A Mate For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Alpha Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 4) (9 page)

“Two million dollars!
And he wants you to deliver the money to that old warehouse?”
Terri exclaimed as the Jaguar turned sharply into a side lane. “You
sure it's just one human guy and not a shifter gang...”

“I only detected the
scent of one human male in Dalton's house,” Tony confirmed.

“It's her ex-husband,”
Dalton said tersely as he sped through the streets. He could see
Joyce in his mind, bruised and lying on a dirty floor. He was
getting closer to her. He could feel her heartbeat with every throb
of his own heart.

Tony and Terri were swearing
viciously. “The bastard! He got her into that bloody mess
with the Crimson Wolves and now he's even stooped to kidnapping his
ex-wife for ransom? What kind of man is he?” Terri spat.

They both turned and saw the
look in Dalton's dark eyes.

Under his breath, Tony
muttered, “A dead one.”

Joyce opened her eyes a crack
and blinked repeatedly, desperately trying to get her vision to
focus. She groaned when she tried to lift her head. A sharp pain
pulsed from the back of her head and spread all the way down her neck
and spine. Grimacing, she forced herself into a sitting position and
leaned back against a pillar.

“Son of a bitch,”
she wheezed. Her wrists and ankles had been tightly bound with rope,
and her entire face hurt. Felix had punched her in the face when she
tried to fight him off. As she screamed and struggled, Felix had
wrenched the letter opener out of her hand and tried to stab her with
it. He only managed to inflict a shallow cut on her arm. As they
scuffled, she'd kneed him in the groin but before she could scramble
away, a sharp blow was delivered to the back of her head. The last
thing she saw was the carpet of Dalton's study.

Joyce shook her head again
and blinked rapidly. Her eyes finally adjusted to the gloom and she
could see that she was in a dusty, empty warehouse. She could heard
low male voices talking outside the door. She froze, her mind
whirling. Felix wasn't alone. There was someone else with him. She
couldn't quite make out the other voice, but she thought it sounded
familiar.

Her limbs felt numb and stiff
but she did her best to move them and force some blood and feeling
back to her legs. She had to be able to move, to dodge and run when
the opportunity arose. She would get out of here and get back to
Dalton.

Her breath hitched when she
thought of Dalton and their last kiss before he left for work. An
ache rose in her chest. His kiss was full of warmth and love. With
Dalton, everything felt right and good. In his arms, she felt like
she'd come home.

Joyce balled her fists and
swallowed. She was going home. Even if she had to drag her broken,
bloodied body out of here, she would get home to Dalton.

She eased her legs sideways
and felt something sharp against her bare foot. A long, broken nail
was sticking up from the floor. Joyce stared at it for a moment,
then quietly inched closer to the nail. If she could rub the ropes
binding her ankles against that sharp, rusty piece of iron, maybe she
could weaken the ropes enough and break free. She had to try.

The moment she heard voices
and footsteps approaching, she ceased all movement and just slumped
against the pillar, making herself look dazed and helpless.

A hand gripped her face
roughly and she blinked up into Felix's glittering eyes. There was
someone standing behind him. Someone she knew.

“Randell,” she
wheezed. “What...how...you're in the kidnapping business too?”
she sputtered in disbelief.

Randell Wyle shrugged.
“Business is business.”

Joyce shook her head. “The
Crimson Wolves...”

“Felix came to me for
yet another loan. He owes money to the Stormland pack of
wereleopards. Three hundred grand.”

Joyce frowned. “And
you gave him the money? What...”

“Three hundred grand
for one point five million,” Randell said coolly.

“He promised you a
portion of the ransom money,” Joyce said slowly.

“A large portion,”
Randell answered with a glint in his eye. “As I said, business
is business.”

“You...”

“Dalton Jameson will
pay up. He has the money and you're worth so much more to him. I
saw the way he looked at you. He offered to pay the full amount of
the debt for you, without hesitation. He will pay any amount for
you,” Randell came nearer and his smile widened as his eyes
trailed down her neck. “You are his mate.”

