The BEARly Controlled Grizzly (Bear Clan, #1)

by Jenika Snow

That first time I saw her—my mate—I’d been ready to kick some guy’s ass for even looking at her. I made no apologies for my possessive, territorial side. I was a grizzly bear shifter, after all. It was my nature to be over the top.

she was out there, I knew it. I felt it. My mate, the one woman made solely for me.

I felt the shift move through me, this tingling starting at the base of my spine and spreading throughout my whole body, consuming me, claiming me and having me submit to the power. Closing my eyes, I tilted my head back, feeling the beast break free.

In this moment both bear and man worked together. But right now, my animal side had the upper hand, called the shots. He was brutal and savage, primal and animalistic. I was alpha and possessive, territorial but rational. And together we made one crazy fucking pair, one that would never back down, would always fight for what we believed in, and who would go to the ends of the earth to find our mate.

That was my one mission in life, the one reason I was born, and my bear’s only need as well. Find our mate, our one and only true love, and make her ours.

Cason, Asher, Damon, Oli, and Maddix, all of us born a year apart, similar in appearance and build, and all of us having one thing in common. We were alphas of the Bear Clan, and God help anyone who stood in our way when we went after what we wanted.

I smelled her before I saw her, this addicting aroma that was sweet yet spicy, soft and delicate. It had my entire body tightening, had my heart racing wildly.

I was only focused on her. It didn’t matter if we were in a room full of people, she was my sole focus, the only person on this fucking planet who meant anything to me now. My brothers were family, but she was life. My life.

Before I could push him away, to finish working and fend off another drunken patron, someone had the tray out of my arms, set aside, and then hands grabbed me around the waist. I was gently moved behind a very large, very masculine body. I knew who it was even though I couldn’t see his face, even though the only thing that took up my view was a large, very muscular back. This man was so big, so strong, that his body blocked out everything else. The scent of him filled my nose and I felt myself soften, felt my body become pliant as if I had no control over it.

“Zakari,” the drunk slurred. “I didn’t know she was yours.” Zakari. That name filled my head, moved through my body. I didn’t know him, but I knew him. The hair on my arms stood on end. “You touched her,” Zakari said in this distorted voice. “You touched what was mine.”

“You look at her again, talk to her, touch her, fucking think of her, I’ll tear the limbs from your body and feed them to the wolves.”

My heart was beating fast as I stared at him, felt this pull, this connection. It was strange, unusual, but all powerful. I couldn’t have ignored it even if I wanted to. It was as if I had known him my whole life, as if we weren’t meeting for the first time. There was something in his eyes, something frighteningly possessive and animalistic, that told me one thing. I was his.

he looked so … territorial. He looked like he owned me. And the way I felt right now told me … he did.

Human or not, her body knew that we were made for each other, that she was mine. She’d fight it because she didn’t understand it. But as soon as I touched her, kissed her, as soon as I marked her, was deep within her, she would know that she was irrevocably, undeniably mine.

I knew the basics of being mated to a shifter, simply because I’d heard about it through the rumor mill. But experiencing it firsthand was unlike anything I could’ve ever imagined. Closing my eyes and breathing out slowly, I gave myself a moment just to collect myself. When I opened my eyes again, I felt resolve move through me. I knew Zakari would not let this go. I knew that being mated was a forever type of thing, something a shifter could not ignore. Wouldn’t ignore. And to be honest, I didn’t want to either.

“I’m scaring you,” he said again and there was this note of tenseness and his voice, as if he hated that fact. I turned and faced him, not sure what to say or how to act. But something had to be said. I couldn’t ignore this. And I knew he wouldn’t either. “I’m not frightened,” I said honestly. I wasn’t, maybe even though I should have been. “And I know what I am to you.” Those words hung in the air between us and I felt this deep sound come from him before I heard it. “You know what it means to be my mate?” I licked my lips again and nodded slowly.

You can deny it all you want, but physically, emotionally, hell, cellularly, you want me. It’s ingrained in both of us, a connection that can’t be denied or changed.” He took another step forward. “This is how it will be always.”

“You feel that between us?” I found myself nodding. “That’s real. That’s our truth.” His voice was low. He leaned forward. “You can run, you can hide, but I guarantee you one thing, Bethany.” He grinned and I saw his teeth, his canines. They were elongated. My heart pumped harder at that sight, and my pussy became wetter. “I’ll find you. Anywhere, at any time. Your scent is engrained in my body. You’re mine. Forever.”

“I’m trying to be gentle, to control myself with you—” “Don’t,” I said, cutting him off.