The Bear King's Captive: Curvy Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (27 page)
Read The Bear King's Captive: Curvy Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Online
Authors: Milly Taiden
CHAPTER ONE
Leah shivered as she stared at the gorgeous backside of the man in front of her. Even though her wore a camo-green parka and snow boots, he looked damn hot. Memories of some of their nights swept through her, bringing a warm sensation to her lower stomach despite the freezing cold temperature and wind.
Man, she really couldn’t help the fire roaring at the pit of her belly. If she had her way, they’d be in bed instead of outside losing sensation in her ass.
Hannes inhaled deeply, then discreetly looked back at her with burning desire in his eyes. She didn’t miss his slight smile. He smelled her interest, all right. Looked like he’d be willing to throw down here and now. The group of people holding rifles gathered around them probably wouldn’t appreciate the show, though.
The man at the front of the assembly held up a small fur-lined boot. “This is the boy’s shoe. It was found on the edge of the park leading into the woods. We don’t know if the bear dragged the kid away, but both sets of prints are in the snow.”
Leah sobered quickly with this information. Earlier that morning, Winston came back from the market telling Hannes that the neighboring village was looking for volunteers to sniff out a missing boy. And since Hannes had a special leg up in the sniffing department, his helping would be a good thing.
A month had passed since Leah arrived at the Finland island home. She healed well from the brutal assault; only a few of the deeper bruises remained, along with a small scar over her brow where Lt. Korhonen slammed her head into the wall. She pushed those memories away. She didn’t want them.
Hannes had promised to not leave her alone, and he’d done a great job of keeping his word, until this morning. She wanted to help look for the missing child, but Hannes was adamant it was too dangerous. She was there with the search group, so who was more adamant?
The man at the front continued. “We only have four hours before the snowstorm hits. After that, we’ll all be homebound for at least a day. Probably more. Make sure to be back before then. We don’t want to risk the lives of searchers to find you. Any questions?”
Hannes’ shoulders turned slightly, letting him glance at a man wearing a red coat on the other side of the gathering. Leah thought the man looked like the god of anger personified. His gloved hand not holding the rifle was fisted at his side. He wore the furious expression of a parent of a missing or hurt child. If he was angry enough for Hannes to smell him, the guy wasn’t a happy camper.
The crowd broke into smaller groups where each had a map and an assigned area to search, Leah assumed. Hannes headed toward the speaker. She followed, hanging back.
“Hannes Otila,” the man grabbed Hannes’ hand and shook it vigorously, “it’s been years, son. How you been?”
“Good to see you, too, Petri. Win heard about the missing boy this morning.”
A heavy sigh escaped the man, a white puff clouding his face. “Unfortunately, this isn’t our first one this year. We think there’s a rogue polar bear, comes in at night, tears into trash looking for food. Hadn’t seen it since January, so we thought it had moved on. But now…I don’t know.”
“May I see the boot?” Hannes held out his hand. The man handed it to him along with a hand-drawn map.
Hannes took the shoe and piece of paper and turned away. He inspected the foot wear, then put the opening to his nose and took a deep breath. During that time the man gave Leah a curious look. She pivoted and pulled down her fur-lined parka hood. She and Hannes hadn’t discussed a cover story. She hadn’t even thought of needing one.
Hannes handed the boot back to Petri. The man nodded toward Leah. “Is she with you?” Hannes stared at her for a second.
“Uh, she is. She’s my…niece. From the States.” Hannes ran a hand through his hair. Leah rolled her eyes. Good thing this wasn’t a lie detector test. He needed acting classes. She had this.
Her head lifted and she gave Petri a big smile and sashayed toward him. “Well, hallo, y’all. It is so fab to meet you villagers.” She offered her hand, palm down like a southern debutante. She noted Hannes’ raised brow. “My
uncle
Hannes is being so kind and lettin’ me tag along. Bein’ from the deep south in the USA, I don’t get to see snow often, ya know.” She fluttered her eyelashes. The man stared at her, wide-eyed. “Uncle Hannes is just the nicest man ever,” she said, gliding a hand over Hannes’ ass without the other man noticing.
Hannes coughed and grabbed her arm, pulling her away. “Thanks, Petri. We better get going before the storm comes in.”
Leah turned toward Petri with a big smile and wiggled her fingers at him. “Bye, Pete. We’ll see y’all when you come back now.” Hannes tugged her arm as they walked away and her foot slid on ice. She gave a squeak and tried to get her balance. Yeah, not happening. Her full bottom was going down. With a blur of camo green, she was lifted into strong arms before she knew Hannes moved.
