Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.

This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Three Cats, LLC. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Grayslake: More than Mated remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Three Cats, LLC, or their affiliates or licensors.

For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds

Creed’s Claim

Mina Carter

New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

You might also like…

About the Author

Chapter 1

The scent of blood filled the air, each fresh wave coinciding with the buzz of the tattoo iron as Creed moved it over his client’s skin. Lifting up, he wiped the surface free of ink and blood and started again on the next section of the design.

For most tattoo artists, the smell of blood would barely be noticeable, but Creed wasn’t most tattoo artists. For one thing, he wasn’t entirely human, but half bear, and for another, he was the only one, that he knew of anyway, who would tattoo werebears.

Like his current client. Jeb Watson was an old friend, a few years older than Creed himself, and a member of the same clan. The Lizard Lick clan. Yeah, sure, they got plenty of shit over that name, but none of them would change it for the world.

“Jesus Christ, son,” Jeb hissed through his teeth. “You trying to dig for fucking Australia with that thing?”

Creed chuckled and started to work on the second set of petals surrounding the roses he had tattooed on Jeb’s back. There were four. One for his wife and the other three for each of his daughters. Creed was still putting the finishing touches on the final one, for his youngest, born just a few weeks ago. All were happy, healthy little werebear girls. And, since Jeb and his wife were fated mates, all the girls should be able to shift.

Which meant in ten years’ time, Jeb was going to be fighting the boys off with a stick, claws and anything else that came to hand. Creed grinned at the thought. It would drive his friend insane but no one in the clan was under any illusion that the Watson girls would do anything other than exactly what they wanted. No matter what their poppa said. Werebear women were like that; intelligent, sassy and bold as brass.

Creed leaned in to concentrate on the fine detail. Jeb was his last booking of the day. When he was done here, he’d shower up and head on over to the Lizard Moon, the bear bar on the other side of town. He could do with a couple of beers to round off the day, and if he wore his tightest t-shirt, he might even get some interest from one of the local bear ladies for the evening.

He shaded a petal. And it would be just for the evening. His standing with the clan was an unusual one. At just under six foot and over two hundred twenty pounds, he was built like the bear equivalent of a tank and had the speed and strength of a shifter…but his bear was shy. In his adult life, he’d only managed to shift three times, and each of those had been so painful he’d have preferred to cover himself in honey and go roll in a pile of fire ants. At least he could crush those fuckers to death.

The ladies loved him for his size and strength, for what he could do for them and to them in the sack, but not a one of them would stand by his side and claim any association with him in the daylight. He was their dirty little secret when they had an itch to scratch.

But…it suited him. He didn’t want a bear woman, not to settle down with anyway.

He wanted one woman in particular—Kaitlyn Turner.

The trouble was, she wasn’t a bear, she was human. Worse, she was the sister of his dead best friend. The best friend who’d died in the accident he, Creed, had walked away from unscathed.

She was the last woman he could have, but she was the only woman he wanted.

He was a fucking idiot, mooning after a woman he couldn’t have. It was a good thing she’d moved away a couple of years ago, got herself some fancy job in the city and, last he’d heard, gotten a diamond ring on her finger courtesy of some high flying executive type.

He was happy for her, really he was. After all, what could a half-skin backcountry bear give her other than a clapped out old town house and free ink whenever she wanted it?

“You’re fucking enjoyin’ this,” Jeb groused as Creed wiped his skin with a little extra vigor. “Fucking sadist.”

“Yeah, yeah… you done with the sweet nothings? Or should I get Elisa in here for the pillow talk?” Creed threw back, flicking a glance up at the clock before he put needle to skin again.

“Ugh, no. I’m out of that madhouse for a while,” Jeb groused good-naturedly, but Creed could hear the affection in his words. “Just shut up and get on with it.”

Creed grunted in reply, working the details of the rose. Time passed to the steady hum of the tattoo machine and the occasional grunt from Jeb. A steady rhythm that was as familiar to Creed as it was comforting. He loved tattooing, loved to see the way skin responded to ink. A beautiful design, executed flawlessly, was as much a work of art to him as any hung on the walls of those fancy inner-city art galleries. Better, in fact, because it was a living part of the person who wore it.

The bell over the door jangled, making him look up. Because Jeb’s piece was across his back and not in a sensitive area, he hadn’t pulled across the middle door, giving him a good view of the shop. He bit back a sigh as a group of girls stumbled through the door, all giggling and laughing together. They were Lizard girls, that was for sure. The town was so off the beaten track visitors were few and far between.

“Almost done here,” he called out, his deep voice making them look around. That’s when he saw her, his gaze colliding with warm brown eyes and his breath punching out of his lungs.

Kaitlyn Turner. Here. In his shop.

“No worries. We can wait,” the girl at her side said, and Creed had to tear his gaze away from Kaitlyn to look at her. Kacie Leroy, one the town’s human population, was already browsing through the sketchbooks on the coffee table. No stock flash for Lizard Iron and Ink, thank you very much. He drew all his own designs, both for the shop and for the clan, and refused to ink anything he hadn’t created.

“Cool.” He settled back down to finish up with Jeb but was constantly aware of the three girls talking quietly in the shop.

How long had she been back in town? How long was she staying? Was she here to get ink? At the very thought, his hands shook and he immediately lifted the needle from Jeb’s back.

Putting the iron down, he cleaned his friend’s back and taped a gauze over the newly done area. “We’ll leave it for today, mate. Let it heal for a day or two…” A shift should heal the skin up. “And then I can add the finishing touches. ‘Kay?”

Jeb hauled his shirt back on over wide shoulders, his gaze flicking to the trio sitting in front of the large window. A slow grin crawled over his face as he zeroed in on Kaitlyn and then looked back at Creed. Then the fucker waggled his eyebrows.

“Go on, get the f—hell out of here,” Creed growled, all but shoving his friend toward the door.

“Howdedodee, ladies.” Jeb took his sweet time, pausing to smile at the trio. “If you’re lookin’ for some ink, my man Creed here is the guy to see. Ain’t nobody better with a needle.”

“I’m sure he is. He has a good reputation.” Kaitlyn smiled up at him, making Creed clench his fists with jealousy. He wanted her to smile at him like that. Then her words registered. She knew about his reputation? She’d asked about him?

“That he does. Have a good evening, ladies. Creed.” Jeb doffed an imaginary hat and ambled out of the shop, closing the door behind him.

“So what can I do for you lovely ladies today?”

Creed’s thicker than molasses, deep voice sent a shiver down Kaitlyn’s spine. She couldn’t look at him, looking down into the book of designs balanced precariously in her lap. It had been four years since she’d seen him, since the day of her brother’s funeral, and he hadn’t changed a bit.

He was still built big, with solid muscles and satin skin covered in tattoos. She ached to trace them with her fingertips and tongue. With bright blue eyes that contrasted with his darker coloring, he was the stuff wet dreams were made of.

An unrepentant bad boy she shouldn’t want, couldn’t have… but that didn’t mean she couldn’t look, now did it?

“I’m looking for something like this… perhaps here?” Kacie pointed at a delicate little swirl design, then vaguely in the direction of her ribcage. She was the most forward of the three of them, and had been since they were kids, always leading them into one scrape or another.

“Hmmm.” Creed leaned forward and looked at the design but didn’t make any indication whether he was agreeing or arguing with her choice. “And you?”

He looked directly at her and Kaitlyn almost forgot to breathe. She’d always loved his eyes, but the direct look was piercing like he could see right down to her soul and view all the little secrets there. Like the fact she’d always had the hots for him despite the fact he’d been her brother’s bestie and way off limits.

But Mark is gone, the little voice in the back of her head whispered. And she was single now.

That brought it all crashing back and she wriggled the fingers on her left hand to ensure the weight of her diamond engagement ring was gone. It was and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was free, finally.

“I don’t see anything I like, sorry.” She winced a little as she realized she’d just basically said she didn’t like his work. “It’s my first. I want to be sure. You know?”

He nodded, watching her for a long moment, then turned on his heel.

“Shit, you’ve pissed him off now, Kait. We’ll never get him to agree to tattoo us,” Lilly hissed, nudging her. But almost before she’d finished speaking, he was back. Striding across the floor, he held out a single piece of paper.

Surprise filled her and she took it. As soon as she looked at the design, wonder filled her. It was a moon and a bear claw wrapped around each other in a delicate filigree with purple highlights.

Lilly and Kacie leaned in.

“Ohhh, that’s gorgeous.”

“Beautiful.”

“Purple is my favorite color,” she blurted out, looking up at him in surprise.

“I know.” He smiled, the corners of his full lips quirking up in a way that made everything female in her sit up and take notice. “I remember.”

He remembered. She blinked, not sure what to say to that.

“Do you like it?” He nodded down at the sheet.

“Of course, she likes it. How much?” Kacie demanded.

His gaze flicked to Kacie, and Kait had to bite back a small growl of disappointment. Then she wondered where the hell it had come from. She hadn’t even thought about Creed for years—no, she corrected herself. The day she’d left Aiden, she’d promised herself she wouldn’t hide behind half-truths anymore. She had thought of Creed. A lot. Especially at night when her fiancé had been away… waking up in the morning worn out from her dreams.

“Nothing. I’d do her for free.”

Kacie chuckled, “Oh, I just bet you would. Okay, girlie, you’re up. Drop your jeans. This bad boy’s gotta go on your hip. No other place for it.”

“Wait, what?” Kait spluttered as she found herself herded toward the back area with its couch and plethora of equipment. “Why do I need to take my jeans off…would you leave my belt alone!”

“Well, he can’t tattoo through the freaking denim, now can he?” Lilly arched a delicate eyebrow, arms folded as she watched Kait trying to stop Kacie from removing her jeans right there in the middle of the shop. In front of the window.

Oh god. In front of Creed.

The first time he got his hands on Kaitlyn Turner, and she had two of her friends in the room. Creed shook his head and prepped his equipment for the new tattoo. Good thing he’d been doing the job for years because his hands moved on autopilot, setting up the iron with fresh needles and sorting ink into small pots. A new roll on the therapist’s couch in the center of the room and he was ready.

Turning around, he almost choked. Kaitlyn stood in front of him in just her t-shirt and a pair of boyshorts. They weren’t frilly or fancy and they covered everything, but they knocked him for six, seven…fuck, every number up to a billion. His gaze slowly swept up from her bare feet with the most delicate toes he’d ever seen, the nails painted coral, all the way up the length of her legs to the…quickly he snapped his gaze away. Yeah, not going there. He couldn’t go there and not bend her back over the damn couch and… Fuck, he was screwed.

“On the couch,” he growled, not looking at her as he reached out to re-adjust the sketch on the trolley next to his chair. He knew the design by heart, so there was no need for him to sketch it on her skin beforehand. He preferred not to do that anyway. It inhibited his flow, blocked the creativity. He needed to feel the skin reacting beneath the needle and often made minute adjustments to his designs as he went so they fit better.

The couch creaked as she clambered onto it with more grace than most of his clients.

“How do you want me?” she asked, her voice soft and hesitant.

All night long, every way I can, baby.

He looked up to find her resting on one hip and hand, her legs folded to the side elegantly. For a moment, he wanted to just look and memorize every detail. He knew exactly how he’d draw her… as a medieval princess, a handsome warrior poised in the shadows behind possessively. No, it wasn’t only possession that marked the man’s face. It was protectiveness and honor as well. A champion who desperately wanted the woman he protected, who yearned for her, but would keep his distance until invited otherwise.

“Creed?”

Snapping himself back to the present, he looked up at her quickly.

“Where do you want it?” he asked, snapping gloves on. As half-bear, she couldn’t give him anything, but since Lizard Lick was just outside the clan’s territory and humans could wander in, he had to keep up appearances.

“I was thinking just here.” She leaned back and pointed to a spot on the side of her hip, edging down onto her thigh just below the border of the boy shorts. “Do you think it’ll look okay there?”

“It’ll look perfect wherever you want it, darlin’. It’s your tattoo. You tell me where you want it,” he drawled, tapping the pedal under the couch with his foot. The iron in his hand gave a quick buzz and he nodded, satisfied with the sound. He always knew instantly if there was something wrong with his equipment, and while he always wanted to ensure clients got only his very best work, this was Kaitlyn. His Kaitlyn.

And he was about to tattoo her for the first time.

She took a nervous little breath and smiled. “Yeah, just there then please. Thank you, Creed.”

