His to Bear (2 page)

him.

“Well?” he prompted.

Murphy glanced back at him then over to Koby who sat rigid behind the wheel.

“She’s a shifter,” Murphy said.

“I don’t need your super senses to figure that out for myself,” Holt said. He

dropped his glance to roam over her again, soaking all of her in. He thought about

Koby’s reaction and finally, it clicked. “She’s a bear.”

Koby growled.

Murphy nodded, gaze still swinging back and forth between them.

“I thought there were no more female bear shifters?” Holt asked. “Isn’t that what

Laramie said?”

“We were told they were all dead,” Koby affirmed. “Obviously, we were lied

to.”

“I’m sure she’ll explain everything when she wakes up,” Murphy said.

“We’ll put her in the main house,” Koby stated as they pulled up.

Laramie and Jensen were standing by the main cabin, waiting for them.

“The Holloways will take care of her.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Holt disagreed.

“You have no say in this.” Koby’s voice was hard.

“Let’s all settle down,” Murphy said as he pushed open his door and turned to

help Holt out.

Laramie and Jensen were there immediately.

“Give her to me,” Laramie commanded.

“Not happening,” Holt stated again. This was getting real fucking old.

“You forget whose home you’re in,” Laramie admonished. “Give. Her. To. Me.”

Holt sighed. “I can’t do that. She asked me to protect her.”

“We’ll protect her,” Jensen stated with arrogance.

“Well, now, the lass was pretty specific,” Murphy informed them. “Koby and I

heard the words she spoke to Holt. She asked him to protect her, emphasized it was to

be him. And she wasn’t only concerned about the hunters.” Murphy’s gaze was

ferocious. “Any reason she’d have to fear you and your brothers?”

Laramie looked taken aback by the question. “What?”

“Because she was, and Koby’s behavior hasn’t done anything to make me think

she was mistaken,” Murphy added.

Holt agreed completely.

“Koby?” Laramie questioned.

“She belongs to us,” Koby claimed.

“When did people become possessions?” Finn asked as he strolled up and stood

by Murphy. He tossed a glance at the woman Holt held but didn’t say anything else.

Holt knew what they were doing. They’d both placed themselves in a position to

shield him if needed. Here was a reason to be grateful he wasn’t a shifter. Too much

testosterone by far, which seemed to make them all stupidly possessive. It was as if all brain function ceased, leaving them beating their chests and grunting ‘mine’ to anyone

and everyone.

“Enough!” Holt snapped. “Whoever she is, she asked me to watch over and

protect her. I will. I’ll take her to one of the empty rooms in the main cabin, and I’ll stay with her until she wakes up and feels ready to talk with you. I gave her my word,

Laramie. I intend to keep it.”

Laramie stared at him for a long moment before sighing and nodding. “I have no

idea why she’d fear us. Christ! Where did she come from? How does she exist?”

“All questions for her to answer when she’s back with us,” Holt suggested.

“Show me where I can take her.”

She had dark circles under her eyes, giving her a fragile appearance. How long

had she been running?

“Follow me,” Laramie ordered and moved to lead the way into the main cabin

where he and his brothers lived.

Holt wasn’t sure exactly how much land the Holloway brothers owned. They’d

turned it into a campground. They offered cabins for the less adventurous and

campsites for those who wanted to rough it. Or so they said. This was Holt’s second

visit and there were still no guests. It seemed like more of a cover than anything else.

He wasn’t sure how they made their money, but they certainly didn’t appear to be

hurting for anything.

“In here.” Laramie opened a door and pointed toward a queen size bed in the

middle of the room.

Holt walked over and placed the woman gently on the mattress. She clutched at

him as he tried to ease away. He glanced down at her face, but she was still sleeping.

He reached for her fingers and tried to gently pry them free of his shirt. She moaned

low in her throat, and if anything, her grip only tightened.

“Shh,” Holt crooned as he worked to release her hold again.

