MUNDO (BBW Bear Shifter MC Romance) (MC Bear Mates Book 2)

by Becca Fanning

  “Don’t,” he said, coming close to her. “We have to move.”

  “Let’s get you back inside and stop the bleeding first,” Gina told him. “You’re hurt. You’re hurt bad.”

  “We don’t have time.”

  “If we don’t, you’re going to die!”

  “I won’t. I’m a Shifter. I can handle this.”

  Gina didn’t believe him. “Dean!”

  “We have to go. Now. Before the rest of those men get down here.”

  Suddenly, Gina remembered what the man had said. My buddies are going to come down the hill. Maybe he was lying. Maybe there were only two more guys. Maybe there were 10. Fifteen. There was no way of knowing. Dean was injured; he wouldn’t be able to fight them off. And Gina didn’t know if she could shoot them. She didn’t think she could.

  Dean was right.

  “Where?” she asked.

  “Follow,” Dean said. Without waiting, he bent down and picked up the heavy duffel bags, wincing from the pain. Still, he started moving, running along the gully, the rock wall on his left, the men probably above on his right. He moved surprisingly fast, even with his injuries.

  “Petey,” Gina said, and then they were off, following Dean quickly. Gina didn’t know how he did it. They came to what looked like an impenetrable thicket of thorns and Dean darted easily through some weak spot, allowing Gina to follow, passing through unharmed. Somehow, Dean’s instincts let him move through the wilds with ease. Gina would never have been able to move even half as fast as she was without Dean leading the way.

  They ran for what must have been no more than 15 minutes, by Gina’s estimation. By that time, she was sucking air. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d run without stopping for this long. “Dean,” she panted. “Dean, I have to take a break.”

  If he heard her, he didn’t give any indication, so they kept running. After some time they reached a small stream, and finally Dean stopped. Gina sat down heavily, trying to catch her breath. She splashed some ice cold water on her face.

  Beside her, Dean put down the bags and lowered himself into the stream. He gasped, loudly, as he came into contact with the cold water. She watched as blood washed away into the water. She took a moment to scrub herself clean as best she could.

  Gina couldn’t help but notice his naked form. He was toned, as she had seen from before, and perfection in every way. She glanced down between his legs, blushing at what she saw. It’s not the time, or place, she reminded herself. Especially not now.

  When he was clean, Dean pulled himself out of the water. Gina dug through a bag and pulled out a towel, which he accepted eagerly. He toweled off, drying his body, wincing as he moved the towel over his bullet holes.

  “You were shot three times,” Gina observed. At the end, that man – she refused to use his name, now – had managed to get a shot off on Dean that had grazed his forearm.

  “Yeah,” Dean said.

  “We have to get you patched up,” Gina said, pulling the med kit out. Dean pushed her hands away as she came close. “Dean, you need stitches.”

  “I’m a Shifter. The wounds will close within a day.”

  “What?” Gina asked. “That’s ridiculous. Wounds can’t heal that fast.”

  “Have you ever dealt with a Shifter?”

  Gina shook her head.

  “Well, here’s your chance. We heal fast, as long as there isn’t any serious internal damage. I’ll be fine within a day. Just wait. We might need that med kit for something more important in the future.”

  Gina nodded, though she didn’t like it. It was true: they might need what remained of their medical kit sometime later. She hoped they wouldn’t, but she’d rather be safe than sorry. Plus, it looked like Dean was telling the truth: the bleeding had stopped and he didn’t appear to have any serious complications from the gun shots. She was thankful; she had no idea what she would do without Dean.

  What would have happened there if Dean hadn’t been around? If he had forced her out and wasn’t there to protect her? She didn’t want to think about it.

  “I’m sorry, Dean.”

  He grunted.

  “I’m serious. Stop with all of the grunting. Talk like a normal person.”

  He grunted again, but said afterward, “For what?”

  “I should have listened to you. I was willing to give that man shelter and some of our food. I believed him. I put us in danger.”

  He shrugged. “You couldn’t have known.”

  “You were right. Next time we run into someone, I’ll listen to your instincts. If you think something is up, then just let me know and we’ll figure it out.”

  Dean thought for a second, but nodded. “And next time, I’ll let you do the talking. Try not to come off so crass.”

  Gina gave him a smile. “That sounds good. We’ll make it through this.”

  Dean didn’t answer. Instead, he just turned towards Petey, who was playing in the water. Gina dug through the bag and pulled out a fresh change of clothes for Dean.

