Chapter 5
Chapter Five
The cold air was crisp and sharp. Liana breathed in, shivering slightly.
She leaned against the door while she watched Eddie clear the deck off.
The woman was making light work of the mountains of snow that had accumulated there.
Had Eddie not told her there was a deck out back, she never would have known.
The amount of snow that had fallen was incredible.
The snow glittered like crushed diamonds across the mountains off in the distance. The sunlight caught the frost-heavy branches and sparkled brightly. The storm had passed, leaving the world bleached white and so quiet she could hear her own breaths.
“It’s so beautiful.” Her exhalations fogged the air in white swirls. To think that just yesterday she’d thought she was going to freeze to death, and now she was admiring the wonder in what Mother Nature had created.
Maybe being stranded wasn’t the end of the world.
Her gaze landed on Eddie who quietly shoveled along the edge of the deck, clearing heavy drifts away.
Even bundled in a thick jacket, the woman appeared to be the epitome of strength.
Her shoulders were solid, her movements efficient and focused.
Every time she exhaled, it fogged the air like a dragon in the cold.
But Eddie wasn’t a dragon, she was a bear.
Liana wondered what Eddie’s beast looked like.
Was she a brown bear? A black bear? How tall did she get?
Was she ferocious? A cuddly bear? Liana snorted at that thought.
It amazed her that a shifter’s body could literally change into something else completely. Would Eddie allow her to meet her bear?
“You’re enjoying the view.” Eddie’s voice broke through Liana’s thoughts.
She blinked and focused on the woman who had paused what she was doing to stare at her. Liana smiled and took an easy step down on to the deck. She pulled the door closed behind her. She took another careful step. So far, so good.
“I am, and how could I not?” Liana made her way to the railing and paused. She celebrated on the inside that she hadn’t slipped and the pain was only slight now. She motioned to the snow-covered grounds. “It looks picture-perfect. Like it should be on a postcard or something.”
“It looks like hypothermia waiting to happen,” Eddie muttered.
She turned and faced the endless amounts of snow that covered the yard.
She jammed the shovel into a pile. “Stay up on the deck while I check the generator. I need to make sure she isn’t going to choke tonight. I smell another storm brewing.”
Liana nodded, then watched Eddie disappear around the side of the cabin.
The fresh winter air felt good. Even though it was cold, she felt a little freedom now that she wasn’t secured away inside the cabin.
A girl could only be locked up so long. She sighed.
If Eddie sensed there was going to be a part two of the storm, that wasn’t good.
How the heck would she get to town? How would she be able to get her car towed to a shop?
There was so much that she would need to take care of. She didn’t want to think about notifying the rental company of the accident. Thankfully, she had good insurance that should cover things.
She wasn’t going to think of that now. She was safe and secure, and that was what really mattered.
She stood on the top stair and balanced her weight carefully, testing her ankle.
The wrap held. It pinched a little, but nothing crazy.
This was definitely manageable compared to when she’d had nothing to help secure the joint.
Liana’s gaze drifted beyond the tree line. The storm had blown down a chunk of foliage, which opened up a view she hadn’t noticed before.
And faintly, she heard water.
A steady trickle through the quietness.
Was that a creek? Or a river? How was it not frozen over in these temperatures?
Her pulse fluttered. A peek wouldn’t hurt. A short walk would help her stretch out her aching muscles, and she could test out her ankle more. She couldn’t stay laid up all day, every day. That wouldn’t be good for her. She may not be a nurse or a physician, but she knew that much.
Eddie must have cleared more of the snow before she had come outside. There was a small path that led to the tree line.
“Just a short walk. I need this fresh air,” she murmured. She zipped up her coat all the way and tugged her hat down on her head.
She stepped off the deck.
She paused and glanced around, half expecting Eddie to come charging around the corner to yell at her.
When there was no bossy bear coming to bark orders, she continued.
Her boots crunched through the light snow on the path.
Pine trees towered overhead. A slight breeze created a slight snow flurry from the snow being shaken loose from the limbs.
The cold nipped at her nose and cheeks, but something in the air had her pulse racing.
She breathed in the frosty air and smiled.
