For a moment, he studied her. He could barely make out what she looked like under her thick layers, but the blood from her wound seemed to be slowing. The trail of it she left behind her threatened to rile him up again.
Focus!He chided,going roaring and stamping around isn’t going to help anything. Just focus on what yeh need to do right now. Right now I need to—why is she laying all askew?
He nosed her shoulder and spotted her pack underneath her. He chuffed, the closest he could make to a laugh in this form.Thatwas why he’d had such a hard time pulling her out.
Now that she was free of the tree, he was faced with figuring out what he meant todowith her.
Leaving her here on the snow was no different than down in the hole, so he should at least get her to shelter. He shifted back to his human form, the familiar shrinking and itching feeling provided a small measure of grounding to his panicked mood. He immediately felt the bite of the cold snow on his bare feet and shivered. He was less sensitive to the cold in his human form than a regular human would be, but he would quickly freeze to death if he remained naked in this weather. Berne had a few minutes before he would feel the chill too badly. Berne reached down and gently turned her head away, praying she didn’t wake up. The last thing he needed was her waking up and staring at his cold-shriveled cock.
Berne stood, wiping his hands on his thighs before reaching for her pack. Luckily, she had some rope secured through a strap, so he unwound it. He hefted her onto his back and looped the rope around their bodies loosely. He hadsomeidea of how much slack he might need to accommodate his other form, but he knew it was a guess at best. Berne pulled an end through another loop and clutched it in his teeth. He didn’t look forward to having to bite it the whole way, but it gave him some ability to size the carrying harness he’d made.
Satisfied with how secure she felt , he shifted back into his bear form, letting out a wheeze as the rope tightened uncomfortably. He shifted his weight, testing her balance on his back. It wasn’t perfect. He’d need to be careful, but it was workable. He had a cave nearby, so he didn’t have to carry her too far.
The makeshift sling ended up working better than he’d expected. Every so often, he would need to throw his weight one way or another to shift her back to a stable position. Nevertheless, Berne made good time, and they arrived at one of his patrol caves within an hour. He kept them tidy, so there was a firepit, a cleared-off area for her to rest, and even a door he’d fashioned to close it off.
When he settled her down, he quickly dressed in his wool tunic and pants and went to check her wounds. He cleaned and bound her head, removing her strange eyewear and brushing as much of her hair away from the gash as he could. It would need a good wash and stitching, but he didn’t have any needle or gut as any cuts he had were always solved with a quick shift. His knowledge of bones was not going to be sufficient to set her broken arm, either. He would need to get help from Sanctuary if he had any hope of saving her.
In the plodding way of a bear, he’d simply done the next logical thing, one after another, and now found himself in a bit of a situation. It had all seemed so clear yesterday. Follow the strange woman, scare her away if she got too close to Sanctuary, go home and tell everyone he was leaving to find a mate, find her again, mate her and return home. If he took her to Sanctuary now, she’d be in immediate danger. So why did he suddenly feel theneedto do just that?
His whole life, their policy had been a swift elimination ofanyonewho pressed the Boundary, but recently the council had found texts indicating the Lady might have disagreed with such practices. Until now, he hadn’t much cared how they decided. Never before had he questioned his people’s tenets against outsiders the way he had in the last week. Heknewthey had a sacred duty to protect; but since he’d begun following her, Berne had found himself railing against about the compulsory execution policy. If he was honest, he supposed it had never really sat right with him but she was forcing him to admit it.
Maybe it was something about her. Or, he considered, it was that she reminded him of Annika. Not in any specific way, just—she was out here, alone, with such joy and exuberance. Thinking of his baby sister made his throat tighten and he groaned in anguish, the feelings hitting him as if she’d been lost yesterday. He hadn’t been able to save Nika, but maybe he could save his woman.
Perhaps that was all it was—a lingering wish that he could have done something. A fantasy that he could have known she was in trouble, could have gone to her, instead of searching for her only to find, days later, what was left. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the image of the blood spattered snow and the shreds of Annika’s clothing. This woman didn’t need to die, not like that. Heknewthe council would prefer he let her die, if not do the deed himself. But looking at her, he didn’t see how he could. He hung his head and let out a confused moan, long and low.
Perhaps I’ll leave, and when I return, she’ll have fled and the problem will resolve itself, then, I can just find her again in a few weeks like I’d planned,he thought, starting to hope and then realizing the thought of being away from her now was offensive. And anyhow, the council would never allow it; if they got even the tiniest whiff or hint of her, which in a matter of days another ranger would be around and catch her scent, he’d have to hunt her down. Or worse, that other ranger would, some young buck who wouldn’t even consider the new ways of thinking. She couldn’t leave.
