Bear Apparent (BBW Shifter Romance) (Stone Claw Clan Book 1) (2 page)

Chapter Two

Dahlia sighed as she leaned against a tree, and wiped a hand across her forehead. She could see through the breaks in the tree’s branches that the sun was sliding into the western horizon. All that walking and climbing over fallen logs and strewn boulders had taken a toll. She just wanted to snuggle into her sleeping bag, and conk out. She did a rough estimation, concluding she had hiked three miles without a single clue to support the copper’s claims. She’d gotten some great photos, though
she had
. Unfortunately, they were better off in nature magazine than on her monster-hunting blog.

Retrieving a bottle of water from the cooler, she gulped it down until her stomach swished. She patted her tummy. “This would be easier without all the baggage.”

She pushed the thought away, determined not to get into a debate with herself about her weight. With more important things to worry about, like being in the middle of the forest all alone… Dahlia stilled and looked around. The forest appeared to be caught in the grip of fear, the trees stiff and motionless despite the comfortable breeze. Frowning, she realized it was completely silent. There were no sweet bird songs or insect chirps. If silence had a sound, it was deafening.

Her hands shook as she fished out her lucky dagger from her backpack.
Maybe there is a predator on the prowl?
She wouldn’t want to make herself known either. That thought sent a jolt of trepidation through her. The last thing she wanted to do was face off against a bear or cougar with nothing to defend herself other than a butter knife.

Dahlia kept her back to a tree, listening closely for the sound of movement. She glanced back where she had come, seriously considering abandoning this expedition. What had she been thinking coming out here alone and without someone that knew the area better than he did? Hell, she hadn’t even the foresight to bring a gun–not that she was sure she could fire it at any living being.

The minutes seemed to tick by ever so slowly, every second nerve-wracking. That little girl inside her remained ever hopeful. What if the creature she had been looking for all her life was just around the corner, and she was too afraid to take that look? Dahlia sucked in a deep breath, and held it as she peeked around the trunk of the tree. She squinted her eyes, trying to see through the thick shrub. The tangle of branches, leaves and moss gave absolutely nothing away.

A brush of heated air glided across the back of her neck, sending chills down her spine, and she jerked her attention behind her. Her neck snapped back of its own accord, and she thought she had knocked herself out against the tree. There was no way a giant of a man—naked, nonetheless—was staring at her like a buffet had just been laid out in the middle of the forest, his massive shoulders heaving with labored breath. She parted her lips, intending to ask for help, but judging by his expression he wasn’t the helping sort.

Erie, orange eyes held her in place, and when his lip curled up to reveal a very dangerous looking set of fangs, Dahlia gaped. She knew her first instinct should be to run, but she gripped the camera slung around her neck, and snapped a photo. The flash highlighted the man’s inhuman features, the illumination making his bone structure seem more prominent. His body suddenly shifted forward, his muscles bulging, and she knew she had made a critical mistake.

With every step that he took, the ground vibrated, his massive frame and bulk making an impression. She tried to back away, but she had nowhere to go so she pinched her eyes closed, and tightened her fist around the dagger—she knew those eyes and what that look meant… had seen them before. On some level, she had expected to find a trace of evidence of the creature that had saved her all those years ago, but the fantasy had left no room for practicality. She had romanticized the encounter, and was now discovering the harsh truth of reality.

Maybe that beast hadn’t really saved me, and had just been hungry?

A fearsome growl erupted all around her, and a forceful wind brushed past her, nearly pulling her along. She waited for the inevitable, her heart beating against her ribcage…

After a long moment of silence, she peaked an eye open and found that she was alone. Glancing down her form, she seemed to be whole—no garish gashes across her body, and all her limbs appeared to be intact. She breathed a sigh of relief, figuring she had bumped her head so hard she was seeing things she wanted to. It was a reassuring thought, except it didn’t explain the sudden flurry of angry growls.

