Chapter 11

11

H adlee hung up the phone and searched in the garage until she found a large flashlight. Then she tore off into the woods, shining the beam of light ahead of her so she could make out the uneven terrain and look for any signs of Indiana and Jones. Sheriff Wade was on his way, and all they had do was stay out of danger until he arrived. If she could find Indiana and his dog, she could?—

Crack! A gunshot shot shattered her thoughts.

"Indy!" she screamed, and started moving fast, frantic. She slipped and tripped over rocks and roots, tearing the skin on her knees as she landed on the ground. Hadlee grasped the flashlight, got up, ignoring the pain, and continued onward.

Can't stop. Have to find them. The mantra ran over and over in her head, driving her forward into the dark woods.

She pushed away the pain of her sore body and the stinging cuts and kept moving. The second gunshot nearly ripped her heart from her chest in sheer shock. Figures emerged from the gloom up ahead. She swung the flashlight beam in that direction and spotted Indy lying on the ground, a man pressing a boot to the back of his shoulders and aiming a rifle at the back of his head.

"No…" The single word escaped her with a pained moaned before it turned into a howl of rage.

It had to stop… This endless violence… This cruelty.

I have to stop it. The thoughts were so loud in her head they seemed to echo off the distant mountains and shake the forest.

Hadlee moved without thought, her body leaning into ancient instincts as she charged the men. She flung the flashlight away, the beam of light spiraling in sharp flashes off the nearest trees. But Hadlee focused only on the threat before her that must be eliminated.

I will stop them. I will protect my mate. Those words seemed to roar from a deep cavern within her chest which held the secrets of the unquenchable flame within her heart. It beat a rhythm that could never be stopped. She would burn on this night. She would burn up the world to save the man she loved.

Hadlee… Her name whispered among the ghostly branches of the birches and quivered within the hollows of the oldest oaks. Time seemed to slow down, the men before her almost unmoving as she listened to the forest.

Would you save him? Would you claim him?

The trees were calling her name, offering her the power to save Indiana.

Yes … she breathed back, drawing in the scents of the earth and the sky, letting it fuel her inner fire.

She accepted the power, promised any price she'd have to pay to save the man she loved, the man that she'd been unable to say the words to. Now she would show him her love.

Her clothing tightened, her body strained, every muscle and bone moved out of place and then … freedom came with fur . Sharp new senses exploded around her: the tangy smell of blood, the acrid smell of gunpowder, and male human sweat. She processed it all in a matter of seconds as she surged across the clearing and attacked.

Her paws struck flesh, her claws dug deep into bone. She was bathed in the terrified screams of the human men as she protected what belonged to her.

When the screaming stopped, when the bodies on the ground ceased to move, she panted and swung her head about, confused as the battle lust faded. Who … who was she? Where was she? She sniffed the wind, listened to the trees, which sung of safety in the distant mountains if only she could run away. She turned her back upon the clearing and huffed uncertainly as she eyed the mountains.

Run … run away , her instincts told her. Flee this place. Flee the humans.

But she couldn't. Something kept her here, some cosmic pull that was too great for any name. She turned to face the clearing again and saw a human male's body that didn't smell bad to her. It smelled good, welcoming, despite the fact that it also smelled of blood. Cautiously she wandered her way over to him and nudged the man's face with her snout. He let out a soft groan, which drew a growl from her. The male was alive. What should she do? Was he a threat? No … he wasn't. But what was he to her, if not a threat?

"Hadlee?" The man spoke a word. A word that she felt she was supposed to know. It tugged at her mind, calling her to remember.

"Holy shit!" Another human appeared from behind her. She whirled and snarled at the newcomer, barring her teeth and ready to charge. This man held a gun raised at her, but he didn't fire.

"Indy, what the hell's going on?" the man shouted hit as his gaze darted between her and the male on the ground.

"Wade … don't shoot her. It's … Hadlee." The man on the ground groaned as he struggled for words.

The bear tilted her head at the odd words strung together. Her … Hadlee. Was she Hadlee?

