The BEARly Controlled Grizzly: Bear Clan, 1 Read online

  Fuck.

  I was sporting wood right now, a hard, stiff erection that pressed against my zipper uncomfortably. I was only focused on her. It didn’t matter if we were in a room full of people, she was my sole focus, the only person on this fucking planet who meant anything to me now.

  My brothers were family, but she was life.

  My life.

  * * *

  Bethany

  The drunk still held onto my forearm, refusing to let me go. He lifted his other hand and reached out as if he meant to touch my hair, as if he wanted to push it off my shoulder.

  Before I could push him away, to finish working and fend off another drunken patron, someone had the tray out of my arms, set aside, and then hands grabbed me around the waist. I was gently moved behind a very large, very masculine body.

  I knew who it was even though I couldn’t see his face, even though the only thing that took up my view was a large, very muscular back. This man was so big, so strong, that his body blocked out everything else. The scent of him filled my nose and I felt myself soften, felt my body become pliant as if I had no control over it.

  I took a step back when the shifter moved forward, going closer to the man who’d been hitting on me, the drunk who thought I was offering more than I was. The heat that came from him was intense and powerful, and I could practically feel his rage fill the air, coating me, surrounding me like a thick blanket.

  “Zakari,” the drunk slurred. “I didn’t know she was yours.”

  Zakari.

  That name filled my head, moved through my body. I didn’t know him, but I knew him.

  The hair on my arms stood on end.

  “You touched her,” Zakari said in this distorted voice. “You touched what was mine.” In the next second Zakari slammed his fist into the drunk’s face, causing him to stumble back at the same time his head cocked back from the force. Zakari reached out and wrapped his hand around the other man’s throat.

  The gurgling sound that came from the drunk was loud and I felt my anxiety rise.

  God, Zakari made the other man look so small and weak … so human.

  “Zakari,” the drunk choked out.

  “You look at her again, talk to her, touch her, fucking think of her, I’ll tear the limbs from your body and feed them to the wolves.”

  No one moved, no one stopped Zakari. It was like they knew that getting involved would make this worse.

  Zakari leaned in so they were nose-to-nose. “Do you understand me?” His voice was low and harsh, deadly and promising.

  I found myself backing away, not sure why I retreated, but knowing that I was the center of this. I watched as the drunk tried to pry Zakari’s hand away from his throat but failed.

  And then he tossed the drunk aside as if he weighed nothing at all, as if he were a bother, a gnat flying around his face. The bar seemed to stand still, the music still loud, yet all the patrons staring right at them. One of the other shifters who had been seated at the table walked up to the man who’d intervened on my behalf. He said something too low for me to hear. Yet my shifter protector kept his focus trained right on me the whole time. I felt like he could see into my very soul.

  My heart was beating fast as I stared at him, felt this pull, this connection. It was strange, unusual, but all powerful. I couldn’t have ignored it even if I wanted to. It was as if I had known him my whole life, as if we weren’t meeting for the first time. There was something in his eyes, something frighteningly possessive and animalistic, that told me one thing.

  I was his.

  I couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe as I watched the shifter take a step toward me, and then another. He was so much bigger than me, towering over my five-foot-five frame by at least a foot. I felt my hands shake, my nerves right at the surface.

  He was just a few inches from me now and I watched as he inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring slightly. God, could he smell that I was aroused right now? The low growl that came from him told me that he could. It was like a dream, one that I didn’t want to wake up from. But I was humiliated that the shifter knew I was wet, knew I wanted him.

  “Female,” he said on this low, rough sound, his voice distorted, his eyes flashing yellow briefly. On instinct, I took a step back. I wasn’t afraid of him, felt nothing but intense, burning desire for this man I’d just met. But it was as if my body knew this male was dangerous, that he could crush my bones with little effort.

  I glanced to my right and saw the other five men that had been sitting at the table with him. They all stood off to the side, watching us, this knowing expression on their faces. I had no idea what was going on. But I had to get out of here, had to get away from the man in front of me, the one who made me feel like I was walking on a tightrope ready to plummet to the ground below.

  Licking my lips, I slowly breathed out.

  “I should get back to work,” I whispered and took a step to the side. But he followed my moves, taking the same steps, still in front of me.

  “My female,” he said in that distorted, animalistic voice of his, one that was very much possessive.

  A shiver raced up my spine and I curled my hands against my sides. He inhaled deeply again, and this low rumble left him, seeming to fill the entire bar, drowning out the heavy bump of music surrounding us. He took another step toward me and I moved one back. We did this dance of retreating and following until I felt the wall stop my retreat.

  I placed my hands flat behind me, the brick of the wall rough and cold against my palms. I tilted my head and looked into his handsomely rugged face. He had a day’s worth of scruff covering his jaw, and now that I was really focusing on him I could see lines and shapes of tattoos creeping up from underneath the white undershirt he wore.

  Glancing down at his hands, which were curled into tight fists at his side, I could see ink on those as well. His red flannel covered his arms, having me curious to know if those were covered in tattoos as well.

  I should’ve moved away from him, gone to the back room, collected myself. I couldn’t very well bail on Maggie, not when the bar was still packed to the brim, not when I’d promised John and Rhea that I’d handle things.

