A Lamb for the Bear's Appetite (14 page)

Holden had a nasty looking cut right above his eye and a bloody nose, but the rage-filled look on his face had even her fearing what would happen next. “Let go of my sister. This is between us.” Her brother spoke low, and even over the sound of grunts and things breaking right above her, he sounded menacing.

“Boy, the only way I’m going to give her up is on my terms. But don’t you worry, you’re next.”

Holden charged forward, and anyone that didn’t know he was a sheep shifter would have thought he was a fierce carnivore. He clashed with Trent, and the leopard was so taken off guard that his grip on her loosened enough that she twisted out of his clutches. There was snapping and clawing, blood spilled and spit spraying. For as weak as Holden was he held his own, but Olive knew this wouldn’t end well. She needed to break this up, but something nudged her shoulder and had her spinning around, ready to attack. Liam stood right behind her, already shifted, and looking fearsome. He was no longer her gentle giant, and before she could suck in a breath because she knew what was about to happen, he was charging toward Trent with a roar of outrage. She stumbled back from the force of power that came from him.

Trent shoved Holden back, and with what looked like a lot of effort on his part shifted into his leopard. Even in animal form he looked grotesque and weak, but he wasn’t about to end this easily. He faced off with Liam, and even if Liam was so much bigger and more powerful, Trent had the advantage of being a sick bastard. They clashed together, fur and flesh getting torn away, blood spraying from their bodies and staining Liam’s white fur, and sharp teeth being bared.

Holden came over to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “I’m sorry, Olive. God, I am so damn sorry.” The pain in his voice was tangible, and even though she wanted to comfort him, now was not the time.

Liam and Trent continued to fight, and that was when she saw the gun Trent had dropped before he shifted. It glinted on the floor and had been kicked to the side during the fight. She lunged for it at the same time Trent bit into Liam’s side. Her bear howled out in pain and tackled the leopard. Olive curled her fingers around the butt of the gun, lifted it with shaking hands, and tried to keep it pointed on Trent. But the two males were all over the place, and with the sounds of destruction still going on upstairs, it was hard to keep her focus. Liam had Trent pinned, and she fired, but the bullet missed its mark and landed in the wall right beside Trent’s head. The leopard growled and snapped, rolled out from under Liam miraculously, and went after her.

But her bear wrapped a big paw around the cat’s neck and curled his nails deeper into the animal’s throat until blood welled from Trent’s mouth and neck and dripped onto the ground. She held Trent’s stare and kept the cold, heavy gun in her hand, pointed right at him. But it didn’t take long for Holden to take it from her. He turned her around so she was no longer facing the males, but she hadn’t missed the distant look in Trent’s bottomless eyes. The sounds of bone crunching and the scent of a sickening amount of blood filled the air. And then she sensed Trent’s vile life snap off like a light being flicked off. Then came the sound of a body falling to the ground, and that was when she realized everything was so very still.

Turning around so she could face Liam again, she realized Trace, Declan, and Maverick were in the basement as well, but her focus was totally on her mate. He was still in his bear form, crimson covering his gorgeous thick, white coat, and marking the violence that had surrounded him. Olive licked her dry lips and took a step forward, and then another. When she was right in front of her mate she lifted her hand, speared it in his thick fur, and sighed.

“I’m so sorry, Liam.” He moved his big head back and forth, as if telling her not to apologize. “I am so very sorry.” He huffed out after she spoke, as if annoyed, but clearly still too raw to shift back to his human self. He lowered his big head, nudged her in her shoulder, and then ran his big, thick tongue up her neck and right over his mark.

“I want the bodies out of here.” She looked over at Trace, who had his glare on the leopard’s lifeless form.

“I’ve already made the call,” Maverick said.

Moments later Candace came in, holding her sobbing daughter, but Trace was right there, steering his wife and daughter away from the carnage. Olive’s heart broke, and she moved over to them.

“I am so sorry I brought this to your door.” Tears spilled down her face, and Candace smiled at her empathetically.

“Oh, honey.” Candace reached out and embraced her with her free arm. “If you weren’t here with us I don’t even want to think about what that asshole would have done to you.” She pulled away and offered Olive a watery smile. “Besides, we had the best males here for this kind of thing.”

