I hear a door slam behind me and I know it’s her before I hear her hollering. “Get the fuck out of here, Rhys!” Brooklyn screams as she runs over. “You don’t belong here!”
The bears and tigers are thrashing around in a violent brawl all around us. I don’t want her anywhere near this place.
“Brooklyn, stay back,” I beg, but she looks furious and keeps on coming.
“Get in the truck you little—” Rhys’ face drops when he sees my mark on her neck. “His mark… you’re mates?”
I turn to him with a possessive growl. “Don’t talk to her. Ever.”
Brooklyn spots her brother’s tiger and screams. “Oliver! What are you doing here?!”
The small cat jumps on Adrian’s huge back and gets thrown off almost immediately. He slams into a tree trunk with a crunch and falls to the ground limp.
Brooklyn runs over to help him. I go to follow her, but Rhys steps in my path.
“I don’t care if your mark is on her,” he hisses. “Brooklyn is my property. She’s my step-daughter and I have ownership over her.”
My bear is going nuts inside. He wants to get out and maul this guy.
“I was going to let you walk out of here,” I tell him as I rile my bear up even more. “But that’s not going to happen now. You’re a dead man.”
“Your father didn’t put up much of a fight,” he says with a sneer. “I doubt you will either.”
I rush at him and slam my fist into his jaw. He stumbles back as I hit him again and again and again. My bear is roaring to get out, but I’m enjoying hitting this bastard and I’m not done yet.
I hit him with an uppercut and then follow it with a roundhouse but he ducks out of the way. I grunt as he slams his fist into my stomach and then hits my eye. He hits hard. He’s bigger and stronger, but I’m faster and I have destiny on my side. I’m fighting for my mate.
We batter each other some more and then we separate, both bleeding and breathing heavily.
“Had enough?” he asks with a grin.
I shake my head and let my bear come. “Not until you’re dead.”
We both explode into our animals and attack.Chapter TenBrooklynOliver’s tiger whimpers as he tries to get up and then stumbles back to the ground. I’m running over to him, hoping I get to him in time before he sprints back into the fight.
“No,” I shout as he gets back onto his paws and bounds away. I dive and catch his tail, pulling him back as I fall to the ground.
His tiger whips his head around and snarls at me. I slap him as hard as I can.
“Oliver!” I scream. “Get out here!”
The tiger shakes and the tail disappears from my hand as he phases back into his human form.
“What are you doing here, Brooklyn?” he shouts. “You’re embarrassing me! Let me go!”
I’m holding onto his arm and pulling him back with all my strength. Adrian’s grizzly bear is in a full-on lunatic rage. He’s lunging on every cat in front of him, ripping out striped fur and chunks of skin with his vicious jaws.
“You’re fighting against the good guys, Oliver,” I tell him as I point at Logan’s bear. The sounds are horrible as he wrestles on the ground with Rhys’ giant tiger. “Can’t you see that?”
“Rhys is family now,” Oliver says as he tries to yank his arm away from me. I grip it tighter.
“That bear is my mate,” I say, desperate for him to see. “Rhys killed his dad and he’s trying to kill all of them too. They’re good men, Oliver. Better than the crew you’re hanging out with.”
He stops pulling on his arm as we watch the grizzly and tiger fight. Rhys leaps onto Logan’s back and sinks his teeth into the scruff of his neck. Logan roars out and then throws him off with a fierce shake.
“You’re fighting against me,” I tell him as tears sting my eyes. “I’m on their side now. Rhys is trying to kill me.”
His eyes dart over to mine and I can see my real brother in them for once. It’s the first time since we moved here that I can see the goodness in him again.
“I’m sorry, Brooklyn,” he says, trying not to cry. “I just wanted Rhys to like me. I miss Dad so much.”
“I know,” I say as I wrap my arms around him. “I do too.”
I finally have my brother back, but I can’t enjoy it for long. We’re in the middle of a vicious battle.
Adrian’s bear is chasing a large tiger across the parking lot. The cat leaps onto the roof of their pickup truck and Adrian slams his shoulder into the door, sending the tiger flying off as the truck rolls over.