Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“Fuck. You,” I grunt as I flex my body, struggling to hold him back. It’s like trying to stop a train, but somehow, I manage to push him back down.
I’m breathing heavily and I’m covered in a sheen of sweat as Carter turns the firetruck around the bend.
You have to stop that shit, I tell my grizzly. “She’s not out there. We’ve looked everywhere.”
I can feel him baring his teeth as he snarls at me.
Fated mates. It’s such a load of bullshit.
Whoever said there was one girl destined for each bear shifter didn’t know what they were fucking talking about. There’s five of us here that are proof of that. Not one of us have found our mates. Even Blake, and he’s fifty-two. If that’s not proof that fated mates are bullshit, then I don’t know what is.
I close my eyes and try to ignore the livid bear who is trying to hack and shred his way out of me and instead try to focus on the fresh mountain air that’s running through my brown hair.
I love Montana and I’m having a blast working as a fireman with the guys in the truck down below.
But this is ruining everything. My stubborn bear is ruining everything.
He won’t stop, and I don’t know how to handle it.
The smell of smoke hits my nose as we get closer to the fire.
I open my eyes and see it snaking into the sky in the distance. It’s coming from a two-story office building on the edge of town that’s engulfed in flames.
I grin, expecting my bear to shrink down in fear like he always does when I’m near a fire, but the furry fucker doesn’t even give me that satisfaction. He’s as alert and focused as ever.
Buried in the thick heavy smoke is a sweet smell that suddenly sneaks through and hits me hard. My core clenches as a dump of adrenaline surges through my veins. It’s a scent I’ve never smelled before, but it’s so familiar. My body knows it intimately.
I breathe in deeply through my nose, trying to get as much of it as I can. It’s faint and barely detectable, but it cuts through me like a thousand knives. It sears its way down my throat like battery acid. It scalds and burns my insides, but it feels so fucking good.
My bear starts raging inside like never before. He’s acting like a mad dog as he thrashes around and bounds for the surface, desperate to get out. I drop to my hands and knees and scream out in frustration as I struggle to hold him in.
The nasty beast shreds his way to the surface until my arms are swelling up and my teeth are aching as my canines extend and sharpen.
I roll onto my back and grit my teeth as I fight him. “Fuck. Off. Cocksucker,” I hiss as I squeeze my entire body, trying to pull him back in.
He’s never been this strong. He’s never been this bold. My grizzly has always been a primal beast who doesn’t care that I’m trying to fit into society. He wants what he wants and right now he wants to get out and move closer to that scent.
But that sweet intoxicating scent is giving me strength as well and I manage to fight my bear back down. He gnarls and gnashes at me as I force him to return to the depths of my body.
With him taken care of for the moment, I turn back to the smell and breathe it in. The thick black smoke is overpowering the intoxicating scent as we get closer to the fire, but it’s unmistakable…
It’s her.
It’s my mate.
My hands are shaking as I climb up to my feet, riding the firetruck like a surfboard. My whole body is tingling as I get closer.
“What the fuck is going on up there?” Rylan asks as he pokes his head out the window and looks up at me.
“I’m on Team Mate,” I say as my heart pounds so hard that I’m worried it’s going to vibrate out of my chest. “That’s what’s going on.”
Carter turns the firetruck into the parking lot of the blazing building. Her scent is stronger than ever and my stomach drops when I realize that it’s coming from inside of the burning building.
I leap off the truck before it stops and land in a summersault on the pavement. I spring back up and sprint toward the building as fast as I can. Past the parked cars, past the stunned people standing outside watching, past the billowing smoke and broken windows.
Without stopping, I take a deep breath and run into the burning building, ignoring the thick smoke that’s searing my eyes and the hot flames that are licking my shoulders and back.
I have one focus.
Her.
I don’t care if I come out covered in flames. I don’t care if I take one step onto the sidewalk and burst into ash.