A Lamb for the Bear's Appetite (2 page)

Mine.

The bear in him roared out, and he felt himself start to shift uncontrollably. Lowering his head, but keeping his eyes trained on the sexy as fuck sheep shifter on stage, all Liam could think about was pulling her down and into his arms, and taking her in a back room to fuck the shit out of her. He should claim her, put his mark on her peaches and cream colored body so everyone knew that she belonged to him, but her hypnotizing moves held him transfixed. To Liam there was no one else in the club, and he could picture her dancing just for him. His chest started to rise and fall ferociously as he watched her work the pole like she was seducing the damn thing, making it hard for her, and then teasing the shit out of it. That thought had his bear slightly breaking through the surface. His claws stabbed through the tips of his fingers, and he felt his muscles start to grow and his body become bigger with the need to shift into his inner beast. She was Liam’s, and no one else’s. These males were looking at
his
female, at
his
mate.

 
Mine. Claim her. Mark her. And make sure every fucking asshole that sees her knows she is mine.

Shit, his polar bear was a demanding and insane animal. But the truth was, she really was his mate, and she was working in a strip club of all places. She had since let down the messy knot of platinum hair at the top of her head, and it was now a cascade of shimmery waves down the middle of her back. His blood pressure rose when he looked around and saw the men staring at her. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what they were thinking. Hell, he could smell their arousal coming off of them. His rage grew tenfold, and it took all of his strength to keep his human side reigning supreme.

When the music faded into the distance, and she straightened and moved away from the pole, there was a chorus of shouts and hollers for more from this little sheep. A low, menacing growl left him. Liam needed to go to her, to place his claim and take her out of this fucking club. He didn’t know what he was going to do with a mate, had never even felt this kind of raw intensity before, but none of that mattered. All he could focus on was getting her back to Sweet Water and between his sheets.

She descended the stairs off to the side, and he tracked her every movement. He took one step, and then another, but when a big male stepped up to her everything in him stilled. The asshole was a big fucker, and a leopard shifter at that. Despite the scent of suffocating perfume, spilled alcohol, and sex that filled the air, the most overpowering one of all was the fact this leopard wanted what was Liam’s. His mate might not realize that she was his, but she was about to learn that. Liam saw red when the other male lifted his hand and brushed a strand of hair from his female’s face, as if he had some kind of proprietary claim on her. It did please him that she slapped his hand away, but that still didn’t stop the low, deep rumble that left him, one that had the leopard snapping his head toward Liam and baring his teeth. His mate looked over at him as well, and her eyes widened as her animal recognized the bear in him instantly.
And that she.
Was.
His.

****

Olive’s mouth grew dry, and her throat closed when she saw the polar bear shifter charging forward.
Oh, hell no.
Her inner animal had instantly recognized him as her mate as soon as their eyes had locked. He was no doubt a gorgeous male, with short black hair, bright green eyes, and a body that was quite possibly the biggest she had ever seen, and that was saying something since Trent, the leopard shifter that stood a foot from her and whom she loathed, was a big asshole. But this polar bear,
who
had murder in his eyes, which were trained right at Trent, could have crushed him with one hand. There was no doubt about that. As much as she would have loved this hot stranger to annihilate Trent, she couldn’t let that happen, because Trent had already told her if he was out of the equation, there was someone waiting to take his place and finish off her brother. When he was only a few feet away she moved just as quickly as the bear, and placed herself between him and Trent. The sudden surprise that crossed the bear’s face had his steps faltering, but he regained his composure instantly.

When he was close enough to hear her she said between clenched teeth, “Just wait one damn minute.” She held her hand up, and right when she thought he would tear through her just to get to Trent, he halted when her hand landed right on the center of his impossibly hard, wide, and muscular chest. The shockwave that went through her at that simple contact had her already tight throat closing even further. He seemed to have the same electrically charged reaction to her as she had to him, because the scent of his shock filled her nose. His eyes widened only slightly, but his nostrils flared and his chest expanded even further. When a mate found its other half the reaction was intense, encompassing, and there was nothing else like it in the world. It made no sense and frankly pissed Olive the fuck off. This was a complication she did not need in her life, not now, and not ever.

“
Mate
, move out of the way so I can beat that motherfucker’s ass for laying his hands on what’s mine.”

Olive’s anger, which had been a slow simmer deep inside of her, flared to the surface with astounding force. She jabbed her finger into his rock solid chest, only managing to cause a sting of pain in the digit from the contact as she came up against stone.

“First thing, ‘mate’ is not my name, and secondly you have no claim on me,
bear
.” She looked over her shoulder at Trent, saw the asshole grin down at her, and felt everything inside of her tightening in disgust. Clearly the vile leopard was having fun with this little encounter, and she sensed that he, too, was barely holding to his inner animal. When she looked at the polar bear again he was staring right at her, his animal now taking control. She could see his canines press against his lower lip and knew that he was barely hanging on. He was all alpha male, and ready to claim her right here, but no damn way in hell was that happening.
Ever.
She couldn’t be saddled with an alpha when her main focus right now was finishing this obligation with Trent, and getting Holden the hell out of Kashton and away from this evil. Letting herself get immersed in the world of being mated and claimed would only distract her from that end goal.

“Step out of the way,
female
.” He lifted his hand and wrapped it around her wrist in a gentle, yet possessive manner. Heat traveled from the point of contact right up her arm and seemed to engulf her instantly.

