored wolf with the same piercing blue eyes, with shredded clothed falling off her body and limbs.

  Shucking off the ripped fabric, Sonya’s animal panted. The wound on her upper arm—now her front leg—began to heal. New tissue grew and closed the cut, then fur grew over the spot. After about a minute, her wolf sat on the floor, tucked her head down on its front legs, and closed its eyes, panting heavily. It was neutralizing the last of the poison in her system.

  I took the comforter off the bed and wrapped it around the animal.

  We had both done our parts. Now, all I could do was wait.

  My phone buzzed, and as I didn’t want to disturb Sonya’s animal, I took the call in my
office. It was one of the hotel managers, calling about a minor issue. I ordered her to handle it, and asked her if any report had come in about an incident in the parking garage. She wasn’t aware of anything, which made sense. The men I spared had probably left with their friend’s body. Hunters weren’t the type to stick around for the authorities. Ending the call, I returned to the bedroom.

  Sonya was gone.

  Her purse and her ripped up clothes were gone too.

  I send her a short text to find out if she was okay. She replied with, ‘I’m weak, but fine. Mostly hungry. Thank you for what you did. I’ll let you know what it really means to be bound to you … as soon as I find out for myself.’

  Not surprised, I returned the phone to my pants pocket and got myself ready for bed.

  She would know soon enough.

  16

  Sonya

  One Month Later

  The moon was full, casting long shadows across the desert as I traveled to him.

  I spent a month waiting for the curse to trigger.

  Four weeks later, nothing.

  I was starting to believe it was just a myth.

  Until tonight.

  After I shifted to wolf form and healed myself in Vincent’s hotel room last month, I used all my strength to take on my human form again, and I left town. Stopping only for food and gas, I had driven all night and most of the morning to get to Rock Springs. I found the first motel in town, checked in, and slept for almost twenty-four hours straight before starting the first day of my job transfer.

  Twenty-nine days after I was bound to Vincent, a full moon rose into the sky and sealed our fates.

  It was the Thanksgiving long weekend, the first weekend that I was back in my hometown of Red Ridge, Arizona. I visited my pack on our clubhouse grounds on the holiday, and spend the rest of the time with Angel. On Black Friday, we went shopping for deals to decorate the cabin she and Axe shared on the Beartooth Brotherhood clubhouse grounds. We spent all of Saturday unpacking boxes and organizing while catching up. On Sunday, we relaxed. I had taken the Monday off as a vacation day, so my plan was to get to bed early Sunday night and leave at first light for my eight-hour trip back home.

  As soon as the full moon came out on Sunday night, everything changed.

  It felt like someone had tied an invisible tether tight around my chest, and had tugged on it sharply, wrenching my body out of Angel’s house, into my car and on the road towards Vegas. I had no idea where I was going, but when I got close to the first off-ramp in Mesquite, Nevada, the unseen rope gave another violent jerk and forced me off the highway. I continued this way, turning along the side roads to appease the invisible force demanding my presence.

  The unknown pull made me stop at the high wrought-iron gates of a modern, sprawling mansion set against a steep embankment of rock-faced mountains. The top of each side of the gates had the initials ‘VB’.

  Vincent Belmont.

  Pressing the intercom outside the gate, I announced myself. The voice on the other end calmly instructed me to drive up to the front door of the main house. Vincent stood in the doorway when I drove up and got out of the car.

  “Hello Sonya. I’ve been expecting you.”

  “I had to see you,” I whispered. It didn’t even sound like my voice.

  He nodded. “Come in and warm up. Look at you. You’re shaking like a leaf.”

  “That’s because whatever it was that drew me to you, it had no goddamned patience.” I followed him inside, barely registering the massive foyer, wide halls, the multi-story vaulted ceilings, and archways everywhere as he led me to a sitting room where the fireplace was already on. I closed in on the crisp heat.

  “Here. Sit.”

  “I’ve never felt anything like this,” I told him, taking the armchair closest to the fireplace.

  “Would you like something to drink?” he asked.

  “No thanks.”

  He sat on the sofa across from me. “How are you feeling?”

  “I don’t know.” Rising from my chair, I went to him. “I’ve missed you.”

  Vincent stood up, and ran his hands down my arms. He lowered his mouth to mine, seeming to wait for me to close the rest of the distance. I pressed my open palms against his chest, and he lifted my chin, delivering a heated kiss on my lips as though he’d been waiting all month for this. Or maybe that was me. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. I didn’t understand why, but I tilted my head to one side exposing my neck to him. Slowly, he moved from my lips, trailing kisses down to my collarbone.

