Taming the Beast

It wasn’t safe for her to be moving around, and especially not safe for her to be living by herself in the wilderness.

He grabbed a thick log and slammed it onto the chopping block. Of course she thinks you’re a monster. You are a monster.

With a grunt he brought the ax down on the log, easily breaking it in half.

You shouldn’t be around her. You should let her go.

But he couldn’t. Even though he had vowed to spend the rest of his days in solitude, he couldn’t just let her go. She could die.

And Logan had been responsible for enough death.

He placed another log on the chopping block and gritted his teeth as he brought the ax down on it. Chopping wood always calmed his bear when the beast got agitated, but for some reason, his bear was as calm as could be.

It was strange. His bear wasn’t trying to claw his way out of his skin to get to the girl. He wasn’t bloodthirsty and out of control like he had been the last time that Logan was around humans. It was almost as if his bear had a thing for the girl.

And why not? She was definitely beautiful.

Long brown hair that fell down on her shoulders in breathtaking waves, sparkling amber eyes as bright as the leaves in fall, a curvy body that got his heart racing, and a nice round ass that took the words out of his mouth.

He had been watching her for over a week, hanging around the pond just to catch a glimpse of her incredible beauty. Logan had spent the days pacing in excitement to see her and then went to bed, thinking of her all night. She was the first person to speak to him in years, and it made him realize how truly lonely he really was.

It almost made him want to…go back.

“You can’t go back,” he growled, slamming the ax down on the log. You know what will happen if you do.

“You can’t go back where?” she asked, startling him.

He turned around with a gasp. She had him on such a razor’s edge that he didn’t even notice her sneaking up behind him.

“You should be resting in bed,” he said, quickly turning away so that she wouldn’t have to see his hideous scars.

“I’m not tired.”

He grunted as he yanked the ax out of the chopping block. She wasn’t tired! She had a head injury and needed to rest. She was infuriating. This wasn’t going to end well.

“You’re a bear shifter,” she said. “Aren’t you?”

Logan sighed, desperately wanting to turn around to see her gorgeous face. But doing that would mean having to see the horror in her eyes again as she looked at his scars. And the pain of seeing that wasn’t worth anything.

“That was you by the water every day,” she said, not letting it go. “Why did you run when I tried to come over?”

He cringed. “It wasn’t safe.”

“Why?”

Logan turned halfway, careful to keep his scars hidden from her view. She was standing there with her arms crossed, a demanding look on her face. “Why was it unsafe?” she repeated.

Logan sighed. “Why were you coming near me?”

“Do you always answer a question with a question?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “Because that’s really annoying. I was trying to give you a hug. You looked like you needed one.”

Logan turned away, his large shoulders dropping. “You shouldn’t hug monsters.”

He grabbed another log and continued chopping, slicing three thick logs in half before she spoke again.

“I like your bear better than you.”

His mouth dropped open, his heart slowing in his chest. She liked his bear better? The bloodthirsty murderer?