“Exactly. I was a hell raiser all through my early twenties. It's not like your cops would peg me for a murderer, but I don't want any extra complications in my life just now. You can help an old friend, yeah?” Don brought his big hand onto my shoulder and squeezed.
Simultaneously, he winked at Jenn, and I saw her face soften. He'd turned on that wicked, irresistible charm. It wasn't a surprise to see other human women weren't immune to it.
Damn good thing we're not spending much time here after all, I thought.
I had a vision of fighting back sluts and lonely spinsters converging on Don like hungry zombies. I'd have to claw their eyes out to keep their greedy little hands off my man. I reached for his hand and locked eyes with Jenn, curling my fingers tightly through his.
“Well, sure. Anything for you, Sam.” She showed me her teeth, subconscious frustration shining beneath her smile. “Looks like you picked one hell of a guy.”
“Oh, I did. Don's saved my life many times – especially when I ran off and started hitchhiking in my fugue state. Who the hell knows what I would've ended up with if I hadn't run into him first.” I laughed, rubbing Don's hand to add extra conviction to the cover story I'd dredged up on the spot.
“The world is full of nuts. It's nice to know there are still some good men out there.”
“You said it,” Don said in a low voice. “Some people can be very dangerous. Like wild animals.”
Emmerick flashed through my mind. He didn't say it, of course, but I knew that's who he was thinking about too.
“I wish you were here longer.” Jenn batted her eyes.
I buried my jealousy with a nervous laugh.
Damn, damn, damn – three damns! Keep your hands off him.
We had no choice but to stay with her tonight. I wanted to hang around until morning, after she dropped off the things we'd found with the police. We had to make sure the media ate the story and pinpointed the location, going no further with their search.
“So, you didn't see a body? I need to get all my facts straight,” Jenn said more seriously, delicately grabbing at a flap of the sheared tent.
“Nothing,” Don said firmly. “We don't know what happened. There was a lot of blood. I think the things we've brought here tell the full story.”
As if on cue, Jenn's fingers grazed one of the ruddy stains on the torn cloth. She jerked her hand back in disgust. A little perky color drained from her face.
“We think it was a bear,” I said quietly.
Don's fingers dug a little deeper into my shoulder. Tough, reassuring, but possessive as the wild animals we had just mentioned.
“These attacks happen all the time in the forests around the mountains. Too many good folks have been carried off over the years. Hell, I had to tangle with one the other day.”
Jenn's eyes went huge as he opened his jacket and pulled down his collar. She saw the bandages around the bite marks. I trembled a little, recalling the attack that could've easily taken him from me forever.
Or worse, if that thing had come for me...I didn't want to think about it. Anything that caused us to lose our lives and our baby was a steaming pile of nightmare.
“Lordy!” Jenn sputtered. “Sounds like you guys have been through the ringer up there in the little border towns. Drinks are on me tonight!”
I smiled, and so did Don. There was the old Jenn I knew.
Later, we left for a night out. We waited tensely in her car as she stopped at the police station and delivered the items. A little over an hour later, she emerged, a little whiter in the face.
Neither of us relaxed until she got in the car and gave us the thumb's up. “I answered all their questions as best I could. They're sending a team out to the location you gave me tonight. Said they'll try to find a body, but usually if there's blood and not much else, there's no hope of finding the bear who did the deed. God! That poor boy!”
We shook our heads along with her. Even Don shared the somber mood.
“How about that bar?” He finally said. “Let's get lit and take the edge off. Nothing we can do about nature's fury except remember it, and live our lives to the fullest.”
As we laughed and chatted, draining our second pitcher of sangria, I recognized the wisdom in his words. It was easy to forget that Don looked like a handsome thirty-something at his apex, but he was almost twice my age, and had the intense knowledge that went with someone older, wiser, and stronger.
I woke up with a savage headache.
I moaned, rolled over, and saw Don perched on Jenn's beat up sofa. He was quietly watching the news, listening as Kalispell's number one talking head gave the latest run down about sixteen year old Ronny Harrison's disappearance.
