Wild Mate: BBW Bear Shifter Romance (13 page)

She threw a glance at the
Master. She still couldn't see his face, but she knew what he
wanted. The Master wanted to watch them fight, using just their bare
hands and their wits.

Strip those two humans
naked, and see what they can do.

They had no weapon, no
clothes, nothing but their bodies and their brains. The Master
wanted to see who would be a smarter and better servant.

To Rebecca, it was a lose-lose
situation. If she lost the fight, the Master would allow Phin to
have his way with her, and Phin would torture her before killing her.
If she won, the Master would likely turn her into a vampire to serve
him.

She didn't want to be turned.
She liked being human, thank you very much.

But as she'd told Amelia, one
could choose to be a fine, good vampire.

Rebecca cracked her knuckles.
She would beat the shit out of Phin, and let the Master finish him
off. Phin was strong, but she was mad.

Mad, and bad.

Being weak and meek had almost
gotten her killed.

She couldn't show any
weakness, any fear. The Master was watching her, assessing her, and
Phin was relishing the chance to finish what he had started. His
big, rough hands were itching to beat her up and finish her off.

But she could see that he was
more than a little taken aback and disconcerted by her new found
confidence. She had been too afraid to defy him and fight back in
the past, but now, she was openly hostile and aggressive, telling him
exactly what she thought of him and unafraid to challenge and fight
him—to the death.

She had made things too easy
for him by being submissive, silent, and scared. Rebecca smiled a
slow, ugly smile. She would make things very hard for him now.

She would make him pay.

Phin was the first to charge.
He came at her with a lot of sound and fury, screeching obscenities
at her as he raised his big, ugly hands. She crouched low and
twisted out of the way at the very last instant before he reached
her. She stuck one foot out as he thundered past, and managed to
trip him up very nicely. His own momentum propelled him to the
floor, face first.

Rebecca scrambled up to face
him with a smirk.

Score one for Rebecca.

Phin pushed himself up and
barreled towards her again, his face red with anger and humiliation.
She had tripped him up in front of the Master. The slut!

Rebecca ducked out of his way,
but his fingers caught her hair. He wrapped her hair around his fist
and yanked viciously, jerking her head back.

Rebecca gasped and struggled
hard to free herself. He was standing behind her, so she couldn't
knee him where it mattered. She used her hands instead, reaching
back to try to scratch out his eyes.

She felt skin under her nails
and she raked down hard, hoping to cause him as much pain as
possible.

Phin wrenched her head back
violently, and Rebecca screamed when she felt his teeth on her.
Before she could elbow him in the ribs, she felt his filthy hand
squeeze her breast and move up her chest to her throat. Her scream
was cut off when his fist closed around her neck.

Phin slammed her hard against
the wall, and used both hands to squeeze her neck. She choked and
sputtered, trying her best to kick him and claw his hands off her
neck, but she wasn't seeing and breathing so good. Blood was flowing
down her face into her eyes and mouth, and she had the horrible
sensation of drowning in her own blood. Everything was red, and the
scent and taste of blood filled her senses, making it almost
impossible to breathe.

Rebecca stared directly into
those unfeeling, inhuman eyes, and gagged. She didn't want his face
to be the last thing she saw before everything faded to black for
her. She squeezed her eyes shut, and tried to think of something
good, something beautiful, even as her body weakened and her panic
rose.

Think of something that
will give you strength and courage, Rebecca
, she told herself.
Don't give up
.

An image flickered at the back
of her eyelids and sharpened. And she saw beautiful, bright blue
eyes smiling at her. She gasped when she saw Levi's handsome face
and easy smile. Scenes began to play through her mind, scenes from
an old, forgotten movie.

She saw herself in that movie.
She saw Levi and her together. And they looked...so happy.

She saw them walking and
laughing together. She saw him holding her hand, touching her hair.
She saw them having coffee together in her kitchen, chatting and
joking. The scene was cozy and romantic, but it was over too soon.

The heartwarming, gentle scene
was replaced by a scene from a horror movie with the appearance of
Phin Lester. She saw Phin attacking Levi and her in the kitchen.
Levi tried to shield her but Phin kept coming at them. Finally, Levi
pulled her out of the house, and they tried to get away but Phin
pursued them like a madman.

When she stumbled, Levi
carried her over his shoulder and kept running. They had reached the
beach, and when Levi put her down, Phin charged straight at her with
a rock in his hand. He had smashed the rock into her face, and even
after she went down, he kept attacking her. Just before her eyes
closed, she saw a golden bear rear up behind Phin. She couldn't see
anymore, but she could still hear the furious, anguished roar of the
great bear. The roar reverberated round the room, loud, clear and so
familiar.

“
Levi!” she
gasped, her eyes flying wide open.

Rebecca tried to blink the
blood out of her eyes. She could see a massive shadow rearing up
behind Phin. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut then snapped them
open again. Nope, her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. A
hulking, golden bear was behind Phin, its lethal claws slashing down
through the air as if in slow motion.

Phin spun round and raised his
arm to block the blow, but it was too late.

Rebecca felt hot, fresh blood
splash across her face, as Phin screamed and staggered back. Half
his face was gone, but he managed to remain on his feet.

Levi lunged at him, and it was
all over for Phin in a matter of seconds. The bear showed great
mercy by granting Phin a speedy death. In a spray of blood and a
blur of teeth and claws, Phin's throat was ripped out and his skull
crushed by the jaws of an enraged bear.

Rebecca slid down the wall,
her eyes fixed on the blood stained fur of the ferocious bear.

She suddenly understood why
Levi had carried her on his back and ran from Phin, instead of
turning around to fight the brute. Levi wasn't a violent man at all.
He was gentle, trustworthy and loyal, and he was not a killer. But
he knew that his bear wouldn't hesitate to kill Phin. The bear would
kill his mate's tormentor in a heartbeat. He had chosen not to fight
Phin that night so as to spare Phin's life.

