Dina let out a long sigh, and looked at her with a small smile on her face.
"You never were one to give up easily," she shook her head, then leant forward and gave her a tight, spontaneous hug. "Thank you."
"No problem," she squeezed her back. "Okay, let's get everyone on that boat, shall we?"
The next hour and a half seemed to speed by; Rosie barely had time to think as she and Dina hustled guests on to boats, offering smooth apologies and trying to deflect any questions they could about what the hell was actually going on. It was clearly killing Dina to have to send all her guests home early, but she kept on a game face, doling out stories about dangerous weather and promising she would be in touch as soon as she got home. Once the word got around, and everyone had hurriedly packed up their stuff and said their goodbyes, they managed to pile the rest of the guests- maybe a hundred people- on to the large boat floating in the harbor, and waved them off across the stormy sea. Dina kept the robotic smile on her face as she watched them go, obviously trying to fight the urge to burst into tears or beg to come with them.
"Hey," Rosie nudged her, "It's okay. They're gone now."
Dina's muscles all seemed to slump over at once, as if the energy had been drained from her.
"I know. This just isn't how I pictured spending the day before my wedding, you know?" She shook her head, and turned to walk back inside. Rosie half-turned her head around, certain she could hear something in the distance, but it was whipped away by the wind before she had a chance to pick it out. She hurried to catch up with Dina, following her back inside the hotel, grateful to be out of the wind and rain at last.
"Are you…is the wedding still going ahead?" Rosie asked, trying to be delicate and failing. Dina turned to her, incredulous.
"Of course it is, Jesus. I know this isn't ideal, but we're not letting Freddy get in the way of this, no matter how much he wants to."
"Is that what this is about, you think? Stopping the wedding?" Rosie had been trying to figure out exactly what Freddy planned to gain from crashing Dina's nuptials, but she hadn't been able to put her finger on it yet.
"You remember how obsessed he was, right?" Dina fell gratefully into the deep sofas that sat just next to reception, massaging her temples and attempting to wring out her hair. "I have to assume he's here to try and fuck things up with me and Tom."
"How are you so calm about all of this?" Rosie shook her head. "If this was me…"
"Trust me, when you find the right person, even terrible exes won't matter," she shrugged. "No matter what they try and do to you."
Rosie half-nodded in acknowledgement. Six months ago, she would have said the same thing, but that was because she was in that smugly perfect relationship. Now, she had no idea what that must feel like.
Suddenly, a yell came from just behind them. Rosie's head whipped round- it was the same voice she'd heard when they were down on the beach, she was certain. Her eyes practically boggled out of her head when she saw who it was- Maya, one of the other bridesmaids, was sprinting at full pelt up towards the hotel- and hot on her tail was a snarling wolf. And it was gaining on her.
Maya was gesturing desperately towards the door, and Rosie realized at the last second what she wanted. Springing out of her seat, she darted forward and yanked it open- Maya shot pas the threshold, and Rosie just managed to get the door shut before the wolf slammed hard against the glass. The entire window rattled, as Maya picked herself up off the floor, gasping. Dina hurried over to her, but Rosie found herself staring down at the animal she had just shut out.
She had never met a shifter before in real life, let alone one who was already in their animal form, and doubly let-alone one who was hungry for blood. She found herself frozen to the spot as she stared at the creature, it's eyes flashing almost fully gold, as it slowly, painfully dragged itself to it's feet and peered up at her. The wind and rain were whipping it's fur in every direction, and it bared it's teeth and pressed it's muzzle up against the glass once again before it turned and shot off across the hills and out of Rosie's eye line. A shiver shot down Rosie's back as she watched the wolf vanish across the horizon. And then she remembered who else was out there.
"Where are the others?" Rosie demanded, turning to Dina. Maya was conferring intimately with one of the groomsmen, and didn't look like she needed any more attention. "Are they still out there?"
"Of course they are," Dina replied, her voice bizarrely calm considering what she'd just seen. "They're fine, trust me, they can take care-"
"I'm going out there," Rosie shook her head. "Did you see that thing?"
"Did you?" Dina shot back, immediately getting between Rosie and the door. "You can't go out there, you'll get killed."
"Have you seen Win yet?," Rosie pointed out. "How many of them are here? Four? Five? More? And he's out there all alone?"
"I don't know," Dina admitted, "I'm trying not to think about that."
One of the groomsmen- Rick, maybe?- turned to them, apparently just tuning in to their conversation. He had arrived back a few minutes after Maya, and it was only now that Rosie noticed the cut across his chest.
"Seven. We found where they were hiding, chased them out- but they're still on the island."
"Seven?" Rosie exclaimed in horror. "And Jesus, what the hell did they do to you?"
"Nothing," Rick looked down at his chest, and Rosie did a double-take- the cut was gone, leaving only a few splashes of blood to indicate that it had been there at all in the first place. He looked back up at Rosie, his face serious. "You need to forget about them for now. We need people holding down the home fort, and making sure they don't get into the hotel."