Her head spun as a velvet voice whispered in her ear. “What the hell are you doing?”
She shook her head to clear it. “I’m hiding my identity,
Uncle
. What do you think I’m doing?” She turned her face to meet his gaze. His eyes still mesmerized her. Everything about him did. Even now, in the middle of the forest, she wanted to crawl under his clothes and kiss him. “Do you think they frown upon uncles sleeping with their nieces?” She gave him a wide-eyed stare and followed it with a grin. “They can’t blame a girl for giving in to temptation with an uncle that’s so…sexy.”
He chuckled at her soft southern drawl. “I can honestly say I have no idea what’s going through your stubborn head. Stop drawing attention to yourself.”
“Attention? Me? I’m not the one sticking my nose down a shoe.” Leah wiggled in his arms. “Put me down. I can walk.”
“You going to behave?”
She gave an indignant huff. “I am behaving.” He grinned and held her tighter. She frowned and enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her, but they weren’t there to cuddle. “Hannes, put me down now.” Her leg kicked up, but he trapped it between his body and arm. “Hannes, dammit.” Her fist punched his chest. “Oww, fuck that hurt.”
He let out a laugh, lowered her feet, and backed her against their car’s side. He had a hand on each side of her head and leaned in. His cold nose brushed up her neck, followed by a hot tongue. Her body’s reaction was instant. A low growl in Hannes’ chest sent tingles to her quickly heating core. His warm breath tickled her ear. “Careful, Princess. I’d hate to strip you and search for injuries.” His lips traced her neck.
She smirked, long ago giving up hope he would drop his pet name for her. A groan fluttered in the back of her throat. “I know how you suffered the last time you had to.”
Voices sounded in the air. He pulled back, a curse on his lips. He adjusted his pants and opened the car’s backdoor. “Here.” He handed Leah a backpack, then took out a tranquilizer gun and his own pack. “Let’s get going.” He looked at the map and walked off. Leah hurried to catch up.
“Where are we going?”
“There’s a wooded valley south of town. Not far from the recycle station. If the boy has been in the weather overnight, I don’t think we’ll find him alive. He’d need to be protected from the wind.”
“But there’s always a chance he’s alive, right? That’s why we’re here?”
Hannes looked at her with soft eyes. “Yes, Princess, that’s why we’re here.” He took her gloved hand and pulled her closer. Leah’s heart burst with happiness. Had she found someone who believed in doing the right thing no matter the consequences? Someone who believed in justice as much as she did?
Ever since that day Lt. Korhonen came to the island, and she learned Hannes’ secret, she’d seen the world differently. Life wasn’t against her happiness, it just made her wait until the right man was escaping the country on the same dock where she happened to be hiding from a bounty hunter.
“Hannes, I forgot to ask. What was your mission at the Department of Defense in Cleveland?”
He glanced at her, then straight ahead. “Ever hear the story that during the American war against terrorist, Bin Laden and his men had confiscated priceless art and antiques along with caches of counterfeit American money?”
“I heard Iraq stashed weapons of mass destruction and money of some kind. But when the weapons were never found, I thought the money was made up too.”
“As it turns out, neither were a lie. Bin Laden got ahold of Iraq’s lode and added his own.”
“Just like the Nazis stole stuff across Europe during the World Wars?”
“Yes and no. Your history books were written by the war’s winner.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means you learned what those in charge wanted you to know.”
“So you’re saying we were lied to by the governm--”
Hannes stopped, pulling her back.
“What is it?” Leah scanned the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
He put his finger to his lips. During their conversation, she’d been so focused on their topic, she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings. They were deep in the woods, walking along a trail at the base of a small snow-covered mountain.
The white-powered path was disrupted with a combination of paw and foot prints. Hannes slid his backpack off and started stripping. Leah raised a brow. “Not that I mind the show, but what are doing? You’re gonna freeze off your…your…” Her face turned red. Hannes smiled at her embarrassment.
“Don’t worry, Princess. I know what I’m doing.” He handed his clothes to her. “Put these in my pack and stay here.”
“But I don’t want to stay here alone.” By the time she voiced her worry, he’d shifted and bounded forward. She shoved his clothes and boots into the bag and tried to lift it. Holy shit! She was strong, yet she couldn’t begin to pick up the thing. So she dragged it over the snow on the run to catch up with the bear.
The woods ended abruptly and to her side, the face of the mountain stared at her. Leah heard a growl and saw two polar bears on the slope not far away. They were beautiful, sleek, and cute. She wouldn’t tell him that to his face, though. Apparently male bears weren’t cute and cuddly. Whatever. He was cute and cuddly, and sexy and smart.