“And in Glacier's sprawling forests, a grim puddle of blood. Authorities say fur samples collected near the scene support the idea that the boy was attacked and carried off by a predatory grizzly. If it's proven, it would be the park's third fatal bear attack this year, and certainly the most the tragic. Montana DNR officials say too much time has passed to locate the animal responsible, but they encourage visitors to be vigilant, and always take standard safety precautions at all times, especially carrying their bear spray.”
I sat up, rubbing one palm against my forehead. Don looked toward the noise of my sleeping bag and smiled.
“This is good news, Sam. From everything I can see, it's over. We can return to the clan and maybe even get an apology out of the Elders for their bullshit suspicions.”
“It isn't that,” I groaned. “I drank way too much last night.”
He laughed. If I could've gotten up, I would've wandered over and punched him in the arm. But like a good boyfriend, he was at my level a minute later, softly pulling me into his arms.
Together, we laid in the sprawling covers and let sleep drag us down again. His heartbeat thudded softly in my ear, regular and comforting, the very best white noise a girl could ask for.
“Wake up, you sleepyheads! Haul your cute asses out of bed and come eat some brunch.” Jenn nudged my side with her foot.
I sat up. It was brighter out, probably closer to noon. The headache had lessened.
Don was hunched next to me, wiping the sandman's dust from his eyes. I heard a growl, and looked over, wondering if he was irritated.
“Not me,” he whispered.
My stomach rumbled a second time, furious as a cat rearing up to fight. We both laughed. The sausage and eggs Jenn had sizzling on the stove wafted toward us like a Siren's song.
Don helped me up, and we raced each other to the kitchen.
Breakfast and good conversation with my two favorite people made the hangover wear off like a bad dream. By noon, Jenn let us off at the bus station, and from there we rode to the nearest stop at Glacier National Park's entrance.
“Should take us a couple hours to get back. You feeling up to it?”
I nodded shyly. I was ready, but I wondered what he'd offer as an alternative if I said 'no.' I had a sick, girlish desire to find out what it would be like to ride a bear, and not just in the sexy way!
It'll happen one of these days. Hopefully once all this serious, crazy shit has passed.
And maybe – just maybe – we're leaving behind the craziness today.
Gray clouds passed over the mountains in huge ranks, burying the autumn sun. We ascended quickly. It wasn't as difficult to keep up with him as it was before. I attributed the extra spring in my step to losing the horrible distractions chipping away at our romance.
About an hour in, shortly after the dirt paths started to narrow and the brush grew wild, he took my hand. “Let me know if you need to stop and rest again. The going gets more rugged from here. We both know that.”
He looked at me seriously. I laughed and rolled my eyes.
“Don, I'm pregnant. Not helpless. And I'm certainly not to the point where the baby is draining all my energy yet.”
“Of course,” he said, his hand tightening in mine. “I have to look out for you. Let me do
my job without that sass...unless you want to feel my hand on your ass later.”
Don turned before I could respond. I had a feeling his lips were quirked up, simultaneously lighthearted and severe.
His boots crunched underfoot, onward and upward. I smiled like a giddy fool.
His boots were the one thing that wasn't always ruined when he shifted. Sometimes, his feet popped out of the hard leather as his bones rearranged themselves, but other times the claws, fur, and giant hairy toes burst clean through the seams.
“I'm going to be a father,” he said sometime later. “It's only natural I'm looking out for both of you.”
He glanced behind his shoulder at my belly. His voice simmered down to that near growl filled with love and desire.
I smiled. “I knew you'd be good at it. Doesn't take a psychic to know you've been waiting for this your whole life. Glad I could give you what you always wanted.”
And what I wanted too. Even if I didn't know it before...
I caught up several steps and nudged him playfully. I wanted him to admit he meant to knock me up from the very beginning. But asking for more than a strong and silent smile was too much.
