Bear in the Rough: Bear Shifter Romance (Broken Hill Bears Book 1) (11 page)

“I’ll never accept it,” she spat, anger at herself for being attracted to him making her extra vitriolic. He blinked.

“I like your spirit, Freya. I think you’re as tough as a shifter,” he said. It was her turn to blink at the strange compliment.

“So what’s keeping you from your beauty sleep?” she said. He gazed up at the moon and pressed his lips together. She sensed that he was considering whether to say what was on his mind.

“Maybe worrying about our new inhabitants. Wondering how things went so wrong today. And –” He broke off. “I didn’t ask for this to happen, Freya.”

“No, I can see that you didn’t. But it’s in your power to end it.” He turned his head and met her stare with his smoldering gaze. There was sadness in his eyes.

“It’s not in my power, Freya, because it’s a lot bigger than me. I’ve got far more than myself to think about.” She frowned in incomprehension.

“Why do you have all this responsibility? Because you’re the best fighter?”

“Because I’m the Alpha of the clan, the leader. So every decision I make has to be for the good of the whole clan.” She was quiet for a moment. She sensed that beneath his brute strength, there was a sensitivity, and she needed to access it.

“Please try to understand my motivations, Freya,” he said again, in his deep, rumbling voice. If his words were meant to calm, they had the opposite effect, and a tidal wave of fury rolled up inside her.

“So you’re asking me to accept the fact that we’re all prisoners here, and be sympathetic toward you for imprisoning us? Do you realize how fucked up that is? You’re basically asking us to have Stockholm Syndrome!” She was yelling now, but she didn’t care; her whole body was vibrating with anger. “I don’t believe what you’re saying. You can change this if you want to. I don’t sympathize with you. I hate you!”

He looked stung for a second, but he recovered fast, growing even huger, seeming to loom right over her. His eyes blazed with an animal fire and she was uncomfortably reminded of his true nature.

“I don’t think that you hate me,” he said, in a soft, almost crooning voice. He lifted one of his huge, scarred hands and ran a finger along her jaw. She froze, not moving a muscle, although her heart was fluttering in her chest like a caged bird. His touch made her tingle, in a very unwelcome way. But she wouldn’t give in to it. With a gargantuan effort, she maintained eye contact with him and jutted her chin out.

“I do. You’re keeping us all here against our will. I hate you with all of my strength. And don’t you dare touch me again!” His eyes widened, the whites gleaming in the moonlight.

“Whatever you say, little human,” he said. He started to get to his feet, and then he paused. “Be careful around my elder brother, Maximus. The clan’s at a difficult point in its evolution, and there may be unexpected tensions.” He stood up and, without a backward glance, walked away into the night.

As soon as he was gone from sight, Freya rushed back inside and closed the door as quietly as she could. She was trembling all over. She wobbled over to the bathroom and shut herself in. That conversation had taken more mental fortitude than she was aware she possessed. She’d never felt so deeply conflicted in her life. As fucked up as it was, she did understand his reasons for refusing to let them go. He wasn’t some animal brute either. He was an intelligent man, whose emotions showed in his face more than he realized. But he was also as intimidating as fuck. He was like a wall of muscle, towering above her, his skin still showing the wounds from the fight where she saw him knock another huge guy unconscious. And he had an extremely powerful and dominating presence. Yet she’d said all that to him. He could have snapped her neck like it was a cucumber. What was the matter with her? And why the hell was her body responding to him like that? A glance in the mirror showed that her eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed. She could still feel the rough skin of his finger chafing her jaw.

“Fucked up,” she muttered at her reflection. But as she continued to stare at herself, an idea began to form in her mind. Why should she be helpless in this situation? Why not use the advantages at her disposal?

She went back to bed and curled up in her sleeping bag while her mind whirled, turning her idea into a plan.