The bigger bear turned and ran at her, teeth bared. Behind the animal came a noise like a gunshot firing in the valley. Fear sent her scrambling for the closest tree. Her hands wrapped around a branch, but she couldn’t get her foot up to stay. She tried again, but her boot slipped smoothly over the bark.
A cold nose pushed her butt up. “Hey, keep your sniffer away from there.” Finally, she got her foot up. Another shot reverberated. A loud crack/explosion sounded from the top of the mountain.
Something tugged on her parka. “Hey.” The bear below her tugged harder, almost pulling her hands from the limb. Holy shit! Was Hannes’ bear trying to eat her? No, that was unlike him.
Cold hands grabbed her waist. “Let go.”
Was he out of his mind? “I just got up—”
“Get down.” He yanked her hands free.
“You pushed me up—”
“Now, Princess!” He pulled her body, but her foot she couldn’t get up was now jammed in the crook between limb and trunk.
“Ow. Wait, my boot—” Another gun shot rang out. Then a sonic boom. “What was that?” Hannes jerked her body, her foot not moving. “Ow. Hannes! I’m stuck—”
The ground and tree started vibrating, like a train speeding by. “Leah, now!”
“What?! I’m not—” Her foot tore free. His arm around her waist, he pressed her back side against his front and took off in a dead run out of the woods toward the mountain. She saw a body in a red coat running at the crest, too far away to see a face. But she thought it could be the angry man in the group earlier.
The slope’s façade looked wrong. A long, dark line high up ran horizontally, but grew thicker, as if eating the snow lower and lower. A white powder cloud poofed up several yards away. Then the image before her made sense. The line wasn’t eating the snow, the snow was sliding off the mountain. She realized two things: they were running toward an avalanche, and Hannes was completely naked.
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Run!
The loud hammering of Raine’s heart drowned out the single word bouncing around her mind—and the dogs barking at her back. Their angry growls faded the faster she ran. A little further. Just a little more, and she’d be home free.
Trees swooshed past her with every step she took away from the small isolated facility. She ignored the hospital gown swinging against her legs and the blood dripping down her arms from the torn IVs. Barefoot, the rocks bit into the soles of her feet. None of that mattered. She had to survive. Her life depended on getting as far away from that place as possible.
Inhaling the comforting scent of mud, trees, and the wild, she barely heard the barking over the breeze rustling through the willows with each step she put between them. At any other time, she’d have dissected her reaction to the forest. Not now. And she didn’t stop. No way was she getting captured again without a fight.
Air beat in and out of her lungs in tandem with the pounding of her feet on the rocky ground. Moonlight filtered through the branches overhead, highlighting her path. Her hair caught on the tree limbs, snatching at the loose strands. Some of the hanging vines prodded her arms and stabbed her sides. Her breath hitched, and she missed a step, lurching forward. Something inside her tightened. Her arms swayed and her core muscles flexed. Before she face planted, everything balanced out. She blinked. More scared now than she’d ever been in her life. Something controlled her body and it had reflexes far superior to a normal human.
Moisture gathered in her eyes, blurring her vision. She blinked it away. Panic would only get her caught.
Raine glanced at the moon. It had shifted twice—now in front of her, rather than behind. She stilled. The trees rustled with the wind. An owl hooted. But she still didn’t hear the annoying bay of the dogs.
Ragged breaths beat hard in her ears. A horn’s blare sounded in the distance. Fear and excitement gave her a burst of energy. Cars meant help. She urged her body faster.
Street lights peeked through the trees. Air panted out of her chest. A second car honked, speeding past another. She was almost there. So close. Thank god. She was going to make it.
Slowing down at the edge of a hill, she darted glances around the now quiet street. No people milled about or walked around. Nothing. A big store, one she recognized from the one time she’d gotten lost in the shadier side of town, sat a block to her right. The sudden quiet made sense now. Nothing good happened this far south of Tempting Eats. It was known as the dead side. The thought alone gave her chills. Women went missing…all the time. That had been enough to keep her uptown in suburbia-peace-nation.
She glanced around, searching for anyone who might be waiting for her or even any of the dangerous men her neighbors said roamed the streets, but there was nothing, not a single being. Her feet hit the pavement in a rush. Once across the street, she hid inside a dark alley. The stench of rotting food and piss coated the air with a thick blanket of disease and chaos. Her throat convulsed, and the acidic taste of bile hit the back of her tongue.
