Gray Back Ghost Bear (11 page)

Authors: T. S. Joyce

Chapter Fourteen

Georgia gasped. Her body was floating and numb, but perhaps that was from the snow under her. Inside, a strange sensation filled her. She could almost feel her body repairing itself, organ by organ. Her stomach burned as it fused together.

The evergreen branches above were perfectly clear. She could see every knob on every limb and every single pine needle with startling accuracy. Her shoulders hurt. Everything ached, but her shoulders were burning with a different kind of agony. It was fading though, slowly.

Something unsettling moved inside of her, and an unfamiliar rumble rattled her throat. The pressure expanded from the size of a marble until it filled every cell of her body. She gritted her teeth and fought to stay whole, but she was shattering like broken mirror glass.

She screamed, but she didn’t recognize her voice. It was deep and feral. Terrifying.

Her back arched as her insides exploded.

The roar tapered off, and she landed hard on the unforgiving snowy ground.

“She saved my life,” a man said, pointing to her. “The park ranger saved my life.” He was naked and covered in blood, surrounded by a handful of men who were trying to stop his holes from weeping crimson.

“Shh, Harrison,” one of them said, “she’s scared.” He gave her a wary look, then went back to digging into Harrison’s side with searching fingers. He yanked, and a piece of misshapen, bloody metal fell onto the snow.

The man was right. She was scared. Her body didn’t work right. Her bones felt like they’d all been broken in the gunfight and had fused together differently. She tried to stand, but fell. Propping up on her hands and feet, she looked around for Jason. He’d been there in the end. She needed him to tell her she was going to be all right.

He stood off to the side, holding his shoulder. A long, bloody claw mark stretched from the middle of his chest around his arm. Through his shredded jacket, she could see a flap of his skin hanging from the bottom cut. He was soaking his coat in red. Who’d done that to her mate? She would kill them.

“You’re beautiful,” Jason murmured, confusing her. Why wasn’t he angry about his injury?

He was looking at her with a strange expression—awe, relief, and something more. Reverence?

Georgia swayed and tried to catch her balance, but the world was different. She didn’t fit into it like she used to.

Willa stood behind Jason and was sobbing against Matt’s chest. She didn’t want Willa to cry. Georgia took a timid step forward to comfort her, but the movement under her dragged her attention to her feet.

A blond, furred, giant paw sat half sunk in the snow. Long, curved claws arched from them like daggers. The claws were as white as the snow.

Shocked, she looked up at Jason, who was approaching slowly. “I had to Turn you. I’m sorry. I know it was selfish, but I couldn’t lose you.”

You claimed me?
The words she’d meant to say came out a soft rumble in her chest.

She studied her chest and front legs. They were powerful and covered in thick, coarse fur only a couple shades darker than the snowflakes that fell on her. The pad of her foot was light pink. She’d never seen a bear this color before, and she huffed a funny-sounding laugh. She was a bear.

She sat back heavily into the snow, which didn’t feel cold at all against her new body.

Wow. A
bear
. She’d always been afraid of them, and now she was one. She could give a Kodiak bear a run for its money now.

She shook her massive head, and snow exploded into the air around her. The dragons she’d seen were gone, but some of the bears remained. The poachers were nowhere to be found, but the clearing smelled like blood and smoke, and the snow was stained where the bodies should’ve been.

I’m alive.

The thought brushed across her mind and made her lightheaded. She wasn’t supposed to have made it out of that, but Jason had changed her fate. Changed her.

She looked down at her paw, as big as a dinner plate.

He’d given her a bear.

Emotion washed over her. If she could have cried in this form, she would’ve. Instead, she scrambled toward Jason unsteadily and pressed her forehead against his chest. Already he was healing, and he laughed and held on as she knocked him backward with her clumsiness.

He sighed and closed his eyes, then rested his cheek against hers. She held perfectly still so she wouldn’t hurt him.

“Damn, Ranger, I’m glad you’re okay.” His grip in her fur tightened.

Willa blasted into her, arms spread wide as she hugged her and sobbed openly. “You scared the shit out of us, Renegade!”

The Boarlanders and Ashe Crew milled around them, but Georgia’s eyes were only for the Gray Backs. Gia was walking toward them from the tree line with a shocked look on her face as she cradled her hands around her belly and stared at Georgia.