He waved his head from side to side in frustration and groaned again.
This wouldn’t be a problem if she wasn’t so adorable. She’s too bonnie by half is the problem.He huffed, coming to a decision.I’ll just have to make sure she stays.When they meet her, she’ll make ’em realize we can’t go around killing perfectly normal folks for investigating things that merit investigating.He wasn’t sure what they should doinstead, but that was whytheywere the council andhewas just a border ranger.
He nodded to himself, his woman was the perfect example to prove thingsneededto change around here. He could pop back, and get someoneactuallyknowledgeable about medical stuff and a council member to handle the situation. She’d likely lose her research, and she’d be crushed, but anyone would rather lose a bit of writing thandie. Or, Berne considered sheepishly,perhapsthey’d let her keep her research if she stayed. He wouldn’t mind at all, she could even stay with him if she needed until they assigned her housing. The thought spawned a pleased smile—it sounded nice.
His mind entirely clear on the matter, Berne settled her close to the fire pit and built a small, contained fire. Hopefully, it would burn for nearly as long as it would take for him to get back. He pulled a few bits of jerky from her bag and left them on her chest before he took off her shoes and thick woolen socks. A warm blanket tucked around her, Berne grimaced with distaste. He didn’t like trapping her here, but taking her footwear and supplies seemed the kindest way of keeping her in one spot. After double-checking the fire and her blankets, he tied both of their bags onto a bundle, shifted back to his bear, and crept out the door.
1.In extremely snowy areas, the branches of evergreen trees shield the ground beneath them from receiving as much snow as the surrounding area, creating an often deep well which can be extremely dangerous. When falling in, individuals can hit their head and can be suffocated under snow in efforts to rescue them.
2.Shifters tend to exhibit signs of distress associated with their animal in both forms. All of these are signs that would seem odd in a human, but demonstrate distress in bears.
3.Over my years with the people of Sanctuary, and specifically shifters, I am constantly fascinated by the interactions between their human logic, emotions and instincts and those of their shifted form(s). While there are recommendations on how to balance the two “selves” it is still something that each shifter must navigate on their own, with varying levels of integration.
4.This method, digging into the side of the well and creating a packed ramp is one of the safest methods for extracting someone from a tree well.
Chapter five
Sirin
IN WHICH OUR HEROINE IS EXCEEDINGLY ANGRY AT HER OWN CONFUSION, THE PEOPLE AROUND HER, AND LIFE IN GENERAL
Sirinwoketoneardarkness and pain. Her head throbbed and her wholebodyseemed to ache. Of all the types of pain there were, she was lucky to experience several of them at once. Joy. She blinked, wondering why her tent was so cold. Shifting to turn on her little portable stove, she hissed as pain shot through her shoulder. Immediately, she attempted to repair the area but found her lunula stores almost depleted. Had she fallen asleep without drinking more lunula,again? The cold seemed to increase as she slowly became aware of her surroundings. She was not in her bed at all, but in a cave. Next to her a sputtering fire provided some small measure of warmth and light. What little she could see of the cave did not seem the least bit familiar, nor did she remember camping here for the night.
How had she gotten here? Sirin tried to recall where she’d been and what she’d been doing, but her thoughts kept slipping from her mind. Last she could remember, she’d snuck out from the Citadel earlier than she’d planned. Perhaps she’d camped here for the night and somehow forgot? No, camping here for the night did not account for any of her injuries or why she didn’t seem to be wearing footwear at all. She could only surmise she’d somehow injured herself and had been rescued by a group sent by the Citadel.
Dammit, this is not what I need.A wave of panic washed over her, making her feel like she’d been dunked in ice. The consequences for going against the Lord Lunologist could be dire, and she had no interest in finding out what hers might be.
Sirin turned her head, trying to see if she could get any more oriented while being completely horizontal. From her limited view, she couldn’t see her pack or any other supplies the other scholars might have left. She realized she couldn’t smell other humans either. Her sense of smell was heightened, but she hadn’t the faintest idea why. She could smellsomething, though. What she couldn’t understand was why she was having a hard time identifying the scent. It didn’t match any animal she’d ever smelled, but also, somehow, it felt familiar. It wasn’t human, but it was close, and it also reminded her of a bear, her bear specifically. The scent had faded, so he wasn’t here with her now, but she’d guess he’d been here recently.
It must be the scent of my human rescuer over that of a bear who lived here at one point.She sat with the thought for a minute, but it felt wrong. Except it was only one smell, and it was fresh.