The sound of his name on her lips was enough to fuel a whole host of new fantasies, but he kept them in check and started to work. Within a minute or so, he was almost able to forget that the soft, creamy skin under his hands was Kaitlyn’s. She didn’t murmur or flinch at the kiss of the needle. She merely lay back, one hand pillowing her head as he worked.

He didn’t need to look at the pattern for reference. This particular image was from his personal collection and he knew every line and shadow, every nuance and shade, even how it would lie over the skin where she’d told him she wanted it. Drawn for her, he’d inked this design in his dreams so many times that he could do it with his eyes closed.

But he didn’t. Body tight, he drew on his reticent bear to ensure his hands didn’t shake and worked the ink.

“So, you just back for a visit?” he asked, his voice low as the two other girls chattered away in the front of the shop. “Last I heard you’d gotten a fancy job in the city…and were getting married?”

He tried not to be obvious about checking out her ring finger as he spoke, but then realized she had her head pillowed on her left hand. Bloody idiot, he should’ve checked before.

She flinched as he moved the needle, but the subtle scent of distress told him it wasn’t physical pain but rather emotional that had caused it. “Just a visit for the moment. The job is great, but the guy fell through.”

She gave a nervous laugh as Creed looked up, and he read the pain in her eyes. Anger surged to the fore, his bear snarling deep within. The asshole had hurt her, obviously, and that would never stand.

“Who was he? I’ll go break his legs for you if you like.”

She blinked, then barked out a laugh, reaching out to pat him on the arm when he lifted the iron from her skin. “No, no need for that. He really isn’t worth it, I promise. I’m well rid of him.”

“Hmmm,” he grumbled, concentrating on one of the more difficult areas of the design. “If you’re sure. The offer’s open.”

She lay back, a smile on her face when he risked a glance up.

“Thank you, I’ll bear that in mind.”

Chapter 2

Lizard Lick never changed. Kait smiled and took a long swallow from the bottle in her hand. It went down smooth and silky, and she let a happy sigh escape her lungs as she looked around the interior of the imaginatively named Lizard Moon. A sign over the door touted it as the best pool bar in Lizard Lick. Since it was the only pool bar in town, that claim was accurate by default.

Sure, it wasn’t as swanky and upmarket as the wine bars her ex had taken her to in the city. The décor was less interior design and more whatever paint was on special at the time and would cover the tobacco stains. There were no fancy chandeliers or specially commissioned artwork on the walls. The carpet underfoot wasn’t designer anything, but a muted, faded pattern that was slightly sticky underfoot. Just the same as it always had been.

And she wouldn’t change it for the world.

Here, she didn’t have to dress up and pretend to be something she wasn’t. Didn’t have to be the perfect career girlfriend of the boardroom hotshot her fiancé had fancied himself to be. Their relationship had never been about them, it had all been about him. Team Aiden, he’d called them, controlling everything about her to better suit the image he wanted to project.

Some of his requests had seemed pretty harmless, even beneficial. Like the membership to the exclusive gym he’d insisted on paying for her. She’d needed to lose a few pounds after Christmas, so the chance to work out in an excellent gym without having to wait for the machines was heaven. Then had come the personal trainer, to ensure she got the “best out of her workouts.” From there it had been an easy slide into agreeing to lighten her hair, getting long blonde extensions, and having every detail of her wardrobe approved by the “team leader.”

But the final straw had come when he’d booked her in for a combined boob job and liposuction procedure for an early birthday present. She’d thought it was a joke at first but apparently her looking like a porn star was helpful for his promotional prospects. He’d genuinely been confused as to why she wasn’t happy. Then he was annoyed and called her an ungrateful bitch for the time and effort he’d expended to bring her “up to scratch.” It was then she’d realized he’d never seen them as equal; he’d always seen her as the girl from the hick town and beneath him.

She’d handed her ring back with a suggestion as to what he could do with it and walked out. All the way back home to Lizard Lick. An afternoon with her besties and her hair was back to it’s natural chestnut brown and she sported a brand-new tattoo on her hip, courtesy of Creed.

Creed…holy fuck, the guy had aged well. She’d had a thing for him for years. Tall, dark and handsome, with the most amazing blue eyes, she’d watched him flirt with women in this very bar and secretly wanted more than anything to be one of them. But he’d never looked at her that way, not once.

She sighed and took another healthy swallow of her beer. Her ex-fiancé was a prick and the guy she wanted saw her as nothing more than a little sister. Sucked to be her.

The click of pool balls and a crow of triumph from Kacie drew Kait’s attention back to the game. She’d lost her game to Lilly so the other two women played now, but they were being watched from the other side of the bar by a group of local men. Young, they were barely old enough to drink, but that didn’t stop them eyeing the women with appreciation. Dressed for a night out on the town, all three girls sported jeans and strappy tops with heels. Dressed-down glamour perfect for Lizard Lick.

“Hey, babe,” one of them called out. “Want me to show you how to hold your stick?”

“Sweetheart,” Lilly called over her shoulder as she set the shot up, “you wouldn’t know what to do with me. I’d eat you for breakfast.”

“Awww, don’t be like that, darling. How ‘bout we play next and when you lose I get a kiss?”

She moved quickly, a flick of her wrist making the cue in her hand strike the white with a solid click. It ricocheted into the one she’d aimed at, transferring the momentum, and the red ball cannoned into the pocket on the other side of the table right in front of the would-be Romeo. He whistled and looked impressed.

“We were state champions three times in a row,” Kacie said bluntly. “No way you’d be walking away from a match with her with anything other than your pride in a sling.”

The group moved away, their smiles good natured, and Kacie studied the table to decide on her shot.

“Whatcha do that for?” Lilly demanded, watching their admirers depart. “The one in the blue shirt was quite cute.”

“Pffft.” Kacie potted three balls in a row. “If you’re into cradle-snatching, maybe.”

“They were legal. And some men do like their women a little more…experienced. It’s not their fault they’re not Dean Sterling, now is it?”

Kait’s ears pricked up. “Dean Sterling? Hotshot jock Dean Sterling…couple of years above us in school? I thought he’d joined up.”

Lilly nodded. “That’s the one and he did. Came back a couple of years ago when his dad died to take over the family business. Kacie’s got a thing for him. Like a biiig thing.”

“Screw you, Braun.”

“I’m flattered.” Lilly laughed. “But I’m sure you’d much rather screw Dean.”

Kacie flipped her the bird and concentrated on clearing the table. Knowing that the game was lost, Lilly grabbed her drink from the counter and drained it. Bright green eyes studied Kait.

“And don’t think I missed you mooning over Creed in the tattoo shop, missy.” She put her empty down and handed her cue over to Kacie to rack with the others behind the table. Obviously they were done playing pool tonight. “When you going to get your head out your ass and make a move on the guy?”

Heat rose to her cheeks before Kait could stop it. Great, she was barely in town for a day before her friends were on her case about her love life.

“I just broke off my engagement!” she argued. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”

“So just screw him.” Kacie rejoined them.

“He’s supposed to be shit-hot in the sack. Think, all those lovely muscles to get your hands on… And that ass!” She made a vaguely obscene squeezing motion with her hand about ass height in midair, and Kait couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter.

“Sounds like someone else has been checking him out as well. Perhaps you should make a move on him?”

It was only when both women grinned that she realized she’d been had. And admitted that, indeed, she had been checking Creed out. And his ass.

“Bitches.”

“Gotcha,” Lilly grinned. “Right, ladies, drink up and let’s get clubbing. I have been dying for a proper night’s dancing for months!”

It didn’t take them long to finish up and leave the Lizard Moon. There was just one nightclub in the area, on the outskirts of town. Most of the week it was a strip joint, but once a month, they cleared the dancers out and opened the place up as a nightclub. Complete with stages and dance poles. Which, if a gal could work a pole like Kacie and Lilly, was awesome. Kait though, had never mastered the art and was very much a pole clinger rather than a dancer. In the city…well, she could just imagine the look on Aiden’s face if she’d even tried it so tonight, dammit, she would learn to dance if it killed her.

Joking and giggling, the three women made their way down the town’s main street, heading for the shortcut between the library and the small grocer’s. An alley led to a dirt track that would take them out past the industrial estate to the club. Since it was a nice night, they’d decided to walk.

Well, in Kacie’s case, Kait corrected herself, stagger on the impossibly high heels she wore. She watched her friend with amusement as the other woman navigated a pothole in the path with the same level of wariness normally reserved for bears or mean-ass rattlers. Shaking her head, she carried on walking, her heels rapping on the asphalt as they turned into the small alleyway that led to their destination.

Lilly stiffened beside her, a hand on Kait’s arm to stop her while calling out to Kacie a few steps ahead. “Wait, something’s not right.”

Apprehension swept through Kait as she looked around. The dark alley seemed somehow darker as three forms materialized out of the shadows ahead of them. Men, big men, and from the look of them, not locals.

“Come on,” she muttered softly. “Let’s grab a cab.”

Turning as she spoke, she pulled up quickly as two more men stepped around the corner into the alley, blocking them in. Shit. No going back that way. The looks on their faces were hard, and the set of their bodies reeked of danger and violence. Despite herself, Kait stepped closer to her friends. This was not going to end well.

“Hey there, pretty ladies.” One of the guys in front of them swaggered forward into the dim glow cast by one of the overhead lights. There were only a few on the path, the rest shrouded in shadows. Kait thought fast. If they could slip past, perhaps they could hide in the darkness.

But Lilly’s hand tightened on her arm.

“Don’t run. It’ll make things worse,” she whispered, but her gaze was on the leader in front of them.

“You must be new around here.” Lilly’s voice didn’t betray any fear, and Kait gave her a mental high five. She’d never have been able to sound so self-assured, not while she was basically crapping herself at how they were going to get out of this. “So I suggest you run along before you get yourself into any trouble.”

Trouble? Trouble? Kait shot the other woman a side look. What the hell did she think she was doing threatening these guys with trouble? At the very least they should be screaming and running away.

“Lilly,” she hissed. “Can you not piss them off and perhaps we might get out of this in one piece?”

She reached for her purse, where she usually carried a personal alarm and a can of something. Even hairspray in the eye was better than nothing and might give them a fighting chance. But the space by her hip was empty, her usual purse at home and replaced by an evening clutch.

“Yeah, Lilly,” the asshole who seemed to be in charge drawled. “Perhaps you should listen to your little friend and not piss us off. We’re dangerous when we’re pissed off and unclaimed women answering back tend to piss us off.”

Just like that Kait’s temper went from simmer to boiling over, but Kacie beat her to it. “Oi, jerkwad. Lay off the unclaimed women part. What do you think this is…the Middle fucking Ages?”

Kait felt more than heard Lilly’s intake of breath, and in the next heartbeat, all hell broke loose. The three men in front of them surged forward, snarling like animals with their arms spread and what looked like knives in their hands. Knives. No, they weren’t knives. Knives glinted in the light. They were straight and clean…not twisted inward, and dull colored like bone. And knives had handles, they didn’t erupt from the end of fingers…like claws.

She screamed. “They’ve got claws!”

How the fuck did they have claws? Turning, she tried to run, to escape the darkness of the alley and the trap that had been set for them…only to realize that the other two weren’t following.

“Come on!” she yelled, only to watch as Lilly raced at the nearest guy, who was about to grab Kacie, and body slammed him with a shoulder in the gut. He went down with a snarl, but cruel hands closed over Kait’s upper arms. She screamed again as she was hauled up against a hard body. She didn’t let up on the screams as she fought with all her might.

Jerking her head back, she felt the back of her skull impact with her captor’s nose. It gave with a satisfying crunch but she didn’t stop there. Bringing her knee up, she drove her stiletto heel down into his foot, trying all the time not to think about the fact that they had freaking claws. There was a grunt of pain, and his grip eased enough for her to tear herself loose and run forward.

Only to watch with horrified eyes as one of the others swung around, claws raking through the air in a terrible arch to slice across Kacie’s stomach.

Time slowed as Kacie staggered back, her hands over her abdomen. She looked down in the same direction as everyone else as red seeped out from under her hands to stain the pretty green top dark.

Their assailants backed away, horror on their faces.

“Fucking hell, Jack!” one muttered, looking at the leader, whose claws were stained red. “The boss said we were only supposed to grab them, not fucking hurt them!”

“Shit. There’s more on the way,” the one by the entrance to the alley shouted. “We need to get out of here. Get out of here now!”