  Yet here I was, sandwiched between a rock and a hard place … literally.

  And yeah, the man before me was very hard.

  I couldn’t help but lower my gaze to his crotch, his worn denims molding to his massive thighs, ones that seemed as big as tree trunks. And the bulge he sported, the clear definition of a very long, very thick and hard erection, had my throat tightening and my mouth drying.

  I snapped my gaze up to his face to see he was watching me, the corner of his mouth tilted up in this satisfied smirk. He’d seen me looking at what he had below the belt, and I felt my face heat. I knew it was red. He took another step toward me and my entire body froze, my breath stalling in my lungs, my eyes feeling wide as saucers.

  My head was still craned back so I could look at his face. He was now right in front of me, his chest at my face level. God, he was big. All I could feel was this mesmerizing pull. I wanted to throw myself in his arms, press my body against his, see if he was as hard as he looked.

  He placed one hand on the brick wall beside my head and leaned down close, our faces only inches apart, his mouth so close to mine that if I leaned forward I could kiss him. God, I was burning alive. I had no idea what was wrong with me, no clue why I was having this reaction to a stranger.

  “You’re not very good with personal space, are you?” I had no idea where the words came from, why they decided to come out in that moment, but they hung between us for a suspended moment before he grinned, flashing straight white teeth. If possible, the air seemed to grow thicker around us, the heat causing beads of sweat to form between my breasts.

  “When it comes to my mate, I’m not close enough.” He growled those words and I felt them in my very core, so deep within my body I couldn’t even think straight.

  I tightened, trying to strengthen my resolve
, to get control of myself. I found myself moving to the side, slipping under his arm, and making my way toward the bar. I could get through the rest of this night, could focus, work, and not let this beast of a man have me feeling on edge.

  I stopped at the bar and told myself not to look over at him, yet I felt his gaze on me, knew he watched me, felt it as if he were touching me, skating his fingers down my body. Looking over my shoulder at him despite telling myself not to, I saw he watched me still, his head slightly lowered, his eyes at half-mast.

  God, he looked so … territorial.

  He looked like he owned me.

  And the way I felt right now told me … he did.

  Chapter Three

  Zakari

  I let her walk away but I wasn’t taking my eyes off her, even if I wanted to, which I sure as fuck didn’t. My bear refused to let his mate go. But I had sensed, smelled, how nervous she had been, how confusing all of this was to her. I couldn’t blame her. She was human and probably wasn’t as well versed in shifter matings as I was.

  But regardless, she was mine.

  I forced myself to move back to the table with my brothers, keeping my focus trained right on the woman who was made solely for me.

  “Your mate,” Oli said and I glanced over at him, giving him a sharp nod, feeling my jaw go tight, my teeth clashing together. It was taking everything in me not to go up to her right now and toss her over my shoulder. I wanted her in my bed, in my home. I wanted her surrounded by my things, my scent covering her, my mark covering her long, slender neck.

  I wanted all of that with each passing second. I grew even more impatient. But I reminded myself she was human and I had to take my time, go slow, be gentle. That went against every instinct in me. I’d waited a lifetime for her, dreamed of her, jerked off to the thought of her.

  There had been no one else for me, no one who could sate my desires, no one who even interested me. Because my very soul knew that she was the only one who could give me what I needed, pleasure me, complete me.

  “Your control astounds me,” Cason said and I grunted, taking the beer in front of me and downing it in one long swallow.

  I felt my brothers’ gazes on me, smelled their jealousy over the fact I’d finally found my mate. They still searched, still waited. And their time would come. I had no doubt about that.

  “What are you going to do?” Damon asked and leaned forward.

  “What am I going to do?” I looked at each of my brothers. There was a collective murmur from them. No doubt they wanted me to let my bear have control of the situation, to claim her and not give her much of a choice in the matter.

  There was no going back for me, no not having her in my life.

  “Take her, claim her,” Maddix said, the brother who I could safely say was the most barbaric of the six of us. “She’s yours. Waiting is pointless when the end result is the same.”

  Easier said than done now that I was faced with my mate just feet from me. I didn’t want to scare her, didn’t want her thinking that I’d hurt her. I’d just as soon cut off my own hand than make her frightened of me.

  I stared at Maddix, who seemed to have this perpetual scowl on his face. I almost felt a little bad for his mate when he did find her, because I knew Maddix would go crazy, his possessive need, the bear residing in him, taking over fully. He tried to act like he was in control, but we all knew that he was far from it. Him hiding off by himself, keeping away from us unless we forced him out of his cabin, spoke volumes of how wild he was becoming.

  I just hoped he found his mate soon.

  “I’m going to give her time,” I answered honestly. “I’m going to make her desire for me climb so high she can’t stand it anymore.” I looked over at her. “And it’s already there. I can sense it, smell how much she’s fighting to not want me or this.” Human or not, her body knew that we were made for each other, that she was mine.

  She’d fight it because she didn’t understand it. But as soon as I touched her, kissed her, as soon as I marked her, was deep within her, she would know that she was irrevocably, undeniably mine. There was no going back. And as much as I told my brothers I would give her time, the truth was I was an impatient bastard. There’s no way I could stop myself, not when the object of my dreams was finally before me.

