Snowbound With The Bear (Bear Creek Clan 4) (7 page)

“Yes. You can. It’s easy. Just pull here and here. But not too tight or I won’t be able to move.”

“Sure.” She watched him shrug the pack onto his shoulders, not taking the weight yet. Then he stood with a faraway look in his eyes. At that moment, he shimmered out of this world and then reappeared as a bear. He changed so fast, the straps didn't even have chance to slip to the ground. She wondered how long he had taken to perfect this over the years.

Not wanting to spend more time than she needed to in the bitter cold, she moved to him and pulled the straps. Checking each one twice, she asked him to move forward to make sure it was comfortable. He didn’t move.

“Hal, come on, I’m freezing. Take a couple of steps to check they aren’t too tight.”

His hackles rose, the sight of him spreading a deep dread through her, chilling her more than the mountain air. Her wolf senses would have told her they were coming. Her human senses missed the wolves as they ran down the mountainside, until it was too late. She couldn’t change quickly enough and one wolf sprang at her, but Hal swiped at him, knocking him off balance. He ploughed into the deep snow, flailing as he tried to get up but failing to get a grip.

Two other wolves confronted Hal, circling around him.

“Stop!” Fiona shouted, coming forward to stand in front of Hal. The bear, however, pushed her back, using his big broad body to defend her. “Hal. Don’t fight them. They’re not worth it.”

The wolves bared their teeth, but she could tell how weak they were. She wanted to stop anyone getting hurt, but Hal was snarling, tilting his head to one side and then roaring loudly. She grabbed hold of a fistful of his fur to get his attention, but his rage was intense.

“Hal, please.”

He turned and snapped at her, pushing her back out of the way. Her wolf hammered to be released to teach these stupid men to calm down. The wolves were in no condition to fight, while Hal was willing to risk everything to protect what was his. She was scared that if they fought Hal, he might be injured. It would only take a deep bite to one of his legs to make it impossible for him to get back to the cabin.

No matter how much she would like him to teach her pursuers a lesson; she would never want him to risk himself for her. Even if it meant her being taken, but she knew these wolves were in no condition to fight. They were desperate, making them more dangerous.

He should have spotted them sooner; now here he was weighed down by the pack, unable to protect his mate. Snarling at her, he made her move behind him. There was no way he was going to let them take her. Yet fighting with the pack on his back would seriously encumber him. He could pull the straps and release it, but in the seconds it took him to do that, he would expose himself to the sharp fangs of the wolves.

“Hal, stop,” she shouted again. Why would she protect them like this, she was his. Or at least she had said she was; did she love one of these wolves? Had she spun him a web of lies, catching him in the lust of bonded mates, only to betray him now?

He stepped forward, roaring and snarling, his mind becoming clouded by the fog of rage.

“Hal. No. Please, you might get hurt.”

His teeth snapped at the nearest wolf as he continued to ignore Fiona. She wasn’t worried about him, only her precious wolves. Once this was over he would teach her some respect, she was his mate and he would not share her.

“Kurt,” she shouted at the wolf in front of him, who looked worn out and feeble. He could take him easily, one bite around the neck and he would snap him in two. But the one behind him would spring and do him an injury, or hurt Fiona. “Don’t do this. You will all die here on the mountain if you fight.”

Behind him, he could hear the third wolf floundering around in the pit of snow he had been flung into. He had to act soon or there was a chance the odds would change again. One-step forward and he would be in a position to leap into the wolf in front of him and then swipe at the one by his side. With the right timing, he would take them both out.

Then she was there in front of him, on her knees, her arms around his neck. “Please, Hal. You don’t want their blood on your hands. Don’t do this. Please.”

He took a step back, his eyes fixing on hers. Slowly her meaning filtered through to his thick brain. If he fought these wolves and they died, he would have their blood on his hands and would have to answer for the crime. Brad would have the job of arresting him, and that would be terrible for his friend.

The wolves advanced. She turned around and faced them. “Go home, Kurt. I belong here now. You will die up here if you fight. I can see how tired you are, and starving no doubt.”

