Lana kept her eyes on the biggest and sexiest man she’d ever seen. He must have been at least 6’5 because with heels she was about six feet and he towered over her. It didn’t escape her notice that he was in a hospital gown, and she sighed. Go figure he’d be a nutbag. Who left the hospital in a gown except a crazy person? His hand held hers and their gazes locked. His eyes were a deep shade of blue, and there was something about him that pulled her in. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her clit throbbed with need. It’d been too long she since she’d had sex, and this man didn’t have to do anything. She was aroused just by looking at him. Licking her lips, she cocked her head to the side. He followed the movement with his eyes like a hungry beast, and her heartbeat quickened.
She was so engrossed in him that she forgot about Campbell until it was too late. He snuck up on her angel and jammed the knife into his side. Roaring in pain, her rescuer fell to his knees. Lana screamed and stood frozen. Then the psycho pulled out the knife and wiped the blood on his pants coming towards her.
“It's your turn, bitch. Bigger doesn’t always mean smarter.” Campbell shoved her back, and she fell to the ground. She paled, knowing that she was going to die. He was crazy and clearly had no qualms about killing. Her body shook with a fear she had never felt before as sobs wracked her body. There were no words, no getting through to him. He was clearly off his rocker. Campbell knelt beside her with evil in his eyes and poised the knife above her. Lana squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, waiting for the white, hot agony of being stabbed.
But it never came.
She heard a shrill scream and the smack of something hitting the pavement, followed by a loud, sickening crunch. When she opened her eyes, she froze. Her eyes rounded in shock and terror. She couldn’t breathe. A giant bear was standing over Campbell’s limp body. Blood poured from him and seeped over the concrete.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. The beast turned towards her with intelligent eyes.
She shook her head in disbelief and leaned back. It wasn’t possible. But where did her angel go? There was no way he picked himself up and left. Not when he went out of his way to save her, and he was injured. The bear’s eyes were the same deep blue she’d gazed into minutes earlier.
The man who saved her was the bear.
Standing up, Lana brought her hand to her feverishly hot forehead. She felt as if she might collapse, so she held onto the post to regain her balance. After a moment, though, she leaned over and vomited. Her eyes watered and tears slid down her cheeks. The stress had taken over, and as she let go, she realized something: her life was about to change and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
Conner watched his mate as she turned away from him in fear. His beast lowered his head in shame, but he wouldn’t regret saving her from the man with the knife. It was his job to protect her. He didn’t enjoy feeling her fear, though—especially her fear of him. She didn’t need to be afraid of him--he’d never hurt her. Closing his eyes, Conner tried to remember...anything.
He wasn’t doing well himself, but as soon as he had shifted, he started healing. He still tender, however, and it was too soon to be injured again. It was worth it. And even though he didn’t know who he was by name or who his family was, or hell, why he ended up waking up in a hospital bed, he knew one thing: That woman was his, and he had just protected her the way it was intended. With that in mind, he shifted back to his human self and pulled the gown back on. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
He ambled towards her slowly and placed a hand on her back. She tensed beneath his touch and he dropped his hand. “He was going to kill you.”
Plain, simple truth.
“I know,” she replied, but she didn’t look at him. “Who are you?”
Conner scratched his head. “I don’t know.”
This caught her attention. She spun to face him and laughed humorlessly. “You don’t know? You turned into a bear and killed someone, but you don’t know who you are?” Her voice rose and her face turned bright with anger or fear, he wasn’t sure which. It could have been both.
He shrugged. “I was at the hospital. The doctors said I have amnesia, so no I don’t know who I am until my memory decides to come back. What I do know is I’m a man who is also a bear. He’s a part of me, and he killed to protect his mate.” Conner wasn’t going to beat around the bush. Something clicked. It seemed being blunt came natural to him.
“I’m sorry, mate?” she sputtered.
He raised his big hand and cupped her jaw. At first she tensed, but then he rubbed his thumb lightly along her jawline and she relaxed some. “Yes, my mate.” His eyes shined with excitement. Touching her was right. “What’s your name?”
She worked her mouth a few times so he dropped his hand back to his side.
“Lana.”
“Beautiful,” he replied. She still was shocked by him. “We should probably go?” His eyes drifted to the dead man, flaring with anger. Conner would have died before letting him harm Lana.
She shook her head. “I can’t leave. I’m the prosecuting attorney for the case we were building against him. He didn’t like it.” She peeked around him at the body and shuddered. “His brother was planning to take the fall, but the judge threw out the case because there was no evidence. Until now, anyway. The police had finally tied Campbell to the crimes. This isn’t going to look good.” She bit her bottom lip.
Conner nodded, but he didn’t like this news. He wanted to take her away. “What should we say?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. At this point, we’ll both end up in jail. The police will send you back the hospital for your injury first.” She paced. “I can’t go to jail. And you can’t go back to the hospital. They’ll think you’re crazy and lock you up.”
“Then let’s go somewhere safe, and you can call and talk to your police friends. Explain what happened.”
“No, I can’t leave, and I won’t be able to come back. My DNA is on his body.”
Conner growled. “Why?”
“Probably because he rubbed all over me.” Shaking her head, she groaned. “I know what I have to do.”
“What’s that?”
“I have to call my mother.” She said it with both fear and awe. Conner wondered what her mother would be able to do to make this better. Even without his memory, he wasn’t dumb. He knew the implications she would face, and the ones he would face as well. It wasn’t a good situation. And he didn’t think his mate’s mother would be able to do much to help.
“I think we should go somewhere first, before you call your mom. It’s only a matter of time until they find him. We have a little time, though, since it’s late.”
“I can’t just run.”
“I didn’t say that, but maybe you shouldn’t be here when you call her.”
Lana nodded. “I guess. I should probably go home—and you’re coming with me. I might have something you can wear.”
Conner nodded, but he didn’t like hearing that she had men’s clothing that would fit him. His bear growled and plopped down unhappily, jealous of a past he didn’t know.