Page 19 of Chosen By The Grizzly

“Can you take me to the trailhead? Or wherever I can get phone coverage?” I say. “I’ll call mountain rescue.”

Jason’s expression is grim. “That’ll take a couple of hours. Then it’ll take the rescue service a long while to arrive. There’s nowhere for a helicopter to land out here.”

I see emotions working behind his eyes as he turns his thoughts over. His body is pressing against mine, muscles all bunched up. He feels like a tightly-coiled spring.

I understand enough to know that letting the girls see him again will destroy him, and I can’t stand the thought of that.

“There’s no way I can let you do this,” I blurt out.

The look he gives me is so full of admiration and warmth, I swoon a little bit.

Then his face hardens. “I need to get them out of here,” he says.

My stomach drops like an elevator.

7

Callie

Iplant my hands on my hips. “Jason Trentino, I have no idea who you are to the rest of the world, and I don’t care. All I know is you’re an incredible human being—uh, shifter—and if you want to live alone in the wilderness, that’s your business. My sister has already tried to ruin that for you. If you go help them now, you’ll be all over TikTok tomorrow.”

He shrugs. “I’m pretty sure the damage has been done already.”

“I wouldn’t bank on it. If I know them, they’ll spend a few days working on the videos, applying a bunch of filters before they launch them on social media. Especially something this big.”

A smile tugs at the corners of his lips. “You think I’m big, huh?”

“Yup.” Before I can stop myself, my attention is flickering down to his crotch again.

“I’ll show you just how big later,” he growls, following my gaze.

Damn. Who knew it was possible to get aroused in such a tense situation?

“I’ll go grab their phones,” I say as an idea finally emerges from my shocked brain. “In exchange for your help. Make them promise not to say a word.”

This time, a soft smile crosses Jason’s lips. He takes my hand and kisses it. “You’re a sweetheart, Callie. But I know people like this, believe me. They can’t help themselves.”

I bite down on the end of my tongue, because he’s right. Attention is like oxygen for Ashley, Brittany and Madison. Without it, I think they’d just cease to exist. Shrivel up and die.

“If I hadn’t found you, I wouldn’t be here now, and that matters to me more than a thousand online exposés, believe me.”

My heart pounds as those chocolate brown eyes gaze into mine, soft with devotion. He’s doing all thisfor me. Giving up his privacy, his mountain man lifestyle… I feel so special, so loved. I blink fast before I start to tear up.

“You’re going to shift, right?” I say slowly, as another idea occurs to me.

He nods seriously. “Yeah, I need to carry them out of here. I’ll be able to carry all three of you, no sweat. But I’m wondering about the other two.”

“Maybe they’re on their way out of the forest already?”

He shakes his head “I don’t think so. I picked up their scents a while back, heading in exactly the wrong direction. And they’re not even together. It’ll be dark in a few hours. I don’t like the idea of them being in the forest alone. They’ll be prey to a bunch of shifters,andnon-shifters.”

I shiver, understanding he means full-blooded grizzlies.

“I can go find them—?”

“No!” He cuts me off. “There’s no way I’m leaving you alone here, Callie. You’re under my protection; now and forever.”

I stare at him in a shocked silence. Did he just sayforever?

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