Page 9 of Hunny and the Bear (Bearly Yours #1)

Nine

T wins?

That news was surprising, to say the least. Wholly unexpected, actually. Not just to Tank, but to Hunny as well, given the way she trembled in his arms. Adding on one bedroom and an extra bathroom wouldn’t be enough. Not for long. He’d need at least two bedrooms. Doable, if he started working on it in the next few weeks.

He sent a quick glance to Jasper. “We’ll probably need Murph and the others if we want to get it all done in a timely manner.”

Hunny took a shuddering breath, burying herself more firmly into him. He enjoyed holding her, comforting her when she felt upset, though it drove him mad she felt this way to begin with. He didn’t want his little rabbit to feel anything but safe and cared for while she stayed with him. Especially in her condition.

Didn’t stress cause complications for pregnant females? His brow creased as concern rippled through him.

Unable to help himself, he sent his mother a hostile look, a reprimand on the tip of his tongue. His mom would likely pummel him for berating her, but he was protective of Hunny, and he didn’t want another incident like this to occur.

Not from anyone, especially his family.

As if sensing his incoming rant, Tabitha narrowed her eyes, giving Tank a firm shake of her head. Daring him to say something.

Hunny sniffled then, drawing his attention back to her. “It’ll be alright,” he rasped, tangling a hand into her damp hair. She smelled like his shampoo and body wash, and possessiveness filled him as he dragged her scent deep into his lungs.

The blending of their scents was intoxicating, stirring up several images into his head, and every single one of them was more carnal than the last. Images of her laying in his bed, spending her nights beneath him as he pumped his cock into her—

“What do you mean, you need more wood?” Hunny asked, her soft voice thick with emotion. She lifted her head from his chest, staring up at him with tears glittering in her emerald eyes. His heart slammed into his sternum at that one look. How could she look so beautiful, even when she was so sad? “What does that have to do with anything, Henry?”

Tank flushed at the question. He hadn’t intended to mention anything to her about his plans, not until he knew if she wanted to stay with his clan for any length of time. He didn’t want to pressure her into an answer if she wasn’t ready to give one.

“Tank’s building you a bedroom and bathroom downstairs,” Jasper supplied with a grin, clearly under no qualms about keeping his fucking mouth shut. “He asked for my help to get it all ready so you won’t have to sleep on the couch anymore.”

Hunny’s eyes widened in surprise, her mouth gaping open as she stared up at Tank. “You want to build me a room?”

“Only if you want to stay,” he answered gruffly. “I’d like for you to, though. Stay, I mean. I’d like for you to stay with me.” Christ, could he have been any more awkward?

“Are you sure, Henry? My life is a freaking mess—”

“That’s alright,” he interrupted quickly, his excitement building as he realized she was on the verge of saying yes.

“—and I’m pregnant,” she sputtered. “I’d be intruding on your entire life.”

He shook his head in denial. “No, you won’t.”

Hunny wrinkled her nose, the action reminding him of her rabbit counterpart. “You say that now, but we’ve only known each other for two days. Barely. And in that time I’ve had two crying sessions. And a panic attack. It’s only going to get worse, Henry. You’re going to get sick of me.”

“No, I won’t.” He let out a small, rusty laugh. If that was going to happen, he was confident it would have by now. Usually engaging with others felt like a chore or obligation, but with Hunny it was neither. Even though she was vivacious and sassy, she didn’t grate on his nerves like anyone else would have. He liked her attitude and her bubbly personality. It was a direct contrast from himself, and frankly, she was like a breath of fresh air.

“What if you meet someone, though?” Hunny argued. “Having a pregnant roommate probably won’t look good for anyone you want to date.”

Tank scoffed, completely taken aback by her line of thinking. Finding a female to date hadn’t crossed his mind since he was an adolescent. Sure, he’d slept around when an itch needed scratching, but those occasions were few and far between. And he wouldn’t exactly call that dating.

“Are those your only concerns? That you think you’ll ruin my dating life?” Jasper snorted in the background, but Tank ignored him, continuing seamlessly, “And that your life is a mess?”

“You don’t even know me!” Hunny exclaimed. “I could be a complete psychopath.”

His brows shot up. “Are you?”

“Of course not,” she huffed.

“Then what’s really the matter, little rabbit? What’s got you running scared?”

