“Ever had two at a time, sweetheart?” the shop guy said, leering down at Lori. She was sitting on the mattress inside the barn, as they’d instructed her, and they were leaning on either side of the barn door. The ugly guy had a torch, and he was training it on her as she unfastened the buttons on her shirt, complying with their orders as slowly as humanly possible.

“That’s it. Good girl,” the shop guy crooned, in a voice thick with saliva. Lori’s stomach lurched again. Her mind was frozen with horror as her fingers worked numbly.

“Nice tits,” the ugly guy said. “You still feeding that baby of yours?” she shook her head quickly. “Shame,” he said, drawing the word out disgustingly.

“Now take your shirt off, and undo your pants. Give us a nice strip tease to get us nice and hot for that sweet body of yours.” Lori swallowed hard.

“Please…,” she said. “Please don’t do this.”

“Stop begging and just do as I say, bitch, if you don’t want me to do something much worse,” shouted the ugly one, his eyes sparkling with rage.

“Please, I’ll do anything else you – ” she broke off as the ugly one stormed towards her, his face convulsed with aggression. He stopped a meter short of her, having seen the horror that transfixed her face. Then he smirked.

“You got the message, bitch, didn’t you?! Now continue where you left off, or I’ll continue myself.”

She stifled a cry, took her shirt off and started unfastening the button of her pants. Her hands were shaking so badly, she could barely hold the button between her fingers. She finally managed to unfasten it and then pulled the zipper down slowly. As her panties were revealed, the ugly guy made a sound of hunger.

“The bitch so wants me, her hands are trembling with desire,” he cackled. “Get those pants off and – ” he began to say, but he didn’t get to finish his sentence, as something huge appeared in the darkness behind him, and seemed to engulf him. He gave a single, high-pitched scream, there was a deep, vibrating roar and a sound of something tearing, and he fell to the ground. His torch dropped, but landed on something soft, and its beam illuminated the first couple of feet off the ground. The ugly guy was covered in blood. His throat was slashed, and deep cuts criss-crossed his face. Just behind him were two furry brown legs.

“You! How the fuck did you get here?” the shop guy yelled. He was answered with a roar of pure fury. There was the sound of tearing fabric, and Lori watched in shock as the clothes of the shop guy burst apart. His leather pants, jacket and shirt spontaneously shredded and fell off him. Underneath, he didn’t have skin, but fur – thick, gray fur. His body seemed to get bigger and bigger and then there was the sound of crunching bone, and a loud snap and a thump. And the face of a wolf stared at her, through mean, yellow eyes. She screamed, and screamed again as the wolf lunged at whatever was behind the body of the ugly guy. A snarl cut through the air, and the wolf was thrown back onto the ground, the dark shape plunging on top of it. It was a bear! A huge, brown bear. The wolf and the bear tumbled over and over, gnashing their teeth, biting at each other. The wolf was vicious and its gestures were manic and quick. But it was losing. The bear was so much bigger, and it had claws that could rip through flesh. Soon, the wolf’s snarls became whimpers, and then an agonized scream. The bear’s mighty jaws fastened around the wolf’s throat and held on. And then there was silence. The bear shook its massive head, and the wolf’s neck snapped. It was dead. The bear flung it on top of the other body. Lori stared, paralyzed, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The bear lay down in front of her.

“Bruno?” she whispered, hardly daring to speak. If she was wrong, she was about to be in a lot of trouble. The bear lowered its head in affirmation, and the torchlight shone in its eyes, showing them as pale blue. Bruno’s eyes. It’s him! He’d come and saved her, just in the nick of time, before something indescribably awful happened to her. She cried in relief. He let out a long rumble. It was a soft, soothing sound. Her heartbeat slowed, and her breathing returned to normal. And she remembered that she was half naked. She buttoned up her pants and reached for her blouse and put it on quickly, then she stood up, looking at the bear for guidance. He stood up too, on all fours, and then he kind of lowered his body towards the ground and inclined his head at the same time. She frowned.

“You want me to climb on your back?” she said. He gave a rumble and inclined his head again. She stepped towards him and reached for the fur on his back. It was so soft and luxuriant! She put some of her weight on him, and cautiously lifted her leg up and over his broad back. She transferred her weight so she was sitting right on top of him, and then she leaned forward and instinctively sank her fingers into the thick fur around his neck. As soon as she was sitting comfortably, he began to move at an easy lope, carrying her away from the farm and the evil werewolves, and along the road, back to civilization.

