His to Bear (8 page)

“Out,” Laramie said with a growl rumbling in his chest. “Now.”

None of the others seemed happy with that order. Jaeda was on her feet again, as

was Koby. Matheus and Brock were the only two who didn’t question. Most likely

because they were the youngest. Jensen was trying to calm Koby while Declan and

Slade shared Koby’s displeasure. Laramie acknowledged none of them.

“Now!” It was a roar this time, a lash that every one of them seemed to feel.

The Holloways dispersed, Koby still bitching under his breath.

“You, too, Jaeda,” Laramie added when she remained.

Holt felt her fingers gripping the back of his shirt. He turned to her, dislodging

her hold and catching her hands with his before she could latch on to the front of him.

“I don’t want to leave you,” she whispered.

“You don’t need to be afraid,” Holt tried to assure her. “You’ll be perfectly safe.

Murphy’s right outside the front door. If you don’t want to go to our room, you’ll be

safe with him. Finn, too. I’ll find you as soon as Laramie and I are done talking.”

She glanced around him at Laramie then peeked up at him again. “Holt.”

She whispered his name, but her eyes showcased exactly what her fear was. He

saw the need for answers in her eyes, but it was neither the time nor the place for them to talk. He’d been dead serious about the two of them getting the time to know one

another. There was no reason for doubts about where they stood as mates.

“We’ll talk later. Just the two of us.” He thought about asking her to trust him

but didn’t. She’d chosen him, literally tricked him into mating her. He refused to

believe she’d have done that without having complete faith in him. He deserved no

less from her now. “Go.”

He gave her a tap on her well-rounded ass and motioned her toward the door

with his chin. She held his gaze for a long moment, threw one more glance toward

Laramie and finally, turned to walk away. Holt watched her cross the room and felt

his dick throb in his jeans at the twitch of her butt. She worried he didn’t want her.

She had no clue how fucking hard he stayed when he was around her. She’d been

secluded, though, and had remained innocent sexually if he wasn’t mistaken. She

deserved a man who would take his time, one who knew in his heart that he would

never leave her. So they’d wait, no matter how blue his balls turned.

Chapter Six

Holt sat back down on the small sofa, legs sprawled, arms hanging loosely. He

knew all too well what Laramie was trying to do with his silent, brooding stare. It was

almost laughable. Holt wasn’t a man easily intimidated. Silence didn’t bother him. In

fact, he preferred it. It was much easier to hear what wasn’t being said when you

remained quiet and watchful. So he sat and watched, taking in the coiled power

Laramie held in check, the rigid set of shoulders—a sure display that the other man

wasn’t happy with Holt.

“I’d planned to speak with you tomorrow, to go over some of the more

important traditions of our breed that you aren’t aware of.” Laramie gave him a hard

glare. “So I’ll forgive your behavior and blame it on your lack of knowledge. I won’t

be so lenient in the future so be sure you understand. No one challenges me. At least,

no one who desires to live.”

“I wasn’t challenging you,” Holt stated. “I was merely making myself heard.”

“We’re not so welcoming of humans in our pack. We’re not interested in

outsiders period, even if they do share our ability to shift.”

“Yet, here we are,” Holt countered. “For the second time, I might add.

Obviously, you made an exception for Gabriel and the rest of us when we needed a

place to lie low. This time, I believe you greeted me with a friendly smile and told me

I was welcome. I didn’t imagine that. Neither did Murphy or Finn. We came here with

pure intentions at our alpha’s request.”

“I wouldn’t have been so welcoming if I’d known this was coming,” Laramie

admitted with a grunt.

“That’s beside the point, now. What’s done is done, and whether you, your

brothers or even I agree, Jaeda chose me as her mate. I’m not sure how or why, but I

know she’ll tell me once we become more familiar with each other. We need time to

do that. I do know that somehow she’s already started to mark me without the bite

I’ve seen the feline shifters use. Already, my hearing is improving. My eyesight, as

well. I’m not sure what to expect or how soon. I’m hoping those are some of the

things you plan to discuss.”

Laramie nodded. “Our breed of shifter is different. In fact, most shifter breeds

are unique in and of themselves. The only thing we have in common is our animal

instincts, but even those we tend to utilize differently. I’ll give you a little bit of

history to help you understand more.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Holt offered with meaning. If he was to become one of them

as Laramie had hinted at when he’d welcomed him to the pack then Holt would need

to know as much as possible.

“You understand the basic history of the cats you’ve lived with. I’m guessing

you’ve seen the reawakening of beasts held locked inside a time or two.”

Holt nodded.

“That’s because when the threat of the hunter first came about, the cats let

themselves be scattered. The sought to hide from the ones who wanted to destroy

them. They caged the beast inside and pretended to be human, forsaking their animal

instincts until there were too few left who even knew who and what they were. Each

generation became more and more entrenched in the human part and shut the animal

side out, until the beast was caged so deep, it would take extreme means to free him.”

Laramie stopped and let a rumble fill his chest, almost as if he were displeased

with what the other shifter species had done. Holt got the impression Laramie wasn’t

one to hide from anything. There was a sneer on the other man’s face to go with the

rumble of displeasure.

“We bears behaved differently. We pulled closer together and gave the animal

side of ourselves more control. I was born knowing exactly who and what I am. While

others might wait to feel their beast when they hit puberty, we have them from birth.

There is no separation for us. Do you understand what that means?”

His glance was hard, probing, as Holt felt the other man search his face.

Whatever he read there must have been enough for him to continue.

“We don’t welcome a beast to be a part of us. We don’t share our bodies with an

animal spirit, allowing them partial control when we most need it. We are the beast.”

Laramie stretched his arms wide, and Holt took a good look at the other man,

easily seeing the beast within him.

