Steal Her Heart (Kaid Ranch Shifters #1)(14)

But right when she started saying her goodbyes to life, he turned on the charging wolves and bolted for them.

Heart hammering against her sternum, Maris took off running as best as her injured ankle allowed. Pain shot up her leg with every step, and she gritted her teeth against the weak noises that were clawing up her throat. She could see the house like a beacon. Behind her, the snarls of the wolves and the grizzly filled the night, but in front of her was sanctuary if she could only reach it.

The war was getting closer…louder. Huffing breath, she dared a look back. The grizzly had four wolves on him, but two more headed for her. The massive bear was backing the fight toward her. He roared and stood on both legs, reached over his shoulder, and ripped a wolf off his back with his long, curved claws, then threw him like a ragdoll into the shadows. When another latched onto his throat, he landed hard on all fours, then went straight down, and latched his teeth onto the wolf’s back leg so hard she could hear the snap of bone.

Terrified, she turned back to the house. Focus. Just run! Don’t look back!

She didn’t understand, she didn’t understand! This was a savage war between predator animals. Why? Why were they here? Why were they after her cattle? Why were they killing each other on her property?

And where in the everlovin’ hell was Bryson? Was he already dead?

“Bryson!” she screamed as the snarling got close. If she turned around, they would be right on top of her, and Maris didn’t want to see her death. She didn’t want to see it coming. She wanted to reach the house! So close. Twenty yards, and she would be to the porch stairs.

Sanctuary.

Sanctuary.

This home was her sanctuary. It had kept her safe during her heartbreak over the last year, kept her out of the cold, given her something to focus on instead of falling apart. If she could just reach it, the home could save her again. It could shelter her.

“Bryson, where are you?” she screamed again as she nearly tripped over the bear who was backing into her. His body was so powerful as he swatted at the wolves. A sob wrenched up her throat as she reached the bottom porch stair. Scared out of her mind, she bought herself some time by turning and aiming at the closest predator to her, a black wolf, charging past the bear, his eyes intent on her.

Boom!

She didn’t wait to see if she’d hit him. No time, no time! She scrambled up the stairs, but tripped on the top one thanks to her weak leg. Her knees slammed into the wooden floorboards, and she cried out as the gun clattered across the porch. The growling was so loud it filled her entire head. The porch was hit by something massive. The bear? Yep, that grizzly had slammed into the side of it. His massive paw swiped, aiming for a wolf, and took out most of the railing near him.

Would this house keep her safe? Could it? Was it strong enough? Was she?

Tears blurred her vision as she limped for the door. Her ankle wasn’t working right and kept rolling painfully. The metal of the doorknob was cold to the touch as she pulled the door open and fell inside, turned on her ass, and screamed in determination as she kicked the door closed with her good leg. Legs braced against the door, she threw her arms over her face and sobbed in relief, in fear, in desperation, in agony. Why? Because everything she touched withered.

Bryson was dead. She knew deep down that man didn’t exist right now. He was out there with those animals, and the only reason he wouldn’t have come to help was if he was already dead. She imagined him lying in the killing pasture, staring empty-eyed at the stars above. Something about that vision broke her heart the rest of the way. She’d been walking around for the last year half-alive, but at least she was alive.

She should’ve warned Bryson better. Made him see how dangerous the wolves were. Thief or not, he hadn’t deserved to go like this.

Outside, the roaring and the growling died to nothing. All she could hear was the trail of a wolf whine that got farther and farther away.

Heaving breath, she sat up and listened, but the night remained still.

Was the bear still here? Waiting for her to make a move? Waiting for her to check the window, only to burst in here and kill her the rest of the way?

She was too afraid to move. Minutes dragged on and, eventually, she got brave enough to struggle upward and hobble to the front window. She left muddy, bloody footprints from where the yard had torn up the pads of her bare feet.

In the first pasture, the cattle had settled near the fence, right on the edge of the house light, looking around warily. They weren’t making any noise. She’d never heard them be this quiet. Poor beasts were terrified.

Maris limped to the next window, but still couldn’t see the bear or the wolves. From window to window, bedroom to bedroom, to the kitchen and back to the living room she went, systematically checking for the predators, but still, she saw none.

Her rifle was outside on the porch. Felt strange not to have it. That was her only gun. She checked the porch window twice, but the night was still quiet, and only a porch swing and her rifle existed there. No animals. Nothing to be afraid of.

Swallowing audibly, she reached for the door handle.

Bang, bang, bang!

She squeaked and startled hard as the door swung open.

And there he was—Bryson, looking a helluva lot different than he had before.

His cowboy hat was gone, and his plaid shirt was unbuttoned. She could see long, bleeding gashes crisscrossing his skin, and weeping blood. His neck was streaming crimson like someone had slit his throat, and his eyes were wild as he looked her up and down. Face red, dark hair disheveled, teeth set in a snarl, he looked like some wild creature that had never known human kindness. His jeans showed lines of blood, but they weren’t ripped. Why weren’t they ripped? If he’d been clawed, why weren’t his jeans shredded? She didn’t know why she landed on that question, but she couldn’t back out of it. “You’re alive,” she whispered.