The ground rumbled beneath Kelly’s car while she watched in horrified shock as the cougar that had appeared from seemingly nowhere bounded off the ground at the grizzly in front of her car.

The bear swung at it with heavy, slow motions, but the big cat was too fast, razor-sharp claws scraping along the brown and gray beast’s back as it flew past.

Bright red rivulets of liquid cascaded onto the ground, and the cougar landed on its feet on the other side of the bear, which whirled around.

The bear stood on its haunches, looking terrifyingly tall for a moment before crashing back down to the ground and roaring, making her car shake back and forth like there was an earthquake.

The sound was deafeningly loud, ferocious and wild, striking icy fear into her very soul. But the cat, its long body crouched low to the ground, ears pinned back, just growled, a loud, raspy sound, as if in challenge.

Kelly couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A bear fighting a cougar right in the dirt road in front of her house. For a moment, she wondered if anyone else would drive by and possibly see what she was seeing. Then she remembered her cabin was on a private road on the far end of Silver Lake. The chances were astronomically low.

Dammit, why hadn’t she charged her phone before leaving? With all of the excitement, she’d forgotten and didn’t have a charger in the car.

But even if she could take a video, she doubted anyone would believe it.

Why would a cougar do this for her? What did it possibly have to gain fighting a bear twice its size?

She knew it had to be the cougar she’d seen in the clearing a few nights ago. Kelly instantly recognized its long, majestic body, the oddly blue eyes that were somehow familiar and foreign at the same time.

The cat squared off with the bear, eyes glaring at it, unblinking as its long fangs glowed pure white in the afternoon sun. The bear just took slow, lumbering strides as well. And if she wasn’t mistaken, she could swear she saw it lick its lips hungrily.

Up close like this, Kelly could tell more definitively that this cougar was not the size of any ordinary cougar, probably standing a foot or two taller than any big cat she’d ever seen in person or in books and a great deal longer from head to tail.

But then again, the bear most definitely wasn’t the size of any normal bear, either, towering over the big cat and, well, practically everything else around him. It was a shock he hadn’t split her car in two when she’d first driven up to the cabin. But she’d gotten the impression that the bear was taking its time with her, in a horrific way.

This time the bear charged first, swinging a huge paw at the cat, pitch-black claws like giant spikes as it slashed. The cat gracefully moved to the side as the paw missed, and it quickly reached forward, slashing at the bear’s face before retreating back a pace, out of the bear’s reach.

The bear roared in pain, and Kelly could make out blood dripping down the side of its face, deep gashes where the cougar’s claws had made contact.

But her beastly stalker didn’t give up, barreling forward like a freight train, swinging everywhere and trying to catch the cougar. The huge cat slashed where it could but had to duck to the side out of reach of the rampaging creature.

Then, to her utter surprise, the cougar leapt up and onto the bear’s side. Like they were razor-edged meat hooks, the cat dug its claws into the bear’s back and shoulders, slicing through its thick hide. The bear growled and yelped in pain, standing up on its back legs and swiping futilely at the big cat behind him but unable to reach it. The cat climbed farther up its back, digging in its long, blood-covered, bladed claws over and over.

In desperation, the bear rolled to its side and onto its back. The cougar, only barely escaping being crushed by the gigantic creature, was forced off and onto its back. But just as it made to stand clear of the bear’s counterattack, Kelly watched as a wild slash of black claws struck the cougar in the side, sending it careening to the side. When the cougar pushed itself back up, she could see several long gashes leaking red over its sandy-colored hide.

It was only then that she noticed something new. In the forest, crouched in the bushes not far from the cougar, she could make out the shape of a huge black wolf with gray eyes watching the fight intently. And next to it, pacing back and forth, was another gigantic grizzly of similar size to the one that had been stalking her for months. But this one had a ruddy brown coat and amber eyes, plus an expression of almost humanlike worry in its gaze.

What the hell was going on?

To her shock, the cougar looked over its shoulder and actually hissed at the two creatures as if to warn them off. The brown grizzly stopped pacing and sat back on its haunches, looking almost disappointed, and the wolf just stayed eerily still, watching from its place in the bushes.

Apparently, the big cat wanted this fight to be his and his alone.

