Page 91 of Hunny and the Bear

Murphy dragged Jason away from the human, the wolf giving a hoarse, panicked yelp as he scrambled for purchase. The bear ended the Alpha wolf before he even had a chance to fight back.

One ferocious bite on the back of his neck, and Murphy’s teeth snapped clean through the bone. Jason went limp, but Murphy didn’t stop. He pinned Jason’s body to the ground beside Nessa and clawed through what remained of the wolf’s neck until the head separated from the body.

Tank felt a brief flare of anger that his brother was the one to kill that rat bastard. He’d wanted to do the honors, to wipe out the threat to Hunny. But it was done. The fucker was dead.

The last of the fighting in his front yard quieted down, and when he glanced outside, all he could see were bears, mostly shifted, standing tall in victory.

The attack was over.

“Y-Your back is really messed up, Henry,” Hunny whispered tearfully behind him, erasing every other thought from his head. He turned toward her, shifting as he did so until he was naked, healed, and standing in his human form in front of his beautiful mate.

With shaky hands, he pulled her into his arms, not even thinking about the blood and grime still covering his body as his fingers sifted through her hair, his arm banding around her waist. She was warm, her softness molding to his hard frame until he worried he’d smother her with how hard he held her against him. But he just couldn’t let go, and as she wrapped herself around him just as tightly, he knew she didn’t want him to.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice hoarse, his heart beating hard.

“Me? Look at you! You’re covered in blood!” she exclaimed with a soft whimper, burying her face against his chest. She inhaled roughly, dragging his scent into her lungs just as he did the same to her. And then she began crying. Heartbreaking, wrenching sobs that hurt him more than anything else had over the last several minutes. “I thought you were dead,” she bawled, clinging to him harder.

Tank squeezed his eyes shut, everything else melting away but her. “We’re alright, baby,” he uttered softly despite the fire burning in his throat. He lifted Hunny into his arms, anxious tohold her as close as possible. She wrapped her legs around his waist, arms circling his neck as she crushed herself to him.

Turning back to face the room, Tank saw Nessa stir. Her face twisting with pain, she opened her eyes slowly, staring blankly up at Murphy, who hovered over her, still in his bear form. She choked on a breath, the stench of her fear mixing with the powerful scent of her blood.

“It’s okay,” Tank murmured. Nessa didn’t hear him, her breaths coming in frantic puffs of air as she tried to move away, but she couldn’t. Her torso was too ravaged. He hadn’t inspected her injuries, but she was bleeding too much. She needed treatment immediately. “You need to shift, Murphy. We have to get her to the clinic.”

Mom’s already on her way,Murphy informed him,though his voice trembled with fear.She’ll stabilize Nessa here before we move her to the clinic for surgery.

Nessa’s eyes widened in horror as his brother heeded his advice and shifted. Only a second, maybe two, passed before Murphy stood over Nessa, completely naked, his face a mask of fear and concern as he examined her. He kneeled down, hands hovering over her shoulder and chest like he wanted to staunch the flow of blood but didn’t know where to start. “My mother is a physician. She’s on her way. She can help you. You’re going to be okay, Nessa.”

Murphy reached for her, but Nessa recoiled, only to cry out in pain.

“Get away from me,” she whispered frantically, her terror increasing as Murphy reached for her again.

“I know this is a lot, Nessa, but you need to calm down—”

“Get away! You’re a monster!” Nessa screamed in alarm. “You’re a monster. You’re a monster,” she repeated faintly, her voice breaking as tears began coursing down her face. Herbreaths became labored and her pulse raced. “Someone help … me. Some … one …”

Jasper crowded into the room. “Back up. Give her space, Murph.”

“Don’t tell me how to handle my mate!” Murphy bellowed in distress. Running a hand through his hair, he looked back down at Nessa, his face tight with worry. “I won’t hurt you, Nessa. I would never hurt you. But you’re really hurt, and you have to let me help you.”

The human shuddered, looking away from him. Her eyes latched onto the blood leaking from her wounds, which stood out in stark clarity against her torn shirt. Nessa gasped, the sound full of hysteria, and then she passed out cold, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

Murphy bit out a sharp, panicked curse right as Tabitha’s car pulled into the driveway. They heard her slam on the brakes, not even bothering to turn her engine off before she was racing across the lawn, up the porch, and into the cabin. She dropped a large bag onto the ground beside Nessa, pulling out several medical items before she set to work stabilizing the human.

“Nessa’s going to be okay, right?” Hunny asked quietly, clinging to Tank just a little harder.

He didn’t answer. He couldn’t stand to voice his concerns and make things worse for his brother or his mate. Honestly, he wasn’t sure if Nessa would make it.

Sudden movement drew Tank’s attention back to the gaping hole in his wall as Marcus stepped inside.

“He left while we were distracted.” The tracker pushed into the thick of their group, his eyes red-rimmed and his body shaking with rage. He sent Murphy a hollow, dejected look. “I tried to track him, but his scent is missing. Dante’s gone.”

Tank and Murphy’s eyes met across the room.

Fuck.

Thirty Seven

Alittle more than an hour later, Hunny, Tank, and several others filled the lobby of the clinic, anxiously waiting for Tabitha to finish working on Nessa. Apparently, a lot of the lacerations from Jason’s attack were minor; only a few deep enough to hit her shoulder bone. No major arteries or organs had sustained any damage, which was a huge relief.

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