Sneak peek at Sam’s story
Sam hobbled out of the building on four shaky feet. Her bear wasn’t doing too well—not with a fucking bullet in her shoulder and one lodged right above her knee. She’d told Mom and Caleb to go ahead with the rest of the really injured shifters. Her bear groaned again. Poor baby. It’s okay, I’ll shift back so you can rest for a while. You chill. Okay, Sam never talked like this to anyone except for cubs—well, and her bear. No one would have ever guessed, but her bear was softhearted, kind, sweet. Hated anything to do with violence. Come on, Win Win. I’ll take over from here. You did a great job, and I’m proud of you. Her bear chuffed, pleased to be helpful, and eased to the back. As the air around her shimmered, Sam felt a piercing ache in her thigh. She let out a huge groan in human form and sagged to the ground. Shit, the face-plant on cement was going to hurt. She pushed her hands out in front of her and prepared for hard contact.
A pair of strong arms grabbed her around the waist and hefted her upward. Into the arms of the scariest dude she had ever seen. Scars ran down his left cheek and over his eye. She stifled the scream in her throat. Tall, Blond, and Scary wasn’t a bad guy. He was a shifter of some sort and had come in with his buddy and the tiger dude in charge of the shifter rescue team.
“You all right, female?” His gruff voice sent shivers down her spine. His blue eyes softened for a moment as he assessed her.
“I’m not a damsel in fucking distress. Put me down.” Yeah, way to piss off the guy who kept you from breaking your nose. But she couldn’t stop herself. Between the pain, the aggression still surging through her body and her mating heat building up to hammer her within the next few weeks, she was a mess. And her inner filter was on permanent vacation.
His lips tilted up at the corners in a hint of a smirk, and the scars disappeared for a moment, showing him for the rugged bad boy with panty-dropping good looks. Shit.
“I’m not even wearing panties.”
“Is that a problem for a bear?” He grinned down at her, and she cursed herself for being such a flake. So yeah, bullets weren’t really her thing.
“Put me down before you hurt yourself.”
“Since you almost face-planted a minute ago, I’m going to ignore your request.”
“It wasn’t…a…request.” She growled and fumbled for a way out of the firm arms and warm chest making her feel tingly and safe instead of warrior bitch.
“Sweetheart, I’m not letting you down until I have you safe in the truck.”
“My name isn’t fucking sweetheart. It’s Sam. And I am not going in a vehicle with you. Take me over to the van my mom’s driving.” She gave him a hard shove, which did nothing but jar her already sore fingers.
“I’m sorry, Sam.” Another male strode up to them. Where her current mode of transportation was all Greek god and blond, this male was cute, taller and dark haired—with dimples. She loved dimples. Gah!
“Ida says the van is full, and she has to hurry back to your town to get medical help for some of the more injured shifters. She asked if you’re okay driving back with us. I’m Noah, and this is Traeger.”
“Do I have a choice in the matter?” she grumbled and wiggled in Traeger’s arms.
“Of course, you got a choice.” The blond tightened his arms around her. “You can come with us or fucking walk home with a bullet in your leg.”
What the hell?
“Stop being an asshole,” Noah said to him and smiled at her. “You can go back home with anyone you want. We thought you might do better stretched out in the back of our truck instead of curled up in a van with the rest of the injured parties. We have the luxury of stopping for the night, too, so you can get a shower, rest …” He smiled, and the damn dimple appeared again. “Whatever you want to do, Sammie.”
She wasn’t a huge fan of nicknames, but damn, the way Dimples said her name… Hell, she could let it slide this once. She examined the lot for her prospects. They had to get going quick before the place exploded. The Impala Zach and Nissa drove wasn’t going to fit her big ass, not now that Izzy had commandeered the back. The van was full. She didn’t know the tiger dude in charge of this little group. Shit. “Fine. I’ll ride with you guys. But you can let me walk myself to the damn truck.”
“No time. Our bombs are about to go off, and I want to be past Main Street when the first one goes.”
“What is with you, alpha assholes?” She fidgeted until he put her down with a scowl. Ouch, yeah, standing didn’t feel much better. She should take him up on the supernatural taxi offer. But her pride was not feeling up to it.
He leaned down until his stern gaze and strong chin was right in front of her. “Come on, before your leg gets worse. We don’t know what kind of alloy they used in their bullets.”
“Fine. You can help me walk to the truck. But I’m not letting you carry me anymore.” A sudden jolt of pain shot through her whole body, and she whimpered in pain and almost keeled over. This time, he didn’t wait for her approval before he scooped her back into his arms. And damn if she cared at the moment. Her leg was killing her. But she was a badass. Sam Cooper wasn’t supposed to be carried off a battlefield like a damn porcelain doll. “I can…walk…” Yeah, even she didn’t believe her own words.
“Sweetheart, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.” He carried her as if she weighed next to nothing.
“What’s the hard way? A splint and a tourniquet using duct tape and dental floss?” She winced as the pain grew.
“Nah.” He squeezed her ass. “I flip you over fireman style and smack your gorgeous ass all the way back to my truck.”
She pretended she didn’t just melt a little at the thought of being manhandled by the large man. She blamed her upcoming heat. “Kinky bastard, eh?”
“No.” He grinned and shifted her, so her ass was seated in the palm of his hand as he strode to the truck. “Alpha. Lion.”
He put her gently in the back of the truck and ran around the front to the driver’s door as Noah got in the passenger side.
“Lions and bears don’t react well together, you realize that, right?”
He grunted and started the truck and pulled out behind the rest of their small convoy just as the first explosion rocked behind them.
“So, I’m a bitchy bear with a bullet in her thigh, blondie is a lion with a big ego. What are you, dimples?”
Noah’s white teeth shone brightly in the light from the explosions. “Tiger.”
“Oh…my.”
“A Lion, Tiger and Her Bear, Oh My” - book four of the Mates of Bear Paw River
Coming soon.