Page 11 of Marked By The Filthy-Mouthed Grizzly

CHAPTER NINE

Erica

H e followed me here?

I gasp as Banks steps off his motorcycle, creepy eyes roaming up and down my body. I recognize the two others from the porch this afternoon.

Why are they here? For revenge? To cause chaos? To steal me away? What the fuck.

“This the guy you’ve been hanging out with?” Banks says, shaking his head as he sizes Magnus up. “You’re going to make me jealous.”

“Don’t fucking talk to her,” Magnus roars, stepping between us.

I hide behind his massive body, every muscle in his broad back flexed and ready for action.

“She belongs to us Warhounds,” Banks says. “She’s our property.”

I shiver at the thought. They’d probably lock me in that horrible building and… I don’t even want to think about it.

“She’s not yours,” Magnus snarls in a low, gritty tone. “She’s mine .”

I feel his possession wrapping around me and it makes me feel so safe. So protected and secure.

There are three against one, but Magnus doesn’t even hesitate to put himself between me and the danger.

“You think she wants to be with you?” Banks sneers. “You killed her brothers. Did you know that, Erica? His bear killed your big bros.”

“You stay the fuck away from her,” Magnus roars. “This is your last warning.”

Banks just laughs as the two shifters behind him morph into their wolves.

Seeing those deadly wolves prowling from side to side with their coldblooded eyes locked on me sends a primal chill down my spine. They’re terrifying. And Magnus is the only thing standing between us.

“Like I said,” Banks repeats, rubbing his pointy jaw. “She’s property of the Warhounds and we ain’t leaving without her.”

He waves one of the wolves forward and the terrifying predator snarls as he slinks toward me.

I hold back a scream as I watch him coming in horror.

But he doesn’t get far. Magnus leaps forward in a blur, grabs him by the scruff of his neck, and picks him up like an angry father disciplining his cub.

The wolf tries to claw and snap at Magnus, but he just holds him in the air, staring him down. He’s so strong… So fearless.

He tosses him back and the wolf lands with a yelp before springing back to his paws.

“There’s nothing I’d like more than to unleash everything I’m feeling onto you fucking animals,” Magnus hisses low. “But I don’t want my girl to see that. But if you leave me no choice, I’ll gladly comply.”

He’s still standing between us, like my own guardian angel. Like a protective god.

It hits me how protective he is. How he will do anything for the people he loves.

I realize I feel safe with him. I feel secure and untouchable. Three wolves or three hundred, I know Magnus would never let anything harm me.

“Alright then,” Banks sneers as he pulls out his leather belt. “Let’s rumble.”

He phases into a large grey wolf, even larger than the others.

Magnus turns and looks at me over his jacked shoulder. “Close your eyes, love.”

I don’t shut my eyes. I watch everything.

I watch Magnus explode into a vicious grizzly bear. I watch the wolves lunge on him.

I watch the bear fight with everything he has, fighting for me, fighting to keep his mate safe.

I realize this is what must have happened that horrible night.

My brothers, with all of their evil nefarious intentions, trying to kill the people Magnus loves. His younger sister. His best friend.

He was just doing what comes so naturally to him. Being a protector. Keeping his loved ones safe.

My heart aches as I watch him cut through those wolves, dominating every second of the battle. His grizzly roars as he sends the black wolf flying into the motorcycles with a powerful swipe of his big paw.

The dark grey one is limping away as Banks’ grey wolf lunges forward with snapping jaws and extended claws.

I can tell Magnus is going easy on them. He’s trying not to hurt them. For my sake. Because he doesn’t want to make the same mistake that he did with my brothers.

But seeing their viciousness, their evil intent, I’m finally realizing that it wasn’t a mistake. He did the right thing. He did what a real man does. Protecting the innocent. Protecting the ones they love.

“Finish him, Magnus,” I say, feeling more sure about this than anything. “Finish him for me.”

Magnus’ grizzly turns and looks at me with the same piercing green eyes. I’m hit with a wave of love and tenderness as he watches me like he can’t get enough of what he’s seeing.

My mate. The one.

“Finish him,” I repeat. “Finish him for your mate.”

Banks’ wolf goes for his hind leg, but Magnus stops him, pinning his body to the ground with his large paw. He’s so big and powerful. That creep doesn’t stand a chance.

