Woodcutter Werebear (Saw Bears Book 2) Read Free Page A

won’t happen.” Kellen’s hands had a strangle hold on the steering wheel. “It won’t because I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
    “You don’t know how powerful my people are, and my bloodline is important to them.” She sighed and shrugged her shoulders as if to ward away her misery. “Roger is a good fighter, and he was born a shifter, not Turned. He’s a legacy. He’s helped to win important battles, and that’s how he won the right to take me as a mate. I’m a breeder.”
    “A breeder.”
    “Yeah, it’s when—”
    “I know what a fucking breeder is, Skyler. I’m just not buying that you actually believe that is all you are. Your people don’t deserve you.”
    God, he didn’t understand at all. It was so easy for him to judge her, but he didn’t really know. This was how she’d been raised. She’d been born into a culture of people at odds with their own kind. Rules were in place to ensure the survival of her species. Apparently Kellen’s people, whatever and whoever they were, didn’t care about longevity.
    “You want a baby with Roger?” he asked, his voice hard as steel. “You think he’d make a good father to your offspring?”
    “No,” she said, voice trembling.
    “How long do you think you’re going to be able to put him off? What was your plan? He’ll force the issue sooner or later, and you’ll be hurt. And any kid you have—” A long, low snarl came from him. Kellen slammed down on the brakes and doubled over.
    The truck was still rolling slowly forward, foot by foot, but Kellen had his eyes closed and couldn’t see where to steer. And now, they were headed for the edge of the road that dropped off to a steep embankment. With a squeak of terror, Skyler slammed her hand against his knee until the brake hit the floorboard, then threw the gearshift into park.
    “Kellen, not here.”
    “I can’t—fuck.” His breath was ragged and red crept up his neck, up a scar that stretched across his face that she hadn’t noticed before. His shoulders heaved, and the air became heavy with something powerful, just above her senses.
    Desperate not to die in the truck with whatever was tearing its way slowly out of Kellen right now, she reached over him and shoved his door open. Unbuckling him, she prayed he wouldn’t eat her. She’d never met another type of shifter before. She was in control of her thoughts when she Turned, but would he be?
    She pushed him hard, and he hit the gravel road with a thud. Curled on his side, he grunted in pain.
    The keys were dangling from the steering column, and her kidnapper was utterly helpless as he tried not to shift. She could leave. She could shut the door and drive back the way they came and go back to Roger before he noticed she was gone.
    Skyler gripped the door handle, prepared to shut it and speed back to her life. Back to her crappy, hopeless, fear-riddled life.
    “Trust me,” Kellen said in a ragged whisper.
    She must’ve misheard him. “What?”
    “Don’t leave. Just trust me. Ahh!” His neck snapped backward, and his eyes watered with anguish. The soft brown color had been replaced by an intense silver, and the thick muscles in his neck strained.
    Hell. Kellen was going through hell trying not to shift.
    She could go back to her horrid life, or she could take a chance with Kellen. She could stay and take a break from the suck. She slid from the truck and cradled his head. “One day, and you’ll take me back.”
    “One day, and you’ll beg me not to.”
    She drew up short. He seemed so confident. If he knew the people he was pissing off, he wouldn’t be so keen on keeping her near. “One day.”
    His eyes never left hers as he nodded once.
    “Let him out,” she whispered against his ear. “I won’t leave you—not yet. Let your animal out and stop the pain.”
    An agonized groan left his lips and tapered into a growl. “Get in the truck.”
    He didn’t have to ask her twice. She scampered in, shut the door, then hit the