Bear's Bride (Bear Heat Book 1) (BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance) Read online

  She was sure her eyes were open but she couldn't see anything at all in the pitch darkness. She hadn't gone blind, had she? She felt around desperately with her hands, coughing and wheezing.

  She sat up and swiped at the drool at the corner of her mouth. Closing her slack mouth, she tried to stand up. Immediately the blackness churned around her and she fought down the rising nausea. There was a throbbing pain at the back of her head, and it took a while before she could catch her breath and breathe steadily without wanting to hurl.

  “Hi. You...you're awake, at last,” a small voice said. “I thought...”

  Cora blinked and turned towards the voice. At first, she saw nothing but psychedelic spots flashing and swimming before her, but as her vision slowly adjusted to the darkness, she thought she could make out bars.

  “What the...” she mumbled and stretched out her hand. Her fingers closed around metal bars and she gasped.

  She was in a cage.

  “What the hell!” she screeched and rattled the bars. “Why am I in a fucking cage?”

  Then she remembered that tiny voice. It was a child's voice, and the kid sounded close by. She swallowed her own fear and outrage and tried to shuffle towards the voice.

  “Oops, sorry about my language. You should never use language like that, okay?” she said quickly. “Now, where are you? Are you okay?”

  “I'm okay.”

  “Are you...that lion cub? You were chasing that red and white ball...”

  She heard shuffling and sniffing. “Yes.”

  More sniffing and then, “I want to go home.”

  “So do I,” Cora told him. “Do you know where we are?”

  She heard movement and imagined the kid was shaking his head. “I can't see you,” Cora told him. “I'm human. I can't see well in the dark,” she said. She was used to explaining to the shifter kids in her class that their human classmates didn't have the same keen sense of sight and smell that they had. They were to help and encourage one another. There was to be no bullying, jeering or teasing. She would admonish the kids gently if they laughed at their shifter friends who accidentally sprouted fur or when their tails snaked out of their pants in the middle of a lesson.

  “Talk to me. I can't see you, but I can hear you,” she encouraged. “What's your name?”

  “Billy Maxwell.”

  “Billy,” Cora said, letting him hear the smile in her voice. “I'm Cora. How old are you, Billy?”

  “Four.”

  “Wow. You're a big boy, and you're being very brave, Billy.”

  “I...I'm scared. I want to go home. I don't like it here.” He started to cry softly. “Those people...they're mean.”

  “Did they hurt you?”

  Sniff.

  “Billy,” Cora asked urgently. “Are you hurt? Did those mean people hurt you?”

  “No. But they said they're going to hurt me. And you.”

  Cora exhaled slowly. “I won't let them hurt you, Billy. We'll get out of here.”

  She heard some scrabbling sounds and when Billy spoke again, his voice sounded much nearer. “We will?” he asked hopefully.

  “Yes. Of course we will,” Cora answered cheerfully. “Billy, you can see me, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you...near me?”

  “Yes. My cage is just beside yours.”

  “Can I...hold your hand?” Cora stuck her hand out through the bars.

  “You have to move towards me. You are at the other end of your cage,” Billy said.

  “Tell me where to go, so I can come to you.”

  “Okay.” Billy sounded more optimistic and purposeful now. “Move towards your left. Keep moving, Cora. Yep, just a bit more...”

  Cora crouched and gripped the bars, inching carefully towards her left. Finally she felt a little hand touch her shoulder.

  “Billy,” she smiled and took his trembling hand in hers.

  He laughed softly. Cora patted his hand and held it firmly. “Don't leave me, Cora,” Billy said.

  “I won't.”

  “Billy,” Cora said slowly. “Do you see anyone else in the room with us?”

  “No. But there's another cage.”

  She started. “Another cage?” she whispered. “Is it...empty?”

  “Yes. But...” He gulped.

  “But what?”

  She heard him swallow repeatedly. “T-there's blood...lots of b-blood.”

  “In the cage?” Cora gripped Billy's hand tighter.

  She could feel him moving, nodding jerkily.

