by Dianna Love
She trusted Justin to lead them.
Elianna stopped for a second. Justin was a physically strong man, sure. But he was more. If they were in PK, she believed he would trust her to lead. Because a confident man did not need to hold the power over a woman to feel stronger.
She had not realized this until Justin.
It was nice to share the burden of problems with him. She had fought all her battles alone for so long, she’d never expected to have a partner.
A mate.
That’s what Justin wanted. She did, too.
He was worthy of her trust.
She still couldn’t believe he had not yelled in anger when he found out what a bad deal she’d made. There had been no time to think it through. When her father said he was keeping Nico, she’d panicked and agreed to his terms for any hope of seeing the little boy of her heart again.
She’d had no idea that her snap decision might cost her the only man she would ever want.
Now, he might die because of her.
Mate special, her bear told her.
Oddly, her bear seemed quiet and content. Not yapping at her like normal.
Elianna silently answered her bear. I agree, but is not our mate.
Yes mate.
Why? Elianna asked.
Need us.
Where had her bear come up with that idea?
Justin had worked his way downhill while she’d been pondering her situation. He pushed back branches and turned to her. “Take a look at this.”
Stepping forward carefully so she did not lose her footing and knock them both down the mountain, she stuck her neck out and peered at a body of water fed by small streams.
Fish! her bear told her.
Delighted, she turned to Justin and repeated her bear’s word. “Fish?”
“Yep. In fact, it’s called Trout Lake. We’ll shift, eat our fill of fish in the shallows, and change back and get off this mountain.”
She followed close, anxious to fill her stomach after all. While she had endured hunger in her life, she didn’t enjoy it.
When the ground evened out farther down, Justin put his arm out, holding her back as he scanned everywhere, then looked up.
She followed his gaze. “What is in sky?”
“Nothing, babe.” He hadn’t sounded convinced, but after giving the area a long look, he said, “Let’s move up this bank and change to our bears under the trees where we’re shielded. Then stay in the stream where those tall trees on the opposite side shade a shallow area.
She bobbed her head in agreement and waved him on.
Justin led the way forward, but stopped short of where sunshine warmed the rocks and grass along the bank.
He said, “Here,” and started shedding clothes.
This man was not the least bit self-conscious about his body and he had no reason to be. It was clear that he wanted them to appear only to be bears.
Herc would look natural here.
Not her bear. Elianna said, “You fish. I wait.”
Her bear growled. Want water and fish!
Justin turned to her with a sharp look. “Why?”
Blowing out a harsh breath, she said, “You are grizzly. I am ... strange.”
“You mean a grolar. You are not strange and ursid hybrid are not bad words,” he said in a firm voice. “You look just as natural as I do here. It might be a little south for a polar bear and grizzly meetup, but you are as natural as I am in this environment. I just want you to stay close to shore around those trees.” He pointed to the area he referenced.
Mate nice. Like mate. Her bear had already made up its mind about mating, but her bear did not deal with things like agreements and keeping Nico safe.
Giving up, Elianna shed her clothes and turned to Justin before she intended to drop down on her hands and knees. It had always been simpler to allow the change to come over her in this position because of how much her bear weighed.
He was just as naked.
She would never wear clothes if she had a body like that.
His lips tilted in the same smile he wore when he had sex on his mind. She was getting to know him that well.
She warned, “Do not say hot.”
He held his hands up. “Monty isn’t standing at attention for me.”
Her eyes had no manners. They went straight south, to notice that, yes, Monty was happy to see her.
Justin started toward her.
Pushing a hand up as a barrier, she said, “No time to play.”
“Sadly, you’re right, but I need a kiss. It’s been at least an hour since I had one.”
Shaking her head at him, she lifted up and kissed Justin. She had intended a quick kiss, but he captured her face in his hands and turned his lips loose on hers. This man kissed with purpose.
This man did everything with purpose.
He ended it, then kissed her nose. “I love the color of your bear’s coat, but to prevent it from catching someone’s eye who would love to get a picture of a unicorn, don’t let your bear wander off downstream.”
“I understand.” She hoped her bear had been listening and would behave since this was her animal’s second time being free in less than a day.
Justin’s eyes constantly searched around them. His gaze came back to her, sliding down her body then up to her face again. “Stop messing around so we can get out of here, eat a real meal and find a real bed.”
She growled at him and he laughed.
Lowering herself to the ground so she could be on all fours, she called up her bear.
Energy boiled under her skin as she gave way to the change. Sometimes shifting dragged out painfully, but not today. It was as if her bear hurried the process along.
Or could the power that moved between her Justin last night be the reason? It had been odd, but had not bothered her. If anything, she felt closer to him now.
When she looked out through her bear’s gaze, she glanced down at wide paws with long claws that belonged to the grizzly side of her blood.
Herc sidled up to her and leaned his big head over to rub hers. Elianna’s bear made such contented sounds.
