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Moving close, I see that her eyes are closed and she’s lying on her back with her arms outstretched. She must not have been here long because not much snow has fallen on her. It’s starting to come down heavier now, and she’s getting a small dusting on her face and body.
She’s got thick black hair and skin the color of cream. Her lips are blood red, and something inside of me is pulling me towards her. I can’t explain the force that makes me go to her, but something inside me knows that I must help her.
Something inside me needs to kiss her. Taste her… Brand her.
I kneel down beside her, and the sound wakes her. Her big eyes pop open, and the blue there strikes me right in the chest. Her eyes are the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I want to get lost in them and let them carry me away. There’s something about them that’s familiar and safe, but also terrifying and confusing.
A heartbeat passes between us, and for a second I’m pulled back in time to a place I thought I’d left. Fear grips me, but then the woman smiles up at me, and all of that melts away.
“Hi,” she whispers, and I light up at the word. I start to say something back, but at that moment her scent hits me, and my throat nearly closes up.
She’s human.
Rage pulses through me, and I start to stand. I want to get away from this human as fast as I can, but suddenly I’m dizzy with need. I inhale again, and I feel my bear trying to take over. He’s clawing inside me to get out to roar, but I hold him tight, trying to catch my brain up to my body.
Mate, my bear growls over and over, and I realize that this human is my mate. A human. The one thing in this world that I not only fear but never want to be near again is my mate.
I growl long and low, but the human doesn’t look surprised. She sits up and pushes back from me, but I reach out, snatching her ankle before she can get away.
“Mine,” I say through gritted teeth. I didn’t want this, not like this. But my body has no choice.
“Let me go.” I look into her eyes to see panic there. “Don’t, please. My brothers will worry. I know what you are, please don’t do this.”
The plea for her family pulls at my heart. How many times had I begged to be let free to find my family? How many times had I begged for news of my sister? I feel sadness for her, but then it’s followed by anger. Her kind are the ones that kept me from Winnie. This human is my mate. I have every right to take her from her human people.
“You’re mine now,” I say, pulling her off the ground and throwing her over my shoulder.
“Please let me go. I swear I won’t come back. I’ll never tell anyone.”
As the snow comes down heavier and heavier, I carry her back to my cabin. Our tracks are covered and no one will be able to find us. I’m taking my mate home, and she will get used to it.
“You can’t do this. You can’t take me.” There is so much panic in her voice that I nearly stop and go back, not wanting to upset her.
“I will treat you kindly and no harm will ever come to you as long as I live.” I take a breath and keep walking. “It’s more than your kind ever gave me.”
Chapter 3
Snow
My hood falls over my face, blocking everything out. I try to move it out of the way, but it only falls back again, showing me nothing but the snow-covered ground rushing by while the man who has me over his shoulder runs through the woods.
Each step bounces me. One even makes me grunt. The sound makes him slow his strides in an effort not to jostle me again. I try to find words to plead with him, but nothing comes now that I’m over his shoulder and he is taking me farther and farther away from my brothers’ cabin.
I try to shift to see if maybe I can catch him off guard and break free, but his hold only tightens on me.
“Still or you’ll hurt yourself.”
I do as his deep voice commands. It would be a fruitless effort. I’d probably break something if I fell from this height. The man is ginormous, even compared to my brothers.
“You’re hurting me,” I lie, finally finding my voice again.
“Am I holding you too tight? If you stop struggling, I can loosen my grip. I don’t want to drop you.”
I huff, not answering his ostensibly generous question. He kidnaps me but wants to make sure I’m unharmed.
When I opened my eyes and stared into the deepest brown eyes I’d ever seen, I was shocked. That shock only grew when a honey color started to blend into them. They were beautiful. I also knew instantly he was a shifter. Human eyes could never do that. I wasn’t scared until he jumped away from me and started to growl.
When he lunged for me, I felt a moment of panic, unsure of what he was doing.
“Mine,” he’d growled. At the time I was in fight or flight mode, but now thinking back on it, I know what’s happened. I’ve seen it before. Mates. I’d seen my brothers, one after another, find their mates. I’d witnessed the instant attraction they had. The need they had for them so strong and unstoppable.
It’s what’s gripping the man carrying me over his shoulder. I’m his mate, and he doesn’t seem all too happy about the idea. In fact, he seemed enraged for a moment. I try to think back to what he’d said
“I will treat you kindly, and no harm will ever come to you as long as I live. It’s more than your kind ever gave me.”
That sealed it. He was mad that I was human. I could do absolutely nothing about it. Something even I wished I wasn’t. The humans I’d been brought up around were evil, vile people. Not like the shifters in my life who’d taken care of me and shown me more love than my father ever did.
My body jerks a little when he takes three stairs at a time, then I hear the sound of locks clicking before a door opens and slams shut. I hear the sound of locks clicking into place once again. Then I’m on my feet, staring up at one angry-looking man.
“What are you?” The honey color is back in his eyes, pushing all that dark brown away.
“A shifter.”
“I know that.” I put my hand on my hips. I’m used to having to look up at my brothers, but this is just crazy. I’m going to get a crick in my neck.
His eyes narrow on me.
“Yes, I know all about shifters,” I inform him. There’s no beating around the bush or pretending I don’t know. Besides, it’s more than obvious he is with all this grunting and growling he’s doing.
“A bear. How do you know about my kind?”
I just shrug, not feeling scared of him anymore. Shifters don’t hurt their mates. Most even die if the other does. But those are true love cases. It’s clear my big bear isn’t happy with his choice of mate. “I grew up with shifters, you could say. In fact, they’ll be looking for me.”
“They can look all they want. They won’t come on my land,” he says with utter certainty. It makes me wonder what they will do. The Alpha doesn’t even know about me.
“They will when they track my scent,” I retort.
“Snow will cover it. It’s coming down hard now.” I know he’s right. They won’t even be home for hours. My shoulders drop, and I’m not real sure what to do. Glancing around the wooded cabin, I see it has an open floor plan and is somewhat decorated. Like someone came in and spent the time to put the cabin together—new-looking leather couches, a dining room table that looks like it could fit a whole bear family.
Everything looks new, but the place is a mess. Dishes litter the counter. Clothes are strewn all around, random crap piled on the table. It looks a little sad. Like a home was built but wasn’t loved. And all the windows are locked up. Shutters closed over them, blocking any light from outside.
“So you’re just going to keep me here? Against my will?”
“Your kind did the same to me. At least I will take care of you, not lock you in a cage.” His words don’t sound angry, just matter-of-fact. Each one hits me hard, making my stomach cramp. Please no. Could he have been one of the shifters I’d left behind?
“Okay.” I pull my hood off and toss
my cape on the couch next to me. He growls, making me look back up at him. His eyes roam over my body, making my blood heat. It’s the same feeling that coursed through me when I opened my eyes to see him looming over me. I’d wanted him to kiss me so bad. I’ve never been kissed. Never even been close to being kissed.
He’s handsome. Maybe a little overgrown and rough around the edges, but that doesn’t take away from his handsomeness at all. In fact, I kind of like that he looks a bit scary. He could protect me.
“Just ‘okay’? You’re not going to fight me?” I can hear the uncertainty in his voice.
No, I’m not going to fight him. He’s right. If what I’m thinking is true, then my people did do worse than what he’d do to me here. I’d seen glimpses of how my father treated the shifters he’d kept caged away. The ones I’d left behind because I was too scared to stay. Selfish.
This, I could do. I could be his mate. I glance around the room, taking in the mess and chaos. If I know how to do anything, it’s make a home. It’s what I love to do. I owe him this. Maybe I can make him see not all humans are terrible.