On the tail of a small deer, Xander sensed something moving fast behind him. In the instant it took him to check himself and turn his head, his brother sped past him, tracking the same prey. Xander gave a howl of rage and increased his pace. In a moment, he drew level with Maximus, and as he came close enough, he launched himself onto him, claws first. He felt them digging into Maximus’ hide, but he didn’t care. He knocked him to the ground with his weight and sank his teeth into the mantle of loose skin around his neck. Maximus gave a roar of surprise and pain, trying hard to shake him off. But Xander didn’t let go. He bit down harder with his powerful jaws, tasting the metallic tang of blood, until he scented his brother’s panic. Maximus absolutely hated being overpowered. Even when they were cubs, he’d refuse to submit and show his soft belly until he knew there was no other option. Maximus roared and growled. Xander released him just long enough to close his jaws around his windpipe. He wasn’t sure if he’d be quick enough, but he was delighted to see his reactions, which had been dulled in recent years from living too much as a human, returning to him. Maximus gave a cry of pain as Xander’s teeth scraped at his windpipe and he rolled fully onto his back. According to bear protocol, he should let him go now, but Xander held on a minute longer, thinking about how Maximus had recently attacked him while he was mid-shift.

When he finally released him, rivers of blood ran from Maximus’ throat, staining his fawn-colored chest fur dark red. He stayed in a submissive pose, but his eyes were full of hatred. Xander gave a long, low call, which was the signal to shift. As much as Maximus would want to stay in his bear form, he couldn’t refuse the order of his Alpha. Reluctantly, painfully, he got to his feet and shifted into his human form, and stood trembling in front of Xander. His throat looked terrible, Xander noted, with a flicker of guilt. It was ringed with gashes, as if someone had tried to cut his head off, very ineffectually.

“I hope that’s the last time you’re going to test my patience,” he roared. Maximus didn’t reply. He just stared at him with insolent eyes. “What exactly is your problem?” Xander continued.

“What have you decided?” Maximus said, instead of replying to him. Xander looked at him with cold eyes.

“The women will stay here. They’ll become quasi-members of the clan, and no-one will harm them. On pain of death.” Maximus’ insolence turned to disgust.

“That’s a poor decision,” he spat. “Having humans living here, intruding right into the heart of our private lands will bring us nothing but suffering. Hell, it’ll probably bring us down altogether. You’ll become known as the Alpha who ruined the Broken Hill Clan.”

“They’re only humans, Maximus. They have no means of communicating with the outside world. They can easily be controlled.” Maximus shook his head.

“We’ve got enough to deal with, without having to worry about having the enemy in our midst. Just put them down and be done with it. I’ll do it for you. You don’t even need to get your hands dirty.”

“No. The decision has been made. You don’t need to agree with it,” Xander said firmly.

“Yet you’ve been toying with the idea of putting Deacon, Gunner and Mikal down? It sounds like your priorities are out of whack.”

“The women are innocent bystanders who accidentally got caught up in all of this. They’ve done nothing wrong. The other three made several stupid decisions that have endangered the whole clan. They don’t deserve to call themselves Broken Hill Bears.”

“So banish them.” Xander sighed.

“I intend to.” Maximus’ lips curled into an unpleasant smile.

“I’m glad to hear that you take at least some of my advice, little brother.”

“I’ll be calling the clan together this morning for them to hear the news and meet the women. I want them to be integrated as much as possible. They’ll be living the rest of their lives here, so there’s no need to keep any of our secrets from them.” Maximus’ eyebrows shot up as he realized the implications of his brother’s words.

“And will they bear our cubs?”

“If they so desire. And I mean that, Maximus. Any forced matings will be punished severely.”

At that, Xander turned on his tail and strode away, eager to shift back into his bear form and continue his run. 

