Page 68 of Cowboy Bear's Hope

Fear gripped me, paralyzing me as my baby growled low in her throat.

Then she charged.

Instinct took over, and I held my arms out, trembling, ready to catch her even as my mind screamed in terror.

I didn’t know what she’d do. I didn’t know if she’d bite or claw or hurt me. But I couldn’t stop myself from reaching for her.

I just wanted to soothe her.

To calm her.

Before Rosie could reach me, Dante was on it.

He jumped in front of me, his body shielding mine, and let out a roar so loud it shook the earth beneath my feet.

The sound was primal, deafening, and every hair on my body stood on end.

And then it happened.

His clothes shredded as his body exploded outward, skin giving way to fur in a blur of motion.

The change was violent, a transformation that turned the man I loved into something monstrous.

And the sounds of it? The sounds were horrifying.

Bones snapping, muscles tearing, sinew ripping and rearranging itself in ways no human body was meant to endure. It was over in seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

Was it painful?

Did Rosie feel that, too?

And where had this come from?

Was it her biological father who had passed this on to her?

Or had it been hidden, dormant, all along?

The questions hit me like a tidal wave, one after another, until I couldn’t keep up.

My sobs broke free. I felt raw as they poured from me like a river.

Because the truth was right in front of me, undeniable and terrifying.

Rosie was like Dante.

Exactly like him.

A smaller version of his enormous Grizzly form. She stood there on all fours, her fur bristling, claws digging into the ground, fangs bared.

My sweet little girl was something I couldn’t begin to understand.

She was a Shifter.

And in that moment, in my most shameful, weakest moment, I was scared I would never get her back.

As if she sensed my distress, Rosie whined and chuffed, trying to get past the bigger Bear, but Dante was immovable.

Snapping his teeth and grunting, he pushed her with his snout towards the forest that lined the private road we were on that led to the ranch.

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