Swim now.

“No. How many times must say that?” Elianna asked her bear out loud, but not loud enough a human would hear her.  She should have walked into the city instead of here around San Francisco Bay, but she’d wanted to smell fresh air and enjoy some peace before her world got complicated.

On the streets, she’d heard a woman talking about the nearby rocks that made music. 

Shifter hearing could be very handy.

After asking directions of a uniformed man working at the front door of a fine hotel, she found her way with no trouble to their Wave Organ.

Even with her bear complaining, Elianna found her little adventure enjoyable. 

The marina had been right where the gentleman had said. Once she reached it, she continued all the way down until she made what he called a big U-turn that brought her to this jetty.

Odd musical sounds were definitely coming from the rocks below.  Somebody had constructed this with stone steps and parts that reminded her of cemetery stone. 

She sat on the top step, finally alone.

Leaning back on her elbows, she turned her face into the breeze blowing off the water. Lights glowed through fog hovering around the beautiful bridge.  She had seen pictures of this city often in magazines left in the hotel rooms she cleaned on weekends.

She should head back soon. Her bodyguard would be upset when he had no body to direct.  She wished she’d brought her sunglasses, but they would have looked stupid in this dark.

Once Justin saw her blue eyes, he’d be done with her. He might even call in someone to take his place. 

She didn’t care. 

Do care, her bear argued.

“Would like some peace. You mind?” she asked her bear, but still kept her voice soft with the wind blowing in her face. Someone walking up might hear her and think she was crazy.

Yes. Swim.

There was no winning with her bear.  She tried to placate her animal.  “Be good five days and you run in woods. Promise. I have plan.” 

Her bear made a sound Elianna recognized as her sigh of impatience. She did that often, because her bear was never patient with Elianna.

Feeling guilty, Elianna said, “I tell truth.  If you—”

Her bear said, Wolf.

That was the only warning Elianna got before a rough hand covered her mouth. Her attacker’s other arm wrapped around her chest, yanking her up to her feet.  She jerked and fought, trying to get her feet on the ground where she could better deal with the attack. 

He yanked her up higher, keeping her off the ground, which was not easy at her height. He ordered, “Stop it or I’ll knock you out and drag you over these rocks.”

She didn’t care if she got banged up and bruised, but she couldn’t escape if he knocked her out.  If he took her out of here asleep, she’d have no idea where she was upon waking.

At least here, she had Justin.

Now, she regretted the trouble she’d given her bodyguard over not needing protection, but she was supposed to be safe from shifters in this area. 

Or had she left the boundaries of her safe area?

Her kidnapper must have believed her act of compliance, because he put her feet on the ground again and turned her to walk ahead of him.  “Make a sound and I’ll knock you out, then kill anyone who interferes.”

She would not harm an innocent, but she would not concede either.  If this man wanted money from Alexandre, he would get none and kill her when he found out.

In three steps, she let her leg fold as if she’d stepped in a hole. 

He hadn’t expected that.  His weight fell forward with her.

She reached over her head, grabbing for shirt, hair, anything she could find. She bumped her butt into him and yanked hard, using momentum to roll him over her as she ducked forward.  He cursed as his shoulders and back slammed the ground. She jumped up, ready when he also leaped to his feet. She hadn’t thought flipping him would harm the wolf, but it now put her equal to him.

His face was covered by a stocking cap, barely.  She’d nearly torn it off.

He lifted hands with human fingers that ended in sharp claws that could slash her open.

How could he show those claws in public?

The wolf shifter started forward, eyes glowing more yellow than amber in the night.

“You make mistake,” Elianna warned the wolf as she circled defensively. He would not kill her if he had plans for ransom.

She considered the spot she was in and did not want a repeat of what happened during her last night in Russia. For that reason, Elianna grasped at something her mother had tried to teach her, but that she’d never attempted with her animal in a defensive situation.

Elianna asked her bear, Give me power, yes?

Want out.

No.

The wolf lunged and slashed a claw at her.

She jumped sideways, but still could not get past him.

This was why she never involved her bear. Her mother could call her bear’s power forward in human form. As an adolescent, Elianna had tried to get her bear to lend power the way her mother had explained many times. Her bear always refused unless Elianna agreed to shift.

Desperate to survive this wolf attack and tired of being vulnerable to other shifters, Elianna warned her bear, I die, you die.

Still nothing. This was why she hadn’t asked her useless bear for power back in Russia.

She kept moving her feet side to side, but she had no chance of getting past that wolf with the crazy eyes.

This would not end well for her.

The wolf shifter swiped at her and she dodged again.

She wanted to scream in frustration, because this wolf was strong.  Not weak or thin like the ones back in PK.  This one would win unless she had help.  So she prepared to fight to the death.

Her eyes must have glowed bright blue, because the wolf hesitated and stared at her face.

She took advantage of the distraction, spun around and ran toward the water.

Two steps from the edge, the wolf shifter caught her and yanked her back.

She came around slamming fists one after another and twisting her body to break his hold. In their moving back and forth, he ended up on the end of the rocks with his back to the water. 

Perfect.  She relaxed her arms and breathed as if beaten. His grip eased a tiny bit.

She yanked her arms free and put all she had into knocking him backward with both fists. With any luck, he’d hit a few boulders in the water, six feet down. 

He lost his balance, waving his arms.

It was a good plan. A sound plan.

Until he locked the fingers of one hand tight around her wrist and shot the other hand out with claws extended, digging a gash across the shoulder she had leaned into him. 

No wolf was that fast.

Pain lashed through her shoulder.

Claws ripped shirt and skin, burning a path across her shoulder. She shoved him harder while leaning her weight away from him, struggling to stay out of the water. 

His clawed fingers clamped harder around her wrist while he tilted backwards more and whipped his free arm around, trying to regain his balance.

