Page 34 of Bred By the Beast

“Poppy, there’s something I need to tell you...” He stopped because he never thought for a million years that this was how he would tell his mate he was a bear. He never thought he would be this nervous.

And then he heard it—the unmistakable sound of twigs snapping way too close to his home.

Chapter Thirteen

“Someone’s here,” he said.

Poppy didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary.

“How do you know?”

He was already ushering her down the hall, his sense of urgency palpable.

“Wilder. What’s happening?”

They stopped in front of the forbidden room. He held both her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “I don’t have time now. I need you to stay in the room. It’s the safest place in the house, completely reinforced.”

“In there?”

“Please, Poppy. Just trust me on this.”

She wasn’t going to argue with him, even though the thought of hanging out in that nightmare room was the last thing she wanted to do. He opened the door and rushed her inside before sealing the heavy door shut. She didn’t even have time to kiss him or say goodbye. By the time she turned, the door was closed and he was gone. At least there were lights because the windows were boarded up with metal. She wrinkled her nose at the smell.

Had the poachers crossed onto his property? Was it the bear? She was desperate to know what was going on out there. She chose the cleanest spot on the floor without blood or fur and sat down, hugging her knees.

It was hard to hear anything from inside the reinforced room. Not even muffled sounds.

Poppy wasn’t sure how much time passed, but she guessed about an hour had gone by when she stood up to stretch her legs. How long was she expected to wait? What if Wilder needed her help? What if something happened to him? Her imagination was on overdrive again.

She began to pace, looking around at things she hadn’t noticed last time. There were marks along the doorframe, like those used to measure a child’s height each year. She wondered what they were. Near the door, there was an antique timer of some sort with a red push button. She’d never seen anything like it, and she imagined Wilder built it from old parts like he did with a lot of things around the house.

The red button was a temptation. She ran her fingertips over the top of it, trying to figure out what it could be for. The room was old, so it probably didn’t do anything. And she was bored. And curious by nature. Poppy figured what’s the worst that could happen and pushed the button.

Immediately, iron bars dropped down in front of the door, making her scream and jump back. She looked around, nothing else seemed to have changed. Her heart was racing in her chest, and a bunch of fresh dust floating in the air from the bang. She cautiously approached the bars, holding them with both hands. Poppy felt like a monkey in a cage, and the panic started to set in. There was no way out. The bars rattled as she shook them, gentle at first, and wildly as she began to freak out.

“Wilder!”

What the hell was this room for? Why would the button to trap the bears be on the inside? He’d be trapped inside with them. Nothing made sense, and now because she couldn’t mind her own business again, she was trapped.

As time passed, desperation set in. If something happened to Wilder, she’d die in here. There was no way out, he’d made sure of that. She had no food, and in her panicked state, felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“Help!” She reached through the bars, banging on the main door with a closed fist. “Wilder!”

She decided to try the window. Maybe there was a way to get the metal out, a level something. As she tried to pry her fingers under the thick metal, the massive claw marks made her shudder. Whatever was trapped in here had tried to escape, just as she was now.

The loud sound of the metal gate made her spin around.

It was Wilder, lifting up the bars, locking them back into place high above the door. She cried and ran to him, a mix of relief and turbulent emotions. Poppy wrapped her arms around his waist and he held her head against him.

“It’s okay. I’m here.”

“I’m sorry. I pushed the button.”

He chuckled softly. “I should have expected that.”

She leaned back, glancing around the room. “Wilder, this place. What was this room for?”

“Me.”