“The least you could say is 'thank you!' Sir,” I added, half-mocking. It was fun to see how much I could make his cheeks sizzle.
“Right or wrong, I'm happiest when I do my duty, Sam. Now, don't sass me again...”
“What!” I shifted my elbow into him, and he softly batted my arm away.
“You're just begging for another spanking, aren't you?”
I winked. After the long walk back to Horeshoe Creek, I wasn't sure I'd be in the mood for much except crashing face down in bed to recharge. But if anything could give me a second wind for action between the sheets, it was this bear of a man, this beastly lover who had repaired my heart and so much more.
The trees were getting really thick now. Some of the branches were cold to the touch, glazed with mountain frost and ice as we flicked them back, occasionally breaking them for safety.
“Damn, I knew we were expecting a dusting last night, but not several inches.” He looked at me with worry in his eyes as the path got narrower and thicker still. I knew the concern was all for me, and not over the fact that he could easily slip and fall in the deepening snow.
“I have an idea,” I said gently, clucking my tongue against my mouth. “Are you really in total control when you're in bear form?”
“Always. As long as I'm not hunting or facing down an enemy.” His eyebrows quirked up. “What? You want me to carry you through the snow?”
I gave him a crooked smile. It was the only thing that made sense in this situation.
With a heavy sigh, he began to undress. I clapped my hands and cheered happily at the unexpected strip show. Don laughed, even if he didn't fully get the reference.
“This isn't the first time, you know,” he said.
“Huh?”
“How do you think I got you to my cabin in the first place when I found you? You fainted on me.”
My jaw dropped a little. Then I started to laugh, imagining him carrying my unconscious body on his big, furry back.
Can't believe I didn't know I'd ridden a bear before. Well, at least this time I'll be wide awake for it.
Naked, muscular, and beautiful, he handed his neatly folded clothes to me.
“Stand back. When I nod my head, you climb on my back. I can't talk when I'm a bear, so you'll have to keep yourself entertained the rest of the way home.”
“I think I can manage.” I took several steps backward, giving him ample room to expand three or four sizes.
Shifting never failed to impress. I watched in awe as his bones and flesh snapped, jerked, and circulated around his body like loose clay.
Less than a minute later, I was face to face with a one ton grizzly. Was it really smiling at me?
Don bleeted and shifted his head from side to side. The hump near his shoulders bounced softly.
Guess that's my signal.
I swallowed hard and leaped up onto his back, tugging gently at his fur for support. Thankfully, it didn't seem to bring him any discomfort.
Don snorted cold smoke out his nose as I wrapped my hand around his grizzly neck. Bear fur was tremendously softer than I'd imagined. Maybe in a little bit, I'd stroke it, but I wasn't sure if I'd ever be happy petting him near that huge mouth.
We walked on. Snow, leaves, and twigs snapped under four huge feet. A few winter birds twittered in the distance, breaking up the regular puffs of his heavy breath.
“This is smoother ride than I expected,” I mused, wondering if he could still understand human speech in bear shape.
Don growled, low and soft, nodding his huge head again as I scratched around his ear. I grinned.
He was really in there after all. It was Don, the love of my life, and it didn't matter that he looked indistinguishable from a creature men had feared for ages.
My bear ride tramped on through the crisp snow. The sun had just gone behind the highest mountains, its last scattered light smothered by the unyielding veil of thick clouds.
The ether's pale blue glow glistened another fifty feet ahead, the boundary between worlds. I stroked his neck, humming softly. It wouldn't be long now.
I barely heard the snap of metal before his deafening roar started. Don's body jerked, and he threw his head back, howling as if he were in agonizing pain.
I jumped off his back. “What? What!”
Panicked, I circled him, keeping several feet away as the bear went completely crazy. He snarled, roared, and sent hot spittle streaming into the snow, thrashing his monstrous head and stomping his front paws on the ground.
It took several seconds to find the bright red puddle staining the snow. My heart jumped into my throat, beating so hard it rattled my whole body.