  “Next time, take them off before you shift,” she told him. She tried to get him to smile, but he wouldn’t. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “About what?” Dean asked. He turned away from her as he pulled his clothes back on.

  “About… back there. With that man.”

  “No,” Dean said. “I don’t.”

  “Dean…”

  “I said I don’t. He was dangerous. Next time, I won’t men like him even get off one shot against us. I shouldn’t have let my guard down like that.”

  “You couldn’t have known.”

  “Gina, I don’t want to talk about it. Now, let’s get going.”

  *

  Dean had vowed never to kill again. He had vowed never to shift again when it would lead to violence. And he had broken that personal vow.

  He hadn’t had a choice, had he? He didn’t think so. If he hadn’t shifted, he would probably be dead by now. Gina would probably be dead by now. Petey would probably be dead by now. He didn’t want any of those things to happen.

  So, he hadn’t let them. He had done what he thought was necessary to keep them safe. That man, Jayce, had been dangerous. Maybe he hadn’t needed to kill him, maybe he could have let him go, but that was dangerous, too. He didn’t want to take any chances. Couldn’t take any chances. Not now. The man could have gone back to his friends and they could have tracked Dean’s passage through the forest. He couldn’t risk that.

  Hell, they could be following them anyway. Dean didn’t think it was likely, unless they were really out for vengeance. In his experience, most men, in situations like that, would just accept what had happened and move on. They’d only look out for themselves. Dean hoped they would.

  After they’d stopped at the stream for a few minutes, they started off again. The rock wall of the mountain was miles back. He would probably never see the bunker again, even if they lived through this. Dean wasn’t so sure that they would, but he knew he would do his best. If not for himself, then for Gina.

  He had an idea of where to go, but it was easier said than done. He intended to skirt north of Haysberry by a few miles, far enough away to keep a low profile and avoid the major highway that ran next to it. They’d have to cross a smaller one, but he didn’t think that would be a problem. Once they moved past Haysberry, they could dive back into the deep woods and follow an old game trail his grandfather had shown him years ago.

  They could follow that north for about 50 miles before hitting Marshall Mountain. From there, the trail forked. He was unsure of which way to go after that. To the west, they could keep following the trail, through the forest. There was a lake up there, where they could lay low and maybe do some fishing for food. He didn’t like the idea of their survival relying on fishing, but it was an option. If they had enough food for the trek, he would take that route every time.

  To the east, though, was one of the major cities in the area: North Williamstown. Dean absolutely did not w
ant to go in that direction, but it might be a necessity. If they had no food, or if he failed in hunting some, they would have to go into town and resupply. But that would be dangerous. It was all up in the air.

  Once past the mountain and the city, they would have nearly 100 miles of empty wilderness before the next major city. His grandfather had a cabin up there, somewhere in the woods. It wasn’t the best place to go in an emergency like this, but it looked like it was their only option. They would be alone, provided he could remember where the cabin was at.

  They would mostly be safe up there, as long as more bombs didn’t drop.

  Gina was following close behind him. Undoubtedly, she was wondering what their next move was. But she didn’t ask, and he didn’t tell her. There was no use worrying her just yet. A lot of things could change between Haysberry and the 50 miles to the mountain. They could find other people. Society and order could return, though that was unlikely. He could hunt a deer and feed them for weeks. There was just too much variance right now to worry her.

  *

  The sun was going down when Dean finally decided to stop. Gina had no idea how long they’d been walking, or how far they had traveled. Dean’s chosen spot was by a thicket of bushes above a small creek. There was just enough room that they could sit comfortably with the thicket on three sides of them, the only opening facing towards the creek. No one would be able to see them unless they were standing at the far side of the bank.

  It was cozy, in a way. Dean cleaned the debris away and put a blanket down. Gina crawled onto it eagerly. The ground was cold underneath her, but the blanket helped. Plus, it was July. The temperature would drop, some, but she thought they would be alright throughout the night. Petey was down at the creek, lapping up the water.

  Gina sat alone as Petey drank and Dean scouted the area. She wasn’t sure where they stood with each other: she could tell he was still harboring ill feelings for his bunker burning down, though she hoped that he was coming to realize it was an accident and it wasn’t worth blaming anyone, especially her. Still, his usefulness was undeniable. She would never have been able to get through the mountains without his help. There would be no way that she could have found this secluded spot to spend the night. She just hoped that she would be useful in the coming days. She hoped that she wouldn’t be dead weight.