The wolf behind Kurt whined at her words; she was right; they had been up here since the night he had found Fiona. They were cold and weak, probably been in their wolf form for too long and were becoming desperate. What worried him more was that originally there had been five of them. Where were the other two?

He turned and nuzzled Fiona, breathing in her scent. She was right; there was another way to end this. Pushing her hand up towards the pack, he tried to tell her to open it. If they gave the wolves some food, showed that there was another way out, then this fight could be avoided. He was willing to try it, but if it failed he would fight and be damned the consequences. If they tried to take her, he would protect her. However, he was willing to try it her way first.

It took him a couple of attempts to show her his meaning. Then she understood. Opening the pack carefully, she took out a can of beef stew. It had a ring top that she could pull and so she did, the lumps of meat and gravy spilling out into the snow. The wolves leaped forward to lick it up. She reached in for another can and opened it up.

“Kurt, if you want this, you have to change.” The wolf looked at her steadily. “You know what I mean. You’ll only get more food if you are standing in front of me in human form. Do you understand?”

The wolf advanced, but Hal sidestepped and pushed him with his big bear shoulder. The wolf snapped at Hal’s fur; the bear snarled back.

“Hey. I mean it. No food unless you show me your damn Judas face.”

He snarled and snapped at her. But then the other wolf pounced on him, knocking him to the ground. Kurt snapped at the wolf’s legs, but he was too weak and eventually gave in and lay still.

“Change,” she said.

He shook his head, struggling once more before lying still. Hal lumbered over and put his foot on Kurt's neck.

“No,” Fiona said, but when she looked, she saw he had hardly any pressure on Kurt. Instead, he was pointing his snout at the other wolf. She had no idea at first what he wanted, and then she realised. “You need to change,” she said to the second wolf. “We need to talk.”

He stood looking at the food and then to Kurt, lastly he stared suspiciously at Hal. The situation was obvious. The wolves were at the mercy of Hal and Fiona; if they wanted to live, they needed help. With a struggle, he shimmered out of this world, for a moment appearing and then disappearing again. He was too weak to hold himself together. In the last moment, he pulled himself back into the world in his human form, his clothes unsuitable for the conditions.

“We need to make this quick,” she said, handing him the food. “So just listen.”

The young man before her knelt in the snow eating the stew out of the can while Fiona talked.

“You need to get down off this mountain. Where are the others?”

“They never made it back through the pass.”

“Does that mean they were stuck under the snow?”

“No. They were the other side of it.”

“Why didn’t you all go back?” she asked.

“We couldn’t. We were trapped this side of the mountain.”

She looked at Hal. “Can you lead them down into Bear Creek?” The bear in front of her nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Can you control Kurt?”

“I can try.”

“You’ll have to do better than try. Now help me drag the other mutt out of the snow. Why you ever helped Kurt is beyond me.”

He didn’t answer, but together they went and dragged the third wolf out of the snow. Then she went back to Hal. “Shall I help you take this off again?” she asked, indicating the pack.

He nodded. She quickly undid the straps and the pack slipped off him. He had to loosen his hold on Kurt while he took it off, but the prone wolf didn’t move.

Satisfied, she turned wolf, glad to be in her warm, thick wolf pelt. The other two changed and they managed to get Kurt up, the four of them surrounding him as they began the slow trek down the mountain. It took hours, but at last they were on the lower slopes of the mountain where the snow was thinner and the temperature much warmer.

Kurt became more and more lethargic, making their journey slower. But they kept on, there was no way they would leave him behind, Fiona knew that was mostly because they didn't trust him. She was sure that Hal would turn him over to Brad. What happened to him after that, she didn’t care. He had tried to hurt her, sell her to a tiger in return for power. She hated the internal politics of Wolf Valley. But that had stopped being her concern; her home was with Hal now.

They dropped down lower and about a mile ahead, she could see smoke coming from a chimney. She hoped that was where they were heading because she didn't think her legs could carry her much further. But they had to go on, although beside her, the wolves were stumbling and tripping over things that weren’t there. She had little sympathy for the state they were in. They should have known better that to betray one of their own.

