Return To The Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #3)(10)

Joanna looked utterly miserable and her tear rimmed eyes looked back to the trail Brody had left on. Dammit, he wanted to take her away from here. Not to claim her. It would only hurt her worse to be tethered to a hard man like him. But she was a woman being held in a life she didn’t want, by the clan that had killed her people.

Nathan was going to break her. That much was obvious from the way he had treated her in front of his clan tonight. He didn’t revere her. He only wanted her to bend to him. It was clear they’d been pushing her or she wouldn’t have lost it in there. Or maybe she was angry all the time, he didn’t know. Perhaps she was already broken.

“He wants to see you,” the man said. “He’ll still expect you to share his bed tonight.”

Disgust and roiling anger slammed into Brody and he wanted to change. He wanted to let his bear out and cut the man down for even suggesting Joanna sleep with Nathan. It wasn’t a willing pairing. She had said as much herself, and now she would be forced into his bed? He stood and gripped a low hanging branch to ground himself. If he went after her now, he’d have no way of getting Hannah out of the Long Claw Clan.

Nathan wasn’t some alpha with a council behind him to help him maintain balance when his bear tasted too much power. The man was absolute ruler here, and the madness Brody had seen in his eyes tonight proved he was on a dark path. He was the alpha of the most blood thirsty clan of bear shifters in the world, and he was losing control of his animal side.

Joanna followed the man out of sight and Brody slammed his fist against the tree. He was supposed to be here to find Hannah, and now he had two women he needed to bring to safety. And one of them made him feel…unfocused.

With one last lingering look for where Joanna had disappeared into the woods, he eased back onto the trail and began his decent down the hill toward the main road. If what Joanna said was true, the Long Claws hadn’t been abiding by their peace treaties. Blood Den had been one of their allies, and if they’d been demolished, the entire shifter world should know about it. So why didn’t they?

Because they’re dead. All but Joanna.

If he called in the troops and tried to save Joanna too, Nathan would kill both women before he could reach the center of the clan to search for them. She had said he threatened to kill her, and Brody had never known a Long Claw alpha to bluff. If they said they would destroy something, they did, simple as that. Brody swallowed hard. Now Joanna was next on Nathan’s list of things to destroy.

He tried to ignore the visions of her in Nathan’s bed tonight. It just wasn’t possible for him to think about it and not go after her. He needed back-up. Going after them now would be a suicide mission. Could he take Nathan one-on-one? Probably. But battling the entire Long Claw Clan, all trained for war? He’d die and wouldn’t do any good for either woman.

Or should he just trust that she could get Hannah out?

No. Riker needed to know about the lead in Hannah’s disappearance and if he had help extracting both of them, he wouldn’t have to follow through with claiming Joanna. She’d be better off that way.

He opened the door to his truck as softly as he could, started the engine and hit the pavement. As soon as he felt safe, he dialed Riker.

“What?” came the gruff, tired sounding voice on the other end.

“I think I’ve found her.”

****

The thought to escape with Brody had crossed Joanna’s mind. To beg him to take her with him right then, but she’d never forgive herself if this Hannah woman died because she’d been too scared and weak to try and save her. Plus, Hannah meant something to Brody and he’d never want a partner who didn’t have his back. She didn’t know where the assumption came from, but he just seemed like the kind of man who needed a strong woman beside him.

What the hell was she thinking? She didn’t even know Brody. He was a complete stranger. A sexy, kind stranger who made her stomach do flip-flops, but still—a stranger. And she’d all but thrown herself at him to become his mate? He’d only agreed so she would save his alpha’s mate. Like an idiot, she had jumped from one doomed and loveless relationship to another. At least she wouldn’t be here though.

Freedom lay in a pairing with that man. Brody claiming her would make her unattractive to Nathan. He didn’t share his possessions. Was it a desperate deal made in the heat of the moment? Absolutely, but she’d try anything to escape and find a new life. Plus Brody was handsome, and strong, and most importantly, he seemed to care on a level she hadn’t found in another shifter here.

He reminded her of home.

Blake was right. Nathan would expect her to share his bed tonight, especially after she’d fought with him in front of his clan. He’d want to prove he could control a willful mate. But she wasn’t his, and she had to think of a way out of this.

Back in the days of the guillotine, prisoners were marched in front of the town before their necks were stretched under the blade. The dread that knocked against her insides felt comparable as she walked through the community and to Nathan’s house. The other shifters had apparently heard about her outburst, because they whispered and stared. And even if Joanna held her head high, her stomach was being shredded by nerves that felt like shards of glass. So Nathan’s bedroom wasn’t exactly a guillotine, but a piece of her would die in there tonight.

Blake paused at the bottom of the stairs and she closed her eyes and mentally shook herself. She would think of something, excuse herself somehow and find the woman, Hannah. And by tomorrow night, she’d be free. Her wits just had to hold until then.