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What if the Russians find us first?
His heavy brow drew down.Then I’ll crush their damn skulls.
She leaned up on her toes and kissed his furry cheek as he bent over her.Be careful.
Always, my love.He gently squeezed her shoulders.Get some rest. I’ll be back before you know it.
She quickly padded across the floor and climbed into bed, pulling the blankets up over her chin when a shudder coursed through her. Lying back against the pillow, she prayed to the Ancients her mate would return to her unharmed.
* * *
Drasko
The storm had finallystopped, leaving deadly snowbanks that were six feet deep in some places. Drasko could navigate them in his protector form, though, pushing through them like a tractor digging out of a hole, though it took longer than he’d hoped. He surveyed the nearby shed and found it was mostly empty other than a bit of rotted firewood, some empty gas cans, and a rusty old axe—nothing of use. He bolted up the shed and pressed onward.
Once he reached the shallow stream, he heaved a strained breath then took in his surroundings as the morning sun peeked through the overhead limbs. It was as if the world had stopped spinning, holding a collective breath while waiting for winter’s frost to thaw. The stream was hardened by ice, but Drasko spied water moving beneath. All he had to do was smash it with his heavy protector foot. A few more days, and it would be completely immobile.
He understood what it had been like for his ancestors who lived in primitive huts and had to fend for themselves in harsh winters without the benefit of electricity, and even though he was supposed to be a big, tough alpha wolf, he longed for the warm hearth of his home, one of Rone’s big moose burgers, and a relaxing soak in the hot tub.
Drasko found a pine with a few dead limbs and broke them apart, snapping them like twigs in his protector form and stacking them beneath a tree. Hopefully, Luc would find them before they needed the wood. It didn’t hurt to be prepared. At the very least, he would replenish what he’d taken from whoever owned the cabin.
He'd just finished stacking the last of the wood when the wind shifted and the putrid smell hit him, and he cursed himself for not noticing it before. He grabbed a long, splintered limb to use as a weapon and spun around in time to see the polar bear racing toward him.
The bear crossed the icy stream, shattering the ice beneath his paws and splashing Drasko before rearing up on his back legs and lashing out. The beast was massive, about a foot taller than Drasko, thin for a bear, with a hungry look in his eyes. This summer hadn’t been fruitful, and now the bear was desperate to put on fat before the winter. Too bad this bear was foolish enough to pick a fight with Drasko. He’d make a nice rug for their hearth.
Drasko ducked when the bear swiped for his face, then spun around and thrust his stick into the bear’s side. The bear cried out and surprised Drasko when he charged him with amazing speed. The stick that had pierced his side fell to the ground as blood pooled around the empty hole.
The bear roared, and Drasko roared louder, beating his chest.
Drasko ducked when the bear lunged for him, but his foot slipped on the ice, and he came crashing down on one knee with a cry of pain. The bear struck his face, and he flew back onto the ice, shattering it and landing in the frigid water. His head connected with something hard, and his vision spun. One bear turned into two and then converged into one again as it pounced on him, slicing open his chest.
He cried out from the pain. He couldn’t let this bear win. Amara needed him. Arms flailing, his hand connected with a big rock. Just before the bear’s maw came crashing down on his neck, he slammed the rock into the bear’s head, once, twice, three times until he heard the distinct cracking of skull. The bear heaved a blubbery breath and collapsed on top of Drasko.
Drasko was too injured and fatigued to move the putrid-smelling bear off him. It was then he registered the stinging pain from the stream’s frigid currents. He had to get out of the water. But how? The bear was too heavy and he was too tired.
* * *
Amara
Amara tossed and turnedin bed, drifting in and out of sleep while waiting for Drasko to return. She dreamt she was a mighty protector gathering wood beside the snowy bank of a shallow stream. And then she saw the bear, smelled his foul stench, and cried out when he slashed open her chest. She shot up with a gasp. The dream had felt so real, the roars filling Amara’s skull as blood pooled in the water. She stared at her hands curled in her lap for a long moment as her eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering in through the windows. All was quiet in the cabin. Drasko still hadn’t returned, and she knew deep in her gut that hadn’t been an ordinary dream. Drasko was in trouble.
Drasko,she called out through thought, panic squeezing her chest like a vice when he didn’t answer.Drasko!she called again. Still, nothing. Their telepathic powers only extended about a mile, but Drasko shouldn’t have wandered farther than that.
She found her clothes by the stove and quickly dressed before shoving on her boots with trembling hands.
She stumbled out of the cabin, her eyes adjusting to the blinding white sun reflecting off the snow. The trees weren’t as dense here as the forest near their home, almost as if greenery had been an afterthought when the Ancients created this desolate place. It was easy enough finding the direction Drasko had gone. She followed the deep indentations of his wide protector feet in the snow. Traversing through the thick, packed snow wasn’t easy, and she panicked when she got stuck a few times, cursing her weak, mortal body, but after losing a glove and her knit cap she finally emerged in an area of denser trees and more compact ground. She followed along a frozen stream until she saw what she thought was a furry white boulder stuck in shattered ice. But, no, it was a dead bear, and beneath it was her Drasko!
Blood pumped harder through her veins as she hurried toward them, nearly falling several times while she slipped across slick ice. The ice was broken around Drasko, revealing slow moving currents. She ran into the stream, which was luckily only a few inches deep, or else Drasko would’ve drowned. The cold water penetrated her boots, the frigid temperature making her feet feel like they were being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles.
“Drasko!” she cried out, grasping his large, furry head. It was hard to see if the blood pooling in the water belonged to her mate or the bear. She couldn’t tell if he was still alive as she slipped off her remaining glove and grasped his head, her hands too numb to find a pulse. Thick blood coated her fingers, and she feared she’d found her mate too late. Closing her eyes, she prayed to the goddess for strength and infused him with every ounce of her healing magic. She didn’t know how long she remained there before she finally opened her eyes and looked down at Drasko as he blinked up at her and flashed a fanged grin. Her knees shook so hard with relief, she fell back into the water. She cried out when icy pain lanced through her legs like a million tiny shards of glass.
He shoved the bear off him with a roar and scooped her into his arms.I told you not to leave the cabin.His dark rumble echoed in her skull as he glared down at her.
Amara would’ve rolled her eyes at him, but the cold that seeped into her bones made her as stiff as a board. She struggled to conserve what little body heat she had left as she pressed against Drasko.You needed me,she answered through thought, her jaw too stiff for her to speak out loud.
You’re soaked, he answered back with a snarl.
She fisted her cold hands by her sides.So are you.
