Page 51 of Bear's Rejected Love

Either aliens were abducting them, or he was being rescued.

Hopefully the latter. He didn’t feel much like being beamed up anywhere after what he’d already endured.

Roan wasn’t into crying—not because males shouldn’t, but because he’d just never been—but he felt some serious tears welling up as the back doors wrenched open with as much brutal force as the other two had and there was a great big grizzly.

Even in his current foggy as hell condition, he recognized Sam.

The bear growled and snapped, but was as gentle as could be expected when he ripped the manacles straight out of the van’s metal floor. They were still attached to Roan, but he was free. He tried to stand up, got as far as his knees, and was about to keel over. Sam moved quickly, giving him his shoulders and neck to hold onto.

Roan got a major déjà vu flashback from that day three years ago when his whole world changed. He didn’t know what was happening when it was going on. He’d thought that some shifters being held captive at the lab had broken free and were destroying the place and freeing the others. He only learned later, on the long drive across the country, what really happened. How Sebastian, one of the Greenacre shifters who had his own dark experience with labs, hired someone to find any labs still operating and then he’d organized a rescue party. Sebastian hadn’t been able to take part in the rescue, but some of the strongest shifters from Greenacre had come and they hadn’t stopped until the place was destroyed and every shifter in there had new hope.

Sam threw his huge body out of the van, Roan clinging to him.

The first thing he saw was Tabitha.

His mate rushed to him, holding out her arms like she’d be able to support his weight. Sam transferred him off and surprisingly, Tabitha did hold up when he leaned half his enormous bulk against her. She was stronger than she looked. He already knew that she had a core of steel, but physically, she was wiry and athletic. She didn’t need her bear to hold him up.

His mouth felt dry, and his tongue must be swollen but he forced out the words. “How did you—”

“I had another feeling.” She stroked his face with one hand, touching his cheeks, his chin, his neck, her fingers trembling and fluttering like the tattered wings of a broken moth. “I’m so sorry, Roan. I’m so sorry about last night. I kept thinking that this might be the last time I ever saw you, that they’d take you somewhere I couldn’t find you and you’d have what I said playing over and over in your head and that would be it.”

He wanted to respond to that, and he would have said something reassuring, but a ferocious growl tore through the quiet. He turned to find his captors held captive themselves, trapped in Kier and Tavish’s strong holds against the van. Sam paced back and forth, snarling, spittle flying over both of them.

“You’ve worked us up this time,” Tavish warned. “We have your scent now. Once we do, it’s game over for you. We’ll be able to find you anywhere. It’s like the tracking device you put into Roan.”

Roan’s heart hammered. Tracking device?

When the woman whimpered, it confirmed that’s how he was found. Roan wanted to tear at his own skin and find the damn thing. Get it out. How could it have been in him for years without his knowing? Had they known about Greenacre all along? Were any of them even safe?

“Take any other shifter and we’ll know,” Tavish growled. He was no less impressive than his bear, snapping in front of Joan and that other man’s faces. “We’ll be watching you. Consider this your final warning. Next time, we won’t be so gentle. A smashed van will be the least of your worries. Next time, you’ll find out what it’s like to be torn apart by a group of grizzlies. Spoiler alert- you’re not going to like it. It will be slow and incredibly painful. We’ll make sure it hurts. A lot. And then we’ll let you die, but only after hours of scavengers chewing at your bones. You might even be lucky enough to watch your insides being pulled out before you kick it. Stop taking shifters. Stop monitoring us. Stop waiting to steal one of us to do your fucking experiments. We’re onto you. We will find you. It’s not a matter of if, it’s when. That’s a promise. Next time there will be no mercy.”

Joan whimpered and the guy beside her wasn’t doing much better. He looked like he was about to piss himself or throw up everywhere.

“Do you understand?” Kier shook the guy, who let out a little scream.

“Yes,” Joan yelped. Blood trickled from her hairline down, but she didn’t look seriously hurt. Maybe a concussion at worst. The man seemed to be without injuries. He’d probably get away with just a sore neck. It wasn’t half enough.

“Yes what?” Tavish snapped, baring his teeth. It was such an animal thing to do that it was extra terrifying seeing him do it in human form. Sam echoed the movements behind his guard, pacing back and forth, looking very much like he’d enjoy making good on those threats.

These people didn’t know that Sam was the gentlest person on earth and tearing someone apart would be a last resort. Even then, he’d only fight to protect himself and if he could injure someone and not fatally, that would be his preference. Killing or playing with it wasn’t in his skill set. Pushed to the brink, though, or defending his mate or family, Roan wasn’t actually sure what Sam would do. Still probably only go as far as necessary, he thought.

“Yes, we understand,” the man filled in.

“I understand,” Joan clarified for herself. “We’ll leave you alone. We promise.”

“You’ll leave all shifters alone.”

“We will. Yes.”

“You’ll tell the others, however many are left that this needs to stop. These are people. Human beings.’

“They’re animals,” Joan shot back, her eyes rolling wildly.

Sam responded by blasting her with a ferocious growl and Tavish got up in her face. “Human. Beings. Say you understand or you’ll be coming back with us until we can ensure that you do.”

“Yes.” Her lips pressed together like she wasn’t happy about the admission. It made Roan want to throw up. How could anyone be so cruel in the name of what? Science?

“We have people who are very good. That’s how we found your lab in the first place. We’ll double our efforts to keep ourselves and all other shifters safe. Consider yourself warned and forever watched. We know who you are and where you are.”

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