by Jenika Snow
She glanced at the front door, saw a horde of people surrounding it as they watched the “entertainment” about to commence, and tried to find another way out. Of course there wasn’t one, at least not one that she could see.
“Come on, bear.” Rook crooked his fingers at Bram, and she felt her fear grow. It wasn’t just about Rook being crazy, but something deeper. It made her feel unbalanced, and right now she couldn’t have any of that. In a move she hadn’t anticipated Rook charged forward. His face was slightly red from his anger, and she knew since he was showing outward signs of his emotions he was near his breaking point. Bram used his body to push her farther into the wall, and the possessiveness that came from him startled her. This male had some strong emotions rolling off of him, and they were all for her. How had things gone so wild in a matter of minutes? Bram’s big body was pressed so tightly against hers that she couldn’t breathe. She blinked, and right before her he shifted into a bear … a big freaking bear at that. The force of his changing into his animal and then charging toward Rook had her stumbling backward and falling onto her ass. Rook had already shifted, and the sleek black panther and huge brown grizzly bear faced off. Marek and Tank stood in the background, but Kenzie didn’t miss the group of men that emerged from an underground cellar and moved closer to the fight. They were bloody and torn and looked in the same shape as Bram had when he approached her.
“Oh God.” This was a living, breathing nightmare, and she was right in the middle of it, and the cause of it. She hadn’t been quick enough to stop this from escalating. She should have just gone to Rook the moment she sensed him, but she admitted that Bram was a stubborn bear. As she looked around, the sea of bodies closed in. A heavy boot landed on her splayed fingers and she cried out, but the noise was drowned out by Bram roaring out loudly and Rook hissing in response. She couldn’t see the two males any longer, not when humans and shifters alike crowded forward until she was swallowed up. She had to get out of here while everything was in chaos, and before she was trampled to death, which was a very real possibility. Pushing herself up and into a standing position, she could just make out the bloody and bruised males that she noticed earlier go after Marek and Tank. In a splash of flesh tearing and blood spraying they turned into their inner animals, and then everything around her was one big clusterfuck.
Now was her chance, but even as she started pushing her way through the crowd, all she could think about was Bram and making sure he got out okay. A quick glance behind her showed him holding his own with Rook, although she didn’t miss the large claw marks that riddled his side, or the blood that was a steady trail down his thick, dark fur.
She was shoved to the side by a drunken human, and when he righted himself and grabbed onto her she felt revulsion take control of her entire body. His touch was like acid, and her inner deer started to rise to the surface, ready to sprint away. That really was all she was good for, running away, but a lot of good that did her all these years.
“Let go of me.”
The greasy human’s hand tightened on her arm, and his hot, foul breath filled her nostrils.
“Come on, baby, let’s me and you get a little closer tonight.”
An anger she had never felt came barreling out of her at full speed. The door was only a few feet from her, and this human was keeping her from her freedom. Bringing up her knee she connected with his crotch and felt a sick satisfaction when he cried out in pain and cupped himself.
“You stupid bitch.”
She may be a stupid bitch, but she would be a free one. Bram was a fierce male, which was clear as day in just the minutes she had spent with him, and she knew he could handle himself, or at least she hoped so. She couldn’t let guilt take over, because she couldn’t hold her own with Rook, but Bram could. Pushing the front door opened and feeling the cool air brush along her face almost brought her to her knees. This was no time to bask in the weather, not when she wasn’t free yet. To her right was the town of Sweet Water, and to her left was a road that disappeared into nothing. The sky was dark, and all she could see to her left, away from civilization, was the thick covering of trees. No, that was a death trap. It didn’t matter how fast she ran, a panther could catch her in no time. The town was a better option. Maybe she could get someone to help her, to take her in for the night until she thought of something else? She had no money and only the clothes on her back, but she had her life and that was more priceless than anything else. The sounds of the wild animals inside grew to a deafening roar, and Kenzie didn’t want to be one of those girls that got killed right as they touched freedom.
