A Lamb for the Bear's Appetite (5 page)

He shook his head. “You’re my mate, and there is no fucking way I am going to walk away.” He took a step closer to her and said in a low voice, one that was fueled by his bear, “And being a sheep shifter, you know what that means, know that my bear isn’t going to just let you go just because you asked me to.” The fact her eyelids fluttered and she shivered had his whole body tightening in arousal. He smelled her desire, and no amount of her anger or irritation could mask it.

“Don’t call me that.” She opened her eyes, and the blue of her irises seemed unnaturally beautiful.

“You are my mate, and I will always call you that.” He straightened his shoulders when she shook her head.

“No, not that.”
She looked at the ground for a few seconds, and all Liam wanted to do was run his fingers through the few platinum colored strands that fell from the messy bun at the top of her head.
“Sheep.
Don’t call me that.” Liam felt his brows draw down in confusion.

“What?” He chuckled slightly, having no clue where in the hell this was going. “That’s what you are, unless I’m missing something.”

She lifted her eyes, and her gaze was like a punch to his gut. Liam knew it would always be this way when she looked at him. “Sheep sounds so old, and ewe just sounds …
ew
. I prefer lamb.” For a moment all he could do was stare at her, and then he couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.

“Oh my God, you are so damn adorable.” His mate wanted to be called a lamb. That certainly wasn’t the priority of what they were discussing, but he sensed she was also trying to derail the conversation into something else, something that didn’t have to do with what they were discussing. “I’ll call you whatever you like, little lamb.” He leaned in close and was surprised she didn’t back away.
“So, back to our previous conversation.”
He heard her swallow, watched her lick her lips, and grew harder at the sight. “Tell me you don’t feel the same pull I do. Try and fucking lie to me and see where it gets you, baby.” The air around them grew warm and filled with electricity, and there was no denying the scent of desire that came from her. Yes, there was a physical, mental, and even chemical reaction when a shifter found their mate. And yes, there was even a part that refused to let another mate walk away. The desire and need to be with their other half was just too strong to deny, but Olive was fighting it, and he didn’t know why.

“You just don’t understand.” He didn’t miss the way her knuckles turned white as she tightened her hold on the edges of his shirt, but as if she caught herself doing it she quickly pushed the material off her shoulders and shoved it at his chest.

“I don’t understand why you are denying this so much, why you are pushing away from me.” His anger that she was refusing him, that she was trying to convince herself and him that what was happening to them wasn’t a reality, pissed him off. “You can’t hide the fact you want me, that your inner animal is drawn to me irrevocably.”

 
She broke eye contact with him and turned around to look down the alley. “Listen to me, you have to leave, and never come back. I can’t be with you, not now, and by the time things … settle down, I’ll be long gone.” Her voice was distant, and when he looked in her face he noticed she had closed herself off. Whatever the fuck was going on was pretty deep. But Liam would find out what it was, that was for damn sure.

Oh, hell fucking no.
The scent of her fear rose up like the stench of rotting flesh, and he felt his skin prickle at the fact his mate was scared of something or someone. “Does this have to do with the leopard?” He didn’t keep the growl out of his voice when he questioned her. She sighed and rubbed her hand over his eyes. “Has that male hurt you, Olive?” He took another step toward, but she moved back. They did this dance of steps until her back now faced the brick wall and she had no place to go as he took yet another step toward her. His chest brushed against hers with each inhalation he took. “Tell me, and I fucking promise you he will never come near you again.” He lowered his head so they were eye-level and said, “And he won’t come near you again because he won’t be breathing.” Her breath hitched, and he looked down at her mouth. “All you have to do is say the words, Olive, tell me that he is hurting you. I don’t care if he hasn’t laid a hand on you. If you are scared of him, I want to know.” Her lips were bow like and pink, with a slight shine to them. “As your mate it is my right to take care of you.” Her breathing was harsh, as rough as his own words, but Liam wasn’t about to take them back. The scent of her desire for him reminded him of fresh linen. “Wouldn’t you like your mate to protect you?” He lifted his eyes back to hers, and for just a moment he saw her surrendering to him, to his words. Her walls were down, and her animal rose up, needing her mate in every way possible. But then he saw fire flash behind those baby blues. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back.

“No, I wouldn’t like any male to protect me. I can
fucking
do that just fine on my own.” Her cheeks turned red from her obvious anger and frustration.

“Why are you denying this mating so damn much?” His voice rose, and he slammed his hands on the brick wall beside her head, caging her in. “I have a lot of fucking patience, mate, but when my female is reluctant to tell me why she is fighting this claiming so hard, I think I deserve to know why.”

