For a moment, Kara thought that it was going to join Mama Grizzly in attacking her, and she raised her can of bear spray.
Then, as the gargantuan bear galloped past her, she spotted the shreds of a navy-blue t-shirt hanging from its neck.
Relief flooded through her even before the bear's familiar scent reached her nose.
Mike!
Chapter 4
Shredded
"Don't come any closer!" Michael heard Kara shouting from up ahead. "Bear!"
Relief and renewed hope shot through him at the sound of her voice. She's still alive! I might still reach her in time!
Now completely shifted to his bear shape and on four paws, he reached for every ounce of speed that he could muster. He charged through the thick forest of spruce and larch, leaving a trail of snapped branches and slender saplings in his wake.
He exploded into a sunny meadow next to a lake. For an instant, tall grass obscured his vision.
Then he saw Kara, doing exactly what all her training had told her not to do…running away from a bear, her long legs pumping, her sun-streaked brown ponytail trailing behind her like a banner.
Kara's fire-resistant bright yellow shirt and olive-green cargo pants looked undamaged, and she appeared to be unhurt. Her big, bright blue pack-out bag lay some distance away in a ring of flattened grass.
Kara stumbled to a halt and gaped at him when he appeared. Then he saw the relief on her face as she recognized him.
Mike didn't have time to celebrate though. He slowed as he passed her and put himself in the charging bear's path, careful to keep Kara at his back.
The golden-faced female grizzly galloping towards Kara was smaller than Mike's beast form, but with two young cubs to protect, she'd be a fierce opponent.
He rose on his haunches and roared again.
His greater size failed to deter the female bear as he'd hoped. Then he spotted the two young cubs sheltering behind a pile of boulders on the lakeshore, about a hundred yards away.
Dammit, they're really close. Mike thought. No wonder she isn't backing down!
Adult male grizzly bears were known to attack and eat cubs. Instead of deterring her, he'd only escalated the situation by charging in.
Not that he could have stood by and let the female bear attack Kara.
In response to his gesture, the mother bear reared up on her hind legs as well. She lunged at him, growling ferociously.
She clawed fiercely at his forelegs and shoulders as he worked to hold her at bay. Then she snaked her head forward and tried to rip at this throat with her jaws.
Instead, she ended up with a mouthful of his torn-up t-shirt.
With a sound of disgust, she flung it aside before opening her jaws and biting at his neck again.
Luckily, Mike's thick layers of fur prevented her teeth and claws from actually doing any damage.
He didn't want to hurt the mother bear more than he had to, so after a few seconds of wrestling as they growled and snarled at each other, he managed to get his forelegs in place. He shoved her back with all his strength.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the flash of Kara's yellow shirt as she vanished into the trees.
The female grizzly stumbled backwards and landed on her haunches. She immediately bounced up to all fours, then charged him.
When she began to rise to her hind legs again to resume the attack, Mike swiped at her head with one of his huge paws and knocked her sideways.
She sprawled in the tall grass but instantly rolled to her feet, shaking her head as if dazed.
And to Mike's relief, instead of attacking him again, she retreated a few steps and roared a warning.
Mike stayed where he was. He wasn't interested in fighting a mother trying to protect her cubs, and he didn't want to make any moves that would make the other bear think that he was advancing on her offspring.
The female bear feinted a lunge, half-rising before dropping to all fours again, then retreated two further steps. Then she stood, snarling, saliva dripping from her jaws, clearly waiting for him to make the next move.
Mike retreated a cautious step.
I don't want to hurt you or your cubs, he thought at her and hoped that his body language reflected his intentions. I'm here to protect Kara.
The mother bear didn't move. Mike slowly took another step back.
The bear stamped her forefeet and huffed a warning at him. Then she, too, took a step backward.
It was a clear gesture of de-escalation. Mike held his breath.
After pausing to eye him, as if waiting to see if he was going to make the next move, she retreated another couple of steps, her gaze never leaving him.
When Mike continued to stand his ground without advancing, the mother bear slowly continued to retreat. Her small, deep-set brown eyes glared suspiciously at him the entire time.
When she had put a good twelve feet between them, she turned her back on him and waddled off in the direction of her cubs.
Mike released his breath in relief and watched her herd her cubs across the meadow to the muddy shore of the lake. The three bears followed the curve of the shore before vanishing into a dense stand of trees several hundred yards away.
Safe. He let out a long ursine huff of relief. And no one got hurt. Lucky.
"Mike?" Kara emerged from the shelter of a pair of Christmas tree-shaped spruces.
She sounded shaken.
He inhaled deeply and eyed her carefully. Her scent was heavy with stress and fear, but he couldn't smell or see any blood.
He huffed again, this time with satisfaction, and sat on his haunches.
Okay, time to shift back to human shape, he told his bear.
It grumbled at his command, unconvinced that the danger had truly passed.
Now, Mike prompted. Then, knowing that his bear couldn't resist this particular bait, he added, I need to talk to Kara and convince her to let me guard her for the rest of this hike.
As he'd hoped, that made his bear more cooperative. Without the need to speed things up, shifting back to human didn't hurt quite as badly as his previous shift had.
It was still tiring, though. When his bear had receded entirely, Mike knelt on the grass for a few seconds longer, breathing hard.
Then he climbed to his feet. And was immediately reminded of the inevitable consequence of shifting—his human shape was stark naked.
Shifters in general didn't have a nudity taboo—their lifestyle saw to that—but Mike had never shifted in front of Kara. He didn’t want his first time getting naked with her to happen like this.
Especially since she's still wearing all of her clothes. Ack.