Page 26 of Bad Blood Bear

But she’d always survived. It was what she did.

Flynn had gone out to the front porch, and he let off a loud whistle. “Crew meeting,” he bellowed, loud enough to shake the rafters. “Now, you fuckers!”

Something rolled through the room—a kind of energy that pressed down on Lissa’s chest. “What the hell is that?” she whispered. Her demon—her bear—scrabbled inside her, terrified.

“Alpha energy,” Tank said quietly. “Flynn is one of the most dominant shifters I’ve ever met. It’s the only reason this crew has any hope of not imploding. He keeps them from falling apart with sheer force of will.”

It sounded exhausting. No wonder he was grumpy all the time.

Flynn came back in, and in another minute he was followed by Sloan, Xander, and…

A spotted jaguar that was about eight feet long.

Holy fuck. “You’re beautiful,” Lissa said, staring. Her bear didn’t think so. Her bear wanted to get away from all these animal smells.

The jaguar gazed intently at Lissa with her huge yellow-green eyes, tail twitching. Lissa had the wild urge to skitter her fingers like a mouse for the cat to pounce on. Except this kitty would probably take her hand off and eat it for a snack.

Kill. Blood. Devour, said her bear. Yikes.

Tank moved closer and put his hand in the middle of her back. He started making slow circles. “It’s okay,” he said. “They won’t hurt you, or your bear.”

She wouldn’t bet the farm on that.

“This is Lissa,” Flynn said, when they were all assembled. “Lissa, this is Xander, Sloan and Jasmin. Everybody blow kisses and say hi.”

Xander was the naked guy from the shed. He was wearing clothes now, jeans and a black t-shirt, and he pulled a Bowie knife from its sheath and started tossing it in his hand. “She’s cute,” he said. “You looking for a mate, sugar?”

Tank snarled at him, and he flipped Tank the bird.

Lissa gave Xander the slow once-over. She knew enough not to let him intimidate her, or he’d never stop trying to get a rise out of her. “Don’t know,” she said. “Maybe. Might have to line you all up and compare dicks before I pick one, though.”

“Forget it, babe,” Flynn said, looking amused. “I’m the clear winner, and I’m not on the market.”

Sloan snickered, and Xander gave him a sideways look. “You’d have to get a magnifier out to find Sloan’s, anyway. Not to mention those teensy-weensy little balls.”

Sloan’s snicker changed to a soft snarl.

The jaguar abruptly turned into a slim woman with long dark hair. Naked, of course. And totally unconcerned by it, even though she was in a room primed for a testosterone explosion. “At least she’ll be able to find yours, dickhead,” she said to Xander. “You can’t stop talking with it.”

Xander sent the knife spinning toward Jasmin, and she plucked it out of the air without moving anything but her hand. “Thanks. I needed a new knife.”

“Fuck you. Give it back.”

Jasmin just grinned.

Sloan didn’t say anything—just stared at the floor.

Flynn went on, “Lissa is a bear shifter, but she was recently Turned and she can’t Change. She has nowhere else to go, so she’s joining our crew, at least until she can straighten her shit out. Don’t fuck with her, because she can’t fight back, and Tank and I will rip your guts out and feed them to the coyotes if she gets hurt. She’s officially under my protection.”

He reached out toward Lissa as if literally placing his protection on her. His hand clasped her shoulder, and his fingers grazed the spot where her bite mark lay, under her t-shirt.

Lissa felt a jolt, and blue sparks fizzed from Flynn’s fingers, their touch searing her. Red fire burst out of her scar, burning through her t-shirt and singeing Flynn’s fingers. He jerked his hand back. “What the fuck?” he said, turning his hand over and staring at his fingers, then at Lissa.

She barely heard him. The familiar yet terrifying red haze took over her vision. Her bear was roaring inside her—Blood! Kill! Devour!—and something was happening to her mouth. Her jaw ached and her teeth grew longer and sharper, and her fingers felt like knives were stabbing through them.

She heard tiny pops like her bones were breaking, and then hideous pain lanced through her, making her whole body seize.

There were hands near her and she snapped at them. The taste of blood was in her mouth but she didn’t know if it was real or a memory or just a dream. She was living her nightmare, blood in her mouth and blood on her hands, terror and rending flesh and gaping wounds. Her shoulder burned and her blood burned and she was running through the woods, and all she knew was she had to get away from the horror.

Blood. Pain. Kill. Devour.

NO!

Her whole body seized as the bear-demon rose up in her, but she couldn’t let it out. Couldn’t let it out. Chains of fire bound her, and it burned and burned, and words boomed through her mind.

By the power of Ursus, I bind you!

Her bear screamed, and then everything went black.