Gray Back Bad Bear(39)

Something hit her side, bowling her against Creed’s trailer. The wall splintered inward, and she brought her seething gaze to a brown bear that smelled like Jason. She charged, but he got out of her way. Easton was on the run, but he was no match for her. Not injured as he was.

Red, red, everything’s red. Dead, dead, Easton’s dead.

Another bear pummeled her in the side like a cannon ball. Legs splayed, she skidded across the ground, scrabbling across the chalky gravel for traction. Four bears against her, but Easton was on the ground now, and she was so close. Pain slashed across her side, down her ribs, and across her arms as the other bears fought and bit. She fought like a demon, clawing and hurting. She latched onto one of their necks and punctured him. Just a warning, she missed the artery on purpose. Next time she’d be more lethal. Leave me the fuck alone.

She reached Easton, but one of the bears knocked her legs out from under her. No matter, she could do damage from here. She latched onto Easton’s kicking hind leg and bit down with all of her strength. The clean snap of his bone rattled her jaw.

Easton bellowed in pain.

A pitch black bear hovered over Easton, teeth bared. Smelled like Creed. He roared a warning and a wave of power brushed her skin. Made her bear focus. He was trying to tell her something. Something important. He was important. Boss. Alpha.

She shook her head, uncertain.

Easton was bad. He was a bad bear. Bad.

But…he’d been nice to her before. Back when she was human. Gifted her a knife. Smiled at her after he came home from work with the others. Got mad at Jason for teasing her too much. He’d defended her. He’d made an effort to spend more time with the crew because she’d asked.

Not a bad bear.

A broken bear.

Like her.

Closing her eyes, Willa tucked her bear back into her skin. It hurt. Her bones ached too much to hold her weight, so she sagged to her knees in the dirt with a sob. She looked down at her arms, covered in claw marks and puncture wounds. Everything hurt.

She looked up at Matt’s bear, a scarred warrior, dark as a redwood and pacing tightly in front of her, between her and the other bears. Protecting her.

He’d told her once that no one else bled like Gray Backs.

She looked down at her crimson arms and lost a vital part of herself. The part she’d been clinging to that this was all just some nightmare, like the one Matt had endured. She lost hope that this could be fixed. That she could be fixed.

No one bled as much as a Gray Back.

And now she was a Gray Back bad bear.

Standing on shaky legs, she looked down at Easton, who screamed as he Changed back. He was shredded, clawed up, and gritting his teeth in pain.

“Dude,” Jason said, looking beat up and bloody. “I can see your intestines.”

Creed shrank back into his human skin. His neck had a claw mark down it, and she felt like grit.

“That’s what he fuckin’ gets,” Creed muttered.

“Set my bone,” Easton pleaded. “His leg had been snapped in half, and a jagged, white shard stuck out of his knee.

Clinton moved toward him, but Creed halted him. “I should kill you, Easton. It’s against shifter law to Turn people without consent. You claimed your Gray Back brother’s mate. You are no longer in contention for second or even third. You were just bested by a brand new sow. Willa is second in the crew now, if she chooses to stay with us. Her true mate, Matt, is third. That’s not your real punishment, though.” Creed angled his head as his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Your punishment is resetting your own bones.”

“I can’t,” Easton panted. “I can’t do this one. It’s too bad.”

“Then you shouldn’t have fucking Turned her!” Creed roared. The alpha jammed a finger at Clinton. “I forbid you to set his bones.” He turned to Jason. “I forbid you to set his bones.” He gave the same order to Matt, who was still a red, scarred-up bear. And at last, he turned to Willa. His voice went hoarse. “This is the way our world works, Willa. I can tell from your face you want to help him, but grizzly shifter law is in place for a reason. He was wrong. He shouldn’t have hurt you. Easton’s punishment is a permanent limp to remind him of what he’s done to you. I forbid you to set his bones.”

Easton let off pained noises with every breath now.

Willa couldn’t look at him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to him, tears streaming down her face.

Unable to bear the sound of his agony anymore, she ran for the woods, for the falls. For the first place she’d been when she visited these mountains. She was dirty on the outside and in. The only thing that could wash her clean was Bear Trap Falls.