Chapter 4
MARCUS
Her scent fills my nose before we step into the kitchen.
Honeysuckle and lilac. It’s sweet and inviting.
Alarm bells ring out in my head as soon as we walk in on what looks to be a very cozy moment between Kieran and a fucking human female.
My beastly side roars to the surface, hairs tickling my flesh and canines sharpening.
“What the fuck is going on here?” I bellow, my eyes narrowing on the woman.
I want to look away, but it’s damn near impossible. It’s as if a fae princess has slipped into our home. She is stunning, with big blue eyes and golden hair long enough to run my fingers through.
The thought sends a shot of pleasure straight to my dick, and I snarl in irritation. Satisfaction fills me up when she jumps back, smart enough to be terrified.
Adrian rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry about him, little lamb. He’s harmless.”
My eyes narrow on my brother. He is ogling the human’s tattered dress, the blanket she was wrapped up in now on the floor. Our bonds are strong enough that I can sense the desire flooding his system. Black bears have an exceptional sense of smell, and I can easily detect the change in him.
The girl clears her throat. “Harmless like a kitten or harmless like the jungle cat hiding in the tree and ready to pounce?”
Kieran laughs. “Most definitely the second one. But we’ll make sure his teeth and claws stay out of your pretty flesh.”
Her blue eyes widen, and I can see she’s already smitten with him. This is not good.
“Again,” I interrupt. “What the fuck is going on here?”
Kieran urges the girl back to her seat and the food he likely prepared for her. “She got lost in the woods. She was running from someone, Marcus.”
There is a possessive edge to his tone I’m perturbed by. But before I berate him, his words register in my mind. Combined with the state of her clothing and a hint of a bruise on her arm, I sense there is more to her story.
But this is our home. Our safe space away from the drama of our families. The cabin tucks neatly into the nearby woods and offers us solitude. Would this strange human ruin that for us?
“Stop being such a grump, Marcus,” Kieran drawls as Adrian takes a seat at the island next to the girl. “Hear her out before throwing her to the wolves.”
The human whines. “Not the wolves again. I need to get Bonnie safely into the stables. Kieran said that’s okay?”
She looks at me with those big doe eyes that I want to drown in. Not yet. Fuck. Not ever.
“Fine,” my voice is more angry than I feel at the moment, but I like how she reacts to it. “Let’s go. She’s your horse. You need to take care of her.”
The temptress bites into her bottom lip and stomps toward me like an angry cub. It’s quite pleasing.
“As if I’d let you handle her alone,” she scoffs. “You’d scare her to death.”
Kieran and Adrian chuckle as I follow the fuming little sprite out of the house. Her ass sashays from side to side, impossible to ignore. The dress is not flattering, and the color is awful, but I have a suspicion that this female looks delectable in any clothing.
“You’re barefoot,” I comment as we approach her horse.
“Wow,” she breathes. “You should be a detective with observation skills like that.”
A low warning growl ripples across my chest. “Watch it, cub. Insolence will not be tolerated.”
Bonnie, her beautiful palomino, eyes me with suspicion. But her ears don’t slide back, and after a few more steps in her direction, she relaxes. I give her elegant neck a few soft strokes, and I can feel the human’s eyes on me.
“It’s rude to stare,” I taunt her.
She huffs at me, coming to stand in front of her horse. The mare nudges her nose against the girl’s face.
“What’s your name?” I ask suddenly, realizing I don’t know it. My mother would shame me for such bad manners.
“Goldie,” she offers with a small smile.
It’s a beautiful sight, and I am eager to see her face shine for me as brightly as it does for her beloved horse.
We walk in an almost comfortable silence to the stables.
We have six stalls, three on each side, and only three are filled.
My brothers and I each have our own horse.
Kieran and Adrian like to ride, but they don’t enjoy it the way I do.
I say hello to each of the horses, speaking softly to them and passing each one a carrot before opening the door to an empty stall.
“You’re really good with them,” Goldie muses, watching me. “Which one is yours?”
Pointing to the black stallion at the front, I smile at my boy. “Kai is mine. He’s a brute with a temper that’s almost as bad as my own.”
Goldie giggles, and the sound chimes softly in my ears. I am desperate to hear it again.
“Did you just make a joke about your own grumpiness?” She laughs again. “Well, we love a self-aware man, don’t we, Bonnie?”
Her horse whinnies, now fully relaxed as Goldie undresses her. I watch, mesmerized, as her slender hands make quick work of removing the saddle.
“And you’re a horse girl, as they say,” I tease her, preening like a damn peacock when she smiles at me again.
Goldie nods. “Bonnie had been my best and only friend for years.”
Her comment bothers me. “You don’t seem the type to be lonely. What about friends, or family?”
I hate myself for asking when her sunny face disappears into melancholy. “Not really.”
Taking the bridle from her hands, I place it on a nearby hook and turn back to her with concern. “Kieran said you were running away?”
Goldie nods, her eyes glued to the floor. I reach out slowly and tilt her chin up, giving me full access to her beautiful blue eyes. “Let’s go back inside, and you can finish your story for us, hm?”
Her cheeks are flushed, and a pleasant purr builds inside me that I am the one to bring that color to her fair skin.
“Okay. It’s not a fairytale, though,” she sighs, rocking back on her heels. “The prince is the opposite of charming.”
I gnash my teeth mere centimeters from her face. “Then I’ll just have to eat him.”