“Okay, buddy. You are not going to like it, but I am going to need to get that thing out of your leg.” I spoke to him in a way that I expected him to understand. At one time, speaking to animals had been like my second language. After losing my good friend, Callisto, I’d stopped coming to Earth. So much had changed since then.
I shook my head to myself, still flabbergasted that my own father had tried to seduce my best friend and most loyal devotee. His wife had been almost as infuriated by his actions as I had been. She’d turned one of the few people I had ever truly loved into a bear.
Hera had thought I would be vengeful enough to hunt her down and kill her with my own bare hands. I was hurt and angry with her, but I was not a monster. I have never killed a bear, and I certainly would never have killed a bear who was pregnant with what would have been my half-brother.
Legend has it that I shot her, but I did not take her life. In a sad twist of fate, the hunter hadshot her dead, unknowingly killing his own mother. At least Zeus had had the decency to send her up to the heavens, turning her into a constellation for us all to enjoy and honor her memory.
The bear growled louder, the closer I got. Once I stopped running and got close enough to him, I knew he was a male. I’m sure, deep down, it was wrong to care a little bit less since he was of the opposite sex. But I had never met a man or a god worth what they promised.
If I’d had to count how many women I had rescued from the grips of selfish, greedy men over the years, I would have been there all day and night—losing any opportunity to find my stag.
First, I would see to it that the bear would be well enough to make it out of there. If not, he would take another arrow to his heart. However, I didn’t want to see another bear lose its life because of my careless mistake. I should have been paying more attention now, just like I should have been paying more attention to Callisto then. Both discrepancies could have been avoided.
Keeping my bow at bay, I circled the bear, looking for the best possible angle to approach him. He couldn’t have taken my life, but he sure could have messed me up long enough that my chances of fulfilling my quest would be ruined.
“Be still, bear. By no means did I aim to injure you. Feel my intentions now, they are to assist you and help make you better. I am going to come closer and remove the arrow. It will hurt, but I need to twist the shaft to make sure the arrowhead is not lodged in your femur.” Trying not to make a noise, I took small steps, closing the distance between me and the beast. There was no way to tell if he understood what I was saying to him. That wouldn’t have happened with a female. She would have instinctively resonated with my words, at least on some instinctual level.
I channeled the lifeforce and energy I had used time and time again to help ease the pains of women in labor. I had never attempted to use those gifts on a man, or in this case, a bear.
Using my right hand, I gently pressed his shoulder, leaning him back—grateful he didn't take an immediate swing at me. His claws would have cut through my flesh as if it were a stick of butter.
“I wish I could say that this won’t hurt, but it will. Possibly more than getting hit in the first place.” I braced my hand against the top of his thigh and used my left hand to gently twist the shaft. It spun with enough ease I was confident it wasn’t lodged in his bone.
“I’m sorry I don’t have a blade with me. I would normally cut a small incision around the shaft to give that arrow tip some room to come out. Believe me, it will pain me just as much as you.” I cringed at how much pain I was about to inflict on the helpless creature. At the same time, I was amazed at how calm he was.
“Okay, on three.” The counting was more for my own benefit than for the bear since he likely couldn’t count. “One. Two. Three.”
Grabbing the lowest possible spot I could grip on the shaft, I pulled with all my might. I overestimated the force of traction that would be needed to remove the arrow. As the tip just about dislodged, my arms went up over my head, and my feet went out from under me.
The power of it knocked me onto my back a good foot or two away from the wounded bear. My first instinct was to rush back to my feet, but I couldn’t breathe.
The bear hadn't made a sound as I’d attempted to remove the arrow. I didn't even hear him grunting.
Perhaps he passed out from the pain. That would have been a blessing for him.
Before I could manage to get up, I heard movement. A vibration traveled under the dirt and over to my back as the beast shifted his weight. If could have caught my breath, I would have gotten up to flee backward. He would need assessing, but only after I’d assured my own safety.
The grass around my legs shifted as he neared me, inch by inch. The only sounds were his ragged breath and the rustling of the leaves overhead. Against my every instinct I relaxed my body. If my mission was to end, I would at least close my eyes and go down peacefully. Unfortunately, I would return home with a broken heart.
“Are you okay?”
My eyes sprung open at the sound of a man's voice only inches from my face.
Chapter 3
“What on earth are you doing out here?”
The heat of his breath warmed my bare skin, causing something to awaken inside of me. My gaze descended down toward my feet, and the sight before me caused my eyes to widen. His voice had rumbled with a deep, human drawl, but he was less than mortal looking. Predominantly bearlike at first, his facial features slowly shifted into that of a human.
His face was as striking as any god I had ever known. Only, he was no god. I assumed was a mortal man, cursed by one of my vindictive counterparts to live out his life as a beast. He must have scorned someone pretty badly.
His fur softly grazed against my outer leg as he crawled alongside me, using his forearms to pull his lower body. My arrow had gone deep into his thigh, but he was handling the pain better than I would expect even an immortal could do.
