Page 22 of Bear


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Nadia

Thebarwasadesolate sight besides Delilah and a few friends—with chairs piled high on tables from the previous night’s closure. The glasses were being stacked in the background by a few employees emitting a symphony of high-pitched clinks that made me wince slightly. Despite my sensitivity to noise, I couldn’t help but notice the faint smell of stale beer lingering in the air. I had been in solitary confinement for so long that my senses were still adjusting to the outside world. However, I found solace in the deeper undertones, like Bear’s constant grumbling, which provided a sense of comfort.

I liked him despite his violence against other men. He seemed to take his protection for me seriously.

I woke with my face plastered to his bare chest this morning. I wasn’t sure if I should be frightened or delighted by that. He was warm, he smelled like the forest, and did I mention he was warm? I’d felt cold for so long I forgot what warmth felt like, and my dumb self relished in it this morning.

I should have scrambled away from the bed, shuddering in fear that this enormous giant was holding me through the night, but the fear and panic never came. His touch wasn’t perverted, and had said nothing to warrant him a threat to me. Those around me, though, I worried about.

When I showered, I was concerned he would be a peeping Tom. He made sure to keep the door cracked, and he lingered by the door asking if I was alright several times throughout the shower. It was the first shower I had in ages, and I wanted to relax under the heat of the water, but that would not happen. He was a six-foot-five-plus man standing outside the door, pacing and cursing, asking if I had fallen when I dropped the soap in the enormous communal shower area. Everything echoed in the shower room, and my ears couldn’t take it for long.

I couldn’t understand why he cared so much about my well-being or if he was just an overly attentive guard with nothing better to do. But feeding me, sleeping in my bed? A little over the top if I say so.

This whole scenario was over the top. Delilah had already fallen in love and gotten pregnant so fast after being with Master Shane. I worried I had fallen into some sort of cult—not a motorcycle club.

Delilah stood from Hawke’s lap. It was common to find a woman perched on a guy’s lap around here, and I was no stranger to that. Even Bear had me on his.

Was I fighting it? Nope, I wasn’t.

Why? I wasn’t sure of that either.

“Nadia, there isn’t an easy way to tell you this, so I’m just going to say it.” Delilah threaded her fingers together nervously and stared at the floor. “These men here aren’t really men. They are shifters, animals. They can turn their bodies into something that is not human. They can change into animals. Hawke and Grim…” She nodded to the terrifying man in the room. He looked like a Viking with a thick red braid down his back and beard. Perched on his lap was a woman with a blue crescent moon on her forehead, smiling at me.

Yup, I’m in a cult. And they drank the Kool-aid.

I wrinkled my nose and shook my head.

Delilah waved Hawke forward. He took off his vest, shirt, and pants. My eyes widened as he stripped off his clothes, and I turned my head away.

“You have to see,” Bear whispered in my ear. As he spoke, his deep baritone voice reverberated through my body, sending shivers down my spine and causing a tingling sensation to spread throughout my body. The sound was smooth and rich, resonating with a power that went straight to my core. The air surrounding us was thick with the scent of his musk, which added to the overall effect. As I listened to him speak, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the way his words seemed to dance in the air around me, each one carrying a weight and importance that was impossible to ignore. It was as though the very essence of his being was wrapped up in his voice, and I found myself completely entranced by the sound of it. “It will help you understand why I will never let you go.”

I felt my throat close up at his confession. It wasn’t just me feeling the undeniable attraction either then? I closed my eyes, my heart pounding in my chest. I’ve never had these feelings stirring in my body before, and it was just so… strange.

As I opened my mouth to respond, a sickening crack echoed through the air, and my attention was drawn to Hawke’s arm. It had popped out of its socket, and he began to contort his body in an unnatural way. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing as his form began to shift and change before my very eyes. The sound of bones snapping and crunching as he transformed into something out of a horror movie. Thick, coarse fur sprouted from his skin, and his face elongated into a snout. His body grew taller and more muscular, and he dropped onto all fours. The transformation continued, and a long, thick tail sprouted from his backside. The sight of this creature was both mesmerizing and terrifying.

My fingers grabbed onto Bear’s shirt, my only form of comfort, as I watched the final formation of a large black wolf stand in front of me. And it was massive, terrifying, ears twitching and watching me.

“Ah—” my voice cracked to say something, anything, as I watched it come toward me.

I pulled myself closer to him, his arm wrapped around me, his head lowering to my ear. “He won’t hurt you,” he soothed, rubbing his hand up and down my back. “No one in this club will hurt you. Although I prefer them not to get near you because I am your protector.” He growled back at the wolf, snapping at him with his teeth.

That’s when I realized that Bear—he was one of them too.

I pushed him away, falling on my butt, and pointed at him. He sighed.

“Yes, I am one too. But I am a bear, a grizzly.”

I swallowed heavily. He would be bigger than all of them.

My chest felt tight, and my heart was pounding so loudly I could hear it in my ears. My palms were sweaty, and I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself down, but it only made me feel more lightheaded. I knew I was having a panic attack, and I needed to find a way to regain control before it got worse.

Delilah kneeled beside me, her arm wrapping around me, but I pushed her away. “Hey, it’s okay. They aren’t going to hurt you or me. They are good… they saved you. They saved me. They killed Shane. They are on our side. The Iron Fang, that’s what they do. They save people that need help and bring them here and give them a new life.”

They killedMaster Cunningham?

Bear wiggled his fingers, his eyes filled with longing while he stared at me. He wanted to touch me. I could feel it. He stayed away, glaring at anyone else who tried to come over, but he nodded his head for Delilah to come closer.

Delilah sat with me on the floor while Bear hovered. They all waited patiently until my breathing evened out and let my mind process that this world I lived in for so long was not so normal.