Why was she putting up such a fight? From all their time spent together, he hadn’t sensed a moment where she seemed homesick or anxious to leave. She could have disappeared that first night while he’d slept. Instead, she’d stayed.

There was a reason she hadn’t left; he believed that wholeheartedly. And since the cat was out of the bag regarding his intentions, he planned on getting the truth out of her now.

Hunny bit her lower lip, and his eyes lowered to her plump mouth, their conversation taking a backseat to this sudden distraction. He wanted to bite that lip, to feel her soft skin between his teeth as he—

“I’m also not a part of your clan,” she murmured. “What if Murphy doesn’t want me?”

For a moment, Tank was confused, and the thought of Hunny belonging to Murphy in any fashion filled him with an unnatural fury, stronger than he’d ever felt before. His bear roared in his mind, the thought of challenging his brother for the little rabbit consuming him.

“Henry?” Hunny asked, her brows furrowing in confusion. She reached up, touching his cheek with her palm. It grounded him, and as suddenly as his need to disembowel his brother had hit him, it faded just as quickly. “Are you alright?”

“What?” he growled, and then he shook his head to clear it. “I’m fine. What did you ask me?”

“Murphy wants to talk to me, but what if he doesn’t want me to stay in your territory?”

Oh, that was what she meant. Thank fuck. “Why would he want you to leave? Is there something that you’re worried about?”

She looked away from him, dropping her hands to her side. “I … He was right about me being a lone shifter. I’m worried that will be a deciding factor in wanting me off his territory.”

Tank let out a relieved breath, holding her closer to him. “I’ll talk to him. Or we can talk to him together. He’s a reasonable male.”

“I’ll talk with him, too, as I said earlier, dear.” Tabitha smiled at them both. “Being a lone shifter changes nothing in my eyes, and I’m sure with a bit of motivation, Murphy will feel the same way.”

“That almost sounds like a threat,” Hunny replied.

Tabitha winked, causing the rabbit shifter to crack a small smile.

Turning back to Tank, Hunny murmured, “I think we should talk a bit more before you build anything, though.”

His mom turned to Jasper. “Well, I think we should leave and give these two some privacy. Besides, you need to help me with several chores around the house.”

“Shit,” Jasper whined pitifully. “I need to find a woman and build her a cabin. Then you won’t put me to work like a dog.”

“You could just move out,” Tabitha answered, ushering Jasper toward the driveway. She lifted a hand in goodbye.

Without bothering with farewells, Tank scooped Hunny up, carrying her bridal-style back toward the cabin.

“Henry!” Hunny sassed him, pushing lightly at his chest. “We talked about this; you can’t just carry me everywhere.” Her face flushed with embarrassment as she glanced after his family.

“It’s getting cold and you don’t have shoes on. Do you want to get sick?”

She rolled her eyes, putting an arm around his shoulders and one on his chest, her fingers playing with the hair there. “We both know you’re not carrying me around because you’re worried my feet are cold. You like it.”

He grunted in answer, seeing no point in denying it.

Once they were safely inside, he moved back to the couch, dropping onto the leather cushion with her still tucked into his arms. Part of him hoped she’d straddle his waist like she had last night. But that would just further distract him, and if she was open to talking about her life, he’d listen to every word.

His brow furrowed. Actually, having her on his lap probably wasn’t the smartest decision if he intended to remain present for their conversation.

He put his hands on her hips, on the verge of sliding her onto the cushion beside him, when she blurted out, “I have a mate.” He stilled, eyes snapping to hers as the breath froze in his lungs. She wrinkled her nose again. “I’m sorry, I had a mate. He rejected me the night you found me.”

Suddenly, Tank could breathe again. So he did, inhaling her scent deep into his lungs to calm himself down. “Okay.”

Hunny snorted, staring at him in bewilderment. “That’s all you have to say?”

“I’m sorry he rejected you,” he added after a few tense seconds of silence. And he was sorry. Sorry that her mate was clearly a fucking idiot. Who rejected their true mate? Especially someone like Hunny?

She sat up straighter in his arms. “Thanks,” she murmured softly. “It was a huge shock when it happened. Actually, maybe I’m still in shock about it all. I thought he was going to make me a member of his pack. He …” She trailed off, releasing a ragged sigh. “I thought he was going to turn my life around, you know? Instead, he knocked me up and then mated someone else.”

