Saved By Her Bear by Felicity Heaton
Chapter 17
Knox grabbed Skye, twisted with her and threw her onto the wooden floorboards. He covered her with his body, shielding her as his mind raced, as he breathed hard and tried to figure out what the hell to do. His canines elongated slightly as rage tried to get the better of him, pushing him to shift to protect Skye.
To protect his fated female.
The woman he loved.
He clamped his molars together and flattened his lips, refusing to let his bear side win. He couldn’t shift. No matter how dire things got. In one-on-one combat, he would be able to take the humans, whether that was in his bear form or his human one, but they were heavily armed. Shifting into his bear form would put him at a disadvantage in this situation.
Plus, it would reveal what he was to Skye.
He couldn’t afford for that to happen, not yet. He needed her to be wildly in love with him before they had that talk he dreaded, and he wanted it to be a talk. He didn’t want to just suddenly shift in front of her and scare the living crap out of her, all ta-da! He needed to break things to her gently.
Another bullet ripped into the wooden post, lower now, and Skye shrieked again, her hands flying to cover her head. He covered it too, his head whipping to his right. He glared at the window. Where the hell had the sniper set up? There was a ridge a little way from the cabin, one that had good elevation, enough that the male could easily see into the building but not enough that he would be able to see them where they were on the floor.
That rifleman was making things tricky enough, but he could sense the other two closing in. If they got into the lodge and opened fire, there was a high chance that Skye would be caught in the crossfire. He couldn’t let that happen. He needed to get her out of danger.
He eased back and grabbed her hand. “We’re moving. Got it?”
She shook her head, her eyes wide, her face draining of colour. The fear he could feel in her beat in him too, but it wasn’t fear of being shot or his life coming to an end here. It was fear of those things happening to her.
“We have to move, Skye,” he bit out, harder now, some part of him aware that he had to take command, had to make her do as he wanted or she would just remain where she was, too terrified to move. “If I have to pick you up and run with you I will, but I’d rather you help me out here so we can keep low, below the field of vision of that sniper.”
Her dark eyes widened further, the fear he could sense in her growing stronger as she stared at him. A split second later her features hardened, her jaw setting firm and her eyebrows pinching hard as a look of determination settled on her face. She nodded.
Apparently, she liked the thought of him exposing himself to a potential hail of bullets as much as he liked the thought of her doing that.
She took her hand from his and twisted onto her front, grabbed his hand again with her other one and took a deep breath. Her gaze leaped to his.
“You’re going to be fine.” He meant that. They weren’t just empty words to placate her and keep her calm, convincing her to move. He meant every one of them. They came from his heart, from his fierce need to keep her safe. Whatever happened, he would make sure she made it through this.
He positioned himself beside her, between her and the window. Glanced at her again.
She nodded.
Knox kept low with her scrambling towards the couch, pulling her with him and using his body to shield her. Her harsh breaths scraped in his ears, the fear he could scent on her pushing him to his limit as he listened to her rapid heartbeat. He would keep her safe. No one was taking his fated one from him.
No one.
They reached the left side of the fireplace and the closed door there. He tugged Skye up and pressed her into the shadow of the deep doorframe, the chunky stone fireplace providing her some cover. The temptation to punch the door open was strong but he resisted it. This door had a lock. It would provide Skye with some protection. Probably only a few seconds protection, but still. It might be enough to save her life.
He reached for the door handle and quickly snatched his hand back as glass shattered. The bullet tore into the doorframe just beyond the handle.
“Fuck,” he snarled.
“Are you hurt?” Skye sounded as terrified as she felt.
He was quick to shake his head, needing to alleviate some of that fear, keeping it at a manageable level. The last thing he needed was her going into a full meltdown. He doubted she would, because she was strong, knew how to handle herself, and she was a survivor, but he still wanted to keep her as calm as possible.
He drew down a breath and reached for the handle again, faster this time, managed to strike it and open the door before the bullet whizzed past him. He lunged into the bedroom, avoiding being hit, and turned to Skye, grabbed her hand and pulled her in with him.