  “I’ve missed you too,” he said, sniffing the skin in the spot where he had bitten me a month ago. I let out a sigh when he nipped the spot with his lips, and gripped his shoulders in anticipation.

  Leaning forward, he extended a hand behind my knee and lifted me into his arms. He moved swiftly through the main floor, navigating the stairs with ease until we were in his bedroom. He teased the same spot after he spread me out on his bed and stretched out beside me. It was strange. I wanted him to feed from me.

  He didn’t, but pulled me in close against his chest. I whispered his name, and he took my cheeks in his palms and stared into my eyes. “We’ll get through this together. I promise.”

  I nodded. Vincent claimed my mouth before I could answer. Breathless, I accepted his urgent kiss, already desperate to feel his hands roaming down my body. I unbuttoned his dress shirt while he pulled up the hem of my stretchy top and pushed back my bra. Arching my back, I raised my arms and let him strip it off. He shrugged out of his shirt after, balling up both our tops before throwing it across the room.

  The rest of our clothes were quickly discarded between hungry kisses, desperate exploring and wild caresses everywhere our hands and mouths could reach. Completely naked, Vincent lowered his head to my breasts. He licked and teased and tasted each nipple, pressing his thick arousal against my leg. After my moaning turned into pleas for him to take me, Vincent gripped around my waist, rolling us over until I was on top of him. I let my legs settled on either side of him as he kissed me again. I pressed my throbbing bud against his lower stomach and hardness. I was so wet, aching for him.

  I rolled my hips for more, and soon, I pulled from his kiss, stared into his eyes, and crawled back until my head hovered around his midsection. I took him in my mouth, lowering my head as far as it could go, then back up again. I ran my tongue from tip to base, even more aroused now as he groaned and ran his hand through my hair, showing me the pace he enjoyed it the most. His eyes rolled back into his head. I was sure I could take him over the edge with a few more minutes of attention, but he stopped me and dragged me up his body until I was straddling him again.

  He didn’t make me wait a second longer. His hands found my waist. He lifted me up. Positioning himself, he wrenched me down. I moaned from the intense pleasure in my core, unable to stop my hips from gliding along his length. I held on to his biceps, helping him as we rode each other.

  If I could, I would go all night long like this. I laced my fingers into his, crying out his name as each thrust hit deeper inside my womb. We moved faster, lost in the rhythm that compelled us forward. He pulled me forward to lay my chest on his, and I held my breath when he brushed his lips along my neck. His stroke sped up. He was close, and I was sure that I was closer. That was when I told him to feed from my neck.

  I didn’t need to ask him twice.

  He pierced my skin, and I hissed when his fangs latched into my bloodstream. I could feel the blood leaving my body, strengthening him with the flow of life we were now ordained to share. He continued his thrusts, and flickers of light shone underneath my eyelids as I tumbled over the edge. My stomach and thighs tightened, and walls clenched against his thick mass now buried deep inside me as he continued to feed. I writhed along his length, still caught under the waves of an orgasm that went on and on, and soon, he released my neck and came too.

  After a few minutes, I stretched out beside him, panting hard to catch my b
reath. My neck was sensitive from his bite, which he kissed and licked to soothe the sting. I would have put a bandage on it, but honestly, I didn’t want to leave his side. Eventually, I rolled to my side to look at him. He was smiling a contented, unpretentious smirk.

  “You knew tonight was going to happen, didn’t you?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I was like a machine with no free will, Vincent. Was that you?”

  “Yes and no. You’re bound to me, but it’s the curse that brought you to be in my presence.”

  “It made me stop what I was doing and come to you. Do you realize I have no phone, no wallet, and not even a fall jacket? Speaking of which, I need to get in touch with Angel. She must be worried sick.”

  Vincent pulled the covers up the bed and over our bodies. “She knows you’re here. Axe phoned after you left. I explained what was happening, and phoned them back when you called from the gate.”

  “I’ve never felt anything like this,” I told him.

  “It’s not over yet, I’m afraid.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “I’m not.”

  “What’s on the agenda after this?”

  “You won’t be able to leave my side.”

  “During the full moon?”

  “No.”

  “For how long?”

  A somber expression came over his face. “Not until you take your last breath.”

  “Come again?”

  “You and I are joined until death, Sonya. Your death, as I’m immortal, or undead … however you prefer to look at it.”

  “Joined as in … how much distance are we talking about when you say I can’t leave your side?”

  “About the size of this estate … five thousand acres, give or take.”

  “What? That’s not even eight square miles. What if I don’t comply? What if I just leave?”

  “You don’t want to do that. Trust me.”

  “Can you just tell me what will happen?”