Read Online Bear's Claim (Bear Heat Book 3) by Natalie Kristen - Free Book Online Page B

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in.
    “I'm fine. Stop asking
me if I'm hurt. I'm not the one stuck down there,” she
grumbled. “Hurry up! You're too slow! They'll be dead, worse
than dead, if we don't get them out now!”
    Thor spoke rapidly into his
watch as he jogged to keep up with her. As he clicked off, he put
out an arm to stop her. “I've contacted the clan. The Black
Bears will be arriving soon, but you're right. Time is running out
for Michael and Luke.”
    “So we'll be going in
first?” She bounced on the balls of her feet.
    “No. Not we.”
    “But...”
    “No buts.”
    Aubrey scowled. She was
risking her life, but she refused to let him do this without her.
    Thor didn't release her even
as she tried to twist her arm free. He didn't want her to come with
him. He would never let her go back into that hellish chamber. But
he couldn't leave her here alone in the forest.
    He knew that once Dr. Faizel
discovered that Aubrey was gone, he would either kill the two men, or
move them swiftly to another hidden location. Luke and Michael might
never be found.
    Thor weighed his options and
reached his decision in a heartbeat.
    “Aubrey. Listen.”
He gripped her hand. “You will come with me, but you have to
stay out of the chamber. Stay outside, and stay hidden. I can get
them out faster if I go in alone. Plus—the Black Bears should
be arriving any minute now. I need you to point them in the right
direction.”
    She frowned at him. Then she
thumped her chest and said, “You can count on me. You need a
bear traffic controller? I'm your man!”
    “You are not my man.
You are my mate.” He tilted her face up and gave her a quick
kiss.
    “Y-your mate? Really?
Y-you're sure?” she whispered, her eyes shining. “You're
not lying?”
    “Really. I'm sure.
And I will never lie to you, Aubrey.”
    When she gave him a small,
tentative smile, he touched her cheek lovingly before turning his
eyes back to the entrance of the hidden tunnel. It was well
camouflaged by the tall grasses and rocks but he knew exactly where
it was.
    “Stay hidden, Aubrey.
I won't take long. I'll be in and out in a jiffy. You won't even
miss me.”
    “I'll always miss you.
Promise you'll come back to me, Thor,” she said softly.
    He saw the fear and worry in
her eyes, but she bravely gave him a wink and said, “There's so
much we haven't done together. I want to do all the mate things with
you.”
    “So do I, Aubrey. I
promise I'll do all the mate things with you,” he whispered.
“For eternity.”

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

    Thor moved silently through
the long tunnel. He stopped and flattened himself against the side
of the tunnel when he heard a faint sound coming from the end of the
tunnel.
    A door was opening.
    It was the door to the
underground chamber.
    Thor inched towards the door.
He saw a man with a rifle standing guard at the door. There were
angry voices coming from the chamber.
    Thor palmed his gun out from
his holster. He took a quick breath and pushed away from the wall.
He fired a single, silenced shot and the man collapsed with a bullet
hole in his forehead.
    Thor barreled towards the
door as it began to slide shut. He leaped in through the narrowing
crack and rolled on the floor to avoid a burst of gunfire.
    He raised his gun at a
black-clad soldier. Thor gave a derisive snort. The soldier was a
mercenary, and the coward had pulled a dazed young man up from a
steel table to use as a human shield.
    “Luke,” Thor said
in a low voice.
    The young man tried to open
his eyes at the sound of his name and struggled feebly in the
mercenary's grasp.
    Thor kept his gun pointed at
the mercenary as his eyes darted to the corner of the room. Dr.
Faizel was standing over a man and sticking a syringe into his neck.
    Thor jerked towards Michael.
The man's eyes were puffy, bloodshot and utterly blank. His veins
bulged from his neck and arms as he let out an impotent, tortured
howl.
    “A Black Bear. What a
pleasant surprise.” The doctor stepped behind