“No, just go. Run as fast and as far as you can.” She made it three steps before the front door to the bar crashed open. A quick glance over her shoulder showed Rook swinging his massive head back and forth before stopping on her. He bared his huge canines at her, and she knew she could never outrun him. Not as a deer, and most definitely not as a human. Despite her fate coming right to the front of her mind, she thought about Bram.
“You killed him.” It wasn’t a question. And although he couldn’t answer back, she swore she saw him grin. His black fur was matted in several places, and she saw a few gaping wounds covering his body. That sight had pleasure coursing through her, because even if he hurt her, or even killed her tonight, he had suffered as well. He took a step forward, and then another. His movements were slow, coordinated, and precise as he stalked her, and that was exactly what he was doing. Her heel hit a large rock, and she fell back. Rook was on top of her a second later, his hot breath streaming down her throat, and the very tip of his fangs skimming the tender flesh. In just one quick swipe he could rip her throat open and bleed her dry. A flash and a pop sounded, and he was naked and in his human form. His hardness pressed between her thighs, and Kenzie couldn’t help it. She started crying. There were so many times when she wished she was stronger, prayed that she could fight her own battles, but the fact of the matter was he had broken her, and she didn’t know if she would ever be whole again.
“Shh, pet, did you think I was going to kill you for trying to escape again?” Dipping his head and running his tongue up the center of her throat had bile rising to the surface. “No, no, no, precious, you know I like to play before I maim. Besides, you are far too important and pleasing to me alive.” The burning white-hot pain of Rook’s claws unsheathing and pressing into the side of her body, opening the tender skin, had her crying out. He slapped her across the face, hard, and leaned in close to her ear. “I would have been gentle with you even though you stepped out on me and were all over that bear.”
He said the last part on a growl and slipped his hand down to her neck where he slowly started adding pressure. Everything that came out of his mouth was a lie, and always had been. The air slowly started to leave her, and Kenzie was ready for death, even welcomed it. Rook started undoing her pants, and she knew the sick bastard would have his fun right as she took her last breath. Gasping and feeling panic rise inside of her, she reached out and grasped the hard, gravel laden ground. Instinct told her to grab his hand, force him to loosen the hold, but she wanted death, didn’t she? Her mother’s and father’s faces flashed before her face, and although she just wanted to let go and be with them, their voices rose inside of her head, telling her to fight, to not give up.
Rook chuckled and worked his hand past her panties. He didn’t care about anyone seeing what he was doing, and certainly didn’t care about what he was doing to her. An image of Bram flashed through her mind, and as strange as it was a wave of serenity went through her. It was then, as her parents’ voices filtered through her ears, and Bram filled her mind with calmness for the first time since she was a young girl, that Kenzie realized she didn’t want to die, not by Rook’s hand. Bram had protected her, kept her shielded from this panther until shit had hit the fan. She was a nobody to Bram, yet he had gone out of his way to see to her safety. Her fingers brushed along a large rock, and she tried in vain to reach it. After several attempts she finally
managed to get it in her grasp. She clutched at it and brought it up and toward Rook’s skull without any hesitation. The sound of the stone cracking against his head came through in sickening clarity. Rook stared down at her, and at first she didn’t think anything had happened. Had she imagined all of it? But after what seemed like forever, but was probably only a second or two, he loosened his hold on her throat. A blank look covered his faced, and a gushing trail of blood slid down his temple and splashed against her chest.
