Free A Mate For The Bear: BBW Paranormal Alpha Shifter Romance (Bear Brides Book 4) by Natalie Kristen Page A

him to the ground. Felix flopped
and flailed, but his head was held in place under Tony's boot.
    Dalton's claws slashed down
again and Joyce ducked. Randell spun away and shifted to wolf in a
blink. Dalton charged at the wolf, his shape blurring between man
and bear for a few heartbeats.
    With a roar, the bear emerged
fully and slammed into Randell. The first spray of blood appeared as
bear and wolf clashed in a tangle of fangs and claws.
    Joyce felt the ropes fall
away from her ankles. Terri had sneaked up beside her and was
cutting away the ropes with her claws.
    As Joyce scrambled to her
feet, she saw Randell's glowing eyes flash in their direction.
Dalton's large paw was hurtling towards Randell like a sledgehammer,
but Randell didn't duck. Instead, the wolf let himself be knocked
sideways. As the wolf spun towards them, Joyce saw those deadly
claws glint as Randell twisted in the air. Those lethal claws moved
in an arc, preparing to slash at Terri's neck.
    “No! Get down!”
Joyce screamed and flung herself in front of Terri.
    Joyce tried to throw the both
of them to the ground to escape Randell's claws, but she was just a
fraction of a second too slow. Hard, icy claws raked down her back,
tearing her skin and gouging into her flesh. Joyce screamed in pain
even as she pushed Terri away.
    “Joyce!”
    Terri's shrieks were drowned
out by a thunderous, terrifying roar. Joyce clung on to
consciousness, even as dark shapes and shadows flickered at the edge
of her vision, threatening to drag her under.
    As she raised her head
weakly, Joyce saw Dalton throw Randell against the far wall.
    There was a howl before
everything became red.
    Thick, hot and red.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

    Dalton bellowed as the wolf
hit the wall with a loud crack. He roared again at the sight of the
blood on Joyce's back. Randell had tried to go after the females
instead of just facing him in a fair fight.
    Dalton charged, going
straight for the kill. Randell was trying to scramble up, but Dalton
wasn't letting the bastard get to his feet, ever again.
    Dalton clamped his paws
around Randell's head and pushed his claws hard into his neck. The
excruciating pain made Randell lose his hold on his wolf. His body
shifted back to human, but Dalton didn't loosen his grip.
    Randell howled and tried to
change back to his wolf form, but he never got the chance.
    Before he could complete his
shift, Dalton raised a paw and brought his claws plunging down
towards Randell's vulnerable human neck. In one swift stroke, he
decapitated Randell. The head fell from the body and thudded to the
ground. Blood spurted and sprayed into the air, filling the
warehouse with a blood red mist.
    Dalton stood over Randell’s
headless body and released his wrath in a final, deafening roar. On
his next exhale, he shifted back to human form and turned towards
Terri and Joyce.
    Joyce was leaning heavily on
Terri, but she was standing up. Her grimace became a crooked smile
when she saw him.
    “Hey,” she
panted.
    “You're hurt,”
Dalton said, his voice raw and feral. “You...”
    Joyce waved a hand. “He
just scratched my back, that's all. Superficial wounds.”
    “You saved me,”
Terri said. “He was gunning for my neck. You were real fast,
Joyce. Before I could stop you, you were in front of me.”
Terri shook her head and scolded, “Don't you dare do that
again, Joyce!”
    “I...”
    “I'm a werebear,”
Terri continued sternly. “I can heal faster than you. So...”
    “But you still feel
pain, right? So it makes no difference. It's pain all the same. I
won't let you get hurt,” Joyce said fiercely.
    Dalton went to Joyce and
kissed her hard on the mouth. “I'm sorry, Dalton,” Joyce
blurted as soon as he released her. “I shouldn't have let him
in...”
    Dalton turned to stare at
Felix, who was still lying under Tony's boot. “It's not your
fault. He would have found another way to get to you.”
    Tony tapped his boot, and
raised a brow at Dalton. Just say when.
    But