Emma tried taking a deep breath. Her chest felt strange and the air didn’t seem to be going into her lungs. She told herself not to panic but fear crept into her mind. She tried taking smaller, more shallow breathes.

It didn’t help.

Her breathing difficulties persisted.

She felt like she was slowly suffocating.

Wes, I’m so sorry I failed saving you. A single tear rolled out of the corner of her eye.

It wasn’t fair. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to end. She and Wes were supposed to live a long life with lots of cubs running through their home and the woods surrounding it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emma saw something moving. She couldn’t turn to see exactly who or what it was that was moving around. Her heartbeat sped up. She closed her eyes and prayed it wasn’t the hunter checking to make sure she and Wes were dead. He was the only person who would have shot them.

A cold nose nudged her cheek.

After a couple of tries, Emma managed to force her eyes open.

A set of extremely large fangs hung over the bottom jaw of the very large animal filling her vision.

The beast took a step back and sat on its haunches. It stared at her.

Emma’s eyes widened. She had seen drawings in books that were based on skeletons similar to the ones she had seen in the museum. She even remembered watching cartoons but never in a million years did she ever expect to see a large saber-toothed tiger staring at her.

She had to be dreaming…or hallucinating.

She wanted to shake her head to clear it. Her mind had to be going into shock along with the rest of her body. It was the only explanation that made any sense.

Saber-toothed tigers were extinct.

Emma’s brain couldn’t deal with the pain radiating from her shoulder, and then there was the lack of oxygen to her brain. That combination had to be the root of everything she was feeling and seeing.

She blinked.

Darkness swam around the edges of her vision. It threatened to take over and plunge her backing into its comforting blanket.

The saber-toothed tiger shimmered and disappeared, leaving a very muscular man sitting on his heels beside her. For some reason, he was fully clothed.

Emma wondered how that was possible. She tried asking him but the effort was too much.

“I am as real as you or your mate,” said the man. Shoulder length brown hair framed the rugged angular lines of his face. His eyes were brown but the outer edges of his irises were a golden amber making the brown look like it had a golden ring around it.

The man moved closer to her. “I’m going to roll you onto your right side. It will help moved the blood away from your injured lung. I’m not going to lie. It’s going to hurt when I move you. I will be as gentle and quick as I can.”

Emma didn’t want any more pain. She was already hurting more than she had since the accident that left her scarred. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to handle anymore. She was at her limits.

The man moved a little closer. “Wes,” she managed to get the word out but even to her ears it didn’t sound like much of a word.

“I take it that’s your mate’s name. I’ll check on the bear as soon as I get you onto your side.”

Emma felt his hands on her body. Slowly he rolled her onto her right side. He moved her arm so she wasn’t laying on it. Emma felt some of the pressure shift off of her left side.

“Don’t try speaking,” said the man. “You need to save your energies. Focus on staying alive for your mate.”

Emma ignored him and tried speaking. The man put his fingers on her lips and shook his head.

After a couple of seconds, he removed his fingers. He raised an eyebrow as if to questions whether or not she was going to try to speak again.

Emma closed her eyes. She was tired. It took some effort for her to open them again.

The man nodded. He turned his attention to Wes who was still in his bear form.

Emma watched the man as she checked the black bear lying just a few feet from her. She wanted to reach out and touch Wes. But her body refused to cooperate. Her commands to move her arm were ignored. Her energy reserves were almost gone.

“As soon as the bullets come out, your mate will heal. He’s not bleeding too bad, so I don’t want to move him,” said the man as he returned to Emma’s side. He moved the collar of her shirt, exposing the wound. “We need to do something about your bleeding. I’m going to tear a strip of cloth from the bottom of your shirt and use it to put pressure on the wound.”

Emma didn’t even have the strength to nod. She just looked at him and made a weak attempt at blinking. She heard the material tear, but she didn’t feel him pressing on her wound. That’s not good, she thought as she closed her eyes.

“Open your eyes.”

The sharp command startled Emma. She slowly opened her eyes.

“Keep them open. Help is coming. A vehicle is traveling on the road leading to the house.” He kept his hand on her wound but shifted his position so that he could easily defend her and her mate if he needed to do so.

The truck came into sight and slowly stopped.

The man watched three men get out of the truck. From their scents two of them were related to the bear next to him. The third carried a familiar scent of the cave bear who lived in the town. Somehow he had to be related to her.

