Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2) (13 page)

“Shit,” Limes said, stomach turning to ice. “You aren’t there yet?” He checked his watch. “It’s been a fucking half hour!”

“Traffic. There was an accident right after I left,” Bronson said. “I’ll be there soon.” He sighed. “What, you can’t stand another minute with her when just a second ago you were wanting to mate her?”

“I’m not there,” Limes spat.

“What the fuck were you doing leaving?” Bronson yelled.

“I thought you’d—I don’t have time to talk about this,” Limes said, following her location as he jumped back in his truck. “Someone breached her security system, and I don’t think she did it.”

“Shit,” Bronson said.

“I’m going after her,” Limes said sharply, starting up the car and peeling out of the parking lot. “You come back us up as soon as you can.”

“Be careful—”

But Limes had already hung up and was focusing on the road as he took turn after hairpin turn. He could think about his feelings later. Right now, he had to make sure the only person in the world for him was safe.

Realizing he truly did love her only added to his urgency.

J
amie watched
the clock with a nervous look. Technically, she should be fine. No one had tried to break into the house, although they had delivered pictures there. She kind of regretted sending Limes away, but she’d needed time to calm down without looking at him.

After all, she’d given everything to him. Even been stupid enough to tell him she loved him, and then… he just didn’t know.

Ugh.

But now she was tempted to call him, because Bronson wasn’t here yet, and it was way past seven minutes.

She had no doubt Limes wouldn’t have left her if he didn’t think Bronson would be there, but maybe something had held him up. She should call him. She picked up her phone and scrolled to Limes’s contact. Her heart ached, and she set down the phone.

No, she’d wait a little longer.

A knock sounded on the door.

Her heart thumped as she stood to look out the peephole. Was it Bronson?

She was almost to the door when it crashed open, kicked by a huge man with blond hair standing in the doorway now, looking menacing.

She’d recognize that huge build and those beady little eyes anywhere.

“Kyle,” she said.

“At your service,” he said in a gruff voice, walking into her house with about ten of his packmate cronies following behind them. They walked into her house, crowding her fairly good-sized living room, and then shut the door behind them.

As Kyle gave them orders to shut the drapes and secure the house, she reached in her pocket, hoping she could subtly dial Limes without them seeing. But Kyle’s sharp eyes flashed to hers.

“Give me the phone.”

She sighed and handed it to him. The men in the room were in a semicircle behind him. It was pointless to fight.

Kyle walked forward, lifting her hair, and took a deep breath, taking in her scent. Then he grinned. “Not claimed. Good. You had us worried.”

She jerked out of his hold, but he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her forward. “Stop it,” she said. “I’m not mating with any of you.”

“Oh, yes, you are,” Kyle said. “You definitely are. Probably me, unless anyone wants to challenge.”

The tension in the room was rising. “I challenge,” a tall redheaded wolf said. That must be Sam, who she’d grown up with. A half-alpha male.

“I challenge,” another man said. This one had dark hair and mean-looking eyes. He was of stocky build.

“Fine,” Kyle said, looking none too happy about it. The men were smaller than him, as he was the only full alpha, but they were still sizable opponents. He thrust Jamie toward one of the others. “Tie her up. She can watch the challenges. Move the couches.”

She rolled her eyes as a man with curly dark hair dragged her to the bedroom to tie her up. Were a bunch of wolves really going to fight over her in her own damn house?

Well, she guessed they couldn’t very well risk being seen. And once they mated her, that was it. She was stuck. She could run, but no one would protect her.

Well, that wasn’t true. She knew no matter what happened to her, Limes would protect her if she wanted him to.

She didn’t know how else he felt, but she knew he would protect her rights.

She wished she hadn’t sent him away. Being hurt was nothing compared to what would happen now. She’d finally chosen to stand up for herself, at exactly the wrong time.

The man had her sit on the bed while he tied her arms behind her back tightly. She tested the bonds, but there was no way out.

She looked at her bedside clock. Bronson had to be here soon, right? Or maybe Limes saw her alarm had gone off. It would be signaling him now, right? Or had he disconnected it? She wouldn’t blame him.

She’d fired him. Thrown him out. Refused to listen. Ugh, she was stupid. Maybe there were reasons he couldn’t tell her. Reasons she didn’t know.

What if she didn’t get a chance to now?

