Waking the Bear (Shifter Wars) (16 page)

Rain pelted her as she slid in the muddy clumps that had landed on top of the car. She pushed her wet hair out of her face and sat, her jeans soaked and dirty. On one side of the car, the mountain rose above the road, a chunk of the incline missing where it had fallen away and down onto the roadway and Amy’s car.

The spring thaw had likely made the loose dirt unstable, and the rain had helped push everything downhill. Bits of snow and ice thawed in the mud, and a huge boulder blocked the road down the mountain.

“Good thing that rock didn’t hit the car.” She wiped the rain out of her eyes. Not a creature in sight.

“Yes, you are one lucky lady.”

She whipped her head around. Standing on the opposite side of the road was Evers. Dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt, he looked the bad guy part, only rain-soaked.
Damn imagination.

Her heart thudded and her mouth went dry.
Shit
. This was bad. Why couldn’t it have been Griff who found her? Why was Evers on the side of the mountain, standing in the rain and smiling at her like the cat who ate the canary? What were the odds?

“What are you doing up here?” She wiped her hands on her jeans. “In the rain? Not a great day to be out.”

“Same as you, I suppose. Sightseeing. Look at the sight I found!” He stuck his hands in his pockets and grinned. “I hoped I’d run into you again, Amy. I didn’t think it would be so soon, but I’m happy to see you. How about you? Are you happy to see me?”

“Where’s your car?” She backed to the edge of the roof. Something about this was wrong. Very wrong.

He shrugged. “Don’t have one with me.”
Don’t need one. You know that.

Lightning flashed followed by a long roll of thunder that echoed off the cliffs. The rain, already assaulting and cold, seemed to get even colder in the wake of Evers’s words. Amy shivered, soaked. Her T-shirt stuck to her and she rubbed her arms.

She didn’t take her gaze off Evers. She didn’t trust him one bit. Some guys joked around about forcing their way. Some meant it. She didn’t doubt Evers’s intent for one minute.

Griff, where are you?

“Are you going to call the sheriff for me?” she asked. Her teeth chattered. “And a tow truck? I need help.”

“Nope.” He toed his boot at the ground.
Griff isn’t coming. But I’m here.

She pondered his words. Was he really speaking in her mind or was that her imagination, too? Was she making up his conversation? Her heart hammered and she shook, her teeth chattering. The cold was getting to her, or maybe it was her fear, or maybe both. “Who then? I can’t get my car out of this mess.”

“I can handle this, beautiful.” He took a step toward the car then backed away from the mud, shaking his boot. In the pouring rain, he almost looked like an apparition. A dark one. “Do you doubt my ability to help you? You know I want to help you.”

“But...” Why wouldn’t he call the police? Or a tow truck?

“If you’ll remember, we didn’t get a chance to finish what we started last night.” He paused. “Now, we can. Without interruption. No one else is here to bother us or stop us. A little rain never hurt anyone.”

Fear rose in her throat and she scrambled on the car hood, almost sliding off onto the muddy ground. “No. Get away from me.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to have much say in the matter.”

She pulled out her phone again.
Please work
. No signal. She stuck it into her pocket. What did she have in the car that she could use as a weapon?
Nothing
. Dammit, she had a tire iron in the trunk, but the keys were in the ignition.

Your phone won’t work out here.
“I’m coming for you, beautiful.” Evers paced the edge of the mud, stooping to pick up a branch, then poking it into the mud to gauge depth. “Soon, you’ll be coming for me. If you catch my drift.” He laughed. “I know you want me. You’re just too prim and proper to admit it. I’ve known a lot of girls like you. A whole lot of girls.”

“I’ll never be with you! Never!” Fear intertwined with rage and she was suddenly warm. She knew what she had to do. She had to get to the tire iron, and quickly.

“Griff doesn’t like anyone touching his girl, does he?” Evers circled the rockslide area. “I didn’t know he had a girl, but now that I do, well, I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.” He yelled the last part, as the low rumble of thunder shook the air. “Not that he knows what’s happening here, after I paid him a visit.”