 
“And why do you do deserve anything from me?” He blinked, not knowing exactly how to answer, but she didn’t give him time to say anything. “I just met you yesterday, and there is no damn way a chemical reaction, and some fucked up pull that makes it impossible to not want you, is going to make me roll over and present myself to you.” She pushed at his chest again. “I know nothing about you, and you sure as hell don’t know anything about me.” He took a step back when she pushed at him harder this time. “I’m not
trying
to be a bitch, Liam. I
am
a bitch, and believe it or not, me telling you to back the hell up is for your good, too. You don’t want to get involved with me because it will most likely get you killed.”

If she was trying to scare him off it was having the opposite effect. “That’s where you’re wrong, baby.”
His own
anger rose. “I found you, my bear recognized you, and there is no fucking way I am just going to leave you alone, threat or not. And some asshole leopard isn’t going to keep me away from what’s mine.” He shook his head and grinned down at her. “You’d be surprised what I’m willing to do to make sure you’re mine.” His bear was so fired up, so close to the surface, that he felt his muscles start to swell and his skin stretch from the force.

“Ugh, you are so…” She glanced around like she couldn’t quite find the right word, and that had amusement trying to take the place of his rage. His mate was the most stubborn and irrational female imaginable. “You’re just so
alpha
, and I can’t stand that. I don’t need a mate, especially not right now.” Her arms were straight and to her side, and her little fists were clenched tight.

“I’ll tell something, baby, I never planned on being mated either. In fact, I quite enjoyed the life I led, but then I saw you, and all that other bullshit left the fucking window. So, yeah, I want to know the exact reason why you’re trying so hard to push me. If it has to do with you being involved with that damn leopard, I want to know.”

That last part had her baring her teeth, but he did the same, showing her that he was stronger than she was, and there was no way he was going to let anything come between them, not now that he had just found her.

“You want to know why you and I can never be
together?
” She didn’t give him a second to answer, but he wouldn’t have anyway. It was a rhetorical question. “Because that male in there, that piece of shit leopard—” She pointed to the closed door they had come out of. Her voice was so low that even if anyone passed by only he would have been able to hear her. “He is holding my coked out brother as collateral as I work off his debt. I have one more week left, and after that I’m getting out of this shitty town and disappearing with Holden.” She glanced down, and he sensed her anger leave as defeat set in. “I can’t have you getting between me or finishing this, or Trent will kill my brother as I watch, and then finish me off.” When she lifted her face there were unshed tears, but she hardened herself right before her eyes. “I also am not going to be the cause of your death. That little stunt you pulled at the club yesterday could have backfired, and I would have been the one to feel his wrath.” A low warning growl left Liam at that thought. “Trent knows we are mates, but he doesn’t care. I am not going to be the cause of your death. So please, just walk away. Believe me when I say wanting anything to do with me will just be hazardous to your health, Liam.”

When she said his name his chest hurt, and he actually lifted his hand and placed it over his heart. He was stunned speechless from the pain in her voice, and all he could do was stare into her eyes once more before she turned and opened the back door. But before she went inside she looked over her shoulder and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

And then she was gone, and Liam couldn’t find the strength to move for several moments.

This situation was beyond fucked up, and if she actually thought he would leave her to fend for herself with that piece of shit leopard, than she was about to realize that her mate was one fierce motherfucker, especially when it concerned protecting what was his.

Chapter Four

Olive’s cage was beautiful, a gorgeous prison with everything her heart could ever want. Everything except the freedom she so desired. All she could keep thinking about was seeing the polar bear yesterday. Liam. His name moved through her head over and over again, like a broken record. He had been so fierce in his words, and she had scented how much he had meant every single one of them. He needed to stay away, for both of their sakes, but she knew he wouldn’t. Olive had forced herself to walk away from him, to force the words past her lips even though they had felt wrong on every level. And then she had found herself back in her dressing room, dousing herself in perfume to mask Liam’s scent so Trent wouldn’t pick up on him.
But
 
trying
to put the gorgeous shifter out of her mind was a lot easier said than done.

Now here she was, staring at the perfectly manicured garden right outside of her barred bedroom window, wondering what her life would be like once this was all said and done. She was still leaving, not about to stay one
more minute
in Kashton, but also not seeing how her future looked either. A part of her knew, deep down in the very bowels of her soul, that Trent was full of lies. He wouldn’t let her or Holden go, but there was the optimistic part inside of her that only thought about finally breaking free, getting Holden the help he needed, and hoping that everything came together because they sure as hell deserved it.