How has Maximus become so poisonous?
Xander wondered, as he lay down in the middle of the forest and devoured the small deer he’d just hunted. They used to be close as cubs, even though he’d always sensed that Maximus had a mean side, that his brotherly teasing could become taunting and cruel.
He loves power and he can’t see that being the Alpha is less of a blessing than a heavy weight to carry.
And those who love power are willing to endure suffering to achieve it.
He let off a long, rumbling groan. Sometimes his life seemed to have been nothing but responsibility.
Where’s the fun?
he wondered. The eldest cub was supposed to carry the heaviest load, but somehow, it had all fallen on his head. Just yesterday, Rocco had bought himself a new motorbike and was having a trail made for him that ran all around the territory. He couldn’t imagine having the time to hoon around on a bike, without worrying that there was something else that he should be doing. But he still felt a streak of jealousy at Rocco’s shiny new purchase. Sometimes he felt like he was born to be a soldier and leader, and fun and games were for other bears. Still, the things he’d had to deal with since becoming Alpha were more than he could’ve imagined. He’d only been Alpha for a matter of weeks, and he was having to make decisions on putting down clan members and humans. And he’d never in a million years imagined himself as the jailer of three human women. The thought was sickening to him. But he had to do what he had to do.

*

Two hours later, the order had been given to banish Deacon, Gunner and Mikal from the clan, and Xander was standing in front of the door to Deacon’s old cabin. His hand was raised to knock, but he dropped it again. Something was holding him back. Freya’s scent filtered through, sweet and clear, from the inside of the cabin. It was intoxicating, and his bear purred and urged him on. He’d been thinking about the night before on and off all morning. About how he’d almost lost control of himself and kissed her again. She was so pretty and enticing, yet so infuriating, all at the same time. He loved the way her sweet, pink lips pursed when she was thinking, the way those deep brown eyes held his so steadily, despite the thread of fear evident in them. And her body was so damn sexy. She had the most dangerous curves he’d ever seen on a woman. And, thanks to the way the human females displayed themselves at the wrestling matches, he’d seen a lot of curves. She had a perfect hourglass shape – all round breasts and full, curvy ass, combined with a nipped in waist that he just longed to get his hands on. It was just as well that she hated him. Otherwise he could get himself into a lot of trouble. And what he needed right now was to find himself a well-matched mate, instead of entangling himself with a human.

He groaned. As much as she made his bear roar, and as much as it was currently scrabbling at his insides, encouraging him to open the door so it could get another look at her, he was in no mood to deal with her anger toward him. At some point during the night, he’d figured out that there was nothing he could say to her to make things better. So he wasn’t going to try any more. He was just going to be the Alpha, and that was it. He rapped three times on the door. Nobody answered. He put his ear close to the door. It was quiet inside, but he swore he could hear the sound of fast, panicked breathing.

“Please open the door,” he called. Still nothing. He turned the handle; the door opened and he stepped inside. Two women were huddled up on the couch, staring at him in horror. He scanned the room; Freya wasn’t there. He cleared his throat.

“Hello. I’m Xander. Where’s Freya?” he said.

“In the bathroom,” the brown-haired girl squeaked, raising a trembling hand and pointing toward the bathroom door.

“When she’s ready, I’d like you all to come with me. I’m going to introduce you to the other clan members.”

“Introduce us? Why?” asked the auburn-haired one. He could smell her fear, yet her tone was defiant.
Great, another kick-ass chick,
he thought.

“Because this is your new home, and I want you to be as comfortable as possible. I’ll show you around the territory too, and explain where it’s safe for you to go.” They both gulped. He tried smiling to reassure then, but if anything, they looked more terrified as he flashed his teeth.

He heard the bathroom door opening and his blood pressure spiked. He turned his head in Freya’s direction, bracing himself for another torrent of hostility, but to his great surprise, she flashed him a very beguiling smile.

“Good morning,” she said. “To what do we owe the honor?”

“Hi, Freya. I’ve come to take you to meet the whole clan. As I was explaining to your friends, I want you to be as comfortable here as possible, so it will help if you get to know them. And I’ll be happy to show you around the territory as well.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” she said, stunning him into silence.

“Good,” he said after a small pause. “Let’s go.”

They followed him to Rudy’s bar, where the clan had assembled, and all the way there, he could hear Freya reassuring the other two, telling them that it wasn’t a trick. His spirits lifted a little; at least she trusted him that far.