Bear in the Rough: Bear Shifter Romance (Broken Hill Bears Book 1) by Ariana Hawkes
Authors: Ariana Hawkes
Ads: Link
stores, bars and restaurants.
“What the hell is this place?” she muttered.
They came to a large cabin, which was fronted with pillars, a bit like at the White House, and had two stories and a porch. Her captor opened the front door and they were all carried inside and deposited in front of a large, beat-up leather couch.
“Please sit,” her captor said, speaking for the first time in a deep, rumbling voice. At first, she, Marin and Eloise stood defiantly, but, discovering that their legs were shaking, they soon sat down. The three bear men stood in front of them, legs apart and arms crossed menacingly, like nightclub bouncers, but they kept shooting worried glances at each other.
And then came a very loud knock on the door, making everyone jump. Her captor shot towards the door, opened it cautiously, then darted out. Freya glared at the two remaining men. They hadn’t planned to snatch them; that was obvious. They seemed way too nervous and desperate to communicate with each other.
“You’d better tell us right now what the hell you’re doing with us!” she yelled for at least the tenth time, hoping that they’d be weaker with one of them missing. They looked at each other, then back at her again, but said nothing. She let out a roar of frustration. Then she took a sideways glance at Eloise. She looked absolutely petrified, and it tugged at Freya’s heart. She inched her hand over and laid it on hers.
“Everything will work out okay,” she whispered, not believing her own words. Her mind was reeling, trying to compute the various reasons these shifters might have had for snatching them. And then the worst possible reason of all made her stomach lurch in horror. Are they cannibals? Is that why the security fences were so extreme at the wrestling stadium? Have they brought us here as prey? She opened her mouth to demand an answer. She was the kind of person who’d rather know the truth, however unpalatable it was, than drive herself crazy imagining all sorts of possibilities. But she couldn’t ask the question in front of the other two. They’d both have a heart attack before they even heard the answer.
The front door opened and the other guy came back. He looked scared; his eyeballs were practically hanging out of his head. He looked at his friends and shook his head. And then someone bellowed something that sounded a lot like “Fuck!” The sound echoed around the valley outside. To Freya’s amazement, all three men kind of cowered, as if the sound drove a stab of fear into their hearts. Her captor cleared his throat.
“You ladies will need to stay here in my cabin for a while.”
“What are you talking about?” Marin gasped. “What are you doing with us? You can’t just snatch us from a public place, drag us over here, and tell us we need to stay here ,” she finished, imitating his growly voice.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking genuinely contrite. “You’ll be comfortable here. We’ll make sure you have food. We’ve been told not to restrain you, but please don’t try to escape. It’s a wild place out there, and things might not end well for you.” All three women’s mouths fell open.
“What do you mean, you’ve ‘been told’?” Freya demanded, recovering fastest. “You’re receiving orders?” Something flickered in his eyes, but he pressed his lips together. “What are you planning?”
“We don’t have any more information, ma’am,” he said. Ma’am? They’d just been abducted by three bloodthirsty shape shifters who called them ma’am? It didn’t make any sense. “Please make yourselves at home here, using anything in the cabin you want. But, as I said, please don’t try to escape, for your own safety.”
Avoiding eye contact, the three men filed out of the cabin, evidently relieved to be getting away. Freya immediately ran to the door and tried the handle. It was locked. But there were no locks on the windows.
“Girls, what do we do? Shall we
“What the hell is this place?” she muttered.
They came to a large cabin, which was fronted with pillars, a bit like at the White House, and had two stories and a porch. Her captor opened the front door and they were all carried inside and deposited in front of a large, beat-up leather couch.
“Please sit,” her captor said, speaking for the first time in a deep, rumbling voice. At first, she, Marin and Eloise stood defiantly, but, discovering that their legs were shaking, they soon sat down. The three bear men stood in front of them, legs apart and arms crossed menacingly, like nightclub bouncers, but they kept shooting worried glances at each other.
And then came a very loud knock on the door, making everyone jump. Her captor shot towards the door, opened it cautiously, then darted out. Freya glared at the two remaining men. They hadn’t planned to snatch them; that was obvious. They seemed way too nervous and desperate to communicate with each other.
“You’d better tell us right now what the hell you’re doing with us!” she yelled for at least the tenth time, hoping that they’d be weaker with one of them missing. They looked at each other, then back at her again, but said nothing. She let out a roar of frustration. Then she took a sideways glance at Eloise. She looked absolutely petrified, and it tugged at Freya’s heart. She inched her hand over and laid it on hers.
“Everything will work out okay,” she whispered, not believing her own words. Her mind was reeling, trying to compute the various reasons these shifters might have had for snatching them. And then the worst possible reason of all made her stomach lurch in horror. Are they cannibals? Is that why the security fences were so extreme at the wrestling stadium? Have they brought us here as prey? She opened her mouth to demand an answer. She was the kind of person who’d rather know the truth, however unpalatable it was, than drive herself crazy imagining all sorts of possibilities. But she couldn’t ask the question in front of the other two. They’d both have a heart attack before they even heard the answer.
The front door opened and the other guy came back. He looked scared; his eyeballs were practically hanging out of his head. He looked at his friends and shook his head. And then someone bellowed something that sounded a lot like “Fuck!” The sound echoed around the valley outside. To Freya’s amazement, all three men kind of cowered, as if the sound drove a stab of fear into their hearts. Her captor cleared his throat.
“You ladies will need to stay here in my cabin for a while.”
“What are you talking about?” Marin gasped. “What are you doing with us? You can’t just snatch us from a public place, drag us over here, and tell us we need to stay here ,” she finished, imitating his growly voice.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking genuinely contrite. “You’ll be comfortable here. We’ll make sure you have food. We’ve been told not to restrain you, but please don’t try to escape. It’s a wild place out there, and things might not end well for you.” All three women’s mouths fell open.
“What do you mean, you’ve ‘been told’?” Freya demanded, recovering fastest. “You’re receiving orders?” Something flickered in his eyes, but he pressed his lips together. “What are you planning?”
“We don’t have any more information, ma’am,” he said. Ma’am? They’d just been abducted by three bloodthirsty shape shifters who called them ma’am? It didn’t make any sense. “Please make yourselves at home here, using anything in the cabin you want. But, as I said, please don’t try to escape, for your own safety.”
Avoiding eye contact, the three men filed out of the cabin, evidently relieved to be getting away. Freya immediately ran to the door and tried the handle. It was locked. But there were no locks on the windows.
“Girls, what do we do? Shall we
Similar Books
