Billionaire Bear Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset Read online

  “When I was a boy?” Nathan said, squinting at her. He’d taken her hand in his and given her his parka too, insisting that he wasn’t cold.

  “I just want to know more about you,” she explained. “I want to know everything about you.”

  “I was a happy kid,” he said, shrugging. “I mean, I always had my brothers. We weren’t super close to my parents but they were good people, good bears. They passed away some years ago. Left us their fortune. The family goes way back. Old bear aristocrats. But they were pretty assimilated. Towards the end, they really didn’t even shift much. I think that’s why my brothers and I weren’t very close to them. We were more bear and they were more human.”

  “I think that’s bad for shifters,” Alanna said. “Anyway, I wouldn’t be able to live that way. Growing up, my brother and I lived as bears a lot of the time. You don’t need money…”

  “Yeah,” Nathan said, nodding. “And you can live out in nature. It’s peaceful. I like my life running the lodge though. It’s kinda the best of both worlds. But then, we’re lucky. We always had money.”

  “And we were dirt poor,” Alanna said. They were hiking down a steep hill and Nathan helped her climb down some rocks and led her through a shortcut in a crevice that saved them a couple of miles. When they’d climbed back up onto level land, Nathan took her hand again.

  “It was still the same in a way,” Alanna went on. “My brother and I always had each other. We could always count on that.”

  “Yeah,” Nathan said, nodding. “Like when I ran off when I was younger, I just left my brothers. But when I came back they just accepted me again. Especially Connor. That’s why I will always have his back no matter what. He’s always had mine.” He looked into Alanna’s eyes and said firmly, “And I will always have yours.”

  “I know you’re a good man,” Alanna said, grimacing at the sight of the lodge at the bottom of their mountain, getting closer and closer. “And I believe you’re my mate because I can feel it. But…”

  “But what?” Nathan whispered, letting go of her hand to wrap his arm around her waist.

  “You know how brutal he is.” Her heart was racing and it was uncomfortable in her chest. It thundered with the fear of whatever lay at the bottom of that mountain. “He fights dirty and he doesn’t care who he hurts. That’s why he always wins.”

  She could remember Rawley’s face close to hers when he’d held her captive, the way he’d sneered at her, delighting in her discomfort.

  “When he kept me under lock and key, he’d come down to visit me. It was weird…he never touched me. Not really. But he was so good at making me afraid of it that it was just as bad. You know?”

  Nathan wouldn’t look at her. A flurry had begun to fall and he squinted into the snow as he led her off a trail and down to a paved road that led straight back to the lodge. He’d known all the shortcuts to get them back quickly. She sort of wished they’d taken their time. Every inch closer made her blood run a little colder.

  “Yeah,” Nathan said darkly. “He was always good at that. Talking people into things. When I knew him, it was mostly by being charming. Talking them into bad ideas. But I guess it’s just as easy to talk someone into being terrified.”

  “Yeah.” She leaned into him as they walked down the paved road.

  “Alanna,” Nathan said. “When I say, I have your back. When I say, I’m your mate and when I say he will not hurt you again, I know it could get me killed. I know how powerful he is. He’s probably bringing some big guys with him and my brothers and I can fight but—”

  “Nathan,” Alanna said, shaking her head.

  “But,” he continued, “this has been a long time coming. My past was always going to come back to bite me but I’ve made my peace with it. If I go down fighting for you, it’s okay. And I never want you to feel guilty.”

  “Don’t say that,” she whispered.

  I’ll go down fighting for you too, she thought. But she couldn’t say it. It would only make him feel worse. But she promised herself, as they cut across the bunny slope and headed to one of the back entrances of the lodge, she wouldn’t lose Nathan Strauss without making Rawley pay for it somehow.

  “Nathan!”

  Nathan was leading Alanna down a corridor at the back of the lodge behind the kitchens when Cody came running up to them, eyes wide. “Shit! Wait, no don’t go out on the floor.”

  Nathan and Alanna stopped cold and Nathan squeezed her hand, shooting her a fierce look as Cody caught his breath.

