Double Bear Chase: Werebear BBW Menage Romance (Hockey Bear Season Book 3) Page 18

  Donnie was walking back to the front of the van, eyeing Foster and Finn intently. Looking from Finn to the huge man who looked like every stereotypical biker gang member ever, Foster hoped Finn would somehow figure out what he had in mind. Finn gave him the faintest of nods, so he assumed his brother was on board.

  He threw a loaded look Hanna’s way.

  “You’re not going anywhere, Hanna. And neither is he,” he said. “I’m not going to let him, you understand me?”

  “Yes,” she replied, her features tightening with determination.

  “You’re going to have to help me, though,” he continued, looking her straight in the eyes.

  “Enough of this shit, get out of the way,” Vince growled. “Move,” he said to Hanna, shoving her.

  “Now!” Foster called out, hoping he had gotten his messages to Finn and Hanna across well enough.

  The next second was a blur of motion, as everyone leapt into action.

  You’re going to be okay, Hanna, Foster made a silent promise, hoping it wasn’t one he would have to break.

  Forty-One

  Hanna

  Oh, god, I hope this is what he meant, Hanna thought, letting her body go limp.

  As Vince momentarily struggled to hold her on her feet, she put all her might into thrashing against him, kicking and clawing, hoping against hope he’d release his grip on her. She almost let out an elated scream when the hand around her throat loosened enough for her to duck away from Vince’s grip.

  He still had a hold on her arm, but she was at least able to get away from being pressed against his chest. Foster was already barreling toward them, while Finn had swirled around and knocked into Donnie. The two of them were struggling, with Donnie pressed against the car and Finn pressing a forearm against his neck.

  I have to get out of the way, she thought, time standing still was she watched Foster run toward her and Vince with a snarl on his lips.

  Her arm twisted painfully when she dug her heels into the ground and tried pulling away from Vince. His grip loosened slightly, with her arm sliding in his grasp, until he was holding on to her wrist instead of her forearm.

  Next thing she knew, she was on the grass, with Foster and Vince on the ground beside her, rolling around, each trying to get the upper hand. With her arm now free, she crawled out of the way.

  Finn still had Donnie pinned against the van, but something odd was happening to Donnie. The outlines of his body began to blur and ripple, his form stretching and widening before her very eyes. Losing his grip on the man, Finn pulled away, his body mirroring the changes happening to Donnie.

  Before she could even blink, the two men were replaced by huge, roaring grizzlies, standing impossibly tall in the warm afternoon sun. It shouldn’t have been such a shock to her, since she knew these men were all shifters.

  But knowing was one thing, seeing men transform into animals before her very eyes was another.

  Looking over at Foster and Vince, the same thing was happening. Vince’s face was twisting and morphing, his mouth stretching out into a muzzle. Foster’s spine seemed to elongate, accompanied by what she could only describe as the sound of bones snapping and realigning. Fur erupted out of his body, with long, white claws shooting out from what were now his paws.

  Even with all this madness going on all around her, one thought rose above the rest.

  They came for me. Foster and Finn came for me.

  She had no idea why, after what she’d said to them, after she was going to skip town without even facing them. But here they were, putting everything on the line for her. Watching them growl, sharp teeth bared, their fur bristling, she could feel her heart beat out of her chest.

  This was exactly why she hadn’t wanted to tell them. Vince was ruthless. And she knew exactly what kind of company he liked to keep, so she had no doubt Donnie was just as bad. They wouldn’t even think twice about ending the brothers’ lives. And if Foster and Finn got hurt or worse trying to protect her, she could never forgive herself.

  When Foster and Vince both got on their hind legs, they were almost the same height, with Foster maybe an inch taller. With a scraped knee and dirt between her toes, Hanna scurried to a nearby tree and pressed her back against it, trying to regain her bearings.

  She could still feel Vince’s hand around her throat as she watched his fight with Foster unfold. The two hulking beasts charged at each other with feral roars, clashing with a loud thud. Their mouths were open, their heads whipping back and forth as they searched for an opening, an opportunity to sink their teeth into their opponent’s flesh.

  Almost forgetting to breathe, Hanna prayed that Foster would be alright. She had no idea how many fights Foster had been in during his lifetime, but she had a feeling Vince could easily top that number. A pained growl echoed out of Vince as Foster’s teeth ripped into the bear’s shoulder, making blood pour out and turning Vince’s brown fur red and sticky.

  But as Foster was busy gnawing on Vince’s shoulder, Vince reared back and swiped a heavy paw at Foster, slashing across Foster’s arms and making him unclench his jaw. Both grizzlies sank back down on all fours as they took a step backward.

  Red streaks ran down Foster’s side, but he didn’t even seem to pay that any mind as he and Vince circled each other, eyes glued to each other’s every movement. Vince leapt forward first, but Foster was ready for him.

