Page 32 of A Very Beary Christmas
Chapter 17
Sam
A hard smack against my chest woke me up. Chloe groaned as if in pain, thrashing out again. At first, I thought she was having a nightmare. I spoke quietly; soothing words to bring her back from whatever hell she was reliving, but they didn’t help. Chloe wasn’t asleep. Her eyes were wide open and frightened.
“Sam,” she gasped, breathing hard, “what’s ... wrong ... with me? Is this ... part ... of the mating ... bond?”
Now wide awake, I turned on the light beside the bed. Chloe was as pale as the snow outside, her skin drenched in a cold sweat. Her small body was racked with head-to-toe tremors. What really slayed me was the pain in her eyes when she looked at me.
“It ...hurts, Sam. You ... should have ... warned me.”
My blood ran cold. This wasnotpart of the mating bond. I had known other bear shifters who had mated humans, and some had said their mates had experienced some mild, flu-like symptoms in the first forty-eight hours or so, but nothing like this.
I cursed myself for my weakness. Chloe had just recovered from a nasty bout of flu. Her body was still weak. I should have waited before claiming her. Less than twenty-four hours into our mating and I had already failed to keep my promise.
“Where does it hurt, baby?” I asked.
“Everywhere,” came her strangled reply.
I didn’t know what to do. Chloe was suffering, and it was all my fault.
I reached for my phone and quickly dialed the lodge. My uncle Eli was a doctor. He would know what to do.
“Dad, it’s Sam. Something’s wrong with Chloe. I need Eli. Now!” I disconnected, cursing when Chloe began to seize.
I gathered her in my arms and held her, not knowing what else to do. I didn’t even realize I was crying until the tears hit her skin.
My uncle arrived a few minutes later, along with my mother and father. It took both my parents to convince me to release her long enough for Eli to examine her. Then my mom made tea while my father stood in front of the bedroom door to keep me from rushing in there. Their faces held concern, but they were handling the situation better than I was.
Chloe’s anguished screams of pain were gutting me. I could hear my uncle’s deep, rumbling voice asking questions, trying to get to the bottom of things.
“What the hell is happening?” I demanded repeatedly as I paced. Unfortunately, no one had an answer.
Seconds passed by like minutes; minutes like hours. I was at my rope’s end when a loud roar suddenly shook the entire cabin.
My blood chilled. I couldn’t imagine what would make my uncle go full bear unless there was an immediate threat.
My parents and I exchanged glances, then rushed toward the bedroom. Since my father was closest, he got inside first and stopped dead in his tracks.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he said softly
I pushed him to the side, only to find my uncle, still in human form, looking awestruck.
I followed his gaze to the far corner where a small, golden she-bear huddled in fear.
“Chloe?”
At the sound of my voice, her head whipped in my direction and she let out a soulful roar.
In seconds, I shifted into my bear and went to her, nuzzling her face and head. She immediately placed herself behind me and whined.
“Leave us,” I chuffed in grunts and rumbles. Then I turned and gave my full attention to my mate.
Chloe was confused and scared. She didn’t understand what was happening to her. Frankly, neither did I. I mean, I knewwhathad happened—my beautiful human mate had just shifted into a stunning golden sow—but I didn’t understandhowit had happened. Explanations and answers would have to wait, however. What was most important at that point was reassuring my mate, which I did with a series of rumbles and growls.
I wasn’t sure Chloe understood me, but her bear did. Handing over control to one’s animal was a difficult thing to learn, even when prepped for it. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to just have it happen suddenly and out of the blue like that. It had to have been terrifying.
The physical shift wouldn’t have been any easier. It was a painful process the first few times, and downright excruciating the first. The change had probably been coming on all evening and, not recognizing it for what it was, Chloe’s mind and body had been fighting it.
