Mama Bear

HELEN

I pressed a cool, damp towel down on Sam’s brow.

The blood had gone to work.

From the way Jack had extracted the bullets, doing his best not to miss any errant shrapnel, I could tell this wasn’t the first gunshot wound he’d tended to.

“Occupational hazard,” he joked. The most hearty response anyone could muster was an awkward grunt.

When we’d arrived last night in Brittany’s car, I’d gotten the sense that Jack and Mom had known we were coming. I wondered if Sam had been able to let them know via some kind of bear telepathy.

Maybe it had something to do with the way my mark had connected me to Sam in the forest.

As soon as we’d arrived, Jack had taken control of the situation. His friend Joe was there, and on Jack’s instruction, had brought Brittany upstairs to get to work on her wounds.

“The bullet went right through,” Mom told me later. “She’ll be fine after she rests.”

Brittany was upstairs sleeping now. The sun had just started to rise.

There was no time to get Sam into a bed, so we’d carried him to the living room sofa, which Mom had covered with sheets like a makeshift emergency room.

I’d bitten basically all of my nails off watching Jack tend to Sam.

~You have to be okay.~

~You have to be okay.~

~You have to be okay!~

After what felt like days but was actually just a couple of hours, Jack had removed the bullets and given Sam a small transfusion of his blood.

Sam had already started to heal.

My mom had helped to clean his wounds and had showed me how to change the dressings.

I knelt beside Sam’s face, wiping the feverish sweat away and kissing him lightly.

“I love you,” I told him.

“The elders won’t like this intrusion,” Joe said, coming down the stairs after tending to Brittany.

“No, they won’t,” Jack responded. He and my mom were sitting at the kitchen table. I saw him shoot Mom a concerned look.

Emma followed Joe down and came over to give me a hug.

“Brittany’s out like a log,” she said. “Are we going to be safe here?”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I have a plan.”

All eyes in the room turned to me.

“When we were captured, Chris was talking about finding a new route into Bear Creek.” I sounded confident but was scared about what I had to tell them next. “It’s my fault. Before I knew he was a hunter, I told him about the path to the lake.”

“Don’t blame yourself, sweetie. You didn’t know,” Mom said. But I could tell Joe and Jack felt differently.

“While we were tied up, I had a chance to see their plans. I guess Chris didn’t think we’d get away and didn’t bother covering them up. They had maps and charts all over the walls, and I know exactly which track they’re going to use.”

“We have to tell the elders immediately,” Joe said with urgency. “We have to protect those paths.”

“Yes, we do,” I said, and I felt my confidence grow. “But I have to tell them. If I bring the hunter’s plans to the elders, there’s a chance they’ll understand that we’re on the same side.”

Maybe it was surviving Chris’s kidnapping and murder attempt, but I felt braver than I’d ever felt before.

“If they think we’re here to help, maybe we can stay. At least until everyone is healed.”

“That might work,” Jack said. He glanced at Joe, who looked less sure.

“I guess it’s worth a shot. We have to go immediately—before anyone alerts them to your presence.”

“He’s right.” Jack stood up. “Anyone could have seen you arrive last night and then informed the council about a car full of strangers.”

I held Sam’s hand and squeezed it to reassure myself. He was healing but wasn’t out of the woods just yet. The thought of leaving him hurt like a physical pain in my chest.

I think Emma could see me struggling because she took my hand.

“Helen should stay here with Sam,” she said, brazen as ever. “I saw the plans too, I can point them out on a map. I’ll go.”

I could tell everyone was a little taken aback.

“But Emma…” I was grateful to her, but if the plan didn’t work…

If the elders didn’t believe us…

I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything happened to Emma.

“It might be dangerous.”

“Joe and I will protect her,” Jack said. “You stay here and make sure Sam is fine.”

“I’ll come too,” Mom said, standing up. “I won’t let anything happen to my daughter from another water.”

I’d already seen my mother jump in front of an angry bear to save Jack. I trusted her to keep Emma safe.

“Thank you.” I looked into my mother’s eyes and only wished I had the courage I saw there.

“This shouldn’t take too long,” Jack said, grabbing his jacket.

~I hope they’ll be back soon.~

After the four of them left, quiet settled over the house.

Refreshing the cool towel on Sam’s head, I looked around.

I realized that I felt at home here. More so than I had when I’d returned to college after Sam and I had mated.

There was something peaceful and grounded about the stone walls and thick beams of wood—strong and comforting. The warmth from the open fire and lively shades of green peeking through the windows.

“Penny for them…”

Sam’s eyes were open. I gave his hand a squeeze and ran the other through his hair.

“It feels like home,” I said and smiled.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea that Chris was the one who…”

“It’s not your fault. Hunters are sneaky and they don’t forget.”

I traced a line across his cheek with my thumb.

“Am I…am I really ~pregnant~?”

We hadn’t had a chance to talk about it since the car. In fact, I’d barely had time to think about it.

Asking Sam that question, I realized I already knew the answer.

I could feel it.

Sam simply smiled in response. I kissed him excitedly. Maybe too excitedly as he winced in pain.

“Sorry!” I said, backing off. “How did you know?”

