The Clawed Squad: Tyler (The Bear Shifters of Clawed Ranch Book 4) Read online

  Isabelle exhaled hard. She wanted news about Tyler, not to hear about her brother’s delusions of grandeur.

  “Where is Jacob?” she asked.

  Wallace walked around her room, opening drawers and looking inside. “Cleaning up a loose end,” he said, as he picked up a bunch of papers from her desk drawer and then dropped them on the ground.

  That’s what her soul mate was: A loose end.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked with a huff.

  Wallace turned with a heated glare. “Why did you go see him?”

  Isabelle stepped off the bed and stood tall, thrusting her chin in the air as she glared at her brother. “I asked him to kill Jacob.”

  Wallace stormed over, sticking his face right up to hers. She didn’t even flinch when he raised his hand, threatening to strike her.

  “He is your ruler,” Wallace hissed, his hot vile breath washing over her face. “I should have you killed for that.”

  “You don’t scare me, brother,” she said, poking her finger onto his hard chest. “I’d rather die than be his slave for one more day.”

  He just stared down at her, curling his nose up in disgust. “You bring disgrace to our family name,” he said with revulsion in his eyes.

  “Is that why you came to my room in the middle of the night?” she asked, standing her ground. “To tell me for the thousandth time that I’m a disgrace?”

  His lips curled up into a smile and Isabelle gasped, taking a step back. No. They killed Tyler.

  “I came to tell you that your little revolution is dead,” he said with a smirk. He looked so proud of himself. So smug and arrogant. If Isabelle had that short sword in her hand she would have run it through his stomach.

  “You…” she muttered, trailing off. “Is he…” She couldn’t say the words. Saying them out loud would mean it was true, and it couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t.

  “Yes,” Wallace said with a nod. “We captured Rhett. I never trusted that guy. Him and those fucking birds.”

  Isabelle felt a jolt surge through her body. “What about Tyler?” she asked, holding her breath while she waited for his answer.

  Wallace’s eyes narrowed and he turned away sharply. “Jacob let him go,” he hissed, shaking his head in disgust.

  Isabelle flopped back against her bed. Oh, thank God! She pressed her hand to her stomach as relief flooded her, filling her with a sudden lightness. Tyler was alive. It wasn’t over.

  Not yet.

  “But Rhett won’t be so lucky,” Wallace said, turning back to her with a satisfied grin. “He’ll be executed tomorrow for treason.”

  Isabelle’s mouth dropped and her sudden good mood vanished. “Wallace,” she gasped. “You can’t possibly let him kill Rhett. You’ve known him since you were a kid!”

  “I’ve always hated him,” Wallace said with a scowl. “He never shared our vision. He thought that war with the shifters was going too far.” He looked down, twisting his mouth in a sour expression. “He was always in Jacob’s ear, touting his bullshit. I should have been Jacob’s number two, not him. And tomorrow I will be.” He stood up straight, smoothing out his jacket and looking smugger than ever.

  “Congratulations,” Isabelle said flatly. “You make the family name very proud. I’m sure father would agree if he wasn’t laying on a bed bleeding to death by the hand of the man you serve.”

  “Father is weak,” he snapped. “He should have thrown his support behind Jacob from the beginning.”

  “Well,” Isabelle said, holding her elbow, “Jacob did imprison his daughter and beat her dozens of times.”

  Wallace glared at her. “Father should have seen that those beatings were well deserved. A woman should obey her mate.”

  “Thanks, brother,” she said, nodding sarcastically. “I’ll try to remember that the next time Jacob puts a cigarette out on my neck.”

  He rolled his eyes as he headed for the door. “Don’t be so fucking sensitive,” he muttered. “Fucking women.”

  Wallace opened the door and paused before heading out. “You will be at Rhett’s execution tomorrow,” he said with his chin in the air. “Smiling and happy like a good wife, or else cigarette burns on your neck will be the least of your concerns.”

  Isabelle curled up on her bed as he slammed the door.

