Page 30 of Hot For Her Bear

Her bear paced. Her beast was unsettled and rumbled deep in her chest.

“What is going on?” Dasha murmured.

Saffron, her beast whispered.

Dasha froze in place. Was that fear she experienced not her own? Was that Saffron’s feelings? There were some accounts of mates sharing a special bond where they were able to pick up on each other’s emotions.

She reached in the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cell. She slid her finger across the glass screen and opened it. She hit Saffron’s number and put her phone up to her ear.

“Come on, babe. Answer.” She listened to it ring before it went over to the generic voicemail.

That didn’t sit well with her.

She hit Saffron’s number.

Again, no answer. Saffron’s voicemail picked up.

Dasha swung into her truck and tossed her phone down next to her wristlet. She would just go to the shop. She was sure they were probably busy and Saffron hadn’t heard her cell ring. That was possible.

But the nausea that took hold of her said otherwise.

She drove the way to Saffron’s shop, and the fear was becoming overwhelming. She tightened her hand on the steering wheel. The scent of the smoke was growing thicker. She turned the final corner where Lick or Bite was located.

Her heart slammed against her chest at the sight of the fire engines and police cars parked in front of Saffron’s shop. The building was engulfed in flames.

Dasha hit the brake, unable to go any farther along the road due to the police blocking it off. She pulled off to the side of the road and parked her SUV. She killed the engine and exited. She slammed the door and took off running toward the building. There was a crowd of onlookers standing across the street.

Dasha frantically scanned the crowd, trying to find any sight of Saffron. Her gaze landed on two people.

Saffron’s employees, Capri and Moss, were standing next to a police car and were speaking with two cops. Dasha ran in their direction.

“Excuse me,” she muttered, pushing through the people standing watching the flames coming from the building. Within a few minutes, she had made her way to them. “Capri. Moss. Where is Saffron?”

They turned to her, and the bottom of her stomach dropped. Capri’s eyes were red-rimmed, and tears streaked her cheeks.

“I don’t know. I think she’s still in there. There was this man—”

“Excuse me. Who are you?” the cop asked.

“I’m Saffron Dakota’s mate,” she growled. Her bear surged against her chest, trying to break free. She pushed her beast back down. She, the human, needed to remain in control for the moment.

“Okay. I’m Sergeant Sidney.” He swallowed hard. His eyes widened as if he realized she was a shifter and trying to remain calm. “From the report these two just gave me, a large male fitting the description of the missing Bishop Milligan, was in the Lick or Bite. Ms. Dakota was able to get them out.”

“Has anyone made it in there?” Dasha’s gaze turned toward the building. The flames and smoke reached for the sky. Her bear roared, demanding they go after their mate. “Has anyone captured Bishop?”

“We’ve been in contact with the clan’s enforcers. They have been brought up to speed on the situation.” He faced the building and motioned to the firefighters. “They haven’t been able to go in there yet. The flames are too much. They need to get them under control first.”

“She’s in there,” Dasha murmured. She felt it deep into her soul that her mate was somewhere locked in that building. She couldn’t stand by and wait to go in there and find her dead.

Her bear roared, demanding they shift. They would go in there and save her.

Dasha took off toward the ice cream shop. She ignored Sidney’s shout for her to come back. There was no way she would sit idle waiting for the humans to rescue her human.

Another growl rippled from her. She sped up and raced past the yellow safety tape the law enforcement had positioned, creating a perimeter around the building. She ignored everyone yelling at her.

She gave in to her shift.

Her bear took over from her, and her shift was completed within seconds. This was an emergency. Dasha threw back her head, letting out a massive roar. Her clothes lay in tattered remains on the ground around her. She kicked them away and glanced up at the building. The people around her scattered, spreading out, far from her. She couldn’t care less what they thought.

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