“Heightened sense of smell.” He laughed a little and winced again.

“You could smell it?” I asked, a little grossed out.

“And sense it. You’re going to be an amazing mama bear,” Sam said, and growled a little.

“Do you think…” I couldn’t stop thinking about how the mark had felt last night, how it still felt. It was as if a new link had connected Sam to me.

I could feel his emotions. The bond only seemed to grow stronger as his wounds healed.

“…Do you think the baby is why I can feel you?”

“Maybe,” Sam said, his voice sounding tired. “When bears are mated, they usually have a deep connection. Almost like they can communicate with their minds. I didn’t think we would have that…because you’re a human.”

“So maybe I’m feeling you through the baby?”

“Maybe.” I could tell Sam was running out of steam. “It’s hard to say, exactly. Bear pregnancies aren’t the same as human pregnancies.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. Questions started bubbling up in my mind.

~Not the same how?~

~Should I be worried?~

~Am I going to be okay?~

“Sam?”

He didn’t answer, though. His eyes closed again, and he drifted off to sleep.

Within minutes, I had started to drift off too. It had been a long night.

I knew that everyone I loved was more or less safe. The danger was over.

Suddenly, my body felt heavy.

I grabbed a cushion and lay down on the floor next to Sam.

I fell asleep immediately.

***

The sun was setting when I woke up.

Golden evening light was beaming through the branches of the trees outside. A dim orange glow had filled the house.

I sat up and looked around.

Sam was still asleep, but his cheeks looked as if his color was returning.

The house remained quiet. There was no sign that anyone had come home yet.

~Are they still with the elders?~

~Why is it taking so long?~

~I hope they’re okay.~

I rubbed my face and leaned against the couch.

I was facing the glass wall that looked out into the yard.

There was an ache in my side from where I’d slept on the rug. I felt like I could go right back to sleep.

But that wasn’t an option.

The hairs on my neck stood up.

I jumped up and moved toward the door.

There was movement in the bushes at the back of the yard.

Something was coming up through the trees.

I opened the door and walked slowly into the yard.

Sam was vulnerable on the couch.

Brittany was upstairs, weak and injured.

The others weren’t back.

It was all on me.

Finally, the branch was moved from his path—and Chris staggered onto the grass.

~How is this possible?!~

The last time I saw Chris, he had been a mess of broken bones and torn flesh.

~He’s supposed to be dead!~

Yet here he was.

Although horribly scarred, his skin was healed over. One arm hung limply at his side, but the other was intact.

He was limping, grimacing every time he stepped on his right leg, but he could walk.

His hair was a mess, and his clothes were still torn and bloody.

But he was alive and coming toward me.

There was desperation on his face.

Hatred in his eyes.

In his good hand, he held the double-barreled rifle.

“Don’t come any closer!” I shouted across the yard.

~What am I doing?~

I should be running to the house, locking the doors and hiding.

But Chris was determined. Hell! He looked like a zombie, back from the dead, and intent on getting revenge.

If I ran and hid, he would keep coming until he found me.

I knew he wouldn’t stop until he killed everyone I loved.

“I won’t be humiliated!”

Chris’s voice was a jagged, high-pitched wail.

“You won’t humiliate me in front of my father!”

“I never meant to humiliate you,” I said. “But I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”

Chris exploded into a hysterical cackle.

“Your boyfriend the bear couldn’t stop me! You think you can?!”

He was snide and condescending, but I wasn’t about to back down.

“Why aren’t you as dead as you look?” I asked.

“Your boyfriend bled on me. His life force entered my body and resuscitated me.”

~Wow, that bear blood really is powerful stuff!~

“And now that he’s revived me. I’m going to finish what I started!”

That ungrateful son of a bitch. He literally wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Sam. He should have been crawling here to thank him, not trying to blow his brains out.

“I won’t let you!”

The words came out before I knew what I was saying.

Bravery swelled in my chest.

“As if you can stop me!”

Chris lifted the rifle and pointed the barrel at my heart.

Anger filled my veins.

I thought about Sam lying defenseless inside.

I thought about his child growing inside me.

I thought about the life—the family—we were going to have, here in Bear Creek.

There was nothing I wouldn’t have done to protect Sam and our baby.

Then…before I knew what was happening…I began to…

~Change.~

I felt the shift begin in my gut.

The power spread through my body, extending along my limbs to my toes and my fingers…

My muscles pulsed and morphed…

My bones stretched and clicked into a new formation…

Fur sprouted all over my body…

A long snout protruded from my face…

My fingers became claws and my teeth lengthened into fangs…

I grew and grew until I was double my human height…

I’d shifted!

Horror filled Chris’s face. The rifle shook in his quivering grip.

I stood before him in my new form.

I couldn’t believe it!

I was a bear!

~I’M A BEAR!~

At the opposite end of the garden, Chris tried to compose himself.

I watched him through my new eyes as he gripped the rifle tighter…

I watched as he positioned his finger on the trigger…

The newly risen moon was just peeking above the trees.

I inhaled and felt my lungs fill with country air.

I reared back ready to charge…

Ready to defend my home.

I opened my jaws and growled…

~ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!~