The man holding her dragged her out to the front room. She didn’t recognize everyone there, but most looked familiar. Presumably, they had lost some old faces and recruited others. And it had been years since she’d seen them. The scents were familiar, but nothing about them felt like home.

“Miss us?” Kyle said as she was tossed onto the couch, which the wolves then pushed to the corner and against the wall so they had more room to fight. Her other furniture was moved to the kitchen as well.

It was oddly civilized considering they were just preparing to fight to rape her.

Kyle pulled off his shirt and got ready to square off with his first opponent. The gangly, red-haired man who’d challenged first. She would have brought her hands up to cover her eyes if they weren’t tied behind her. She let out a little growl of frustration.

Why did no one care what
she
wanted?

Kyle was about to throw his first punch, the others wolf shifters howling in anticipation, when the door burst open again.

She was expecting Bronson, but the face at the door was familiar and dear to her. And so fucking angry.

Limes stepped into the room, towering over the others, face hard with rage as he took in the scene in front of him. He put his fist into his palm as he looked at the men about to fight, and then his eyes darted to her and lit up like green flames as he noted she was tied.

His stare moved to Kyle. Shit, she was about to see him kill someone.

“Limes,” she cried out, getting his attention. “Don’t. Just go.” He was strong, for sure, but now that he was here and she saw the sheer odds stacked against him, she didn’t want him to stay. He could go wait with Bronson for backup. Call the police. Do something like that. But to take on Kyle, who was probably as strong as a bear shifter himself, while he was backed up by ten wolves was the epitome of foolish.

“Get out, bear,” Kyle spat, turning to him with annoyance. “We’re in the middle of a challenge.”

Limes took a step forward, his jaw set in a hard line. He looked more terrifying than any of them combined, in a leather jacket and dark jeans. “I want to challenge.”

Her eyes widened. She’d expected him to just go in swinging, not suggest something so in line with what the wolves were doing.

“You aren’t a wolf,” the dark-haired challenger said. “We don’t have to allow you a challenge.”

“You don’t have any right to our alpha females,” the redheaded man said. “You can just get the fuck out.”

“I do have a right,” Limes said, shedding his jacket and tossing it on the ground, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “I’m here to challenge.”

The redhead stepped forward as if to argue, but Kyle stopped him, putting out a hand.

“We’ll let you challenge if you take all of us at once,” Kyle said with a sneer.

“Limes don’t. It’s a death sentence!” Jamie cried out, drawing Limes’s attention to her.

“Exactly,” Kyle said, looking smug. “If we kill you this way, we can say you agreed to it. And I’d rather not have my mate thinking you’re still out there and coming to save her at some point.”

“It’s true,” Limes said. “You’d have to kill me to keep me from coming. Because even after you mated her, I’d keep trying to make her mine.”

“Why?” Kyle said. “You should thank us for taking her. Then she won’t be tempting you anymore.”

“How I feel about her has nothing to do with pheromones,” Limes said. “I love that woman over there. And I’m willing to die for her, if that’s all I can do to help her.”

“You act like there’s a chance it
will
help her,” Kyle said.

“Maybe,” Limes said. “Or maybe I’m just buying time.”

Her heart sank. So that was the plan. He was just going to try to weaken them until Bronson came, or whatever other backup he could get.

“We’re taking this outside,” Kyle said. “For a real challenge, we need our animals. We need space.”

“There’s a forest not five minutes away,” Limes said. “It’ll be perfect.”

“No funny business,” Kyle said, signaling for one of his men to pick up Jamie.

A tall, bulky man threw her over his shoulder, and she saw anger flash in Limes’s face, though outwardly, he remained calm.

They walked out of her house and took a turn at the end of the block, toward the forest that started at the end of her subdivision. It got darker as they walked toward it.

She hoped Bronson could still follow them.

When they got there, the man set her down but kept her pinned against his chest, stepping back as the other men stepped forward, all forming a circle around Limes so she could only make out the top of his head from where she was watching.

“Make sure she doesn’t try anything,” Kyle said. “If she shifts, punish her.”

“Yeah,” the man holding her said.

She hated the situation. It was hopeless. Limes had to know it as well. Was he really going to give all of this up just to try to stop something he really couldn’t stop?

Was he really going to fight this hard for her?

