Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 109(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
I kick him in the shins and elbow him in the neck as the blood-curdling sound of bears fighting hits my ears. The growling and snarling quickly turn to whimpers.
“Novak!” a deep booming voice shouts from behind us. “Get your fucking hands off my mate.”
We both turn around with a gasp. The man from the auction is standing there in the nude, watching us with a fire in his eyes as he storms over.
The four guards are behind him, all back in their human forms, all writhing on the ground in agony.
There’s a long bloody gash on the man’s shoulder, but he doesn’t even seem to notice. All of his attention and focus is on us.
Novak grabs my arm and pulls a gun from inside his jacket. He points it at the man’s chest.
The man shakes his head as he calmly walks forward. “You think a bullet will stop me?”
“No,” Novak says as he turns the gun and digs it into my ribs. “But it will stop her. Now get back or I’ll put a bullet in her.”
The four naked guards make their way over, groaning in pain as they stand beside us. They’re all breathing heavily as they face the man.
“We had a deal, Novak,” the man roars over the sound of the chopper.
“The deal was for your ranch, Elias. Nothing was said about your mate.”
“I didn’t think I had to make a deal about that,” Elias shouts. “I didn’t think you were stupid enough to come between a bear shifter and his girl.”
“She’s my girl now,” Novak yells with a nasty grin. “Bought and paid for. Now, kindly fuck off. I’d like to start my honeymoon.”
He pulls me into the helicopter with the help of his goons and the man watches helplessly as Novak holds the gun to my head.
The ground jerks under us as the helicopter rises into the air. One of the guards slams the door closed, and gun on me or not, I have to get one last look at him.
I lunge forward and plaster my hands on the window as I look down at the beautiful man with my heart breaking.
He’s staring up at me with agony in his eyes.
Elias is the man who should have won.
He’s the one I want.
We rise into the sky, and just before turning the chopper to the side, I see Elias change into his Kodiak bear and start sprinting.
Chapter Six
Elias
For over an hour, my bear sprints all-out through the mountains, desperate to get to our mate before Novak can put his sleazy hands on her.
Come on, I say, urging him on. She needs us.
The poor beast is running on empty, but he keeps going, sprinting as fast as he can to get to Novak’s mansion at the base of Blackened Peak Mountain.
It’s up ahead, I tell him when I see it in the light of the full moon. You’re almost there.
By the time we arrive, he’s exhausted. The Kodiak can barely lift its head anymore. It took every last ounce of his strength to get us here and now, I’ll do the rest.
I pull him in and burst out with my heart pounding. We share some energy and I’m feeling more drained than I did before, but I get a boost of adrenaline when I see Novak’s helicopter parked on the roof of his mansion.
Remembering the sight of my sweet Ava in the window looking down at me with those sad pleading eyes fires me up once again. I grit my teeth and sneak over to the back door, being careful to stay downwind since I know the four guards are probably still lurking around.
I break the door open with my shoulder and sneak inside, trying to stay as quiet as I can. The door leads to the home gym where I spot a pair of workout shorts folded on a shelf. I quickly slip them on.
I head deeper into the house, sneaking through the dark bar area when I hear Novak’s voice coming from upstairs. The thought of him up there with my girl makes me snap. I run through the house, flying up stairs and barreling around corners as adrenaline surges through my veins.
I catch her scent in the upstairs hallway and it’s like fire blazing down my throat and into my lungs. This time, my Kodiak bear urges me on, snarling and gnashing his teeth with every step I get closer.
Her sweet fiery scent leads to the huge double doors at the end of the hallway. I charge down it at full speed and slam my shoulder into where the doors connect. They explode open and I let out a low territorial growl at what I see.
My girl is tied to the bed—still in that pink dress—as Troy Novak spins around in shock.
His jacket is off, his tie loose, and from the stunned expression on his face, I can tell he wasn’t expecting to see me again.