He breathed a little easier with several walls between him and the sniper and no line of sight, but remained on guard, deeply aware that Karl and the other male were approaching from this side of the lodge.
Knox released her and went to the windows, tugged the drapes closed to provide them with some cover. He went back to Skye and took hold of her hand again, and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“We’re moving again.” He looked at her, sure she would refuse now that her fear levels were dropping. She felt safe in this room, but they couldn’t remain here. He needed to reach his bedroom.
She surprised him by nodding, that determination flashing in her eyes again.
Knox kept low with her still, not trusting that the males wouldn’t shoot out the windows, taking potshots in the hope the bullets would hit a mark. He banked right, heading for a door there. Skye kept up with him as they reached the corridor beyond it, as he took a left and led her along the hallway that allowed access to the other four bedrooms of the lodge.
His was the only one on the left side of the hallway. They reached the door and he opened it, pulled her inside and released her. He was thankful he had left the drapes that covered the only window in the room closed this morning. It meant he didn’t have to close them, something that might have given their position away to the men.
“Wait here.” He glanced at Skye and then hurried across the room to the double bed. He opened the drawer on the nightstand and pulled out the gun he had taken from Karl.
Checked it was loaded.
“Do you know how to use that thing?” Skye hissed.
“Sort of.” He could pull the trigger and that was all there was to it, wasn’t it?
“Sort of?” Her voice gained pitch and she scurried across the floor to him, a scowl darkening her features. She held her hand out to him expectantly. “Give me the gun. I’ve handled them at ranges before and know what to do if it seizes.”
Hell no. There was no way he was giving her the gun. What kind of man would he look like then? He certainly wouldn’t look great in her eyes, having to rely on a female to do his fighting for him. He could handle this.
He glanced at the gun. How hard could it be? Point. Shoot. He had done just that back in the woods.
“Is this a matter of male pride? I’m not going to think less of you because you let me have the gun.” Skye rolled her fingers, a stern edge to her eyes now.
He pretended not to notice the hint to give her the gun or the fact she could apparently see straight through him.
“I’ve got this. Stay put and stay low.” He moved to the door before she could protest and closed it behind him, lessening the chances of her seeing him fighting and the chances of the men finding her.
He flexed his fingers around the grip of the pistol. Frowned at it. Was he meant to hold it in both hands? He tried to think of how the people held guns in the movies and TV shows that Lowe loved downloading to his tablet whenever he was in town. He shrugged as he reached the wall that the fireplace backed onto and tried holding it in one hand, aiming it at the wall, and then tried again with two hands. Two hands felt better.
Rather than heading back through the bedroom to his right, he eased towards the open door at the end of the corridor to his left, one that led into the living room. He quickly peered around the door when he reached it and ducked behind cover. Probably a mistake. If the sniper had noticed him, he would have just given his position away. He grunted and flattened himself against the floor, crawling out in a marine commando way.
The front door off to his right burst open.
Knox’s gaze swung that way.
Met Karl’s.
Knox kicked off, hurling himself behind the L-shaped couch just as the male opened fire. Bullets ripped up the floorboards where he had been and he kept on moving as the second male, Wade, opened fire too. The assault rifle the bastard had made fast work of chewing up the black couch, whittling down Knox’s cover and forcing him to move. He twisted and went to kick off again, his focus on the door of the larder directly opposite him, his thoughts on how the thick log wall would provide him with some cover.
A bullet ripped through the couch back and through his right arm, carving a hole in his biceps that felt like someone had just poured molten lava into his muscles and bones.
He grunted and moved the gun to his left hand, couldn’t hold back the growl that rumbled up his throat as his canines elongated, as the agony and the rage and his need to protect Skye had the urge to shift surging through him. Thankfully, the pain kept it in check a little, but only a little.
Normally, pain forced bears and other shifters out of their animal forms, but right now he felt as if he could shift if he wanted it. Because Skye was in danger? His primal instinct to protect her was strong, had dense brown fur rippling over his body despite the fire that burned along his arm.
