Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
I clench my jaw and flex my chest, ready to battle him again. He’s not getting out. No fucking way.
He claws and hacks at me as he charges up with a roaring battle cry. I squeeze every muscle in my body as I grunt and strain, barely holding him back. I stumble into the brick wall behind me, grunting and cursing and wishing we could both be out at the same time so we could fight for real. I’d love to pound my fists into his furry fucking face, but the real curse is that we’re never out at the same time. It’s a cruel twist of fate.
He slinks back down for the moment, but I can tell he’s not done. He’s circling in a violent rage, huffing out feral grunts as I catch my breath.
What are you gonna do? I say, egging him on. You can’t do shit.
Find her! he roars.
Fuck you!
He comes at me again with more force than ever. I slam back into the wall as I struggle to get a grip. A car pulls into the parking lot, but we’re too far gone to stop. I’m fighting for my life here. If this furry prick gets out, he’s going to take me to god knows where and do god knows what. I’ll wake up in Nevada, naked with no ID or money.
“No,” I roar as he starts to slip out. I feel him coming…
My skin tightens, ready to tear as my arms and shoulders balloon. My gums and teeth burn as I feel my canines lengthening and sharpening. My spine curves as the vertebrates pop and crack, rearranging themselves. My fingertips split. Pain sears through my fingers and into my hands as long black claws slide out.
I brace myself, ready to be pulled into the darkness where I’ll be trapped for days or weeks, watching helplessly as this furious beast rampages through the world, but then…
Everything… stops…
I’m stuck mid phase, looking like something out of a horror movie as a car door opens.
We turn with a growl as the scent hits us like a ten ton truck. It tingles our nostrils and sears down our throat. It’s like lightning in our lungs—sweet and sharp and burning with promises that nothing will ever be the same.
We both savor the sweet succulent scent as we turn our head for more.
For once, we’re not fighting. For once, we’re on the same page.
We both want the same thing—MORE.
I push away from the building, taking a step forward, and that’s when we see her.
We both go deathly still.
It’s her. My mate. There’s no doubt in my mind.
My bear knows it too. He just watches in awe. We both do. She’s incredible.
It’s a beater of a car with dust on the hood and dents along the side, but she steps out like a queen descending from a chariot.
I nearly drop to my knees and bow, wanting to worship her properly.
She’s stunning.
Even more perfect than I could have ever dreamed up.
Those blue eyes… They grip me immediately and I know they’ll never let me go.
It pains me to tear my eyes off them, but I want to see the rest of her. She has the silkiest, softest-looking dark hair. It’s loose around her shoulders and dancing in the breeze. The movement is mesmerizing. It’s pulling me in. There’s nothing I want more than to sink my hands into it and pull her soft mouth to mine. Those lips… That mouth… I know she’s mine, but how do I get to the moment when I can kiss those lips whenever I want? How do I get from this—lurking on the side of my shop, mid-phase, looking and feeling like a monster—to the moment we’re like those couples inside, googling at each other and stopping every few steps to kiss? I desperately want to be there.
My eyes continue roaming down her sweet, perfect body. She has a large hoodie on that drapes over one bare shoulder, a black tank top on underneath. The sight of her skin makes me all shaky inside. I want to touch her. I want to taste her. I want to claim every inch of that beautiful girl.
She slams the car door closed and it shakes us out of our stupor.
Mine, my bear growls in my ear.
“Ours,” I whisper back.
He reluctantly agrees.
Now get back inside and let me handle this.
He takes one last look at her and then begrudgingly slinks back in, handing over control. My giant shoulders and swollen arms return to their normal size. My long sharp canines retract. My spine straightens and the long black claws retreat into my fingers.
I take a deep breath and glance down. I’m a mess—ripped clothes, coffee-stained jeans. She can’t see me like this. Not for the first time.
I hear the front door of the shop open and the bell ringing as I race to the back door. I head inside and grab the spare clothes I have tucked away in the back. I pull on some jeans, a different shirt, my black apron, and take a second to fix my hair and splash some water on my face.