In a stampede of booted footsteps and cursing, the alley cleared of men, leaving the three women looking at each other in horror.

Then Kacie paled and staggered. Instantly, the two others were there, supporting her as they lowered her to the ground.

“Shitshitshit,” Lilly muttered, yanking off her own top to wad it against Kacie’s stomach. “This is bad, so bad. Kait, grab my cell and call Dean Sterling. He’s in the quick dial contacts.”

“Dean? Why are we calling Dean? We need to call her an ambulance,” Kait’s voice was shrill as she grabbed Lilly’s purse and reached for the cell within. “Seriously, she needs—”

“JUST CALL DEAN!” Lilly’s bellow was unexpected, loud and way too deep to have come from her throat. Her eyes flashed dark for a second, obliterating the green, and Kait gasped. The speed, the strength…

“Seriously…shhh, Kacie, it’s going to be okay, I promise,” Lilly reassured the injured girl and then looked at Kait. “A hospital can’t do anything for her now. Call Dean.”

“Okay.” Hands shaking, Kait hit dial and waited for an answer. In the back of her mind a voice screamed hysterically but she ignored it, calmly sitting in the dirt with one of her best friends bleeding out through a gut wound and the other telling her some ex-high school jock would make it all better.

But it was all okay because this was a dream. A nightmare for sure, but since men didn’t really have claws, it had to be a dream.

It had to be…didn’t it?

If it was, it was the most surreal dream Kait had ever had.

Dean Sterling picked up the call with a curt, “What the hell, Braun? I told you guys I was busy tonight.”

Oh shit, he sounded pissed. On a normal day, that wouldn’t bother Kait in the slightest, but this wasn’t a normal day by any stretch of the imagination. Any day that involved men with claws was so far from a normal day it was laughable.

“Uhm, I’m sorry. Lilly told me to call…that you could help.”

Heavy footsteps sounded behind her as she spoke. Twisting in panic, she breathed a sigh of relief to see their admirers from in the bar earlier. Only right now, they didn’t look so young and harmless. They looked grim and dangerous as they surrounded the small group of women protectively.

“What happened?” the one who’d tried to chat them up in the bar demanded, his attention all on Lilly. The charm was gone now, and the look in his eyes made Kait shiver.

“We got jumped.” Lilly’s response was no nonsense and rang with an authority Kait had never heard from her before. “Secure the alley and one of you go get a truck. We’re going to need to move her to the lodge.”

“Hello?” Dean’s voice brought Kait back to the conversation. “Hello? Are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.” She’d obviously slipped into some surreal nightmare, but she was still here.

“Good. Who is this… Kait, is that you? Kait Turner?”

“Yeah, it is.”

You had to hand it to small towns. Dean hadn’t needed more than a few seconds to work out who she was based purely on the fact she was in Lilly’s company. No doubt the gossip network had swung into action as soon as she’d driven into town earlier.

“Kaitlyn. I need you to tell me what happened.”

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart and so she didn’t sound hysterical. Because what she had to say was crazy. Crazy and hysterical? They’d be carting her off to the nuthouse in Elim Springs.

“There were men,” she started, looking up with a smile of thanks as one of the new arrivals put a jacket around her shoulders. Why hadn’t she realized she was shaking so much? It couldn’t be the cold. It was too mild for that.

“Men in the alley waiting for us. They had…they had claws,” she said quickly and made the mistake of looking over at Kacie. She lay on her back, her eyes closed and her face pale. Everything about her was pale apart from the vivid scarlet across her abdomen. “Oh god, there’s so much blood.”

Before she could say anything else, the cell was plucked out of her hand by one of the men. “Itan? It’s Bennett. We got a couple of intruders. Five by the smell of it. They caught Braun and her friends in the alley by the library. One got tagged and it’s bad.”

“Which one?”

Kait clearly heard the question as she wrapped the jacket more securely around herself. She felt like an owl as she watched those around her. Three of them, including Lilly, crowded around Kacie, trying to stop the bleeding.

The guy with the cell looked down, a crease between his brows. “Yeah, it’s Kacie Leroy. How did you kn—”

The whole group heard the roar of pain and fury from the other end of the line. The guy holding the cell held it away from his ear, a wince on his face. He must have caught the full force of the sound before he’d yanked it away.

“Yes, Itan,” he said when the noise died down and he replaced the phone against his ear. “We’re on our way. Scott went to get a truck…” He paused and looked up, as though listening for something. “He’s just about here now.”

Sure enough, within seconds a truck pulled up to the entrance to the alley. Kait was shunted to the side as two of the men loaded Kacie onto what looked like a body-board and carried her toward the vehicle.

Lilly straightened up and regarded at her with an odd look in her eye. “Kait, I’m sorry, but you’re going to need to come with us.”

“Duh, way to go, Captain Obvious.” How she was still walking and talking, Kait didn’t know, but at least her powers of sarcasm hadn’t deserted her. “Where she goes, I go. Why aren’t we taking her to a hospital again? She’s bleeding… From. Her. Stomach. That shit’s serious. Like way serious.”

All of a sudden it hit home and the blood drained from Kait’s body right until she felt queasy. “Shit, she could die, couldn’t she? Screw this, I’m calling an ambulance…the sheriff. Anyone.”

She had her cell half out of her clutch when it was plucked out of her hand. She gasped and turned to look up into Bennett’s face. His eyes darkened dangerously.

“Sorry, ma’am, but we can’t let you do that. So, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Please take the easy way. Cause you won’t like the alternative.”

Chapter 3

“You can’t do this,” Kait hissed for what seemed like the hundredth time as she was hauled out of the truck and shoved toward a large building. The lodge, apparently. Lodge of what, she had no idea. It looked more like one of those fancy hunting places Aiden and his lot booked for “team building exercises.” Despite having grown up in Lizard Lick, she’d had no idea it was here, tucked away in the forest-covered hills above town.

The others had already unloaded Kacie, rushing her into the building ahead of them. Dean Sterling had been waiting at the door, lines of concern and fear written on his face. Perhaps the thing Kacie had for him wasn’t all one way?

“Hey, Bennett. Stop being an asshole and be gentle.” Lilly stormed around the truck and got all up in Bennett’s face, forcing him to let go of Kait’s arm. “She’s human and scared, so cut her some fucking slack, okay?”

“Yes, Enforcer.” The big guy rumbled, ducking his head in what appeared to be a subservient gesture. Kait’s eyes widened, as much at his manner and the casual way Lilly had referred to her as “human.”

Shitshitshit, this really wasn’t a dream, was it? She stepped to the side, away from the big man and swept a gaze around her. There was a parking area in front of the lodge, filled with all manner of vehicles, but just beyond it was the tree line. She was a fast runner, once she got rid of the ridiculous heels, of course.

If she could make the trees, she had a good shot at getting away from whatever madness this was. Alert the authorities about the attack on Kacie. She’d been thinking about it. Those guys must have had some kind of cosplay claws that fit over their hands…perhaps they were all involved in some weird live action role play world that Lilly also seemed to be involved in.

“Good, don’t you fucking forget it.”

Lilly slid a sideways glance at Kait. “Don’t run, Kait. We’re predators. We like to chase.”

Kait’s breath stuttered in her lungs. How the hell had Lilly known what she was thinking?

“I’ve known you since we were kids. It’s written all over your face. For moon’s sake, never play poker. You’d lose in a heartbeat.” The other woman chuckled. “Come on, let’s get inside.”

Inside, things went from bad to worse. The place was crammed to the rafters with people from town. Familiar faces that Kait had known all her life, like Marvis who taught elementary, and George from the store. She looked around the room, spotting face after face…hell, even Sheriff Anderson was in here, looking at her with the dark eyes she’d come to associate with whatever the hell cult this was.

None of them wore the friendly smiles she was used to seeing, though. Instead, they were all viewing her with suspicion.

The sheriff was the first to speak. “She saw? She knows what we are?”

Lilly nodded. “She saw enough, yes. There was no avoiding it. The intruders didn’t care they were revealing themselves to humans.”

There was that use of “human” again. As though these people weren’t. Kait took a tiny step toward her friend’s side. She seemed to hold some authority in whatever weird setup this was. Hopefully that would help and get them all out of here in one piece.

“She knows and she’s not married to one of us.” Anderson’s voice was not friendly. “You know the law as well as I do, Enforcer. She has to die.”

She had to die.

Kait froze in place, feeling like her feet were rooted to the floor. Her heart pounded in her ears. Did he really just say…? Her world stopped turning. All of her attention focused on that one little sentence. Surely this was taking roleplay a little too far?

Lilly inclined her head. “I do and she isn’t. Yet.”

At that, Kait’s head snapped around to look at her. “Yet?”

Lilly gave a warning shake of her head, her attention on Anderson. “You know how delicate bringing someone into our world is, since your brother had to bring his wife in. It’s a long process, and not completed quickly…unless rushed by other circumstances. Unforeseen circumstances like this.”

“You mean to tell me someone was bringing her in?” Anderson frowned, standing. “Who?”

Kait didn’t miss the tension rolling around the room as he advanced on Lilly. She didn’t back down, though, glaring up at him. A shiver seemed to cover her skin, as though something moved underneath it.

“Who, Enforcer?” the sheriff demanded. “Or I’ll do your job for you. Or maybe,” he looked over, raking a glance down Kait that made her feel sick. “I’ll claim her myself.”

The door opened and closed behind them but Kait daren’t take her eyes off the little interplay between Lilly and the sheriff.

“Touch her and die,” a deep voice said behind her.

A deep, familiar voice. Creed.

With a gasp, Kait whirled around. Creed stood behind her, but this was Creed as she’d never seen him before. He’d always had that bad boy edge, an indefinable aura of danger that had drawn her like a bee to honey, but now he radiated lethality. His usually blue eyes were darkened, the color eaten up by fury as he looked at the other man.

“Kaitlyn Turner is mine. Always has been. Always will be. Anyone has a problem with that, they can take it up with me in the pit.”

Thanks to the call from Bennett, Creed knew that he was walking into a hot situation, and humans finding out about the bears in their midst was about as hot as it got. The clan, all clans, had rules everyone was required to abide by or get the Itan, the bear badass in charge, and his enforcers breathing down their necks. Enforcers like Creed and Lilly, whose fragile feminine form was the best concealment for the meanest she-bear Creed had ever known. Head Enforcer for the Itan, they all took orders from her.

All apart from Anderson, who was a dickhead. He’d had an issue with Lilly ever since she’d been named as Head, always niggling at her decisions and inciting others to argue with her. Creed wasn’t an idiot. The guy’s request to become an enforcer had been turned down several times. He was too volatile and irrational to enforce their laws, no matter what his role in human life was. The fact that his badge meant diddly-squat in the lodge obviously really bugged the shit out of him.

So, he’d expected a shit-storm when Bennett had called him into the lodge, even though he was technically rostered off tonight, but not this. Never this. As soon as he’d opened the door, Kaitlyn’s scent had hit him like a truck doing Mach 1, and the situation went from a possible bust up with a couple of local hotheads right through to outright murder if anyone so much as looked sideways at her.

Like the way Anderson just had. Rage filled Creed, boiling over to consume every cell in his body in a lightning fast reaction. His bear, normally placid and hard to reach, was there, just under the surface to feed him its strength as he glared the other man down.

“Do I make myself clear?” he growled when Anderson didn’t back down. “I claim Kaitlyn Turner as mine. Understand?”

A mulish expression crossed the other man’s face, as though he seriously considered challenging Creed for the right to claim Kaitlyn. Creed took a step forward, a warning rumble in the back of his throat. He might prefer not to shift to fight, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take this asshole apart with his bare, human hands.

“Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?” he demanded.

Sudden fear filled Anderson’s eyes and he nodded, dropping his gaze and refusing to make eye contact as he backed off. “Yes, Enforcer, I understand. The woman is yours.”

“Good.”

Without speaking, Creed looked around the clan assembled in the lodge’s main room. A silent challenge to them all that Kait was his. That he was claiming her in front of them all. They all looked away, no one holding his gaze for more than a few seconds before looking away. Only Lilly smiled and gave him an approving nod.

“Get her out of here,” she leaned in to advise softly. “Let me and the others deal with this lot. You have some explaining to do.” She jerked her head toward Kait, who watched them with over-bright eyes and an expression that said she was teetering on the edge of a breakdown.

