Page 8 of Mated to Four Bears

I couldn’t help but think about what had her in this shitty position. I wanted to know more so I could help her in any waypossible. She really did have me intrigued; she’d captured my heart in a very unexpected way.

What was it about this woman? She was perfect in a crazy way. I desperately wanted to get to know her better, I wanted to speak with her more, to really understand her, and see what she had going underneath everything. I’d never really felt like that with any other woman before. I’d dated, but only very causally, because no one captured my heart.

Just one small conversation with Samantha had changed everything. Now I felt drawn to her in an intensely magnetic way that I couldn’t get enough of. She hated me so much that she had been running away from me, and shooting spells my way, but that didn’t change anything. I still wanted to get to know her. I wanted to show her who I was as well. The real me, not the captain who crossed her down outside a convenience store.

“Oh my goodness.” Thomas appeared and immediately snapped into action. “I need to get to work right away. Please, William, give me some space.”

I didn’t want to leave Samantha’s side. I would have happily sat by her side and held her hand throughout whatever Thomas needed to do to her, but I knew Thomas didn’t like anyone getting in the way of his work.

I trusted that he would look after and wouldn’t stop until she was well. I let Richard drag me into the kitchen, where Henry was setting out mugs of coffee. I had to admit, this did make me feel a little better about everything. Knowing I wasn’t alone. I had my brothers in all of this. They would be there for me through everything.

“Sit down,” Henry commanded, a worried expression on his face. “Tell me everything. I want to know what happened. What’s going on?”

I hesitated for just a moment, because Henry worked with me as my second in command. He had high morals, just likeme, so he probably wasn’t going to like the thieving part of the tale. But then I realized it was only fair to fill them all in on everything. After all, we were all a part of this now, whether we liked it or not.

“I met Samantha earlier today after watching her use her magic in an unethical way.” Richard sucked in a sharp breath. “She didn’t have any money and cast a spell to make the clerk believe she was paying in full for her meal when all she had was a dollar. It seems to me like she’s fallen on some really hard times. Obviously, I called her out on it, but I don’t think it’s something that we need to focus on too hard. More importantly, in the middle of a scuffle, she fired off a spell that backfired on her. She’s in real trouble.”

Henry nodded, surprisingly understandingly. “Good thing we have Thomas, then. Now we just need to wait for him to work his magic. He shouldn’t take too long.”

Those were famous last words,because it seemed to take a lifetime for Thomas to stagger into the kitchen, wiping sweat from his forehead. He was drained, and slumped into one of the chairs and took a sip of coffee before saying anything.

“She will be fine,” he whispered. “She has been through a lot, and it will take her some time to wake up, but I got to her just in time. She’s going to be okay.”

Relief flooded me. Thank goodness. Thomas didn’t beat around the bush. If things weren’t going well, he would say so. He wouldn’t ever leave us hanging.

“Who is she?” Thomas finally asked, pure wonder in his eyes. “Because she is someone special. Really special.”

He could see it too? I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it felt heavy on my heart. “She really is perfect. I don’t know what it is about her, but she’s snatched a part of my heart. That small conversation was enough to have me intrigued…”

I felt like I was being a little too honest here, like too many of my emotions were flowing free about this strange situation I found myself in. But if I couldn’t share all of this with my brothers, who could I share it with?

“She had the same effect on me,” Thomas admitted quietly. The fact that he was confessing to being what I guess amounted to my romantic rival made the air thick between us. But not with the sort of tension I was expecting to feel. If anything, I just accepted the fact. “I know exactly what you mean. Samantha had me intoxicated, and that is without me knowing a thing about her.”

“I want to know more,” Richard said, sounding determined. “Who is this woman? What is so intriguing about her? What has youbothso interested in her?”

He vanished into the other room with Henry not far behind him. As Thomas and I exchanged a knowing look, I had a feeling about the way this was going to go. I couldn’t explain where the knowledge came from, but it overwhelmed me.

My other brothers were going to fall for her too. The moment they looked at Samantha, she was going to put a spell on them as well. Not a physical spell, even though she was clearly amazing at magic, but something deep and emotional.

“She really is something,” Thomas muttered. “I can’t wait for her to wake up so I can speak with her and get to know all about her.”

A smile spread across my face. Even if all my brothers ended up falling for her in the way that I had, I didn’t think it would be a problem. I wasn’t sure how everything would end up going, butI was looking forward to finding out. Excitement was building and blooming in the pit of my stomach.

The least that we could all do was help her out, especially with her financial issues. I wanted to find her ex-boyfriend and make sure he paid her back, because stealing from a partner like that, and leaving them in a shitty situation, wasn’t right for anyone.

Fate brought Samantha and me together today. It caused me to have that sensation in the pit of my stomach, the one that made sure I was the one behind her in line at the store. Soon, Samantha would see that as well, and she would stop running away from me.

Maybe then she would run to me. There was nothing I wanted more than her running towards me.

6

SAMANTHA

William’s lips drew down to mine. Anticipation flooded my veins and I knew I wanted to kiss the captain back. He was officially the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on.

As he lowered himself towards me, his dark brown eyes fired with passion. Knowing that he wanted me just as much as I wanted him only made this so much hotter.

I reached up and hooked my hands around his neck, dragging those delicious-looking lips of his closer to mine. All I wanted to do was taste him; the need and intensity of it was overwhelming. My whole body was trembling with need. I couldn’t think of a time that I had ever been this turned on before. I was on fire, burning all over.

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