Page 31 of Hot For Her Bear

She needed to rescue her mate.

Dasha rushed to the front door and rose on her hind legs and pounded on it with her front legs. The door gave way under her force. Thick dark smoke poured out of the door and drifted to the sky.

She fell back down on all fours and made her way inside the building. Flames ate up the walls, while the ceiling was full of smoke. Her lungs burned slightly, but Dasha ignored it. She had to find Saffron. There was no sign of her in the front of the store.

Dasha’s eyes watered from the smoke. She blinked and kept moving. It was dark aside from the flames. She moved to Saffron’s office where the door was open. She went inside and didn’t see any signs of her. She grew frustrated, but then again was grateful she hadn’t found Saffron’s body anywhere.

She turned to leave but had to jump back. The ceiling gave way, parts of it falling to the floor. The sounds of the flames overcoming the building were deafening. Dasha continued her search for her. In her gut, she knew Saffron was still here.

Dasha continued on. She didn’t know how much longer she would make it. The smoke was getting thick. She coughed and had to pause. The air was growing thin in there, but she refused to leave without her mate with her. She bent down as far as she could and crawled through the rest of the shop. The small little kitchen was empty, and the little break room revealed nothing. The only other place she could think to check would be the freezer.

Dasha stood still and tried to focus on breathing. She wheezed, inhaling smoke. Her lungs were burning significantly, but she was determined to search every inch of this place until she was either sure there were no signs of Saffron or she found her.

Dasha’s paws grew heavier to lift as she made her way to the freezer. The thick steel door was locked from the outside. She pawed at it and was unable to get it unlock with her claws. They did nothing but scape along the door, missing the lock mechanism.

She snarled, frustrated that her large paws couldn’t open the door. There was no way she could tear her way through this door. She was growing weaker from the heat, the smoke, and thinning air.

She was going to have to shift back to her human form.

Give me control, she begged her beast. Her animal was stubborn and snarled.I don’t want to hear it. You can’t open the door. I can. We have to check this out. Saffron could be in there. She needs us.

Her bear hesitated but soon relented. Saffron was more important.

Her body contorted while the thick fur disappeared within the pores of her skin. In seconds, she was once again in her human form.

“Shit,” she exhaled. She thought it had been hard to breathe when she was in her bear form, but it was even worse in her human form. Dasha was going to have to work quickly. The building wasn’t going to last long. A crash sounded near the front of the store. A section of the ceiling crashed down. She turned back to the door, remaining on her knees where the fresh air was and unlocked it.

Dasha pulled it open, a coughing fit overtaking her. She peered into the freezer, and her heart thumped louder.

. There was lone figure lying on the floor.

“Saffron!” she shouted. She stood and propped the door open. She had to be fast. She couldn’t take the risk that the door would slam shut. Then they both would be trapped inside.

Dasha made her way into the freezer. The air was chilly. She knelt by Saffron and rested a hand on her shoulder. She pulled her onto her back and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her thready pulse at the base of her neck.

“Come on, love. Let’s get out of here,” Dasha murmured. She wasn’t going to worry why her mate was unconscious. At least she had a pulse. She would get them out of here, then they would figure this out.

Dasha lifted her mate from the floor and kept her close to her. Saffron’s skin felt like ice. Dasha braved the smoke and walked through the doorway of the freezer and made her way to the back door. The door was unlocked, and she was able to get it open. She exited through it and immediately inhaled deeply. She coughed as she strode away from the building. There was a small wooded area that separated this street that held businesses and a residential area.

Dasha made it to the grass, collapsing onto her knees. Coughing racked her as she tried to inhale. Tears flowed down her cheeks, blurring her vision. The smoke had stung her eyes, and she wasn’t sure how she’d managed to get out of there.

“We need help!” she shouted. She screamed again, needing someone to come to them. She fell to her side, lying next to Saffron. She reached for her mate and rubbed her face. She had nothing to place over her to try to keep her warm until help could come for them. She tried to use her body heat to warm Saffron. “Help!”

She turned back to Saffron and used her hands to rub her arms. Her skin was a dusky color, and her lips were dark blue. Dasha didn’t like any of this. She pressed a kiss to her mate’s lips.

“Come on, baby. Wake up,” she begged. She blinked hard, tears falling down her face.

“Dasha!” a gruff voice called out her name.

She glanced up toward the trees, and her mouth dropped open in disbelief. Nick, Sega, and Abe broke through the woods, practically dragging a shackled Bishop.

“Is she all right?” Nick asked. He beelined it to her.

She didn’t take her eyes from Bishop. He shot her a nasty glare, and she returned it with one of her own. A growl rumbled from her. She sat up, but Nick held his hand up and stood in her view of Bishop.

“Stand down, Dasha. Your mate needs you.”

Those words brought her attention back to Saffron.

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