She ignored him and slid off the car into the mud. She’d run all the way down the mountain if she had to. So what if she got muddy? That no longer mattered. She’d get away from this creep. The mud came up over her ankles, and was cold and wet and heavy on her feet. She lifted her foot. Yes, she could move. She reached inside the car and grabbed her keys, then hurried to the trunk.

Evers headed for her, stepping around some of the rocks that had bounced far out onto the road.
I’m coming, Amy.
He’d still have to go through the mud to reach her. She fumbled with the wet keys then popped the trunk. Where was that stupid tire iron? She’d seen it when she packed the car in Atlanta.

She dug around, pushing aside a bottle of antifreeze and a couple dirty rags. The trunk was pretty much empty, but the tool had to be in the compartment somewhere. Lightning lit the inside of the trunk then a clap of thunder followed. The storm was close.

Where was the damn tire iron? Evers grinned. She dug in again; this time she found it, under the rags. She grabbed the cold length of metal and pulled it out, then leaned against the car and held up the tool, her hands shaking. Unsure of how menacing she looked, she’d not hesitate to use the weapon if Evers pushed her. She’d told Griff she could take care of herself, and she’d meant it.

I am woman; hear me roar.

The whole situation would be funny if it weren’t so real. She’d rather be schooled in guns or something but she’d have to rely on her self-defense classes. Weird how she’d never felt she needed one in the city, but then she was out in the woods and suddenly her life was in danger almost every day. Who would’ve thought that was possible?

“Oh, no you don’t.” Evers slogged through the mud toward her. “You won’t hit me, beautiful.”
You’d better not hit me, bitch. You’d better not even try.

“Watch me.” She brandished the tire iron over her head. “Don’t come any closer.”

Before she had the chance to swing, Evers was on her, pulling the weapon out of her mud-slicked hands and knocking them both to the ground. The mud filled her mouth and she spat and struggled to get Evers off her.

He lay on top of her, heavy for his compact size, and so strong. She couldn’t move. She felt his breath on her face, mixed with the rain.
You like that, don’t you?

“You won’t be needing this.” He held the tire iron up and tossed it away.

It clanged against a rock when it landed. Tears filled her eyes and she hammered Evers with her fists.

“Leave me alone!”

“You’re coming with me. Stop fighting it.”
You can’t win.

He yanked her upright, holding her wrists, and dragged her away from the car. She slipped, scraping her knees on the rocks in the mud.

“You’re hurting me.” She winced and he pulled harder.

“That’s what you’ll get and more, if you don’t cooperate. Now stand up and come on.” He grabbed the tire iron off the ground. “Don’t make me use this.”

Thunder boomed in the distance and the rain slammed against the ground in sheets. She couldn’t help the tears that fell. At least Evers wouldn’t get the satisfaction of knowing the difference between her tears and the rain.

“Griff isn’t coming to get you, I’m sure of that.” Evers yanked her. “Or should I say, I
made
sure of that.”

No
. He wasn’t going to win. She struggled to escape, and slipped out of his muddy hands.
Go!
She made it to the grass, but sharp pain behind her knees had her rolling on the ground. My god, he’d actually hit her with the tire iron.
Griff, help me!
Tears flowed freely now and she stared up at the rainy sky, pain radiating from her calves.

Evers stood over her, tire iron in hand. “The next blow will be to your pretty head if you don’t cooperate, got it?”

She nodded, curling into a fetal position. Muddy tears stung her eyes. If only she’d listened to Griff. She could still be at the cabin in his arms. Maybe in her bed. Why did she always screw things up?

Evers raised the tire iron. “Get up. You’re coming with me now, or I’ll use this again.”

A series of loud growls filled the air, and Evers turned. A grimace crossed his face and he dropped the tire iron. He began peeling off his wet clothing.

“Oh no,” she whimpered. “No...”

Naked, his back to her, he roared. His body contorted and bulged like something else was inside it, trying to get out.

What the hell?

She sat up, her legs aching from the blow. She held her head, dizzy from pain.

Where Evers had been just a moment ago stood a golden mountain lion, mouth open and panting. Behind him, several large brown bears paced.

She screamed.

* * *

Griff snorted as Amy’s scream pierced his bear heart. He would fucking kill the lion for hurting her. He motioned to the other bears with his nose. They circled in on the mountain lion, trying to cut off any path of escape. They’d left their vehicles in the road and shifted as soon as they came upon the rockslide.