"I can't not think about it," Rosie cut across her, stomping past him and towards the kitchen. All this time, as the groomsmen and bridesmaids had piled their way back into reception, she couldn't help but notice someone was missing. Win.
Slipping into the kitchen, she was grateful to find it empty- she supposed there were better things to do at a time like this than worry about getting a decent Yelp review. Rifling through the drawers, she quickly came up with a decent-sized knife, and tucked it beneath her waterproofs. The thought of Win- out there, by himself, with those wolves loose and angry and on the hunt- half made her want to cry, and half made her want to punch someone. How could they leave him out there? Why was no-one with him?
Knowing that if she gave Dina another chance, she would physically stop her from leaving the hotel, Rosie spotted a back entrance leading out of the kitchen, and quickly slipped outside. The wind was howling even harder than before, but Rosie's ears pricked up- she could hear something in the distance. It didn't sound like human voices- no, it sounded like howling, something animalistic. She was suddenly aware of how hard her heart was hammering in her chest- the memory of that wolf, and the glint of it's teeth under the lights of the hotel as it pulled it's lip back into a snarl, burned in her brain. But she strode out, down the path, and towards the noise. She knew she was being pigheaded-hell, she knew she was probably putting herself in a hell of a lot of danger for someone she'd just met- but she wasn't about to let Win get torn to pieces just because no-one had noticed he wasn't back.
Rosie picked up her pace, hurrying over to the cliffs- she was sure she'd heard someone saying that the wolves were down in the caves, so maybe that's where Win had gone? To find them? Or maybe they'd just taken him there. Rosie heard the howling once again- and sure enough, it was echoing, bouncing off the walls of the caves a few hundred feet from her. It sounded amplified, as if there was more than one of them down there. She tried to push the fear from her mind, focusing on the task at hand- find Win, get him back to the hotel, and regroup from there. Whatever was going on, it seemed like they're group had as good a chance as any of actually taking these wolves down- after all, Rick had healed right in front of her eyes, just another bizarre addition to the already-surreal day. If they had super-healing on their side, that had to give them the advantage, right? She sniggered to hersel
f, the fear and panic swirling in her brain making every little thing doubly hilarious.
She was snapped out of her reverie by the sound of a roar from the caves now below her-not a wolf's howl, but something deeper, throatier, more dangerous. She froze in her tracks-wolves she had expected, but what the hell was this?
Slipping her hand under her jacket, she took hold of the knife- she really hoped she didn't have to use it, but it was comforting knowing that it was there. She took another few steps forward, peering over the cliff, and finally saw the source of the noise.
Down inside the caves, a bunch of wolves-maybe five, she couldn't count them all, they were moving so fast- had surrounded another creature. A bear. An enormous, deep brown, snarling grizzly bear. The wolves were taking turns jabbing at the bear, darting in, only to get slapped away by an enormous paw or gnash of the teeth. Rosie's jaw dropped. She thought it had just been the wolves- and now there was a bear thrown into the mix? Was it another shifter, or a resident of the island? Surely not- grizzlies weren't exactly known for gravitating towards tropical climates. Rosie crept closer, so she was only twenty or thirty feet from the action, holding her breath as she peered round a rock formation to get a better look.
Now she was closer, she could have sworn there was something…familiar about the bear. In it's eyes, maybe, or the way it moved. It looked like it should have been overwhelmed by now, but the wolves seemed terrified, none of them deigning to get too close to the animal. She could hardly blame them- every time one of them approached, the bear would lash out, emitting an enormous roar that seemed to resonate off the rocks surrounding them.
Suddenly, one of the wolves made an attack- leaping forward and managing to sink it's teeth into the back of the bear's neck. The other wolves were yelping and barking with what seemed to be encouragement as the bear attempted to shake it off, spraying droplets of blood and spittle on to the sand beneath them. Another one of the wolves darted forwards, and managed to get it's teeth into the bear's throat. Rosie gasped- part of her wanted to charge forward and defend the animal, but she knew she would only get herself hurt. The bear stumbled forward, it's front paws giving out beneath it as the wolves continued their vicious attack. And then, all at once, the bear drew itself up, on to it's hind legs, dangling the wolves several feet above the ground. The wounds looked deep- Rosie could see the blood dripping from them even from where she was hiding- but the bear began to lash out with it's paws, tearing and slashing at the wolves around it's neck.
The hairs on the back of Rosie's neck stood up- she had never seen such a display of strength and power before, of pure, animal determination and desperation. She stared, mesmerized, as the bear tore the wolves from it's body, hurling them to the ground, slamming a heavy paw against them as it let out another, blood-curdling roar. The wolf that had been on it's back lay, whimpering, below the creature as it rained blow after blow down on it's head. Rosie had never seen a reaction like that one before, not in nature, and she began to wonder if this bear was more human than she had initially thought.
