help me. I pushed myself away, and I thought about running like that through the forest, naked and hurt, but Brooks grabbed me by the arm and lifted me up.
“Move,” he said in a gruff voice, and I fought against him with every ounce of power I had left in me. “What’s gotten into you?” he yelled in my face. “Do you want to get punished again?”
“Yes,” I said, and I was pretty sure I had just shocked him for the first time ever.
He stopped to give me a really long look, shook his head, muttered something that sounded like “fucking cunt”, and he continued to drag me behind him. We were headed for the cabin, I realized, which meant I probably still had some time left. It made more sense for them to shoot me in the forest than in here, inside their home. He shoved me into the bathroom, letting me land on my hands and knees.
“Clean up and wear that,” he barked and pointed at a generic summer dress.
I took the longest shower of my life. I did not want to leave the bathroom. None of the men seemed to want to come in, and I had the excuse that the rope cuts needed to be cleaned well, or else I risked infection. I only left when there was no more warm water. I put on the dress I was given and exited the bathroom. I scanned the room, my eyes landing on the three silent men before spotting Milo between them.
“He’s hungry,” Brooks said simply.
I rushed to the boy and took him in my arms. He started giggling and pawing at my chest. I slid backwards on the floor, until my back connected with the wall, not wanting to be near them for now. Now I had a precious, innocent, sweet baby bear, not the brute he might or could grow into. I lowered the already low cleavage of the dress and let him attach to my nipple. I knew I was being watched, but if they weren’t going to say anything else, then neither was I.
Ten
Colt
Seeing the human female with the cub awoke something in me. Something I hadn’t known was there. As I watched her breastfeed the toddler, I started feeling more and more uncomfortable. Like I wasn’t where I was supposed to be, like everything that I’d done until this very day and this very moment was wrong. What was I doing here, in this old, shitty cabin, taking advantage of this woman? Sure, she was guilty. But how did that concern me? I hadn’t even known Krista that well, and Milo wasn’t my cub. I stood up and made a run for it. Lincoln called after me, but I ignored him. I ran to the trailer park, threw the door to my trailer open, grabbed a backpack, and started stuffing clothes into it.
I was doing it again. Running away. I was so messed up. When I didn’t know how to deal, I just shouldered my backpack and escaped. I jumped into my car and drove out of there. Lincoln was going to be furious. I pulled my phone out and switched it off. He was going to call me soon, for sure. In an hour, we both had to go to work. He’d just gotten me this job, and here I was… ungrateful as usual. On the other hand, he knew me! I couldn’t hold a job for more than a few months to save my life. Routine drove me crazy. Sooner or later, I always snapped. Sooner or later, something or someone came up that triggered me. This time, it was Rosalie.
I drove aimlessly. I knew all the bear shifter communities in the area. I just had to decide where I wanted to stop. I also knew all the motels, clubs, and bars run by bear shifters, and I had a little money to spend. After all, that was why I worked. Back at the trailer park, I only used my money to buy myself food and second-hand clothes. Some of it went into the car, too. Even so, most of the time I didn’t need to buy groceries, since I was usually able to find a female to feed me dinner or breakfast before she slipped out of my trailer.
My life was so fucked up. It made no sense. I made no sense. I didn’t have an honest goal, no matter how hard I tried to do some introspection and