The farther she walked, the louder the creek sounded.
“There you are.” The water came into view.
Icy water rippled along the bank of white edges crusted with thin sheets of ice.
She crouched carefully and marveled at the beauty of the scene before her.
Back home when she couldn’t sleep, she played soothing sounds and usually chose creeks or ocean waves.
There was something about the sounds of water that helped her relax and sleep.
She reached out and brushed snow from a rock.
It was an unusual color of onyx. Was this supposed to be here?
She tried to pry it loose with the intention of taking it back to the cabin as a souvenir.
She bit her lip and used a little more force and jerked back.
The rock came free. She scooped it up and stood to her full height.
She held it up toward the sky so she could observe it.
The rock was smooth and reminded her of pure marble.
It was a beauty, and she figured she could give it a good home back in Denver.
She turned to go back, and her boot slid.
Everything happened too fast, her foot finding a patch of ice under the snow. She tilted backward, her arms flailing like windmills.
“No…no…no—”
Her feet flew out from under her, and the world practically flipped upside down.
Cold water swallowed her.
The creek wasn’t deep, but the shock of the cold water was a brutal slap to her. It immediately wrapped around her bones and took her breath away. She gasped and swallowed a heaping amount of the freezing water as she plunged underneath the surface.
Her head popped up. She sputtered and glanced around. The cold was cutting through her as she tried to right her footing.
Pain exploded through her ankle and up her leg. Water surged around her. It was numbing, and her teeth chattered. Her heartbeat slammed against her chest. The current of the water was angry and determined to pull her under again.
“Come on,” she groaned. She tried to kick and find traction. Her ankle buckled again. The pain was unbearable. She bit back a sob, panic surging through her. She clawed at the stone and dirt along the bed of the creek. She couldn’t grasp hold of anything.
The Discovery Channel tips for surviving the wild were nowhere to be found in her head. The only thing she remembered—stay calm.
That was easier said than done. They weren’t currently trying to get dragged down a strong creek in the wintertime in the middle of Montana.
With a groan, she angled her body sideways, finally able to hook her arm over a rock jutting from the mud. Gasping, she managed to drag herself halfway out of the water. Her legs were still submerged while her boots were heavy with creek water.
She froze.
Not from the temperatures, but from a sound.
Something cracked in the woods. Nothing soft. A sharp snap.
Whatever it was tried to be stealthy.
“Eddie?” she called. Her voice trembled slightly. She frantically searched the area, trying to see what was in the woods.
The only response was silence.
Her heart rate raced even faster, her breaths coming in pants. It was watching her. She could feel it. Icy fingertips slipped between her shoulder blades. She twisted around and still didn’t see anything. The trees stood motionless. No wind. No birds.
Just a freaky stillness.
Her mind raced. She remembered Eddie warning her that the area was not safe. That wolves could be roaming the area. Rogue wolves, was it? She swallowed hard.
Another crack.
Whatever it was, was moving closer.
The cold was stealing what was left of her strength. Her teeth were clattering out of control.
There!
A figure stood hidden deep in the woods. Tall. Muscular.
And it was not Eddie.
Raw terror filled her, and there was nothing else she could do at the moment but one thing.
“Eddie!”
Eddie knocked another chunk of frozen snow from the generator housing with her gloved hand. The unit hummed steadily beneath the metal casing, but she didn’t trust it. Her cousin had assured her that he’d had the generator checked before the first snow when he and his mate had used it.
But had he?
She just hoped it continued working fine with the pressure dropping and that heavy warning in the air.
Another storm was coming soon.
She crouched to brush more off the intake vents, her breath clouding in the air. The temperature was certainly bottoming out. She was glad she had enough firewood to keep them warm for a while. She stood and paused.
The wind shifted. Her head snapped around. There was an eerie silence in the woods. Everything was too still. The hairs on the back of her neck lifted. She inhaled slowly and tried to place it.
The scent of the water.
Human fear.
Panic.
She turned slowly in the direction of the water. Liana wouldn’t have left the safety of the deck. Eddie had warned her that the area was dangerous for a human. She took a step forward and paused. Her ears only picked up one sound.
“Eddie!”