Stolen By Her Bear by Felicity Heaton

Chapter 7

Holly woke with a start, the hairs on her nape rising as her senses locked onto someone standing over her. She opened her eyes and stiffened, scooted backwards on the bed to place more distance between her and the male.

Not Saint.

She blinked sleep from her eyes, struggling to shake its hold, and eased back a little more as she took stock. It was one of the other males she had seen when Saint had been bringing her to his cabin. Hope flared and then died, her first thought that it was the one who had looked ready to try to help her swift to fall away as she got a good look at him.

As her eyes met blue ones that were dark as he gazed at her, as he towered over her without saying a word. He didn’t need to speak for her to feel the threat, to know he wasn’t going to be as gentle with her as Saint had been. Darkness etched itself on his handsome features and the fear she had expected to feel when she had been faced with Saint last night was quick to come this time.

She backed away a little more. “What do you want?”

Her senses stretched out, making her feel like a fool as she searched for Saint, some part of her desperately hoping to find him in the room below. Nearby.

There was only this male.

When he said nothing, she hissed at him and bared her emerging fangs in a threat. She scrambled onto her knees and off the other side of the bed, placing it between them. He cast a look at it and then at her, and chuckled. She was well aware the bed wouldn’t stop him from reaching her if he wanted to, but it was her only line of defence. She couldn’t shift without shedding at least some of her clothes and she wasn’t about to strip in front of this male, giving him the wrong impression.

“Where’s Saint?” Her voice wobbled a little as she tried to reach further than the walls of the cabin with her senses and found nothing but silence. Not even a blip of a person or anything for that matter. She glanced to her right, to the small window, and watched the snow swirling past it.

Her heart started at a pace as she grew deeply aware that she was alone with this male.

“Saint’s out.” The male’s deep voice was little more than a growl. “Seemed pretty irritated. You want to explain why my alpha needed to take a walk in a blizzard, cougar?”

“I wouldn’t know. Have you tried asking him?” she snapped, her hands shaking as she glanced to her right, at the window again, and then the banister.

He slowly moved around the foot of the bed, each step measured, his gaze never straying from her as he put an end to thoughts of vaulting over the railing and making a run for it.

“Told me to look after you.” Those words, spoken in a brusque tone with a hint of wicked light in his eyes, had her moving.

She leaped over the bed and ran for the stairs.

Shrieked when he grabbed her from behind, his arms locking tight around her stomach, crushing her lungs.

“Where do you think you’re going? I’m not about to have my alpha mad at me because you escaped on my watch,” he growled into her ear and she wriggled and kicked at his legs. He clucked his tongue. “Play nice now, little kitty.”

Like hell she would.

Holly reared her head back and smashed it against his face, ripping a grunt from him. The scent of blood laced the air and his grip on her loosened, and she broke free, stumbled a little as she landed with one foot on one step and the other further down the stairs.

“You little bitch.” He lunged for her.

She ducked beneath his wild swing and punched him in the groin.

Twisted and ran down the stairs.

Shrieked and drew up short as he dropped right in front of her, his landing shaking the floorboards.

His blue eyes flashed dangerously as he advanced on her.

“You give Saint this much trouble? No wonder he needed a walk. Surprised he didn’t kill you.” His grin was cold as it stretched his lips. “Don’t expect me to be so nice, Ember.”

She had been about to run, but locked up tight before moving a step as his words hit her.

“Ember?” She frowned.

He grabbed her while she was distracted, twisted his hand into her black hair and ripped a cry from her as he hauled her to him. She bumped against his chest, fought to ignore the pain in her scalp as her heart and thoughts raced, and focused her mind.

She brought her knee up hard between his legs and he released her as he doubled over.

Snarled. “You hit me there again and I’m going to get angry.”

Holly made a break for the other end of the couch to him, not missing how she was replaying exactly what she had done last night, or the fact that this time she was terrified. She didn’t have time to examine why she hadn’t feared Saint as she feared this male, shoved it aside for later and focused on evading him as he hurled himself at her.

She nimbly leaped to one side, watched him sail past and land hard on the floor.

Made a break for it.

Ran right for the door she had ignored several times when doing this same dance with Saint.

She yanked it open and wind slammed against her, knocking her back, and snow blinded her, the bitter bite of it swift to chill her skin.

The male grabbed her from behind again. “Not a chance. Saint will kill me if you go running back to your mate on my watch.”

“Mate?” Holly frowned and pieced something together. “You called me Ember earlier. You think I’m Cobalt’s mate.”

That was why Saint had talked about Cobalt coming to save her.

They all thought she was Ember.

Anger was swift to rush through her, heating her blood and boosting her courage. They had meant to take Ember from Cobalt, had wanted to hurt both her best friend and a male who was coming to mean a lot to her too.

Holly hissed and growled, wrestled against the male’s hold and when he only tightened his grip, she lifted her feet and braced them against the kitchen counter and the wall.

Bears were strong.

But cougars were made for jumping.

She gritted her teeth and snarled as she kicked off, as she sent both her and the male flying. He grunted as he landed hard, as wood cracked beneath him and she landed on top of him, half of her expecting to go straight through the floorboards. The bear’s grip on her went lax and she sprang from his arms, swiftly turned and brought her foot down hard onto his stomach. His legs and shoulders lurched upwards, his arms flying to his waist as he grunted.

“You son of a bitch!” She levelled another kick, striking him hard in his side, and leaped backwards when he made a grab for her ankle. “I’m not Ember. I’m her best friend… and you’re going to pay for trying to hurt her.”

She flexed her fingers, her nails transforming into short claws as a hunger to hurt the male shot through her, as thoughts of her beloved Ember being held as she had been, treated as she had been, darkened her mood.

Holly yelped as the male grabbed her leg and pulled, loosed a grunt as she slammed onto her back and the air exploded from her lungs.

Before she could muster the strength to move, the bear was on top of her, his legs pinning hers, his hands tightly clutching her wrists to hold them to the floor above her head.

She stared up into his blue eyes, her pulse pounding faster, her instinct to fight giving way to a desperate need to escape as fear rocketed through her. Thoughts of hurting him turned into nightmarish visions of him hurting her.

He tightened his grip on her wrists and she cried out as her bones ached, as fire lanced them. He opened his mouth to say something.

She shrieked again as the door beyond her head burst open, as snow blasted inside.

And a terrifying roar deafened her.