The man near her reached for her paw, and she stared at his very human hand covered in blood as he gripped her claws. Rather than pull away, she studied him closely, inhaling his scent again, the scent that made her want to roll about in the grass in sunlight. His golden-brown eyes lifted to hers and even though they were full of pain, she saw an infinite universe within them. A universe that held her face … her human face.

"Come back to me, honey. Let go of the wild. Let go of your bear." It seemed like every word cost him, but his voice… Oh how she adored the sound of it, even though he was clearly in pain.

Leave the bear? But she was the bear, wasn't she? How could she leave herself?

"I'm here, Hadlee. Let go of your bear and come back to me." His grip on her paw tightened.

She turned her head once more to the hills and breathed in the wild scent of the mountains beyond. Then she let out that breath and from one second to the next, she changed. Naked, cold, trembling violently, she fell to her knees beside Indiana.

"Dammit!" Wade cursed as he rushed over to them. He shrugged out of his sheriff jacket and draped it over Hadlee's shoulders. She stared down at her blood-soaked hands that shook in the wan moonlight.

Why was she covered in blood? Death . Hadlee felt a wave of nausea force its way up. She vomited as the smells of death came to her on the breeze. Death that she had caused. She'd killed someone. More than one someone.

"Wade, check on Jones, they shot him." Indiana tried to push away the sheriff's hands as the man attempted to examine him.

"Your dog will live. It's you I'm worried about," Wade snapped. "It looks like someone shot you."

"Someone did," Indiana groaned.

"Indy?" Hadlee choked on his name as she fully realized what she had done. She had killed three men to save him. She had murdered those men. But they'd been about to kill him.

"It's okay," Indiana murmured as he struggled to sit up. "You're going to be okay, honey," he said as Wade helped him lean against a nearby tree.

"Looks like the bullet went clear through your shoulder," Wade said as he knelt by Indiana and studied the wounds. I don't think we'll have to dig a bullet out. Can you walk?"

Indiana huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I can if I need to. Can you carry Jones?"

"I can. My patrol car isn't far."

Hadlee struggled to stand, and Indiana reached for her. A current of heat instantly rippled through her as she and her mate leaned against one another for support.

"Put your arm around me," she whispered to him, and she felt some of her strength returning when she touched him. He did as she asked, and they followed behind Sheriff Wade who picked up the injured dog and cradled it in his arms.

As they got into the sheriff's car, she stared at the woods, her mind going over what she'd done. She kept seeing the men's faces, hearing their screams, tasting their blood. It was a horror movie that wouldn't stop replaying in her head.

"Hey…" Indiana tucked her against his body. "You're okay," he whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. "You're okay now."

But she wasn't. She'd killed people. She was no better than Chad.

"I've texted the doctor. I also contacted the vet," Wade said from the front seat. "They'll be ready for us when we get into town."

"We're going into town?" Hadlee asked.

"'Fraid so. I have to explain the bodies somehow, and Indiana needs treatment on that wound immediately."

Bodies . Hadlee flinched at the word and closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. She tried to master her thoughts during the drive. Twenty minutes later, the sheriff parked his car behind the back of the vet clinic. A vet and two technicians rushed out to meet them. Jones was carefully lifted out of the back of the car and carried inside.

"I need go with him," Indiana muttered as he tried to open the car door and get out. Hadlee curled her hands in his blood-soaked shirt and held onto him, keeping him where he was.

"I can go for you. You need to see the doctor. You're still bleeding, I can smell it," she said. His blood scented the air so thickly, making the bear in the back of her mind growl in distress.

"Honey, as much as I love you for wanting to do that, you can't. You don't have any clothes on," Indiana whispered.

Only then did she realize she was naked. The sheriff's coat was zipped up around her. She hadn't even remembered putting her arms in the sleeves. When had that happened? Indiana must have done it. Faint traces of his blood streaked across parts of the brown canvas coat.

"Okay, Indy. You're next. Let's get you inside and I'll find some clothes for Miss Wilson so she can stay with you while the doc looks you over."

Wade drove down the street to the medical clinic, and he and Indiana got out, leaving Hadlee alone in the dark squad car. She let out a shuddering breath as she tried to ignore the tangy scent of blood. She could smell it far more clearly now than she did as a human. Because she wasn't fully human any longer. She was a shifter, like Indiana. She'd become a bear.