Mated someone else ? The thought was unfathomable. As absurd as rejecting Hunny in the first place.

“Why would he do that?”

“Apparently, I was too tempting to resist, even though he’d made promises to another shifter before we met.” She sniffled, but her eyes remained dry, much to his relief.

“He sounds like a prick,” Tank supplied grumpily. “Anyone that would use you like that is a piece of shit.”

Hunny grinned, nudging her shoulder against his. “You really believe that, don’t you?” He grunted again and she let out a small laugh, the light sound something he relished. He enjoyed making her laugh. “Well, in this case, I definitely agree. Jason sucks.”

Tank stiffened. “Jason, the Alpha of the Moon Rose pack?”

Now it made sense how she’d stumbled into bear territory during a wolf attack. Had the evil prick sent one of his she-wolves to kill Hunny and their unborn kit after he rejected her? Tank’s hands tightened on Hunny’s thighs, rage boiling to the surface. He beat it back, schooling his features.

The humor faded from Hunny’s face, replaced quickly with panic. “You know him? Is he allied with your clan?”

“Fuck no, he’s not our ally,” Tank denied, disgusted at the mere idea. “I can’t stand the rat bastard, neither can my brother. Jason’s entire wolf pack is full of depraved animals. They’re terrible people; every one of them. You were lucky he let you go.”

But why would he? Jason didn’t seem like a male to relinquish any of his toys—the fact that he’d used Hunny for just sex was a clear indicator that the dickhead had viewed her as exactly that, and not as his true mate at all.

Sick bastard.

“Will being mates with Jason count against me when I talk to Murphy?” she asked quietly.

“No.” Tank shook his head firmly. “You aren’t mated to Jason, Hunny, so that won’t matter. He’ll likely be more concerned about Jason coming to look for you, and why you initially became a lone shifter.”

“Oh.” She was silent for a few minutes before she added, “I don’t think Jason will look for me. He offered me the chance to be his mistress—” Tank’s fierce growl reverberated through the air, fury simmering inside him. “—I turned it down. After he left, his new mate came by and tried to kill me.” She sent Tank a soft look, taking his hand from her thigh and placing it over her flat stomach. His growl stopped abruptly, her body heat seeping into his palm. “That’s who you saved me and my babies from.”

His fingers flexed against her abdomen, his large hand covering the area completely. “I’m surprised you’d even consider staying here, knowing he’s so close.”

But he felt honored that she trusted him enough to tell him about this.

Her eyes filled with tears then. “I don’t have anywhere else to go. All of my belongings are back at his cabin, and I can’t go back there.”

“I can go for you.” It wouldn’t be a hardship, and if he ran into Jason, he wouldn’t mind beating that fucker into the dirt. Though, wandering into enemy territory and attacking a pack Alpha unprovoked would definitely cause a war between the bears and wolves, and Murphy would be furious.

“No!” Hunny exclaimed. “I don’t want you anywhere near Jason. Besides, he probably got rid of everything that belonged to me. It’s not worth it.”

That didn’t sit right with Tank at all. “We can go into town this afternoon and get you some things.” Whatever she needed, he’d provide it. He wouldn’t even mind venturing into human territory, though he drew the line at conversing with any of them. He could barely stand his family; there was no way he could tolerate humans in any capacity.

But he’d endure them for Hunny.

“I don’t have any money,” Hunny told him with a wince.

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. “I don’t recall saying you’d need any.”

She squeaked at him in surprise. “Oh no. You’re already letting me stay here and you keep feeding me. You can’t buy me things, too, Henry.”

“Yes, I can.”

“But I don’t have anything to give you in return.”

Yes you do, Tank thought suddenly, his heart beating hard in his chest as he gazed into her eyes. His hand tightened on her stomach before he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his chest. He breathed her in, his brain and heart telling him the same thing; she smelled right covered in his scent.

“Don’t worry about anything right now,” Tank responded eventually. “I’ve got plenty of money, and it’s a privilege to take care of whatever you need. You need some help Hunny. Let me help you.”

Hunny relaxed against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “You’re pretty amazing, Henry,” she murmured.

“Just wait until I cook you breakfast,” he half joked, warmth blooming in his chest from her compliment.

Her delicate laughter filled his ears as he got her situated on the sofa before standing up to do just that. And after they ate, he’d see about taking her into town.