Page 23 of Goldie and Her Bears (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 3)

“Not unless you have any…” his voice held a hint of worry.

“Nope. None,” I said through a smile.

“Are you ready to get some rest now?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

He chuckled and rolled to his side, wrapping an arm around me. I carefully rolled to my side, wincing through the pain the movement caused my leg, and settled into him. My eyes closed.

I never expected him to save me, much less with Kai’s help, but I had never been happier that he had. I would have missed out on such amazing sex.

Maybe my trip wasn’t so much of a mistake after all.

10

KAI

Deep in the forest, I hunted in my bear form. The sun felt warm on my back, but the gentle breeze that surrounded me was cold. The weather was starting to change, and I itched for all the fish I could eat. I stuck my nose into the air and sniffed. Fish, water, and mud filled my nostrils. I blew it out with a small sneeze. I was close to the river.

The soft ground sank beneath my paws as I continued to move toward the stream. As much as I normally enjoyed my little treks to my favorite fishing spot, my thoughts kept going back to the girl. Normally, I didn’t bother myself with my human worries when I was in my bear form. My animal side normally took over and enjoyed the freedom. But ever since Cassie showed up—not on in my home, but in my bed—I’ve been trying to figure out who she really was and what she was really doing in my home.

A sharp, metallic clap sounded next to me.

I snapped my attention toward it. Narrowing my eyes on the trap that managed to set itself off. I sniffed it and growled. That was too close for comfort. I batted the thing with my paw, and it went flying through the air until the chain it was attached to, embedded in the ground, prevented it from going any farther and fell to the ground with a thud.

Fucking hunters. But they weren’t the only ones to blame. Sure, they were a nuisance, laying out traps that anyone could fall victim to… and had. Cassie was just as much in fault. She was messing everything up. She was nothing but a distraction. Even as I minded my own business, going for a hunt, she refused to leave my thoughts.

Why did she have to show up at our cabin? Sure, she said she was lost. But that was a lie. While most humans did tend to get lost in these woods, I wasn’t buying that as her excuse. I still believed she was much more than a simple human, and she only used the lie of getting lost as an excuse to get closer to Jasper. That much, I was certain of. And it was a point which also begged the question: did she somehow manage to follow him?

Though that seemed unlikely for a human to do, it wasn’t for a witch. A small hair, a piece of skin, a thread of fabric from clothing would have been enough to use a location spell. Hell, I don’t know what witches call it, but I know it’s a way to track and hunt down targets. People on the black market had used them for some time. Though I would never share how I got that knowledge, it was knowledge nonetheless, and it was proving useful.

For once.

While all the questions rolled through my mind, I carefully raked my gaze along the area surrounding me, checking for more traps before slowly moving forward. The girl was a distraction even when I was alone in the woods, far away from her. That only furthered my suspicions.

That woman was nothing but bad news. I felt as much, gnawing at my nerves, deep inside my gut. There was also something more to her and her so-called getting “lost” in the woods. And I was going to find out what that was before my brothers were lost to me, falling under Cassie’s scheme. Because whatever she had planned for them, it wasn’t good, and I would be damned if I saw my brother’s fall into a trap they couldn’t see coming, and I did.

After about fifteen minutes of carefully walking through the woods, making sure to avoid any further traps, I stopped to sniff the air again. The stream was closer. My stomach growled in anticipation of the feast I had promised myself. With my mouth watering, I continued forward with more speed.

It wasn’t long before Cassie entered my thoughts again. I focused on the damage she had already done, and what I could do to prevent further damage being done.

Jasper was already under the witch’s spell. As unfortunate as that was, I had to have faith that he wasn’t too far gone to recover. Maybe if I acted quick enough, I could get Jasper to snap out of it and see the truth. I might even be able to save Chase from falling for her even a little. That was if he hadn’t already started to fawn over her.

The girl was lying. To prove it, I needed to figure out the truth. I was going to save my brothers from the witch, if it was the last thing I did.

My paw brushed against cold, hard steel barely covered by the debris that covered the forest floor. I sucked in a breath as dread washed through me. I almost didn’t react in time to keep my paw from becoming crushed in the trap.

The teeth snapped closDeep in the forest, I hunted in my bear form. The sun felt warm on my back, but the gentle breeze that blew around me was cold. The weather was starting to change, and I itched for all the fish I could eat. I stuck my nose into the air and sniffed. Fish, water, and the stagnant scent of mud had filled my nostrils. I blew it out with a small sneeze. I was close to the river.

The soft ground sank beneath my paws as I continued to move toward the stream. As much as I normally enjoyed my little treks to my favorite fishing spot, my thoughts kept going back to the girl. Normally, I didn’t bother myself with my human worries when I was in my bear form. My animal side normally took over and enjoyed the freedom. But ever since Cassie showed up—not only in my home, but in my bed—I’ve been trying to figure out who she really was and what she was actually doing in my home.

A sharp, metallic clap sounded next to me.

I snapped my attention toward it. Narrowing my eyes on the trap that managed to set itself off. I sniffed it and growled. It was a near miss and much too close for comfort. I batted the thing with my paw, and it went flying through the air until the chain it was attached to, embedded in the ground, prevented it from going any farther and fell to the ground with a thud.

Fucking hunters. But they weren’t the only ones to blame. Sure, they were a nuisance, laying out traps anyone could fall victim to… and had. Cassie was just as much at fault. She was messing everything up. She was nothing but a distraction. Especially so, as I minded my own business, going for a hunt, she refused to leave my thoughts.

Why did she have to show up at our cabin? Sure, she said she was lost, which was nothing but an obvious lie. While most humans did tend to get lost in these woods, I wasn’t buying her excuse. I still believed she was much more than a simple human, and she only used the lie of getting lost as an excuse to get closer to Jasper. That much, I was certain of. And it was a point which also begged the question: did she somehow manage to follow him?

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