Alec (BBW Secret Baby Bear Shifter Romance) (Secret Baby Bears Book 1) by Becca Fanning

Ahead, she saw the trees beginning to thin out. She decided to chance it; maybe there was someone who would be willing to help her.

    Annie darted out of the forest and immediately skidded to a stop. In front of her was a ship, in front of which were two groups of men talking next to a stack of crates. They all turned to look at her, and more than one of them reached for a weapon. Eyes wide, Annie backed up. Sure, these people probably weren’t as bad as Strathmore, but that hardly meant they were the type she wanted to get acquainted with.

    A tall, broad man with tan skin that probably had more to do with genetics than actual time in the sun and messy black hair stepped forward.

    “Hold up, boys,” he said, one hand on his belt and one stretched out to calm down him comrades. “I’d rather not end this day by murdering an innocent woman. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

    Annie wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to answer, or at least to answer honestly. Luckily, a man covered in tattoos spoke before she had to decide.

    “I don’t care what her name is, she’s trouble. She’s clearly running from someone, and she’s seen us.”

    “Look, as someone who’s had to look at your face for the last hour, I can completely understand the urge to shoot anyone who’s had the misfortune to bear witness to that monstrosity,” the first man drawled, “but let’s not be hasty.”

    Annie wasn’t familiar with the gesture the tattooed man made but the meaning behind it came across loud and clear. “Fuck this, man. My job here’s done. Me and my boys are out.”

    With that, he and several of the men turned and began walking towards a truck and several hover bikes.

    Annie turned to look warily at the remaining men as the sound of engines starting filled the air before growing gradually quieter. Other than the man who had spoken, there was a taller, skinner man with brown hair and a blond leering at her. She noticed that all three had gold eyes that almost glowed in the sunlight. She debated running back into the forest, but any one of these men, who were all dressed in perfectly reasonable clothing and probably hadn’t just crash landed, could easily catch her. Besides, she didn’t know if Strathmore’s soldiers had followed her into the forest.

    “So, who might you be?” the man asked, smiling at her.

    “My name’s Annie,” she said softly, resisting the urge to take a step back.

    “Nice to meet you, Annie,” he said. “I’m Leo, and this is Rick and Custer. Care to explain why a pretty little thing like you is running around in a wedding dress?”

    “I really don’t think you’d believe me,” Annie answered, eyeing the other men warily. The tall brunette seemed calm, but the blond still had a manic grin on his face.  

    “If it’s got anything to do with the people crashing through the forest,” Leo said, “I think I might.”

    On instinct, Annie spun and backed away from the forest. It put her back to the strange men, but they were only probably going to kill her as opposed to Strathmore’s men, who were definitely going to kill her, so she figured it was the lesser of two evils.

    “Shit,” she hissed, shoulders tightening. “Shit, shit, shit.”

    “I’m guessing there’s a story behind this,” Leo said, sounding amused.

    “Captain Strathmore won me in a card game,” Annie said as the despair settled over her. She supposed it no longer mattered if these men knew who she was because she doubted she would live long enough for it to matter. “I drugged some of his guards and stole a Needle to escape. Hopefully, the soldiers are just here to kill me.”

    There was silence, then a low whistle.

    “Ma’am,” Leo said, “I think you just might have beat out my entire crew in terms of ball size.”

    “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind to comfort me while I’m being tortured to death,” Annie said. Shouts began to leak out of the forest and she tried to figure out a place