The realization hit him with startling clarity. Ash wasn't just his protector. He was his anchor. His home.
“Ash.” Danny gently shook his arm, tears stinging his eyes. “Please.” Another sob escaped. “You’re supposed to be invincible. Indestructible. You’re not allowed to leave me alone, damn it!”
A gentle breeze cut through the small clearing, causing the grass to sway. Danny scanned their surroundings, looking and listening for whoever had been driving that truck. They were still out there somewhere. Until Ash came to, it was up to Danny to keep him safe. How? Danny had no idea. He couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag, but Danny would go down swinging to protect him.
“You have to wake up, Ash.” He lifted Ash’s hand and laced their fingers, the contrast astonishing. Ash’s fingers were so much larger, making Danny’s appear delicate in comparison. “We still haven’t watched Harry Potter. I’m sorry I fell asleep, but I’d worked a full shift and hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. Bad dreams keep me awake most nights.” He glanced at Ash. “But I didn’t have them when you held me while I slept. Ever since I met you, I’ve felt…safe. Like the monsters can’t touch me because you won’t let them.”
Danny froze when Ash’s warm hand turned furry. Slowly, he turned his head, jaw going slack when he saw a massive bear instead of Ash.
Shouting, he dropped the paw and scrambled back, his heart nearly giving out. “How?” he asked, like the bear would answer him. Maybe he’d died in the crash and this was some crazy-ass afterlife, even though Danny didn’t belief in such things. But seeing a bear where Ash should be, he was reconsidering a lot of things.
This could not be real, yet there was a ten-ton bear lying in the grass like this was as normal as a sunrise.
“Oh god.” Now it all made sense.
Honey bear.
Cub.
Their conversation at the diner. What do you think about?
Business stuff. Family drama. Whether the Bears have a shot this year.
Should he run, scream, or faint?
You’ll never feel its destruction. I’d never weaponize it against you, Danny. They’d been talking about Ash being a storm, but now those promises took on a whole new meaning.
His entire perspective of Ash had realigned. He really was as big as a bear.
Holy shit. Isaac had known. Danny remembered his best friend calling Ash a bear. Then he’d tried to play it off by commenting on his size. He was going to kill Isaac.
Wait, how had Isaac known? Was he a bear too? But he was a pocket-sized menace, too little to be a bear.
“When you wake up, you have so much explaining to do.” Danny scowled then prayed the backup Ash had called arrived soon. A gust of wind stirred the grass around them, branches creaking ominously overhead. Heart beating wildly, he scanned the tree line, the roadside brush, every shadow that might conceal a threat.
His gaze darted back to the bear. To Ash. Hesitantly, Danny reached out and touched the thick fur, marveling at how soft it felt under his fingertips. The bear’s coat was a rich brown, dappled with flecks of gold that gleamed in the fading light. He was massive, easily ten times Danny’s size, and yet there was something almost peaceful about the way he lay there, chest rising and falling with each steady breath.
How could this be real? His hand sank deeper into the plush fur. People didn’t just turn into bears. That kind of thing only happened in fairy tales and bad horror movies. And yet here he was, crouched next to a giant grizzly, trying to wrap his mind around the impossible.
The distant rumble of an engine made Danny’s heart lurch into his throat. Oh god. They were coming back. Whipping his head around, he searched for any kind of weapon, a hiding spot, something he could use to protect Ash. But there was nothing except nature and Ash’s wrecked bike lying on its side a few yards away.
The twisted metal, blown tire, and mangled handlebars made him feel sick. It was a miracle they’d survived at all. If Ash hadn’t shielded him, Danny wouldn’t be alive right now. The helmet alone wouldn’t been enough to save him. He owed Ash his life.
He pushed the thought away, unable and unwilling to process anything else right now. Refused to think of how close he’d come to losing the one person who’d not only seen him but also cared about him. The man he’d fallen halfway in love with.
Gritting his teeth, Danny positioned himself between Ash and the road, arms spread wide as if he could block a bullet or oncoming pickup with his body. As the sound grew louder, he realized the truck engine was joined by the unmistakable rumble of motorcycles. They crested the hill, half a dozen of them flanking a blue pickup truck. Men clad in leather and denim rode the snarling machines. They looked fierce, dangerous, like something out of Danny’s worst nightmares.
They roared into the clearing like a swarm of angry hornets, kicking up dust and gravel.
Danny rose to his feet, keeping himself between Ash and the newcomers. This could be their backup or a new kind of threat. Until Danny was sure, nobody was getting near his bear. His palms were slick with sweat, but he didn’t move, didn’t flinch. Not even when the bikes slowed to a stop mere feet from the wrecked bike and the riders dismounted, boots thudding heavy on the packed earth. The driver of the pickup climbed out from behind the wheel, closing the door softly behind him.
But it was the lead rider that terrified Danny. The guy was all broad shoulders and weathered denim, taller than Ash and wearing expression that said he could take a punch and throw one harder.
“Stay back!” His voice shook, but he held his ground, arms still spread wide. “I'm warning you. I'll fight every last one of you if I have to.”
Never mind that he probably wouldn’t last two seconds against one of them, let alone six. But Ash was his responsibility now, and Danny would fight like hell to keep anyone from ever hurting Ash again.
“Easy, pup.” The lead rider’s voice was deep, commanding, even at a distance. “Name’s Zeppelin. We’re friends of Ash.”