Knox shut it down and kicked off, hurled himself into the larder and collided with a lot of metal pots Lowe had stacked on the lower shelves, completely giving away his position. Not good. He ducked behind the thick log wall as bullets tore into the door and several thudded into the tins and packets of food stored in the room.
When the hail of bullets halted, a thick silence fell, interrupted only by the steady dripping of soup and other liquid from the punctured cans. Knox glanced around the door and fired off a few rounds. All of them missed, but he got better with the gun with each shot. The last one he fired before Wade finished reloading his assault rifle and unleashed hell on him had come close to nailing the bastard.
Knox growled at the thought of taking him down, both the bear and the man in him hungry for it to happen. The human would pay for the way he had acted around Skye, for that twisted flare of interest that had lit his eyes from time to time.
He curled into the corner as bullets shredded more of the food, causing an unholy mess that he knew his twin wasn’t going to be happy about. If Knox survived this, he had one hell of a cleaning job ahead of him.
The gunfire halted again and Knox grinned and poked his head out. His turn. A bullet ripped into the doorframe right beside his head and he ducked back, his heart lodged in his throat. Fine. Not his turn. He growled and snarled as he realised he was pinned, that if he tried to look to aim, he was going to get his head blown off by the males who were waiting, biding their time.
A grunt sounded and Knox smelled blood. Not his.
He risked it, peeked out from behind his cover and really growled as he saw Wade and Karl both glaring at the door he had closed behind him and Skye, to the left of the fireplace. It was open. Fear sank icy claws into him as he looked at it, the relief that flowed through him when he didn’t see Skye there only taking the edge off it.
Wade gripped the small knife lodged in his bicep and tugged it out, glared at it and then cast it aside. When the male turned towards the door, looking as if he was going to go after Skye, Knox lost it.
He growled as he broke cover, as his vision sharpened and locked onto Wade and he lifted his gun. He squeezed the trigger as soon as he had it lined up, wanted to roar as the bullet nailed Wade in the back of his head and blood sprayed across the wall in front of him.
He swung the gun to the left, aiming it at Karl.
Pulled the trigger as he grinned.
The gun clicked.
Just clicked.
No bullet.
No incredible looking and somewhat epic moment that would have Skye swooning.
“Shit,” he bit out.
Karl smiled coldly and aimed his own pistol at Knox’s head.
Skye came blazing out of the bedroom and leaped on Karl’s back, throwing him off balance. He staggered backwards, his arm lifting as she locked hers around his throat and heaved. The bullet tore into the pitched ceiling. Karl regained his balance but kept moving backwards and slammed her into the wall.
Knox kicked off, vaulted the couch and hurled himself forwards into a roll as he hit the floorboards, snagging Wade’s assault rifle on the way past. He stopped in a crouch and raised the gun, aiming it at Karl.
Froze.
He couldn’t fire at Karl while Skye was still riding his back, clinging to him as the male slammed her into the wall again, clutching her arm now to keep her in place. He wouldn’t shoot when he would be in danger of hitting her too.
“Shoot him,” Skye gritted as Karl released her arm, reached over and managed to grab hold of her head. He bashed it against the logs behind her, ripping a pained grunt from her, but she didn’t give up the fight. She battered him with her fists, pummelling his shoulder and the side of his head, and her dark eyes leaped to Knox. “Shoot!”
Not a chance in Hell of that happening.
He shook his head. He couldn’t. She had to see that he couldn’t.
She stilled and stared at him, affection in her eyes, as if he was the most wonderful male in the universe for not wanting to risk hurting her.
Then she screamed as Karl threw her, tossing her over his head. Her legs struck the kitchen island on the way down, ripping another grunt from her, and she disappeared from view. Karl lunged for her, and Knox knew the bastard was going to use her as a shield.
He squeezed the trigger before that could happen, his eyes widening as he unleashed a hail of bullets and fought to rein in the gun and get it under control. Several of the bullets tore into Karl and the male staggered back into the corner between the first kitchen cabinet and the wall of the lodge as blood exploded from the wounds.