Kelly wished she could call Hunter about this. But he would only want to come over and put himself in even more danger than before.

As touched as she had been watching Hunter go outside, gun in hand, after the bear showed up the night at the bar, Kelly knew what it took to actually kill a bear of this size. She’d read reports of bears taking dozens of bullets before finally going down. And she was quite sure this bear was larger than any reported instance in the wild she’d seen.

Hunter was perfect. Handsome, funny, good. He would do fine with a woman who didn’t have a psycho bear stalking her. He was better off sharing all of his perfectness where his life wouldn’t be in danger.

On the other hand, she was starting to worry for the cougar.

The bear, confident in its advantage once more, brazenly rushed forward, hoping for another lucky blow. The big cat was able to duck and dodge out of its way, but its movements were slower, less graceful. And she could see its chest heaving great breaths, the injury clearly taking its toll.

None of this made sense. The cougar could run off and live to fight another day.

So why did Kelly get the distinct impression that it would rather fight to the death instead?

Thankfully, the bear was looking winded, too, its blood-soaked fur a testament to the cougar’s sheer speed and determination. Even as it pressed the attack, swinging over and over at the much smaller, much more agile cat, the bear began to falter, its movements becoming wilder, less accurate.

Then, in a sudden, shocking turn of events, the cougar followed up one of the bear’s missed attacks by leaping forward. Kelly watched as its long fangs dug into the scruff of the bear’s neck, paws gripping into its side and pulling downward. The bear struggled, shaking back and forth, trying to stay on all four legs. But it only lasted a few moments, the cougar’s powerful muscles straining and wrenching the bear onto its side on the ground with a terrible thud.

The bear, now struggling for its life, flailed desperately, growling and snarling and trying to roll back onto its feet. But the cougar, in one lightning-fast motion, snapped its teeth down on the bear’s neck, growling and pulling at its jugular, and Kelly instinctively turned away in horrified shock.

After she had a second to breathe, she forced herself to turn back to the fight.

The struggling bear was still trying to slash at the cougar, catching it in the shoulder and legs with haphazard attacks. But gradually, the roars from the bear lessened, its movements slowing as the ground turned red, then maroon, with thick liquid pooling over it.

Kelly still couldn’t fathom what was happening.

Finally, the bear went still, its cold, black eyes staring motionlessly into the sky. The cougar held on for a moment more, making sure the deed was done, then let go, withdrawing from its prey with a look of obvious satisfaction.

Then, to Kelly’s shock, a throng of giant wolves in every color emerged from the forest, stalking slowly toward the giant, lifeless beast. Their eyes were locked on the carcass, their expressions grave as they circled around.

But her attention was more focused on the cougar as it limped away, one of its front legs tucked into itself, a deep gash keeping it from being able to walk on all fours as it left the wolves to have their way with the bear’s remains.

If only she could help it somehow.

Then, suddenly, the cougar collapsed on the ground only a few feet from her car. And before her very eyes, the shape of the cougar disappeared into a tanned, naked man. A man who looked exactly like… Hunter?

She blinked, definitely sure her eyes were playing tricks on her now. It just had to be the adrenaline of the bear, the fight, of everything.

Of her heart’s wish that he could be there.

But… could it possibly be?

Kelly wanted to open the door and run to him, to make sure he was okay. She could make out deep cuts and scores up and down his body, some still bleeding openly. But as she put her hand on the door handle, she realized there were still giant wolves and a bear, all of them possibly just as interested in attacking her as her stalker bear had been.

Still, that looked like Hunter lying there helpless, chest barely moving. She couldn’t just—

Kelly threw the driver-side door open, jumping out and running over to Hunter as quickly as she could. With great effort, she was able to turn him onto his back, noting with dismay even more deep cuts on his arms and chest that she hadn’t been able to see before.

She let out a sob of shock as she looked over his face, his beloved features. It was definitely Hunter. She knew him too well now to deny it.

Not knowing what to do to help, she ran a hand through his dusty, golden hair, and he opened his eyes finally, gaze meeting hers, so blue and so full of love it broke her heart.

“See?” His voice was weak. “Told you I could beat him. It wasn’t even… hard.”

