Bear With Me: Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (9 page)

Jamie bit the inside of her cheek.
Concentrate!
she told herself.
You can’t just give up. There’s got to be a way out of this.

She looked up. There was still at least twelve feet of tree above her, wedged against the cliff. If she could climb back up, wrap herself around a branch … The rain couldn’t last forever. The flood would recede.

Maybe even before she died of hypothermia.

You can do this
, she told herself.
Come on. Don’t give up now. Don’t leave Mark to come back to an empty campsite.

Jamie braced her feet against their underwater holds.
Back up it is—and please don’t kill me before I make it out of the water, guys.

With the chick still nestled carefully against her chest, Jamie took a deep breath and pushed up. Under the water, invisible in the roiling, muddy gray, something knocked against her legs, pushing them off the tree. Jamie frantically grabbed at a branch with her one free hand. The raging current swept her legs away from her, stretching her body out between the tree and certain death.

Under her chin, something gave a piteous
peep
. The chick. She was still holding on to it, but with the river rushing over her it was soaked, its head barely above water. She grunted and held it higher up.

Just above her handhold on the tree, a tangle of leaves and broken twigs formed a pitiful shelf, only inches above the water level.

It was hopeless. She knew that even as she started moving, dragging herself painfully forward against the power of the swollen river. Her whole arm screamed with the effort.

Even if she managed it, the parent condors might not be able to move their chick to higher ground. Worse, they might stay with the nestling, and all three would be swept away.

“Just one more inch…” Jamie grunted, and thrust the sodden scrap of life away from her.

She just had time to see the chick tumble and fall on the leafy ledge before a wave struck her and pushed her underwater.

* * *

MARK

Mark skidded on the muddy trail and swore. After three weeks on four legs, getting used to only having two—and wearing shoes—was a pain in the ass. But he couldn’t shift back now. He’d already passed three groups of hikers on the trail, all driven back by the bad weather. Seeing a bear carrying a backpack down the mountain would only add to their problems.

The rain had hit two weeks after he left Jamie, a constant, heavy battering cascade that started deep in the mountains and crept down to the foothills. He had tried to wait it out, at least long enough so he could honestly tell himself he’d given Jamie enough time to think things over. After all, as a bear he wasn’t too worried by the rain. His coat was thick enough to keep him warm, and the bad weather kept the human hikers from moving around too much or being able to see too far when they did venture out, which reduced the risk of him being seen.

A week of rain was really more than enough, though. Even for a bear. And, he reasoned hopefully, if he was sick of the rain, surely Jamie would be too. Either she would have already headed out of the mountains, or she would be more than ready to go. And if she asked why he’d come back her way, he could say he wanted to return her sandal. He still had it in his pack, after all, and…

A horrible thought struck him. He shucked off his pack and rummaged through it, throwing his own gear to the side. At last he found what he was looking for, and groaned.

He did still have her sandal in his pack. The
bottom
of his pack.

Mark lifted the delicate, strappy silver sandal in one hand. It was looking, to put it mildly, a bit the worse for wear.

He gulped. Okay. Maybe he
wouldn’t
bring up the shoe thing. Maybe he should avoid her on the way back, and find her back at the conservation center later in the season.

No.
Even the thought of leaving the mountains without checking on Jamie sent a shiver of unhappiness down his spine. He would go past her camp, and if she was still there, they could walk out together.

Mark was fairly certain they would be able to manage that without too much trouble. The rush of desire sparked by the discovery of their mate bond—and concentrated by their immediate separation—surely must have calmed down enough by now that getting out of the rain would be more of a priority than throwing themselves at each other.
Surely
.

He told himself that three weeks was good enough. Even if Jamie hadn’t managed to figure out how she felt, he would at least be able to talk to her. If she needed more time he would get her number and go on his way, knowing at least that she wasn’t lost to him forever.

And if she’d decided she didn’t want him…

He shook his head. That was her decision to make. He’d respect it—and find another mountain for his vacations. One where he wouldn’t bother her, and his family wouldn’t bother him.

His heart ached at the thought of Jamie rejecting him. But he knew that if she did, then leaving her and never looking back was the right thing to do. Stay too close, and … Well. He couldn’t think of anything worse than knowing Jamie was nearby and not being able to hold her; of being able to feel her presence, know how she was feeling…

Fear. Dread. Terror.

Mark almost dropped the sandal as strange emotions flooded through him. Confusion and then horror flooded through him as he realized what was happening.

He was almost back at Jamie’s campsite. Those feelings—that terror—was hers.

Mark broke into a flat run. He flung his pack to the side of the trail. It would only slow him down. He had to get to her as fast as possible. Unthinking, he crushed the sandal in his hand.

The trail turned ahead, but Mark sprinted straight ahead, ignoring the markers. He knew exactly where he needed to go. His bear was up and roaring, pointing him towards his mate.

Past the campsite. He didn’t even spare it a glance. Past the riverbank where he laid eyes on her for the first time since the wedding.

The lookout tree. Had she fallen? Was she hurt?

No. Past the lookout.

Mark came to a dead halt, staring out across the river. His heart clenched at the scene in front of him.

The condor nest was gone, obliterated by a fallen tree and crumbling rocks. And there, clinging desperately to the tree just above the waterline, was Jamie. His mate.

Mark tore at his clothes. He had to save her, and he couldn’t do it as a human. The silver sandal fell to the sodden forest floor with his shirt and pants. He hurled himself down the steep, crumbling ridge towards the raging river. Halfway down he lost his footing and tumbled head over heels—and landed on all four paws.

He looked across the water just as Jamie sank under the surface.