  “Don't be afraid, Billy. Just tell me what you see.”

  “Okay,” he stuttered. “There's b-blood across the bars, and on the floor of the cage.”

  “Dried blood, or fresh blood, Billy?” she asked quietly.

  The little boy hiccuped a terrified sob. “F-fresh. The blood is fresh!”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I need you to find my son! Please!” The man slammed his huge fists onto the reception counter. His eyes had turned fully feral and claws had stabbed out from his fingertips. But Paul was unfazed.

  “Of course,” Paul said soothingly. “But we'll need more information from you, Mister...”

  “Maxwell. I'm Keith Maxwell. My son Billy has gone missing! He's been...”

  “Slow down, Mr Maxwell,” Paul said. “Have you filed a report with the police?”

  “No.”

  When Ethan's raised a brow, the man continued, “I...I'm an ex-cop.”

  Ethan studied the man for a beat and said, “Come with me, Mr Maxwell. Let's talk in my office. I'm Ethan Flint.” Ethan extended his hand.

  The man's eyes widened as he recognized the name. He shook hands with the CEO of the Black Bears Group and said quickly, “Thank you...for helping me, Mr Flint.”

  “I said we'll talk,” Ethan clarified. “I need to hear the truth, before I decide whether or not to help you.”

  “I understand.”

  Ethan led Keith straight to his office. Olga looked up and nodded discreetly as Ethan held up two fingers and mouthed, coffee.

  “Please take a seat,” Ethan said, but Keith had already slumped into the chair in front of Ethan's desk.

  “Tell me as much as you can,” Ethan encouraged as his office door opened and Olga placed two aromatic cups of strong coffee on the table. His secretary glanced at Keith and quietly exited the room, closing the door behind her.

  “I was at work this afternoon when my mother called. My mother takes care of Billy while I'm at work. Billy's mom passed away when he was just a baby.” Keith gulped and gripped the armrests. “I rushed home straight away. My mother was frantic! She said she was in the kitchen preparing dinner, and she'd left Billy playing in the living room. But when she came out of the kitchen, the front door was wide open and Billy was gone! She ran out into the street, and she saw Billy's ball lying in a ditch. She ran and asked all the neighbors, but no one saw Billy. No one heard a crash or screams or anything. There was no blood on the road. Billy wasn't knocked down. This is no accident. He was taken, right in front of our house! I traced his scent to the edge of the sidewalk, and then it just disappeared.”

  Ethan nodded and gently pushed the coffee cup towards Keith. Keith downed the cup of scalding brew in one big gulp and swiped his trembling hand across his mouth.

  “You said you're an ex-cop, Keith.” Ethan leaned his elbows on his desk. “Tell me why you left the force.”

  “After my wife died, I decided to switch to a job that didn't require me to be away from my boy so much. I chose a job with less demanding hours, less stress and danger. I work as a logistics manager now. The hours are stable and I get to spend more time with my kid. I wanted to leave my old life behind but...” Keith grimaced. “But my old life doesn't want to leave me alone! I think I know who took my boy,” he said in a broken voice.

  Keith slid a handbag and a shopping bag across the desk to Ethan. “And...I found
these at the side of the road.”

  Ethan frowned and opened the shopping bag to see a green dress with the price tag still attached to the collar. Pulling the flimsy, delicate material out, he sniffed at the dress and stiffened. The scent was human, feminine and so exquisite. Ethan put the dress down and turned his attention to the handbag. This must belong to the owner of the dress.

  He poured the contents of the bag onto his desk and picked up the wallet. The wallet bulged with old receipts and cards, and he flipped through the cards, looking for identification.

  This woman, Cora Olson, had a lot of credit cards. He stared at the photograph on her staff pass. She was a very pretty kindergarten teacher.

  “You think this woman took your son?” Ethan glanced up at Keith. “Do you know her?”

  “No, no. And I don't think she took my son. But I think she was present when my son was taken. And...I think they took her too.”

  Ethan felt his bear ripple under his skin at the thought of this sweet, little female in danger.

