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Even if I don’t.
Even if she’ll hate me.
At least I tried to save her.
Chapter 29
April
I run as fast as I can, not looking around to see where I’m going. I’m running on pure terror because the sight of those claws and that jaw made me cower in fear. I’ve never faced an actual fucking bear before, let alone in the wild. I’m terrified it will come running after me, but as I keep running, I realize after a while that it doesn’t.
So I come to a stop and wait for a second, looking around the area like a hawk in case I need to run. I’m utterly alone in the woods with nothing and no one to protect me.
And the only person who could was left behind.
Fuck.
Soren is fighting that bear all by himself to protect me. Even though he told me to run, a pang of guilt still shoots up and down my muscles, making me cramp up right on the spot. How could I leave him like that?
He’s the bad guy, April. He made you walk all this way just to bring you into the hands of more strange men wanting to abuse their power. If there’s anyone who deserves death, it’s him.
I shiver at the thought of Soren getting eaten by a goddamn bear.
No, not like that.
And especially not while trying to save you from the same fate.
I can’t just wait here and do nothing while he’s fighting for his life out there. It would make me just as bad.
But what do I do? How can I help?
Suddenly, a loud roar makes me look up in shock.
That was no bear.
I’d recognize that sound anywhere.
That was Soren, and he sounded in pain.
Without thinking about it, I turn around and run the other way, right back in the bear’s direction. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I can’t stand idly by and have this man suffer because of me. Because I decided to storm off that cliff and argue with him over a goddamn road.
Even though I was right … I don’t want to be that kind of human, the kind who lets others suffer just because they did the same to me.
So I rush back through the forest as fast as I can, jumping over rocks and shoving aside the branches in my way until I come to a screeching halt.
Right in front of a bloody body.
Tears well up in my eyes.
“Soren!”
I sink to the ground in front of him and grab his arm. Claw marks are everywhere, not deep enough to have him shredded, but he is bleeding. There are bear hairs and marks on his face too. He must’ve fought that thing off with everything he had left in him.
He groans and makes a face from the pain.
Fuck. I have to do something. Think fast, April.
I reach for his bag and empty the contents until I find some bandages and alcohol pads. I tear off the paper seal and wipe the wound with the alcohol, which makes him hiss. When it’s done, I unroll the bandage and wrap it around his arm.
He groans again. “April?”
I push the tears away when he reaches for my face with his unscathed hand. “I’m here,” I mutter.
“I told you … to run …” He coughs, his voice straining.
“I know, but I’m not leaving you like this,” I reply.
He tries to get up, but his whole body creaks and moves like it’s been wheeled over by a bulldozer.
“Shh … don’t move,” I mutter, finishing the wrap around his arm.
There’s a strange, almost surprised look on his face. “Why … did you come back?”
My cheeks flush with heat from the way he looks at me, his eyes filled with worry and confusion. “I … I couldn’t just let you sacrifice yourself.”
His head flops down onto the ground, and for a second there, I almost believe he’s fading out of consciousness.
But then he smiles.
He actually smiles.
And it’s a handsome smile too.
Goddamn.
So much that it makes me clear my throat and pull more stuff out of the bag just to take my mind off it.
“Stubborn little Kitty,” he murmurs.
I’m caught between a mixture of embarrassment and rage.
“I am not a kitty,” I say.
“You sure hiss like one,” he retorts.
“Should you be worried about that with a wound like this?” I hold up his arm until his face contorts from the pain.
“Fine, you win,” he growls back, which makes me smile for once.
He leans up on his elbows, but I press my hand on his chest. “Whoa, where are you going?”
“Up. We should move,” he replies, pushing through, despite my reservations.
“You should stay still and let me check the rest of your injuries. You took on a bear for crying out loud.”
He sits up and takes a few deep breaths, then inspects his arm. “I’m fine. But that bear could come back.”
