Page 69 of Hunny and the Bear

Twenty Seven

“Oh, God,” Hunny wheezed, the stench of her own vomit filling her nose. Her gut churned, and her forehead was damp with sweat as she struggled to breathe.

“Holy shit, are you alright?” Jasper bit out a sharp curse, rushing toward her. Natasha’s severed head swayed back and forth in his grip, the strands of hair twisting together as the dead she-wolf’s face circled back into view.

“Get that thing away from me!” Hunny exclaimed, covering her mouth as more bile rose in her throat. Without another look at the bear shifter, she darted shakily up the stairs, racing into the bathroom. She slammed the door shut behind her, barely making it to the toilet in time.

Dropping to her knees, she bent over and vomited again, retching until she was sure there was nothing left in her stomach. With a soft moan of despair, Hunny wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, feeling more than a little light-headed as her vision swam. When she was confident shewouldn’t be sick again, she plopped onto her ass, scooting back until the porcelain tub pressed against her spine. It was cold, seeping into her clothing after a few minutes as she waited for her stomach to stop cramping.

She’d gotten lucky so far with her pregnancy and had hoped she wouldn’t get sick at all for the foreseeable future. Now her streak was ruined, and Jason’s dead mate was responsible.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Hunny felt like an asshole. Wasn’t it taboo to think ill of the dead? At that moment, it didn’t matter that Natasha had tried to kill Hunny. The she-wolf must have died horrifically. She’d only caught a few glimpses of Natasha’s detached head, but it looked like someone had torn it clean off—

“Shit, don’t think about it,” Hunny whined out loud as nausea reared its head once more. Dragging her legs up, she dropped her forehead to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut and taking a deep, shuddering breath, hoping like hell she could calm down.

Unfortunately, that was much easier said than done, mostly because she’d never seen a dead person before. Or …partof one. Hunny groaned pitifully. She couldn’t get the wretched image out of her head. Who’d killed her? And possibly worse—who’d thrown her head at the front door? Jasper didn’t seem concerned with chasing anyone down, but it was probably because he didn’t want to leave her alone while a threat remained outside.

A shiver raced down her spine. Was the killer still lurking about on Tank’s property? Who was it?Whatwas it? Could it be Jason? No way. Since they were bonded, he would have felt every moment of her death, so it couldn’t be him. Then who? Someone else from his pack? Natasha had clearly been a warning—what if they were coming after Hunny next? What if they got into the house and hurt her babies?

Logically, she knew shifters killed people; it happened all the time in skirmishes and when they went to war. But that waswar, not some kind of sick, senseless slaughter, and definitely not the same thing as chopping off a head and tossing it onto the front porch. What kind of disturbed freak did that?

Fuck! She wanted Tank—needed him here with her. Now more than ever before.

There was a soft knock on the door, and she whimpered in fear before she registered Jasper’s scent just on the other side of the wood. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

She grimaced, ignoring the knot of fear twisting in her gut. “What kind of question is that, Jasper? Someone threw a severed head at the front door!” Just saying it out loud caused her mind to create an image of what must have happened, and she swore she could hear a squelching sound as the head hit—

“Murphy and Tank are on their way, and the rest of the clan is on lockdown. Hopefully, we can find whoever did this before they escape.”

At the mention of Tank, Hunny’s eyes watered, and a heavy weight settled on her chest as she fought back the urge to cry. “How soon before Henry gets here?” she asked, despising the tremor in her voice.

Don’t cry! You’re not some weak female. It’s just pregnancy hormones; nothing to do with the fact that a murderer is lurking outside.

She let out a small, pathetic sob. Oh God. There was amurdereroutside—

“I don’t know. Maybe another ten—”

“Get the hell out of the way.” Tank’s muffled voice was little more than a snarl on the other side of the door, and immediately, that weight pressing on her chest eased. Hunny’s head snapped up just as the doorknob twisted, the door pushing open softly despite the menacing aura her mate brought withhim as he entered. As soon as he spotted her, some of the tension drained from his shoulders. His eyes softened, too, but that did little to eliminate the furious gleam in his gaze as his impressive form filled the doorway. “Ah, little rabbit, don’t cry—”

Hunny’s chin wobbled. She let out another small sob, throwing herself at her mate as soon as he knelt down beside her. Tank scooped her up into his arms before standing to his full height and carrying her into the bedroom. Sitting on the bed, he readjusted her until she was straddling his waist, her face now buried in the crook of his neck as she cried.

She absolutely hated losing control of her emotions, but it seemed like every slight inconvenience made her hormonal lately, and if this wasn’t a good reason to cry in her mate’s arms, what was?

“You’re alright,” Tank whispered tenderly, his large palm sliding up and down her back in a soothing caress. “You’re safe, baby. I won’t let anything happen to you or the kits.”

“I know,” she wailed against his neck, her lips tracing over the mating mark she’d given him less than twenty-four hours ago. She inhaled deeply, dragging his scent into her lungs to help steady her racing emotions. “I-I’m just freaking out because I’ve never seen a dead body before, let alone a-a severedhead.”

Tank stiffened before releasing a harsh growl so fierce it vibrated against her chest. “You showed her the goddamn head?”

“Hm?” Jasper asked innocently, a nervous note in his voice. “I mean, Imighthave come back inside with the head in my hand.”

“You showed mypregnant matea severed head?”

Hunny’s stomach flipped, that unfortunate familiar burn creeping back up her throat. “Can you please stop saying that?” she begged, swallowing bile back down as she hugged Tank tightly to her. “I don’t want to be sick again.”

“Of course, baby,” Tank crooned, rubbing his palm up and down her back once more. To Jasper, he snarled, “I’m going to beat your fucking ass.”

“What did you want me to do, Tank? I had to watch Hunny!”

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