Taken By The Bear

I knew shifters were real. I just didn't expect one to crash into my life. Literally.

I thought my biggest problem was juggling late-night lab sessions and avoiding Marina's overly enthusiastic attempts to set me up on dates. Turns out, dodging bullets and being kidnapped by a shadowy council intent on shifter experiments wasn't on my calendar. Enter Jake Eastburn: six feet of gruff, brooding, bear-shifting intensity, who insists he's here to protect me.

Oh, and apparently, I'm his mate. No pressure, right?

Sure, I've known about shifters for years (shoutout to my bestie Marina, who wolfed out on a camping trip- I've kept their secrets), but I wasn't exactly prepared for Jake's brand of "protectiveness"-or the whole soul-deep connection thing. While my inner scientist wants to analyze every growl and glowing green eye, my heart (and, annoyingly, my hormones) is telling me to trust him.

Now, I'm stuck in a whirlwind of danger, secrets, and a council that's very interested in my research for reasons no one wants to explain. Jake swears he can keep me safe, but his overprotective tendencies are giving me a crick in my neck.

The problem? The longer I'm around him, the harder it is to deny the spark between us-or the fact that he might just be the only person who can help me survive this mess.