His green eyes met hers, and she realized what he’d just said moments before. She’d been too shocked by the situation to let it register, but now it hit her with the force of a brick in the face.

He
loved
her.

Seriously? How had he come to that conclusion? Those were big words for a man who’d said he didn’t only a half hour or so earlier.

But it didn’t matter, she realized, as Limes squared off with the wolves surrounding him, the odds impossibly stacked, putting his life on the line.

If that wasn’t love, what was?

Then she heard the tearing of clothing as the men around her shifted into giant, snarling wolves, and the man she loved changed into a gigantic bear with shaggy brown fur.

They jumped on his back, sinking their teeth into his fur, and he let out a roar that echoed through the forest and pierced right through her heart.

The fight had started.

L
imes felt
pain searing through him as a half dozen wolves leapt onto him, attacking from all sides and biting whatever piece of him they could get. But as strong as the feeling was, it was eclipsed by the burning rage he had toward these shifters that had dared to treat his Jamie like property, like an object.

Now was his chance to make all of them pay.

Acting quick, Limes pitched over and rolled on the ground, shaking off several wolves and pushing one beneath him who was stupid enough to hold on a little too hard. More importantly, it created distance for him to work with.

The wolves regrouped around him, moving haphazardly like a confused pack, but a pack nonetheless.

Thankfully, Limes didn’t need a whole pack to protect his mate. 

He swiped a powerful claw at the nearest wolf, catching him across the face and drawing blood as his body was flung into a pair of bushes. But in the spot left open by the wolf’s absence, two more took his place, surrounding him.

Limes looked swiftly around him for an opening but saw none. Just a dozen pairs of hungry eyes in front and a giant pine tree behind.

Limes had an idea. 

He quickly whirled around, swiping wide and making the wolves back off a pace, and made for the tree. With incredible speed, he clawed his way up off the ground.

“That’s it. Run, bear!” one of the wolves called up at Limes from the base of the tree. The others laughed with him, assuming the bear had had enough and was fleeing.

The joke was on them, though.

Pushing off the tree suddenly, Limes leapt into the air directly over the wolves beneath him. Most of them scattered like flies in every direction, but two of them, including the snarky one, just looked up, shocked at the sight of a gigantic, furry, enraged beast plummeting toward them. 

With a loud thump that shook the ground, Limes pummeled the two wolves beneath him, knocking the wind out of them and rewarding him with the sound of a few bones cracking, probably ribs.

Take that, fucking wolves.

For a moment, the others just stared, stunned at the bear. But Limes didn’t waste the opportunity. He lunged at the closest wolf, digging his teeth into its neck and clawing at him, hoping to reduce their numbers as quickly as possible.

But as quickly as the moment was Limes’s, the advantage turned back toward the sheer number of remaining wolves, who rushed at him with terrible speed.

Limes felt visceral pain as row after row of fangs dug into his fur, piercing his skin and drawing blood. He whirled around and swiped his paws wildly to get them off, but no sooner had they pulled away than they attacked again, surrounding him and striking from every direction.

He tried rolling again, but the wolves were smarter this time, and they pulled away to avoid him. Coming back onto his feet, Limes turned at them and let out a terrible roar, daring them to come at him.

All he got in reply was silence and wicked, wolfish smiles.

Limes could feel the wounds in his sides and neck healing, but there was no chance they could heal faster than they could hurt him.

At the center of the group, he could see the wolf Jamie had called Kyle, his fur gray and a light, sandy-blond color, with those same sinister, beady eyes as before.

If Limes took out the alpha, then the rest would probably scatter. At least, that’s what he hoped would happen.

Limes went on the offensive this time, his bear surging forward toward Kyle, eager to tear him to shreds. At his left and right, the wolves encircled him from every side, but he slashed and batted them away. 

Kyle didn’t flinch, just snarled as Limes charged into him, pounding him and grabbing him in a ferocious bear hug. With surprising strength, Kyle pushed away from him with his paws, biting at his neck while Limes did the same to him.

Ignoring the tearing sensation he felt from every direction as the pack laid into him, Limes sank his teeth into Kyle’s neck, making him howl in agony.

You deserve it, fucker.

But as Limes went to give the killing blow, he felt his body bowl over as several wolves pushed against him, applying just enough force to knock him onto his back. 

