Fuck, fuck, fuck.  Justin needed to be up and moving. Like right freaking now! He leaned against the rocks and let his silent curse pound mentally at his raging, migraine-level headache and the stomach-churning sensation of constantly feeling off balance.

He had to get control of his body before they took off again, to keep her safe.  Dammit, what a time to deal with titanium, but a minute or two now could make the difference in staying upright the harder they ran. Honestly, a triple-fuck didn’t even cover this situation.

He wasn’t going to spew those bad words around Eli.

He did intend to have her teach him Russian cursing, though. 

That little rant had sounded cute coming from her.

The bullets shot at him had been specifically intended to kill a shifter.  Titanium inside a shifter body worked like a poison, slowly killing cells faster than he could regenerate. If he didn’t get this crap out soon, the skin would start dying around his wound and rot away. 

Titanium would do more damage, and faster, this close to his brain, because it would begin to impede his thought process soon.

Very soon.  Thinking right now hurt like a mother and he had to fight to stay alert.  If he closed his eyes for a minute, they might not ever open again.

He considered the terrain options he had and was glad those bastards hadn’t attacked him in unfamiliar territory, but they had clearly been following him.

That had to have started in San Francisco, which pointed at the damn wolf shifter attack. Not a rogue after all.

The last thing he wanted to do right now was end up lost.

In addition to losing his man card, he’d put Eli in more jeopardy. 

A hundred to a hundred and fifty yards from here they should find a stream running down an indentation in the mountain that was decently shielded from view.  It might be dry or it could be pouring water.  He hoped it was wet, and they had to get to it soon.

Eli still fussed over his head. 

If not for the obvious danger they were in, he’d enjoy her attention, because he knew she would not worry over anyone unless they were dear to her.

He liked being in that circle, but he couldn’t take the time to bask in her caring. Whoever had shot him was tracking Eli. 

Who was that wolf from San Francisco? Herc had caught a second wolf scent the night she was attacked.  Had wolf number two been a sidekick who reported back to base?

Was this a revenge hunt for losing a wolf, or something else? If this was about the dead wolf, Justin would have expected them to shoot at Eli, too.

He was so damned glad they hadn’t. 

No time to waste what little mental power he had until they were in a better position for defense.  First, he needed to give Eli a way to protect herself in case the next shot hit its mark and took him down.

“Eli, babe, I need you to do something.”

Her face dropped to eye level with his.  “Yes, okay.”

He liked the fierce sound of her voice.  “Lift my right pant leg. You’ll find a gun strapped to my ankle.”

“Why?”

Cocking an eyebrow at her, which he immediately dropped when it caused new shooting pains in his head, he said, “Because I was sent to be your bodyguard.  I carry a weapon all the time.  I want you to carry it now.”

“Why?”

“Is that word going to replace no?” he asked, sounding as grumpy as he felt.

“Maybe.”  She gave him a serious look, but her voice had betrayed her teasing. 

He couldn’t rise to the bait. Trying to think and plan was demanding all he could handle until the titanium was out of his system. 

Telling her that he was concerned about being killed and leaving her defenseless would only get her back up more. His woman was a fighter who would face an enemy straight on.

Instead he said, “I might get woozy.  If you don’t know about the gun, it is of no use. If you don’t carry it then you have no chance to defend us against a group of humans if that’s who is after us.”

“Ah.  I see.” She looked under his pant leg and fished out his Detonics .45 caliber pistol. 

He took a moment to explain the gun to her, keeping it simple so that all she had to do was point and shoot.

Now, on to the next step.  He nodded in the direction he wanted to go. “If we head that way, we should reach a stream.”

She looked around and frowned. “Much woods.”

“Yep. We may have to knock down some small saplings, but that will slow up whoever is tracking us.” Those shots had come from far below them, so the shooter had to climb to their elevation, but that might only give them a small lead.

Jerking around to stare at the way they had come, she asked, “How long?”

“I don’t know, babe, but we need to keep going.”

She came back to him and held his face in her hands.  “Must shift.”

“Not when we can’t talk—”

“No talk. You are strong as bear. You lead. I follow.  My plan better.”