Dahlia jerked as a mass of fur, teeth and six inch long claws stumbled into the clearing. She realized she was in the middle of a brawl between two big assed grizzly bears. As she stared wide-eyed at the scuffle, she wondered if the man had fallen victim to the animals. She couldn’t help feeling a little relieved by that prospect.

The bears went at it, seemingly oblivious to Dahlia’s existence. She whipped her head around, frantically searching for an escape route. Seeing an opportunity, she made a dash for it, but she didn’t get far. One of the bears—the smaller of the two—flew past her in a blur, and slammed into a young tree. She locked her muscles in place, afraid to move. The sound of cracking wood grated on her ears. The force of the flying animal had cracked the tree in half, and it crashed to the ground in a spectacular collapse.

The bear seemed unfazed and rose to its paws. It shook its body, its cinnamon colored fur flowing like waves, and wood chips and pine needles went flying everywhere. And when it rose up on its hindquarters to roar in a display of confidence, Dahlia stepped back against the safety the pine offered. She knew she wasn’t going anywhere soon, at least until the bears took the fight elsewhere.

The smaller bear charged the other and they clashed. Fur flew, and the surrounding foliage began to turn red with blood. The largest of the bears, swiped his paw in the air, connecting with the other. The animal was knocked to the ground and Dahlia flinched as something warm and wet hit her in the face. She ran her hand across her cheek then glanced at the smear of blood on her fingers.

The bear that was clearly on the losing end didn’t get up. Its opponent towered over it, orange eyes glowing with dark satisfaction. Dahlia realized she was about to witness the most primal side of nature. She wanted to turn away, but that stare slowly slid over to her. She looked into the face of death, the bear’s nostrils flaring as if it enjoyed the scent of her fear. Spittle dripped from its maw, and its blood covered paws impacted the ground as it inched toward her. Dahlia was sure she could see macabre amusement in its unnatural eyes.

Stand tall and look scary. Make a lot of noise,
she told herself, remembering the lecture on how to scare a bear. She tried to reach for her noisemaker, but her arm wouldn’t work for some reason. She told her muscles to move, but the electrical impulses in her brain were clogged with fear.
Close your eyes,
she told herself over and over but she was unable to look away. The grizzly, as tall as she was, stopped inches from her, its shark-like gaze as big as her fists. A blood tinged rope of spittle dripped off its maw, and Dahlia saw herself being swallowed whole by that chasm.

Just like that, the bear was gone. As the ferocious growls erupted again, she realized the smaller bear had tackled the other. Her horror turned to fascination as the beaten animal put its body in front of hers. It stood up on shaky legs, its fur streaked with blood, and let loose a thundering roar. Dahlia couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. The smaller bear was repeatedly bested, but each and every time it forced itself up to stand in front of her like a furry shield.

Memories fluttered before Dahlia’s eyes. How familiar this all seemed, and for the first time in years she questioned what she had really seen that night—what if her savior hadn’t been some supernatural creature, but an ordinary animal doing ordinary things?

That was all good, but whether or not the animal was protecting her, the smaller bear was no match for the other. Once it was dispatched, Dahlia knew she was next. She was sure she could make it if she put all her strength into running. Tensing her muscles to make a mad dash, a moan of agony froze her in her tracks. Her natural empathy had always extended to include animals, domestic and wild alike—how could she leave the bear to suffer a painful death?

It’s not like you can do anything about it,
Dahlia told herself.
It’s just the natural order of the world.
Something warm and hard touched her palm, and she remembered her lucky dagger. She had carried it around with her all her life, and had resigned it to picking dirt out from under her fingernails—she must have taken it out without realizing. In this crazy and tense moment it became something more.

As the big bear descended upon the smaller one, Dahlia gripped the handle and took a step forward. She wasn’t sure where the sudden burst of bravery had come from, but she held onto it and used it to propel her body forward. The aggressive bear’s back was to her so she had the element of surprise and she used it to plunge the dagger into its hind quarter, all the way to the hilt.