Knox convinced himself to release the trigger as the male slumped, blood trickling from more than a dozen holes in his black jacket.
“Shit, this is more my style.” He admired the gun as he approached the kitchen and grinned at Skye when she rolled her eyes at him.
She manoeuvred herself and sagged with her back against one of the cupboards of the kitchen island, breathing hard as her gaze drifted back to Karl. She paled a little. Looked as if she might vomit.
Knox lowered the gun and went to her. He set the gun down on the counter to his left and held his hand out to her, and breathed a sigh as she slipped hers into it. He hauled her onto her feet and into his arms, all the tension melting from him as he felt her pressing against him.
His senses sparked a warning.
He tightened his arms around Skye and rolled backwards, over the counter of the kitchen island, grunted as he landed on his injured arm on the other side of it as bullets pinged off the granite. Fuck. He had forgotten about Cooper.
Knox released Skye and pushed her behind him, gritting his teeth against the fierce sting as fresh blood bloomed on his arm. He felt her gaze on it, sensed her need to touch it, and glanced at her, silently telling her that he was fine.
His heart thundered as his mind raced, running through every scenario to find one where Skye and him would both make it out of this. Adrenaline surged, the need to shift quick to sweep through him. He couldn’t. Skye would see. He looked up at the counter above him, weighing his options. If he could reach the gun, maybe he could take Cooper down too. He cursed himself for forgetting about him.
Before he could reach for it, Skye was on her feet and making a grab for it, completely exposing herself. She ducked back down, narrowly evading being shot as another bullet ricocheted off the counter, and he wanted to growl at her when he looked over his shoulder at her and found her checking the assault rifle.
The steely look in her eyes and the image she cut as she shouldered the weapon was both deeply erotic and incredibly terrifying.
He lunged for her.
She popped up and fired off a few rounds. No wild spray of bullets from her. Each shot was controlled. She ducked back down again before Cooper opened fire on her.
“Where the hell did you learn to fire an assault rifle like that?” he hissed. “At the range?”
“No.” She shrugged. “Video games.”
His eyes widened. He wanted to snatch the weapon from her, because shooting in a virtual environment with a controller was not the same as firing a weapon in real life as far as he was concerned. It might look like she knew what she was doing, was a seasoned pro, but what did he know about guns?
Enough to shove her backwards when Cooper opened fire. Bullets tore through the cabinets, emerging from the side they were on to embed into the floorboards.
Skye scrambled ahead of him, tucking the gun to her chest as he pushed her backside, making her head behind the couch.
“Provide some covering fire for me,” he murmured quietly as he glared over his shoulder in the direction of Cooper, tracking the male with his senses.
Any moment now, the male was going to come out from behind the kitchen post and then it was game over.
The couch wouldn’t be any match for the high-powered rifle the man wielded.
“Um.” Skye rattled something.
“Um?” He didn’t like the sound of that. He glanced at her and his gaze remained locked on her as she stared at the assault rifle and the thing that was in her hand. Magazine. The magazine.
She angled it towards him. “Um.”
No bullets.
“Fuck this shit,” Knox snarled. “You’re not dying here. We’re not dying here.”
If he had to shift into a bear to make sure that happened, he would do it.
He gauged where Cooper was with his senses, tracking the male as he eased deeper into the room.
“I know you’re in here,” Cooper called out.
Beside Knox, Skye froze, locking up tight. Her fear hit him hard.
He motioned to the other end of the couch and then to his left, trying to tell her to head around the couch near the windows. She nodded, got onto her hands and knees and hurried that way, following his instructions. He drew down a breath. Then another.
Skye hissed as she reached the area where broken glass littered the floorboards and the scent of her blood hit him hard, rousing a fierce need to growl and shift, to taste that blood by sinking his fangs into her nape.
Cooper swung in her direction.
Knox harnessed all of the aggression he felt as he thought about Cooper hurting Skye, as he thought about how in danger she was, and exploded from behind the couch.
A roar shattered the tense silence.
Not from him.
And then a huge cinnamon black bear came barrelling into the lodge on a collision course with Cooper’s back.