“Kenzie, I won’t let you go…” That was the only thing he said, in a deep, guttural voice, before his eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped on top of her. She quickly moved out from under him, and stood there transfixed as she watched the blood continue to fall from his head and make a pool in the dirt beside him. It looked like spilled ink under the moonlight, growing and growing until she was forced to take a step back so it didn’t reach her feet. The front door of the bar slammed opened again, and she spun around and raised the rock in her hand. Marek was thrown out of the bar in his human form first, and then Tank had the same fate but he was still a cougar. Bram came out, his body still that of a bear. He was a massive animal, and when he roared out at Marek and Tank, the vibrations seemed to rattle the glass of nearby vehicles. She was only a few feet from him, but close enough that she saw his massive wounds. They made her wince, had bile rising in her throat, and all she wanted to do was bring the rock down upon Rook’s head once again. How anyone could get off on harming another was beyond her, but Rook had been the worst of the worst. Kenzie looked back down at Rook and saw him in the same state. She would have thought she killed him, but the rise and fall of his chest told her the bastard was still alive. The dark blood that continued to make a puddle around his head had since slowed, but it was like everything came crashing into her all at once. The world tilted, started going in slow motion, and she knew she wouldn’t stay upright for much longer. Through the whirling and buzzing noise that filled her ears, Kenzie was aware of the gravel crunching near her, coming closer and closer, and then of the hot, humid breath of something right in front of her. She turned back around and saw the bear standing before her. He rose on his back legs, reaching at least ten feet tall. There was no fear from her as she stared at Bram, but she knew there should be. This was a very wild and unstable male, and she had sensed as much in the bar, but there was no denying there was something different about him, something that drew her in. She stared into his eyes that were no longer blue but a deep brown. Dizziness overcame her, and she couldn’t hold the rock any longer, and the dull thud of it hitting the ground beside her pierced her foggy mind.
“I’m going to be sick.” She said the words right before she bent at the waist and emptied everything in her stomach. Darkness swarmed at the edges of her vision, and she weaved on her feet. Right before she toppled over and let the shadows of the world consume her, she felt strong arms wrap around her. The last thing she saw was Bram’s face right in front of her, and his now sea blue eyes promising all kinds of things that would never happen.
Chapter Three
A jarring motion had Kenzie slowly coming back to consciousness. The past events were at the forefront of her mind, but she couldn’t find it in herself to feel any kind of remorse. Her eyes felt heavy and gritty, but she couldn’t open them. Inhaling deeply, she took in the scent of evergreen and something darker, more arousing and wild. Even after everything that had happened her body had its own mind, had its own desires. She was lying on a leather seat, and when she inhaled again she could smell the material right below her nose.
“Shhh, relax, sweetheart.”
The voice was deep, soothing, but slightly distorted. Her pulse beat frantically in her ears, and she knew that was the cause for the funny way he sounded. A heavy, warm hand landed on her bare arm, and she flinched away. It was gone a second later.
“I won’t hurt you. I would never hurt you.”
She knew that voice, and even as he said the last sentence, she knew he had been speaking to himself. Kenzie sank further into the seat as burning pain lanced through her side. Biting her lip to control herself from crying out, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Rook had done a number on her. He had always harmed her in human form, but the fact he had unsheathed his claws and brought his animal into his “punishment” had her thankful the events had turned in her favor. She may be bruised and battered, but she wasn’t broken, at least not physically. Emotionally and mentally ruined was a whole other thing. The only thing that kept replaying through her head was Rook’s last words. They still had her flesh tightening because she knew he always got what he wanted, and what he wanted was to see her suffer. He wouldn’t let her go. He couldn’t because he wanted her too badly.
Bram’s voice was low as he spoke to himself, but she knew he had to be aware she was awake, even if she didn’t say anything and was motionless. He was a bear with senses far keener than a human’s.
“I should have fucking killed him, ripped off his balls and shoved them down his throat.” He spoke to himself again. The air in the vehicle grew thick with his rage, and despite her initial feelings that she should stay away from him, it was clear he was nothing like Rook. Her thoughts drifted away as she felt the heaviness of darkness crash into her again. The rhythmic motion of the truck, the deep timbre of Bram’s self-musing, and the fact she just wanted to escape reality, had Kenzie succumbing to the shadows that surrounded her once again. She welcomed oblivion, because it was sure as hell better than the situation she was in right now.
