Chapter Fifteen
“I’m Sorry I Scared You”
“Take another step closer,” Dale warned, “and the doctor here’s gonna be breathin’ her last.”
He pressed his blade against Melissa’s neck as he spoke, forcing a whimper from her lips. At the same time, the large dog rose onto all fours, taking a menacing step toward Cal.
The dog growled. Cal shot her a glare.
“As you can see, you’re outnumbered,” Dale remarked.
“You’re one of those animal rescuers, aren’t you?
You really shouldn’t have come here. Now I’ll have to kill you, as well.
It’s a shame. All I ever really wanted was to hunt a grizzly bear for myself.
I never thought I’d have to take out people, too. ”
Cal’s inner bear reared its head with a growl. His eyes narrowed. “What did you just say?”
It was taking every bit of his willpower to keep still.
He’d bolted from the sanctuary after reading Melissa’s text, and had sprinted halfway to Melissa’s before he realized he could’ve taken a vehicle.
By the time he arrived at her house, forcing down the front door, he’d found it empty.
Then he’d headed into the home of the only other person she’d mentioned in that text.
The sight of those taxidermy heads had almost made him throw up. In that moment, two things had clicked in his head.
One: Dale was behind the animal attacks. He was some kind of hunter, and his dog was responsible for the injuries on the carcasses Cal had found.
Two: Dale had Melissa.
He’d only guessed they would be in the woods. And he’d been right.
“Cal,” Melissa gasped.
He shifted his gaze to her and felt a surge of rage. She was bound to a tree, her hands tied at the wrists. Tears glinted in her eyes as she looked at him. Cal ground his teeth together, suppressing the sudden urge to go over to Dale and rip his head off his shoulders.
“You’re going to be okay,” he assured her. “Don’t worry.”
Dale gave a snicker. “You’re outnumbered two to one, Cal.”
“I already called the police.” Cal balled his fists. He still had no idea what the man’s motivations were exactly. But he’d put Melissa’s life in danger. That was enough reason to take him down. “They should be here any minute now.”
The other man’s eyes flashed. “In that case, there’s no time for chit-chat.” He nodded toward his dog. “Leto? Kill this joker for me, will you?”
The dog growled again. Then she lunged.
Cal loved dogs. He’d always absolutely loved them. Just not when they were leaping at him with jaws wide open, prepared to kill.
He leaped out of the way in time, and the dog hurtled past him, skidding to a halt just before she could slam into a tree. She whirled about, snarling at Cal as she prepared to strike again.
Cal glanced at Melissa, whose eyes were wide with fright. Then he looked at the approaching dog.
“Dammit,” he muttered.
He shifted immediately, his clothes ripping off his body as the bear clawed its way out of him. He rose on his hind legs, towering over the dog, and let out a deafening roar.
“What in the hell?” he heard Dale scream behind him.
Leto barked at Cal. Then she attacked again.
This time, he was even more prepared. He swung a heavy paw, hitting the dog right in the side and knocking her back to the ground. She gave a yelp, but didn’t try to get up again.
Slowly, Cal turned. Dale had dropped his blade and was backing away from Melissa, his eyes wide with horror as he stared at Cal.
“What...what on earth are you?” he stammered.
Cal shifted back to human form, standing naked in the middle of the clearing. “I’m a bear, Dale. A grizzly bear. I seem to remember you saying you wanted to kill me.”
He took a step toward the other man, who stumbled backward with a cry and fell onto his backside, holding up a hand.
“Don’t come any closer,” Dale begged. “You’re not a bear. I-I don’t know what you are. How...?”
Cal drew even closer, glowering at the man. Dale had hurt Melissa. At the very least, he’d attacked her, kidnapped her, threatened her life. Not to mention he’d killed countless animals in these woods. A growl rose in his throat.
The wail of sirens in the distance carried into the glade then.
Cal’s jaw tightened. “That’ll be the police.”
***
It didn’t take the police very long to surround the glade.
