“If there was any other way, believe me, there’s no way I’d want to be away from you,” he told me. “But you have no idea how dangerous this is about to become. I can’t put you in harm’s way like that. You’re a human. You’re too fragile.”
“Then turn me,” I said.
“You don’t understand what that entails,” he argued. “The pain alone might…”
“Do it,” I said flatly.
“Penny, you might not survive the transition.”
A lump swelled in my throat at the mere mention of this, but I was determined. I wasn’t about to leave when Caleb was in danger.
“Do it.”
He shook his head and said, “I can’t.”
“You can’t, or you wont?”
“I won’t.”
“Why not? Don’t you think I’m strong enough?” I demanded.
“I won’t take that risk.”
“Then I’ll get someone else to do it.”
I jumped up and started tossing on some clothing. I started to barge past Caleb, but he grabbed my elbow and whirled me around to face him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he snarled.
“To find someone who will change me!” I snapped.
“Oh no you are not!” he shouted.
I tried to yank my arm away from him, but he only tightened his grip and I yelped in pain.
“Caleb, you’re hurting me!”
He instantly eased his grip slightly.
“You can’t get someone else to change you,” he said quietly, his face just inches from mine.
“Why not?”
“Because whoever changes you will become your mate.”
My face flooded with heat, and the tension in my body relaxed.
“Oh,” I muttered.
“Penny, I won’t risk losing you,” he said. “I can’t. Please don’t ask that of me.”
“I’m not leaving, Caleb. You can either change me and risk losing me that way, or you can keep me here as a human and risk losing me that way. But I will not leave you.”
I couldn’t decipher the look that spread across his face at that moment. I’d never seen anything like it. I couldn’t tell if it was confusion, shock, fear, or perhaps pride. He paused for several moments, staring at me silently. I was just about to cut the uncomfortable silence when he threw his arms around me, drawing me tightly against his body.
“No one has ever been willing to risk themselves for me before,” he breathed into my neck.
It was then that the gravity of the situation truly hit me. He’d never had anyone who cared about him. Ever. I still didn’t know his situation. I didn’t know where he’d come from or what happened to bring him here. All I knew was he had been alone his whole life, and had never had anyone who truly cared for him. No wonder he was so desperate to keep me alive.
“I trust you,” I told him as he clung to me.
He pulled away slightly and looked into my eyes.
“Do you?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Then let me take you somewhere safe,” he said. “Please. I need to get you far away from here before the panthers find out you’re here and what you mean to me. If they get wind… they’ll try to use you against me.”
“I understand,” I told him.
Caleb quickly threw on some clothes and then he grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Once outside, we headed around to the back of his house where a small white truck emblazoned with the forest service logo sat underneath a huge oak tree.
“Get in,” he ordered me.
The door creaked loudly as I opened it, and I jumped into the passenger’s seat and slammed the door behind me. Caleb hopped into the driver’s seat and pulled down the sun visor, spilling a set of keys into his hand. He thrust the keys into the ignition and turned them, and the truck roared and sputtered.
“Damn it!” he cursed, slamming his palm against the steering wheel.
He turned the keys again and pumped the gas pedal, but the old truck sputtered and died. Several more times he tried, but the old truck simply would not start.
He looked at me with pure terror in his eyes. His brows were knitted together, and he shook his head.
“I can’t believe this,” he said.
He yanked open his door and got out, dashing around to my side of the truck and pulling open my door.
“Come on,” he said.
I jumped out, and he took my hand and pulled me down the path toward the branch. It was hard to keep up with him, and I kept stumbling over roots and stones. I could tell he was deliberately slowing himself down, but his urgency to get me to safety was pushing him to run faster and faster.
“Caleb!” I shouted, barely able to breathe. “I can’t… keep up!”
“You have to!” he yelled back at me.
We splashed across the branch and made it to the edge of a steep drop-off. He came to an abrupt halt and grabbed the back of my shirt to keep me from slipping off the precipice.
“We’re going to have to slide from here,” he said.
“Slide… down there?” I asked, my eyes wide. I looked down at the impossibly steep angle and shook my head. “No way.”
“It’s our only chance,” Caleb said. “We have to get you down to Gatlinburg where you can blend in with the tourists. There’s no other way.”
With that, he ripped off his shirt and laid it out flat on the ground. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me down onto the ground. He straddled me from behind, his legs on either side of me, and he pushed himself off, wrapping his arms protectively around my body as we started to slide.
As we slid, we picked up speed. Before long, everything around us was a mere blur. Caleb somehow managed to steer us around every tree and rock as we slid, but my heart was pounding so hard my head began to ache. I have no idea how we made it down that mountain alive, but somehow we did, coming to a skidding stop just outside town.
“Follow the road that way,” he said. “There’s a little motel in town with a big black bear statue out front. I can’t remember the name. Just ask for Mary Jane. She’s a friend and she’ll give you a room. I can pay her later.”
“What if the panthers find me there?” I asked.
“We’ll have to hope they don’t,” he said. “I’ll send Ivy to protect you as soon as I find her.”
“So you’re just going to leave me?” I asked. I know my voice was begging him to stay.
“I have to,” he said. “I’m Alpha.”
He turned to leave, but quickly turned back and took me into his arms. He squeezed me tightly, breathing in the scent of my hair before taking my face in his hands and planting a firm kiss on my lips.
“Get to the motel and stay there,” he said.
He turned to dash away, but I called after him, “Caleb!” He froze and turned to me. “I love you!” I shouted after him.
He said nothing for a moment, but then a smile flickered across his lips.
“I love you, too,” he said.
With that, he turned and fled back up the steep mountain.
I watched after him for a little while, and as soon as he disappeared from sight I jogged toward town to find the motel.
My stomach was twisted into a knot that threatened to explode at any moment. What if he got killed? I couldn’t bear to think of it.
But I needed to find that motel. If the panthers found me, they could use me against Caleb and he’d be vulnerable. I couldn’t let that happen.
I never thought that I’d be happy I’d been in a plane crash that nearly killed me. I never imagined that such a freak event could lead me to meeting the man of my dreams. And I certainly never would have believed that I’d fall in love so deeply or so fast.
But one thing was true… I loved him. And the only thing I could do to help him at that moment was to keep myself safe. And that’s exactly what I planned to do.
Before You Go
Watch for book 2 in the Appalachian Shifters series coming soon!<
br />
Alanis Knight
http://www.AlanisKnight.com
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlanisKnight
And please don’t forget to leave a review if you liked this title!
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Heart Of The Bear (Appalachian Shifters #1) Page 6