A knock on her bedroom door had her turning around. No fear filled her, because she knew it was one of the guards taking her to see Holden. She didn’t know where he was, only that he was in the maze of rooms and hallways in the basement of this mansion, a prisoner the same as she was, but not getting the freedom to at least move around and feel the sun on his face like she did. For the last three weeks Trent had kept both of them so close to each other, yet so far away. He at least let her see Holden, to make sure he was still alive, and to be able to tell him that she loved him. But she knew all it would take was one fuck up from her and Trent would make the phone call to the male that constantly watched over her brother. Then that would be it, and she would never see Holden again. There were so many what-ifs in this situation, so many ways she could have escaped and let Holden fend for himself. He had gotten himself into this situation, after all, but they were blood, the only ones left for each other, and if he had been clean and sober he would have done the same for her.

No, she wouldn’t call for help, wouldn’t try to reach out to the authorities, because the truth was, she had no idea how far Trent’s reach was. For all she knew he was the authority in the neighboring cities, and that he controlled far more than he let on. She knew nothing about him aside from the fact he was immensely wealthy from his illegal “business deals”, and that one day years ago he had shown up and ruined everything good and clean in this small town.

Besides, she was always watched, and that made it impossible to try to reach out.

She turned around just as the door opened, and she saw a male that went by “Lor” step inside. He didn’t say anything, just gestured for her to follow him. He never spoke, and with his towering frame, bald head, and scar that cut right through his left eye making a grotesque image, he looked like he was a menace to the world. She followed him down the long, ornate staircase, through the back hallways that were silent and still, and down into the basement. The stairs that they descended were stone and the lighting made up of candelabra style light fixtures. It was like she was going down to a torture chamber from medieval times. The air grew colder, and her animal burrowed deeper inside of her. No matter how many times she came down here, and no matter how many times she begged Trent to at least let her brother stay in one of the hundred rooms on the main floor, this was always the destination she was headed to see her brother. At the bottom of the stairs they made the long, seemingly endless twists and turns through the labyrinth of tunnels. Nothing short of breadcrumbs could have led her back to the stairs in which they came from. She had been down here too many times to count since her brother had been kept in these cells, but it never looked familiar. She knew they took her different ways each and every time. There was security everywhere, men and cameras watching every single move. If she tried anything they would catch her before she even made it down the basement steps. She may not know how deep Trent’s operations ran, but she knew they were pretty fucking deep. They passed several men in black fatigues, with big looking guns pulled close to their bodies and stern expressions on their faces. Olive kept her head down, because as strong as she was at times, the men that worked for Trent were just as evil as he was.

Cells were built right into the stone walls that lined either side of her as they made their way through the temperature controlled basement, which was more like a modernized dungeon than anything else. Every bared room was empty, and every time she passed them she wondered what kind of male would need a prison right below his home. Even now she remembered when this colossal home was being built, but she would have never imagined the horror that lay behind its walls, not until she was stuck behind them.

They stopped in front of the last one on the right, and her heart broke a little more when she saw her brother in the fetal position on the ratty, stained mattress against the wall. She rushed up against the bars and gripped the cold metal.
“Holden?”
Her voice was nothing more than a squeak. Holden groaned and rolled over. He looked like shit, but it wasn’t because he was using anymore. Once she had agreed to work off her brother’s debt they had carted him off, and she hadn’t seen him for a week. That first time she had seen Holden she had been able to tell right away he was sober. But then again she didn’t suppose Trent would keep supplying her junkie brother. So Olive didn’t know whether to thank him for getting Holden off that shit, or hate him even more because she could only imagine the pain Holden had gone through during withdrawals, and how there most definitely hadn’t been any physician there making sure he didn’t die.

“Holden, are you okay?” Her brother pushed himself off the mattress and stood. He was so weak, and he was even thinner than the last time she had seen him. “God, Holden.” Tears broke through and she wiped them away as quickly as they fell. “You look so bad.” He moved slowly toward her and wrapped his hands around hers. He tightened his hold on her, and rested his forehead against the bars.

“Thanks, sis, you know how to make a guy feel good.” He was trying to make light of things, but his voice was low and so very tired.

“When was the last time you ate?” He opened his eyes and shook his head. They resembled each other with their light hair and blue eyes, but where her animal was strong his was very weak, so much so that she couldn’t even sense it amidst the sorrow and sickness that were thick inside of him. “You’ll die down here, Holden, before I even finish paying off Trent.” She glanced over at Lor, who still wore a stoic expression, but whose eyes were trained right on her. She looked back at Holden, and before she could brush one of her tears away he reached his hand between the bars and slid the pad of his thumb over her cheek.

“I’m sorry I’m the one that makes you cry, Olive.” Holden’s eyes were so very big, and the sadness that came from him was tangible. “And I’m so damn sorry that I am the one that got us into this mess. I should have never started on the drugs, but they were right there, offered to me, and I was just too damn weak.” He rested his forehead on the bars again and closed his eyes. “I know that isn’t an excuse, but I want you to know how much you mean to me, and if I could take this all back I would.” He opened his eyes and brushed several more tears away from her cheeks. “I wish I could hug you.” Now it was his turn to cry, and that had everything inside of her tearing in two. Holden may be a sheep shifter, but he used to be big and strong and in control of his life. Now he just looked like the shell of a male.