Evers. His gut had been right. Evers had gone after Amy.

He could smell her pain.

Her fear.

His mate was injured. His bear roared and white-hot anger gushed through him as he gnashed his teeth. The rain slid off his fur and dripped onto the ground. He nodded to his friends. There would be no leniency.

Get him.

Griff wanted to run to Amy, make sure she was okay, but first they had to deal with Evers. Plus, she didn’t know the whole situation and he didn’t know how she’d respond to being charged by a huge brown bear, no matter how gently he tried to approach her. This wasn’t how he’d hoped to tell her the news that he was a shifter.

Things were going to change and he’d tell her as soon as she was safe.

He let out another growl and the other four bears replied with grunts. Evers didn’t have a chance. No other lions were in sight, and Griff figured that Evers was alone. He didn’t scent Marco and Mason, or any other lion, but the rain could be interfering.

Griff loped toward the lion, enjoying the click of his thick claws on the wet ground. He’d slice Evers to bits. Watch him bleed out. Enjoy making him suffer.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others flank the cat so he couldn’t escape. They knew to let Griff be the one to take out the lion.

He growled again, this time from deep in his gut. No one hurt his mate. No one.

For a brief moment, he locked gazes with Amy. Covered in mud, she held her hand over her open mouth. Fear contorted her face, and her tears mixed with rain. A flash of what might be recognition crossed her gaze. Was that possible? Maybe, since she was his mate, but impossible to tell right now. Stranger things had happened.

The lion hissed and leapt onto the roof of Amy’s car, his tail swishing as he paced, and his claws scratching against the metal roof. Griff dashed to the car and reared up on hind legs, pawing at the air with his claws. He wanted to see fear in Evers. As a bear, he was at least three times Evers’s size. The lion responded with a snarl and a crouch.

Griff wasn’t afraid. He didn’t feel the rocks underfoot or the rain or the mud. He wasn’t cold. All he felt was rage. Rage that Evers had dared touch his mate.

Was the whole Sen Pal pride in the forest and on their way to help Evers?

Damn, I hope not
.

Five bears, no matter how big, would be no match for a pride of lions. Griff scanned the area and took a whiff of the rainy air. Still no other lions in sight or scent. Only Evers stood before him, and his fear smelled like rotten wine. Pungent and ripe. Griff slammed his paw down onto the car, rattling it. Evers leapt to the boulder jutting from the side of the road and tried to scramble up the muddy embankment where the slide had come from.

The bears closed in behind Griff in a wide arc. He heard their panting. They wanted justice, too. They knew what the lions were capable of. Some of them had mates of their own, and they would do the same thing if someone threatened.

He paused and looked back to Amy. She stood, eyes wide. Then she ran toward the embankment.

Dammit!
Why was she running the same direction as Evers? Had she not seen him? Realization flowed over him. She was running from the bears.

She needed to get back down. If the Sen Pal were in the woods, they’d scent her before she got very far and they’d be on her in minutes. He growled his displeasure. If only he could yell at her, he would. He couldn’t shift now. He had business to take care of.

The mountain lion roared and then scampered to a small ledge on the embankment. Pebbles and small clumps of muddy grass tumbled down in his wake. The rain came in sheets now, and a clap of thunder echoed off the mountainside. Lightning lit the scene in a blue flash. Suddenly, the earth below Griff’s feet trembled.

Oh shit! Another slide!

The other bears moved as quickly as Griff did, but Evers was halfway up the rocky face and Amy was near the embankment. Griff watched as the mud and rocks began to fall down from the mountain above. The whole mountainside appeared to shake.

He backed away to avoid the brunt of the slide. How would he get to Amy? She was limping and going in the wrong direction. Away from him. She didn’t know the bears were friendly. She was scared and choosing one lion over five bears. The bears paced. They didn’t know what to do.

He looked back to the ledge. Evers had shifted to human form.

Dammit.

The rocks fell faster and more frequently now, bouncing down the side of the mountain. Amy was on the ground, arms covering her head, and Evers was making his way toward her, half sliding through the mud, his naked body already half-covered.