Bearing It All (Grizzly Affairs Book 1) Read Free

crunching snow and rough voices echoed a short distance below the incline. Glancing down she wasn’t surprised to see Malca’s soldiers hot on her tail. It didn’t matter. This time she wouldn’t be taken alive if she could prevent it. Tonight would be when she would taste the freedom she longed for.
    “Come on out, little girl!” The tallest shouted his face lifting in a creepy smile as his eyes lift to her crouching form above.
    Not staying to watch his and his pal’s pursuit of her, she dashed down the icy slope. Her tired, frozen feet stumbled and slid against the uneven ground; bring her crashing against the sharp ice and snow. Rushing to her feet, she spun in a rushed circle. Her eyes searched franticly for a direction to run in. In every direction was endless dark forest. She could end up running in circles for all she knew and then they’d catch her for sure. She refused to slink back to her cell like an obedient dog. But she couldn’t run any more at this point either.
    Time was running out and there was nowhere for her to run with any hope of out distancing her hunters. Looking up at the towering trees above her, a plan formed in her mind. Rushing to the closest one she gripped a lower branch and began pulling herself up. Higher and higher she climbed until she was half way up and concealed by the snow covered branches.
    “Look around, she couldn’t have gotten far.”
    Brushing her long, pale hair away from her face, she waited, holding her breath as the grunting sounds of the two burly men drew near. Their footsteps paused below her before moving forward to search her out. They circled around her position in a wide circle and much to her delight, never once did they look up.
    A moment later the shorter man paused beside her tree to sling his rifle over his shoulder as he reached for his flashlight. The click of the flash light made her heart jump, making her silently pray that they wouldn’t see her boot prints at the base of the tree. Luckily for her, he walked right though her boot prints without spying them.
    “There are no tracks over here. The bitch must have gone this way.” He mumbled to his companion, pointing with his flashlight beyond his position. Her heart to seize with fear as the second man came to join the other, his head tilted toward the direction his partner pointed.  The taller one shined his flashlight in same direction without saying a word. Above them she gripped the rough trunk as she struggled to hold her shivering body still. Silently she willed them to move on, but neither of them made a move.
    “Let’s split up.” The taller one decreed. “You go this way and I’ll double back and make sure she didn’t slip past us.” He said, indicating with his flashlight. The second man nodded in agreement before they both followed their decided paths.
    The moment both of them were gone, she felt the adrenaline rush from her head, making her dizzy. She’d lost them, for now.  She waited for a few more moments before she began climbing back down. The second her feet touched solid ground she moved straight ahead, the one direction neither one had taken.
    She didn’t know how much time had passed since she’d been moving in the same direction. It felt like hours and the cold was only making moving harder. Every step she took was slow and cautious as she feared her path would cross with her pursuers again. She was forced to stop as she came to the edge of a wide flowing brook. Looking around she saw there was no way around the—no doubt-- icy stream. Cursing her luck she stepped down into the gentle flowing current. The icy water soaked the legs of her pants and leaked into her boots. Reluctantly she moved across, cringing at the cold temperature of the water.
    Reaching the other side she climbed out of the brook and onto more snowy ground. Her legs and feet felt like a block of ice was tethered to each one. Fighting to ignore the feeling she prayed that she’d put enough