Bruised MC Bear (Beartooth Brotherhood MC Book 3) Read online

  Bruised MC Bear

  Beartooth Brotherhood MC Series, Book 3

  Bella Love-Wins

  Contents

  Bruised MC Bear

  Author’s Note

  1. Axe

  2. Axe

  3. Angel

  4. Axe

  5. Angel

  6. Axe

  7. Axe

  8. Axe

  9. Axe

  10. Axe

  11. Axe

  12. Angel

  13. Axe

  14. Angel

  15. Axe

  16. Axe

  17. Angel

  18. Axe

  19. Axe

  20. Angel

  21. Angel

  22. Angel

  23. Axe

  24. Axe

  25. Angel

  26. Axe

  27. Angel

  28. Epilogue - Angel

  Cursed Mate

  1. Vincent

  2. Sonya

  3. Sonya

  4. Vincent

  5. Sonya

  6. Vincent

  7. Sonya

  8. Sonya

  9. Vincent

  10. Sonya

  11. Vincent

  12. Sonya

  13. Vincent

  14. Sonya

  15. Vincent

  16. Sonya

  Mystic Storm

  1. Kiera

  2. Kiera

  3. Xander

  4. Xander

  5. Kiera

  6. Kiera

  7. Kiera

  8. Xander

  9. Kiera

  10. Kiera

  11. Kiera

  12. Xander

  13. Kiera

  14. Kiera

  15. Kiera

  16. Xander

  17. Kiera

  18. Kiera

  19. Xander

  20. Kiera

  21. Xander

  22. Xander

  23. Kiera

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  BIO- Bella Love-Wins

  Bruised MC Bear

  Beartooth Brotherhood MC Series, Book 3

  Bella Love-Wins

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  BRUISED MC BEAR

  CURSED MATE

  MYSTIC STORM

  First edition. SEPTEMBER, 2016

  Copyright © 2016 Bella Love-Wins.

  Written by Bella Love-Wins.

  Website: http://bellalovewins.com

  All Rights Reserved.

  Created with Vellum

  Author’s Note

  Bruised MC Bear and all of Bella Love-Wins’ shifter stories are set in a world which includes both natural born shifters, and shifters who are turned by a mystical immortal mystery woman named Theriona. The entire saga is called The Marked Chronicles.

  For the most part, humans are not aware of their existence. Each book tells its own story and can be read on its own, however all the stories are connected.

  Content Warning

  Be ready for darker, adventure-packed storylines, the coarse language you would normally expect in MC romance, steamy and graphic scenes, mild BDSM, sexy shifters of all varieties, witches, vampires, immortal beings and a lot of romantic hook-ups!

  1

  Axe

  Axe Voltaire dragged his black leather swivel chair backward and shot out of his seat. His meeting with Silas, the Beartooth Brotherhood MC President, was not going to plan. It didn’t help that Si’s old lady, Sabrina, was pushing the issue too. What Silas and Sabrina had just proposed to him from their seats across the clubhouse boardroom table was ludicrous.

  “Security clearance, my ass,” Axe told them. “We have no business shelling out money and time to bid for government security gigs that we have no chance in hell of winning.”

  “Knightsbridge Protection and Security does have a chance,” Sabrina said firmly. “We’re on their shortlist, and it’s the third round of the selection process.”

  Axe scratched his beard as he considered how to tackle this situation without getting into a screaming match with Silas while Sabrina was in the room. If Si hadn’t practically dragged him out of bed at seven this morning for a meeting that so far was a waste of time, he would have shaved by now, and he’d have coffee in his hand—the two morning rituals that helped him think more clearly.

  “The thing is, we’ve made it to the third round of other contract bids before. Four or five times, if I remember correctly. We didn’t win any of those gigs. Not even one.”

  “True,” Sabrina agreed. “Still, that doesn’t mean we should stop trying.”

  “I get that part, but with all these talks with the panthers and the wolves, time is tight. Think of it this way. We have a horde of extra clientele for the personal protection side of the business. We’re not hurting for money, and there are a shitload of gigs we passed up that we should have accepted. Those jobs didn’t need clearances. Like those protection jobs Addison told us about. We took two, and turned away two or three. I still don’t know why. The way I see it, leaving a potential client on the lurch should never happen. Those referrals will just dry up.”

  “Hang on, Axe,” Sabrina said, leaning forward. “Addison’s my closest friend. Do you think it was easy for me to tell him no? The fact is those jobs we turned down were not a fit.”

  “Why not?”

  “You fucking know why,” Silas shouted. “Read my lips, Axe. We are not providing daytime security to vampires. Not Vincent Belmont, not anyone. We’re not taking on vamps, period.”

  “Fuck, how many times do I have to tell you that they’re not all evil blood-sucking parasites?”

  Silas stared at him with a threatening look in his eyes that told Axe his patience was wearing thin. “Just because your best friend is one of few vamps who doesn’t prey on humans, that doesn’t mean we’ll start catering to them.”

  “Whatever. In any case, I don’t see how we’ll swing the security clearances. Some of us have done time.”