His eyes rolled back and then shut, and his body went limp in her arms. She tried to pull him up, but he was so much bigger, so much heavier than she’d ever imagined.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a huge, brown mass moving nearby. She whirled around, nerves on edge, to see the gigantic grizzly that had waited patiently at the edge of the fight, just watching before, now standing right in front of her.

It’s golden-amber eyes were watching her, then Hunter with deep concern.

“Are you all right?” The deep sound boomed even as it spoke softly to her.

She blinked, suddenly feeling faint. Was an animal really talking to her, or was she going into some kind of shock?

And was that Garrett’s voice?

How on earth were there people who could turn into animals? Gigantic ones at that?

“I… I’m fine.” She somehow managed to find words in spite of her shock. “But Hunter, he’s…”

The bear that she somehow knew was Hunter’s friend Garrett lowered its head, sniffing and appraising Hunter’s body. “He’s alive. But we should get him to the hospital just to be sure.”

Off to the side, the crowd of wolves was starting to slowly disperse, slinking back into the forest. Kelly turned away, not wanting to see the bear’s carcass, but accidentally caught a glimpse of something a wolf was holding in its mouth.

Something that looked a lot like a human hand.

But by the time she had turned back to see if she was imagining it, the wolf was gone, along with the rest of its friends.

Kelly took a step back, her legs starting to feel like they were going to give out on her. But from behind, she felt Garrett’s nose nudge her back.

“Can you help me with Hunter real quick?” His voice was calm, reassuring enough to put her at ease, even though it came out of a bear.

So she helped, attempting to position Hunter as Garrett got his muzzle under him and scooped him onto his back so he could carry him over to the car. Kelly followed him to the passenger’s side and opened the door, then helped move Hunter’s still-limp body into the front seat.

“You get back there the normal way. That way nobody will ask questions. Just tell them there was an animal attack or something. Please don’t tell them anything else,” Garrett said, his voice oddly soothing despite the stress and sheer unbelievability of the whole situation.

Kelly mustered a weak nod, and the big grizzly sauntered into the woods, kicking up into a gallop, the black wolf watching her for a moment with gray eyes, then turning and following the bear.

Had that been Grayson?

But she didn’t have time to wonder, instead buckling herself and Hunter in, and starting her car. Thankfully, in spite of her stalker bear’s mauling of her poor little sedan, the damage seemed to be only cosmetic, and the engine puttered to life.

Would Hunter really be all right?

As she headed down the road, trying to go as fast as was safely possible, she looked over at Hunter every few seconds. Thankfully, his breathing had normalized. And, if she wasn’t wrong, the bleeding had somehow stopped in his deepest cuts. So that at least was a good thing.

While she focused on the road for a moment, she heard a sharp gasp of air and turned to see Hunter, eyes finally open and alert.

“What happened?” he said, sounding surprised, looking up the road ahead. “Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to the hospital.” A mixture of hope and renewed worry sat heavy in her chest.

“No hospital. I’m fine.” He folded his arms and tried to look intimidating, completely oblivious to the fact he was still naked and badly hurt.

“But you’re bleeding.” But as she glanced at him, she saw with shock that the gashes seemed a little less bad than she’d remembered only a minute ago.

He relaxed into the passenger seat, looking exhausted but very satisfied with himself. “Flesh wounds. Take me to Garrett’s.”

“He told me to take you to the hospital.”

“He’s a worry wort,” Hunter said. “Besides, he’s not a cougar. We have faster regeneration. I’m going to be just fine.”

She looked over at him suspiciously, unsure of what to do. Normally, she’d have insisted they see a doctor. But this situation was everything except normal.

But Hunter had tracked her down as a giant cougar, fought off the bear that had stalked her for months, and was now sitting in her car, somehow alive after all of that. If he said he would be fine and he wanted to go home, then she just had to believe him.

“Okay,” she said, passing the exit toward town and heading toward their friend’s house.

Their friend who also happened to be a giant bear.

Damn, this was going to take getting used to.

Thankfully, Hunter’s calm seemed to affect her, and she felt her heart flutter as he sat back in his chair, a satisfied smile on his face as he watched the trees go by. He let out a long sigh. “The bear is gone.”

And finally, for the first time in what felt like forever, Kelly felt her heart relax in relief.