Snowbound With The Bear (Bear Creek Clan 4) by Harmony Raines Page A

shelter, but the primal part of him that knew she was his mate wouldn’t let him. One foot in front of another, he moved determinedly in his search.
    Then, as he came from behind a thicket, he caught a strong scent of her. He stopped, the snow immediately settling on him. She was so close. He put his head down and ploughed forward through drifts of snow that were banking up against trees. His senses were alert; he tried to see or hear anything that might give her whereabouts away. If she was unconscious and under the snow, this was going to be near impossible.
    Then he found her. Although it was more like he fell over her. She was lying on her side: a silver wolf, although her wet coat looked dirty grey against the pristine snow. He walked up to her carefully, one-step at a time. If she got scared and sprang at him, she could inflict a deadly bite. Although as far as he could tell, she didn’t have the strength in her to do him any damage.
    Close enough to touch her, he sniffed her, blowing warm air onto her cold body. She was oblivious to him, which made the situation dire.
    Gripping the pull cord on his pack, he undid it, dumping the supplies on the floor. He would have to come back for them later. He looked around quickly, making sure he had his bearings. This was no time to get lost.
    Now he had to decide how he was going to move her. He worked his way around her body, scraping the snow off her with his giant paws. It was a clumsy way of doing it, but if he had to change into a man and carry her, he needed to wait until the last moment. As a bear, he was prepared for the snow; as a man, he would most likely die of exposure in no time.
     

Chapter Two – Fiona
    So cold. Her body temperature was dropping dangerously low and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Too exhausted from running, the cold was going to claim her. At least it would be better than giving in to what her cousin, Kurt, wanted to subject her to. There was no way she would allow him to give her away just because she hadn’t found her mate yet. She knew he was out there, and she would wait for him.
    Sorrow filled her heart. He would be the one waiting now. Forever. Because she was going to die, here on the side of a mountain. Not even in her own territory. She had known the instant she crossed the border into Bear Creek, but there had been no other way. The pack chasing her would not give up. She had gone against the wishes of her Kurt, who was vying to take control of the clan. He couldn't let her escape; it would dent his authority amongst the others. She knew that if he couldn’t take her back, then she must die.
    As the snow covered her body, she knew he had gotten his wish. The snow would cover her beautiful silver coat until it could not be seen. When the thaw came, the creatures of the forest would find her and eat her flesh. She would be no more than a pile of white bones in a forest. That was the last image she saw as her brain began to shut down. At least she no longer felt the cold. All she felt was numb. Slowly, Fiona Silver Wolf was leaving this world.
    Warm breath ruffled her damp fur; they had found her. Would they help her or leave her here to die? Did she even care anymore? She took a breath, one more nearer to her death. Then the calm settling over her vanished.
    Her heart jolted, adrenaline making her blood quicken, bringing her back from the brink. A deeper breath this time, her lungs filling, her nose twitching as it deciphered the message it received. Her mate. He was here, beside her. She had to live; her paws twitched and she tried to lift her head, but there was no strength left in her. The bitter irony was not lost on Fiona.
    Try. Try. She breathed again, the snowflakes clogging up her nostrils. At her back, something was pushing her, nuzzling her. Her mate was encouraging her to get up; then it struck her. She was already dead. This was the afterlife. And anything was possible in the afterlife.
    She summoned her strength