Page 42 of Having the Bear's Baby

He chuckled and looked at her collarbone.

There, nice and red, was the mating mark he had left during his climax. It would heal but never fully go away. It was their connection to one another.

Had she been a shifter, it would have allowed for telepathy. He wasn’t sure of the range it had with a human.

“I love you, always,” she said, stroking his cheek.

“I love you forever,” he replied as he lay beside her.

SEVENTEEN

EMMA

Falling asleep had never been so easy for Emma in her entire life. It was just as it should be with Liam near, like slipping into a warm bath after a pleasantly exhausting day. She and Liam had settled into a routine of exploring the woods, chatting, making love, and participating in the behaviors that domestic bliss could offer. She had nearly forgotten about the looming threat of the note, plus the rival alpha’s attempt at intimidating her.

Her love for Liam had blinded her, though it never felt like she was being blinded to the very real horrors that surrounded a life of shifterhood. She would look back and wonder, too, if her presence had distracted Liam from partaking in any form of defensiveness.

As always, hindsight was 20/20.

So while she slept like a lamb next to her big bear of a man, enemies encircled the property of the cabin. They weren’t so stealthy once they landed inside the bedroom, clanking and clamoring through the door with their massive bodies.

“Wakey, wakey!”

Emma wasn’t sure if it was the thud of the door being kicked in or the shriek of the strange voice that woke her, pulling her from her slumber. It took her a few seconds to realize what was happening when her ankles were grabbed, sending her crashing to the floor.

She arched her back in response, the blow feeling like she had been pummeled with sledgehammers right along her spine. Despite the pain, her first thought was for the baby.

“Get your hands off her!”

Liam, who was also caught off guard, leapt out of bed at an astonishing speed. But two other shifters were already waiting for him at the side of the bed. They yanked him by the shoulders and twisted both thick arms into awkward positions, a few of his bones popping in response to the angle.

He cried out in agony and surprise while Emma was pulled along the floor and into the living room. She lay there frozen in fear, attempting to protect the fetus already growing inside her, as the voice of the man who had so violently intruded upon them rose from the shores of her memory.

“No time for any of that, dear Liam.” The man snorted.

Liam was strong, of course. The man was a fucking alpha. But there were three of them and only one of him. Plus, Emma was carrying their child, which, in that moment of being pulled across the carpet like a dead corpse, made her feel as dainty and fragile as a glass Christmas ornament.

She stared up at the ceiling, growing aggressively awake as the pain rumbled through her spine. I have to stay calm. Listen to what they want.

She knew before Liam was brought into the living room with her, the two of them tied up with cabled ropes at the wrists and ankles and laid in front of the fireplace, that her bear shifter had entirely different plans.

“Are you okay?” her beloved said, breathless.

Emma nodded. She was mostly telling the truth, but her body was in a state of shock. All of her muscles had gone rigid for the sake of preservation, likely an evolutionary response that soon-to-be mothers learned reflexively. The cables tied around her wrists were tight as hell and would likely result in some rainbow-eyed bruising patterns.

If they survived the ordeal, anyway.

Before they could exchange any more words, two of the shifters placed their feet on top of Liam’s thighs in an attempt to keep him sedated and secure. Pinned in place with their weight, Liam growled.

Sweat stung in Emma’s eyes. She leaned in close to Liam, her elbow brushing against his.

“Liam…”

She was cut off by the familiar man, beginning to slowly clap. A gruesome, hideous grin stretched across his face like a mask. Liam must not have seen him when they first came in because he nearly burst at the seams the second he began to cackle.

He recognizes him. Like I do.

“Oh, you two really don’t waste time, do you?” the man said. “No foreplay involved in this relationship, right, dear Liam?”

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