“Oh my God! Let me get you out of this,” I ran toward him, scared of the way he looked at me, but more scared that he'd bleed out if I didn't do something.
The huge bear trap had bitten deep into his right hind leg. Still, Don kept control, preventing the bear from shaking his rear legs too much, worsening the cuts.
Fuck! I don't know the first thing about opening bear traps.
“Hold still! Please, Don. I know it hurts, but you have to!” I stared at it as crucial seconds passed, desperately trying to keep myself from passing out as fresh blood poured from his wounds.
I grabbed for the metal teeth. My scream cut through his terrible, feral anguish. I pulled at the trap's teeth with all my might, moving my arms until my muscles burned like they were dipped in scalding water.
“Come. The fuck. On!”
The metal hardly budged. I stared deep into his eyes, and saw a very hurt man staring back at me. A man, not a bear.
Then a strange thing happened. Don's body wavered and started to contort. Soon, he was human again – everything except the bloodied leg stuck in the metal. From the knee down, he had a bear's leg, terminating in a large, wounded, hairy paw.
“Help me open it,” he grunted through his teeth.
He panted painfully, reached down. My hands went for the open spaces and we pulled together, screaming from exertion. His power managed to pry the teeth back with my help, but it wasn't enough to free his foot.
No, no, no! Just a little bit further!
Something else kicked in as he raised his foot higher. The leg twisted. Bloody fur retracted, leaving a man's leg.
Don groaned and fell, landing straight on his back in the frigid snow. I ran to his side instantly and grabbed for his hand. The deep marks in his leg were just below the knee, like his leg had gotten caught in an old crocodile's strong, but nearly toothless mouth.
“My God! I'll run all the way to the clan for help. You can't walk like this.”
He groaned painfully. But at least he was alert, and grabbing my hand.
We were almost home. I knew I could manage the rest of the way.
I waited for him to nod before I stood. �
��I'll get someone out here as soon as I can! I promise.”
“Just be careful,” he whispered, his voice weak.
I stood. My knees were already burning to run like never before, but I didn't take one step before I saw the man who made my blood boil.
“That's far enough, you stupid little shrew.” Emmerick pushed the brush around him to the side. His amber eyes glowed with fire, flames that wouldn't be extinguished until they tasted blood.
“Get out of the way!” I was ready to charge him, even if it meant the end of me. If Don didn't get help soon, I knew he'd die, and I'd rather die with him than cower before this miserable, murderous creep.
“How cute. My, Flood, you never told me she was such a spitfire.” He took a long stride toward me, intentionally blocking my path. “I wanted to put an end to this by sacrificing you. Not Don. A shame the grizzly I sent after you didn't do the job.
Emmerick shook his head. I practically tasted the crocodile tears streaming in his voice. “You've given me no choice. You'll both have to die now. I know he'd kill me for taking you out, especially that abomination growing in your womb. You didn't listen to me, female. You couldn't just let our kind fade in peace...and now that will have to happen with flood and fire.”
Shit! My scent exposed my pregnancy to him.
I tried to jump past, but Emmerick caught me. Too fast. He shifted then, giving me a split second to fall away.
His fur was darker than Don's. I listened to my lover screaming obscenities as the big bear hovered over me, taking his sweet time padding through the snow as I scrambled backward.
The big backpack I'd thrown off to help Don was only inches away. The top came open in the confusion, and I hooked my hand into it.
Emmerick was on top of me now. He sat on his haunches, raised his front paws toward the sky. Muscles and claws flexed at once, ready to sink into tender human flesh, and then finish off Don.
The crazy bastard was really going to do it. He was fully prepared to bring his race one step closer to extinction. Violently, too.
You're not getting away with this. Not ever, you demon.
I was half a second away from a fatal swipe of his claws when I touched the cool canister. I jerked the precious metal to my chest and popped the spring.
Love to Bear: A Werebear Shifter Romance Page 12