“Roger that. Kait, walk.” Looping a hand under her arm, he led her to the other side of the main room.

“Half-skin. Might as well be a fucking human yourself,” someone hissed as they passed.

He ignored them, urging Kait ahead of him. There was always some elitist fucker who hated skins, a slang term for humans, in every clan. They were best ignored most of the time.

The door at the back of the main room led to the stairs and beyond them, the bedrooms on the first and second floors. There were enough for all members of the clan to crash in case they were caught up here. Many stayed at least a couple of nights during the monthly run, when their bears were close to the surface. Creed himself stayed here, but never during that time of month. It was too much of a reminder that he wasn’t like the others, that he was, indeed, a half-skin.

Putting the slur from his mind, he focused on Kait as she walked ahead of him. Her back was straight and her movements tightly controlled. Sure signs that she was trying hard to keep it together. Pride filled him. His girl was tough as nails. She was strong and beautiful…he’d spent years admiring her from afar.

And now, through some bizarre twist of fate, she had landed in his lap. She was his. His to claim…his to bed…

His to mate.

Shit, he was shaking already.

Creed was one of them. And, apparently, she was his.

Kait kept silent as he led her up the stairs and along a corridor to a room at the end. Opening the door, he waved her through it first, his expression set and his eyes the color of the sky before a storm. Whatever was going on, she knew Creed. He wasn’t acting. And he was far too grounded to be involved in any weird cosplay group or cult.

The door shut, making her jump, and she put as much distance as she could between them before turning to face him. He leaned against the door, arms folded as he watched her steadily. He’d always done that. Watched her. From the first time her brother had brought him home when they were kids. Always watching, like something about her fascinated him.

“What?” she snapped, her nerves almost at a breaking point. “Do I have something on my nose?” She lifted her hand to rub at it, just in case. “God forbid I should have something on my nose after the complete fuck up tonight has been.” She laughed, the sound harsh in the silence of the room.

A bedroom, she belatedly noticed, with a large double bed covered in crisp, white sheets. He’d claimed she was his and brought her up to a bedroom. Even an idiot could figure out what was going to happen next.

“Creed… What’s going on? Who were those men and why did they hurt…” Her voice broke and she paused to gather herself. “Why did they hurt Kacie? Why did the sheriff tell Lilly I had to die? Please… what am I missing?”

“Fucking Anderson. I’ll rip him to shreds. He shouldn’t have said that in front of you.” Anger flared across Creed’s eyes for a moment and he pushed off the door in an explosion of movement.

She couldn’t help the squeak escaping her lips and backed up as far as she could away from him. Half-remembered things from the past swirled in her mind. Like how half the town always seemed scared of him and how he’d walked away from the accident that had killed her brother with barely a scratch. She’d put it down to sheer dumb luck at the time, but now she wasn’t so sure.

“Shhhh, I’m not going to hurt you. I promise,” he said reassuringly, approaching her with his hands held out to the sides. The care he took eased her nerves a little bit. He obviously wasn’t going to jump her right away.

Damn. Disappointment rolled through her, displacing more of the fear. This was Creed after all. He’d never hurt her… Even in this strange, upside down world, she knew he’d never hurt her. But she had to know.

“Did my brother find out about this?” she asked suddenly, surprising even herself. “Is that what really happened that night? In the car?”

“No!” Creed’s denial was immediate and forceful. Before she knew it, he was there in front of her, his large hands gripping her upper arms. “Kait, I would never do anything to hurt you or your brother. You have to believe me.”

As soon as he’d touched her, she froze, fear running rampant through her veins. But, looking into his eyes, she saw the honesty there and relaxed a little. Something deep inside her wanted to burrow into the safety and comfort of his arms and stay there forever, but her brain, always thinking, wouldn’t let her.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

He sighed, running a hand over his close cropped hair. “Sit down.”

She did, watching as he squatted down in front of her. The shirt he wore stretched over his chest and shoulders, the tight fabric hugging the sculpted muscles beneath. Tattoos covered his arms, moving as he flexed his forearms to rest them on his thighs.

“Okay, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to come out with it. Don’t freak out on me, okay? Just hear me out.” His deep voice was a quiet rumble in the silence of the room.

He held her gaze, his expression earnest as he reached for her hands. Like he needed the contact, and she didn’t refuse. His thumbs stroked over the backs of her knuckles reassuringly. Well, it should have been reassuring. The feel of his hands on hers sent all her feminine instincts haywire.

“We’re bears, Kaitlyn. Werebears.”

O…kay. Whatever she’d expected him to say, it hadn’t been that.

“Werebears?” She laughed, but the sound was unsure, dying a quick death under his steady gaze. “What…like werewolves but with turning into bears instead? Don’t be silly. Monsters like that are just made up for books and films. They’re not real.”

Even as she spoke, the memory of the men in the alley filled her mind. The weird claws she’d thought were elaborate cosplay weapons…the way they’d snarled and the darkness in their eyes.

“Oh shit.” Her hand stole up to cover her throat. “They really did have claws, didn’t they?”

Creed nodded, his expression grim. “I’m afraid so. They weren’t local bears, but occasionally we get gangs of males causing trouble. We have a team out looking for them now.”

She wasn’t listening to him, her gaze on her hand in his. His dwarfed hers, the nails short and clean.

“Do…do you have claws?” Her question was quiet, and a tendril of…not fear but, hell, she didn’t know what wormed its way into her voice. Carefully, she reached out to touch his fingers, then jumped when he moved suddenly.

“Of course. Hear me roar,” he teased softly, making a mock snarling noise and clawing the air with his fingers.

“Idiot.”

She shook her head at him, watching him as the silence settled between them. It wasn’t an entirely comfortable silence; it was one fraught with awareness. If she’d thought lying still on a couch while he tattooed her was bad, watching him watching her was even worse.

“What did you mean, when you said I was yours?”

The small smile was back, flirting with the edges of his lips. “What do you think I meant, Kait?”

“Well… It sounded like…”

Shit, she couldn’t say the words. Taking a deep breath, she blurted out, “From what they said it sounded like marriage, or something. Anderson said I was your woman. But that’s ridiculous. No one can just claim a woman like that. We’re not in the damn Middle Ages.”

His expression didn’t change as she expected. He didn’t laugh or brush it all off as a joke. The hope she clung to that this was all a setup and someone with cameras would jump out of the nearest closet and shout, “Surprise!” faded abruptly.

“In our world, no human can know of our existence. If they find out, one of two things has to happen.”

“And those are?” She’d worked out the answer but needed him to say it.

“Then they have to marry one of us…or die.”

He reached out and slid his hand into her nape, stroking his thumb against the side of her neck. “And I can’t let you die, Kait. You’re mine. You always have been. You just didn’t know it.”

Leaning forward, he brushed his lips over hers gently. The merest press of his mouth against hers before he broke away. He didn’t go far though, pausing to nuzzle her nose with his. The lover-like movement melted her heart and she tilted her head up, chasing his lips.

The little invitation was all he needed. With a groan in the back of his throat, he claimed her lips again. Harder this time. They were warm and firm, demanding as he moved in, parting her thighs to kneel between them.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist to pull her closer, against his broad chest. Sitting on the bed, she was that little bit taller, but felt surrounded by his strength. Protected. Her hands collided with the broad expanse of his shoulders and stopped. She spread her fingers to explore at the same moment he brushed his tongue against her upper lip. A silent request for access she couldn’t deny.

Parting her lips, she caught her breath as he surged forward and up at the same time, thrusting his tongue in to explore the soft recesses of her mouth. At the same time, he gathered her closer, pulling her from the bed and into his embrace where he knelt on the floor. Her knees ended up either side of his parted thighs, her weight supported by his arm as she nearly, but not quite, sat in his lap. All it would take was for her to wriggle forward, or for him to pull her closer so that their hips were flush. But he didn’t, and neither did she as he slowly slid his tongue against hers. Stroking and teasing her to join him in a primal dance. The hand at the nape of her neck moved up to tangle in her hair. Not to control but just to touch. To explore. He slid his fingers through the soft strands over and again. He broke the kiss to feather his lips over hers, to nuzzle her nose with his, before claiming her mouth again, deeper and harder this time.

Closing the gap between their bodies suddenly, he settled her fully against him. She gasped as she felt the thick bar of his cock pressed right between her thighs. He was…holy crap…either all werebears were built big, or he was exceptional.

A large hand on the back of her hips held her in place as he took control of the kiss, ravishing her mouth with an expertise and finesse that stole her ability to think, never mind breathe. She’d thought she was a woman of the world. She’d thought she had more than enough sexual experience and knowledge gleaned from erotica books and how-to guides in the magazines left in the break room at work to hold her own, but his kiss told her otherwise.

He played her reactions easily, controlling and dominating the kiss to get the most pleasure out of it for both of them. Her fingers curled into his shoulders, nails biting deeply and he growled, breaking the kiss to lean his forehead against hers.

“We have to slow down.” His words were soft but no less tortured, and when he pulled back to look into her eyes, she saw need and desire that took her breath away tempered with torment and frustration. “Or I’ll rip these pretty clothes right off you and take you here and now.”

The words made her shiver but she couldn’t find her voice to argue. A tender smile quirking the sides of his lips again, he smoothed her hair back from one side of her face.

“You’re mine, Kait, but that doesn’t mean I’m an ass. This is all new to you. I can wait until you’re ready. It’ll about kill me, but I can wait.”

Chapter 4

“So walk me through it again.” Since returning to the main room of the lodge, Kait had been grilling Lilly. Relentlessly and with no end in sight. Now that the shock of it all had worn off, she had so many questions. “Werebears are real, and there are werewolves as well?”

“And werehyenas.” Lilly leaned back on the sofa they’d huddled up on in the corner. The lodge was decorated like an old-style hunting lodge with lots of dark wood and solidly built, comfortable furniture.

Kait blinked in surprise. “Seriously? They’re…”

“Ugly as fuck?” Lilly grinned. “Yeah, they can be. I’ve only met a couple when they strayed into our area, but yeah…” She shuddered. “Not my cup of tea at all.”

“Okay. So the town is a bear town, just us humans didn’t know it?” That still blew her mind. She’d never realized that well over half of Lizard Lick’s populace was an entirely different species.

“Well, no. The town itself isn’t actually in our territory, just close enough that everyone considers it to be. The other clans hereabouts know we keep an eye out so there are usually no problems.”

At the mention of trouble, Lilly’s expression dropped serious and she flicked a glance to the door in the opposite wall, kitty corner with the main entrance to the lodge. It was the door that apparently led to Dean Sterling, the bear head honcho’s, quarters and where they’d taken Kacie when they’d arrived.

“Have you heard anything?” Kait asked quietly.

Lilly shook her head. “No. They’ve been shut up in there since we arrived.”

She reached out to give Kait’s arm a quick squeeze. “But don’t worry. Dean’s called in Morgan, he’s a surgeon over in Wakefield. He’s seriously the best at what he does. She’ll be fine. From what I could see it was surface wounding, no puncture of the gut…just messy.”

Kait’s eyes rounded.

“How can you be so calm about this? All that blood… yet you freak out if you get a little splinter? Not exactly the model of a big, bad bear—”

She trailed off, looking at her friend, then quickly behind her to where Creed propped up the bar. He wasn’t watching her at the moment, but she was sure he was aware of every move she made.

“What’s the matter?” Lilly asked gently. “Struggling to take it all in?”

Kait nodded, still looking around the room. Even though she knew what they were, that they all had monsters…bear-shaped monsters…inside, seemed fantastical.

“How do they like…fit?” she blurted out.

A frown crossed Lilly’s face for a second, then she chuckled. “Our bears? How do they fit inside us?”

Kait nodded, feeling dumb.

“Yeah. Like bears are huge and you’re tiny.” She waved a hand at Lilly’s tall, slender frame. “Or are you a mini bear or something? A pygmy bear maybe…do those exist? Or…you’re a teddy bear, aren’t you?” she teased.

“Teddy bear? Are you serious?” Lilly couldn’t appear to help the grin that crawled over her face. “I’ll have you know I’m over two hundred pounds of pure, unadulterated bitch with a trigger temper certain points of the month. Let’s just say, bear men?” She leaned in to whisper. “They tread veeeeery carefully when their women get Mother Nature’s little gift.”