“Candace is right, Olive.” Trace took his daughter out of Candace’s arms. He leaned down and kissed his wife on the forehead, and then did the same to his little girl. Alivia stopped whimpering and buried her face in her father’s neck. “You’re Liam’s mate, which makes you family.” He chucked her under the chin and smiled, but it didn’t take away from the harshness of his expression. Maverick started talking to Declan, saying things that sounded coded and far too in-depth for her to comprehend, so Olive turned back to Liam and Holden. She looked once more at the leopard. Maverick’s voice cut through, and she looked over her shoulder to see him on his cell.

“There were four men that came through the front. They broke the wiring, cut the security down so they were able to come in undetected before we were alerted to their presence.” There was a long pause. “No, they are all taken care of. The bodies upstairs have been removed and are in the back property.”
Another pause.
“No, everyone is safe.”

“Olive.” She turned and looked at Holden as he spoke. “
You doing
okay?” She nodded. A big weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Liam came up to her, his body so monstrous it was still a bit much to take in, and sat on his hind legs. He huffed out a lungful of air. He had protected both of them, made sure they were safe, and had almost died because of it. She cared about this male very deeply, and wanted to spend the rest of her life proving to him that she was the one worthy of him, because after all of this, she felt anything but. Resting her head on his big chest, she closed her eyes and sensed Holden sit beside her. Without opening her eyes she reached out her hand, clasped her brother’s, and held on tight. She would never let go, and never take anything for granted, because life was far too short.

Epilogue

Six months later

Liam sat at his father’s massive dining room table, the one currently occupied with many of Sweet Water’s shifter residents. He had Olive beside him, and she was currently talking with Maverick’s mate, Kettah. The two females were close in age, and he was glad that she had someone she felt comfortable enough talking to. He was always there for her, but Liam also knew that she needed female companionship and that there were things he just wouldn’t understand, no matter how much he loved her. When his mate had female problems she wanted to talk about, being a male left him at a disadvantage. He glanced over at Candace who stood by the far wall. She had a huge smile on her face, and it was contagious seeing as everyone seemed to have the same expression. The huge dinner Candace had been planning had obviously been pushed back after the attack and the destruction to his father’s home. But after everything had settled they knew that they all needed this gathering. Friends and family were what held everything together, and right now laughter was something that they all desperately needed. Even six months later there were still times that he felt his mate’s uneasiness. Olive hid it well, but there wasn’t anything that she could hide. Liam knew that over time things with Olive would become better, but until then he would give her support, his strength, and make sure no fucker ever touched her again. The last part was mainly to ease his bear, because after everything that happened with Trent, Liam had felt unstable himself, and the very territorial and possessive side of him had a hard time letting her out of his sight.
 

Candace hadn’t just planned this to get everyone together, although it was nice to have the easiness and comfortable atmosphere. Tonight was also about a very big announcement, which was also the main cause of everyone’s excitement and happiness. His old man and Candace were expecting another baby. The news had been somewhat of a surprise, to say the least, because Liam knew how hard they had tried for little Alivia. But he was glad that things were working out for them, and that there would be a new addition to the Dakota clan. Everyone was happy and laughing, talking and filling the room with warmth.

He looked over at his mate, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her in closer. She was so beautiful, so patient with him, especially when he was over the top in his alpha attitude. But the best fucking part of it all was that he had been lucky enough to have found Olive, and that she was all his.

“You’re smiling,” Olive said and leaned her head on his shoulder. He turned his head to look down at her, and felt his smile grow for more than one reason.

 
“You put that smile on my face.” She lifted her head and leaned in to kiss him on the lips. Liam had never been one for PDA, but then again he had never had a female that he had wanted to do that with. But with Olive he didn’t give a fuck. He’d kiss her all day long and in front of a damn crowd.

His father had increased the security around the house after all the shit with Trent and his men getting through. The security before was laughable compared to now. The house had been repaired, and everything was as it was before. It was like nothing had happened, but Liam was glad everyone was able to go on with their lives and not let this stay with them. After Liam had taken Trent’s life, which he had done with pleasure, he had gone through a time where he couldn’t let Olive out of his sight.