Her bear had never been this happy and the fault belonged to Elianna. She had spent years in conflict with her bear.
It was obvious Justin could see the problem, but she did not think a name for her bear would fix their difficult relationship.
Giving a head signal, Herc led the way to the stream, took his time drinking, then went fishing with his head down.
While lapping up drinks of water, Elianna’s bear searched for fish, chasing and jumping, but coming up empty.
Missed fish, Elianna said to let her bear know what it was like to be the one doing all the work with someone inside critiquing.
Not my fault, her bear said and growled when she missed another trout. You no fish.
Of course, the problem was because Elianna had not allowed her more time to learn how to fish. Elianna dropped it. She was going to carry all the blame no matter what and reminded her bear, Do not wander.
Growling low in frustration, her bear splashed at another trout then lumbered back toward the bank where they had entered.
A trout came flying past her and hit the bank.
She pounced on the trout, attacking it with vigor. When she finished eating, she looked over to the stream and found Herc grinning at her.
That was the same silly smile Justin sometimes wore.
Nice mate, Elianna’s bear said and actually sounded as if she made a bear purr.
Elianna agreed. If only it were simple.
Herc sent another trout up, which she ate immediately, then caught one for himself. Another fish splashed near Herc. He jumped around, hitting it with his big paw.
Elianna’s bear moved up the bank into the sun and sat on her rump.
She told her bear, Go to water. Do not cause trouble.
Warm sun.
You are stubborn bear, Elianna grumbled. She ordered her bear to get moving.
&n
bsp; Sleep.
No. Wolves are coming.
Herc kill wolves.
Her bear dropped over on her side, content to warm herself after eating the fish.
Herc growled a warning sound.
Elianna’s bear rolled up, immediately focusing on Justin’s bear. Herc was not smiling anymore. He’d gone downstream about twenty yards, but lunged forward, running to her.
Hurry, Elianna told her bear, which moved quickly only because Herc had called to her.
That’s when she heard the sound of a helicopter.
CHAPTER 26
Justin pushed Herc to reach Eli.
His bear pounded through the water, making huge splashes with each heavy step.
Justin’s sixth sense, the one that kept military operators alive in the field, had warned him not to expose their bears for long. He knew Eli had understood the importance of his instructions.
Clearly, the grolar bear lacked discipline and Eli was unable to manage her animal.
Justin should have spent more time talking to Eli about her bear and what she needed to do to work as one.
No time for that right now.
Her bear was barreling toward them with worried eyes, but she’d waited too long.
The helicopter flew over low just as Eli’s bear reached the stream, but short of the shaded area that would shield her coat.
When the helo circled around, Justin knew the pilot was clearly taking a second look.
Justin kicked himself mentally over encouraging her to shift. He hadn’t liked the shame he’d heard in her voice when she’d said she was strange. He’d thought if they stayed in the dark shade cast over this side of the stream, it would be hard to make out a grolar bear.
That plan would have worked if Eli had been able to control her bear.
Herc ran up to Eli’s bear, putting his big body in front to shield her coat, but the damage had been done.
According to the emblem on the chopper, it belonged to the park service. If that had been someone with the park service flying around for another reason and just happened to see Eli’s unusual coat, then no problem.
But Justin had a bad feeling that wasn’t the case.
Could the wolves hunting Eli have someone in the park service on their payroll? He hoped not.
Even if it was a casual flyover, by the time word of a possible ursid hybrid sighting got out, Justin had to have Eli far from here.
But that chopper had just wrecked his original plan to escape on foot taking the new direction he’d had in mind.
If wolves were clued in to his and Eli’s current location, they would run them down before he could get somewhere to contact the Guardian.
Now, Justin might as well try crossing the mountain back to the side where he could reach his truck quickly. There was one decent route option from this point that would be open enough for him to scent and see someone coming, but he didn’t like it. He couldn’t stay on this side any longer, plus he had an additional phone and more than one extra weapon in his truck.
He didn’t believe they’d shoot Eli, but they’d proven they had the means to kill him and that would leave her vulnerable.
When Herc and her bear reached the cluster of trees where Justin had left clothes and boots, he initiated his change. He pushed Herc to make the shift back to human quickly so that he wouldn’t leave Eli unprotected.
By the time he stood upright and had his jeans zipped, Eli had almost finished her shift.
He gave her a hand up and started putting clothes on her.
She snatched them away. “I can dress.”
“Hurry up, then.”
Looking up at the sky then back to him, she said, “We are found?”
“Maybe. If the wolf shifters were behind that helicopter showing up, then they know our position. If it was someone in an official capacity with the park and unrelated to the wolves, we still have a problem if he saw your coat.”
She buttoned up her shirt, which was looking rough, and grumbled, “I say my bear bad idea.”