Kait grinned, the moment one of normalcy even in this crazy situation. The idea of her delicate friend turning into a two-hundred-pound bear was mind-boggling. Movement caught her eye and she cast a glance over to Creed, sitting by the bar. Heat rolled through her as he caught her eye.

After all but kissing the life out of her upstairs and telling her he’d wait for her to be comfortable, they’d come back down here so she could “get used to bear life.” It was easy to see that he’d needed some space, and to be honest, so did she. This was all… yeah, she still hadn’t decided yet that she wasn’t dreaming.

“And Creed?” she asked carefully, not looking at him but knowing he hadn’t taken his eyes off her all evening. “Is he a big bear as well? He’s a big guy.”

She flushed as the last words left her mouth. He was a big guy. She’d felt the evidence of that pressed up close and personal.

Lilly’s expression faltered a little, then she shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t know. I’ve never seen him shift. No one has apart from Dean. Apparently he’s only ever shifted three times in his life.”

Kait blinked, surprised. “Don’t you all need to get like…furry once a month, though? Or is that just in films?”

“No. We do. But he doesn’t. And he always fights human, even when his opponent is in bear form.” Lilly flicked a glance up at the man in question and Kait saw the respect in her eyes. “He’s one of the best damn enforcers I’ve ever had working for me. Strong as… well, strong as a bear even in human form. If he ever fought as a bear? He’d be awesome. I don’t think even Dean could take him on. If he wanted to, he could probably take over the pack…”

“But?” Kait knew her friend, so she knew by the way she spoke there was more to the story. “There’s a but there, I know there is.”

Lilly crossed her eyes for a second, then sighed. “Yeah… Some assholes around here don’t like him. Say he’s not really a bear, or not bear enough to be an enforcer, let alone lead the clan. Not that he’d ever challenge Dean. He’s always had Dean’s back.”

“Is that why someone called him a half-skin earlier?”

Lilly swore, the curse low and with venom. “Yeah, that’d be one of Anderson’s lot. He’s becoming a right pain in the ass recently. If those guys earlier hadn’t been out of towners, I’d have suspected he was behind that. He doesn’t like me either, certainly not since Dean made me Head Enforcer. In his mind, women should be chained to the kitchen sink. Fucker, I’d like to show him some chains, and not in a fun way.”

Kait shivered, remembering the way the sheriff had looked at her earlier. It hadn’t been a nice look. Like she was a piece of meat or a possession… like she wasn’t even a person anymore. Which was odd, since every other time she’d spoken to him—when she’d thought he was human, before she knew about bears and wolves and all that—he’d been the stereotype of the caring small town sheriff.

Quickly she looked around to check that the sheriff wasn’t lurking around. She didn’t know if she could cope with another dose of his charm.

What you see is what you get, unless in Lizard Lick.

Her gaze caught on Creed. He was watching her again, but this time his expression wasn’t guarded or masked as it always had been before. Instead, she saw need and utter longing etched deeply into his eyes. He looked at her like she was the only thing in his world, like she was the only thing he’d ever wanted or needed. And that even though she was right there in front of him, he couldn’t quite believe she was. That she was his.

“Excuse me for a moment?” she murmured, standing to walk across the room toward him. He tracked her every movement, gaze never leaving her as she approached. The heat in his eyes gave her that extra confidence and there was a sway in her hips as she reached him. She stopped less than a foot away, looking up at him.

“Hey.” He lifted his beer to his lips and took a swallow, still watching her. “Girl talk not cutting it?”

She stepped closer, trailing her fingertip down the center of his chest, following the line of the buttons. “It’s nice, but I have other things on my mind. Like this guy I can’t get out of my head. He watches me. I realize that he’s always watched me… and I like it. I just wanted him to know that.”

“Is that so?” He put his empty bottle down on the bar and turned to face her. “How about you show him instead?”

Kait blew his mind. She was so tiny and delicate, but so full of fire. She’d been dropped in at the deep end and so far, she was swimming perfectly. No hint of hysterics at all. He was proud of her.

But his pride disappeared under the heat of desire as she stepped closer. Everything that had complicated their relationship—his friendship with her brother, the fact they were different species—all that faded away as she walked her fingers down his chest. All that remained, all that mattered, was she was a woman and he was the man who loved her. Wanted her, and by the end of the night, he intended to have her. By all the signals she was giving him, she wanted that as well.

“How’s this for showing?” she murmured, leaning in closer to brush her lips against his jaw. She was so tiny she had to stand on tiptoes to do it and had no chance of reaching his lips unless he tilted his head for her. But he kind of liked her working for it, so he stayed where he was, even though all his instincts railed at him and called him all kinds of an idiot.

“It’s not bad,” he admitted softly, his words ending on a catch as she moved closer, fitting her small, curvy body against his harder one. Instantly, his cock stood to attention, desperate for release from the confines of his jeans. “But perhaps he needs a little more to be sure.”

“Oh, he does, does he?” Her lips curved into a smile against the skin of his jaw. Subtly, she moved, covering the movement of her hand as she slid it between them. And cupped him boldly. He gasped, looking down at her.

“Well…” She looked up through her lashes. “The problem there is that we’re in a public place, and I want to do some very private things to you.”

Fuck… The heat in her eyes was one he’d dreamed of seeing there but never thought he would. Now he did, it was better than he ever could have imagined. Like wildfire, desire coursed through his veins, filling his body with a sexual energy he’d never felt before. Every muscle was galvanized, his cock hard enough to punch holes through freaking wood, but he couldn’t move. Not with her hand cupping him as it was, small fingers stroking up and down his length. He was a slave to her every whim, painfully aware of every little movement she made.

“We—” The sound that emerged from his throat was so low and laden with his bear he had to stop and swallow to get it back within human hearing range. “We can rectify that easily.”

“Oi, skin.”

The harsh voice broke into their interlude, making them both look up. Creed scowled. Brad Harrison stood behind them, his bear already pushing through to change the shape of his nose and mouth with fur poking through his pores. It was not a good look on anyone, and Brad had been as ugly as sin to start with.

“You talking to me?” Creed lifted an eyebrow in question, his hands hard on Kait’s hips to hold her still. Anger roiled within him. Whatever bug Brad had up his ass, he didn’t want her upset.

“Yeah, I’m talking to you, skin,” Brad sneered, contempt in his eyes. “You’re barely even a fucking bear…you shouldn’t be in here, let alone on the enforcer team.”

Creed sighed. “This old chestnut again? Go and take it up with Dean if you’re so fucking hot under the collar about it.”

Brad snarled, and Kait flinched, imperceptibly edging closer to Creed. That she sought the safety of his arms made him feel ten feet tall. The movement of her hand to rest against his chest drew Brad’s attention.

“Oh, I don’t give a fuck about being an enforcer. What I am pissed about is that you claimed an available female without her being offered to the clan. There are other men…proper bears…who need women first. Half-skins should go to the back of the fucking queue.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. He should have seen this coming. Brad was an asshole, pure and simple, and hadn’t figured out that was the reason he’d been turned down time and time again. Instead, he consoled himself with excuses about women. They weren’t pure bred enough, they weren’t his fated mate…a hundred other reasons that he couldn’t get laid other than the truth. That he was a fucking dick and no woman in her right mind would touch him with a bargepole.

“Queue? What fucking queue?” The pocket rocket that was Lilly Braun exploded into the little scene like a tornado before Creed could answer. Rage shivered over her skin as she stared Harrison down. “We’re giving women out now like sweets to the deserving or those who can stand in fucking line are we? When did this happen?”

Brad snarled, fur poking comically through his shirt. “We are bears. Proper bears…we should just take what we want. Not pussy foot around with human laws and regulations.”

Lilly’s voice dropped dangerously low. “Laws and regulations are what keep order. What protect not just our clan but all the clans. And there are consequences for breaking them.”

One by one, her claws descended. Soft snicks in the sudden quiet of the room as all the occupants realized that shit had just gotten real and there was a very distinct possibility of an ass kicking. Anticipation raced through the room as people angled themselves to watch without appearing to. Creed stepped forward, pushing Kait behind him as he pulled power from his bear. He couldn’t drop claws like Lilly could, but he had a punch hard enough to shatter bone and put serious hurt on any bear that crossed him.

“I’m not breaking any laws,” Brad pouted mulishly, avoiding Lilly’s gaze. Instead, his eyes latched onto Creed behind her. A flash of something akin to cunning crossed his features as he lifted his voice, “I challenge Creed Morgan for the right to claim the human woman.”

The sharp intake of breath was echoed around the room, the silence so sudden that a pin dropping would have been deafening.

“Creed?” Kait’s voice was soft and unsure. “Can he do that?”

“He can challenge.” He didn’t recognize his own voice. It was so heavy with his bear. A bear who snarled and growled within at at the possible threat to his woman. Brad Harrison would lay a hand on Kait over Creed’s dead body. “But he has to meet me in the pit. And he’s not fucking walking out of it alive.”

“Yeah? Says who, you fucking skin?” Brad surged forward, his words mangled by his misshapen jaw as his bear started to push forward. “I’ll tear you to fucking pieces and fuck your woman before your corpse is cold.”

“Just try it, asshole.” Creed’s temper flared, his step forward automatic and only stopped by Kait’s hand on his arm.

“Down, boys,” Lilly’s voice cut the air like a knife. “Challenge has been called and accepted?” She looked at Creed in question. He nodded and she carried on speaking, raising her voice so the whole room could hear. “On behalf of Kaitlyn Turner, the challenged’s mate, I claim the rite of preparation. Challenge will be met in the pit in twenty-four hours.”

“Hey, no! She’s not his mate, not yet. The rite of preparation doesn’t apply,” Brad snarled, backed up by a couple of his bully boys. Creed glared at them, then looked at Lilly. He’d take on every single one of them right now if necessary.

“In this case,” Dean Sterling drawled from the back of the room. He’d emerged from his suite, blood stains across his shirt, to lean against the door frame. “I rule that it does. Brad, if you have a problem with that, you can meet me in the pit now.”

Brad blanched, all the color leaving his face at the very real possibility of facing off with the Itan. No one wanted to face Dean. He was literally a lean, mean fighting machine. Not the biggest bear in the clan, he was without a doubt the most lethal, which was why he was Itan.

“No, Itan,” Brad mumbled, not meeting Dean’s hard gaze. “No problem at all.”

“I didn’t think so.” Dean transferred his attention to Creed and Kait. “Creed, take your woman home and prepare for the pit tomorrow.”

“Itan.” With a nod, Creed turned and, Kait’s hand in his, left the lodge.

The drive to Creed’s house was silent. Kait stole glances at his profile to find him brooding and closed off. His expression was set and forbidding. Biting her lip, she curled up in the passenger seat and looked at the town as they passed through. Now that she knew the truth, she’d never look at the sleepy town the same way again. And to think she’d left Lizard Lick convinced that she’d only find adventure in the city…only to find one asshole, Mr. Oh-So-Wrong, and that all the excitement she could ever want was right here at home.

Home. She let the word settle and take root in her mind. It felt right. She was home. Here. With Creed. When had that happened?

She looked at him again as he turned the big truck off the main road through town just after the tattoo shop, then a sharp right again to pull up behind the row of shops. Killing the engine, he looked up through the windscreen.

“It’s not much.” He indicated the apartment above the shop. “But it’s home…for now.”

“I don’t mind. I’m sure it’s lovely,” she murmured as she opened the door to get out. Everything had changed so quickly she felt like her head was swirling. Perhaps getting her feet on solid ground would help with that feeling a little. Before she could slide from the seat and drop from the high cab though, he was there, his hands around her waist to ease her to the ground. Automatically her hands curled around his upper arms.

Her lips quirked. “I’m not delicate. I won’t break.”

He hadn’t let go, his hands spanning out on her waist. “I know, but you’re mine to protect now. Mine to look after the way I’ve always—”

She went up on her tiptoes and cut off the rest of his sentence with her lips on his. With a rumble of surprise and pleasure in the center of his chest, he pulled her closer and tilted his head to deepen the kiss.

A wave of heat and longing hit her as she molded herself to his bigger, harder body. She kissed him back, hot and open-mouthed, their embrace going from sensual to torrid in less time than it took for either of their hearts to beat. He tucked her closer. She whimpered and slid her hands up around his neck, pulling his head down so she could tangle her tongue with his.

Urging her back against the side of the truck, he pinned her against it. With a hard hand behind her knee, he hauled one leg up high over his hip and pressed forward. The thick, hard bar of his cock rubbed right where she needed him and she moaned in pleasure.