She pushed her heels down, struggling to break free and stay upright.  In spite of the pain, she slammed a fist at his jaw, cracking it.

He still held on and dragged her over with him.

They both went over the side and hit the water with a loud splash.  People probably thought they were fighting a fish or feeding them.

She broke loose from him and lunged for the low-water side of the rocks.

Splashing followed her.

Not slowing when her foot hit the first stone above the water, she scrambled up the steps. Water ran down her face and her soaked clothes clung to her. She jumped up the last two steps and landed forward on her knees. Breathing hard, she pushed to her feet and took a step.

He grabbed her ponytail and yanked her back to him.  She struggled, hammering fists when she could, but he finally wrestled her into his hold. When she looked up through wet hair, she was staring out to the bay. He stood behind her with her body and arms locked in his grip.

Never had she heard of a lone wolf shifter that could overpower a bear shifter in human form. 

His gritty voice snarled into her ear. “I gave you a chance to do this nice and simple, but no. When I knock you out, I’ll let you make it up to me. I’ll take my time and enjoy you.”

Chills ran up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold air hitting her wet body. What was it with men who thought a woman should go along quietly to be mauled and raped?

She heard a roar of fury right before the wolf was snatched away.  She stumbled backwards before he let go. When she turned, she heard the distinctive sound of bones breaking right before he went airborne, and landed far out into the bay. 

Justin’s strength stunned her.

She’d been around powerful bear shifters, but she wasn’t sure her alpha father could have thrown a wolf shifter that far. 

After some splashing, everything got quiet.

She asked, “Did you kill him?”

“No.”  Justin covered his eyes. “Maybe.  I shouldn’t have thrown him out there, but my bear was too furious. I had to do that or turn my bear loose.” Justin dropped his hand, stepped over to her, and turned her face to the ambient light bleeding off the shoreline.  “You’re gonna have a bruise.”

Why did he sound so disappointed? 

He knew she could heal. Not as quickly as when she shifted, but she would survive. Besides, her shoulder was far worse.

He touched her so carefully it stole her breath.  No one except Nico had touched her with care since she’d first shown her bear. 

“I want to turn you around so I can make sure you’re not hurt worse.”

Before she could say anything, he placed a hand on her shoulder as if to turn her, but touched her wound.

She hissed at the pain.

His eyes widened. He pulled his hand back, which was covered in dark liquid. Her blood.

“Shit, Eli. Why didn’t you tell me he clawed you?”

“I will heal.” Eli? Her name was not Eli, but she did not want to sound unappreciative at this moment.

A look of concern flowed over his face. “I know you will, but you can’t shift until we get back to the room.”

“No shifting.”

“Not out here with humans, but you can do it in the room. I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

She sighed. This was when the complicated part started.  “I do not change to bear.”

That seemed to throw him.  “Not at all?”

“No.”

“I don’t understand why ... ”

To stop a string of questions, she leaned into him as if she were faint. She had never been faint in her life, but she understood decent men, at least the few she’d met. Justin was one.

And to be honest, she was not at her best strength.

“Hold on, Eli.” His big arms went around her and pulled her close to his chest without hurting her shoulder. No more than it already ached. She put her hand up to keep some distance, but her fingers had no sense.

They tangled in his shirt, gripping him.

Something strange happened that she’d never experienced anywhere else. Never with a man. 

She felt safe in this Justin’s warm embrace.

It was then she noticed how very tired losing blood had made her.  If she did not start walking, she would not make it back on her own. 

Lifting her head, she looked up at his nice face.  “I am good.”

His eyes wouldn’t give up their hold on hers.

Her bear made noises she didn’t recognize. What was her bear up to now? 

A sizzle of energy buzzed in her chest.

No, not only in her chest, but also between her chest and Justin’s.  He finally broke that endless gaze and glanced down to the spot where she could feel the hum building. 

This had to be her bear’s fault.

Elianna pressed a little against Justin’s chest to make more space between them and he eased his hold on her.

Now she wanted to swat her bear.

That had been nice in Justin’s arms.

Couldn’t her bear allow her even a small enjoyment once in a while?

“Can you walk?” Justin asked.

“Yes. Bleeding will stop. I am not fragile woman.” 

He just gave her a long look that made her wish he’d tell her what he was thinking, but he didn’t.  Instead, he took off his outer shirt, leaving him in a gray T-shirt that showed powerful biceps and forearms.

Her body noticed, and that was not a good thing.

The last time her body noticed a man this way, Elianna had ended up naked, then disappointed when he backed off after seeing her bear. 

Justin pulled his shirt around her. “You’re still going to be feeling chills from shock in human form. Let’s put this on you so we can get back to the hotel without being stopped.” He gently eased her arms into the sleeves, then tugged the sides together in front. 

He put his arm around her and began walking them back.  “Was there another shifter?”

“No. Why?”

“No big deal. Thought I smelled a second one.”

She would have lost to two shifters. What had happened to the other one?

It didn’t matter. 

Justin was here and she was thankful for that.

Surprisingly, her bear was being quiet. Elianna silently asked her bear, You sleep now?

Yes.

She didn’t trust her bear.  She asked, Why?

Swim sleep. Swim sleep. Happy.

She should have realized her bear had gotten her way after all and gone for a swim. Had her bear been the reason she went flying into the water with that wolf? 

Probably. 

Mean animal.

Me nice. You mean.

With that last word, her irritating bear finally quieted down and Elianna prepared herself to answer questions.  Justin had been understanding out here, but back in the hotel room she had a feeling he was going to be one demanding shifter.

Grizzly shifters, in particular, expected to get their way and have their questions answered.

It should be interesting since she had no intention of shifting or of explaining why she would not.