  “He’s here,” Nathan said. “Isn’t he?”

  “He’s in the dining hall,” Cody said tightly. “Came in asking for John and Alanna.” He nodded to Alanna and said, “Hi, by the way. I’m Cody Strauss.”

  Alanna swallowed and she hated the way she trembled, her body a traitor to her fear.

  “He’s throwing his weight around,” Cody said. “Rawley went up to the room and nobody answered. Eric told him John and Alanna went into town to stall. But it’s not going to stall him forever. We need—”

  “A plan.” Eric was striding up to them, followed by the owner Alanna had seen occasionally greeting guests on the floor, Connor, the oldest and largest of the Strauss brothers. Alanna found herself relaxing slightly. Nathan made her feel safe, but all the brothers together made her feel as if she were backed by a tiny army.

  “He’s got a lot of men,” Connor said, nodding to Alanna in greeting. “They’re taking over the dining hall, getting rowdy. They’re making a point of it to intimidate us.” He narrowed his eyes. “In my lodge. It’s really pissing me off.”

  “You didn’t tell us how fucking big he is either,” Cody said, smacking Nathan’s arm.

  “I don’t remember him being that big,” Nathan said, frowning. “He was shorter than me.”

  All the other brothers gaped at Nathan and Alanna yelped in surprise. “He’s not anymore!” she said. “He’s bigger than him.” She nodded at Connor.

  “What?” Nathan shook his head. “How? I mean he could put on muscle but...”

  “If you’ve got the money and the will,” Connor said, “you can get the right warlock to do anything for you. Anyway, he’s huge now. Over seven feet tall. And...bulky.”

  “Shit,” Nathan murmured, and he looked at Alanna with a small epiphany in his eyes. He had pictured a smaller man going after her. She could practically see the gears in his head working as he pictured everything with this new version of Rawley.

  “How many men would you say he has?” Cody asked Eric.

  “I’m guessing like twenty,” Eric said. “I mean we’re tough but…”

  “Guns?” Nathan said.

  “I haven’t seen any yet.”

  “What about my brother?” Alanna said. “He’s kinda lean? Long dark hair? Probably beat up.”

  Eric and Connor shook their heads. “We haven’t seen him yet,” Connor said.

  “He’s saving his leverage,” Nathan said.

  The Strauss brothers were all talking but Alanna barely heard them.

  Twenty men.

  It was all she could think about. Four against twenty. It didn’t matter how tough the Strauss brothers thought they were or that Nathan had marked her or that they all meant well.

  Four against twenty was some shitty math and it was going to get them all killed.

  She thought of Alex’s soft voice in her ear.

  Do you remember Crockett River?

  She thought of the pact they’d shared. They could force each other to save themselves and they would always have to agree to it no matter what…

  She took a deep breath and treated herself to one last look at Nathan. She didn’t regret coming back down the mountain with him even though it meant her doom. It had given her a few more minutes with the best man she’d ever met.

  Goodbye, my mate.

  As the men continued to talk, Alanna slipped away down the corridor and out to the dining hall. He could doubtless smell her already. It did no good to hide.

/>   She could hear them laughing and she smelled Rawley’s cigar smoke. He was always smoking cigars, especially when he was trying to intimidate people. He liked to blow the smoke in their faces.

  Alanna’s stomach dropped at the very sight of him.

  Rawley was an unnaturally big man, but he looked especially large sitting in the small wooden dining chair by one of the big windows that looked out on the town below, his big belly shaking as he laughed at something one of his men said. They were all sitting around a big table with tumblers of whiskey and plates of half-eaten food. All the guests had left and Alanna wasn’t surprised. Rawley very deliberately gave off vibes that said nothing but “danger.” They’d probably all scattered off to their rooms or gone into town. Rawley had taken over the place. He was holding the entire lodge hostage and it made Alanna feel guilty. None of the Strauss’s deserved this in their place.