“Mine.” The word was more growled than spoken, but she didn’t mind. As long as he kept kissing her as he was, leaving a trail of white-hot kisses against the skin of her jaw and throat, she didn’t care. She needed more. More of his touch. More of his kisses. More everything. Now.

He stopped kissing her, leaning his forehead against her shoulder as he took a shuddering breath. “We have to stop, or I’m going to fuck you here. Up against the truck.”

Heat hit her. Anyone could come upon them here, but she didn’t care. Just the thought of him taking her like that, hard and fast with most of their clothes on, made her hot as hell.

Squirming against him, she rocked her hips to meet his. “The idea has its merits.”

He pulled back to look down into her eyes, surprise written in his. Then a heat so complete consumed his gaze that she was surprised it didn’t burn her to a crisp.

“Shelve that thought for another time,” he murmured, lips teasing hers.

He didn’t quite kiss her, but the ghost of it as he brushed her lips with his, using his nose to nudge and nuzzle hers, was almost hotter in some ways. It made her need more, made her chase him for the kiss she craved that he wouldn’t deliver.

He tsked at her, pulling away again. “Right now, all I want to do is take you upstairs and peel every item of clothing from you. Reveal that beautiful body of yours before I lay you back on my bed and fuck you ‘til you scream.”

She leaned her head back against the truck. “What if I’m not a screamer.”

His lips quirked, the heat of battle in his eyes. “You will be by the time I’m finished with you.”

Oh. My. God. She bit her lip, heat coursing through her at his words. His expression shifted, became hard and feral as his gaze latched onto her lips.

“For fuck’s sake, don’t look at me like that, Kait. Or I will push you up against this truck and fuck the living daylights out of you.”

Before she could answer, he bent and scooped her up, holding her high against his chest as he used his foot to close the door behind her. Turning, he strode toward the metal steps that led up to the apartment. She clung to his shoulders, her arms tight around his neck. He wouldn’t drop her. She knew that. He’d never drop her. Anticipation and heat shivered through her body and she pressed closer to place a kiss on the side of his neck.

He shuddered, a soul-deep judder that encompassed his entire body, but kept walking, iron control written into every movement. Encouraged, she carried on, trailing a line of kisses along his stubbled jaw to tease the corner of his lips. They quirked as he stopped, adjusting his hold on her to open the door in front of them.

“Careful, baby girl. Baiting the bear. Sure you wanna go there?”

“Uh-huh,” her reply was muffled as she kissed him again. She lifted up to whisper against his skin. “Not a big scary bear, though… more teddy bear.”

He barked a laugh, shouldered opened the door and carried her inside.

Chapter 5

The door shut behind them, and the mood changed.

Creed stopped in the middle of what looked like a small hallway. It was dark, and she couldn’t see but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the man who held her in his arms. He caught her gaze with his, tension stretching out between them.

“Teddy bear?” His low whisper filled the darkness. “I’ll give you teddy bear.”

With that his mouth crashed down over hers. Hard and firm, he pried her lips apart with a single sweep of his tongue. She didn’t take any persuading and opened up to him instantly. He groaned, arms tight around her as he deepened the kiss.

His tongue slid against hers, not teasing but demanding her response. It was a warm, wet, slick dance of pure sensation. She murmured in pleasure and speared her fingers through the short hair at the back of his neck. Without pausing the kiss, he let go of her legs to slide her down the front of his body. She felt it all. Every hard plane and ridge of muscle. The strength of his body as he held her close. The thick bar of his arousal pressed into her soft belly.

He broke the kiss, breathing ragged to look down at her. The moonlight streaming through the window to the left caught his eyes, rendering them pale and piercing. The blue was eaten up by darkness and need as he smoothed his hands over the curve of her hips and ass. Strong fingers gripped, pulling her up hard against him.

“Feel what you do to me?” he muttered, grinding his hips against hers. “All for you, baby girl. Wanted you for so long… now you’re mine. All mine.”

All she could manage for an answer was a nod, and she lifted her chin for his kiss again. He didn’t disappoint, kissing her with a desperation that scorched her soul. Not to be outdone, she matched him kiss for kiss as he walked her backward. She didn’t know where they were going and didn’t care. All that mattered was him. Them. What they were doing.

Her hands swept down to the buttons on his shirt and she tried to drag them free. They resisted. She made a tiny sound of frustration in the back of her throat, the sound lost under his kiss. He must have heard, though, because he stopped moving, grabbed the sides of his shirt and tore it. The buttons scattered, pinging off the floor in a melody all their own.

A sigh of relief and pleasure escaped her, and her hands swept over the heavy muscles of his chest. His skin was warm satin, roughened with hair. Not cuddly at all, but lean, ripped and infinitely more dangerous than any teddy bear she’d ever known. She traced the lines of definition between his muscles and found his nipples as he walked her backward through a doorway. Circling them, she pulled back from the kiss and nipped his lower lip at the same moment she tweaked the sensitive peaks.

He gasped, then growled… rendering the sound almost a purr. He pulled his head back to look down at her with fire in his eyes. Which was when she realized they were in his bedroom. Two more steps and he had her backed up against the bed. His bed. Big and with a heavy wooden frame, it suited him. She shivered, her knees weak as she clung to his upper arms.

Without a word, he moved her hands down to her sides and left them there. Then he hooked strong fingers under the straps of her top. Without breaking eye contact for a second, he dragged them slowly across her shoulders and down her arms. She shivered, biting her lip again as the fabric whispered over her skin. He didn’t stop until it dropped to puddle around her feet, leaving her clad in just her bra and her jeans.

Only then did he look down and the darkness in his eyes flared again. Subconsciously, she arched her back to present herself to him. His breathing caught, hands rising to smooth up her waist and coming to rest just beneath her breasts. Achingly slowly, he stroked both thumbs along the underside, following the curve. A sigh escaped her and she pressed into his hands. Needing him to touch her. Aching for him to touch her.

“So beautiful…” He stepped closer and the heat of his body beat against hers.

Big strong hands covered her breasts, cupping them and molding them through the satin of her bra. She whimpered, lifting her lips for his kiss, and he hooked a finger into the cups to pull them away. Her breasts popped free, nipples beading in the cooler air as though in anticipation of his touch.

He gave her the kiss she wanted, hot lips on hers in a torrid caress. He kissed like the devil himself. A fallen angel designed to tempt women into sin. But it wasn’t just his lips. His hands worked their own magic, stroking and teasing the flesh of her breasts in ever decreasing circles until he reached the nipples. Strong fingers rubbed over them, circled them, and then when she was least expecting it, pinched and tweaked suddenly.

Pleasure pain shot through her, arrowing down from her nipples directly to her clit. She couldn’t help the small cry that escaped her lips, and her mouth filled the next instant with the thrust of his tongue. Her thought processes scattered, leaving her a willing slave to his every desire.

He pinched and pulled gently at her nipples, a sensual torment she couldn’t do anything about, nor did she want to. All she could do was arch into him and whimper in need.

Her hands found his stomach and then flirted with his belt buckle. With a growl, he covered her hands and broke away from the kiss to shake his head in warning. “Not happening, baby girl. This one is all mine. If you touch me, that’ll be it… I won’t be able to control myself. And I don’t want to hurt you.”

Understanding swirled through her, wrapping around the desire that throbbed in her veins. She needed, she wanted, and she ached… But she wouldn’t make him do anything he didn’t want to do. With a small nod, she answered him, and his smile was worth every ounce of torment that not touching him brought her.

Reaching around, he unclipped her bra, pulling the straps down her arms to discard it behind them. She stood, a little unsteady on her heels, as he slid to his knees in front of her. His lips blazed a trail of fire down between her breasts and her stomach. He worked the fastener on her jeans, parting the denim so he could slide his hands beneath. His palms were rough over the soft skin of her hips and ass, and she shivered. It felt so good. Too good to be true.

He eased her jeans and panties down her legs holding out a hand to help her step from them until she was clad in just her heels. Still on his knees, he looked up at her and she felt like she could drown in his eyes. The look on his face was filled with lust and longing. She caught her breath, her pussy clenching as her body responded.

“Mine,” he growled again and swept his hands up her thighs.

Before she realized what he was about, he’d lifted her and tumbled her back onto the bed behind her. She squeaked as she landed on the cool sheets, but he was already over her. Parting her legs, he wedged his broad shoulders between her thighs. Heat hit her cheeks as she realized she was spread open for his perusal.

“So pretty,” he murmured.

Her body clenched as he bent his head, clit aching in the moment before his breath washed over her. A second later his tongue swept her. A warm brush of rough wetness that made her cry out and arch off the bed. Ruthlessly, he held her down, a big hand spread over her stomach to keep her in place as he licked her again. And again.

He found her clit easily, circling the tiny bundle of nerves around and around in maddening circles that did nothing to ease the tension within her body. Trying not to wriggle, she reached up and grabbed the sheets above her for something to anchor herself. He didn’t let up, alternating licking in circles with sliding his tongue down to the entrance of her pussy and circling until she was ready to scream with need.

He moved back up and found her clit, but this time he licked over it finally. Bringing a hand up, he slid one, and then a second finger deep within her. He pumped them slowly. Torturously slowly. A plea, his name, broke from her lips in a plea for more before she could stop it. Latching his lips around her clit, he rumbled in the back of his throat, the sound one of amusement and approval. The vibrations brought her hips off the bed again, liquid heat leaving her in a rush. He groaned, finger-fucking her faster, then curling his digits back to press against her G-spot. She whimpered and writhed, torn between pleasure and the need to get away from the overstimulation. He wouldn’t let her. He held her down and tormented her until she teetered on the very edge of climax.

“That’s it, baby girl. Come for me. I need you warm and wet to take my cock. Because you can take it all, every single inch.”

That did it. She cried out and tipped over the edge. Pleasure cascaded through her body, and hard-edged shards of ecstasy and bliss rebounded from every cell in an endless loop of sensation. He didn’t let her go, pulling his fingers from her to replace them with his tongue. With a groan, he gathered the juices of her release, his strong agile tongue fucking her as she came over and over again.

He pulled away and she pouted in disappointment, arching her body as she stretched in reaction to her climax. Standing by the side of the bed, he wiped his mouth on the back of his hand as he looked down at her. His hands dropped to his belt buckle, and with a few swift movements, he undid it and his jeans, shoving them down to the floor.

Her eyes widened as his cock popped free, the thick shaft slapping against his toned belly. He was not only commando but he was also freaking huge. Her pussy clenched, clit throbbing as need filled her again. The need to have him between her legs, that thick hard cock sliding into her cunt. Taking her. Owning her. Fucking her.

“That’s a naughty look, baby girl,” he muttered as he crawled over the bed toward her. “Wanna tell me what’s causing it?”

She shook her head as hard hands pulled her legs farther apart so he could settle between them. There was nothing gentle in his movements, the rough touch exciting her beyond measure despite the fact she’d already come harder than she could remember coming before. Ever.

He lowered himself. Hands on either side of her head bracing him over her and his cock pressed to the groove of her pussy lips. She bit her lip, saw the flare of his nostrils in reaction, and did it again.

“Careful, baby girl,” he growled. “Bad girls get spanked.”

She couldn’t help the smile. “Is that threat or a promise?” she asked and rocked her hips to torment him.

“Fuck me!”

His reaction was instant and feral. His eyes widened and a growl trickled from his throat that was far more animal than any sound she’d ever heard him make before. Was that the sound of his bear? She didn’t care. Didn’t care that a monster resided within him… He was just Creed. Her man. He’d never hurt her. Ever.

Catching her gaze with his, he pulled back and fit the head of his cock against the entrance to her body. “Definitely a promise.”

“Good.”

One word was all she could get out as he pushed forward. Her breathing caught, and her hands on his upper arms tensed. Not to push him away, but just for something to hold onto. Her nails bit into the flesh and he groaned.

“Fuck, you’re so tight.”

Dropping his head, he pulled his hips back and pressed forward again. This time, her body gave and the lips of her sex wrapped around the head of his cock. They both moaned.

He let up the pressure, pushing harder and filling her inch by inch until she didn’t think she could take any more. But with a last shove of his hips, she did.

He paused above her and his gaze bored into hers. She read everything there. Need, lust, desire, longing, tenderness. The last took her by surprise, but she held onto him as he pulled his hips back and thrust into her again. Then again.

