Rescued By Her Bear by Felicity Heaton
Chapter 15
Fire pulsed in powerful waves across Lowe’s right shoulder, stealing his breath as the snow beneath him stole his body heat. He grunted as he tried to move and growled through his fangs as they descended and he made it into an upright position. He shoved his hand to his shoulder, grimacing at the slick warm patch on his fleece shirt, and got his left foot beneath him. Pain ripped across his ribs as he lumbered onto his feet and condensed in his heart as he stared in the direction Cameo had gone.
His bear side roared for her to come back, even when the human part of him knew the reason she had run.
She had done it to protect him.
She didn’t want him pulled deeper into her trouble, into danger because of her, but he couldn’t let her do this alone. He had told her that he would help her and he meant to keep that promise.
“Lowe, wait!” Saint barked, but Lowe wasn’t listening.
He gripped his shoulder and ran, following the trail Cameo had left in the snow.
His heart pounded hard against his ribs as he raced through the trees after her, growls rolling from his lips as he thought about her in danger. Fur swept over his hands and his fangs elongated, but pain stopped his bear side from emerging.
He leaped over a fallen tree and landed hard on the other side of it, broke right as he scented Cameo in that direction, together with the disgusting smell of gun oil. Another snarl rumbled in his chest and fur raced over his hands again. The bastard would pay for shooting him. He would pay for daring to chase after Cameo.
His thoughts darkened as his instincts seized hold of him, roused by Cameo being in danger. His nails transformed into claws and he had a hard time resisting lashing out at everything that got in his way as he thundered through the forest, tracking her scent.
When her scream tore through the trees, it was game over.
His bear side roared to the fore despite the pain he was in, had the change coming over him so swiftly that it made him feel sick. His muscles expanded as his bones shortened in places and lengthened in others, his clothes tearing as his body grew in size. He landed on his front paws and kept running, shaking off the remnants of his clothing and kicking off his boots.
He roared as his paws pounded the dirt, as he scented Cameo’s fear. It drove him deep into his instincts. They swallowed him and the pain in his shoulder disappeared as a single need consumed him.
Save Cameo.
Protect his fated mate.
She shrieked again.
Lowe thundered forwards, the hunger filling his mind growing darker as her scent and that of the man grew stronger. He was close. He growled as he caught sight of something through the trees ahead of him, shook his head and flashed his fangs as he realised it was Cameo, desperately trying to make it up an incline.
She fought bravely.
His beautiful mate.
When the man flipped her onto her back and shoved a gun into her face, Lowe lost it.
He ran harder.
Roared as he leaped onto a huge boulder in the middle of the bowl-shaped clearing.
He kicked off it as the man dressed all in black swung towards him, bringing his rifle up, moving it away from Cameo. She stared wide-eyed at Lowe, her blue eyes filled with fear, terror he knew in part was because of him.
It didn’t stop her from reacting though.
She kicked the man in his stomach with both feet, launching him backwards. He lost his grip on the rifle as he hit the dirt on his back. Lowe snarled as he charged him, taking advantage of the fact he was unarmed.
The human reached into his jacket and pulled out a handgun, had squeezed the trigger before Lowe had time to react. The first bullet ripped past him and the man adjusted his aim. Lowe growled and turned, banking left, dodging the next bullet. He kept weaving, his larger form making it hard to avoid being shot as the man unloaded the gun.
He came back around the boulder, growling when he saw he hadn’t managed to draw the man away from Cameo at all.
Her wide blue eyes gained a flicker of something as she stared at Lowe.
They darted to the man’s back as he reloaded.
And then she was on her feet and leaping onto his back.
The man grunted and tried to shake her, hitting her with his elbow as he twisted and turned. Cameo clung to him, battering the side of his head with her fist whenever she could manage it.
Lowe thundered towards the male, using the opening she had given him.
He reared up onto his hind legs and splayed his front paws, aiming them at the man’s head, hoping Cameo had enough sense to make a fast exit. Her eyes locked with his and he could see in them that she knew what to do.
She struck the man one last time and then heaved backwards, trying to tip him off balance, exposing his chest to Lowe.
The human threw her and she cried out as she landed hard on her back.
Lowe joined her, bellowing as the male shot him at point-blank range in his side, just above his left hip. He swung with his right paw as pain blurred his vision and growled as he missed his target, landed hard intending to take another swing at the human, but his right front leg gave out beneath him and he sank against the dirt.
The male was quick to grab Cameo, twisting his left hand into her hair and dragging her up by it as he shoved the handgun into her face.
Lowe lay as still as he could manage on the ground, pretending to be out for the count so the man wouldn’t put a bullet in his head, buying himself time to come up with a plan. He needed to save Cameo. The man wouldn’t kill her—he knew that in his gut. He needed Cameo alive to face his boss, Karl.
She would be safe until then.
It was hard to get it through to both his bear side and the man in him though. Both sides wanted to rip the thug to shreds. Attacking him while he was holding Cameo would be too dangerous though. The man might end up shooting her.
He needed a better plan.
And the only one he could come up with was one that might cost him everything.
But if it meant saving her, it would be worth it.
