ROMANCE: Highland Bear Love : A BBW Paranormal Historical Billionaire Romance (Fantasy Alpha Male Shape Shifter Short Stories) Read Online Free PDF

it’s born, I’ll leave it out in the woods where it belongs.”
                  “How can you say that?” Kendell hissed. “It’s an innocent child.”
                  “It’s a bear.”
                  She clenched her fist again, wishing he would step closer to her. She’d show him exactly what a bear could do. “You’re not corrupt. You’re evil.”
                  “And it’s all for you, little bird,” he said, sneering.
                  She wouldn’t believe it. He was trying to manipulate her. She had nothing to do with the emptiness of his soul. He’d chosen his own path. “So I’m to stay chained like this until the child is born?”
                  “You’re lucky–”
                  He didn’t get a chance to finish. A familiar brown bear charged into the room, the blood of wolves dripping from his fangs.
                  “Dermott!” she cried, a mix of fear and relief within her.
                  Instantly, Freddie changed, becoming a wolf as black as his ill-doings. He was much larger than his henchmen, and much more agile. He would not fall as easily as they had.
    The men, the beasts, sprang at each other, clashing in the air. Dermott fought for Kendell and for the fate of their child. Freddie fought only for his pride, but such distorted pride could not be underestimated. Kendell watched in horror as he slashed Dermott across the face, temporarily blinding him. Gaining the advantage, he then clasped his jaws tightly around Dermott’s neck, working his teeth through his fur.
    “No!” Kendell shrieked, and she tugged frantically at the chain, but it would not give. She couldn’t help. She could only watch.
    Under the weight of the wolf, Dermott stumbled closer to her. He tried to push Freddie off, but Freddie was relentless, his eyes yellow and depraved. It frightened Kendell to the core, but she used the fear to her advantaged, tired of the fear Freddie caused.
    Come closer to me , she willed Dermott. I have a plan.
    She didn’t know if Dermott heard her or if he was simply losing the battle with Freddie, but he stepped closer to her, barely able to stay on his feet.
    Kendell may be chained to the fireplace, stripped of her independence, the way Freddie had always wanted, but she was free to stand. Using the strength gifted to her by her child, she pulled Freddie off of Dermott and threw him into the fire.
    “I’m no little bird,” she declared.
    Unable to look as Freddie struggled against the flames, she tucked her head into Dermott’s thick fur.
    “It’s over,” he said, recovering as he shifted back into his human form. “He’s gone.”
     
    ***
     
                 

Back at the country mansion in the woods, finding refuge after their ordeal, Kendell sat on a blanket beside Dermott on the circular porch that overlooked the lake. It was night. The stars shined around them, as did numerous candles that Dermott had lit before guiding her out here.
    “You know I’m pregnant,” she said, looking out upon the waters, finally at peace.
                  “You know I’m the dad,” he joked.
                  She smiled. “I guess you’re finally getting what you always wanted. I’m sorry it had to be with a stranger.”
                  He moved behind her and took her into his arms. She leaned against him, comforted by his weight, even if she did possess a strength of her own.
                  “You’re no stranger,” he murmured. “You’re family.”
                  Kendell grabbed his hand into her own, playing with his fingers. “I was never with him,” she tried to explain. “I know it looks bad, but we were never together.”
                  “I trust you,” Dermott told her.
                  It was the words she needed to hear. She took his hand and kissed it,