Bear in the Rough: Bear Shifter Romance (Broken Hill Bears Book 1) (10 page)

“Let me carry you,” he said, going to lift her up again.

“No, get off me. I can walk,” she snapped.

“Okay. Fall on your face if you prefer,” he said, with a trace of petulance. She was an infuriating woman.

She kept stumbling, and tripping, grabbing at branches to break her fall, but she kept her mouth firmly closed and rejected his repeated offers of help. When they arrived back at Deacon’s cabin, they saw that the lights in the living room had been switched on. Her breathing quickened and she raced toward the door. Xander came up behind her and lifted up the potted plants on the porch, looking for key. He found it and let them both in, he following behind her.

Her friends were awake, sitting close together on the couch, looking bewildered, faces etched with tension.

“Freya!” the brown-haired one exclaimed. Then she saw him standing behind her and gave a little scream, before clapping her hand over her mouth. Both women scrambled up higher on the couch, trying to get as far away from him as possible. He realized how huge and menacing he must look to them, and he felt a little ashamed.

“I tried to escape while you two were asleep,” the girl that he now knew was called Freya said flatly as she joined them on the couch.

“Freya! We’re in the middle of nowhere! That was so dangerous,” the other one, with the auburn hair and freckles exclaimed.

“I know, but I couldn’t just sit here doing nothing,” Freya replied. “Unfortunately, this one –” she angled her head toward him. “Caught up with me.”

“I’d say it was very fortunate, young lady,” he replied. “I’m the Alpha of this clan, which means that what I say goes. But there are many here who want you dead, and the will of a bear isn’t always so easy to control.”

“Dead?” the other two gasped in unison, and the brown haired one began to cry. Freya sat between them and took their hands, squeezing them tight.

“He’s not going to kill us. Apparently.”

“I used to be a soldier. I’m now the leader of one of the most powerful shifter clans in the land. It’s beneath me to lie,” he said.

“And how can we trust that’s true?” she retorted. Her words stirred up his anger once again. Jesus; she knew how to wind him up.

“Because you’ve got no other option!” he said, his voice rising to a roar. This time, all three of them shrank back on the couch. “You have my word that you won’t be harmed. And now that I’ve made my decision, the clan will also be warned not to harm you. But please don’t try to escape again. I’m not going to lock you up inside. You’ll be free to roam around the territory. But if you run away, you won’t get far. And if we have to come looking for you, then all bets are off.” The women were silent; evidently reeling from shock.

“You know this is illegal, right? In the human world, you can’t just decide you’re going to kidnap someone, and it’s all fine,” the auburn-haired one said. Xander’s bear stirred inside him.

“You’re not in the human world anymore, lady,” he said, in a deep, rumbling voice. “You’re on shifter territory, and we have our own laws.”

Three faces displayed identical expressions of disbelief, followed by a dawning understanding. 

“Think of it as being in a different country with a different set of laws. You’ll be well cared for here. You’ll have to stay in this cabin for the next couple of days, but after that, we’ll find you an empty one. I’m sure you can get one designed to your own specifications if you like too.”

“Why the hell would we want to design our own cabin?” Freya spat. He was starting to leave, but he spun around at her words.

“Because this is your home now. So you might as well enjoy it as much as you can.”

“What do you mean, it’s our home?”

“I mean, that you’ll be living here from now on.”

“And what does that even mean?” Freya said, a quavering note to her voice.

“I mean that you can’t ever leave. You’ll all be spending your lives here,” he said. “I’ll leave you now, but I’ll get someone to bring you some food later. Let them know if there’s anything else you need.” Before they had the opportunity to say anything else to him, he strode out of the cabin and closed the door firmly behind him.

At the end of the path that led to the cabin, Xander paused, staring up at the night sky, his hands balled into fists. He was well aware how harsh his words had been. But he’d been no harsher than he’d needed to be. The women living their lives in Broken Hill was a reality now, and the sooner they accepted it, the happier they’d be. He let off a growl of frustration. And the further away he stayed from the feisty one, the better. She was too much for him to cope with, by far. Suddenly, he felt tired. He went to find his brothers, to let them know his decision about the women.