Retreating, she took several steps toward the end of the street to a small motel. Its yellow, neon Vacancy sign blinked on and off with a buzz. A man’s yell pushed her to slink into the dark. The sound came from the shadows in front of the motel. She pressed her back to the cool brick of the building. Her gaze jerked to a couple leaving one of the rooms.
“Come back here, Irene!” A large, bulldozer of a man shouted at the woman walking out of the room ahead of him. His large frame was naked to the waist and covered in multiple piercings and tattoos. There was menace in his words, as if he was giving her a chance to reconsider before he became angry.
The woman he’d referred to as Irene whipped around. Eyes flashing, the woman didn’t appear worried over angering the man. Her profile was easy to see under the motel’s poor lighting. She tugged on her green strapless top while she buckled the glittery belt on her dark denim jeans, all the while tapping her booted foot.
“Listen up,
cabron
! I’m not a two-bit piece. You do not bring me here, and then call me some other bitch’s name.” Her dark-chocolate face, shiny with perspiration, twisted in rage. “I don’t give a fuck if it’s another language and you’re saying my name.” The woman’s hands slapped her hips. “My name is
Irene,
and that’s what I want to be called while being fucked. Get it?”
The towering figure in front of the woman huffed. He looked up at the sky as if trying to gather up patience. “Honey, come on.”
Surprise rose within Raine. He’d changed tactics with the woman.
“I’m going home, Andre,” she whined.
“But… I paid for the night!” He took a few steps and closed the distance between them, gathering her up against him. For a moment, she stood stiffly in his hold. “Please? Let’s not let our anniversary go to waste.”
“I don’t like this place.” She batted her lashes. “Let’s go to my apartment. My roommate is out of town.” Her tone turned husky. “We can continue what we started there.”
He smiled, nodding his head before following the woman to the main office. They left the door open. Clearly, they didn’t care if anyone went into the room now that they were no longer using it.
Perfect timing. They jumped into a beat up truck. Loud hacking sounded along with the roar of the engine. Raine ran across the street and into the vacated room. If she was lucky, no one would check it until morning.
Once inside, she rushed to the bathroom, tripping on her bruised feet, and latching onto the stained porcelain sink. Her breath caught at her reflection in the mirror. Pale bruises marred her cheeks. She frowned as she stared. Her normally dark eyes had a ring of gold around them. Anger. She could feel it bubbling in up inside her, like a volcano ready to explode. A hint of wild danger came across from the woman in the mirror. This was not her. It couldn’t be. Her stomach clenched. Cold fingers of dread crawled up her spine, adding to the anxiety coursing through her.
Fear spiked inside her. Though she had cuts and bruises, her body didn’t hurt like it should. Her feet were bleeding from running barefoot, but had no signs of any aches. Nothing made sense. Her muscles felt tight, but not in pain, more with a sense of expectation—as if she were waiting to run from danger again. Must be the fight or flight reaction.
Stripping off the torn and dirty gown, she continued to worry over the absence of any kind of throbbing. Her gaze strayed to the full mirror on the bathroom door. Glancing over her body as if it were the first time she saw it, she studied her breasts. She frowned and cupped her full globes. Sensitive. Her skin felt hot. Tight. She searched for signs to indicate her body was different. Because the reality was, she knew there was something wrong with her.
Sliding her hands down her sides until she was bending and feeling around her ankles, she searched for other injuries and broken skin. Her nose brushed against her armpit and she winced. She couldn’t stand how she smelled. It was a hospital scent mixed with something else that made her stomach tighten.
She detoured from her injuries to focus on the shower. The warm water helped soothe her nerves, but the scent of the flowery soap made her grimace. She’d rather let the water run over her without the soap, than put the smelly stuff on her skin. When she finished, she grabbed a coarse, white towel and dried off.
A slow sizzle spread through her fingers. She glanced down and was filled with immediate horror. She jerked them up to her face and watched as her fingers elongated. Her normally short nails grew at warp speed, curving into long, dark talons. Something moved under her skin. One, loud, panicked shriek escaped her throat. She ran out of the bathroom, her heart thundering in her chest.
The low lit bedroom was a mess. It smelled of sweat, cigarettes, and cheap alcohol. Big man and his fiery woman had been too busy celebrating to worry about tidiness. Eyeing the torn dirty gown on the floor of the bathroom entrance with a frown, she made a beeline for the phone by the bed.
Her body trembled. She fell back on the mattress, muscles failing. She ground her teeth, mentally trying to stop whatever was happening. Cracking and popping sounded.
No no no no no!