It was hard to keep her strength when the sheep inside of her wanted nothing more than to give itself over to her mate, but Olive’s human side was far stronger than her usually shy and timid breed, and she wasn’t about to submit to any male, let alone an overbearing polar bear that thought he could call the shots without even asking her name.

“Just move out of the fucking way, Olive. Let the bear come after me since he thinks his balls are big enough to take me on.” Of course Trent had to open his big mouth. The low, deep rumble that left the bear went through every single part of her body.

“Trent,
please
. You’re not helping things.” She hated begging him for anything, hated that she had to be this docile female because she was afraid of how he would retaliate. But he had reminded her on more than one occasion that if he got injured, or God forbid died, her brother’s life was as good as erased, and so was hers. He laughed low, and she gritted her teeth. She sensed the leopard move
closer,
and everything inside of her tensed.

The next sequence of events happened so rapidly that she didn’t know what to think. Trent grabbed her arm and tried to yank her back, but the bear had moved so fast that she stumbled back and saw her mate pin Trent against the wall with a hand to his throat. Olive felt her eyes widen as the bear lifted Trent off the ground with one hand. The bear couldn’t have been much older than she was, but he lifted the leopard off his feet, a male that was well into his forties and solid muscle, as if he weighed nothing at all. Her heart thundered in her chest, and her pulse pounded in her ears. The music still pumped throughout the room, and their position made it impossible for the main floor of people to see what was happening.

“Stop.”
The word was a strangled groan from her.

The bear wouldn’t listen, and even after Trent’s leopard rose up and his eyes flashed with pure animalistic rage, she knew she had to put an end to this before there was a full out shifter brawl.

Grabbing onto her composure she went to the bear and grabbed his arm. It was like holding onto steel, and she had a hell of a time even gripping the bulging muscle. She didn’t pay any attention to the electricity that was a steady hum through her body whenever she touched him. She couldn’t, not if she wanted to stop this before it escalated any further. He looked over his shoulder and down at her, and the smirk he gave, canines flashing and all, pissed her off even further. He thought this was funny when it was far from it. In fact, lives were hanging in the balance because of this situation. She didn’t want Trent retaliating on Holden because of this. “Let him go.”

Flashing her animal would only seem like a bluff tactic given the fact his kind in the wild would have eaten hers. She pleaded with her eyes, because she wasn’t physically capable of prying him off. But out of the blue Trent sucker-punched him in the side of the face, which had his hold loosening. He took a step back, and Trent charged forward, his fists swinging and his leopard flashing across his face. They clashed together in a tumble of fists and roars, and when their huge bodies went to the side and successfully knocked her against the opposite wall, the air left her in a
whoosh
. How in the hell did this get so out of control? That was easy.
These two are alpha assholes in every sense.

“Stop!”
Olive screamed as loud as she could, not caring who heard her in the club. The bear stilled, but Trent kept going. Then in one powerful surge of power the polar bear slammed his fist into the side of Trent’s head, knocking the leopard off his feet and taking him out cold. For a moment all Olive could do was stare at Trent with her mouth gaping open and her eyes no doubt as wide as saucers. He was still alive, but
shit,
he was going to be pissed when he woke up. And that wasn’t good for her or her brother, because Trent would take it out on them. Slowly she turned and looked at the bear, and of course he had his penetrating green eyes trained right on her. “What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Those words were a haggard gasp from her. She had a lot of emotions tumbling through her right now: anger, fear, hatred, and relief. Anger took the forefront though, and she curled her hands into fists and took a slow, deliberate step toward him. “You have no idea what in the hell you just did.”

As she looked at Trent again, her fear sprang up, and she swallowed roughly. No, she couldn’t let that emotion take over, or she wouldn’t make it. Looking back at the bear all she could see was her mate, but she pushed away the instinct to go into his arms and let their connection fill her, and focused on finishing out the last week with Trent and getting the hell out of Kashton with Holden. She slammed her fists against the bear’s chest, over and over again, but he didn’t move an inch.

When her arms were tired and the tears had stopped falling down her cheeks she took a step back and looked at the main floor. The music still played, but the commotion had moved them enough that they were in clear view of everyone. All eyes were on her, and humiliation, fear, and anger had her turning on her heel and stalking back to where Trent lay. He was coming to and was on his feet a few seconds later. She stared up at him, but there was no denying the retribution he wanted, and what he would deliver unto her.

“Come here, mate.”

Olive was exhausted and closed her eyes and hung her head, but when she sensed the bear come close she spun around and snapped her eyes open. She didn’t bother hiding her rage.

“Just leave.” Whispering the words, she watched the emotion play across his face. “I don’t want you as a mate. You’ve done nothing but ruin my life, and I’ve only known you for ten minutes.” Olive refused to cry any more. Turning back to Trent, she lowered her eyes and breathed out. “I’m ready to go.” There was a low, shocked growl that left the male fate had deemed as hers, but Olive’s life wasn’t meant to have that. She had too much riding on what she did and how she acted right now, and until she could make sure that her brother was safe and free of being in debt to Trent, she would have to play by the leopard’s rules. Olive didn’t miss the self-satisfied smirk Trent threw toward the bear, and when she looked at him once more it was to see him barely restraining himself. The scent of his regret, rage, and need to possess her was strong and coated her like a suffocating blanket. Trent grabbed her arm, but right as her mate let out a warning sound she shook off Trent’s hold and continued down the hall and away from temptation, and what would surely be the death of her brother.