Joyce stared up defiantly at
him. Then she softened her gaze and her tone. Perhaps she could
play them against each other. “Felix is making use of you.
He's making use of the Crimson Wolves,” she told Randell
earnestly. “He'll take everything from you, but he won't give
you a cent. I know him. He's a liar, a layabout, a leech. Don't
make the same mistake I did. Don't trust him, Randell.”

Randell Wyle cocked a brow at
her before swiveling his eyes to Felix. He stepped back to watch the
show as Felix lunged at her and grabbed her by the throat. “I'll
rip out your tongue if you say another word, bitch! You hear me?”
He threw her to the ground and ground the heel of his shoe into her
hand. “You're real good at telling tales and sowing discord,
aren't you? I should cut out your tongue now. But if I do, I won't
get my money. So, you get to keep your poisonous tongue in your
mouth for a while longer.” He patted her face and laughed when
she flinched from him.

Joyce felt Randell step up
behind her and haul her to her feet just as three silhouettes
appeared in the doorway.

Felix turned and said
tersely, “Where's the money? And who are they? You're
supposed to come alone...”

Dalton didn't even glance at
Felix. He walked steadily past Felix and came right up to Joyce and
Randell. His eyes flashed when he saw the injuries on her face.

“The Crimson Wolves
aren't involved in this,” Dalton addressed Randell in a low,
level voice. “Felix didn't make a deal with the pack. He made
a deal with you. The ransom money will be going into your pocket,
not the pack's coffers. Isn't that right, Randell?”

Randell tightened his hold on
Joyce, his claws digging into her neck. “Just pay up, Dalton.
We get the money. You get your female.” Randell jerked his
head at Joyce. “Intact, or in pieces. Your choice.”

Dalton didn't reply.

He made a move so swift and
savage it shocked Joyce.

One instant Randell's hand
was at her throat, the next second it was on the floor at her feet.
Dalton had slashed Randell's hand off at the wrist with his claws.

Felix screamed and tried to
run, but Tony grabbed him and threw him to the ground. Felix flopped
and flailed, but his head was held in place under Tony's boot.

Dalton's claws slashed down
again and Joyce ducked. Randell spun away and shifted to wolf in a
blink. Dalton charged at the wolf, his shape blurring between man
and bear for a few heartbeats.

With a roar, the bear emerged
fully and slammed into Randell. The first spray of blood appeared as
bear and wolf clashed in a tangle of fangs and claws.

Joyce felt the ropes fall
away from her ankles. Terri had sneaked up beside her and was
cutting away the ropes with her claws.

As Joyce scrambled to her
feet, she saw Randell's glowing eyes flash in their direction.
Dalton's large paw was hurtling towards Randell like a sledgehammer,
but Randell didn't duck. Instead, the wolf let himself be knocked
sideways. As the wolf spun towards them, Joyce saw those deadly
claws glint as Randell twisted in the air. Those lethal claws moved
in an arc, preparing to slash at Terri's neck.

“No! Get down!”
Joyce screamed and flung herself in front of Terri.

Joyce tried to throw the both
of them to the ground to escape Randell's claws, but she was just a
fraction of a second too slow. Hard, icy claws raked down her back,
tearing her skin and gouging into her flesh. Joyce screamed in pain
even as she pushed Terri away.

“Joyce!”

Terri's shrieks were drowned
out by a thunderous, terrifying roar. Joyce clung on to
consciousness, even as dark shapes and shadows flickered at the edge
of her vision, threatening to drag her under.

As she raised her head
weakly, Joyce saw Dalton throw Randell against the far wall.

There was a howl before
everything became red.

Thick, hot and red.

Dalton bellowed as the wolf
hit the wall with a loud crack. He roared again at the sight of the
blood on Joyce's back. Randell had tried to go after the females
instead of just facing him in a fair fight.