  Not when it was taking everything in me not to beat every male’s ass in this bar for even looking her way.

  I hoped she was ready, because being mated to a bear shifter was no fucking joke.

  * * *

  Bethany

  “I’m glad to hear that she’s going to be okay,” I said into the receiver, standing in the back room of the bar and listening to John finish telling me the details about Rhea’s wound.

  It wasn’t life and death, obviously, but I was glad to know she was stitched up and they were already headed back to her place.

  “I’ll talk to you guys later,” I said and disconnected the call. I shoved my cell phone in my purse, my hands shaking slightly. It was after two in the morning, the bar closing down, the last drunken stragglers being let out.

  I had excused myself because being out there had grown almost unbearable, what with the shifter watching my every move. I’d unashamedly eavesdropped on customers who had been discussing the fight that had happened.

  A recluse.

  Growly.

  A hermit who lived in the mountains in his own community with his brothers.

  Dangerous and strong, and most of all someone to steer clear of.

  Zakari was all of those things and more.

  I turned and looked over my shoulder at the door that led into the bar. Zakari and his brothers had left an hour ago, but even though they weren’t in the bar any longer, I still felt his presence. It was the strangest sensation, as if he were standing right beside me, his hand on the small of my back. Chills raced up my arms and legs, and despite me wanting to believe what was going on, I knew what was happening.

  Mated.

  Zakari, the bear shifter, had mated with me.

  Although shifters and humans coexisted, I wasn’t particularly educated on everything that had to do with shifter lore, which also included being mated to one.

  That spark of arousal I’d felt earlier tonight speared through me. It was as real as him standing in front of me as I was pressed against that brick wall. There was no denying that there was something between us, the strong sensation, pull, connection, whatever it was trying to bring us together. And here I was trying to be logical and rational, thinking about all of this.

  I remembered looking into his icy blue eyes and seeing one thing. Possessiveness. I knew the basics of being mated to a shifter, simply because I’d heard about it through the rumor mill. But experiencing it firsthand was unlike anything I could’ve ever imagined.

  Closing my eyes and breathing out slowly, I gave myself a moment just to collect myself. When I opened my eyes again, I felt resolve move through me. I knew Zakari would not let this go. I knew that being mated was a forever type of thing, something a shifter could not ignore.

  Wouldn’t ignore.

  And to be honest, I didn’t want to either. I liked the way I felt around him when he was near. His very scent made me drunk, had my body pliant, ready for him. Even now I was aroused, wet between my thighs, my nipples hard against the material of my T-shirt.

  I headed back out into the bar and saw Maggie finishing up cleaning off the counters. I lifted my hand and waved. She grinned, giving me a look saying I hadn’t fucked things up tonight. I was exhausted, my feet aching, beer spilled on my shirt and pants, now dried and causing the material to be stiff and smelling sour. I had my keys in hand before I even stepped outside. Although this was a small town, everyone knowing everyone, and the crime rate pretty much nonexistent, the city girl in me was always prepared.

  There were a few old-fashioned street lights framing the parking lot, my car off to the side and directly under one of them. That hadn’t been a coincidence. With my keys in my ha
nd, I started making my way toward my vehicle. The sound of beer bottles breaking behind me had me looking over my shoulder.

  There were a few guys standing by an old beat-up pickup truck a few yards away, slurring and being overly rowdy. One of them looked over at me and I could see him grinning, lifting his hand and waving as if he were excited to see someone other than his drunken comrades. And then this low growl reverberated through the night air, causing my body to tighten, my pussy to become wet.

  I knew that sound. I had heard it just hours ago in the bar. The guys by the pickup sobered instantly, all noise stilling, their eyes widening. I faced forward again and saw Zakari just a few feet away. He had his hands in his pockets, his body so big he seemed to cast a shadow throughout the whole parking lot.

  I could see a truck off to the side and assumed it was his. On any other occasion I would’ve felt apprehensive being out here in the middle of the night with men surrounding me, alcohol dimming their inhibitions. But not tonight. Knowing that Zakari was right there, his growl warning the other man to stay away, calmed me. I felt safe in this moment, knowing he was here, feeling his very presence surround me.

  But I couldn’t do this, not now. I was confused over all of this. The whole mating thing was foreign to me. I needed to wrap my head around it.

  Licking my lips, I didn’t even say anything as I started heading to my car again.

  “I’m fucking this up.” His voice was so deep, so serrated that I actually stopped mid-step and closed my eyes, feeling the sound vibrations move along my arms.

  Exhaling slowly, I glanced over my shoulder to see he hadn’t moved.

  “I’m scaring you,” he said again and there was this note of tenseness and his voice, as if he hated that fact.

  I turned and faced him, not sure what to say or how to act. But something had to be said. I couldn’t ignore this. And I knew he wouldn’t either. “I’m not frightened,” I said honestly. I wasn’t, maybe even though I should have been. “And I know what I am to you.” Those words hung in the air between us and I felt this deep sound come from him before I heard it.