Soon, Bruno’s truck was in sight and a small boy was running towards them.

“Lori!” Tad screamed as he threw his arms around her. “Dad!” He rubbed the bear all over its head.

“We’re safe!” she said, reassuring herself as much as Tad. Bruno bent down low, allowing her to slide off his back, then he ambled off towards the truck, while Tad asked her a million questions.

A moment later Bruno was back, a tall sexy man, in jeans and a shirt, which he was still buttoning up. He had some cuts and bite marks on his arms, and a couple on his jaw. Injuries he’d suffered while protecting her.

“Lori, my mate,” he said in his deep rumbly voice, and opened his arms wide. She ran into them, pushing her face against his chest, and broke into a fresh burst of sobbing. “It’s ok, it’s ok. You’re safe now,” he muttered into her hair. “No harm will ever come to you again. You’re my mate, and I’m here to take care of you, forever.” He stroked the nape of her neck and planted kisses on the top of her head. His arms felt incredible wrapped around her, keeping her safe. Is this really happening? She asked herself. So much had happened to her in the last few hours that anything seemed possible. Yet this seemed the most incredible thing of all. She tipped her head right back and tried to look into Bruno’s eyes. He was almost a foot taller than her, which made it a little difficult.

“Do you really mean that?” she said in a shaky voice.

“Of course I do, baby. When I discovered that you’d been snatched by that biker filth, it hit me that I was being ridiculous. And, uh, Tad gave me a helping hand too. The heavens gave me a second shot at finding my mate, and there’s no way I’m going to lose you again.” Lori’s lips curved into a smile, as pure and bright as the sun emerging from behind clouds. Bruno dipped his head and his lips locked onto hers, drawing her into a deep, tender kiss. All the tension and fear that had built up in Lori’s body over the last few hours quickly evaporated. She couldn’t get enough of him. His mouth was so warm, and the corners of his lips were a little salty. The tip of his tongue danced against hers, promising much, much more.

They were interrupted by a wolf whistle, and pulled apart to see Tad pretending to vomit.

“Give me a break, kid,” Bruno said, and held his arm out to him. Tad ran over and wrapped one arm around his dad and, much more hesitantly, draped an arm around Lori’s waist as well. She put an arm around him too, and squeezed him tight.

“I wish Nancy was here too, and then we’d be a complete family,” Tad said. Lori and Bruno glanced at each other, startled. And then they both grinned.

“We’ll all be together very soon,” Bruno said, and Lori’s heart leapt.

Just then, two police cruisers came into view in the distance. They waited for them to arrive, and Bruno gave them an edited version of what had happened, explaining that he’d come upon the two bikers as they were about to attack Lori, and he’d killed them with his bare hands in self defense. It was pretty much true. And he knew the cops wouldn’t ask too many questions – they’d be very glad to have the remaining members of the biker gang out of the way for good. The cops went to investigate, saying they’d take a formal statement later.

“Right, let’s get out of here!” Bruno said to Lori and Tad.

They all jumped into the truck and sped away from the terrible place.

On the way, Lori called Andrea, while he called the clan and let them know that they were all ok. Everyone was very relieved.

“Do you need to stop for food?” Bruno asked Lori. “You must be starving.”

“Uh, no,” she said, and related how she’d been forced to cook for the bikers. They laughed a little when she said that they’d praised the meal as the best one they’d had.

“Little did they know that it was their last supper,” Bruno said.

“Haha, suckers!” Tad exclaimed.

“Were you ok waiting for me in the car, Tad?” Bruno asked him.

“Yeah, I’m a big kid, dad,” he said.

“I know you are, but it’s ok to be scared in situations like that. It doesn’t mean you aren’t brave.”

“Well, I guess I was a little scared too.” Bruno glanced at Lori. He couldn’t imagine how terrified she must have been, especially when those assholes were about to rape her. He wanted to ask her all about it, but it wasn’t a conversation to have in front of Tad. He was just so, so glad that he’d gotten there in time.

An hour later they were back in the national forest. Andrea and Magnus’s place was all lit up, and everyone they knew was out in the garden, waiting anxiously for their return.

Andrea and Magnus came over, carrying Nancy. Lori took Nancy in her arms and held her tight, tears pouring down her face. She’d been so worried that Nancy would be left without a mother, and almost suffocated with the guilt of having left her by herself in the garden. She kissed her little head again and again, her heart bursting with love.