It was no gentle lovemaking. He took her body in rough pleasure, hard and fast, with no compromises. Just the way she’d always seen him being. Just the way she’d always imagined, those nights alone in her bed with her battery-operated boyfriend. But no amount of fantasy could compete with the reality of being claimed by Creed. It blew her mind, even as he took her body.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” he murmured against her neck, moving to grab one of her knees and looping it up over his arm. He slid deeper on the next thrust, making her moan and arch against him. Then he did the same with the other arm, opening her further, and deepening his possession.

“So fucking sexy, and all mine.”

Satisfaction and triumph rang in his voice and he upped his pace. Pinned beneath him, she couldn’t do anything other than reach up and cling to the headboard as the bed rocked beneath them. Each hard fast stroke of his cock stroked nerve endings she hadn’t realized she had and tightened the knot of tension in her core even further. A familiar tension, one that should have been used by her earlier orgasm, was back tenfold. More. She’d never felt need like it.

“Creed, please…” she begged, needing something… More.

“Don’t worry… I got you, baby girl.”

Letting go of her, he turned her over and hauled her hips up so her ass was in the air. She squeaked, but before she could do anything about it, he was there behind her. His cock found her cunt and he drove home in one solid thrust.

Her squeak turned to a liquid moan. If she’d thought he was fucking her hard before, she now had a whole new appreciation of it. This time he let his feral, male side loose. Hands hooked around her hips, he held her in place as he drove into her, hard and fast. His bigger body covered hers, the hair on his chest rasping against the sensitive skin of her back. He used a knee to nudge hers farther apart, pulling her hips back at the same moment to impale her farther on his cock.

She whimpered, feeling him throb within her. There was just something about being taken from behind that triggered every submissive instinct she had, and several she hadn’t realized.

He pulled her upright, still buried within her and she clung to the wrist of his hand as it slid up to cup her breast. The other snaked around her hip to delve between her legs. The whimper left her before she could stop it. His clever fingers found her clit again, teasing and circling until she thought the torment would never end. He drove into her, his movements relentless, ruthless, and so fucking delicious that all she could do was hang on for the ride. Her body tightened, every cell in every muscle locked and tense as they screamed for release. The coil of need deep in her core pulsated, her pussy clutching his cock greedily.

“Oh fuck, that’s it, baby girl,” he groaned in her ear. “Take it all, every last inch. You like my cock deep inside you, don’t you?”

She nodded, pleasure thrilling through her as he kissed along her neck and scraped the sensitive flesh with his teeth. His thrusts got more powerful. Faster. Harder. His body moved like a well-oiled machine designed for one purpose, sex.

He drove her up to the edge again, clever fingers playing with her clit until she hovered on the very edge.

“Oh God, Creed…” she gasped, nails digging into his wrist. “I’m gonna… I’m…”

“Come for me, baby girl,” he urged in a rough voice. “Want to feel you come all over my cock. Want to make you mine.”

He drove back to surge up into her in a hard thrust. At the same time he pulled his hand back and tapped her clit sharply. The pleasure-pain shattered what little control she had left, and her climax overtook her in a blinding wave of sensation so complete she barely felt his fangs as they pierced the skin of her shoulder. It didn’t hurt, instead it increased her pleasure and all she could think of was riding his cock.

Bucking against him, her body was suffused with ecstasy and her cunt throbbed around the thick length of his cock. Gripping him, milking him in rhythmic waves that stole his breath. He growled, the smooth movement of his thrusts gone now and replaced by harder, more feral movements.

Three thrusts later and he buried himself deep within her with a roar, the sound muffled by his teeth in her skin. His cock jerked, bathing her inner walls with his white hot seed. So hot she felt every spurt, every pulse deep within her. He groaned, still wrapped around her, his bigger body caging hers protectively.

Her fingers gently stroked his arm and slowly he released her, disengaging his teeth from her shoulder and swiping his tongue gently over the puncture wounds. The area tingled but didn’t hurt. Surprised, she reached up to find not the wetness of blood she expected, but unbroken skin.

“It was a mating bite,” he rumbled softly, easing from her to lay them both down, his arms still wrapped around her as she lay in the protective lee of his body. “It means you’re mine now. Forever.”

She placed her head on his arm and smiled in the darkness.

Forever. She liked the sound of that.

Chapter 6

Kait was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Creed had always known that, but now, the evening after he’d made her his, he could sit back and really appreciate that fact. Study her without having to look away in case she caught him watching. He could look his fill without pretending he was doing anything other than admiring her. She was his woman and it was his right to look at her.

But…damn…with the warm sunset streaming through the bathroom window to highlight her hair, turning the chestnut to fire, and giving her ivory skin a pale glow…she was the angel he never thought he’d get to call his own.

His own. His, all last night and most of the day. He lay back on the bed, head pillowed on his arm, his gaze following her as she moved around the bathroom. She looked a little tired, but that was to be expected. Finally his after so many years, he hadn’t let her sleep much. A few naps scattered here and there before he couldn’t stop himself waking her again to take her. She was a drug, one he was happily, helplessly addicted to.

His gaze dropped to the tattoo he’d inked on her hip, revealed by the bra and tiny panties she wore, and a small smile curved his lips. She didn’t know it, but he’d drawn that tattoo just for her…which meant he’d marked her before he’d given her his bite. The thought amused him. As soon as she’d stepped into his world, she’d had no chance.

But he’d always known that, somewhere deep in the back of his mind. For years he’d told himself that he couldn’t have her. She was his best friend’s sister and she was human, but they’d been just excuses. Because he’d been a coward who hadn’t thought he was good enough for such an angel. A broken monster not human enough for the human world, and not beast enough for the one he’d been born into.

But then he’d kissed her and he’d known. She was his mate.

His fated mate…

The sudden knowledge had blown him away. He hadn’t intended to bite and claim her, but as soon as his noncompliant bear had caught her scent, the beast had roared to the front in demand. The feeling had been so strong it had taken him by surprise. Normally his inner beast was well hidden and painful to extract for a shift. Sure, it fed him power in his human form, but it didn’t like the light of day… or night. Unable to shift for the monthly runs, the fucker had made him an outcast in his own community.

He watched as she brushed her hair, then turned to walk out of the bathroom. Catching him looking, she smiled and the sheer beauty of it took his breath away. His bear surged upward again, protectiveness and determination coloring its snarl. She was theirs, their woman, and fucked if that asshole Harrison was taking her from them.

“Lilly dropped off some stuff for you while you were in the shower.” He motioned toward the bag on the end of the bed.

“Oh? That was thoughtful of her.”

The look of surprise and delight on her face was just fuel for his addiction. So expressive, everything she was thinking flowed across her features as she pulled the zipper and delved into the bag. Quickly, she pulled clothing out. Lilly was good, he had to give her that. She’d packed clothing suitable for tonight, at the pit.

“Hey.” His voice was rough, but he didn’t care. Kait looked up at him and he beckoned. “Come here.”

She didn’t answer, just dropped the clothing and walked toward him. Something changed halfway though, perhaps the way he looked at her, and she added a sway to her hips that had him hot and hard in an instant. And the way she looked at him… a combination of bold and shy with a kick of sultry. When the hell had he gotten so lucky? Who did he have to kill to ensure he stayed that lucky? And that maybe one day, if he was lucky enough, she’d love him back. Because one thing was for sure…

While he had breath left in his body, there was no way he was letting her go.

Seeing Creed fight was the scariest thing Kait had ever witnessed. She’d thought she had a good stomach for violence. She’d lived in the city, after all, where gang warfare was rife, and she was the first in line for a good horror movie. But there was violence on the safe confines of a screen or in a police report and then there was seeing it up close and personal.

The pit turned out to be just that. A hole dug into the earth in the woods behind the lodge, its sides shored up with planks. Chest height, it was at least thirty feet in diameter, which had seemed huge to her at first. Now though, with Creed and his opponent in there, it seemed tiny.

“Sure you want to do this, skin?” Harrison taunted as the two men circled each other.

Both were still men, but the heavy claw marks on the wood around the edges of the pit told her that it wouldn’t stay that way for long. She held her breath as Harrison threw a punch but released it when Creed slid to the side in a smooth move.

“Don’t panic,” Lilly murmured next to her. “Creed’s one of the best. This’ll be a walk in the park for him. You’ll see.”

Kait wasn’t so sure, her eyes wide as she looked around the crowd gathered at the edges of the pit. Anticipation and eagerness filled each and every face as they watched the fight unfolding. “Some seem certain that Harrison will win.”

Lilly snorted and shrugged one shoulder. “Can’t cure stupid. You can numb it with a 2x4 but you can’t cure it. There’s always been dissent, but it’s more to do with Dean than with Creed. Creed’s just an easy target because he’s different.”

Kait nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. It seemed bears weren’t so different from humans for that, she’d just never thought racism could morph over into speciesism. But then, she hadn’t realized other species walked unseen amongst humanity.

“Come on, skin…” Harrison kept up the jabs. Creed circled him around the pit, throwing the occasional punch that Harrison easily shrugged off. “What’s the matter with you, scared to fight me?”

Creed didn’t answer, his guard up as he rolled his shoulders like a boxer. Harrison laughed and dropped his hands. The laugh deepened into a roar as…he changed.

Kait was locked into place as she watched something from a horror movie unfold in front of her. It was all well and good being told that there were werebears but, apart from thinking that she’d seen the guys in the alley with claws, she’d not actually seen any of them change. So far, her mind had skittered away from the thought, the faint hope that this might indeed still be some sort of elaborate hoax lurking in the back of her mind.

The instant fur flowed over Harrison’s skin, rapidly spreading like an oil slick, that hope shattered into dust. Sharp cracks filled the air, his body jerking as he walked forward. His bones creaking, she realized, as his limbs lengthened and changed shape. His shoulders grew and rounded before he dropped onto front paws bigger than dinner plates. A muzzle punched out of his face, eyes darkening to black as they fixed on Creed with murderous intent.

Her lover just stood there, watching the show with what looked like boredom. As Harrison roared, Creed lifted his hand to study his fingernails. Like he was checking whether they were dirty.

“He’ll kill him,” she gasped, hand rising to cover her mouth. “Lilly, you have to stop this…there’s no way Creed can win this.”

Only Lilly’s hand on her arm stopped Kait from surging forward and leaping into the pit herself. Stupid move, but she couldn’t bear the thought of Creed getting hurt.

“No, Kait. He’s good.”

Lilly’s grip was harder than Kait remembered and she looked up to find her friend’s eyes dark with her bear. A shiver hit her. It was odd, knowing even her sensible, ditzy but gentle friend was a werebear. If she’d had to pick one of the three of them as a large, furry killing machine, it would have been Kacie. Not Lilly.

“Watch,” Lilly ordered, and she did.

Harrison roared and charged. As one the crowd dragged a sharp breath in. For a moment it seemed like that was it for Creed. He was going to be crushed against the side of the pit and sliced to ribbons on the big bears claws. At the last moment though, he dropped and slid to the side, ducking under the bear’s arm as he swiped. His claws made new furrows in the wood, but Creed had already moved. His fists hammered into the bear’s furry sides with impossible speed. There was a sharp crack and Harrison bellowed in pain, breaking away to lumber to the other side of the pit.

“One rib down. Creed loves that move,” Lilly grunted in satisfaction. “You’d think they’d expect it by now…but they always walk into it. With some,” she explained quickly, “their bears aren’t that clever, so when the beast takes over…”

Kait nodded. That made sense, two minds in one body… there was always going to be some trade off.

“That’s why he likes to fight human?” she asked as Creed stopped playing and began to stalk his opponent. The bear huffed and changed direction, watching his opponent warily.

“I guess so.”

Creed launched an attack, scooping up a handful of dirt to throw in the bear’s eyes before he stepped in and slammed blow after blow into the furred hide. Watching him fight was like watching a work of art in motion. His sleek, tanned skin moved smoothly over the heavy muscles underneath as they bunched before releasing explosive power. Everything about him was lethal. He danced around the bear, making it howl as he landed strike after strike, always staying out of reach of its claws.

He didn’t taunt the bear. Didn’t say a word as, silently, he took the creature apart. The crowd winced with each blow, gasps whispering through their number as a heavy right hook to the jaw threw the bear’s head to the side, blood and a tooth striking the wood at the edge of the pit.