He stared into the eyes of a woman who would always have her say around him even if he didn’t like her opinion. 

That’s the woman he wanted, one who had a mind of her own.

Not those flirty females he’d been around who cooed at him, saying what they thought he wanted to hear.

This woman would stand next to him and their cubs, ready to take on the world to defend her family. An alpha mate through and through.

How had he gotten so lucky?

He didn’t have her completely yet, but he would. She couldn’t hide how much she cared for him. 

They belonged together.

He said, “I will shift, but not here. We need to get past one area where it could be too tight to squeeze through as bears. Once we’re safe to shift, I’ll let you know.”

Sighing and clicking her tongue in thought, she finally said, “Yes, okay.  For now.”

Herc said, Kill enemy.

Justin silently told him, I agree, but we have to stay human so I can figure out the best way to reach a safe place.

Then Justin told Eli, “Thank you for dragging me away from the shooters. I have no doubt you could kick their butts, but they aren’t getting close to you.  As soon I clean out my head wound, I’ll start to heal.” Not exactly true, because the titanium wouldn’t be entirely out of his system until Rory got his hands on Justin.

He added, “Herc and I will not allow anything to happen to you or your bear. He took to your bear right away.”

“Mine is same. Has affection for Herc.”

Our mate strong, Herc murmured. 

Damn right, Justin answered only for his bear. He had to hand it to Herc, who had recognized their mate so soon. 

Once Justin was upright again, the throbbing in his head climbed into high gear. He could not waste any time getting to the stream where he could wash out as much of the poison as possible.

The going was difficult and slow for eighty yards, but a narrow opening in the rocks appeared right where he expected it. He said a silent prayer of thanks. 

Clouds closing in on this part of the mountain threatened precipitation.  There was normally snow at the higher elevations in spring, but he didn’t want more dumping on them. 

He welcomed the cool air on his fevered body, but if they didn’t get off the mountain by dark, which wasn’t looking possible, this cold would double down after the sun set.

He didn’t want to spend the night in bear form in case he had to move them again, but he’d figure that out later.

After showing Eli how to tuck the weapon behind her in her jeans waistband to free her hands, he led the way and squeezed through an opening between two walls of rock.  He held her hand, pulling her through gently to avoid scraping her skin. 

When they exited on the other side, she reminded him of his promise to change into his bear.

He kissed her forehead and stroked his hand down her damp hair.  It felt icy already.  “I’ll change if you say so, but look about twenty yards that way,” he said indicating an area where a narrow waterfall spilled down the rock face.  “If I can clean out the wound, I have a better chance to heal faster.”

“I see. Go,” she ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.”  He took her hand, searching all around them for any threat. This area was more exposed, but someone would have to make a shot from straight below for any chance of hitting them.

Not realistic.

Besides, if the enemy were wolf shifters, they were tracking Justin and Eli, which was even more of a worry since they could move fast in this terrain.

When he reached the water, he started splashing it on his face, trying not to throw up at the ragged pain only getting worse.  He pulled off his T-shirt and soaked it in the water then ripped the padding off his forehead.

If Eli hadn’t been there, he’d have cursed a blue streak. That fucking hurt.

She made a noise.

When he glanced over, her face was pale.  “Is bad, Justin.”

He loved hearing his name on her lips, but not the worry thickening her voice. 

“I’m gonna be fine, babe.  This water will really help.”  He twisted water out of his shirt, wrapped it around his hand and soaked it again, then gritted his teeth, accepting what he had to do. 

Sucking in a deep breath, he clamped his jaws shut before scrubbing that rag hard across his forehead.

That took the starch out of his dick.

He would not make a sound and expose their location, but inside he bellowed.

Herc moaned. 

Justin’s eyes burned and his stomach wanted to revolt.

Then he felt Eli’s arms come around his chest, holding him from the back. Her warm skin touched his and blended as one body at that point.  He could swear he felt her energy seep through his back and radiate through his body.

Slowly, the pain receded to a dull throb. 

The lack of sharp edge to each pulsing ache in his head meant he’d washed out the titanium he could access. 

He patted her arm.  “Okay, babe. I’m good.”

“In pain.”

“You made it better.”

“Really?”