“A bear’s senses are beyond compare. Our night vision is better than all others.

Our hearing allows us a much wider range. But it’s our keen sense of smell that truly

sets us apart. It will be the last thing to develop fully in you, but it will be the

strongest sense you have when your bond is complete.”

“And how is it that I’m already bonded when Jaeda and I haven’t mated?”

“You’ve heard that it’s the female who decides and initiates the bond.”

Holt nodded, though it wasn’t really a question.

“Once the choice is made, the skin begins to secrete an oily substance that’s

passed to the mate through rubbing. The female will stroke her skin against yours

anywhere she can, though the easiest places for the scent to be absorbed at are in the

neck and groin where the skin is thinner. The more she does this, the quicker her mate

is marked, and his scent becomes more linked to hers. There’s still a slight difference

that can be detected, but the bond is easy to pick up.”

“So all the time she’s been rubbing on me, she’s been marking me?” Holt almost

snorted at that. He’d been so busy guarding against a bite, he’d failed to pay attention to what she was actually doing. He’d found it cute.

“You already carry her scent. It’s why I’ve stayed my brother’s hand, though he

is adamant Jaeda is his mate.”

“Is it possible to have more than one mate?” Holt questioned.

“No.” Laramie’s voice was hard, brooking no argument. “A bear won’t share.

There can only be one mate.”

“Jesus! I wasn’t looking for a ménage with you brother,” Holt admonished. “I

meant could her bear have made a mistake and picked me when Koby is really her

mate?”

“Not usually,” Laramie said. “He was there when she was found. She went to

you, picked you.”

Holt took that in, wondering what it was then that made Koby think Jaeda was

meant to be his mate instead of Holt’s. It was something he’d wait and discuss with

Koby though, not Laramie. “Jaeda said choosing a mate was the one decision a female

was allowed to make. What did she mean by that?”

“We’re a male dominated society. The female is allowed to pick her mate as he

will be her master for the rest of her life.”

“Master?” Holt wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. At least that’s what he

told himself even though his cock was rock hard and throbbing with need. Jesus!

What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never been into kink like that.

“After mating, the female becomes the male’s responsibility. She’ll bow to his

wisdom in all things. It’s her job to stand behind her mate, offering her support. It’s

his job to protect her and see that all her needs are met. She’s his to cherish and love, as well as discipline if warranted.”

“She’s a grown woman not a child,” Holt countered.

Laramie merely smiled. “Have I not already seen the way she tries your

patience? Did you not order her to silence then send her from this room with a swift

tap to her ass?”

“That’s different,” Holt mumbled and felt his face warm.

Laramie laughed. “Not so different if even now you’re thinking of bending her

over your lap and seeing the print of your palm on her rounded curves.”

Holt felt his face burn brighter, and Laramie answered with more laughter.

“Perhaps you’re more bear than either of us imagine,” Laramie mused.

“I don’t believe in hitting a woman.”

“But I can see the desire in your eyes. Don’t lie to yourself or repress your needs

and demands. She won’t respect you for it, and you’ll lose what you’ve yet to truly

taste. She will test you in the beginning. All mates do. It’s the bear’s way of seeing if you’re man enough to belong to her. She’ll see any reluctance on your part as

weakness. It’s up to you to prove your worth.”

“By spanking her?”

“By showing her you don’t fear her. By showing her that her safety means

everything to you, that you’ll guard it with your strength. By assuring her she’ll be

protected even from herself. Only then will the bear fully submit to you, and only

through that submission will you truly claim the woman. It’s the way it’s always been

with the bears. The male dominates, and the female submits.”

Holt thought of the times Jaeda had done exactly what he’d told her to. Had she

been submitting to him all along and he’d just not taken notice?

“This is why I push you to complete the bond,” Laramie admitted. “Her bear

won’t be at ease until you’ve proven your worthiness and justified her choice. The

woman’s fear will continue until her mate claims every part of her as his, taking not

just her body but every hidden inch of her under his command until there’s nothing

for her to feel that doesn’t belong to him, first. Her mate controls her pleasure, her

pain, even her fear belongs to him.”

“Jesus,” Holt muttered. Submission? Dominance? Was this some BDSM

lifestyle they lived? “I don’t want her to fear me.”

“You misunderstand,” Laramie said. “Your mistake is in trying to equate this to

some human concept of what you don’t understand. We’re as we have always been.

Some see submission as weakness. Don’t make that mistake. I assure you that you

will find out far differently as your relationship with Jaeda develops. There’s power in giving. You’ll feel the weight of it heavy on your shoulders. Brace yourself. The life

of a bear isn’t easy, especially for a male. Though you have no animal, you will be

held to the same standard as all mates.”

“What standard is that?”

“Jaeda is yours, by her choice. Her happiness or unhappiness is yours to give.

She has a playful spirit, one that makes even me smile. I’d hate to see anything

happen to change that, to mar it or extinguish it. She’s a reflection of you as a man.

And we’re all watching. Remember that.”

“I’d never do anything to hurt her,” Holt muttered, but wondered if he was right.

Would he be able to give her the mate Laramie made it seem she needed? He felt a

surge of something move through him, a strong desire to take and claim. A vision

flashed behind his eyes. One of his mate naked, on her hands and knees in front of

him while he took her, plunging his cock forcefully inside her pussy while she

screamed his name. He closed his eyes and blew out a hard breath as he tried to regain

control. Where they hell had that come from?

Holt saw Laramie’s smirk when he opened his eyes and had the impression the

other man knew exactly what Holt had been imagining.

“Don’t restrain the instincts coming alive in you, and don’t confuse her

submission with fear. Already, she seeks to submit to you. Don’t overlook the gift she