They formed a perimeter, one of the policemen offering Cal a fresh pair of clothes after giving him a couple of funny looks.
Two other cops apprehended Dale and his dog.
The man didn’t even try to make a run for it.
His eyes round as billiard balls, remained on Cal.
“He’s a monster!” he cried, as the policemen dragged him from the scene. “He turned into a bear. I saw it! He’s not human!”
The men glanced from him to Cal, puzzled frowns on their faces.
“Dale’s insane,” Cal heard Melissa say before he could start to defend himself. “Why else would he have killed all those animals and tried to take us out, too?”
The cops continued dragging Dale away. Cal turned to face Melissa at the same time that she faced him. For the next few seconds, neither of them said a word. She rubbed her wrists, red from the ropes that had bound her earlier. For the most part, she seemed fine, albeit somewhat shaken.
“You came,” she said finally, gazing up into his face.
Cal felt his heartbeat stutter for a moment. “You called. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
“You didn’t.”
“I just turned into a bear,” he reminded her.
“I know. But I wasn’t scared of that. You did it to save my life. I’d probably be dead by now if not for you.”
He swallowed, trying not to think about that possibility. Melissa took a step closer to him, her green eyes locked on his.
“Cal...” She pressed her lips together, suddenly looking nervous. “I’m terribly sorry for everything. I’m sorry about my reaction earlier when you saved me from the wolf. And I’m sorry I left you at our wedding.”
He said nothing at first but turned his gaze to the men dragging Dale out of sight.
Now, more than ever, he thought he understood exactly how she must have felt ten years ago.
He’d just shifted in front of Dale, a man who’d probably seen even more blood than he had, and the hunter looked like he might end up in the loony bin before long.
He was only human, after all.
“It’s okay—” he began.
“No, it’s not.” She shook her head. “I hurt you, Cal. And if I could, I’d take it all back. I really would. Right now, all I can do is hope you’ll forgive me for what I’ve done. I know I caused you a lot of pain, and—”
“Stop.” He held up a hand. “Just stop.”
Her eyes widened slightly, and he sensed she was bracing herself. Cal regarded her for a moment, then cracked a smile and pulled her close, planting a kiss on her forehead.
“It’s okay,” he repeated. “Thing is, I already forgave you the second you walked back into my life. I was just too stubborn and angry to admit it to myself. I was hurt when you left, and when you came back, I realized just how much I’d missed you.
” His voice dropped an octave. “How much I still love you.”
He heard her sharp intake of breath. “I...I love you, too, Cal.” She pressed her lips together for a moment, looking uncertainly at him. “Does this mean you want to give us another shot?”
Cal couldn’t resist a chuckle. “Of course I do. I mean, the thought scares me after everything that’s happened so far. But I can’t shake the feeling that we’re meant to be together, no matter what. It feels...right.”
“I know what you mean.” There was silence between them for a moment. Then: “Isn’t this the part where you kiss me?”
He cocked a grin. “I’ll do you one better.”
With that, he reached into his pocket. A second later, he frowned.
“That’s weird,” he said. “I thought I had it on me...”
Only then did he remember he’d lost his previous pants when he shifted earlier. Cal turned, scanning the ground around the glade until a soft gleam caught his eye. Grinning triumphantly, he stooped, then straightened and returned to Melissa.
“I think you dropped this,” he said, holding up the ruby engagement ring. He saw her eyes widen, and so did his grin as he took her hand. “Melissa Kinley—”
“Dr. Melissa Kinley,” she corrected, and they both chuckled at that.
“Dr. Melissa Kinley, will you marry me...again?”
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. “Well, technically, we were never married, so...”
“Just roll with it.”
She snorted. “Yes, Cal. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His heart leaped around in his chest as he slipped the ring onto her finger.
No sooner had he let go of it than she pulled him closer, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the lips.
Cal wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly.
By the time they pulled apart, his lips were tingling from the kiss.
“And this time,” Melissa said, her eyes shining, “I’m not going anywhere.”