Giving her hand a squeeze, he said, “Always. Just being near you makes me happy and whole.”  The blood had stopped trickling into his eyes.  “Let me rinse out my eyes and we’ll shift.”

She released him, then stood with her back to him with the gun in her hand pointed out as she guarded them both. 

He was feeling better already.

He could live with a high level of pain and function as long as the residual titanium didn’t stay in his body too long.

“I’ll take the gun back,” he told her.

She turned around with the business end pointed at him.

“Oh, shit, babe.” Justin jumped to the side. “We have got to spend time getting you familiar with a gun. Rule number one is not to point it at anything you don’t want to kill.”

She looked at the gun as if it had crawled up her body and climbed into her hand. She dropped it on the ground.

Do not yell at her for dropping a loaded weapon, Justin told himself.  Most modern handguns could take a far worse beating without accidental discharge, but still, never a good idea. He picked up the weapon and returned it to his ankle holster.

Then he pulled her to him and kissed the daylights out of her.  This right here was all he’d ever need or want.

When he let her take a breath, she said, “Not time for play.” But then she kissed him back even harder.

Her hands went around his neck and he savored a moment of holding her.  It might not be the time, but he’d needed this from the minute he’d been shot and thought he might not live to keep her safe.

Finishing the kiss with a peck on her nose, he said, “See? We did have time.  Now, I’m ready to shift and get over the next ridge to a place I have in mind.”

Nodding, she started unbuttoning her shirt and looked up over her shoulder.  She noted, “Is snow up there.”

“Our bears can handle it. Think you’ll be cold?”

She gave him a wicked smiled. “Me? No. Part polar bear. Maybe grizzly cold.”

“You wound me, woman.  I can take anything you can.”

“We see, yes?”

He gave her an affirmative nod.

Justin had a couple of energy bars he’d shoved in the back pocket of his pants for easy access on their hike back down to the truck, but that was all he had for food.  They could eat it now, but he’d rather wait until they made the climb and needed to rejuvenate at a rest stop.

It would be nice to have a container to fill with water from this stream, but who would have thought they’d be making a survival run? 

When she stood naked except for her bra and panties, he told her, “Once you shift, take a good drink of water before we leave.” 

He took a minute to explain signals Herc would give her bear once they were shifted. 

Listening intently, she said, “I understand. Same thing when I was child.”

She’d used hand signals when she was a child? He had so many questions he intended to get answered.

Justin said, “I’ll wrap up the clothes and carry everything. You just keep an eye on your surroundings.”

“Yes, okay,” she said with conviction.

If wolf shifters were tracking them, they would likely shift at some point too. If so, those wolves could catch bears in a foot race.

Justin glanced up at the snow-capped peaks.

Crossing snow was the worst place to try to hide, because it was easy to be tracked.

Resigned to no better option, Justin said, “Go ahead and shift, babe.”

She handed him her bra and panties, then dropped to all fours.  Her transformation was fairly fast compared to a lot of shifters, and he was sure it had to be that weird energy she possessed. He’d felt the magic brush through the air. 

In the next minute, Justin got his second look at a beauty of a bear. 

What idiot had not thought that was incredible?

Eli’s bear—that had no name—made a low, chuffing sound.

Justin wanted her to name her bear, but he had a bad feeling that Eli was not one with her animal the way he and Herc were.

That could put Eli and her bear at a disadvantage in a fight, but he and Herc would be there to cover their mate until Justin could figure out what was wrong. 

Her bear sniffed around and moved as if anxious to get going. 

Herc growled, making it clear he wanted to be out with Eli’s bear.

“I hear you, Herc,” Justin muttered, then shed his clothes. First, he wrapped them all around the weapon and energy bars. If Justin needed his gun, he’d shred the clothes before he shifted to human form.

But the gun wouldn’t save them against a pack of wolf shifters with rifles and titanium bullets.

Especially not a wolf pack hell-bent on knocking him out of the way to reach Eli.

Who was after her?  The only people who were supposed to know about her, other than Justin and his boss, were Eli’s father and the alpha of Clan Boudreaux.

Now he had even more reason not to hand her over to that Louisiana bear clan and he expected the Guardian to back him up.