Chapter 5
She needed to go after him. Casey snatched up the shotgun and pounded down the stairs. She didn’t care how tough he said bears were—one bear against dozens of wolves were bad odds. So he needed help. She pulled on her shoes hurriedly, fingers trembling on the laces, then paused.
Was this the craziest idea she’d ever had?
Yes.
But he didn’t have anyone to help him. Her stomach twisted. She knew beyond a doubt that those wolves weren’t normal—they were like him, maybe. Shape-shifters or something. All those thoughts she’d had of the wolves creeping up the stairs towards her…those had been real, only it was him they were looking for. She couldn’t let him stay out there alone.
Or possibly she was going insane. She sank her head into her hands. She had just seen a man transform into a bear. That meant she should be going to the hospital, not wandering into the forest with a shotgun. She was clearly still drunk. Or maybe she was dreaming. She reached out with her bare foot and kicked the corner of the table.
“Ow!” Not dreaming, then. Muttering, Casey pulled on the second shoe.
She shouldn’t do this. A bear against that many wolves were terrible odds, but how much was Casey going to help, really? She had twelve rounds. Even if she was a perfect shot, that wasn’t going to take down all of the wolves—and, she thought with a chill, it wasn’t likely she’d have enough time to get twelve shots off before they got to her. She was going to get torn apart by rabid wolves if she went out there.
Unless she wasn’t, because part of her brain was still insisting that this had to be a hallucination. Men did not turn into bears. That was something out of popular movies, or science fiction, or something. Superheroes. She wasn’t twelve anymore, pretending she could fly or be invisible. Magic didn’t exist. She put down the gun and was just staring at her hands, trying to decide whether she should even attempt to drive into town, when a howl sounded from the woods.
That was it. Maybe it was a hallucination. But if it wasn’t? Then Nathaniel needed her help. And if it was, then those wolves were totally normal and they were going to stay well clear of her. Casey slipped the extra rounds into her pocket and started running, because now that she’d decided to go into the woods, the same part of her brain that had been calling her crazy was now screaming at her to turn around and go back.
Like hell.
Casey crashed into the trees, looking around. She wasn’t exactly a master tracker, but it didn’t take much expertise to see where they’d gone; there was a trail of crushed plants a few feet wide, leading into the forest. Swallowing hard, she chambered the weapon and set off. She needed to move as quietly as she could, and not let herself get exhausted.
The growl was low, almost inaudible, but enough to make the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Her conscious mind might not have noticed, but her instincts were screaming at her to run. Turning, Casey brought the gun up partway…and took an involuntary step back.
The bear towered over her, black in contrast to Nathaniel’s brown. It thudded down onto four paws and snarled, pacing sideways. She stumbled back as it advanced, courage fleeing…
Never run away from a bear.
It was herding her back to the house, she realized. She looked behind her, then at the bear. The howls nearby increased, and its head turned. When it looked back, Casey had put down the gun. Her hands were up, and her brain was telling her not to be so damned stupid, but she could not—she could not—let Nathaniel stay out here alone.
“I’m here for Nathaniel,” she said quietly. She swore she could see the same intelligence in this bear’s eyes. “He was hurt, and he stayed with me at the cabin last night. But the wolves found him, and I need to go help.” There was a pause, and Casey felt tears flood her eyes. “Look, I know what he is. I saw. But he’s all alone. I promise I won’t hurt you. I just need to get past.”
The bear roared and tossed its head…and shrank rapidly, into a man with blond hair and the cheekbones of a Greek God. Like Nathaniel, he was one of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen in her life. And like Nathaniel, he was wounded. Now that fur wasn’t covering him, she could see bruises and healing puncture wounds on his arms and legs.
“It was a wolf bite,” Casey said slowly. “On his leg.”
“You’re telling me Nathaniel’s alive?”
Another howl sounded, and Casey wanted to snarl in frustration.
“He was a few minutes ago. Please, we have to go help him.”
“How many wolves did you see?”
“Twenty five, at least.”
“Any black, or all grey and white?”
“All grey and white. Look—”
“Was there one that was all white?”
“…No,” Casey said, thinking about it.
“Then we’ve got a fighting chance. Get back to the cabin, I’ll take care of this.”
“I’m coming with you,” Casey said stubbornly.
“You’re not prepared for this,” he told her. “And Nathaniel would probably kill me if I let you go into danger.”
“Look, you can let me come with you, in which case I might take down a few of those wolves, or you can leave me here, in which case I’ll just follow you on my own.”
He stared at her, and she stared back, stubbornly.
“I’ll climb up a tree,” Casey offered.
“Fine. Get on my back when I transform.”
It was a tricky process, and there was nothing to hold onto when she got up there. When he took off, it was all she could do not to scream. She dug her fingers into his fur, hoping she wasn’t hurting him, and lay low to avoid branches as he crashed through the undergrowth.
The sounds of the fight were terrifying. Roars sounded, followed by snarls and yelps. Howls came from the woods ahead, and there were screams of pain. No birds sang here, and there was not the faintest hint of movement from squirrels or mice. Everything had fled this supernatural battle, and Casey was trying to keep from wishing she’d done the same.
When the bear stopped at a tree and tossed his head, she hopped off and scrambled up, the bark rough on her hands. She loved climbing trees as a child. Her muscles, unused to this now, were burning; Casey gritted her teeth and promised every deity she could think of that she would stay in much better shape if she got through this.
When she turned to look, she gasped. The fight raging below was a vicious tangle of brown and grey and white and black. Casey swallowed and took aim, looking down the sights at a wolf that was clearly planning to dive back into the fray.
The sound of the gunshot stopped the fight for a moment, and a few wolves turned on her, snarling. Casey gave a silent prayer, reloaded the gun, and took aim again. Another shot, well away from Nathaniel and his friend. She missed, and swore.
But there was hope. The wolves, now with three enemies instead of one, were beginning to fall as they milled about. Another bear crashed out of the undergrowth, its brown coat peppered with grey, and Casey just managed to avoid pulling the trigger. Another bullet, another wolf. The new bear roared at her and she waved, tentatively. Hopefully he understood.
Hopefully he couldn’t climb trees.
She reloaded and shot, reloaded and shot. Time seemed to disappear, and even the pain was fading as the shotgun slammed back against her shoulder. Adrenaline was thrumming in her blood. They were so close to winning—
She almost missed the white wolf. It was creeping through the forest nearby, drawing close to the fight with its lips drawn back in a snarl. She had only one shot left. Casey loaded the gun quietly, took aim…
The shot blew the wolf over sideways, and she screamed. The other wolves looked around, howling, and Casey screamed all the more as the wolf dragged itself upright. Its head swung around and its pale eyes fixed on her for a long moment. Then it charged out of the bushes, making directly for Nathaniel.
If she had not shot it, Casey shuddered to think how the fight would have gone. Even wounded, bleeding heavily, the white wolf was a terror to behold. Its jaws fastened around fur, black and brown, and the bears roared in pain as they converged on it. Snarls rang through the air, and the snapping of teeth. But at last the wolf faltered, and Casey hid her face as Nathaniel reared, great paws swiping down. There was a howl, a scream…and the rest of the wolves fled into the forest.
Casey scrambled down from the tree and ran, catching Nathaniel as he transformed and stumbled into her arms. His face had gone grey with pain, and there were new marks on his arms and legs.
“You came for me,” he whispered.
“Of course I did. I couldn’t let you fight alone.”
He smiled tiredly. “Loyalty,” he whispered. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and drew her close for a kiss.