  Dean came back, carrying handfuls of berries. He set them in front of Gina without a word, then turned back, in constant vigilance of the area around them. She could tell that he was hurting. His wounds, and having pushed himself all day, were taking their toll on him.

  She looked down at the berries. They looked delicious, but were they safe to eat? She wasn’t sure. Dean should know what was good to eat and what wasn’t; he was a survivalist, after all. Still, he had been in a bunker for the past two years. How was his memory of the outside world faring?

  “What are these?” she asked.

  Dean turned back towards her and answered, “Mulberries.” Mulberries, huh? She’d heard of them before, but she had never eaten them. She decided to dig in. They filled her mouth with a sweet, tart flavor. She smiled. This was a welcome change of pace from the canned foods and meal packs she’d been eating in the bunker.

  Petey ran up to her and sat, begging. She knew what he wanted, so she dug through one of the duffel bags. She pulled out a can of food and Petey dug in immediately.

  “So what’s our next move?” she asked Dean. Standing above her, he looked like some sentinel from ages past: stoic, heavily muscled, and insanely handsome. If only his attitude matched his physique, Gina found herself wishing.

  “I’ve got it under control.”

  “That’s great,” Gina said, throwing up her hands. She found herself doing that a lot because of Dean, lately. “But I’d like to know where we’re going. What our plan is. What I should plan for.”

  “We’re going north, to one of my grandfather’s old cabins. We should be safe there.”

  “Like we were safe in the bunker?” Gina snapped. She could tell that wounded Dean. Maybe he was coming around and realizing that maybe – just maybe – it wasn’t her fault.

  “That’s different.”

  “How? How’s it different, Dean?”

  “It’s deep in the woods. Surrounded by wilderness. No one in any direction for a hundred miles.”

  “And how are we getting there?”

  He hesitated, like he so often did. But he continued, “We head north to Marshall Mountain. There’s an old hunter’s game trail that hasn’t been used for half a century. Once I find it, it should be easy going. Once we reach Marshall Mountain, we’ll have a choice. Either left and we keep following the trail north, or we go right and end up near North Williamstown.”

  North Williamstown? Gina had been there, once, a few years ago. It was a big city. “Why would we go there?”

  “It depends on how much food we have when we get to the mountain. If I can forage, or hunt, we may be able to take the trail around the mountain and stay out of the cities altogether. There’s a lake up there, but I would hate to rely on that if we’re already low on food.”

  “How good are you at hunting?” she asked.

  Dean shrugged. “It’s been a little while. I’m a little…”

  “Rusty?”

  He nodded.

  “Dean, you should sit down and rest.”

  “No. I need to keep a lookout.”

  “Dean, you’re exhausted. You’ve hardly rested since this morning. If someone is coming close to us, don’t you think both you and Petey will be able to smell him?” Gina asked. That was something she’d heard – that Shifters were able to smell as well as a bear would – but she’d never confirmed it.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” he admitted, though she could tell that he wasn’t happy about it. Carefully, he lowered himself to the blanket, wincing. He was a fast healer, but she could tell he was still in pain. Gina could see where some blood had soaked through his new set of clothes.

  “You’re bleeding.”

  “It’s nothing,” he answered, but she was lifting his shirt up, looking at his wounds. He fought back at first, pulling away, but then he let her lift the shirt over his head. The only one that concerned her was the one in his shoulder. The exit wound in the back was hot and inflamed.

  “Dean, this could be infected,” she said. She was worried for him. What would happen if he got sick? Would he be able to fight off the infection? More importantly, what would happen to her?

  “It’s nothing,” he said, though he winced when she poked around it. “Honestly, don’t worry about it. We Shifters are tough.”

  “I have some extra pills in the med kit,” Gina said, searching for it in the bag.

  “Don’t.”

  “Too bad,” she said, pulling the kit out and unzipping it. The bottle was half full, but there were more than enough pills left to clear him right up.

  “Save them for someone who will actually need them.”

  “Dean, this isn’t up for debate. I need you at the top of your game, and you definitely won’t be if you’re sick. I know you think you’re fine, and you probably will be, but now isn’t the time to take any unnecessary risks. So take the damn pills.”

  “Fine,” he growled, but there wasn’t much conviction behind his voice. She handed him two and he tossed them into his mouth, swallowing quickly.