The Bear King's Captive: Curvy Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance by Milly Taiden Page B

was subject to the weather. He needed his coat still in the medical facility. If he’d thought about it earlier, he would’ve had Korhonen bring it up.
                 
     

 
    ELEVEN
     
    Leah’s head was ready to split. It hurt to breathe, to think. Fortunately, the only light in the room seeped around the mostly closed restroom door.
    Ivan had pushed two crates against the main door to keep it from popping open if someone accidentally hit it. He sat beside her quietly until she heard his stomach rumble. “I’m hungry.”
    Why didn’t it occur to her before that by escaping they had cut off their food source? But hunger was better than being within reach of the psychotic people onboard. Except for Otso. Just thinking about him made her feel lighthearted—a feeling she rarely knew. He was cute, and filled out his pants in the right places. A tingle ran through her, exploding in her head.
    She ground her teeth together. Medicine. She wanted strong painkillers and didn’t care about the side effects. Two years ago, after downing her first dose, two capsules instead of one, she woke up a day later in a strange place with unfamiliar people. She remembered nothing of the previous day. 
    “Ivan, move the crates.” Slowly, she made her way to stand.
    “Why?”
    “I’m going to the medical room to find something that will rip off my head.”
    He jumped to his feet and held her arm. “No, you can’t. What if they see you?”
    “The room is three doors away. What’s the probability of ‘them’ being there the same time as me? Zilch. Let go of my arm…please.”
    Ivan hesitated.
    “I’ll be gone two minutes.”
    The boy schlepped to the boxes and scooted them far enough to open the door. “Hurry up. Bring food if you find any.”
    Leah peeked both directions along the hall, then quickly walked toward the door with the red cross. Once inside, she pilfered the counter top and every drawer. Opening an upper cabinet, she saw small packets on the top-most shelf that could be samples or travel size something. At this point, she didn’t care what it was; if it killed her, she wouldn’t have a migraine anymore.
    With dark spots in her vision, she hoisted herself onto the counter and swung her legs up and to the side, accidentally kicking a tray with gauze pads, cotton balls, and a scalpel to the floor. The crash thundered in the room and scattered items across the tile. In a panic, she grabbed a handful of packets from the cabinet and slid off the counter.
    When reaching for the doorknob, the door swung open, almost hitting her. Korhonen stared at her with surprise on his face that quickly morphed into a sneer with an off-kilter glint in his eye.
    Leah stuffed the pills in her front pocket and lunged behind a bed. Korhonen strolled into the room and shut the door. “Nice seeing you again, angel. I’ve been worried and can’t stop thinking about you.” He sauntered toward the table beds.
    Leah stepped back, hitting the other empty table and rolling it to the wall. With a flip of his arm, the front bed crashed into portable readout machines next to the cabinets. She saw Otso’s coat slide off the equipment to the floor.
    Innate survival instincts took control, tensing Leah’s muscles for flight. But fight was quickly becoming her only choice. “Leave me alone. What do you want?”
    His next step would bring him close enough… She kept her eyes on his and with a smooth upward swing, her foot made contact with Korhonen’s groin. He bent, but not as much as she hoped. She sprang to the side, bypassing the monster in her path.
    After one step, an intense pain shot across her skull and her weight shifted backward. With a handful of Leah’s hair, Korhonen flung her into the cabinets. Flight kicked in, moving her faster than she could have under her own conscious power.
    Before she turned the knob, her forehead smashed against the wood. Stars filled her vision and her knees gave. The monster dragged her