A Heart to Bear (Bear Creek Forever #4)

Chapter Thirteen – Tammy

No wonder Old Ma Hinchcliffe’s bull had gotten spooked and gone on a rampage if he’d sensed a lion up here. Tammy straightened up and scanned the area, stepping lightly through the underbrush, her eyes fixed on the ground. There. She parted the brush and crouched down. “Paw print.”

“A lion’s paw print?” Dougray carefully stepped to her side and hunkered down next to her.

“Yes.” She nodded. The paw print backed up her analysis of the droppings. Not that she’d doubted herself. But, by the surprise on Dougray’s face, others might have.

“Good tracking.” Dougray took out his phone and snapped a few photos of it from different angles, before going back to the lion droppings and doing the same.

“Shall we track it?” Tammy studied the ground as she made her way through the underbrush until she hit a game trail.

“Track it?” Dougray asked.

“Yes.” She came back toward him. “It might have a den up here that we could track it to. I don’t mean confront it, or anything. But with your senses, we should be able to locate it from a safe distance.”

“We should wait…” His eyes went distant.

“What?” Tammy studied his face, certain he was focused on his shifter scenes.

“My brothers are coming this way,” Dougray announced.

“Your brothers.” She folded her arms across her body. “Are they following us?”

He fixed his attention on her once more. “Henry asked if I would like them to help with the search.”

“Dougray.” Her eyes narrowed at him.

“Okay, I was worried about what might be out here,” he confessed. “It felt different…” He shrugged. “And it is different.”

“There are no lion shifters in Bear Creek?” Tammy asked. “Or no lion shifters at all?” She’d always figured that any animal could be a shifter, but she’d jumped to that conclusion.

Dougray hesitated, his brow furrowing. “There are a couple of lion shifters in the area, but they are very cautious. And they would not have been out in broad daylight.”

Tammy nodded, processing this information. She glanced back at the paw print. “So it’s doubtful they would have been out on the mountain the day Hercules got spooked.”

“Highly unlikely,” Dougray replied, his voice low and thoughtful. “Which means it could be a lion shifter passing through…”

“Or it could be an actual lion, one of the non-shifter variety.” She turned and gazed into the distance. “Either way, we need to be cautious.”

“Which is why we should join my brothers,” Dougray said. “There is safety in numbers.”

“You’re right.” Tammy headed back toward Sunshine who was munching on a patch of grass, completely at ease now.

Unlike Tammy. As she walked back to her horse, she kept glancing over her shoulder, scanning the tree line for any sign of movement. How did the lion get all the way out here? There weren’t any local zoos or wildlife parks that kept lions, and even if there were, it would be big news if one escaped.

Which probably meant the droppings, and the paw print belonged to a shifter.

“You okay?” Dougray stuck close to her side, matching her unease.

Tammy nodded, forcing a smile. “How far away are your brothers?”

Dougray cocked his head, listening. “Not far. They should be here in a few minutes.”

They reached Sunshine, who nickered softly at their approach. “You are enjoying your snack.” Tammy stroked Sunshine’s muzzle, the rhythmic sounds of her eating soothing.

She glanced at Dougray, who was scanning the forest with keen eyes. His posture was tense, and alert. “Do you think we should mount up?”

“Yes.” Dougray gathered up Cobra’s reins and swung into his saddle with practiced grace, his eyes never leaving the distant tree line. Tammy followed suit, settling onto Sunshine’s back. The horse shifted restlessly beneath her, sensing the tension in the air. Or the tension in his rider’s body.

Horses were adept at sensing their rider’s mood, and so Tammy forced out a breath and tried to relax. “Easy, boy,” Tammy murmured, patting Sunshine’s neck. She glanced at Dougray. “Which direction are your brothers coming from?”

He pointed to their left. “That way. We should head out and meet them. Once we explain what we’ve found, we can start a search grid.”

“I should alert the local sheriff.” Tammy took her phone from her pocket, but there was no reception.

“Come on. There’s better reception back toward the ranch.” Dougray turned Cobra’s head toward home, and Tammy followed suit with Sunshine. The mountains had never seemed threatening to her before, but she was suddenly aware of how far they were from help if they were attacked.

