Page 18 of Chosen By The Grizzly

“So much more beautiful. You just had this glow about you,” he continues. “I saw how hard you were working, while they were busy with their phones. And when you turned and looked in my direction, I just knew—”

I give a little gasp. “I remember! Something made me look into the trees. It was nothing I saw or heard. It was more like something spoke, deep inside me…”

“The voice of your mate,” he says.

“Mate?” I whisper.

He nods. “We shifters take mates. We don’t date. We stay single until we find our mate. The one we’re supposed to be with…” He looks so serious, tingles race through me and my heart pounds like crazy.

“And then?”

“And then we claim her. Show the whole world she’s our property.”

“How?” I whisper.

“With our cocks, and our teeth,” he growls.

My mouth falls open. Becoming Jason’s property is the most exciting thing I can imagine—

He stops dead, and takes a deep sniff.

“What is it?”

“They’re close by. Or at least, some of them are.”

“This way.” He leads me off the trail and directly into the trees.

I shake myself, trying to focus on the task at hand. But it’s not easy when IthinkJason just implied that I might be his mate?

He keeps his tread light and I follow his lead. I kinda like this stalking thing. The forest seems to be getting darker and the trees are crowding closer together, and suddenly, the ground ahead of us disappears. There’s a sheer drop. Jason pushes me behind him and advances closer to the edge.

“They’re here,” he says in a low voice. “Or at least, your sister and one of the others. But I think someone’s hurt.”

“No!” I dart forward. Despite everything, I can’t stand the thought of Lindsay suffering.

Jason steadies me while I peer over the edge of a precipice.

Lindsay and Ashley are down there, on the forest floor, and there’s a terrible keening sound coming from them. My stomach clenches.

Lindsay’s face is covered in dirt, and possibly some cuts as well, while Ashley’s leg is bent at an unnatural angle.

“Oh, my god!” I clap my hand over my mouth.

“Looks like it’s broken,” Jason whispers in my ear. “Ashley is freaking out, and your sister is asking her to calm down so she can think.” He pauses, listening. Lindsay grabs onto a big rock and levers herself upright, but when she puts her weight on her right leg, she cries out in pain and crumples to the ground again.

“She’s saying, it hurts like hell,” Jason whispers. “There’s no way I can walk on it. What the fuck are we going to do?”

I watch them pick up their phones, examine the screens, then drop them again.

“There’s no reception,” I mutter. I look at my own phone, try to dial, but nothing happens.

“The coverage is real spotty out here,” Jason says. His voice is tense. I glance at him. His jaw is set and his fists are clenched. I can practically feel the energy radiating off him. “Hell,” he mutters, working his jaw back and forth. “I’m going down there.”

I let out a gasp. “Jason, no, you can’t! You can’t let them see you again.”

He shakes his head. “Trust me, it’s the last thing I want to do. But they need help.”

Shivers run through me. After everything they’ve done, he’s still willing to help them. My man has a massive heart. My own heart fills with warmth. With love. Yes, I’m falling for this incredible guy. Everything is happening so fast, but it all feels so right.

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