Gray Back Ghost Bear(37)

“Jason,” Creed said again, “she’s gone.”

Easton dropped to his knees in the snow beside him, and the next time Jason breathed air into her mouth, he took over pumping his fists against her chest. Willa was standing over them, weeping, but this wasn’t it. That couldn’t be all the time he got with Georgia. He wasn’t quitting.

He bit her again, and then again on her other shoulder while Easton kept her heart pumping.

“Come on, Georgia. Breathe!” Matt yelled behind him, loud enough to echo through the clearing where the other crews were gathering around Jason as he and Easton fought to save her life.

Creed knelt down beside them and felt her wrist for a pulse, but that didn’t stop Jason from breathing oxygen into her mouth again.

The snarl was so soft he had to be imagining it. It was just wishful thinking, so he slammed his fists against her chest. “Wake up, Georgia! Don’t you fucking leave me!”

The growl grew louder, and he froze. It wasn’t a familiar warning. It wasn’t Easton’s or Creed’s. It wasn’t his or Matt’s or Willa’s. This feral sound, he’d never heard before. It was the sound of a new Gray Back.

Easton heard it, too, because he stood and backed slowly away with a hopeful smile.

“Please, baby,” Jason rasped as he pulled her head into his lap again. “Let that bear have you, Georgia. Let her save you, baby.”

Georgia’s back bowed against him as she opened her mouth and roared. The sound was deafening and full of agony and fury. Her bear was going to bleed him ripping out of her, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t let her do this alone.

Snowflakes landed on her dark lashes as she relaxed against him.

And when her eyes opened and her pupils retracted, silver churned there like the storm clouds above.

Tessa knelt down next to Georgia. She looked down at his mate as Georgia dragged in a long, ragged breath. Tessa’s sad gaze lifted to Jason, and she opened her mouth to scream. Only this time she didn’t shriek and melt away to ash. This time, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

And then she faded to nothing.





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.