Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 213(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 213(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Heather smelled differently due to her veganism. He knew that because she didn’t smell like her family either. It wasn’t because she was female because Mika was there too.
His mate refused to eat meat or any animal products. That was her way of life. She never even hunted in wolf form. He’d watched how she worked, always assuming her wolf would be tempted to chase their prey, but she never did—even when a small rabbit was nearby. There was absolutely no interest.
“I was going to wake her, but then … the humans came.”
“What?” David asked. Humans were known for hunting in these parts, but since he, Reese, Brian, and Caleb had hunted them, they’d scared them off. This was the only way to keep them all safe, but it would seem they didn’t do a good enough job. “Tell me what happened. It’s important.”
“She was still in wolf form.” The she-bear began to whimper. “They injected her with something and I was so scared. I should have attacked, but my … bear, it wouldn’t come forward. I was … I’m so sorry. They unloaded her into the back of a truck in a heavy cage. The bars were so thick. I think they were hunters.”
“All that buff and muscle for nothing.” Mika growled.
“Stop.” This time David wanted to hear her out. The bear had information he needed.
With each word she spoke, he saw the sanity returning to the young bear.
“Did you follow them?” he asked, taking a step toward her.
Joe grabbed the young girl’s arm and pulled her back.
“Stop it,” she said, yanking her arm away from him. “He’s not going to hurt me.”
“It’s not you I was worried about. Your bear is unpredictable. You can attack anyone when your senses are heightened.”
She looked at him. “I followed them. As soon as I did, I didn’t know if I broke any code. I…”
“She came to me. Told me everything and then I came here,” he said, looking at each of them. “That is why we’re here. She’ll take you to where she last saw them.”
“I can do more than that,” she said. “If you take me with you, I can show you everything. I remember what the truck looks like.”
“Don’t trust her,” Mika said.
“No, absolutely not!” Joe turned toward the she-bear. “You are not doing that.”
“You’re not my dad, nor do you get to tell me what to do. That lady was nice and kind. She tried to help me. Now I’ll do her the same favor.” She turned toward him. “I will not stop until we find her.”
“Her bear … it cannot be close to humans, Caleb. You know this can expose us.”
“I don’t care,” Caleb said.
“We have to get my mate back,” David said.
The she-bear stepped forward. “Let’s go.”
Without another word, she began to run and David followed her, intent on finding the trail that would lead him back to his mate. The smell of his woman wasn’t as strong, but he just about detected it, and he had no choice but to change into that of a wolf.
The she-bear wasn’t expecting it, and suddenly turned, changing into a bear. She released a loud growl that echoed through the forest.
David stopped and had no choice but to change back. If he wasn’t careful, with the constant forcing of the transition, his wolf would get tired. Each shift used immense energy as bones, fur, and ligaments morphed from one form to another.
“My sense of smell is stronger in wolf form. I pose no threat to you.”
She lifted her head, then lowered it. She did this a few times and David took that as a sign of comprehension, then changed back into his wolf form.
Again, the scent was stronger as he followed on all fours. The ground gave way to many smells, including that of humans.
Just the thought of them touching Heather made his heart race. He would find her and tear out their throats. They didn’t know who they were dealing with.
They came to the edge of the forest and he had no choice but to turn back into a human and grab the bear’s paw, hurling her back.
He heard people in the distance. They were close, but dark shadows would be easy to detect and even though this woman was partially responsible for his missing mate, he didn’t want anything to happen to her. Heather would never forgive herself or him.
The she-bear pulled away, growling low in her chest. He held his hand up. “I will not allow you to get yourself killed.”
The she-bear stopped, and he watched as she changed back, collapsing to the ground, shaking.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said. “They got into a big truck. It had a cage in the back. There were bars. I don’t know where they went from there. I was … I was too scared to follow.”