Matt, Creed, and Easton stood beside each other, looking pale and shaken, but smiling.

She’d thought she would never see her friends again, but Jason had given her a second chance.

He’d given her a place to settle and a family.

Her mate hadn’t given up on her.

He’d saved her.

Jason took a step back as a slow smile spread across his face. His dark eyes swam with emotion, but his voice was strong and clear as he said, “Welcome to the C-team, Ranger.”

Chapter Fifteen

Winterizing Willa’s worm shack was even less fun than it sounded.

It was dirty, back-breaking work to make sure the enormous shed Matt and Willa had built in the woods behind their trailer would stay warm enough through the cold months.

But even filthy, covered in compost, and sweating despite the cold, Georgia couldn’t stop from laughing. Partly because Willa’s jokes were shockingly crude, and partly because Gia’s laugh was infectious, but mostly because she was just so danged grateful to be alive to experience moments like these—breathless ones filled with happiness. The ones that would cling to her always because they were too bright to forget.

Her inner bear perked up, and her new senses told her that her mate was near. She grinned and turned just as Jason ducked under the front door. His greeting smile matched hers. Today, they were going to Change together and explore the woods as bears. She still got giddy butterflies when she thought about the animal resting inside of her. Everything was clearer and smelled different. Noises had changed, and her attention was flighty, but Jason had assured her that was part of getting used to being a bear shifter.

He was an exceptionally patient teacher, her mate.

When Creed, Easton, and Matt filed in through the open door, Georgia’s smile wavered. “What’s going on? I thought you were supposed to be up on the landing.”

“I made you this,” Easton said low. He stepped forward and handed her a leather sheath.

“Oh, Easton, you didn’t have do this.”

“Girls like things that match,” he said mysteriously.

She pulled the fine, polished wooden handle of a knife, exposing the first inch of shiny silver.
J + G
had been etched into the metal. Jason and Georgia. This was Easton’s acceptance of her in the crew. She’d seen Willa and Gia’s knives and had secretly hoped for one someday. Easton’s knives were works of art, though, and took him time to make.

She hugged Easton’s neck, and this time, he patted her back instead of standing there frozen.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I love it.”

Easton nodded and offered her a shy smile as he eased back beside Creed.

When she looked at Jason, he’d dropped to one knee, holding a box with a thin gold band lined with tiny diamonds. It was perfect as it glinted in the sunlight that streamed through the windows.

Willa and Gia whooped and howled, and the boys clapped slowly.

Tears burned Georgia’s eyes instantly, and she clasped her hand over her mouth to keep her emotions quiet.

“Georgia, you’ve saved me in more ways than you can ever know,” Jason murmured. “I still can’t believe someone as caring, as strong, and as beautiful as you could choose a man like me, but it makes me want to be better for you. You have that effect on people, drawing out their best selves. I’m proud to have you on my arm and proud to bear your mark. And I’m damn proud that you bear my mark.”

“Marks,” Willa corrected.

The scars on her shoulders tingled at the mention of them. Georgia didn’t remember him biting her, but she was eternally happy he had.

Jason huffed a laugh and nodded. “Marks.” He lifted his clear, steady eyes to hers. “And I’d be proud if you took my last name, too. Georgia Ames, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Her tears spilled over as she nodded her answer.

Jason slipped the ring on her finger, then stood and lifted her off her feet, crushing her against him. He spun slowly as the Gray Backs rushed them. She was being squashed by them and couldn’t draw a deep breath, but she didn’t care.

Her crew was fierce. They fought like titans, but when it came down to it, they protected each other. They joked about being a broken crew, a C-team, but she didn’t see that. Their flaws made her Gray Backs beautiful.

Georgia looked down at her mate. Her happy smile was reflected in his eyes.

He was strong and protective—trustworthy with her heart.

He’d given her a life that fulfilled her and friends who would always be there for her, but more importantly than all of that, he’d given himself.

His struggles could’ve shattered him, but he’d fought to keep his bear in control for all those years since his last mate had passed.

And now, Tessa was gone, and he was free.

Jason spoke of how strong and caring she was, but Georgia was the lucky one.

He’d banished his ghosts for her.

Up Next in the Gray Back Bears Series

Gray Back Broken Bear

Coming September 2015