Page 12 of Make Me Bleed

I squeal, then I do the only thing I can think of.

Without a single look back, I bolt into the trees, speeding back toward the sanctuary.

CHAPTER 4

HONEY BEAR

The border spell tingles against my skin as Dyea welcomes me back.

I guess my earlier worries that I would get lost in the woods and never find it again were unfounded. When all I’m thinking about is gettingaway, thetowasn’t as important. I ran, and as though the witch coven’s magic was drawing me home, I see the back of the sanctuary town peeking at me through the trees.

I left the bear far behind me. Part of me was terrified he’d either chase after me in his skin, or maybe shift to his bear again so that his limbs would eat up the ground between us. I swear I heard a thunderous cry split the air as I fled, like a roar of warning… or recognition. Like he knew the same thing I inexplicably suspected with my first taste of his blood.

That’s he’s my beloved—and I’m hismate.

Could it be? Never if he was a true Alaskan grizzly, but though most vampires choose to settle down with another of our kind, I’ve heard of some mixed-matings. Like Bridget the witch and her wolf shifter mate Conall, it’spossiblethat my fated mate could be another type of shifter.

But a predator?

Abear?

I just… it was too much for me to deal with. The realization that, after more than thirty years of searching, I found him and his first impression of me is that I’m a blood thief? His blood made me warm—as did my first stolen glimpse of his aroused body—but I nearly vomit it all up as my nerves twist my stomach up in knots.

Will he be able to follow me? My vampire speed gave me the slight advantage, but left a scent trail straight from the bear—from thatmale—to the sanctuary. Clinging to the knowledge that the magic of Dyea only welcomes those who belong here, I slow my pace to a more casual stroll as I approach the town.

The echoing, ear-splitting, animalistic roar that erupts from the woods beyond the sanctuary’s borders not only seems to shake the trees, but my whole body trembles.

It’s him. I… I know it’s him. Whether or not he can breach the borders, the roar—and how close it is—makes it obvious that hecanfollow me.

He can, and hehas.

I let out a frantic moan, mind blank as I stand there, heels frozen to the dirt. My temporary paralysis only lasts a few seconds before I glance over my shoulder, searching the trees for some sign that the male is close.

Is that him? I peer closer, not sure if that’s a flash of his tanned skin or his dark hair—or if I want it to be.

Either way, I can’t stay where I am. My instincts urge me to run, to hide, to escape the predator chasing me as if I’m his prey. Another vampire might be disgusted by the notion that any other creature would consider a fanged bloodsucker prey. Not me. After the way Peter’s relentlessly stalked me for months before I left Clarity, all I can think is that this is another male who is trying to claim something that I’m not sure I can give him.

Mate.

Swallowing the lump lodged in my throat, I start running again.

Going to my house seems like a bad idea. Do I have a reason? Not even a little. I just… I just don’t like the idea of leading this stranger to my personal territory. Besides, over the past year or so, I’ve grown used to Bridget standing between a threatening male and me. Before, I would do anything I could to dissuade her without admitting the truth that vampires exist. Now? I know how powerful she is. I know how protective her mate is.

Which is precisely why I run straight for the house the Bridget shares with Conall at the far end of the sanctuary.

Like me, Conall leaves his front door unlocked. For one reason, Bridget’s extended me the same open-door invitation that I have to her; for another, the only predatory shifter in Dyea has no concerns that one of our villagers will step foot onto his personal territory without permission unless they want his testy wolf to take it as a challenge.

Without breaking my stride—and completing disregarding anyone in the town square who might wonder why Elise is running like a lunatic—I push open the door, slam it shut behind me, and stare wide-eyed at Bridget and Conall.

I hadn’t expected my bestie and her wolf to be standing in the middle of the living room. Luckily, they’re dressed; these days, odds are just as good that I could find the newly mated couple enjoying each other in front of the fireplace that Conall built for Bridge, and that she keeps gushing about. Since they are, I beseech them.

“I’m not here,” I gasp. My hands fly up as I worry my bottom lip with my right fang, shaking my head. “I need to hide.” Hiding is good. Between Conall’s alpha musk, Bridget’s innate fire, and the scent of their sex overlaying the entire house, maybe he won’t be able to scent me… “Bridget where can I hide?” I glancearound, eyes widening when I spy the open entrance in front of me. “I know! Kitchen.”

Before they can say anything in response, I dash across the room. Pausing in the doorway, I turn to look over my shoulder at the visibly puzzled Bridget and the resigned Conall. “I’m not here,” I repeat, then duck further into the kitchen.

There’s an exit off the back. If I need an escape, this is perfect. And if I overreacted and the bear didn’t follow me—if Dyea refused to let him inside the settlement—then I can sit at the table, maybe bang my head against the wood, and try to make sense of just how much my life has changed since I saw Bridget last.

Over the thrumming of my pulse, I can hear Conall murmur something to his mate, though I can’t make out the exact words. Considering we only get on for Bridge’s sake, I can only imagine, but whatever it is, he replaces those murmurs with a growl that sends shivers skittering up my spine.

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