CAPTURED: GEM CREEK BEARS, BOOK TWO Page 10

  In her coyote form, Jessica was much swifter than she had been in her human form. Even with her injuries, she was able to dodge my blows with ease. At one point it looked as though she was enjoying it, like it was a game to her. She lunged at me, knocking the piece of wood from my hands. It clattered to the floor in a deafening sound.

  “Tris!” Penny shouted from behind me. She was struggling to wake the girls and usher them to safety.

  I didn’t look at her. I didn’t allow my gaze to waiver from Jessica. “Get them out of here!” I shouted to Penny.

  Jessica lunged at me again. Her teeth grazed the skin of my thigh, but not deep enough to break it. Fear pumped through my heart.

  How deep did a bite from a shifter have to be in order for you to become one?

  I kicked at Jessica again, keeping space between us. She snapped her jaws at me. One of my kicks connected with the side of her face. She stumbled and shook her head, trying to shake off the sting of my blow. I kicked her again, giving her a taste of her own medicine.

  From the corner of my eye, I spotted Penny starting down the stairs with the girls from the cage. She was practically dragging one of them who was still too out of it from whatever drugs she’d been given to walk on her own.

  Jessica continued to lunge at me. Before long, I found myself backed against a wall. A rope dangled above my head. I pulled it from its hook and whipped it in front of me. My legs were tired. My lungs ached. And my side throbbed. I was losing steam, fast. I whipped the rope at Jessica to put space between us again. With all the girls freed from the cage and Penny out of harm’s way, I needed to figure out how to get out of here. Jessica wasn’t going to quit.

  She was unstoppable and deranged.

  I continued whipping at Jessica until my back was to the stairs. I didn’t know what my next move would be, but I knew I needed to get down those stairs and outside—away from her—if I wanted to survive.

  Someone grabbed me from behind, securing their strong arms around my waist and flung me to the floor.

  My head cracked against the wood floor, sending stars bursting before my eyes, and my side roared with pain. My vision went dark around the edges as I stared up at the ceiling of the old sawmill. It swayed and rippled as dizziness latched onto me. Ezra’s face came into view above me. His lips were twisted into a wicked smirk and blood speckled his face.

  “You’re who we’ve been looking for, Tris. You’re the Mystic.” His eyes burned with an intensity that sent a shiver up my spine. I wanted to argue with him, but I knew it wouldn’t do me any good.

  He knew what I was. How?

  My fingers reached for Natalie’s bracelet. It wasn’t on my wrist. My heart dropped to my stomach. It must have fallen off while I’d been fighting Jessica.

  Ezra’s smile grew. “Chase was right. He said he could feel you when he went after his brother.” He moved to grab me, but something large and brown tackled him.

  A low growl rumbled from the gigantic bear’s chest as he pulled himself up to stand on his hind legs, daring Ezra to touch me again.

  Liam.

  Jessica snapped her jaws at him, and he swiped his large paw at her, forcing her back. I laid on the floor, pressing my hands to my side and called on my Mystic magic to heal myself. I wasn’t going to be much help otherwise.

  At the first spark of it, every shifter in the room froze. Their attention drawn to me like a moth to a flame. It was the distraction needed to give Ezra and Jessica an advantage over Liam. She lunged for his throat while Ezra pulled a metal rod from the shelf near the stairs.

  “Liam!” I shouted, but my warning was too late.

  Ezra plunged the metal rod into Liam’s side while Jessica sank her teeth into him. His bear let out a loud roar that vibrated through the old sawmill, shaking the floor. He shoved Jessica off him and then fell forward. I forced myself to my feet.

  “No!” I shouted as I rushed to his side. “Liam!”

  My fingers grazed the metal rod as numbness flowed through me. Shifter magic pulsed through the air, and in seconds, Liam’s bear disappeared and he returned to his human form. I didn’t know much about shifters and how things worked, but I knew a swift change like that because of an injury couldn’t mean anything good.

  “Come with me and I won’t rip the rod out of his side and slam it into his heart,” Ezra insisted through clenched teeth.

  My heart thundered. He was serious. It was written on his face.

  Sweat broke out across Liam’s skin as blood trickled from his wound to pool on the floor beneath him. He needed me to heal him.

  “I’ll come with you,” I said, locking eyes with Ezra. Silver flickered through their color like I’d seen Jessica’s do. “But only if you let me heal him first.” My words were firm, my voice steady, even though my insides quivered with fear.

  I didn’t want to go with him, but what other option did I have?