Stepping closer, he pulled her chin up so she faced him. “It is never bad to show your bear. We will just be careful while someone is hunting you. Another thing. You had no control of your bear when it decided to lie down in the sun, did you?” When she shook her head, looking chastised, he tried to take it easy on her. “I’m only fussing because it scared me that we couldn’t reach each other in time. That’s what I was talking about this morning. You should name your bear and work on having a better understanding.”
She pulled away. “It is what is.”
That just pissed him off more. “Not if you fix it.”
Snatching up her boots, she sat on a rock and put them on, ignoring him. “Not so simple.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
She sounded embarrassed and that had not been his intention.
This was not how he’d meant to talk to her about her bear, and it was not the right time. He was still suffering the after effects of panic over her being too far away from him. Even Herc had snarled at her bear, and Herc liked the stubborn grolar, which was saying something.
Kneeling in front of Eli, Justin waited until she had both feet on the ground and raised her disgruntled gaze to him. She plopped her hands in her lap and initiated a staredown.
He reached over and took her hands in his, pulling her palms to his lips where he pressed a kiss on each one, then placed her hands back on her knees.
Just that touch smoothed out the frown lines in her face.
This woman was so responsive to him.
When he spoke this time, he tried to do a better job of explaining. “I have a friend who is a wolf shifter. His wolf was called up when he was in college and had found the love of his life, so he was not happy to find out he was one of the hated shifters back when nonhumans first went public. He and his wolf didn’t get along well. They managed to function for seven years, but their lack of connection almost killed both of them.”
“What happen?”
“He fixed it, but only with the help of his mate. When we get out of here, I’ll tell you the whole story, but right now I just want you to know I’m not criticizing you. The bond between human and animal for shifters is very personal and different for everyone. Those of us who create a partnership with our animal live much happier—and safer—lives. I want you to enjoy the kind of trust I have with Herc.”
“She is reason I live as outcast whole life.”
His gut twisted at the misery in her voice. “It’s not your bear’s fault and it’s not your fault, but allowing a wall to grow between you because some people are cruel is bad. You can fix this problem. You could start by naming her. Think about that while we walk out and we’ll talk more in the truck. Okay?”
Heaving a sigh that sounded as if she carried the mountain on her shoulders, she said, “Yes. Will try.”
“That’s fair. Ready to go? We’re going to move fast and use hand signals to keep sounds to a minimum.” Justin went over a few more with her that he might need to use.
She jumped up. “Yes, okay. Go.”
“Demanding little thing.”
She’d been staring at the stream and turned to him. “What is little thing?”
“You.”
“Eyes bad. I weigh like truck.”
“Exaggerate much, Eli, babe?” He chuckled and herded her back the way they’d come so he could stay off the main trails, but parallel them in some places.
His head still pulsed with a dull throb, but the vertigo had backed off to where he didn’t fear dragging her over a cliff if he lost his balance. This last shift to his bear form and getting to eat a solid meal had pushed his healing up a notch.
The bullet hadn’t gone inside his body. He hoped he’d washed out enough toxins to not suffer any further issues, but Rory was the medic, not him.
They climbed uphill for almost an hour, then Justin blazed a trail for them through a thinner section of evergreens. Every time he recognized place
s he hadn’t seen in more than three years, he felt encouraged, but he was forced to keep working his way toward the truck. The undergrowth had filled in some since the last time he came through here, but even a human could traverse it.
When he crossed over a known trail and dropped into a thick forest, he slowed a bit, but still followed a path he knew.
That’s when Justin heard a sound that didn’t belong out here.
Had that been a child’s cry?
He turned to ask Eli if she’d heard it, but she was already turned in the direction of the sound.
She cried, “No,” and went racing downhill through a gully of lush undergrowth of ferns and knee-high tree sprouts.
Tearing after her, he jumped down the cut she’d made, but she was still out of reach, oblivious to any danger.
Were the wolves close enough to hear the noise she made crashing through the woods? Justin had to get to her and calm her down. He looked beyond her bobbing head to find her target.
A small boy stood crying.
Then as Justin watched, the image changed to a woman. Eli.
Not slowing down, Justin drew in a deep breath.
Herc said, No scent. Trap!
His bear nailed it. Justin shouted, “Stop, Eli!”
Too late. She hit an invisible structure that pinned her in place like a giant spider web made of clear threads.
CHAPTER 27
Justin slowed as he reached where Eli jerked and fought against whatever spell held her in place. “Eli, babe, you okay?”
“No. Am stupid. Think I see Nico. Is trap.”
“I know, babe.” Justin fought to keep from reaching for her and jerking her from the web, but he felt certain the spell behind that was probably set to capture anyone who touched her.
Whispering, he said, “Eli, I need you to calm down. The more you panic, the more it might entangle you. I don’t want it to get caught around your neck. I can’t pull you out yet, because it will probably trap me, too. Then I wouldn’t be able to watch your back. Let me deal with whoever is coming for us, then I’ll get you free.”
