Page 35 of Hunted

When I finally come to a stop, every part of me is sore and aching. My head is ringing and my vision blurring.

I swear, just before my eyes slide shut, that a figure is standing at the top of the hill I just tumbled down, staring down at me.

12

MACK

Ican’t remember the last time I ran into a black bear.

As long as it’s not a grizzly, I’ve never been too concerned about bears. Black bears, I’ve learned in my run-ins with them, tend to be more shy. That was until this black bear interrupted mine and Aerin’s walk. Then, I lost the ability to think about anything but putting myself in front of Aerin and the bear.

It takes three steps toward me. I throw my arms around, yelling, until it stops, eyes me warily, and swings away, ambling back the way it came.

Releasing a sigh of relief, I wait until I lose sight of it, regretting sending Aerin away. She’d been worried about me, but all I’d cared about was getting her as far away from the bear as possible.

I can no longer hear her footsteps, so she’s probably at the house or close to it by now.

“Aerin?” I call out, in case she can hear me. “It’s gone now. So?—”

A scream rips through the forest.

Aerin.

It’s like someone squeezed their fist around my heart. Moving on autopilot, I sprint toward the sound. Aerin doesn’t scream often. But I know her voice.

She’s in trouble.

I track her path through the forest, skidding to a stop at the edge of a hill. It’s like the one Aerin fell down months before when she ran from me in a storm. Then, she’d been okay, limping badly but on her feet.

I see her at the bottom, on her back, head tilted to the side.

She’s not moving.

I rush down toward her, so terrified that I’ve lost her I nearly fall, slipping and sliding until I drop to my knees beside her.

She’s still breathing, thank fuck. But sheisbleeding.

“Aerin, love?” I touch her cheek. It’s warm.

Her long white linen pants are stained with mud, but there’s no trace of blood on her clothes and none of her bones appear to be broken. She’s just unconscious.

The dark bruise on her jaw briefly captures my attention, as does the cut on her forehead, dribbling blood down the side of her face.

“Aerin?” I rest my ear against her chest, listening to make sure her breathing is steady.

It is.

It’s not a good idea to move someone hurt, but I need to get her inside so I can make sure she truly is okay. Adela can check her because in a former life, Adela was a nurse, so she’ll know if Aerin needs to go to a hospital or if, and I really hope this is the case, that she is okay.

I scoop Aerin into my arms, holding her close to my heart as I reassure her that I have her now and I’m getting her home.

Stone faced, worried for Aerin and the baby, I run home.

I’m upstairs in our bedroom when the sound of a car approaching the house pulls my gaze from Aerin’s face.

The second the car comes to a stop outside, I get up from the side of our bed where I was sitting and hurry downstairs. It’s not like Adela to speed. She’s always cautious above anything, but it sounds like she drove here a little faster than she usually would.

All I’ve done since I got Aerin home was call Adela, get Aerin settled in bed, covered her with a blanket before cleaning the blood from her forehead. The wound, a jagged cut that might have been caused by a rock, was already healing.

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