CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

He’d stayed with the car while Simone walked into the forest. They’d known each other such a short time, but already it was clear she needed a few moments by herself. And he was not going to be manipulated by emotional pressure into following her. Doing so after only a matter of days would set a precedent that would be unsustainable.

The moment he’d heard her anguished cry, though, Adam leapt the hood and tore into the trees after her. His wolf growled within, but until he knew what he was up against, he resisted the urge to shift. He’d grown rusty with it after years of suppression and he already knew the worst thing in the world was to be stuck with paws when only hands would do.

He could really use the extra senses, though. The fires were nowhere near them, but the smell of smoke hung heavy in the air. It was possible Simone had simply sprained her ankle. But where he’d usually be able to zone right in on her, and anyone or anything else which might be bothering her, he was running blind.

A deep masculine howl of pain off to his left gave him both a direction to head, and an urgent reason to sprint. She was not alone. She was not safe.

His mate needed him.

And though he fought it with every rushed breath, the memories that thought conjured were impossible to ignore.

As he ran he tore away his shirt, knowing his jeans would come loose by themselves. Lupine hips were far more slender than human.

He found her just as the huge guy flipped her over. The fact those two had even got her onto the ground sent a bolt of incendiary anger through Adam’s core. They think they can touch my mate? Hurt her?

Rust be damned. That fiery rage fed Adam’s wolf and in seconds he’d shifted. Just in time to see the big bear rip her clothing away.

For a moment, the world was stuck in molasses. Every second seemed to take a minute. Adam let his human sleep while his wolf took charge. And it reminded him exactly what was so wonderful about the animal kingdom. No reasoning. No bargaining.

No fucking mercy.

The one with his filthy hands on Simone’s shoulders was closer. Adam ran noiselessly and leapt straight at the bastard, taking his throat in a vise grip. There were no words strong enough to describe his anger, and no wolf would understand the language anyway.

Adam snarled as he speared his teeth into the tender skin. The guy bugged his eyes, clearly expecting death any second.

But despite his unhinged rage, Adam couldn’t completely push his human side down. Especially that damn oath he’d taken about preserving life.

“Adam!”

The terror in Simone’s voice was everything. He released his mouthful and turned, just in time to duck away from the enormous hairy paw the other guy had swung at him.

Bear shifters.

With the smoke and his mate’s peril, the scent had escaped him. And if these two were typical he could, for once, sympathize with his parents’ disgust.

With only a moment to spare, Adam raised his head and howled. They were a good distance from town, but there was always a chance someone would have their ears on. He at least had to try calling for help. When he finished, he locked his eyes on his mate’s.

Run, Simone. He thought it as hard as he could, even glancing off to the side, in the direction of the road. Hoping she’d get the hint. He knew he could buy her enough time to get to the car, but one wolf against two bears was never going to end in his favor. As long as he could save his mate, though, it would be more than worth it.

Adam ran straight at the big bear, ducking another wild swing and diving between the guy’s hind legs. As he slid to a halt, he turned and drove his fangs into the back of his foe’s thigh.

Already fighting for balance, the bear swiped at Adam, succeeding only in falling onto his side. By that time the other one had shifted. He wasn’t as big, but he was still plenty big enough. He dropped to all fours and ran at Adam, teeth bared and tongue flailing.

In desperation, Adam released the fallen guy’s leg and ran forward again, right up the big, hairy back. He leapt over the top of the approaching bear, catching him by surprise. As Adam landed, the bear overbalanced and slammed heavily on his back, giving Adam a chance to get a little distance.

He’d made sure to move the action further away from where Simone had been, so she could make her escape even better. What he hadn’t expected was to see her still standing there, mostly naked, a thick branch in her hands. She held it like a baseball bat and cocked it, ready to swing, every time one of the bears moved.

For a moment Adam lost himself in the vision. His perfect mate, his thick fleshed goddess, ready to take a losing fight all the way to its conclusion. And for the first time, he could admit to himself that he truly loved her. That this was something beyond simple compatibility of mind and deliciousness of scent. This was the kind of love that everyone assumed was lust. Because it hit fast, and it hit hard.

He was pulled from his reverie by a different kind of hard hit. The boss bear had fought his way back to his feet and slammed his huge paw into Adam’s neck, knocking him half way across the clearing. When Adam struggled back upright, his guts clenched, seeing the massive beast charging straight at Simone. To his terror, he saw the other bear coming in from the side.

He snarled with pure venom, shooting forward, hoping to grab the big one before it could get its teeth or claws into his goddess, but the blow to his neck made movement hard. Like he’d been sedated. His heart froze as both beasts stood, ready to fall onto Simone. And as hard as he ran, as desperate as he felt, he was powerless to stop it.

He expected the next sound to be Simone’s flesh tearing, and her beautiful voice screaming. Instead, there was a thick sounding clunk, like a golf club striking a ball, only played at one-quarter speed. And when the big beast fell, it was not on top of Simone, but off to the side, taking out the other bear in a moment of sweet serendipity.

Adam’s heart filled with love and pride as he saw his warrior woman still standing there, the branch in her hands now only a stub, the rest of it broken away from the powerful blow she’d delivered to the big bear’s head.

It was only a moment of peace, though. The blow she’d delivered probably would have killed a man, but all it did was slow the bears down for a few seconds. He leapt forward and placed himself between the danger and his mate. There was no chance he could beat them. There was no way he’d stop trying.

He took a second to turn to Simone and whine at her, desperate for her to run back to the car, to save herself. But either she didn’t understand, or she was as stubborn as a tired bull. With her Latina blood, he was more willing to believe the second.

“It’s okay, Adam.”

He yapped sharply in reply. No. Go.

“We got this, baby.”

He could hear the fatigue in her voice, and took an extra second to lick her leg. She responded with a lightning fast scratch behind the ears.

And then she was falling to the side, a sharp yell of pain firing from her throat. Adam nuzzled in at her side, suddenly scenting fresh blood.

Simone had her hands pressed to her belly, where deep crimson fluid was gushing out.

No!

He turned and bared his teeth, but before he could even snarl, the smaller bear had his mouth on the back of Adam’s neck, and sank its teeth in. For all his strength, Adam was suddenly powerless. The bear stood, clenching his prize, as Adam writhed and fought to no avail.

The next sensation was a pile-driver punch to the belly, mixed with the cold agony of long claws spearing into his flesh. He yelped and froze, a tiny part of his human consciousness telling him not to make the damage worse by struggling.

The bear took the chance to pull its teeth from his neck, securing him instead with both front paws.

From the moment he’d heard Simone’s first panicked cry, Adam had been prepared to give his life to save hers. His own death, though, would mean nothing if she lost her life, too.

The bear grunted and shook, as though the earth was quaking beneath his feet. Adam bent his head back, hoping he could at least land a couple of bites and go down swinging.

But what he saw filled him with surprise and pride. There, on the bear’s back, fisting his fur, was Simone. The bear shrugged as if trying to dislodge her, but she held on and clambered higher. A moment later she had his ear grasped in one hand, and with the other she raised a foot long stick.

Not even the slightest hesitation showed in her face as she speared that stick into the bear’s other ear, driving it deep into the canal and causing him to groan with agony and fling Adam away.

The moment of triumph ended almost as soon as it began. When Adam landed he looked back, only to see the bigger bear swipe at Simone, tearing deep lacerations into the flesh of her thigh and sending her thudding to the ground again.

Her scream hurt Adam worse than any of the blows or puncture wounds. He clambered to his feet and limped over to his mate, standing over her traumatized form and growling up into the faces of both bears. He snapped at one, then the other, as they moved in for the kill.