Big Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES Fur BEARS Book 4) by Natalie Kristen Page B

decades.”
    Zoe shook her head. “No one can identify my animal. You're bluffing.”
    “My species has been around for a very, very long time. Our senses have been honed to perfection. Only one in ten males can reproduce, so our numbers are dwindling. We are close to extinction. Griffins are very, very rare. You will never be safe, Zoe. Even if I let you go, another saber-tooth tiger will hunt you down.”
    Zoe gulped and replayed his words in her mind. “You've been watching me...since I was a teenager?” she asked slowly. “How...”
    “It was sheer luck.” He chuckled. “I passed you on the street, and I knew immediately what you were. I followed you and watched you, but your animal didn't emerge. I was willing to wait but I wasn't willing to let you go. Not when I'd searched for so long. When you moved, I moved. I took jobs around your neighborhood, so you'd probably have seen me around but never noticed me.”
    Zoe cringed. “No wonder I thought you looked familiar. You followed me all the way to Shadow Point. And you were willing to pay fifty thousand dollars for a date with me?”
    “Ah yes, a date.” Sinclair let out a mocking laugh. “I sensed that your animal was almost ready to emerge.”
    Zoe tamped down her fear and revulsion. “Sorry to disappoint you, Sinclair. But I can't shift. My animal has never emerged, so I guess you'll have to eat my puny, ineffectual human heart.” She hiccuped a hysterical laugh and shouted, “And remain impotent for the rest of your miserable life, you loser!”
     

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

    Zoe listened to her own maniacal laughter and feared she really was losing her mind.
    She was being held captive by a saber-tooth tiger who believed she was a griffin. A griffin! Sure, she'd used her talons to mark Nick during their mating, but…
    She sucked in a painful breath. “Nick...” she whispered.
    Sinclair turned to her with a thin smile. “You're calling for your mate.”
    Zoe stiffened and shook her head mutely.
    “Don't worry. He'll come,” Sinclair said, his smile widening. “Your mate will definitely come for you. I didn't drive you too far out from the town. Just far enough.”
    “Nick will kill you,” Zoe snarled, straining against the ropes.
    “No. I—will kill him,” Sinclair answered with a short laugh. “Your animal won't just stand by and watch its mate die. You will shift, Zoe. And then...” Sinclair cocked his head at her. “I will eat your heart.”
    Zoe stared at Sinclair in horror. She was the bait, as well as the catch.
    Sinclair was using her to lure Nick out here. He was going to kill Nick, just to provoke her animal and trigger her shift.
    Zoe knew that Nick was a big, strong bear shifter, but Sinclair was both crafty and crazy.
    She didn't know how powerful saber-tooth tigers were, but to have existed for so long, their bodies and prowess must have developed and adapted to help them survive. They would have evolved to become fearsome apex predators. And to remain hidden and undetected for so long, these saber-tooth tigers must have incredible strength, speed and stealth.
    Was Sinclair really so formidable? Or was he just bluffing? He sounded so confident that he could defeat Nick. Zoe gulped and tried desperately to connect with her animal.
    Where were her goddamn talons when she needed them?
    Didn't Nick tell her that the animal would emerge to protect the human in times of trauma and danger? Well, she was in danger right now. So why wasn't her stupid animal coming out to protect her?
    Sinclair believed that she was a griffin. Zoe took a deep breath and tried to envision the majestic hybrid. A griffin was half eagle, half lion, all courage.
    A griffin would be able to tear a whiny saber-tooth tiger to shreds with its beak and talons! A griffin wouldn't just sit by helplessly and wait for its mate to walk into a trap.
    You're no griffin. You keep hiding under my human form. You're a chicken! she taunted her animal. She made chicken sounds in