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REX: Leah informs me this Belle is here somewhere, getting everyone out
Leah’s going to be in trouble for keeping him out of the loop on this one.
ETHAN: Get someone to find her for me. Make sure she’s safe. I’m coming up the driveway and Leon’s trying to run. I’ll head him off, but I could do with some back-up
REX: On our way
The sedan is nearly upon me, light glinting on the windscreen as it bounces down the road, and I curse. I’m no match for a bear, but if I can hold him here until the others arrive… maybe that could work. Remembering how he threatened to assault Belle if she went into heat, my anger rises.
No matter what, I can’t let Leon get past me.
Sliding down in the seat and pulling the visors, I keep my speed steady. Just as Leon passes, I jerk the wheel, gritting my teeth against the pain any movement to my charred back causes.
The nose of my car crashes into the side of his, spinning both of us off the road. Leon’s speed takes him into the hedgerow and beyond into the field. The vehicle rolls onto its side.
Tyres squealing and metal screeching fill the air as I careen toward a nearby fence. The airbag smashes into my face, and my seatbelt jerks me backward as the car comes to an abrupt stop. The most painful part is hitting my back against the seat.
Then, there’s silence.
A furious bellow sends a shiver down my spine.
I suppose it was too much to hope he’d be knocked out and stay that way until the cavalry arrives. I reach down to release my seatbelt, shaking the broken glass off my lap as I scramble out of my wreckage. Sucking a deep breath, I try not to be sick as each movement stretches and irritates the scorching wound on my back.
On the far side of the road, I watch in horror as Leon rips his car door off the hinges and falls out onto grass, landing on all fours, the door still in hand.
Locking his black, beady eyes on me, he snarls and starts to shift, expanding and growing before my eyes.
Chancing a glance behind him, I can see there are three other occupants still in the car, and it looks like they’re out cold.
But Leon, as he grows in size, his shoulders hunching and his clothes shredding into piles around him, is terrifying enough.
By the time there’s a gigantic grizzly standing thirty feet away, making the ground shake with each stomp of his massive paws, I’m pretty certain this was a stupid idea.
“Leon, we all know this was Lucia and Toby’s master plan. Disarm the second bomb and help Steel with the investigation!”
The bear in front of me, swaying from side to side, rumbling loudly, doesn’t care about morals or accountability. He’s just pissed off that I’ve ruined his escape. Eyeing me like I’m more of a nuisance than a threat, he charges. I launch myself high into the air, shifting mid-leap, and sail over his head, taking only a glancing blow to one leg as I land behind him. The damage to my shoulder not yet healed enough to take my full weight, I stumble forward.
Moving quicker than I expect, he spins and grips my ankle in his jaw, biting down hard. I howl in pain, my cries answered by the wolves I can hear racing from the hotel. Twirling and taking a chunk out of his ear, I escape Leon’s grip and dive away, my injured leg dragging behind me.
He attacks again and again, wearing me down, his sheer size almost impossible to defend myself against. The skin on my back splits and cracks where it’s attempting to heal, and I feel blood oozing down between my shoulder blades.
Ducking behind my car, I try to catch my breath, but he’s there in an instant, shouldering the car out of the way and dragging one massive paw down my flank. The tang of blood fills the air and I grunt, already weakened from my earlier injuries.
The thunder of paws approaches, but as Leon looms large over me, I know they’re too far away.
His breath stinks. This close, I can see scars covering his body; a map of all the battles he’s been through, the tales he has lived to tell. Biting his muzzle, I try to keep those huge teeth away from myself, driving my claws into his belly and digging in. I feel his blood hitting my coat, but his bear almost smiles, enjoying the thrill of the fight. With a shake of his broad head, he dislodges my grip and dives forward, gripping my neck in his mouth.
Closing my eyes, I curse the fact that I don’t have the ability to mindlink Belle.
Can she feel how much I love her? How much I admire her for doing everything she could to keep other wolves safe?
With one last burst of strength, I manage to push Leon back and his teeth lose their hold on my fur. Growling, he’s poised to come in for the kill, and I doubt I’ll have the energy to fight him off. Suddenly, he’s lifted off his feet and thrown through the air. Blinking away the dark spots dancing in front of my eyes, I squint, trying to work out what happened and where he’s gone.
Leon rolls to a stop and struggles to his feet, a confused and annoyed growl rumbling in his chest. He’s still off balance when he’s hit by a juggernaut of light brown fur and, thrown through the air, his back smacks on a tree with a horrific crack.
Gritting my teeth, I lift my head. Relief floods through me when I recognise the monstrous bear now keeping watch over the crumpled heap that is Leon: Bodhi.
His bear chuffs in greeting, immediately turning his watchful gaze back to his unmoving father. I’m about to shift and thank him when a boom in the distance makes me freeze.