  “Your son was kidnapped, and she's the only witness. So they grabbed her as well.”

  Keith nodded shakily. “I wanted to go to the cops, but...I need to get my son back alive. They'll kill Billy and leave his body for the cops to find. I can't...” He trailed off, burying his head in his large hands.

  Ethan gave the man a moment to compose himself before asking, “The kidnappers, have they communicated with you? Have you received a demand for ransom?”

  Keith shook his head. “They took my son for revenge, not ransom.”

  “They,” Ethan said flatly and waited.

  But Keith seemed unable or unwilling to elaborate. His throat moved but he couldn't seem to get the words out of his mouth. He was bitter and scared, fearing for his son and angry at himself.

  Ethan studied the man quietly. He seemed to be struggling with a memory, and from the expression on his face, it wasn't a pleasant one.

  “You have to tell me who “they” are,” Ethan said, narrowing his eyes. “Are “they” the henchmen, associates or relatives of someone you arrested when you were a cop?”

  “I didn't arrest him,” Keith answered at last.

  Looking Ethan straight in the eye, he said, “I shot him.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Cora tensed when she heard the creak of a door.

  A flashlight shone directly in her eyes. Cora grimaced and said hoarsely, “Cut it out.”

  The flashlight lowered and someone laughed. “So the human has finally woken up. She's a feisty one.”

  Footsteps approached and the door of her cage swung open. A man dragged her out of her cage and she glared up into a scarred, snarling face.

  He wasn't pretty to look at but at least he'd taken off his mask.

  “Release me!” she hissed, wrenching her arm away. “Let me go.”

  A hand closed around her throat. “How can we let you go? You've seen too much.”

  “I...” Cora froze. They were going to kill her. No living witnesses.

  “Let the kid go,” she wheezed. “He's innocent. He...he won't tell...he's young...”

  “Meddling little human,” the man spat. “You talk too much. I should just kill you now!”

  “There's no need to kill her, yet. Let her watch,” another voice spoke up. “She can watch while we torture the kid. It'd be fun to hear them scream together.”

  “Y-you are...a monster!” she choked out as she was flung to the ground. Cora heard Billy crying as he was hauled out of his cage and thrown to the floor. “Let him go. Don't hurt him. He's just a kid!” she yelled.

  There was harsh laughter.

  “The kid will pay for the sins of his father.”

  A light flicked on and she saw three heavily tattooed men in the room. Two men were standing over Billy, the same two men who had leaped out of the van to snatch Billy off the street. She recognized the tattoos on their arms. The one holding the flashlight and standing nearer to her was probably the driver of the van. One of the men moved away from Billy and went to stand guard at the door.

  The driver turned to his accomplice and smirked, “Well, Ziel, what are you waiting for?”

  Ziel planted his boot on Billy's back. “You just mind that bitch, Rog. I'll take good care of the runt. And Malik, make sure the door's locked.” He smiled, his eyes glinting with relish as he raised his large, black boot and aimed it at the boy's face.

  Billy screamed and rolled on the ground in pain.

  “Billy! No!” Cora tried to crawl towards him but Rog yanked her back by the hair. “Stop! Don't...don't hurt him! No, no...please...”

  But the more she screamed and begged, the more frenzied the attack grew. Cora finally struggled free of Rog's grip. She felt her hair tearing out of her scalp but she didn't care. She had to get to the little boy.

  Throwing herself over Billy's body, she shielded Billy as best she could, gritting her teeth as she felt Ziel's boot connect with her back. She curled in to shield her face and Billy from the vicious attack. She refused to cry out even as blows rained down on her face, arms and body. She felt claws raking down her pant leg, shredding the material. Her blouse ripped and sharp claws slashed down her back. Cora bucked and gasped at the agonizing pain, but she refused to let go of Billy. She had to protect the kid from these brutes.

  She wasn't sure when they finally stopped beating her. She couldn't feel the individual parts of her body anymore. It was just pain and more pain, everywhere.

