Page 2 of Marked By the Possessive Polar Bear
Magnus turns and prowls around the counter, glaring at us with violent intent.
I swallow hard as I step a little closer to Julian. My inner grizzly is on full alert. She springs close to the surface, ready to burst out if I need her.
Don’t go far, I whisper to her.
This is bad. This is so bad.
Magnus has always been the cool, calm, completely in control brother. He’s always been the anchor in my life. Always steady. Always dependable.
I’ve always known I could count on him. I could go to him whenever I was in trouble and he would fix everything. Healways had his protective eye watching out for me, making sure I was safe and secure.
But right now, he looks like he’s about to tear me to pieces.
“Magnus,” Julian snaps. “Get your bear outside before he ruins everything we worked so hard for.”
But Magnus looks like he’s too far gone as he steps up to us, snarling viciously. Thick brown fur slides out of his skin, but he’s still in his human form, hovering between monster and man. His long black claws are already out and they look deadly sharp.
He’s been slipping ever since Julian found his mate.
For years, it was Julian who had mate fever, but then Lainey walked into the shop and everything turned around. Julian became a gentle teddy bear and my oldest, most dependable brother, turned intothis.
It’s like all of his grizzly bear’s patience has run out and he’s incensed that his mate is not here. I think Julian’s mate arriving woke the primal part of him up.
“Let’s take a deep breath,” Julian says in a steady, forceful tone, “have our coffees, and talk about this like humans.”
Magnus swipes his hand so fast it’s a blur. He nails the tray of coffees in Julian’s hand and the three coffees explode into shreds before splashing all over Julian’s workstation.
“Magnus,” Julian snaps. “This is?—”
“Let me,” I say as I put a hand on Julian’s flexed bicep.
“Magnus,” I whisper in a gentle tone as I step forward. “It’s me, Victoria. Can you come back out?”
My bear is pacing and twitching inside me. Warning bells are ringing throughout my body, but I push past them. I know my brother would never hurt me. Even if his bear is on the verge of turning feral.
“Victoria,” Julian warns. “He’s not in his right mind.”
I ignore him and push forward. “Magnus,” I say calmly. “Everything is going to be okay.”
He looks at my hand as I slowly reach out to touch him.
My heart is hammering in my chest from that feral look in his eyes. I know my brother would never hurt me, but I don’t recognize any of my brother in the snarling beast in front of me.
As soon as I touch his jacked furry arm, he pounces.
I scream as Julian pulls me back and collides into Magnus with a growl of his own. The force of Julian yanking me sends me flying onto my ass. I watch in horror as my two older brothers go at it, fighting fiercely in our tattoo shop. Magnus slices his claws across Julian’s chest as Julian jumps on him, wrapping his arm around Magnus’ thick neck.
Julian roars as Magnus sinks his claws into his ribs and then shoves him off, his fingers dripping with blood.
“Oh shit,” Julian mutters as he lands on his ass next to me. He winces as he covers the bloody claw marks on his side. “The shop is about to get fucked up.”
We both watch in horror as Magnus’ feral grizzly bear explodes out of him, bloodthirsty and pissed-the-ever-loving-fuck-off at the universe for withholding his mate.
He throws his head back and roars so loud we have to cover our ears.
“We need to get him outside,” I say as I help Julian up.
Magnus’ grizzly attacks the leather couch by the door and rips it to shreds in seconds. I still remember when we got it. The three of us were so proud to finally open our own shop after years of tattooing in the back of cars, at parties, and on campgrounds. We found the perfect brown leather couch that fit the tattooed hipster aesthetic we were going for, and although it was more than we had budgeted for, we splurged and got it. I was sitting on the couch laughing when Magnus and Julian carried it into the shop.