Kyle wriggled away from Limes in desperation, coming free of his paws and limping to the back of the group as the others surrounded Limes.

He could see they were down more than a few wolves, and there wasn’t a single one that didn’t have blood coming from a wound somewhere on their body. But Limes could feel the intense toll they had taken on his bear, could feel the gaping wounds on his body like shards of glass everywhere under his skin.

Limes had been wounded more than once in the line of duty, but this was certainly something else entirely. It was like someone had bottled hundreds of jars of raw pain and poured it all over him.

But looking past the encroaching wolves, he could see his mate, Jamie. Compared to the thought of losing her, of letting her go back to these evil men who would use her and control her, the pain was nothing. 

He whirled to the right and clawed a wolf that was a little overeager in its approach, sending him reeling backward.

No matter what it took, he’d end these guys. Or at least hold them off until help came for Jamie.

But as he took a step back, hoping to buy a second longer before the wolves leapt, he felt his body buckle slightly under his own weight, scorching pain going up his battered leg, which the wolves had been using like a chew toy only moments before.

Shit, this was going to be tough.

J
amie couldn’t stand
to watch her love like this, bloodied and surrounded by the worst men she’d ever known. 

More than once it, had looked hopeless, but each time, Limes had pulled out and turned the tides, only to have the pack close in on him again.

But more than sadness at the prospect of losing Limes, she felt incredible anger at her former packmates. Anger for all the times they’d tried to take her against her will, all the times they’d ignored or overridden what she wanted. And above all, for what they were doing to her mate.

If she didn’t fight now, there would be nothing left worth fighting for.

Jamie could still feel the tall man behind her, gripping her tightly. There was no chance for escape in her human form. He was told to punish her if she shifted, but she didn’t care. No punishment was worse than watching Limes hurt.

Focusing her energy inward, feeling the forest around her and her love for Limes, she shifted into her wolf. For a moment, the man was stunned by her sudden action, and she used the opportunity to throw her head into him, pushing him away before he could shift as well.

Like a flash, she bolted toward the group of wolves inching closer and closer toward her mate. Ignoring their growls, she pushed past them toward Limes and whirled around, giving the most ferocious growl she could muster.

For a moment, the shifters just stared at her blankly, surprised at the sudden turn of events.

Jamie wasn’t going to back down.

“Get out of the way, Jamie,” Limes said between huffs. “I can’t let anything happen to you.”

“Yes, just let us finish off this bear so we can take you back home where you belong,” Kyle said, still injured badly but emboldened by the sheer numbers on his side.

“I won’t let you hurt him,” Jamie yelled at the men, standing next to Limes. The scent of blood was thick in the air, and beside her, she could hear Limes breathing heavily, deep heaves that didn’t hide the strain he was under.

“We’ll get what we want either way. You can fight us, but it won’t keep me from ending that bear of yours,” Kyle snarled in reply.

“Like hell you can. Why don’t you get back over here and try it, asshole?” Limes snarled at the alpha wolf, who cowered slightly at the bear’s challenge.

But despite the fight in him, Jamie could tell being this near to him just how much he’d taken for her. His fur was soaked with crimson, and she could see him favoring one leg. 

And as much as she wanted to fight, the wolves before her were much larger and stronger. Plus they were still hopelessly outnumbered with no chance of retreat or outside aid.

Even if it were the last thing she could do, Jamie would do whatever it took to save her mate.

“If I come willingly, will you leave my mate alone?” she bargained. 

Kyle’s gaze shifted, his eyes coming forward as he appraised the sincerity of her proposal.

“Jamie, no!” Limes growled behind her, stepping forward to put himself between the pack and her.

“Why not?” Kyle barked out, “If you promise to come with us, freely and of your own accord, and give us your pack’s promise to never try to escape, then yes, we’ll let your bear live.”

The smugness in his voice made her cringe, and the prospect of spending the rest of her life with someone like Kyle sent shivers of horror down her spine.

But given the choice between letting Limes get killed or keeping him alive, regardless of what happened to her, Jamie knew exactly what she would choose.

“I’ll do it,” she said, hoping to act quickly before Kyle and the other wolves surrounding them got other ideas.

“Never,” Limes interjected, his body tensing, ready to fight.

“The lady’s made her choice. You should respect it, bear, or I just might change my mind,” Kyle said, confident in their remaining numbers. He looked at her. “Pack’s promise?” 