  Beside her own moans and whimpers, Cora heard panting and menacing growls. She raised her head weakly and blinked. Her captors and tormentors didn't look like men anymore. They looked like monsters, with human torsos but animal features. They stood there in their half shifted forms, snarling and trying to get their animals back under control.

  Cora stared at their wolfish eyes and deadly claws. Wolves. They were wolf shifters. And their wolves had risen at the scent of blood.

  These wolves were sadistic bastards, but Cora had a feeling they didn't take little Billy just for kicks and giggles. They had beaten her up, but they didn't kill her. They could have overpowered her and snatched Billy out of her grasp.

  No, they wanted to keep the boy alive. At least for a while more.

  These wolves didn't just pick a random kid off the street so they could kick him around for amusement. There was something else they wanted. And it wasn't money.

  They had been watching Billy's house, waiting for the chance to grab him. They had been so swift and silent. She had turned her back for just an instant to go get Billy's ball for him, and they had snatched the boy away in a flash.

  Billy Maxwell had been specifically targeted. This wasn't just an ordinary, random kidnapping.

  Cora felt Billy's tiny, trembling hand on her arm. She managed to gurgle a response when Billy whispered her name. She was in too much pain to form any coherent words.

  Her battered, bleeding body was still curled protectively around the little boy.

  But how long could she hold out?

  The wolves were playing with her, having fun with her.

  She was just a distraction. The real target was the boy.

  And after they killed her, they would hurt Billy.

  These wolves weren't out for ransom. They were out for blood.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Ethan stood at the street corner in front of Keith Maxwell's house and scanned the area. He had his beta and two team leaders with him. It was three o'clock in the morning, and the entire street was deserted. The houses were spaced widely apart. No one would have heard or seen anything if the kidnappers were fast enough.

  Keith pointed to the ditch. “That was where my mother found Billy's ball. And I picked up the handbag and shopping bag here.” He pointed to the edge of the curb and gulped. “Billy's scent is fading. He...he must be so scared...”

  Ethan nodded. “We'll find your son. Go home, Keith. Get some sleep. You need it.”

/>   “I can't. I want to help...”

  “Let my team handle this now. We'll need your help soon enough.” Ethan glanced at his beta and Caleb immediately put a hand gently but firmly on Keith's arm and steered him towards the house. “Go in. Keep your mom company.”

  As Keith shuffled up his front steps, Ethan took several whiffs of the night air. The boy's scent was indeed fading. So was the woman's. Cora Olson had been here with the boy. She had probably witnessed the kidnapping and was taken as well. They would kill her to silence her.

  His two team leaders, Paige and Baxter, stepped up to him. Baxter said quietly, “Keith shot the brother of Marlo Hynderland during a stake-out. Marlo will avenge his brother's death. And the Hyland Wolves are known for their bloody, gruesome executions. I'm afraid...”

  “No. The boy is still alive,” Ethan said grimly. “So is the human woman.”

  His team leaders exchanged a look.

  “The human woman has fallen into the hands of one of the most vicious underground wolf gangs,” Paige began. “I don't think she has a chance...”

  “You think too highly of the Hyland Wolves,” Ethan snapped. “The wolves won't kill them so soon. They're not that merciful.”

  Ethan turned to his beta. “Get me a list of all the last known hideouts of the Hyland Wolves.”

  “Yes, Alpha.” Caleb whipped out his phone. “I'm on it.”

  As Caleb began to type furiously and scroll through the information on his phone, Ethan ordered Paige and Baxter to follow the boy's scent as far as they could. He could still detect the fading, acrid scent of the boy's terror, and it left a rapidly disappearing trail for his bears to follow. It wasn't much, and Ethan didn't know how far the trail would go or when it would end. It might even be a false trail. But it was the only thing they had to go on for now. As it was, the scent was rapidly dissipating and it might just disappear suddenly without a trace before they could get a location.

  Paige and Baxter were two of the best trackers in the clan, with the sharpest sense of smell and direction. If they lost the trail, there would be little chance of finding Billy and Cora tonight.