The blond man looked torn. "Aiden she's scared! Calm down!" He yelled.
A roar from the man holding her nearly burst her eardrums. He slung her over his shoulder and she thrashed to get down. Her stomach was killing her from where his shoulder kept squashing her insides as he ran. Grabbing his waist she bit his back over his kidney. Roaring he flipped her around cradling her in his arms. His pace quickened as he turned and darted through the trees.
"Neanderthal! Put me down! Put me down now!" Her tiny fists beat on his chest and head. He ignored her efforts. When a large house came into view, she struggled more, knowing that if he got her inside she would never be able to leave. It had zero effect on the man. He kicked the door in.
The downstairs became a blur as he moved through the house. He ran up the stairs and down a long hallway. Too soon he was opening a door. He quickly closed it behind him before setting her down. He stood back smiling down at her. He was still smiling when her fist connected with his nose. He shook his head looking like he was trying to focus.
"Let me go!" Her foot connected with his shin and he let out an undignified yelp.
"Woman, quit hitting me!" He bellowed.
"This is kidnapping and false imprisonment!" She slung her backpack forward and pulled out her phone. He plucked it from her hand. He grabbed her backpack to take it from her, but she held on tight with both hands.
Frustrated, he lifted it over her head but she still didn't let go she simply dangled from the straps. He shook it and finally she lost her grip and fell to the floor. She scowled up at him from a sitting position.
"You're the soft, feminine woman from my dreams? My delicate innocent? You, with your short hair, dirty sneakers and preadolescent male clothing?" He sounded confused. He leaned forward and inhaled again.
"Why are you sniffing me?" She scooted away, crabwalking backwards on her hands and feet.
"Oh God, is this like Silence of the Lambs?" Tears flowed down her face. "I don't want to go down the hole! I won't put lotion on the skin! Look at me, you won't be able to wear my skin, I won't cover your huge ass!" She wailed.
He took a careful step backward.
"I'll be back." He turned and fled from the room. She heard the sound of a small metal click as the door was locked. She then heard something that had her brain working overtime.
"My mate is fucking nuts!"
*****
Meryn jumped up when the door shut and tried to open it. Dammit, she was locked in. Mate? What did he mean by mate? She ran to the window and looked down. She was at least three stories up, so jumping out was impossible. She was about to turn back to the room when she saw the man who had grabbed her from the fence run into the backyard. The huge one Aiden had called the blond man Colton. She watched as Colton began to strip out of his clothing. She tilted her head to admire the view. He had a great ass. A moment later she started to think that one of the military guys had slipped her some hallucinogens, because one second Colton was a man with a fine ass, the next he was a huge dog running into the woods.
She stumbled back from the window, tripped over an expensive looking rug and fell flat on her butt. She was in a world of shit now. Fact one: the big guy that growled and brought her back here had to be one of the sexiest men she had ever seen in her life. Actually, all of the men were gorgeous, but there was something about that hulking brute that just made her want to snuggle up and take a nap...after a long afternoon of hot sex. Fact two: at least one guy here turned into a dog. Fact three: no one seemed all that concerned that she had been taken, so help was probably not on its way. She was on her own. Why did all the crazy stuff happen to her? Did she just attract crazy shit?
She heard the door open and the big guy walked in slowly before shutting the door behind him. She stood and backed up until she hit the wall. He held up his hands.
"Your name is Aiden right?" She asked. Somehow giving him a name made him slightly less scary and more likely to be reasoned with.
He nodded. "I'm not going to hurt you."
His deep, sexy voice should be outlawed.
"I'm sure that's what all the serial killers say to their victims." She eyed the lamp on the nightstand.
"I just want to talk." His words were careful and he spoke in gentle tones.
"I suppose you want to talk about your dog people." She edged closer to the nightstand.
"Dog people? Oh, you saw Colton. Right. How do I explain this?" He rubbed the back of his neck, his face taking on a sheepish expression. If he weren't her abductor, she would say he looked adorable.
"Start with the dog thing." She suggested.
"Colton is one of the men in the unit that I serve with. Each man in the unit is a little ... different than most people. Colton happens to be a shifter. He can turn into a wolf."
Meryn blinked. Then blinked again. Without looking away from him she ran her fingers over the heavy looking lamp base.
"So you're a wolf?" She asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
He looked offended. "Of course not."
She let out a relieved breath.
"I'm a bear."
She closed her eyes. "Why me? Why does this shit always happen to me?" When she opened her eyes he had moved a little closer. She tensed. He leaned in and sniffed her hair.
"Are you sniffing me?" She asked incredulously.
"I want to be sure. Let me ask you something, are you drawn to me?" His eyebrows were bunched together as he frowned down at her.