“Hey, I thought I was the one that was supposed to be making things better?” She smiled, pushing away her sadness and appearing strong for Holden. “I’m your big sister, right?” He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Only one more week, Holden, and then you and I will go far away from here. Hey, maybe we will finally go to the beach like you always wanted.”

He really smiled this time, but although he tried to look strong, there was just no more fight in him. The drugs and his lifestyle, and now everything that was happening with Trent had sucked the life right out of him, and he was only twenty-one.

“Just hang in there, little brother.” She kissed his knuckles and took a step back just as Lor gestured that her time was up.

“I love you, Olive Oil.” She chuckled for the first time since all of this happened at hearing the nickname Holden had for her.

“I love you, too.”

She followed the big guard out of the catacomb of tunnels and back onto the main floor. Right when the darkness left and natural sunlight poured in stopped and tried to get her emotions under control. Lor watched her curiously, but didn’t say anything. She could
either go to her room and
get through the next week, or she could bargain with him, maybe offer him something he wanted in hopes that he would show mercy on her brother.

The choice was simple. She quickly made her way down the hall until she found herself standing in front of Trent’s office. She’d give him whatever he wanted, even if it was vile and disgusting. Seeing Holden like that, nearly broken and a step away from death, made these three weeks seem insubstantial. What was the point of trying if Holden wasn’t around to enjoy life with her? He was fading away, deteriorating right before her eyes, and she couldn’t do anything about it. Knowing that Trent was on the other side of this door, and smelling the stench of his cologne and everything vile that made him up waft up from under it, had bile rising in her throat. She shook her head as a wave of dizziness assaulted her. Her heart pounded so hard and fast that it felt like it would come right through her chest.

“Well, are you going to stand out there all day or come in, Olive darling?” His voice was deep, but it still penetrated the thick wood. Steeling her nerves and grabbing all of her strength, she pushed his door open, ignoring the two guards that were stationed on either side of his monstrous desk, and not paying any attention to the male sitting in the leather chair right before him. Olive kept her eyes on Trent and stepped inside. “Well, Olive, say what you have to say. Time is money, sweetheart.” She hated the endearments. Looking among the three other men in the room, she swallowed, and shook off the rest of her fear and hesitation. Clearly he didn’t care what these men heard, so she wasn’t going to mince her words.

“He’s dying down there, Trent.” He smirked, but said nothing. “Please, let him stay in my room. I swear I’ll finish out the week, even work extra, but he’ll die down there.” She hated that her tears were falling uncontrollably, but Trent didn’t give a shit, and that was clear by the sudden apathetic look on his face. Twisting her hands together, she refused to break eye contact for him. “I’ll do anything, but please don’t let him die down there.” He suddenly stood, and looked over at the man seated before him.

“Mitchell, please excuse me while I handle this.” The ash color haired man nodded, but didn’t speak or look at her. She breathed hard, her emotions running a riot inside of her. Olive hated that she couldn’t control herself, and that this was the first time since she had agreed to do this that she had broken down. Being strong was what was important, and clearly she had failed at that, too. Trent moved around the table, and one of the guards made a move to follow him, but he held his hand up to stop him. “I can handle this.”

She took a step back, fear suddenly clawing at her insides as Trent stalked forward. He was the master of keeping his emotions in check, and right now it was like he had a steel wall surrounding him. He grabbed her upper arm and yanked her forward. His steps quickened as he pulled her out of the room, slammed the door behind him, and continued to pull her down the hall and away from his office. Her animal quivered and burrowed deeper inside of her. He let go of her, and she moved quickly away from him, her instincts screaming that she was in a very bad position right now.

“If you knew what your running does to me.” He slammed his hand on her shoulder and pushed her against the wall. The pictures on the wall shook from the force of the action. In only a few seconds he had his body pressed against hers, digging his erection into her, and leaned his face in closer to hers. “You would stop because it makes me so hard that all I can think about is tearing you into pieces.” He grinned, and she stilled. Her heart thundered in her ears, but even though the house was filled with servants and guards, she was suddenly so very alone. His hot, humid breath smelled of liquor and had her stomach roiling.

She turned her head and closed her eyes, the force of her actions causing her neck muscles to stretch painfully as she tried to evade him. In the wild he was he predator and she was the prey, but even civilized and in their human form she was no match for him. How had she thought she could possibly reason with this male, one that derived pleasure from pain?