Vega Brothers: Hannibal: BBW Paranormal Romance Pretend Engagement (The Bear Shifters of Vega Ranch Book 4) by Kim Fox

front of them and stared Slate in the eyes. “If you guys don’t accept our deal, I want your words that they won’t be harmed when you come back.”
    “Kill ‘em,” Khan urged from behind him. “Don’t take the chance, Hannibal.”
    “Deal,” Slate said with his eyes locked on him.
    He turned to Karl. “Deal,” the second shifter said with a serious face.
    “Alright,” Hannibal said, holding a nervous breath as he walked around the chairs. He bent down and cut the ropes with the blade of the ax.
    Khan groaned as the two shifters rubbed their wrists and stood up.
    “Three thousand acres?” Slate said, holding out his open palm.
    Hannibal shook it. “Three thousand acres.”
    “Can you two not kill each other before you return back to the base?” Julius asked.
    Karl and Slate glared at each other and then started laughing. “No promises,” Karl said.
    Alexander ground his fist into his open palm. “If you guys come back as anything but friends you better come in hot,” he warned with an intimidating voice. “You make sure you tell that to Thorn. I’ll be waiting and next time, I won’t be denied my fun.”
    Karl looked at the huge polar bear shifter and cringed. “You got it. We’ll do our best.”
    “Get it done,” Khan said in a voice that sounded like a growl. “Or next time my brother will be handing me the ax instead of taking it away from me.”
    Hannibal opened the barn doors and the twins nodded at the Vega brothers before leaving. “Thanks, Hannibal,” Slate whispered as he walked out.
    Hannibal took in a tight breath. “Don’t make me regret this.”
    Slate nodded and disappeared into the night.
    Hannibal wasn’t usually wrong with most things but he was praying that he was right about this. Or they would all suffer.
     

     
    “Is everything alright?” Mikki asked, sitting up on the bed as Hannibal walked back into the room. She had been worried sick the entire time he had been gone.
    “Yeah,” Hannibal said, not looking her in the eyes as he answered. “The wolves were back trying to get into the horse stables. We scared them off.”
    “Oh no,” she said, hoping that they wouldn’t return. Poor horses .
    Hannibal walked over and sat beside her on the bed. He looked tense and worried like he had a weight on his shoulders that wasn’t there when he had left.
    “Come here,” she said, positioning herself behind him. She placed a leg on each side of his body and started to massage his shoulders. They were so big and hard. She dug into the round ridges with her fingers making him groan.
    “That feels good,” he whispered as she moved her hands down, massaging his back.
    “You sure that everything is okay?” she asked, digging her fingers in deep. “You’re so tense.”
    He exhaled long and hard. “It’s just been a weird night.”
    Mikki knew exactly what he meant. She had never had a bear shifter bond to her before. She felt different since it happened. She couldn’t stop thinking about him.
    Hannibal sighed. “It might be a better idea if you stay at your place for a while.”
    She removed her hands from his back, bringing them close to her stomach as her heartbeat seemed to slow down. “Okay,” she whispered, feeling a painful tightness in her throat.
    “It’s for your safety,” he said, turning quickly and grabbing her hand. “I’m worried the…wolves will come back.”
    Mikki took a deep breath and continued rubbing his shoulders. She was surprised at how intense her reaction had been. She had known that she liked him but she didn’t realize how much until just now.
    “I’ll be okay,” she said. Actually, she was more worried about him. The men in her life seemed to mysteriously disappear once she got close to them.
    She rubbed the tension out of his shoulders, feeling her nipples harden under her bra as she massaged his big muscles. “I’d like to stay here,” she whispered. “With you.”
    Hannibal turned and smiled warmly at her. He always