If he was being honest he still was like that, but he also had a strong female that put him in his place when he was clearly overstepping his boundaries, and told him he was smothering her. He couldn’t help it though, and although he let her think he had backed up, he could never fully let go of his bear needing to make sure she was protected at all times. It was the animal inside of him, the instinct to protect what was his, and he knew no amount of time would ever make that need go away. But Liam never said he wasn’t possessive of Olive, and in fact made it perfectly clear that he was. The fear that something would happen to
her, that she would be taken from him,
rode him and his bear hard every day. Even six months later Olive still felt guilt over thinking
she was the one that put everyone in danger, but it wasn’t her or Holden’s fault, and what he regretted was not finding her sooner so none of this would have ever happened. Trent was a sick fucker, and shit would have gone down regardless. If it hadn’t been them it would have been someone else, and whoever it was might not have been able to handle the fucker like they had.

Liam was a firm believer in things happening for a reason. Olive wasn’t this weak little thing who let people walk all over her. She could hold her own, gave as good as she received, and never let his animal pigheadedness override what they had. Olive Brownstone was just as strong as any male shifter he had ever come across, him included, and he was damn proud to have her by his side. Kettah started talking to her again, and she easily slipped into a comfortable conversation with the Pallas’s cat shifter. Liam took that time to glance around the table.

The sound of children laughing came from another room, and it made the atmosphere even lighter. Luke and his mate Alice were currently entertaining the shifter children. Those two deserved happiness more than anyone he knew, especially Alice with what she had gone through, and poor Luke for being royally fucked over. But fate had brought them together, and it had been a perfect match. Even Liam could see that. Two tragedies could make a beautiful outcome and positive future. Charlie, Ford, and Bram, the three Wylde brothers, who were also just as grumpy as his old man, owned the only bear shifting construction business in Sweet Water. They were currently at the end of the table talking with Holden about the fact they had branched their business out to the bigger cities. They had given Holden a job a few months back. It was manual labor in their Sweet Water division, but it suited the sheep shifter, and had gone a long way in helping him get his life back together. Liam stared at Holden and was pleased that he had bulked up, hadn’t relapsed, and even now lived on his own and supported
himself
. He had a small apartment in town, and came over to Liam and Olive’s place every Sunday for dinner. Liam looked continued to gaze around the table and looked at Candace once more. She was talking to Melissa
and
 
Ary
. Both females were taking their turns rubbing Candace’s barely there baby bump. Talia walked past the females, stopped to take with them for a second and rub Candace’s belly, too, and then moved over to her mate, Ford. The big grizzly focused all his attention on his red fox shifting mate, pulled her onto his lap, and nuzzled her neck. The other two Wylde bear brothers kept glancing at their females, and it didn’t take long for Ary to go over to Charlie, or for the oldest Wylde brother to take possession of her mouth. Kenzie came down the hallway, but before she even entered the dining room, Bram, the youngest bear brother, was out of his seat, striding toward her, and had her in him arms. She giggled at whatever her mate had whispered in her ear.

None of this was an unusual scene when it came to shifters and their mates, especially when every male in this room was a little more animal than human. Candace had since moved over to Trace, who was talking shop with Maverick. His dad had one of his arms around Candace’s waist and had his other hand over her belly. Liam had never thought he’d ever see Trace look so vulnerable when it came to a female, but with Candace he was weak in every single way.

Liam focused on Olive once
more,
feeling blessed every damn day that she was by his side. He traced a finger up and down Olive’s arm, and when she looked at him again his pulse picked up, as it did every time she was near. He had her love, but he wanted so much more with her. He wanted her to be his wife, wanted her to carry his children, and wanted them to spend the rest of their lives together. But even if they were mates, and he didn’t want any other female
,
 
he
wanted to take things slow with her and make sure she was comfortable in where their relationship was headed. They had all the time in the world, and when it was time for him to ask for her hand in marriage, and, he hoped, she said yes, that was when everything would just fall right into place. At least that was this new optimistic side of him talking.

“I love you, Liam.”

He leaned forward and captured her lips with his.

“And I love you so damn much, Olive.” He murmured the words against her mouth and loved when her breath hitched. Funny how life could give him something as special as a
mate,
and how he’d never even thought he needed one. But now that he had her he couldn’t even imagine how he had survived without Olive in his life.

The End

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