Hadlee had been so lost in thought about what she'd done, she hadn't fully processed the fact that she'd shifted into a brown bear. She'd accepted the call of the wild that the trees had given her. She had fully mated herself to Indiana in that moment when he had needed her. Hadlee had saved his life and changed her own, all in an instant. The enormity of that realization stunned her.

A figure came toward the car in the dark and she relaxed when she realized it was the sheriff. He opened the back door of the SUV and handed her a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt, as well as a pair of boots.

"Put these on and then we'll check on Indy."

He waited for her to change, and they walked up to the back door to the clinic together. Just before he opened the door, he turned to face her, his features half-lit by the fluorescent lights above the back door.

"I won't tell anyone about what you are," he breathed. "But if you stay here with Indy, you have to learn to control yourself. No more killing." He wiped a hand over his face. "I know those men deserved it, but I can't protect either of you if this keeps happening."

Tears coated her face. "I didn't want to kill them. I just reacted when I saw them shoot Indy. I didn't even mean to … shift. I was fully human until the instant before I changed…"

"So you aren't like Indy then? I mean, you weren't born that way? I thought you were human, but to see you change from bear to woman, well I figured maybe I'd missed something, and you were a shifter like him."

"No, I was human. But Indiana warned me that I could shift if I…" She sucked in a sharp breath and clutched the thick sweatshirt around her shaking body.

"If what?" Wade pressed.

"If I fully accepted the true mate bond to him. It would make me be able to shift."

"True mates." The sheriff sighed and gave her a soft look of understanding. "I've heard about that, never seen it though." He studied her with more curiosity than concern. "I've heard it's a powerful thing, driven by instinct?—"

Indiana's curses suddenly filled her head, distracting her from what the sheriff was saying. Indiana was in pain and the thin veil between their minds was weaker than ever, letting her hear and feel the knife-like pain in his upper body.

"Indy's hurt!" She pushed the sheriff out of the way and grabbed the door handle, wrenching it open so hard it banged against the outer wall of the clinic. She found him in an exam room with two nurses and Dr. Ravenwood attending him. He was shirtless, and the nurses were cleaning the gunshot wounds on the front and back of his body.

"We need to pack both wounds with antibiotics and seal them with bandages. I think a few stitches would be good to help keep them closed," Dr. Ravenwood explained to Indiana.

Indy muttered his agreement and seemed to sense Hadlee's presence in the doorway. His gaze pulled away from the medical staff and he stared at her.

You okay? Her question went through the bond in her mind to him. She could feel the words travel upon a glittering path straight to him. It was beautiful … peaceful … and so real , realer than anything she'd ever felt.

Yeah, the cleaning hurt like hell but I'll be okay . After his silent reply, he held out a hand and she rushed over to him. She clasped her fingers in his and oh God, the instant comfort of their physical connection was immediate. She pressed her lips to his bare shoulder in a kiss and he squeezed her fingers tighter.

"Miss Wilson, the sheriff didn't mention you were injured. Do you need me to look at anything?" Dr. Ravenwood asked as she finished the stitches on Indiana's back.

Hadlee shook her head, still clutching Indiana's hand. "I'm fine."

"Sheriff, have you called the coroner yet?" Dr. Ravenwood asked Wade as he joined them in the exam room.

"Yep, they'll be out to the scene in half an hour. I am just waiting to escort these two home when you're done. Then I'm heading over there."

"Indiana will be done in a few minutes and I can release him," the doctor added as she peered down at Indiana's skin and added another stich. He stiffened and Hadlee held tighter to him.

"I'll wait by the car out back." The sheriff nodded at the pair of them and left the exam room. Hadlee settled in beside Indiana.

His wounds were already healing. Indiana could feel the skin slowly knitting together in the healing way of all shifters. The quickness of it was in part due to his mate. His true mate, one fully bonded to him, now sat beside him, her fingers interlinked with his. Her strength, her love, came through the bond like electricity, firing his cells into hyper-healing.

