one group that could have been able to do that. But I refused to believe it was my people. They were vicious, but only when one of their own was hurt.
“This wasn’t the Bear Mountain Clan was it?” I asked, my voice sounding shaky and unsure even to myself.
“No. They found the Bears. The pack tore them from limb to limb. They would never have done that if it was Gavin’s clan. Besides, he had a Wolf mate, no way any of his Bears would have done that.” He said, his eyes looking lost in the past, sadness and regret seemingly laced in his irises.
I felt the relief rush through me at his words. I don’t know how I could handle it, had my father’s clan done that. “It’s the only close Wolf and Bear territory here.”
“Is that why your parents left? Did they not accept them? Why are they living here, away from the rest of the Clan”
“My parents just wanted a quiet life. Gavin is a good man and when he took over he ended any of the nonsense. But from the stories I was told as a child, the Bears were never the problem. It was the Wolves. The Wolves were incredibly territorial, they couldn’t let anyone live in peace. They spent decades spewing hate and trying to manipulate pups. My father didn’t want my mother and any of the children they would have to live with that. So they moved and set up a home. Close enough to help if The Clan needed him, but also removed from them.”
Brett rubbed his face against his hands, as if trying to somehow scrub the past away. Seeing him defeated and sad hurt me, in a way I didn’t think was ever possible. I took his hands away, and looked at him.
“It’s not your fault,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around him, feeling him inhale and exhale, trying to grasp that oxygen, the fresh air he so desperately needed. “You were just a kid.”
“But I could have been better. I’m so ashamed. And the sad part is, I’m not sure I would feel like this had I not bonded with you,” he admitted, burying his face deeper in my chest by pulling me closer with his strong arms.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. The past is the past,” I said, threading my fingers in his hair. I tugged his hair, forcing his head up, so that I could look in his eyes. “You’re my mate. We’re a team now.”
My words seemed to ignite something in Brett. The sadness was suddenly gone, his eyes a feral gold color, letting me know the Wolf was there and present. For a shifter, being with their mate sexually was a need. It wasn’t just about sex, it was about connection. But for a man, a man who had never been with anyone before, it was the beginning of bliss.
“Have you been with anyone before?” He asked me, his voice a full rasp, almost a growl.
“No. I’ve never wanted to until I met you. I guess that part about me is a Bear too,” I said with a coy smile.
Brett kicked back the chair, grabbing me in his arms and crushing my lips forcibly as he crashed us into the wall. “Did that hurt you?” He mumbled against my skin.
“No. I won’t break. I’m much stronger than the average human female.”
“Good,” he said, and I could feel his smile pressed against the hollow of my neck. “Because I plan on ravaging every last inch of you.”
Chapter 4
Brett
She was ecstasy in the form of a woman.
The way her body had yielded to mine, lips opening and taking me in, welcoming me with those breathy little sighs that made my cock leak and pound, desperate with the need to be completely consumed by her in every single way, taking complete control of me. I needed to bond with her, my mate. Her scent embedded itself in my skin, so deep that I had no idea where she ended and I began. She was entwined with my DNA, she was mine. For the first time I knew what true, possessive desire was. Shayla was the only thing that mattered now. She was my whole life, my whole world. She was everything. I wanted her more than I needed air. To taste, to touch, to devour. All I wanted in the entire world was her. I wanted to be lost in her warmth, her love, her body.
She made me feel