  Just as Vince would have reached him, Foster got back on his hind legs and jumped on top of the bear, pushing the grizzly down to the ground with all his weight. After that, Hanna had to look away as Foster viciously ripped into Vince, covering the grass around them in a mist of blood.

  A loud crash brought her attention to Finn, who had shoved Donnie into the van with enough force to shatter the vehicle’s windows. Donnie tried to fight back, clawing and pushing at Finn, but Finn was relentless. Totally ignoring Donnie’s attempts to fight himself free from being cornered against the van, Finn bit down near his opponent’s neck, making Donnie still immediately.

  Cutting through the haze of adrenaline and fear, Hanna could suddenly hear sirens wailing in the distance. Trying to absorb all that was going on around her, she realized Finn and Foster weren’t just going to stop ripping Vince and Donnie to shreds.

  It was all a part of their protective nature – they would do anything to make sure Hanna would never be in danger again. They probably weren’t even really acknowledging to themselves what they were doing, consumed by the side of them that only dealt in absolutes, like life or death.

  “Stop,” she called out, either the panic or how she had been choked earlier making the yell come out more like a throaty croak. “Stop!” she tried again, pushing herself off the tree and running into the middle of the battlefield, as it were.

  Foster and Finn slightly raised their heads, their ears perking up. Hanna took that as a sign they were listening.

  “You saved me. I’m safe. Neither Vince nor Donnie can hurt me anymore. You can stop now. The police are already on their way. Please don’t do anything you’ll regret on my account. Stand down,” she said, mostly just rattling off whatever popped into her head.

  I won’t be the one to make them into killers. That’s not who they are.

  Little by little, her words seemed to register. Foster reacted first, backing off from Vince, who was little more than a bloody pulp on the ground, heaving in labored breaths. Finn growled to himself, but followed suit. Donnie slumped to the ground, right onto the shards of glass all around him, when Finn pulled his teeth out of his neck.

  Their forms began to unravel around them once again, but the process looked a little more labored this time. Hanna could tell Finn and Foster’s injuries were making the process painful, as their bodies stretched and shrank around their gashes and cuts.

  Before she knew it, they were back to their human forms, walking toward her. Hanna held back from leaping into their arms, looking on in horror at the blood seeping from the claw marks on their arms. Finn was limping s
lightly, and Foster had a hand pressed against his side, like his ribs were giving him trouble.

  “Oh my god! Are you alright?” Hanna asked, feeling tears spring into her eyes.

  “We’re fine, don’t worry about us,” Finn replied with a dismissive wave.

  “Nothing but a scratch,” Foster smiled.

  “But you look terrible,” Hanna protested.

  “Thanks,” Foster chuckled.

  “You should see the other guys. Oh, wait. You can,” Finn grinned, looking from Vince to Donnie, who were still lying on the ground, but also slowly shifting back to their human appearances.

  “I’m so sorry,” Hanna started, not even knowing what words could ever apologize enough for how she had treated the brothers. “I should have told you the truth, but I was so scared…”

  Foster took her hand in his while Finn threw an arm around her shoulders.

  “We get it. You had a lot on your plate, and you made what you thought was the right call,” Foster replied.

  “Let’s promise to be more honest with each other and leave it at that, huh?” Finn added.

  Could it really be that easy? Could they leave all of their baggage behind, and start over together? It seemed too good to be true, but looking at Foster and Finn, she knew that if anyone could do it, it was them. As long as they focused on what made them happy, she knew they would be alright.

  “I think I’m going to have to take back my resignation,” she chuckled lightly.

  “Damn right. This is your home now,” Finn replied.

  “You belong with us,” Foster added.

  He said it with such conviction, that whatever doubts had still been rattling around in Hanna’s head evaporated. Not only was Vince now out of the way, she also realized she had set up roadblocks for herself. A relationship with the brothers might be complicated, and even scary, but she was done with not taking risks.

  Life was too short for her to keep herself from going after what she really wanted. And what she really wanted was the two men at her side, looking at her like she was the only woman in the world.

  “I do belong with you,” she agreed.

  And she believed every word.

  Epilogue

  Hanna

  Hanna held her hands over her mouth, her whole body tense, as she watched Foster and Finn drive the puck toward the goal. The game was almost up, and the Savages were tied against the Timberwolves. Holding her breath, Hanna’s eyes were glued to her two favorite players.

  Foster and Finn flew across the ice, straight through the Timberwolves’ defense. Just as Foster was slammed into by an opposing player, he shot the puck to Finn. Time seemed to slow down as Finn caught the shot, pulled back his stick, and sent the puck flying. The goaltender did his best, but when the crowd erupted in cheers all around her, Hanna knew it hadn’t been enough.

  “Yes!” she called out getting to her feet.