At once, the wolves seemed to silently communicate amongst themselves, and tore off in Rosie's direction- the bear went to pursue them, but instead fell on to it's four paws once again, exhausted. Rosie pressed her back against the rock, holding her breath, as the wolves tore past her- either they didn’t see her or they were too afraid of the bear to care, as none of them gave her a second look. The one who had been on the ground was limping badly, trailing behind the rest of the pack, and Rosie felt a leap of vindication in her chest as it stuttered by. That’s what you get for trying to fuck up Dina's life.
She waited a few moments before she moved- she wanted to be sure that the wolves weren't doubling back on her-and stepped out from behind the rock. She was determined to get a better look at this bear, to figure out why it seemed so familiar to her- but by the time she had snuck out of her hiding space, the bear was gone. And it's in place was a naked, shivering, bleeding Win.
"Win?" Rosie yelled over the wind, her brain feeling as if it was about to collapse in on itself.
"Rosie!" Win turned to her, and held his hands out. "Stay back, I don't want you getting my scent on you."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Rosie demanded. Even with everything she'd just seen, her brain still hadn't quite made the connection yet. "Where's the bear that was-"
And then it clicked. Win. Win was the bear. Win, who couldn't even do his shirt up right, was a fucking shifter, a ferocious bear who'd just fought an entire pack of wolves and sent them running. Rosie's jaw dropped.
"That was you!" She yelled, as Win did his best to cover his modesty, hurrying to a set of rocks behind which he had hidden his clothes. She wanted to go to him, but part of her was admittedly scared- if there was one thing she had never expected from this man, it was a secret animal identity. She felt betrayed, almost- just when she had started to feel safe around him, to trust a man for the first time in forever, and he turns out to be some kind of animal in disguise.
"I'm sorry I didn’t tell you, but we've got to get back to the hotel now. I don't know when they'll be back, and I don't want you out here when they do." He pulled on his jeans and shirt, and hurried over to her.
"What happened? Why were you out here by yourself?" She had so many questions, even though she knew he was right and that they needed to get themselves to safety as soon as they could. He put an arm around her waist, and began leading her back up the path- but he was limping heavily, and bleeding profusely from cuts on his neck and back. Rosie looped an arm under his, taking as much of his weight as she could manage, and pressed a hand against his chest.
"Whoa, whoa, I've got you," she murmured, and he leaned on her, wincing.
"I'll be okay in a minute, I just haven't healed yet," he shook his head.
"Healed?" Rosie's brain worked overtime, until she remembered Rick. "Shit! Is healing a shifter thing? Is Rick a shifter too?"
"We all are," Win winced, squeezing his eyes shut to deal with the rush of pain. "Please, I'll explain everything. We just need to get back to the hotel for now."
"Promise me?"
"Huh?"
"Promise me you'll tell me the truth." For some reason, Rosie felt this sudden overwhelming fear that he would lie to her- maybe it was just the adrenalin mixed with the flutter of chemistry she'd felt between them before, but she needed to know she could trust him.
"Of course I will," he grimaced, pressing a hand against his neck to stem the bleeding. "Now, can we go?"
The two of them made good time back to the hotel, their ears pricked for the sound of approaching wolves as they half-ran across the cliffs. As they came over the hill that lay just South of the hotel, Rosie saw Dina standing in one of the plate glass doors- she had her fingers in her mouth, her brow furrowed, and a wave of relief passed over her face as soon as she saw them.
"They're here!" She yelled, running out to help Rosie with Win. Rosie could see the rest of the groomsmen and bridesmaids inside, and welcomed the hit of heat and dryness as soon as she crossed the threshold.
"Fuck, Win, are you okay?" Rick scrambled to his feet, reaching out to support Win who looked like he was on the brink of keeling over.
"I'll be fine," he brushed his help away, and collapsed into one of the seats that edged the walls of the room. He turned to Dina. "Sorry if I get blood on the furniture."
"I don't give a shit, as long as the two of you are alright," Dina shook her head. "What happened?"
"I smelt them, so I went down to the caves and- there were more than I expected. I think they managed to get away from the rest of our lot, so they came after me because I was by myself." Win explained, wincing as Dina darted forward to fuss over his wounds.
"Well, that's the last time any of us leave this place with no-one else," Rick frowned. "In fact, I think that's the last time any of us leave this place, period."
"What are you saying?" Rosie asked, her arm still tucked around Win. It was comforting, having him
so close to her, and she didn't want to let go of him yet.
"They come to us. We've got the higher ground- they'll have to attack the hotel, and we can fight them off from in here. Put us all in less danger, too, if we stay together," he pointed out, and there was a murmur of agreement.
Ian (BBW Bear Shifter Wedding Romance) (Grizzly Groomsmen Book 4) Page 11