The second the door closed, Freya, Marin and Eloise all burst into tears, crying with big, jerking sobs, in a mixture of relief, anger and disbelief. At last, Freya wiped her face on her sleeve, all cried out.

“How the hell can that animal stand there so calmly and tell us that we’re going to live as prisoners here?” she exclaimed. “Like it’s nothing. When I get out of here, I’m going to take them down, every last one of those duplicitous bastards. They fight in all these shows, and have all these fans, like they’re heroes, and then they kidnap innocent women. I’m not surprised they’re kept behind glass and fences.”

“What do you mean?” Marin said, blowing her nose.

“At the wrestling matches. The fighters are separated from the audience by bullet-proof glass because they’re so dangerous.”

“And yet we’ve just been close to them and they haven’t hurt us,” Eloise said in a tone almost of wonder. “They seem a lot like humans.” Freya snorted.

“Humans who think it’s acceptable to kidnap people. They’re animals, believe me.”

“I’ve never seen a human that size either,” Eloise said. “That guy scared the hell out of me. He’s like a muscle machine.”

“You should see him fight,” Freya replied.

“He was the one you watched at the wrestling match?” Marin said.

“Yup. He was fighting someone around the same size as him, and he beat him to a pulp. When he finished, the guy was KO’d. It was a mess.” The girls stared at her in shock.

“Wow. He gives me the creeps,” Eloise said.

“Mmm-hmm,” Marin agreed.

“Me too,” Freya said, after an almost unnoticeable pause. But it was only half the truth. He gave her the shivers, to be more accurate. She was thinking about
that kiss
in the forest. She was so, so scared when he caught her. She’d been running blindly, well aware that it was getting darker and darker, that it was potentially very dangerous being out there alone, and that she had no plan for getting away from her kidnappers. But she couldn’t stop running. She was full of guilt. It was her fault that the girls had come on the hike with her, and now she’d got them all into this terrible situation. It was her responsibility to get them out of it. And so she pressed on, thinking that if she kept going in a straight line, she’d get to the end of the wood eventually. And then she heard a loud, crashing sound, she turned, and Xander the Great snatched her. He was so huge and overbearing that she thought he was going to rip her apart. Her heart was beating right out of her chest and she started to hyperventilate. But his hold was gentle, and somehow his scent and the expression in his big dark eyes was calming. And then he kissed her. A thrill raced all the way from her tingling lips to the core of her body. And then she bit him. She was scared, and furious at the way her body was responding to him. When she tasted his blood, hot and metallic on her lips, she was glad. Now, she was even more glad that she’d been able to inflict some pain on their jailer, no matter how small. Still, the question drifted around in her mind: why had he kissed her? She’d half expected him to force himself on her, to exact revenge for the bite, but he’d backed away, even seemed contrite. She thought about his face; those hard, angular lines, contrasting with the fullness of his lips and the depth of his eyes. His huge, muscular physique. That moment in the stadium when he’d come up to her, first with his hand and then with his paw, and she’d been moved to lay her hand on the glass too, and in the moment, she’d really felt something. In an alternate reality, she would’ve found him very attractive. But in this world, she hated him with all of her heart.

“Freya, what are you thinking? You look like you’re miles away,” Marin said.

“Oh, just plotting how to get the hell out of here,” she said, gazing at her friends miserably. “I’m so sorry for dragging you both out here on this hike, and I’m particularly sorry about today, Eloise. I never should’ve persuaded you to walk that last section with us. You could’ve been free and sleeping in a hotel now.”

“Shh, don’t say that. None of this is your fault. All the blame lies at the door of the assholes who kidnapped us,” Eloise replied.

“Totally,” Marin agreed. “You’ve been amazing on the trail. There’s no way I could’ve done it without you.”