One rush of water, and her desperate grip on the tree was knocked loose. Jamie’s flame-red hair disappeared as the water enveloped her in an instant.

Mark rushed forward, throwing himself into the river. The raging current dragged at him and he let it pull him downstream, closer to her. The water was murky, full of dirt and debris, but he could just see her in the distance. Her strawberry-blonde hair, her pale face a flicker in the gloom.

Mark swam with powerful strokes. He knew he had only moments. The water was flinging Jamie’s body around like a rag doll. If she hit anything—if anything hit her—

He surged forward in one final leap, grasping Jamie’s limp form with one massive paw. Then he pushed up from the riverbed with all his might. His head broke through the water in a huge spray of droplets. In his arm, Jamie stirred, and coughed. Her hands grasped weakly at his fur.

He had to get her back onto dry land. But the bank was too far away for him to swim and keep Jamie's head above the water.

Ahead, a giant boulder jutted out of the water. Mark held Jamie tight and swam towards it, heaving himself onto the rocky island before the current could sweep them both past it. He laid Jamie down carefully on the cold stone.

She was freezing. Her face was so pale that her freckles looked like chips of coal on ice. But she was alive. She drew deep, ragged breaths, then spluttered.

“Mark…” she murmured. Mark moved closer.

Jamie opened her eyes, and screamed.

Mark saw the shock in Jamie’s eyes turn to fear as she stared up at him. She scrambled away from him, chilled limbs wrenched back to life by adrenaline. Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide, and she looked at him like he was the most terrifying thing in the world.

Like he was a monster. A dangerous beast.

Mark knew what he had to do. He couldn’t leave her here, on this rock in the middle of the river. And he couldn’t transform. Shifting took energy, energy he needed to conserve to get her to safety.

It hurt just to think about it. He would have to grab her, terrify her more, and forcibly carry her to shore.

“Oh my God,” Jamie was saying, over and over. “Oh my God. Oh my God.”

He knew she was thinking,
I’m going to die.

But he had to get her out of here. Even if it meant adding to her fear.

He moved slowly, hoping that would somehow reassure her that he was safe. That he didn’t mean her any harm. He took one slow step forward, placing his great paw carefully on the slippery boulder.

She didn’t move. Her voice faded away, though her lips kept moving, framing empty words. He took another step, and Jamie flung her arm out between them.

She was almost touching him. Her arm trembled, but her gray eyes were dead still as she stared fixedly at him. Mark met her eyes with his own.

Please, please understand
, he begged silently.
It’s me. And I would never hurt you.

Mark lowered his head until he felt the soft touch of Jamie’s fingers on his fur. He looked at her, deep brown eyes staring into her blue-gray, fearful gaze.

“M-Mark?”

As soon as the words left her mouth Jamie gasped and clapped her hand to her face. Confusion filled her eyes.

“It can’t be… I’m going mad…”

Mark held still. Then, still holding eye contact, he nodded, once.

Jamie made a noise that was half gasp, half sob. “I—you…”

She reached out again, gently touching the side of his muzzle. She sat up, still touching him, and her hand drifted from his face to his neck. Even sitting up she was tiny beside him, fragile and vulnerable.

Mark could almost hear her mind ticking over.
A bear pulled me out of the river. It’s probably going to eat me. But it isn’t eating me. And I think the bear is Mark, but that’s crazy. But it pulled me out of the river and isn’t eating me. I’m touching it and it isn’t eating me.

Bears don’t pull people out of rivers and not eat them. And there shouldn’t be any bears in these mountains anyway.

“Mark.” It wasn’t a question this time. Her voice was firmer—full of wonder and amazement, but sure. “How—what—”

He
harrumph
-ed and motioned towards the distant bank with his nose.

“Right. Yes. I—wow.” Jamie paused, rubbed her face vigorously, and then looked up at him again. “Oh. Wow. This is definitely happening, isn’t it?”

Mark nodded. Jamie stared up at him, her eyes wide with wonder now instead of fear. She pushed her hair back off her face.

“I guess I’d better … get on your back?”

He nodded again.

“Holy crap. Okay.”

Jamie rolled unsteadily over onto her knees. She held out both hands and grasped the fur on Mark’s shoulder. He held still as she raised herself up and climbed arm over arm onto his back.

Mark felt Jamie shift around on his back, finding a position where she could hold on his her hands and grip with her legs and feet. She would need to hold on with all her might. Mark had to focus on swimming. She would have to keep herself on his back.

He hoped she was strong enough.

“I’m going to twist my hands through your, your fur to sort of … wedge myself on to you,” Jamie said from behind his head. “Is that okay? Okay. I don’t want to fall off.” She paused, and he remembered how helpless she had been, tossed by the river’s currents. “I
really
don’t want to fall off.”

Mark felt her wind her hands into the hair on his neck. He waited until she said she was ready, and then carefully lowered himself into the river.

He felt Jamie flinch as the cold water washed over them both. Acutely aware of how important it was to get her warm and dry as soon as possible, he made for the far side of the river, the same side her campsite was on. There was no point going for the nearer bank if there was no dry shelter to be found there.

Jamie shivered as he swam. He could feel her teeth chattering. Fear for her gave him extra strength, and he fought the current with powerful strokes. At last his paws felt gravel, then solid stones. He hauled himself and Jamie out of the river, not stopping until they were yards away from the rushing water.

Jamie’s campsite was upstream. He didn’t know how far downstream the current had pulled them. He turned and padded briskly up the riverbank. If he followed the river, he could find the condors’ nesting site—or what had been their nesting site—and he knew the way to Jamie’s tent from there.