  Silas shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. “Not buying it. Your record is squeaky clean, Axe, so don’t try to feed me that bullshit. Why don’t you tell us what’s the real issue here?”

  Scowling, Axe headed to the door. “I need coffee in me before I can continue, and not that weak, burned as fuck crap we have at the bar. Si, if you and Sabrina feel we can make it, I’m behind you one hundred percent. Just don’t put my name down as a team member on your candidate list. They’ll smell me from a mile away. I don’t want to be the weak link here.”

  Silas swiveled his chair to face Axe at the door. “Good thing I didn’t bring up the psychological evaluation, huh?” he said, eyes on Axe but clearly speaking to his woman.

  “Probably,” Sabrina agreed. “You think he’ll agree to it?”

  “I told you he wouldn’t be up for this,” Silas answered.

  “Dudes. I’m right here. And no. Just no. I am not subjecting myself to a psychological evaluation with some shrink who’ll want to make me talk about my feelings. Get another pansy.”

  “Who then? We can’t send Tate. He’s certifiable. Cole’s done time, so he’s out. That leaves you and me.”

  “Well you’re right about Tate and Cole,” Axe agreed. “Though Tate would probably kill to get on these gigs, with all the money he’s looking to save for Aiden’s college fund.”

  “The kid ain’t even a year old,” Silas added. “Isn’t this a little early for going all out?”

  “Trying to tell him that. He’ll bite your head off. Anyhow, back to this question. We’ve got Dean.�
��

  “He’s already said yes. We need three names.”

  “What about one of the officers?” He gave a quick knock on the doorpost, turning to check the faces of the members sitting at the bar. “Like Davies. He’s got to be perfect for a psych eval. I’ve never met anyone who’s more…chill. He sure couldn’t have a record.”

  “No,” Silas barked. “We’re the leadership for both the Beartooth Brotherhood MC and for Knightsbridge. This commitment has to start and end with us.”

  “I’ve got to do my coffee run. Be back in twenty.”

  Axe grinned to himself as he left, lighting up a hand-rolled cigarette. With any luck, they’d move on to some other issue by the time he got back. Damn, if he didn’t need it. Sure, this interference had everything to do with Vincent Belmont, Axe’s oldest friend since childhood, and the only vampire he knew and trusted implicitly. Turning down his request for daytime home protection was one of the simplest gigs that had come their way. Yet Sabrina had gotten in Si’s ear and convinced him the gig was in conflict with some other clients who were already on the Knightsbridge roster.

  There were also rumblings that the vampires may have been aware of the near-fatal targeted attack on Kit Reese, current Panther MC President and former rival of the Beartooth Brotherhood MC, on the night Tate was also seriously injured. Relations with the Panthers had improved since, but Si’s level of trust in the vamps had since dropped from barely there to nonexistent.

  And now, this idea of having him undergo a psych eval. Hell, no way was he about to lie back on the couch of some over-educated, stuck up brat to go over his childhood and bring up all that crap. Not unless the brat was a sexy little number with a thing for inked up biker types like him. If that were the case, the couch would come in handy. Otherwise, fuck no.

  By the time he made it to his Harley out front, his stomach was already growling from hunger. Axe finished his smoke, stubbing out the tip under the sole of his boot. He cracked his knuckles and climbed on his bike to head to Desert Java, the closest half-decent coffee house in Red Ridge. A double shot of espresso would do the trick. The tiny mom and pop spot was just ten minutes away, so he barely got to enjoy the feel of the open road on his face before he had to get off the I-15 again.

  Today, the place was packed, so he parked his baby in a free spot behind the public library across the street. He took a look inside, just in case there were any members from the panther or wolf MC. They were all under a strict ‘no contact’ policy these last few months. Not that their patronage at Desert Java would stop him from getting his brew, but he had to be sure he knew what he was heading into.

  Well, hello.

  Axe caught sight of the round, delicious ass of a curvy, buxom blonde who looked like she stepped out of a fifty’s pinup calendar. She was in the middle of what appeared to be a lighthearted conversation with another patron while she waited in line. The stunning woman threw her head back and laughed a few times on his way across the street. Now, there was an even better reason to have left that meeting in his rear view mirror. A woman who wasn’t of the twisted claw variety was sure to perk him right the hell up.

  All he had to do was work his magic. Play it cool. Enjoy the chase. That was the problem with the Beartooth Brotherhood MC groupies they called ‘twisted claws’. Sure, they were sweet-looking little sex kittens, but the reality was they were easy prey. Half the time they didn’t know whose dick they were even riding. For them, any patch-wearing member would do. He’d bet this blonde stunner was different. And judging by her finely put together outfit, she had her shit together too. Bonus points. With a half-smirk stuck on his face, he cracked his neck and headed inside, keeping a discreet eye on his prize.

  Little miss gregarious was standing six or seven patrons ahead when Axe got to the door. Inside, the line hardly moved at all, which today he didn’t mind. It gave him time to check her out among cramped horde of waiting people. The little bell dinged at the top of the door, and he muscled his way into the tight space with a small grunt.