No way could any man hit that hard. Her lover wasn’t human. The realization rolled through her, brought home by the evidence of her eyes. He was something out of myth and legend, a creature labelled a monster in modern film and literature. But she didn’t care.

She didn’t care what Creed was, bear or human, or something in between. He was hers, all hers…just as she’d always wanted him to be. Warmth filled the center of her chest, tempered with panic. The man she loved could die, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The tension and worry would kill her.

Harrison staggered to the side, shaking his head. The last blow had obviously rattled him and his balance was off.

“Go down, you fucking asshole,” Lilly urged with a mutter, her fists clenched. “Learn your fucking lesson and stay down.”

It seemed the big bear heard her and obeyed. His back legs folded under him and he sat heavily, a surprised expression on his face. It was almost comical.

Creed backed off, dancing lightly on his feet with his guard still up. He didn’t take his eyes off his opponent for a second. The crowd all looked around to Dean Sterling sitting on the other side of the pit from Lilly and Kait.

Now she knew he was a bear, and the leader of the clan, Kait easily recognized the aura of command that lay over his shoulders like a mantle. If she hadn’t known about bears, she would have attributed it to his time in the army. But now she knew the source was something else. The creature inside him.

Dean rose to his feet, his expression set in forbidding lines as he looked down into the pit. Harrison remained on his ass, swaying slightly from side to side with the confused expression on his face.

“Since Harrison looks to be unable to continue the fight,” Dean announced, his deep voice easily reaching those who stood at the back. “I declare Creed the winner.”

A cheer went up from most of the crowd, a few of Harrison’s supporters muttering and turning away in disgust. Relief exploded through Kait and she moved forward to the edge of the pit as Creed turned to walk toward her.

Movement behind him caught her eye and she screamed a warning as cunning returned to Harrison’s eyes and he surged forward to swipe lethal looking claws over Creed’s unprotected back.

“No! Creed, watch out!”

Kait’s scream brought Creed’s head up a moment before fire exploded across his back in four thin lines. He roared, his bear given voice as agony enveloped him and he whirled around. But something was off, and he staggered to the side. Crap. Trying to right himself didn’t work. He simply staggered again as though he’d been out on a three-day bender.

“What the fuck?”

The evil glint in Harrison’s eyes gave it away and he realized the fight had never been about Kait. It had never been about the hierarchy in the clan, or claiming rights. It was about the fact he was a half-skin, and an enforcer. It was about Anderson and Harrison’s elitist agenda.

“The bastard used Carve!” Lilly dropped into the pit next to him, her beast in her voice and fur already flowing over her exposed skin.

Carve? Crap, no wonder he couldn’t stand up straight.

“You want to poison someone, asshole?” Lilly snarled, backing Harrison up into a corner. “How about you try that on me?”

“And me.” The Itan dropped down into the pit next to her, his broad back becoming broader as the two bears got between Harrison and his target.

Creed tried to go for him but his left leg wouldn’t cooperate, the poison filtering through his system. Shudders racked his body and he dropped to the mud floor of the pit, all his muscles contracting and releasing in chaotic unison. His heart raced, pumping blood and the poison around his system. Carve was deadly, so he didn’t have long. Instead of panicking and fighting it though, he simply accepted his imminent demise and turned to look up at Kait.

Her eyes were wide, fear in their tear-filled depths. Without a thought for her own safety, she scrambled down the side of the pit and raced over to him. Dropping to her knees, she gathered him up into her arms.

His Kait. His mate, if only for one night. At least he’d made her his own, his bite on her neck and, if the fates were kind, she might even be carrying his cub. The thought pleased him and he managed a smile. She’d be a fierce mama, protecting her cubs, unlike his own mother, who’d simply abandoned him here and fled. A helpless child without any idea who his parents had been.

“Creed, no! Please, you have to be alright.” Her voice was broken as she wiped mud from his cheek. “You can’t leave me. You have to fight. You’ve always fought…so fight for us now. Please? I love you.”

Lying there, in her arms, Creed finally felt at peace. For years, he’d waited for Kait to look at him the way she did now. And she loved him. Emotion burst through his body, his heart the epicenter of the storm. Pity it was finally happening as Carve filtered through his system, killing him from the inside out. Heat rolled through him in a flash fire, burning the inside of his veins as something surged up from deep within him to just under his skin.

But then he didn’t feel pain. Oh shit, no pain meant things were bad. Really bad. Not wanting to close his eyes, he watched Kait and lifted a hand to smooth her hair from her face.

“I’ve always loved you, Kait. Ever since the moment I first saw you.”

His admission was soft, but not as thready as he’d expected. Wasn’t Carve supposed to shut down the central nervous system or something? If anything, the pain was receding and he felt good. Certainly better than any dying man had a right to feel.

She smiled through her tears. “You certainly took your time telling me. Why?”

He shrugged. “You were Mark’s sister. Off limits.”

“Fucking stupid me and your honor code!” She swore. “Didn’t you ever think to ask me what I wanted. All these years… I’d never have left if I thought…”

She bit her lip looking away. Surging upward, Creed caught her around the nape with a big hand. “What do you mean, you wouldn’t have left? Left Lizard Lick for the city, you mean?”

She nodded, meeting his eyes. “After Mark, I didn’t want to be here. Everyone told me it was best to make a clean break… But if you’d have asked me, I’d have stayed. But I didn’t think you saw me that way. I thought you just saw me as Mark’s irritating kid sister. A brat.”

He chuckled, thumb stroking her neck softly as he sat up with her in his arms, cradling her smaller body with his. “You are a brat. But no, I never saw you as a kid.”

“Creed?” she asked, hands splayed out over his chest, her gaze intent on him.

“Yes, love?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be ill or something?”

He blinked, then looked down at himself. Shit, she was right. He felt better than he had in years.

“See? See! It wasn’t Carve!” Harrison all but screamed, his face pale as he gestured at Creed. “How could he be on his feet if it was Carve? He’d be deader than a dodo!”

His voice brought Creed back to the matter at hand and he rolled to his feet, levelling a murderous expression on Harrison. Urging Kait out of harm’s way, he stalked toward the guy, only stopping to slide a sideways glance at Dean.

“He’s mine.”

The Itan shrugged and spread his arms. “He attacked while your back was turned. He’s all yours.”

The Itan turned away. Lilly looked Harrison up and down before nodding curtly. “May your soul be welcomed with loving arms.”

“What?” Harrison babbled as the two bears walked to the edge of the pit and hauled themselves out, Dean boosting Kait up to Lilly. “No, no, no…you can’t leave me here with him. It wasn’t Carvix. It was horse sedative mixed with rat poison. Just something to slow you down.”

Was it fuck. He didn’t trust a word that came out this lying little asshole’s mouth.

“Makes no difference,” he growled, and anger boiled within him. This piece of shit had tried to end him. Why didn’t matter. How, or the fact that it hadn’t worked, didn’t matter. What mattered was that he hadn’t managed it…

Creed grinned nastily.

“You’ve had your fun. Now it’s my turn.”

The change ripped over him in less than a heartbeat. Fire raced through him, his body contorting as it snapped from one shape to another. Within an instant, he went from a six-foot two-hundred-pound guy to over four hundred pounds of pissed off werebear as he advanced on the terrified Harrison.

“Please, no, don’t hurt me…” the smaller man whimpered, eyes wide and no hint of his bear in them at all. Obviously the creature had decided it wanted no part of the retribution that was coming Harrison’s way.

Creed roared, jaws wide, and swiped. His massive paw cut the air, lethal claws heading for Harrison’s face. At the last minute he pulled the blow, parting the skin almost delicately. Surgically. Something deep inside told him that, with whatever the little bastard had used on him still in his system, the claw marks would scar. They’d always be there for everyone to see. For everyone to know that Harrison had tried and failed. That he’d been found wanting and begged for his life.

Standing, Creed folded his bear easily back within himself. “Fuck off, Harrison, and remember today. Remember you owe me your life.”

“Yes, Enforcer. Thank you.” Head bowed, Harrison scuttled away, getting out of the pit as fast as his legs would carry him. Creed watched him go and then looked around the clan lining the edges of the pit, making sure to meet the eye of each and every one of Anderson’s little supporters.

“Anyone else?” he demanded, throwing his arms out wide in challenge.

There was shuffling of feet but no one answered. No one was willing to step into the pit with a bear as big as he’d proven himself to be.

A hard look on his face, he swept a final bow and turned to stalk toward the side of the pit, his movements filled with the power of his bear just under his skin. There was no difficulty. No pain. He and the creature were finally one.

Looking up for a second, he met Kait’s eyes and smiled. Now he knew why he’d never been able to shift properly.

He’d been missing a part of himself.

He’d needed her… the other half of his soul.

Now he had her, she had him, and their happily ever after was just about to begin.

THE END

WANT FREE BOOKS?

SIGN UP TO MINA’S NEWSLETTER!

http://mina-carter.com/newsletter/

If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review, even if its only a line or two; it would make all the difference and would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

You might also like…

BAD MOON RISING

Tall, blond and handsome has been tailing her for months.

But born a warlock and trained by a demon, Beth Roark isn’t a woman to be put off her game by a pretty face, not even when he almost catches her on her last job, the last job, the one that will fund her retirement from a life of crime. One soul-stealing kiss and she’s gone, but he’s not that easy to get rid of. And neither are the bully-boy wolves who first hired her to steal for them and now want her head on a platter.

She’s mysterious, beautiful and a professional thief.

Werelion Alex Sullivan is the best at what he does, tracking people who don’t want to be found, but even with his skills, bringing in infamous antiquities thief ‘The Cat’ is proving to be somewhat difficult. She’s as good at not being caught as he is at catching people. When he gets the drop on her, he realizes why. She’s a magic user. And his mate. Just one problem, the people who own the artefact she just stole want it back… and her dead.

He needs to find her before they do, or risk losing his mate before he can make her his…

GET YOUR COPY NOW!

FOR SHIFT’S SAKE

Bobbi Bradbury has man trouble. Local bully boy, Conrad Jackson, has decided she’s his Miss. Right but as far as she’s concerned, he couldn’t be more Mr.Wrong. Unfortunately, he’s not taking no for an answer. The charm offensive is over and it seems he’s looking to take what he wants, no matter her thoughts on the matter.

Reese Connor is out of the army and on his way to Vegas. The open road, no bullets flying past his head…it’s all this scarred and weary werebear wants. Until his old buddy calls in a favor. Operation: protection. His buddy’s little sister is in some kind of trouble. Fine. He’ll check in and bust a few heads then carry on his merry way…

But the path to Vegas never runs smoothly and Reese finds himself between the devil and the deep blue sea. His buddy’s little sister is less sweet and innocent and more sexy and seriously curved. And his mate.

The kicker? She doesn’t know about werebears. The second kicker? His buddy’ll kill him for touching his little sister. And if that wasn’t enough, someone out there is determined that he won’t have Bobbi…ever. And they’ll put her six feet under to stop him.

GET YOUR COPY NOW!

WERELOCK

He can't shift, she can't control hers...

Half-breed lioness Renae Brogan is a cat on the run. Leaving her asshole ex meant leaving her pride or losing her life. Now she's hiding out in Deal's Gap, Tennessee, with a new name and a new look. Pity she can't do anything about her inability to control her chaotic shifts. But nobody's perfect...

Hale Roark is a warlock with a muddy bloodline and a weather speciality. Some shifter blood way back when means he can't bond with a familiar and unlock his true magic potential but no worries, he's plenty powerful without one. Bounty-hunting runaway weres is a damn good living, and the fact that he's as mean as sin is an added bonus.

Until he's hired to find one wayward lioness and tracks her down to Deal's gap. It should be an easy job. Track the female, deliver her back to her pride for them to deal with, no questions asked. Until he finds her. Then he skips straight to the answers.

One, She's beautiful... Two, She's his familiar... Three, He'll change the rules of magic itself to make her his.

GET YOUR COPY NOW!

WANT FREE BOOKS?

SIGN UP TO MINA’S NEWSLETTER!

http://mina-carter.com/newsletter/

About the Author

Mina Carter is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of romance in many genres. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter, and a bossy cat.

WANT FREE BOOKS?

SIGN UP TO MINA’S NEWSLETTER!

http://mina-carter.com/newsletter/

Connect with Mina online at:

http://mina-carter.com

https://www.facebook.com/minacarterauthor

http://twitter.com/minacarter

http://www.pinterest.com/minacarter77

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2920063.Mina_Carter