  “Wha-” Isabelle muttered, flying up in bed. The room was dark and spinning. “Who’s there?” she asked, breathless and confused. She had been in a deep sleep, dreaming of Tyler when she heard sounds that woke her up.

  Were they sounds? Maybe she had dreamed that part too.

  “Isabelle,” a familiar voice whispered. She knew it at once. She would recognize the smooth timbre of that voice after a hundred years had passed without hearing it.

  “Tyler?” she asked, running her fingers through her hair. “Is that you?”

  Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she saw his outline against the wall. Broad strong shoulders, massive chest, he was beautiful even in the darkness.

  “It’s me,” he whispered, stepping into the moonlight that was cascading in through the window. Her heart responded, thumping hard and steady against her chest. He looked stunning in the soft light, standing proudly on his prosthetic leg. His warm amber eyes shined as he watched her. That look always gave her warm shivers. Nobody had ever looked at her like Tyler did. So full of love, so full of want, so full of need.

  She had made the wrong decision when she chose Jacob even if she did do it for all of the right reasons.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, her shoulders slumping forward as she broke down in sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

  It had been eating away at her for years. That look in his eye when she said the name, the betrayal written all over his face. He didn’t deserve any of it. She didn’t deserve him.

  He was on the bed with his strong muscular arms wrapped around her at once. “I’m here,” he whispered in her ear as she breathed in his rugged intoxicating scent. “And if you want me, I’ll never let you go.”

  “I do,” she said, kissing the smooth skin on his arm and leaving it wet with her tears. Her skin flushed as her fingers ached with the need to touch him. She had waited so long to be held like this in his arms, to be kissed by his soft lips. “I always wanted you, Tyler. Always.”

  He leaned back and took in a deep breath as he looked down at her. “Then why?” he asked, his face twisted in torment. “I’ve been wondering for so long. I just have to know. Why did you choose Jacob?”

  She squeezed his arm as fresh tears leaked from her eyes. She held on tight, afraid that he would leave. She had been through a lot in her life but having to watch Tyler leave her once again was something that she just couldn’t handle. Not again.

  “I had to,” she said, stammering through her tears. “He was going to kill you if I didn’t. He told me.”

  Tyler sighed as he pulled her in close. She pressed her forehead against his hard chest, feeling his heart thud against her skin.

  “He’s so scary, Tyler,” she said with a whimper. “He was going to kill you so I chose him. I’m sorry. I was young and weak and afraid.”

  “No,” he said, wrapping his strong protective hands around the back of her head. He kissed her hair and then raised her up, looking into her eyes with nothing but love. “You did what you thought was right. It’s not your fault.”

  “But it is,” she said, all of the years of pent-up guilt, rushing out of her. “It’s all my fault. It’s been horrible without you.”

  He wiped the tears from her cheeks, one at a time with his thumb. “I’m here now,” he whispered. “I’m here. And he’s never going to hurt you again.”

  She opened her mouth to respond but he leaned in, pressing his sweet lips to hers and kissed her with a passion that left her breathless and wanting more. Isabelle leaned her body into his and moaned as his silky tongue caressed hers.

  Tyler always was a good kisser. He could get her heart racing, her body shivering and her head spinning
with only his skilled lips and hungry tongue.

  “I fucking missed you,” he said with a gasp before he claimed her mouth once more with a deep, toe-curling kiss.

  She ran her fingertips down his broad chest, moaning into his mouth as she felt the hard ridges of his abs. The boy she had fallen in love with had turned into a man while they were apart. A strong, confident man who she could now call her own.

  “We have to get out of here,” he said between kisses. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “Not yet,” she gasped as he kissed a soft trail down the side of her neck. She was already so wet and ready for him. She had waited years for this moment and she wasn’t about to give it up without a fight. “Take me first. Please, Tyler. I want you so bad.”

  Tyler seized her with a passion that shocked her at first but then increased her building lust. He scooped her up in his solid arms and gave her a sensual, tongue-thrusting kiss before laying her down on the bed.