The bear made the most agonized sound she’d ever heard. Squirming to protect its flank, Dahlia was thrown backward and landed on her butt. She recovered quickly, and clutched the bloody dagger in defense. Fury twisted into surprise as the bear pegged her with a very human-like expression of bewilderment.
Its cries followed as it scrambled for the safety of the trees until its moans cut off abruptly.

Her tush smarting, Dahlia blinked blankly at the trees, fully expecting the Grizzly to return in search of vengeance. After a long moment, nothing happened.
Its ass is probably hurting more than mine right now,
she mused to herself. As the reality of the ordeal sunk in, she craned her head to regard the lump of fur lying in the middle of the clearing. She eyed it warily for several long minutes, hoping it would get up and go on its way.

Pulling a healthy dose of air into her lungs, she lifted herself up onto her feet and circled around the bear. She was sure it had succumbed to its wounds. A deep sadness squeezed her heart. She looked around the environs as if all the trees and bushes and weeds could tell her what to do.

The cinnamon mass suddenly jerked, and a heavy paw hit the ground. Gasping, Dahlia backed away cautiously, afraid the injured animal might take its pain out on her. Before she could get good and gone, something miraculous happened. The bear sat up like a vampire rising from its coffin. The Grizzly looked completely dazed, its golden brown eyes homing in on her. It wobbled for a moment, and the sound of cracking bone made Dahlia’s stomach turn. Its fur shuddered as if a ripple went through its body, and the strands of hair began to recede. It happened so quickly—either that or time had slowed down to a haze of confusion. The animal’s muzzle shrunk into its face and its skull seemed to elongate. It was startling at first, but when all the reshaping began to resemble the form of a man, Dahlia remembered her camera.

Cursing herself for not using it sooner, she snapped photos as quickly as her finger could hit the button.

A hand with fully formed digits and a thumb went up. “You’re blinding me!”

Dahlia slowly lowered her camera. Her eyes nearly popped out of her skull as she took in the form of a buff man on the ground, his body shining with sweat… and blood. His skin was torn in several places that resembled claws, exposing the muscle below. It was a garish sight, but it was quickly foreshadowed by the realization that this man had been a bear.

“I knew it!” Dahlia shouted as the man stumbled to his feet. “Everyone always tells me I’m crazy, but I knew there was another world out there. Oh my God, I can’t believe I finally found it… I wished Jessica had been here to see it!”

The guy fell against a tree, and his faced twisted in pain. Dahlia pulled herself together, and pushed away the excitement. It was misplaced, she knew, no matter how amazing the whole thing was. The fact of the matter was, the man was severely hurt, and who knew if that other bear—or man?—would come back. She was fairly certain this shape-changer had saved her life. She owed it to him to help.

Dropping her backpack on the ground, she stuck her dagger inside then fished out the sleeping bag, and unrolled it. With careful steps, she approached the man who was kept upright only by the tree. His attention slid to her, his honey-colored eyes regarding her warily. He didn’t say anything as she wrapped her bedding around his shoulders.

“Your vehicle. Is it close by?” the man asked in a rough voice.

“Yeah. About three miles that way—” Dahlia said then pointed in a different direction. “Or maybe this way? No, I think it’s that way.”

“Are you kidding?” he growled, then winced.

Dahlia shrugged, and offered him a sheepish smile.

****

Garrett did his best to push through the pain, but the simple act of breathing forced his skin to stretch, aggravating his wounds. And little blotches of lights were floating in front of his eyes from the cruel flash of the camera.
Ignorant human,
he grumbled. If she hadn’t snapped pictures of his rival in a state of half-shift, the male would have left her alone.

But no… because she had to be nosey, Garrett had had to step in and keep her from being mauled to death. He vaguely wondered what had happened to make the invader scamper off like a beaten dog with its tail between its legs. There was no time to find out, however. The danger was not gone, and every second they lingered in the vicinity was another second reinforcements were on the way.