Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,1

and his hair was slicked back. He was wearing a silver watch and, if the waitress was observant, she would have seen that they had driven up in an Audi. Nothing about him said “camping” at all.

John was going to be pissed if the waitress started asking questions.

“I’m fine,” Alanna said again. She grinned, knowing the dimples in her cheek just might sell the act. She could charm when she felt like it. “Honestly! But thank you so much for your concern.”

When the waitress finally walked away, John nodded as if in approval. “Good job.”

She sighed in relief and immediately felt stupid for playing his manipulative little game. John was just a henchman, a well-paid fixer who hurt people for money...a lot of money. But he wasn’t stupid. He moved from threatening Alanna to seeming a little kinder as a means of wearing her down. It worked all too well and Alanna knew that tactic. She’d come across men like that before.

Alanna crossed her arms and waited for her food, trying not to think about what would come next, or at least what would come eventually.

John was taking her to the Black Bear Lake Lodge. Alanna had heard of it even though she didn’t know Colorado too well. It was a luxurious type of place, somewhere rich folk, rich bear shifters, in particular, went to lap up all the fancy amenities and ski and go to the spa. They’d be staying there for a few days and then… Alanna didn’t want to think about what happened then. The future was a dark void. The best she could hope for was to go along until she could find the right moment to escape for good this time. But that all relied on Alex getting away first and it didn’t seem likely.

The food came and Alanna’s mouth watered just as her stomach rumbled. The last thing she’d eaten had been some fish she’d caught out in the woods before John finally caught up with her. She cast the waitress a smile and dug into her food. She would have been embarrassed by how quickly she scarfed it all down if she’d ever cared about that sort of thing. She was still used to living as a bear and tearing into the flesh of a fresh kill.

The food made her feel a little better. A deceptive kind of feeling, she thought. The future was still bleak as hell, Alex was still a prisoner, and...

John’s phone ringing made Alanna tense up in her seat.

So far, the only person that ever called John was Rawley, who checked in on things every couple of hours.

Alanna swallowed her last bite of eggs and waited for the inevitable.

John answered quickly. He was halfway through his steak and eggs. They would finish soon and get back on the road and then they’d reach the lodge and then in a few days…

“Mr. Rawley,” John said. “Yeah, everything’s going swimmingly. We’re having some food… Of course, sir.” John handed the phone over to Alanna with an eyebrow raised.

The first time John had tried to hand the phone over to Alanna with Rawley, she had not reacted well and he’d threatened to shift and show her why it was a bad idea. Now she took the phone, her head starting to pound even with food in her stomach.

“Hello,” Alanna said flatly.

Rawley growled on the other end and Alanna resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Rawley was always growling. To some degree, that was a reflex among male bear shifters. But it was the way he did it, making a point of it. He growled to make threats and also to try to sound sexy. It only made Alanna infuriated.

“Hello, my blushing bride,” Rawley finally said. “John treating you like the princess you are?”

The cognitive dissonance threatened to scramble Alanna’s brain, but that was all a part of this too. Rawley knew very well that John had smacked her around to keep her in line, had threatened her, and if nothing else, was holding her against her will. He was holding her brother Alex hostage on top of it, threatening his potential murder or torture constantly. But all of that still wasn’t enough.

“Of course,” Alanna said dutifully. “Everything is just fine.”

“You having breakfast?” Rawley said. “Don’t eat too much. I don’t like my girls too plump.”

“Of course.”

“You sound so nervous,” Rawley said, laughing in that deep bellowing way of his. “Don’t you worry, my love. You’ll get used to it. You’ll love