The forest was sparse on these lower slopes, so when another bear came running towards them he wasn’t exactly hard to miss. Hal stopped and waited for the bear to reach them. Something passed between them, and the new bear turned and led them down the slopes.

Fiona had never been so pleased to see a house in all her life. It was a large farmhouse with barns and other various outbuildings around it; it was also the source of the wood smoke. The bear didn’t take them to the house though; instead, he went to a big barn. There he changed into a big, broad-chested man, and opened the doors, ushering the wolves in.

Straw was strewn across the floor and the wolves flopped down on it, exhausted. Then one of them changed into his human form and spoke to Hal.

“Thank you for bringing us down from the mountain.”

“You should thank Fiona. I would have gladly left you there.”

“Thank you, Fiona. We don't deserve your mercy.”

“I do not understand why you followed Kurt. But you have to promise me this ends now. I belong to Hal. I am his bonded mate, so this tiger is out of luck.”

“I give you my word,” he answered, and then asked, “If we could eat, I would be most grateful.”

“Do you have spare food, Sam?” Hal asked his friend.

“I’ll fetch something while I go and phone Brad. It will take him half an hour to get here.”

“You’d better get him to bring something to transport a wolf in. I don’t think Kurt has the strength to turn.”

“I’ll warn him. I’ll move him in the cattle trailer if I need to. Then Brad can shut him in one of the kennels until this mess is sorted out.”

Sam stared at Fiona. “And who is this one?”

“She’s mine,” Hal said.

Sam looked at her more closely and then at Hal. “I didn’t think I’d ever see the day that our hermit found a woman. Come on in the house and warm up. Antonia will fix you something warm to eat. You can eat off a plate; I’ll bring bowls for these mutts.”

She looked at Hal, who nodded. Then she changed, eager to have something to eat and to sit by a warm fire.

“Sam, this is Fiona.”

“Good to meet you, Fiona. Does this mean you’ll be moving back to civilisation?” Sam asked as they walked across to the farmhouse.

“We haven’t discussed it,” Hal said.

“I like the cabin,” Fiona said, slipping her cold hand into Hal’s.

“Then you must be his mate. I don’t know any woman who would live up there.” Sam opened the farmhouse door and Fiona practically ran inside, it was so warm and inviting. “Antonia, we have guests.”

“Hello, Hal.”

“Antonia. This is Fiona.”

“Fiona. You look frozen. Come and sit by the fire.”

“I’ll call Brad,” Sam said and left the room.

“Are you both alright? Sam said there were wolves coming down the mountain.”

“We ran into some trouble. But I think it’s sorted out now. I can’t see them giving us any more trouble.”

“Did they attack you?” Antonia asked, pouring boiling water into four mugs to make steaming hot coffee.

“They chased Fiona a couple of days ago, that’s how I found her.”

“On the mountain?”

“Yes.”

“How did you get up there? I thought your cabin was almost inaccessible in this weather, Sam.”

“It is. Fiona came from Wolf Creek.”

“Wolf Creek, so you’re a wolf?”

“Yes,” she said, lifting her chin defiantly. Why did she feel like they were not supposed to be together, as though she were unsuitable for a bear?

“And you’re Hal’s mate?”

“Yes,” she answered, her tone becoming more defensive.

“And he found you in the snow. Wow, so fate really did kick in.”

“Doesn’t it always?” Sam asked, returning to the kitchen and picking up his coffee. “Brad is on his way. None too pleased to have to come out in this weather. I’ll drink this and then take some food out for them. They look half starved.”

“They got stuck on the wrong side of the pass when the storm hit. Fools.”

“Brad will take care of it. And you two can stay the night, yes?” Antonia asked.

“I ... I’m not sure,” Fiona answered and looked at Hal.

“Brad is taking the wolves back to town; he’ll no doubt be in touch with Wolf Valley. He won't just let them go,” Hal said. “It’s late; we should stay here tonight and then go home tomorrow.”

“I think it would be best to stay here tonight. And yes, home tomorrow will be great.”

Hal’s expression dropped. “I’ll speak to Brad. I’m sure he will give you a lift.”