  She spread her legs as he climbed on top of her, leaning his weight on his flexed arms so he wouldn’t crush her. She ran her fingers up the carved lines of his arms, her pussy aching to be touched.

  He leaned down, his sexy lips an inch from hers. “I haven’t been with a single woman since you,” he whispered into her open mouth.

  He kissed her before she could apologize again. “Mmmm,” she moaned as he pressed his hard erection onto her throbbing clit. “Fuck,” she groaned, arching her back off the bed and pressing her breasts against his muscular chest.

  She grabbed his shirt in a fist and yanked it up, desperate to get him naked and inside of her. The next ten seconds were a frenzy of fingers clawing at zippers, shirts ripping apart, and underwear shredding as years of built up lust and passion erupted between them.

  “Yes,” she moaned as Tyler tore her wet panties and tossed them on the floor. “Oh, Tyler.”

  He glided back on top of her, sliding his hard cock into her pussy with one smooth thrust. “Fuck!” she cried out, a little too loud. Jacob was down the hall after all and he wouldn’t react too kindly if he came in and found his brother fucking his wife.

  But fuck it felt good. It was fucking perfect.

  Every thrust of his thick dick stretched her, filled her, and made her toes curl. He crushed his greedy lips to hers and devoured her with a frenzied kiss as he claimed her with long, beautiful thrusts.

  She always loved his broad shoulders and she had her nails dug into them as he wrapped his arms around her body, squeezing her as he drove forward. She opened her mouth, gasping at the ceiling as he picked up the pace, his hard pelvis slamming into her clit with every pump of his hips.

  “You’re going to make me come, Tyler,” she moaned, trying to keep her voice low. The squeaking of the old bed was loud enough.

  “Come with me,” he grunted in her ear, his voice deep and husky. “You feel so good. So fucking tight.”

  She was so close. Tyler always got her there so easily.

  The muscles in his back tightened as he increased the pace, grunting her name as he fucked her. “Yes!” she cried out, digging her nails into his flesh as he pounded her. “Just like that!”

  She clenched her pussy around his cock, working her muscles for her man. “You feel so good,” he whispered with a grunt. His grip on her lower back tightened, heightening the slow build of pressure swirling in her stomach. It was building and building, ready to consume her.

  Tyler’s relentless pace never let up. Every thrust had her whimpering, every drive of his hips had her begging for more. She hooked her ankles together and arched her hips off the bed, taking him in further.

  “Tyler,” she whispered as she began to tremble. “I’m going to come.”

  Her words just spurred him on and he fucked her with a new intensity, making her cry out louder than she should have. His mouth closed over hers, swallowing her cries as they only increased.

  His hips surged forward with a deep and powerful thrust and she arched her back as everything unraveled. It hit hard.

  She grabbed a fistful of sheets and yanked them off the mattress as her orgasm rocked her. Her body was trembling under him and her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was going to explode in her chest. Every cell in her body, from her fingertips to her toes, was consumed in a beautiful cloud of helplessness and heat.

  It was so consuming that she barely noticed Tyler’s muscles tightening as he grunted in her ear, signaling his own release.

  “Fuck,” she whispered as she stared at the crack in the ceiling, trying to catch her breath. Sex had always been so good with Tyler. It was like their bodies were tailor-made for one another. She forgot how amazing making love could be.

  She whimpered as he pushed up on his forearms and slid out of her. He rolled off of her with a satisfied grunt and Isabelle squeezed her legs closed, wanting to keep every drop of his heavenly warmth inside of her.

  “I missed that,” he said, smiling at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath.

  She curled up against his masculine body and traced the deep ridges of his abs with her finger. “I missed you,” she whispered, resting her cheek on the warm skin of his chest.

  “And that?” he asked. She could hear the smug grin on his face.

  “And that,” she admitted, smiling as she tilted her face up to his. He kissed her lips and she could feel her pussy starting to throb, wanting to go again.

  Round two would have to wait. They had to get out of there first.