Dalton charged, going
straight for the kill. Randell was trying to scramble up, but Dalton
wasn't letting the bastard get to his feet, ever again.

Dalton clamped his paws
around Randell's head and pushed his claws hard into his neck. The
excruciating pain made Randell lose his hold on his wolf. His body
shifted back to human, but Dalton didn't loosen his grip.

Randell howled and tried to
change back to his wolf form, but he never got the chance.

Before he could complete his
shift, Dalton raised a paw and brought his claws plunging down
towards Randell's vulnerable human neck. In one swift stroke, he
decapitated Randell. The head fell from the body and thudded to the
ground. Blood spurted and sprayed into the air, filling the
warehouse with a blood red mist.

Dalton stood over Randell’s
headless body and released his wrath in a final, deafening roar. On
his next exhale, he shifted back to human form and turned towards
Terri and Joyce.

Joyce was leaning heavily on
Terri, but she was standing up. Her grimace became a crooked smile
when she saw him.

“Hey,” she
panted.

“You're hurt,”
Dalton said, his voice raw and feral. “You...”

Joyce waved a hand. “He
just scratched my back, that's all. Superficial wounds.”

“You saved me,”
Terri said. “He was gunning for my neck. You were real fast,
Joyce. Before I could stop you, you were in front of me.”
Terri shook her head and scolded, “Don't you dare do that
again, Joyce!”

“I...”

“I'm a werebear,”
Terri continued sternly. “I can heal faster than you. So...”

“But you still feel
pain, right? So it makes no difference. It's pain all the same. I
won't let you get hurt,” Joyce said fiercely.

Dalton went to Joyce and
kissed her hard on the mouth. “I'm sorry, Dalton,” Joyce
blurted as soon as he released her. “I shouldn't have let him
in...”

Dalton turned to stare at
Felix, who was still lying under Tony's boot. “It's not your
fault. He would have found another way to get to you.”

Tony tapped his boot, and
raised a brow at Dalton.
Just say when.

But Dalton shook his head at
his brother. Felix might be a scumbag, an unethical, unscrupulous
man, but he was human. Dalton wouldn't kill a weak, defenseless
human in cold blood. He wouldn't hesitate to take another shifter on
in a fight to the death. But he wouldn't kill an unarmed human. And
he didn't want Joyce to witness the murder of her ex-husband. That
would cast a shadow over their relationship, and he didn't want this
piece of shit to be haunting them from the grave. He wanted him gone
forever from their lives.

“Terri, can you get
Joyce home and have her wounds tended to?”

He spoke without much
inflection but Terri felt the quiet authority in his voice.

“Yes, Beta,” she
said immediately and fished out her phone.

“Come on, Tony. We've
got two deliveries to make,” Dalton said, picking up Randell's
head by the hair.

“Yes, Beta.”
Tony grinned and grabbed Felix's collar.

“Well, it looks like
I'm just in time. You can load the cargo in my car. What? Aren't
you all glad to see me?”

Everyone turned at Brad's
voice.

“Brad! What the hell
are you doing here?” Tony asked.

“Cole sent me.”

“Cole? How did he…?”
Tony trailed off and turned to narrow his eyes at his mate.
“Terri...did you tell Abby about this?”

Terri shrugged. “I
messaged Abby and Lisha on our way here.” She ignored Tony's
glare and leaned in to whisper to Joyce, “We girls have a chat
group. I'll add you in. We talk about everything. We're always the
first to know the latest news. We're connected. Unlike the men,”
she added pointedly, making a face at Tony.

Brad laughed. “Yeah.
Lisha told me about it just a minute before I received Cole's call.
Cole wasn't worried. He knew you'd take care of it. But Abby and
Lisha were worried sick.”

Dalton clapped his cousin on
the shoulder. “All right. We'll load the human and the head
in your car.” He tossed Terri the keys to his Jaguar and
smiled. “Off you go.”