Indiana was careful not to bother Hadlee with his thoughts, not until she got used to their deeper, stronger connection. But he had so many things he wanted to ask her about what had happened tonight. Yet he couldn't even ask one question because they weren't alone.

"All done, Mr. Rivers," the doctor said. A nurse handed him his discharge papers along with wound care instructions. He promised to come back to the clinic in a few days to have the wounds checked and stitches removed.

As they exited the back of the clinic where Wade waited with his patrol SUV, Indiana put an arm around Hadlee's waist and pulled her close to whisper.

"When we're alone, we'll talk."

"All right," she agreed.

Wade took them to the vet clinic so they could check on Jones. The vet had put the dog under to remove the bullet and did his best to stabilize the injury with a cast on the dog's leg. Jones would be staying at the vet for a few more days for monitoring before he'd be allowed to go home and rest. Indiana bent over the sleeping dog on the surgery table, gently stroked the dog's head, and whispered his love in the dog's ear. Hadlee did the same, her sweet tears wetting the dog's head as she kissed him.

"Get well, we will bring you home soon," Hadlee promised Jones, and kissed his head again.

Indiana's heart quivered with a desperate joy at the way she had said we .

Everyone was exhausted when the sheriff stopped his car in front of Indiana's home.

"It's been a hell of a night," Wade muttered as he followed Indiana and Hadlee up the steps up to Indiana's front door. The front door was still half open from Jones's earlier escape.

"Will you need our statements tonight?" Indiana asked Wade.

"No, we'll cover that tomorrow. I'll handle the scene tonight," Wade said quietly. "I'm going to tell the news station tomorrow morning I was able to hunt down and kill the bear. That should keep men away from your woods."

"Thank you." Indiana shook Wade's hand. The sheriff had done more for him than he ever imagined the man would. Indiana was lucky to call him a friend.

"Just remember … no more bodies, either of you." Wade looked at Hadlee a little longer and she ducked her head.

"We promise, no more bodies," Indiana vowed. If he had to build a fence around his lands, he would do it; anything to keep men away from his sanctuary. But he would start with a good fence around the yard for Jones, to make sure the dog wouldn't run out into the night again. They'd never had trouble like this before, but they'd also never had strange men in the woods. Jones was well trained, but Indiana knew better than most people that when instincts took over, it was almost impossible to stop a creature from following them.

"I'll be back later tomorrow, and we'll work out the details of what happened and how best to handle the situation."

"Thanks, Wade." Indiana waved goodbye to Wade.

When he and Hadlee were alone, Indiana locked the door and walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She lingered in the kitchen doorway, her arms wrapped around her body. He held out a water glass and she came toward him to take it, drinking it gratefully. She set the glass down on the counter and stared at him. Her large green eyes were dark, like a forest at midnight; so beautiful and yet so solemn.

"Indy … I changed ," she whispered, her body trembling again.

"I know," he murmured and opened his arms to her.

She walked into his embrace and buried her face against his chest.

"It's okay," he whispered. Her world had changed forever.

"When I saw you hurt … I heard the trees singing to me," she whispered.

"What did they ask you?" He smoothed a hand over her hair, stroking her, and she let out a shuddering sigh.

"They asked if I loved you … if I would do anything to save you. I didn't even think. I just said yes. I would pay any price."

She lifted her face up and he stared down at the miracle in his arms. In the moment that he lay dying, she'd chosen him.

He had to force his voice to be calm before he was able to speak.

"I love you, Hadlee Wilson. I know you didn't come here expecting to find me or this life, but I promise you that until my last breath, you have my love, my protection, and my respect. My everything ."

Those lovely green eyes of hers misted with tears.

"I never thought I could jump into love like this … but you were right," she said. "In the moment that mattered, there was only one choice, one need . I couldn't imagine a world that didn't have you in it." She eased up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss on his jaw.