“What am I doing?” he demanded. “What are you doing? Or should I ask what are you?” Even though his physical form had left me slightly perplexed, it didn’t stop me from being instantly entranced by the animalistic look in his eyes. Brilliant white and blue rays swirled as the sunlight glinted off his irises. A hunger set in at the corners of his narrowed lids, and I couldn’t be sure if he wanted to consume me or to ravage me.
“If I tell you, I might have to kill you.” A halfhearted smirk curled at the outer edges of his mouth. “You don’t belong here. This town is not for humans.” He grunted into his words as he came to rest beside me.
This was the closest I had ever come to a mortal man. We were near enough that our noses almost touched.
“Human? You think I am human?” The concept was laughable at best.
He sniffed the air between us. “I know you are not of my kind. Your scent is uniquely unfamiliar though. Maybe not human.”
“What is your kind exactly? Are you a bear or a man?” My fallen companion, Callisto, was the only human I had ever known to become a bear, and she was looking down on us from the night sky.
“I am a very injured bear shifter. Clearly, you are not from around here. The most confusing part of your presence is your attire. It might be summer here in Callisto Falls, but it’s still not warm enough to be dressed like that. Even if it was, that is not appropriate hunting attire.” His eyes dragged over the length of my body as he sucked in a quick breath.
I gazed down and saw nothing wrong with the thin straps of leather covering my breast. They kept the heart of my femininity out of sight. I knew not to tempt those around me. Not to mention the stretch of my hair covered a great deal of my flesh as it flowed down over the globes of my backside.
“Did you say Callisto Falls? Did you know Callisto?” What I was wearing didn’t matter as much as the fact that I had landed in the center of a town named Callisto Falls.
“Ha ha.” Half laughing and half groaning, he shifted to answer my question. “No. She is just a myth, not a real person. I have never even known an
yone to go by that name.
“People say our kind hails from the first of the bear shifters, Callisto, but I think that story falls into the same kind of category as Adam and Eve being the first humans. Is it true? Maybe, but I am the kind of guy that needs facts, not ancient stories. Besides, it doesn’t really matter to me how we got here. We are here now.”
“A friend of mine went by the name Callisto. I don’t think she visited the likes of this place.” I mused over the possibility that, somehow, she had gone to Earth. I doubted she’d done so without my knowledge or permission. “Anything is possible though, even if it is not probable. For example, you being a bear shifter.”
He tipped his head as his lips twisted. It seemed confusing to him that I would find a bear shifter to be unlikely. If only he had an idea of my true nature, he would be even more dumbfounded.
There we were, chatting it up, when he must have been in a tremendous amount of pain. Pushing my hands into the ground, I turned my body to come up and sit on my.
“We better take a closer look at your injury. If we don't get you cleaned up and bandaged, you could bleed out or get a detrimental sickness in your leg.”
“This isn’t the first time I have been shot, albeit this may be the first arrow I have taken. I’m not that worried about it. Let me tell you, though, it hurts like hell.” He pressed up on one elbow as he slid his other hand down around his still fur-covered thigh, keeping his body turned in a way that I couldn’t see his manhood.
“Where are your clothes?” It made sense he didn’t have any on. Whoever saw a bear wearing a tunic? “And are you only half bear right now?”
“I think the injury is hindering my shift, but I didn't press because there is something more decent about being a naked bear than a naked man in front of an unfamiliar female. I would never want to be disrespectful or indecent.”
“That can’t be comfortable, being caught between forms. Let me help you get to safety. It is the least I can do. Do you reside close by?”
“My cabin is a short distance from here. I like living in the more remote part of town. I feel most comfortable in my animal form while roaming the wilderness. Out here, there is no one to judge me or annoy me out here.” He sighed. “Can you assist me on the walk back? That is if you promise not to shoot me, or any of the other innocent animals.”
“Most animals are safe in my presence. I actually am here to hunt for a stag. He doesn’t belong here. I do not intend to do him harm. I need to return him to his home. Did you happen to see a golden-horned stag roaming these parts of the woods?”
Holding my breath, I awaited his response. Deep down, I prayed he was not one of the mortal earthlings in Callisto Falls hunting my Ceryn. I wasn’t sure if I could allow him to go on if he was a threat to what belong to me.
“Sorry, I haven’t seen or heard anything about such a creature. It is possible you are chasing an urban legend. A deer with golden horns sounds far-fetched to me.”
I tossed my long, raven hair over my shoulder and tipped my chin up to him. “Humph.”
“Are you going to help me or leave me here to rot in the middle of the woods?” he asked as he attempted to get to his feet.
My small hands laced around the thickest part of his bicep, and I helped lift him off the forest floor, letting much of his weight press against me.
His head bobbed back as his gaze met mine. “Woman, you are strong. I don’t know where you are hiding those muscles in that sleek frame of yours, but it would have been a chore for a man of my own stature to lift me with such ease.”
I could tell by the way his eyes dragged over me that he was trying to figure me out. My strength alone would be enough to give away my true nature. The physical fortitude I possessed was fair compare to the other gods and goddesses, but on Earth, my abilities were unrivaled.
“It’s no big thing. Is it wise for you to be walking around like that? I should think it better to be a bear or a man, not both at the same time. You are putting yourself in danger on the off chance there is another human out here. Even though you made it clear that, normally, humans aren’t in these parts, I find that hard to believe. Humans are everywhere on Earth, and they love to destroy what they don’t understand.”