Slowly, he managed to loosen her fingers. He patted her hand gently as he

placed it against the bed and pulled back to stand. Whimpers of fear left her and had

him reaching out to offer comfort. She gripped him tightly again and almost

immediately settled.

“She seeks you even in sleep,” Laramie commented. “Have you met her

before?”

Holt shook his head, giving in and sitting on the bed beside her even though he

didn’t like having his back to the door and Laramie. She wrapped around his side, legs

curling behind his back while her head nudged closer to his thigh. He felt Laramie’s

stare and knew the other man wasn’t missing a single detail.

“Tell me what happened?”

“She came out of nowhere,” Holt said. “Koby was antsy. Murphy, too. I’m

guessing whatever they felt was the reason we ended up where we were. One moment

there was silence, not even the birds were calling. Then she was there, running as if

the hounds of Hell were after her.”

“They were,” Laramie confirmed, and Holt agreed.

“She launched herself at me. Asked me to help her, to protect her. She told me

not to let them take her.”

“Hunters won’t get the chance to touch her here,” Laramie stated with a grunt of

arrogance.

“She wasn’t just speaking of them,” Holt said and finally turned to let his gaze

meet Laramie’s once more. “Murphy was speaking the truth about her seeming afraid

of you and your brothers.”

Laramie shook his head. “She would have no reason to fear us. My brothers and

I will protect her with our lives if she needs us to.”

“She didn’t seem so sure of that. Obviously, she feels she has a reason to fear

you.”

“That makes no sense. We were told all the females were gone, killed in the

raids that nearly wiped us out,” Laramie disclosed. “Had we known she was alive,

there is nothing we wouldn’t have done to protect her.”

“Would that protection lead to claiming her?” Holt asked.

“She is one of us.”

“That’s not an answer,” Holt said. “When you ask yourself why she would be

afraid of you, think about that. In protecting her, would she have been given a choice,

or would you make it for her?”

“The ways of mating are complicated for our species. Sometimes, it’s the animal

who scents their mate, and the claim is made that way. Sometimes, it’s the strongest

male who is chosen simply for his ability to protect. Sometimes, it’s lust that leads to mating. There are many variances, and rarely is it ever simple.”

“Can the woman be forced to accept a man she didn’t want as her mate?” Holt

asked.

“We would never allow that,” Laramie all but roared.

“I’m not questioning you or your brothers,” Holt assured the other man. “I’m

only asking if all bear shifters have your morals, or if there’s a reason for her fear.

Honestly, there’s really no point in speculating. We’ll have answers when she wakes

up.”

“The door will stay open,” Laramie stated. “One of us will be by to check on her

constantly.”

Now it was Holt’s turn to get pissed. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“The scent of your desire for her stains the air,” Laramie announced. “Luckily

for you, there’s something else that overrides it.”

Holt merely lifted his brow in question. Fucking shifters and their ability to

scent anything. He could hide an erection but apparently not the scent of lust. Nice to

know, and embarrassing as fuck. Holt refused to comment.

“The other scent isn’t yours,” Laramie admitted. “It’s hers.”

“And what is hers saying?”

“She trusts you. You soothe her. As long as she feels that way, you can stay with

her.”

Holt sensed there was something more, but Laramie didn’t say another word. He

glanced down at the woman one more time, shook his head and walked over to the

door. He pushed it wide open, not content until it rested flat against the inside wall.

Then he threw one more quick glance at the bed before walking out.

Holt still wasn’t comfortable sitting with his back to the door. It took some

maneuvering, especially with her clinging to him, but he eventually managed to turn

and lean against the headboard. His little shifter took advantage of his new position to move impossibly closer. She had her head half on his lap, cuddled with her cheek on

his thigh, her hair spilling over his groin. Jesus! The visions filling his mind had his cock straining to break the zipper on his jeans.