With a growl, he lowered his head and captured her lips, so petal soft, in a full kiss. She clutched the borrowed T-shirt he wore and without another word, he lifted her up in his arms and carried her to his room. His shoulder hurt like hell, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

His mate was in his arms, she loved him, and her love was healing them both. He laid her on his bed and stripped out of his clothing before pulling her sweats and sweatshirt off. When he climbed onto the bed after her, she pushed him onto his back. He wanted to protest, but she nipped his throat playfully in a warning that he should stay where he lay. He surrendered, letting her cover his chest with kisses and then moved over the rest of his body. He closed his eyes and threw his head back, and she took his cock in her mouth.

"Fuck … that feels … incredible." He reached above his head and dug his fingers into the wood of the headboard, clawing at its clean surface.

His little mate chuckled before licking him, and he lost count of her sweet tortures. When she finally released him and he opened his eyes, he watched her climb on top of him to fully straddle him. Her beautiful bare breasts called for his touch, and he reached up, placing his palms around the mounds and lightly squeezing. Hadlee moaned at his exploring touching and lifted her hips, gently grasped his shaft, and guided him into her body. She welcomed him deep into her wet heat that tightened around him, and they both groaned together.

"You feel incredible," Indiana breathed, his voice low and gruff as he struggled to stay in control.

"So do you." She wriggled onto him, torturing them both with a riot of new sensations. He could feel her pleasure, feel it colliding with his own, like twin stars in a galaxy spiraling closer and closer, a collision of bright glorious explosions eminent.

"Ride me hard," he demanded, his hands grasping her hips. He was driven by a need to claim her, to make love to her so thoroughly to confirm they'd both survived something truly awful, and they were both alive. He wanted to erase her fear and her pain with his love. A true mate's love could heal almost anything.

"Yes," she rasped and started to move on him. He used his hold on her hips to make each thrust grind up against her and she made soft, desperate, mewling sounds as she came apart above him. A moment later, she slumped over on his chest. Indiana kissed her hair and rolled her beneath him as he stayed buried in her tight heat.

"Hold on, honey," he warned, and he moved wildly, surging deep. She gasped, her still-sensitive channel clinching down around his cock as he started a hard, fast, and almost brutal rhythm. He was so close, so damn close.

"More," she begged. "Give it to me," Hadlee demanded, a hint of her new bear layered in her growl. The excitement of that, of her and her bear wanting him and his bear was all he needed. He kissed her ruthlessly, his mouth seeking dominion as his body claimed hers and they came together, their pleasure springing into an explosion, bursting like a new star in the night sky of their shared world. Nothing ever felt like this. A unity of heart, mind, soul, and body.

"I love you, Indiana," Hadlee murmured as he feathered kisses on her jaw, her cheeks, her forehead.

He would worship her for as long as she'd let him. He was no longer a bear alone in the woods. He had his one true mate.

"Sorry you had to kill to save me," he whispered as he cuddled her close, their bodies still joined. He wouldn't have wished the burden of taking a life on anyone, especially not his woman, his mate, his love.

"You killed to save me, and you didn't even know me then," she replied. Her slumberous eyes moved over his face as she studied him.

Indiana nuzzled her temple with his nose before settling her even closer against his body.

"And I would kill again to protect you from danger," Indiana vowed.

"My bear … she knew by the smell of those humans that they were dangerous. How could she know that?" Hadlee snuggled closer to him, and he cherished her need to be close. He had his own woman to hold, to cherish, to love with every fiber of his being. What a gift she truly was. It took him a moment to gather his feelings before he answered her question.

"Animals sense things humans have long since forgotten. When humans left the wild for their civilizations, they left those extra senses behind. Your bear still has them, so trust her. Her judgment will be sound."

"I have a thousand questions." She laughed softly. "But tonight I just want to sleep in your arms."

He smiled as he withdrew from her body, and pulled the covers back on the bed. They got under the sheets and he tucked her once more against his side. She would sleep in his arms. Tomorrow they would talk of the wild and the nature of bears.

Tomorrow .

What a beautiful word tomorrow was. It held the power to shine light upon every shadow in his soul. Tomorrow was a promise he would never dread again. Because he had his mate, his love in his arms. Two souls made one, two hearts beating in unison. Two bears roaming the wild, wonderful world. They were not alone; they had found each other and now the world held every dream within their reach.