Her chest expanded. A loud snarl worked up her throat. The towel fell open when her fingers locked up. She fought the urge to let go, to let her body do whatever it wanted. Her lungs burned from the deep panting wheezing out of her. She’d done all that running and hadn’t broken a sweat, but when her body decided to contour into some strange shape, her skin became slick with perspiration. As quickly as it had started, it stopped.
She sat up in a rush, glancing around the wrecked room. Raine breathed in and out and prayed that she was still under some foreign influence from her captivity. Adrenaline long gone, she was left with a sense of loss and confusion. And anger, lots of anger.
Her fingers shook as she cupped the old rotary phone from the bedside table and dialed her best friend—her only friend—Mandy.
“Hello?” The groggy whisper on the other end of the line could have been the bay of angels singing in chocolate fountains as glorious as it sounded.
“Mandy?” Raine’s voice was low but hard and thick with fury.
There was no stopping the slice of fear she kept tamping down, kept replacing with her usual self-control. But this, this was no usual situation. All hell had broken loose on her, and she wanted to hit something. Hurt something. Kill something and ask questions later. But no, that’s not how she operated. Someone had messed with her body, and now, she needed to find out what they’d done.
“Raine?” Mandy’s tone had gone from soft and tired to loud and anxious. “Where are you? I’ve been looking for you everywhere! You just left for a week and said nothing.”
“I…” Fuck. It was hard to get the words out. She couldn’t really answer because she didn’t know what had happened. “I need you.”
“Of course, baby. Where are you? Tell me, and I’ll come get you right now.”
Scuffling sounded in the background.
Mandy told someone, probably her boyfriend, Joe, she needed to go out before coming back on the line.
“I’m at the Corner Street Motel.”
A shocked gasp filled her ear. “What are you doing there? Never mind. Don’t answer. Just hang tight. I’m coming for you.”
“Please…can you come alone? I don’t think I can handle Joe right now.” Difficult at the best of times, Joe tested Raine’s usual boundless patience. At that moment, she couldn’t hold herself accountable for his wellbeing if he showed up. He was what she liked to refer to as super geek, which was like a regular geek, only he was lot more boring. He loved trying to impress everyone with his knowledge of the universe and science, but only came across as a snob.
“Don’t worry, honey. He’s got some big meeting tomorrow and needs his sleep anyway.” She could hear Mandy huffing, probably trying to dress herself and talk at the same time. “I’ll be right there, Raine.”
“I’m in room twenty-two.” She swept her damp hair behind her ear. “Can you…can you bring me something to wear?”
“Oh, sweetie!” Mandy’s voice filled with sympathy, but Raine wanted her to hurry. Her skin burned. She needed to go home. “Joe said you might have been with some guy. But I didn’t believe you’d disappear for over a week without telling me.”
Keys jingled and a car’s beeping sounded on the phone line.
“If it wasn’t for the distress in your voice, I’d be doing the Spanish inquisition on you.” An engine roared to life followed by squealing tires. “But I can wait until you’re feeling up to it to tell me.”
Swallowing past the knot in her throat was near impossible. “Please hurry,” Raine whispered. Desperation for…something made her stomach twist in knots.
“Don’t worry, babe. I’ll be right there, hang tight.”
Raine’s fingers shook again when she hung up the phone. She glanced down at the spot she’d torn the IV from. The wounds, which had been bleeding and purple, had all faded. Tension flared inside her. It muddled her mind. What had they done to her? What was that place?
She jumped to her feet, gripping the towel. She paced the room from the bathroom to the front door. Then she’d stop, check the window, the vicinity, and listen for anything strange, before going back to pacing in the other direction. After what felt like an eternity, soft knocking had her muscles tightening. Her heart raced—angry gallops—filling her ears with the sound.
“Raine? It’s me, Mandy.”
Streetlight filtered under the door, showing the silhouette of feet. She knew it was her friend. She’d smelled her unique body wash the moment the knock sounded at the door. Tugging Mandy inside, she enveloped her in a hug and was calmed when she hugged Raine tight.
“Oh, honey. What did that bastard do to you?” Mandy caressed her back in circles, and Raine could actually feel the anxiety diminish.
Stepping from her friend’s embrace, she allowed Mandy to take in her face.
“Raine?” She took a hasty step back. Brows dipping in a frown, marring her smooth ivory skin, she gaped. “What happened to you?”
“I-I don’t know.”
Oh, damn. There was no way to stop the trembling in her voice. Stupid emotions were tugging her in a million different directions. Worst part was, she
didn’t
know what had happened. But she did know she needed to find someone to help her. This was not good. Hell, this was worse than bad. It was still inconceivable in her mind that she wasn’t herself.
