For a few glorious moments in that jail cell, I’d felt treasured. Wanted. Needed in a way I never had before.
But then the Mountie came in and popped my balloon of delusion.You’ve ruined my life.His words gutted me, leaving me raw and hollow.
Now, I was here, running blindly through the forest, my chest heaving, my vision blurred by tears.
Shattered. And raw.
What was wrong with me? Why had I let that random biker take me like that? Why was I so desperate and out of control?
Finally, I reached the meadow. Thank goodness, my red coat was right there, lying in a pile with my scrubs, sports bra, and underwear. Torn clothes. But not exactly.
I frowned, crouching over the pile. I’d thought that weird bear had shredded them off me with his claws or teeth, but the remnants weren’t jagged or bloodied. They were torn apart atthe seams—like someone had pulled an angry Bruce Banner and Incredible Hulked out of them.
A sharp snap behind me cut off my thoughts, and my entire body froze. Slowly, I turned my head. Then my heart dropped.
A black bear loomed near the forest’s tree line, its eyes locked on to mine.
The bear from last night. I didn’t know how I knew that, but the bite on my arm tingled strangely with a pulsing sensation I could only describe asknowledge. Letting me know…
It was him.
He’d come back to the meadow to finish the job.
Oh, God.
I bolted.
Darting to the left, I sprinted toward the trees, but the bear was faster. It moved with terrifying precision, cutting me off and forcing me to stumble backward. My heel caught on a root, and I hit the ground hard, the impact jarring my entire body.
I tried to scramble to my feet, but the bear stepped closer, roaring in my face and blocking my forward escape with its massive frame.
“No,” I whispered, my voice trembling as I scooted backward on my hands. “Please, no.”
But the bear didn’t advance.
Instead, it stopped. Its red gaze held mine, steady and almost… human. Familiar, somehow.
Then the bear began to tremble, its entire body quaking as if it were coming apart. A shiver ran down my spine as the air around it shimmered, twisting like heat waves over asphalt.
And then, the bear wasn’t a bear anymore.
It washim.
The animatronic Mountie stood where the beast had been, his dark hair disheveled, his chest heaving as though he’d just run a marathon.
Naked.
Muscles rippled beneath his gleaming skin, his broad shoulders and chiseled chest made him look like some kind of myth come to life—equal parts terrifying and breathtaking.
Mate!
The strange, growling voice sighed inside me, filling up my chest with an unnatural longing.
I didn’t understand.
But I didn’t have to.
Run! You need to run!