“There is truth in that, but you say ‘on Earth’ as if you are from another planet. Is that why you are so different? Are you an alien?” He rolled his eyes as he winced and bounced a finger at me.
“Yup, that’s me, an alien. Are you sure you are going to be able to walk?” I hadn't had a problem getting him to his feet. I probably could have carried him back to his cabin, though I thought it unnecessary to reduce his manhood—especially after I’d already shot him in the leg.
“I can manage to limp with your help. It should only take us about five minutes to get there.” He turned to look at me as I slid my arm under his. “You are also much taller than I expected. Please, I don’t mean any disrespect, but you are one hell of a woman. Tall, strong, fearless, and breathtakingly stunning…. And that is just after a few minutes of observation.”
His admiration for me under the pretense that he didn’t know who or what I truly was ignited something inside of me. My belly seemed to somersault with the desire to impress him more, but with who I was and not what I was.
Being blindly followed and respected by someone was on a way different level than having earned it. I couldn’t recall a time that I’d even had the opportunity to earn someone's high regards. Shooting someone in the leg was the last way I’d expected to be able to get to that level.
“I will take it as a compliment, for now, since I do not expect your intentions are anything but virtuous in nature.” I would accept nothing less of a man in my presence. Had he intended those comments as an unwelcome advance on me, I would have been forced to strike him down on the spot. It wouldn’t have been the first time I’d needed to put a male in his place.
***
A brisk walk back would have been nice, but his injury slowed us down. Still, we made good time back to his cabin, despite him taking strides with one fully working leg. His home sat nestled between an enclosure of tall pine trees—the frame built out of what I imagined were local logs. A small front porch with two rockers and a small table on it welcomed our arrival.
In my opinion, it was a miracle that we managed to get back to his home without being seen by anyone else. Even if he did live in a community of other bear shifters, which I still had to question the possibility, seeing me with him would have left a lot of unanswered questions that I don’t think either of us would have been keen on answering.
“The door should be open.” He grunted as he hopped up the three steps to the front porch.
I took that as a sign that he expected me to go ahead and open it for him. Releasing my grip, I moved to the door and turned the knob.
I didn’t know what to expect, and I hadn’t considered all the possible outcomes of spending time in a mortal’s home. Humans, or shifters in this case, lived much differently than the likes of us up in Olympus. His home was modest at best, with simple furnishings and sparse decorations. I was accustomed to more lavish accommodations to say the least.
As we crossed the threshold, I slid my arm back around him. “Now that we are here, you should let me help you remove that arrow properly. I wouldn’t want you doing more damage than necessary. I have been hunting since I was a child and have plenty of experience with hunting accidents, although, this was the first time it was by my hand.”
“Okay, kitten. I can manage to the couch. I will need you to go get my first aid kit. It is in a white tackle box under the sink.” Pointing over his shoulder to a small hall with three doors, he added, “Middle door is the bathroom.”
“Why on earth would you call me kitten? I am no kitten.” Clicking my tongue, I stared at him.
“Perhaps I should say wild cat. You’re like a panther. I imagine you and your midnight hair crouching down, waiting for your prey. Ferocious and deadly enough to kill, but beaut
iful enough to watch all day long.” His voice sounded more strained and raspy than before.
I could live with that description. Comparing me to a domestic house cat’s baby was not as flattering as that. The Egyptian goddesses—and I use the term lightly since they were nothing more than mortal royalty—may have held the cat in high regard, but I admired a wild bear or boar much more. And my golden-haired stags the most.
“I got it.” When I came back into the living area, his head was tilted back against the sofa. I realized we had not exchanged names, and I didn’t know what to address him by.
I dropped the white box onto the short, wooden table his leg rested on. A pool of blood soaking the rug beneath him.
“Are you still with me?” Shit, I can’t have lost him. Maybe I should have carried him back without regard for my anonymity. “I have your first aid kit.”
No response.
Shit. Taking a life that wasn’t mine to take had not been on my agenda. Of course, I had the power to heal him completely, but I couldn’t do something like that without disclosing what I was capable of.
“Please tell me you are resting or have just passed out.” I moved around to the front of the couch and gently slid my fingers along his stubbled jaw. More of his fur had subsided, but that didn’t mean he’d lost any of his masculinity.
Still, I received no response to my voice or my touch. I needed to get to work on his leg, but I also needed to make sure he was still breathing. Leaning forward, I whispered in his ear to see if he could hear me before situating my cheek against his nose to feel for his breath.
Nothing!
Why did a sudden surge of panic come over me? What did I have to worry about? He was just another mortal with a low life expectancy—one who was slowing me down. He certainly wasn’t someone I could pretend to fall in love with or who I could make fall in love with me. He was a bear, and I was a goddess—though he thought I was human.
He’d made it pretty clear that humans were not very welcome in Callisto Falls. So, it was doubtful he’d see one as potential for romance. Helping him needed to happen and happen quickly so I could get on my way.
The Huntress (An Olympian Fallen Shifter Novel) Page 2