Dougray is a bear, she reminded herself. But would a bear be any match for a fully grown lion, if that was what they were dealing with?

She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she steadied her nerves. She was overreacting. The chances were the lion would not come near them. It would not risk a confrontation with another predator.

At least, that was her theory until Dougray stiffened in his saddle and reined his horse in.

“What is it?” she whispered.

“I can sense it,” Dougray murmured.

“The lion?” Tammy’s eyes darted around them, but her eyes did not cover the same distance as a shifter’s senses. If Dougray had only just sensed the lion, then he was far, far away.

“Yes, he’s over that ridge.” Dougray nodded toward a ridge that must have been at least half a mile away.

“What’s the plan?” Tammy asked. “And do not say you wait here .”

“I was thinking more like you go back to the ranch.” He gave her a wry smile as if he knew what her answer would be.

Tammy shook her head firmly. “Not a chance.”

Dougray sighed, but he hid a smile, that she read as admiration. “I had to try. All right, we’ll approach slowly and quietly. My brothers should be here any minute, which will give us more backup.”

Dougray urged Cobra on toward the ridge and Tammy followed. Sunshine’s ears flicked back and forth nervously as they made their way toward the ridge. Tammy leaned forward, patting his neck reassuringly. But Sunshine’s attention was not on the distant ridge.

His focus was drawn elsewhere and Tammy suspected he could sense Dougray’s brother’s approaching.

And then she saw them, four bears moving as one across the mountain, heading right for them.

Relief and awe hit her in equal measure. Relief that she and Dougray were not about to face down a lion alone. And awe at the sight of such magnificent creatures out here in the wild.

As the bears drew closer, Dougray brought Cobra to a halt and Tammy stopped Sunshine alongside him. “Easy there,” she crooned as her horse fidgeted under her.

Beside her, Dougray raised a hand, and the bears slowed, stopping about twenty feet away, before one by one they shifted into their human forms.

“You sensed it, too?” Henry asked as he strode toward them.

“Yes,” Dougray replied, his voice low and tense. “It’s over that ridge.” He nodded in the direction they had been heading.

“Any idea what it might be?” Henry asked.

“We found tracks and droppings over toward Old Ma Hinchcliffe’s place,” Tammy shifted in her saddle, feeling the weight of five pairs of eyes on her. “It’s definitely a lion.”

“But whether it’s a shifter or not, we can’t be sure,” Dougray added.

Henry’s brow furrowed as he glanced at the ridge. “A lion. That explains a few things. And it could be someone passing through. A tourist perhaps.”

“But why hang around near Old Ma Hinchcliffe’s place?” Dougray asked. “It was there a few days ago when it spooked Hercules. Then I sensed it this afternoon when we were over there. Now it’s heading back this way.”

“Does that make it more or less likely to be a shifter?” Klein asked.

“Maybe it’s hungry,” Tammy suggested. “And on the hunt.”

“Which would leave me inclined to believe it’s not a shifter,” Henry said thoughtfully. “Most of the more exotic shifters that come to Bear Creek stay under the radar.”

“That’s what I figured,” Dougray replied.

“Okay, since we are so close, let’s go see what we can see.” Henry glanced toward Tammy.

“She’s coming, too,” Dougray said. “If it’s a hurt animal, we might need Tammy’s skills.”

“Sure thing,” Henry said.

“Before we go, I should belatedly introduce you all to my mate,” Dougray said with some pride, which made color flare in Tammy’s cheeks.

“Good to meet you. I’m Ezra.” Ezra raised his hand.

“Tammy.” Another of the brothers nodded. “I’m Klein.”

“And I am Levi,” the fourth brother nodded, his blond hair flopping over one eye before he brushed it back from his face.

“Okay, let’s fan out, Levi, Klein, you go on and flank the lion. We’ll spread out and try to contain him,” Henry said. “But remember, this might be some innocent tourist, so go easy.”

“We’ll go head-on,” Dougray said, as he turned Cobra back toward the ridge.

“Cool heads,” Henry ordered as the surrounding air shimmered and he shifted into his bear. The others did the same and then sprinted away. Two of the bears streaked ahead, Levi and Klein, who were circling around the back of the lion.

