Gunnar

Grass and brush crunch under my paws as I make my way up the steep ridge that overlooks Bear Valley. Claws dig into the hard, rocky earth as I tilt my head up, inhaling deeply. Every sense is heightened, my animal form overriding the guilt that I carry around like shackles binding me to a past I can’t erase. Guilt that’s even deeper than the ugly scars that mark my body.

Long lines of missing fur expose the ugly scars. But it’s what the Winchester did to my human form that has me unable to look at my reflection. Knowing my sins are permanently etched into my skin.

It’s been months since I’ve let my bear loose. I rarely free myself of the noose that seems to tighten more and more as the years pass, instead of loosening like my brothers said it would.

But what the hell do they know? They aren’t responsible for killing a man.

I let out a deep and distressing growl before shaking my head back and forth, and starting back up the ridge. My animal isn’t happy about how long it’s been since I’ve freed him, and I know it’ll be hard to rein him back in.

In this state, I’m free, bound only by the laws of nature. I can understand why some men have let their bear consume them, never shifting back. Maybe that’s what scares me, that one day I’ll just give in and let the animal take over completely. To allow the untamed part of my soul free, and shake off the shackles of the past permanently.

I don’t have much of a future, even with the scars, the feral part of me will never allow me to know the gentleness of a woman’s touch, the hope that comes with a potential mating.

I close my eyes and inhale, reveling in the smells and sounds that surround me, ridding myself of the restlessness that rules my human form. But the small amount of tranquility I’m able to achieve is suddenly interrupted.

The sharp sound of metal crunching and wood splintering farther down the ridge sets a wave of adrenaline coursing through my body, causing my bear to go on high alert. But it’s the angry growl of a grizzly followed by women’s screams that have me sprinting in the direction of the commotion, my paws slapping heavily against the rocky ground.

The wild call of a grizzly in this part of the woods would have the Kodiak in me racing for a fight in any situation, but the terrified shrieks of the women heighten my innate need to protect.

Rushing down the ridge, I don’t hesitate a second as I barrel through the trees and see the large grizzly with its front paws on the hood of the blue Civic that’s crashed into a large cedar. The four passengers inside scream louder as I slam headfirst into the grizzly’s side.

Bigger than me by at least forty pounds, the bear is still no match for the momentum I have from flying down the side of the mountain, and we both tumble away from the vehicle, claws and teeth biting into flesh.

The engine of the car rumbles as the driver tries unsuccessfully to start the vehicle. I’m too preoccupied with the crazed grizzly that now circles me, foam dripping from its massive jaw, dark eyes rabid, to take much notice of the terror-filled shrieks.

I roar, a call to any of my brothers who might be nearby. This is Kodiak territory, and while most of my family are far from earshot, the grizzly doesn't know it.

At any moment, more Kodiaks could appear around us, ready to defend what belongs to us.

The grizzly pounds the ground with his front paws twice before growling and turning, then disappearing into the thick brush. Normally I’d go after him, trailing the bear until I knew it was off our land, but the feminine panicked cries from the smashed up Civic has the man in me in protective mode.

I have no idea what the hell the women were thinking being up in these parts alone, in a car better suited for the city than Alaskan terrain. And even if they can get a signal up here, they’ll be alone for hours before roadside assistance can get to them.

My truck is parked a quarter mile east of here, along with my clothes, which I’m thinking are a necessity if I don’t want to have to try and explain why I was walking around the mountain naked.

I doubt the grizzly will come back, but still, I hate leaving when there’s a potential threat. And yet, the way the women stare bug-eyed at me through the windows, I know they’re holding their breath waiting for me to leave.

I start to turn, ready to sprint back to my truck, when my nostrils twitch, a familiar scent wraps around my senses, momentarily paralyzing me.

Intoxicating.

All-consuming.

Irresistible.

It pulls me. Stirs something inside my chest. Like a flash of electricity that sends shockwaves through my entire body.

The driver’s side window is cracked open just a hair, and whatever, or rather whoever, the scent belongs to, is inside the car. I take a step forward, and my movement causes another series of cries to echo from the car, except for the woman in the driver’s seat. Big green eyes watch me, and I swear there’s recognition mixed with fear there.

Dark blonde hair is pulled back from a heart-shaped face that seems all too familiar, even though I have no doubt that she and her friends are most likely just tourists who’ve come to the valley for summer vacation. She’s not a local. I know every single soul that lives in and around Bear Valley.

And yet I swear I know her.

I hold the woman’s gaze. God, those eyes, dark green like the deepest part of the forest. Eyes that seem to see past the bear to the man inside of me, even though I know it’s not possible.

The window lowers a little more and her gaze scans my body. She flinches and I realize where her eyes have landed - on the scar running along my body.

Insecurities flash through me. I may be one of the most powerful animals in these mountains, but there’s still the man inside of me that hates how others see me.

Grotesque.

Wounded.

Disfigured.

Except the woman’s eyes hold none of those things.

Still, I know I need to get away. Nothing good is going to come from me terrifying the women - especially this woman. A woman whose scent filling my nostrils causes all parts of my being to react with desire...and need. A need I’ve never known before.

And hell, it’s a need that’s begging for attention. I may be an untamed bear in the wilds of Alaska, but I’m also a virgin, a man who’s been waiting for the right woman. A woman I never thought I’d find.

My heart beats wildly in my chest, each one of my senses alert and yet they are dazed at the same time.

Damn, one look in those deep emerald eyes and I know she’s the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life. And if I wasn’t a logical man, I’d think she knows it too. I grew up on stories about the instant attraction to one’s mate, the knowing, which defies all reason. It’s like a flame ignited in my chest, blazing and burning away all rational thought.

Everything is just...her. Hope, a feeling I haven’t felt in years, stirs. I won’t know for sure if she’s my mate until I kiss her, but I know one thing for certain, I will kiss this woman.

I take another step toward the car, and see the glint in her gaze, like she’s stumbled across the one thing she’s been looking for - me.

She lowers the window, fearlessly.

See me, every fiber in my being screams.

And for a second I think she does.

Then she points a gun.

She aims it straight at me and unlocks the safety.

Shit.

Hell no, I’m not going down like that. As she pulls the trigger, I use all my strength to push off the ground and bound away, hoping she’s as bad a shot as I am a judge of character.

Because what I thought was love at first sight, turns out to be a shot to the heart.