The men sniffed the air and focused on the scene in front of them. They all growled.

The saber-toothed tiger shifter stared at the bear shifters. “You can stop your growling. Send the witch over to heal these two. This witch is fading fast.”

Before anyone could move or say anything else, Ivy got out of the truck. She tried pushing through the shifters standing in her way.

“Ivy get back into the truck,” growled Ben Anderson. “We don’t know who or what he is.”

Ivy rolled her eyes. “Criminy crickets. It looks like he’s trying to help Emma not hurt her.

“It’s too much of a risk.” Ben wanted to pick up his mate and put her back into the truck.

“If he wanted Emma and Wes dead, he would have already killed them.” Ivy pushed Forrest and her mate out of her way.

“Ivy.”

“Don’t Ivy me.” She shook a finger at her mate.

Ben grumbled but didn’t try stopping his mate. Instead he followed her.

Ivy dropped to her knees on the opposite side of Emma. “Merlin’s beard! How bad are they?”

“She is the worse. She’s bleeding into her lung. She doesn’t feel the pressure I’m putting on the wound.”

Ivy nodded. “I need you to move your hands out of the way.”

The shifter nodded. Slowly he lifted his hands away from Emma.

Ivy held her hands over Emma. She closed her eyes. Softly she whispered a spell. Nothing happened. Ivy frowned. “Emma, focus on your magic and slowly pull it back.”

Emma’s eyes fluttered.

“Emma, you have to do this. Your magic has put up a barrier. It won’t let my magic through to help you.”

Emma’s eyes fluttered again. She managed open them about halfway. “Wes.”

“Hank and Forrest are looking after him. When I finish taking care of you, I will take care of Wes,” said Ivy. “Now let down your barrier.”

“Wes,” said Emma.

Ivy put her hand on Emma’s cheek. “Your nightmares?”

Emma blinked.

“Double hockey sticks. Don’t do anything stupid like dying. Wes will kill us both if you do.” Ivy moved over to Wes and put her hands over his wounds.

“What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be healing Emma?” Forrest stared at Ivy. Even though Wes was seriously injured and he wanted his brother healed, Forrest knew Emma was in worse shape and needed immediate attention. He also knew Wes would be angry at them for not taking care of Emma first.

“I can’t heal Emma until she drops the barrier she has put up and she won’t do that until Wes is healed.” Ivy never felt so helpless. As powerful as she was, she felt the power coming from Emma and knew there was no way she could go around the barrier until Emma decided it was okay.

Forrest ran his hand through his hair. “So what are you going to do?” He glanced at his brother.

Hank nodded.

“What she asked me to do,” said Ivy. She closed her eyes and whispered the words to a spell to remove the bullets and close the wounds.

Hank moved over to Emma. He looked at the shifter who was pressing his hand against Emma’s wound.

The man slowly nodded his head. He moved his hand off of the wound.

Hank put his hand on Emma’s wound. “I’m Hank, Wes’s older brother. Ivy is taking care of Wes. He’s going to be fine. I need you to lower the barrier so I can help you.”

Emma closed her eyes. All that matter was that Wes was going to live. She let the barrier drop. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Don’t you dare die. I don’t want to have to deal with Wes if you do.” Hank closed his eyes. He called to his bear to help him heal Emma’s injuries. After a couple of minutes, beads of sweat popped across his forehead.

“Emma. My beautiful Emma. You can’t leave me.” Wes caressed her face. “I need you. You can’t leave me.”

Ivy knelt down next to Hank. “You can let go.”

Hank shook his head. “Bad. Really bad.” His voice was low and shaky.

Ivy gasped. She felt Ben’s hand on her shoulder. “As soon as you feel my magic, I want you to let go.” She started casting a healing spell.

Hank shook his head. “You take care of Emma. I will protect the cub.”

Wes looked up at his brother. “Cub?” Hank didn’t answer him, but Wes saw the truth in his eyes. He shook his head. His eyes burned with unshed tears.

His bear made a low whine. It pushed close to the surface, wanting to be close to its mate and cub.

“Hey beautiful. You have to live. Our cub needs you.” Wes stroked her cheek. “I need you. I can’t live without you. I don’t want to live without you.”

Emma heard Wes. She wanted to tell him she loved him and that she wanted to live for the cub she was carrying but she didn’t have the strength. Darkness claimed her.