Once he found the man responsible and ascertained that he and his family were alright, Dean was going to tear the normal a new one. How dare he risk his family by driving in this weather!
That was the problem with humans, his animal thought back to him, they had no Neta to lead them.
He chuffed and ran harder. Closer now, he thought as the scent of burnt rubber and fuel reached his nostrils.
Shit. That smell was bad. It meant the car was burning. Dean hauled ass. He bounded over frozen tree roots and snow covered shrubs until he reached the wreckage.
All at once, two things became clear to him. As Dean’s Tiger leapt onto the trunk of the burning vehicle he saw that it wasn’t a family inside, and not a man driving.
A female. Yes, it was a woman. She was slumped over in the driver’s seat, injured he knew by the coppery scent of blood coming from her. As he breathed in the delicate fragrance, the other thing that became clear almost stunned him into immobility.
Mine. The stranger was not just a woman, she was his fated mate. Thunder roared in his head and his heart damn near squeezed him to death, but the sparks and black smoke rising from the vehicle spurted him into action.
Mine, growled his beast again as Dean swapped fur for skin so as to pull her from the wreck.
Sure, he was naked and it was cold as fuck, but he paid little attention to the weather. His mate was his only concern as he used all his might and strength to pull the crushed metal door off its hinges so he could free her from the burning car before the tree cracked completely and plunged them both into the water.
Dark eyes blinked open as he wrapped his arms around her to free her from the confines of the hunk of twisted metal. He could tell from her pupils that she was more than likely concussed.
“What happened?” she moaned as he lifted her in his arms.
“You’re okay,” he whispered offering her what comfort he could.
Fuck, she smelled even better up close. Like sugar cookies and warmth.
Like home, he thought and bent his head to breathe deeply of her.
“Hurts,” she moaned.
“You’ll be fine,” he answered, “I got you.”
“S-sorry,” she whimpered, and he looked down to see she’d passed out.
Damn. That was not good. He tightened his hold and hauled ass back to the cabin, moving inhumanly quick. Dean ran as fast as he could, holding her tiny frame carefully, bearing her weight easily as he hurried over the frozen forest, uncaring of the rocks and twigs that cut into the soles of his feet.
Finally, he made it back, and once there, he laid the dangerously pale woman out on the sofa. Chest heaving, Dean was hardly able to manage a breath. He did not know what to do first so he removed her shoes and coat first.
Because of the crack in the windshield and being exposed to the elements, she was frozen to the touch. Fear reared its ugly head and the Tiger inside of him roared. He was not letting her die! He removed as much of her soaking wet clothing as he could, cursing the snow for chilling her delicate skin. More worrisome was the blood still seeping from her wound.
Head injuries were dangerous and Dean swallowed down another wave of fear. Unused to such emotions, he exhaled deeply to get his cat under control, hissing as he examined the deep gash on her scalp.
He knew the basics of emergency care and checked her pupils to see if they were dilated. He did not like his findings, and his worry grew as she remained unresponsive to his gentle probing. She was breathing evenly, but she was so, so pale.
He needed to stop the bleeding. That was the first thing he should see to. Decided now on what to do first, Dean ran to the bathroom and grabbed his first aid kit.
Shifters didn’t have much use for things like that, as they tended to heal rapidly from injury. Panic began to set in as he cleaned the deep gash. Blood continued to ooze and her pulse began to slow down.
Fuck no! Dean could not afford to lose her. Not when he’d only just found her. Already his heart squeezed with an unnamable emotion for this stranger.
“No, no, no. Come on. Stay with me,” he murmured and pressed his ear to her chest, listening to her heart beat.
Dean roared aloud, frowning harder as she seemed to be worse off now than before. Her heart rate was dropping dangerously slow even for a normal.
No. No. NO! He paced and shook his head. What the fuck had he been thinking no phones this trip? Not that it would matter. No one could get there in time.
Dean dropped to his knees as tears threatened to spill. Why did this have to happen? How could he save her?
Then suddenly he knew. His Tiger pushed the answer into his mind. It was unheard of, unthinkable, and yet, it might work. Fuck it, he had to try.
There was no way Dean could explain this to a normal without the possibility of her hating him in the end, but he had no choice. There was only one way he could save her. One thing he could do that might make all the difference.
He had to give her his mating bite.
“I am so sorry to do this to you without your consent, little one, but I have no choice. If I don’t give you my bite, you will die, and I will not allow that to happen,” he spoke softly as he lifted her in his arms and tilted her face.
The beautiful, sweet smelling stranger blinked up at him and he stilled. Warm, brown eyes met his before drifting shut once more. She looked pale beneath her naturally bronzed skin, and for the first time in his life Dean understood true fear.
He didn’t know anything about her. Not her name or her age. Not her favorite color or what kind of TV shows she watched. But he knew one thing with every fiber of his being. She was his mate.
The human woman belonged to him, and he was going to save her. Emotions he’d never thought to feel swelled within him as he moved her soft curls back from her face and neck. Her sugar cookie scent invaded his nostrils and the beast within him growled in appreciation.
“I am sorry, this will hurt, but it is the only thing I can do to heal you,” he whispered and kissed her lips briefly before his fangs descended.
Dean lifted her close, holding her gently while he tilted her head to give him better access. Next, he did the only thing he could to save his mate’s life.
He bit her.
Mine!
His Tiger’s roar thundered in his head as he swallowed down his mate’s sugar cookie tinged life’s force. Her heated blood slid down his throat even as he injected his own Shifter DNA into her bloodstream through the mating mark.
His heart hammered and his cock hardened to the point of pain, but he ignored the appendage. Sex was not the issue at this moment, but it was simply a large part of Shifter biology.
The mating bite was typically accompanied during sex and his body’s response was in anticipation of that. Easily ignored in deference to her condition and unique situation, he could only hope his bite was going to heal her for the time being.
Everything else could wait until the moment she opened those gorgeous brown eyes of hers.
“Come back to me, little one, wake up,” he whispered and knelt by her side.
Minutes turned into hours, but he did not budge. He kept his vigil in silence, holding her hand and praying to the gods, Fates, and anyone else listening that she would wake.
It would take a miracle, but it was Christmas and what better time for miracles, he thought and his Tiger roared inside of his mind’s eye echoing the sentiment.
“Please,” he begged, “wake up.”