  Clearly, we’d lost. Yes, I’d been able to find Penny and get her out, along with the others, but we’d lost. Liam was hurt, and I was sure the others were too, or they’d be here. Plus, I was about to be swept away by Ezra and his pack.

  Ezra’s head cocked to the side as though he was contemplating my offer. “I’m thinking… no,” he said before he grabbed me. “I don’t have time for this, and I don’t want you wasting any Mystic magic on him when you’ll need it for me.”

  It was then I noticed the telltale blisters of the sickness creeping up the side of his neck. That’s why he was doing all this—abducting girls and draining them—he was sick.

  Ezra shoved me toward the stairs and I nearly toppled down them. Jessica snarled, but I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or him.

  “No,” I heard Liam mutter. His voice was weak. I knew it was because he’d lost a lot of blood and was probably exhausted from his swift change.

  Jessica was behind me as I made my way down the stairs. She growled and snapped at me as I walked. I could feel her hot breath on the back of my legs. When we made it to the bottom of the stairs, I didn’t see Cato anywhere. I didn’t see the coyote he’d been fighting either.

  This wasn’t good.

  Outside the sun was shining brightly, but there was an eerie silence that hung in the air. Blood was splattered everywhere, and large clumps of grass and dirt had been ripped from the ground during the battle that had taken place. I spotted Rafe lying face down a few feet away. A puddle of blood was beneath him. My heart stalled at the sight.

  I couldn’t go with Ezra. Liam and Rafe needed me. Heck, all of them probably did.

  Where were Billie and Cato?

  “Get inside,” Ezra insisted, shoving me toward an old pickup truck.

  I wanted to fight him but knew there was no point. I wouldn’t win. Not injured and without a weapon. My best bet was to do as I was told.

  Shifter magic pulsed through the air. Jessica was changing back.

  “Shouldn’t we blindfold her?” she asked once she’d transitioned into her human form.

  “There’s no point,” Ezra insisted. “She’s not leaving once she gets where we’re going. I’m going to bleed her dry to heal myself.”

  Jessica sashayed her bare ass in front of me and then swung open the passenger door to the truck open. “Well, get in. We don’t have all day.”

  I climbed in and situated myself in the center of the bench seat. Jessica slid in beside me as Ezra made his way around the front of the truck to the driver seat. Her eyes were on me, I could feel them, but I stared straight ahead, trying to figure out how the hell I was going to get out of this. Jessica slammed the truck door closed with more force than was necessary.

  “Careful! Jesus!” someone shouted from the bed of the truck. My gaze drifted to the rearview mirror where I spotted Marshall climbing in. He was shirtless but wore a pair of black athletic shorts. “Don’t hurt my truck.”

  Jessica made a scoffing noise and then shifted her attention to me. “You look so defeated,” she snarled. “I’m going to love watchi
ng my brother bleed you.”

  Ezra climbed behind the wheel and cranked the engine on the ancient truck. It rumbled to life with ease. When he popped the truck in reverse to turn it around, my stomach somersaulted. Jessica reached into the glove box and pulled out a spaghetti strap dress. She slipped it on. I scanned the woods as the truck turned, searching for any sign of Penny, the other girls, or the others from my clan.

  My clan? When had I started thinking of them as mine?

  Penny and Cato rushed from inside the sawmill, both of them covered in blood and badly beaten. In the sunlight, I could see the full extent of Penny’s wounds, and I hated Ezra and his pack for it.

  At least she’s safe, I told myself. I’d done what I’d set out to do. Although, Liam might discredit that since getting captured hadn’t been part of the plan.

  Liam. I hoped he’d be okay.

  At the thought of him, he came rushing through the door to stand by Cato and Penny. The rod had been removed from his side and his hand pressed over the wound. Blood trickled between his fingers, spilling down his bare torso to the ground.

  “Aw, look. Your little bear was finally able to get to his feet. He probably was coming to your rescue. Too bad he’s too late.” Jessica chuckled as Ezra pressed the gas to the floorboard and sped out of there, kicking up gravel and dirt behind us.

  I stared at Liam, Penny, and Cato in the rearview mirror as we pulled away. They would come for me. I knew they would. I just needed to hang on.

  Somehow.

  * * *

  If you’re enjoying Gem Creek Bears you might also enjoy the completed Marked Duology series. A mysterious stranger she can't ignore. A birthmark with hidden meaning. A bite that changes her destiny.

  Thank You

  Thank you for reading Captured (Gem Creek Bears, Book Two), I hope you enjoyed it! Please consider leaving an honest review at your point of purchase. Reviews help me in so many ways!

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  About the Author

  Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina where she spends most of her time writing New Adult and Young Adult Fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.

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