Page 35 of Fake Fae-Ancée

"Who are you?"

"Kalinin. Unit Four," the Bear growled and sat down next to me. I stared at him like an apparition. He was big, massive as a rock. His fur looked almost black down here in the shadows, but with a hint of chestnut. His eyes gleamed almost golden as they looked at me.

"Injuries?"

I nodded. "My foot," I muttered. The Bear nodded, stretched out a gigantic paw. With surprising delicacy, he began sorting the rocks away that had buried my leg and foot. I gritted my teeth, because even those little movements sent screaming lightnings of pain up my leg.

When he was done, I rolled over, struggled into a sitting position and groaned out as my leg exploded in a universe of pain.

"Broken," the Bear snorted.

"No shit, Sherlock," I bit out, fighting back tears. Whoever this guy was, and why he was down here, and however he'd found me in the first place — I'd rather die in this pit before he saw me cry.

"Can you climb on my back?"

No idea if I could, but I nodded, breathing heavily through the pain. The Bear eyed me scrutinizingly, then rolled onto his side and lay flat on the ground next to me.

"Hop on,little star," he growled. Was I being silly, or were his eyes twinkling somehow? Like he was grinning?

I gritted my teeth and crawled onto his furry back. The Bear was a hulking mountain of muscle, the fur on his neck wiry and firm. He motioned for me to hold on, and I clawed at the fur as he rose — massive muscles working beneath the pelt — and began to climb out of the pit with playful ease.

This took what felt like an eternity. My leg throbbed and felt as if it consisted only of burning shards of glass. I scrunched my eyes shut, clawing onto him for dear life and concentrating on not fainting. His scent was surprisingly pleasant. Like cookies and aftershave and smoked salmon. Definitely not like the guy had been hibernating in a smelly cave...

At some point, he put me on cold, hard ground. Again I groaned in pain, fighting the upcoming nausea, but at least I was out of the pit, I realized. Oh, how good to breathe fresh air again! Above me, the night sky spread out, colored slightly purple by the magical force field that surrounded the safety zone. The stars twinkled extra bright here. And I wasn't dead yet. Well, that wouldn't make those butt-faces back at the base very happy...

"Sorry, the Yellowtail killed the vehicle when I was beating the shit out of it," the Bear growled, standing on four paws in front of me. I didn't understand a thing.

"What?" I muttered.

"The SUV. That thing you're leaning against right now,little star." Now he was really grinning. Could bears grin?

In fact, I was leaning with my back against something that looked more or less like a car. After a dinosaur had sat on it, or something. I gathered from the dented pile of metal that until recently it had been a functioning vehicle of the Northern EDF units. Either way, this poor SUV wasn't going anywhere anymore.

"I suppose we'll have to walk back to base," I groaned. The Bear chuckled.

"Not today. Your strength is gone. So is mine."

"What do you mean?"

He shifted. Before my eyes, without batting an eye. His massive body deformed, shrunk. Flowed into a different shape. Limbs grew longer and smaller. Shaggy fur became skin. And next thing I knew, a large and pretty ripped guy was standing right in front of me. With chestnut curls on his head, shiny dark eyes, a crooked grin — and totally butt-naked.

Heat rushed to my head. I even forgot the raging pain in my leg.

"See anything you like?" He cocked his head.

I blinked as I realized I was staring at him.

"Isn't it a bit chilly for the time of year?" I managed to get out. Thank God, my repartee hadn't been left at the bottom of the pit.

His grin widened, but then he abruptly became serious.

"We need to find shelter. Give me a second."

He marched to the other side of the wrecked car, where the trunk had once been. A hatch squeaked open. A little later, he reappeared in a uniform, a coat and sturdy boots. I was still staring like a cow when he made an effort to scoop me up.

"Hey! Slow down, cowboy, what are you doing?" I protested.

He furrowed his brows. "Don't tell me you can walk on your own. We both know it’s a lie."

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