“Really?” Freya said, with a jolt of surprise. She hadn’t thought that she’d done anything particularly great. All she could remember right now was being cranky and short-tempered.

“Uh huh. You encouraged us loads, and took on the whole responsibility for directions and finding water. Please don’t blame yourself for anything.”

“Thanks for saying so, Marin. It helps,” Freya said. She gave a long sigh and stared into space. Then she got up, ran to the door and tried the handle. It opened. She gasped in disbelief.

“They haven’t locked us in. They know we can’t ever escape.” She came back to the couch and sat down again. “This is so, unbelievably, weird.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. They stared at each other.

“Come in?” Marin called after a pause. The door burst open, and the girl from earlier came back in, followed by another girl who looked quite a lot like her, but she had unbraided, long dark hair. Between them, they were carrying the women’s backpacks.

“Thought you might need these,” the red-haired girl said with a grin. Freya, Eloise and Marin rushed over and grabbed their bags, as if they might take them away again. Freya felt a flicker of relief. Somehow, having her possessions back gave her a little comfort.

“I’m Mihaila, and this is Jenice,” the girl said. When none of them replied, her smile faded. “Please don’t hate me. I’ve got nothing to do with you guys being here,” she said.

“Were you abducted too?” Eloise asked. Both women gave a short, sharp laugh.

“Noo. We were both orphaned, and the clan adopted us,” Mihaila said.

“So you’re happy here?” Freya said. They both nodded vigorously.

“It’s a pretty sweet life here. I mean, it’s a beautiful place. There’s everything you need – bars, restaurants, stores – without having to leave. And the men –” they looked at each other and made a kind of purring noise. “I bet you’ve never seen such hot guys before, have you?” Freya stared at them, lost for words. If she was honest,
no
. Despite being absolutely terrified when three naked men snatched them, she hadn’t failed to notice that they were stunning specimens of manhood. They were all heavily muscled, all had striking good looks. But Xander was on another level. He radiated power from every inch of his body, from his bunched shoulder muscles, to his sculpted cheekbones and jaw, to the fierceness of his kiss –
okay, stop thinking about that,
she scolded herself. 

“Are you bear shape shifters?” she asked the girls, rapidly changing the subject. They laughed as if she’d said something hilarious.

“Nope, I’m a cheetah and Mihaila is a tiger,” Jenice said.

“Can you leave this place whenever you want?” Marin said. They exchanged quick glances.

“Yes, but we don’t need to. We mostly just leave to fight in the wrestling matches.”

“Anyway, we should go get your dinner. We’ll be back in a moment.”

They went out of the cabin, leaving the door swinging open, then returned minutes later with three heaped plates of food.

“This isn’t poisoned either,” Mihaila said with a grin. “You want me to try it in front of you again?”

“No, it’s okay,” Freya said.

“Okay. Goodnight, then. I hope you have a good sleep,” she replied perkily, as if she was hosting them in a guesthouse, and the two of them skipped off.

The food smelled delicious again. It was a whole heap of ribs, with fries and a side salad, and they began to eat with enthusiasm.

“They’re happy here,” Freya commented, after a few minutes of silence.

“They are,” Marin agreed.

“That’s so weird. They must be brainwashed,” Eloise said.

When the three of them had finished eating, they went through their packs.

“Everything’s here, apart from our phones,” Marin said with a groan.

“And my emergency GPS device,” Freya said.

“They’re not stupid, are they?” Freya’s stomach knotted again. Every detail of their abduction drove the reality of it deeper into her mind. They were trapped here, without any way of contacting the outside world.

“When is anyone going to miss us?” she asked.

“I message friends every couple of days, but nothing concrete. I’ve only been in touch with my brother a couple of times too. People might start to wonder why they haven’t heard from me, but I think it could take a couple of weeks before that translated into worry,” Marin said.