****
Bram looked over at Kenzie, who was now sleeping. He had sensed when she woke, yet he had sensed her pain and exhaustion. She was in shock, and he knew he had to keep control or he would lose the fight for supremacy with his bear. As it was he was hanging on by a thread, trying to not go back and finish the fight at Slater’s that would have three males lying dead at his feet. The little deer was his mate, and he had fought to protect her, and had felt his bear calm for the first time. But when he realized she had left and the two cougars attacked him in unison, he had let his animal fully out. The shifters that fought with him in the underground fight club had gotten in on the violence, but soon they were going after each other, their animals attacking anyone that got in their way. He had been in the mind frame to go after the panther and finish him, finish what his brave little female had done, but she was hurt and his first priority. He had seen her wounds, and red had covered his vision. The scent of her blood had filled the air, and when he turned and saw her standing over Rook’s still form something inside of him had grown proud of his mate. But that pride over his female had vanished when he saw her wounds. The she had passed out, and he had felt something grow inside of him that he had never felt: fear. He was scared that he would lose her before he even got the chance to know who she was.
He took the last turn that would take him to his cabin deep in the heart of the Sweet Water Mountains. Another ten minutes and he was pulling his truck in front of the two-story home he and his brothers had built with their bare hands years before. Having her here felt right, but he couldn’t let his primal side take over. He and his bear were in agreement that they needed to tend to her wounds and get her well. After she was better he could discuss with her what he wanted … her as his mate. He also needed to know what in the hell was her relationship with the panther. The possessive need that had come from the asshole in regards to Kenzie had been nearly as strong as Bram’s, but what the panther didn’t have was that connection to her like he did. They were mates, and nature dictated he had supremacy over any douche-bag that fucked with her. Bram didn’t doubt the prick would come for her, because he sensed the obsessive need in the other male, and knew he wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted, and it was clear he wanted Bram’s female. But what the panther didn’t know was that Bram would fight dirty for her, and if that meant pulling out every resource he had to accomplish it, then so fucking be it. Although he didn’t mind using his bear’s str
ength to defeat his opponents, he would go bare knuckle with this fucker.
He quickly got out of the truck and walked around until he reached the passenger door. When he had the door opened and Kenzie gently cradled in his arms, he took a second just to look at her. She was passed out, and what had been peach colored flesh back at the bar looked a sickly shade of gray. But still she beckoned him like no other female had. Her eyes were closed, and he couldn’t see the beautiful steel colored eyes that had stared up at him so innocently. He had no doubt his wee mate had been horribly abused at the hands of the panther, but he clenched his jaw and pushed those thoughts away, for right now. He couldn’t think about that right now, not when his first priority was tending to Kenzie.
Once he was inside he laid her down on the wide leather couch. She seemed so small on it, and that sight had his chest clenching in discomfort. Bram left her only long enough to get the first aid kit. Kneeling beside her had the scent of her blood filling his nose. Her jeans were covered in blood, and her shirt was torn almost completely off at the side. Gripping the torn shreds of her top he ripped the material the rest of the way. He pulled the two sides apart unbuttoned it, pulling the zipper half down. A fierce growl left him. Her shirt was torn on the side, and the claw marks that marred her delicate, smooth skin were deep. They ran from her ribs to her hip bone. He had a suture kit, and even though he had sewn himself up plenty of times after a fight, had even done so to his brothers, he was hesitant to pierce Kenzie with the needle. The thought of causing her any more pain was like a dagger in his heart, but it had to be done. Bram disinfected the wounds as gently as he could, and went about suturing her up. He was just thankful she was still passed out and unable to feel what would no doubt cause her even more pain. It was a lot different from suturing up his brothers, because with them it was just do it and get done, but with Kenzie he went slow and easy, and kept glancing at her face to make sure he wasn’t causing her any discomfort. A light sheen of sweat coated her forehead, but once he was done patching her up and had a clean dressing on the wounds he let his ass hit the floor.