  The whistle sounded and the game was over, the Savages team huddled into a group hug on the edge of the ice. Bouncing up and down, Hanna let her voice join the others in a chant for the Savages, a huge grin on her face.

  If someone had told me six months ago I’d be this into hockey…

  As the excitement died down and the teams disappeared into their locker rooms, Hanna let herself be carried outside with the rest of the crowd. She didn’t feel like shoving against the flow of people to get to the waiting rooms deeper in the rink, so she decided to just wait for her men in the back parking lot.

  The air was crisp and the sun setting when she got outside, and used her little keycard to get into the players’ lot. She still had a huge smile on her face. The Savages had been on a real winning streak lately, and she couldn’t be happier for Foster, Finn and the whole team.

  As a therapist, she would be happy to report that neither Foster nor Finn had gotten into any unnecessary fights as of late. Their teammates all stated the same thing – they were happy to have their friends back. The ones they remembered, not the angry, sullen men they had been before they’d been sent to her office.

  As a girlfriend, she was immensely happy to see her boyfriends happy. It still made her giddy, thinking about herself and her two boyfriends. It felt odd to say out loud, but was more than exciting to think about. Both Finn and Foster were hers now.

  Two soulmates for the price of one, she giggled to herself.

  She had been doing a lot of giggling lately, and laughing. With all of them keeping their promises of being honest with each other, it was the easiest relationship she had ever been in. Who would have known, splitting your attention between two men would be fun instead of exhausting.

  Well, some parts of it are exhausting, she grinned to herself.

  The brothers had barely let her out of their sights since that day at her old apartment building. And that meant she spent most of her nights either at Finn’s or Foster’s place. To say that she hadn’t gotten much sleep lately would be an understatement. Not that she minded, though.

  Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn’t notice Finn and Foster until they were standing in front of her.

  “Hey, you,” Finn winked, wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning her around.

  He had barely put her down when Foster was already there at her side, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

  “You were great tonight,” she beamed at them.

  It seemed her lips were perpetually curved into a smile these days. Her colleagues had to be sick and tired of her always looking like she was about ready to burst into song, but she couldn’t help it.

  “We’re great every night,” Finn replied, getting out the car keys.

  “On and off the ice,” Foster quickly added, as if what Finn had meant wasn’t already obvious.

  “Alright, you can stop laying it on so thick,” Hanna said with a mock sigh. “I’ll come over tonight. But I have to leave early in the morning. I have a group session at eight and I have to swing by my place before that.”

  “Or you could get out of that dump and we can start looking for a place for all three of us,” Foster suggested, for the hundredth time.

  “It’s not a dump,” Hanna protested, avoiding the topic of moving in together. “It’s… cozy,” she finished lamely.

  “Your shoe collection takes up half the apartment,” Finn laughed. “And your view is of a brick wall.”

  “Well, you know… Can you really blame Jim for not wanting to let me move back into my old apartment, after what went down? He’s probably still scared of bears popping up from god knows where and tearing up his immaculately kept lawn,” she retorted. “I had to take what I could get on such short notice.”

  “We both offered you to stay with us,” Foster reminded her, loading his gear into the car.

  “Studies say that moving in together too soon…” Hanna started, but was cut off by Finn’s pointed look.

  “Not that again,” he groaned.

  “Don’t you think we defy odds and expectations?” Foster asked.

  That was definitely true. No other part of their relationship was exactly common. To her surprise, she found that she liked it that way. Making their own rules was fun, especially for Hanna. She had been too stuck in trying to play it safe for too long anyway. Remembering her vow to stay honest, she blurted out what was really on her mind.

  “I’m scared of how fast this is going, but I also love it. I don’t know which side is right.”

  The brothers stilled for a moment, exchanging a look she could read.

  “I think we can help you make up your mind,” Finn grinned, closing in on her.

  “Now this is unfair,” she protested, backed up against the car.

  Finn and Foster crowded around her, illuminated by the sparse streetlights scattered around the parking lot. When they both started kissing up her neck, she was suddenly glad to have the SUV to lean against.

  “I read somewhere that we should trust our gut feelings,” Foster murmured.

  “What are your instincts te
lling you? Do you want to go home with us every night?” Finn prodded, inhaling her scent at the crook of her neck.

  Knees buckling, and with everything but the brothers fading away, Hanna knew that was exactly what she wanted. To spend a lifetime with Finn and Foster, to be happy whatever people might think about them.

  “Yes,” she whispered, feeling Foster smile against her skin.

  “I told you all she needed was a little convincing,” Finn said.

  “You two have me all figured out, huh?” Hanna laughed.

  “Not all of you. But we’ll have time for that,” Foster replied.

  Hanna smiled at that. She could see her future laid out in front of her, and she couldn’t imagine it without the men she loved more than anything.

  “Yes, we will,” she agreed.

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