  Alanna forced herself to keep walking, clenching her fists at her side. Rawley couldn’t see her yet but she watched one of his men tap him on the shoulder and he turned his head, leering when he saw her, his cigar puffing white smoke that spiraled into the air.

  “There she is!” Rawley’s voice boomed and Alanna walked around the table to face him; the sum of all her fears. “My bride! My new bride, I should say.” His men all guffawed at that. She counted eight of them at the table and a few others just milled around the dining hall, picking at the food left by fleeing guests, standing guard, or sitting at other tables with their drinks.

  “I’m here,” Alanna said. Her voice sounded stronger to her than she felt and she stood up straight. “You told me to be here and I’m here.”

  Rawley was not only big now, and he was mostly bald. What hair he did have was a mousie shade of brown and it had thinned into a triangle atop his liver-spotted, bulbous head. He was round, with a big belly, but that hid a lot of muscle. She had seen him take down stronger looking men. He had challenged bears at the party she’d attended, pinning younger bears to the floor and spitting in their faces, showing them how powerful he was before he finally let them go...or didn’t.

  “And where the hell is John?”

  “I don’t know,” Alanna said.

  Rawley stared at her with an utterly blank expression on his face and Alanna shivered. The guys were going to come running out any second and she had to get Rawley to leave before that happened. Her heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

  “I think you do know,” Rawley said, getting to his feet. It was all much worse with him, looming over here. He was nearly two feet taller than her and never wanted her to forget it. “I want my man back. I don’t know what you’ve been doing fooling around with these Strauss boys but I’ll rip all their throats out just for fun if I like.”

  “Where’s Alex?” Alanna said. She didn’t know where she got the courage to even ask. “I want to see Alex alive and then I’ll tell you where John is.”

  “Or I could kill you right now,” Rawley whispered.

  The hand that wrapped around her throat moved quicker than it should have, considering how heavy it felt. It was as immovable as a vice and Alanna tried to scream, but she couldn’t so much as breathe as Rawley lifted her right off the ground. She gasped, desperate for air, but Rawley only squeezed his fingers and tears slid down her cheeks, dampening his thick skin as she hung there helplessly.

  She could smell Nathan suddenly. His scent was so abrupt and so comforting, she sighed a little, even as she thought: I am about to die.

  His scent was so strong to her, she thought he was standing right next to her which would likely mean he was about to die. But instead, she opened her eyes and saw him...near the ceiling.

  There were catwalks along the walls around the dining hall. They were mostly decorative, narrow walkways with pretty old wood banisters with plants in ceramic pots standing here and there in front of oil paintings. They were good spots for Christmas trees in December. But just now they were hiding spots. Nathan and his brothers were creeping out to the elevated catwalks from hidden doors in the walls and they weren’t alone.

  The Strauss brothers were joined by the entire wait staff of the Black Bear Lake Lodge and a few men in chef uniforms or the polo shirts she’d seen porters wearing. They’d swiftly recruited a larger army from among their own employees. An entire resort staff was about to attack Rawley and his men.

  For her.

  “He’s…” Alanna couldn’t breathe, as she clawed at Rawley’s huge hand. She felt light-headed. “He’s…”

  He eased up a little and said, “What’s that doll? John is where?”

  “The...owner’s...office,” Alanna wheezed, the edges of her vision a little dark. “Rawley, please.”

  He let her go and she crumpled to the floor, gasping, and hitting her knees painfully.

  “Where’s Alex?” she managed when she could catch her breath.

  “Bring out my luggage!” Rawley snapped his fingers and one of his men stood and dragged out a giant trunk hiding near their table.

  “No!” Alanna screamed, clapping her hands to her mouth.

  He was dead. She was sure of it.

  But Rawley’s men flipped open the trunk and Alanna forced herself to peer inside. Alex looked beaten to hell, but he was breathing, just barely.

  “Let him go,” she said, sniffing. She staggered to her feet. “And I’ll go with you. I’ll be on one of your brides like you want. Just don’t hurt anyone here.”