Only someone with great
strength and character could exercise such restraint and mercy. Phin
had never shown any restraint or mercy. His lack of control and
character was ultimately what killed him.

Hands helped her up and
supported her. Tears and blood clouded her vision, and she could
make out urgent voices and a whole flurry of action in the room.
Chaos had erupted all around her, but everything seemed so distant
and muffled. She felt as though she was separated from the mess and
the commotion by an invisible wall. She felt numb and just so, so
tired.

She shook her head to try to
clear it. Two female Enforcers were standing by her side, guarding
her.

With a start, she turned to
stare at the corner of the room where she had last seen the Master.
There was no one there. He was gone. The Master had disappeared.

She saw vampire Enforcers
fading into mist right before her eyes and racing out of the room on
the command of a tall, stern human Enforcer.

“
He's a Master vampire,
so he can mist without leaving any trace of himself. But I'll try to
track him as best I can. I'll be in touch, Jett,” a
dark-haired vampire was telling the human Enforcer, who was still
shouting orders at everyone.

“
Don't let the rogue get
away, Glenn,” Jett answered, evidently very unhappy that their
target got away. “He's a Master vamp. If he's not caught, I
can bet you he'll be churning out his own army of rogue vamps real
soon, and we'll have a big problem on our hands.”

Glenn nodded, then came to one
of the female Enforcers standing rigidly at Rebecca's side. To her
utter shock, Glenn bent down and kissed the Enforcer full on the
lips. “Love you, Charlene,” he murmured.

“
I love you, too. Be
safe,” she said as he began to shimmer into mist.

Rebecca blinked up at the
pretty, blond Enforcer, her mouth and eyes rounding in recognition.
“It's you!” she whispered. “You...you saved me.
You're that demoness!”

The Enforcer turned her
emerald eyes to Rebecca and smiled shyly, showing just a hint of
fangs. Her fangs were smooth and dainty, not jagged like a blood
demon's.

“
Ah...I...maybe I got
the wrong...” Rebecca shook her head, but she was quite sure
she got the right person.

“
Yes. I was a blood
demoness when I teleported into your kitchen. But now I'm a vampire.
Glenn turned me. I'm Charlene Constantine,” the Enforcer
smiled.

“
She's Glenn
Constantine's mate, in case you haven't figured that out,” the
other Enforcer leaned in to whisper.

“
And that's my younger
sister, Charlotte.” Charlene made a face at the other
Enforcer.

“
Charlene is my big
sister, but she's a rookie Enforcer. So I'm here to guide her,”
Charlotte said smugly, tucking a strand of her strawberry blond hair
behind her ear.

Rebecca stared at the two
sisters, and tried to smile. “Thank you for saving my life,”
she said to Charlene. “I would have died that night if you
hadn't...” Rebecca began to shake violently.

Charlene put her arms around
her. “Shhh, it's over now. The past wasn't easy, but the past
is the past. You're safe now, and your present and your future is
here...and I think he's wanting to hold you now.”

As Rebecca heaved deep,
wrenching sobs into Charlene's shoulder, she felt a pair of strong
arms ease her away from Charlene and pull her into a tight,
protective embrace.

She looked up to see Levi
holding her, and murmuring into her hair. She glimpsed soft, golden
fur receding rapidly from his back, and she put her hands against his
smooth, sweaty skin. Like her, he was completely naked, but he
didn't seem to care.

She traced her quivering
fingers over the angles on his handsome face, his jaw, his stubble,
his lips. “I remember,” she whispered, gazing deep into
his blue eyes. “I remember you, Levi. I remember...us. I
remember everything, everything we talked about, everything we shared
and dreamed about. Everything I thought was a dream...was real.
I've been dreaming of you, Levi. Only those weren't dreams. Those
were my memories.”

“
Rebecca...” Her
name came out on a ragged breath. “I'm not letting you forget
me ever again. I am never letting go of you, ever. You hear me?
You are mine. You are my mate. I love you. I love you so much,
Rebecca Rose.”

With a sob, Rebecca buried her
face in his chest and hugged him close to her. She held him tight,
listening to his powerful heartbeats, and feeling her heart beat in
time to his. This was where she belonged, in his arms. She felt so
safe, so loved and cherished by this strong, beautiful man. And Levi
was truly beautiful, inside and out. She was so proud and happy to
be his mate.

“
I love you, Levi. And
I am never letting go of you, ever. You are mine. Forever,”
she murmured against his chest. “Forever and ever. You have
always been in my heart, all this time. I want you in my life.
Forever. Do you understand?”

His eyes shone with happiness
as he grinned down at her. “I thought you'd never ask.”

He raised his head and
hollered, “Hey, everyone, Rebecca Rose just proposed to me!”

Rebecca gasped and tried to
pull away. “No I did not! Levi Madden, how could you...!”

Levi laughed and tightened his
arms around her, refusing to let her get away.

“
I'm kidding, I'm
kidding!” He kissed the top of her head and rocked her gently
in his arms. “Rebecca Rose is my mate! Mine!” he
yelled at the top of his lungs. “Forever!”

Whoops and cheers broke out,
and everyone began to crowd around them. Enforcers and PAC members
clapped Levi loudly on the back and ruffled his hair.

“
You rascal!”

“
Congratulations, you
big, bad bear!”

“
Hey Rebecca, welcome to
the Madden clan!”

Enforcers threw jackets over
them before escorting them out. But Rebecca didn't feel exposed at
all in Levi's arms. He kept her safe, and shielded and protected her
with his tall, broad body. As she held him tighter against her, she
felt something she had never felt before. A sense of home.