“Sometime soon I’ll have to meet them all again in their bear forms so I can learn to differentiate them,” Tammy said as she rode after Dougray. “Though I imagine it might take me a while to tell them apart.”

“I guess we do all look the same at first sight.” Dougray smiled, but his eyes remained focused on the ridge ahead. “But you’ll get there. Each of us has our own unique markings. But it’s all in the eyes.”

“Yeah, that is the striking thing about shifters. Everything changes but the eyes,” Tammy said. “I like that.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes. The only sounds were the soft thud of hooves on earth and the occasional snort from the horses. The bears had all disappeared from view and Tammy could barely breathe as she listened for any signs of a clash between one of the Thornberg bears and the lion.

“What’s happening?” Tammy finally asked as they neared the ridge. Dougray did not need to see or hear to know where everyone was.

“Not much. The lion seems to be staying put.” His brow creased. “We’re closing in on him, but it’s not reacting.”

“I hope it’s okay.” Tammy hated the idea of such a magnificent animal being hurt. But that would explain its strange behavior.

But what if it was a shifter that was hurt? Should she treat them? Or take them to a doctor?

That was a question for later. Right now, she had to focus on what was immediately before them.

“My brothers are closing in,” Dougray said, his voice low and tense. “We’re almost there.”

As they crested the ridge, Tammy’s breath caught in her throat. There, in a small clearing about fifty yards away, lay a massive golden lion. It was sprawled on its side, its chest heaving with labored breaths.

“Oh no,” Tammy whispered, her heart aching at the sight. “It’s hurt.”

Dougray nodded grimly. “Stay here. I’m going to shift and approach with my brothers.”

Before Tammy could protest, Dougray had dismounted and shifted into his bear form. The massive grizzly lumbered forward, joining his brothers as they emerged from the trees surrounding the clearing. Tammy watched in awe as the five bears cautiously approached the prone lion.

The lion’s eyes fluttered open as the bears drew near. It let out a weak roar, more of a groan, really, and tried to lift its head. Tammy’s heart clenched at the obvious pain in the creature’s movements.

“It’s okay,” she murmured, even though she knew the lion couldn’t hear her from this distance. “We’re here to help.”

The bears formed a loose semicircle around the lion, with Dougray at the center. Tammy held her breath as she watched, her fingers gripping Sunshine’s reins tightly. The lion lifted his head, its eyes darted between the bears, a mix of fear and resignation in its gaze before it flopped back down.

After a moment, Henry’s bear turned his massive head toward her and nodded once.

Taking that as her cue, Tammy carefully dismounted from Sunshine. She approached the clearing slowly, her hands held out in a non-threatening gesture. As she drew closer, she could see the lion’s golden eyes tracking her movements.

“Hey there, big guy,” she said, keeping her voice calm and soothing. “We’re here to help you. Can you understand me?”

The lion’s eyes seemed to focus on her more intently, but it made no move to respond. Tammy glanced at Dougray’s bear, uncertainty flickering across her face.

“I’m not sure if it’s a shifter or not,” she murmured. “But either way, it needs help.”

Tammy crouched down about ten feet away from the lion, trying to assess its condition without getting too close. Its breathing was labored, and she could see a deep gash along its flank, crusted with dried blood.

“He’s injured,” she said, her eyes never leaving the lion. “There’s a wound on his side. It looks like it might be infected.”

The lion’s eyes locked onto hers, and for a moment, Tammy felt a flicker of something—recognition, perhaps? Or was it just her imagination?

“Are you a shifter?” she asked.

“He is,” Dougray said as he shifted and joined her by the side of the lion.

“Okay, we need to get him back to the ranch so I can treat him.” She crawled toward the lion, wanting to take a better look at his injury.

“Careful.” Dougray put his hand on her shoulder.

“I know,” she replied. “Injured animals are unpredictable.”

But she was going to have to take a chance and trust that this shifter knew she was trying to help.

The alternative might mean death for the magnificent lion. And she did not want that on her conscience. Because this would not just be the death of a lion, but of a man, too.