  “Aren’t you sorry you ran away?” He stuck his lip out and lumbered over to her. When he reached out to put his hands on her, she flinched. He cradled her cheek but even that grip was hard enough to bruise. He was done intimidating her, she figured. Now he wanted to do the hurting.

  “Yes,” Alanna said. She looked up at the catwalk where Nathan was still hiding, looking ready to tear Rawley limb from limb even if it killed him. “I just miss Crockett River,” she said, staring up at Nathan. “I always go to the flowers.”

  Nathan shook his head and Alanna nodded, once.

  Promise me.

  It didn’t seem so bad at that moment, she thought. He had already marked her and she knew he was hers and she was his. It didn’t matter whatever Rawley did to her. She had found her mate.

  She would take it with her.

  Nathan shook his head.

  Rawley started laughing. “You think I don’t know they’re there?” He nodded at his men. “Fire.”

  “No!”

  Alanna had not expected guns and she guessed the Strauss brothers had not expected guns either. They leapt, shifting in mid-air just as the guns fired in all directions. Alanna shifted herself and in the instantaneous chaos, she went straight for the trunk, shoving it out of the line of fire and under a table with her great front paws as bears dove down to the floor from catwalks and Rawley’s men shot at them.

  Some of the bears were hit, though being shifters it took more than one gunshot to take them down and Rawley’s men looked panicked as they were assaulted from all sides by tooth and claw. Alanna’s saw a flash of panic on Rawley’s face. He had thought he’d already won. He shifted and came at her before she could move and she gave him chase. Her bear was fiercer than her human side and in the bedlam she dove at one of the armed henchmen, tearing through his back with her claw as he attempted to fire at one of the Strausses.

  Rawley’s bear was massive, which also made him easy to spot.

  Glasses shattered and tables splintered, but nobody missed Rawley’s huge brown bear tearing after Alanna as she lumbered through the dining hall, taking swipes at his men, knocking guns out of their hands. Some of them shifted and ran for it and others appeared to be human and terrified by the sight of a bear shifter massacre.

  Nathan was coming. She saw him knocking down a table and barreling towards them, roaring loud enough to raise the dead as he headed towards Rawley.

  He hadn’t listened to her. He hadn’t saved himself. Her heart swelled and at the same time, she felt a flash of indignant rage at her mate as she
reared up on her hind legs, roaring at Rawley instead. The strength she needed to confront him was catalyzed by her anger at Nathan.

  If a bear could look shocked, Rawley did. Just for a second, he was too surprised to strike, even though he was five times her size. He hadn’t expected a fight from her.

  It was as if they’d all planned it ahead of time. Nathan and Alanna tackled Rawley to the floor and even two against one, it was not an easy fight against a bear of Rawley’s size. He took a swipe at Nathan and Alanna saw blood. But Nathan managed to get a chunk of Rawley’s neck between his teeth and Alanna got a good grip on his legs to hold him still.

  And suddenly he went still.

  The gunshots had died down. Alanna heard a bear struggling and, frightened, she looked up only to see one of Rawley’s men hurt and limping out the door. Everyone else on his side was either a dead bear on the floor or had fled. Alanna shook her head and sat back just as Nathan let go of Rawley’s neck. He’d sunk his teeth in deep and half ripped out Rawley’s throat and blood was still gushing out on the floor, staining the nice plush carpet that Connor had picked out himself.

  But Rawley was still. His eyes were lifeless. He was the biggest bear Alanna had ever seen, and now he was dead. She had fantasized about it so many times. She felt like she was in a dream as she stared down at his corpse, unmoving on the floor.

  “Connor?” Nathan said once he’d shifted back into human form. His side was bleeding through his shirt as he staggered to his feet. Alanna’s stomach turned at the sight and she rushed to him. “Where’s Eric and Cody?”

  The rest of the Strauss brothers appeared as Eric crawled out from underneath another dead bear and Connor jogged in from the kitchen where he’d chased down one of Rawley’s henchmen. Cody had a bad scratch on his leg that needed seeing too, but he sat down at one of the half-demolished tables in the dining room and drank a glass of bourbon left behind by one of Rawley’s men.