  “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” she said, feeling the sadness return. She wondered how long it would take for the sadness to disappear whenever she thought back at those wasted years. Probably never. “But we should be going. The sun will be rising soon.”

  Tyler hugged her one last time and then sprang out of bed. She should have followed him out but she took a few extra seconds to admire his naked body as he got dressed. His body was a work of art. Strong, tanned muscles, with the gorgeous face to match. He looked half-machine with the metal leg that connected to just below his knee. Isabelle never minded his missing leg. His prosthetic leg looked bad-ass. But to be fair, Tyler could pull anything off. He could wear a cape and make it look cool.

  She sighed when the last piece of his clothing was pulled on and then she jumped off the bed. She hurried to her dresser and pulled out some fresh clothes while Tyler checked the window.

  “How did you get in?” She had never even thought to ask in all of the excitement of seeing him.

  He smiled. “Are you serious? Do you remember our teenage years?” he asked. “I snuck in here every night.”

  “Right,” she said with a chuckle. “Those were some good times.”

  “Come,” he said, waving her over. “Let’s go make some more good times.”

  He carefully slid the window open and looked around. The sun was still out of commission and the dark night sky would give them some cover. She swung her leg over the windowsill. Her bedroom was on the third floor of the Red House, the mansion where the ruler of the community lived with their family. Isabelle’s grandfather had been the ruler before Jacob and she had lived there all of her life. This room had been her childhood bedroom.

  “Where is your wolf?” she asked, as she grabbed onto the exposed brick.

  “I left her in the truck,” he said. “I couldn’t risk bringing her in.”

  “Has she been locked in a pickup truck before?”

  Tyler shook his head and cringed. “I can’t imagine what she’s doing to Thorn’s dashboard and seats.”

  Isabelle climbed down the brick wall in a hurry. She just hoped that they made it out of the community to find out.

  eight

  Tyler squeezed Isabelle’s hand as he raced towards the fence. He was holding on tight, never wanting to let her go.

  “Wait,” she said, pulling him to a stop. “We can’t leave Rhett.”

  “Yes we can,” Tyler said, pulling her forward. She dug her heels into the dirt and yanked
his arm back, nearly ripping it out of his socket. She was a skin shifter as well and was almost as strong as him.

  “I’m not leaving without Rhett,” she said, staring at him with a fierce determination in her gorgeous eyes.

  Fuck, I’ve missed her.

  He forgot how feisty and determined she could be. But still, now wasn’t the time.

  “I have to get you out of here,” he said, biting his lip as he glanced back at the tall fence with the barbed wire rolled on top of it. They could slide under the hole in the bottom and be at the pickup truck in minutes. That was his priority: getting Isabelle the hell out of there.

  “He’s your cousin,” she said, her voice firm and unwavering, “and he helped me. Jacob is going to torture him and then kill him in front of the whole community.”

  Tyler shook his head as he looked around at the old familiar buildings of Creston Falls. The sun was starting to rise and soon they wouldn’t have the cover of darkness to help them along. He glanced at the bakery with the delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafting out through the vents.

  “Isabelle,” he said with his mind racing. “We have to go. We don’t even know where Jacob is keeping him.”

  “Are you serious?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. She pointed to a three-story building that was covered with ravens. The black birds were perched on every windowsill, ledge, and lined along the roof. “Gee,” she said sarcastically, “I wonder where he could be.”

  Tyler sighed. He knew how stubborn Isabelle could be. This was a losing battle and the clock was ticking. “Fine,” he said, with a huff of breath. “Let’s go. Fast.”

  They sprinted towards the building, passing Mr. Timmons who was sweeping the stoop of his hardware store. He jerked his head back in shock as he watched Tyler run by. “Tyler Jones?” he asked, dropping his broom with a smack. “He’s back?”

  Tyler just kept going. Creston Falls was like any small town with mom and pop shops, kids playing in the parks, and women gossiping in the town square. It had been a nice place to live until a raging psychopath took over the leadership.