She stood there in front, her knees quavering but locked solid as Simon moved forward. For such a big creature, he seemed to walk with precision. Every paw was placed exactly where it needed to be. And every sharp tooth was exposed as he approached.
Did he think she was challenging him? Should she show him her neck? She didn’t know and the back-and-forth in her panicked brain was making her sick. What should she do?
She held her ground and spoke again, her voice as strong and loud as she could make it.
“I want a man, Simon. A man!”
He stalked closer. No other word for it. He approached her slightly from the side, then he adjusted to face her. She felt his breath on her face, smelled the scent of blood, but also, weirdly, Irish Spring. How that smell could cling to him here, she had no idea, but she caught the sweet smell or pretended she did. And finally, ultimately, she changed her focus from his ear to his eyes.
And then he widened his mouth a little farther.
She would have run then, but there was nowhere to go. This close, he was way faster than her. And besides, she didn’t know if her legs would bend or just collapse. So she stood still while his wet pink tongue stretched out and caressed her arm.
A wet lick with a long tongue. Like a dog’s kiss, she supposed, though she thought of it more as a grizzly caress.
She reached out her other hand. She wasn’t going to pet him on the blood-soaked fur, but his ear was still clear as was a patch of fur behind it. So she scratched him there. She sunk her fingers into the soft fur and scratched.
He released a chuff that she took as a grizzly moan of delight. Then a moment later she drew back.
He quirked his head then pushed his ear forward. He didn’t like that she’d pulled away, but in this she remained firm until he was butting his nose against her belly.
“As a man, Simon.”
Then it happened. A brief shimmer in the air. A sudden sharp blast of heat. And then when she blinked again, he was changing right before her eyes. His body pulled together, the fur dropped away or disappeared. Suddenly there was a naked man on all fours in front of her and he was miraculously clean. The blood must have fallen away with the fur, though his nose showed traces as did his hands.
She dropped to her knees before him, the breath leaving her lungs in awhoosh. This was Simon before her, trembling and naked. She wrapped him in her arms as his breath came in short tight pants.
“I got you,” she said over and over. “I got you.” And she kept saying it until the shaking eased. And then a moment later, he took a deep, slow breath. “Simon—” she began but he cut her off.
“Stay down. Stay quiet,” he said, his words harsh.
Her head jerked back at his rough tone, but she didn’t argue. And she didn’t fight him when he grabbed her gun from the floor where she’d dropped it. His fingers fumbled with it for a moment, but eventually steadied. Then she waited in taut silence as he stood and faced all those grizzlies who were now rolling back to their feet.