  The blonde made it to the front of the line and made her order, then dug her hand into her purse, retrieving a ringing smartphone. She took the call, but told whoever it was to hold on. Sashaying her hips, she walked right past Axe in her all-black skirt suit and leopard-print pumps that clicked on the tile floor. A trail of her floral perfume wafted up to his nose as she stepped outside to have her conversation.

  Damn, she was hot.

  And definitely his type.

  His eyes were locked on her for the duration of her call. He continued to eye-fuck her when she zipped by him again and stopped at a table that had opened up near the far corner of the shop. Smart girl. The wait for coffee orders was killer around this time. Blondie cleaned up the crap left behind by the previous patron and sat down, eyes already glued to her phone screen as she started checking text messages or emails. He was sure he had just the thing to get her off that phone. Were it later in the day, he might have flat out offered a dose of rough, dirty, up against a wall, back alley sex. But it wasn’t even nine in the morning. Blondie didn’t seem like the type to waltz into work with her hair messed up.

  The line eased forward. At this rate, she’d be packed up and gone before he could grab a hot cup. Axe wasn’t about to approach her empty-handed, only to be forced to leave mid-prowl for his coffee order. She ran a manicured hand along the side of her gorgeous throat, and a small shiver licked down his spine. He even wondered what it would be like to mark her with his teeth. She was probably a screamer. A minute’s chat would be more than enough time to find out whether she was game. The way she captured his attention made him almost forget every woman he’d been with before this.

  Axe folded his arms and cleared his throat as he inched forward in the line. Why the fuck was he acting as though he’d had a five-year dry spell, when in fact he’d just gotten laid two days ago? Why did he have the hardest time keeping his bear at bay, which at the moment was fighting for control? Not that his inner beast could be held back for long. It always came back, clawing at Axe’s insides, needing, wanting, hungry to be let free. He casually looked around, rubbing the back of his neck. The blonde was still on her phone. Nothing he had tried before kept its deafening roar from reaching up from the back of his mind, making his temples pound. All the effort in the world barely kept him together right now. The sudden thought made his jaw clench, like claws being dragged across his sub-conscience as his beast bristled inwardly.

  “Hi, what can I get you, sir?” asked the teenager wearing a ball cap and a Desert Java uniform.

  “Coffee, black. Two pumps of vanilla and three extra shots of espresso,” Axe told.

  “And your name for the order?”

  “Axe.”

  “For here or to go, Mr. Axe?” the kid asked.

  “To go, please.”

  The usual. More than enough to get his brain function in gear just in case Silas and Sabrina were still waiting at the clubhouse, hoping to corner him again. Axe rubbed his goatee and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, waiting for the barista kid to quit it with the pleasantries. He had a blonde to chat up before she got ghost, for fuck’s sake. No wonder the line was a mile long behind him, and at the pickup counter too.

  The barista rang up the sale and prattled out the price. Nodding, Axe slapped his cash down in front of the cash register, tuning out the kid’s overly friendly rant about how hot the weather was. Of course, it was hot. This was northwest Arizona in the middle of the fucking desert. Axe assumed the kid picked up on his irritable mood, because he didn’t add more irrelevant drivel when he handed over the change and transaction receipt.

  Axe returned the change to his wallet and shoved it in his back pocket, navigating through the crowd to find a spare space to stand and wait for his brew. Not too difficult to do, given he towered over everyone in here, and was even more menacing looking in his faded jeans, white t-shirt and black leather cut. The crowd easily parted for him.

  “Order up!
” shouted an even younger female barista as she pulled levers and steamed milk on their industrial espresso machine.

  Axe groaned when his phone buzzed in the inner pocket of his cut. It was probably a text from Silas. Figuring he might as well use some of this waiting time semi-productively, he dug into his pocket and snagged his cell.

  Si’s message read, “Your little tantrum worked. Sabrina’s talking to Vamp Vincent ATM.”

  Axe replied with, “Vamp Vincent? What are you, five? Btw it’s about fucking time you got your old lady in line.”

  “Go fuck yourself. Oh, there’s one condition to taking on Vamp V.”

  Christ, Axe could already guess what it was. He answered with, “No way in hell. Fuck the security clearances.”

  Not ready to argue by text, he turned off his phone screen, returned the damned phone to his cut, and let the next few message alerts buzz in his pocket.

  “Coffee, black, two shots of vanilla, and three extra shots of espresso!” The server hollered to the waiting patrons. “Order eighty-nine, come and get it!”

  Axe shuffled through the crowd again, this time to pick up his order. He wasn’t sure how they had prepared his brew so quickly when so many customers were still waiting, but didn’t complain.

  What the fuck?

  A woman’s hand shot around his cup at the same time that he reached to pick up his brew.

  2

  Axe

  Axe grunted. Taking someone’s coffee was a shotgun offense, and he doubted any woman could be sexy enough to warrant the outrageous wrongdoing. He opened his mouth to less than politely put the transgressor in her place. His head snapped in her direction to make sure she could look him in the eye when he unbuckled the bunch of not so nice words that were ready to fly from his lips.

  Oh.