I turn away as Magnus roars and then chomps down on the wolf’s exposed neck.

It’s horrible, but I know it had to be done.

I would have had to live in fear and look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep, thinking Banks could break into my place at any time. I wouldn’t have known a second of peace.

But this man and his protective grizzly bear, my mate, he took that away.

He killed for me.

The other wolves decide they’ve had enough of this fight and flee back to their motorcycles. They turn back into their human forms and grab their bikes off the ground.

“Grab him,” one of them says to the other as they get ready to flee.

“ You grab him.”

He curses under his breath and then runs over, grabs the dead wolf’s leg, and drags him away from Magnus’ bear. He pulls him to the motorcycle and tosses him onto the back.

They both hop on, getting ready to leave.

“That’s what happens when you mess with me and my man!” I shout at them. “I’m not some property of the Warhounds. I belong to Magnus North!”

They don’t stick around to argue. They just flee as quickly as they can with Banks’ dead wolf draped over the back of one of the bikes.

Their rumbling motorcycles race down the driveway and onto the gravel road, finally disappearing in the darkness.

It’s so quiet now. Just the heavy breathing of Magnus’ grizzly bear as he stands there watching the empty road.

He finally turns and looks at me, green eyes shining, mouth full of blood.

I shiver all over.

He’s so big. So powerful.

But I don’t feel any fear as he approaches. I feel loved. Protected. I feel like I’m exactly where I need to be.

The massive bear lowers his head as he walks right up to me. I sink my hands into his fur and he groans in content.

“Can you hear me in there, Magnus?”

The bear rumbles low, and I take that as yes.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, my lips brushing against his fur. “I’m sorry I was so hard on you.”

I swallow hard, wishing I could go back and relive the past twenty-four hours. I would have handled it so differently.

“I understand now that you did what you had to do. You didn’t have much of a choice.”

This man is a protector, not a murderer. He only kills when he has to. When it’s absolutely necessary.

“I forgive you,” I whisper as tears fill my eyes. “I forgive you for everything.”

The bear steps back and looks up at me with the most tender eyes I’ve ever seen. He licks my wrist and then starts to shake.

I gasp as Magnus bursts out of him, tall, and proud, and completely naked.

My eyes widen and my mouth falls open as I look him up and down, seeing every glorious inch.

He’s… a god.

Lit by the moonlight, he looks like a god stepped out of an old Greek myth.

A deep primal need rocks my core as I take in his broad shoulders, his left side covered in ink.

The sexy tattoo runs down his big muscular arm, stopping at his wrist. His massive chest is rising and falling with heavy breaths, his heated green eyes locked on me with an erotic gaze.

My pussy aches as I drag my eyes down, his six-pack flexing with each breath, every ridge and valley cut so deep it looks sculpted from stone.

My breath catches in my throat when I see his long, thick cock hanging heavy between his muscular thighs.

I whimper as I stare at it—wanting to touch it, wanting to taste it, wanting to feel it pushing into me.

It’s so beautiful. So masculine. So powerful. So fucking large .

I tear my eyes away from it and look at him as a whole. He stands tall, unashamed, and more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. His skin glistens faintly with a sheen of sweat, and he doesn’t seem to care one bit that there’s a chill in the air.

My neck tingles like crazy, demanding to be marked. I want his lips on it. I want his teeth sinking into my flesh. I want to be his. I want to be marked by this perfect man.

He’s so incredibly gorgeous, but it’s not just his size or strength or sexy muscles that leave me breathless—it’s the way he looks at me. Like I’m the center of his world. Like I’m the only thing that matters.

His eyes—that impossible shade of green—soften as he takes a cautious step forward. Vulnerable. Hopeful.

“Erica…” he whispers, his voice husky and raw. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

I don’t even think. I just run to him and throw myself into his arms, letting the warmth of his body wrap around me like I’m coming home.

“I’m glad I saw it,” I say as I kiss his neck. “Now, I know… Now, I realize…”

“Realize what?” he asks when I don’t finish.

“That we’re meant to be together,” I say, staring into his eyes for a long moment before I kiss his sexy mouth.

His big arms tighten around me and he moans as he kisses me back.

I feel that long, thick cock hardening between us, and it lights a fire in me I know won’t be quenched until we’re in his bedroom—sweaty and exhausted.

“Take me inside,” I whisper between kisses. “I’m yours.”