“That won’t be necessary,” a new voice said, the sound booming through the forest and echoing all around them in the trees.

Everyone’s ears pricked up in surprise, and Jamie looked behind the wolves to the edge of the clearing, where she witnessed a gigantic bear lumbering toward them.

Bronson. It had to be.

Kyle and the wolves turned about to face the newcomer.

“Who the hell are you?” one of the wolves asked. 

“The question you should be asking yourselves is how long do you have to live if you don’t get the hell out of my way right now,” he said, his wide paws splintering branches and logs as he sauntered menacingly closer to them.

“What took you so long?” Limes asked

“Traffic. That and the tracer I had in your jacket took me to Jamie’s house. But then all I had to go on was following the sound of you getting your ass kicked,” Bronson replied, baring long sharp teeth as the bear grinned in amusement. 

“That’s your fault for being so damn slow. I know snails that go faster than you,” Limes snapped.

“Just be grateful I’m here now,” Bronson said, coming to a stop a dozen or so feet from the wolves. At this distance, it was all the more clear how gigantic he was, every bit as large as Limes.

“What the hell is going on?” Kyle asked angrily, sounding shaken now that they had a bear on both sides.

“I’ll put this in as simple of terms as possible. You run or you die. Choose wisely,” Bronson said with a glint of violence in his eyes, a peek at the storm inside the usually calm man.

“You can’t scare me, bear. We can take both of you,” Kyle said, the uncertainty in his voice belying his confident words.

“Have it your way,” Bronson said.

One of the wolves let out a howl into the swiftly waning light of dusk, and the wolves charged at Bronson. In response, he roared ferociously and stood on his hind legs, towering like a tree above the wolves, clawing at them and batting them away like plush dolls as they leapt at him.

Without hesitation, Limes charged into the rear of the pack, tearing into them and ripping at whatever he could sink his teeth into as the wolves struggled with choosing which bear to fight.

To the front, Bronson’s claws. To the rear, Limes’s teeth.

Watching the fight, Jamie could see the tides turning very quickly as the two bears fought, the wolves dropping to the ground one after the other, badly injured or incapacitated. At the fringes of it all, Kyle watched his packmates falling.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Limes roared as he threw one wolf to the side and sprinted after the fleeing alpha. Kyle didn’t get far before Limes leapt into the air, swiping him in the side so hard he went rolling over the ground for several meters.

Triumphant and enraged, Limes came on top of Kyle, caging him in on all sides and raising a sharp paw above his head, poised to end him. 

“Now I make you pay for what you’ve done to my mate.”

“No, please,” Kyle begged. 

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t end you,” Limes snarled ominously. At the other end of the clearing, Jamie could see Bronson cleaning up the few stragglers who tried, and failed, to take on two bears at once. 

“I won’t ever come after her again. I swear. Pack’s promise,” Kyle said.

“Like hell I’m going to believe the word of a low-down, dirty wolf.” 

“No, wait,” Jamie said, reassuring him. “A pack’s promise means he can never defy his word, no matter what. It’s ancient wolf law.”

Limes looked over at her, rage burning in his eyes like fire but dimming as he saw she was okay.

“Limes, you don’t need to kill for me. Not when you don’t have to,” she said. “Let’s just move on.”

“Do you swear, on your life, that neither you nor anyone in your pack will ever so much as look at Jamie again?” Limes demanded, turning back to Kyle and threatening him again with his raised paw.

“I swear. You have my pack’s promise,” Kyle responded compliantly. 

To the side, Jamie could hear the sound of Bronson’s footsteps as he approached the scene playing out.

“Stop with the drama already, Limes. You just get your mate out of here, and I’ll make sure these bastards go. Cage is on his way, and he can help clean up,” Bronson said.

Limes looked up at Bronson, an eye twitching in fury, and let his balled bear fist down hard on Kyle’s face with a loud thump, knocking him out, but not killing him. With a long huff, he stood and turned to face Jamie.

“Come on,” she said, sidling up to him and pressing herself to his side, reassuring herself with the sound of his heartbeat. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

Limes looked down at himself, covered in blood and matted fur. He slowly transformed, not looking much better as a human. Bronson walked around the forest, found the pants Limes had ditched before shifting, and brought them over to him.