“Same here,” Eloise said. “I usually speak to my mom once a week, but I told her that I might not have reception or battery power out here, so she won’t worry for a few weeks.” Her eyes teared up again. “Two whole weeks before anyone really misses us.”

“And who’s going to remember where they saw us last?”

“Probably someone in the town. The hotel receptionist, maybe.”

“The girls who took me to the fight,” Freya added. “But on the trail – no-one. Because we were on the damn side trail, and we hadn’t seen anyone all day.” She stopped herself, but not before Eloise started crying in earnest again, blaming herself for the fact they were on the side trail.

Her impatience gathering, Freya stood up and paced around the room. Her emotions were constantly shifting between fear and anger, and it was exhausting. She opened the front door and peered outside, before slamming it shut again, hard enough to make it tremble in its frame. After what Xander had said, the outside seemed sinister now. At least in the cabin, they seemed to be safe for the immediate future.

After a while, they locked the door and windows and laid out their sleeping bags on the couches and on a rug on the floor. An exploration of the upper story of the cabin revealed three bedrooms, all with huge double beds, but they were reluctant to sleep there, somehow feeling safer being downstairs and close together.

“I hate how ordinary this feels in a way,” Marin said, as she brushed her teeth next to Freya in the bathroom. “It’s like, we’re being held captive here, and we’re brushing our teeth, for Christ sakes!”

“I know what you mean,” Freya mumbled around her toothbrush. “But until we find an opportunity to get away from here, I think it’s important to stay as normal as possible – make sure we stay strong and don’t get sick, etc.”

They climbed into their sleeping bags and turned out the lights.

“It’s so much quieter than being in our tents but I can still hear the familiar sounds of the forest,” Marin said.

“Yeah,” Freya said. She could make out noises that sounded a lot like bears calling to each other, but she chose not to mention it to the others.

Some hours later, while it was still pitch dark outside, Freya was awoken by a long, low moaning sound. She sat up fast, discovering that it was coming from Eloise. Wriggling out of her sleeping bag, she crept over to her and stroked her forehead. Eloise awoke with a jolt.

“Get away from me!” she yelled, swatting at her clumsily.

“Shh, it’s me. You were having nightmares,” Freya whispered.

“I was?” Eloise whimpered. “I was in a tent, all by myself, and a bear broke into it. Its claws ripped right through the canvas, and then it was about to bite me with its huge teeth. I was so scared!” In the darkness, she suddenly looked like small child, vulnerable and petrified.

“It’s okay, it was just a dream. Nothing’s going to hurt you,” Freya said soothingly, and she kept on stroking her forehead until she fell asleep again. But by the time Eloise was asleep, Freya was wide awake, and sleep seemed very far away. She pulled on her shorts and sweater, opened the front door and crept outside. The moon was bright, and almost full. She sat down on the stoop, propping her chin on her hands, and watched it. It was the same moon she’d watched day after day, and it had always seemed a benevolent presence, overseeing their journey. But now it was watching her as a prisoner, and its face was unchanged, as if it cared nothing for their plight.

A figure passed at the end of the garden, startling her. It was a huge, muscular man, dressed only in a pair of shorts. Xander.

“Freya?” he called, seeing her at the same time. “What are you doing out here?”

“Being too scared to sleep. Wondering what I did wrong in a past life to end up imprisoned here. Wondering if I’ll ever see my family again. Take your pick,” she said, her tone savage. He was walking toward her now, and there was no mistaking the flicker of pain in his eyes.

“I am sorry this has happened to you,” he said.

“That’s not a lot of consolation,” she retorted. He sighed.

“Can I sit?”

“Do you need to ask?” That flash of pain again. She didn’t care. It wasn’t her job to make him feel good about keeping them prisoner here.

“Things will be easier if you try to accept your new life, and you might even find that you’re happier here than out in the human world,” he said, sitting a respectful distance away from her. She picked up his scent. He’d showered recently, but he still smelled of the forest. Like sweet summer days. She wanted to hate the smell, but she couldn’t. It was kind of arousing.