Page 6 of Bred By the Beast

She let out a little gasp and quickly pulled her legs up into her chest, and he laughed.

“Relax, nothing is going to touch you.”

“What if we take it in shifts? I stay awake and you get some sleep, then you stay awake and I get some sleep.”

“Why don’t you trust me?” he asked. “I’m not tired, and you can rest. I won’t let anything touch you, or eat you, or take you away, or strip your flesh in a second.”

She shuddered again.

“Trust me, I’m the scariest thing in this cave.”

She sighed. “That doesn’t make me feel better.” She let out a little sob. “I did not plan this adventure. I never would have gotten back before dark, regardless. I’d be lost in the forest.”

“You’re safe now. Trust me.”

She took a deep breath and slowly, very slowly, she started to relax. At each sound and movement, she would tense up again.

He got the sense Poppy was not used to relying on anyone, and if she was, she was probably really bad at it. This made him smile, but he stayed perfectly still.

“Do you like being in the mountains?” she asked.

Again, he couldn’t help but smile. “I do.”

“Is it ... lonely?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

He sensed she didn’t quite understand. She was a curious little thing.

“I don’t like people. So, no, I don’t get lonely. I’m more than happy with my own company,” he said.

“That’s nice. I get lonely, though,” she said, and she started to sound sleepy. “I’m all alone, and if I died, no one would care.”

Slowly, she fell asleep, and like all humans, her body just couldn’t keep up. She needed to rest, and she collapsed against him. She was cold and he kept his arms wrapped around her. He was not tired and didn’t get cold easily.

He listened to the sound of the night. The hooting of owls. Rabbits that came out at night, scurrying around. The slight breeze that rustled the trees and bushes. This was wildlife.

The cave was safe. There were no hidden dangers.

As for his own beast, he was ... sated. Wilder didn’t know why it mattered to his beast but having this woman in his arms calmed the anger within him. After witnessing a brutal murder like he had, he usually hunted until that anger was spent. This time, he was content to hold Poppy, to give her the warmth she needed, as well as the protection. This was new for him. He wasn’t used to feeling this way, and it made him a little uneasy.

She smelled amazing. Earthy, sweet, delicious. He closed his eyes and just breathed her in, allowing the night to continue to tick on by.

He hadn’t expected to talk to this human. When he saw her life hanging in the balance, he hadn’t been able to walk away. In the past, he always did. No one had ever affected him like this.

Poppy was different.

Chapter Three

This was not how she planned her day to go.

The entire trip started out as a quick way to get out of debt. Then it unexpectedly turned into some kind of “save the bears” mission. She wasn’t ready for any of this.

Those poachers had seen her. Knew she was taking pictures. Those criminals would probably keep hunting until they found her. At the very least, if they left, her car was the only one parked at the edge of the forest. Surely they’d be able to identify her from her license plates.

She was so stressed. On top of that, she was trapped in a freaking cave with some beast of a man. A stranger. He could be some serial killer hiding out in the woods for all she knew. None of this was good.