He finally gave in to need and ran his hand through her hair. She moaned and

nuzzled those lush lips closer toward his crotch. She pressed her body against his leg,

turning so that the heat of her pussy scorched his calf. The clothes separating them did little to hinder. If one of the Holloways walked by now, Holt was sure he’d be a dead

man. He reached down to try and at least move her face a safe distance away. He was

rewarded for his chivalry with bared teeth and a fierce growl, both of which were far

too close to his dick to make him happy.

“Shh,” he crooned, stroking her hair again.

She relaxed, and he realized he was stuck, at least for the moment, with her

breath torturing him as each exhale blew across his zipper and his cock throbbing

against it. That was it. He was going to die. If the Holloway’s didn’t kill him when

they walked by and saw the position he was in then the lust she had eating at his

control would. It was going to be a long fucking day.

Chapter Two

Jaeda awoke surrounded by heat. Strong arms wrapped around her. Her head

rested on a wide chest while her knee lay against a flat stomach. She felt the throb of a hard cock against her thigh. She wanted to rub against it, to reach down and pull it

out. What the hell was wrong with her? Virgins shouldn’t have such desires, but her

body was racked with them.

She tilted her head up to take in the man holding her. Dark hair spilled around

his face in waves and though his eyes were now closed, she vividly remembered the

bright-blue color. He was tall and muscular, but his physique had nothing to do with

the reason she felt safe with him. He was hers. Her animal knew it and was

demanding Jaeda do something about it.

She rubbed against him, nuzzling against the open neck of his shirt.

“Are you planning to bite him, lass?”

Her gaze flew to the door, lips pulling back and a growl rumbling as she took in

the man leaning casually in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, a duffel bag at

his feet. He was the one who’d been with her Holt when she’d found him. There was

no threat from him, only curiosity it seemed.

“Bite?” She whispered the question, glancing down at Holt again. She hadn’t

thought about it, but it sounded tempting. She’d enjoy nipping along his throat, over

his chest and down the taut abdomen she felt. She’d like to nip his thighs, graze her

teeth over his shaft and taste him intimately.

“I can see I’ve put thoughts in your head. Hopefully, Holt will thank me and not

kill me,” the redhead stated with a chuckle. “I’m Murphy, by the way.”

She inhaled deeply. “What are you? And how do you know my Holt?”

His eyebrow lifted at her possessive statement, but she refused to take it back.

Holt had become hers the moment he’d opened his arms and gave his promise. There

was no going back as far as she was concerned.

“You’re a cat,” she said when his scent finally registered. Her nose wrinkled,

and she frowned at him. “Why would a cat hang out with grizzlies? Do you have a

death wish?”

Murphy laughed and the sound was rich and full. “I won’t fault you for that,

lass, seeing as we’ve only just met. At the moment, my intention is to help watch over

you. And to keep the human you’re snuggling with safe. He’s a friend.”

She hissed at him. “You think I can’t protect him?”

Murphy shook his head. “I’m not questioning you. Should I remind you how

many grizzly bears are here?”

“There are six,” Jaeda answered.

“Seven,” Murphy corrected.

“There are seven brothers, but one of them is more than the others,” she

challenged. “He’s not just grizzly. He’s an Alaskan grizzly, a Kodiak, rare and fierce.

I’ve heard of the Holloway men nonstop for the last few years. It was a constant back

and forth between steering clear of them and going to them if anything happened and I

needed help.”

“And here you are. What is it you need help with, lass?”

His eyes were kind, but she wouldn’t be pulled in by them. She’d been taught

from an early age that kindness often hid the cruelest of intentions. Female grizzlies

held the lifeblood of their pack. They had to remain vigilant against those who would

try to destroy them.

“I’ll speak to my Holt when he awakens,” she said, glancing back at Holt and

rubbing her cheek against him again. She couldn’t stop touching him. She wanted to

strip them both naked and stroke skin to skin. She needed it with a fierceness that left her reeling.

“I gather she’s awake.” The voice was hard and firm, and Jaeda didn’t need to