Marked (Primal Obsessions #2) - Cara Wylde Page 0,10

human as well, and then returned to me, determined to slowly rip me to pieces.

Somehow, with all of us naked, reduced to just our bodies, our essences, I was even more aware of the disadvantages I had. I was slim, frail, and they were… big and bulky, and probably about as wide as the door they’d knocked down. My ribs had taken the brunt of the damage, and I was a bloody mess, crying and gasping for air. I tried to speak, but fear had frozen my tongue.

God took mercy on me again, and his friends tackled him together, screaming at him to stop.

“For fuck’s sake, Brooks, we’re not cold-blooded killers. Get a grip!”

“No, but she is! And she is going to pay for what she did!”

It was then that the boy struggled out of the man’s arms and shifted as he fell to the floor, then raced to re-join me. The bear cub attached himself to me, and it seemed that he was acting like my shield.

The men were stunned.

I was stunned.

What was going to happen now?

“It looks like he bonded with her,” one of the men said.

Now that we were all at a stand-still and things weren’t violently turning and stumbling in my brain, I took the chance to have a proper look at them.

The one that had snatched the child from me and tried to kill me, the one they called Brooks, was a massive man. They all were, but he seemed bigger. Perhaps due to my fear, perhaps because he was the only one covered in scars, but something else became clear to me then, apart from my unfortunate situation. The bear cub was his. The same blue eyes, the same dark blond hair. It made sense now that he wanted to kill me. I had taken his boy. He couldn’t have known my intentions to care for him. Oh, and his bear wife… did he blame me for her too?

“So, what now, Lincoln? Bitch gets away with her crimes?” Brooks shouted, his nostrils flaring in anger. He hadn’t stopped shooting daggers at me, and I recoiled.

Lincoln looked more like a bear to me than Brooks. He was also tall and muscular, but he had a long beard and kind, green eyes. He looked at me with pity and concern. It hadn’t escaped my notice that he was eyeing my injuries, not my nakedness. Or was that wishful thinking on my part? Could any of these beasts be capable of kindness? Mercy?

“Now we bring her home with us and she can nurse Milo,” the third one said, noting how the shifted bear cub was lapping at my nipple. He wasn’t any less bulky than the others, and his hair was all dreadlocks. He looked wild and scary, especially thanks to the tattoos I could see peppering his arms. They seemed to be trees and leaves, testament of their connection to nature, I assumed. Or were they all part of a gang or cult? I ran my hand through the cub’s fur, a self-soothing action. “Unless you have a better idea. Breast milk is good for cubs. There isn’t another female bear to care for him, and you don’t want to feed Milo human baby food. That shit’s filled with chemicals.”

Ah, so Milo was his name, I thought. Beautiful name for a beautiful boy.

Brooks seemed to be considering it, but he did not seem to agree with them. In the end, though, he sighed.

“Fine, she can come with us. For now. I’ll figure something out, and once her role’s done, she’s dead.”

The men threw a blanket at me, hauled me up, wrapped it around me and Milo, who was still in bear mode, then we all followed Brooks out.

What was going to happen to me now?

Did I leave one hell to end up in another?

Four

Lincoln

Brooks was out of his mind, and for good reason. Colt and I insisted he should take care of Milo and talk to our neighbors about arranging a funeral for Krista, while we made sure the human female didn’t try to escape. We took her deep in the woods, where Brooks had a one-bedroom cabin. He hadn’t used it in a while, and when we opened the door and peeked inside, we noticed it was quite dusty and damp. Well, it would have to do. It wasn’t like the human bitch deserved luxury or whatever.

“Get inside!” I yelled at her as I pushed her through the door. She stumbled and fell. I rolled