“She was still asleep when I came down,” Andrea explained, when Lori asked if she’d been distressed. “She’s a good little sleeper, that one.” Andrea put her arm around Lori’s shoulder. “And don’t go feeling guilty. Those monsters dragged you off, and there was nothing you could have done. I’m sure they warned you not to shout out as well.” Lori nodded. “You were doing your best to protect her.”

“Thanks, sis. Thanks so much for everything,” Lori said, and welled up again.

“Ok, I have to snap your photo for the paper. Kristin will kill me if I don’t do it,” Andrea said, and pulled out her phone. Lori smiled for the camera and held her baby close to her face.

After everyone expressed their relief that Lori had been rescued, they all went home, leaving Andrea, Magnus, Lori, Bruno and the kids.

“I’d better get this one off to bed,” Bruno said. He stepped close to Lori and kissed her on the lips, briefly, but long enough to send shivers all over the body. The effect he had on her was incredible. “But let’s meet up tomorrow?”

“Yes, let’s!” Lori replied beaming at him. She wanted to meet up tomorrow, and the day after that, and spend every day of the rest of her life with him. She hugged Tad, and waved them off as they headed back to their truck.

“He’s so into you,” Andrea said, as soon as they’d gone. “His eyes light up every time he looks at you.”

“They do?” Lori said and grinned. She’d noticed his pupils dilating when he turned those pale blue eyes on her. She tingled with emotion. In the past day, she thought she’d felt every emotion it was possible to feel. But now, she felt only gratitude, tenderness, and desire.

“So what do you want to do – bath, bed and talk tomorrow, or do you want to tell us what happened now?”

“I think I’d like to have a bath and talk, if that’s ok?” Lori said.

“Of course! I’ll run the water for you, so just get yourself ready.”

When Lori came downstairs, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, Andrea had a cup of hot chocolate waiting. Nancy was drowsy but not fully asleep, so Lori fed her and held her on her lap, and then she told her sister what had happened, from start to finish. Andrea had tears in her eyes when Lori explained how Bruno had saved her from being raped.

“I knew he was a great person, but he’s gone even higher in my estimation now,” she said.

“He’s the best,” Lori agreed.

“I have to admit I had my doubts about you dating him when the other girls said he was a tortured soul. I thought you’d been through enough not to have to deal with that. But just now he looked completely different. It was as if all the darkness had left him. I can see that you bring light into his life.” Lori explained what had happened with his previous mate, and why he thought he couldn’t be with her.

“Poor guy. It all makes sense now,” Andrea said, her face full of pity.

“He says we’re mates,” Lori said. Andrea gasped. “I knew it. And so did everybody else! I’m sad it’s taken this to make him realize it, but at least he got there in the end.”

“And after he killed those bikers in his bear form, he carried me on his back, all the way back to the truck.”

“No way!” Andrea breathed.

“What? Is that unusual?”

“Maybe not for bears, I guess. But I’ve certainly never ridden on Magnus’s back.”

“I can’t really imagine it,” Lori said.

“Neither can I,” Andrea said with a giggle. “Most of the time I let him get on with his shifter thing. You know midnight hunts and stuff like that. The only time I really engage with it is when we mate.” Lori giggled.

“I have to admit that I’m pretty curious to find out what having sex with a shifter is like. Although, I’m starting from such a low base with my ex-husband, that anything would be an improvement!” Lori said. They both laughed.

“People also say that if you see your mate in their animal form before you mate for the first time, then it makes things extra intense,” Andrea said.

“Is that true?” Lori breathed, as a silvery thrill ran through her. There had been something totally primal about being on Bruno’s back, feeling his big, strong body carrying her so effortlessly. She wanted to watch him shift. When the biker had shifted into a wolf it had been scary and gross, but she bet that seeing Bruno become his bear self would be something else entirely. He was so dignified in his animal form, yet he’d killed those two men out of pure animal instinct. The thought was exciting and unsettling in equal measure.

Lori looked down at Nancy. She was fast asleep, totally oblivious to the conversation.

“She’s knocked out, isn’t she?” she said.

“I think she’s just glad to get her mom back,” Andrea replied with a smile.

“I’m so glad to be back with her too,” Lori said, gazing at her tiny daughter’s face. She didn’t know what the future held for the four of them, but her instincts told her it was going to be happy.