Read Online Mountain Men II: Primal Hunger by Mandy Monroe - Free Book Online Page A

knife was held near her throat and
she realized his other hand was fumbling with his pants. He pulled
her shorts down and she wanted to block her mind to what was about
to happen. When his knees forced her legs apart, she screamed
again. The knife pushed harder against her throat, cutting the
sound off immediately.
    Frustrated tears burned down her
cheeks. She was unable to stop this no matter how she fought and
her helplessness was appalling. She saw him free himself from his
pants and shut her eyes.
    Abruptly, his weight lifted off her
and she could breathe. She saw Bain pin Seth against a tree by his
neck, growling an inhuman growl. She felt hands on her shoulders
and she jumped, startled.
    "It's ok baby. It's me. Did he hurt
you?"
    Maura flew into Gavin's arms,
weeping against his chest. She shook her head. Gavin helped her
adjust her clothes and brush dirt and debris off of her.
    "Bain stopped him. He was going to
… to …."
    Gavin shushed her and picked her up
as if she weighed nothing. She could do nothing more than cling to
him, crying.
    Seth babbled excuses in the
background, claiming that she had lured him away to seduce him.
Maura waited for the accusatory glares from Gavin and Bain but they
never came.
    "Shut. Your. Fucking. Mouth. If.
You. Want. To. Live."
    It was clear Bain was on the verge
of losing control. Gavin's arms tightened around her and an angry
growl rumbled in his chest, low and menacing. She barely had time
to process that when she heard a different roar and turned in time
to see a shimmer covering Bain's body, his body lengthening and
thickening, his face shifting to form the snout of … a
bear.
    Maura gasped. Bain roared, and Seth
pissed himself in fear. Where Bain was a moment ago, now stood the
biggest Grizzly she had ever seen. Seth screamed and Bain slashed
him across the face with his claws. Deep cuts swelled and blood ran
down his cheek. Bain simply roared again.
    Maura stared, mouth agape, at the
scene unfolding in front of her. The head injury must have been
more severe than she’d thought if she was hallucinating. Her gaze
darted back to Gavin and there was a lion face flickering across
his features as if he were struggling to keep from changing,
also.
    Her chest constricted and throat
closed. Her lungs burned with the need for oxygen, but she couldn't
drag in enough air to fill them. Gavin yelled something to Bain but
he sounded tinny and far away from her ears. She panted as stars
twinkled in front of her eyes and the last thing she registered
before darkness took her was looking up in the concerned faces of
both men.
    Consciousness returned in small
degrees. First she felt the sway of someone walking. There were
large arms banded behind her shoulders and knees, and cracking one
eye revealed a strong square jaw.
    Bain.
    The events all came rushing back
and she struggled to sit up. Bain stopped, but he was reluctant to
set her down.
    "Bain put me down."
    “ I don’t think
that’s a good idea right now. You’ve been through a lot.” His eyes met hers and concern furrowed a crease
between his brows.
    Maura couldn't help her gaze
bouncing back and forth between the two men. "Wait. What just
happened and where is Seth?"
    She wondered if they had killed him
while she was out. Would they kill her, too?
    "Seth ran off when our attention was on you
and your condition."
    Bain looked contrite.
    "I'm sorry I let him escape."
    "Were you going to kill him?"
    Gavin and Bain exchanged a brief
glance, but Bain spoke first.
    "I wanted to, for what he tried to
do to you. But I couldn't. I was going to turn him over to the
sheriff, file charges, and, well, firing his ass goes without
saying."
    "You turned into a bear."
    Bain turned pleading eyes towards
hers. She couldn't look at the hurt in his eyes right now. It woke
a deep urge to comfort him but she couldn’t do that just then. Her
gaze swung to Gavin instead.
    "You were a lion."
    Maura half expected laughter and
ridicule at the absurd idea